So a funny thing happened the other day, I got reached out to by Pabst Blue Ribbon on twitter to see if I'd be interested in being sponsored by them for a photoshoot. As you can see, I gladly accepted.

A few months ago, PBR on Twitter put out a tweet asking if anyone had a Probe. I, being a PBR fan, saw the post and replied with the beloved OppoProbe. They liked my photo and followed me, my favorite beer company follows me! I was pretty happy and just thought it was one of those user interaction posts...

NOPE.

A month later they reached back out asking if I still had the Probe. I responded that I did and they offered to send me a bunch of stickers to put on the car and photograph for a campaign and they'd pay me for it. I gladly accepted and a few weeks later a package came in the mail.

I cleaned up the Probe and took quite a few pics using the stickers and they ended up posting them on Twitter, apparently more are to come which is cool!

So yeah, the Probe is now a sponsored race car. Which is cool! I included a few more photos that were some of my favorite!

Of course that's probably because we got married!

Mrs. RCToTheFuture and I had our wedding this past Saturday and it was everything we could have wanted and more. Had a traditional wedding in a Catholic Church, allowing our family to give readings and feel like it was done properly.

We then had pictures taken at the local quarry/park which should look pretty good! We then had our reception at the local Elk's Lodge in Milwaukee. My family and the Bride's family went above and beyond to provide an amazing meal, lots of drinks, beautiful tables and decorations. It culminated in a loud, drunken, and incredible night for us.

The following day feels like it didn't happen and our day off Monday consisted of us opening up lots of lovely gifts and having it hit us that we were married. Gotta say, it really hasn't fully hit me yet. Can't thank all my family and friends enough and I look forward to married life, somehow.

We actually got home on Saturday night, just been busy with life that I haven't had the time to post the Probe here or tell the story!

So as said on Saturday, the Mrs. and I loaded up her new Sorento and headed north to visit @derpwagon in Minnesota. A nice 5 hour trip across the great state of Wisconsin and we entered the Twin Cities. We stopped at a local U-Haul and got a tow dolly, with a very nice lady working there help me load it up. Stopped over at Derp's and checked out his fleet, loved the house and all the space for activities! Gives me some goals for the future He's got a lovely family and I hope I can stop by again once the Probe is up and running.

We loaded up the Probe (pushing it on the dolly) and all the spare parts and headed South.

After leaving, the Mrs. wanted to stop at Mall of America to check out Boxlunch and The Disney Store. I figured since she was putting up with me getting a car, I could put up with a stop at the mall. Haven't been there in a few years, but it was insane being in a building that loud and crowded in over a year, gave me a little anxiety actually.

We got back in the Kia and headed home, stopping for dinner in the Dells. The ride was pretty easy, however the Sorento didn't have a tow mode so I had to keep in 5th manually throughout the trip, manually dropping down to 4th for hills. Around 8:30 we finally hit the driveway. I used a hand winch and my Mini's tow hook to winch the Probe off the trailer as it wasn't going to come off being pushed by hand.

Now she's sitting in the driveway, waiting for me to order some parts and figure out the plan. My goal is to get the car running and driving with the stock engine and transmission as it needs a water pump and timing belt. I'll get it up and running, replace some failed parts and decide if I want to "resto-mod" it or swap in a KLZE and maybe do some other custom stuff. Next post will be going through my repair checklist and some cool stuff I've found on the car that Oppo might enjoy.

Thanks again @derpwagon! You are awesome for letting me pick this up, even more awesome for helping me load it, and truly amazing for saving all the parts and letting me have them. Like I said, you have an incredible home and family and I appreciate the hospitality.

Currently enjoying a day off before getting back to reality this week. Last night the wife and I tried some premade cocktails and I enjoyed them very much. So much, I got an eBay notification and got a little wreckless with my bids. So far I'm outbid on a Commodore 64 and Jeff Gordon cardboard cutout. However, I'm still winning this

That's a 1976 olds 88. V8, runs and drives. Just needs some fuel system and wiring work. Needless to say, the wife isn't going to be happy if I win this one. Lesson learned, don't drink and bid!

If anyone wants to save me from this, or just wants to check out the ad, Click here

My favorite car show was today, the Waukesha Old Car Club show at Frame Park in Waukesh, WI. It's right on the Fox River and is a beautiful show! Always a few hundred cars and lots of folks, usually all driving things from 1978 on back.

