Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Nick's Two-Car Detached Vdub Garage

[loganb]

Way to stick with it!

 

[nicholam77]

First off condolences on the loss....not that much older than my father in law who is currently in remission from cancer having just completed stem cell transplant....it's tough realizing how quickly things can change but glad to hear that you were able to make conscious efforts to be with the family.

Thanks, Logan. That's great to hear your father in law is in remission. I know you've had some abrupt deaths in the family, too, and it is certainly a reminder that nothing is promised in life and that it's a blessing to be healthy. Easy to forget in the day-to-day, but great perspective to have.

Happy Birthday to your little one! We have a unicorn themed event in our backyard tomorrow for the exact same occurrence....thank goodness forecast is positive for them to all be outside and not in the basement but looking forward to watching them run and play.

Thanks, and likewise to yours! We are definitely in the same timezone with the kids' ages. We did a very casual "kid party" at the neighborhood park. Even the family one we do at an apple orchard and not at our house. Don't have a huge house so it stresses me out having that many people inside, but like you said October is a tricky month with the weather. Here... it could be snowing if we're unlucky!

Sorry to hear about your mother in law, and my best to your family. The secondary benefit of making decisions that benefit your longevity is that - unless you’re browbeating your kids about it which I doubt - you will set a good example for them. They will hopefully take notice of the discipline and mindfulness of your changes.

Thank you! And I agree.

And, to add my personal experience, inspired by nothing other than my tight schedule with two kids, I’ve made similar changes. For me that’s no more alcohol (love the stuff and never abused it, but I can’t afford to have even the hangover I get from a beer or two anymore). I’ve traded my evenings in the garage with a couple of beers for 35mi of running per week. Now when I get to do something like a CV joint, I’m not so worn out and I actually enjoy it. If I could summon the energy to read more I would do that too, but 8PM after the kids are in bed hits different now, ha.

That's kind of where I'm at now, too. I haven't given up alcohol completely, but after having our second kid who was NOT an easy baby, and by the end of the pandemic, I was pretty much having two drinks every single night as part of the routine / decompression at the end of the day.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/6810043395898166533
But I'm going on 36 and same thing, my metabolism has slowed, and even 2 drinks leaves me in mild hangover territory. Or at least I notice it when I wake up. So the wife and I are down to Fri-Sat-Sunday for splitting a bottle of wine for a weekend indulgence, and the rest of the week staying off it. I have to say it's been great. And especially after starting to exercise more, I found having alcohol too often was a major hinderance in recovering and feeling good, and of course keeping calories in check. And as much as it pains me because we have a great beer scene here, I've stopped drinking beer entirely. I might push it further in the future, but for now... baby steps.

WOO-HOO!!!!

Thanks, Dan, that's exactly how I felt!

Way to stick with it!

Thanks Logan, although it would have been a lot easier if you hadn't jinxed me in the first place!!

And I kind of had to stick with it... not sure how a tow truck would even retrieve my car if it came to that.

I am not one to give up easily, but it is a learning experience for sure, and I really do appreciate everyone's advice and encouragement.

 

[Denwood]

Nick. massive kudos on sticking to it, and working the problems with patience. All of these experiences tend to add up in a good way when it comes to future repairs. I call it the “spidey sense” which gets more and more accurate with experience. I’m sure you’re quite stoked with the successes on the stubborn struts…

 

[nicholam77]

Nick. massive kudos on sticking to it, and working the problems with patience. All of these experiences tend to add up in a good way when it comes to future repairs. I call it the “spidey sense” which gets more and more accurate with experience. I’m sure you’re quite stoked with the successes on the stubborn struts…

Considering that it's my daily driver, yes, yes I am indeed haha.

The original spring installation is the only thing I haven't installed myself on the GTI, including motor mounts, dogbone bushing, exhaust, short shifter, clutch line, etc... various things that required undoing bolts. I wanted to do the lowering springs, too, but at that time I was in an apartment without a good space to work, I didn't have the know how, and certainly not the tools at that point. So even though it's not changing anything aesthetically, DIY'ing this bit of a "redo" on the suspension is partly to get the street cred and be able to say I did it myself.

I hear that on the spidey sense. I feel like I have that somewhat developed for woodworking, but obviously still figuring out how to troubleshoot automotive projects. A lot to learn there. I know we all have to find 'solutions' or rig stuff up sometimes, but when it comes to either woodworking or cars, man is it nice to have the right tools for the job. I pretty much wasted 8 hours struggling because I didn't have the right tool.

At the end of the day I agree it was a good learning experience. I don't know why I'm talking about this in the past tense. I still have half the job left!

