Thanks to only two rental turnovers this summer, I have more time and I’m knee deep into my Promaster van conversion. The electric system (under the bed) is working, and the 300W solar panel on the roof can keep the $129 Magic Chef 3.5 cf Energy Star fridge (not in cabinet at this time) running indefinitely. And the batteries and inverter can handle the 1000W microwave just fine too. Next up is the ceiling and the continuous upper cabinet on the driver’s side before I can finish the cabinets on the passenger side including a full height cabinet over the propane tanks, and then start on the galley, the other bed, water tank, water heater, plumbing, bathing facilities, etc, etc….
I’m just taking a break awaiting an Amazon deliveries of riv nuts and a few other things before I get back at it. And I’ve decided to write up the whole project when I’m done, rather than in little chunks. I’m too busy to keep stopping now. I’m determined to hit the road in late summer or September, even if every cosmetic detail isn’t yet finished.
So what’s your summer project?
FIAT Ducato, 95% of all European campervans are based on the FIAT chassis and as a van I can only say great choice, very capable I hauled a FIAT 131 Group 4 Abarth in a Brian James racetrailer from Budapest to Holland.
The Ducato was quiet, strong and I was really impressed.
So our new project is a 1979 131 Abarth in Olio Fiat livery.
Wow! Cannot wait for you to write the 131 up.
It’s 120F+ in the garage right now, so my summer project is watching other people build things on YouTube.
A few years ago I built a teardrop-style camper trailer. It was a great and enjoyable project.
Then I took it camping.
Turns out I like building campers a WHOLE LOT MORE than I actually like camping.
So I sold it.
I grew up going camping. Tent camping, but minimalistic trailer camping is close. As a kid camping was an adventure. As an old fart, I just can’t get too excited about it.
I just completed it last weekend when I replaced the battery in the Porsche. The hardest part was working up the nerve to step into the front trunk completely in order to heft it into place at the middle of the firewall. Thankfully I didn’t break through so there likely isn’t any rust…
This reminds me to go to Costco and return the old one to get the $15 core charge back…
Next up: wiper blades. We will soon have you feeling like a real mechanic. 🙂
Wiper blades? Don’t those only go bad on GM cars? ?
My 1988 BMW E32 was my project this summer. First I had to get it running properly, then change the tie rods. I’ve done both those things, so now I’m just looking for stuff to do. Maybe I’ll repaint the driver’s mirror. Or I’ll try to fix the glovebox. It’s all just minor stuff I don’t really feel like doing at this point, and could plausibly leave alone.
Where to start, lol ?
Sooo, first of all, the green Volga still requires attention. I’ve rebuilt everything mechanical in it during autumn and winter, but the electrical system still needs some work before being reliable in operation (e.g. from time to time the battery would not charge, no matter what the engine revs are), and the body could use some TLC (luckily, no rust issues resurfaced, at least), and probably a good respray as well.
Next, I finally gave up on my two-stroke Wartburg 353W and sold it… whatever left of it, anyway… to a guy from Mordoviya for 150 bucks. Could be a good project, but just not for me, thank you, so now its his project ) The guy who bought it seems to be quite enthusiastic, and also experienced with the old DDR-tech. What I could not get myself doing in several years, he achieved in the very first days of ownership – now its a runner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POw3-MR-2nU
Probably now I’ll be able to invest more time and money into the four-stroke, VW-engined Wartburg, which is good news, of course!
But the most pressing issue so far is the storage space. I have several good, dry garages, both in the city and in the suburbs, but currently all of them are in various states of disrepair and need attention, as well.
I love that model of Volga – such a great looking car.
This summer my plan is to finally get my 55 Plymouth back on the road. It has been parked in the garage for the past 20 years. For the past few weekends, I have gotten it running, this weekend, I’m tackling the brakes and maybe prep and repaint the wheels for new tires. After that it will be roadworthy.
The big one is reviving the 1961 Pontiac Laurentian – time is now getting tight. I’ve also got rear shocks and a few other bits and pieces on last year’s beater challenge car – 2003 Civic. The TSX needs an oil change and new tires. Additionally the motorbike is now due for an oil change too. Sigh.