We went today as it was the show my Grandpa always took me to, and I never miss it. Even thought it was 92 degrees with humidity, we went for it! We got to the show and the lots were packed. Sadly my phone died before I got there but so no pictures We walked around and checked out old C2 and C3 Vettes, a gaggle of new C8's, an E type convertible, 23 window VW bus, a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II and more obscure automobiles.

We walked the show and saw prize winners and lovers, and even found a turbo Miata in the mix. However my wife made a cardinal mistake, which is why I'm making this post, she gave her opinion. Walking past a 58 Bel Air in a faded pink, I stopped to see if it was factory. Reading the card on the hood, my wife said "Boy that color is UGLY." Before I could argue that it was, in fact, quite nice (to me anyway) the owner was sitting near by and had already jumped out of his chair to come over.

He walked up to my wife and said "Excuse me miss, what did you say?" And my wife, (not realizing this was the owner) said "I don't like the color, this pink is just weird. Still a pretty car though!"

Well our boomer stranger didn't appreciate that. He decided to tell my wife it was a factory color, a popular one too! He said his wife loved the color and people appreciated seeing the car today and why would she even think it was ugly.

I let her sweat it out for a minute before I stepped in and calmed him down by asking when he got the car and what he's done to it. I thanked him for his time, shook his hand and I was on my way. My wife was baffled "Was he that offended that I didn't personally like the color?" I told her that "These cars are like some people's children. You don't tell someone their child isn't perfect, they won't believe you and they'll fight to the death to prove you wrong."

After this realization and a few more questions, she decided she'd keep her opinions to herself for the afternoon. As we were leaving we passed a 70's Tbird in brown with t-tops. It was glorious, but my wife slipped it was "Almost as bad as that pink car." The owner of the Tbird was standing there and I couldn't help myself...

"Hey man, I love the car! Do you like the brown?"

"I LOVE IT! It's ugly as hell but I love it!"

"I love it too man, but my wife, she is comparing it to that pink Bel-Air over there. She can't figure out which is uglier, she said it might be yours!"

Cue a man asking my wife paint and wheel questions for 3 minutes and ultimately agreeing that, in fact, the pink car is worse.

God bless these easily excitable animals with predictable responses. They're just the best, minus the whole screwing the planet thing.

Evening Oppo, had a hell of a day.

The Mrs. $400 4Runner had a leak from the fuel tank and I had to swap out the fuel tank for a new one. I pulled the cover, pulled the old tank out and siphoned the fuel out into a fuel jug.

I went to pull the bolts off the fuel pump cover and it went ok. The vent though gave me some issues, 2 bolts stripped so I would have to drill them out. Knowing from history and reading recommendations, I went to fill the fuel tank with water. I grabbed the hose, filled it up and started drilling. I had the tank on my steps to my deck, so I could siphon it down to a fuel tank.

As I was drilling, the tank shifted and fell, spilling out all over the steps and down onto the walk. The water went up to my deck and smelt a little like gas. I wasnt too worried, as I thought I just smelled gas on my hands or something. After refilling with water, and putting my knee into the tank to secure it, I drilled again.

Now mind you, this is where it all went wrong. I had the drill on "Auto" and now with wet hands and a wet tool, it slipped out of my hands. It fell onto the ground, and it shut off. What happens when an electric motor stops? It sparks!

Up like a light, the fuel water mix lit on fire and I was in the middle of it. I screamed, jumped out of the flames and yelled for the Misses to get the extinguisher. I used the hose running at full pressure to get the steps. I hit the tank onto the ground and it started up to. I got the small kitchen extinguisher and swept the flames on the steps, not realizing the flames we're headed down the whole side of the deck.

While I was fighting the flames, the Misses called the fire department who were there in a few minutes. They used their extinguisher and got it all calmed down. They went under the deck (I removed the lattice this winter and haven't replaced it yet). They verified nothing else was on fire and left me to clean up.

Needless to say, it was one of the scariest moments of my life. I couldn't control the flames, I couldn't stop them from hitting the deck, and it was just me not realizing the danger around me.

Thankfully I'm ok, just singed hair and a ruined pair of shoes. Misses and the dogs are all ok too. I have some boards to replace now and some new paint to do, but I'm so thankful it wasn't worse. Always make sure you have a fire extinguisher around and work safely when working near gasoline!

Anyone want a 4Runner that needs a new fuel tank installed?

It's been a crazy past few weeks and the Mrs. and I prepare for our wedding. Every weekend we have a wedding/shower/event up until our own so free time is few and far between. That means no boat, no fun, no work on the weekends. However, this past Friday I had some time to get the 1995 Probe GT that @derpwagon graciously offered to gift to me over a month ago.

Here's how it currently sits.

