I completely forgot about this blog. I want to sincerely apologize to my reader. I actually forgot about this blog until I saw that my article is about to be published in the Brickline - I forgot I plugged this very site!
Just want to let anyone know I'm still alive. I've just received a promotion and real life is more important than car life, sadly.
The body panels for the Bricklin have been ordered. Terry Tanner at Bricklin Parts and Services is working on them. A lot of work has been done but there's a lot more to go. It's amazing that it's been more than a year since I started the project.
The Allante is still running great, though I haven't had the chance to take it out lately. Seattle rains mixed with my new hectic schedule make it tough. I haven't even taken the hardtop off this year.
The Mazda3 and Deville are still (somewhat) reliable daily drivers. Haven't had much of an issue with either.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sorry for the Lack of Updates.
I've been real busy with real life which cuts into my time to get online and ramble about the Bricklin's progress. I apologize for that, but rest assured progress is being made (in fact, much more than this little snippet will attest to).
OK. A long day of work followed by a long day of working on the Bricklin.
1) Distributor cap and new spark plug wires done.
2) Installed new thermostat. The previous owner installed a 160 degree one (seriously?). Back up to 180.
3) Had to drill and tap some new paths for the radiator screws. The new ones are 5/16, except the bottom left (a fun surprise if the new owner has to change out the radiator, if I sell).
4) Plugged up the valves. Now, the air will only push the doors up; gravity will let them shut (I honestly don't know why the original plan was to have them pneumatically close...)
5) Went to NAPA to pick up belts. A warning to all - DON'T BLINDLY TRUST WHAT YOU REAL ON AN INTERNET FORUM. The belts I wrote down from the Bricklin Forum were completely wrong - I had to drive home to get the old ones to verify!
6) Ordered new radiator hoses while at NAPA. They'll be here Monday, hopefully with my new air compressor and Mazda Pulse Generator.
7) Installed new belts - Power Steering, A/C, and Alternator (Smog pump has been removed - no emissions for me). After that, it was time to call it a day.
Overall, the mechanicals are almost there. I just have to reinstall the radiator and fan, dial in the carb, and hunt down any vacuum leaks (which I'm sure will be plenty). Next week I'll finalize the pneumatic system and then it's back to the interior (and my Corbeau seats should ship "first thing next week" according to the seller)!
After that, we just wait for the body panels. Hopefully the entire thing will be done by the Summer.
OK. A long day of work followed by a long day of working on the Bricklin.
1) Distributor cap and new spark plug wires done.
2) Installed new thermostat. The previous owner installed a 160 degree one (seriously?). Back up to 180.
3) Had to drill and tap some new paths for the radiator screws. The new ones are 5/16, except the bottom left (a fun surprise if the new owner has to change out the radiator, if I sell).
4) Plugged up the valves. Now, the air will only push the doors up; gravity will let them shut (I honestly don't know why the original plan was to have them pneumatically close...)
5) Went to NAPA to pick up belts. A warning to all - DON'T BLINDLY TRUST WHAT YOU REAL ON AN INTERNET FORUM. The belts I wrote down from the Bricklin Forum were completely wrong - I had to drive home to get the old ones to verify!
6) Ordered new radiator hoses while at NAPA. They'll be here Monday, hopefully with my new air compressor and Mazda Pulse Generator.
7) Installed new belts - Power Steering, A/C, and Alternator (Smog pump has been removed - no emissions for me). After that, it was time to call it a day.
Overall, the mechanicals are almost there. I just have to reinstall the radiator and fan, dial in the carb, and hunt down any vacuum leaks (which I'm sure will be plenty). Next week I'll finalize the pneumatic system and then it's back to the interior (and my Corbeau seats should ship "first thing next week" according to the seller)!
After that, we just wait for the body panels. Hopefully the entire thing will be done by the Summer.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
New Tools and Some More Progress...
As Black Friday is upon us, I headed to Lowe's to pick up some nuts and bolts. I have taken off the vacuum operated headlight mechanism - they are to be replaced with small air cylinders which do the same job. Might as well upgrade everything to air if I'm going this route.