Then not totally automotive but related is to swap CC over to a new server. Its a big chunk of work given the size of the site so I need to somehow carve out a full weekend.
Just finishing up servicing my 2010 New Holland Boomer 8N – came inside to check the hydraulic sump capacity. I bought the tractor with 135 hours on it and have added maybe another 150.
The Commodore is next in line for an oil change this afternoon. Did my wife’s Routan last week.
Put a new 6V battery on the 1950 8N a couple weeks ago, old one lasted a bit over five years. Took the opportunity to finally replace the rear work and indicator lights that got smashed in the Tornado of 2013.
The Volkswagens are still in pieces, sadly. Too many other deferred maintenance items that need attention.
Doing the final touches to set up my 1995 Triumph Sprint for touring. Aka, pretty much copying what I’d done to my Trident over the years before losing it to that deer. Larger screen on the fairing (moving the airflow from my neck to my forehead – much better with a full faced helmet), wiring the bike so one of my Garmins is installed, and a few other minor modifications.
Not bothering with heated hand grips this time around. The Gold Wing has them, and also owns all cold weather travel.
The Triumph will handle the under 400 mile trips, as well as anything where a British motorcycle is more acceptable than Japanese. Over 400 miles a day – that’s why I bought the Gold Wing.
Not automotive, but garage-related: termite damage plus dry rot. Mostly cosmetic, but the bugs have been chewing on one the end of one the rafter tails at least back to the siding. It’s a two story garage with finished ceilings above the rafter in question, and a really steep pitched roof that I’m not really comfortable on. Slightly more mechanical: tear apart the clutch on my Suzuki DR650 and replace the thrust washers in the hopes of eliminating annoying clutch drag (CLUNK!!).
Bought an “old” pickup truck. Straight six, five speed, RCSB. XL spec with everything you need, nothing you don’t.
The restoration of my ’91 LeBaron convertible was all done about a month and a half ago, so now that I have idle hands, I’m going to install brown leather Katzkin seats in my ’06 Dodge MegaCab. I’ll be taking off the tan OEM leather and replacing it with the Katzkin leather. I’ve never done this but it will be a fun project for sure. I already have the kit and all my tools – hog ring pliers, snips, hog rings. I think I’m going to start later this month. My wife is convinced that I’m crazy for wanting to do this, but this isn’t the first time I’ve embarked on a crazy project and she has grown used to it.
The OEM covers are in pretty good condition with just very light abrasion on the driver side seatback bolster (pretty sure the seatbelt caused it when retracting) so I’ll sell those on eBay or something – maybe someone with an ’06-08 MegaCab (09 for 2500/3500) could replace their worn leather or upgrade their cloth seats (I’ve noticed that the cloth upholstery on ’06-08 Dodges are a weak spot, a lot of them have split at the seam on the seat bolster).
My ’13 200 broke 100,000 miles so its due for another coolant change and time to drop the trans pan and change the filter/fluid again. Since it’s a 62TE, which is a sealed unit, I’m probably better off taking it to the dealership like I did when I changed it at 50k miles. They use a scan tool to determine how much ATF+4 to add, unlike the 4-speed Ultradrives which use dipsticks. Oh well, at least the drain and fills are cheap. My ’93 Concorde needs nothing, since I’ve had all the preventative maintenance done a few months ago, so it’s good, as is the Ram and the LeBaron.
My wife’s Outback is the only vehicle I don’t touch. It’s under warranty and it has a year left of service (oil changes, etc). I’m not familiar with Subarus like I am with Mopar so it’s a good thing, because I’d only feel confident to do just oil and brakes. My wife eventually wants to replace this with an x3 or similar, so if I thought that the Subaru flat-4 paired to the box of mystery called a CVT is a little intimidating, to paraphrase Randy Bachman, “[I] ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”, but luckily, my wife keeps her cars not much longer past the warranty.
I’m finally very close to finishing an old school audio system in my Focus.
Welcome back!
