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What’s your automotive news for the week?

Greg Kachadurian

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Oh, it’s Friday isn’t it. And I need to have a news recap published… two hours ago. Haha. Ha. Shit.

I’m gonna have to open the Friday news slot to my fellow hoon again. Not because there wasn’t anything worth talking about (there was – like the new Acura MDX), but rather because my brain is fried from being on the road for the last month and a half. I just got home from that huge road trip morning and apparently a side effect of prolonged Mustang exposure is not knowing what day it is. So the comments are open to you. If you saw anything, fixed and then broke and then fixed something, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related, sound off below. The Hooniverse News will return to its regularly scheduled mediocrity next week.

About

Greg Kachadurian

Greg Kachadurian

I’m the guy that spoiled the site with all the new car stuff. Hooniverse News Editor since 2011, amateur motorsport photographer, sim racer, and mountain road enthusiast.

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36 responses to “What’s your automotive news for the week?”

  1. danleym Avatar
    danleym

    Sold my 2000 Jetta TDI. Used the money from it to pay my 50% deposit on the engine for the Spirit. Not good math there, sell a whole car, pay for half an engine…

    I’m real excited for the engine though. Having lots of work done to it, and it should be pretty radical, at least as far as 258s go. Shop said to expect it sometime around February, which probably means closer to March or April, but that will be fine, I have enough other work to get done, the engine won’t be a delay.

    Also learned that a Dana 35 or 44 from an XJ is the same width as my current AMC 15, and 3.55:1 was a common gear ratio (and what I want to put in). Getting an AMC 15 to 3.55 requires a new carrier (and then putting work into a pretty weak axle), so I’ll probably just swap the whole axle out. I was excited to learn that, one less problem to solve. Just another 40 or so to go…

    Reply
    1. Scoutdude Avatar
      Scoutdude

      To a non-Hoon that math definitely doesn’t look good and even among Hoons those that like diesels and/or VWs probably think the math is bad too. But I think the math isn’t bad and all that really matters is that you are happy with it. One step closer is always better than standing still or taking a step back.

      Reply
      1. danleym Avatar
        danleym

        The VW was awesome, its been a great car for the last 6 years, and I fully understand the following they have. It was just time to move on from it.

        I certainly don’t mind the cost- its fun to finally make this car what I’ve always wanted it to be. I was more just commenting that some people who don’t understand might look at that with an eyebrow raised.

        Reply
    2. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      I’m excited about this project, hoping it inspires me. I have two Spirits just sitting in my father’s shed, one lacking an engine (because I put it in my CJ), and another that just needs a good cleaning and mechanical going-through. I feel like I’m living vicariously through danleym’s efforts!

      Reply
    3. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      Your engine is worth twice as much as a diesel Vee-Dub? What’s wrong with that math? Them’s braggin’ rights!

      Reply
    4. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      I bought a race car from a guy who was going to spend more than what I’d paid him on a new Ford BDA block to replace one he’d just ventilated

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        For every story like that, my own financial stupidity seems saner and saner.

        Reply
        1. danleym Avatar
          danleym

          Eh, I know that expenses like this look dumb to some people. But I’m not putting myself out on the streets for this. I have a nice house and a family that I provide for, I’ve just hit a point where I actually have a little extra money. I don’t consider it stupidity if I’m taking care of those other things first. I know some people that spend an absurd amount of money for bigger and bigger TVs, the latest greatest smart watch, etc, those things bring me no joy. A badass engine sure makes me smile though.

          Reply
          1. Sjalabais Avatar
            Sjalabais

            Fair point, I guess that’s what we’re here for? My particular problem is that I spent ten years being a dad, house renovator, colleague and general bonfire-in-the-forest-dimwit. Spending money on a hobby that is all mine feels weird and wrong, and I have to re-learn that. Seeing someone else’s much more expensive endeavours normalizes my tentative steps back into the hobby. And, yes, I see people spending money on all sorts of weird things, like digital goods in F2P games. To each their own.

          2. outback_ute Avatar
            outback_ute

            Guy at work quit smoking just under 3 months ago, said he’s saved $3500. Cigarettes are heavily taxed here…

          3. Lokki Avatar
            Lokki

            Here’s a discussion that I had with my mom some years back when she was waffling about moving south away from the home where we kids were raised; they were retired and I was already in my 40s by then. She was worrying out of habit about spending the money, but they were financially just fine really.

