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Thu February 28 2008 8:05 pm
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Snap.... Literally!
Well... Yesterday sucked. I was driving to work and once I got to work, I noticed that my car was overheating... I had a horrible feeling because I just changed the head gasket about 6 months ago and did not want to go through that headache again. I got to a parking spot quickly, and shut the car off as soon as I could. I coasted into the spot (lucky I have manual steering) and popped the hood. I started to vent the radiator (I have a cap with a lever to vent out to the over flow tank) and there was only air coming out, no air.... I then noticed that there was a wire missing from my electric fans. I looked a little closer and noticed that there was no belt, and that what was left of the belt was hanging from the alternator.
Well... I am glad that I have AAA so I had my car towed home. I had to make a run to NAPA to pick up the belt as Auto Zone does not carry it. I need a special size belt as I have eliminated all my AC and replaced my alternator bracket with one from a Tercel with no AC. I got my belt and decided that since I had everything apart I would add my AC Delco alternator.
A 105 amp CS 130 off of a Chevy S10
My adapter bracket from alternatorparts.com
All done and now the car is running soon. Hopefully the engine overheating will not cause any further problems... I love working on my car... just not when it is not planned.
James
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Wed February 20 2008 6:47 pm
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Rocken the 80s Style
Having an old car is usually fun except for one thing.... finding parts is not always an easy task. When I bought my car, I knew that there was a hole in the hatch door and that I would have to replace it. Throughout all my times searching through the junk yard, I was never able to find a decent one. Most of the corollas I find are coupes. The few hatches that I have found usually either have rust in different places, or have been destroyed but people trying to get into the back of the car.
A few weeks ago I found another hatch that I almost picked up. It was in pretty good condition, except for the shaved lock, but I would work with that. I also met some guys there that needed other parts off the car. We talked for a little bit and one of the guys there said that he had one at home in good condition with a set of louvers. Louvers are kinda rare, so I really wanted them. After a little bit of negotiating, we agreed on a price. A week later I went and picked up the hatch... It was an uglu brown... But the most important thing was that it was not rusty! The louvers that were on it were missing peices and really faded, but I figured with a little work I could make them work.
I had to run the car a few weeks without the louvers while I tried to find parts and stuff. It has been raining off and on lately in southern California this winter, and I was tired of having a puddle in the area where my spare tire sits. I was going to paint them before I put them on there, but I decided to wait till summer when I will try to at least primer the car.
Some screws, zip ties, and clevis pins later and the louvers are now on the car. I like them because I can see out of them at night. They do the same thing as window tint... But they also add that 70s/80s look to the car. I have always liked older cars so for me, this was a plus.
The louvers were made by a company called Chastin (I could not find any recent info on the company) that was based in southern California. From what I did read was that they were big in racing during the late 70s. They made louvers for a lot of muscle cars and dissappeared somewhere in the 80s.
I know once I paint them they will look better. Hopefully I can make the car look better once I get my suspension. I am glad that I waited to get my hatch and not try to fix one that was in worse condition.
James
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Thu February 7 2008 5:54 pm
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Fun in the Snow
One of the great parts about living on Southern California is the ability to visit the snow. I took my girl friend Sarami out to enjoy the snow a little bit. She had never been to the snow before last year and she enjoyed it, so I figured with all the rain we had lately, it would be a good idea to go.
I personally like driving in the mountains because of all the fresh air and the curves in the road. I am not speed racer, nor is my car able to handle racing through the mountain roads in it's current state. So I took my time driving, following the speed limit so that Sarami and I could enjoy the drive. Unfortunately, some people assume that if you are driving a rear wheel drive Corolla in the mountains that you want to go really fast. So this Evolution pulls up behind me, BOV and all, and starts ridding my ass. Personally I like to respect other people on the road, I guess some other people don't. I took my time and did not speed up for him as I did not want to kill myself in the mountains. Once I find a turn out, Jack Ass passes me... Finally...
After that it was smooth sailing to the snow. Below are a few pictures.
On our second stop, Sarami wants to get some snow to take back to LA. (Sorry for the crappy pics. I forgot the camera... had to use the cell phone.)
All the snow packed on the car.... would have been better with a truck.
The snow melting on the way back.
Hope you enjoyed reading,
James
James
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Thu February 7 2008 5:37 pm
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Site Launch
Today is the day folks. Not that I have much here as of yet, but hopefully readers will either enjoy the things that I post up in the journal, or the write ups that I will post in the tech section. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please use the contact page to contact me. Please feel free to wander around.
James
James
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