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GARAGE: NOS Kobe Seiko Magnesium Wheel and KS Documents
Recently, I was lucky to buy a set of Kobe Seiko Magnesium wheels. When I posted them online, Chris, the guy who originally imported them from Japan and sold them to the guy who sold them to me, got in touch with me, and we had a bit of a discussion. I told him that I’m working on a story about Kobe Seiko wheels, and he sent me some additional photos and information about the wheels. When I learned he had an original NOS wheel still in the factory box with all accessories, I was all fire. A few weeks later, he offered to sell it to me for a…
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GARAGE: My Documents Archive
Frequent readers know that I love to collect documents related to my cars, and over the years I have built quite the archive, and people keep asking be about it, so I decided to give you a bit of an overview. Recently, I got a big load of documents so it was time to get a larger shelf and resort things. It’s already quite full again, but there is always room for more. So what do we have in there? The top row is entirely dedicated to the “Eaglemoss Colelction” Fairlady Z-L 1/8-scale craft model. Some of the empty parts-boxes, the four binders with the magazines that came with it,…
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GARAGE: Another Datsun Dealer Sign restored (LED Retrofit)
Recently, I acquired this beautiful Datsun Dealer sign with NEON tube lighting in Germany: First thing was to take it apart and give it a proper cleanup: This sign has been in storage with the previous owners in a dry place for 15 years. So the condition is quite good. But as it happens, it has collected a bit of dirt over the years: One side of the plexiglass sign had some scratches, but the other one is still in remarkable condition. Next was to remove all old electronics. We don’t need those filters and brittle old sockets / starters anymore, and the wiring doesn’t seem very safe and also…
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GARAGE: Workshop and Garage reorganized
After getting my new tool boards, I was wondering what to do with them. I decided to keep them, because I liked them so much. But where to hang them? After years of collecting various stuff and hanging it in random free spaces, it got me thinking how I could improve the whole thing. I was never really happy with the layout, particularly that green drawer on the left in the previous photo. The idea was originally to have the soldering table underneath that light shaft, but since my wife decided to put a big bucket with tomato plants on top of it, the only thing that comes through that…
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GARAGE: Old grinder cleanup / Table restoration
So I recently managed to get this grinding machine for free from my father-in-law’s old workshop. It’s an old-school heavy duty (literary) Swiss-made WASU (Walter Suter) industrial grinder. The whole thing was fully functional, but quite dirty, hasn’t been used in a long while and the stand was really oil soaked and dirty. The good thing, though, is that it came with a lot of accessories, like plenty of high-quality sanding belts, grinder disks, a wire wheel and a grinding disk grinder (to make the disk even again – that long handle thing). First i removed the grinder from the table, and got rid of all bolts: Then i started…
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GARAGE: Datsun missing tools for tool wall found
Remember the rare Datsun original workshop tool wall i found a while ago? Ever since i got it, i thought one day i need to find the missing tools. A few days ago i thought i’d give it a try and google for those items. It was surprisingly easy to find them, and today the package arrived with the three missing Kent+Moore made tools: It seems like one of them (that round thing) is incomplete, but nevertheless. the wall is now fully equipped as intended for nissan dealerships. Note all the additional hooks that were placed there by the previous owner workshop. Nevertheless. it’s more or less complete now with…
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GARAGE: Datsun Banner + Restauration
Remember the guy who sold me an old Datsun tool wall and some datsun Clothes a while ago? He recently contacted me again to tell me he found an old Datsun Advertizing banner in his dad’s former workshop. A part of it has been cut off and hi didn’t manage to clean the dirt off. So he offered it to me for 10 bucks plus shipping. I have never seen such a large original Datsun Banner for sale. So i thought i better get it, even though it’s not in the best shape. Today it arrived A gentle scrub with some industrial cleaner and grease remover brought quite good results.…
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GARAGE: Datsun Special Tool wall & Garage Entrance completed!
Our garage entrance belongs to the part of our in-laws house, but we’re allowed to use it, obviously. The father-in-law always tried to keep it tidy, but the compressed gravel somehow always ended up inside the garage. So when our neighbours decided to build a house, he asked the concrete guys there if they could bring some extra concrete and do the garage entrance. They settled a deal and the work began: Rebar got laid: And fine concrete poured: Then it got flattened: My Father-in-law then took his time to complete the connecting stones, after the molds got removed: But i have to admit the result is awesome. So much…
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OTHER: Honda dealer sign restauration, pt. 3 & Installation
So, after we left with a finished Sign on the table in part two, it was time to install it somewhere. I wasn’t sure where to put it. So i tested it in various positions. My initial plan to have it close to the Honda proved to be not the best location, because of the low ceiling height in that area. At the end i decided to put it high up on the wall Next to the workshop entrance… So first i removed everything again, installed it at the highest possible point: Then got the LED tubes and Honda logo covers back in: Had everything hooked up and wired to…
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OTHER: JDMJ Stickers arrived, applied and garage improvements
Recently i fellt the urge to make JDMjunkies a bit more visible, when i bring my cars to shows, etc. So i ordered some stickers. Naturally they had to go on the car immediately. First gave it a clean with the old Motorex glass cleaner i had standing around. I once got it as a promotion gift at a car show many years ago and i still use it every now and then. And here we go on the Daily Mazda 6 / Atenza: The EK9 got the same treatment. And then i realized that my shelving could use a bit of improvement. Before: After: It just fit by a…
