Tucked away at the bottom of many of the questions sent into Lou’s Garage are requests for regular updates on any project cars.
First is our EV conversion project featuring a vintage Brazilian-made Puma. Progress has temporarily stalled, however, due to the pandemic and staffing changes here within the shop. This undertaking was always meant to be a make-work project to educate us on how to convert classic or specialty vehicles. I do believe that a potential conversion market is budding, and I want us to be ready.
Lou Trottier's Puma EV-conversion project, currently on hold.Lou Trottier/The Globe and Mail
Previously, I had been looking for an accident-damaged complete Nissan Leaf donor car as a source for the drivetrain. After a generous amount of research, I have discarded the idea of purchasing a complete car and now feel that sourcing the necessary pieces from various other avenues will prove more economical. Hence, I have just procured the electric-drive motor and inverter from a 2015 Leaf only. I am currently developing digital renderings for the adapter plates necessary to mate the Leaf electric motor to our Puma transmission. My intent is to be able to do this in-house. More on this new tooling next week.
Next up is my 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS, which I bought a couple years ago in non-running condition as a project car needing restoration. It is taking most of my free time but is moving along at a rate that I am very pleased with. The body resides at a paint shop in Brampton, Ont., and the owner is providing regular reports on the paint-preparation progress. He tells me that he will be applying the Ferrari Rosso Corsa red paint within the next two weeks. I’ve been asked many times why I don’t change the paint colour. My answer is always, why move away from resale-red when it is synonymous with Ferrari and also original to my car?
The 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS is almost ready for its paint job.The Globe and Mail
I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of any significant corrosion on this 43-year-old classic. However, I was astonished by the amount of factory-body filler used by Ferrari. This was the Italian manufacturer’s first mass-produced vehicle, and they experienced significant growing pains while setting up their production lines. Their fix for poorly stamped and ill-fitting steel panels was to use high-fill paint primers and fillers. All maintenance on the engine has been completed successfully, and it will soon be re-mated to the transmission. The transmission on this vehicle is an oddity, as it sits underneath the engine. The peculiar part is that the transmission housing actually serves a double purpose, as it is also the oil sump/pan for the engine.
Lastly is my Caterham Super 7 clone, also known as a Lotus Super 7. Mine is not a kit car but was replicated piece-by-piece using a friend’s Super 7 as a jig that happened to be in the shop at the same time. It was my first major build, commencing in my mid-20s, with almost every piece being made by my own hands, including the complete chassis, suspension and all panelling. It first went on the road in the year 2000. With age hopefully comes wisdom and enhanced skills.
The Caterham Super 7 clone got back on the road in 2020 for the first time in eight years.The Globe and Mail
With that in mind, 12 years and approximately 25,000 kilometres later, I took it off the road for a rebuild. Since I didn’t wish to be injured by my own workmanship, I felt it necessary to revisit and re-examine every original weld. My welding skills, in particular, have improved tenfold since then, and while I didn’t find any original welds that had broken or cracked, I needed the peace of mind that only comes with experience.
It took approximately eight years, but I finally got it back on the road in time for the first autocross event of 2020. The autocross season yielded items that need to be addressed over these chilly winter months. Somehow, I’ll squeeze in those repairs, more than likely pulling some all-nighters just before the first autocross event of 2021.
Your automotive questions, answered
Hi Lou,
My 2001 Honda Accord LX 2.3 (purchased new by me) with 320,000 kms has the SRS light on. The error code pulled by my trusted mechanic shows it as being an issue in the driver’s seatbelt latch. He says the buckle units in a number of model-years of Hondas have these issues, and he first tried some spray contact cleaner, as that has worked in other Hondas for him with the same issue. That did not help, however.
He feels it is necessary to change the buckle-receiver assembly. However, the local Honda dealer says it is not available. I called Honda Canada, they said basically, “you’re on your own” and “keep calling other dealers.” And they say they do not have visibility to the part inventory in their dealer network. This is amazing, especially when the same car in the U.S., built in the same factory, has a lifetime warranty on any SRS-related issues, parts and labour. It is a very important safety issue, as I am told that the airbags will not deploy when the SRS light is on.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Ron
You are correct, whenever the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) warning lamp is illuminated on your dashboard, your SRS system will not function properly, if at all, should you get into an accident.
I have lost count of how many of these units I have personally replaced in my career. Oddly enough, they always seemed to be full of gooey coffee remains and dog hair. Yuk! I’m not sure why this Accord seatbelt buckle seemed to attract more debris than other models, but all I can tell you is that it indeed needs to be replaced.
I called my preferred dealer and inquired about your model and desired buckle and was told that Honda Canada does indeed have stock. I believe your issue may be colour-related. Perhaps your mechanic got an inexperienced staff member that did not properly observe the part number supersession notes. They are no longer stocked in various interior colours and have a new part number that is black-only.
Laws differ between the U.S. and Canada; some things are covered here that are not covered south of the border and vice versa.
Hi Lou,
I have a 2014 Nissan Rogue, and while I have only owned it for a little over a year, my gas mileage is nowhere close to what is advertised. In fact, it is slightly worse than my 2005 X-Trail. The X-Trail was advertised as 10.8/8.1 litres/100 km city/highway and was actually pretty close to that at 12/9.5, approximately. The Rogue is advertised at 8.2/6.2, but my experience is more like 12/10, a huge difference.
I understand VW could program the software on their diesel engines to recognize when an emission test was taking place and then adjust the engine’s operation to minimize emissions. Is it also possible for the software controlling gasoline engines to recognize when a mileage test is being run and to adjust the engine for maximum fuel efficiency?
Jan
Vancouver
The VW diesel scandal showed the world that there was indeed cause for concern regarding emission cheating. Their defeat tactics were based on the vehicle detecting that it was on an emission-testing device. How did they do this? As the vehicle was placed on a dynamometer for an emission test, the front wheels would spin under load, yet the rear wheels would not. The on-board computer saw a steady road speed from the front wheels and zero speed in the rear, thereby recognizing it was being tested.
I have not seen or heard of any way that a vehicle could detect that you, the driver, are monitoring its fuel economy. The more likely scenario is that the stated manufacturer fuel-economy ratings are set under the most highly controlled conditions that are not based on real world usage. It takes many owners complaining about unrealistic declared fuel economy for the American and Canadian governments to get involved and to recheck and scrutinize the stated and as-tested numbers.
Lou Trottier is owner-operator of All About Imports in Mississauga. Have a question about maintenance and repair? E-mail globedrive@globeandmail.com, placing “Lou’s Garage” in the subject line.
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