FULL Project Update (Cars, house, etc)

[AkioOhtori]

I haven't done a complete project round up and there are quite a few I don't really talk about these days so... here we go!

2013 Volvo C30 Polestar

First time I've included the Volvo in the "project" listing, but as it has a bunch of small things that need doing, I guess it it time.

Still fine just fine overall, but has some issues. Both visors mirror surrounds have cracked and need to be replaced, the windshield bit the dust last year and needs replaced, one of the O2 sensors is cranky and, you guessed it, needs replaced, and the driver's seat need to be re-dyed in a small area.

Overall not bad for a 7+ y/o daily driver I haven't done much to.

2001 Land Rover Discovery (Disco Inferno)

Made it through my new years offroading trip just fine. The Landy always wants something, but only really needs the blower motor replaced. The original part I ordered was defective, but the new replacement just came in yesterday. I'll try and get that in next time there is decent weather.

On the "wants" list, the rear driveshaft is suspect and needs to be converted to a u-joint system vs the stock flex coupling, the center console is disintegrating and needs to be... somethinged. Reinforced or replaced, I guess? And I still need to address the hail damage and failing roof paint.

No major concerns... sort of haha.

2004 Jaguar S-Type R (The Hot Mess)

The Jag is... fine. The auxiliary water pump failed a few months ago and needs to be replaced, but only runs the heater and only at idle, so it isn't a major concern. The EGR needs to be replaced soon so I can finally rid myself of the perpetual CEL. Lastly the valve cover gaskets need to be replaced. I had oil on two of the spark plugs when I replaced them and I'm getting an acrid burning smell on and off which I am choosing to attribute to that as well.

Other than that, the Jag seems to have stabilized... for now.

1987 Alfa Romeo Spider

Still needs a head gasket, new carpets, a dash cap, and new seats. Against all odds still runs and drives great. I can see why people love these little Alfas. Like the Land Rover it always has minor issues, but still gets you there.

Hoping to start on the head... "soon". (Literally next in line but I haven't felt much motivation for wrenching lately)

1984 Saab 900 Turbo (Project Dumpster Fire)

The Dumpster Fire is... fine. I recently replaced the fuel distributor to no effect. It still runs fine, but occasionally goes super lean and takes a second to recover. First and foremost it needs gas, as after draining the tank I only gave it 3 gallons and when making a hard turn it cut out.
I should put some more gas in it and then pull it out as my "errand" car, but my trust in that car and my capacity for bullshit right now are both very low.

4th Cheap Car Challenge

Still thinking that is going to happen this year, but we need to have a planning meeting and make some hard decisions. One of our group is looking at changing jobs in the near future so we need to get tentative dates hammered out so he can make having those days off a condition of employment. I know that sounds weird, but it is generally the best way to guarantee time off in a job transition and I've even used it to get extra vacation before.
Still leaning towards camper builds up in the norther states, but, again, we're going to need to hammer that out, likely next week.

The 2-Stoke Bikes (Tooty Scooty)

Has been bigly neglected. It was a fun project, but the noise, unreliability, and general impracticality of it has led me to not using it. Current plan is to strip the engine off and sell the bike in the spring. Engine is locked up due to rust in the clutch and I'm not sure if I'll salvage it or not.

Bicycles 2 and 3 (Hooptie Bikes)

Bike 1 was sold a couple months ago. Bike 2 is seemingly fine, just waiting on me to swap in some flat bars. If it doesn't see use this spring/summer I'll go ahead and sell it too. Bike 3 is seeing good use every time the sun comes out, which is rare at the moment.

Garage (Shop Quest)

After failing to acquire land (over and over and over) to build a shop on, I decided to double down on my current place and convert my "workshop" into an area I could put a lift. I've got about 50% of the cash on hand and am working on the rest.

Unfortunately, I'm working against a lot of constraints. Basically nothing about my garage meets current city code (height, location, size, etc) and is grandfathered in on all of it, so I need to tread lightly on modifications. I can't raise the soffit height without a variance and as is the ceiling will be about 2' too short for a 2-post lift. That means either getting a shorter lift or working on clever ways to get the ceiling higher in that area. I have some ideas, but haven't really dug into them fully yet.

House stuff

Painter finally finished and the house (exterior) looks great. Changed the color from hearing aid beige to a historically accurate brown and white. Looks great and probably easily added 10% to the value of the house (which is good because it cost about 8%).