 

[Jagmandave]

OK, you have another tool to buy - you don't use a claw hammer to hit things on a car, you need a ball peen hammer! Go to Harbor Freight and pick one (or several) up. Also, while you're there, consider a dead blow hammer too - they're really inexpensive and you WILL use them.....

This whole set is only $20! https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...rglass-handle-ball-pein-hammer-set-39217.html

Dead blow... there are lots of different sizes, but this will do just fine https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-.../3-lb-neon-orange-dead-blow-hammer-69002.html

Good to see you're getting it sorted. Let us know how it rides/drives with the new shocks.....

 

[bj383ss]

OK, you have another tool to buy - you don't use a claw hammer to hit things on a car, you need a ball peen hammer!

Good to see you're getting it sorted. Let us know how it rides/drives with the new shocks.....

OMG I almost spit out my Tea I was drinking!!!

Bret

 

[nicholam77]

OK, you have another tool to buy - you don't use a claw hammer to hit things on a car, you need a ball peen hammer! Go to Harbor Freight and pick one (or several) up. Also, while you're there, consider a dead blow hammer too - they're really inexpensive and you WILL use them.....

You had me at ball and peen.

I think you misunderstand, I wasn't hitting anything with the claw hammer, I was wedging the claw in the spindle seam and kicking the handle as hard as I good with my good Crocs to spread the pinch joint.

(JUST KIDDING!)

Sheesh Bret @bj383ss I hope you weren't drinking Tea again.

@Jagmandave I actually do have a dead blow just like that, and a rubber mallet. I was using the rubber mallet to bang on the rotors a bit and try to unsettle things.

The only thing I used the claw hammer for was to tap the **** of the chisel. My reason was the mallet and deadblow wouldn't fit, and with such a short stroke I thought the heavier metal hammer would help. Turns out the whole chisel thing was not that successful, anyways.

I would totally pick up a set of ball-peen, ball pein, however you call them hammers, especially at the Harbor Freight Special price.

I would never have hit any part of the car with the metal hammer, so just for my education, what is the difference or advantage with the ball-peen hammers? Smaller sizes? Heavier head?

Good to see you're getting it sorted. Let us know how it rides/drives with the new shocks.....

Thanks, and will do!

OMG I almost spit out my Tea I was drinking!!!

I will be honest, I laughed, too

 

[nicholam77]

Well boys and girls I just got the passenger strut done after work tonight. Still about 3 hrs from start to finish, but went much smoother.

Some details I've left out so far in my fury.

Using the spring compressors was not as anxiety-inducing as I thought it would be. And I didn't need to compress the spring very much.



I did not buy a specialty strut nut socket for the OEM strut top nut since I don't plan to re-use it, and thought I could just impact it off a-la @kaymccampbell , but I had no luck with that. It impact hammered a few times and then just spun the whole piston.

And.... of course the new Harbor Freight offset wrench set I picked up did not have a 21mm option. Literally the only size missing. Skipped from 20mm to 22mm.

Was able to barely grip it with a regular wrench, though.



Next I did something possibly smart, possibly foolish, and out of my area of expertise. (duh)

I trimmed the bump stops by ~ 1/8". I've read various accounts on this. I'd been communicating with someone with this exact same setup, who trimmed the fronts 1/8" and the rears 1/4" off the top. I've been experiencing a bit of harshness over bigger bumps, so I wanted to try it, since they swear their ride is excellent.

I used a box cutter / razor blade knife, and it wasn't the most even, but hopefully no issue.




I cleaned up the rubber spring isolator pads, and replaced the bushings and top mounts with brand new Sachs units.

I did buy a strut nut socket for the new VWR struts (22mm), and that worked out fine.



Did need to put a pipe clamp on the allen key to achieve that 65 Nm torque spec.



Pretty confident everything was aligned and assembled correctly.



I cleaned up the springs, too, and they look in pretty great shape after 6 Minnesota winters. The reassembled strut looking all purty:



Used the Hazet-style spreader and had great success with the 2x4 method on the passenger side. Literally out in 3 min.





Getting it the new one back in was still harder than getting it out, but went much, much better than the driver's side, and maybe took me about 15min total.

Good thing I bought this pass-through set for the rears that ended up not working out, because I needed it to tighten the end link nut. Another one of those Allen key situations.



Got everything torqued to spec on both sides, and it's all done!



It's still on stands right now, I might try to trim the rear bump stops a tiny bit while on the car tomorrow, and then put the wheels on and clean everything up.

One thing I can say for sure — you all were right, I freaking love the Milwaukee impact wrench!!

And... it didn't bat an eye at anything, including lug bolts. And the battery is still at full.

Thanks for following along!

