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We replaced the spark plugs.  Sounds like an easy job, and it was, sort of.  On the passenger side, The back two went in fine, but I had to unmount the a/c unit to get at the third one.

On the driver’s side, the front two plugs went in just fine, but the back one was more of a challange.  Something got misalighed while pulling the spark plug out, and we ended up having to take the upper valve cover, air pump, and fan shroude out to get the spark plug and jammed socket out.

Engine back to the state it was when we removed the alternator.

And finally, the new alternator installed in it’s mount, ready to go in tomorrow.

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Today was spent giving the interior of the car a good cleaning, I shampooed the carpets, and conditioned the leather on the seats, door panels, and rear dash. The seats are looking much better, and the car does smell cleaner.

We installed a JVC KD-G440 AM/FM CD Player with remote.  It also features a 1/8″ Aux in, and a USB port to play MP3 files off of a memory stick.

Also today, we fxed the right fog light. All it required was a new bulb.

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Digging around under the hood, we found a hidden surprise of the good kind. The car is equipped with a 4 channel alpine amplifier. I don’t have any specs on the amplifier, but it powers up and appears to be in working order.

The head unit for the stereo will not power up, so I have removed it, and it will most likely be replaced.  The equalizer that was mounted to the bottom of the dash has been re-located to the glove box.

The alternator has been pulled, and is currently being shipped to a family friend for some repairs.  It wasn’t too hard to remove, but hopefully it goes in easier than it comes out.

And finally, we had the dent doctors out today to remove a few dents and dings from the bodywork.

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Just recently my father and I received shipment of our latest project.  A 1979 Porsche 911 SC Targa.  This is the ‘Super Carrera’ that was originally planned to be the end of the 911.  The 944 that was intended to replace the 911 did not catch on as expected, and so we still have the 911 today.  This model was designed for easy drive ability, better reliability, and good value for the money.

The 911 SC Targa came standard with chrome trim, but this particular car has option M496, or black trim.

EDIT: No, it does not have the M496 option.

The 3.0 Liter 6 Cylinder, air cooled engine is specified to put out about 170hp into a 5 speed manual transmission.  The alternator on this car needs some work before the car hits the road.

Finally, the origional wheels on the 911 SC Targa are 6″ wide up front, and 7″ wide on the back.  This car has 7″ on the front, and 8″ inchers on the back.

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One area of computers that has interested me for some time has been controlling physical devices from a computer.  A goal of mine would be building a simple robot that can carry out a number of pre-programmed actions on it’s own.  A couple of months ago, a friend and I built a couple of well…thingies… that use servo motors to rotate and move up and down.  Attach a laser pointer to the end of it, and you’ve got hours of fun!

The next step for me here, is a way to control this device via computer. To do this, I needed an interface that can allow a computer to talk to several servos.  I ordered a Pololu Serial 16-Servo Controller.  It came in kit for, and I had to assemble the PCB my self.  A fairly easy assembly, as it is all through hole components, and none are too close together.

My next project will probably be one of their Dual Motor Controllers.

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