At the same time I was getting some windows re-glazed and my handyman got COVID. This was in early November and he still hasn't recovered enough to come and work. Frustrating, but I went ahead and had the painter put the storm windows back on so... heh.

Camera Stuff

Really liking the new D750 and getting ready to ship the D7000 to its new home. Still craving new lenses, but I need to calm down a bit as I've spent a lot of dosh on kit this month and don't want things to get ugly.

Doing a 30 day photo challenge on Instagram right now that is going well enough.
Haven't used my M43 camera in a bit, but that is hardly surprising.

Cloud Changeover

Working on migrating from Dropbox to... something else. Finalists are Sync(.com) and pCloud. Both have merits and downsides. Sync seems a little more primitive, but more or less works like Dropbox from 10 years ago. Additionally they have data allowances above 2TB, which I don't need now but you never know. pCloud is very different in both good and bad ways. Mostly I can't shake that they feel a little... shady? I think it is because they charge extra for everything. That said their desktop, web, and app interfaces all feel more polished and solid than Sync.

I think the final vote will come down to zero-knowledge encryption and if I think pCloud's different workflow would be better for me or not. (I think it will?)

Final decision is coming soon as my Dropbox renews on Feb 8th.

Other stuff I don't talk about on Oppo

Secret annual project has stalled and I need to get it going again as we're running low on time. Also with COVID it looks like we're going to have to make 2 designs, which is going to suck but probably be worth it.

My home research lab is going fine but I haven't used it lately. Might be my project for today, actually.

Work is good but I am a little undertasked and undermotivated, which is always worrying. Need to jumpstart into some self-led learning... or something. Things will get crazy again here in a few months so I should probably just enjoy the time I have.

Just finished reading Mogworld and enjoyed the hell out of it. Started reading A Dead Djinn in Cairo and am not sure if I like it. Feels a little "try hard," even for me. I've been watching WAY too much TV lately, so I'm going to try mixing in books and music, if for no other reason than I am running out of stuff to re-watch.

[jminer]

@akioohtori solid update, you've got a lot going on! I like this idea of laying out everything here, it's also terrifying to think about.

I had actually forgotten all about that Jag, you thinking you'll keep it long term?

My home lab is also in pieces and trying to figure out how I want to rebuild it after moving. Electricity is expensive as fuck out here so I'm rethinking how I use it too.

[AkioOhtori]

@jminer Thanks! No the Jag is 100% short term. I probably would have ditched it by not if not for COVID. Just don't feel like I'm "done" with it yet. Lovely vehicle, but as the Alfa, Land Rover, and Saab are all keepers and I don't see replacing the Volvo... I need some room to expand the fleet.

[jminer]

@akioohtori I feel you on the desire to expand, over the last year prepping for this move I sold almost everything and am down to 2 cars and 2 motorcycles for the first time in many years. I'm getting itchy and looking for that next thing right now.

[Darkbrador]

As for the lift ... the issue is not always up top, with a ceiling too low, but sometimes down low ... two post lifts need 4" of reinforced concrete to install the anchor bolts.

They also usually run on 220V, by the way.

So, not knowing your garage situation, and speaking out of my @ss as usual, I'd say it maybe worth considering rebuilding entirely your garage from ground up, to accommodate a nice lift as well as other conveniences and creature comfort features ? (220V electrical all around, compressor & air lines, proper heating, a little wash room/shower/toilet, speaker system, a loft, ........)

[Wrong Wheel Drive]

@darkbrador I was going to say to dig down lower anyways if height is the issue. Since he might need to do that either way to properly install it then that is two birds one stone.

[AkioOhtori]

@darkbrador So........ you're not wrong, but the situation is complicated. Tl;dr tearing down the garage is a non-starter as there are a ton of building restrictions that were implemented in the last 100 years that the garage no longer meets and if we start pulling that thread it will likely involve, if nothing else, a lot more paperwork. This isn't just me talking, but also the advice of my architect haha.

On the 2-post, the plan is to have part of the pad cut out and repoured to accommodate. Will talk with the builder about options, but at the moment that is what we're thinking. Not ideal, but eaiser sell to the city if we don't mess with the existing foundation. Garage already has 240, though I'm considering upgrading the service anyway. Also we're only tearing out the newer part of the structure. The older part, including the occupied garage apartment, stays haha.

[Darkbrador]

@wrong-wheel-drive !

Go like this :

then get that :

[RallyDarkstrike]

@akioohtori good update! I always enjoy hearing about the Saab and the Alfa

You can get some sort of workshop/garage situation worked out!