cameras ready prepare to flash

[Northern]

For minisplit, I kinda ballparked the size - my garage is 560sqft but has 10' ceilings and kind of shit insulation so I wasn't super sure a 12k BTU unit would cut it to heat, but was quoted for 500-750sqft so I figured I had headroom, and from what I read, they are most efficient when they are just big enough, and I think this one is basically that.

I went with a Senville Aura unit for a few reasons:
They're relatively cheap (Not as cheap as their "Leto" range or the cheapest MrCool tier, but still reasonable)
"arctic rated" (down to -30degC - we get ~10days/yr below -10 and have had days in the -20s).
I think tied to that was a SEER2 Rating (cooling) of 25.4 which made me feel good. Can't remember the HSPF rating (heating) off the top of my head.
Good reviews on amazon and random forums.
Amazon had random sales/coupons.

This unit was regularly $1500 on amazon, but there was a $250 coupon at one point so I bought it. I also bought:
Outdoor Unit wall mount
Outdoor Unit vibration damping feet
Lineset covers
Nylog Blue (for fittings)
Sprayform/silicone for wall penetration
Outdoor disconnect box.
Outdoor electrical whip
"SK-105" Wifi dongle (Unit came with an Alexa-only dongle. This one works with google home but I just use it for the "NetHome Plus" app - There are settings the physical remote cannot easily access)
I think all-in, it was <$2k - This was back in 2024 before the R410A ban hit, so units here are $400 more expensive now here with whatever new refrigerant. Not sure if the US has the same ban.

My Mini split installer friend gave me:
2" HVAC foam tape for the uninsulated portions of the lines.
Help to vacuum evacuate the lines, leak test, and release refrigerant from outdoor unit into the system.

I didn't get any quotes, but there are various rebate programs up here only for professionally installed, so I think that drives the price up to use all the rebate. Like a half day labour somehow is $5k and that doesn't add up to me.

Only thing I'd do different, is to NOT wall mount the outdoor unit directly where my desk is just on the inside of that wall. It goes into a defrost cycle during the winter and gets quite loud inside. I'd mount it to the ground or just on the wall literally anywhere else...

[s14brent]

Apologies for the rabbit hole on the welding table lol.
so I'm leaning toward the $230 PA one and plan to modify it/add casters/shelf.

Rust is always a concern, but I have a minisplit that heats in the winter and runs on dehumidify in the summer. We'll see how well that works.

lol, it's my own fault. I actually enjoy upgrading the garage a bit too much apparently. I ordered 4" 1400lb locking/swivel casters for the main work bench and plan to use the old ones on my toolbox that lives at the gf's house (since for some reason that box doesnt have a pair of casters that can lock down.. I also mounted my old vise on the toolbox at her place. I guess everyone who needs a vise just buys one from HF so there's no point keeping it listed on marketplace. I successfully made a corner-shelf bracket using leftover spal fan brackets so it gets to live there LOL!

Oh and that sounds like a solid plan tbh! i think i could have been happy with just the hf table or maybe a pair (911motorsports makes brackets to connect 2 tables) for the larger surface area. I think once you do some mods to it - it's a perfectly good table - much better than the folding type I started out with.

I really do want a mini split. I say this every year, but I don't want a cheap one, got any suggestions? I was looking at Fujica/Mitsubishi but it looks like they don't come with lines or a charge - which adds up on the installation costs? MRCOOL looking like my best bet it seems. I'm also worried about increased summer power bills.

Did some work on the e30 while I could....these patch panels came out alright. I probably will want to paint them before i throw the back seats in.



So the oil pan has been a massive PITA. I just installed it for the 3rd time today. I used Hondabond HT + elring gasket this time around - but it's been the fastest/smoothest install yet, I think maybe it was taking me too long (fishing bolts out of the pan with magnets etc.) previous times and maybe toyota FIPG formed sooner than I could get the 3 bolts in through the access holes on the harperfab pan. (this is where its been leaking the past 2x). I don't know what's going on, all surfaces are flat, always cleaned thoroughly...tightened from inside out/criss cross apple sauce...I'm just trying to get past this before the summer temps creep up. I won't be able to mess around in the garage until the 24th due to work schedule......so there will be adequate time to let it sit and cure...i really don't want to do this again. I can't wait to slap everything back together and get my 4 wheel alignment taken care of and throw on the volk TE37s, enjoy it for a bit and then move onto the Link ECU install & tuning part.