 

[kaymccampbell]

@nicholam77 , you could have put a vise grips on the shaft of the old strut to facilitate removal. Also, like it or not, air impact is different than electric impact. Faster, more brutal, something. I might try an electric for some things, but when doing the strut top nut, air would be my only choice.

 

[Finallygotit]

This is my "go to" beast. It has yet to meet a nut/bolt it couldn't break loose.

 

[Bob Heine]

Nick, I'm with Kay on the air impact. Bought my first 1/2" air impact 50 something years ago. It's a Rockwell and still works just fine. For jobs needing a really brutal impact, I bought a Harbor Freight 1/2" Earthquake and if it doesn't loosen a fastener it quickly destroys it.

I don't think you need the brutal impacts yet because the fasteners on your cars look to be in good shape, despite your location.

 

[jonshonda]

Nice work getting the suspension swapped out. I don't mean to go too far off the rails and will admit I have no experience working on german cars, but from what I am seeing here compared to Japanese engineering zee Germans really don't make things easy for the DIY guy. Sorry german car rant over!

 

[nicholam77]

@nicholam77 , you could have put a vise grips on the shaft of the old strut to facilitate removal. Also, like it or not, air impact is different than electric impact. Faster, more brutal, something. I might try an electric for some things, but when doing the strut top nut, air would be my only choice.

Ah, gotcha. Vise grips would have been my next try, although wasn't crazy about doing that with the compressed spring in the way.

I just have a dinky little compressor so no air tools for me at this time.

This is my "go to" beast. I has yet to meet a nut/bolt it couldn't break loose.

Nice! The air tools seem to be more compact, too.

Nick, I'm with Kay on the air impact. Bought my first 1/2" air impact 50 something years ago. It's a Rockwell and still works just fine. For jobs needing a really brutal impact, I bought a Harbor Freight 1/2" Earthquake and if it doesn't loosen a fastener it quickly destroys it.

I don't think you need the brutal impacts yet because the fasteners on your cars look to be in good shape, despite your location.

Nice setup, Bob! Very organized and convenient. While I envy a setup like that, I think the battery impact will get me by. If I had a 'project car' and was doing stuff all the time, sure, but our cars are fairly new and outside of the occasional maintenance task I don't see a ton of work on them happening. This suspension job for example... I hope it's another 7 years before that needs to be refreshed again.

They do salt the **** out of the roads here, and I have some rust on the lower control arms and subframes. Not sure if it helps or not but I usually spray the suspension components with Fluid Film in the fall. Although I really should get on the Noxudol train like Dennis. I am also surprised how not-rusted / easy all my bolts seem to be. I haven't run into anything on either car that's really been a struggle.

Nice work getting the suspension swapped out. I don't mean to go too far off the rails and will admit I have no experience working on german cars, but from what I am seeing here compared to Japanese engineering zee Germans really don't make things easy for the DIY guy. Sorry german car rant over!

Thanks! Conversely I have no experience with Japanese cars, but from what I've read, you are totally correct.

 

[Denwood]

Nick, Noxudol is awesome, but otherwise careful application of fluid film or Woolwax yearly is the next best thing. With Noxudol, I just touch up a few spots each fall.

You have a collection of Allen keys and pass thru sockets well beyond my set…but I have no German cars in the stable right now. Rust and any kind of allen key wrench is always a **** shoot here. The combination of corrosion in the socket (no longer snug contact with the tool), high torque to release a rusty fastener, and a small internal radius to take that torque is a recipe for frustration in the winter/salt climates like ours. It's a fact of life for yearly brake service as many caliper slide bolts are allen heads. Subaru at least has them in a capped rubber boot that you can fill with grease…

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Nick,

I’m so sorry to read about your loss. Condolences to you and your family. 60 is far far too young. Wishing you all the best as you navigate this.

Also, happy birthday to your kid! We just celebrated my daughters 2 year old birthday as well. We had a nice outdoor gathering planned, but got rained out (it rains every weekend…) and had to relocate into the garage. Cocomelon theme for us heh.

Awesome to see you pulling the trigger on all those tools and getting that job done!! I had actually never heard of that spreader bit you grabbed. I’ve always hammered a chisel into the seam, but that’s much more elegant. I think I will order one to have.

 

[nicholam77]

Nick, Noxudol is awesome, but otherwise careful application of fluid film or Woolwax yearly is the next best thing. With Noxudol, I just touch up a few spots each fall.

