May 2016 Newsletter

4/25/2016

Welcome to the ETCG May 2016 Newsletter. Here’s how it works.

If you’re reading the email version of this newsletter, it’s not the full version. This version has been trimmed down to just the main topics. Just click on an image, or ‘read more’ link, and it will take you directly to the topic of choice on my website where the full newsletter is displayed. If you want to read the full newsletter, and you absolutely do, click here.

Past newsletters and the ETCG Blog can be found here. (those are good too.)

Thanks for reading!

The Fairmont Project

“Eric! When do we get to see some Fairmont videos!?” I’ve been hearing that for 2 years now. The answer, very soon.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been doing nothing but working on the Fairmont. In fact, it’s my intention to take it all the way to completion. My hope is to have the car complete and running by the time the ‘Meet Up’ happens on July 16 of this year. We’ll see if I can actually hit that goal. Building cars is challenging. Mostly because of the unexpected things that often come up.

For instance. Last week it was my intention to complete the rebuild of the rear end and have it in the car. I have not met that goal. Why? Because I had some issues getting the gear pattern set up correctly. The reason, I was using the old pinion head bearing for set up. I found out that’s not always a good idea as you’ll see in the differential set up videos that are coming your way.

After completing the work on the T-5, I figured I’d work on the differential and the rear suspension. The main reason for this is because it will still allow me to drive the car once the work is complete. In fact, I’m looking forward to driving it with the new 3:55 gears and the old 6 cylinder and automatic transmission. Should be a fun ride and a good illustration of how the final drive can effect acceleration.

I have the new pinion head bearings in hand and I hope to get the differential buttoned up and back in the car before the end of the week. If I’m able to do that, I’ll be somewhat back on schedule.

After the rear end is installed, I’m headed north to Wapakoneta OH to work with my machinist, Kevin Frische of Kalvinator Engines. Kevin came highly recommended by my friend Dough Kaufman who works at Engine Builder Magazine. I figured Doug would be a good person to ask about a good machine shop in Ohio. I wasn’t disappointed.

With Kevin’s help, I hope to build one killer engine for the Fairmont. In an upcoming video you’ll see what kind of shape my old engine is in. After watching that video, you’ll begin to see what I’m up against. I’m not worried. In fact, I’m very optimistic because I’m working with Kevin. We’ve already got a plan and we’re ready to spend my money.

As for the transmission, I’ve already completed the work on the T-5 Paul Cangialosi and I worked on last year. I’ve installed the new 2nd gear, the new shift fork, and I’ve also repaired all the threads in the outer case. The transmission is now complete, sealed, and ready to install.

My gauges from SpeedHut.com arrived in April. They are sweet!

The question still stands, “when do we get to see Fairmont videos?” The best answer I can give is at the end of May as you’ll see in the next section of the newsletter.

Upcoming Videos

Before the Fairmont videos start coming out, I have a new engine replacement video series for you. In this series I’ll be swapping out an Acura/Honda 3.2L out of a 2004 Acura TL.

This series may be new to you, but for me it’s more than a year old. Just after I got the lift last year I did this engine replacement. One of my viewers reached out and asked if I could do the job for him. He supplied the parts, and I got an engine replacement video series out of it.

This will be of particular interest to some of you that have been thinking of doing an automatic to manual transmission swap. The car that got the engine had a 6 speed manual, the new engine came out of a car with an automatic. In a way, it’s a crash course in some of what you’d need to do if you wanted to make that transmission swap in your vehicle. It’s more involved than you think.

That said, the edits and series are now complete. Running this series for the next 4 weeks will give me time to work on the edits of the Fairmont videos. Once the engine replacement series is complete, 4 videos in all, my plan is to start rolling out Fairmont videos.

FYI, if you want to see the series in it’s entirety, it’s available to Premium Members here.

But wait, there’s more!

Pull-a-Part Videos To Air Soon

Another massive editing session has landed me completion of 20 videos I shot with Pull-a-Part back in March. For the most part, these are short ‘pull’ videos. Let’s say you want to know how to pull a headlight out of a Honda Accord, these videos will help you do things just like that in 5min or less. There are 15 of these ‘pull’ videos ready to go.

I also have some videos talking about “What to Look For in a Salvage Yard Engine or Transmission”, “What Tools to Bring to the Salvage Yard”, “Salvage Yard Etiquette”, “How To Supply Power in the Yard”, and one on the overall Pull-a-Part experience.

