RPI Autoshop

[20wrx09]

6th the sticky idea...rpi shop FTW

[korpsepatrol]

5th because i have been at the shop every day for the past two weeks with brain working on our cars haha

I want a brain to work on my car.... 

[ctt1128]

I want a brain to work on my car.... 

if you dont have his number just pm me when you want him to work on your car, you can usually get in pretty easy any day

[korpsepatrol]

sorry, i was just bustin yer balls for the typo. 

I plan to start going on saturdays actually could you pm me his number? 

I have a crap load of stuff to install soon which i can do mostly myself but a hand is always welcome!

My stuff to be installed are as follows:
FMIC, Headlights, DP, CBE, Transmission mount, STS, drivetrain bushings... possibly more...  so i will just break it up so i don't use up too much time on the lift and such. 

[LiamWRX06]

i'm going to be there today for the morning and maybe some of the afternoon installing my ixizAOSep and Hellas

[ctt1128]

bump for the auto shop, today we had at lease 6 or 7 subbies there, some 09 wrx's some 06 wrx's a bug eye my sti and an outback wagon... if anyone needs to work on their car go there!!!!!!

[RedRoof2]

bump for the auto shop, today we had at lease 6 or 7 subbies there, some 09 wrx's some 06 wrx's a bug eye my sti and an outback wagon... if anyone needs to work on their car go there!!!!!!

Not with all those freaking subies parked outfront!  I was going to do some rebalancing on the jeep's tires and realized I'd walked into a unysoc nest.  Needs an evo or two to shake things up.  Maybe next week.

[bobanoid]

i totally forgot i made this thread, newayz heres an update.

So the shop is up and running again for the semester, we will be open during the normal hours, feel free to PM me or call the shop if you have any questions.

The shop is heated guys so its a nice toasty 60-70 degrees in there, which means you can stay warm and your car can too =).

One issue we do have with the weather is that not many people come by which means we may close early some days so call ahead or let one of the shop guys know if your swinging by just to make sure.

Final change: We are instating a new rule where if we think you wont be able to finish the job at hand in the time left we will NOT let you start working on your car. so that means if your coming in at 8:30 PM on a friday night to do a turbo back install we wont let you start it.

I think that is all, ill try to update this thread as things come up, i will also post autocross dates when we figure them out.

[Nismonic]

Autocross dates....  can't wait!

[WaynO]

Autocross dates, aka "wayne's deadline for finding another car"

[Nismonic]

Autocross dates, aka "wayne's deadline for finding another car"

Take a page from the OG RSAS book and get a total beater to flog for the season. The less you pay for it the better... or just co-drive John Staude's CRX

[RedRoof2]

Final change: We are instating a new rule where if we think you wont be able to finish the job at hand in the time left we will NOT let you start working on your car. so that means if your coming in at 8:30 PM on a friday night to do a turbo back install we wont let you start it.

That rule has been around since I was running shifts there years ago.  It's always been a gray zone, but i'm surprised to see it enforced now.  The old rule used to have a corollary:  "...if you aren't a total jackass and the shop is open tomorrow to allow you to finish what you started, we MAY allow it to remain indoors, as long as you pay for the time."  Not sure if that corollary is still applicable.

I suppose the days of me standing inside the engine bay of my car, surrounded by pizza boxes and chinese food containers,  stuffing my motor back in, helping reassemble an EJ205 and install a supercharger on a maxima as the sun rose, are all long gone

[Nismonic]

That rule has been around since I was running shifts there years ago.  It's always been a gray zone, but i'm surprised to see it enforced now.  The old rule used to have a corollary:  "...if you aren't a total jackass and the shop is open tomorrow to allow you to finish what you started, we MAY allow it to remain indoors, as long as you pay for the time."  Not sure if that corollary is still applicable.

I suppose the days of me standing inside the engine bay of my car, surrounded by pizza boxes and chinese food containers,  stuffing my motor back in, helping reassemble an EJ205 and install a supercharger on a maxima,  are all long gone

There's a few things in the shop that have changed in the past 3 years... with the main focus of staying off the radar so to speak. We have been getting pressure from the student union to keep the number of long term project cars to a minimum... ideally zero, and that has dampened the spirit of the crazy projects and builds. For the last few years we have had at least one car sit outside of the shop all year as an ongoing project... that alone keeps us on the union radar. The other issue contributing to the changes is the concern for safety... an unattended car in the shop is a huge safety hazard in the union's mind. This means that letting cars stay overnight regularly opens us up to unneeded criticism from the union (Our advisor walks through the shop from at random times from time to time to check up on us!). We have never had a fire from a car left in the shop but we did have a car nearly fall off the lift, (one side of the car was at chest height and the other was on the ground) because we left it on the lift overnight with one of the safety catches disengaged. That was operator error but if someone had been there to see the one side slowly lower, it would have been stopped before it became an issue.

The union aside, this years officers may not want to stay past open shop hours to help someone put their car back together... or more likely they want to use the lift themselves after closing time... If you don't have a shop key that is prime time to get work done on your own car since customers take priority on open-hours nights. I'm sure Peter is just putting that out there as a warning to not get pissed at the shop members for denying you lift/shop time if you can't get in that night. There may be someone willing to stay late and help you but don't bank on it.

But it is true that the mood of the shop has changed. Hopefully it can get back to engine builds and project cars but it needs to be balanced with allowing the community to use the shop too. Like it or not the shop has to bring in money to keep it free for the members... it is one of the only clubs on campus that has no membership dues... to bring in money, and keep our budget for new tools, it needs customers. My freshmen and Sophomore years the shop was basically a private shop for the 6 members of the club and we had trouble bringing in money because we had trouble bringing in customers since the shop was always full of project cars. My last 2 years at RPI, mostly due to the student union's pressure, we got rid of the long term projects and focused more on getting the word out about the shop and it definitely worked... sure, people are doing smaller projects but if you have been there lately it is packed with people just coming to hang out and shoot the shit. Plus it like a mini car show and meet every week! 

