Anyone have any fun car projects coming up due to the COVID Quarantine?

Yeah I’ve got a small parts thingy in the garage with all that stuff. The thing is, there have been times in past years that the snow drifts are so big and the roads not plowed, if you had an equipment failure you’d never get out for days. So I like to be self-sufficient and have the likely parts on hand for a repair. The newspaper girl used to throw the paper in the drive during a snow storm too and used a white plastic bag. Yeah what a mess when you run into one of those and shear a pin.

I’m going to be replacing a valve cover gasket and some ignition wires this weekend

But it’s not “due to the COVID Quarantine”

It’s been on my calendar since well before the emergency was declared

Keep the vehicles charged with a battery charger instead of driving them around.

Had the rotor on a 2 stage lock up, it ate an aluminum can that near welded itself to the shaft next to the housing. Took a while to get that off, this year was plastic bags same place, no lockup but a PIA to get that out of both sides!

Catching up on the Red Green show for some of his excellent car modifications.

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The point of quarantine (or more accurately, social distancing and shelter in place, I believe Quarantine has a force of law behind it…that may be coming!) is to minimize the number of non-essential interactions we have daily, to slow the spread of the disease, so hospitals are not overwhelmed (when, for example, you might need one…).

Buying a car is not an essential activity, unless you are essential personnel (law enforcement, first responder, health care, etc) and you have no other transport.

Let’s all be smart and not selfish for a change, OK?

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If Mr. Barky wants to purchase a vehicle why would anyone care ? I received an email from the Ford dealer as to what they are doing to help prevent Virus spread in the showroom and service department. Calling or implying that he is being selfish is uncalled for.

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But it is to the car dealer, or even to the person who just wrecked their car. See, that’s why we don’t do central planning and allow people to make their own decisions. And I know all about responding to pandemics, but outside of a short period at the right time, and the right place, I question total shut downs of everything everywhere. 100-200 people afflicted out of 5-10 million seems like overkill and a power grab. Even during the polio epidemic which was a crippler, all stores and restaurants and schools were not shut down.

Mrs.Triedaq reminded me that lawn mowing season is upon us here in Indiana. In fact, I heard a mower running in my neighborhood even though the temperature is about 33°. I guess if the temperature warms up, I am going to try to service my mower. At the end of last season, my 28 year old mower began to burn oil again after three seasons of doing well with synthetic oil which stopped the oil burning.
I was going to contact the governor and see if I could get an order issued to ban all lawn mowing, but Mrs. Triedaq said that people have a right to mow there yards and that I do not have the right not to mow my yard. I guess I have a project.

I think I just mowed the lawn, yesterday. At least I heard all the mowers running and blowers blowing from a few floors up. It’s a year-around job here for the pros, but it hasn’t rained at all for a month or two. Temps in the mid-eighties days, upper 60s to low 70s nights, going to 90* days by next week-end and still no rain in the forecast. Irrigation is what makes the grass grow. I love not snow blowing and not mowing (joke will be on me when I go north in June, ha, ha).

It blows the greens keeper’s mind up north when I tell him I can see the headlights on the tractors/mowers of the guys mowing the greens below in early mornings on the golf course here from our front windows, several floors up. They have to have them done by about 7:00 when golf begins.

He can’t cope with the idea that golf starts that early (day break) because when the course is playable (snow gone, frost gone) and golf season begins in the north, lights are definitely not needed to cut the grass before the first tee-times. It’s been light for some time, already. I’m pretty sure their machines have no lights.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

New hood painted and on the truck.

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Can’t tell how well it matches the fender with the light reflection off the smooth, defect free paint on the hood.

Eh, they are both black. One is shiny, one is dirty right now so I can’t tell the match either. Original paint is base-coat, clear coat as is the paint I used on the hood. But the hood is acrylic lacquer and the car is urethane with a hardener. For a 16 year old truck, it looks better than it did. :wink:

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And that is the whole point

Good job :+1:

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My emissions expires in 2 months, cracked filler neck, $600 or so to fix to pass emissions ad have valid plates, was rear ended, trailer hitch is toast and muffler is about 4" off the ground rear bumper is toast, it is an 03 with 200k miles, so in my mind I am not going to put insurance payment for damages, then $600 to pass emissions, so it is crunch time to me to replace the vehicle. @sheridanpaul

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I have been a mobile mechanic for many years, I am now a senior and told to stay home stay safe, I had one friend who asked me to help him with his brakes, he canceled out meeting x 3 waiting till the day to cancel it. This last reschedule he said, the reason for missing our schedule meeting was because he was sick, then began to give symptoms of Cov.19 virus? Then when I asked him you need to be checked out by a doctor or nurse? He refused then said, I just had a headache? which was another symptom of Cov.19? I said, I was canceling all my repairs for two weeks!

Hair on fire, but yeah sure, be safe. Minnesota just reported 3500 people hospitalized for seasonal flu. Around a hundred or so diagnosed with COVID-19. Numbers will go up for sure as tests are done but still, let businesses open, except maybe in those ten counties seeing 50% of the cases. It’s all math and risk. Maybe head to North Dakota for a couple weeks. Gas is cheap.

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I hope I am wrong, but I think I am not. You will see what is “essential”…soon.

I am thinking I should get rid of all the old car stuff I have around, unopened antifreeze, gear oil, spark plugs, dwell meter, timing lights, points and condensers, oil filter wrenches etc. I don’t feel like trying to sell anything on ebay, any ideas for places to donate it to that might actually want the stuff?

How about a school (probably closed now) that has an auto class shop? Habitat for Humanity? (They pick up in our area).

CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

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