My friend and I tore into the Maytag further over the weekend. This mainly involved taking apart and cleaning the "carburetor".

I say "carburetor", because the fueling setup for the Maytag 72 is ridiculously simple. The carburetor jet and pickup tube sit low in the fuel tank and the assembly is held in place with a set-screw. And corrosion - lots of corrosion.

With the pickup tube removed from the engine block, it was time to thoroughly clean it. Per the service manual (which I bought), the jet should be cleaned with a No. 72 drill bit. Bonus points to anyone who can find it on the workbench!

This and an unhealthy amount of carb cleaner were used, and a fair bit of junk was flushed out. You could now spray carb cleaner in one end and it would actually exit the other end, and quite smartly, too.

We also removed the air inlet tube (the piece with the knob) during cleaning. During removal, and especially during re-installation, we noticed that the air inlet tube was quite loose. Not knowing if that would cause an air leak, we added pipe tape around the stem as a temporary solution.

After re-assembly, it was time to see if the Maytag would finally start. We started out on the bench-top, like before. After many attempts, it gave hints of wanting to start but wouldn't. We then had the thought: "It's called a kick-starter for a reason, should we try setting it on the ground and actually kick-start it?" It turns out you can get a lot more momentum with your leg and body weight rather than with your arm...

It finally started and ran! We first got it running in the shop, but quickly decided it best to take it outside.

Now I said that it runs, but don't just take my word for it:

And a little bit later:

The Twin still needs a bunch of work. The ignition system probably needs a good tune-up, and I'm sure a better job of a full cleaning is needed. The inside of the tank (and the whole engine) really needs stripped, cleaned-up, and painted. I also need to decide the final goal of the intended restoration job, but at this point, I'm just happy that it runs!

This brings me to the parts Twin.

We took a brief look at the parts Twin as well, and I actually took a picture of it this time. It's in rough shape, and missing quite a bit - I knew this when I bought it. I mean, I bought it for $20 and am calling it "the parts Twin" for a reason...

The tank bottom is full of holes, and the tank top has a crack in it - which we just discovered. The crankshaft nose has some damage on the flywheel side, and the flywheel and most of the magneto are missing. There is also no starter assembly. It does seem to have compression, amazingly.

Since the red Twin is now running, my current plan is to keep that as the base. I want to tear into the parts Twin soon and see if the heads are any good. Hopefully they are, because then the goal would be to swap over the parts Twin heads as part of the restoration project. The heads on the parts Twin are I believe a two year only style (1937 & 1938), and should be period correct for the flywheel (The SN puts it as a Feb. 1938). Maytag only put an ID on the flywheel, so there is really no knowing what year the block is. Design cues can tell you the general period of the heads, but again no exact years. The goal would be to end up with a period correct looking 1938 engine.

Also, and unrelated: My friend has some new occupants in his shop:

A mutual friend had their living situation change abruptly, so these two will be rooming here for a while. I'm not too keen on when that happens (sometimes it can't be helped), but at least we get shop cats out of it for a while!

It shouldn’t be hard to guess...

I’m at LCM Subaru for state inspection/ emissions, and this is in the showroom. This one is a 1994 SVX LSi in Barcelona Red, 84,000 miles. I’ve finally sat in one, and it was great! It’s definitely more touring than sport, and as ‘90s as you think it is. There are definitely some cheap areas, but overall it feels very solid.

I’ve spent many years lusting after one, and while I don’t think it’s quite what I’m looking for at this stage of my life, I still want one!

Actually, I bought two, both found at the Coolspring Power Museum Flea Market. As far as personal projects go, it's both really unexpected and totally expected. I was vaguely aware of the existence of the Maytag Twin, also known as the Maytag 72, but never looked into it. I saw one early on during my travels through the flea market, but passed based on price and condition based on advice from my friend.

Later on, I found what would end up being the first purchase. This one was sort-of bought on a whim for $20, haggled down from $30. I forgot to grab a decent picture, but its a complete long-block with a bottom mount fuel tank (more on that in a bit), though it was missing the flywheel, magneto, and pedal assembly. I figured for $20 I couldn't really go wrong, and that I'd probably be able to find something to do with it.

About ten minutes later, I stumbled upon the red one pictured. The seller wasn't at his table, but a friend of his was. A quick call between the two and the seller returned to chat. The seller, as it turns out, was Maytag Mark, an all things Maytag engines expert. He actually just purchased the engine from someone else at the flea market with the intention to part it out. While it was "complete" the long-block wasn't correct for the flywheel and tank by year for period correctness (early flywheel, early tank, later long-block), and the pedal assembly was broken and rigged. He said he was able to get the engine running briefly with starting fluid, but that it very likely had a fueling issue. He was going to dig into it later, but then I showed up.

