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Das Volk posted:Right around the time I joined SA I was deciding what direction to take my career, and someone had the foresight to remind me that whatever hobby/interest I chose as a career would ruin it for me. Same thing here. About ten years ago I was seriously considering going to a tech school and getting an ASE cert, until I joined a forum called FlatRateTech.com and all the members there effectively talked me out of it  I did end up working part time for a Miata specific shop however, and it pretty much solidified my decision not to get into auto repair for a living.
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Dec 12, 2013 22:57
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I get to play with exotics at work sometimes too, and I hate my job.
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Dec 12, 2013 23:22
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VikingSkull posted:I get to play with exotics at work sometimes too, and I hate my job. I told Don the other day that for my next job I want to be a stunt driver. I want to get paid to break them for a change. Speaking of which. My new 911 never came in today so my primer on German hydraulics will have to wait. Meanwhile...  Work continues on rewiring the Manta.  Daddy needs a drink.
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Dec 13, 2013 02:59
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I think I'm in love.
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Dec 13, 2013 04:51
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This makes me sad. And twitchy. You're a brave man.
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Dec 13, 2013 15:38
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This is an incredible thread. You could take 1000 pictures of that thing and I'd sit here and drool at every single one.
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Dec 13, 2013 16:13
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I knew you were into this sort of thing from what I've read about you (yeah, you're pretty famous in the auto world  ) but I didn't realize to what extent. This is really cool. Thank you for taking the time to share it.
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Dec 13, 2013 19:49
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I'm hard, I don't know why.
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Dec 13, 2013 19:53
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I love the "I'm a mechanic" thing. I work at a shop that restores classic Porches (nothing as crazy as the OP's place), but when people ask me what it is that I do, I generally just say "I'm a mechanic". There are times when I say that around friends who know what I do, and they are the ones to make a big deal about it. Its fun going into work knowing you have to throw a 74 Carrera RS on the dyno or whatever, and then you get there and its just another day in the shop. Loving this thread.
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Dec 13, 2013 20:03
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Oh man I remember James Woods threads back in the day. I poo poo a brick seeing his name again after this long. F5 James Woods, that's some powerful writing in the tumblr you linked in your profile. Yours?
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Dec 13, 2013 20:54
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Nothing cures a hangover like power sliding a 911.  I love the 911 for the same reason I love the Corvette and that is the sheer stubbornness of the loving thing. Now between you and I, putting the engine mass of a car behind the rear wheels isn't the best idea ever. But Porsche has been sticking to their guns and overcoming this problem with brilliant loving engineering. The best thing about a 911 is that for everyday driving it's just a normal car and feels like one too. When power is applied it accelerates like no other despite it's small displacement. Unlike a Ferrari it isn't in danger of exploding every time you turn the windshield wipers on. It has a fair amount of over the range power but that's not what sets it apart from other cars. It's when you first throw it into a turn at high speed and that rear weight just points your cock directly into the apex weather you like it or not that you realize you're behind the wheel of a 911. Sadly the only thing more stubborn than a Porsche designer is a Porsche owner. Got forbid you try and improve a fifty year old design by I don't know, cooling the engine with water and the Porsche purists freak the gently caress out. Unfortunately this one has a inoperable convertible top. I was about to whip out by big mechanic dick and show you how to service the hydraulic system on one of these fuckers which was the issue with both of these.  However it seems that the issue this time is electrical so I'm waiting to get some work hours approved before I start tearing it apart. By the way, if your 996 ever has a dead battery here's how to jumper it. The 911 is one of an alarming number of cars these days that has an electronically actuated bonnet release which is incidentally where the battery is. To remedy this you go to the fuse box.  Then you attach the ground of your jumper to the door hinge and the positive to this little pull out red tab here.  I showed the sales manager this trick today when he was trying to show the car to a customer and he looked at me like I was loving Einstein. Maker Of Shoes posted:James Woods, that's some powerful writing in the tumblr you linked in your profile. Yours? Yes it is. Totally forgot about that. James Woods fucked around with this message at 12:15 on Dec 24, 2013 |
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Dec 14, 2013 02:18
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quote:The lady at GM customer service then says that it may have come from another plant. I then inform her that this and every Corvette are all made in the same plant in Kentucky Who doesn't know this? James Woods posted:
Is that a telephone patch panel in a car?
