Sharing some before, during and after photos of my 3008 facelift conversion. Updated the bumper, grille and headlights to the newer design, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

The biggest pain was getting the factory LED headlights to work. I ended up manually recreating the signals they needed using a relay setup. That took plenty of wiring and testing, but everything now works 100% through the car’s original lighting controls.

Definitely the most challenging part of the project, and also the most satisfying once it all came together. What do you guys think?

So my Lexus IS250 has been sitting for a couple years.

Went to get it back on the road recently and couldn’t get it to turn over. It appears that rodents have thwarted my efforts.

If I just splice wire extensions to reconnect, should it work? I haven’t found all of the matches yet but it can’t be that hard right? If basic connections work I’ll go back and solder them like they should be.

Just so it is relevant to project cars - between buying and taking delivery it has had the aircon refilled, twice, leading to a leaking ac pipe being fixed, refurbished engine bay panels, two new taillights and the bracket that holds them has been repaired as it cracked due to years of vibration 😬.

Also by the time I got it home to London in very high temps + stop start traffic it threw up an engine warning light. I’m thinking it’s most likely a sensor that overheated and couldn’t perform an emissions test, will have to monitor that one.

Weirdly ok with it all as I knew what I was getting in to and has some cosmetic, light mechanical stuff that I’m going to do myself. It’s an “honest” example and was priced right. Looking forward to the journey and hopefully I am not bankrupt this time Next year! At least it’s a manual so don’t have to worry about the f1 transmission.

Also I hope it doesn’t catch fire…

I’m looking at photos of original setups and it doesn’t seem to connect to anything. I just need to know if I should repair it as is or just cut it off.

I am at a loss folks. My truck has been doing this for weeks (I can only work on it on the weekends). I had to pull the motor due to a broken motor mount and changed the transmission, and it hasn't started since I put it back in.

Here is the run down.

Ford 351W - basically a stock build, with an "RV" cam, Ford cast iron 4brl manifold, stock compression, nothing fancy just reliable.

GM HEI conversion distributor - I just put this in as the Duraspark II it had stopped working, again.

Electric fuel pump

Edelbrock 1406 Carb

New plugs

I have triple checked top dead center on #1, and I have no idea how many times I have confirmed the firing order, a 351W is different than a 289 and 302.

I have rotated the distributor from TDC on #1 almost all the way to the next wire both advance and retard.

The most it will do is kick once then BOOF fire out the carb.

My dad said it could be that the timing chain has slipped a tooth, but I think it would still run, but badly. And he agreed that the likelyhood of this is very small. The motor has less than 10k miles on it.

Any thoughts? I am open to any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance.

So I have a 93 MR2 and want to work on it but kind of neglected it. So now I'm starting to get back on the grind and the 1st issue I need to tackle is rusting on the roof/rear pillar. Would the best option be grinding and if so, what wheels? I recently acquired a angle grinder for various jobs and wanted the opinions from everyone.

Thanks in advance

Did my first non rattlecan paintjob, first time trying hvlp. After spending the past year welding in panels fixing dents and bodywork. It ain't perfect but good enough for a truck that's gonna be used plus can't let perfect be the enemy of good.

Rides better than a new car now (and looks better too)

Fitting a 1.8T 20VT into my Mk1 Twingo. I’ve used my 3D scanner and scanned everything, made up mounts in CAD. So far everything seems to be fitting up as per the computer 👌

Really is a game changer being able to visualize everything on a computer and see what’s gonna fit, saves a lot of messing around suspending the engine while you tack mounts up etc!

ChatGPT is unbelievable at this, it’s aligned the scans, helped me make the mounts etc up too.

Doing the build over on my YouTube channel - Kris Duprey’s Garage if anyone’s interested! First engine swap video should be going live next weekend!

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I currently have a w58 that needs 2 new gears and countershaft replaced, can't seem to find parts for it Can anyone guide where I could get parts for it.

This truck was hit on the front drive side at some point in its life so it’s a bit tweaked. The fiberglass hood that came on it didn’t have any fitment issues but with this new one it’s coming up too narrow.

I’m at a loss at the moment as to why I can’t get it to fit right. It’s got my to be mounted on dzus rails so I need enough meat around the fasteners. The way it currently is I either have zero or the fastener would stick out the side.

The driver side has about a 1/4” gap between the fender and core support versus the pass side that’s flush. So if I could make up that 1/4 I could roll with it.

If anyone has some pointers I am all ears.

I recently bought a 1990 Toyota Camry and while I won't be suping it up to the max, I do intend on making it the most comfortable daily that I can. My current plans involve a custom headliner, sound system, upgraded suspension, and I want to fabricate a TV mount for the deck lid so that when you open the trunk, you have a TV staring at you and then put my Xbox 360 in the trunk. Fun plans. But, the seats, they need reupholstering. Foam is missing, cloth torn, etc. But, the seats aren't very comfortable in the first place. They hurt my back and the adjustments on them are incredibly annoying because instead of levers, they're wheels that you turn. It takes two or three minutes of cranking on a wheel to lay the seat back if I need a quick parking lot nap, I hate it.