Against my better judgement, and probably still on a bit of a high from my purchase of the $20 parts Twin, I said to my friend "the hell with it" and bought the red one for probably more than I should have (10x the price of the $20 parts Twin). At this point, having never owned an antique engine in my entire life, now owned 1.5 antique engines.

After the deal was made, Maytag Mark, myself, and my friend continued talking about old Maytag engines. Of course, I was paying close attention to what Mark had to say as to understand what I bought and what actually just got myself into. We eventually got to talking about my earlier $20 purchase. It was then that Mark realized the circumstances that I put myself in with both purchases. It turns out the $20 Twin was an early long-block, and would be correct for everything else on the red one. To quote Mark - "How can you be so lucky?" My response - "I don't know, especially since I knew absolutely nothing about these ~15 minutes ago!*).

My friend and I then grabbed his Forester and drove it onto the show grounds to come collect my purchases - much better than having to carry 100 lbs worth of engines a mile back to his car. After removing the also not correct long stack exhaust (not pictured) to get it to fit in his car, and dumping probably a half a cup of oily sludge on the show grounds from said exhaust (sorry EPA), both engines were loaded (as well as many other flea market finds that my friend bought).

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon when we returned to my friend's house, and we started to dig into the Maytags a little bit. We started with the red one, draining the old gas, tightening the engine mounts, and refilling with the correct 16:1 gas/oil mixture. We also started to clean the fuel pickup tube, at least what we could without much disassembly. It wants to fire, but it just wouldn't. We were exhausted from the weekend, so didn't push on further. Also, I think it could use new head gaskets, since towards the end of messing around we got a small flame-front to come out the head / block interface. I don't think this is correct... I should probably order a gasket set...

We finished out Sunday afternoon by starting to tear into the parts twin. I'm glad the red one has a good tank, because the parts twin certainly doesn't...

I don't know what happened in this engine's life, but there are several issues I see with this tank...

Right now the plan is to get the red one running, then dive into a restoration project combining the two in the process. I anticipate that this will be a fun (and long) project.

At least, I must assume so. I bought this on AbeBooks, mostly for my own perusal. I knew it was a former library book, but check out from which library...

Yes, that DuPont. Interesting note: DuPont is where polyamide (nylon) got its start.

The same seller has another book from the same series, also claiming it is a former library book. I should probably purchase that book as well...

This is now probably my favorite book of mine from a novelty standpoint, next to the Six-Sigma textbook I have that is bound upside-down and backwards...

If you made it this far, I'll be waiting for someone to post that Simpsons clip. You know the one.

Faulkner Subaru in Harrisburg, PA had a 2022 BRZ listed in inventory, so naturally, I went to take a look. This is the first time I've seen the new model (chassis code ZD) in person, and I was not disappointed.

This specific car was a Limited trim in Ice Silver Metallic and had the 6-speed automatic. It had a few of the accessory pieces installed - the rear diffuser, trunk spoiler, vortex generator, and fender vent accents. I personally could do without most, and I especially question who thought the rear diffuser should be silver for the US market.

Feelings are mixed on the redesign, ranging from "Love It" to "Hate It" depending on who you ask. Personally, seeing it in person has solidified to me that I quite like how the new one looks. The previous generation looked good, but the new design fixes a lot of the small complaints that I had with the old design. To me it looks more mature, which I like.

Since this one is sold, I did not get a chance to look closer at the new interior, or look under the hood. The new BRZ is just starting to make it stateside, and supply is limited to start.

The exterior design is not perfect, and there are definitely design elements that I wish were different (that front plate mount, mostly), however, I think this is going to be a nice step-up from the previous generation, and something I could really see buying in a couple years. However, make mine a 6-speed manual in WR Blue.

I'm starting to get a small collection of these... the new ones are on the left.

Also, this was sitting on the lot. I believe it was a customer car and not for sale, but its always nice to see these around.

I took some time this afternoon to check and re-adjust my tire pressure as I periodically do, and gave my dad a hand with the same task on theirs. We also took the time to check the spares as well, and they were certainly low. One was at 50 psi, while the other two were in the low 40s. Not the worst I've found though - I've found them at ~24 psi before.

I keep a bicycle pump with me regardless, but it is nice to only need to bump the pressure up a bit if the spare is needed rather than need to fill it from near empty with said bicycle pump on the side of the road.

Also an amusing note - all three spares are size 145-80 D17, and all three are different brands and countries of origin. A USA made Firestone, a Japanese made Bridgestone, and an Indonesian made Falken.

