Tuesday, December 17, 2013

B3R Garage: Grandpa Go Fast's F100 Good and Bad Shakedown

Well, the Mad Scientist has had some time to tinker with Grandpa Go Fast's 1970 Ford F100 the over the past weeks. As it turns out the old truck will need quite a bit of work, but nothing the Mad Scientist and I where not prepared for. So, it just so happens that the Ford 360 Big Block has significant pitting and rust in the cylinder walls making the block currently unusable.

This leaves us-currently-with two options. 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

B3R Garage: A Break in the Silence

Well B3R Garage’s plan for the next few months was to simply ride out the winter months by enjoying family while the cars stayed cooped up in the garage. However, the Mad Scientist came across some information that turned out to be too good to pass up. Over the year the Grandpa Go-Fast has not been getting around too quickly. Every truck he has ever owned has been sold and to top it all off he broke a hip a few years back. Well, my Grandpa has always had a thing for classic cars and the Mad Scientist’s find fit the bill well enough.

Monday, October 14, 2013

B3R Garage: Polish and Shine

The Mad Scientist's 1970 Maverick has always been quite photogenic. However, following the painting process the paint began to quickly fade. In many areas such as the trunk and in the middle of the doors, hazy grey spots began to emerge. Needless to say we where not to happy with what was going on with the paint job. Regardless, the Mad Scientist decided to take the Maverick to a few shows and visit those who helped provide parts for the car. On one of the Mad Scientist's visits he was informed that he should simply continue sanding the car until the haze went away. After painting the car the Mad Scientist and I decided not to do any sanding because we thought that it might actually scratch the paint job. However, we were assured that sanding the car after paining it was exactly what was needed to be done in order to get a "car lot" shine. As it turns out, lacquer is like a hard-candy shell that is meant to be sanded in order to get it to shine. After spending a few hours in the garage with a 1500 and 2000 grit sand paper the car revealed a shine the Mad Scientist and I did not know that it had in it. So if you have recently put garage paint job on your car don't be afraid to give it a good sanding a few weeks later to bring out the shine you really want. According to the Mad Scientist his best results came when he laid a garden hose on the roof of the can and sanded areas where the water would continue to flow down. His method allowed for the paint to be "polished" without rubbing the fall-off back into the paint.

Friday, September 20, 2013

B3R Garage: Spinning the Wheels

Over two weeks ago I found myself, my wife, and the Mad Scientist cruising down the interstate in my '84 Mercury Capri at a more than reasonable rate of speed. Unfortunately before the ride was over the oil pump drive shaft decided it no longer wanted to participate and SNAPPED!  It was fun while it lasted. I won't lie, it is a great feeling to have been able to tear down a car and build it back up in less than a year. In fact, the Mad Scientist and I not only rebuilt one car but two. Due to a rapid shortage of funds, my poor Mercury will have to sit in the garage for a while longer. On the plus side my replacement RPM cam and lifter kit from Edelbrock was received just last week. Soon enough the winter season will be upon us and I'm not too sure that I feel safe testing the limits of the Capri in snowy conditions. So, it is likely that my 1984 Mercury Capri will simply have to sit in the garage until summer. It is looking as thought the winter project this year will be pulling the motor yet again in order to install a new oil pump drive shaft and my replacement cam and lifters.

Although the Capri has had little street time, the Mad Scientist's Maverick is still out on the prowl. If you are ever in the fort and happen to see bright blue 1970 Maverick with a three barrel carburetor scoop sticking out of the hood, you can probably bet that it is the Mad Scientist. If you are driving by, make sure to give him a "Thumbs-UP", and if you have time to stop be sure to let him know what you think of his ride. Although there where many ups and downs in building it, it turned out to be a lot of fun. Make sure to look out for the Maverick at the local cars shows as well. Perhaps the Capri will make it next year.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

B3R Garage: Labor Day Weekend with Auctions America

The Mad Scientist and I took off this weekend to attend an annual even known as the Auburn Car Auction. The even started in Wednesday and went well into Sunday evening. The even had helicopter ride, Monster truck rides, a motocross show and hundreds of cars. Conveniently we were able to walk through a very large automotive parts swap meet and view acres of cars and parts that where for sale. As expected, many of the cars where classic in nature. However, there where some one-off customs that made our eyes really open up. One of the more interesting automobiles was tagged "Twice Blown Deliveries".

