Friday, July 31, 2015
Dent Repair FAQ
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Project Pile House- Shaving the Door handles
Saturday, July 25, 2015
HVLP Spray Guns FAQ
What size compressor do I need to run this? How many PSI? How many CFM? – This will vary from gun to gun, and even with what tip you are using on the gun. For the most part HVLP guns need more air volume, and less air pressure than a conventional gun. Eastwood offers guns that use as low as 29PSI and 4CFM
What guns are good for clear coat? – Most guns good for general finish spraying are good for clear coat too. The important thing is to size the nozzle/needle properly for the viscosity of the paint so it goes on uniformly and with the proper thickness.
Which guns can spray water based paints? – Waterborne paints tend to cause more corrosion than oil based. Guns to spray these paint are either all stainless steel internally or have coatings to resist corrosion.
Why do I get streaks in my paint jobs? –
Streaks in the spray pattern, especially heavy bands at the outside edge, is an indication of low pressure at the tip. Turn up the pressure control knob until these bands are eliminated. If the sprayer is already at maximum, you may have to use larger diameter hose or shorten the length of the hose to reduce the pressure drop. Also, make sure any paint filters in the system are clean, because there will be a pressure drop across a restricted or plugged screen. Sprayers are rated for a maximum tip size. Using a tip that is larger than the maximum size or a tip that is worn larger will cause low pressure. The tip should also be the proper size for the type of material being sprayed.
What size needle and nozzle should I use? -
Although every job may have slightly different requirements, for most materials it is best to choose a mid-size, or No. 3, needle and nozzle. If your paint is thicker than standard oil-based enamel, you may want to consider a larger size. Remember that there is no one tip that is perfect for all jobs. Needles and nozzles are quick and easy to change out. So try different sizes until you find what works best.
Why does my gun spit a small stream of paint after I release the trigger? -
The cause of the problem is that the needle is not seating properly in the seat. You will need to either purchase a kit for the gun needle and seat or you may only need to clean the needle and seat assembly. Residue or debris may cause the needle to move off to the side before seating.
How often does a gun need to be rebuilt? How can I make it last longer? -
This depends on what material you're spraying and how many gallons sprayed per day. For example, with lacquers, guns don't need rebuilding as often because lacquers don't have solids in them. In contrast, the high solids in blockfillers are abrasive and require more frequent gun rebuilding.
One way to increase gun life before repacking is to thoroughly clean your gun at the end of every day. Be sure to trigger the gun before removing the diffuser and when installing the diffuser. If you don't, the diffuser will score around the ball on the new needle which can lead to premature wear. Your gun will develop a leak and this will cause spitting.
What is tip wear? How can I compensate for it? -
Tip wear is gradual, usually over days or weeks. The operator will attempt to compensate by doing the following:
- Increase fluid pressure (an attempt to achieve an acceptable pattern). This will increase fluid delivery even more.
- Back away from the part (an attempt to achieve a larger pattern). This may result in a dryer spray pattern.
- Increase gun speed (an attempt to prevent runs and sags).
Why do I get “Orange Peel” when spraying HVLP?
“Orange Peel” happens when the paint on the surface starts to dry before paint under it. The main causes are: Paint applied too thick due to too much or too little air pressure, paint viscosity too heavy for needle/nozzle, holding the gun to close to the painted surface and weather causing the paint to dry too fast.
What is the difference between conventional style spray guns, HVLP and turbine guns?
Conventional spray guns typically operate at 40- 60PSI out of the gun. Typically they atomize paint better, but loose more than 50% of the paint to overspray. HVLP guns use more air at a lower pressure usually around 10PSI. They produce a smaller spray pattern, and don’t atomize as well, but deliver nearly 70% of the paint to the surface. Turbine HVLP guns don’t use an air compressor. They have their own turbine based air supply to deliver higher volumes of air at lower pressures.
Why am I not getting a good paint flow at the tip? –
Is the tip plugged? Is the pressure set too low? Are the filters plugged? Is the paint too thick for the gun to spray easily?
What do the numbers 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.8 mean? –
That is the size of the hole in the tip of the spray nozzle in mm. Larger holes are used for thicker paints, like primer. There is typically a corresponding sized needle for each size nozzle.
Where do you order repair and replacement parts from? –
Right here. Eastwood carries a full line of parts and accessories for all the guns we sell.
Do all these guns come with an air regulator with gauge? –
Not all of these guns include the regulator/gauge at the air inlet of the gun, but Eastwood sells them separately in both analog and digital gauge versions.
What are the signs of tip wear? –
Flow rate increases - As the tip wears, the physical opening in the tip increases. An increase from .015” to .017” (two one-thousands of an inch) may result in a 33% increase in flow rates. How quickly this happens depends on the factors listed above.
Pattern size decreases - The tip will wear out in the top and bottom portions of the tip opening. This will result in a smaller pattern size. It will continue to decrease in size as the tip wears.
What parts of the gun need periodic lubrication? -
The fluid needle packing A, the air valve packing B and the trigger bearing screw C require daily lubrication with a non-silicone/nonpetroleum gun lube. The fluid needle spring D should be coated lightly with petroleum jelly or a non-silicone grease (i.e.. lithium). Lubricate each of these points after every cleaning in a gun washer.
Can I get different sized tips for these guns? –
Eastwood carries all the parts and accessories for all the guns we sell. If different sized tips, needles and air caps are available you can get them from us.
What sort of storage does this come with? Does it have a plastic carrying case? –
Many of the guns we sell do come in storage cases. We also carry an empty case specifically for DeVilbiss gravity feed guns.
What is the best general purpose HVLP spray gun?
What’s the difference and purpose between the DeVilbiss Starting Line and Finish Line? – The Starting Line series are designed to cost less and be more entry level friendly, but they still feature all DeVilbiss’ years of spray gun expertise and will give years of reliable service. The Finish Line series is a full on professional gun designed for years of heavy usage when your livelihood depends on it.
