Miata Time: The Sequel

The last time we had a Miata in the garage, it was our 1996 project that we more or less raised from the dead. I wrote a ton of posts about our progress on it and, ultimately, we sold it back to the person we got it from for what we put into it. Ever …

HF on the Road Part 3: Prius Install

Since I completed the install of my Xiegu G1M Hf radio in our Chrysler Pacifica, I've had an absolute blast playing radio on the move. It makes my commute to work way more fun and I get to know the bands that much better. Since our minivan is the road trip car I focused on …

HF on the Road Part 2: Grounds, Bonding, & Ferrite

Grounding/Bonding The second, and arguably most important, step in my HF mobile install is proper grounding. Since this 20m whip antenna is an unbalanced antenna, it needs a great ground to ensure efficient operation. There are a few videos out there on this, but there is a fantastic blog this is considered the gold standard. …

HF on the Road Part 1: My First Mobile Install

While I still figure out the best way to install HF antenna(s) at the house, I decided to try my hand at getting one of our vehicles setup for mobile HF operations. Our 2012 Prius is mainly a commuter and not for road trips like our 2018 Chrysler Pacifica, so we decided the van would …

Wrangler Chapter 3: Fixing the Shifting

The biggest, most concerning problem our Jeep has had since we bought it in March is transmission-related. Once the vehicle heats up a little, it gets extremely hard to shift, especially first and reverse. I talked about this problem more in depth in a previous post, but to summarize it feels like either the clutch …

Wrangler Chapter 2: Time to Fix the AC

If there is anything that is absolutely required for a vehicle in Texas, especially during the summers here, it's a working AC system. Unfortunately our Wrangler, at least as bought, was not so lucky. The fan would turn on but just blow 85-90 degree air out of the vents faster. That needs to change, especially …

Wrenching On The Wrangler

We bought a Jeep! Trail Jeep? Grocery Jeep? Fun Jeep? Yes, yes, and yes. Not the first kind of Jeep you might think of for a young family, though. 4 doors? If you count the hood and the tailgate.Automatic transmission, right? Erm, after a while it's muscle memory. So.....kinda?6 cylinders of raw MOPAR power? Ha. …

Fixing This F-150’s Godawful Knock Pt2: Humble Pie Edition

There are only a small handful of topics in life where I'm reasonably confident in my abilities and knowledge, and one of them is automotive. Whether it's the mechanical bits, performance terminology, or just about anything else short of actual track time, I feel like I generally know my way around. I guess after a …

Fixing This F-150’s Godawful Knock Pt 1

My wife's grandpa is a farrier and is hard on his trucks. He's puts serious mileage and serious load on his vehicles, to include the occasional horse trailer. He recently bought a new F-250 but has kept his 2004 F-150 around to keep miles and wear off his newer vehicles if he doesn't need a …

Malibu Makeover: Part 2

This is the final installment in the exciting Malibu saga, truly a story for the ages. We finish up the last few things on our to-do list, post the car for sale, sell it, and figure out how much we made for working on this car for a few weeks and occasionally giving our brain …