--------------
Edit: 04/18

I got out of work early so I of course had to get some things done in the garage. The 4" poly/locking casters I ordered from casterhq got delivered the other day and its been on my mind since. These total have a 1400lb capacity and hopefully its not like the amazon specials that say 2k lbs but can barely hold up 500lbs. The old locking casters will be mocked up on the tool box at the gf's place eventually.



using the floor jack made this a super quick swap.




after I moved everything back in place the unsecured argon bottles really started to bug me. I ended up looking at a ton of different options online, and well.....all the cheap dual cylinder dollys had a larger footprint than i'd like, and all the stationary stands were kind of expensive ($300+). Well.....I had the two cheapest HF welding carts taking up space most likely waiting for bulk trash day......so I figured I'd try to make something useful out of it.





I actually like how I can throw the welding rods inbetween the tanks. I was initially going to box off the top, but then it clicked. It was nice to get these little things banged out though, I thought I had to wait until end of this upcoming week to get any garage time in. I also contacted my handyman to come out in the first week in May to get a quote on some home upgrades i've been wanting to do and that includes the mini split installed as well since spring-black-friday sales are a thing* apparently.

[Northern]

I have never had a grinder fail violently, or even blew up a cutoff disk, but I did kill the motor in one. I love me a $25 angle grinder, but I have a reasonably cheap cordless ryobi that has been good to me recently. Also big into using the recip saw with a good diablo metal blade when possible.

Apologies for the rabbit hole on the welding table lol.
I really need to pull the trigger on literally anything just to be able to go finish off that corner of the garage because it's become a dumping ground and I can't use my TIG until I have power there and have something to weld on.
Could wait for a deal on marketplace but its like they're always still expensive, 3+ hours away, or both lol. I think I should just get something semi-fit for purpose now and if I need to, upgrade later on.

One up here at PrincessAuto (generally the same shit as HF) is $230, looks identical to yours, 36x24 with some bolt-thru clamps and various
I found a similar one on Vevor (also via their Amazon store) for $180, 36x24, no casters, 4 flimsy looking c-clamps and various blocks. Biggest differences are that the legs look even less substantial and the accessories look like trash lol.
Another one on Vevor is also $180 but 40x24 and has casters, a shelf, and more leg bracing, but no accessories.

I think both vevor units only have a .120" top, so I'm leaning toward the $230 PA one and plan to modify it/add casters/shelf.

Rust is always a concern, but I have a minisplit that heats in the winter and runs on dehumidify in the summer. We'll see how well that works.

[s14brent]

Gotta ask - Comparison between the old HF welding table and the new beefcake one?

so this threw me down a rabbit hole I wasn't expecting to go on......I ended up doing some upgrades on it today because I got bored and watched some of the YT videos I mentioned above. I actually had some m10x1.5 casters on an old motorcycle side stand - i just needed to get some m10x1.5x40mm socket heads for it. I also had some left over angle iron laying around so i cut it down to about 4x 1" pieces and boxed in the feet. The legs are a terrible design for heavy use, and mainly because the lower section. Some dudes on YT did 2x2 square tubing for the legs and welded it all around....they made the table an absolute unit, but I'm not looking at using it that heavily, also I had most of this just laying around fo' free! The casters were all swivel casters but only 2 were locking so I put on each side - it actually seems to do the job just fine. I also welded in the lower tray that kept falling out every time I moved the table (that bugged me the most about it). I cut some plywood for the tray so it could actually be functional. I've been looking for a spot to store the chop saw so i approve of the time spent to do all this today. I think eventually I'll add smaller casters onto the beefcake table which will make the two tables a bit closer in height with each other, but when i have a larger welding project I can just roll this over - which is a super nice additon.



----
since i spent my day off doing mostly table mods, all i got done on the e30 involved cleaning up the exposed metal in the trunk and spray bombing it with whatever I had laying around....I also spent some time cutting out some 22ga patch panels for the rear firewall. After playing with the idea of welding back in the pieces i cut out, I mocked it up and thought the gap was a bit too much and I didn't want to fully weld it in since I'd have to access it again when I eventually do my roll cage. After moving the garage around the past few weeks I found some leftover sheet metal so I had the idea of just using some oversized panels + some m5 rivnuts to secure it in. Cardboard aided design to the rescue again! I actually think this will look pretty cool. I shouldn't have any issues with tech inspections either.



