Tutorial: Applying Vinyl Wraps to Interior and Exterior Panels

We have this great thing called 'wraps' that let anybody with some patience go far towards customizing their interior. It just so happens that I'm doing that right now so you guys (and gals... Maybe) can see my screw up - I mean this awesome center console.

All jokes aside, the woodgrain was fading from the Florida sun so I figured I would re-doing it in black. I considered a woodgrain wrap but I'm glad I went with the former.

When I got this car - and if you remember, I'm surprised - the interior was torn up. The phrase I used was it looked like a dog had owned it and drove it around with all his bitches.

Driver's seat? Ripped to shreds. Passenger seat - almost as bad. And the back seat? Also almost as bad. It seriously made me wonder if a family of werewolves owned this car. How do you manage to rip up every seat, badly, and then do the center console too? It looked like sh*t! Luckily I was able to redo it cheap.

I painted the floormatts using vinyl paint, reupholstered the center console in a soft black cloth, put black seat covers on, and it totally changed the look and feel of the interior. Before? Grandpa's car (who owned dogs). After? It looks damn respectable. And I just did the wood part of the center console and made that black too. Paint it black... (Someone gets the reference.)

I was originally going to do the ashtray too but then I realized it actually looks nice like that and matches the woodgrain around my power window buttons.

What you need to do for a big area like this is roughly mark the areas you're gonna cut on your wrap. I set it down on the area it was gonna go and used a marker to draw where I have to cut. For example, I had to cut a square around the shifter. Leave yourself a little extra wrap. You can always cut some off.

When you apply the wrap in it's rough form, it should go beyond every edge. Using the area around my shifter as an example, I had to put the wrap down as straight as possible, press down all around the shifter so it's in place, and then I simply used a razorblade to cut around the edges. Take your time! Go slow and follow the lines of whatever panel you're working on. If the wrap is gonna fold over like on a rounded edge, leave enough for that exact reason.

If you look closely, you can tell I made a couple mistakes. Not to take anything away from me messing up but the wrap I got was kinda crappy. It didn't stretch or respond to heat so in order to fix the wrinkles, in one case I had to make a small cut. The area I did in one sheet is also pretty big meaning it was hard to get what is essentially a huge sticker to stick flat. You may be able to see where I patched the wrap on the left side.

Guys, get a good wrap from a shop. I got this at one of the auto supply stores and it's okay but could be easier to work with. It doesn't stretch so anything rounded is hard to get right. Around the ashtray, it was popping up in the corners so I had to get a 3M adhesive. This stuff is a little messy (use it when it's not hot or it dries too fast causing you to rush) but perfect for holding down wraps and even emblems. It also scrapes off if you ever take it off.

I forgot to mention that you should clean the area you're gonna be wrapping so it sticks well. Take your time putting the wrap down. It is very important that it doesn't get wrinkles or bubbles so work slowly from one side to the other. If you DO end up with a couple wrinkles, you can usually get them out by peeling the wrap back a little bit and re-doing it or cutting and overlapping it if there is simply too much wrap in one specific area.

I don't think it would happen with a quality wrap but like I mentioned earlier, the rounded edges tend to come off. In the top photo you can see that quite a bit won't stick and in the bottom photo I am pointing to the problem area with my screwdriver.

This is how you fix this. You have to be somewhat quick because the adhesive dries quick but also careful because you can make a mess. Just use something like that small screwdriver to pick up a little glue that you have poured out onto something and, if possible, lift the wrap up slightly and get a decent amount of glue on that edge. Then you're gonna want to quickly press it down with your finger or maybe another tool for maybe thirty seconds. If you touched the glue, use a 'wiping' motion going away from the wrap to get your finger off of it without pulling it back off.

It's the same thing with the exterior panels although since they're a little easier to work with usually, I would recommend actually putting some 3M right on the edge of the wrap where it's gonna come up at the same time as you're putting it on. These wraps are weather resistant but a little extra adhesive can't hurt.

It makes a huge difference. I never realized how much this peeling paint was detracting from the car. This is before:

And this is after:

That's it for now. Comment if you have any questions. I hope this inspired you to work on your own car.

Mine has come very far in the year or so that I've had it. I live paycheck to paycheck but I've been able to not only fix a few things that went wrong such as power steering pump and alternator but I've redone a good amount of the interior and I can say this is MY car with MY taste. The thing that bothers the hell out of me, however, is that the hood sits wrong because of that damn hood hinge. It's about time I change it out. Thanks for reading!

