Portfolio

The Alfa has the perfect chill spot for Chino 😂 #alfisti #alfaholics #alfaromeo #alfaspider #minipoodle #dogsofinstagram #motoring #california (at City of La Mesa, CA)

The Alfa on that daily driver duty. #getoutanddrive #drivetastefully #petrolicious #alfisti #alfaromeo #alfaromeospider #dailydriven #pleasestart #sandiego (at San Diego, California)

Welp! Threw the damned thing all together and could not get it to fire up. Tinkered a little bit but frankly I am burnt out from trying to get this thing running again (over a year of this learn-as-I-go engine rebuild challenge) and working all that OT these past few months. Did all I could and decided it was time to send it off to the professionals. Rest assured this Dart will drive home under its own power! (shoutout to the Alfa Spider lurking in the background lol) #mopar #moparornocar #yunostart #dodge #dart #dodgedart #moparfam #abody #projectcar #alfaromeospider #alfaromeo (at La Mesa, California)

So I “did a thing” 😂 My first Alfa Romeo and also my first convertible! Recently restored and seller had to let it go due to more pressing personal matters. Ever since I heard on Top Gear the premise that a gearhead rite of passage is the ownership of an Alfa, I have been curious to see what they are all about. So far? Daaamn the snarl of that 4-cylinder! Lots of plans in store for this little one. 1984 Spider 2.0, I have read online that Series 3 cars like this one are the gateway drug to Alfas. #alfista #alfisti #alfaromeo #alfaspider #spider #sandiego #petrolicious #drivetastefully #topgear #goals #californialiving (at La Mesa, California)

Le woof #minipoodle #poodle #dog #dogsofinstagram #puppyeyes #woof #guau (at San Diego, California)

Dat rattle can respray action about to set new records at Pebble Beach concours d’elegance lol Cleaned off rust, sprayed in some rust protection on and then piled on the layers! Won’t win beauty contests but hopefully will keep that rust away for a little longer. I see what people mean about California cars and lack of rust compared to other parts of the country. #krylon #rattlecan #spraypaint #shadetree #shadetreemechanic #becauseracecar #moparfam #mopar #moparornocar #dodge #dart #california (at City of La Mesa, CA)

Would you believe this thing is looking like an engine again?? There have been challenges during reassembly but it’s far less ridiculous than breaking free the old components. I get urges to throw it all together in the quickest to get it started but then think it would be a disservice to all the time and work that has gone into getting the engine up to this stage. #gettingthere #progress #becauseracecar #project #moparian #moparfam #dodgedart #dodge #v8 #socal #sandiego #madeinusa (at La Mesa, California)

That amazing feeling when you are done tearing stuff down and are now unboxing shiny new parts to install! And then you add your own touch with upgrades like a chain tensioner and a lifter valley baffle. #moparian #mopar #moparornocar #v8 #socal #projectcar #becauseracecar #madeinusa #dodge #dart #compcams (at La Mesa, California)

Awww yeeeeaaa! Old '74 Mopar small block meets 21st century tech advancements! Took some time to save up the coin but the drivability and economy improvements hopefully will make it a worthy investment. #fitech #summitracing #socal #mopar #moparornocar #abody #dodge #dart #dodgedart #wrenching #tinkering #projectcar #project #restomod #americanmuscle #musclecar #madeinusa #318 #v8 #detroit #sandiego (at San Diego, California)

Off it comes! This has become a long list of "since I'm here..." jobs because I didn't pull the engine out lol. Since the cam bearing installer won't fit straight with the bumper in place, the bumper came off and I discovered rust between many metal surfaces. There is gonna be a lot of freshening up happening on every surface I might come across. Cool thing will be doing reassembly with the bumper being one of the final pieces. Coming soon: EFI upgrade! #dodge #dart #dodgedart #mopar #moparornocar #projectcar #madeinusa #tinkering #moparfam #v8 #diy #drivetastefully #petrolicious #moparabody (at San Diego, California)

At long last! This is a milestone post because I have finally removed the oil pan and am ready to replace my 318's leaky rear main seal. I have crossed off all the disassembly items and all the remaining steps are for rebuilding. Even when it slows down to a crawl due to frustration, I am glad this project is still moving forward and I can't describe the joy I felt as the oil pan came off and it almost brought me down to tears of joy. I am refusing to let this Dart become another post on CraigsList trying to lure in buyers with piles of new parts that haven't been installed for a number of reasons. #milestone #topofthemountain #goals #perseverance #project #projectcar #becauseracecar #mopar #moparornocar #dodge #dart #moparfam #follow #like4like #engineporn #wrenching #318 #smallblock #americanmuscle #madeinusa #sandiego #socal (at La Mesa, California)

Starting to look like an engine again! New cylinder heads are on. Had to do some acrobatics to get the proper leverage on the ARP head bolts down to 100 lbs-ft and bashed a couple fingers against the engine block. There is something so satisfying about putting in nice new parts after fighting all the rusted out bolts, fossilized gaskets and layers of grime. I hope it all comes out all right and this engine becomes the mill this Dart deserves to have. #projectcar #project #dodge #dart #1974 #mopar #moparornocar #moparfam #abody #gearhead #petrolhead #wrenching #sandiego #livingthedream #americanmuscle #madeinusa (at San Diego, California)

Hellooooo San Francisco! Picked up the gf @andreadacy and now she gets to spend some time behind the wheel of her car. I get to enjoy the view and snap shots. #roadtrip #gf #sanfrancisco #bayarea #california #traffic (at San Francisco, California)

Driving from San Diego to San Francisco to drop off @andreadacy 's car plus some furniture her family hooked her up with! LA break over and time to hit the road again. #roadtrip #collegelife #california #loquehagoporamor #thingsidoforlove #vidadenamorados #movingday #girlfriend (at Santa Fe Springs, California)

Started working again on the Dart revival project! One head off, one more to go! And behold the result of valve stem seals that have become so hard and brittle that they're cracking in half. #mopar #moparfam #moparornocar #americanmuscle #v8 #dodge #dart #318 #wrenching #petrolhead #gearhead #projectcar (at San Diego, California)

It was only a matter of time before I began tinkering with the Sonic. Shifter bushings from DDMworks (not pictured) and the lower transmission mount from Turbo Tech Racing. #chevrolet #sonic #chevysonic #tinkering #savethemanuals #threepedals (at San Diego, California)