Site Launch

I’ve launched this site to document the process on the things I’m working on. As the owner of several older (and a couple of newer) General Motors products I often have a wrench in hand. I’d like to say I spend a lot of time wrenching on my trucks, and I do spend a lot of time wrenching on them; keeping the newer vehicles from falling into disrepair takes priority. That means I spend copious amounts of time working on two 2017 Chevrolets that aren’t even the slightest bit rusty (yet.) When I can manage though, I’ll be working on some pretty cool things.

My dad was a mechanic. Sure, he worked on Chevrolets, Fords, and the occasional import, but that’s not really what I mean. My dad worked on Natural Gas compressors. He worked on Freightliners, Kenworths, and Peterbilts. He worked on concrete mixer trucks, fork lifts, and excavators. And I can think of more than one (regionally) successful racer that insisted he work on their engine.

But me? I’m not a mechanic. My dad always insisted I do all my own work though, so I am reasonably well studied in the GMT-400 and -800 platforms. I’m mechanically inclined enough enough to be able to learn or figure out most repairs without completely destroying the subject matter. I won’t hesitate to purchase a tool if it’s needed, and I can usually track down a service manual when needed. I also worked on computer systems and networking, so I’ve started with some basic understanding of today’s modern automotive networking systems.

In the near future I’ll be putting oil level, oil pressure, crank position, and cam position sensors into the mechanical heart of Prime, my Dark Ming Blue Metallic 2005 Silverado Crew Cab. After 374,000 miles the thing was in desperate need of some help. Still, it was strong for 374,000 miles and didn’t look like a toxic sludge dump inside when I opened it up. The sensors will finish up the bottom end, and then it’s time to rebuild the heads. I’ll be documenting the rest of this process.

I’ll also be putting struts on a 2017 Chevy Cruze and replacing the Remote Control Door Lock Receiver in a 2017 Chevy Tahoe in the near future. Really, owning newer vehicles hasn’t quite been as trouble free as I’d have imagined. That’s kind of a pain, because the oil pump’s going out in my 2005 Silverado Z71. I also need to do head gaskets or put a motor in my kid’s 2005 Equinox that I rescued from the crusher via Copart.

I’ll admit some of that doesn’t sound like it’s much fun, but it has to be done. In addition to all of that I’ll be learning to brush, polish, or paint aluminum. I’m going to learn to paint. I’ll be learning to apply Cosmoline RP-342 to a freshly cleaned undercarriage. I’ll be rebuilding the heads of that engine I mentioned earlier, and then I’m shoving it back in that 2005 Silverado, which needs some rust repair for sure. I’m also restoring a 1998 CK dash to go in my Sierra. Oh… Oh yeah, the Sierra. I have a reasonably straight bodied, reasonably rust free 1991 GMC Sierra. That’s where the real fun is.

I’m going to try to make at least one post a week, repairs, tool reviews, learning to tune or reprogram modules, how-to guides, anything I can come up with that seems interesting. I don’t care about EVs so I won’t be trying to sell you a single one from a single manufacturer. I won’t even try to convince you they’re good, good for you, or even needed. But an LS- that’s another story!