Garage Night

Somehow I missed this when it came out. It may be one of the best short clips of car driving I have seen, albeit clearly edited. And I’m pretty sure I want to be Ken Block when I grown up.

Ken Block “practicing” for Gymkhana

In the latest 24 hours of Lemons race, the winner was a Geo Metro. Yes, a Geo Metro…..powered by a CBR900RR engine. How cool is that? Purchasing a Geo Metro AND a CBR900RR engine for $500 might actually be possible. It might take many hours on Craigslist, but it could be possible. Here is a link to a very cool 8 minute video of the MetroGnome in action. Makes you want to go racing.
Metro-Gnome Video

Check it out!

If the coil is in fact fried in Nick’s 72 Bug, we should be able to test it. Not quite sure why I didn’t think of testing it during GN. Probably laziness. We can also test the plug wires, condensor, etc..

Anywho, read up on how to check a coil:
Ignition System Problems

So despite what logic would dictate, having more needle bearings in your u-joint end caps than what will fit around the outside of the cap is not actually a good thing.

House’s 1500 came in with, what can only be described as, a squeak in his driveline. After a quick analysis it was determined that his u-joints were shot in his rear driveshaft. A simple 2 trips to autozone (well, 3 if you count the drive to Thornton to get the “correct” u-joints) to get the proper parts seemed to be sufficient to do the job. Clearly the u-joints were shot. A simple u-joint swap with the assistance of the shiny new 12 Ton press was sure to fix the problem. However, House realized that the squeak was a bit more pronounced than it was before he came to GarageNight. After pulling the driveshaft off for a 2nd time, luck decided to force off an end cap and drop it on the floor, to reveal an extra needle bearing in one of the end caps.

Apparently 1 extra needle bearing is not a good thing. Not that I’m pointing any fingers….Jeff…..

I guess it pays to inspect the parts you purchase from AutoZone.

At least we had an excellent 1554 clone to drink thanks to Tony.

All is well that ends well I guess.

A good GarageNight all in all. Especially since I actually remembered to turn on the heater in the garage long before GarageNight started.

So the 91 YJ needs a motor.

Be on the lookout for a 91-93 4.0 L fuel injected motor our of a Wrangler or a Cherokee. It would be a direct swap.

Let’s use the comments to post links to rebuild shops, crate motors and craigslist adds for motors……

I noticed that there is a gas station in Longmont that sells E85, and I really noticed that it is significantly cheaper than gas. So, I started to read up on it, and by the end, I decided the mustang should be running E85.

E85 is 85% ethanol (an alcohol fuel) and 15% gasoline. It has less energy than gasoline, however it has a higher octane rating. Most E85 is close to 105 octane. Compared to the 93 octane I currently put in my mustang, that sounds pretty good. Since E85 is cheaper, and burns cleaner, it can be cheaper to use (even though you fill up more) and can be better for the environment. Since the octane is higher, you get more power, and can run your timing more advanced. If you have a turbo, you can turn up the boost. Sadly, I do not have a turbo on the mustang.

So, sounds like a decent fuel to run. So, what does it take to run it? Well, since there is less energy in the fuel, you need more of it. Which means your fuel pump, and carburetor need to provide more fuel. Also, since it is an alcohol, it can cause problems with rubber components, and metals. The best way to test is to put your carb (or one like it) in pieces soaking in E85. Some things I have read says it will be OK, and others say you need to run alcohol carburetor components.

Once you decide it is OK to run E85, you’ll need larger jets, and you may need larger pilot jet. You might have to run a cooler spark plug. Also, the spark becomes more important, and so you (meaning me) might want to think about purchasing that electronic ignition system.

It will also clean out your fuel lines, so changing the fuel filters after the first few tanks is a good idea. I get the idea that converting to E85 is full of trial and error.

New cars that are “flex fuel” capable will run E85 or gasoline. They can adjust timing, fuel delivery, etc.. on the fly. Doing this with a carbureted car is more of a “this or that” scenario. And if you want to convert your fuel injected car to “flex fuel” there are relatively cheap products that can help with that. This guy converted his Explorer to run gasoline or E85 for ~ $500. Converting Explorer to E85

One significant drawback to E85 is that it is harder to start in the cold. Might be an issue in Colorado….

Sounds like a fun project. Who’s in?

Here’s a link to an interesting article on a guy in Kansas who is converting large cars into fuel efficient cars. The article is a bit dorky but it’s a good read.

Motorhead Messiah @ Fast Company magazine

Jeremy brought over his insane Ramcharger tonight. He has been working on this beast for something in the order of 5 years. The pictures below do NOT do it justice at all. As amazing as it looks on the outside, underneath the thing is built like a tank. The welding, bracing, custom mounts, custom suspension, axle trusses, etc…, are amazing. It is truly a work of art. And he drives and 4 wheels the thing like it is an old Ramcharger. I have never seen a custom vehicle built this well, and certainly have never seen a Ramcharger built anywhere near what this thing is built like. Jeremy does some awsome work. He is still working the bugs out of it and has some other items to finish (bracing in the engine compartment and installing the hood) but it looks awsome as is. It has 2 transfer cases, 14 bolt rear, 4 wheel discs, 39.5 tires, and sound mean as anything with that blower on a 318. He installed some pretty trick items like a winch under the frame to suck down the rear end so that it will fit in his garage, lights under the wheel wells at all 4 corners to light up the trail or fix bits in the dark, and 4 bucket seats w/ 5 point harnesses. The doors lift off like jeep doors do. It has an amazing cage both inside and underneath. The bodywork has cut up so the clearance is insane. He even reworked the floor boards so that they sit higher, including lifting the stock gas tank up about 6 inches. By far, this is the sweetest trail rig I have ever seen.

Awsome work Jeremy! Thanks for bring it by. Any magazine would be stupid not to do an article on this thing.

Internal Combustion engine vid