Here are some of the cars and carts we ended up looking at while we were out of the garage for the week.

Monday, August 26, 2013

B3R Garage: The 84 Capri Project Hits The Road

It has take quite a while, but it has happened. My 1984 Mercury Capri has finally hit the road at an acceptable speed. Over the past two weekends I have been able to jump in and cruise up and down the road in my neighborhood a few times. Doing so was convenient for calibrating the carb and testing the transmission. However, this weekend I felt comfortable enough to leave the neighborhood and head down to the local gas station. Prior to leaving I conveniently fixed a slight battery charging issue by replacing the original 1982 alternator with a fresh one. So, the trip went well. I know that the hood is still missing (I need a hole in the middle of it so that it will fit), but below is a small clip of the '84 Capri getting warmed up for the short ride.



Monday, August 19, 2013

B3R Garage: An Old Cam Fixes a New Problem

My 1984 Mercury Capri has been the cause of many headaches over the past few months. There was a time where I could hop in and turn the key and the car would start. However, after a few times of starting the car it appeared as though the timing would change and the car would backfire out the exhaust and the intake. So, I invited a family member down to look at the issue. As it turned out the $240 Edelbrock (part #7122) cam and lifter kit I installed had burnt out. This really made me mad. The Mad Scientist and I followed the instruction to the "T" for installing it and took liberal lubrication to the extreme. However, the third piston lobes and lifters seemed to grind down to a smooth cave in a matter of a few operational hours. I ended up pulling the Edelbrock cam and lifters, just to put back in the original cam, and some over-counter lifter. With the old equipment in the car runs like a champ. Unfortunately, I am lacking the power I was promised and expecting from Edelbrock I can at least go down the road.

Monday, August 12, 2013

B3R Garage: All new Still Issues

The 1984 Mercury Capri was intended to be a work in progress. However, I did have a time-frame in mind that I would like to have been driving it! Over the past few months I have been spending my weekends traveling to the Mad Scientist in order to work out the bugs with his 1970 Ford Maverick-leaving the Capri on the back burner. While helping the Mad Scientist, I would put as much spare time as I could tinkering with my Capri. Unfortunately, I could not figure out the idling issue on my own. So, I had to recruit some help from someone willing to travel just to see the engine. I called Pep!



Thursday, August 1, 2013

B3R Garage: A Surprising Resolution

As you may know the Mad Scientist has been driving his 1970 Ford Maverick around for almost a month know. Interestingly enough, he has been doing so with an unidentified Ford 302 block with a Frankenstein Holley carburetor. That's right the carb was put together with parts from three different carbs! Unfortuantly the car would move but the secondaries would never open up. So, we never knew exactly what the old car could do.

That was until the Mad Scientist went out and nabbed a brand new 600 cfm single pumper Holley of the shelf. He threw the new carb on and guess what! The car sounded like CRAP!. It would idle real nice until he put his foot anywhere near the pedal. This was confusing to say the least.

After about two weeks of insanity checking the timing, replacing sparkplug wires, spark plugs, and the distributor cap and rotor the Mad Scientist had enough. He was about to push the old car into the back yard and tarp it over for good. Until he got the idea of removing the valve cover and watching each of the valves open and close as he manually cranked over the engine.

As it turned out, the timing was off. Way OFF! What the Mad Scientist and I though was a standard Ford 302 block (With regular firing order 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8) was actually a Ford 302 HO motor (with a firing order of 1-3-7-6-5-4-8) .

I won't lie, this discovery simply blew my freaking mind! Just one week before the Mad Scientist put on the new carb we where out driving though town. Granted we where only going about 35mph the car still sounded PERFECT! It was quite, smooth, and not backfiring.

