Twenty

Today was productive. Coming up soon - August 5th - is a big local show and shine hosted by some friends of mine. Both the Grand Prix and the Focus have been registered, so now's the time to hurry up and cross items off of the to-do lists for each. Last night I picked up the GP's summer wheels from the storage bin (July and I'm still on winters, that's a record) as they are one item on said list. Today a couple of friends came over to my house, and with supplies in hand we got to work. Three of us had split the cost and picked up a large can of Plastidip. We borrowed a spray gun and redid a few sets of wheels. My Crosslaces were the last to be done. The black CRX already had its wheels done, as well as an Integra. With no time to get the wheels professionally redone, it was Plastidip to the rescue. I only need this to last temporarily anyway. At this point the coats are almost done. I need to pick up a spray can or two to finish off a few spots that are still a bit thin, but we used up the rest of the can so this was as far as we could get today. Regardless, they are well on their way to being done and are one of the last updates to make to the GP.

Steeda rear sway bar, part II: I apologize for the picture quality. A couple were taken quickly with my phone (I wasn't going to bring my real camera to work) and the others were taken while I was laying on the ground trying to see what I was shooting at. Today I brought the bar to work and at the start of my lunch break grabbed a free hoist and put the Focus up in the air. A co-worker of mine helped out too, and together we had the new Steeda bar in by the end of lunch. The swap is simple enough, but the bars put up a fight with the endlinks. It was challenging to remove the old one and wrestle the new one on, as it took both of us applying force to finally do so. The bushings were well greased to prevent squeaking, and then everything was tightened down. My father and I just got back from a quick round of the neighbourhood. We weren't doing anything crazy, but driving around there does seem to be a definite improvement in the Focus' handling. This is one tight little car.

That's what I'm going to do. I'll see if I can find a spare lift. I also need to talk to a coworker who does 3M, a tiny bit of mine on one of the front bumper's lower 'points' got ripped slightly.

I'm just going to try when I have better access and can gain better leverage.

All bolts and nuts were off. I couldn't get the ends of the bar off of the endlinks.

So, today I crawled under the Focus to get to work swapping out the rear sway bar. And that's what it still looks like now. Yes, that's the stock bar. Yes, the Steeda piece is back in its box. No matter what, I could not get the sway bar free from the end links. It simply would not come out, so I put the bolts back in place and will need to take the Steeda bar with me to work and borrow a hoist. Sigh.

I recently priced out the Ti lights. With a new core charge, it's nearly $600 for a pair. Yikes.

Do eet. Points to consider: You cannot order 2012s anymore, only 2013s now. Also, the SEL trim and Yellow Blaze/Frosted Glass colors are gone for the'13s.

I'm going to guess a Grand Am owner?

So pretty.

Steeda rear sway bar, part I: It's Friday! That means I have the day off work and therefore had the chance to pick up my new sway bar. At a major car show last month I was able to meet the owner of a local shop that carries parts for the 2012 Focus, and placed an order through them shortly after for the Steeda rear sway bar. Included is the bar, brackets, bushings, grease, and a one-page instruction sheet. A quick read-through and it all looks very simple. The install is waiting for now, as I got caught in a HEAVY rainstorm while coming home. On the plus side, the undercarriage got a good wash, but I think I'll let it dry out before I crawl under the car.

J Series swap. It's from cars like Accords and Odysseys. Basically, big engine + little car.

I had to work today. Good news: easiest commute ever. And work was quiet.

What's the right way to read this?

I decided to put up a detailed timeline of this car on another forum, so I just spent the past couple hours going through this whole thread to copy text and pictures. I needed the reminder to myself of just how much this car and I have been through. Especially the adventures last summer of trying to determine how I'd keep the car alive and running when more rust was popping up. As the car sits it still is awaiting a tear-down and repair, but fortunately nothing (except for one spot, I'll mention that) is urgent. I'm watching it though, but overall the car seems to be in better health than when it went away into storage. There is a spot of rust behind the driver's tail light which needs to go first. I've got to arrange a time with a friend of ours to head over to his workshop and pull out the cutting wheels and welder. Overall though, the car is alive and well and just today in fact, put a smile on my face. It's been a rather stressful couple of days for me, but a quick sprint in Judge just happened to make everything else seem less important. This car is still my buddy.

Look very closely...two GNXs in one shot. Taken at a local meet tonight.

Oh my, there's a wagon version. I'll take one.

Beadlocks from factory? FINALLY! It just makes too much sense to not put them on.

Indeed, there's a bit on that too.

Found this little gem today:

I spy an F30 key for Monday.