How and when these videos will air hasn’t been decided yet. I’m still waiting on final approval which I hope to have by the end of May. Once approval has been given, I’m considering releasing a pull video a day for 2+ weeks. Once again, I haven’t decided yet.

However it works out, you’ll have plenty of videos from this series to watch. In fact, I think it’s some of my best work to date. Especially for those that like the old ‘repair’ videos from ETCG.

I want to thank Erik Tande of Velosity Labs for helping me out with camera work on those videos, as well as the people at Pull-a-Part. They were all really great to work with on this project.

2016 5th Annual ‘Meet Up’

For those of you wondering when this years ‘Meet Up’ will take place, it’ll be July 16 from 12-5pm EST. Location and RSVP at this link.

Give aways are already starting to arrive. I’ve got some cool stuff to give away this year.

Live Shows With Better Picture and Sound

Over the past 3 live Q&A shows I’ve been tweaking the picture and sound and I now believe I have things dialed in. So if you haven’t seen one of my live Q&A shows in a while, I suggest you check them out. There’s a link at the bottom of this newsletter to the latest one, #65.

For those of you not familiar, I do a live show where I answer your automotive questions every other Wednesday night. It’s a great way to get your questions answered by me directly in a timely manner.

The shows air on my Google+ page. You can follow the links I post on social networks the day of the show to post your questions. Links to my social networks at the bottom of this newsletter, or at the top of each page of my website.

For the past 2 shows I’ve also been adding some AMA (Ask Me Anything) questions to the mix. This has gotten a lot of positive response from the viewers.

So if you haven’t seen one of my live shows in a while, check them out. I do them every other Wednesday 7pm EST. Next show is scheduled for May 4, 2016.

Dad Stops By the Shop

Last weekend my dad came down for a visit. He lives in NY and I’m in OH in case you were wondering. I asked him to stop by the shop when he got into town. When he did stop by, we made a video showing him the shop and how it’s changed since he last saw it. I also shared my progress on the Fairmont.

It’s always great to see my dad. I can tell he’s happy about how things have gone for me and my work with the ETCG channels. I think he’s also looking forward to his ride in the Fairmont when I get it completed. Dad was a ‘car guy’ long before I was even alive.

The video should air on ETCG1 during the month of May.

Premium Member News

Premium Members got 3 exclusive videos in April. “Fairmont Update 4/8/2016 (Exclusive Video)”, “T-5 Transmission Final Assembly and Updates #Fairmont Project (Extended Version)(Exclusive Video)”, and “2004 Acura 3.2L TL Engine Replacement (Full Version)”.

I’ve already shot Premium content for the month of May. In fact there are 2 videos that just need editing that Premium Members will get this month. “Last Ride in the Original Fairmont” and an undisclosed video that will air as a companion video to the “Fairmont Engine Tear Down” video at the end of the month.

I’ve also been shooting video updates for Premium Members on the Fairmont Project. So if you want to know the latest on what’s happening with the project, consider signing up for a Premium Membership.

Premium Members get up to 4 exclusive videos per month in addition to early releases of all ETCG and ETCG1 videos. They also get $2.00 discounts on VManuals. Memberships are now $4.99 per month and $14.99 per year. To get more info and sign up, click here.

If you’re a Premium Member and have any issues with Premium Member video playback, please send an email to David Sanchez and CC support@EricTheCarGuy.com.

Lately we’ve had less reports of video playback issues. However, I still plan to upgrade our streaming service when our contract is up this fall. Till then, please use the contact info above if you experience any issues with video playback.

In Closing

I’ve waited more than 30 years to have the time and the means to build a car of my own like the Fairmont. It’s a goal I’ve worked toward all that time. Ever since I got my first car I dreamed of building one of my own someday. I never thought it would work out this way, or that I’d be doing a video series for a web show on the internet about it, but I’ll take it.

I can honestly say that accomplishing your life goals can be very rewarding.  I plan to savor every moment of the build and enjoy the heck out of that car when it’s done. As I said, it’s been a long time coming.

This reminds me of something I said in a video just before I sold the last car I was building due to financial reasons. It’s toward the end where I’m putting gas in it.

The best advice I can offer, stick to your guns and keep grinding away. Sooner or later something will change.

Once again I have the fans of ETCG to thank for this opportunity. In return, I’ll do my best to give you the best videos of the build. After all, in my eyes, it’s just as much yours as it is mine.

Thank you for reading this newsletter, watching my videos, commenting, subscribing, and everything else that makes you a fan of the work I do. You are appreciated.

Latest videos below.

Be safe
Have fun
Stay Dirty

ETCG

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