Now that the Maverick's kinks have been worked out and we know everything there is to know about our little Maverick, the car drives smooth and has no problem breaking the 100mph in a relativity short distance. If we could just get the back tires to stop spinning when we hover over the gas pedal we might even be able to get the front end off the ground!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

B3R Garage: An unfortunate turn of events

Yesterday was one of Orland Indiana's reestablished car shows. The mad scientist and I had been working feverishly on the weekends of the past few months in order to get are Ford powered tire squealers ready for the event.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

B3R Garage: The Capri nears the Finish line

My 1984 Mercury Capri has seen a little neglect on the site in the past two months, but its progress continues. Unfortunately, I had a little transmission problems. As it turns out the current header setup requires that the entire engine and transmission be pulled every time the transmission needs to be removed. So, over the past two months the Capri has been completely dissected once again. The radiator, motor, headers, and all were once again removed in order to get to the tightly packed in transmission. The transmission was taken down to a local transmission repair shop to be completely rebuilt.

After just under two weeks the transmission was returned. However, after shifting it through the gears while it was in the car; it appears as though the shift kit was put in wrong! Go figure. On the plus side, I was able to gather enough hardware to put the cars interior trim back in, install the door panels, and even the glove box. I won’t lie, it is kind of nice being able to put my arm on the arm rest once again.

Tasks still at hand include fixing a minor power-steering leak, tune the carb, check the timing (yes again!), sand down the front bumper – primer it – paint it, and finally install it. As it turns out Orland Indiana has started having a car show in town ever third Tuesday of the month. I would like to get the car up and ready to go before the following week, but it may not happen. The Mad Scientist’s 1970 Maverick will likely be making the event. So, if you are interested in checking it out make sure you are in the area. If my Capri makes the deadline you are sure to hear B3R cars long before you see them. Hope to see you there.  


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

B3R Garage: Driving the Maverick Home

That's right everyone. The Mad Scientist was able to drive his 1970 Ford Maverick out of the operating room and take her home. Unfortunately, the carburetor needs a little work and the car needs a set of front tires, but the car was able to make it 13 miles across town without too much trouble.

So what does it all mean? Will we hear about the Mad Scientist's Maverick in the weeks to come?


Friday, June 14, 2013

B3R Garage: Lifting the Carb

A whole lot has happened to the the Mad Scientist's Ford Maverick this weekend. First off, the Mad Scientist went ahead and sprung for a 1" carburetor lift plate in order to raise the carburetor scoop up height enough to avoid resting on the HEI distributor. I am not going to lie, putting the lift on his intake was significantly more of a task than I had doing the same process on my Capri. However, in just about an hour we were able to raise the roof on the newly installed street/strip carburetor scoop.

If you have been paying close attention to the pictures of the '87 truck block dropped into the Maverick you might have guessed that the Uni belt pulleys on the Edelbrock water-pump and crank might cause an alternator issue. And you would be right. So the Mad Scientist took it upon himself to drop into the nearby Pick-it-yard (takeapart.biz). He climbed up in an old Ford and walked out with a handy dandy uni-belt pulley, some hood rubbers, and window trim clips. He then went ahead and swung by the nearby NAPA and bout a new alternator, and had the employees put the used belt on it so that it would work with the current pulley setup. Pretty crafty huh!

The Mad Scientist even went so far as to acquire a handy dandy band new radiator cooling fan. Unfortunately, the fan requires that it be put on the front of the radiator (behind the bumper). As it turns out there is not a log of room there. The room that is there is currently occupied by a trim bracket. Bummer! But don't worry everyone! The Mad Scientist and I are no stranger to chopping off unneeded pieces (check out the shock tower chopping section) and/or fabricating what we need. So, hopefully the new radiator fan will be going in this weekend.

The only thing that still seems to be missing is the exhaust. The Mad Scientist has his eyes set on a pair of Lake Pipes from Jegs.com, but he may just throw together some of the spare pipes with a couple of over-the-counter mufflers just to be able to roll down the road a little earlier.

