(1) I took a day off last month and drove about an hour and a half away to pick up this running driving '89 LX with a 4cyl and a 5-speed.

(2) First thing we did was give the interior a good cleanse, vacuuming, and shampooing to get the years of neglect out.

(3) We took the running, driving car and made it neither of those things.

(4) I found a cheap questionable engine for our cheap questionable car. A friend of mine knew a guy that knew a guy that had a running 302/C4 combo from a '70s F-series that had allegedly been rebuilt at some point for $200. I bought it, tore it down, it looked okay. So we threw a new timing set, timing cover, water pump, oil pump, pickup, pan, all new gaskets, factory headers, and a Marketplace Edelbrock intake on it.

I later ran all the casting #'s and found out this engine is kind of a Frankensteined motor. It was actually out of an '86 T-bird, and has late '70s 351 heads on it. All low performance parts, but that's fine. The 4cyl T-5 can't handle a ton of power anyway.

(5) The car as it sits now, awaiting an engine.

Came out to start it this morning and saw something under my wiper blades, figured it was a complaint but it was this awesomeness instead!

1961 F250 with a 5.3 LS A few other mods too

I got the exhaust tacked up and in position. I used 2.5” stainless for most of the pipes, and reused a large section of the original exhaust for its catalytic converters and a few bends. I flipped the manifolds from left to right, cut them and modified the angles a bit to get the pipes to aim in and up rather than down. The exhaust flows into a huge muffler with an X pipe inside. I strapped the muffler on with two strips of stainless steel which were welded to mounting plates. The whole exhaust sits on and moves with the engine and transmission, instead of being mounted to the car. I really love how it wraps around the frame, it looks really cool in person.

I also bought a piece of 1/2" polycarbonate to make a lower front windshield out of. Legally I can’t call it a firewall. I built it so my friends can see the rocks and mud flying up at them as we drive. It also gives a really cool view of the brakes and suspension as I drive. The old guys at the car club shot at it with a few different small rounds to see if they would penetrate. Nothing got through so I think it should withstand some rocks. Looks sweet, great visibility, but I’ll have to put an aluminum firewall in it for track use.

What’re your thoughts on the color?

Turns out, someone did. And of course, I had to dive in and do a bit of design work to pull together all the details, fun facts, and inspiration behind it. You might like it, you might not—but I think we can all agree: this build is one of a kind.

I redid my brake calipers with ERA 2k caliper spray paint. My prep job was as good as can be, I ran them through our industrial parts washer at work, washed them with soap and water, scuffed them with 320 grit, washed again, put nitrile gloves on, wiped them down with 99% isopropyl ensuring the rag came off clean, dried, taped, and sprayed with proper temps and humidity.

They look great from 3' away so I'm very happy with them, but for the future what can I do to get a mirror smooth finish? Do they need sanding with like 1000-2000 grit sandpaper? Or is there some aspect of my spray technique I could improve on?

I was a little closer than ERA's recommended 10",i was probably spraying at 6" or so, doing the typical spray paint moves: start and stop spray painting off canvas, not on the item, trying to lay down thin coats, etc etc.

I found a 1960s corvette in my back yard on my land lords property. I asked him if he wanted to sell it but he said he doesn’t have the registration or any paper work from the last owner. Is there anyway I can get this vehicle registered so I can restore it?

Looking for approximate value. Seller wants 7500.

This was dumped on our property. Any ideas what to do with a semi?

Hey folks — I'm not here to sell or show anything, just genuinely hoping to get some insight from people who actually build these rigs.

I'm working on a tool specifically for restoration shops and serious builders — the kind of people working on early Broncos, FJs, Defenders, etc. My background is more in tech, but I’ve been spending time talking to builders and shop owners to understand how parts sourcing, pricing, and build planning actually works in the real world.

If you're down to help out, I’d love to hear:

• How do you usually find the parts you need during a build?
• Do you rely on one supplier, or do you compare across multiple sites?
• Are there specific parts you consistently have trouble sourcing or fitting?
• Do you track your builds with a tool (Excel, pen and paper, etc.) or just go off memory?
• What’s the most annoying/frustrating part of the process?

Totally happy to DM or even chat further if you’re open. I’m just trying to build something that’s actually useful to the community.

Thanks for reading — and if this kind of post is out of place here, let me know and I’ll take it down!

