Scoobywagon

THAT is just frickin' AWESOME! The newspaper is a nice touch. Frankly, though, I wonder if a Transit van wouldn't be a more appropriate choice. I don't think a BRAT will complain overly much at the weight, but it seems to me that the Transit van offers a nicer place to work between races.

You mean soda water?

The battery may, in fact, be toast given the very little the car gets driven. Test the battery to make sure it is in good shape. If it is, then just get a battery tender, as opposed to an actual charger.

It's likely to run about $150 or so plus shipping. Just did a quick search and there is a PGW dealer in Reading, PA. They should be able to get it also, as I found your quarter glass in a PGW warehouse in Ontario. That is likely to be a bit more cost-effective than buying it from me and shipping it across the country. Try B&G Glass at 610.372.7868. If they give you a run-around or you just don't want to deal with them, let me know and I'll see what I can do about getting it to you.

You'll get better performance out of the 3000K's than you'll get out of skinning another color. That'll get you a nice, vibrant yellow color. Makes for an excellent fog light. If you want more of a driving light, go with 9000K headlight and a 6000K driving light. You can also order additional bulbs in different colors. So you could run a 3000K fog light during the rainy/snowy seasons and a 6000K driving light during the summer. The bulbs themselves are usually not terribly expensive.

The argument against HID's can't be that they aren't OEM. Your headlights are and assembly which happens to include a bulb. If the state requires your headlights to be OEM, then, in the strictest legal sense, you'd have to get rid of the car when a bulb blew out. However, if it is ok to change your light bulb, then it must be ok to replace the bulb with an HID kit. After all, the OEM specifies an H4 (or whatever) bulb for your car. You still have an H4 bulb. Legally, nothing has been changed. Most states regulate what colors are acceptable for a headlight. Some even go so far as to limit what bulbs you may have based on current draw. But HID's draw less current than halogens and are available in a wide range of color temperatures. I generally recommend 6000K for Head/Driving lights, 3000K for fog lights.

Yes. Pm me.

Ok, so to clear up a bit...Federal DOT regulations make NO mention of headlight types. Some states may have different regulations, so check first. However, most states have regulations for lighting that limit your choices based, not on light output, but on current draw. For instance, Washington limits your headlights to not more than 55w current draw. HID kits mostly draw around 35-40 amps. Just doing a quick search, I can't find a single state that specifically prohibits the use of HID headlights. For those who may be interested, the shop I work for has HID kits for $145 (most applications). If you want the bixenon kit (for HID high and low beams on cars that use a single bulb), it usually adds about another $50.

HOw about a 3-4" Forester kit?

This is why they invented block heaters.

Nice work, Miles! Maybe next time you should try a little harder to keep it out of the deep stuff.

Sounds like a blast. I'm in.

No. They don't HAVE to come from Sears. Looks like it has the standard connectors. Just get a good set.

From now until the end of January, we will be running a special for USMB members. All product is 10-20% off of our normal pricing. Some additional package pricing is available for larger jobs. Some examples: Alpine CDA-105: 10% off regular pricing $210 Basic keyless entry: $120 + tax (includes install) Basic remote start w/ keyless: $275 + tax (includes install) Most Subaru's don't require interface modules, though some models from 05 up do need them. Those modules run $80 and $50 labor to install and program them. If there's something specific that you're interested in, give me a call. (360) 377-0769. Charley

Kit car. And an interesting choice in kits, at that.

Just a word of advice, here. The test leads that you generally get with a DMM are junk. Just like the blade you get with a saw. Get yourself a good set of test leads. Those leads should have removable ends and should come with a small assortment of ends including standard probes, alligator clips and maybe a piercer.

I suppose I should have pointed out that in my shop, we do both greasy, nasty work and interior work. Tools can't track grease and oil and whatever else into someone's interior. So clean tools are VERY important.

You could also do what a good friend of mine does. He coats his head gaskets in The Right Stuff. I don't mean "applies a bead", I mean COATS those gaskets. He builds alcohol-burning supercharged big-blocks for monster trucks.

Besides....she's voided no part of any warranty.

In my shop, the guys use the Handi-Wipes we keep around for general cleaning and then Sprayway glass cleaner to get the residue from the Handi-Wipes. They're not Handi-Wipes brand. We get them from PGW. They're a light cloth with some skin-friendly solvents and something that is ever so slightly gritty. Its good stuff because it'll clean up pretty much whatever you need to clean, but won't scratch the customer's paint. That's important when you go to set a windshield and track urethane on the paint.

Glad you had a nice day with the family. Glad you made it home safe. Happy new year.

Steering wheel controls are NEVER a dealer option. To my knowledge, almost everything from the last 2-3 years comes with the steering wheel controls. Prior to that, I don't think ANYTHING did. Not 100% sure on that, but I'm pretty sure.

Depending on the application, You'd also have to swap over the CANbus controls. That'd be fun.

The SWI-Jack is useful for most Alpine, Kenwood and (some) JVC stereos. There are other models in PAC Audio's line for other applications. It will continue to control all of the functions that the steering wheel controls are designed for. Generally, that means Volume Up/Down, Channel Up/Down, Track Seek, etc. The down side is that the interface is usually a bit slower than the factory system. Some applications are worse than others.

Pac Audio makes an interface for your steering wheel controls. It is the SWI-JACK. It takes a little mucking about to program it, but it works pretty well. PLugs right into the back of your Alpine and voila. Off you go.