If you are interested in the Mad Scientist's 1970 Ford Maverick, be sure to keep checking in and occasionally check his Squidoo page under the Maverick tab above for more information and videos to come.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

B3R Garage: The Capri gets a Scoop too!

Sorry if we have not been keeping everyone up to date with B3R happenings over the past two weeks. The Mad Scientist and I have had our fair share of issues placing the last few pieces of our cars back together. In fact, both of our allegedly good transmissions have turned out to be needing rebuilt. But that is another story for another day. Today, I want to inform everyone/(anyone interested) that I will be chopping a handy dandy hole in my hood in next few weeks to make room form a brand new carburetor air cleaner.

Check out the Capri's new Air Cleaner.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

B3R Garage: Just A Little Bit Closers


Over the weekend the Mad Scientist and I were able to spray the maverick down with its final coat of primer and hit it with its first coat of color. Awkwardly enough it took much longer to mask the car than it did to actually spray it. Unfortunately, the color did not come out exactly the way we wanted it to.

This is what the Maverick looks like now. 
 

Monday, May 13, 2013

B3R Garage: The Maverick Gets a Scoop and More


The last month and a half have been pretty rough on the wallet for me. Because of this the Mad Scientist and I have decide to focus exclusively on the 1970 Ford Maverick in order to get one car out of the garage. Currently, the Maverick has been outfitted recently with an awesome triple core Champion Radiator, a 16 gallon 2” sump fuel cell (conveniently mounted on the (top) inside of the old fuel tank.), and super shiny 4.5” tall carburetor scoop.

That’s right, every carbureted car needs a good are cleaner and filter in order to run just right. However, the Mad Scientist took drastic measures to ensure that the carburetor scoop he chose would set his Maverick apart from the rest.
Check out the Maverick's New Scoop Below!

Friday, May 3, 2013

B3R Garage: Champion Radiators

With the Mad Scientist's Maverick nearing completion there are only a few essentials that still need acquiring before the beast can take to the streets. One such essential is none other than a radiator. Conveniently for my Capri, I was able to simply pick up a radiator relatively cheap. However, the Mad Scientist was not so lucky. Years ago the Mad Scientist was not opposed to sporting a significantly larger truck radiator-with no hood-in his Maverick if it meant he could race on the weekend.

However, the Mad Scientist and I decided that we would like to keep the mechanicals under the hood for this particular Maverick. So instead of buying whatever radiator we could jam into the car for the cheapest price the Mad Scientist decided to go another rout. The Mad Scientist Went ahead and dished out a few hundred on a Champion Radiator straight out of California. (note: California has a high fraud warning so don’t be surprised if you purchase something from California and have your card declined and froze until the transaction is verified by your bank.) Conveniently the radiator showed up only a few days after purchasing it and simply bolted right up.

Champion Radiators

Thursday, April 25, 2013

B3R Garage: Primering up the 1970 Maverick

Finally the Mad Scientists’ 1970 Ford Maverick is getting a little dash of primer. The Mad Scientist shot his Maverick with primer from the cowl to the trunk this last weekend. Surprisingly, only a little time was spent in skimming tiny pinholes and dings in the body with filler. On the other hand, the use of an air file made sanding down the Maverick a whole lot easier. Needless to say it was a bit of relief to see the car in a single color for the first time even if it was primer.


If you are into doing body work on cars the Mad Scientist and I would HIGHLY recommend you get yourself an air file. The air file literally took out a huge chunk of time we would have originally spent handing sanding the car. Instead, the air file sanded the car so well that we could have probably hit the car with color and been done with it, but we are trying to go for a specific look. 

Saturday, April 13, 2013

B3R Garage: Ford Maverick-Preparing For Primer


Although the 1970 Ford Maverick still requires a little mechanical work, the Mad Scientists and I have decided to simply move on to doing a little body work. Conveniently the Maverick only requires a little body work in order to get prepared for primer and paint.