I've been meaning to try it ever since you posted about it like 5 years ago

You have a collection of Allen keys and pass thru sockets well beyond my set…but I have no German cars in the stable right now. Rust and any kind of allen key wrench is always a **** shoot here. The combination of corrosion in the socket (no longer snug contact with the tool), high torque to release a rusty fastener, and a small internal radius to take that torque is a recipe for frustration in the winter/salt climates like ours. It's a fact of life for yearly brake service as many caliper slide bolts are allen heads. Subaru at least has them in a capped rubber boot that you can fill with grease…

Yeah, I guess I'm lucky none of mine were very bad. Btw the 'yearly brake service' was running through my head while I had it up on stands, but I was just too preoccupied and short on time. I'll have to do it when I swap to winter wheels. Which sadly is not that far off...

Nick,

I’m so sorry to read about your loss. Condolences to you and your family. 60 is far far too young. Wishing you all the best as you navigate this.

Also, happy birthday to your kid! We just celebrated my daughters 2 year old birthday as well. We had a nice outdoor gathering planned, but got rained out (it rains every weekend…) and had to relocate into the garage. Cocomelon theme for us heh.

Awesome to see you pulling the trigger on all those tools and getting that job done!! I had actually never heard of that spreader bit you grabbed. I’ve always hammered a chisel into the seam, but that’s much more elegant. I think I will order one to have.

Thanks, man. And happy birthday to your youngest! Two is such a fun age.

Speaking of all the tools, here was the cost of doing this refresh as a DIY:

Racingline Sport Dampers: $574

OEM Sachs strut bearings and mounts + OEM VAG replacement bolts: $168

Tools: $493
_____________________

$1,235

Kind of a lot, in my view anyways. For the tools, it mostly made sense to buy a 'set' vs. a one-off wrench or socket size. I spent a little more doing that, but the way they price it it just makes sense. Things I added to the collection were:

° Milkwaukee impact wrench + 5ah battery + charger
° Metric offset wrench set
° Metric deep impact socket set
° Metric + Imperial pass-through socket and ratchet set
° Metric and Imperial Allen key set
° Spring compressors
° Triple square / spline bit socket set
° Both strut spreader tools
° 21mm 12-point socket in case I needed to remove the axle (may return to Amazon)
° 22mm strut nut socket (cutaway)

A few of those things are specialized and probably won't get used much, but some of them will be nice to have on hand.

I am starting to run out of drawers in my Craftsman bench, and wish I had more shallow drawers for hand tools vs. some of the deeper ones.

 

[nicholam77]

Got the last bit of work done today. Trimmed the rear bump stops 1/4" off the top.

No way in hell I felt like taking the rear shocks out again, so I snipped the dust boot zip tie and slid the bump stop down and trimmed it on the car.



Any excuse to use my Paolini rule





So again, the reason I did this is someone on the GolfMk7 forum who has this same strut/shock and spring combo recommended it. And they track their car and seemed knowledgeable and trustworthy. I've read people do this with other brand lowering springs, too, I think the thought being since the spring is shorter to get a little bit of the travel back and be less likely to be engaging the bump stops on smaller bumps which could contribute to harshness.

I was sort of feeling like that was happening with the rears. Of course they were untrimmed the whole time I had the springs with the stock shocks. So I don't know if this is the right call but I'm going for it.



One of the reasons I chose the Milwaukee over the Bosch is the Milwaukee has an 'auto' or intelligent mode, where when loosening it gives the 'nut-busting-torque' until it detects the fastener is free, and then it slows down for the remainder so the bolt doesn't get flung across the garage. Similarly when tightening, it tightens quickly and impacts just a fraction of a second and then cuts out. So you can then proceed to torque by hand and avoid over-tightening. Works great.

Finally back under her own weight with the wheels on!





My daughter was home from daycare today because she barfed overnight with fever, so I got the car seat back in and took her to lunch to test it out. Got the seal of approval.




I've only driven a bit, but so far it's obvious to me the fronts are performing WAY better. No more crashing. Rears still have some harshness over larger bumps, but I *think* it's a little better after the bump stop trim?

It's kind of a double-edged sword — I think the new dampers are overall stiffer than the stock ones, but they are doing a much better job damping over the bumps. So it's a tiny bit bouncier, stiffer ride, but it's more comfortable if that makes sense. It feels sporty without compromising too much, probably similar to a stock S4 or something. So far I'm quite happy.

And the ride height seems to be the same. I still would like to try a coilover some day, but for now this is a perfect sweet spot for me in a daily driver.

Tonight I spent some time cleaning up so I could get my wife's car back in the garage. I feel like I've been living in the garage the past 4 days haha. Tools and mess everywhere.



In for the night and feeling good!



That pretty much wraps up this adventure. On to the next one!

 

[Finallygotit]

I've been meaning to try it ever since you posted about it like 5 years ago



Yeah, I guess I'm lucky none of mine were very bad. Btw the 'yearly brake service' was running through my head while I had it up on stands, but I was just too preoccupied and short on time. I'll have to do it when I swap to winter wheels. Which sadly is not that far off...