Which guns can use the DeKup system? –
Eastwood has adapters to fit the DeKups, Gunner and 3M PPS systems for most guns.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Wire Mesh Grill On A Budget
A lot can be said about a car just from the look of the front end. If you’re looking to ditch those boring vertical or horizontal plastic slats for something that really stands out, there is an easy way to get that sporty wire mesh look without having to shell out the cash to buy a full grill. Here is a solution that will look amazing but not break the bank. I was able to achieve this by using a piece of rain gutter guard for keeping leaves and sticks out of gutters. It measures 7" Tall X 36" Wide, making it plenty large enough for most grills but for larger grills a different material will be needed. I found the gutter guard I used at a local home improvement store for about $3, it was already coated so rust wont be an issue.
Project time: 3-4 hours
Results: Priceless
What you’ll need
Materials:
Under $25
• Wire mesh rain gutter guard $ 3
(Local home improvement store)
• Contour Glazing putty $ 13
• 2 Part Epoxy
(Any will do, I used Gorilla Glue 2 Part Epoxy $4)
• 4 inch black zip ties >$2
Tools:
• Eastwood Straight Cut Tin Snips
• Flush cut, wire cutters
(Heavy duty scissors may work)
• Sand Paper
o 100-150 Grit
o 220-280 Grit
• Pneumatic die grinder or dremel
• Burring bit
• Cut off wheel
• Razor knife or exacto knife with fresh blade
• Aerosol Spray Paint of Choice (Eastwood 2K Aero)
• Flat blade screw driver
• Needle nose pliers
• Soldering Iron may be needed depending on specific grill*
• For a more professional job Eastwood Hot Stapler Plastic Repair Kit
The first step is to remove any trim or emblems you will be reusing and do not want to get damaged. For this grill I removed the center emblem using a flat blade screw driver to release the clips holding it in, I also removed the outside trim which was attached the same way as the emblem. Next I used a cut off wheel and tin snips to completely cut out the center section of the grill. I made sure to not remove too much material and damage the plastic inside of the grill, it could have caused more problems later. By doing this I just wanted to remove the bulk of the plastic, this isn’t the final cut so you do not need to go crazy with being exact.
This particular grill had its own set of challenges because the areas where the horizontal cross pieces where is now hollow which will need to be filled later.
To remove the remaining pieces of the horizontal slats I used a pair of fine flush wire cutters, these can be purchased at your local hardware store. I use these because the cutting jaws are very sharp and are great for precision work like this. be careful though because the blades chip easily so plastic and thin copper wire are about all these can be used for. try to cut as close as you can while using the wire cutters, it will save time later when sanding.
Using a pneumatic grinder or dremel with a carbide bit or a grinding stone, remove any remaining plastic. You want to take it down slightly below the surface, this will allow you to achieve a smooth finished surface once you fill the areas.
To deal with the openings left from the hollow cross pieces I used my Eastwood straight cut snips to remove a flat piece from the old plastic to be cut into triangle shapes to fill the openings.
To attach them to the grill frame I first put a piece of masking tape on the inside, the tape will hold the pieces in place. I used a soldering iron to melt the plastic back together, this way there is only one material in use. Using some form of an epoxy is always an option but you run the risk of the glue not having the ability to be sanded if it were to run on to the clean side.
With both sides now melted together the inside of the grill frame must be addressed. I tried to cut the filler pieces as close as I could to minimize the amount of filler needed. I chose to use Eastwood Contour Glazing Putty, although some of the crevasses were a little deep the structure behind them was strong enough that I didn't have to worry about the filler cracking. When applying filler to plastic make sure to roughen up and thoroughly clean the area, the filler needs something to attach to or else it will flake off. Something to watch out for when using the Contour Putty is that you can easily put too much hardener in since so little material is used.
Once the filler is on it only takes a few minutes for it to harden enough to start sanding. Using 120 Grit sand paper slowly remove the filler until it closely matches the original shape of the grill frame. I then used 280 grit paper to level off the filler to exactly match the shape of the grill. I was able to achieve this with only one pass of filler but in some cases another layer of filler and a second round of sanding will be needed to get the finish you want.
To make the wire mesh easier to work with I laid it over top of the grill and using my snips I roughly cut the shape of the grill. Doing this allows you to visualize what the grill will look like.
After trimming off the excess mesh I used the zip ties on the top and bottom to temporarily mount the mesh into position. Before using the zip ties I reinstalled the grill trim to make sure everything was set in position, in my case the grill frame did twist slightly. If I had mounted the mesh without putting the trim back on the final alignment would have most likely been off and the grill may not have fit correctly.
On the top side of the grill drilled small holes along the top edge and used the zip ties to mount the top permanently to the grill frame. Although some may say it looks tacky to have exposed zip ties the location these are in relation to where it will be on the car makes them nearly impossible to see without looking up on the grill from the ground. The zip ties also give the mesh two different types of adhesion to the grill frame, chemical with the epoxy and mechanical with the zip ties.
It's close to completion, only a few more steps! Now that the grill is held in place on the top and bottom the sides can be bent in to lock in the position of the mesh. To do this I cut the over hanging mesh into 2" wide sections, this helps to bend it around any complex curves the back side of your grill may have. Depending on your specific grill smaller increments maybe needed to form around the frame.
With the mesh bent around the grill frame it is time to attach the sides, a general purpose 2 part epoxy will work in this situation since it will not be the only way the mesh is attached. Along the bottom edge I put a drop of epoxy every couple inches to attach the mesh. The construction of this grill made the bottom edge difficult to work with but the epoxy is more than strong enough to keep it in place. The epoxy set time was only 5 minutes but I let it cure for about 20 minutes before removing the lower zip ties.
In order to paint the grill trim needed to be removed as well as the outside edge needed to be taped to cover the trim mounting holes. After two coats of matte black spray paint and about 2 hours dry time the trim can be put back on and your sporty wire mesh grill is complete! Its up to you if you want to put the emblem back on, but if you like that clean de-badged look it's done.