Currently the paint already on the Maverick already contains a luxurious shine in many places. However, there are yet some areas of the car such as the driver-side door, and rear quarter panels that still require a little skimming of body filler and smoothing before the primer. This weekend the Mad Scientist and I will be busting out the sand paper and foam blocks in order to get the Maverick ready for its first coat of primer. 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

B3R Garage: The Mad Scientist's Tranny Troubles

The Mad Scientist has cut, chopped, and welded his 1970 Ford Maverick into submission. We have finally been able to completely drop in the Ford 302 sb into the Maverick using truck mounts. We wired up the starter, and bypassed the transmission lines. However, as easy as cutting into the Maverick was it was about time it cut back!

The Maverick strikes back!


Saturday, March 23, 2013

B3R Garage: Troublesome Timing Issues

When you begin to near the completion of custom car that you have never done before all of the tiny kinks and imperfections tend to reveal themselves. For my 1984 Mercury Capri, the problem laid in my inability to understand why my Edelbrock 1406 four barrel carburetor would not idle at all.

Why won't my Edelbrock 1406 idle?

Saturday, March 16, 2013

B3R Garage: A Real Winner


A winning car is a little more than dumping a thick bank roll into a project. In fact the definition of “winning” may be diffident for everybody. Some builders find that simply dumping more cylinders into a car in order to increase horsepower makes it better. Others may find that upgrading suspension for autocross makes for a winning combination whereas some find extreme interior and exterior makeovers to be the right direction for their passions. Whether you are looking to tearing up the drag strip, autocross, or take the stage at a car show planning, patience and persistence will be required.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

B3R Garage: Shaving Shock Towers

The Mad Scientist has decided to put his 1970's Ford Maverick under the knife again. So far the pre-modified can lighting setup was cut from the rear and replaced with a Torino tail lights. The rear bumper was fabricated from a Ford Mustang rear bumper and all visible exterior mounting bolts were shaved. The engine going into the car currently will be a Ford 302 small block with mustang shorty headers  and a C4 automatic transmission. However, the Mad Scientist has recently got the concept of bigger blocks on his mind. So instead of simply dropping the small block into the the Maverick, the Mad Scientist did a little homework and found out what it would take to put a larger block into the car. As it turns out, the process requires shaving the shock towers!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

B3R Garage: Fuel Line Upgrade-Old, Modern, & New

     Year ago when the Mad Scientist was young the normal method for installing fuel lines in any and all cars involved hard rubber hose and steel hose clamps. As the years passed much of the rubber hoses were replaced with steel fuel lines. At the current time there is yet another alternative to automotive fuel lines available known simply as AN(Army/Navy).

     Due to pressure issues with common rubber hoses, routing issues with steel fuel lines the 1984 Mercury Capri will be getting a fuel pump to carburetor fuel line upgrade. Currently, the fuel line from the Edelbrock fuel pump pours into a Mr. Gasket adjustable pressure regulator and gauge before actually entering the carburetor.

     Although the paperwork for the stock replacement Edelbrock Fuel Pump states that it should not require a pressure regulator, it produces approximately 7.5-10 lb. of fuel pressure before entering the pump. The issue is caused when the information about the Carburetor (Edelbrock 1406) states it should have no more than 6 lb. of fuel pressure at any given time. Therefore, a pressure regulator was needed to reduce the flow of fuel into the Edelbrock 1406 carburetor.

Unfortunately, the rubber fuel line coming from the pump into the fuel pressure regulator continues to leak due to excessive pressure and weak hose clamps. Therefore the foxbody Capri will be getting an AN -6 fuel line and fitting upgrade from the fuel pump to the carburetor.

Monday, February 11, 2013

B3R Garage: The '84 Capri Finally Hits the Ground

For a few weeks now my 1984 Foxbody Capri has been giving the Mad Scientist and I issues. However, over the weekend we were able to finally bleed all of the brakes and run the car through the gears while up on jack stands. We were even able to have the car idle on its own for the fist time ever. It was kind of nice to get out of the car while it ran and walk down the road a little just to see how it sounded from a distance.

