A lot going down

May 4th, 2011

Gorgeous work, the bmw roundel
Well now. Congrats to my friends S & K that got married this past weekend in NYC! You guys make a great couple, best wishes for a lifetime of happiness. A fringe benefit of this wedding was a nice shake-down cruise for the BMW.

Starting from Clifton Park, Elyse and I moseyed down to Beacon, where we met up with my Webmaster Kevin and his GF. The first 100+ miles there passed without a hitch. We met up and had a mini German convoy: My 318 followed her 2011 Golf hatch. We swung out of the way some, and hopped on the Throgs Neck Bridge. Total trip was about 200 miles from My House to the hotel. I still had 5/8 tank of gas left when I pulled in and parked, not too shabby. Other than the incessant screaming of the exhaust and the VERY weak speakers, of which only the front 2 were operational, it went swimmingly. Even in dense traffic, the car wasn’t close to overheating, and the gorgeous weather allowed us to cruise with windows and sunroof open most of the way. I logged 274.4 miles before I refilled in Beacon on the return trip, and added 8.18 gallons there. About 33.5mpg, not bad at all!

Due to poor parking choice for the Impreza I left behind here, I got to pay a $25 fine to the fine local constables. The Impreza is due for inspection but will probably fail for the parking brake, which I intend to adjust or replace the shoes, and the passenger side front turn signal, which doesn’t blink due to a short or something. Replaced the bulb to no avail. I do have some 18×9 wheels to test fit on her this week. 18×9 Rota G-forces, used, in cosmic blue.
Rota G Force

Posted in Automotive, BMW, My Fleet | Comments Off

BMW in da haus.

April 16th, 2011

I managed to buy my old BMW back earlier this week. The owner in the 1-year interim has treated her well and fixed little things, like the speedometer! I’ve had to order a pair of summer tires to replace the rear studded snows. Later, I will replace the non-studded front snows with summers. When I’m done, she’ll be rolling on 205-55-15 Falken Ziex ZE-512′s. Eventually I’m going to order a 2nd set of wheels and relegate the current ones to winter duty after a coat of paint. Ultimately I want to keep this one cheep and cheerful. The BMW “Project Cars” page is now filled in.

Many have wondered why I would sell it originally. Long story short, I was sorta in love with a gal, I sold it for the cash I would need to get an engagement ring. She ended up dumping me for….actually I can’t remember a straight answer. I feel like I have completed the circle, and getting this car back makes me smile.

I’m happy I got the car back, fuck that gal.

Posted in Automotive, BMW | Comments Off

Seein’ Green.

February 22nd, 2011

THe new bg5 jdm legacy B4 coilovers
So, Warren Tire Latham proposed my coilover was bent, and after checking the unibody and suspension mounting points on RPI’s lift, had no other explanation. I was able to grab a set of Tein BG5(Japanese 2nd generation Legacy Wagon Turbo) coilovers. I knew the fronts were interchangable and assumed the rears would be interesting….but no risk, no reward.
the new coilovers
I was only able to use the front strut part of the coilovers, bolted to the Impreza group N mounts. I swapped the 7kg/mm^2 front springs from my coilovers onto the Legacy struts, assembled, and threw them into the car. The car sits ok, but I’m still tweaking the height. The alignment is certainly a lot better.

For now, only an alignment and then the body work can begin. Fun!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

A Conspiracy!?

February 12th, 2011

The BG6 front coilovers and my greasy mitt.
Well, it seems like there’s a conspiracy afoot.  The cogs of fate turn and prevent me from using the following facilities/services:  The RPI shop lift(Water heater broken in building), the Warren Tire nearest my house(renovations until March) and Don’s Garage down the road from me(their alignment/front end guy is sick or MIA).

However, I was able to get my battered wagon into the Warren Tire location in Latham on a whim.  They are looking it over right now.  I need to know what’s wrong in there, something is tweaked, bent, or broken, and without getting it on an alignment rack, I’d have no clue where to start.  As it stands, I’m mooching rides from friends and the new and very tolerant GF.  Carless, tired, and a little frustrated, at least it’s the weekend.

A shoutout to my gracious host:  This is his photo blog.

Tags:
Posted in Automotive, Impreza Rebuild | Comments Off

Balls.

