It's been a little bit, let's catch up on some stuff. First off I'm waiting on 1) a throwout bearing and 2) a fancy Ferrita exhaust from Sweden. The bearing has been in customs for nearly a month and the exhaust seems to be made to order (I got it from VP Autoparts, who have been very helpful and transparent) and missed the first shipping container it could have been. Might be another month? Who knows. Then it's back to the dyno for a retune.
I posted a thread
here about a peculiar boost control problem I've been having (boost tapering down by gear across multiple actuators, seemingly regardless of boost controller settings) and I'm thinking the tiny stock exhaust may be a contributor.
Tried to delete cupholder armrest, because it is bulky, worth money, and I don't use it. Was left confused instead. Doesn't seem to want to come out, like the rivet is supposed to be a screw. The armrest was installed when the car was new if it makes a difference. I have the paperwork.
It's a little mangled here on the front but all the cupholders are intact and I took the cupholder cartridge apart like a year ago to rebuild/lubricate it. Buy now!
Got sick of the reverse rake, figured the car would benefit from a little more negative camber+front spring rate+steeper roll axis angle so cut half a coil off the front springs. Feels a little pointier. Probably in my head. Definitely looks better.
Consult earlier pictures for comparison. I measured the difference in ride height at 17 mm before and after, both sides.
Decided to drive to Philly to see friends now that we can go places again. Some prep ensued.
Figured a good Grand Touring™ machine such as this needs air conditioning so my passengers don't complain about it. Best guess based on earlier disassembly when I replaced all the seals and the broken line was that the compressor was junk, so I gambled on a used one.
Packaging in this part of the car is a pain in the ass. Everything is hard to get to. I put some oil in the compressor and some in the accumulator, like I read to do. 7.8 ounces as specified for the Seiko Seiki 1993+ compressor. Then I didn't have time to get it charged and it never cracked 80 degrees on my trip anyway. It's the thought that counts.
Ended up being a little bit of a thrash to get it all together in time. I am a time management expert.
Also put a very nice used turn signal stalk in there, assuming that the broken wires in the stalk were impeding cruise control capabilities. They were but there's still something wrong. More diagnosis is needed.
Drove down without issue and saw this 245 looking somewhat worse for wear:
And some construction debris fell on/was thrown at my car:
I found it on the base of my windshield. Irksome, for sure. I was parked under a tree so it could have fallen on it but the trajectory/impact tells me maybe someone wasn't happy a car with out of state plates was on their block.
Here was the view for about an hour on the way back:
Some ~40 minutes away from home the tension bolt on the alternator broke (rookie mistake, clearly I was hasty with reassembly) and glazed the hell out of the already pretty worn out alternator belt. I squeaked home (embarrassing) after a small field repair.
Always check your work!
Oh, and also: