While my Big Sis was over for a visit she had the this idea of checking out the crane migration pitstops. It turns out this place was only a few miles down the freeway from our house and I have never heard of it let been there. It was a cool time as I setup Beater II with a table and chairs. We stopped at the local subway shop and nabbed a few samiches and drinks. We had our little dinner before the crane arrival.
After a owning my Porsche Beater Boxster 986 for a few weeks I learned that there was a “cabin” filter. I had no idea this filter existed but the suggestion throughout the internet said scheduled replacing and/or cleaning was important. I decided to take a look at the filter and sure as shit it was dirty. The next step was to check out the climate fan and making sure there was no debris or obstacles hitting the fan or impeding circulation. The photos below shows both components in my car.
I took Beater II in for the smog test and the damn truck failed! I had one of the 02 sensors replaced which allowed me to continue with the smog test but it still failed visual! As it turns out any aftermarket cold air intake must have a smog sticker in place. Beater II air intake was a K&N model that must have been installed after a smog test.
I was lucky the local auto-dismantler by my work place had an original stock setup including the filter housing for $100 bucks. This didn’t include the mass air flow sensor shown below. I used my old one.
Ever since I got myPorsche Beater Boxster I had no climate control. The original owner must have tried to fix it since so many pieces were broken and fuses related to the climate controller were missing. I bought a used controller I found on craigslist and took it apart. It turns out I two types of controllers and just swapping them caused my fuse to blow. Sounds familiar? The next step was to see what circuit board was causing the fuse to blow. Even I would have a blown fuse the climate controller still had power as the front panel remained illuminated. I traced back the blown fuse to the instrument cluster, this caused a major problem since all the engine vitals rely on the reading the gauges and monitors.
After troubleshooting for awhile I decided to swap out the main circuit boards. Once I had everything back together I did a test “turn on”. No blown fuses and both the instrument cluster and climate controller were working properly. I re-installed all the parts and finished installing all the console units. Not bad for a cheap fix, soldering iron and a few hours.
This is the climate controller before my repair. Not only was the display faulty the controller portion did not adjust hot or cold temperature values and fan speed.
This the after the repair photo. Also notice the placement of the radio and climate controller. I placed the controller at the highest DIN and radio directly under it. I took out the useless cupholders and purchased a cubby storage container you see at the bottom. The CD disc holder should be replaced with something more useful as I no longer use the built in CD player since I have an iPhone AUX adapter installed.
I ordered a set of blacked out fog lights for the BMW 330ci. Very simple install, remove a plastic bezel and unscrew a couple of threaded screws and install the new set. Took me about 1/2 hour to complete both sides. No issues or surprises.
Well it was bound to happen. I’ve been checking and lurking around the drone scene for quite a while. I have zero needs for one other than it is a scratch that needs to be itched.
A closer look at my new gizmo..
We now have another truck to haul around crap and lug stuff around. The name Beater II comes from us owning the same GMC Sierra model except 10 years newer. This Beater II needs a few things to get it working properly but nothing to that won’t allow us to use it right away.
Back view of our BMW 330ci. This car has been kept in immaculate condition throughout the years. Barely any signs of use and no sun damage (great for a convertible).
On the Porsche. Wifey have a blast going out for night rides in the Porsche.
We bought a new convertible for Mami today. I’ve been looking around for months for a BMW convertible that Mami would really enjoy owning. After back and forth negotiations with the seller we setup a day to check out the car and purchase if it was a go.
To make a long story short Lorraine fell in love with the car as soon as she saw it. Sold!