Scary moment, I actually had my bearings either fall apart on one of my 4" makita grinders...or it simply just locked up...it made a terrifying noise and well.....that stopped my progress right in the tracks. I have a fear of those things and try to use them as least as possible, so the old one went straight into the trash. The R side panel is good to go, the L side panel is a bit less refined at the moment - but I did manage to get a replacement makita grinder which i'm not sure was the best choice now. I picked up a 5" makita (rat tail - corded) 10.5a grinder with electric brake+bind up control, and well it's not as easy to control as the marketing around it says. I'm much better with a barrel type 4", maybe I just need to get used to it but the 5" grinding disc seems so much different for some reason. I also chose 10.5a vs 13a because i thought it'd be easier to handle/less kick - i was wrong, however hopefully it stays cooler, i've had a lot of friends burn out $300+ grinders because they just overheat so fast..Oh and I also placed an order with HF, had to get me a jigsaw after today's crooked cuts with a reciprocating saw, was almost pissed I didn't just buy a hf/hercules 4.5" grinder for a third of the price but I wanted the safety features I mentioned.

[s14brent]

Gotta ask - Comparison between the old HF welding table and the new beefcake one?
I would love something like the new one, but they're pricey... Like the HF style one up here is $250, but the "real" ones start at almost 10x that.
So what's your take - worth it? Is it just much thicker/sturdier?

well my HF table measured in at 8 gauge (0.1644) steel (i'm seeing harbor freight lists it as 6 gauge which it definitely isn't), and beefcake is 1/4" thick and has some crazy send-cut-send architecture underneath... so they can't really be compared lol! I think you'd be pissed if you knew what I paid for the table+vise combo. I do like that the hf table came with a bunch of clamps and pipe blocks which work really well for the cost.. but ultimately I wanted as smaller work bench so i could consolidate the space so I can access my backyard door again. That was the real priority tbh! I just happened to stumble across the best-case situation somehow.
I didn't think i'd want a welding table with casters but I guess I forgot how heavy a real table is, however the casters could probably be upgraded eventually but now that its in place I really see no reason to spend more money on it since it won't be moved around a lot. I've seen some YT videos where people mod out the HF table, but at the end of it, you might be 5-600 dollars into it when you could have bought something nicer. Also, if you live somewhere with humidity, you're gonna have to clean/wipe it down with wd-40 often so it lasts.
I would just keep checking fb marketplace for deals if the hf equivalent there is $250 tbh! I do like that the HF table can be setup as a table or counter top config. I know the step up from the hf table is like the primeweld fixture table, and companies like TMRcustoms (in canada) make nice bench tops (need to build your own legs). I do think if you plan on making large items like full exhaust systems.....ideally you have maybe two hf tables. and keep them side by side until its time to build it out.

[Northern]

Gotta ask - Comparison between the old HF welding table and the new beefcake one?
I would love something like the new one, but they're pricey... Like the HF style one up here is $250, but the "real" ones start at almost 10x that.
So what's your take - worth it? Is it just much thicker/sturdier?

[s14brent]

That came up awesome, well done. I'm jealous of your space for sure

Thanks! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out!

Definitely nice having a clean and sorted garage space… mines a mess between my endless distractions and kids’ toys everywhere

The old setup always got cluttered with junk. Having the smaller table will hopefully stop me from doing that *fingers crossed*

------
The thought of having both welding machines on one cart was bugging me to no end. I was looking at the primeweld tower cart for $300 and decided I could probably repurpose the hf/vulcan cart that was chilling in my backyard. I stopped using that because it was too big of a footprint for just one machine. It works out well if you bend the square tubes to 90° and add 4" of height. Funny thing is, i chopped the square tubing off the foldable welding table that's warped, so it cost me nothing but time.





unfortunately the cart faded really badly and well, i have a quart of satin black just laying around so i just brushed it on. (still wet in the photo) - The next morning, I cut out some tool box drawer liner to cover most of it up. The cart can only carry one bottle unfortunately, but I did add a quick release setup to my tig argon line just in case I need to roll the cart around.



and this is the end result:





I actually saved 11.5" of floor space with this setup vs having 2 of the cheapest hf welding carts, so I believe it was worth it! It also saved me from spending more money in the garage so thats a huge win!