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Dec 14, 2013 02:29
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VideoTapir posted:Is that a telephone patch panel in a car? It's more like the heavier-duty industrial version of a breadboard, but either way, that's some  poo poo to have in a car. I suppose it may actually make tracing/replacing wires easier but my god that's one spaghetti-looking clusterfuck.Your job's pretty cool. It must be nice to work on cars that seem pretty well maintained and not all gross and grimy, at the same time I can imagine some of the owners being a little fanatical in a bad way. Then again, I'm sure you get some total nuts at any shop.
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Dec 14, 2013 05:28
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James Woods posted:
Very early model year 996s did not have this. In all 996s I think you can reach the frunk release cable through the wheel well. EDIT: I don't know which way is front. 
Throatwarbler fucked around with this message at 10:17 on Dec 14, 2013 |
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Dec 14, 2013 10:11
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So I came in early today to have a meeting with a customer but he never showed. Still feeling a little raw from the night before I decided to take a nap in a half million dollar car.    Those carbon fiber buckets are more comfortable than they look. Some pornography.    Safety tips for putting a baby seat in your McLaren SLR. 
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Dec 14, 2013 21:49
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James Woods posted:So I came in early today to have a meeting with a customer but he never showed. Still feeling a little raw from the night before I decided to take a nap in a half million dollar car. Thanks so much for the update. This thread is fantastic. I have a very good job and I now feel like poo poo about it.
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Dec 15, 2013 04:53
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VelociBacon posted:Thanks so much for the update. This thread is fantastic. I have a very good job and I now feel like poo poo about it. I second that emotion. I work at a large telco, where I'm responsible for the well-being of the IT applications used by our wholesale customers (just about every other telco and ISP in the country). There are millions at stake every time something breaks down. With the portfolio of applications we use, one could say that I also work with vintage, hand-built and extremely temperamental creations. And I would much rather have James Wood's job 
KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Dec 15, 2013 |
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Dec 15, 2013 10:55
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Sleeping off your hangover in a McLaren definitely qualifies as "livin' the dream". Thanks for the update! Saw one of these in the wild not too long ago, it sounds completely absurd.
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Dec 15, 2013 11:51
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This thread is awesome, that Manta is awesome. I also just say "I fix cars" when people ask what I do. I'm positive that they picture me in greasy striped cover-alls with a hanky sticking out of my back pocket. I went in an out of questioning my decision to become an auto tech but having gone though the recession and ending up in better shape than I was before and now working at a Porsche dealer a half a block away from the beach, I'm actually pretty drat happy. Being a tech sucks in the beginning but if you're good at what you do it can be a blast. Not quite as cool as sleeping off a hangover in a McLaren but on Thursday I spent my lunch hour napping on the side of the freeway in a brand new 911 Turbo S that ran out of gas when I went to check if it's acceleration was up to par. The reason it took so long for rescue was because a customer had taken delivery of the other one and ran out of gas on the freeway a few miles up the 5 in the other direction. I have to wonder what the people heading North thought with that stretch of road being littered with derelict Turbos. We're waiting on our 918 now. I should just post the pictures in here since this seems to be the awesome cars thread.
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Dec 15, 2013 20:27
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Bugdrvr posted:We're waiting on our 918 now. I should just post the pictures in here since this seems to be the awesome cars thread. Holy gently caress now I'm the jealous one. That car excites me in ways I thought no hybrid could.
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Dec 15, 2013 20:41
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James Woods posted:I'm a professional exotic automobile restorer and independent Bavarian sports car specialist. I'm seeing a lot of cars from Stuttgart, but I've yet to see a single Bavarian car in this thread, mister. 
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Dec 15, 2013 23:48
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HotCanadianChick posted:I'm seeing a lot of cars from Stuttgart, but I've yet to see a single Bavarian car in this thread, mister. Well I'm yet to show you my independent Bavarian auto shop which I haven't visited in a week much to my Foreman's consternation. I won't likely be over there again until Tuesday but in the meantime I do have pictures of my favorite car in the shop. Is this Bavarian enough for you? A BMW 7 Series.  Designed by madmen.  Based on the E65/66 745i this unobtrusive German sedan has a roughly 500hp/550tq supercharged M62 based 4.4L V8 and will do a 12 second quarter mile with a family of five inside.  It and it's buddy the significantly slower (and somewhat donked) 6.0L V-12 760Li have both torn their control arm bushings to pieces as is typical to most full sized BMWs built in the 21st century. The reason for this is not a design fault by BMW but rather that the science of materials technology has yet to develop a form of polyurethane than can withstand the might of Bavarian suspension geometry. Speaking of overpowered BMW sleeper sedans, we have my daily driver a 1999 M62TUB44 4.4L V8 powered 540i M-SportWagon.  It has been my go to junkyard run, daily commuter, road trip, and fun weekend mountain car for the last two years. It likes to haul engines while running down 911s but sadly fraulein is dying of a broken heart. Luckily we have a suitable but much larger replacement that we're prepping for surgery. Expect updates on that project soon. In the meantime I need to prep my tertiary daily driver for the swap, incidentally one of my favorite little project cars in the world which some of you are already familiar with from an old thread. 