Thanks, man. And happy birthday to your youngest! Two is such a fun age.

Speaking of all the tools, here was the cost of doing this refresh as a DIY:

Racingline Sport Dampers: $574

OEM Sachs strut bearings and mounts + OEM VAG replacement bolts: $168

Tools: $493
_____________________

$1,235

Kind of a lot, in my view anyways. For the tools, it mostly made sense to buy a 'set' vs. a one-off wrench or socket size. I spent a little more doing that, but the way they price it it just makes sense. Things I added to the collection were:

° Milkwaukee impact wrench + 5ah battery + charger
° Metric offset wrench set
° Metric deep impact socket set
° Metric + Imperial pass-through socket and ratchet set
° Metric and Imperial Allen key set
° Spring compressors
° Triple square / spline bit socket set
° Both strut spreader tools
° 21mm 12-point socket in case I needed to remove the axle (may return to Amazon)
° 22mm strut nut socket (cutaway)

A few of those things are specialized and probably won't get used much, but some of them will be nice to have on hand.

I am starting to run out of drawers in my Craftsman bench, and wish I had more shallow drawers for hand tools vs. some of the deeper ones.

Just so you know, you will never stop collecting tools. So, time to invest in a bigger toolbox now. Maybe look for a good black Friday deal at Harbor Freight. GJ'ers love spending other peoples money.

 

[Sifan]

"GJ'ers love spending other peoples money."

Better the GJ'ers than the Mrs ... at least I get tools to use

 

[Trapps]

Nice job on the suspension. It'll be that much easier when you convert to that KWv3 set up.

I'm with Dan; look for a HF deal and get a tool box. Perhaps a top chest you can sit on the benchtop between the two wall cabinets.

Just an FYI, the Bosch mid and high range (330, 740, 770) impact wrenches have the same 'smart' technology:

In reverse, with bolt mode activated, the Auto Bolt Release stops rotation when there is no load on the tool to help prevent accidentally dropping bolts and nuts during removal.

 

[nicholam77]

Just so you know, you will never stop collecting tools. So, time to invest in a bigger toolbox now. Maybe look for a good black Friday deal at Harbor Freight. GJ'ers love spending other peoples money.

Very true! On both accounts. I looked and Harbor Freight doesn't have the best configurations on sale for Black Friday, but my other issue is where to put it. If only my square footage would grow with the tools!

Nice job on the suspension. It'll be that much easier when you convert to that KWv3 set up.

Thanks! Idk that this car will ever see something as fancy as KWv3's, but after these Racingline dampers run their course I could see trying some mid-level coilovers, probably something along the lines of ST-X, Bilstein B14 or B16, BC Racing, etc.

I really do think I might keep this car forever haha. We'll see how it goes and what it's worth, but ideally in my mind I'd like to get a new, more practical daily, and just keep the GTI as a fun car / project car. I wouldn't mind the extra drop, upgraded clutch, full stage 1. I don't have the winter storage or all that thought out yet, but if I had a different daily I could even keep it out of the road salt.

I've said it before, but I feel like in 10 years when there's no more manuals and we're all driving EV's and 911's et al are priced into the stratosphere, the Mk7 GTI is going to be a desirable 'affordable' car.

I'm with Dan; look for a HF deal and get a tool box. Perhaps a top chest you can sit on the benchtop between the two wall cabinets.

Yeah, top chest is an option. Still may do a bank of upper cabinets above that bench. The other thought would be to build something to go underneath in the middle, between the current drawer stacks. I'm a fan of the Harbor Freight 44" boxes you have, but that wouldn't fit. So probably plywood and custom, thinking along the lines of what lilscorpion (Matt) did in the Tooling Re:Organization thread with the black Formica fronts and aluminum extrusion pulls. That way they could be fully customized and some fairly larger but shallow drawers. I might take the winter to think about it.

One thing that really bugs me right now is the drill press being in front of the left drawer bank, which is where I have all the automotive tools (wrenches, sockets, specialty stuff).

Just an FYI, the Bosch mid and high range (330, 740, 770) impact wrenches have the same 'smart' technology:

In reverse, with bolt mode activated, the Auto Bolt Release stops rotation when there is no load on the tool to help prevent accidentally dropping bolts and nuts during removal.

Ah ok, cool. I didn't come across that in reviews. Does it also back off on tightening? Because I like being able to use it but not worry about over-torquing.

Tbh I was pretty 50/50 between the Bosch and Milwaukee, but in the end am happy with my choice. I'm sure either would be great.

 

[Boostingaz]

GJ'ers love spending other peoples money.

Did someone throw up the bat signal for me? This is what I do best!

