About to pick up a reatta in a couple months. Already have a deal lined up. Anybody have any buyers advice for these cars?

Before comments are made too, I am not worried about electrical issues and stuff. This will be my 5th project car and by far the least intensive since it doesn't involve any built engines, engine swaps, or rust issues like my 3000gt, brat, probe, and stealth had.

Got my brackets and pulleys down to bare metal, but no epoxy primer at the store. Is etching primer ok and then paint over?

I’m curious about how you guys track all of the maintenance, mods, restorations, receipts, etc., and whether having complete records of everything is really that important for resale?

I have both digital and physical records of things, but it’s been a little difficult to keep track of everything.

its a work in progress. mostly looking to design things around the big risk i took with the front bumper.

planning to wrap the mirrors in black vinyl, maybe the windshield surround as well.

mazdaspeed nc rear bumper is my best idea to "match" the front and rear better.

just put the maxton designs side skirts on this weekend to try to carry the black trim around the entire car.

Hey all, I'm looking to get a first proper project car.

I already own a c5 corvette which I do all the maintenance for and plan to do some work on, but I don't want to make it my project. I want to keep it as a viable fun daily.

Soon I'll have a proper shop so I've started to consider getting something that I can have purely to tinker with. I want something that's most of all cheap, but I'd also like tons of mod options and for it to be smaller and lighter weight.

Obviously I could go for a Miata, and a close friend of mine has a built NA so they'd be a good resource, but I'm open to other options, I'm considering a 240sx as I've always loved the look of them.

Hi everybody!
I recently bought my 128 and decided to replace the timing belt as it's pretty old and that required removing the accessory pulley as it prevents the belt from coming out.

The pulleys are retained with a 36mm nut that threads on the crank snout, but the problem is that the nut was deformed by someone who couldn't be bothered to buy the right socket and used a chisel instead, so I had to do the same.
Here is where I prove I'm an idiot: I never used this technique before, and I must have hit the chisel too hard because even after using mild heat and wd40 all I accomplished was destroy the nut without it even moving.

I thought about using a nut splitter but even if I could fit it (the nut is slightly recessed in the pulley), I can't find one that size that isn't an expensive and huge hydraulic one.
Oxy torch is also not an option as I'm currently working in a parking lot; die grinder might cut through but I don't have the budget or the outlet for it.

Could a small (8W, 35k RPM) cordless rotary tool cut enough of it out to split it with a chisel?
Would using light taps with the chisel and patience get it to move or should it have moved by now?

I know I could take it to a real mechanic but I'm trying to learn how to fix my own screw ups

Thanks

Update on the 6x6, got the new leafsprings in but I’m thinking about changing the equalizer setup to support more weight. If I cut a slot for the shackles in the equalizer (red marking) would this be a safe way to distribute the expanding force of the leafsprings so the bolt doesn’t shear when both axels go up/down? Or should I just mount both to the bolt holes like I have them already in the pics?
And no the red marking is not the exact outline.

Planning on pulling my first engine to rebuild my 1.6

Gonna do all top and bottom gaskets, timing belt, water pump, clutch, and deep clean both the block and the engine bay/undercarriage

If anyone has any tips on what else I should replace or check while it's out, any special tools I might need etc. I would be grateful 🙏

I’m looking for a fan shroud for a 1985 f250 with the 460 in it and can’t fine one anywhere. What are my options

For about a year I was using Adam's Detail Spray as my go-to. On paint it's genuinely solid, no complaints. The problem showed up every time I used it on the wheels. I have machined face rims and the finish I was getting was inconsistent at best. Streaks on some sections, a film on others, and within an hour the wheels were pulling in brake dust faster than before I'd detailed them. I tried adjusting how much product I used and it helped with the streaking but the residue issue didn't go away.