Tutorial: Replacing Lexus LS400 Alternator

The Chariot or Lexy is back on the road five days later and driving really well. I was able to replace the failed alternator without any real problems. The lack of power coming from the old alternator, somehow, was causing or at least contributing to a rough idle and I just made a 40 mile trip with no problems on the new one, thank God.

Replacing the alternator is pretty easy in this car. As an amateur, if I wasn't taking breaks, it took about three hours but I ran into a problem with the original electrical connector.

These are the tools you will need:
14mm socket with extensions (2in. or so)
C-clamp to hold belt (optional)
New alternator

Unplug your battery when you do this job.

This is the old one. You can see I tried cleaning it to bring some life back but it just died the next day. In the above picture, you can see the bottom bolt. The top one is actually a nut but they're both 14mm. That's what holds the alternator in place.

You're gonna have to take the serpentine belt off first. Don't worry, it is very easy on this car. Find the tensioner, slip an extended 14mm socket on there, then turn it to the left all the way to loosen the belt and take the belt off the alternator with your other hand. It will stay put nicely.

Don't forget! It makes it easier if you use a C-clamp to hold the belt in place so it doesn't slide off while you're working on the car. Don't forget to take it off later. If you're new to this, I suggest writing down a step by step for yourself.

Once the belt is off, you are free to take off the top 14mm nut and lower 14mm bolt. There's also two connectors at the back of the alternator towards the top. One of them comes off by taking off a nut that I believe is 14mm aswell but it might be 12mm (sorry). The other wires use a connector. You press the clip on the top of it down and wiggle it out. It might be hard to get out.

In my case, the connector was stuck. I had to actually break it apart CAREFULLY with a screwdriver so I could get to the three wires. I don't know if it matters but keep the wires in order (it probably matters...). Luckily they hold on pretty well without a connector but it's a pain plugging them in. Take your time and go by feel, not sight, because you can't see much. I would take the bolts off first, lay the alternator down on the metal brackets in the engine compartment (not the AC lines!), and take them off that way.

When you put the new alternator in, I recommend you stick it back in place with the bolt and nut before you plug your three wires in, unless of course yours came out with the connector in tact. If you don't, they tend to pop out as you manuever the alternator in place.

The first picture below shows the alternator (the one on the right) with the three metal prongs for your wires.  The picture below that shows how I plugged them in individually. Because the wires don't move, they stay put.

When the alternator is in place and connected, you need to put the belt back on. Easy. Again use one hand to loosen the tensioner and slip the belt on the alternator. It should already be on the other pulleys. Put the battery back and you're good to go!

Update on my LS400 - Coming up on a year

For those of you who are new to the blog, I bought my 1995 Lexus LS400 for $300 after an acquaintance crashed it head-on at a slow speed. I had it running well within about a month.

The hood was bent into a V shape, one of the headlights was kaput (that's dead in Russian), the radiator support was bent, the radiator had big holes in it, it needed a new power steering pump, rear brakes, and a change of all of the fluids.

At this point it was running nice. I replaced the coolant temperature sensor and sender (a separate unit for the gauge in your dash only). I got a new hood on it although I still need to change out the passenger side hood hinge which I will post a tutorial on.

I fell in love with this car when I first floored it but I've fallen even more in love with it as time progressed. This is hands down the best car I've ever owned. The way it drives, the way it looks... Everything about it. I just love it. I am keeping this car possibly forever.

The car didn't give me any problems for probably six months. During this whole time, although I had the PS pump replaced (I did all the other work myself), there is a separate part of the power steering system - the ACV (air control valve - an unnecessary system) - that has been slowly leaking power steering fluid which is fine for the time being except...

It is killing my alternator. Actually, it killed it yesterday. I had a piece of hose connected to the ACV to move the drip out of the way of the alternator. This worked for a long time until a few days ago the battery warning light started coming on and after some inspection, the hose had somehow moved to where it was probably dripping power steering fluid onto the alternator. Great. I had it tested and it was putting out 11.6v which was enough to keep the car going but it died completely on the road yesterday morning.

I got probably 50 miles out of it after the battery light came on. The car ran fine as long as I didn't have my lights on or anything. Just know that if you get this light, if you keep driving, you WILL die somewhere on the side of the road. My logic was that if the output isn't going down, I figured it would run for a little while. It didn't work out that way because it didn't lose output slowly. Instead it just died all of a sudden.

Because it's the power steering fluid that got onto the alternator that is damaging it, I thought I might have some success cleaning it. I've heard of a couple people taking it off the car and pressure washing it, letting it dry, and putting it back with good results.

Following this logic, I decided to use brake cleaner to get some oil off the alternator because I was washing it on the car. I used brake cleaner (important!) because it evaporates and leaves no residue. Otherwise you have to use an ELECTRICAL CLEANER. I almost made the mistake of using diluted degreaser.