My summer automotive project is to think really hard about reducing my fleet of old stuff. Our five vehicles are:
2013
2007
1993
1986
1963
And keeping up with maintenance, oil changes, and repair is wearing on me lately. I definitely need to have a beer with Jim Klein to discuss the remedy..
Call me, my brother, and we shall break bread, drink the sudsy stuff and I will school you on how we spend, spend, spend down here south of your border! (and give you your book back).
Winter here, which is a good time for motorbike projects. My Suzuki GS850 is getting some love, with valve adjustment (buckets and shims), upgraded brake lines, fluids and general fixing up. When that’s done I’m going to get the gearbox sorted on my BSA B40.
And of course a mk 1 mini is an on-going project, no matter what the season.
There have been, and are, too many…
A new fuel pump that recently went into the van. It’s 18 years old, we’ve had it 8 years, this is the first issue we’ve ever had with it.
The Galaxie….to the point I’m entertaining the idea of selling it after I get it ironed out. To wit:
Replacing the water pump after having done so three years ago; it crapped out last fall. I’ve driven it less than 60 miles this summer with a trip ten days ago netting me a new leak in the coolant system. It’s in the expansion tank where one pours in coolant. The neck has a few pinholes about an inch or so from where it mounts to the engine block. It’s spraying coolant all over the place and this expansion tank is only about two years old. It’ll likely require a solder or some other type of fix. It’s an annoyance.
And it’s running like crap. I suspect a load of E-10 (which is hard to avoid) has worked over the accelerator pump. Looking at my log book I didn’t even buy any fuel for it last summer, as a tank full in November 2016 just got topped off about three weeks ago. It starts just fine but is making little power and is running quite rough when under any type of load.
There are other things I need to attend to without working on it yet again this summer.
Shame you’re having all these annoying things crop up on the Galaxie. I thought a water pump was supposed to last longer than 3 years? I can’t remember the last time I had mine replaced. It’s been a quite some time, to be sure, but I figured a new water pump would be more durable than just 3 measly years.
Also: Please pardon my ignorance, but . . . what is an ‘expansion tank’? I pour my usual 50/50 mix of coolant in to my ’64 Ford up to the top of the radiator and then fasten the cap back on. Is there somewhere else the coolant is supposed to filter down to?
On the FE powered Fords (at least the early ’60s full sizers) there is a tank located just behind the radiator. The radiator cap is there. The expansion tank (which is what I’ve always called it, perhaps there is another name) has the upper radiator hose on one side with the neck that curves down to where it mounts on the engine block.
The pinholes on this three year old tank are near the mounting point.
You can see the tank in this under-hood shot.
If it was a re-manufactured unit then 3 years isn’t bad. I’m guessing new isn’t available but if it is then it is the only way to go. With one of my Scouts that I got the full history on he had the water pump replaced every could of years and the part number always started with an R. When the last one he had installed failed I put in a new Airtex unit and 20 years later it is still fine.
I wised up and bought new this time. It wasn’t much more than a reman pump, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I’d put my money on the points as why it isn’t running well or just the fact that the gas is so old more than that it is E10.
I reckon if I can get my lazy arse in gear I’d like to clean up Cheapo Falcon a lil’ bit. It’s DIRTY! → I think there’s more yellow pollen than paint on the car these days. +PLUS+, the inside of the car needs some TLC, too. I did clean up the metal dashboard a few days ago. It looks better, although I really don’t know how ‘clean’ a bare metal dashboard is supposed to look anyway? It’s just . . . metallic-looking.
I’m one of those where do I start people.
