Paint

A few weeks ago my cousin and I decided to fix a few trouble paint spots on my soon be 2007 Chevrolet Optra5. Since the first year of ownership with my parents the paint has been peeling and chipping in specific areas. I documented the process so I could share the experience. This was my first time attempting something like this. 

Here we started removing the loose paint and rust.

The paint and undercoating on the rocker panels was quite thin except near the pinch welds on the bottom.

This is where we started to apply the paint primer.

Here we applied the rock guard. It is definitely more than what was there originally.

Here are pictures of the finished product, with the primer, rock guard, paint and clear coat. 

We were very pleased with the end result. We ordered the paint from Express Paint. It was a perfect colour match. 

Final Test drive

In the past few months I have been aiding my parents in shopping for a new car. They have finally narrowed it down to the 2011/2012 Hyundai Elantra and the 2012 Ford Focus. My parents did an overnight test drive of a 6 speed manual Elantra last week. Today My parents test drove a 5 speed manual Focus sedan. My parents would be getting the Focus hatchback. Today during the test drive I took some pictures of the car to share with you.

This is the focus hatchback

This is the Focus we test drove. 

My first suspension repair

Yesterday I spent a better part of the day replacing the rear left strut on my soon to be 2007 Chevrolet Optra5. The first photo shows the trunk with the floor removed.

This job quickly proved to be more work than I had expected, especially just to gain access to the left rear strut tower, shown below. 

Here is the area that was the focus of yesterday's project. 

Below I have removed the brake caliper and disconnected the stabilizer link from the strut. Removing the stabilizer link was quite involved because the threads were damaged from corrosion and road debris. 

Now I have detached the bottom of the strut from the knuckle, and the brake hose from the strut. Next I had to remove the strut mount bolts from the strut town at the top and out it came.

To the left is the replacement strut assembly and on the right is the original. As you can see on the white plastic section the original strut has been leaking and was no longer good.

Here is the strut tower where the top of the strut will be mounted to.

And finally here is the replacement installed, now it's time to put the wheel back and I am all done. 

Long weekend and Dirt 3 :D.

Hi, I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend. This Victoria Day weekend some of my family came up to visit. It was a nice weekend. The weather could have been nicer at time, but I suppose I shouldn't complain. I was in the water this weekend hooking up the water at my Grandparent's cottage. Once we got used to the temperature it was refreshing since we just finished cutting the grass. Sunday night my cousins and I went to the Mustang Drive in, I am glad the weather cooperated. We saw Fast Five and Thor. I have seen both movies, but my cousins had not. I always enjoy going to the drive in. For me it is more enjoyable than going to the theatre. The atmosphere is different. 

Today as you probably guessed I bought Dirt 3! I have been waiting for this game for a while as I am sure many people have. I have a big rally fan. For people who are expecting it to be a lot like Dirt 2 might be a little disappointed in the presentation and the set up of the game. I think overall I like the soundtrack of dirt 2 more so far. I like the idea of it being set up like a racing career where racing team sponsors are acquired based on your reputation. When I started the game I tried the Ford Focus RS WRC in Finland with the default settings. It was far too easy! All the driving aids were on such as ABS, stability control, traction control, auto steering, corner braking, and throttle management. All of these aids were on, what a joke that was. I felt like I didn't have to do anything I could floor it and point the car, and it would adjust the throttle, brake and help me steer my way through a near perfect lap. As soon as I turned the aids off the game felt a lot more familiar. I also found the rally cross events easier without the driver's aids. I think people who are looking for a game that is set up more like a racing career and want more rally events will thoroughly enjoy this game. I also love the fact that it has a split screen multiplayer option. That is my first and brief impression on Dirt 3. I hope to be on here more this coming summer to share my thoughts and experiences with you. Take care everyone.

Canadian Federal Election 2011

Today's blog is about the recent federal election. The photo used was taken May 2 before I headed out to the polls. I see this photo as a symbol of change and the end of one form of government and a beginning of another. In this blog entry I have written two sections; anyeah  objective section and an opinion section. 

The objective section:

This federal election sparked significant change in Ottawa and across the country. I would like to congratulate Stephen Harper and Jack Layton on their respective victories. I think very few people were expecting the amount of loss the Liberals and the Bloc suffered thanks in a large part by the serge of the NDP support. For those who do not know the Conservatives ended up with 167 seat winning a majority government. The NDP won a record high of 102 seats which made them the official opposition. The liberals dropped to a record low of 34 seats. The Bloc Quebecois hit a record low as well with only 4 seats. The Green Party was able to win a seat for the party's leader Elizabeth May which is the first Green Party seat in Canadian history. 

The opinion section:

When I heard the news Stephen Harper and the Conservatives won a majority government I had thought my worst fears had came true. I couldn't believe it had happened, I didn't think it was possible. With how Harper behaved on the campaign trail I thought the best he could hope for was another minority. Soon after on the news I was seeing the NDP celebrating. When they announced they had won the official opposition I couldn't help but feel cautiously optimistic. 

My main concern is that Harper will run this great country the way he wants and doesn't listen to the opposition or the people he was elected to serve. We have seen some not so good things from Harper as a minority government. Such examples are the G20, the climate conference in Copenhagen, spending $26 million dollars telling us what a great job he has done, naming the Government of Canada as Harper Government and the list goes on. If we are to have a majority Harper government at least the opposition is headed by a strong and passionate leader. There is still hope for this great country we call home. 

A brake

During the course of the weekend I have adjusted the derailleurs and shifters. Today I picked up new brake shoes for my bike. The brake shoes I had on my bike are 20+ years old, so they were more than due for replacement. After some adjusting my bike's braking has been greatly improved along with the rest of the bike. 