Initially, I was cautious cleaning it. I didn't drench the alternator in brake cleaner because I was afraid of killing it. It didn't kill it so I washed it a couple more times, thoroughly, but it just died a couple days later so don't bother.

When I first cleaned it, I thought it may have helped because the battery was staying charged longer. I could tell because when it would go under a certain voltage, it would mess with some sensors and develop a rough idle. However I realize now it had nothing to do with me cleaning it. It was actually the outside temperature. If it's cold, the alternator puts out less power. Warm, more.

Let's go back to my main reasons for buying this car in the first place. Besides the fact that I needed a car, there is two reasons I bought this car.

1. It is one of my all time favorite cars and is already a classic to those who can see. It WILL be a classic in the truest sense of the word - mark my words.

2. It was a mechanic special and I wanted to learn how to work on cars top to bottom. When I got this car initially, I understood very little about fixing cars. In the time that I have owned it, I have learned SO much. My knowledge and especially competence has doubled.

Bonus! 3. I wanted to restore this car. This is a million miles car, no doubt about it. In the state I bought it, thankfully all the major things are up to date such as the timing belt and transmission. However, small things continually fail.

These are things I can usually fix for $20. For example, getting a small crack in one rubber piece of the intake. There's a lot of dry rotted going on. In the time I've owned this car, I've replaced a lot. I am knocking out one thing after the other. As long as I can afford it, I almost don't mind because my goal is to have this car running like new within a year.

So what's the next step for The Chariot?

Fixing everything wrong with it in one go.

It is in a location that I can work on it and I will have the alternator in a couple days and I have all the other parts. I figure now is a good a time as any to fix all the body work, like the way the hood sits, along with everything mechanical.

I am plugging the ACV part of the power steering system when I get the alternator out. That will actually give me more room to loosen the ACV. It's hard to get a wrench in there. That will cover the slow PS fluid leak.

Next comes the alternator. I will be very happy to know I have a good alternator with no danger of getting damaged again.

And last but not least, not only am I replacing the hood hinge so that the hood can actually close, I am going to replace the whole radiator support if I feel I have enough time/resources.

At that point, dear readers, my car should be running with no check engine light or anything. Finally the time is here! Once I am done with that, it's on to a car back exhaust and I will be SO damn happy. Thanks for tuning in. Anyone wanna send me money?

That's a joke. Happy New Year's!

How to Find the Right Car for the Best Price

When I was younger and inexperienced, I always had a hard time finding a good car for myself with a budget of about $1,500. That, my dear readers, is no longer a problem so I want to share a series of tips with you so you can find a car you actually want and not get ripped off or end up buying a lemon.

I'm going to use the above figure of 1.5k for my examples.

The first thing you have to do is ask yourself some questions and think about the answer if you have to. First of all, are you looking for one specific car? Because I would encourage you to look into similar vehicles if you can't find the model you want. It's best if you give yourself some things you want in a car so that you have a wider variety and are not limited.

Are you looking for a sports car or an economy car? Do you want a V8 or do you not care as long as it satisfies your needs, whether that's economy, power, or a mix of both. Are you going to daily drive it or is it a project car?

So let's say I want a rear wheel drive sports car. I would like something with a V8 but I'm open to other considerations. I just want a 'quick' car, not anything with the most power possible although that would work if I could find the right car.

You would first want to make a list - in your head, even - of cars that potentially fit that category of needs. You need a sporty rear wheel drive car for $1500 running. The reason I say that is because you can buy a car that needs a new radiator for $600 and install a new radiator yourself for $1-200 leaving you with a running car for $800 which is the route I would take.

In my head I'm starting my search with older Mustangs, Miatas, 240s, Camaros, and maybe some Pontiacs or whatever else may come to mind.

I do some searching on Craigslist  and contact a few people. So let's assume I find a guy with a Miata for 1.7k. I've looked at a couple other cars but they had qualities I didn't like such as a sluggish-feeling engine or a completely torn interior (it's fine if the seats are torn - seat covers are cheap and can help you change the look of your interior).

This is the time you have to perform if you want to get that car for 1.5k or less. It's very helpful if you know how to work on cars or bring a friend that does. Also, bring CASH. People see cash and they will take $200 less than they planned in their head.

You want to do a quick check of the interior which you can do while test driving it down the block. I would be wary if the person was to object to a test drive. Make sure the headlights and everything work. Anything that doesn't will take money off the final sale price. When you drive the car, you need to listen to the engine and make sure it runs smooth and has a steady idle after it warms up.