            “At some point in your life you are going to eat beans. You can eat all your beans now and hope you will eat steak some day, or you could eat all your steak now now, knowing that you’ll have to eat beans later in your life. Now, obviously there’s a risk to that latter strategy. However saving up all your steak for when you’re old has its own risks… you might not even live to get old and thus never get to enjoy the fruits of all your hard work. And it’s quite probable you will just be too old to enjoy yourself anyway; gumming a steak with your dentures isn’t that much fun. Worst of all, you might get senile and be staring at the ceiling having no idea what they’re feeding you…

            So the most logical thing to do is eat some of your steak now while you can enjoy it, and at least you’ll have something nice to remember while you’re gumming your beans in the old folks home….”

            For what it’s worth…..

          4. Sjalabais Avatar
            Sjalabais

            Definitely time for some steak now…my rationale was following that train of thought when I got the Centennial mostly because my timing on the Century-purchase sucked. I was to sign a contract with a Japanese agent in late February, just before the crisis hit and our currency tanked. The crisis in itself is a reminder to enjoy life while you can.

            It’s just that other people’s doubts seem undercommunicated, I guess? Blindsided by how difficult it is to enjoy the steak.

          5. Vairship Avatar
            Vairship

            But…it’s not just steak, it’s beef bulgogi!

          6. Scoutdude Avatar
            Scoutdude

            If you can afford it and it makes you happy then that is all that matters. There are far worse things to spend money on.

  2. Scoutdude Avatar
    Scoutdude

    Progress update.

    Van well I’ve got it a lot closer. I’ve let the goo that is on the inside, that is supposed to be the structural part and permanent cure for 10 days. It says cures in 7 but that is at 70 degrees and it is in a warehouse that is at 50 degrees. Today I put the stuff on the outside that is more flexible and supposedly more removable. It cures in 24 but I’m letting it set for 48 before taking it out into the weather. I’ve got all the lights mounted and ready to go. Still need to connect them to the existing wiring and then hook up the switches and relays that I still haven’t ordered yet. The credit card billing cycle ends tomorrow so I’ll probably order up the stuff this weekend.

    Truck, Unfortunately no progress on finding the drain. I did rig up a Swan disconnect and used a spare set of meter leads to attach as the testing bypass. I did do some testing but apparently there are some Ford modules that take 45min to go to sleep. I did see some go to sleep but it still had a ~520ma draw while Ford says it should be under 50ma. So hopefully I’ll take it down to the warehouse tomorrow and give it a full hour to sleep while I working on the wiring for the van and cleaning things up.

    Reply
    1. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      Tell me about this goo… I’m looking to reconstruct my rusty roof seam (or rain gutter or drip rail, as some call it) on my Econoline and need to find something to replace the body filler that was in there. (Ignoring the questions about how that body filler was the cause of all the rust, and so forth.)

      Reply
      1. Scoutdude Avatar
        Scoutdude

        Well the Goo I’m using is 3M Marine 5200, which is supposedly permanent, on the inside. I cut some blocks of wood to match the angle between the top and the steel with cut to leave room for the goo. Layed a bead between the top and steel, goo’ed up the blocks and put them in place, Today I added some bolts between those blocks and the steel because I don’t know that it will stick to steel that well. On the outside I’m using 3M 4000 UV fast cure. I’ve read that the 5200 doesn’t remain water tight which is why I’m doing the 4000 UV on the outside. Fingers crossed it lasts.

        Reply
    2. Scoutdude Avatar
      Scoutdude

      Progress on the Truck! I had my suspicions and it turned out I was right this time. I gave it a good hour plus to go to sleep. I found a steady 180ma draw. Started pulling fuses and it stayed rock solid on 180ma until I pulled the fuse that lists security control module and 4×4 module and it dropped…… to 178ma. Kept going and when I got to the radio’s always hot feed it dropped down to 1ma. It doesn’t surprise me since it was the cheapest blue tooth double din with back up camera you could buy on Amazon at the time. The strange thing is that it wasn’t a problem until recently. There were times when I let it set for weeks at a time and it always started w/o any signs of a weak battery. Now 3 or 4 days and it is very dead.

      Tomorrow I’ll put the ammeter in place of the fuse, get the battery fully charged and probably stick the OE radio back in and see what the battery voltage is after 3-4 days.

      Reply
  3. sunbeammadd Avatar
    sunbeammadd

    Last night I was reading an article in the December 1964 issue of Modern Motoring, which was the Rootes Group’s inhouse motoring magazine. The article was announcing the partial acquisition of the group by Chrysler. Both companies went to great lengths to point out that it was not a takeover, but a “partnership”.

    Interesting to see that Chrysler was guilty of “mergers-of-equals” long before Daimler and Stellantis!

    Reply
    1. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      Probably started off as a partnership, didn’t Chrysler have non-voting shares to begin with? Obviously they had bigger things in mind from the start and I wonder if the Rootes brothers could see the writing on the wall for their position as Britain’s smallest manufacturer?

