FROM FASTDAD'S GARAGE TO YOURS, AMBIANCE AND SEASONS GREETINGS,

I made this video these past few days. Take alook leave a comment over on Facebook if thats better for you. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-DB5G3bctU&context=C3201aa1ADOEgsToPDskIjSOdPyTSjoLtq8E_ciHTA In the mean time it's back to work here in FASTDAD'S garage.

AMBITIOUS

FASTDAD RISES FROM THE THE TABLE!!! The best holiday is over. There are things to do projects to get done. So lets get started. Over on Facebook I talk about an idea that I have and I'm going to make it happen, as a matter of fact I'm in the middle of right now. It may take a few days so check back. Man, it feels really good to get back in the GARAGE!

TODAYS CARS

Looks more like the back side of a control panel for a small aircraft than the back end of a Volvo SUV!

THE WEEK!!!!!

Check the story out over on Facecook. You have to read it all! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fastdad/132790816771142

AFTER WALK ENGINE TEARDOWN

Ok, walk is over, back to FASTDAD'S GARAGE. Time to teardown the engine, get it ready for some cooling system mods. Take some measurements during teardown, really pretty good shape engine top side. Leakdown was reasonable for this engine. If this was a late model motor for tin tops these numbers would be unacceptable. Anyhow posted these picks, take alook. I'll install the engine in the chassis to start on the cooling system mods, I'll have to build brackets, new fittings and adapters and such for the engine. I'll get done with the mods and then disassemble the rest of the engine. Valve lash was reasonable int .010 - ext.014. All this means is it is time for a refreshing of the engine

GOING FOR A WALK

Went for a walk with FASTMOM this afternoon. Ended up at a little house called the POND HOUSE. It's over on the river bluffs, been there since early 1800's. It's named after a gent Gideon Pond, one of the early settlers. Long story short it was open for a tour learned alot about how they lived back in the day. Had a fire going in the fireplace, smelled of burning wood inside the house, very genuine living quarters. Have a open house at the end of Jan with real dog sled rides, cooking in the fireplace making bread! I think FASTMOM and I will get the grand daughters and attend, should be fun and a great experience for them. I do do things other than work on race cars!

HOME FROM WORK EARLY

Pretty slow at work today, so I left early.  Got home did some computer stuff.  Like I'v said before we are getting ready to do some mass marketing.  Most of the early computer work was learning new web sites, setting up accounts, really boring stuff but very important to do correctly.  Essentially it will be the foundation from which we will build FASTDAD Enterprises.  But now it's into FASTDAD'S GARAGE! BLUE COLLAR AMERICA AT IT'S BEST!

ANOTHER DAY CHECKING STUFF ON THE NET

Spent many hours checking stuff on the internet. This is after I did a oil & filter and a tune up. Anyhow, we are making progress behind the scenes with reaching the masses on the internet. I think we've come up with a good strategy we can implement. The idea being to reach the masses to sell our merchandise and generate an income from FASTDAD MERCHANDISE!

WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED

Ya know one of the things I have a hard time to justify is sitting still.  Today was one of those days, meaning I sat and pounded on a key board and searched the internet most of the day looking for info on a strategy for how FASTDAD.NET can reach the internet market place. I got all this stuff to do here in the garage and I sit on the internet, go figure! At any rate I think we've come up with a strategy ( the bride & myself) that will work, hopefully. I'll talk about more soon so you who are following this now will see something larger start to happen, hopefully!

Busy week, family stuff

Yup, it's been busy. Attending grand daughters (3) church Christmas programs (2), setting up my mom's christmas tree, shopping, thats almost done. Now this Sat. AM it's back to the garage and building FASTDAD.NET into a full time ENTERPRIZE!

DOING SOME FRAME WORK

This is the tedious work done behind the scenes to a Formula Continental car. Welded up over 300 rivet holes in the bottom of the frame rails. Cleaned up the welds so a sheet of 6061-T6 cane be bonded and new rivets installed. So this means drilling the holes back in the frame! But before that is done there are more items that need to be done before the aluminum is attached. The frame will eventually be sent out to be blasted and cleaned then painted electrically. A few pictures take a look.

A FAMOUS RACING TEAM CLOSES

Ya know one of the things a person learns is, life goes on, and changes are part of that. Three years ago I drove down to a racing team called Newman-Haas (http://www.newman-haas.com/ ( yes the world famous Paul Newman) and bought my TIG welder from them.  I dealt with the general manager at the time a gentleman named John. Long story short this is the end of one of the most successful Champ Car teams ever. They have a storied history of famous people Mario Andretti, son Micheal, World champion Nigel Mansel etc the list goes on. To older people this is a sad time, to the younger and hungry this is an opportunity to fill a large void. The respect is there for them, they earned it, life goes on. The only thing I can imagine is some how I was part of that history in a very small way.

