The Bimmer Basement

[Mpower5266]

Basement updates. Our cabinets are due today for the bar, and we picked up a 10 foot chunk of butcher block to use a counter top. We also put some of the furniture out and did a little organizing.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also moved the freezer down from the garage, which is great for ice in the bar and for room in my garage.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We may start on the cabinets this, but we are leaving early Thursday for the beach. Stay tuned.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Looks great. Love the Bingo board light.

 

[zanyad]

Looks great!

 

[Mpower5266]

The bar cabinets were delivered last night, so we did a dry run. The butcher block will be a little darker and a nice contrast to the cabinets. I have some tung oil on the way to seal it.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I probably wont get them fully installed for another week or so, we are heading to the beach for a few days. But since we knew the height of the cabinets we went ahead and mounted the tsessebe head.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I almost dont want to go to the beach and get this all set up.... Almost.

 

[Mpower5266]

I got back from the beach Wed afternoon and immediately got to work in the basement. I cut the baseboards out and got the cabinets flush against the wall. I couldn't find my long wood screws due to my garage being a giant mess so I went ahead and put the first coat of tung oil on the counter top.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Thursday morning I ran to Home Depot to get some screws and rushed home to get the cabinets mounted.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Then with my wife's help, got the counter top mounted and applied another coat of oil.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And after the kiddos went to bed we mounted the shelves and did a little bit of decorating. We still have a ways to go but I am really excited about how this turned out.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also broke in our fire pit area by getting rid of some random cardboard we had after this project.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Hopefully getting the pool table tomorrow, but it's going to need some work so it will probably be a week or two before it's fully set up. I am getting really excited about finishing this project and finally working on the garage.

 

[Mpower5266]

Pool table has been acquired.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It was so heavy...

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I am going to probably call someone Monday and see about getting it set up, leveled, and re-felted.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

The countertop came out great. Is that Black Walnut butcher block? Thinking of doing something similar for the top on my New Age cabinets.

 

[Mpower5266]

The countertop came out great. Is that Black Walnut butcher block? Thinking of doing something similar for the top on my New Age cabinets.

I am pretty sure that is correct. It's carried by home depot but we found someone local selling it damaged/overstock. My wife helped me decorate a little last night, its about 98% finished.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[Mpower5266]

The pool table was finally assembled last night, so I am saying the basement is "done." I do have some stuff to hang and eventually we might add a mini split or a portable ac unit, and a bigger tv, but I am saying that its done for the most part.

IMG_3610 by Nick Wood, on Flickr

IMG_3611 by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

IMG_3608 by Nick Wood, on Flickr

IMG_3607 by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We finished just in time for me to leave for 2 weeks on Thursday, but when I get back, I am finally going to turn my attention to the garage.

 

[Mr.zippy]

That looks fantastic! Well done!

 

[Mpower5266]

That looks fantastic! Well done!

My wife and I were hanging out down there last night and we both thought that pictures didnt do it justice. I am so happy with how it came out.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

The basement came out amazing. I really love the dark color you went with. It really just works and has a great feel to the space.

 

[Mpower5266]

The basement came out amazing. I really love the dark color you went with. It really just works and has a great feel to the space.

I remember the workers telling my wife they hated the color, she looked at them and said, "good." Haha.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

I remember the workers telling my wife they hated the color, she looked at them and said, "good." Haha.

That is funny but I can see why someone might say that. It is a dark color, one I don't think I myself without seeing something like you have done I would have ever thought of. Both of your visions brought it all together with all the pieces and it looks fantastic.

 

[Bob Heine]

I remember the workers telling my wife they hated the color, she looked at them and said, "good." Haha.

Nick, pretty sure those are the workers who use a hose to cover every wall and ceiling in Spec homes brilliant white. They disapprove of Ivory and White Dove because they're too avant guarde fancy.

 

[smschriefer]

Looking good! Can you provide some details about the Formula/Gran Prix cars outside the bathroom?

 

[Mpower5266]

Looking good! Can you provide some details about the Formula/Gran Prix cars outside the bathroom?

I dont have much info, just found them at an antique shop and my wife had the idea to hang them on the wall. They are toys from the early 70s I believe.

 

[Mpower5266]

And I am back! I survived Oshkosh 2024... How about a car related update.... So right before I left for the airshow, the keyless entry stopped working in my wagon. Thankfully I was able to trace it back to some broken wires in the hatch, easy fix.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

While that was a pretty simple problem to fix, the 02 has been giving me a bit a trouble. About a month ago, my dad and I got the ac system installed in it.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It worked pretty well but the car was running a touch hot for my liking. I decided to drive it for a few days to shake it down. On a very warm Sunday I took my wife out to lunch and to run some errands in it since her parents had the twins. As we were pulling into the restaurant, we lost ac.... Oh well. We ate, and on the way to our next stop it was running a little warm so I decided to limp it home. About 3 miles from the house, I heard a loud pop..

