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The Lug Nuts: The Finale

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Well Bloggers, it's been a long run. 2 cars and 3 gallons of paint later, we've arrived at the end of our project's course. We set 3 goals for this project; let me tell you about them. Our first goal was to learn about vehicle maintenence. To say that we have acquired an improved mechanical toolset would be to undercut how experienced I feel like we have become. We turned a car which barely ran into a beautiful pegasus of a vehicle which could traverse the Rocky Mountains. We learned everything without using the internet, and I am incredibly proud of us for doing so. Our second goal was to learn how to navigate the second hand market. We showed the van to several people and we bought a car from someone on Craigslist over the course of this project. Using these markets is quite difficult at first, but we learned quick. We learned that some people don't always follow through with deals. We also learned that not everybody is willing to make a deal, especially when they h...
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The Lug Nuts: Episode 3

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Greetings Fellow Bloggers! I apologize in advance for the shorter blog post. A memorable moment from this week was starting to decorate the interior of the Lug Nut Mobile. Me and Andrew ventured out to Jo-Ann's fabrics where we waited for a sweet, old woman by the name of Roberta to cut our beautiful tapestry. Once we had our materials, we stapled them to the ceiling of the vehicle and I've got to say, our work looks rather cash. This week, I learned how to repair a car door. The driver-side door of the Lug Nut Mobile was slightly damaged from years of dealing with Ronnie's brute force. This made it so that the door had to be shut with brawn rather than grace. We bought some replacements for the nuts on the hinges of the door and replaced them. It was a difficult job, requiring me and Andrew to use our strength to hold the door at the correct angle so that Nate could screw in the bolts and washers. This was quite a physically taxing job, but finishing the task made me f...
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The Lug Nuts: Episode 2

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A memorable moment from this week was buying a car. We all chipped in and bought a beautiful 1994 Ford Explorer that runs like it's brand new. We had to drive back from Aloha, Oregon and let me tell you, it was quite the experience. Despite its tattered blue paint and permanently closed left-passenger door, this beautiful vessel actually got around quite well. After about 25 minutes of smooth driving, we safely made it to Terin's house and parked the new piece in the slab. I've learned that cleaning isn't as easy as it looks. When buying a relatively cheap car, a welcoming, "easy on the nostrils" odor is never guaranteed. When we bought the 1994 Ford Explorer, its interior was kindly decorated with some interesting stains and marks. Me and Andrew were the ones who had to do the cleaning. I thought it'd be easy, but it took a multiple servings of sheer brawn to do the job. It was rough at first, but once we got accustomed to the cleaning products, the wor...
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The Lug Nuts: Episode 1

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I, personally, have never done much work on cars. I’ll occasionally detail a few for 20 bucks, but I’ve never really gotten into it. When I heard the idea of learning the ins and outs of these beautiful, slick, cold-steel machines of movement, I was incredibly intrigued. How I heard this idea you may ask? Let me tell you.  We chose to work on learning how to repair cars for our senior project. Terin Snyder, one of our group mates, has always been really keen in the realm of automobiles, but me and my other group mates (Andrew Priest and Nate Paradis) have never really part taken. Terin has always enjoyed it, and lately, he’s really been trying to get us to join him. Eventually, we all gave in and decided we’d give the whole “car” thing a shot.  For our first car, we turned a beaten-up 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring edition into a beautiful vessel with three rows of wonderful leather seats, 4 working doors, a trunk with new automatic hydraulics (childproof), working AM/FM radio wit...
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