Four years is a long time. Changed my major a couple times, failed a bunch of shit & got put on academic probation, came back, got accepted to CSULA for Film, started to do video work for Super Street & EuroTuner magazines now...a lot has changed. Learned a bit about life.
...funny enough, my little Golf never got rid of me. Sentimental value, I guess. Been through another 2.0 motor but she's been giving me clutch problems with this one, so I'm doing the logical step in diagnosing the clutch problem:
(buying a passat?!) nope, VR6 swap! Got the donor car, gonna overhaul the cooling system / transmission while they're outta the passat, and gonna slap that into my Golf in time for Wuste 2012! Should've done this project a long time ago, but hey, ya live and ya learn.
Depending on how much I make, I may/may not cam that VR6 before I put it in, but it'll be plenty quick in that light mk3 body.
hey phil, good to see you back on here and updating us!!! for some reason i always thought you had a jetta and not a golf (maybe it's the front end shots). good to hear about the vr6 swap and your film career. are you still into still photography too?? on a side note, in at least one way or another, you inspired me to ditch my droids for the iphone (now that it's on verizon). welcome back!!!
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
potownrob wrote:hey phil, good to see you back on here and updating us!!! for some reason i always thought you had a jetta and not a golf (maybe it's the front end shots). good to hear about the vr6 swap and your film career. are you still into still photography too?? on a side note, in at least one way or another, you inspired me to ditch my droids for the iphone (now that it's on verizon). welcome back!!!
Yeah, it's a jetta front end, the Golf's ass end isn't really inspiring so I don't take too many shots of it.
Still photography is always fun and something I'm gonna have the knack for; Film is simply still photography, 24 times a second But as far as professionally, no, it's something I'm not set up to do. I have a bunch of friends into still photography though and they're damn good at working with strobes and whatnot, always blows my mind when they're like setting up strobes and then they're like "check out how this'll come out" (snap) and the lighting looks ridiculously cool.
I put up a thread in the Photo/Video forum with a couple of my recent videos that got the magazine guys all excited, if ya wanted to check it out.
+1 on the iPhone switch! Nice! In this day and age Apple is positively killing it in the smartphone market. I feel like if all Android manufacturers could solidify and just make one good phone instead of 50 billion phones, all with uniquely good features, it'd give Apple a run for their money...but I mean the iPhone 4S is a compelling "whole package" when you don't pick apart the hardware & software's individual specs.
pmacutay wrote:+1 on the iPhone switch! Nice! In this day and age Apple is positively killing it in the smartphone market. I feel like if all Android manufacturers could solidify and just make one good phone instead of 50 billion phones, all with uniquely good features, it'd give Apple a run for their money...but I mean the iPhone 4S is a compelling "whole package" when you don't pick apart the hardware & software's individual specs.
First, unrelated to the quote, I envy being around all the cars and doing the photography. If you don't mind sharing, how do you do the editing (what program, Mac vs. PC, etc...) if you end up doing most of it?
Second, I have an iPhone, but the 4S is a bit of a waste. Going off of the whole package idea, the 4 was a better total package because the only major change for the 4S (at least for the consumer) is Siri, who might or might not work. There are very few things you can say and get the correct answer faster than it would take to type it in on the phone... I like the iPhone, but I am certainly open to looking at some droids next time I get one.
Finally, nice car.
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT '97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi
After being an iPhone Guy for 3 years I switched from a jailbroken iPhone 4 to an android device. I will not go back. Lack of 4g LTE was one reason. I love LTE speeds.
Yes, I do all of our editing and VFX. I mainly use Adobe Creative Suite: Premiere Pro & After Effects.
I'm also skilled in Final Cut Pro, i used to cut on it until the move to Premiere.
Numerous other little tools as well for motion tracking, external audio sync, etc. but that's mainly it. video DSLR's have opened up a whole new range of possibilities for cheap, it's crazy.
Squint wrote:
Second, I have an iPhone, but the 4S is a bit of a waste. Going off of the whole package idea, the 4 was a better total package because the only major change for the 4S (at least for the consumer) is Siri, who might or might not work. There are very few things you can say and get the correct answer faster than it would take to type it in on the phone... I like the iPhone, but I am certainly open to looking at some droids next time I get one.
The iPhone 4S isn't too much better overall, but to sum it up as Siri being the only difference isn't right. The 4S has a faster processor, much better camera, world phone capabilities (Verizon iPhone 4 didn't have this) and faster 3G speeds, amongst other improvements. If you have an iPhone 4, it might not be worth the upgrade, but that doesn't make it a bad phone and mobile device. The only improvements I really wish for are a bigger screen (would have to be at least 4.3 inches to make a difference, and that would probably make the phone substantially bigger), a physical back button, and the ability to have widgets or something similar to have quicker access to certain settings. The new android OS (ICS??) might have corrected the issues I had with all of my android phones where they froze up and force closed programs, but I'm taking a break from android for a while.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
A little anecdote regarding the VR6 Passat as a donor car:
When I was planning this whole project out, I had a lightweight flywheel + chip in mind, expecting the stock VR to rev as lethargically as my 2.0 when it was stock.
