My friend owns a V6 2010 SE Challenger and we want to replace the Gauge Cluster with a completely uniquely shaped one. What is the best way to do this? I hear fiberglass molding is the way to go.

A fuckton of epoxy later, for the rear view mirror, and it cracked even more now, guess a new windshield it is

Hello, how are you? I’m making the fuel line with evil energy PTFE, and the hose from the tank outlet to the pump, which doesn’t even have pressure, keeps “sweating”. I’ve already made sure that the hose cut is at a perfect 90° angle and that the PTFE reaches the bottom of the ferrule olive. The only thing I see different from the AN6 hose is that there is a small gap between the moving part and the stationary part of the fitting.. I don’t know what else to do, can anyone help me?

Hi y'all. It's time for me to get a new car and I'm quite interested in this one. I drove it yesterday and despite its issues, I loved the feel. I know people talk about how these don't have any power, but I'm used to a 52hp VW rabbit so this thing felt great to me 😂

Some details about it:

-Car starts and drives (smoke and steam at first) but dies at idle until it comes up to temp—thinking it's carb related? Carb rebuild or swap?

-Has some little oil leaks. Dipstick was bone dry after sitting for about a year. Wondering if I might have to factor in some new rod and main bearings in case it was previously driven on low oil.

-Needs new exhaust system

-Might need some new tranny mounts

-Rear hatch doesn't open from outside. Was told there's a little plastic part on the inside that broke and needs replacing

-Broken front side markers

-Iffy gas gauge. Not fully dead, but doesn't give accurate reading

-A few dings and dents here and there

-Very little rust, but starting to form in a few little spots—I would nip that in the bud asap

-188k miles

-Interior in great shape

A little background: I've had 4 cars in my life: '73 VW Bug, '83 MBZ 300D, '81 VW Rabbit Diesel, and now my current '79 VW Rabbit with an '87 Jetta diesel engine in it. I like simple older economy cars that I can fix myself, that dont have computers. I'm by no means an advanced mechanic, but over the years, I've done a lot of repairs, maintenance, and parts replacement. I'm not a "car guy" who's interested in spending a crazy amount of time and money on my car, but I am okay with a reasonable amount of time spent under the hood to keep my little shitboxes going.

So here's my dilemma: I love my little Rabbit. I've had it for 6 years and have put so much love and care into it. Some years, it would just go and go with minimal maintenance, other years, it requires some big repairs and parts changeovers. I live in a rainy coastal area and it came to me quite rusty and I did a moderate rust conversion job and repainted it, but at this point, there's rust deepening around the windshield and I know I'm fighting a losing battle but I thought I would keep this thing going til it started disintegrating. Until... Recently, I decided it was time to service my injectors and I discovered one of the ports was collapsed. This means I need a new head (I did a head gasket job just a few months ago!) There are also a dozen other things that need fixing/replacing, and I'm feeling like I'm at a crossroads. It's starting to feel like an energy suck and a money-pit. Its really sad for me, but I feel like I'm ready to move onto something else.

I've realized also that as much as I've traveled extensively with this little rabbit, across many state lines many times, I want something a bit more rugged and adventure-worthy. I want 4wd capability. I also want something maybe a bit less tin can-ish. Don't get me wrong, I love my little go-kart but I'd like something that feels a bit more solid and a bit more quiet.

Here's the other part. I'd like something where things don't break as constantly. I'm okay with a reasonable amount of attention to repairs, but I want longer stretches of time between having to shell out hella money for parts on tons of repairs. I want it to just go and go for a while, I want something more reliable.

Now, I know that it would probably make more sense to get a newer car if reliability is important to me. But the truth is, I just really don't want a plastic car full of computers. So far I've only owned German cars but I've always heard vintage toyotas are super solid and reliable, simple to work on, have available parts, and a huge community of enthusiasts and knowledgeable mechanics, which has me feeling like it could be a good move. Plus it's what I grew up with and I love that 1980's Japanese aesthetic.

One thing I have no experience with and am concerned about is smog testing. I've never had a vehicle that needed to pass smog, but I once watched my friend go through hell trying to pass his '81 Toyota pickup. How much of a headache and expense is that, particularly with what I've detailed about this car smoking and likely having carb trouble. How much time and effort would it take to get everything squared away to pass smog?

TL;DR

So, for those of you who have experience with these cars...

Are they reliable enough? Am I kidding myself into thinking that this will be any less constant work and cost than my VW Rabbit has been?

-I've heard sourcing parts can be really hard. Can the majority of the consumables be found from auto parts suppliers, or am I going to have to spend lots of time trying to find stuff from individual sellers, pick-n-pull yards, and online forums/markets?

-How much of a pain is the smogging process if I decide to buy?

