August 2015 Newsletter

29 Jul

July 27, 2015

The new and improved ETCG newsletters are trimmed down so you can pick and choose the topics of interest. Just click on the topic or image that interests you, and you will be whisked away to a far away land, also known as the EricTheCarGuy.com blog page, where you can view that portion of the newsletter. Or you can click here to view the newsletter in it’s entirety. Either way, thanks for reading.

2015 ETCG ‘Meet Up’ a Complete Success

Before I get into the details of the event, I’d first like to thank all of you that made the trip. Some of you traveled from as far away as Montreal, Canada. Others in 3 wheeled vehicles all the way from Utah. It doesn’t matter if you came from down the street, or another country, I want to thank you all for coming and making this years ‘Meet Up’ one of the best ever.

It’s not often in life that things come together just the way you plan, but I came pretty close with this years ‘Meet Up’. This was the 4th annual and I think I’m getting the hang of it. The ‘Meet Up’ began by suggestion from someone who posted about having an event where people would come and hang out at my shop. I wish I could remember who posted that. If you are that person, please email me so I can give you credit in the future. Since that first event, things have gotten bigger every year, which makes it one of the best viewer suggestions ever.

We had some special guests this year. ScannerDanner aka Paul Danner, HumbleMechanic aka Charles Sanville, Jeff Whisenand inventor of the PowerProbe, and last but not least, my dad. They had a great time at the event and enjoyed meeting all of you. Jeff Whisenand even did some demos with the PowerProbe for us. It made the event educational as well as social.

In all, it was the best event ever, and attendance topped out somewhere just north of 150. That’s about twice what we had last year. This creates something of a problem for next years event. If attendance doubles again, I’m not sure we can accommodate a crowd of that size at the shop. I’ve got some time to think on it, but it’s very probable that I’ll have to do something different next year.

Before we get to next year and I close out this part of the newsletter, I’d like to thank the sponsors of this years event. They provided some amazing give aways including the BL-5000 car lift from Ranger. I’m really glad the winner, Kelly Brown, had a pick up truck.

Thank you sponsors!

Zep: http://www.zepautomotive.com

Sylvania: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/Pages/default.aspx

Power Probe: http://www.powerprobe.com

Powerbuilt/AllTrade Tools: http://www.alltradeasia.com

Grip Tools: http://gripontools.net

Avak: http://www.avaktools.com

J&B Tool Sales: http://www.jbtoolsales.com

Identifix: https://www.identifix.com

Motorfiend: http://www.motorfiend.com

BendPak: http://www.bendpak.com

Ranger: http://www.bendpak.com/Shop-Equipment/

Skyleap: http://www.skyleapllc.com

Lastly, I’d like to thank all of those that donated to Paul Cox’s family at the ‘Meet Up’. We collected $311 for his 2 daughters Jasmine and Shylah. I gave the money to them last week and they asked me to extend their thanks to everyone that donated. ETCG fans are awesome. Thank you!

Special Thanks To My Brother Mark

When my dad came down for this years ‘Meet Up’, he brought with him this sign my brother Mark had made. I freaking LOVE IT. I’m glad it showed up in time for the ‘Meet Up’ so that everyone could see it. In fact, Charles Sanville aka Humble mechanic threatened to steal it. Glad he didn’t.

New ETCG Swag!

Last month I updated all of the swag in the ETCG shop. It now contains new logos and some new products. I gave away the first of these at this years ‘Meet Up’. Stop in and check it out.

New Shop Equipment!

Yes, I’ve been keeping it under wraps, but last month I got some new equipment for the shop. I was barely able to get it set up before the ‘Meet Up’ began. I’m glad I got it done when I did because we got to use the tire machine and tire balancer for the first time at the event. It seemed only fitting to have the reveal at this years ‘Meet Up’. It was great to be able to use the equipment for the first time with the very people that helped make it happen.

I now have an awesome 80 gallon compressor from BendPak. It’s so new, I don’t even have a product page to link here for you. Here’s a link to their compressor page where it will appear at some point. Despite not having a product page, I’ve made a video on it, and my new air system, that will go live sometime in August. I LOVE my new compressor and air system. I can’t wait to show you the video.

I also have a new tire changing machine from Ranger that does wheels from 10”-30”. It’s specially made to help with those pesky low profile tires. Anyone that’s had to mount and balance those tires will appreciate the features it has. I need to put tires on my Acura Vigor. When those show up, I’ll be sure to make a video using the new machine to show it’s capabilities.

In addition to the tire changing machine, I got a wheel balancer from Ranger as well. It’s a sexy little beast that handles the same sized wheels as the tire changing machine. I believe it even has attachments for motorcycle wheels. I need to finish reading the manual to find out. I’ll be featuring it in a future video as well. Likely when I do the tires on the Vigor as I mentioned.

But wait, there’s more! Lastly, I got a new brake lathe from, you guessed it, Ranger. I’ve used brake lathes my entire 20 year career and this is the first lathe I’ve used that has all the attachments! Not only that, but reading through the manual it looks like you can also machine flywheels with it. I’ve never tried that, but it seems like an experiment worth looking into. I plan on making videos with this new addition as well. This is great because I’ve wanted to make videos on machining rotors and drums for some time. Now I have my chance.

It took a full week to get everything up and running. Most of that was spent on the new air system which I’m quite proud of. 98% of the pipes and fittings used were donated by my landlord. He used to own a trucking company and had the old pipes and fittings stored in a warehouse. We picked them up, drove them to the shop, and I spent the next week customizing the system to work in my shop. Some of it needed reconditioning which took a bit longer, but it saved me a ton of money using reclaimed parts. Now that everything is set up and running, my shop is totally BA and there’s little I can’t do there. Every time I open the door to the shop now I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.