Out of boredom and curiosity, I also stripped down my Wilton/Snap-on 1755 vise. Apparently these don't sell for much now days and the last few years wilton started to outsource the "tradesman" vises to china. The original snap-on red was pretty messed up, and the rustoleum red was just off, this vise needed a refresh as well. Mainly imperfections in the casting - there were jagged edges that needed smoothing all around the unit. I figured I'd use the same hammered black paint since I have so much of it left over, and I didn't want to chance it with another wrong red.





Of course it came out better than the vise I told myself I'd keep. I did rob the swivel base lock down handles from this to put on my C1. the handles are slightly bent on these. I also stole the rubber washers off the handle, but I may replace them, Turns out the C1 is 3/4" and the tradesman is 5/8" but the washers still fit somehow..

I also ordered a new snap-on label/logo. Unfortunately there is no other way to differentiate an authentic snap-on vise from a regular wilton tradesman, meaning its nothing more than a red paint job and an aluminized sticker..(which is why i know i'll never get what I paid for it back)



I'm gonna have a hard time letting this one go, I've already been thinking of what I could use this for, or maybe I just bring it to the gf's house when I setup a toolbox there. I think if I don't get my listing price I'll just hold onto it. It seems like such a waste since essentially its in better shape than the one i'm keeping. The c1 has bigger pipe jaws and opens wider despite having 4.5" jaws vs 5.5".....opening wider means it'd be a lot safer to throw lsd/open diff cores into the c1.



Here's the work horse for comparison. I was hoping to easily add a thrust washer to prevent any more wear on the unit, and help with alignment and run-out, but it turns out the spindle would probably need to be machined down for additional clearance. (it really ain't that serious...) For some reason this unit didn't have a thrust washer like other c1's out there but it might have been something they added closer to 1960s. Also there is no mfg date stamped on the lower part of the slide, but it being a 4 pin pipe jaw, and having Schiller Park, ILL. VS Chicago stamping means that its 1957-1959 build date. I'm pretty bummed the thrust washers I ordered wouldn't work, i noticed there is some wear between the spindle and the unit itself, so a generous amount of red grease was applied in that spot before reassembly.

---- e30 update: the pan is on with an oem bmw oil pan gasket.

---------------------

been working on clearing off the workspace even more.....turns out a J hook works great as a tig torch holder



and I finally spot-cleaned the Recaro SPG pro racer and threw it in the car.



I definitely will miss the halo with the blindspot window.....and also the cheetah print LOL! It's hard to explain, but the ribcage area is even smaller on this seat. I'll try to get better photos eventually. I think* it's as comfortable (seating position) as it can get. I almost wish I had sliders vs floor mounts to make it a little easier to get in and out of!

[2mAn]

Definitely nice having a clean and sorted garage space… mines a mess between my endless distractions and kids’ toys everywhere

[econti]

That came up awesome, well done. I'm jealous of your space for sure

[s14brent]

Awesome updates!

Thank you sir! I'm hoping this doesn't take too much longer.....

Bravo, that's a lot of work you got done. The Oil pan looks to be the Bee's Knee's. I did not go back more than a month in your post. Did you swap pans for clearance, oil starvation or both / other? Currently I am getting started prepping on my 95 M50 track car and oil starvation is always a concern at the track.

I did the pan for "D) all of the above". I got used to overfilling to the top line for track events and didnt have too many issues with oil starvation after that.

------------

Got some annoying news, but I had to redo the oil pan gasket. it was leaking where the 3 bolts (that were giving me issues (front right of pan). I ordered an oem gasket and a wera 1/4" torque wrench and pulled it all apart. I haven't touched it since. I need to jack up the front of the car for a little bit more clearance while working underneath. It's annoying but I'm going to try to get it done.





So after being annoyed I took a break and got busy with work. Of course I managed to get side-quested on my available days-off, and purchased a new (to me) fixture/welding table and it came with a 1950's Wilton C1 that was seized. (I don't know why but I have been wanting a C2 like my grandfathers forever, so the hunt is still on, but this one was a good practice run. Overall, it was a killer deal and the seller delivered it for an extra $50.





