Shop Shots Volume 26 Insider Pictures of Automotive Service
WOW, Wednesday always seems to come around in the middle of the week. What’s the deal with that?(you have to say that like Jerry Seinfeld) I have actually been out of the shop for a few days. My wife and I are taking a little road trip. So, I am going to be really selfish on this Shop Shots. I know I know, I should not be selfish. I still think you guys will like this weeks Shots!
This is what a complete body wiring harness looks like. Never mind the seatbelt mixed in. This harness came from the 1998 Jetta that I picked up. This must be about 40lb of wires, connectors, fuses and tape. I was not sure what I would need for the engine swap, so I took it all. Basically every connector that is not the engine. Every light, button, airbag, and switch is on this harness. Replacing this harness might be one of the worst jobs a mechanic has to do.
This is a picture of my tool box at the house. YES I know it is a total disaster. I keep my work box really neat and organized. For some reason, I just can’t keep my box at the house straight. I think it is because I wont buy the organizers for it. This is actually the box I started as a professional mechanic with. It lasted about 2 years before I ran out of room.
I took a picture of it because I might be trading it. A buddy of mine has a yellow Matco box that I would like. So I might trade it for a tool cart, then trade the cart for the yellow box. I must admit, I will be a little sad to sell this box. I need to figure out how to save a few of the stickers that are on it.
Ah yes, back to the donor Jetta. When you remove an entire wiring harness, most of the interior needs to come out too. This is what it looks like behind the dash board of a car. I have seen so many cars with the dash out. It makes me cringe every time. I don’t dislike doing dash work. It is just not my favorite. I think that I have stipped all I can from this car. It will be given a proper send off. It has been smashed and abused it’s entire life. I am the 7th owner. It has been totaled twice. Now she has donated organs to help another car live. Thank you Jetta for your sacrifice.
GRRR. This is a picture of the rear bumper on my Passat.(please ignore the chicken legs in the reflection) We got rear ended last week.
We were coming home from seeing Batman. This very bad driver in front of me basically cut me off. I had to slam on the brakes. The guy behind us didn’t stop. He hit my poor Passat. We pulled over and the guy that hit us took off. No one got a ticket, even though the lady that cut me off should have.
Maybe I should do a post on what to do if you are in an accident. Odds are, the bumper will need to be replaced. Ugh!
Well, thanks for checking out another round of Shop Shots. I will be out of town the rest of this week, and into early next week. Be sure to stay tuned. I will be doing some fun posts from the road!
Sorry about your bumper! Something similar happened to me, and though it’s annoying to notice, I’ve been living with it. I should really get it repaired, though!
@Andrew,
Thank you! I don’t think I will be getting mine fixed soon. the bumper cover will need to be replaced. then painted.
I will get an estimate and see the cost. My guess is somewhere in the $1000 range.
coming home from canada last year we were stuck in some bad traffic as both nearby borders were on major delays… long story short, some asshat didn’t stay off my bumper far enough and was trying to get around me, in bumper-to-bumper traffic, moving less than 2 miles per hour on average for about a mile stretch. a tour bus cut me off (as much as you can be cut off only by idling forward and braking), and the guy behind us goosed it and hit me. my wife was PISSED! it was the first real damage to her car outside a shopping cart ding a few years earlier and the car was already 7 years old. he wouldn’t get out of the car or give info, claiming it was nothing… since we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and not really going anywhere, I gave my wife my iPhone and she walked up to their car and ours, took a bunch of pictures as she went, took some of their license plates, window stickers, and the driver through both the wind shield and driver’s side window, both at point blank range. finally he gave her his license and she snapped a quick pic of it as well since he wasn’t gonna let her right anything down.
nothing ever came of it, as we were able to work out the damage ourselves… but since then we’ve discussed keeping a cheapo digital camera in the glove box (one that takes regular AAs that we don’t have to keep inside it so they aren’t dead when we need them), but we keep forgetting to actually do it (probably because my iPhone is ever-present). that said, if anyone hits me ever again, the first thing I’ll do is grab a pic of their plates, vin, and face, in whatever order is allowed safely.
just something to think about…
@Jeremy,
It makes ya wonder what they are thinking. What is the point of “beating” traffic when everyone is stuck?
We got a few pics of the situation. Several pics of the lady that caused it.
Keeping a cheap digi cam is a great idea! I think I will add something like that to my car kit.
I didn’t mention in the post, but my wife was PISSED too. She is usually the calm one. Short fuse I guess. 😉
That might buff out. Its their paint on top of yours. Give it a shot
Did you get the guys license plate # that drove off? Also, what is the deal with the “save the ants” sticker? What’s that all about?
I didn’t get the guys plate. 🙁 The “save the ants” sticker was just a marketing thing.
They made it so people would ask “what’s up with save the ants”. It worked 😉
Though the digi cam is a good idea I think the cell phone works out better for that situation cuz you can discreetly take pics without them necessarily knowing (your just using your phone lol) plus if need be you can send those pics to pretty much anywhere! Email, another cell…FACEBOOK haha.
I am not sure where you’re getting your information, but good topic.
I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for excellent info I was looking for this information for my mission.