Going under the hood...

There has been a deviation from what I had planned for this week.  First of all, on Monday, I was to have returned Sergio to the paint shop to finish the detailing work and whatever else needs to be done.  Instead, I test drove it to a friend's house in order to show off the result as they have been very curious about what was taking so long to finish the job.  I had warned everyone beforehand that the car was not yet 100% ready but after seeing it, they told me it was already above their expectation.  I pointed out what else it was that I was fussy about and said that by the next day, all of those will be gone.

Come Tuesday, I realized it was my number coding day and used that as excuse to do some DIY stuff and a further interior/exterior cleanup.  My work concentrated on the engine bay; both in terms of cleaning and making sure that everything was in its proper connection.  So far, so good.  Most of the rest of the day was spent just admiring the way the car sat in the garage.  In the evening, Tina and I went for a long drive down the SLEX, then had a late-night snack at one of the eateries along the way before heading home.  This also served as my long-distance higher speed test drive.  I must say the engine performed well with no problems that I could detect.  One of my worries after being stuck in the shop for so long was that the battery would go flat but I made it a point to have all the electrical accessories on and then start the engine to find out what would happen.  A one click start! 

I justified keeping the car yesterday, Wednesday, by doing a further test drive supposedly on the typical stop-go, hot weather traffic conditions which Sergio fortunately passed with flying colors.  Even with the aircon working at full blast, there were no signs of the engine overheating.

I also wanted to address the fluid leaks which were already there when I bought the car so I decided to pay a visit to European Motors in Makati.  I was already aware that that both hoses underneath the power steering reservoir needed to be changed but they added that another two of the hoses used by the automatic transmission also need replacement.  The good news is that it seems only those four hoses require attention and I'm hoping that there are no other sources of leaks.  I will schedule the repair when the parts become available sometime next week.

Since I was already in the mood to start on the mechanical side of the restoration, I brought the new set of Sachs shock absorbers purchased in HK, to Cruven Sucat for installation. They had previously done the lifters to raise the suspension and I am happy with their work. After the old ones were removed, I could see that three of them were leaking badly (as in fluid flowed out after the strut housing was removed). Although the shocks were far from their best, its a credit to the manufacturer to have them still work as well as they did given their condition. I honestly thought they were not in that poor shape.

I was debating with myself on what to do with my set of rear tires.  Both front tires have already been replaced last week but was hesitating on the rears as they still had plenty of tread left.  In the end, I just decided to go for it.  Safety is always my primary concern and I guess one cannot go wrong in making a decision with this in mind.  Besides, it makes the car look much better too.  A stop at the carwash ended my day out on the road.

Its my thought to bring Sergio back to the paint shop today, Thursday, but with all these new installations, further test driving might be required...