I started by stripping off the random brackets and immediately getting to work on the tables surface. This part took forever!!



I then got the spindle to loosen on the wilton vise and then got stopped by the seized bolts in the vise jaws.....I tried using MAP gas, and so many hours soaking it with pb blaster....I ended up using a carbide bit to eat up the bolt heads and then welding a nut onto the studs to remove.



After that, I immediately started to prep the vise for epoxy filler. There were so many grinder cuts into the vise it was painful to look at...I must have used at least 8 different wire wheels on this project.



I did the swivel base last, I got a little fixated on the filler/sanding and it was just creating so much dust. I ended up deciding to use a brush-on rustoleum hammered black paint. I might buy new jaws at some point, but I'm not really in a hurry, a new set of cold-steel jaws is probably $130+shipping.




I also wire wheeled the table legs (while i was there). and used the same brush-on paint to kind of protect them from getting flash rusted in the future.


I actually have access to the backyard door, and air compressor again. Also, both of my welders are together again. It sucks because I would like a cart that holds both machines & bottles, but I havent seen anything I like yet. I just threw the old drill press onto the HF fixture table for now. I think this setup will work out .




I turned the Harbor freight fixture table from counter-top config to its table setup. I'm not sure if this is going to live there, but works for now. The idea was to use it for the SWAG bandsaw setup, but the mounting holes don't match up and would require drilling 2x 8mm holes (which I opted against). The bandsaw location works out fine. I may give away the drill press. That thing has always been a POS.



and here is the finished Wilton vise. I'm pretty stoked. Wilton copper jaw covers help hide the ugly jaw for now. Its literally night and day now. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it and put it to use since it was in such questionable shape. I actually don't know what I plan on doing with my snap-on/wilton 1755 vise that I've had the past 10+ years now, but I prefer the larger pipe jaws on this one.



Oh and I may have picked up a little something up for the e30 this weekend.

[OSAH racing]

Bravo, that's a lot of work you got done. The Oil pan looks to be the Bee's Knee's. I did not go back more than a month in your post. Did you swap pans for clearance, oil starvation or both / other? Currently I am getting started prepping on my 95 M50 track car and oil starvation is always a concern at the track.

[2mAn]

Awesome updates!

[s14brent]

I got as much done this weekend as I could. I'm happy with the progress.

First off I upgraded the oil drain plug on the harper fab pan.



Then I installed the bell housing cover. I actually had to tap the holes down a bit longer, i actually messaged kyle (harper fab) about it, and it just wasn't sent all the way through on accident - no big deal, mistakes happen, this was part of the 2024 winter batch so it's been a while. The instructions are to use the existing bellhousing bolts but I ordered etorx in 35 & 40mm lengths from belmetric to swap out.



I then side-quested back to the rear of the car and welded in the rear strut tower bar. It did not come out great. I always struggle welding under jackstands or being balled up in the trunk. Besides the ugly welds, they are solid. and the bar sits evenly across. meh...



i reinstalled the power steering pump, e-fan, and then raised up the new reinforced front subframe and AAE steering rack. I somehow lost a few bolts this time around......it was a complete mess in the garage over the weekend. I luckily have all the bolts from the stripped down s52 and my normal boxes of random bolts. I swapped the longer bolts for the steering rack that was used to space down the hik-fab skid plate. and mounted that up. I could use some shorter hardware for the front of the skid eventually. I refuse to place another order and pay shipping again right now.



check out the pan-skid clearance!! This is worth all the hard work.

I installed the LPSR steering column shaft and ended up throwing in the AKG solid mounts. I went to test fit them in and they just fell right into place. I couldn't argue - I remember fighting with the poly akg mount the first time around. I didn't want to deal with that again.

Next up was reinstalling the slr speed angle kit.I cleaned up all the sphericals, and mounted it all up.



After tightening up the chase bays fittings for the powersteering, I refilled the reservoir in preparation for first start/bleed. I also filled up about 9.5 qts of oil (harper fab oil pan capacity). I have more coming in to top off for the oil cooler (expecting +1 qt). I have to button up the front and rear suspension components (nut and bolt torque specs check). and then I'll start getting the car ready to finally get off jacks stands. I'm aiming to do a test drive sometime this upcoming week and check for lock-to-lock clearance before making an alignment appointment. I'll probably drive it over on the old wheels and swap the rays over after its all dialed in.

