What did you do this weekend?

Saturday was errands and running around, so only worked on the Tercel on Sunday post grocery shopping. So not a lot being done visually, just stuff that took time to do.

Last week I removed the lower bushing from the shocks. I didn't remove them from the four suspension links, panhard rod, or sway bars because I was time limited and the lower links were still on the car as both of the upper bolts (one on each side) refused to come out. There isn't enough room to cut the bolt off without cutting the mount and a punch + mini sledgehammer was doing nothing but making me invent new cuss words. Never one to shy away from buying a new tool, an air hammer was procured along with the appropriate punches, which knocked them both out in a matter of seconds being that it does what I cannot, hammer the bolt about 3,500 times per minute.

On to removing the bushings from the rest of the links and the sway bar. The sway bar mounts are easy as they're just a U-shaped bracket and a split bushing, so just pull it off and throw it away. The sway bar ends and suspension links aren't so easy and have to be pressed out. Remember how I said do as I say and not as I do? Keep doing that. The press kit will never have all the sizes you need to press out bushings, so you'll use various sockets to meet the necessary sizes to press out the bushings. A smart person would remember they have a set of SAE sized sockets that are nearly never used because they only own import/metric vehicles. I didn't think about this until I'd already ruined a perfectly fine and frequently used metric socket that I'll now need to replace. Repeat until all of the bushings are out, some were more willing than others.

Now begin installation of the new, firmer, slipperier polyurethane bushings. Some bushings come in a split configuration that can be installed by hand; these are nice. Some do not. Those that do not will have you inventing new cuss words as they valiantly fight to remain free. Lube, press, cuss, have the bushing pop out and fly across the garage, somehow kill a bug mid-flight (or land on it and kill it), clean it off, lube it again, cuss, press, cuss, press, and eventually it'll go into place.

Doesn't look like much, but that's about 4 hours worth of work.
Don't expect much in the way of Tercel updates next weekend, I've got a swap meet (or as my wife calls it "old man car swap") on Saturday and two birthday celebrations to attend on Sunday.

Saturday, went for a nice hike with the family at Dark Hollow Falls in Shenandoah National Park. Then a birthday party cookout at our house on Sunday.

We hosted our own alt beer festival on Saturday to avoid going to the public beer festival. Had a decent turnout of friends old and new. Some we hadn’t seen in a very long time!

Sunday, we went to the fairy festival (kinda like a ren fair, but with an emphasis on fantasy) which was a blast.

Kickstarted the car buying process. I'll need one before June, and wanted to be able to drive before I'm commuting, so... here I am. The market sucks right now, but a broker I'm working with through my credit union found me a solid car for a good price, after talking to him, saying what I wanted, and getting a bit of a reality check I saw coming about my budget. Basically, i want relatively low mileage, small, and fuel efficient, and he found me a '16 Hyundai Accent with a clean Carfax and 62k miles on it, which is pretty good I think.

I went to the theater to watch The Bad Guys, but I felt reallly tired and fell asleep for a short while during the middle of it. It's a shame because I really wanted to see the movie specifically because the visual design and animation was so brilliant. I especially loved how all the background characters had these crazy exaggerated faces that reminded me of early Akira Toriyama gag manga. The plot of it was kind of stupid but honestly the visuals are so good that it's worth watching just to see it in action. That and Richard Ayoade as a gunea pig.