BEFORE
AFTER
A project like this does take a good amount of time but in the end it is all worth it. Aftermarket grills can cost several hundred dollars and most of the time they are made of inferior materials. Doing it yourself not only saves a ton of money, it also allows you to make your grill the way you want to and not have to settle for a generic design.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE GRILL FINISHED AND ON THE CAR COME OUT TO THE EASTWOOD SUMMER CLASSIC SHOW ON JULY 25TH 2015. THE OTHER 3 GRILLS WILL ALSO BE COMPLETED IN THE SAME FASION AND THE ENTIRE CAR WILL BE PAINTED WITH EASTWOOD 3:1 SINGLE STAGE URETHANE, CANYON DUSK COPPER METALLIC.
What it is like to drive a 55-year-old Ford Falcon 700 miles home to PA
The Vagabond Falcon. Driving it home.
What do you when you buy a project car? Load the car on a trailer and ferry it home? No! No way. We are car people. We are damn fools. We do not bow to logic and reason when it comes to these machines.
No! Let's get a one-way-ticket to Nashville, buy a 55-year old car and drive it 700 miles home to Pennsylvania. I bought a 1960 Ford Falcon Sedan. It has a 144ci (2.4L) straight-six engine eating though a single barrel carb. It stays not-boiling though a radiator smaller than your gaming laptop. It sends its power though a 2-speed automatic which, tragically is dripping ATF (TYPE-F) at the rate of one drop per second.
This car is crying ATF at the rate of about ½ quart every 50 miles.
Tragic? Maybe.
Know this: I am devoted to this car. This 55-year old Falcon is my ticket home to the commonwealth. It is slow. The humongous wheel needs constant steering input. The car vaporlocks after driving hard. The radio kind-of works. And the temperature gauge rules all. I stare at that barometer of feels. If the car is cool, I am cool. If it is hot, I am anxious.
Anxiety. I am still a pile of nerves. Every moment with the Falcon is critical. I pay attention to the radio very little. I've only lived with this machine for one day. I pay attention to every squeek, bump and engine surge. This car is 55 years old.
I am devoted to her. She must stay alive. She must stay lubed. I will care for this dinosaur.
Baby, we'll make it home. You made it halfway. You can do it again.
400 miles to go. 400 miles to your new home. Then you'll be healed.
Thank you r/cars and r/regularcarreviews you make this possible. Lots of videos and a miniseries on the Ford Falcon, the ultimate American regular car.
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Conclusion: 10000km in a $600 Lancia. Canada, US, Mexico. [OC]
Flying to Mexico is a Vacation, Driving to Mexico is an Adventure.
Some short dash cam vids:
Unpaved "Road" to Coco's Corner
Ignoring stop signs in Ciudad Constitución
In August of Last year I picked up a non-running 1976 Lancia Beta coupe with 94,000 Miles on the clock. I chose to drive to Mexico as I’ve visited several times on vacation but my experience was limited to the resort city and surrounding area. Top Gear has taught me that travel by road is simply the best way to see a country.
Driving in Mexico
The scenery was absolutely spectacular at every turn. Even the endless straight flat sections had a certain beauty. The highways in Baja California are similar to US Pacific Highway 101 in that they are narrow, have little to no shoulder, and follow the contours of the land. In some ways I prefer the Baja highways over the 101 because traffic is so sparse and speed limits are better described as “speed suggestions”. The highway often aren’t fenced in which can result in animals appearing on the road including legit roadrunners and coyotes. The drivers in Mexico are also considerably better than the average North American too. No RV’s or trailers clogging the roads and slower vehicles will actually let you pass. I never hit a single traffic jam in all of Mexico, not even in rush hour because traffic flows so well. I found this surprising considering I can count the number of working traffic lights I encountered on one hand. La Paz, the Capital of Baja California Sur, has a population of 215,000 but has approximately 1 working traffic light. On the highways it is common practice for the car in front to indicate left when it is safe to pass, they usually aren’t indicating left because use of turn signals is pretty rare otherwise. Another practice is if the car in front of you spots a hazard, they turn on their Hazard lights and the car behind turns on their hazards and the message is passed backwards along the chain which is absolutely brilliant.
tl;dr: Great roads, Light traffic, amazing scenery, surprise road hazards.
The Military and Safety
Due to the ongoing struggle with the cartels there are several military checkpoints along the route down. They are looking for guns, drugs and people. If you aren’t smuggling any of those then you have nothing to worry about. They search your car, maybe ask you to open a bag or unwrap a souvenir snowglobe, ask you a few basic questions and let you go. At one military checkpoint the guard was the proud owner of a 1971 Ford Falcon; He told me my car was beautiful and let me go with a handshake. My interactions with the army were very positive. They were professional and had a visible presence throughout Baja which made me feel pretty safe. Recently there has been a spike in Cartel violence in La Paz, the Capital of Baja California Sur, but when I stopped at the Walmart I didn’t get the sense that the area was any more dangerous than the next except for more troops and bigger guns at the checkpoint.
When I broke down I wasn’t worried about people coming to rob me. In fact several people stopped to offer assistance before a roaming Nogales Verges (Roaming mechanic service equivalent to AAA) spotted me and called a tow truck. The people of Baja California are nice, incredibly friendly and helpful.
tl;dr: Its pretty safe, don't let the TV tell you how to think. Don't be an idiot and bad things won't happen. Nobody is out to rob you.
The Car
When things weren’t going wrong the car was absolute bliss. It sounds nice, rides nice, corners smooth. It is perfect for the narrow curvy highways of Mexico. People everywhere commented on my car or took pictures. It’s a pretty car and folks are friendly enough that they will come up and ask you about it.