[RedRoof2]

Good to see you're progressing toward making it a more profitable center.  That's always been the traditional hangup - there's usually a clique of guys who end up using it as a hangout and that prevents anyone else from getting in there.  I remember when I was there, it was a group of guys who loved building lifted trucks for offroading.  The shop gets really tight when there are multiple 35"+ tires sitting on the ground!
Union's always been a pain in the ass, but they've always focused on the "Public" aspect of the autoshop.  In that, I understand why they don't want too many member vehicles tying up the lift.  The part I don't understand is their reluctance to allow the occasional extended customer project.  Lift time is Lift time and is billed appropriately, though that whole episode with the lift nearly dropping the car - WOW.  If there's anything the shop taught me, it's that there are some people who should never be allowed near cars or any mechanical device.  Common sense isn't something that can be taught!

[Nismonic]

  I remember when I was there, it was a group of guys who loved building lifted trucks for offroading.  The shop gets really tight when there are multiple 35"+ tires sitting on the ground!

  it was you guys that got the shop in hot water in the first place! At least once a year our advisor showed up pictures of the shop full of various stages of lifted trucks, parts cars parked outside, and a huge mess everywhere... we thought it looked like fun... she thought it was a nightmare ! Those pictures were a constant warning to us that if it ever got back to that state that they would shut the shop down again.... and that's the reason we try are trying to keep a low profile in the unions eyes.

[RedRoof2]

it was you guys that got the shop in hot water in the first place! At least once a year our advisor showed up pictures of the shop full of various stages of lifted trucks, parts cars parked outside, and a huge mess everywhere... we thought it looked like fun... she thought it was a nightmare ! Those pictures were a constant warning to us that if it ever got back to that state that they would shut the shop down again.... and that's the reason we try are trying to keep a low profile in the unions eyes.

well MY projects were finished within a weekend.  It always drove me crazy trying to get around huge mud-caked truck parts and pieces of sheetmetal, especially when a few feet away you've got a good condition FD rx7 and an MR2, hoping they leave in the same condition they drove in.  Only time I ever had the car on the lift for a few days, was in the middle of the summer while I was doing an engine/trans swap that went wrong.  I remember those trucks were on that old lift for weeks at a time!

So um yeah.  Please don't let it get like that again.   

[bobanoid]

yea when i said that whole *Must finish a project before closing* we have ran into people who wanted to do whole hub assemblies or major suspension components an hour before closing, so i just kinda wanted to throw that out there so that people dont get feelings hurt thats all. Especially with this forum i keep posting on here because we have a great relationship with the people on UNYSOC i havent had a single problem with any of the members and alot of them have done big projects but have always talked to one of us subie guys (me, brian, jd, wayne etc.) and we have always found a way to make it work. like what was said before its just a more strict atmosphere here. just wanted to leave myself room to deny someone service if theyve never picked up a wrench and want to do an oil change in 15 minutes.

[ssgtshields]

I'll be there with Idipskoalmint on saturday! I think Brian is also coming through the shop. Gotta install some bushings and need the lift. Hope to see everyone there. Corey

[deadlydave]

I'll head over saturday as well,  I really need to get my undertray back on under the car.  Also need to rotate tires.  Maybe i can hop on first, the undertray should take 5 min along with the wheels/tires...maybe 15 min total.  I could do it all on jackstands too if you're allready on the lift.

[ssgtshields]

Sounds good Dave. Haven't see you or Al in a while. We should go over at the same time, feel free to use the lift before me. That being said, I'll have to put you to work with some bushings! See you saturday. Shoot me a PM about meeting up if you'd like. Corey

[idipskoalmint]

Sounds good Dave. Haven't see you or Al in a while. We should go over at the same time, feel free to use the lift before me. That being said, I'll have to put you to work with some bushings! See you saturday. Shoot me a PM about meeting up if you'd like. Corey

Make sure you print instructions for everything you want to do (except the Hellas and transmission crossmember bushings since I know how to do both)

For the Hellas, make sure you have the following (I may have some of this stuff left over, and you can return them if we don't use them):

• 20A fuseholder + 20A fuse
• 14G wire (the smallest roll they had was 8')
• 8 Female terminal clips (make sure they fit the relay provided) - 4 for the relay, 2 for each Hella
• 3 O-rings to connect wires to battery/ground - 1 for battery, 1 for ground in engine bay, 1 for bolt outside the radiator
• Vampire clips (this will help you with splicing so you don't have to use electrical tape like I did)
• 2 ¼" bolts (1" length), 4 ¼" washers, and 2 ¼" nuts (get the ones with the locks on the back if you can find them)
• Tools to strip/crimp wires, and to loosen/tighten bolts
• Electrical tape (you'll at least want this to wrap up the wires on the relay)
• Dielectric grease
• Zip-ties (this will help you mount the relay and to neaten up the wires)

[ssgtshields]

You're coming with me to the hardware store.

[deadlydave]

you guys can do that run while the lexus is getting the quick stuff done if you want.

When are we all going over?

[idipskoalmint]

you guys can do that run while the lexus is getting the quick stuff done if you want.

He lives right next to Home Depot, so we're going to stop on our way up.

When are we all going over?

I'm pretty sure it'll be around lunch time. Corey needs to finalize the plans...

[spoolordie]

what time you guys going.....but i have front brakes to do at my house on the scoob so not sure if id shoot down