I recently took on an overnight job. This gives me a lot of time to browse stuff on the web. Remembered I signed up at ASV, and so here I am.
What's happened between then and now..
December 2014:
Full brake job. New calipers, wheel cylinders, rotors and pads, drums and shoes. Also painted rotor hats and inner sections and drums with black caliper paint, painted calipers with cast iron POR15 engine paint.
Billet distributor from Rockauto. Got tired of dealing with the Dorman "fix it" bracket that held the cap to the distributor body when the ears inevitably break because some dickface at GM thought a plastic dizzy was a good idea. Here we are almost 10mo later, NO issues. NO missing and sputtering because the cap actually fits tight and overall very happy with the product. Originally forgot to get a photo before I installed it, so I pulled it back out to take the photo. Had the dealer perform the timing adjustment to get it dialed in for $100, I'll never have to worry again about it!
Stereo install w/ head unit I originally purchased as a teenager for my first car in 2005 and 12" subwoofer. Shampooed carpet at that point as well.
January 2015 :
Was playing around in a big open office parking lot in the snow. I thought it was hilarious to blast through snow drifts and disappear into a cloud of bright powder and come out the other side. I thought it was fun until I found the drift that had ice in it. Bumper shell had a few large chunks taken out of it.
June 2015 :
Project car was near completion but not able to be driven. I wanted to go on the Hot Rod Power Tour, but was unable. I decided I'd still make a local venue where a lot of the people stop for lunch at a large hot rod shop called Heidt's. I was bummed to not see Freiburger and Finnegan from my favorite show, Roadkill.. at the place. As I left the venue, a little ways down the road, I see their Lingenfelter LS-Swapped van sitting in a business center parking lot. I pulled in to get photos and there they were eating lunch. I waited until they were done and struck up a conversation. They thought the Astro was in very nice shape considering age/mileage/salt belt vehicle and wanted to know story on what happened to bumper.
Finnegan decides to get a decal..
Freiburger stated he should just make an off-center racing stripe to hold the bumper together. So it happened.. and me, a random guy who passed by and saw the van, Freiburger, Finnegan and camera guy they had with them began peeling decals.
So.. then this happened.
to date, I still haven't repaired the bumper cover. Maybe before winter, I'll get a junkyard cover and hang this in my garage with the photos printed up and framed. Cool little happening.
July 2015 :
Rear axle blew up. Was going 60 on a local road, and it spit the driveshaft off the pinion. Pinion nut was nowhere to be found upon inspection after I had it towed home. I suspect it backed off or cracked causing this. The axle began to whine and hum a few weeks prior, it began getting a nasty vibration. I wanted it to hold together until my project car was done but you know how life goes. Picked up a 100k mile GT4 out of an AWD 99 from a local yard. Wire wheeled the bajeezus out of it, primed, painted and checked all bearings and gear play. Seemed OK. Threw it in. It hums a little but I check everything visually every so often. Going to eventually rebuild the GU6 that came out with a detroit or auburn locker and 4.10s.
New hotness.
And then some recent photos within the past month or so...
Project.. and daily. The project has quite a lot done to it as well.
I had the engine and trans back together not two weeks when the engine locked up.. so I have yet to tear into that and see what's wrong but I suspect the not-GM timing chain may have snapped under pressure of the mild cam and tighter valve springs.
Supercharged, modified goodness photos under the black car's hood.. for the curious.
Current mods are triple edge performance built trans w/ 3.29 FD, kevlar clutches, 3400 stall converter, cryo treated input shaft, a handful of other stuff, comp cams pushrods, comp cams 206/216 custom ground cam, LS6 valve springs, LS7 lifters, ZZP 3.4 blower pulley, SD headers, QTP electric cutout w/ wireless actuation, catless, ZZP PCM, and a handful of other stuff. Painted 1953-1965 Buick engine green. Was an absolute blast before whatever happened, happened.
I need to also find a free day so I can clay, polish, and seal the paintwork for the winter. Maybe I'll wetsand the oxidized clearcoat on the wheel faces and polish them back up when I do that.