Saw this drive through the neighborhood the other day. The person driving stopped to ask someone on the street for directions, so I got an extended viewing opportunity.

This truck was gorgeous, and actually being used, too. Its rare around here to see a pre-'72 Dodge truck, even as a collector's item. They don't seem to have the same love and support of the later year trucks.

Occasionally, I'm reminded that the 350Z is a pretty nice looking car.

I was at a cruise night last Saturday, and there was lots of interesting stuff to look at. Unique to this particular cruise night was a gathering of Fox Bodies. One such interesting Fox Body was this ASC McLaren.

I'm not familiar with these at all, but I don't think some of these modifications were part of the original package.

There were actually two ASC McLarens in attendance.

There was an Indy Pace Car edition:

The interior on these is neat:

There was also an Indy Festival Car:

And a Saleen:

I was unaware that the GT Turbo was a thing:

Lastly in Fox Body Land, this 1982? Mustang GT with a lot of possibly original windshield stickers:

And now for a bunch more non-Fox Body cars:

It's amazing that a 454 actually fits in a C3

I’m visiting my parents this weekend, and my dad and I got to talking about old firearms. He brought up his old black powder revolver, which has been languishing in the back of a closet for at least 30+ years and which I’ve never actually seen. He dug it out last night and we spent some time looking at it.

Best I can tell it’s a High Standard Bicentennial. Its basically a replica of a Colt 1851 Navy Revolver. My dad bought it out of the back of a magazine when he was 16 or so. He fired it quite a bit until he was tired of reloading it. It sat ever since.

It’s in pretty poor shape at this point, and is probably not anything that either of us would ever wish to fire at this point. However, it’s an interesting curiosity, and something that seems appropriate to share today.

Happy 4th everyone!

@darkbrador inspired by the Lincoln Mark IV, which explains a lot.

@davesaddiction I haven’t seen the 86 in person yet, and look forward to seeing one to compare. That being said, it’s definitely down to personal preference, and there isn’t a wrong answer.

Based on what I’ve read, watched, and seen, it really seems like Subaru/Toyota did a great job making an already good platform even better!

What is that message? That's up to your interpretation...

@williamssw I saw both of these at RSW a few years ago. I was supposed to fly on the PSA A319, but didn't due to a mechanical fault. I didn't appreciate that the plane was smiling at the time...

@theturbochargedsquirrel Or get a plate adapter. But yes, they went all out on the front plate mount for the Japanese market, and the US market still has to drill holes.

@spasoje The front situation is nice for people in areas that need to run front plates, but a bit annoying for those who don't - such as PA...

@hike There are a lot of bad aftermarket LEDs out there, for sure. All the interior bulbs I replaced were with OSRAM Sylvania ZEVO LEDs, which I believe at one point were confirmed to be what Subaru uses for their upgrade kits. I haven't had any issues in the ~2 years I've had them.

That being said, LEDs in certain applications can cause issues, especially if the car is looking for the load of an incandescent bulb that suddenly isn't there.

@hike Faulkner Subaru is a nice place, but their facilities are definitely on the small side.

I look forward to getting more time with one. The interior of the era of Subaru models right before the global platform cars was not the best. If the quality and feel of the interior of the new BRZ is similar to the global platform cars such as my '19 Crosstrek, I'd be happy with that.

@mm54 I appreciate that Subaru went with a smaller lower grille compared with the 86 and basically every car on the road these days. I think its harder to pull off these days due to pedestrian safety regulations causing hood lines to sit higher than before. I think if the hood line was lower, it would look better.

Still, I have a hard time getting behind the large grille trend. I wasn't the biggest fan of the front bumper design of the previous BRZ for that reason. It wouldn't have been a deal-breaker, but it just wasn't my preference.

There really hasn't been a great OEM taillight on this platform in my opinion. The first iteration was too busy, the second iteration looked tacked-on and aftermarket, and the third iteration (current) looks a bit too generic. I'll take a bit generic over busy though.

@theturbochargedsquirrel Yes, the rear plate needs to be drilled to be installed. If you look real close in the last picture of the rear, you can see some pilot marks for drilling. There has already been a complaint on the FT86 forum of a dealer not installing the rear plate straight...

I'm not sure how Subaru handled license plate mounting on the rear bumper in the past. As I recall, the GD/GG Impreza was the most recent until now to have a bumper mounted license plate rather than a trunk mounted license plate.

The front plate has threaded inserts for mounting, supposedly M6x1.00 thread. They went all fancy on the front, but not on the rear.