As expected, many things went wrong with the car but nothing really left me stranded because whatever went wrong was usually a quick fix or wasn’t enough to warrant stopping. Most of my problems were either electrical or related to the pound of sand that found its way into my gas tank. The starter quit on me for a few hours after I drove through the deep water but started working again, better than ever, once it had dried out. On my way to Todos Santos for surfing my car started billowing smoke from the hood which turned out to be a cracked radiator; the car also didn’t start afterwards which turned out to be a blown head gasket. Luckily when the Head Gasket went I was only 40km from Cabo San Lucas so I got a tow back into a mechanic shop I had rented space from previously to do an oil change and flush a pound of sand out of my fuel tank. Since the motor is a popular Fiat plant, sourcing out a head gasket kit was relatively easy thanks to Rock Auto. While the head was in the machine shop I took the time to rewire my turn signals, brake lights, taillights, head lights, coil circuit. I replaced the dual points and condensers, spark plug wires, and plugs as well. It was an enormous relief when the car fired up after being torn apart and through so much. It was running better than ever but it was still overheating which turned out to be a faulty thermostat which I removed. On the return journey the only hiccup was crud plugging up the carburetor but a complete tear down and reassembly takes 5 minutes. Ultimately the trip in this car would have been impossible if I didn’t know how to fix cars.
My friends in the G35 and GTI had very few problems in comparison except for the unpaved sections. If you were to replicate this journey I would recommend you take something reliable yet not so pristine you won’t be devastated by a new ding or scratch. If you take the same route as I did I would recommend anything with a ground clearance of at least a family sedan. This is some of the damage my friends lowered G35 accumulated.
tl;dr: Car broke many times but was excellent when it wasn't broke. I would recommend something more reliable than a 76 Lancia if you aren't good at fixing cars.
Cost
Gas is about $1/L, $15/day for food, Hotels with AC start at around $25/night, $20 for a local simcard+ month of data, calling, text. Its pretty cheap.
Overall the trip was a great experience and would highly recommend Baja California as a road trip destination.
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So I'm pretty pumped about this. Got invited to drive the new GT350. At Laguna Seca.
Here is my confirmation This is a ride and drive event, so I get to sit shotgun while a pro rips around Laguna and then I'll get to drive the car as well. I feel pretty damn lucky to get to experience the car like this. Hopefully they won't have too many restrictions on photography.
EDIT: I should have included this originally, the invite was sent to "Select owners of 2013/2014 GT500, Boss 302 and 50th anniversary Mustang GT's" So I'm nothing special, just happen to own the right car! Cheers
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2015 Subaru WRX Review after 6 months of ownership.
I purchased my 2015 wrx in early January, and have put nearly 12k miles on her so far yikes. I've been wanting to make a review video of my car after the first month of ownership, but I decided to wait until I had more miles and went on a few canyon runs to really test out this car. In the video I talk about the good and the bad (luckily mostly good) and I also use some of the cars I test drove before I bought "Blue" as comparison. The cars I test drove are 2008 Subaru WRX, 2014 GTI, 2013 EVO X and a 2015 STi. My online alias is; Chaosstorm, but my real name is Brendan Higgins. I'm planning on making a weekly update of the car or at the very least some mod videos, I must warn you I am a avid gamer and do post gaming content as well.
My History With Cars: When I was 4 and a half year old I started racing Quater-midgets aka goat- carts and at age of 11-15 I went pro and raced 3 classes, Modified midgets, midgets and sprint cars. Sprint cars are basically open wheel dirt racing mosters with over 700hp. At the age of 15 my parents got divorced and the racing stopped but the need for speed is still in my blood.
My instagram is @brendanandblue my 2015 Subaru WRX review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_OBdzbgboY
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It's my cake day and I don't really have any vehicles that are that interesting, but I wanted to make a post anyways. So here they are.
Bla, anyone into the same stuff as me?
Cars are: 2003 IS300 5MT Sportdesign 1989 X8 Toyota Cressida with JZX81 Hardtop components and custom widebody. Bike is: 2004 Yamaha FZ6
Thanks for looking.
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Dumb/embarrassing things you've done while you were driving?
This happened to me on several occasion. One time I was driving behind a construction truck and a lot of pebbles were falling out of the truck. One sizable pebble was coming at my windshield and based on instinct... I ducked. The other time it was a huge splash of water because the car in front of me hit a puddle, and I ducked.
Other embarrassing thing would be getting caught hitting my head with a water bottle because I was really sleepy and tried to stay awake in traffic. The drivers next to me AND behind me caught me doing that and started laughing really hard. I just pretend I didn't notice.
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Spotted a Bugatti Veyron Kit Car over the weekend at Goodguys Columbus
I'm the Community Manager for Eagle One, and part of my job is going to shows where our booth is at and take photos of the cars and atmosphere. I was at Goodguys over the weekend in Columbus and saw a crowd forming around this car. Now I have never seen a Veyron in person, but as I got closer it just seemed off. The owners son then walked up and started to wipe down the car and confirmed that it was a kit car built on a Pontiac GTO. Album:http://imgur.com/a/Lsudm
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Neighbor's beautiful E30 M3 BMW
I've been helping my neighbor sell his MK1 GTI so we went to look at it in storage the other day. He picked me up in his other classic, this E30 M3. He's a really cool Vietnam vet that loves to talk about cars and Saigon in '65. Both cars are in spectacular shape and are very OEM+. http://imgur.com/YzaaUU8
Edit: Picture of MK1 GTI http://imgur.com/BabWm5E
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Am I a bad stick driver?
Howdy /r/cars!
I've owned manual cars on and off for my whole life. It seems like I would go though a clutch about every four years or 90k miles.
I'd like to blame it on the fact that I lived/worked in Seattle, where most of the time the car is creeping up hills at 3 mph and being launched at most-to-full throttle to get out of sticky situations.
I moved to super flat Texas and now have a commute that is a bit of stop and go traffic and long stretches of freeway am wanting to upgrade from my beater Civic.
Should I even consider another manual? Would the change from hilly to flat have a great effect on the life of my clutch or am I solely to blame?
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Going to buy a '78 Camaro
I love Camaros but have no idea what to look for or how to price a restored car. Met the seller and he seems pretty knowledgable on cars. Is this worth what he's selling it for? He bumped it down to 22Grand
Can you car enthusiasts help guide me? Thank you
It's a Manual Here's his flyer
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Why I will never buy Ram again.