 

[Trapps]

The Bosch has 3 settings to limit fastening torque, but it does not 'back off' or reduce automatically. No foul with Red, they make a good product. I believe, overall, comparable to Blue, Teal and Yellow.

Matt's threads are so full of inspiration. It is a bummer some of the early pics have been lost.

When the time comes, if you can find a way, keep the car. There are a couple I wish I had kept from when I was your age.

Air cooled 911 prices seem to be diverging. Special cars have not slowed at all. In fact, their prices are still accelerating upwards, thanks in large part to the big auction sites like BAT, Elferspot, P-Car market and others. Google the 'White collection.' Standard cars, while still appreciating, seem to have slowed the rate of increase, slightly. When you get serious about finding one, and I'm confident you will one day based on your comments over time, get close to the local community. It's interesting to see how many cars change hands that aren't on the open market. Less than it used to be, again see 'auctions,' but still an option. I think Odis has a few examples in his collection that came from private or off market sales.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Congrats on knocking that all out. Definitely don't envy that design for struts. Never worked on one like that. I remember my first suspension replacement and how long it took. Seven later and they are mostly a breeze.

Seems you spent about as much to do it as the shop wanted to charge just for labor between parts and tools but now you have a set of tools for a lifetime of more projects out of it. Seems like a solid win.

 

[jbrentd]

Nice job pushing through the strut job. I have one of those top strut sockets too. It worked well for the stock setup, but not when I upgraded the upper strut mounts, I had to resort to using a spark plug socket, wrench and allen wrench. And guestimate the torque.

 

[nicholam77]

When the time comes, if you can find a way, keep the car. There are a couple I wish I had kept from when I was your age.

That's the plan, although I'll have to see when I get there.

The question will be in 5-10 years, what will the GTI be worth, both financially and to me personally? Will there be any better options I could trade it for? Getting a 2nd practical daily driver / kid transporter would open up more possibilities for the 'fun' car. Maybe the GTI will still be it, but I've always wanted to experience more of a true sports car someday. The GTI was the compromise, do-it-all-car when kids were on the horizon. And it's fun, good-looking, and comfortable, but it's almost too refined and a bit of a safe choice when it comes to sporty-ness. It's FWD, not that light, seating position is high. It feels like a regular car in sporty clothes.

Air cooled 911 prices seem to be diverging. Special cars have not slowed at all. In fact, their prices are still accelerating upwards, thanks in large part to the big auction sites like BAT, Elferspot, P-Car market and others. Google the 'White collection.' Standard cars, while still appreciating, seem to have slowed the rate of increase, slightly. When you get serious about finding one, and I'm confident you will one day based on your comments over time, get close to the local community. It's interesting to see how many cars change hands that aren't on the open market. Less than it used to be, again see 'auctions,' but still an option. I think Odis has a few examples in his collection that came from private or off market sales.

I do like 911's and that's probably the grail (even though I've never driven one or even sat in one!). Keeping or moving on from the GTI is a thought exercise for 5-10 yrs from now, but acquiring something like a 911, even used, is even farther out in my mind. A lot could happen with the cost of goods between now and then, and it may never be in the cards. I know that's not the most optimistic take, but only time will tell.

Congrats on knocking that all out. Definitely don't envy that design for struts. Never worked on one like that. I remember my first suspension replacement and how long it took. Seven later and they are mostly a breeze.

Thanks! I can see it becoming a lot easier, there's always a learning curve doing things the first time. Even now, I feel like I have a lot better idea of what I'm doing.

Seems you spent about as much to do it as the shop wanted to charge just for labor between parts and tools but now you have a set of tools for a lifetime of more projects out of it. Seems like a solid win.

Yeah, pretty much! Having my only car out of commission for 4 days and working on it around the clock and having to borrow my parents' car was not ideal at this stage in my life, but I'm also counting it as a win and still really glad I did it.

Nice job pushing through the strut job. I have one of those top strut sockets too. It worked well for the stock setup, but not when I upgraded the upper strut mounts, I had to resort to using a spark plug socket, wrench and allen wrench. And guestimate the torque.

Thanks! Glad to know it's not just me . I think knowing how to improvise and problem solve is fantastic, but one thing I've learned about myself is I really enjoy having the correct tools. That bit me a few times on this one, but now I know more about the parts on my car and what's needed.

 

[nicholam77]

And just like that it's winter.



This was Halloween morning. And as per usual, I was caught with my pants down on my summer tires. They are downright treacherous when it's slick, so now I need to get them changed ASAP since we're in the 20's for overnight lows.

Morning walk was blistering "feels like 16° F" with the wind, an abrupt awakening from the 60's we had the week prior, but getting out there is worth the reward with the scenery:






Despite the cold, the kids had a blast trick or treating and it was a successful Halloween.