Unfortunately, after a few time of letting the car idle for several minutes it would eventually die. After this occurred several time the car became very difficult to start and would not idle at all. I could not figure out why my Edelbrock Carburetor would not idle at all. I tried a few thing to hopefully remedy the issue but had no luck. On thing I did was included a fuel pressure gauge following my fuel pump to ensure I had enough fuel pressure. I also put a 2.5" spacer in between the carburetor and intake because it seemed as though I only had the issue after the car got up to running temp. Unfortunately  none of my attempts seemed to fix the issue. So I will eventually be swapping out the Edelbrock Carb for a known good one, and will eventually take the Edelbrock Carb apart for a rebuild.


Here is the video of the car Idling on the ground for the first time.
* I'm actually listening to the Radio in the car.


Friday, February 1, 2013

B3R Garage: 1970 Ford Maverick Update

After a week of waiting the Mad Scientist and I were able to acquire a new heater core and windshield wiper motor for the Maverick. Awkwardly enough Ford Maverick's without A/C have more expensive heater cores than those without. Who knew. Regardless, the folks down at the local NAPA store was able to provide us with a heater core and windshield wiper motor.

After this weekend the entire interior of the Maverick should be completely done. With that being said the car really only needs a few more pieces to reach completion. Unfortunately  the Mad Scientist's truck decided to keel over and die (hopefully for the last time. ). So the Maverick build budget was slightly cut into in order to fix the Mad Scientist's Aspire long enough to get the Maverick done. Although the Maverick street strip build will not stop the build, but it will be extended a little longer.

No offense to anyone following B3R Garage, but it is likely to be in your best interest not to buy a Chevy (s10).

Monday, January 28, 2013

B3R Garage: '84 Mercury Capri Update

The 1984 Mercury Capri foxbody project has proven to be a bit of a tough pill to swallow for some time now. The recent issue I was having with the car was that the stock replacement starter shorted out. After a bit of research, I came to discover that most stock replacement starter bought at your local auto parts stores a re manufactured with used parts. bummer. Fortunately, I was able to come up with enough funds to buy a new replacement. The new starter is a Mini High Torque Starter from Summit Racing.

The process for installing the new starter involved pulling the engine yet again due to installing long-tube Hooker Headers. So, over the weekend the Mad Scientist and I disconnected the transmission mounts and hoses, drained the radiator, and removed the radiator. The radiator was removed to prevent unintentional damage when pulling up the motor. After the motor was pulled the new multi-position starter was set to optimal positioning and installed.

Additional parts installed included pre-bent transmission lines from Cool Tubes, and a new mechanical fuel pump by Edelbrock. The pre-bent tubes where installed to make sure that there was no real possibility of transmission fluid leaks in the near future. The Edelbrock fuel pump was installed to make sure that the new carburetor was receiving enough fuel to power the modified engine.

To finish the car off a set of 23" Jones Glasspack Straight pipe mufflers where installed along with the a modified Hooker down-pipes. Instead of keeping the original exhaust the Mad Scientist and I went ahead and installed 2.5" side-pipe exhaust tips that expel just before the rear tires.

With the exception of installing all of the interior components, and installing the front bumper clip the car is essentially completed. Although it is nearly done, I am sure that the car will undergo various changes in the near future including upgrades to suspension, and inter/exterior design & paint. So keep in touch in order to see some of the new images and videos of the 1984 Mercury Capri. This is one custom car.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

B3R Garage: 1970 Maverick Custom Interior

After about two weeks the 1970 Ford Maverick's interior carpet was finally delivered. Conveniently, the carpet came at just the right time. Previously in the week the Mad Scientist and I were able to fabricate seat brackets for the black Tenzo Racing seats, all of the dash pads were recovered, and the headliner was restored.