I purchased a brand new Ram Ecodiesel for DOUBLE what I was originally looking to spend on a used F-150/similar for hauling a trailer, because the promise of increased fuel economy seemed enough to justify it. About four weeks in, the trouble started and I have had 2 major and 1 minor issue with the service I've received since then. Over the course of a year:
The car died in my driveway about 4 weeks in after a couple of days of sluggish starts. I have it towed to Dealership A (there are 2 in this story), and am told they are unsure when they can look at it. I cannot have a loaner or a rental, they will call me in two days. After two days, I've paid out of pocket for an open-ended rental which should not have happened and started calling twice a day for a status update. Five days in, they've finally LOOKED AT IT and it's an alternator issue and will take another few days to resolve. I wouldn't have a problem with this kind of service if I had been provided a reliable means to get to work without spending MORE money. I thought that is what the 30% of the purchase price that falls off when you leave the lot is for- all the service bells and whistles on a new vehicle.
A plastic liner inside the wheel well came off around Christmas and was grinding against my tire. Not the end of the world, but annoying. Especially in a vehicle that isn't even a year old and hasn't been driven over anything or offroad EVER. I have pretty cushy driving habits for a truck driver, 11 mile commute to work and hauling my trailer <200mi every couple of months. So I call and get the part ordered at Dealership B almost 40 miles away (because Dealership A pissed me off and I learned my lesson) and set a date to bring the truck in. I come in at the scheduled time, and the part has been delayed, and no one thought to call me to let me know. There's a wasted 2 hours of my life. I get a phone call that the part is arrived, please bring the truck in tomorrow. I bring it in, and after sitting an hour, the part is broken in the box. That's another 3 hours of my life wasted because of shitty service practices. I never did get it fixed.
The check engine light came on about a month ago. The truck is just over a year old at this point. I went and had the code read back at Dealership A because it was close to my work. The tech said it was a "stored code" rather than an "active code" so he would shut it off and don't worry about it unless it comes back. Lo and behold, a week later (and the day I'm leaving for a two week trip to Europe for vacation), the light comes back on. I dropped it off this Monday with Dealership B after calling every dealership in the Houston Metro area and being told they are all 3-4 weeks behind as far as diesels are concerned. I am told I cannot make an appointment and they cannot promise to look at it that day, I just have to leave it for up to two weeks. Again, I am denied a rental. I have paid out of pocket another $175 for the privilege of leaving my vehicle that is still under warranty with the dealership, for them to take their time to look at it. That's not even actually getting it fixed. I called customer service and was told they probably won't reimburse me for the rental, and I am definitely not getting my car back for at least 5 days. Again, it's not the issue itself that is making me mad, it is how I am being treated by the company that should be bending over backwards to keep customers happy with their product. I would encourage anyone considering Ram to reconsider.
I have looked at Lemon Law and don't think I qualify. It's mostly been an obnoxious inconvenience. I would highly discourage anyone to buy Ram on the basis of the service alone- I expected some issues with the first-gen Ecodiesel, but I did not expect to pay more for having spent basically a year's salary on a problematic product.
Maybe I am biased, but when I worked in sales I bought a Jetta TDI and drove the warranty off of it in about 6 months. The fuel pump crapped out about a year later, and I was put in a loaner and about $5k in parts/labor for FREE despite the fact that they didn't have to because I was out of warranty; it was a defect and they're just good at customer service.
Edit to add that I HAVE called Ram and Chrysler customer service each time. They ARE aware of my issues with their local dealerships. I don't want free stuff, I want their representatives to handle my problem with their product in a professional, prompt and courteous way.
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Flying to Italy today. Can't wait to drive over there.
So I'm going on vacation in Italy for 2 weeks with my family. Most people say "I can't wait to eat the food!" or "The museums are so amazing!". Not me.
I can't wait to get whatever rental car they give me. Last time I got a full size Ford Mondeo wagon that was diesel, with a 6 speed stick. It ruled. OK, admittedly there are much better cars in Italy than that, but I need a car that can hold my family, so I'll take what I can get.
And the roads. The ROADS! Narrow, plenty of curves. We'll be in Campania, so we're talking AGGRESSIVE drivers. But these drivers have a code- a code of honor which involves going fast as hell, and getting out of the fast lane if you're not passing, which is glorious. You can pass anyone at any time. Someone going too slow? Go around wherever. What about the police? The only time I ever see a cop is on the Autostrada- the highway. I'm usually going around 80-100mph. I'll see lights flash far behind me. Move over, and an Alfa Romeo, painted black with red stripes and one tiny blue light on the top fires past in excess of 120mph. The Carabineri. They have no time to bother with slowpokes like me.
Being a car geek in Italy is glorious. I can't wait. My wife has given up telling me to slow down over there, since I'm barely keeping up with the flow driving like a bat outta hell.
It is my creed that I will not die in an automotive fireball over there.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Made it! Purchased 2014 Nissan GT-R at 26!
http://imgur.com/kp2N0St I managed to pick it up last Thursday after working really hard with the dealership. The stars aligned for this to be mine. When I showed up to look at it MONDAY the dealer guys told me someone had come in just before me to buy it and had two vehicles to trade and it looked like a done deal.
I was pretty heart broken because I knew I couldn't afford a brand new one, I went and looked at them anyway and while looking at them they dealer told me the deal didn't work out for the other guy and I was going to get the car.
Super exciting and the whole deal took about four days to go down and I got it home at around 11:30 Thursday night.
Edit: thanks for the financial advice guys
The event tents are temporary since I bought the car in Maryland and live in Florida it will be garage kept and I'll be driving a beater.
I'm well aware of maintenance cost, for some of you who would like to be more informed there's a wonderful section detail costs for general use vs. track use on the GTRlife forums.
I'm in the Air Force, and I get extra money because I'm a TACP which makes the car more affordable.
1k a month payment 180/month insurance w 500$ deductible through USAA
Album- http://imgur.com/a/syqIz
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When people pretend to know about cars...
This kid removed my comment after I corrected him. I'm not sure what made him think this was a Dodge but...
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Tips to tuning up your metal fab tools.
Keep it on the track people.. street racing crash near me killed 4 people and severally injured a few others
I just took delivery of my new (to me) baby!