After picking up some bolts, I eyed a 170+ Kohler tool kit for $100. However, I decided to hop by the Home Depot to see if they had anything better, figuring I could just hop by again and pick up this unit if necessary. Home Depot had a Husky brand 252-piece socket and wrench set on sale for only $70. Sold!
I really only need the sockets - I have a very bad habit of not putting everything back where it belongs at the end of the night. I'll be sure to be extra diligent with this one, so I won't be in a pinch when I need a certain socket.
The kit also comes with a ridiculous amount of Alan wrenches and a few regular wrenches. Not as necessary, but still nice to have. A little bit in the future I'd like to pick up some ratcheting wrenches, but for now this is more than enough tools to (hopefully) get me through the project.
On another note, the Bricklin is coming along nicely. I coated the birdcage with some POR-15 and wired up just about all of the pneumatic stuff (compressor, air lines, valves, and mose of the cylinders) and it's just about ready to plug and play. I've been holding off on buying the replacement body panels because of a possible money issue, but it looks like it's been resolved so I'll hopefully be purchasing those this week.
On another note, Terry Tanner's air headlight system features single-acting air cylinders which spring-retract. Though I have some three-way valves which could handle the headlights, I'd really like to buy some double acting cylinders so that all the air parts could operate from the same valve block. Howvers, I'd have to modify the mounting brackets and purchase some new cylinders (probably not expensive, but time consuming!). What are your thoughts?
After picking up some bolts, I eyed a 170+ Kohler tool kit for $100. However, I decided to hop by the Home Depot to see if they had anything better, figuring I could just hop by again and pick up this unit if necessary. Home Depot had a Husky brand 252-piece socket and wrench set on sale for only $70. Sold!
I really only need the sockets - I have a very bad habit of not putting everything back where it belongs at the end of the night. I'll be sure to be extra diligent with this one, so I won't be in a pinch when I need a certain socket.
The kit also comes with a ridiculous amount of Alan wrenches and a few regular wrenches. Not as necessary, but still nice to have. A little bit in the future I'd like to pick up some ratcheting wrenches, but for now this is more than enough tools to (hopefully) get me through the project.
On another note, the Bricklin is coming along nicely. I coated the birdcage with some POR-15 and wired up just about all of the pneumatic stuff (compressor, air lines, valves, and mose of the cylinders) and it's just about ready to plug and play. I've been holding off on buying the replacement body panels because of a possible money issue, but it looks like it's been resolved so I'll hopefully be purchasing those this week.
On another note, Terry Tanner's air headlight system features single-acting air cylinders which spring-retract. Though I have some three-way valves which could handle the headlights, I'd really like to buy some double acting cylinders so that all the air parts could operate from the same valve block. Howvers, I'd have to modify the mounting brackets and purchase some new cylinders (probably not expensive, but time consuming!). What are your thoughts?
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Progress.
After a long absence, finally some progress has been made on the Bricklin project. Yesterday, we removed the rear bumper to take a look at the onboard air tank, which is holding air. Unfortunately, we didn't have all the connections to hook up the pneumatics. I'll have to go to Airtronics and pick up the rest on Monday.
Since we couldn't hook up the wiring and whatnot, instead we decided to crack open the POR-15 and paint the steel safety cage (which I've been putting off for literally weeks!). Though there's still a little more to paint, the top and A-pillars are completely painted, as well as the front area right underneath the windshield.
It looks more complete now, but there's still a lot more work to go...
Since we couldn't hook up the wiring and whatnot, instead we decided to crack open the POR-15 and paint the steel safety cage (which I've been putting off for literally weeks!). Though there's still a little more to paint, the top and A-pillars are completely painted, as well as the front area right underneath the windshield.
It looks more complete now, but there's still a lot more work to go...
Saturday, October 16, 2010
My Sister's New Saab
This blog entry won't cover any of my ongoing project, or even one of my own cars, for that matter. Just an update on my sister, who recently got in a car accident and had to get a new ride. Here's what she ended up with:
A 2001 Saab 9-5.
