[Showdown]

PART 2

Except not.

The connectors did not fit the coils. NAPA website confirmed the fit. NAPA customer support confirmed the fit. It ain’t fitting. Back online and scouring for new connectors or coils; I was ready to throw money at the problem, but alas, nothing would arrive in time.

Game over. Back to gutted.

I picked up my kids and we went out to dinner. I had a big beer and settled into the reality that once again, I wasn’t going to Ruchlos. In explaining to my girlfriend what the problem was she asked me if I could just make a connector; after all I’m pretty handy and I do have a studio full of tools and machines. I tried to explain the subtle intricoes of automotive connectors to her when these exact words came out of my mouth:

“I just wish I had a way to make a plastic housing…like a mold or a… 3D printer”

Holy cow, batman I do have a 3D printer, a brand new Bambu Labs H2D, probably one of the nicest ones on the market. Holy cow, there’s a chance...

After dispensing with the kids I raced back to work, again putting the Allroad through its paces and whipped up a 3D model of a connector that I whiped would fit. 20 mins later and I had a PLA test piece and….

IT FIT!

But PLA isn’t suitable for an engine bay. Luckily for me I have a roll of PA6-GF: glass reinforced nylon; the stuff that half of my Audi is made of! YES!

Print time for 3 connectors: 1.5 hours: just enough time to cut the harness open and begin wiring. And wire I did. As the printer finished up so too did I and sitting in front of me was a new harness awaiting connectors which were cooling in the printer.

I peeled off the supports, cleaned them up and went to put the pins. But they didn’t click into place. I tried again to no avail. It turns out that in an attempt to speed up the print time from 3 hours to 1.5 I had changed some of the settings and while that made the print faster, it resulted in less fidelity. Detail and resolution that I desperately needed to ensure the pins would snap into place.

Ok, no problem. Except time was running out. It was now near midnight and I had to he on the road in 4, maybe 5 hours.

Screw sleep; if I got tired, Nate would trailer my car and I could sleep in his Cayenne.

So, I fired up the printer again and set it to fine as hell, we’re talking Jennifer Lawrence, Amber Heard levels of tight. I figured that I’d sleep on my couch for a few hours- the harnesses were ready and all they needed were plastic housings. It would take 20 mins max and then I’d be on the road, literally.

I settled into the couch ready for some rest as I had been burning through adrenaline, cortisol, serotonin and whatever else pulses though your brain when you hit the FULL SEND button when I heard a beep beep beep from the printer.

This printer is sensational and I highly recommend Bambu Labs. I’ve thrown everything at it and its never blinked.

Today, my friends, at nearly midnight, it blinked. A beep, a flashing red light and an error. The print head something or another. A quick search on Bambu’s wiki told a story I didn’t want to hear: the print head was either clogged or had failed and would need to be disassembled.

I’ve been here before and the process to remove and disassemble the print head, while not terribly difficult is time consuming. Last time it took over an hour. An hour I just didn’t have to spare; it was 1am, I was wrecked exhausted and even if by some miracle the prints worked and I was able to get the car running, I’d still have to cannonball to Indy solo with no backup and no room for error, then drive another 8 hours to West Virginia and recover to be sharp enough to rip super technical roads with the homies.

And though my girlfriend who was with me at the studio, cheering me on, feeding me water and encouragement pushed me to keep going; clean the printer, use the other print head (the H2D has 2 print heads) hardwire the injectors, use hot glue to hold the pins, do something DAMNIT, you’re on the precipice of the greatest comeback in automotive history (she doesn’t know much about cars or well, comebacks) I knew this was the end of the road.

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The drive home at 1:30 was serene and calming. The cold air in the windows felt good on my sweat stained and greasy face. The lack of traffic in the forest preserve felt a lot like the twisties in West Virginia and for a moment I was there, awaiting the next rest break where I’d trade stories with the boys.

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This car has put me through the wringer this winter- I didn’t post about it for a lot of reasons but at many point I was dejected and thought about tarping it. I felt/feel that way now. But I’m also angry as hell. I had the thing that I was looking forward to snatched away from me. And it wasn’t just about fun driving with friends. These past few years have been brutal for me and this last one in particular has tested me to the core of who I believe myself to be. Everywhere I turn are fires, arrows, and firey arrows.

The one refuge that has allowed me to escape myself, to be free of all that ails me and to be comprehensively present was ripping the car around, smashing the accelerator and engulfing myself with the deafening roar of the engine.

Ruchlos was a heavy, potent dose of mainline self care that I desperately needed. Still do.

Lst night I decided to trailer the car to storage and leave it for a week, month, year.. who knows. I just couldn’t take that pain anymore. I was up at 3am this morning because see above. I decided that this story wasn’t over and that if I’m to be beat, it’ll take more than a failed coil.

Parts ordered, weekend cleared, and as Tony often says when it’s go time. LFG