If the car is extremely modified, that's a red flag if it wasn't done correctly. See if the car needs an alignment by letting the wheel go for a few seconds while going in a straight line. Check engine light?

You should then do a visual inspection of the engine, brakes, suspension, and anything you can see.

Just assuming this Miata (not the one in the picture - trust me) had a bad temperature gauge, needed an alignment, and new tires, you can easily haggle the person down $200. Have a price in mind and if the person doesn't come to agree, just walk away. There's other cars.

And if you are a mechanic then you are in a huge position to get a great deal. For example, I bought a Honda Accord that had a bad radiator and was overheating for dirt cheap because of it and made some money flipping it. Also, it is NOT a bad idea to invest in something that has potential, like my current car. I bought it after it was crashed in the front. It was at a slow speed but the hood, radiator support, AC condenser, and radiator all needed to be replaced. The PS pump was going bad too. I bought that '95 Lexus LS400 for $300. Here it is now waiting to get a hood hinge and radiator support replaced (I have them both and everything else is finished).

Sometimes you also have to have some patience. It's not a good idea to buy a car you're not sure of just because you can't find anything (yet). Luck also helps. I was able to pick up an E30 for $500 (running) because the owner was moving and I told him if he can't sell it by the time he has to move, I can give him $500 for the car and he ended up calling a week later.

Lastly, do some research on the car to find out when (and if) it needs a timing belt change and to see if there is something catastrophic that the engine is known for, such as the Northstar 32v engine in older Cadillacs frequently blowing head gaskets. Good luck with your search and don't be shy showing me what you got by sending me an email to norgin@gmail.com.

Sucks Being Broke: First gen Toyota Aristo

I love my LS400 and I've already denied a really good offer for it (considering I still haven't had the chance to fix the hood!) but if a man with a Lexus Aristo asked me to trade, I think I would go get my title.

I just came home. I was inspired to write this because on the drive home I realized I was behind a Lexus Aristo. Now, the Toyota Aristo is the Lexus GS300 here in the US. The first gen is the one I'm talking about. I like the second gen as well but it doesn't look as mean.

Me being me and never hesitating to distract drivers with cool cars, I honked and flashed my lights until this guy stopped next to me at a light to talk. (I wasn't actually distracting him - don't get your pantaloons in a bunch [we can't lose another old Lexus!]).

This car had a Lexus badge and said Aristo on the back. I don't know if it was re-badged but if so, this body style should have been a Lexus. How mean does it look?

Those two lights on the GS version don't look nearly as good!

The very nice Japanese man - seeming very pleased that somebody noticed - told me he imported it from Japan. Afterwards he floored it and took off. I love that 1uz sound. The 2uz might be better and I may never know.

As far as I can tell, this car is not under $3,000 and I don't know if it will hit that low although it should. It actually costs more than the equivalent Lexus GS300 (correct me if I'm wrong please). Probably because it looks so much better!

This is something I will definitely consider picking up when the prices hit a low. I shouldn't just tell everybody but hey - I only have five readers! The first and second gen (1990 to 2000) LS400 is going to be a classic car. It was literally the first true Lexus and inspired the Lexus badge. The car was codenamed F-1 when Toyota started working on it in 1980 (ten years before it came out!) and when they decided to call it the LS400, the code became an 'L' inside of a circle when it was discussed on paper and that inspired the Lexus logo.

That's the type of stuff classic cars are made of. The first Ford F150... The first Mustang... The first this or that. And this car has flavor. I heard some actor in some movie say "Muscle always beats import." My question was: what about import muscle? And don't scold me for watching Fast and the Furious #14 or whatever - it was the only thing on! I swear.

Boys, save your money. And get something cheap and nice. Eventually you can then buy an Aristo. Oh the beauty!

Personal Note: I am still struggling trying to find a place to live. I'm staying in a hotel so all my money gets spent and I've been extremely busy starting a couple different businesses. I am still looking for another writer but I should be posting articles more frequently after the holidays. And I'm going to buy myself some damn VIP curtains! Yeah, the struggle is real. They're only $25. Happy holidays everybody and thank you for being a reader. My goal is always to deliver the best content I can and you will never see more ads or anything like that. This was a personal goal of mine for a long time. Feel free to post constructive criticism.

Cheap Speed: Volvo 740 Turbo

I still have a special place in my heart's garage for Volvos. So unassuming... so safe... so cheap. And this one is FAST with a little bit of work. Meet the Volvo 740 Turbo that came with the legendary B230 motor. It's legendary not only because it was quite fast for the time but because it's a tough block that you can pull 300hp out of on stock internals. Yes, you read that correctly. As long as your car has the 13mm rods (some came with 9mm but if I'm not mistaken, 1990+ cars all had 13mm in the US).