I don't know too much about Saabs, save for their "Born from Jets" tagline and that Jesda (on the CadillacForums) owns an older Saab. But she likes it, and that's all that really matters...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Hiatus?
Holy crap, I haven't updated since the end of June!
I haven't been as gung-ho about the Bricklin project as I should be. I could lay down the reasons, some of which are my own and others are on my partner in this project. I'm not harboring resentment, but I don't feel his work ethic is quite up to snuff.
I had a talk about this the other day with a good friend of mine. Seems I'm angrier about this than I'm letting on. I was quite angry. Sean is good at what he does but is also ridiculously unreliable.
Besides the cool Nexus gauges and body panels, every big purchase has been made for the car. It's only a matter of getting off our butts and doing the work. The problem is, my helper has become a bit flakey of late, so I'm considering alternative methods of getting this project finished.
I'm having talks with a local interior shop about helping out with the process. It seems easier to pay a bit more money up front and actually get the ball rolling.
Other than my problems, the Bricklin is coming along nicely when it gets worked on. We have the back interior panel and rear side panels completed and they actually look good. All that's left for the hatch area is the rear center console, and then we can work our way to the front (thankfully, not much work is needed on the dash!). Nearly the entire air system is ready to go.
And to think, I originally wanted to be done in August...
I haven't been as gung-ho about the Bricklin project as I should be. I could lay down the reasons, some of which are my own and others are on my partner in this project. I'm not harboring resentment, but I don't feel his work ethic is quite up to snuff.
I had a talk about this the other day with a good friend of mine. Seems I'm angrier about this than I'm letting on. I was quite angry. Sean is good at what he does but is also ridiculously unreliable.
Besides the cool Nexus gauges and body panels, every big purchase has been made for the car. It's only a matter of getting off our butts and doing the work. The problem is, my helper has become a bit flakey of late, so I'm considering alternative methods of getting this project finished.
I'm having talks with a local interior shop about helping out with the process. It seems easier to pay a bit more money up front and actually get the ball rolling.
Other than my problems, the Bricklin is coming along nicely when it gets worked on. We have the back interior panel and rear side panels completed and they actually look good. All that's left for the hatch area is the rear center console, and then we can work our way to the front (thankfully, not much work is needed on the dash!). Nearly the entire air system is ready to go.
And to think, I originally wanted to be done in August...
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Air Hatch.
Reusing the old unit, I have successfully mounted the hatch on two air cylinders, that will convienently use the same system as the doors (and everything else involving pneumatics, for that matter). We've also found an excellent switch panel to hook up all the electronics. It's quite nice, and also features a separate unit that can be remotely mounted. It's really designed to be mounted in the engine bay to turn on such things as ground effects, but it will work perfectly for the Bricklin.
The idea is, with the press of a button the hatch will open. Press another (convienently mounted at the rear of the car) and the whole rear console will slide forward. Press one more and the storage compartments pop open. Yet another button will activate the ambient lighting. If I get in the driver's seat and realize everything isn't where it's supposed to be, I can just hit the switches from the driver's seat and set everything right again.
Speaking of the interior modifications, the newly mounted cylinders require a bit of reworking of the interior panels. Always nice to find that something doesn't quite fit as originally intended.
Other than that minor setback, everything's going well. Sorry for the lack of updates; I have another (non-automotive) project in the works that's been taking up my time when not working on the Bricklin. More on that if or when it pans out.
The idea is, with the press of a button the hatch will open. Press another (convienently mounted at the rear of the car) and the whole rear console will slide forward. Press one more and the storage compartments pop open. Yet another button will activate the ambient lighting. If I get in the driver's seat and realize everything isn't where it's supposed to be, I can just hit the switches from the driver's seat and set everything right again.
Speaking of the interior modifications, the newly mounted cylinders require a bit of reworking of the interior panels. Always nice to find that something doesn't quite fit as originally intended.
Other than that minor setback, everything's going well. Sorry for the lack of updates; I have another (non-automotive) project in the works that's been taking up my time when not working on the Bricklin. More on that if or when it pans out.
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