My junior year of high school, one of my friends acquired an Arctic Silver 1997 M3 coupe. I've always wanted to own an E36 M3 ever since. Today, I finally took delivery of one of my (achievable) dream cars at the age of 22. Not a huge feat or anything impressive, but I can finally say I own an M3. I could have afforded an E46 M3 or E9X 335i or 135i quite easily, but I would have felt wrong if I didn't buy the car I vowed myself I would own one day.
I purchased the car from a very close friend of mine 2500 miles away (not the friend with the silver M3) and had it shipped to where I currently live. The past few weeks of hashing out details, scheduling a shipment and waiting on the shipment felt like what seemed like an eternity. Its actually quite a funny story on how I got to purchase his M3. I was visiting home for the summer, planning on buying a different E36 M3 from Craigslist. I went to go check it out with my close friend (who owned the M3 I just bought) and it was an immaculate Hellrot Red 1997 coupe. After talking with the seller for hours and hours, I could not justify the cost; it was modded aggressively for the track. Track suspension, full exhaust, etc. I decided I could not spend 12.5k on a track toy. It was way too hardcore for me to use as a daily driver. Defeated, we decided to walk away from it. I did get to test drive an E39 M5 that the Craigslist seller also owned though, which was a wonderful experience. Anyways, on the way back from the seller's house, I jokingly asked my friend if he had any intentions of letting go of his M3. He laughed and said he'd think about listing it for 10.5k. I told him I'd take it for 9. He laughed and eventually dropped me off. But a few days later my friend calls me and asks if I wanted to drive his car. I happily agree so he picks me up and I hop in the driver's seat. He tells me he's willing to let it go for 9.5k to me. I agreed to take it off his hands without hesitation. I've known my friend since high school. He's an absolute car nut; a BMW nut to be specific. He was the one that got me into cars. He taught me how to change oil, how to replace a radiator, how to replace brake rotors and pads... he basically taught me how to take care of a car. I remember the day he picked up the M3. He's cared for it meticulously ever since. That's why I decided to buy it without second thought. I know the history of the car.
But enough of me babbling about the car, here are some quick snaps I took! Cosmoschwarz 1997 BMW M3 coupe:
Its got Koni adjustable suspension, square set of BMW Contours on Hankook Ventus V12 tires, Dinan bits and pieces (CAI, high flow throttle body, stage 4 software, etc etc), Sparco steering wheel, and some more things I'm forgetting.
It sits next to my white 1991 Miata that I've owned for about 3 years now. I love the Miata to death. My brain tells me to sell it; my heart however, strongly disagrees. I think I'll hang on to it for a couple more months... I like to think I've made a logical step from a Miata to an E36 M3. My next achievable car is going to be an E9x M3. The V8 is irresistible. But that will be some time from now. The E36 M3 is plenty of car for me as it is.
If any of you guys are curious, here's an album of pics of my Miata:
KW V1 coilovers, 15x9 Tirerack wheels on BFGoodrich g-force sport comp 2s, frame reinforcement pieces, roll bar, CAI, midpipe exhaust, and lots of other random things I'm forgetting.
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Now I know why people like Mustangs and V8's. [x-post /r/mustang]
Right now I have a 2000 Honda Prelude (which is for sale by the way if any of you want some sweet FWD VTEC action) and I decided to stop by a dealership and check out their used lot. They had some WRX's I wanted to check out just for the hell of it. One of the sales guys my father and I know comes over and we start talking. The conversation leads to 2 red Mustangs sitting right next to each other, This Boss 302 and this Mustang GT.
I told our sales friend that I always liked the Boss 302 and he said, "they're neat cars, but I'd take that GT over that 302." I asked him why, and he said it had a Whipple supercharger strapped on top and I got quite excited on the inside.
He showed us under the hood, started up the engine, and gave it some nice revs.
Oh. My. God.
This thing was soooo angry and it sounded absolutely beautiful. I was dying to drive it but testosterone filled me would've gone wild. I'm not exactly sure how much power it puts down but he said he's able to break the wheels at 50 mph. 70 mph the car holds fairly well on hard accelerations.
One day I will drive you, you angry beast.
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Professional Dragun Snaps
Apologies for totally whoring out my 240z on Reddit, but these pics by a professional photographer are pretty nice: http://imgur.com/a/iB13T#4
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Amazon: "up to 50% off on select tools for the DIY auto enthusiast" during tomorrow's Prime Day Sale
For Amazon Prime members only, you can get a 1 month free-trial and 50% off membership + 6-month free trial with a .edu email address.
Also, Connected Car and Scan Tool products starting at 60% off, Road-trip-ready automotive products starting at 50% off.
Found at this link: http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-fire-tv-stick-will-be-24-tomorrow-for-prime-day/
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Bought a brand new car, any advice?
I bought a brand new car (2015 Scion FRS). Some background info about me: I am almost 22 and saved up $18,000 for a car. I earn 60k a year. I have 0 debts (college paid off for). Not all the money went into the car, I just did a down payment, financing but looking to pay off the car within the next 2 years, don't really want to splurge all that money into the car at once.
I'm not a car nut so I just have a few questions:
What kind of maintenance should I be looking at doing? I am aware of changing oil/oil filter after the break in period. Changing breaks etc, but I want to make a list of maintenance I should be doing so I can take good care of my car and prolong the life of it.
Anything I need to know about new cars?
My dad knows more about cars than I do, but just wanted to ask you guys for advice in case he's wrong or he missed some things.
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I feel stupid. Went to rent a car for work. They offered Mustang convertible. I took the kia....
I panicked. I joked about getting the BEAUTIFUL black mustang convertible that was sitting out front. Ha ha funny me. He starts punching in numbers. Tells me he can give me it for like $10 more. Work frowns upon upgrading so I said no. ..... literally been kicking myself in the ass for it all night. So mad I might go back in the morning before I leave for my meeting. Just pay the extra $10 myself
Damn it....
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Window tint question
i just got my windows tinted this afternoon and i noticed the rear had a group of bubbles still there. The guy said they should go away after a few days but i have had cars tinted in past and this is first I have seen this. Do you guys think they bubbles will go away? pic: http://i.imgur.com/euOhNqo.jpg
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Monday, July 13, 2015
Had my first little photoshoot for my RX-7!
