So as of this past week I have a new issue–the car violently shakes when engaging first gear (or reverse). My Dad convinced me it’s a motor mount issue. I worry that this may have happened when I pushed the car off of the scissor jack while trying to work on the audio system. The car ended up falling on the driver’s side front (left front) rotor rather abruptly so it may have.. Read More
Weather has caused delay in more ways than one. The weather this past weekend was bleak and wet. My original plan was to use wheel cleaner to try to restore what is left of the aluminum alloy Motegi RT5 18 inch wheels I inherited with this project. I did play with the idea of ordering new 17s but I simply did not want to invest in the wheels yet. It certainly is not.. Read More
Something that my older brother got me into in my teen years was car audio, namely in the realm of bass/subwoofers. Back in the early 90s, cars were manufactured from the dealerships with crappy paper cone woofers. It is insane how terrible these speakers really were–it was like the manufacturers made speakers out of construction paper. In my experience, bass in automobiles just didn’t happen off the lot–it was all aftermarket. I seem.. Read More
This post is going to be a deviation from the norm. I want to talk about a short interlude track from Final Fantasy XIII that has struck a chord with me since I first heard it called “A Brief Respite” composed by Masashi Hamauzu. This song is potentially a track that is unknown to many Final Fantasy enthusiasts that in contrast I frequently remember and want to listen to. Final Fantasy XIII follows.. Read More
The car is cleaner both inside and out. Is it perfect? No–still some dog hairs around, but no bad smells! I bought a set of Craftsman brand toolboxes yesterday and was surprised to find that they fit in the Civic hatchback without issue. I heaved them in there and drove back while the rear suspension did all the heavy lifting. I spent all day yesterday rearranging and organizing my tools. My old toolbox.. Read More
Let me start off with–the leak is fixed! It took us (Dad and I) four days what Toyota said would take 5-6 hours, but we have our reasons. We ran into a couple snags… The passenger side motor mount had a bolt that would just spin–we couldn’t take it out. This caused access issues down the line because everything in this 2ZZ-GE motor is jam packed in the engine bay. My Dad managed.. Read More
I am finding free time to be a rarity these days as work demands increase. That being said I had planned to publish an update on newly named Project CELICA as replacement parts begin to trickle in. I may rename the car at some point but as of now, Project CELICA. I can’t wait until I can at least wash it and detail it as the previous owner’s dog hair is layered throughout.. Read More
One week ago, after much research and deliberation, I made a decision to buy a “project car” and here it is: 2003 Toyota Celica GT-S. I’m going to go into rather obnoxious detail into this experience both for fun and for introspective purposes. This seed was implanted by my Dad. I don’t even know if he anticipated that his offhand remark of looking at project cars would initiate such a snowball effect like.. Read More
On 1/31/2021, I attended my second event at the FIRM Starke racetrack referred to as “Winter Track Attack 2021” hosted by Honda Meet. Last time I sat shotgun as a couple of colleagues of mine made their rounds on the ~1.5 mile track. This time I was able to confirm track access and in turn proceeded to burn through my brake pads and tires with a huge grin on my face. My friend/coworker.. Read More
The Nissan GT-R is a worldwide icon as it pertains not only to Japanese sportscars, but sportscars in general. The Nissan GT-R evolved from the Nissan Skyline GT-R which was produced and sold exclusively in Japan since 1969. My experience with the model began with the R32 and R33 Skyline GT-R as it was an optional vehicle in Gran Turismo (1998) for the original Playstation video game console. The cars were all-wheel drive.. Read More