2/2015
So, the first time I tried to write about this car I had a long and eloquent tale of trials and triumphs of the last three years, culminating into what we see today. Sort of. I wrote it one-handed while feeding my 9month old and put much effort into it only to find that the computer I wrote it on was not set to keep me logged in and I lost the entire piece. I then logged in again, loaded up some pics, and called it a night. Since I only have about 20 minutes at a time to write the story of the Andy Mechanic Mobile, I guess I'll get it all
written and then paste it into the post. First, a little background on me: Copy and pasted from the website Andy is an ASE Master Tech, ASE Advanced Level Specialist in Engine Performance and Volvo certified factory trained technician. He graduated from Nascar Technical Institute and continued on to Volvo factory training. Andy honed his craft in auto shops from Maryland to California gaining a variety of experience caused by differing driving conditions. He's spent 12 years working in the automotive industry and strives to acquire and learn the newest technologies as they emerge. Andy is current President of Andy Mechanic LLC in Omaha, NE (andymechanic.com) and former Vice President of Hydrogen Power Systems in Escondido, CA (hpstech.com) which is a cutting edge company that produces a bolt on hydrogen unit that reduces emissions and increases fuel economy.
Background on the car: Details are hazy because I my memory is shit, but it sat for a few months after purchase in the fall of 2013. The dates listed are based on reciepts. I didn't touch the engine other than to change the oil and the rest of the fluids while I had it in the air to work on the suspension. It has a water pump thats leaking and the
timing belt is due. The valves need adjusting and it has a few leaks from other areas as well, but since it has a rod knocking I'm not spending any money in that area. I'll drive it till I blow it, then I'll upgrade it.
Here is how it looked the day I bought it.
I had an E36 bumper lying around so I fitted it.
10/2013
First thing to tackle was the wiring. PO had caused a small fire in the trunk (I'd say it's very likely they hooked up the battery leads backwards), and also did me the favor of hacking out the fuse box and wiring in a new one incorrectly (it can be hard to tell the difference between a purple wire with a white lead and a white wire with a purple lead, especially when there's more than one of each). It caused some funny things like the speedo only working when the brights were on, oh and I almost forgot about the household light switch that was wired into the ignition circuit. I wish I had a picture of that. It was wired in wrong so up was on, down was on, and if you balanced it in the middle it was off... they couldn't figure out why the battery kept going dead! So I got that all straightened out, except for the ABS which will need new sensors (who needs it anyway right?).
After I got all the red lights to turn off and the appropriate lights to turn on when I wanted them to; It was on to the suspension.
2/2014
It all needed to go, so that's what happened. Front control arms and bushings, tie rods, RTABs, H&R Springs, Bilstein HDs front and rear, rear subframe bushings, tires... the list goes on. I took it down to Firestone for an alignment reading so I know where I need to go and how far. Then I brought it home and made the appropriate brackets for rear toe and camber adjustment and took it back for the actual alignment. Turns out I didn't clearance the right rear camber bracket enough to bring it back into spec (I'm currently at -1.4* when I want to be at -2*) but the other side moved in like it should. I'm ok waiting until I need a motor to take the subframe down. I figure it'll be down for a while once the motor goes so I can take care of a lot of things at that time. The front still needs camber and caster adjustments but I'm not worried about it right now 'cause the toe is correct so it's not wearing out prematurely.
While it was up I got rid of the leaky rusted exhaust and repurposed a 2.5" with a magnaflow from a honda ef hatch that I had laying around.
Fast forward to today, in May this will have been my daily driver for a year, and the stupid motor hasn't blown up yet (believe me, I'm trying). I found a good deal on an S54 so I jumped on it and I think I'll attempt to drop it in. Believe it or not, but after 12 years in the biz, this will be the first motor swap I have ever done (The opereative word here is swap. I replace 2-3 motors per year, but I don't really do custom work).
So, the first time I tried to write about this car I had a long and eloquent tale of trials and triumphs of the last three years, culminating into what we see today. Sort of. I wrote it one-handed while feeding my 9month old and put much effort into it only to find that the computer I wrote it on was not set to keep me logged in and I lost the entire piece. I then logged in again, loaded up some pics, and called it a night. Since I only have about 20 minutes at a time to write the story of the Andy Mechanic Mobile, I guess I'll get it all
written and then paste it into the post. First, a little background on me: Copy and pasted from the website Andy is an ASE Master Tech, ASE Advanced Level Specialist in Engine Performance and Volvo certified factory trained technician. He graduated from Nascar Technical Institute and continued on to Volvo factory training. Andy honed his craft in auto shops from Maryland to California gaining a variety of experience caused by differing driving conditions. He's spent 12 years working in the automotive industry and strives to acquire and learn the newest technologies as they emerge. Andy is current President of Andy Mechanic LLC in Omaha, NE (andymechanic.com) and former Vice President of Hydrogen Power Systems in Escondido, CA (hpstech.com) which is a cutting edge company that produces a bolt on hydrogen unit that reduces emissions and increases fuel economy.
Background on the car: Details are hazy because I my memory is shit, but it sat for a few months after purchase in the fall of 2013. The dates listed are based on reciepts. I didn't touch the engine other than to change the oil and the rest of the fluids while I had it in the air to work on the suspension. It has a water pump thats leaking and the
timing belt is due. The valves need adjusting and it has a few leaks from other areas as well, but since it has a rod knocking I'm not spending any money in that area. I'll drive it till I blow it, then I'll upgrade it.
Here is how it looked the day I bought it.
I had an E36 bumper lying around so I fitted it.
10/2013
First thing to tackle was the wiring. PO had caused a small fire in the trunk (I'd say it's very likely they hooked up the battery leads backwards), and also did me the favor of hacking out the fuse box and wiring in a new one incorrectly (it can be hard to tell the difference between a purple wire with a white lead and a white wire with a purple lead, especially when there's more than one of each). It caused some funny things like the speedo only working when the brights were on, oh and I almost forgot about the household light switch that was wired into the ignition circuit. I wish I had a picture of that. It was wired in wrong so up was on, down was on, and if you balanced it in the middle it was off... they couldn't figure out why the battery kept going dead! So I got that all straightened out, except for the ABS which will need new sensors (who needs it anyway right?).
After I got all the red lights to turn off and the appropriate lights to turn on when I wanted them to; It was on to the suspension.
2/2014
It all needed to go, so that's what happened. Front control arms and bushings, tie rods, RTABs, H&R Springs, Bilstein HDs front and rear, rear subframe bushings, tires... the list goes on. I took it down to Firestone for an alignment reading so I know where I need to go and how far. Then I brought it home and made the appropriate brackets for rear toe and camber adjustment and took it back for the actual alignment. Turns out I didn't clearance the right rear camber bracket enough to bring it back into spec (I'm currently at -1.4* when I want to be at -2*) but the other side moved in like it should. I'm ok waiting until I need a motor to take the subframe down. I figure it'll be down for a while once the motor goes so I can take care of a lot of things at that time. The front still needs camber and caster adjustments but I'm not worried about it right now 'cause the toe is correct so it's not wearing out prematurely.
While it was up I got rid of the leaky rusted exhaust and repurposed a 2.5" with a magnaflow from a honda ef hatch that I had laying around.
Fast forward to today, in May this will have been my daily driver for a year, and the stupid motor hasn't blown up yet (believe me, I'm trying). I found a good deal on an S54 so I jumped on it and I think I'll attempt to drop it in. Believe it or not, but after 12 years in the biz, this will be the first motor swap I have ever done (The opereative word here is swap. I replace 2-3 motors per year, but I don't really do custom work).
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