I removed some of the silicone that Derp had to use to keep water from entering the cabin. I removed it on the rears and put a black silicon under the rubber weather-stripping on the rears to clean it up a bit.

I figured I'd take it Vice Grip Garage style. Lay out what's there, what's not there, and then figure out what it needs to run. Now this car was derp's daily for awhile so it saw regular use and repair, which is good news for me. What was not so good news, was that it had sat for 5 years with a quarter tank of gas. Luckily I need some deck stain, so it all worked out! I started off by getting a new battery as the car didn't have one. I would use that battery to power the car up and allow me to jumper the fuel pump and get that pumping out the old nasty fuel. The only problem is, I grabbed the wrong battery. The Probe requires a 58R and I grabbed a Group 35.

So it fits in the tray spot, but it's too tall for the hood. I could relocate it to the rear, but for now I just latch the hood and will go back to Walmart to get a correct battery sometime later this month.

After hooking up the battery, I added a few gallons of fresh fuel to the tank to help with the cleaning process and gave it the jumper. A few gallons squirted out the fuel hose in a weird green/brown/clear mixture that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I apologize for no pictures of this, my last incident with fuel meant I gave full focus so that my deck didn't go up in flames... again.

I then took an inventory of everything that Derp had left me in these 2 Gorilla Cases that he had given me. All the parts were there (radiator, maf, intake, battery tray, radio, etc.) and in really good shape.

I started off by putting the MAF on and giving the car a crank to see if it would start and run. I cranked the car over to check if it had oil pressure and it sputtered and hiccupped. I shut it down out of fear of doing damage. I remembered these silly Probes need all the vacuum hoses and throttle linkages hooked up to run right.

I put the radiator in, and I gotta say this was so easy. @derpwagon left all the bolts in the factory positions and tightened them down. All I had to do was unbolt them, put in the part, and rebolt them up. No chasing bolts, no finding missing hardware, it was all right there and it made life 1000% easier for this revival. I then made sure the radiator connections and clamps were good and filled it with water.

After the radiator was in and connected, I finished hooking up the intake and making sure all vacuum hoses and throttle linkages were hooked up. I blocked off the ports for the cruise control vacuum pump, as if you hook up these wrong the engine runs away on you and it's no fun to deal with on an engine that sat for several years. I then added quite a few more gallons of fuel, along with a bottle of Barryman B12 carbon cleaner. I hopped in the driver seat and gave it a first start.

As you can see it started but ran really rough, check engine light was on immediately and I was worried I caused some form of damage just by being a little too eager. I hopped out and checked all the connections, only to find the MAF connector loose.

If that doesn't give a good signal, the KLDE will run on a "limp home" mode map by guessing where the TPS is situated and guessing how much air is coming in. I reconnected the harness and tried again.

It came up a little high in idle, then settled down. It's running a tad rough still, but I imagined there was a lot of carbon, a gunked up fuel filter, and of course just needing to get the cobwebs blown out of her.

I decided now that the car ran, it was time to do some maintenance.

Old oil is not something you should be revving on. So I let the car warm up, made sure the thermostat and fans kicked on, and then put it in the air. I drained the oil and chunks or glitter were in it. The filter looked good and had no issues from what I saw. I had grabbed the cheapest oil at Fleet Farm ($11 Mobil Semi-Synthetic) and an oil filter from Advance as Fleet Farm was all out. I also grabbed a bottle of Gumout Fuel System Cleaner. After getting the new oil in and getting the filter tight, I started the car and made sure oil pressure was good. It quieted down a little more and I figured it was a good time for a carbon cleaning.

I unhooked an intake vacuum line and ran it into the Gumout can and started the engine. 30 seconds later, the can was empty so I shut it down and let the cleaner go to town on the valves and pistons. With the B12 in the fuel tank, this was going to make for one hell of a smoke show.

After about 15 minutes of cleaning myself up, I went ahead and started the car. What followed was an acrid, disgusting white smoke of burned off carbon. As you'll see in this video, I had accumulated a puddle of water and carbon at the end of the car.

After the cleaning was almost done (there was still some smoke), I let it idle and go through some fan cycles. I figured it was best to make sure it wasn't going to overheat on me. I then got in and tested the clutch. Derp had mentioned the clutch had this weird point where it would go down, stick, then actuate the clutch. I put the clutch to the floor, and put it in reverse. Slowly letting the clutch out, there was very little room for engagement but it moved in reverse! Put it in first, and it moved forward! Hit the brakes, they work too! Alright, no issues! I proceeded to back in and out of my driveway and verify the brakes did work. They sounded like hell thanks to the rust buildup I neglected to look into, but they stopped the car and worked perfectly.

