I'm still in the "piling E36 M3 on it in the garage" stage.
How’s your winter project list shaping up? It’s time to make plans for next season, right?
I grew up in New York, where winters were very much a Real Thing: shoveling show, freezing at the bus stop, bundling up in thick sweaters hand-crocheted by my grandma.
For us, winters represented the pause between everything else: bikes away, sleds out.
[Winter storage checklist | Ensure your classic is drivable in spring]
I didn’t have a car.
Let’s fast-forward to today. I have cars. I live in Florida.
The good news: We don’t really have an off-season here in Florida.
And the bad news: We don’t really have an off-season here in Florida.
So that means it’s now very late in November that I’m realizing January starts about a month from now. See also: Our autocross season is still chugging along.
With January’s arrival comes a new season–for me, that largely means autocross, regular gatherings and a few car shows.
I guess now is as a good time as any to work on that to-do list for next year.
On the plus side, everything here in the garage is in fairly good condition.
And the little dose of reality: Everything here can also use some attention before next year.
The Garage Rescue Miata should probably get new tires before next season–Andy and our tire chart have been consulted there. And is it time to move up to 7.5-inch-wide wheels as allowed by the Street Touring rules?
The BMW M3 needs a few little things–see the parts that just arrived from BimmerWorld–so the car is currently visiting Jesse Spiker at Spiker Motorsports.
The Porsche 911 doesn’t necessarily need a lot of work, but it’s getting some–specifically, it’s time to tackle a few things that have been ignored/put off for a while. (We all know that drill, right?)
The front shocks are leaking, while the rears are dated from 1995. A box from KW automotive just landed–I went with the setup featuring the repositioned spindles since I’m running a lowered ride height. More on these to come on the Classic Motorsports site, but color me very excite.
Time to go through the brakes, too: fresh rotors, new Hawk pads and Goodridge braided lines ordered via Tire Rack.
The Porsche’s aftermarket clutch chatters, so it’s getting replaced with a fresh OE one. The engine is stock, and I’d like a little more comfort there. The current Stage 1 clutch that we installed when going through the engine a dozen years ago is likely overkill.
Since the engine will be out for the clutch work, we’re also doing all of the “while you’re in there” work: clutch cable, assorted seals, flywheel resurfacing, crank angle sensors and the like. Time to deal with a leaking CV, too.
I'm currently rounding up the bits for that part of the to-do list, and the car goes to Autobahn Daytona in January. It’s a mom-and-pop Porsche shop that only takes in one car a time, so you have to wait your turn.
So, what’s on your list of winter projects? I’ve heard that sharing a to-do list helps get it done.
I'm still in the "piling E36 M3 on it in the garage" stage.
Mndsm said:I'm still in the "piling E36 M3 on it in the garage" stage.
As a wise man once told me (his name might have rhymed with Harl Ceideman), once you turn a car into a shelf, it’s over.
I still haven't figured out what the winter projects are going to be yet.
You guys are clearly Mojave-Desertphobics...............
We are still running; we had an event Sunday and we'll be running every three weeks until May.
With that said I've got a block at the machine shop; this bad boy will be 1220cc of raw power. It should be belting 90hp at the wheels.
The F500 is up for sale so nothing doing there.
We have a line on a Fox Body Mustang but it's full functioning.....that should arrive in January.
There is a Bultaco project in the garage but it won't get touched until next summer.
I'll tell you about it later...
My calendar reminder that i have two months to get the garage structure permit signed off just pinged.
It's just handrails and an awning, and I've been dragging it out. But i need to get this done in time to get the MGB's suspension freshened before '24 AX gets rolling...
Which project?
I have to put a heater core, evaporator, and drier on the suburban in the drive. I need to rearrange the garage for that to happen unless Florida weather happens in Michigan soon.
I still need to make the bracket for the fuse box for the ranger. Then start pulling wire fire and aft for some cutting and splicing.
I really need to pull the headliner out of the Galaxie because it's pretty close to original and split at the seams. It also needs the whole suspension gone through and tightened up. I need to put in the proper kilduff shifter in for the reverse manual valve body.
I need to build an exhaust system for the mustang. Plus the nittos are worn out.
Explorer needs a tune, downpipes, exhaust, wheels/tires, mini spool, and a 10 sec 1/4 mile time slip.
Avalanche needs a complete bushing set, shocks/struts, and an oil pan gasket.
I'm sure I have more I am choosing to ignore at this time.....
My projects sleep in the winter. I won't see my baby until April! I'm sad, send diesel
I would just like to point out that winter doesn't actually start for almost a month. So, there really isn't any need to consider winter projects at this time.
I have a Lemons car that will be done one way or the other in two weeks.
After that, I'm done. I quit. This time around has been less than fun so no more Lemons races for me. Probably no more races period.
From there, I'm not working on anything else beyond cleaning out the shop and getting rid of stuff and projects I'll never finish. It's past time to move some things down the road and get some parking spaces back.
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