James Woods fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Dec 16, 2013 |
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Dec 16, 2013 03:20
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James Woods posted:Well I'm yet to show you my independent Bavarian auto shop which I haven't visited in a week much to my Foreman's consternation. I won't likely be over there again until Tuesday but in the meantime I do have pictures of my favorite car in the shop. Is this Bavarian enough for you? A BMW 7 Series. Reminds me of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io4obwMWorU&t=236s
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Dec 16, 2013 03:47
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James Woods posted:Holy gently caress now I'm the jealous one. That car excites me in ways I thought no hybrid could. I'm right there with you. I can't wait to ride in an overgrown Prius that makes a GT2 feel slow (the 997 GT2 scares me). I'm going to be up in the Bay for next years Dirtbag Challenge and to hang with some Roller Derby friends. I'd love to stop over and check out your shop.
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Dec 16, 2013 03:55
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James Woods posted:Speaking of overpowered BMW sleeper sedans, we have my daily driver a 1999 M62TUB44 4.4L V8 powered 540i M-SportWagon. This is interesting because I have toyed with getting a E39 (non M) wagon DD for a long time. Would you recommend a family with meager earnings and a husband/father that's handy with a wrench own one? They seem super affordable on the used market, but I just don't want to get in over my head in expensive parts or having to take it to a BMW ($$$) shop. I've been considering the Mazda6 wagon as an overall cheaper alternative.
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Dec 16, 2013 04:01
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James Woods posted:Luckily we have a suitable but much larger replacement that we're prepping for surgery. Expect updates on that project soon. S62 swap? If so, 
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Dec 16, 2013 04:10
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leica posted:This is interesting because I have toyed with getting a E39 (non M) wagon DD for a long time. Oh God yes, it's really my favorite car I've ever owned. It's very well built and I would trust it's reliability over a Mazda any day. Part of the reason I fell in love with BMWs in the first place is because they are easy to work on. The E39 is no exception you just have to keep your eye out for the usual BMW cooling issues like blown radiator necks and water pump impellers. Get a used one, roll up your sleeves and dive right in. It ain't rocket surgery. I can't speak highly enough about the 540i but if you are worried about gas the 528i and much rarer 530i are alternatives that won't leave you disappointed with power delivery, it just won't be a sleeper rocket wagon like a 540i which will realistically only get you about 15-20 miles per gallon. Whatever you do go for one with the sport steering rack. You can tell the difference by the three rather than four spoke steering wheel with the M flag usually on the bottom spoke. The difference in drive feel between the two is night and day. There's actually no such thing as an E39 M5 Touring. Well, not yet that is. Bugdrvr posted:I'm right there with you. I can't wait to ride in an overgrown Prius that makes a GT2 feel slow (the 997 GT2 scares me). I'll buy the first round. James Woods fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Dec 16, 2013 |
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Dec 16, 2013 04:24
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Shucks those 540iTs are indeed cheap http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4229396699.html $4950
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Dec 16, 2013 05:07
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Goddamn, I work on spacecraft now after fleeing the auto industry, but those are some sexy, boner-inducing machines you've got there.  Not at all surprised to hear about that TSB re: AHS on the Vette though.
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Dec 16, 2013 19:32
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Check your PMs James Woods!
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Dec 17, 2013 19:02
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James Woods posted:
Please don't say things like this. One day I will be able to afford a 911 vert 
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Dec 17, 2013 19:23
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James Woods posted:Well I'm yet to show you my independent Bavarian auto shop which I haven't visited in a week much to my Foreman's consternation. I won't likely be over there again until Tuesday but in the meantime I do have pictures of my favorite car in the shop. Is this Bavarian enough for you? A BMW 7 Series. One of the cooler moments I had working nights as a valet was driving a white B7 and chatting with the owner, Ludacris. e: I would definitely move and/or get out of the way if I saw one barreling toward me in my mirrors.
