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Eva broke down, a lot. But in keeping that +car on the road, I found a passion in wrenching away on cars +that has seriously shaped my life. Eva was my first time +working on a car. I did the simple things like fabricating a +cold-air intake and changing valve cover seals. I had some +harder jobs too, when I had to rip out the entire dash to +change a heater core. Eva eventually found her way to the +gas station in the sky, when during state inspection the +frame of the car was described as "crispy" from rust damage. +I, as a minor, was no longer allowed to own that car after +that point. I, as an adult, can respect that decision. + +Now since you're on my website, you've probably seen that +I'm a mechanical engineer by training. I completed my +undergraduate education during the coronavirus pandemic, +with COVID putting a real damper on my freshman spring break +plans. Instead of completing online school for the entirety +of my sophomore year, I leveraged my experience with Eva to +land a co-op position at BMW in Upstate South Carolina. My first +co-op rotation was in the Spring of 2021--just in the middle +of my sophomore year. BMW was the first time I was making +any real money, and without any other serious expenses and +only paying dirt cheap rent, I started to collect a nice +little piggy bank. + +This piggy bank was quickly dispatched when I found Mizumi. +On a weekend trip to NC State, I decided to check the local +Raleigh area Craigslist. I found this 1986 Nissan 300ZX +listed for sale at $4,000. In the Z community, this car is +called a "chuki 2+0 N/A analog dash". What that all means is +the car is the old body style (zenki), but with the tiniest +of chnages in that the bumpers were painted, it has just the +2 seats, is naturally aspirated, and the dashboard includes +typical analog instrument gauges. This generation of car, +called the Z31, came in two body styles: a 2+0 coupe, and a +2+2 coupe with barely viable rear seats (think Mustang or +Camaro back seats). I had always wanted a Z31. And now, I +had just set up a meeting with a guy to buy his. + +[MIZUMI_PURCHASED.jpeg HERE] + +This Z was the exact spec I was looking for, too. The N/A +engine was perfect because I had always been planning an +engine swap. It was the regular 2 seater, and had the +best feature of all: t-tops. I convinced my roommates (who +at this point I had known for 2 months?) that I absolutely +*needed* to see this car. They agreed to the side-quest, and +off we went to meet the previous owner. + +When I went to purchase the car, I arrived at a house with +several large dumptrucks in the yard. To me, this was +naturally a good sign, as Eva's previous owner ALSO had +dumptrucks in the yard. Upon looking at the car, I saw that +it had essentially no rust. This was the moment that I +decided I was going to purchase this car, less something +crazy happening on a test drive. A rust-free car from the +80's is hard enough to come by on it's own, let alone one in +the exact spec you want. This Z was a royal blue color, +which was not a factory option. There was some minor paint +damage around the car, which was almost certainly from a +shoddy paint job. Nonetheless, the car started right up and +ran and only had one minor fault: the brakes. The pedal was +soft, and it was clear that something was not all there in +the front brakes. The car stopped safely, but in retrospect +needed the front calipers rebuilt. I offered the previous +owner $3,200, and became the owner of Mizumi. + +I started to drive Mizumi from the previous owners house, +and immediately noticed several issues. First, the tires +were *old*. They were significantly underinflated, and would +need reinflated within a mile or two lest I wanted to +destroy them. Second, the previous owner had installed 5% +tint on all the windows *except* for the front windshield. +This was almost certainly not legal, and give the impression +of standing at the front of a movie theater and starting +directly into the projector. Your eyes would adjust to daily +out of the front, and as a result, could not see basically +anything out of any of the other windows. Third, and most +pressingly, Mizumi overheated within 10 miles of leaving the +previous owner and broke down. + +[MIZUMI_BREAKDOWN.jpeg here] + +At this point, I'd like you to imagine being one of my +roommates at this point. You've just met this Pitt student a +couple of months ago before moving in with him sight unseen, +several hundred miles away from home, at your first real +adult job. He, on a roadtrip 3 hours from your temporary +home, convinces you to meet an unknown man from Craigslist, to buy an +old car. You are assured that this is all normal. Then, the +car your new roommate has bought immediately breaks down, +and leaves you all stuck for hours while waiting for a +tow truck. Frankly, I'm beyond grateful they did not leave +me behind. + +Mizumi never ran again in South or North Carolina after +that. I towed the car to a Nissan dealership in Cary, NC +before paying a silly sum for new tires and brakes on the +car. I traveled back to Cary to try and make the roadtrip to +SC, but once I collected the keys for the car, it just +refused to start in the dealership parking lot. At that +point I decided to have it shipped home to Pennsylvania. + +I did eventually get Mizumi running somewhat better once I +returned to PA, but I discovered a nasty truth of my +overheating issues. I had a significant head gasket leak in +cylinder 3 that was burning all of my coolant. I took stock +of the situation, and decided my long term plan of an engine swap +for the car had become the main plan. I removed the engine +from the car, and it's been a work in progress ever since. + +[https://youtu.be/pjmYWnOauSE] + +In the Lake Report, I'll bring you up to speed on how the +engine swap is going. diff --git a/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/12887BEB-506E-4313-B7DF-F97B8D1DBD3B_1_105_c.jpeg b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/12887BEB-506E-4313-B7DF-F97B8D1DBD3B_1_105_c.jpeg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..745c6f0 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/12887BEB-506E-4313-B7DF-F97B8D1DBD3B_1_105_c.jpeg differ diff --git a/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/59744A22-27C0-4C6D-8577-3F02ACF5BDDE_1_102_o.jpeg b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/59744A22-27C0-4C6D-8577-3F02ACF5BDDE_1_102_o.jpeg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d9fd528 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/59744A22-27C0-4C6D-8577-3F02ACF5BDDE_1_102_o.jpeg differ diff --git a/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/7B8B20B2-212C-457A-A6E4-9E3355EA9D80_1_105_c.jpeg b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/7B8B20B2-212C-457A-A6E4-9E3355EA9D80_1_105_c.jpeg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f6af2dc Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/7B8B20B2-212C-457A-A6E4-9E3355EA9D80_1_105_c.jpeg differ diff --git a/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/B677F47D-26FA-4683-86BF-352B2036F52E_1_102_o.jpeg b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/B677F47D-26FA-4683-86BF-352B2036F52E_1_102_o.jpeg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..caee840 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/B677F47D-26FA-4683-86BF-352B2036F52E_1_102_o.jpeg differ diff --git a/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/C45C044A-6A01-409F-A5D4-73902EDD3A74_1_105_c.jpeg b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/C45C044A-6A01-409F-A5D4-73902EDD3A74_1_105_c.jpeg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..15f71a5 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/C45C044A-6A01-409F-A5D4-73902EDD3A74_1_105_c.jpeg differ diff --git a/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/D1DE7058-AFCD-48C5-AC68-95E30389317F_1_105_c.jpeg b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/D1DE7058-AFCD-48C5-AC68-95E30389317F_1_105_c.jpeg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..acb4230 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/D1DE7058-AFCD-48C5-AC68-95E30389317F_1_105_c.jpeg differ diff --git a/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/FA7AD46E-A156-43FE-8A9A-F4BBF7547081_1_105_c.jpeg b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/FA7AD46E-A156-43FE-8A9A-F4BBF7547081_1_105_c.jpeg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1dfdf23 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/LAKE_REPORT/2-LS-Swap-UpToSpeed/FA7AD46E-A156-43FE-8A9A-F4BBF7547081_1_105_c.jpeg differ