Thought I'd share a couple of photos. Top one is FASTDAD in the heat of competition. coming up the hill turn 6 at Road America Elkhart lake wisconsin.
Bottom photo is showing the GEARBOX JIG FASTDAD built to hold the assembly. It can be purchased at http://fastdad.net/online-store.html

COME & JOIN

Join up with FASTDAD. There are more home build projects in the pipe line. One thing I'd like to know is, would anybody be interested in seeing the painstakingly slow process of developing an idea in FASTDAD'S GARAGE and bringing it to market. Also the Formula Continental car is being serviced over this winter should I post more about that also? Let me know. You can reach me thru our web site or post here on the blog. Thanks FASTDAD

GARAGE LAZY, SEE THE HEAVY WEIGHT IN ACTION!

Go here to see it in action!
http://www.youtube.com/MYFASTDAD#p/a/u/0/E4PjeebS770

GARAGE LAZY SUSAN, IT'S DONE TAKE A LOOK

I finished the GARAGE LAZY SUSAN! You can hang anything on it from a picture to some real heavy tools,car or truck parts! They can be organized and in full view so it's easy to keep track of what ever you put on it. You can screw, bolt, glue, or fasten stuff to the walls any way you want! It's a real heavy weight since it can hold up to 500lbs worth of your things. Specs are at http://fastdad.net/online-store.html Take a look! Built by a Blue Collar Guy for AMERICA!

FAT AND SASSY

Well we're all alittle bigger 'round the middle, flavoring was exceptional for the palate and the left overs are now in the frig! It's over and back to the garage, race cars to work on, projects to complete and get to market (GARAGE LAZY SUSAN), buildn' a future one weld, one idea at a time. So here it it goes, I'll get started right now!

TURKEY DAY

Have a GREAT THANKS GIVING! To all in the Military my deepest appreciation! THANKYOU

BACK AT WORK

Back in the garage working on the GARAGE LAZY SUSAN project. Building  the last of the tooling/jigs for the manufacture of the SUSANS. I'll post pictures with all the jigs and fixtures pretty soon. It takes way more time to design and build the tooling than the SUSAN! Good accurate tooling thats easy to use is essential for ending up with a high quality product. STAY TUNED!!!

FIXING A NO START

This is a 1995 Acura Integra 1.8 twin cam. It died while driving. The first thing I check since it's easiest is spark http://www.youtube.com/user/MYFASTDAD?feature=mhee#p/a/u/1/6KpPEiMT-G8.  If there is no spark, then I proceeded to make sure the cams were turning by removing the valve cover. I did this to also check the condition of the timing belt which is critical on this engine. All is good so then I installed a rebuilt unit and checked for spark again http://www.youtube.com/user/MYFASTDAD?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/wnzd5Kf4yhw. As long as everything was good I did a complete tune also. It's getting cold so it makes good sense to do that now. It works great so it can go back on the road with confidence.

COME ON AND JOIN

I invite you to join the Blog. I am a BLUE COLLAR guy all the way. I build almost everything I need by hand. I'v got projects going all the time. I race a Formula Continental in the SCCA and thats what I'm welding on in the picture. I about to complete a series of jigs (I'll post pics) for a new product that will be avaiable on WWW. FASTDAD.NET Take the tour of the shop thats posted on the web site. You might say thats my office, it's where I create all of the ideas and actually build them. If you could. go to FASTDAD'S facebook page and do the like thing, that would be great!
Thanks for stopping
FASTDAD

Welding on the race car. Filling in about 280 rivet holes so I can install a new aluminum floor. The floor is a intregal part of the chassis for eliminating flex and adding stiffness. The aluminum is both riveted and bonded to the chassis tubes. A quality job is really important here! 

NEW IDEAS and YOUR INPUT

Ok, so I have some ideas I'd like to put out there to get some feed back. To start with I will post some photographs and hand drawn drawn pictures. These will be applied to T shirts like we have at FASTDAD.net at the store. What I would like to know is WHICH ONES YOU WOULD PREFER TO PURCHASE? Let me know on the web site or here on the blog. This will all start in the next several days. It takes alittle time to do the art work and set up good photos.