Some of you may remember my last post, about a month ago, when I drove the car home for the first time...well after a few setbacks, I've got the car reliable, track tested, washed and waxed, and ready for its first mini photoshoot!
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How-To Repair a Damaged or Rusted Exhaust System
Unless your car has a factory stainless steel exhaust tubing it is only a matter of time before the elements compromise the integrity and functionality of one or many parts of the whole system. Nothing is worse than the constant ticking sound that is the most apparent symptom of a damaged or broken exhaust system. From the factory many cars are equipped with what is called aluminized steel exhaust tube, this type of tubing is much better than mild steel tubing because the infused aluminum helps resist corrosion and rust from forming. The tubes themselves do an “ok” job of resisting rust but more often than not the welds joining the aluminized pipes to mufflers, resonators, flanges, etc. are done with mild steel welding wire and are not treated to resist corrosion. The exposed steel welds become much more susceptible to rusting once they come in contact with water, salt, mud, or anything else you may drive your car through. These welds can hold for years but eventually, like all steel does, it will rust out.
You may also encounter exhaust issues when buying a used car. It is tough to know everything that has been done to a car by the previous owner/ owners. I encountered this issue when this car was purchased claiming to be “stock”. The seller was not lying because it did have the factory exhaust but what made itself very apparent is that the factory installed muffler spent some of its life off of the car. The car slowly became louder and louder until eventually it sounded as if there was no muffler on the car at all. At some point one of the previous owners must have installed an aftermarket exhaust system in place of the stock unit and when it was time to sell the car a quick repair job was done to re-attach the factory muffler. The fix was done very poorly and slowly but surely it rotted away, leaving the muffler suspended by the hangers, completely disconnected from the rest of the exhaust system.
In this article I will show you step by step how you can repair a damaged or rusted out exhaust system so it will be able to withstand the elements and be able to drive without the worry that sooner or later you will need to fix your exhaust system.
As you can see here this exhaust system was not mended once but twice, both times improperly. Once the weld from the original patch job broke a band style clamp was put over the pipe to reconnect the pieces but neither repair was a success. Fixing your exhaust system like this may work temporarily, but in the long run it will always come back to bite you. When working on cars its always best to take your time while doing repairs because when a repair is done correctly it will never appear again allowing you to be worry free when driving your car.
To tackle this exhaust repair I first had to get the rear portion of the exhaust system out from under the car. This was done be removing the factory band style clamp which is in front of the resonator and also by two hook style hangers which were holding up the muffler and exhaust tip.
With the pieces on the table I was able to get a much better look at the condition of the pipes as well as figure out the best way to fix the problem. As you can see here the rust is very bad and in order to properly fix it the entire section must be cut out an a new piece of pipe will need to be welded in.
Before I started cutting away the rusted pieces I clamped the resonator down to my workbench and held the broken pieces together in the correct orientation. I then used a metallic permanent marker and straight edge to draw lines the length of the area that needs to be replaced. Not shown in this shot, I also drew lines on either end intersecting the first lines; I then measured the distance between each of crosses and wrote them down for use later. This is very important because without these marks as a guide it is nearly impossible to make the repair and maintain the correct angles so the hangers will line up and the exhaust tip will sit square and even in the bumper cutout. (Make sure the alignment marks are far enough away from the repair area so that while cutting out the rusted pieces you won’t damage or destroy the marker lines)
After I have all my measurements down I began to cut off the old repair by using a cut off wheel on an electric angle grinder to cut off the rusted patch piece then a grinding wheel to smooth out any rust or metal that is still remaining.
With all of the old repairs removed I then cut a new piece of exhaust tubing that fills the gap between the old pieces and also allows the two pipes to slip inside. (In this case the outside diameter of the original piping was 2 ¼” and the new piece had an inside diameter of 2 ½”) this creates a small gap that can easily be filled with a MIG Welder.
Using my Eastwood MIG 175 I tacked the new piece to one of the two sides and using the alignment marks and measurements I had written down earlier I was able to fully weld both sides of the joint without worrying that the now solid pipe was in the wrong orientation.
After both joints were fully welded I went back to see if there were any pin holes in the welds. Next I took a wire brush and cleaned off the welds and surrounding metal to be painted. In order to properly paint any parts of an exhaust system you must use paint that is rated to a very high temperature, this rules out your standard off the shelf spray paint. For this job I used Eastwood’s High Temp Factory Engine Coating which is rated to resist heat up to 1400 degrees
Now after the exhaust is remounted under the car the exhaust tips sit evenly inside the bumper cutout without having to make any adjustments. This is possible because the measuring and alignment that was done earlier ensured that once the new piece of pipe was welded in the whole exhaust system would maintain its original orientation and once done appear as if it was never damaged in the first place.
Misleading Car Rental Bait and Switch that has Me a Little Annoyed
I am having some bodywork done on my 2003 Subaru Legacy and I was was told took it would between 1-2 weeks so I decided to rent a car in the meantime. At first, I was going to rent what they call a "full size" car, a Ford Fusion or similar. I was booking online and there was an option to "Upgrade your car - Premium - Chrysler 300 or similar". I figured, "What the hell I almost never rent a car and Chrysler 300's seem kinda cool so maybe I'll pay a little more to drive that for a week or so", so I decided to do it.
I get to the rental place (Enterprise) and I'm told they don't have any Chrysler 300's. I tell them that's OK I'll just go with the Fusion instead. They tell me they're also out of those too, but they have a Nissan Rogue Select they can offer me until they get more 300's in, and the salesman told he thought that would be in a day or 2. Now if you're not familiar with Nissan's models, the Rogue Select is basically a carry-over of the previous generation Nissan Rogue crossover vehicle, which was redesigned last year, and this was a base model at that, the only option I could tell was AWD.