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The hose blew off the compressor, went into the pulley and trashed the belt.... I let it cool down and later limped it over to my dads shop. While I was at the airshow, he went to town on it.

New upgraded radiator, steel fittings for the ac lines, tropical fan(larger diameter), lower temp tropical region t-stat, and the ac electric fan is now on a switch allowing it to be used in an emergency..... the cooling system is now Georgia proof....

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I took it out yesterday on what I call the, "Newnan nordschleife" and beat the hell out of it... This is as warm as it got, and the ac was on full blast the whole time.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I am cautiously optimistic that it is good to go. I will drive it into work later this week to really test it in traffic.

I also had a piece of art show up while I was out of town and finally hung it over the weekend.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Other than that, I have just been recovering from the trip to Oshkosh and fighting a pretty bad cold/fever. And just like I have ended every one of these posts the last 8 months......"I hope to start on the garage soon." Haha

 

[Metallitubby]

Other than that, I have just been recovering from the trip to Oshkosh

It is so much walking to cover the entire field (especially if you visit the sea plane base). This was the first year I didn't attend/support, but heard from my other Honda folks that is was hot, humid, and was just as much fun as previous years.

 

[TX4runner]

I think your Georgia proofing was successful!! We know you'll eventually get to the garage, house is understandably still a priority. And we like those updates as well

 

[jonshonda]

I'm just got done replacing the entire AC system (minus the evap core) in my 2009 Honda Fit. Compressor **** the bed and from everything I've read to ensure longevity of the replacement parts everything must be changed out in case the Compressor sent debris down stream. So new Compressor, condenser, expansion valve.

Getting recharged at a shop today, so fingers crossed I didn't botch the installation.

My 12yo son it really big into WW2 era military, could care less about anything made after 1960! We plan on attending the military show in Oshkosh in Sept. My cousin is an engineering manager at Oshkosh and is able to get us hooked up with demos of their equipment on their obstacle courses! We are pretty pumped!

 

[Mpower5266]

I'm just got done replacing the entire AC system (minus the evap core) in my 2009 Honda Fit. Compressor **** the bed and from everything I've read to ensure longevity of the replacement parts everything must be changed out in case the Compressor sent debris down stream. So new Compressor, condenser, expansion valve.

Getting recharged at a shop today, so fingers crossed I didn't botch the installation.

My 12yo son it really big into WW2 era military, could care less about anything made after 1960! We plan on attending the military show in Oshkosh in Sept. My cousin is an engineering manager at Oshkosh and is able to get us hooked up with demos of their equipment on their obstacle courses! We are pretty pumped!

Oh thats rad. We ship a lot of our supplies to a shop over by their obstacle courses, I would love to do a ride along.

 

[jonshonda]

Oh thats rad. We ship a lot of our supplies to a shop over by their obstacle courses, I would love to do a ride along.

Yeah it would be a lot of fun to design and test those vehicles. I know the JLTV has a lot of added features that allow a heavily armored vehicle to work well in difficult terrain. Hopefully if it's every called to battle it will perform better then the vehicle it replaced.

 

[Mpower5266]

Quick 02 update... the AC broke again. The other fitting to the compressor cracked so now they are both steel. I drove it for a few days and it worked great but I noticed a squeak. The clutch was slipping on the compressor under idle/low revs. I am thinking that when I had the first blow out, it lost oil and that damaged it, so the new compressor will be in this week. I think this will finally fix it. *crosses fingers*

My birthday was last Sunday and my wife surprised me with a portable ac unit for the garage. It really knocks the heat down in there.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also had some gift cards/credit card points and amazon was running a sale, so I grabbed a larger tv for the basement. It was really cheap for a 65", it will be perfect for football season. I need to mount the sound bar tonight.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Yesterday, I went to a car meet up in Atlanta. They said that they were featuring BMW's so I took the e9 up. The second I pulled into the lot, one of the organizers directed me to a grass area and then I was guided into the brewery. It was pretty rad.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

My wife is going to be out of town over the long weekend so I should have some free time in the evening to work on the garage. I really need to get that organized, its driving me crazy.

 

[Bob Heine]

My birthday was last Sunday and my wife surprised me with a portable ac unit for the garage. It really knocks the heat down in there.

I also had some gift cards/credit card points and amazon was running a sale, so I grabbed a larger tv for the basement. It was really cheap for a 65", it will be perfect for football season. I need to mount the sound bar tonight.

Nick, belated Happy Birthday (41?). The ac unit is perfect for making the garage a more pleasant place to be. Even if it doesn't drop the temperature to sweatshirt levels, it pulls a ton of humidity out of the Georgia/Florida swamp air.