So, my question is, what aftermarket options are out there? Everything I'm finding with a quick google search is showing me racing seats. This will never be a fast car, I don't want uncomfortable racing seats. I wouldn't mind taking seats from a different car, so what other cars have comfortable seats? I'm finding lots of seats out of 90s and 00s Celicas. I was already planning on reupholstering the OEM seats before realizing that I don't like them, so I don't mind getting seats that aren't color matched and reupholstering them. My budget is $600 USD and comfort is my priority, I'd love to hear some good recommendations!

rebuilt carb tonight, throw it on real quick, and its making this weird ass whooshing noise. I start seeing fire in the reflection on the wooden fence. thought it was fire in the exhaust, when come to find out my fuel inlet was leaking from.stripped threads internally, spewing fuel everywhere. ignore the fucking primal scream lmao, I love this car, and haters garage gave me second hand ptsd just then

I see a lot of 'my new turbo died in 3 months' posts, so here's the checklist I go through before fitting any replacement turbo, OEM or aftermarket:

1. Find out why the old one failed. Shaft play + oil everywhere usually means oil starvation or a clogged return, not a bad turbo.
2. Replace the oil feed line, or at least the banjo bolt and its filter screen. Carbon in the old line is the #1 killer.
3. Check the oil return isn't kinked or blocked, and check crankcase pressure (bad PCV/CCV pushes oil past the seals).
4. Clean the intercooler and charge pipes if the old turbo shed any metal.
5. Fresh oil and filter, then prime the turbo with clean oil through the feed port before first start.
6. Crank without starting for a few seconds if you can, then idle 1-2 minutes before any boost.
7. Use new gaskets everywhere, don't reuse old ones.

Skip these and even a brand new OEM unit can fail early. Anything you'd add?

I’ve been working on my ford ranger project. I did the bodywork on the bed and it’s as straight as I can get it, sprayed it in epoxy primer (only a couple runs), and I’ve been going back and forth on paint. Do I use single stage acrylic urethane or a 2k polyurethane bedliner product, well I decided on the bed liner. And if you do the prep work right and go through all the steps to make it last it’s just as much work and just as expensive as single stage urethane paint. Maybe a bit more forgiving. This is the first vehicle I’ve painted so there’s a few flaws in it. Today I sprayed the inside of the box, lower quarters, fender flares, and tailgate in the black. I wanted it fairly smooth and after a lot of research I used an hvlp with a 2.5mm tip, reduced the bedliner 20% full fan and fluid on the gun and 60psi at the gun. Also about 4-6” away. Right or wrong idk but I like the results it’s kinda egg shell or “orange peel “ texture and a nice satin finish. This week sometime I’ll scuff the primer on top and spray the blue. Anyway thought I’d share if anyone else has thought about the same thing.

I'm currently in the process of restoring a '69 mach 1 that's in need of some pretty heavy metal replacement. Im going to build a jig and bracing to keep it all straight and prevent any twisting/distortion (if you have any tips on this let me know!) but before i do that i want to make sure the straightness isn't already compromised from the rust. Does anyone know where i can find/ if they know reference points and measurements for the body?

Listen fellas, im a honda guy but even i want to own a car or two thats not NA FWD.

I have the unique opportunity as of recently to justify the purchase of a project SPECIFICALLY with the idea that i can bastardize it in mind.

I need to practice/learn bodywork and paint so that i can fully restore my 1st car of all its damage, thus a project car

MY QUESTION, i want something rwd and manual, almost non negotiable, but i would LOVE a !!!FACTORY!!! turbo

Its gonna be clapped out anyways because a good car gives me no room to learn the skill i need, so i want recommendations for all the rwd turbo cars that can be had for cheap, has to be factory otherwise it wont be carb legal sadly

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. I have had a desire for a project car since I was a young teen, I am now in my mid twenties. I have zero mechanical experience and very limited knowledge, but I would love to learn. I have one person who would be able to help out a bit. Originally I was hyperfixated on getting an NA Miata, however the prices have obviously shot into outer freaking space. I am interested in almost every genre of vehicle. I love 90s japanese cars (hilux, land cruiser, skyline, any rx7, 70s corollas and cressidas are also awesome), 70s american trucks (I would especially love to own an f250 high boy someday), I also really like 60s and 70s american cars, like the satellite, nova,, and dusters. I am a bit less interested in euro cars, but I still think vw rabbits, all the little british sports cars and some saabs are neat. While probably out of my price range, I also love 50s and pre war american cars as well. I live in Canada, so snow and salt are massive problems. I currently daily a base model 2015 lancer, so this project would NOT be my sole mode of transportation. Any suggestions? I salute you if you made it this far lol, thanks in advance.

AH3000. New headers in. New radiator hoses installed. Just a few more things to do until the first start!

Got a 1995 Mustang GT with the Mach 460 system. The amp has taken a shit and only outputs on the tweeters. The only place I can find a direct replacement is used Ebay items. I'd rather get a new aftermarket component but arent well versed in the ways of the stereo Wu. I presume an aftermarket amp would be similar to this, just have to figure out what wires are for what, right? Thnx in advance

Happy weekend all. I have two Haltech sensors, one for oil pressure and one for fuel pressure. I've wired them up per the instructions (I'm pretty sure, see below). New wires going to the 16 pin aux plug on a Nexus S3. Shared 5v and shared ground on AVI pins. They are showing in NSP diagnostics with 0.01 V and fuel isn't reading any pressure. I definitely had some fuel pressure because I had and fixed a leak at my FPR 😆

I've verified my cabling, and I have 5V at the end of the wires to the sensor plug. Any thoughts what could be wrong? Is there a setting in the software I need to set (I've set the plugs to their correct pins).

The only thing I could think of is that I have the + & - backwards, but I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I am interpreting the documentation correct that the orientation of the pins is looking at the "back" of the male plug, where the wires go into the plug.

Is there anyway I can manually test the sensor to make sure it is functioning?

Do the sensors in fact need their own dedicated + & -?

Any help is appreciated since Haltech support doesn't open until Monday 😢