Thanks but I'm just trying to balance cheapness with worsening OCD and mediocre diagnosing skills.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

A couple more updates and memories with this car.

This car had some custom collision bodywork done to it over the past few years on the passenger side. It wasn't super bad but it's been bothering me. A few months back I was browsing car-part.com and I saw that there were passenger doors available locally in the same color for $75/door. Now I know the color might not be 100% but I've had success with miss-matched panels on 4-5 cars in the past. I checked the paint depth when I got to the salvage yard.. it did not match my car (thinner) but at the price I was willing to take the chance.. especially since the door skin seams all around was in better shape. My doors are starting to hint some corrosion. The doors had been sitting for a while but looked like they would clean up nice.

Clean up:





Custom body work:





Installed:



So, I did not completely win the color match lottery but it is very hard to tell in-person. I actually thought it was a 100% match until I looked at the pictures. I'm a pack rat so I'll hold onto the original doors for a while just in case the color match bothers me more. I did eraser wheel the pin stripe off and do a quick polish in that area. The area behind the rear door still has some damage and the bumpers have been bumped but I think this car is a paint and headlight polish away from something that presents well.

With regards to the memory making - this car has now taken me to H.S. graduation, been borrowed for dates with my now wife (when my Bonneville was broken), seen both east and west coasts, has taken my newborn son home from the hospital in San Diego and last week took my newborn daughter home from the hospital in Philly. This certainly isn't a forever car for me but it's a cool car to keep on the road given it's family history.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

Wait...what?! New daughter!? Awesome! Congratulations!

_________________

Resident Tightwad

Screw you, Photobucket.

Yessir! Thank you!

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

After replacing several parts of the AC system last year it ended up getting weak at the end of the summer. I made that a later me problem and picked back up with it a few weeks ago. First I checked the pressure and it was zero.. Then I bought a UV light and yellow glasses kit because I lost my last one. I found a couple possible areas that may be leaks but it was hard to tell if it was just dis-colorization or a leak.

My painter buddy suggested I make an adapter from a cheap AC recharge kit to put shop air into it then soak it all down with soapy water. I bought a cheap AC charge hose then started to look up how to properly adapt the 12 oz R134a can threads to an air hose fitting. It started getting expensive and annoying so I decided to see how far off the threads really were.. I was able to get maybe a turn and a half out of the air fitting into the AC charge hose fitting. So, I decided to take it apart and JB Weld it in. It held pressure without issue and I found out the pressure relief valve near the compressor was leaking.. Jag doesn't sell it separate from the line assembly ($250) and the closest example I could find with someone only replacing the valve was someone with a S Type that found a Ford part that worked. I started going down that rabbit hole but just decided to get a used line assembly with the valve ($47 shipped).

I swapped the used valve in with a new o-ring and there was no more visible leak. I pulled a vacuum on it for 7 mins or so, waited to make sure it held, then charged it. The high side seems a little high for 63*F ambient when I looked at reference charts but the AC temp was getting 15* below ambient parked and up to 20* below ambient while driving. So it's definitely working ok right now.









One other thing that was bothering me was the trunk seal had let go in a couple spots. It's NLA so I got a good used one.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

My wife has wanted a backup camera for a while.. I've been putting it off mainly because it would take me longer to be satisfied with my choice in direction than it would to actually install. Originally I wanted forward rear dash cams integrated in with a reverse cam and have it all in the rear view mirror. I opted not to go that route since it seems the only options for all those features are either heavily reliant on input via touch screen and/or use the rear camera as primary display. That also just doesn't seem robust to me and I know it would be annoying for my wife. So I went with an older AUTO-VOX T2 setup. I'll take the simplicity and relatively decent reviews from the last 5 years over the additional tech. The primary thing here was a backup camera so that box is checked and the wife is happy.

Installation wasn't terrible mechanically. I had to drill a hole and add a rubber grommet behind the trim above the license plate. The camera mount is just a bracket that gets screwed in with the license plate and other than fishing the wire up through the C pillar, the rest was easy. Electrically, it was dead simple. Power comes from the reverse light and it took 10 seconds to find with a power probe. That gets tapped and all that's left is a ground. Once you put the car in reverse, the mirror goes from a normal mirror to a combo with the LCD camera display.








Quick wash from the other week.


One of these years I'll refresh the headlights..

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.