MAINTANENCE

One of the things people need to  do is change their timing belt. Many manufacturers recommend this service at around 100K miles. Some are sooner, some later. It's very important for alot of engines that may self destruct if the service is not done. If your concerned about the mileage look it up under the technicals informationan about your particular engine. Many times the timing belt will drive the water pump also so it's a good time to change that and your anti freeze. This particular engine is a 92 Honda Civic 1.5 16 valve engine. It is what called an interference engine which meeans if the belt is not changed the engine will self destruct if it's not changed in time. Many times it is a good point at which to combine services and save a few bucks by doing them now, like I did a valve adjustment and tune on this engine.

WINTER IS COMING!!!!!

Winter and cold weather is right around the corner! Be sure to get the usual items checked on your vehicle. Things like, battery condition; maybe go to your repair shop and get it cleaned up and a load check done, fresh oil in the engine always helps, maybe a draw test on the starter to see if it's drawing to many amps, spark plugs replaced per manufacture recommendations, anti freeze level,protection and condition, how about the fuel filter,ever change it? These are all things that will make life easier for you if they are in good condition. A few areas that you may not think about; that tire that goes down slowly will go down faster in the cold, maybe get it checked out before it goes flat in the cold. Aluminum wheels are known for getting corrosion build up between the rim and tire and actually lifting the tire off the sealing surface and letting air leak out slowly. The fix is cleaning off the corrosion. Check the air in the spare tire before it's needed. Performing a transmission flush can help the tranmission during the cold monthes. Safety items like your lights (it's dark along time now), wiper blades, and windsheild washers all can come into play during these cold monthes.     If you got any concerns drop a line I'll get back to you.

NEW WEB SITE

Hello all. Check out our new web site http://www.fastdad.net/. It's got alot of info and great pictures and videos. Then ask your car related question and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks FASTDAD

Ask a question

Hello all, ask me a question I'll do my best to answer it honestly and completely. I'm not connected to any parts people or repair sites, you are my customer. If you feel I have answered your question with honesty and integrity give a thought to a donation. It will help me as I'v helped you.
Thanks alot and have a great day. Thanks for checking out our web site!
   FASTDAD

Welcome to the Auto Help Blog. Ask Away Because Every Question Needs an Answer!

FASTDAD’s auto help blog will be very different from most. What most people want is a down to earth honest opinion of what is wrong, how to deal with their situation, or how to repair the problem. Some cars are worth fixing, others are not. Some people need to fix it because to replace it is not an option, others want to do repair or fix it just for the experience. Yet others just want to save a few bucks. The spectrum of people and circumstances is wide and varied; the need for honesty and good advice is not. It’s the honesty part that will make this so different. Honesty is very good for most situations, but can be brutal in others. So no matter what advice is given, it is given with the best consideration of the person doing the asking with what is known. FASTDAD is not a magician so don’t expect magic but it will be close.

FASTDAD’s qalifications for this blog;

30 plus years experience in the repair business.

FASTDAD built/rebuilt cars for his three daughters and son.

ASE Master Tech with Advanced Drivability.

So ask away. Every question needs an answer simply because the reason your asking is because you don’t know.

Now the rules of this blog;

No foul language

Please be patient, FASTDAD will answer as soon as he can, he does work all day repairing cars and trucks.

Be as specific as you can about your problem. Things like when it happens hot/cold or mornings only driving over bumps, driving after 20 min at  freeways speeds. The circumstances of when the problem arises is critical for a good answer!

FASTDAD may need more info from you about your vehicles problem to give you a better answer, so answer back as soon as you can.

If you can feel the advice was worth a donation FASTDAD really appreciates it very much (see the donation button at www.FASTDAD.net).  If you can’t that’s ok there is satisfaction in knowing it helped you out. After all we are all in this together.

It’s one PROUD AMERICAN blue collar tax payer helping out another.

Please visit our website at www.FASTDAD.net

Traditional Ratchets & Sockets

The traditional ratchets, sockets, air ratchet and extension.

Checking Air Conditioning Systems

Checking air conditioning systems for leaks needs a detector like this.

Electronic testing of sensors

Electronic testing of sensors and electrical systems needs quality meters like these.

Testing Fuel Pumps

In this case the scan tool is also is used to test fuel pumps.

High quality scan tool

A high quality scan tool with the latest software is essential for proper diagnostics.

FASTDAD uses fiber optics

FASTDAD also uses fiber optics to find those hard to see leaks, on engines, inside heater boxes, and mechanical condition inside engine cylinders.

New Website Coming Soon

Hello Blog Followers. Our new FASTDAD website is coming soon. Please stay tuned!