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Dec 17, 2013 20:25
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It's been a boring couple of days for the most part. As you can see my desk is covered in science. I'm on the home stretch with the Manta electrics, our last hang up is getting a working starboard headlight actuator out of a Miata. We've sent both our shop assistant and parts guy out for a used one five times so far and each time they returned with a blown part. To alleviate this confusion I have constructed what I call The Device.  The Device is a simple 9V power supply with to modes of actuation to test 12V car parts. It has three 9V batteries wired in parallel with a three position switch going two two positive test leads as well as a third ground lead.  It's a simple and rugged design and will accompany me on junkyard trips. In it's current configuration it puts out about 3-3.5 Amps but I intend to put a potentiometer in it to regulate the current manually along with some LEDs to indicate various functions.  Here is the simple circuit should you want to make your own. It cost me about $10 in parts including the enclosure.  Speaking of which... I was about to head out to another yard looking for another regulator when a familiar car entered my bay. Lets have a look under the hood.  Whats that now? Lets check the boot.  Hmm... What kind of car is this?  Only the fastest loving thing I've ever driven.  I'd driven one of these once before back in college and even wrenched on one a little to get my EV safety certification but that was all under the mindful eye of a Tesla rep. Today is the first time I've ever driven one of these beasts and my heart was barely up to the task. Don and I took the thing on a two hour safety inspection this afternoon that was basically just 120 minutes of us screaming at the top of our lungs between giggling like schoolchildren and trying to catch our breaths at lights.  I could quote horsepower and torque statistics but that would be utterly moot due to the nature of electric motors. What makes this thing so crazy is that is has it's full power band all the time at any speed. Once you get over 20mph the speed controller lets the exponential go to full and it's warp speed. Both of us agree that it is faster than the McLaren SLR and Don who recently drove a Gumpert is convinced that it's faster than that as well. This isn't even the Sport model. That said it is a complete deathtrap. Due to the way the car is laid out it understeers drastically if you apply any significant power in a turn. It's like it's magnetically attracted to the outside guardrail and combined with the power I'm surprised I haven't heard of more of these things wrapped around trees. http://youtu.be/o5SCxkSeDoU James Woods fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Dec 18, 2013 |
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Dec 18, 2013 02:26
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I hate the Tesla so much in Forza. No engine braking is just too weird for me.
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Dec 18, 2013 04:27
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Is that the same model that Clarkson had on the track (with a couple failures)? I had no idea it was actually as fast as Ford is saying.
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Dec 18, 2013 04:29
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VelociBacon posted:Is that the same model that Clarkson had on the track (with a couple failures)? I had no idea it was actually as fast as Ford is saying. They had an early prototype. This is a 2009 year model, after they'd worked out a few kinks with the cooling system and controllers. Tomorrow I'm shopping for lineman's gloves and high voltage tools so I can service this thing. When I do I'll show some more detail of the interior and go through some of the crazy safety procedures you need to observe around EVs. ultimateforce posted:I hate the Tesla so much in Forza. No engine braking is just too weird for me. In reality if you give it a quick tap of the brake the engine braking, i.e. regenerative braking, kicks in long before the calipers engage. This can help you through a turn but it's certainly a disconcerting feeling. The regenerative braking works so well in fact that after all our flogging you could immediately not only touch but leave your finger tip on the surface of the brake rotor. It's squirrely as all hell but when you're driving it you don't care because it's so much loving fun. I have never had a vehicle whether car or motorcycle that can frighten and excite me the way this machine does. There were a few naysayers at work as well. That was until we took turns taking them around the block.
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Dec 18, 2013 05:05
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You should ride one of the nice electric motorcycles. Lots of fun.
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Dec 18, 2013 06:44
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I think I do the exact polar opposite of what you do in the Automotive Field for a fraction. Welp, time to sign up for school again....
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Dec 18, 2013 07:02
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The "engine braking" on the Model S is pretty aggressive from what I recall driving it. You don't even have to touch the brakes to feel a lot of deceleration. It takes some getting used to. I like the ELR's regen paddles better though. Normal decel like a normal car and controlled regen at your fingertips if you need to slow down. http://blog.caranddriver.com/cadillac-elrs-paddle-shifters-operate-regenerative-braking-not-gear-changes/ Sorry, way OT. Continue with the awesome thread Mr. Woods. 
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Dec 18, 2013 14:51
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ultimateforce posted:I hate the Tesla so much in Forza. No engine braking is just too weird for me. I'm the same way. Between the 1 massive gear and the lack of engine braking, I can't drive that thing for poo poo.
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Dec 18, 2013 15:19
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