Wee! It's raining. Let's go racin!


It was sleeting pretty heavily while we were loading up....

playin in the ice is not cool. (no pun intended)

Hey Rick, do you have an estimate on the book time for doing a water pump replacement on a 1986 El Camino?

I am a slow methodical mechanic. I would starve to death as a pro, I am way slow. I was curious about how long a real mechanic would take to do that job. I put a new, not rebuilt water pump on it.

Glen, Alldata calls for 3.2 hours, unless you also have an airpump then it is 3.6

The track got slicker as the day went on. In my last set of 4 runs I swapped ends 4 times. Of course 2of those were on the same run... So I got one good one down.

Funny thing, that air pump fell off. All of the parts & plumbing for it is up in the attic. I am guessing the CIA or space aliens came in and took it all off and put plugs in the manifolds. That is my story and I am sticking to it. All of that happened about the time I put the carb up in the attic and put on fuel injection. It was just an amazing coincidence.

It is amazing to me that the water pump is only 50 bucks for a brand new not rebuilt unit. The three fan belts, the lower radiator hose and anti-freeze cost me $95.00. The water pump was a warrantee item so it was free to me once again. It lasted 55,000 miles this time. All NAPA parts.

If shop time is $75.00 per hour labor is 240. Parts are 150 bucks, so around 400 dollars total. No wonder I drive old cars and work on them myself. I am a cheap bastard.

Thanks Rick!

I hope you and the rest of the guys had fun. 35 degrees and rain is beyond my limits. Hopefully next month will be better.

The problem with old cars like yours Glen is that most are not in good shape, things break, and that is where the time gets eaten up. That is about an hours work if all goes well, it rarely does.

Yep, if did not work on them myself they would not be so cost effective. Virtually everything on the outside of the engine that is in the engine compartment has been replaced. The fuel system, suspension, steering, body mounts, engine cooling system, A/C system, heat system and on and on. I am about to have the interior re-done. The transmission is updated to a 2004R, the rear end is a limited slip. The paint is shiny and smooth. The good news is I actually enjoy working on my cars. It is just a hobby. When my wife complains that I am never inside I remind her I am just a few steps away. I am not on the golf course or the lake with at a 30 thousand dollar boat. In the long term it is a cheap hobby. That is what I keep telling her. :)

I have owned the car since 1991. I have put almost 250,000 miles on it so far. Overall cost to drive is very low.

When my wife complains that I am never inside I just tell her as long as I am messing with the cars I am leaving her alone.

We had a blast..... Car needed a serious bath after all that.... Oh well... Dirt washes off....


Think its time to rotate the tires though... There were a few dry patches I was sliding through....

hey guys. i just waxed the snowboard for another day of pursuing physical harm.

i am SERIOUSLY considering stripping the interior on my 951. any pointers? i am doing a search in the 944 forum right now.

Stripping to what?


I'd say pull the seats and all the carpet out for starters....

I'm game...

the driver's seat is already a corbeau (that was like 40lbs savings!). i plan on stripping the carpet, back seat, center console, sound proofing, rear speakers, door handles, door and rear panels, headliner. everything but the current front seats, front speakers, stereo, door switches, and dash.

in short, stripping the interior to the paint, more or less.

If I were to buy a cheap 944 it would be bare metal inside with two light racing seats and a bolt in Roll bar...

Might even lighten the electronics up a wee bit...

Sid-

Lemme know if you're interested in my 924S track car project. It's as bare bones as can be right now with a fresh rebuilt engine. I'm not sure if I am going to fully complete it or not. I'd let you have it cheap.

Hmm..... Let me think on it... Need to get the corrado gone... He is supposed to come get it this week... Got any pictar?

It's still in the disassembled stage awaiting paint.

But should be prepped by June for autocross. It is classed for F-Prepared.

My intentions were, at one time, to put another $3-4K in it and make it a nationals contender.