REVIEW: My new hobby ( nonVW, long, but perhaps mildlyentertaining?)

[roccit_53 at hotmail.com (C Boyko)]

Well, I'll have you know that BOTH my Sciroccos are road worthy, and , well, 
no actually, they share a battery, so only one goes at a time...and ...hmmm, 
Klaus does need an alignment, and one of his tires returned from the Cabby, 
you see, Julianne had a slow leak she took in for repair, so one of Klaus' 
wheels is on the Cabby, and when Julianne picked up the repaired tire, she 
met Mrs Pontiac on the way out of the tire place, so there it sits in the 
back seat in the body shop......


Seriously, I had Klaus out yesterday after the truck was done (first time 
since like October...), and  here are quick notes:
-The new suspension is great (H&R sport/Koni yellows), you point the car and 
it actually goes there instead of thinking about it, bouncing for a while 
and maybe going there...and the issue of the two sides not being even 
settled out nicely seems to have resolved itself. I haven't taken time to 
play with "firmness settings" yet, but it feels solid and not so likely to 
get blown off the road when passing tractor trailers. And that setup puts 
the control arms dead flat.  Mark, if you wanna try it, drop me a line.
- Klaus has new ground wires and extra long leads to accommodate the "wrong 
side terminals" on his current battery. Flexibility baby...and as with all 
good 8Vs, he fired right up.
- As I pulled out of the garage, well, it is one of MY cars after all, the 
glovebox door dropped off on the passenger's seat. Not a good thing. So I 
cable tied the light switch shut after removing the contents, hopefully the 
80 has an intact donor glovebox.
- the "Canadian too old to do an E test" custom exhaust from the '80 has a 
real roar to it, and sounds pretty beefy for a little 1.6. And I think he 
feels faster, though the difference between the Cali exhaust and this new 
one should only be a few hp. (no cat/ EGR)


As for the "other things" in my greenhouse? I wish, I'd be able to stay home 
from work, travel to California to recue more rust free Sciroccos, and well, 
no, that's a bad plan...


As for spin offs? Well, when my son is home, it's more like "The Trailer 
Park Boys", but you 'murricans wouldn't ever get that show, if you took out 
the swearing, there's just the music left...Red Green, yeah, but let's not 
go there either, my hubby was actually IN the movie "Duct Tape Forever", and 
you'll get him started.

Roccos to Cincy? Not a problem, maybe two if Denny goes with me...or Carrots 
misbehaves.
Cathy