The 70" Vizio TV in our bedroom developed a couple of shadows that have become more and more annoying. Held off buying a new one because of how much the 70" cost. Just for shits and giggles I did a search and Costco had a 75" for $699. Our son helped me hang it on the wall. Only thing I don't get is the remote control. There are like five buttons that aren't services (Netflix, Amazon Prime and Samsung TV). I'm spending more time staring at the remote than the actual TV. It didn't come with a real User Guide but there's a 250-page PDF on the Samsung web site that I can print out to satisfy my need to kill trees.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

That is a nice gift for the garage. Did it also come with tokens to get out of other work so you can spend time in the garage from her as well

 

[M-technik-3]

Was wondering if you were out at McConnell's airshow? Glad you were not.

 

[TX4runner]

Happy belated birthday to all of us again. Mine was the big 50 this year

 

[Mpower5266]

Guess what.... I finally did some garage stuff. The garage has two plugs total, and those are in terrible spots. My dad came over to help me lay out where we might add some. While we were measuring and tripping over ****, I decided to skip a car show that I was going to go to and get some work done. First I finally removed this post.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I think it's there to protect the stairs but I would honestly rather hit the stairs with a wheel than take out a whole rear quarter panel on the post.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

After that I just got stuff off the floor. Rather than open up the boxes of detailing supplies and random stuff and organizing it, I just put the box in the cabinet that I wanted to have it in. I think it will be easy to get the garage in general set up, and then go back and organize. It's definitely nicer having the floor mostly cleared off so I can walk around.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also hung up the blinds which should help with heat, but now I need lights asap.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I pulled the cars back in and was surprised with how much space there is in here when it's not cluttered.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

So up next will be some more general clean up and organizing, lighting, insulating the garage door and running plugs. Longer term will be paint and flooring. I am thinking about doing a swisstrax or race deck style floor but something simple. I am really happy that I finally took the time to get some work done in there and now I am excited to get more done.

 

[Mpower5266]

My lighting showed up today. Before.
Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And with 2 lit up. There will be 6 total.
Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I have garage door insulation coming. I also emailed @RaceDeck1 with some questions about the floor.

 

[Mpower5266]

Busy weekend. Started Saturday morning off with a trip to cars and coffee. The 02 is finally running great with no ac issues.... time for a cam and side drafts?

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

A buddy of mine was there and took a couple of great shots of my car.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

After cars and coffee my dad met me at my house with a ladder and we installed my new lights.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It's bright enough, but I am thinking about adding a couple more.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also started insulating the door. I don't know if this will help but the other day the garage door was so hot that I couldn't touch it for more than a few seconds, hopefully this will give my air conditioner a fighting chance.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Since we had the hurricane come through the other day, I grabbed the wagoneer so I would have a some ground clearance going to work Friday morning. I forgot how much I like this thing.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Also the 88 Grand Wagoneer finally came home from the paint shop Friday afternoon. We have a decent to do list going but I am hoping to drive it in the next few weeks and do a paint correction.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

More soon....

 

[zanyad]

Also the 88 Grand Wagoneer finally came home from the paint shop Friday afternoon. We have a decent to do list going but I am hoping to drive it in the next few weeks and do a paint correction.

Pardon my ignorance, but why would it need paint correction if it's just back from the paint shop?

 

[Mpower5266]

Pardon my ignorance, but why would it need paint correction if it's just back from the paint shop?

It just had a couple rust repaired not a full respray. But most painters don't buff and polish to my standards so I would end up doing a correction anyway.

 

[pickles]

The Wagoneer looks great.

 

[zanyad]

The Wagoneer looks great.

Agreed!

 

[Mpower5266]

I decided to put a coat of sealant on the wagoneer this afternoon. It added a little shine but kept the patina.

 

[Bruce 993 SEA]

Go for the side draft Webers and the cam. Best thing I ever did for my 2 liter powered New Class 1800ti.

There are horror stories about getting Webers right. Not so in my experience. Set 'em and forget 'em. They always stayed in tune.

Nothing like the roaring honk of the Webers at WOT...!

 

[Mpower5266]

Go for the side draft Webers and the cam. Best thing I ever did for my 2 liter powered New Class 1800ti.

There are horror stories about getting Webers right. Not so in my experience. Set 'em and forget 'em. They always stayed in tune.

Nothing like the roaring honk of the Webers at WOT...!

Yea I am thinking about. I already have a set of 40's and the manifold/linkage.

 

[Bob Heine]

Yea I am thinking about. I already have a set of 40's and the manifold/linkage.

Nick, if your Webers are already set up for the '73 2002, it's a no-brainer. Even if they are set up for another size engine, the parts to make them perfect are available. The pair of DCNF Webers that came with our son's X1/9 weren't even close to driveable but swapping the venturis and jets to match the 1300cc engine made them perfect. If you don't have a Weber manual, this one is available online:

https://www.lainefamily.com/images/WeberTuningManual.pdf

 

[Bruce 993 SEA]

You are right Bob, all the internals are interchangeable and documented as to what you need. The 40s are good for a street driven 2 liter. Racing cars will use 45s but they spend most of their time at WOT and do not like to idle or go slow. It's a different tuning. The Weber side draft really wake up the BMW 2000 engine.

Nick, you will have a 2002 ti !