May have just gave up on the little car.  Working on the brakes today. Pissed me off.

Bonfire may be in its future.

Didn't burn it.  Even tho its a mess and needs a lot of work, i decided id miss it. Its been with me nearly 25 years.  But instead of fighting again, last week i decided to have it taken down to the local shop and have them put the parts back on. Even followed the truck there. Afterward, it sort of feels like a fail.. I never take my cars in, i even rebuild and machine the heads myself.  ( other than a brand new one, due to warranty cancellations if you sneeze on it on your own )

Partial rant too.. 

Man i hate modern cars. It gets cold, battery dips a bit ( -3 the other evening ). Then the computer freaks out and you cant even start the freaking thing until you disconnect it totally for a reset.  And now i have to dig the car out the rest of the way so i can get int the hood and be able to stand there to futz with it.   Good thing we don't use that one often.  

Oh, and did i mention the battery is inside the freaking wheel well? Whomever thought of that should be shot.   Sure, i can unplug it from inside the engine compartment but if you wanted to bring it in for warmth/trickle charge or replace, its a nightmare. 

Almost as bad as when they replaced a 10 dollar fuse box, with a 300 dollar digital control box.. that of course will go out on you and kill the car when you least expect it.  ( first experience of that was with my mother's PT cruiser.. .the 2nd time it died, we sold the car )

Oh and the little car may come home in a week or so.. Seems one of the replacement parts i ordered had the wrong piston ( long story ) and had to order a new caliper for one corner. ETA mid week. Grrr. Good thing i wasn't doing the work this time, its all i need is to have it one more time piss me off when im underneath it.

Nice to have the little car back on the road. 

Still things i want to do to it ( like put the AC back in.. ), and still gotta find a place i can park it for a couple of weeks to do body work/paint so it does not look like trash. But it moves.. 

"darn, that bolt fell out of my hand...  not a big deal i will just.....   great..it never hit the ground" 

I normally can, but when it gets into the darkness ..  its hard. Have to do it by sound.

( in that last case i did find it. It hit the frame and rolled down hill a bit. but still annoying )

Wed Mar 12 2025 20:38:00 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

It takes many years of tinkering with mechanical stuff before you develop the skill of following a dropped part down with your eyes.

Oh, along those lines, back in the early 80s i bought a used car. A 73 2 door Cadillac Calais.  If you are familiar with them they have a HUGE front end .. there is a large open space between the radiator and the front of the grill.

I had to do some work on it a few months later that involved removing the radiator to get into the grill area easier than removing body panels..( tho its been so long i dont even remember why now ) found a ratchet, wrench, screwdriver and some sockets all in there..   previous owner dropped them there is my guess, or a mechanic he took it to at some point.  Being that the 'floor' is plastic, i never really heard them rattling around.

"bonus tools" 

Wed Mar 12 2025 20:38:00 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

It takes many years of tinkering with mechanical stuff before you develop the skill of following a dropped part down with your eyes.

I had a couple of cars..  One required you to remove the alternator to pull one plug. annoying.  The next one i had, according to the factory you had to pull the engine to get to one. Yes, pull the engine.

After i did some eyeballing, i hard turned the wheel, then drilled a 1" hole in the wheel well liner ( was still real steel back then, not plastic ),  instant access.   Idiots.   

Thu Mar 27 2025 13:12:03 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar 

Ah yes, the old rear wheel drive vehicles with gigantic engine compartments that you could practically stand inside while you're working. Sure beats the modern ones where you have to put it on a lift just to change the spark plugs.