IHKeith

It probably will be the last exhaust… could say for sure if it was a Kia, Nissan or Jeep, but Toyota owners can be very dedicated. This one has some rot in the rockers/wheel arches and quarters but is pretty solid underneath. It is a 1995 and was from BC (way less salt) years ago and had a V6 and failed automatic transmission. The owner had a rusted out 1990 four cylinder/manual transmission and swapped that combo into the 95. It gets driven on a private property mainly and limited road use so it may last longer than expected.

I put some exhaust on this 4Runner. I replaced all but the front 8 inches of the exhaust pipe, and the muffler. Neat thing is I came as close as I ever have in using a complete 10 foot length(s) of pipe. I got all but a couple inches under it, almost no waste!

It’s a gamble, the odds are in favour of a negative experience but a positive experience is possible. They were an okay engine in their time, but are obsolete now, parts are harder to come by and the injection pumps you can get are hit and miss. There may be some specialist 6.5 support out there but not easily or economically available, especially outside the US with shipping costs. They can still be kept running with patience and perseverance but 3rd or 4th injection pump working out that takes a week to get here doesn’t make for a reliable truck for a landscape company in the summer season. I’ve seen them snap the crank, break the starter bolts off, crack flywheels, crank pulley seperate, leak oil and fuel profusely. I heard of head gaskets and saw some in 6.2s but other than suddenly snapping the crank the only catastrophic 6.5 failures were ran out of oil. They set no speed records. 6.5s in heavier vehicles like a 3500HD box/tow/dump truck are some of the slowest acceleration I’ve felt. Fords and Dodges of the mid 90s weren’t much faster and until the Powerstroke and 24 valve the 6.5 was competitive. The 6.5 is pretty fuel efficient and is a little lighter than the competition. They were a decent engine and many ran for a long time

I really enjoy jobs like this on newer cars and classics. Not all of them get as many new parts as the Oldsmobile, but whatever they need. Making sure that every alignment adjustment is free to move like butter. On a car like this F-85 the bolts that hold the upper control arm and the shims to adjust camber/caster can be corroded, depleted threads etc. Having it all apart and clean, new shims, new bolts makes it so easy to adjust. Most of the time I stack a generous amount of varying thickness of shims and simply have to pull a couple out. Shims come in 1/64,32,16,8 inch sizes so you can imagine if you are fighting a corroded, dirty frame/shim/bolt/control arm rod, you’re going to chase your tail a bit. Same thing with a cam bolt or tie rod end, if it doesn’t move like butter then it’s not going to turn out the best. I have been doing alignments since 2007, in Eastern Ontario, where salted roads exist over half the year. I know a few tricks to overcome seized adjustments when the situation is right, a happy medium that will keep tires and drive well when budget and vehicle condition is low. When the vehicle is of good condition like this Oldsmobile and needs this attention, nothing but the best will do. Can’t skimp on a single detail and the end product will always satisfy.

We’ve been working on this 68 Oldsmobile F-85. New tires and replacing all the suspension bushings, ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, centre link and shocks. We ended up having to pull the headers to access the lower control arm bolts, had to lift the engine and remove the starter to get them out. A terminal broke on the solenoid but we were able to get a new solenoid for $30. Josh has done most of the work himself, I did the control bushings and the risky parts with the coil springs. He’s done well, handled it better than when he started in the trade 2 years ago.

Putting some dual exhaust on this 71 Eldorado tonight

The view outside the shop door lay Friday

The 86 Chev started running poorly a couple days after Bazil picked it up, like it was starving for fuel. I had replaced some cracked rubber fuel lines before doing the exhaust. The fuel tank looked really good (new 3 years ago but no miles) and the sending unit looked ok but was much older. Everything else in the fuel system was new/recent and he decided we should replace the sending unit for good measure and take it from there. When I dropped the tank and opened it up I think I found the problem. The truck has been a project for a while and Bazil bought it part way through a couple years ago. Who knows how much weather a possibly unsealed tank was exposed to. He said they had dumped some nasty gas out of it before they fired it up. My first experience with something like this with all fresh gas, it smells fine but looks like a broth. I have a new tank coming. It still fires right up so I’m hopeful that the fuel filters did their job and the carb is fine.

Pretty cool to use the old tin. I am also a fan of polyurethane on wood. Looks good!!!

Years ago a friend and I were burning rubber on a dirt road. The conditions were perfect, tires were squealing, black strips were laid, smoke and laughter were in the air, the open differential was consistently turning both wheels, hurting nothing but the tires. We played for a long while and then headed the few miles home. Pulling in the driveway we heard the leaking tire, there was a nickel sized rock in the middle of the tread. When I changed the tire I was surprised to see the rock was about the size of a rhombus shaped screwdriver handle. The portion inside was much larger diameter than the hole. This was summer 2006. The vehicle was an 86 S15 Jimmy 2wd 2.8/auto 2 door with 15 inch wheels. I worked at a GM dealership and the common 15 inch used tires were 215/60s from Malibus and 215/70s from mini vans. The tire that swallowed the rock was a General XP2000GT from a Montana van. They had a puncture seal goop on the inside. I think that goop played a role in trapping the rock but for sure, we had those tires hot!!

I made some exhaust for this 86 Chevy last night. I had never done the tips so far to the outside, out the back before. I’m happy with how it turned out

Nicky spends less time outside with me now that Mom lets her on the couch