And skipping ahead to today... today is TREE DAY!!!!




Saying goodbye to this beauty!

 

[sawduststeve]

Crikey Nick, that snow seems early, I couldn’t be doing with that, I’d have to move.

The tree looks like it’s to big and to close, i think it’s the right decision to get rid of it.

Steve

 

[Trapps]

Iced coffee? When it's freezing outside? Bravo!!!

We are related in some way!

Similar treat here with Halloween snow, just a dusting. I'm good with it. With any luck all the 'skeeters are now decomposing.

 

[nicholam77]

Crikey Nick, that snow seems early, I couldn’t be doing with that, I’d have to move.

It is early. But as you can see from the tree pics, it's all pretty much melted since.

The tree looks like it’s to big and to close, i think it’s the right decision to get rid of it.

It was a tough decision for me, but I'm already bothered by the scale of the neighboring houses and the lack of privacy, so its removal will only amplify that.

However... it does open up some options to put something in its place. Maybe @jar944 can come build me a fancy deck.

Definitely going to plant some new stuff, probably some screening trees up against the property line, and maybe some sort of fun (small!) tree in the middle or towards the alley.

Iced coffee? When it's freezing outside? Bravo!!!

We are related in some way!

Always! I'm one of those weirdos who does iced coffee when it's -14° F out. Glad to hear there's another one out there.

Similar treat here with Halloween snow, just a dusting. I'm good with it. With any luck all the 'skeeters are now decomposing.

We had very few mosquitos this year, but then again we were in a drought for most of the summer.

I actually didn't mind the quick snow on Halloween either. Gave me a reason to tell my kids about the great Halloween blizzard of '91. Technically I was only 3 yrs old... but it's Minnesota lore at this point, so I pretended like I remembered it well.

 

[MadeByMiller]

It does look beautiful with the straggler vibrant colored leaves hanging on to the trees contrasting against the white snow. I love how you've decorated your living room, and is that an authentic Herman Miller Saucer??

 

[nicholam77]

I love how you've decorated your living room, and is that an authentic Herman Miller Saucer??

Thanks, and yes it is. It's probably 5 yrs old from Herman Miller (not vintage or anything), the medium saucer.

I just love the bubble lamps because they are sculptural and inviting, and also give great soft ambient light to the space.

As for the rest of the living room, it could really use some wire-management and decluttering and less kid's toys, but I've put a lot of effort into it since we moved in. You'd have to dig deep in this thread, but I made the fireplace mantel, the built-ins, and the cherry shaker table, as well as went through a painstaking process to expose the white oak floors (had glued parquet tiles and carpet over that originally).

The Eames rocker is a repro that I plan on replacing with something else when the opportunity presents itself, and I also want to get rid of the upholstered blue chairs in favor something lighter and more interesting.

I really like modern chairs and lamps in particular, but to be honest I didn't know how long we'd be in this house or how much I'd end up doing to it. Now I'm at a crossroads where I feel like it doesn't feel right to completely make it into something it's not, but at the same time I like having a few interesting lamps to look at!

 

[fourmotioneer]

I really do think I might keep this car forever haha. We'll see how it goes and what it's worth, but ideally in my mind I'd like to get a new, more practical daily, and just keep the GTI as a fun car / project car. I wouldn't mind the extra drop, upgraded clutch, full stage 1. I don't have the winter storage or all that thought out yet, but if I had a different daily I could even keep it out of the road salt.

I've said it before, but I feel like in 10 years when there's no more manuals and we're all driving EV's and 911's et al are priced into the stratosphere, the Mk7 GTI is going to be a desirable 'affordable' car.

You know that I enjoy weighing in on this one. Nice thing about the GTI is that it is - for better or worse - your car. You won’t bemoan the PO for mistakes on a shock install or mods you don’t prefer because it’s all your work. And that’s a nice place to be. I don’t think I’d enjoy a used MK7 at this point (yes I bought a 2019 in 2021) due to the way that people tend to use them up. So you’ve got that.

I enjoy daily driving the GTI because it feels like a reasonable amount of car for one person. Not sure what you’re thinking for a more practical daily, but I don’t like the sound of that. I sort of like having one really practical car (our minivan) and just planning well around that. So I’d vote against more practical daily, especially if two kids is where you stop. Our MK7s with those car seats that rotate are awesome for kids, and fall behind only when we have guests to move around. That’s where the minivan comes into play.

As far as project/aspirational cars go, some thoughts: your living room transformation is a good display of your sensibilities. Doesn’t feel very 911 to me, personally. Nice cars - my dad had an 88 911 that I drove quite a bit - but I would argue that they are simultaneously exclusive in who they are/were sold to and mass-market in how they were (not anymore lol) engineered. Today they are exquisite and expensive, which is a better space to be in my opinion.

