Project: The Anal Probe

[NachtRitter]

Awesome job Sven!! Love the paint job!!

[Sven7]

Thanks!

Today I decided to use up the rest of my black reflective tape and put on that "pass me" arrow I've been wanting to do. Here is a GIF to show you how it looks unlit, then lit. Of course this is in a lighted garage so it'll be brighter looking out "in the wild"

I also put the last couple inches of tape offset on the right front wheel so it will look really wobbly and confusing at speed haha



I also finished off the rear belly pan with a little scrap of coroplast. Now it's more or less the same length all the way across. You can see the car also gained a few stickers, both inside and out.

"RAGE" is apparently some drift event my friend went to.



PS- sorry for the cell phone pics. I didn't want to go back inside to get the good camera.

[Tango Charlie]

Cool!

I know it's nearly impossible to ABA test, but do you have an idea of how much the rear belly panel is working for you? What kind of "diffuser" angle is built into it?

[Sven7]

No clue! I think it might still be too much angle, and I plan on making a more or less flat, full belly pan next spring/summer if possible. This one only covers to the rear of the rear axle, so it's probably only about 3' or so.

[jakobnev]

Don't you know that for best mileage you are supposed to give you car an attractive paint job at the front and a repulsive one at the rear?

You're just gonna veer of the road looking like that!

[Sven7]

Not sure if that's a compliment or not! Haha. The other side is on my list of things to do, but school is getting really busy. I hope I have time (and weather) to finish it before snow! This weekend was warm but very windy.

[Sven7]

Probe took a crap today. I think it's the alternator. If it isn't, and the thing still won't run, it might be bye bye Probe. But I think it's the alt. Won't be fixed until January at the earliest (after winter break).

The school has no heated or fully enclosed garage so I'll have to do with a friend's propane space heater and a little cussing. Well with a rusty 20 year old car, cussing will be on the menu either way.

Oh, and the school also doesn't allow working on cars in their garage. So I'll have to do it on the weekend when the head of security's not around to yell at me. He does literally yell at me. I pulled this thing up by the front entrance to see what was wrong, the thing wouldn't start and he walked out and started telling me to get it out of there RIGHT NOW. It doesn't run, you ******bag. Go do something productive. I mean really? People park there all the damn time and no one ever says anything. The minute I pull a wrench out... he's there like cream cheese on a bagel.

[Galane]

Dangit! You've put me right off bagels...

As for the alternator, they're easy to refurbish yourself by replacing whatever internal component(s) need replacing. If the bearings are OK and it's not an open or shorted coil, it's most often the regulator and/or diodes. I don't recall exactly when Ford went to internal regulators on their alternators.

Doesn't matter with the Probe because it's a Mazda under the hood.

As an alternative to swapping in a rebuilt alternator, check around for an automotive electric repair shop that rebuilds starters, alternators themselves. Might find a sympathetic person who'll help out a college student.

[jakobnev]

Not the same car but it might be interesting:
G - Engine Electrical System > 92_G-008

(Just keep clicking to page 17)

[renault_megane_dci]

Wow, good read !

I think there was the concept of using exhaust gases to partially fill the vacuum created by the car.
So you could stick a bent tube at the end of your exhaust pointing in the direction of the middle of your boot, one of those almost free mods ...