If you don't know, you can look at the rods by taking off the oil pan or taking off the fuel pump block plate and looking at the top of rod #1 in the latter case. While these will handle 300whp, the car needs to be tuned correctly. Something like too little fuel and you will start melting things. If you're worried or want more power (let me know if you did it for less than $4k! I will be posting a short article calling my readers to submit their budget build [the car's focus doesn't have to be speed]) there's another advantage to this car.

You blow the engine? Get a powertrain for $250 from the junkyard and put it in yourself over the weekend. I really believe that this Volvo along with some others like the 240 and 760 is the cheapest car for speed. There's other cars that come close but I would like to hear of a better way to get such good power for 3-4k or less. Remember though, the car is pretty light because it didn't require all the crazy things cars need to have these days and also I'm biased.

Shout out to www.turbobricks.com! I was a lurker when I owned my '97 850 and '01 S40 (nice looking, kinda quick car but quality was horrible because they had just been purchased by GM and trying to switch how they produce cars).

The 740 has a solid read axle like Mustangs do and yes, it is rear-wheel-drive. There's an inspirational video somewhere on YouTube if you search for '740 turbo - guy is drifting and later hauling a** down the street shooting fire out of the exhaust. It's a black car and it drag races another car in the beginning of the video. The reason I mention this is because that video made me want a 740.

Apparently you can use a Saab boost controller not only to control the boost but cut the boost if it senses knock. That's the danger at 300whp and above. The top safe amount of boost is 22-24 PSI. This is agreed on by most 740 enthusiasts but it doesn't mean every engine will. It definitely will, however, as long as it's tuned right. You also have to consider the old solid rear axle.

I will get one of these one day. I love my Lexus LS400 right now and always will but when I'm ready for a project car, I'll be getting a turbobrick myself. It was a toss-up between that and an SC300 or SC400 and while I would prefer the latter if I didn't have a Lexus already or simply wanted the best (in my opinion) deal, I've always wanted a turbo Volvo. I passed up '97 Volvo 850 turbo (T5?) wagon and I should've got it when I bought my Saab (Volvo people just X-ed out).

For some anecdotal information, there is a guy saying he has no problems at 27-30 PSI running methanol. At the same time, there's a group out there who have a 600hp 740 on stock internals but remember, the tune has to be dead-on. Not to mention these people are outliers. It's still pretty amazing.

To end, I just want to say that the car makes a great daily driver even after you modify it. It's pretty well known these cars can easily hit 400k on the odometer so it's no surprise there are people out there running 20+ boost with 300k miles on their car. Reliability is extremely important to me and it should be to you aswell. You don't want to have to keep fixing it every six months because it's old. And that's what you would be doing if you started with the wrong car.

Review: '91 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX

The very first fast car I drove and also the first car I totalled. Thankfully, it wasn't mine but my father's (that's a little joke - it wasn't funny at the time). He had taken me to a rally and asked if I wanted to do a lap. Ofcourse I did. There was only one problem.

I had never driven manual before except for a few minutes, stalling it over and over again before giving up in frustration. I reminded him of this so his reply was a 5-minute practice on a grassy field by the track. Let's do this.

First of all, I was pretty overwhelmed so I wasn't even following the track correctly. Where I DID go, I actually did okay until I came to a long sweeping corner. Remember, this happened on a rally course so I'm driving on dirt. What happened was that I went too far to the side and hit gravel. The car started sliding and we end up in a wall. The man still holds a grudge about it even though the car cost him $500. That's what I call a budget car! This particular one came with an upgraded transmission which he sold to get his money back.

It was the Eagle Talon version of the GSX which is exactly the same except for the badge. It is AWD and makes quite enough horsepower especially if you put the boost up to 16 psi. The car was gutted for weight reduction and was a rocket being so light with around 250hp (this is just a guess).

Did I mention it cost $500? These cars can be found extremely cheap. We went to look at another one afterwards that was ALSO $500 but he didn't want it because there was some sort of problem when that particular car would hit redline. I forget exactly what.

I was no mechanic at the time but my pops did mention that it was sometimes hard to get running right but when it did, it ran great. That's probably just him though.

If you want a cheap, fast car, this should probably be on your list. It also fits different needs. It can be a great rally car or a great asphalt car. The AWD system delivers power to the wheels very well. The car also gets good mileage if you care about that...

The only problem I have with it is the stupid automatic seatbelts from the early 90's that slide over you when you sit down and close the door. Minor annoyance really. The interior is pretty spartan but, again, this is a sports car. A really good one at that. I prefer it to both the second and third generation Eclipses.