Turbo arrived Saturday. I went from "who tf is ringing the doorbell?" to "Why please come in good sir, can I get you anything? Christmas Cookies? Coffee?"

Obligatory picture of my Hiroshima Hurricane waiting for attention attached.

I have great memories of that trip. That particular Dragon run was EW, myself, Madwi, and Memphis370. Of course, the Red Zs were the pretty ones. The others were just contrast 😉

You mention Memphis370, if you can stay on his heels through the Dragon; that’s a big accomplishment :tiphat:

haha I occasionally caught sight of his heels. He showed how it should be done.

That was a good time. :tup: Im looking forward to this year too.

I started my DEI wrap last night. Little bit of a learning curve, but by the end it looked alright. Madwi shipped me a set of wire pliers, which were amazing once I figured out how to use them. I did this by myself to avoid destroying my relationship with my wife, who is still fond enough of me to feed me, despite the fact that I occasionally start projects like this on our living room floor.

Go-date for the full project start is February 14th (happy valentines day to me!)

My plan is to prep everything - remove bumper, intakes, crash bar, LTH, and exhaust - and add poly engine mounts and return to OEM headers.

Madwi is coming out to join me on the 20th, and we'll get cracking on the install at that point. Can't wait!

I'll be out on Friday the 21st. Either the afternoon or evening. Depending if I have to work or not. They haven't posted my schedule work that week yet.

Now this is starting to sound like an interesting build party, while my skill with a wrench is not worth thinking about, Im good at `hold this`, `get me that` , and ordering pizza!

Need a gopher on the weekend 22,23 let me know , your close and its been a while. :hello:

Excellent! :tup:

I learned how to use Safety Wire pliers in the Air Force. They had us safety wire all kind of stuff.

I had to take a course on it when I was at Elliott. Spent hours safety wiring bolts in tight places. :icon14:

Awesome! It'll be great to have the benefit of your skill set, and long experience learning what not to do ;)

My wife is an excellent cook and has already asked me for a headcount so she can figure out what she's making.

Come on out! You need to meet Russ and Scott anyway, and building friendships like this is just one small step on the way to winding up at Zdayz.

Edit: Just don't end up the little spoon with JAR

Gauge pod pillar arrived and finished wrapping the piping. Edging steadily closer.

It has begun.

Prepped a bit Friday night. Quickjack in place, tools out and ready, but I really didn't get started until Saturday morning around 7:30. Father-in-law showed up to pretty much watch and hand me occasional tools around 8:30. My order of operations was roughly as follows:

1) Remove undertray and front fascia.
2) Remove intakes and crash bar.
3) Remove throttle bodies and upper plenum.
4) Plug lower plenum to prevent debris entering engine.
5) Remove CBE. By that time, my dad arrived bringing a propane heater (hero) and started working on the passenger side header. With the tools I had, he removed 5/6 bolts and studs on that side before having to head out. The last bolt and stud were in an awkward position for my tools on hand, so I ordered a set of double ended box wrenches with offset heads through Amazon to see if that would solve my problem. Meanwhile, I started tackling the driver's side header.
6) Removed driver's side header. Amazingly, it took maybe 2 hours at most, and slid right out. I marked the steering knuckle to easily replace it later.
7) Attempted drivers side motor mount. Even with the header removed, I could not get a good angle of attack, and rounded it slightly without making noticeable progress. Figured that was enough fun for one day, called it quits around 5.