Fixing it Forward

This series is on hold until I get back from vacation. Last month I gave Barbara back her van. Shortly after that I began the preparations for the ‘Meet Up’ and set up the new shop equipment. This left me with little time to bring in a new ‘customer’. Once I’m back in the swing of things though, I plan to put my new shop equipment to use so I can really move the series forward. Pun intended!

There are 3 more videos left in the series with Barbara’s van, including the one where she comes to pick it up, that should go live in August. Keep an eye out for those in my Friday releases over the next few weeks.

The Fairmont Project

I may very well have driven the Mustang for the last time. Fitting that it was a ride with my dad. I made a video of that BTW, it’s available to Premium Members of EricTheCarGuy.com. Once I get back from vacation, I plan on pulling the engine and transmission from the Mustang. Once those are out, I plan to go through them and freshen them up a bit. The transmission especially since it needs a second gear syncro. Yes, I plan to make videos of ALL of it. It’s kinda the point really. Well, that and driving a cool car I made.

The frame connectors are finally done! I also got a little better with my welding in the process. Now that that work is complete, it’s time to turn my attention to the next steps.

About a month ago I was contacted by Chris Johnson from Washington state. He and his son were working on a Mercury Fox body project similar to my own. Chris decided to go a different rout with his small block Ford project (stuffing it into a TR4) and I have been the grateful recipient of his old, barely used, Fox body parts. I was able to purchase all the suspension parts front and back, a tubular K member, tubular A arms, a manual power steering rack, and a few other goodies for a fraction of what they would have cost new. This makes me a very happy boy. Thank you Chris!

I might be adding something else to the build that I’m not quite ready to talk about yet. Let’s just say it will add some serious horsepower if it comes to pass. I’ll keep you posted.

EricTheCarGuy and Advance Auto

In July, I shot a video for Advance Auto where I did some suspension repairs on a Jeep Wrangler. That video should air sometime in August. I’ll also be producing another repair video with Advance Auto in the coming months.

In addition to these repair videos, I’ve also been doing hour long live shows where I answer your automotive questions. The shows used to be a half hour before Advance came along in case you were wondering. In the last show we had a special guest, Jim Bates. He was a fantastic addition to the show. Jim has extensive automotive experience and knowledge not only as a technician, but also as an instructor of technicians. In the last show Jim shared that experience as we worked our way though your questions, despite some minor technical difficulties. For some reason Google+ wasn’t sending out the Hang Out invitations correctly. We ended up using my speaker phone instead.

I’ll be doing 2 more of these hour long shows for Advance, both with guests from Advance Auto. I’m not sure if it will be Jim again, but I’ll be sure to let you know when I make the announcements about those shows. Speaking of those shows, due to my upcoming vacation, the next show won’t be until August 12.

Find an Advance Auto Parts store near you : http://bit.ly/AdvanceStoreLocator

Buy Online at Advance and Pick-Up in Store in 30 minutes: http://bit.ly/ShopAdvanceAutoParts

Check out Advance Monthly Specials: http://bit.ly/AdvanceMonthlySpecials

Premium Member News

Premium Members got 3 exclusive videos in July. The first was the full version of the 1998 Chrysler Town & Country Transmission/Radiator Replacement from the Fixing it Forward series. They also got an exclusive video of a Scrap Run that Cameraman Brian and I took just before the ‘Meet Up’. Lastly, they got that video I mentioned earlier where I took my Dad For a Ride in the Mustang.

At this time we should have all the previous issues with the Premium Member videos sorted out. If you’re still having issues please contact support@ericthecarguy.com and we’ll work to get you squared away.

Also, last month in particular, there were some difficulties with Premium Member sign ups. This I can say, was not our fault. Since PayPal has divorced itself from Ebay, they’ve been converting over to a new system. That new system is not generating the access links to memberships like it should. We can still go in manually and take care of this on our end, but sign ups may not happen instantaneously as they should. In fact, my developer Wyatt Talley, has been keeping up with this daily to make sure you get the access you’ve paid for. This will likely continue until PayPal get’s it’s collective poop together. Sorry for any inconvenience. If you do have issues, once again, contact support@ericthecarguy.com and we’ll get you sorted out.

Premium Members get at least 2 exclusive videos per month in addition to early releases of all ETCG and ETCG1 videos. They also get discounts on VManuals. Memberships are $1.99 per month and $9.99 per year. To get more info and sign up, click here.

ETCG Taking a Break

From August 1-9 I’ll be taking a much needed vacation. During that time I’ll still be posting videos on their regular days, but I won’t be on the forum, doing social networking, or responding to email until I get back. Remember, if you need help with your automotive issues, EricTheCarGuy.com is always there for you 24/7/365. I suggest starting with the FAQ page and working your way to the Forum if you still have issues. Here’s the site’s welcome video to inform you of your options for automotive help on the site.

I’ll see you again on August 10, hopefully rested and ready to go.

In Closing

July was a HUGE month for me. The completion of the first Fixing it Forward project, the new shop equipment, setting up the new shop equipment, the ‘Meet Up’, all while bringing you the best automotive videos I can produce.

Speaking of those videos, I’ve been working hard behind the scenes and I can now upload my videos in 1080p at 60fps. This began with the 2015 Meet Up video and will continue with all uploaded videos from here on out.

All that said, thank you for reading this far. Thank you for supporting EricTheCarGuy. Thank you for coming to this year’s ‘Meet Up’. Most of all, thanks for making this the best job ever. I know I say it in just about every newsletter, but it’s true. Because of you, I have the best job ever. Thank you for that.

Be safe

Have fun

Stay Dirty

ETCG