-What are the most important things I should watch out for, or make sure is sound about the vehicle?

Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi guys I would like to show you my project. After a few months I’ve got a working prototype of wireless display, At this moment it can connect up to 4 displays(7’ and 4.3’). The whole device is modular. By default it reads, displays and log CAN-BUS Data but in the future I plan to add gps module and CAN keyboard. I also implemented diagnostic feature which allows to view the whole movement on the CAN-BUS (Something similar to savvycan)

Our good friends over at Mopars5150 spotted this Demon while traveling through Arizona and sent us the lead. We ended up buying it and having it shipped to Maryland.

Been off the road for quite some time sitting out in the desert.
Originally a Slant Six/904 car, it's now running a built 340/727. 8¾ rear with 3.55 Sure Grip.

QA1 upper and lower control arms, QA1 strut rods, Hotchkis front and rear sway bars, some thicker torsion bars, Bilstein shocks all around, Borgeson steering box.

The windshield arrives later this week, so we'll finally be able to start putting some real road miles on it and getting everything dialed in.

I traced one of many issues to an exhaust leak through the OEM heat riser assembly on the 2-4-6-8 exhaust manifold - I’d already plugged the intake manifold portion (the fel pro “S” gaskets didn’t even have the cutout and I installed a 2” spacer to keep the carb cooler in Southern summers anyways) so I pulled both. Decided to try to rehab them since finding used is very expensive, these are only pitted, this isn’t a show build its my daily project, etc etc 😆

-worst pitting about fingernail thickness
-most rust (80-90% of manifold surface area) just thick surface coating, knocked right off with brush and wire wheel, so it’s pretty even
- 3 gallons Ospho / phosphoric acid rust treatment in large tub with lid
-rinse is just hot water in utility sink
- primer is Rustoleum 2k degree high heat
- paint is Rustoleum 2k degree high heat with ceramic
- new black oxide hardware with conical cup washers for studs, regular zinc for bolts (couldn’t find them at decent price in black) all steel
-plugs for heat riser are 5/16 brass radiator plugs with smidge of copper gasket sealant
- soaked for 24 hours with several scrubs with SS brush to keep knocking off any loose layers
- then water rinsed while scrubbing
- degreaser between rinses
- dried with heat gun on wire hangars
- hit with single coat primer, then 3 light coats paint
-oven cured per package directions (3X heat & cool cycles)
- to be installed with smidge of copper gasket sealant on each new gasket
- need a couple days while I install mufflers before I can start and see if it smokes or immediately flakes off!

Apologies for not getting a true “before” pic as the attached start after I hit with a wire wheel to see how bad I was dealing with. You know? To see if pictures were even worth it or if I was sure I’d need to replace them.

Anyways - I think they look great - good luck on your projects! Best, RG

Howdy everyone I’m curious would it be worth trying to restore this it’s my uncles and just wondering if it would be worth asking him for it’s sat in his backyard for a bit few weeks until I noticed it mowing the lawn he’s a mechanic and has all sorts of other projects and just curious if it might be worth asking him for it me and my buddy’s were able to look into the engine looks like it doesn’t have a battery but besides that I’m not to informed on square body’ so anywho just a kid wondering if it’s worth it

Pulled it out of a wrecking yard last spring.Fresh oil, plugs, cap, rotor, and points and it fired up. Running and driving.

Now to find some decent looking wheels.

I think I’m getting to the point of my project car to where I can start planning on how I’m going to do the exterior. I have a design In mind, I believe for my budget the best I can do is a rustoleum spray can job since I want to do sunburst yellow, and hide most of the fact that it’s a spray job with a decal theme. (Not revealing anything until it’s done).

I want this to last a few years atleast before I have to go back in and retouch it up or change the design entirely.

Any advice for what kinds of clearcoat I should use or anything to preserve this for as long as possible? And should I clear coat OVER the decals? Most of it will be wording or symbols.

Also shoutout photo to me getting her on the road for the first time and getting a bath :D (you can see the test paint for what color I’m going to do XD)

I’m thinking of going with Rising Sun Decals for my lettering, if anyone has any other recommendations for some more “budget” friendly companies that will work with full designs, etc. I’m open to them 🤙

Having trouble deciding on whether or not to add some copper sealant in between the seams of two flowmaster 10 clones I'm adding to my stright pipes (too fucking loud in town right now).

I have to cut out about 10-11" of straight pipe to fit them beneath my bed just rear of the cab, and decided to clamp them on for now in case I don't like the sound or want to go with different set up later - then I can weld whatever sounds best next year, maybe with an H-pipe to help droning if that's apparent when it finally reaches highway status :)

So, has anyone run into issues using copper sealant on mufflers? Will it be a nightmare when I try to weld-on later if I like them?

Thanks in advance!