February 3rd, 2011

Well I was able to replace the DS front ball joint last night.  The car actually had Whiteline ball joints on it, so there’s a mismatch from side to side.  I will have to replace the one on the other side with a Subaru part, since I don’t feel like buying the pair from Whiteline (yet).  The suspension is still borked though.  Tonight I pick up the Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit, which will hopefully re-align the lower control arm and get my camber back to spec.  If this isn’t the problem, it’s the tie rod end(s) or the body itself is bent, which is an extremely expensive proposition.

working on the balljoint

Tags:
Posted in Automotive, Impreza Rebuild, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Noclip mode would be of benefit

February 3rd, 2011
Last night I was able to jack the car up and give the wheel a good shake…Definitely a very small clunk/play in the suspension.  The corner marker came in today(Tuesday) and I had Fred at Capitaland Subaru set aside a front DS ball joint for me.  The man is a saint.  I’m taking tomorrow off to try to replace the ball joint.  In the event it is NOT the ball joint, but the aforementioned LCA bushing/bracket, I have sourced the Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit, which replaces those bushings and brackets on each side of the car.
I was able to remove the plastic interior trim from the rear driver’s side and in general get crap out of the way back there.  Scheming on how to get the rear quarter bent back into near-correct shape.
To Do: Get front fender worked so I can install marker,  Mount corner marker, Do balljoint, determine if LCA bushing/bracket needs replacement.  Install PS Camber/Caster plate.
Additional Items needing replacement: front DS ball joint and/or front DS lower control arm rearmost bushing/bracket.
Items Purchased today: Front Balljoint $45, and Front DS JDM Clear Corner Marker $54.

Tags:
Posted in Automotive, Impreza Rebuild | Comments Off

Upon further inspection…

February 3rd, 2011
Work Performed: Mounted front DS Coilover to a camber plate and back in the car, and dialed in a more conservative camber setting.  Examined the tie rod ends and bushings, and ball joints and could not see any noticeable bends, cracks, tears, or other damage.  I bowed the mangled front fender out to a more normal-ish shape, and did a hackjob attaching the fender liner.  I lowered the car, checked everything, then raised it agian and retightened.  In the 5-mile drive between Mom’s garage and my apartment, the wheel was smacked back into negative camber and a disconcerting clunking/crashing noise is evident in the cabin over sharp bumps.  I was able to get my DS turn signal working and a light bulb in the socket where the corner marker used to be, so the fuzz shouldn’t bother me too bad.
I was able to get ahold of Fred the Parts Manager at Capitaland Subaru who ordered the corner marker for me.
Additional Items needing replacement: Front DS Fender Liner

Tags:
Posted in Automotive, Impreza Rebuild | Comments Off

Crashing in the name of…

February 3rd, 2011
Partway through last month I had an encounter between my devil-may-care driving style and the laws of physics on my way to work.  Cliffs notes: I ran into stationary object.  The car received damage from bow to stern, mostly cosmetic, but a tweaked suspension as well. The front DS wheel is rocking almost 5 degrees of negative camber, wayyyy too much.
Simply ‘fixing’ it would be expensive and unlikely to come out ‘just right’.  I would like to make things better where possible, so I may have the rear fenders modified to accommodate flares and much wider wheels/tires, since I can do the fronts myself.
Here’s the Damage.   Cosmetic: Scraped/Dented: Front bumper, rear bumper, both DS doors, Front DS wheel and tire both have scrapes but are sound mechanically
To Be Replaced: Front DS 2.5 RS Fender, Front DS JDM Clear Corner Marker
To Be Worked: Rear Quarter panel is caved in, and the low area right behind the DS passenger door is real messy, front and rear bumpers and DS doors.
Initial appraisal of Mechanical Work: Front Camber/Caster plates, maybe tie rod ends.
The front fender damage

The front fender damage

Tags:
Posted in Automotive, Impreza Rebuild | Comments Off

First Mechanical Failure

November 6th, 2010

Last night, leaving the shop, the A/C belt tensioner pulley disintegrated. I was able to cut the belt, leaving the car perfectly drivable. Even though it’s winter, I kinda need the A/C to work: the defogger is dehumidified by it.

So here I am, running around like a jackass to find a used pulley and tensioner arm, and a new AC Belt.

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

“Super Street” :-| Coilovers installed

October 24th, 2010

I managed to get the coilovers on yesterday. The rears were frozen at their current ride height…I am lucky since that is almost exactly what the ride height of my car was.

My impressions: On good and fair roads they only feel slightly stiffer. On poor roads, you can notice there’s no initial ‘give’ to the springs. And on a few particular places, like bridges, with evenly spaced rippled pavement, it is quite jarring.

I’m going to play with the damper adjusters to get the ride a little smoother.

Tags:
Posted in Automotive | Comments Off

« Older Entries