Site Projects

A few days ago, Jay of Jay's 4WD called me with a query. He said after removing the head, he was surprised to see just how far the chain reached down into the oil pan. Jay recommended replacing the chain as a sensible "while you're in there"… more

Trying to keep the status on my 88iS mostly OEM+....I really like the factory 14" basketweave that came on the U.S. iS E30s, but sadly another thing the US market didn't get from BMW, the 15" 'Euroweave'. The European spec… more

For me and most of us enthusiasts, hearing the car is an extremely obvious and exciting way to enhance the driving experience. But, like I said in my previous post, I want the car to remain relatively OEM+ without doing anything too… more

One of the few bright spots of the surprisingly endless Lexus LX450 project is the mechanic I have working on this truck. Jay, of Jay's 4WD, first came into the picture when I searched for someone to revive the long-dormant Isuzu Trooper RS… more

When I first got the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth home, I reached out to the dealership in Pennsylvania that was listed on the service reminder sticker in the windshield. I asked if there were any records of repair available, to which the… more

I finally had the chance to flip through the service booklet that came with the 911. Now, the bulk of the records came in the form of invoices from specialist shops in North Carolina and Georgia, and those were certainly compelling reasons in my… more

For years, I have proclaimed my undying love for the 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth I rescued out of a junkyard in Pennsylvania. Let me explain why. 

It's the car I wanted since I was 16; it somehow corrects the emotional debt I… more

I regret to inform you I did not escape the dreaded headgasket failure on my '97 LX450. 

Truthfully, I saw it coming. I had ignored some of the tell-tale signs and written them off as irrelevant. The entry in the history file indicated… more

Just a quick update here: the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 is coming along. We're chopping up the bodywork into phases so I don't go broke. First is the rear of the car, which is the worst and most complex. 

Fortunately, $160 worth of… more