Tried a couple of Chemical Guys options too. Same story. Great on clear coat, unreliable on anything else. After enough frustration I started looking specifically for something built for multiple surfaces rather than a paint product that claimed to handle other things. That search led me to AllJack Detail Spray. Minimal formula, no heavy conditioning agents, works on paint, rims, and tires without the residue problem I kept running into. The machined face finish comes out clean and stays that way longer than with anything else I've used. Water beading on paint is solid without being a heavy coating product. At $39.99 it's in the same range as what I was already spending. If wheel residue is your frustration with your current spray this is worth looking at.

I've been doing a deep dive on this swap for about a week now and I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I pull the trigger on buying the two vehicles.

The plan is to swap a Mercedes OM617 turbo diesel (from a 300SD) into a 3rd gen Camaro. This will eventually become my daily driver, so I'm aiming for reliability first and fuel economy second. I know this won't be a bolt-in swap and I'm expecting to do fabrication work.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Wiring
From what I've researched so far, it seems like the best approach is to leave the Camaro's factory fuse box in place for the body electronics (lights, wipers, heater, etc.) and build a separate engine fuse/relay box for the diesel in the engine bay. The two systems would only be connected by a few signal wires (ignition, start, gauges, reverse lights, etc.).

Is this the right way to do it? If you've done something similar, how did you wire it?

2. Fitment
I know I'll need to fabricate engine mounts and probably a transmission crossmember, but what other fitment issues should I expect? Things like:

• Oil pan/steering clearance?
• Firewall clearance?
• Cooling system?
• Driveshaft?
• Exhaust routing?
• Suspension upgrades because of the engine weight?

I'm trying to make a complete list before I start buying parts.

If you've done an OM617 swap into any vehicle—or a diesel swap into a 3rd gen Camaro—I would really appreciate any advice, lessons learned, or things you wish you'd known before starting.

Thanks in advance!

Nothing too exciting. Had a couple of hours to mess around with Envy after work yesterday. The PNW weather sucks right now. 98f(37c) heat combined with wildfire smoke haze. But at least she’s parked under cover where there’s shade
Decided to do some simple stuff like pull out the radiator, top and bottom hoses, and thermostat housing and thermostat.
The hoses were cooked. The top of the housing is slowly crumbling away. At some point the original thermostat was changed, but for some reason someone shoved a B230 one in there. They even ground down a bit of the brass to fit in to the housing. Why someone would do this is a mystery. Maybe he got the wrong part? Maybe that’s all that was available? Who knows
I also found remnants of what Jesse and Walter might have been cooking when they were first starting out. I didn’t have the guts to taste it though
Obviously all this stuff is getting replaced with new parts. The block, heater core, and radiator will get a thorough flush. The coolant that came out didn’t look too bad. Still green with very little sediment or other type of crud

Gtx2867, jmf manifold, ported head, everything in-between. Also a Liberty Gears straight cut dog box went in over winter. So excited to drive it.

Still unreal when I see the pictures from 3 years ago when I bought it

Got the engine going well. Rebuilt the original brake system. Good lord...manual brakes suck. You have to really stomp that sucker to make it stop. Think I will have to do a power disc brake conversion if I want to take this onto the street.

The Dynaflow leaks like crazy... Will probably go ahead and pull the engine/trans and put in fresh gaskets. Engine is great though. No leaks and runs like a top.

Need to clean a 56' Nomad and I can't find anyplace closer than Ohio.

Really don't want to go to Ohio - does anyone know of a place?

Well tonight was a fail to start the car oh well this weekend i think ill head over and get something figured out with that then start with the engine and transmission mounts and afterwards i am going to make the coolant pipes work

I think i just have a few wires mixed around

Not as perfect as it looks in pictures, but still clean nonetheless. Needs all the typical W123 stuff. Speedo/odo don’t work, dash is cracked, etc.

I’m getting close to wrapping up the design of a crosskart (buggy). It will be powered by a 125 hp triumph 1050 triple.

I’m not sure if anyone has experience or is qualified, but I’m planning on using 1.25” x .120 wall DOM tube for the main size.

Further bracing is still need at this stage in the design, but do you think that this is a suitable material dimension for this project? The final kart weight will probably be around 600-800 lbs.

Based off my research it seems more than enough as long as the design is smart, but I just wanted to gain advice.