>From: "Julie Macfarlane" <juliemac57@hotmail.com>
>To: roccit_53@hotmail.com, scirocco-l@scirocco.org
>Subject: REVIEW: My new hobby ( nonVW, long, but perhaps mildly 
>entertaining?)
>Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2004 14:56:30 +0000
>
>In this weeks episode, we find Cathy and her son working on yet another 
>supposedly "simple" repair to a "foreign" made automobile.
>
>Will she ever get back to getting Claus ready for the road?
>Will she stop growing "other" things beside flowers in her green house?
>Will she ever get The "Headache" and "Claus" done if she did?
>Will she bring any to Cincy this year?
>
>"The Boyco's" is a spin off of the Canadian produced "The Red Green Show".
>
>Stay tuned to this exciting real life program!
>
>Viewers Comments:
>"I applaude with her accomplishments, I cry with her and her frustrations" 
>Edna Clumps
>
>
>
>Julie Macfarlane
>1981 MKI 2L 16v w 2Y
>"For good health : EAT RICE!"
>Amsterdam NY
>
>
>
>
>
>>From: "C Boyko" <roccit_53@hotmail.com>
>>To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org
>>Subject: My new hobby ( nonVW, long, but perhaps mildly entertaining?)
>>Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2004 13:27:16 +0000
>>
>>WARNING: This message is long winded and contains the four letter word 
>>FORD. Sensitive viewers are cautioned.
>>
>>Okay, in an attept to fill the gap in my life left by the fact that I have 
>>now found all the Cabby parts I need (one door, three fenders and four 
>>flares later), I decided to embark on a new hobby. No actually my son 
>>decided we needed to embark on it together. He informed me of this in a 
>>"Mother-Son" type phone call, during which my hubby began to laugh and 
>>chant "Jerry, Jerry", yep it was like white trash on the Springer show, 
>>but without the bleeping (we tend to include the swearing here in Canada 
>>anyways). He wanted my truck this weekend. Not a problem except:
>>-it has no plates or insurance
>>-it has not been driven since the fall, when the high school shop did 
>>suspension, slave cylinder and MC replace/refurbish (which involved the 
>>tranny being off four times), all the fluids known to mankind, and a bunch 
>>of other shit : READ: something's gonna grenade and it's likely best not 
>>to drive it 5 hours straight to figure out what (my kid lives in North 
>>Bay)
>>- it needs an E test
>>-THIS is the main one: it has a five minute driving range before it drains 
>>the battery and pukes on the side of the road. To get to North Bay, he'd 
>>need, well, about 60 charged batteries on board.
>>
>>SO we get to a compromise and decide to figure out what's up with the 
>>charging system this weekend.
>>
>>Friday 7:30 pm - I'm finally home from that working thing I do, and the 
>>near daily Cabby "body shop visitation", and have had supper, and was 
>>heading for the Wind Tunnel, wrench in hand when the POS Jetta rolls in. 
>>Yep, my firstborn son is home. No hugs, just right to the task at hand, 
>>remove the alternator and get it in for a test before stuff closes at 9 
>>pm. One tensioner and two bolts stand in the way of that goal. A quick 
>>test reveals that the voltage at the battery terminals actually drops when 
>>the alternator is running, and it's original to the truck, which is a 1988 
>>F150, with the big straight six.
>>
>>Friday 7:30ish: I let the kid have at it, serving as beer and tool 
>>fetcher, and I had some piddly jobs to do on Klaus who has spent the 
>>winter in the shadow of the truck. Adam  doesn't bother with the 
>>"heat/chemicals/money" part of the equation and proceeds directly to 
>>"force", followed by snap, then,  $%@(*%$^#  %#^$# ^$^$^!!!!!! or 
>>something to that effect. Bolt #2 gets the ever popular MAPS/O2 torch used 
>>on it and cracks fairly well, but to back up the horse, Ford really 
>>attaches their alternators for life, there is this, like, five pound 
>>bracket bolted to the block which embraces the alternator in a loving 
>>grasp, and the hardened 5" bolts that hold it on go though it twice, once 
>>on each end. Sort of like our PS pumps. That snapped bolt still retains it 
>>on both ends, one of which is threaded. READ: it ain't goin' anywhere.
>>
>>A few minutes later, he's up unbolting the bracket, 6 bolts later, at 
>>about 9:05, it's off. He heads out for partying, and I go back to swearing 
>>at Sciroccos.
>>
>>Saturday, 8 am: The kid is still sleeping (it off) and I head to Timmy's 
>>for a coffee, and then to Canadian Tire, alternator still attached to the 
>>bracket, and the questionable battery in tow. Big shock, both are toast. 
>>Load them in the cart. Find some of the (GASP!) SAE tools I don't own, 
>>another tank of O2, add them in, grab an alternator off the shelf as an 
>>insurance one, and add in a nice honking new 5" bench vise they had on 
>>sale, and since the coolant temp sensor somehow got mangled, I figure I'd 
>>get one of those. Stupid me, they asked me if it was this or that (fill in 
>>mumbles here)  - one was $7, the other $30, well, no need to even look at 
>>them, it's the $30 one. Strange how things NEAR the alternator got 
>>damaged. By this time I'm thinking the traditional caster model ( ie : 
>>shopping cat) could use a better suspension, understeer is not the word. 
>>Load that in the car, and off to UAP (like NAPA) to do a little price 
>>shopping, oh, no, first to the local yard where I score a nice Interstate 
>>Battery for $25. Bonus. UAP has a cheaper alternator, so I grab it, now I 
>>have three in the car. THIS is the diofference between domestics and VWs 
>>in Dunnville. Notice how it is a case of "which store has one on the shelf 
>>for lkess money?" none of this drive an hour/its wrong/ it'll be a week 
>>crap. And the nice guy at UAP is trying to piss of another idiot customer 
>>(his word), so tries a variety of bolt extractor sockets on the snapped 
>>bolt instead of waiting on him. Nope. We're into heat and grinding land.
>>
>>10:30 Saturday: Back home, load the wheelbarrow with the goods for a photo 
>>shoot, and wheel it over to the truck. The kid has risen somewhat from his 
>>comatose state. I proceed to attack the bolt with a vengeance, heat to 
>>red/vicegrips method is going nowhere, so I decide to dissassemble the 
>>alternator housing to facilitate grinding. Three little bolts, snap , snap 
>>snap. Perfect. Now just slide out the guts. Or not. Nope, they won't move, 
>>hammer hammer, still no movement. The housing won't even move.
>>
>>SO I get out the little grinder (Dremel), and mess with it, but it's not 
>>gonna work. SO I start drilling out the bolt. At which point Adam comes 
>>out and digs out his bolt extractor, pounds it in the hole, them realises 
>>it's in the wrong end. Drill a hole in the other end (oh, and in case 
>>you're wondering, the whole area is now bathed in various penetrating 
>>fluids, so chemistry has been applied too, but to no avail) Tap the sucker 
>>in and twist. That beautiful noise, "SNAP" Did the bolt move, you might 
>>ask? Well, no, the bolt extractor snapped actually. SO now there is a 
>>hardened tool in the hardened bolt. Perhaps even expanding the bolt's 
>>diameter slightly.
>>
>>Hammer time, it's clear there is no core fee coming from this alternator, 
>>so it gets a bit further demolished, to give enough clearance for the big 
>>grinder. Which actually just cut enough to allow clearance for the little 
>>grinder to cut the rest of the way through both housing and bolt. But 
>>there is enough depth of busted bolt/blt extractor wedged in the bracket 
>>that it still won't move. ( It won't go at an angle) Now a light begins to 
>>shine. The threaded end in the other end WILL move,(a friggin damn 
>>miracle, that) and it threads right out allowing us to finally drift the 
>>offender out and free the bracket. It's Miller time. (Or something much 
>>better)
>>
>>
>>Now we still don't have the replacement bolt, nobody in town had one long 
>>enough, so off to my brother's. A bit of time wasted viewing his newly 
>>acquired collection of Dodge Shadows, don't ask, but there are three of 
>>them. And he had the bolt...
>>
>>
>>Yep, by about 5 pm that baby was charging at 14.9V and all was well. Until 
>>we run it and it spews coolant out of the temp sensor...
>>
>>
>>ANd how much labour for that alternator to be replaced? Well, lessee, 
>>that's two poeple, for 10 hours each...better just leave me the keys.
>>
>>
>>Cathy.
>>
>>_________________________________________________________________
>>Free yourself from those irritating pop-up ads with MSn Premium. Get 
>>2months FREE*  
>>http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Scirocco-l mailing list
>>Scirocco-l@scirocco.org
>>http://neubayern.net/mailman/listinfo/scirocco-l
>

_________________________________________________________________
http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines