The Garage (What did you work on today?)

[J Alynn]

Finally got back on the fun car. Got a bug up my butt a while back that the audio wasn't good enough in my 2012 Mustang Convertible. Honestly, it's a convertible so it will probably never be that good but I decided to try and improve.

I've replaced the head unit, the factory speakers and added an amp. Still have some fitment work to do on the mids in the door. While I'm thinking that through I figured I would start on a custom sub box.

I have discovered that I absolutely hate woodworking. MDF is pure evil. To be fair I may have gotten a bit ambitious for my first foray. I should have built a simple box but I wanted to go hard mode and build something that fits more custom. I'll post some pics once I get somewhere and if anyone cares to witness my frustration.

Regardless, a frustrating day in the garage is better than a quiet day in the office.

Funny how those projects start. When we had the Bronco I decided to built a 4” platform in the rear do to the way they stepped and I wanted a flat floor because my daughter was hauling her recurve bow back and forth so had to be flat. I built it with small small hydronic lifts and carpeted it with auto cloth. End up with like 30 hours until all done. What a PITA

 

[maynard]

Funny how those projects start. When we had the Bronco I decided to built a 4” platform in the rear do to the way they stepped and I wanted a flat floor because my daughter was hauling her recurve bow back and forth so had to be flat. I built it with small small hydronic lifts and carpeted it with auto cloth. End up with like 30 hours until all done. What a PITA

Sounds cool though…

 

[Chavannigans]

Hope these hold up better than your last round

Couldn't resist to go test it out… articulates quite a bit now in my ditch testing.

Didn’t hit the bump stop surprisingly. If I disconnect the rear sway bar again it would probably flex a lot more.

But… I forgot about the fuel tank skid plate clearance with the driveshaft now that I have all that travel in the back….

Long travel is definitely a can of worms. You solve one problem and create 5 more

 

[cyure]

Couldn't resist to go test it out… articulates quite a bit now in my ditch testing.
View attachment 14084View attachment 14085

Didn’t hit the bump stop surprisingly. If I disconnect the rear sway bar again it would probably flex a lot more.
View attachment 14086 But… I forgot about the fuel tank skid plate clearance with the driveshaft now that I have all that travel in the back…. View attachment 14087

View attachment 14088View attachment 14089

Long travel is definitely a can of worms. You solve one problem and create 5 more

It’s always something.

 

[Chavannigans]

Looks like Metal Cloak adjustable links and panhard bar are next!

Don’t want the balancing weigh getting ripped off of the driveshaft.

 

[J Alynn]

Sounds cool though…

I was pleased with it but way more work. And 3” doesn’t get a tone of space beyond a blanket and some supplies

 

[maynard]

It’s always something.

As Roseann Roseanna Dan used to say!

I miss Gilda Radner and those days of SNL…

 

[Chavannigans]

Did some final prep the night before we left. The Bosch spark plugs were delayed in transit so I sourced some NGKs locally. I have been busting butt between 3 projects at the University so I was pretty pooped by the time I got home, but got it done.

New green Gates belt, Denso coils, and plugs went in. Had to pour some PB Blaster down onto the old spark plugs and loosen them by going back and forth a few minutes each with my ratchet.

Also cleaned the MAF and throttle body.

Managed to get all of it done in about an hour in my driveway. Running some Gumout concentrate through the next fuel tanks to see if it can correct my fuel gauge by removing deposits on the sending unit. It keeps reading a little lower than it should.

The old set was looking pretty gross.

Also installed some long overdue Weather Tech floormats.

The next morning I woke up early and took it to get an alignment before we hit the road. They set my caster at 4.0 which should work nicely with larger tires when I replace these. The tech wasn’t impressed with my driveway alignment settings, but I am still proud of myself for getting close enough to not damage my tires on the way there.

We were able to successfully take off after lunch and had an uneventful drive there, aside from the massive storm that we drive through the entire way there


Averaged 15.7mpg driving 65-75mph through storms the entire way to Houston. Not bad for 33”s, 6 people, and a hitch carrier full of luggage and a cooler.

It also rides some much better now with the refreshed front end. No more pops or creaks when I drop down driveway entrances onto the main roads.

We just float over speed bumps and expansion joints. Tracks straight when I take my hands off the wheel.

Very happy with it, but will still replace the front Bilstein 6112s with some adjustable extended travel front struts. Probably Dobinsons MRRs or Kings so I can dial in my rebound and slow speed compression for the load and terrain.

Heading to the NASA Space Center today with the kids

Can’t wait to see their faces light up at the exhibits!!

 

[Chavannigans]

Worth it!

 

[Chavannigans]

(The faces of disappointment were due to budgetary constraints in the gift shop, and do not reflect the overall experience of seeing our tax dollars doing cool things)

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

(The faces of disappointment were due to budgetary constraints in the gift shop, and do not reflect the overall experience of seeing our tax dollars doing cool things)

Next time you’re going to a NASA center, let me know ahead of time. I might be able to call in some favors. Also may not be able to with all the weirdness going on for the past year. But it’s always worth an attempt and my friends love to have young visitors to excite about the future—might also raise my friends' morale.

 

[cyure]

Next time you’re going to a NASA center, let me know ahead of time. I might be able to call in some favors. Also may not be able to with all the weirdness going on for the past year. But it’s always worth an attempt and my friends love to have young visitors to excite about the future—might also raise my friends' morale.

That would be awesome for kids!

 

[J Alynn]

That would be awesome for kids!

Kids. What about adults. Close friend on the team in Florida and gave me this for Xmas

 

[Chavannigans]

Next time you’re going to a NASA center, let me know ahead of time. I might be able to call in some favors. Also may not be able to with all the weirdness going on for the past year. But it’s always worth an attempt and my friends love to have young visitors to excite about the future—might also raise my friends' morale.

Don’t make me turn this car back around, because I will!

 

[Chavannigans]

Next time you’re going to a NASA center, let me know ahead of time. I might be able to call in some favors. Also may not be able to with all the weirdness going on for the past year. But it’s always worth an attempt and my friends love to have young visitors to excite about the future—might also raise my friends' morale.

But I sincerely appreciate the generous offer. Will keep that in mind for the next trip.

 

[Scoutsie]

Go for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see cool aerospace stuff up close and personal, stay for the souvenir astronaut ice cream. That freeze-dried ice cream was the best reason to go to the Museum of Science when I was a little kid (that and the giant photo wall that you could flip off at the last minute when your parents/chaperone wasn’t looking).