January 25, 2019

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Thank You!

It’s been a little over a month since my last newsletter and I’m feeling better. I started seeing a therapist last week. Given that I’ve only gone once, I really can’t say that things have improved, but I feel I’m on the path to feeling better. It takes forever to get seen by a doctor it seems. Welcome to modern healthcare.

I’m also working on my diet. Or it might be better to say, I’ve cut a significant amount of sugar out of my life. Honestly, I hate this. Mainly because I love sugar, especially when it’s mixed with chocolate. I’ve come to find however, that it’s not really good for me. At least not in the quantities I used to consume it. I can’t say it’s had a tremendous effect, but it feels like a step in the right direction. You are what you eat after all.

I’ve also started taking zinc and vitamin D supplements on the recommendations of some of the people that reached out to me after last months newsletter.

What I really wanted to say in this introduction is, thank you. I got a ton of direct, personal, responses to my last newsletter. Apparently I’m not alone in my feelings of depression. More importantly, many of you have dealt with it and learned to manage it. I’m of the belief that you’re never ‘cured’ of depression, you just learn to manage it.

I want to personally thank everyone that reached out. Thank you for your kind words, your encouragement, and your advice. I’ve taken it to heart, and plan to continue to work the problem going forward. A journey of a 1000 miles begins with the first step. I feel as if I’m at least 40 or 50 steps in at this point. Thank you all for your kindness and support.

10 Years of ETCG

As I mentioned in last months newsletter, it’s been 10 years since I started EricTheCarGuy. Ironic that the #10YearChallenge has come about at the same time. It feels like I’m being encouraged to look back and compare then to now.

I’m sad to say I haven’t done anything on this front yet. More specifically, I haven’t produced a video about my 10 year journey. It’s an important milestone I know, but the truth is, I haven’t felt like making videos lately. Especially one of such significance. I’ll get to it at some point, likely when I feel I have something befitting of the event. For now, I’m going to focus on the work at hand. I’ll save the reflection for later.

#ETCGDadsTruck

The time has finally arrived! By the time you read this, I will have already started on the build. Cameraman Brian and I started a couple weeks back with an introduction video. In fact, that video likely went live today (Feb 1, 2019).

I’ve partnered up with Summit Racing for part of this build. In fact, I have boxes of parts ready to install from Summit already. They even gave me a sign to hang up in the shop. Kinda makes me feel like a real ‘builder’ having a sign like this in the shop.

I don’t plan to sit on these videos like I did with the #FairmontProject. I’m hoping for a quick turn around. I have a lot of work to do to make that happen, but I think I can manage it. Having Brian help with the filming is huge. I can get a lot more done in less time.

Anyway, look for these videos in the coming weeks.

The #FairmontProject

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that I’ve been posting #FairmontProject videos for the past few weeks. One of the main reasons for this is that I haven’t shot many new videos lately. To be honest, it sucks shooting videos in the shop when it’s as cold as it has been. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for my shop, and my ability to be out of the elements as a result. I used to work out in the weather all the time and it sucked. My old shop seemed even colder, but as they years have gone on, it gets harder and harder for me to work in the cold.

Also because of the cold, I have to run the heat. The heater makes a lot of noise, and as a result, we can’t shoot while the heater is on. So we run the heater for 15min or so, then turn it off to shoot. We repeat the process whenever we start to feel cold again. It certainly adds to production time.

That said, I have a TONNE of #FairmontProject videos that are already shot. I’ve been using my time away from the shop to edit them. Hence the reason you’ve been seeing more #FairmontProject videos lately. I plan to continue with the trend in the coming months. #SorryNotSorry Fairmont haters.

If I’m able to pull it off, you’ll start seeing more than one ETCG video per week. I’d love to mix #FairmontProject videos with #ETCGDadsTruck videos. 1 episode of each during the week.

I won’t lie, this is something of a tall order post production wise, but I’m going to give it my best and see what happens. If nothing else, I’ll alternate between truck and Fairmont videos each week.

The Element Broke a Coil Spring

The Element broke a coil spring during January, and I didn’t shoot a video. Two reasons for this.

First, I was in kind of a hurry and just wanted to get it done. The second reason is that it only took about 10min a side because I purchased complete strut assemblies from Honda.

To make up for not posting a video, here are some pics of the action.

I’m Going to School to Learn How To Hack Vehicles

It’ll only be for a few days, but HumbleMechanic and I are going to California State University in San Bernardino CA toward the end of February. February 18-20 to be specific.

While we’re there, we’re going to help disassemble a vehicle to harvest its electronic components. The plan from there is to make something of a breadboard that students can practice their vehicle hacking skills on.

You might be asking yourself, why would a school would teach vehicle hacking? Is this knowledge is really something we want to put out into the world? Valid questions. The simple answer is that in order to fight against hacking, you have to know how things can be hacked. Hence the reason HumbleMechanic and I are going to CA, to help create a practical model for students to practice on.

Dr. Tony Coulson has invited us out to help his students better understand how the mechanical portion of a vehicle works. In exchange, he’s offered to teach HumbleMechanic and I some basic vehicle hacking. I’m totally in.

Will I be making videos of this experience to share this information with you? Heck yea I will!

Pull-A-Part Videos Finally Going Live

As some of you may know, part of the reason I took my ‘break’ last year, was because I was overwhelmed with work. Part of that workload came from me taking on the roll of executive producer for Pull-A-Part’s video content.

Well, that content is finally starting to become available on Pull-A-Part’s website. I think you’ll like these videos. They are very similar to what I did when I started making EricTheCarGuy videos.

Check them out for yourself here: https://www.pullapart.com/video-library/ search/?MakeID=50&ModelID=404&Year=2000&PartID=999

And Here: https://www.pullapart.com/video-library/search/?MakeID=20&ModelID=194&Year=2003&PartID=999

Special thanks to HumbleMechanic, Motor City Mechanic, Conor Murphy (camera), and Jeremy Porter for their work on these videos as well.

Premium Member News

At the very end of January, sorry about that, Premium Members got 3 exclusive videos, ““Dirty” Alignment Honda Element (Exclusive Video)”, “Eric & Brian are Clueless (Exclusive Video)”, and “Unboxing the New Truck Parts (Exclusive Video)”.

The Premium Member (Exclusive Video) library is growing every month! As of now there are over 200 (Exclusive Videos) for Premium Members! That’s like having an entirely new ETCG channel to watch.

Premium Members get up to 4 exclusive videos per month. They also get additional perks on the website, and they help support the site with all of its useful, free, repair content.

But wait! There’s more! Premium Members now get a 5% discount on all orders from J&B Tool Sales!

Get your membership today! Details on the new Premium Memberships here.

In Closing

I’ll be honest, 2019 hasn’t gotten off to the best start for me, but that leaves me plenty of time to turn things around, which is exactly what I plan to do. I feel I still have a lot of great content left in me, and I’m looking forward to bringing it to you.

So, eventually I’ll get you that 10 year retrospective video. I’ll also have plenty of #ETCGDadsTruck videos for you, as well as some other new stuff that I’m not ready to talk about just yet. Not to mention I plan to catch you up on all that went into the #FairmontProject.

Thanks for sticking with me. Thanks also for your support and words of encouragement after my last newsletter. I’m not sure I could put into words how grateful I am for all of you.

Latest videos below.

Be safe

Have fun

Stay Dirty

ETCG

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Video Title: EricTheCarGuy February 2019 Newsletter Video Description: Welcome to the EricTheCarGuy February 2019 Newsletter! }