A few days later and I call Enterprise and they tell me they still don't have any 300's or Fusions. So I figure at this point I'll just keep the Rogue Select for the rest of the time, and all I asked for was for them to put me back at the pre-upgrade price, and the lady on the phone told me they didn't want to do that because the Rogue Select rents for almost twice the rate of the 300. I thought that was odd considering the 300 seemed like a considerably more expensive car (I confirmed this later, a Chrysler 300 starts at about $32000, while a Nissan Rogue Select starts at about $20000. The Fusion has a a higher starting price too at about $22500), and after some back-and-forth, I finally convinced her to put me back at the pre-upgrade rate, but she was really hesitant to do it, saying "Just letting you know we normally don't do this but I'll do it this one time".
I think that's a little annoying.
Now while it is true that enterprise does charge considerably more to rent the Rogue Select than a 300 or Fusion (about $400 per week versus $240 or $200), I cannot figure out why that would be! I get that the Rogue is a CUV and maybe there's a "CUV upcharge" or something, and I also concede that starting prices of new cars may not exactly reflect what rental costs are, but why such a large price difference for a less-desirable (at least in my mind) car? It seems ridiculous to me that I would pay for an upgrade, find out the upgrade car is not available, be given one that is actually less expensive in the normal world, but still have to pay the upgrade price?
It's like they dangled a carrot in front of me, and said "If you pay a little more, you can have this!"
And after I say "Sure, I'll pay more for that."
They go "Oh, we actually don't have carrots, we have cauliflower instead."
And I go "But I don't want cauliflower and wouldn't've paid to upgrade to cauliflower instead of carrots! If I can't have it then please don't charge me for it."
"But cauliflower is more expensive than carrots, it doesn't matter that you didn't pay for cauliflower or why cauliflower is more expensive than carrots, this is what we're charging you."
I'm happy they did eventually put me at the pre-upgrade price, but just wish I didn't have to be so pushy about it over the phone to get it. It's like they made out to be a problem customer, but I didn't think that what they were proposing was very fair.
Thoughts? Is this a common thing rental shops do?
tl;dr: Cauliflower instead of carrots!
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Pictures from my trip to a Ferrari showroom in London
On a recent trip to London I dropped by the Ferrari showroom in Kensington. Here are some pics to enjoy.
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What tricks do you use to make yourself look like a better driver?
Call me shallow for asking but we know we all make sure we drive better when we have other people in the car. These tricks can be small things. My personal tricks are:
Avoid pot holes
Drive in such a way that you are NEVER tailgating but is never in risk of being cut off
ALWAYS put my turn signal even if changing lane quickly
never speed to much (example: 55 mph speed limit tops ill go is 70)
Love to here you guys oppinion
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Missing car in Twin Cities, MN area.
From one of my friends, keep a look out!
"Good morning, everyone. I had a case of the Mondays today as I woke up to discover my 2005 Ford Ranger was missing. I made a report with the Apple Valley police this morning, and he said what typically happens in these situations is the vehicle ends up somewhere in St. Paul or Minneapolis. So...keep your eyes peeled for a red 2005 Ford Ranger smile emoticon The license plate is 599BWK. The rear driver side fender is bashed in from a past incident. Of course, I don't know what form or shape my truck is in currently, but hopefully that helps. Thanks, all."
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Bought a 2015 Mustang GT in Guard Green over the weekend!
My dad had a 1967 Mustang and a Windveil Blue 2005 Mustang GT Convertible and I loved them both, so I figured why not look into a Mustang of my own!
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Saturday, July 11, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
Found this interesting beast parked in front of a neighbors house.
A neighbor of mine always has some interesting cars parked in front of his house but today's was a little more intriguing. Any of my fellow car enthusiasts know what this beast is?
Sorry for the very bland photos: http://imgur.com/a/6apCV
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Thursday, July 9, 2015
Side profile view of my highly modded first gen Miata
I've been working on this Miata for over 25 years. Here's a side profile view of the car as it looks now.
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So look what someone saw rolling around in Markham, Ontario...
This was on the local car spotting page on my Facebook. This was not my shot, the photo was taken by another member from the group, just thought you folks might appreciate it as well.
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Car Got Eaten By German Shepards
Car was thrashed by stray German Shepards last night. Gives new meaning to fender flaring. So pissed, this car is my passion, it's my hobby, just fuxored.
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any recommended fire extinguishers + mounts/brackets?
is there a universal fire extinguisher and mount/bracket that everyone uses? I'd like to mount it without drilling any holes. I have a few vehicles i'd like to install them in so a universal mount/bracket would be best.
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If you had to only buy one car brand for the rest of your life... Which would you choose?
Title says it all. If you could only buy cars from one certain brand (ex: Toyota or BMW) which would brand would you choose?
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I don't understand torque
I'm comparing two cars. Car A has 207 ft pounds at 1700 rpm. Car B has 207 pounds at 5200 rpm. What is the difference? I know torque is all about turning power but I don't know which is better.
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Restoring an old car
Hey, I'm nearly sixteen, so I will be driving soon. Being sixteen I will also be old enough to work more jobs so that I would have more cash. I'm interested in buying an old car (preferably an old muscle car) and maybe doing some work on it, but I have a very basic knowledge of how cars work. Is it possible that with enough reading on the internet and hard work I could make some old car run better?
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Found this under the driver seat. Help.
I'm on holiday in southern France so my options are limited, so I'll ask here. Please observe the following picture:
I'm with my gf, we drove with a Golf IV (her parents') and found this laying somewhat under the driver's seat, near the pedals. I have no idea where it comes from, or what it did. I imagine it must've made a sound when it came loose, but we didn't hear anything.
My guess is it came loose from the seat, but everything still works (forward, backward, up and down), so it might be something more vital. In which case, are there any mevhanics around here who know what this spring belongs to? We still have to drive 1200km back. So far everything still seems to work fine... But what if...
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Why no bare metal cars?
Many pre-war and post-world war 2 aircraft are simply left in the bare aluminum they came from the factory from. I understand that many cars nowadays have composite materials in the body work, so it may not work as well, but why not leave a car bare and just do a clear coat? I think that'd look pretty cool on certain cars.
(This was nore commonly found on American planes from what I can tell, but this looks quite beautiful in my opinion http://www.buzzincuzzin.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/53d.jpg)
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