10.6.2026

Fuel injection system taking shape!

Wiring harness is going to be next - Jim took it outside and hosed it off to get it a bit cleaner...

Timing belt harness on!  The intake manifold is just sitting on top because the wiring harness goes underneath.  It's complicated so Jim will be taking that slow and steady!

High 58.4/Low 39 - freeze warning out for tonight!

 

10.5.2026

Jim was back to working on the block today - he put on the pulleys for the timing belt...

This is another one of those weird tools that sure come in handy every once in a while - Jim can use it to turn the pulley to get it lined up.

It's crucial that the cam shaft and timing belt are perfectly lined up - there are tiny dots and markings that have to match.  

A close up of a tiny dot matching with the belt...

The timing belt is all on - it winds around all the idler pulleys and the cam shaft and crank shaft gears...

Starting to put housing pieces on...

The intake manifold is on...

Fan mount attached...

This is how I'm sure Jim feels talking to me about this job.  I try and listen closely when he explains things, but by the time I walk up the stairs and later look at the pictures, I forget it all.

High 58.6/Low 46.9

10.4.2026

It was a short day yesterday - Jim had another Craigslist sale (and the person showed - yay!), had to do some grass cutting, and we had church, but he did a little engine work.  The block is turned over now so that Jim can work on the underside...

Today, I went out the garage door to take some things down to our recycling bin and a snake was lying underneath the man door and scooted inside!  Jim saved my life, of course, and got it back outside where it belongs...

Putting on the oil pan...

Timing belt shield on, plus Jim has to figure out where all the bolts go.  He was smart and took pictures as he was taking it apart and labeled bags of hardware, but still - seems impossible.

We decided to spray off the Minis after our trip...

Spraying off the blue Mini...

Showing the Suzuki some love too - this will continue to be my winter car, so we have to keep it going.

So shiny and beautiful!

As is Jim's!

Fall on Angel is just the best...

 

10.3 - High 65.2/Low 44.9
10.4 - High 63.7/Low 40.7

10.2.2026

 I had errands to do today (in the new car!) and when I got home, Jim had gotten the other cam shaft on...

The head looks SO nice - compare it with how it looked when Jim was taking it apart...

Valve covers are on!

High 70.6/Low 62.2

10.1.2026

 

This was one of those days that didn't go quite according to plan.  Yesterday afternoon when I went down to pick up some packages out of the drop box, I noticed that the UPS man had decided to turn his big truck around in our yard!  This is the second time in recent weeks that this has happened.  I spent way too long online and on the phone trying to lodge a complaint, to no avail.  I called again today and the agent said he would escalate the issue and I would receive a call back.  Not even an hour later, someone pulled up to the house.  Thankfully, Jim talked to him, but it was a UPS person from the local distribution center.  He said he would be talking to the driver and his supervisor - it was apparently a temp - and gave us his contact info.  But all that took a while.

Then Jim and I went for a drive around the block just to talk over some of the car features.  He didn't get to drive it besides a quick test drive at the dealer, so it was fun.  But as things would go, he also made a Craigslist sale today, so by the time we got home from the drive, he had to get ready to go meet this person.  Who never showed.  Jim waited well over 30 minutes before calling it quits and coming home.

By then, the day was practically over, but Jim wanted to do some work on the engine.  He got the other side of the water bypass pipe sealed and attached...

The other cylinder head is on!  So even with a discombobulated day, Jim got lots done!

High 67/Low 54.7

9.30.2026

We bought a new-to-us car - a 2024 Mini Clubman!  Jim has been searching for the right car for quite a while, as my Suzuki is 14 years old.  We wanted small and AWD, which is a really hard combination to find.  2024 is the last year of the Clubman's, which is the model we like.  Jim found the perfect car and I love it!  Because they stopped making manual transmissions in 2019, this is an automatic so there's a steep learning curve involved.  Neither Jim nor I have ever had a car with an automatic transmission!  

Now Jim and I have almost matching Minis!

Back in the shop, Jim continued working on putting together the block.  Attaching the oil pump...

Jim had to get very creative to find a new seat for the water bypass pipe.  This is the old seal...

The seal has to be heat resistant and Jim couldn't find a readymade replacement.  So he bought a block of this seal - it came in a 12" block which he had to cut in half twice to get it to the right thickness.  Trying it out...

He used some of the adhesive we used for attaching insulation to the cold-formed steel...

Attaching...

Installed! 

 

9.27 - High 61.6/Low 55.9
9.28 - High 57.7/Low 55.8
9.29 - High 58/Low 55.6
9.30 - High 62.8/Low 54.6

9.26.2026

Yesterday, Jim had a mid-day appointment with another doctor at the cornea specialist office.  She took the contact bandage off and said that the eye had healed from the surgery and there were no more open areas.  He no longer has to take the antibiotic eye drop and can start slowly weaning off the steroid drop.  They keep stressing that it takes about 6 weeks for total healing, so we're trying not to judge results yet and praying that it works!

We stopped at a Toyota dealership while we were down in the Albany area, but they didn't have the o-ring that Jim was looking for.  

It's a quiet, rainy day today.  Jim has been cleaning up bolts and getting ready for the next car job, as well as doing some normal maintenance on our other cars - tire pressure, fluid levels, etc.

We'll be getting ready for church before long!

9.25 - High 71.8/Low 47
9.26 - High 63.5/Low 55.5