      Reply
      1. sunbeammadd Avatar
        sunbeammadd

        Initially Chrysler had 30% of the voting shares and 50% of the non-voting ones.

        In the accompanying photo of beaming Chrysler execs Lord Rootes looks a bit pained. As he would die a few weeks later its hard to know whether his expression was ill health or the result of giving up the family jewels, or a bit of both.

        Reply
    2. Lokki Avatar
      Lokki

      “ Last night I was reading an article in the December 1964 issue of Modern Motoring, which was the Rootes Group’s inhouse motoring magazine.“

      User name checks out….

      Reply
  4. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Thursday I went to see my mechanic, finally, and he thinks he can fix most of my issues the Centennial’s troubles for about 1100k$, which would be a very reasonable starting point for the stuff I wanted to do with the car. I still feel like I am caught in an evil slipstream, but whether I hold on to this gem or not, this stuff needs fixing, so I said yes and the work will start some time in January/February. He now lives an hour from here, close to some mountain roads, and I couldn’t help it and cancelled all other plans for the day just driving upwards until the road ended. The Centennial works nicely on ice, the heavy engine holding the FWD down, while the backend slips and slides very predictably. I couldn’t even walk on the road without having my arms out for balancing, so this was a surprise. A few cell phone shots:

    https://i.ibb.co/R2Mzg0N/IMG-20201210-123454-HDR.jpg
    https://i.ibb.co/sv4c6Dy/IMG-20201210-123515-jpg.jpg

    https://i.ibb.co/V2BPHvG/IMG-20201210-135607.jpg

    https://i.ibb.co/mTYCG9K/IMG-20201210-124434.jpg

    https://i.ibb.co/J33g8gM/IMG-20201210-140911.jpg

    https://i.ibb.co/NVCcYHn/IMG-20201210-142853.jpg

    Reply
    1. wunno sev Avatar
      wunno sev

      such square shoulders! i like to boast to my warm-weather neighbors about having grown up driving in the American Midwest, but realistically our snow gets cleared pretty quickly and everyone’s farting about on all season tires. we ain’t had shit on your winters.

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Hehe, when I first moved to Norway, these kind of conditions really used up all my attention quickly. But it’s easy getting used to it, and appreciation for good tires comes quickly. You can tell from the side of my car that our main roads are salted heavily, while only proper mountain roads remain iced, sometimes sprinkled with gravel.

        Reply
    2. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      So fixing it only costs 1100k$ (i.e. 1.1 million)?
      It’s good to see you finally adjusted your income to make sure the Centennial can live in the lifestyle it is accustomed to.

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Ouch. Yes, it’s the gold plating of the steering wheel that really bites me hard. ? That ‘k’ is too much…

        Reply
  5. wunno sev Avatar
    wunno sev

    finally listed my Volvo for sale. it’s the car that got me through my twenties, and it’s been a roller coaster modding it these last two years, but these days it’s more of a chore than a pleasure, and I give it very little of my time. it brings me more anxiety now than joy, so it’s time for it to go.

    i also took my other problem child, a 95 W124, to a mechanic and asked for a quote to just fix everything obvious. it came back more reasonable than expected, and i realized the unlikeliness of me doing all that work myself in the next six months, so I’m pulling the trigger. it feels like I’m using this moment, when we can’t have lives outside of our homes, to rapidly transition away from a hobby that occupies a good deal of my free time at home. 2020 really does feel like it’s brought regular life to a halt.

    Reply
    1. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      The latter isomething that resonates strongly here, but I’ve been deluding myself that I’ll get to it…

      Reply
  6. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    My news this week? Don’t get me started…

    That is to say, when the starter dies in a Variomatic-equipped vehicle, roll-starting is not an available option.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d0f6354c9513379ae9c30ac7624b9d18e45ae2bd794a51f12430aeda44293a08.jpg

    Reply
    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      Yes, but just think about it: once you get that pesky issue taken care of, you’ll be doing burnouts again in no time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oLAz4U-0G4

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        Knowing first-hand what is involved in replacing the drive belts, the thought of any activity that may gratuitously shorten their lives is nightmare fuel.

        Reply
    2. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      Roll-start, rollback. Close enough.

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        Speaking of close enough, the clearance in the parking garage was too low for the truck, so I had to push the car to the nearest exit, then coast it down the exit ramp to the truck. A perfect opportunity for popping the clutch, had one presented itself…

        Reply
    3. Lokki Avatar
      Lokki

      Mdharrell, I hesitate to say this but sometimes I think your choice of cars is, well, a bit…DAFT.

      I’ll show my self out….

      Reply
      1. outback_ute Avatar
        outback_ute

        Feature not a bug?

        Reply