At this point, I was pretty happy. I had a running, somewhat driving, Ford Probe with no discernable issues. i wanted to go for a spin around the block but it was getting late so I waited until today when I had some time on my lunch period. As you can see, it went well:

All in all, I'm super happy to say the least! This is a gorgeous little Probe that needs some loving care and I can't wait to give it that love after the wedding! For now, the plan is to continue with general maintenance (valve cover, water pump, timing belt, plugs and wires), new tires, and getting the radio working along side the A/C system. After that, it'll be body work time!

I've jokingly been calling this the OppoProbe or the Ford Hyphen, anyone got a better name for it? Here's an exhaust clip for your time:

Gotta tell you guys, it's been a tough weekend for me and the misses. On Thursday, my fiancees sister end up leaving her abusive relationship but didn't have anywhere to go. We helped her out and gave her the couch until she can figure her stuff out. Her boyfriend was holding her stuff (clothes, laptop, etc.) Hostage until she paid her last 2 months of rent. She of course has been low on cash thanks to paying her boyfriends bills and was in-between a rock I'm a hard place.

I fronted her the cash, even though we have a wedding in 2 weeks and I needed that money for our DJ and the church. So to make up for that loss, I sold my boat. I didn't want to, I wanted to take it out for our mini-moon but family comes first. Of course the misses feels awful, but I'd rather her sister not be in her situation and that she's safe. So $1509 later, it's gone

Right after I sold it, I got a call from one of my groomsman. His wife (a bridesmaid) has a grandfather who fell ill and may pass sometime this week. If he passes this week, the funeral would more than likely be the day of our wedding. Of course I'm heartbroken for them, but their kids are also supposed to be our ring bearers so that just makes the whole situation worse. Life really is a kick in the nuts sometime, hope everyone is having a better weekend than me!

I don't know about you, but it sounds perfect for your average Miami boater

So yesterday we took the boat out for its first time and things didn't go as expected.

We drove out to a small lake near the house and it was empty, not a single soul out there. Looking over the lake there was some dark clouds headed our way, but I figured if I got it up to full throttle and checked the temperatures I'd be good enough. I backed the boat down, unhooked it and hopped in.

Putting the engine down, I squeezed the fuel bulb a few times and then cranked it over. About 4 crank cycles and she was up and running. Let it run for about 30 seconds and then put it in reverse. It banged into gear and slowly moved out. This is where the trouble started.

Almost immediately my bilge pump kicked on, not sure why but I saw my outlet above the water line was actually taking on some water. I guess I had the engine trimmed out too low so I bumped it up a little and put it in drive. No bang. "Uh-oh".

I gave the boat some throttle and it went faster in reverse. Shifting to reverse just changed my throttle speed. Oh shit, I'm stuck in reverse. The Mrs. had stayed on the shore to watch and assist if need be. At this point, the rain was coming and I'd have to load this sucker by hand. GREAT. So I turned the boat around, headed for the dock and gave it a full blast and attempted a J turn in the water.

I got to the bow and threw a line to the shore and the Mrs. tied me off. I walked the boat up to the dock using the line on deck and re-tied it off so I could back the trailer in. Backed the trailer in, hooked up the winch and started to pull her in. She was coming in sideways, so I walked down to bring her in straight. Sure enough, the ramp was slippery and I fell in. Luckily all that was hurt was my pride, but it was cooling and refreshing. I winched up and secured the boat on the trailer, and we pulled it out. Pulled the drain plug, tied down the transom strap and we headed for home, just as the downpour started.

Getting it home, in a massive rainstorm, was a little nerve wracking. We got home and I threw my rain coat on to get the cover on the boat and then inspect the engine and drive unit. On these old Chrysler's, there is a selector rod that goes up and down for your drive and also pushes your throttles open once you're past half throttle. It's all held in by one cotter pin, which I replaced at the time of the impeller job. Sure enough, it was missing. Funny how that ruined my whole day! I looked around and saw if I had any extras... "Hey, isn't that the cotter pin in my toolbox that I remember putting back on when I did the service? And then removed because I had to reseat the housing?"

Yep, forgot to put the pin in and never thought to even check that on my impromptu checklist. Beyond that, the engine fired up and ran and the boat didn't sink. So all in all, not a bad day and I got to go for my first swim of the year. Going to be raining the next few days so I'm hoping to get the boat out on Sunday so I can check the head temps and verify voltage output. (sorry there are no pictures, was too busy worrying about the storm!)