So I take it around the block for a test drive, just nice and easy. She fired up without hesitation: a good sign. I pull out of the lot into normal traffic, driving leisurely, shifting around 2000 rpm's. I noticed the VR6's baritone growl was a bit more pronounced than I expected; I'd later pop the hood and notice a CAI (in a Passat!), explaining the origin of the emphasized engine note. The suspension was in laughable condition; the rear struts blown, bouncing around like a lowrider.
The coolant & oil warm up to normal temp, and my friend and I find ourselves on a nice, empty backroad. I launch gently into 1st...and drop the hammer. The VR springs to life, full of energy, its characteristic rumble roaring out of that autozone CAI. The revs climbed through the powerband effortlessly. I'd read that power delivery in V6's feels smoother than 4-cyl's, and I'm happy to report that it is very true; it felt like a smooth surge of power rather than an explosion-powered box.
Stomp on the clutch, yank on the shifter and like nothing, I chirp into second gear. I let off the throttle, upshift to 3rd, and ease on the brake; I was running out of road. The VR almost sounded disappointed that I didn't wind her out again.
The turn comes up and I instinctively reach over with my heel, blipping the throttle as I double-clutched down into 2nd gear. The engine's response was perky; the revs matched perfectly as I let out the clutch. And that moment was when I knew this engine and I were going to get along just fine. My worries about throttle response and flywheel evaporated.
...Just to make sure I wasn't dreaming, I immediately pulled off another DCHT, this time into 1st gear. It worked fine, hell, it worked even better than it did in my car! Friction points were nearly the same on both cars, the hydro clutch was a bit more forgiving than my Golf's cable clutch, and the transmission's syncros were surely in better condition than my Golf's 220,000 mile old ones.
—
On the freeway back home, I caught the eye of some girl in the passenger seat of an EG Civic. Unfortunately for me, I was in a maroon Passat with three door handles missing, two windows stuck open and rear suspension bouncing like a boat on rough waters. The guy driving that Civic looked over as well and had a laugh. We both had open space in front of us.
So I dropped it into third, blipped for a rev-match, and let all six cylinders run free. The guy did a double-take, and I heard his Civic's fart can spring to life as he tried to catch up. I narrowed my eyes and thought, this is it! let's see what you can do! I heard the civic hit VTEC amidst my VR6's roar, and frantically looked in my rear view mirror, expecting the Civic to suddenly catch up and overtake my janky-ass Passat.
But my worries were all for nothing, as the Civic continued to become smaller in my rear-view. I hit the limiter at around 85 mph and dropped it into 4th, but didn't need to; the Si was clearly behind me. I smiled. I laughed. It wasn't a smart idea, it probably wasn't even a fair race, but I didn't care. The Civic guy was staring at the tail lights of a station wagon that he couldn't catch up to. I got my first kill with this engine and it was only going to get better: the Golf weighed 500 lbs lighter than the Passat, so this engine in my car is going to be pretty damn fun.
I heard the whine of a blower and saw a flash in my rear view mirrors: my buddy in his supercharged AWD 3-series BMW flew up next to me. I looked over at him and he was laughing, giving me a thumbs up; I'm guessing he saw the whole thing go down.
I can't wait. UPS cannot possibly ship the parts I'm waiting for any faster.
Damn you Phil. Bringing the VR6 back on my radar. My high school years were spent as a passenger in my buddies Sequoia Green VR6 GTI. I loved that car. He had a Magnaflow and it was lovely to hear it. We once played with a 911 Carerra RS (Yes, the 70's one!) on the highway. That GTI could get any nice car to play with it on the highway.
VR6 cluster came in the mail! Test fitted it in the Golf and left it in because it looks too sexy. Tach signal reads wrong, though (expecting 6 cylinders, not 4), but everything else works.
Showing my affection for the donor car and the headache of a registration process she's been giving me.
But she's got a heart of gold. The engine cleaned up half-decently, at least. Gonna polish those manifold runners before it goes back into the Golf.
I love the "DOHC" badge, it's like a relic from an era where the number of camshafts your engine had was a bragging right.
pmacutay wrote:Showing my affection for the donor car and the headache of a registration process she's been giving me.
Why did you have to register it? Does your state not allow you a week to register a newly purchased car, during which time you can drive it using your old car's plates as long as you carry the bill of sale?
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT
Put your car in your sig!
Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
But as far as professionally, no, it's something I'm not set up to do. I have a bunch of friends into still photography though and they're damn good at working with strobes and whatnot, always blows my mind when they're like setting up strobes and then they're like "check out how this'll come out" (snap) and the lighting looks ridiculously cool.
