I had it all figured out. Pull the engine Friday night. Tap the pan, hook up all the turbo stuff, new clutch, and drop it back in Saturday night. Finish detail stuff Sunday and I'd be boosting. Weekend project...

Friday I got everything unhooked, but didn't get the motor out. Saturday I get the motor out, tap the pan, install some oil feed stuff, cut up the car for IC pipes, and several other things. Sunday I get the pan back on, oil drain made that might fit, and various other things. But it's STILL not quite ready to go back in. And I seriously thought I could do this in a weekend. Yet I oviously have a few more days work to do judging from how long it's taken to get this far.

No matter how much I believe I can do something in a given time frame, it always takes 3 times longer.

Am I the only one that fails at working efficiently?

 

I checked out the other threads dude, lookin good!

I hope you get going again sooner than I have been ******* with things. I started with a brake job last spring and have been off the road since.

Vash-

 

everything always takes atleast 1.5 times as long as i predict. its a pain in the *** when im working in a friends garage up at school

 

I had 1/2 the pieces to my FM IC tubing. I just had to make the ones that were bent up from the wreck. i thought I would be done n 1hr.

I finally was done 3hrs later. Nothing came together fast, I had to trial and error everything.
If I would of had hold help, it would of cut the time in 1/2.

The turbo and pan tap went quick though.

 

I thought my car would be on the track in August, 2007. It looks like the magic won't happen until January 2009.

 

sounds like me. Last time i tracked the car was Aug 2006.

 

i've stopped estimating project times. I just make sure I have another car to use for a long time while I wrench.

 

The worst was paying for a weekend at the track, 1-year in advance, and instructing the whole time instead of driving. Wags was awesome enough to let me drive his (123whp) car in the "intermediate-1" session, where the only car I didn't pass twice in 8-laps was a turbo car that I could only pass once.

 

This is why I bought the Miata.

Modifying my daily driver WRX was just too stressful. Always worrying about having it back together in time to drive it to work.

The Miata satisfies my urge to wrench on things nad I can leave the damned thing on jackstands for months at a time and it doesn't impact my ability to get around.

 

I thought I would have my fairlane running this summer. I bought it in the summer of 07'. The engine is built and sitting in the garage, trans has the shift kit in it and its waiting in the basement. I decided to work on the brake system with everything out of the way; run new lines, add a vacuum booster, new master cylinder, convert to disc brake, etc. Now its too cold out and thats not even finished.

 

I too take too darn long to get wrenching projects done. Except my downpipe, I got that done quickly in comparison to some projects.
The headgasket swap on that dodge neon that was supposed to be done in one weekend was stretched out over a 3 week period just because of machine work, lack of parts, finding cheap parts, and bad weather disallowing me to work on it.

 

one step closer to running....just need a warm day to install.

 

"Everything Takes Longer Than Expected"

Used to have a wife that told me that; the girlfriend complained of the opposite.

 

No. It's even worse for me because I work in a shop. Fortunately I'm not flat rate and my boss appreciates a job well done vs a job done quickly.

 

ding, we have a winnar! i have always had a second car for so long now that i dont know why anyone would mod their only car anymore.

 

 

Welcome to being a gearhead, Pat.

 

I'm the slowest **** here when it comes to wrenching.

 

I've only had one project go according to plan, and I was motivated by a dyno day I had pre-paid for.

-Drove back from school Tuesday night
-Blew tranny Wednesday night
-picked the car up Thursday from where I had blown it up
-disconnected everything , car on jackstands by Thursday evening
-rented a cherry picker 8am Friday, and had the motor out by noon Friday.
-Sourced a temp sensor and a motor mount Friday, changed tranny, started motor install 7pm Friday
-Finished motor install 1am Saturday, slept for 10 hours
-Got up Saturday at noon, wrenched all day, tested car at 9pm that night, plugged the alternator in :gay:
-Got up at 6am Sunday, made 219whp/201tq at 14psi peak dropping to 11psi, drove home, packed car, drove back to school.

Thank god I blew it up over Thanksgiving break, I would have been up **** creek if it had grenaded in SLO last year.

The only projects that I can do quickly are the ones I've done before (for instance, brakes). Two friends and I (all with turbo experience) did manage to mock up an intercooler and install a BEGi-S kit, IC, and injectors in 8 hours once.

edit: My night of living hell was a transmission swap between two cars (5-speed and 6-speed swap). I started at 3pm and wrenched until 7am the next morning. I also spent 12am-3am dicking with my clutch, which refused to disengage.

 

Nope, that is the norm. To those who say they can install a turbo in a weekend, I have but three things to say

I firmly believe it is at least a month to get the car running good and a season to get it running perfect.