Scaxx

Thanks! Yeah I probably over studied haha, definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be, still happy I passed though! I'm an ME as well.

Scaxx

My girlfriend and I may go for a weekend trip down to Oregon this summer so I'll let you know if we do. Automotive stuff is pretty sparse between our two states, Idaho too (not sure I'd ever move to ID though), I'll probably just end up somewhere that can fund my addiction lol

aidandj

iTrader: (5)

Thats what I went for. I feel like if I did automotive all day, I would get sick of it in the evenings. So I play with oscilloscopes during the day, and cars at night.

zellers88

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on passing the FE man. I took it right after it changed over to a full computer test and from the sound of it it's a little easier now. If you are wanting to get a PE I'd check and see what each state's requirements are as they vary quite a bit.

Definitely agree with this, I chose making paper then making steel instead. Automotive also preys on the passionate ones and works them to death. I remember listening to a presentation from recent grads at Chrysler and they said something along the lines of "Would you rather spend 40 hours a week doing something you hate or 80 doing something you love?" (Yet they're demeanor didn't reflect the "love" part very well).

RalliartRsX

Agree with all of this. Not only does anything automotive work you to the bone, the pay itself is not all that great and I would tire of cars quickly.

I have my Masters in Aerospace Engineering and design/test biometric scanners and currently a lead engineer, so in the PM role so more $$$ to support my habit. I definitely do not hate my job and flexibility is paramount for my work/life balance.

Scaxx

Pretty sure they've definitely made the FE easier than it used to be, although I hear in July they're making it harder again. Looks like I took it at a perfect time lol.

I really appreciate everyone's input on the automotive industry, that's really good to know and you guys are probably right. That's not the first time I've heard something along those lines. Probably best to just find a job I don't completely despise and just fund my cars with it. Definitely opens up more possibilities for where to work, that's for sure. I'll keep that in mind as I start ramping up the job search. Although Paccar may still be an option, our school went up there this year and it sounded like a very large company environment(probably because it's a very large company lol), all the engineers said they work 40-45 hours a week and pay for starting engineers is around 60, pretty standard. We shall see, at this point I just want a nice steady income haha

Padlock

Congrats on the FE. i took the lazy route out and never went for it. 2 years into the full time career path I've chosen and given my current situation it looks like that plan worked out great as I don't need to be professionally licensed for anything that I am doing, nor does it really gain you anything even if i was. That said, not a bad plan to do it.

I also agree on not ruining your hobby by necessarily working directly for an automotive manufacturer as the general feedback from friends whom do work at those places do state you get run into the ground a bit. I do however work for a Tier 1 automotive supplier, which is a bit different. We make heat exchangers for a fair chunk of the automotive and construction market both on and off road. It's pretty neat stuff that I can apply the learned knowledge to my hobby which is great. I get the benefit of working in conjunction with with OEM's on new designs without being run into the ground like they do. I put in my 40-45 hr weeks and spend my free time afterwords wrenching on my own projects. I have no complaints.

Scaxx

First actual ls3 related stuff in a while. Got some springs in the mail today! Also got a pushrod checker, pushrod should be 7.4" but it can't hurt to be sure and it was pretty cheap. Dual valve springs, .660 lift, Ti retainers, nothing crazy fancy about them, pretty standard as far as upgraded springs go but they're pretty nice.

Scaxx

Working on the blue car mostly this weekend. Trying to get the exhaust done or almost done. Front half is mocked up, just needs a few more welds. Helped my girlfriend move into her new place (and away from her batshit crazy roommate) yesterday. Her cat (5th gen bengal) decided my pizza box on my lap was a good place to curl up. Brad's been making some noises so I decided to check it out this weekend, passenger tie rod is on its way out and passenger ball joint is somewhat shot. Been putting off maintenance on that car for too long, probably gonna do a big batch of maintenance once I get out of school, car deserves it for running like a champ with 300k on everything but the engine/trans. Other than that some of the supplies for the water/meth system we're building for school came, so I'm gonna get started on that project soon.

Racewars was this weekend, my buddy ran a bit yesterday, the friend he had a $500 bet with didn't show up, not really sure what happened. His car was looking good before it left, he put on a set of 285 mickey thompsons and it solved most his traction issues. Still spins some in first but hooks pretty good after that. Not miata related, but turbo related pics haha

Scaxx

Got the blue car's exhaust mostly done on sunday and finished hanging it yesterday. Grinder finally fought back after all these years and bit my hand. Not too bad as far as grinder cuts go though, only about half an inch long, yay for not needing stitches. Exhaust came out nice, the tip is a few degrees off from the bumper which I didn't notice until I had made the final welds so I just have to deal with it, but it sounds nice. Nice and quiet at idle, but obviously not stock, a little more of a purr. Still decently quiet when revved, but has a little more bite. Overall it should make for a nice street car exhaust and the cat should keep it from being too stinky.

I made it two pieces so that mainenance is easier, it breaks right after the diff, that way if anything is needed to be done you can just slide the middle section out and work on the car. I think it's kind of a nice feature.

As for progress on the LS, my buddy at the machine shop texted me a picture of them working on the engine yesterday. He's been out for a while since he sliced his fingertip off, so it's good to have my inside man again haha. Also may cancel my cam order with Lg Motorsports unless they figure their **** out. I ordered the cam 2 weeks ago. Last week on wednesday I emailed them and they didn't get back to me. So I emailed them, but at a different email address the next day to see if maybe things didn't go through. The emailed me friday saying they would look into why it hadn't shipped and get back to me by the end of the day. Monday rolls around and still nothing so I emailed them again yesterday asking what was going on. So far nothing. Gonna give them one last chance and call them in a little bit but so far I'm pretty unimpressed.

