A Hoodlum Update

Pix to come soon, but it's 10:20 p.m. and dark and I'm not going to take them now...

Been working on the free car, Hoodlum (since it has no hood), on my free evenings and some afternoons when Comcast cuts off my email because I've sent too many press releases out.

Got the non-functional air conditioning system out, and I swear the compressor weighs at least 40 pounds. So that's a bunch of weight gone and two belts the engine no longer has to turn.

The PO (previous owner) had an oil cooler installed when he lived in Arizona. Not a bad thing, but he had it mounted behind the front bumper. Not only does it not get a lot of air flow tucked behind the front bumper, I've removed the front bumper entirely, which left the oil cooler hanging there like a tongue. Not a good look. Tonight I relocated it behind the grill where it will get a lot of fresh air and should work a whole lot better. And 2002s look cool with no bumpers.

Decided that I don't need to replace the nose on the car, since it's going to be a race car anyway. I pulled and pounded the dents out pretty well, and with a hood in place you don't hardly notice. Should be able to install the replacement fender and hood I bought for $40 in the next few days and have a pretty well intact car.

Upgraded the brakes to the bigger vented rotors from a 1977 320i and calipers from a 1987 Volvo in front, and the bigger drums from a 1983 320 in the rear. Need to bleed those, and had to get 14" inch wheels because the stock 13s didn't fit over the bigger brakes. (All the parts in this paragraph came from various Pick N Pull wrecking yards.) The wheels are BMW bottlecaps and look cool.

Started scraping out the sound insulation from the interior, but haven't fully gutted it yet. (And may not for a while.) Roll cage will go in eventually.

The eventually list is LONG. Upgraded suspension, 5-speed transmission, smog-free, high-horsepower engine, free-breathing exhaust, etc., etc., etc.

I'd say that's it keeping me out of trouble, but you know that's a lie...

The Trailer Works Just Right

Yes, it's a tiny little thing, but our new trailer works just great. On Friday, it hauled a couple of weeks worth of trash to the transfer station, then on Saturday I took it down to Lodi and Stockton and came home with a new hood for the '76. (We call than car Hoodlum, for obvious reasons...)

I've been looking for the right kind of latches to connect the tailegate to the sides and finally got them ordered last week. They'll be in on Monday and I'll install them, retorque all the bolts and it'll be ready for whatever comes next!

How I Spent My Eveneings This Week

More details, as always, on The Portable Blog.

Parking Pad Poured!

Pix to follow. Friend Dave knew what he was doing and it came out well. Pictures on The Portable Blog.

Damaged Doppelganger

Details at The Portable Dad blog...

Dangerous Dave's Debut Dog

This is Geary, our good friend Dave's new - and first! - dog. He got him at a shelter in Plumas County today, and Geary made the 3-hour ride home in good shape.

Just a pup - 11 weeks. Welcome to the pack!

A Very Nice Weekend

It was a very nice weekend in This Land. On Saturday, we took the BMW over to Sonora to have lunch with some friends and see their new house, then after dinner that night we went down to Murphys to try to catch up with the Mother Lode 400 Rally.

As well pulled into the hotel parking lot in my tan 1974 BMW 2002, we see a tan 1974 BMW 2002. Those folks have owned it for 4 days! Nice car - not a single crack in the dash - but it's an automatic so it's a wash. Some cool cars in the Rally (next year!) including a couple of vintage Alphas, several 2002s, a few Datsun roadsters and even a Lancia.

Today started slow and included a lot of small projects, which all got done. Diane spent most of the day with her plants. A BBQ pork tenderloin for dinner, a bit of playing with Gus and we're both pretty well set to hit the ground running work-wise tomorrow.

All in all, excellent!