F250 I really want to find someone parting out or one at one of the self serve wrecking yards that has the power mirrors, windows and door locks. Mine came with the small mirrors and with the Canopy that has expanded metal window protectors they just don’t cut it. However the Superduty is wide and it is quite a reach to unlock the passenger door that requires me to flip up the console/arm rest so I want to add the power door locks. So while I’m at it I’ll need the door panels with the switches for the mirrors and locks so might as well go whole hog and do the windows, at least on the front doors. Adding the power locks to the rear would be nice and I’ll definitely add a remote entry when I do the front doors. I want to add some more lights in the tool box side of the canopy. The one in the top middle doesn’t really do much for anything on the lower shelf or the ends of the upper shelf. The barn doors on the back need some new weather stripping and I’m going to replace the rest of the screws that hold the hinge to the door with rivets. It also needs a new evap tank and the current one is plugged to the dusty environment of its previous vocation. I also need to install the bracket for the brake controller, plug it in and verify the factory wiring and relays are all working as it will be called upon to tow a trailer in Aug. I also need to do a brake inspection, last I looked the fronts were getting a little thin and I’ve put enough miles on that I should probably replace them now so I’m not doing it in the winter since it won’t fit in the garage. I’d also like to add some of the in bumper fog/utility lights on the rear as back up lights and add factory fog lights up front.
E150, I need to get the AC working in it. It was not working when I bought it which was one of the reasons the price was what it was. I did try putting a little refrigerant in when I bought it but it was leaking out about as fast as it was going so I left it. It too should have all the brakes inspected as I’ve not looked at them in the 2 years I’ve owned it. I do want to turn the space above the seats into a cabinet. There was a board enclosing it but it is a great spot to store light items. I also want to add a couple more pieces of E-track and D-rings for just a little more options for securing items. I already put in a lot of E-track. I also want to install a lock knob and inner door handle on the side door. I guess in its previous life as an ambulance they didn’t want people escaping. The other problem is related to the fact that it was an ambulance in the past. State law requires agencies to remove emergency equipment and lighting. I’m not sure why that meant they thought they should remove the vents in the sides of the extended top and the speakers and replace them with acrylic but they did. There are also plugged holes where they had universal clearance lights. So I want to at least add back some of the lighting due to its height. Putting the scene lights on the side will probably be done too. The plus is that the wiring is all still there if I stick with LEDs and most of it has number tags at the ends which hopefully means it won’t be too difficult to figure out what is what. Some of the in bumper utility lights as back up lights on it too. It also needs 4 tires before winter and the sooner the better as one has a slow leak so that I pretty much have to fill it every time I use it as it is not a daily driver but I don’t want to fix a tire that needs replacement anyway.
I’m also on the hunt for two sets of wheels for winter tires for the newest vehicles in our fleet. One set of 16″, -1″ for the C-Max which shouldn’t be too hard to find as you could get a Focus with 16″ aluminum wheels. The other is for the MKZ Hybrid I brought home last Thur. I don’t know what size to pick for it though. It is the reserve trim so it came with 19″ while the base models got 18″. Fusions came with 17″ in most trims and the S came with 16″ steelies. So in theory I could go as small as 16″ and clear the brakes. I do have a set of 2005 Lincoln LS 17″ wheels which are the right bolt pattern and center bore but have a little more offset. They do have old tires on them in the Fusion’s 17″ size so I’ll probably start by test fitting them on one side of the vehicle and see how they look.
Then there is the no hope in hell doing it this year, The Dana 44 front axle conversion on my Cab Top Scout. I did the complete rear brakes when I put it together and the fronts were still fine. However when I drug it out last year I found a weak pedal and the front half of the master cyl dry. So not really interested in spending the money on drum parts when I have the disc brake D44 and all of the other needed parts I scrounged from a parts truck. Though I’m just using the calipers as a core and will also use new brake hoses, rotors and master cylinder.
My son turns 16 at the end of the month. I kept my old car, a 2003 Accord sedan with a 5-speed, when I got my Juke.
It needs a new lug, a new windshield, an oil and transmission fluid change, a new battery, probably new tires, and a new seat belt due to a SRS light. I’m willing to help and to pay for some of it, but if it’s going to be his car they are his problems to fix.
I’m finally paying some attention to my ’93 Miata after too many years of just driving it now and then with nothing but the occasional oil change. The pleasure of a 25-year-old Japanese car.
A freshly-paved stretch of my freeway commute showed me the vibration I was feeling wasn’t due to the road. Getting the wheels balanced and aligned helped some but it still felt bad. So I popped for some new tires, and it feels like a new car all over again! I had no idea how old the tires were, turns out tires just get old. One of those things that just crept up on me.