Bicycle Computer

Today I biked around Big Island which is the first time this season. Since setting up my computer yesterday I have pedaled 22.419 km as you can see. The fastest I have gone so far is 38 km/h which I don't think is too bad. At the moment I can't shift to my highest gear or lowest gear, my bike needs another adjustment. So at the moment I have a 12 speed instead of an 18 speed. I am looking forward to even better biking weather! Oh and the tires I put my bike are awesome!

New tools!

Today after school today I wanted to get some pliers, so I went over to Sears and got a 4 piece set. I also ended up getting a 18" long johnson(breaker) bar. I just thought I would share my news with you and yes I am a nerd.

Earth Hour 2011

Who participated in Earth Hour? I do it every year. For those who don't know what Earth Hour is it is a world wide event that happens annually. It was started in 2007 by people in Sydney Australia and has grown substantially since. 

For one hour you turn off all the electronics and lights in your home or business. It not only sends a good message it can also be fun! This year I spent the evening playing Rummoli with family. 

First signs of spring!

Hello everyone! When I logged in today I realized it has been almost a month since I last posted something! With the nicer weather starting to come I got out my bike pretty much as soon as I got home from school. I have been looking forward to getting out on my bike for a couple months. 

In conclusion It is still a little cool, but it still was nice to get out for a ride. 

P.S I have some photos of a fox that has been hanging around lately. I plan on getting a few of them on here soon. 

My 26th

Today was my 26th birthday and I don't feel any different. It is just another year gone as I collect more memories and experiences. I Had some homemade cherry cheesecake it was so good as usual! I also picked up some Steam Whistle to enjoy it all with. 

Birthday present all together :)

 

 Well there you have it, my early birthday present all put together. I wasn't even thinking about getting one of these for a long time until I had an amount of tools that made having one of these necessary, but at least now I don't have to worry about it. Now all I have to do is fill it and that's the fun part.

Early Birthday

Today I received an early birthday present. A stainless steel tool cabinet! I have been eyeing them, but wasn't planning on getting one for a long while until I had enough tools that would require one. I am certainly not complaining!

The last two days

 

Yesterday we got quite a bit of snow as most people know, I ended up having to dig my car out of someone's driveway because the snow was up to my front bumper when I entered the driveway and got stuck. Today was a productive day at school. We got into a big discussion in my parts and supplies class about economics and politics, slightly off topic haha. On my way home I went to turn my heat on in the car and nothing happened, so it was a cold drive home. The car is old so I am not that shocked, hopefully it's something simple and I can figure it out in shop tomorrow. Today I took the picture in the bottom right. I saw it as I passed the doors so I grabbed a few shots.

Today I got Illustrated

Today I hung out in a mac lab with a friend from school and learned how to do some basic things with type(fronts). I didn't save it, and since I had Illustrator at home I figured it would be easy to recreate, boy was I wrong. When I created it at school, the individual letters were able to be selected from the word, but not when I got home, so it was a frustrating experience recreating it. As you can see I ended up victorious. I have always wanted to learn how to use Illustrator. Today was pretty basic, but you have to start somewhere, and I hope to learn more in the near future. 

Horror

 

So I have missed the last few days. Yesterday I got to hang out with a bunch of friends I haven't seen in a long time! I brought my camera, but they took the pictures, so I didn't want to post them as a part of my blog. I finally got my tripod back, so I can be a bit more creative with my experimentation instead of holding everything while trying to shoot myself(with the camera of course). I have been so busy lately. New assignments all the time, so I was glad to be able to take some time to do some shooting. I guess this could symbolize how I have been feeling with school and everything. It's been a big change from last semester that's for sure. I have started to get back in the swing of things though making more time for some fun with friends, which I have been missing.  

Shared thought

Tonight after shop I had chinese with a friend from school. I ate more than I should have, but I have come to expect this. When we were finished I received a fortune cookie with an interesting message, sorry I lost the fortune so no photo today. It read, You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force a horse to drink.

I have never seen a fortune like it before, though I have heard the expression. It can be applied in many ways I think. To me it says you can help people as much as you want, but they need to want to help themselves. 

A "day off"

Is a day off really a day off? This semester I get Wednesdays off. Today's post is a bit nerdy, but oh well, you can stop reading if nerdy isn't your thing. I started my day by doing my review homework on bearings, which I actually didn't mind. I liked learning about the different types and how to go about servicing them. This evening I decided to play some Gran Turismo 5, which explains the top right and bottom images. I bought the collector's edition, which came with the book you see. I am glad I have it. It has come in very handy in the game and it has taught me about different aspects of cars and how different components affect the way a car operates. The bottom image I took in game. It is a 2006 Alfa Romeo 147 I bought and modified today. After squeezing 304 horsepower out of it and dropping its weight to 1060 kg I wanted to improve it's already decent handling. The book provided exactly the information I needed to tweak the handling. Today was a productive day off. 

Welcome to winter

This entry is for yesterday and today, I don't think there are any rules against that. Yesterday I spent most of my day doing homework and after I went outside and cleared our drive and started our neighbour's. I was glad to finish before the sun disappeared on me so I could include it in my post.
It really has started to feel like the winter I have been used to growing up. This morning it was -28 and it sure felt like it! The car was a little sluggish, but I wasn't surprised. When I got to Rossmore traffic was backed up from the bridge. I guess there was an accident on the bridge. The thing I don't understand is the roads were good. I ended up sitting in my car for a good 50 minutes, so I was late for class but I was just glad not to miss it. I don't mind winter, but I won't be disappointed when warmer weather starts coming around again.