[s14brent]

while waiting for the gasket i started to fit up the rear strut brace. I had to change the blade on my bandsaw...the one I had on there initially wasn't cutting it LOL



i'm pretty nervous to weld this because i'll be scrunched up into the trunk and doing round tube....I'm so smart, I left the bottle open back in January when Red helped me do the rear strut reinforcements.......I bought a new bottle and got the ball park settings.



i had to get some practice in and dial in the mig. its a 1/8 coupon which i believe is .095 (same as the DOM tubing). I have to reference notes, I dont remember what the reinforcement thickness was....for some reason i think it might be 10ga/ 0.1345.I'll probably tack these up maybe Saturday and see how that goes.



One last side-by-side shot before its never that shiny ever again. I need to clean up the old pan and list the e34 pan up for sale sooner than later. prices on these things fluctuate so much.



Then I got an unexpected ups delivery, my fcp order came in a day early, so I threw the oil pick up gasket on.



Turns out.......this pan kind of sucks to install under jackstands! Its a glorious pan, don't get me wrong - I love it, its just shitty to do under jackstands! I read the supplied instructions beforehand from harper fab so I had the magnetic 1/4" 10mm ready to go......however....i wasn't expecting it to not be a straight shot.....so heads up you need a short magnetic 10mm and a 5" wobbly extension..i bought myself an extended socket that unfortunately didn't work. . Trust me, you don't want to drop a bolt into the pan and then have to fish it out using a giant welding magnet, a telescoping magnet through the drain plug, and a piece of ER308L filler rod to keep the oil trap door open so the magnet+bolt can come out...
So clearly I don't have a magnetic 1/4" 10mm socket, but I did have some tiny button magnets that I used on a few of my shop cabinets (that came in a pack of like 100+). I stuffed 3 of them into a normal socket and it was MONEY. I haven't put the billet bell housing cover on just yet, but I plan to after work if i have the time. I might actually hit my goal of having the car running again end of month!!



yeah.....theres so much more ground clearance now...i may need to find new hardware for the hikfab skid plate since I won't need to have it hang so low now.

[s14brent]

well, i'm not super happy with this cluster of -an fittings, but its either here or under the m50 manifold (no thanks). the link fuel pressure sensor + earls adapter is on the feed line right after the one way check valve.



I also threw some -6an line separators (with a washer between) that fits the 5/16" fuel line pretty well.



I ordered a tire rack off amazon. I got tired of the STACKS of tires clogging up my little storage unit. I also bought a uv/rain protective cover. It's pretty nice!



it's finally oil pan swap time!



started by pulling the rack out and trying to match the tie rod length. my old inners were floppy so this was a good move. my steering column joints were just as bad.




i then swapped the old blown inners out and threw the AAE inners in. not the worst idea to have spares ready to go!



Now it was time to unbolt the pan.....



of course the highest bolt on the trans-pan got stripped out. literally the least room to work in. man this sucked. after the pan was loose, it was hitting the ps pump bracket.....to get that off you remove the pulley and e fan for access to remove the belt just to gain 1/4" aand then it hits the hik fab skid brace (tube). Lucky me, the hik fab brace was like fused at the mounts, soaked it overnight with pb blaster and removed the bar successfully the next morning..i hit the pipes with a wire wheel and will put a thin layer of grease on it when i reinstall.



pan was finally removed!!



cleaned up the windage tray, i'm going to have to do some additional trimming on it apparently for the harperfab pan, so its just mocked up here after cleaning up the gasket surface.



I was really hoping to have this done this week, but I screwed up and don't have the right gasket for the oil pick up. There still might be a chance, I paid the extra for Friday delivery.



I may go back to the rear of the car and fit up this piece of DOM if I have time before Friday. It was a bit rusty so i threw it on the belt sander and cleaned it up with some wd40+ red scotch brite pad. I also changed the bandsaw blade to a one thats a bit more aggressive. hopefully next post will have some finished projects!!

oh yeah.....i picked up an old sparco evo ii off marketplace for the e39 touring. I couldnt stand the blue prisma even if it has the current FIA cert.