April 2015 Newsletter

March 2015 was a hard month for me. I actually reached a point where I had to walk away from ETCG work for a week. I believe this condition is commonly called, “Burnout”. Although it is better to ‘burn out than fade away’, I feel I still have a lot to accomplish with EricTheCarGuy before I call it quits. I’m glad I took the week off however. Spending time with my grandson, my oldest son, and of course, my dad as you may have seen in one of the latest ETCG1 videos, was just what I needed. It helped me gain a little perspective, get some much needed rest, and gave me time to think about how to move forward and avoid that situation again in the future. Now, it’s time to get back to work.

The First Fairmont Modification Video To Be Shot in April!

This morning I ordered subframe connectors for the Fairmont. One of my primary concerns with the Fairmont has always been structural integrity. Fox bodies are known for being weak in this area, and this is something I can address before I begin the other modifications. I’ve also toyed around with the idea of a roll cage. Yes, this would be something of a ‘give away’ to my stealthy approach, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. If at any point I lose control at speed, I’d much rather have a roll cage around me than not, especially in a fox body. The roll cage would also provide excellent support for the chassis and suspension. Before I go there, I’m going to see what the subframe connectors can do for me. I can always go back and add the roll cage after. Once the frame connectors show up, I’ll be making a video on their installation. This video will be the first in the series of modification videos for this project. To say I’m excited would be an understatement.

EricTheCarGuy Teaming Up With Monroe

I am planning on presenting some informational videos in April. Specifically, I’ve teamed up with Monroe to do a short series of videos on the importance of maintaining the suspension on your vehicle. I’m also going to do at least one video on the replacement of shocks and struts using their products. I’m looking forward to working with them as I’ve used their products in the past with great success. In fact, I’ve also recommended the use of their Quick Struts to those that don’t have access to a spring compressor when replacing struts. Look for these videos starting sometime in April.

Cabin Filter Videos

I’m still waiting on final approval for the cabin air filter videos. Once I have that, I have 15 videos for you. I actually wanted to release those during the week I took off last month, but without final approval, I had to hold off. When these videos are released, I plan to put them out all at once. I don’t see any point in doling them out one at a time. They’re all short videos anyway, and to be honest, a little repetitive, but they do contain great information on cabin air filter replacements for the vehicles covered. Hopefully we’ll see those in the coming weeks. Thanks to Filtrac filters for the opportunity to produce these videos for them.

Shop Truck News

I still haven’t moved forward with a shop truck yet as you may have seen in the latest ETCG1 video. Right now, I’m still thinking of picking up a second hand truck for around $2K. I’m not in a rush, but it may come in handy in the next month or so. I’ll just have to wait and see how things turn out over the next few weeks. Once I get the truck, I plan to be on the look out for a car trailer to use with it next. Boys and their toys, I know.

Introducing Fixing it Forward

Tomorrow you’re going to get a video (Premium Members get it today), announcing a new initiative at EricTheCarGuy, Fixing it Forward. As you’ll see in the video, this is a concept that I’ve been thinking about for the past 3 years. It started out as a television show pitch that never materialized. To be honest, I’m happy it didn’t work out as a TV show. This will give me time to grow and develop the concept on my web show. It also gets me helping people sooner.

What is Fixing it Forward? Simply, it’s a way for me to help those that aren’t able to afford, or do their own vehicle repairs. The idea is to take in vehicles owned by these individuals and do the repairs for as close to $0 as possible. I may also purchase vehicles and fix them up to donate to these individuals instead of fixing up their vehicles. Let’s face it, sometimes things aren’t worth saving and it’s better to move on.

This makes it so that I have a larger pool of vehicles to make repair videos with. It’s also an opportunity for potential sponsors to donate to a good cause while featuring their products on my show. Most importantly, it’s an opportunity for those that can’t afford auto repair to get their vehicles repaired and get back on the road. I’m very excited about this new initiative and I’m looking forward to what comes of it. If you’re reading this now, I’ll let you in on a little secret, this is only the first phase of this concept. I plan on adding something even cooler to it in the future. Stay tuned for that.

Fixing it Forward videos will be structured a little differently than my previous videos. I’m hoping to focus more on the actual repairs as I would if I were working in a shop as a technician. What I mean by this, is that rather than doing a video like, “Strut Replacement in a 1998 Chrysler Town and Country”, it will be structured more like episodes of the repairs to the vehicle as a whole. These videos will be more episodic, similar to my engine replacement videos, Part 1, Part 2, etc.. I still plan on adding as much educational information as I can, but my focus will be more on getting the work done, and the story of the repairs, over making targeted step by step repair videos.

The first video in this series is scheduled to air Friday April 3.

Website Update News

Well, the website was going to launch in early April, but that has been put on a slight hold for now. The reason, the company that hosts our streaming content on the website is changing over to a new format and, as a result, we won’t be able to use them anymore. So, instead of working on the website, we needed to find a new provider and move the 95 videos I have hosted with them to this new platform. I now have the new platform set up, I just need to finalize the process and begin uploading. Once that’s complete, we’ll refocus on getting the site updates completed and then launch.

Oops, Last Minute Tool Review Video Switch

On March 24 I got a phone call from the people at BendPak asking that I make a few changes to the review I had done on the Ranger BL-5000 lift they had sent me. Given that the video was suppose to go live the next day, I had no choice but to pull the video to make the corrections. Luckily, I had just shot a review on Q-Bond that day and was able to edit and upload it before my Wednesday morning deadline. Some Premium Members got the chance to see the original video before it was pulled. They’ll be able to spot some of the changes I made to conform with BendPak’s requests. BendPak’s main concern with the video was safety. I wholeheartedly agree with their decision to update the video. I plan on reshooting part of it in the next  couple of weeks and it should be ready as your first tool review in April. You’ll want to watch this one because there’s a special surprise at the end.

Premium Member News

Between the video hosting setback, and the week I took off in March, the Premium Member videos came a little late in March 2015. I apologize for this, but better late than never as they say. These videos consisted of the full version of the “Integra Suspension Rebuild” and also the “JDM Headlight Installation” on the same vehicle. I hope to get the exclusive videos out a bit earlier in April. Premium Members get at least 2 exclusive videos per month in addition to early releases of all of my videos and discounts on VManuals. Memberships are $1.99 per month and $9.99 per year. To get more info and sign up, click here.

In Closing

That wraps up another newsletter. I’m excited about what April 2015 has in store, especially starting work on the Fairmont. I’m also excited about Fixing it Forward and the opportunities that will provide for new and interesting videos. Let me put it this way, if you were in the camp of “Eric needs to get back to doing repair videos”, you’re in luck. With all the latest happenings, I’ll have plenty of vehicles and repair projects to make videos with. To be honest, having the new BendPak 2 post lift has a lot do with with this. It really does make repairs, and shooting repair videos, so much easier. I can’t wait to go to work these days because of it. That said, let’s close this one out.

As always thank you for your continued support. If you’ve read this far, I know you’re a real supporter and I appreciate you very much. I know darn well I wouldn’t have the success I’ve had with ETCG without you. I hope you see that my success is also yours. It’s my intention not only to keep moving forward and making more and better videos, but to also share that success with you, the viewers. Without you, there really isn’t much point. Thanks for being awesome.

Be safe

Have Fun

Stay Dirty

ETCG

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