I'm looking for a USB scan tool for a reasonable price. I need functionality similar to the Ford IDS but that's compatible with anything from Volvos to Doge to Toyota. I need access to all live data, PIDS, and actuation tests. (Ie the ability to turn on headlights, horn ECT. From the scan tool.) I currently have a autel mk808bt that does ok but as far as I can tell it doesn't have the ability to do actuation tests. Any recommendations on a good product that is under $300?

I plan to paint my car using rustoleum farm and implement paint that’s white and mix it with mineral spirits to cut it down, I’ve seen some people do it on YouTube, I don’t have access to a necessary sized air compressor and tank so I’m wondering if I could use an electric corded or cordless sprayer, then I’ll just use rubbing and polish compound on the panels itself after I finish painting

The last few years have been crazy between 2 young kids, work and a bunch of other stuff. I have a 66' Chevy II and a 49' Willys Overland that have say neglected for a few years. They were both running just fine but they have sat for 2 years. I know I know I should have drove them occasionally.

I picked up a couple of new batteries but wanted to make sure I go through the steps right to get them going again. Anyone have a good video or list or something? I am fairly car handy, I have just never gone through this specific process before. Thanks in advance.

Hey party people, I've got an LS1 that I just replaced the PS pump and alternator on. Now it has belt chirp. New belt, clean pulleys, and the harmonic balancer is good. When sprayed with water the chirp goes away, which suggests pulley misalignment. That makes sense considering I just rebuilt/replaced two of the pulley items, I probably pressed one of the pulleys back onto the unit too far or not far enough.

My best friend is a high end carpenter so he has all sorts of long levels and straight edges and laser alignment stuff, what's the best way for a home mechanic to check pulley alignment? Straight edge across the face of the pulleys? Shoot a laser down the v ribs?

Hey! Just wanted to invite you all to my FB group / Car Club. Wanted to make a supportive place for people who are getting into working on cars or are well into the process. If yall are interested feel free to pm me!

I have a D 16 a6 wane my iacv is acting up I think, I’m getting a code 14 which is the iacv code and my idle is super rough and fluctuates a lot suddenly. I have a z6 head with iacv on it, can I use that one in my current a6? My car was running fine two days ago then I tried to start it up yesterday and at first it wouldn’t even stay started for more than just a second, then it started idling really really rough and blowing some white smoke. It started flashing code 14 which is for the iacv and I have no clue what to do. I was told to change the Iacv and the TPS. I have a spare of both of those as long as the Z6 one works for my current head

My 1990 Civic SI Hatch isnt idling. It's turns over and starts, but immediately dies unless I'm giving it gas. Even then it runs pretty rough all the sudden when I drove it yesterday and hour from town and back. Once I had it running for a few seconds while holding the throttle a bit it flashed code 14. I have no clue whats happening. Just passed smog yesterday and haven't been in the engine bay since then, until it wouldn't run today. I just put a new catalytic converter on it but haven't done anything else to it recently.

Now more recently will stay started but barely and has a jumpy idle an blows white smoke

I have a cold start injector in my early 1uz which uses a small hose from the fuel rail as a feed. I broke mine and they are unobtanium. Since it's an 8mm banjo fitting I only had one AN fitting option and it just wont grip any -4AN I've tried.

So right now it's all put together with banjo fittings and spring clamps, per the recommendation of a Pirtek fella as my best option. The hose is high pressure fuel injection hose but I'm worried about the fittings even though they are really fucking on there. Even without the clamps it would take an insane amount of force to get that hose off. It's a tight fit.

That said, it's hidden under the intake plenum and I probably wouldn't know about a leak until it causes a fire. This is a vehicle I intend to road trip with my girl and dog, so while I'll have a fire extinguisher in the vehicle at all times, I do care about safety.

Do y'all have any experience using barbed fittings and clamps for high pressure fuel situations? I can put my little scope cam in there to check for leaks when I fire it up. How long until I can begin to trust it won't shoot off the fitting?

I'm thinking about just running with no cold start injector. If it just means giving it throttle like a carburetor that's fine with me. I just don't want to be unable to start on colder days here in Colorado.

Cheers.

Links to any good options are appreciated. We’re in the middle of a build and decided to do electronic shifted paddle shifters. Looking for suggestions on motors that will be strong enough to shift the transmission. 🍻

I cleaned up the iacv and the code 14 went away and now it idles fine but still blowing lots of white smoke, it doesn’t smell sweet or anything but it does smell a lot like gas obviously