This weekend the Mad Scientist and I will be looking forward to finally dropping in the carpet, and getting started re-installing the heat ducts, dash panels, trim panels, and front and rear seats. Keep and eye out because shortly we will be posting pictures of the newly upgraded 1970 Ford Maverick interior.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

B3R Garage: Foxbody Capri Project Update

Over the week I decided to do some minor modifications to the 1984 Mercury Capri of mine. The front clip was removed and thoroughly sanded and body filled to remove various imperfections. In addition to slight bumper modifications some new parts were ordered to hopefully improve performance. First in the list of new parts is none other than a 1.9 HP Summit Racing Protorque Starter. The car will also be getting an Edelbrock stock replacement 6-7psi mechanical fuel pump. The car will also receive a set of brand new transmission  lines by Classic Tube.

With the inclusion of the significantly higher quality starter I will hopefully not be needing to remove the engine again in the near future. I am also hoping that the Edelbrock fuel pump that is to replace my old broken one will have significant longevity as well.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

B3R Garage: 1970 Maverick Update

It has been about one month now and the 70's Ford Maverick has come a long way. over the week the Mad Scientist and I were able to tear out everything from under the dash. Not only was EVERYTHING removed but we were able to undercoat (rubberize) everything as well (including our clothes, shoes, hands, hair, and anything else we touched). The Ford 302 sb was fitted to check for potential clearance issues as the motor is from a '87 truck of some kind. Seat brackets where fabricated to help level the custom Tenzo Racing seats that we will be putting in as well. I guess you could say that the 1970 Ford Maverick is at the same point my car was in during the final stages of its completion. There are only a few more weeks before the February 12th (Mad Scientist's Birth Day). I wonder if the car will be derivable by then.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

B3R Garage: Craigslist Win!

Craigslist has been arguably one of the most used online services for buying and selling product locally. For most individuals, Craigslist may even be seen as a very lucrative source for finding parts for their particular project car or truck. However, in our neck of the woods Craigslist is more commonly used by companies than individuals. Therefore, it may be exceptionally easy for some to find parts for their 1984 Foxbody projects or Mavericks, but it is not for those of us here at B3R Garage.

Over the life of the '84 Capri Project build I have only had the ability to come across a broken T5 transmission that would fit in my ride. This was true until this last weekend. Over the weekend I came across a Craigslist post pertaining to chrome rims. Although I had a vision of what my Capri should look like I could not turn down a set of chrome rims for only $125. So I took a look. Conveniently the rims where in great condition and accommodated the 4x4.25 or 4x108mm lug spacing needed to fit.

With a set of new rubber and a little bit of chrome polish I am sure these rims will do just fine.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

B3R Garage: 1970's Brakes & Interior

Over the weekend the Mad Scientist and I where able to install the new rear brake parts. Unfortunately,  finding and speaking with knowledgeable representatives at your local auto parts store can be a hit or miss endeavor. For the most part, when we speak to someone about finding parts for the Maverick the representative freezes in panic when we mention that the car is from the 70's or that it is a Maverick. Probably due to the younger generation not realizing that there where indeed cars before they were born. (who knew?)

Regardless, the Mad Scientist and I were able to acquire some brake parts from our trusty NAPA store. Over the weekend we were able to install new brakes on the refurbished 8" axle. The brakes took a little longer that expected due to some lacking parts. However, we were able to scavenge some working parts off of some Granada front drum brakes in order to make the instillation a success. As far as the brakes are concerned the 1970 Maverick only needs three brake lines measuring a few feet in distance.

This weekend we did not stop with installing brake parts. The Mad Scientist took it upon himself to enlist some help from his personal interior fabricator (his mom). At a month before her 70th birthday the Mad Scientist's fabricator/mom was teaching the Great Grand-children how to Snowboard. (This is no joke. Those Grand-children are mine.) Anyhow, the rear bench seat in the 1970's Ford Maverick was tore apart, painted, re-padded, and re upholstered. The back of the newly refurbished back seat also sports a snazzy Ford logo as well.  

Along with finishing some simple projects, there where some projects that where just getting started. We took the time to remove the interior heater motor, squirrel box, and wiper motor. We also removed the shock tower supports and began wire-wheeling the doghouse.