It has the optional 15 inch alloys, and I discovered that 195-50R15 tires are getting hard to find! Michelin doesn’t make them anymore. Tire guy says a lot of once-common tire sizes are going away.
The shop gave it a going over and it’s time for a brake job, plugs and filters. I’ll be doing that myself, looks pretty easy as long as I don’t get a stuck piston or rotor.
Plus I really need to fix the air bag controller, which has been blinking at me for years. On the forum they say it’s just some leaky capacitors which I can easily replace. Getting to it under the dash is not so easy, requires removing the seat and doing the limbo to get up there.
Good, now I don’t feel so bad. My Miata just sits in the garage or goes for drives. Project? Ha! 🙂
My summer project is getting this thing fixed up
After using my Impala and Wifey’s CR-V as trucks for the last few and the next couple of weeks from moving lots of stuff for our son and daughter, plus divesting myself of much junk, the only auto project I have is finding a great detail shop and having my Impala get a nice make-over which would include an engine cleaning.
I’ll take care of the CR-V myself for now.
The Karmann Ghia. It has been taking up valuable space in the hangar for too long. I just acquired an airplane project I need to finish, so the car has to get back on the road.
The engine is out and getting basically a reseal, as it only has 36,000 miles, but leaks oil. Gasket set, rings, bearings and, clutch plate and muffler. All the sheet metal and hardware is getting refinished as well to get a like new appearance under the hood.
Body sheet metal, paint and interior are excellent. Bumpers and other trim need replating and the car will be perfect.
I’m not sure there are any automotive projects on my agenda this Summer, but I’m flying up to NYC next week to drive the 300M back down to Florida with my partner, who’s had the car up there since March. While it was fully serviced before it left here and hasn’t been driven much up there, it has been street parked, and did have one unplanned adventure of the impound variety when he was unaware that the tag had expired. Oops. So there my be some scratch and scuff buffing to do, and likely a full going over before, during and perhaps after the 1000 mile trip back down South.
Otherwise I’ve got myself locked into a house painting project that should have been done in April before the scorching heat of Florida Summer set in. While not an overly ambitious job, it’s going to be a slow moving endeavor, as it’s got to be done between Summer storms and preferably on *somewhat* cooler days.
Nice van project! Can’t wait to read all about it. I’m going to Europe this week for the rest of July, and I’ll try to snap any interesting vehicles I see. I’ll write it up and we’ll call that my “summer project”.
For fall projects, we will launch more fully into the XJ-SC (the mom and pop tire place reluctantly agreed to work on the brakes for me). I also have my first real mechanic’s creeper and an oil change pan/reservoir on wheels, and I’ll do the Lexus 40,000 mile service myself (we’re at 39,600).
Doing a rust-oration on 1955 CJ5 I picked up this spring. So far I have fixed the non-functioning brakes. Repaired the starter and beat some of the bigger dents out. The overall plan is to stop any major rust and get it in good running condition for some leisurly evening drives around town and down the local country lanes. I have always had a soft spot for old Jeep’s but not a mud bogging kinda guy.
Get the 911 down into the 2100lb range but keep it stock appearing with no fiberglass or lexan. I have a small cache of titanium bolts that will come in handy.
When your DDs become summer projects…
Keeping my 2 high mileage GMs in DD shape have left me with little time and money to actually get on with my projects. My 300D is a long term project/hobby car. My original summer project was an 03 Outback with a classic over heating issue I was gifted by a friend who no longer wanted it. However my DD Cobalt and back-up DD Century have been nickel and diming me for the last 6 months with stupid back to back issues, I have yet to mess around with the Subaru. Add in a 1998 Snapper series 23 that I was given that needs a little love, and a Demolition Derby Honda Accord that needs to run in 2 events, my project budget is maxed out. I could raise the budget threshold, but I am used to being “comfortably thrifty”…
Need to install the wishbones (worn bushings) I bought a couple of years ago for the Jetta, rear brake shoes, and change the coolent.
Seems like a pittance compared to Paul’s camper conversion project.
I bought this. Parked in the woods since 2006. Has lichens growing on it. Looks like swamp thing. ABSOLUTELY RUST FREE.