Mid Pipe



Muffler ( I cut off the massive exit length after this pic, it stuck out about a foot behind the car before this. JDM Yo!)



From the side



From the back, kinda crooked which annoys me

Scaxx

Well after sitting on hold for 15 minutes I canceled my order from LG and ordered a strikingly similar OTS cam from Tezas Speed and Performance. LG hides their specs but at some point someone found it to be 235/244 .647/.612 and 111LSA 107 ICL, TSP's new cam is 235/248 .649/.615 and 111LSA 109.5 ICL. I called TSP and they said they could have it shipped out tomorrow, so it should arrive sometime mid-week next week. Oh it's also $200 cheaper, so yeah, I'm happier with this decision.

Scaxx

Three posts in a day, I think that's a new record. I just went to the machine shop to drop off my nasty *** oil pan/pick up tube so they could clean them up. Trying not to get my hopes up but it sounds like the engine's gonna be done within the week. I also ordered pushrods because they should be the same length and if they are then I'll have the right ones, if not I have that length checker I bought. Also ordered new lifters.

Really trying hard not to get my hopes up but it's easier said than done. I just want to drive my car again.

Scaxx

Trying not to rage quit on life right now. Engine will be done Friday, cam is getting here friday and I'm dropping it off at the machine shop to check clearances and degree it in the morning. Lifters get here Monday FUUUUUUUCK

So engine goes back together monday afternoon, car goes back together that night/tuesday morning. Car gets driven tuesday. My body is ready.

Scaxx

**** UPS

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Indeed. No cam?

Scaxx

Yup, the decided to leave the package in Portland Instead they delivered a package that I really didn't need early and was supposed to get here Monday. Pretty frustrating because I'm still planning on having the car running Tuesday which means Monday night is gonna be a long one. Already told my groups at school that I'm not showing up tuesday. Tuesday is supposed to be not wet so that's my chance to drive the car. Knowing my luck I'll need different length pushrods than what I ordered or something. Hopefully my luck turns around, my build has been 6 pages of build and fun and 2 pages of depression

Scaxx

UPS, why you hate me so much?!?! Get this, my lifters that are coming tomorrow are not only "signature required" but "adult signature required", someone 21 and over has to sign for it and it won't let me waive the signature (I am over 21 btw lol). So I have to skip school to be there to sign for it. Gonna call them to see if they can fix it but seriously, wtf, if I have to skip school I will but why is this needed, it's just some ******* lifters, they're not even that expensive, they're like $200.

Anyway, yesterday I decided to tackle the wiring mess that was the blue car. The previous owner worked at some sort of stereo shop or some **** and decided he needed to install all their products on the car. It's got power locks, power windows, power antenna, power trunk lock, remote start. All sorts of useless (at least in my eyes) bullshit. I was originally gonna leave it until I saw the wiring.



Yeah, how about **** no. That **** was bound to fail. Dude used all the butt connectors in his shop to put the wiring together and didn't even use the right size butt connectors for most of them. If you're gonna use butt connectors at least get the nice ones and in different sizes. He would use a large butt connector and attach both wires to one side instead of one on each side like they're supposed to work, I mean in works but it's a ******* hack job.

So I tore it out. I tore every wire he touched out and put the car back to the way it was from the factory. It didn't start at first but 30 seconds with the wiring diagram and it started right back up. Need to make sure all the other car's functions still work correctly but they should. Not really going for weight reduction in this car since it's for my parents and they don't care/it's a streetcar only, but I took some decent weight as well as possibility of failure out of the car. If you wanna see the level of wiring this guy did, look at the lower right hand corner, three butt connectors in a 6" strip....nice.

Scaxx

Did some small stuff on Audrey yesterday. Went and picked up a battery yesterday, that was an interesting conversation. When they ask what car sometimes I guess I say a corvette a little too hesitantly sometimes cause it feels weird to say I own a newer corvette. Anyway the dude kinda looked at me weird and asked, "You don't know if you drive a corvette or not?" So I told him it was a basically a miata with a corvette engine in it since usually, people get that idea. Not this guy though, he asked if the manufacturer accidently installed the wrong engine. At first I thought he was kidding but he wasn't....I wish Mazda would "accidently" put an ls3 in a miata once in a while. Got a big heavy battery, I just don't have the money for a lightweight battery right now and it's gonna be seeing some street time this summer so I figure when it moves towards less street time I can move to a smaller lighter battery.

Also got some heavier duty double sided tape for my shift light. I know it sounds kinda silly but it annoyed me that it moved around a tiny bit while the car was running so I changed it. Anyway, it's nice and steady now. Also sealed the MAF hole on the side of the intake. Just annoyed me there was a hole there. Oh and I put the dead pedal back in the car. Like I said, did some small stuff yesterday, mostly worked on the blue car to get the dash back together and make sure all the lights work.

I also found my license plate so I need to go get tabs and call the insurance company. A bit of running around today before the engine comes home.

Scaxx

I suppose I should have given up hope a while ago. Waited for the ups guy to bring my lifters/pushrods, got those, went and picked up the cam, brought it to the machine shop "it probably won't be done today" $5 says the pushrods are the wrong length and I have to buy new ones/send back the other ones, that's just my luck lol. Gonna go out to the garage and try to get some stuff done at least, make a mount for the battery or something.

Anyway, cam, pushrods, forgot to take a picture of the lifters. They're lifters though, you get the idea.

aidandj

iTrader: (5)

Join the party. I'm at about 4 months of engine at machine shop.