I’m going to suggest a new halo car (not something remotely affordable) to you: http://www.lanciaaurelia.info/

Now that I’ve lost you, I’m going to dig further. How does a mortal become a Lancia enthusiast without shelling out for an Aurelia or betraying the brand with a FIAT-tainted Delta? I’d suggest either an Appia or a Fulvia Berlina. Both come highly recommended from a certain Lancia Aurelia owner that I know, with all of the cool Lancia engineering but without the Aurelia price tag.

Or you could just buy a V6 Alfa like I drive and never look back. Closer to a Porsche in terms of design. I’m not thoughtful or discerning enough for a Lancia, but you might enjoy reading up on them

 

[nicholam77]

@fourmotioneer it looks like I have some research to do!

100% agree on not picking up a used Mk7. GTI anyways. They've probably all been tuned or abused in some way. Mine isn't a 'unicorn' trim or anything, but I think it's reasonably desirable being a manual with the performance package (R brakes and the VAQ differential), and lighting package.

I agree that the GTI makes a great daily driver for a single person. I'd say it's passable as a family car. It's definitely twice as hard to get the kids buckled in the car seats than my wife's car where I don't have to bend over so far. Despite the hatch, cargo space is limited when we're talking things like full-size strollers. It's also mediocre in heavy snow. But I can, and do, live with all that. And yeah, there's not going to be any more kids

My larger thought was to take the GTI out of winter duty someday in order to preserve it. But I'd need another vehicle to do that. So then the extension of the thought process was if the GTI becomes the backup / fun car... and is not relied upon for every day kid transporting... then that could really be swapped for anything (money allowing).

While I find the Lancia's you posted very pretty, I'd be after something more modern. (and by modern I mean newer, not "Modern"). Doesn't need to match my taste in furniture . Although, to be fair, I actually think the 911 pairs quite well with modernists houses, and I've actually come across quite a few photos, videos, and even in-person houses that have aligned that way. Here's just one example outside a Neutra house:



I also have to confess I am scared of Italian cars, and when I say "project car" I guess I don't really mean something I'd be in way over my head on and have to fix all the time. Not that that precludes a 911, but the main goal would be to drive it and enjoy it.

This is a very theoretical discussion at this point. Realistically I'll probably just keep dailying the GTI as my only car for the foreseeable future.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Think about a Fiat X-1/9 if you want an Italian car. Later is better. I had one for years. Great little 2 seat sbox. Their only real problems are the grounding design and the shift linkage. A weekend's effort will cure both.

 

[Bob Heine]

Nick, I'm with Kay. Average price for an X1/9 is around $13,000. You need a few special tools for things like wheel bearings but overall it's pretty easy to maintain. They show up on sites like Bring a Trailer and Hemmings. Sometimes a modified one shows up for a lot more and range from 'please pull me over' to subtle. The site I used for parts is Midwest Bayless and they even have cars for sale (including project cars like these:

Midwest-Bayless Italian Auto - Cars for Sale Fiat Lancia Yugo

Midwest-Bayless cars for sale page

www.midwest-bayless.com

If you prefer a more modern engine, they sell a kit to install an Acura Honda K20 / K24 Engine if you prefer something more than 75 hp. You can also hop up the stock engine, like I did, with a performance cylinder head and cam, twin dual downdraft webers and headers. Not as powerful as the Acura option but not as much work/electronics.

A couple of ride-alongs if you're interested. This one sold for ~$20K has a modified X1/9 engine...

...and this one, which is a frame up restoration with numerous subtle custom features, with an Acura engine and 6-speed (Sold for $43,500):

 

[Finallygotit]

Think about a Fiat X-1/9 if you want an Italian car. Later is better. I had one for years. Great little 2 seat sbox. Their only real problems are the grounding design and the shift linkage. A weekend's effort will cure both.

I have to mention one more problem with a Fiat X-1/9. If you are over six feet tall, you might get stuck in it. Ask me how I know.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I have to mention one more problem with a Fiat X-1/9. If you are over six feet tall, you might get stuck in it. Ask me how I know.

I'm 6'-ish and never had a problem. Good to know.

 

[loganb]

Normally agree with most of the things in this thread....however



Don't get iced coffee

How did the tree removal shake out? Although it's not something you wanted to do...happy with the end result? I definitely miss the big tree lined streets like that!

 

[Bob Heine]

I have to mention one more problem with a Fiat X-1/9. If you are over six feet tall, you might get stuck in it. Ask me how I know.

Dan, it was a problem when autocrossing but the roof comes off for extra helmet clearance.