@chariotoflove basically it's a full prep race team with crap cars. Full cage, fire suppression, racing suits, etc. But with $500 cars. The hard part is getting the car ready and having everyone have good gear/tools to use on the car.

@beefchips that's the plan, I don't know what race I'd do. Closest is Road America or Joliet, but I wouldn't be opposed to traveling either.

Currently waiting on some parts for the OppoProbe and it got me googling racing parts. Found a full cage and racing seats designed for ChumpCar and Lemons, for the Probe. It got me thinking, do we have anyone here who races in these series or who has under the Oppo banner?

I started thinking about a black painted Probe with big orange Oppo logos, screaming across the track with a team of Oppo members keeping it in one piece. Not sure if that's the way I want to go with the old girl, but it is fun to think about.

If we don't have a team already, would anyone be interested? Don't have a garage or anything to build it in, but that's half the fun building a car outside! I'd be more than happy to prep the car, just need a team to race with!

The A8 is awesome. The S8 with the V10 is awesomer. Love these cars as everyone always argues about the 7 series and S series, these just fly under the radar.

Typically, the battery light coming on is the system telling you it's running off of battery and that the alternator is dead. Did the right thing by not dying in traffic.

If that's got the 3.4, then fuck doing that alternator job at home. Stupid tension bolts means you go through the wheel well and it's a pain.

Love me that green 911. Such a shame we don't see more like that!

I appreciate everyone's help and info! I'm going to my local Best Buy, they have a few Lenovo laptops and a few Air's for me to play with. Will try and figure out which one I like better. I feel that if I get the MacBook, I might jump ship and go full iPhone and Apple Watch...

@just-jeepin good to know, I only have 1 large curved monitor so I don't think it'll affect me too much

Quick update everyone.

No room at the inn for this bad boy, my wife is understandably not happy and I understand. As I feel bad about the situation, I made a cash donation on the Rawhide site to help cover any posting costs and I know the money will be going to a good cause.

No booze for December

Evening Oppo,

I'm in a bit of a pickle and need your advice. I've been without a laptop for over 3 months now since leaving Cummins. I have been trying to get by with my desktop, tablet and phone but I find myself finding compatibility issues with my tablet on the road and not wanting to go into a sperate room when I'm at home to use my desktop for non-gaming purposes.

At this point, I need a new laptop. I'm open to all 3 ecosystems (Windows, Apple, Chrome) but don't know what I should be going with. The goal is to browse, stream, edit pictures and light video, along with old school pc gaming (think XP era games). I'd like to spend no more than $800 ($600 would be a good spot) and have something that'll last for the next few years for that investments. Here's my thought process on what I'd like and would like any suggestions!

Apple MacBook Air: I love the air and it's design. It's sleek, it's sexy, it's fun to type on at BestBuy and the M1 chip is proving to be a powerhouse with great battery life. Video, audio, and visual editing looks to be easy on the system. I'm just not familiar with apples ecosystem, and only have an old iPad (run an Android phone, watch, and Windows PC sever for home media).

I've found a few for around $800 and that seems to be a great price for a 3-4 year future proof machine from Apple.

(I would be running Windows in either VMWare or dual booting with the new Windows ARM edition for windows applications, which I hear has some issues too.)

Chromebook: I can get a Chromebook stupid cheap and that's super appealing. I had one in college and I didn't mind the "always on the internet or it's useless" nature due to our modern, wifi filled, world. However, I find trying to use a suitable alternative to a Windows app on it difficult. Are Android apps able to run native? I've tried to get a straight answer and it seems some can, some can't.

The other issue is that video, picture and sound editing are extremely limited but possible. For $200, it would be good for a year and I'd be happy.

Windows Laptop: Windows OS is my bread and butter, as is most people. However, my experiences with a Windows based laptop have always been disastrous. Bloatware, bad optimization, and of course a lack of responsiveness after 1-2 years with updates only slowing it further. With so many different brands, hardware, and reviews, its hard to find the right option for me.

I know all the programs for a Windows machine, and I know that heavy tasks on x86 processors eat memory, battery life, and generate a lot of heat in a negative way. This is why I always had trust issues with making laptops work machines for any major video or photo editing.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Surface laptops, as a Windows version of an Apple product. Any merit to this? Appreciate all your advice!

@davesaddiction ah boy, this will get me in trouble.

I don't like the sound of the 5.2 Voodoo. It doesn't rev as fast as other flat plane V8's and I much prefer the Coyote or LT1 V8 noise to it.