Scooter's Garage

09/02/2026

Tons of spot welds, hammering, re-enter, rinse and repeat to close up the gap. Now we grind and level off, double check to see if anything needs touched up. Then get ready for seam seal and paint.

09/01/2026

09/01/2026

Wedding and locking everything in place on has begun! We're going slow and purposely trying to mimic all the factory spot welds. Let's keep going!

08/31/2026

Out of the Tesla's we have serviced or helped out on to date, we've mostly seen 12 Volt battery issues, seal issues around the doors and trunk.

We've yet to see screen or door issues as mentioned in the article.

We've seen a few suspension items and Battery Management Board and Main fuse issues and one bad pack.

As mileage increases, they will wear like any car and require maintenance or service.

-SGR

Link in Comments:

08/31/2026

"5 under rated engines that powered Pontiac" - as titled in the article.

We agree with the 350HO, the Cammer 6 and the Iron Duke. While we love both the RAM Air III 400 and the 421 Superduty - we would not classify them as "under rated"

We think the 326HO and the 301Turbo should be on the list.

What do you think?

-SGR

Link in Comments:

08/31/2026

Tearing down a set of heads - can you see the problem with this intake valve?

08/31/2026

Back before GM pulled the plug on Pontiac several companies made the then Camaro based chassis a conversion to make several different new "Trans Ams"

Rumors also were abound at the time that Pontiac would resurface.

We can't help but wonder "What if" GM and Pontiac had updated a new Firebird chassis and made a new Trans Am?

Even if it was based on the then Camaro? Could it have saved Pontiac or at least pro-longed its death?

What say you fellow Ponti-Yackers?

-SGR

08/31/2026

We're gearing up to give a bath and detail to get shop dust and what not off. That all starts with Off-Road Wash by our friends at Slick Products

We've shown how well their Orange De-Greaser works, The off road wash is equally awesome! it foams up nice and helps dissolve dirt, grime, mud you name it!

Check them out!

08/31/2026

Now this is a Big Cat we could sink our teeth into! Big, Spacious, Tons of power and 4 speed! What more could you want?

08/31/2026

Part 2 – MEST Tune Myth Bust (Timing Pulled Back)

As we mentioned in Part 1, We’ve received a number of calls and questions recently about a so-called “MEST” tune and whether we will run it.

The short answer remains No. Absolutely Not.

Recap - In Part 1 we programmed the timing and AFR tables to closely match the publicly promoted numbers:

• 44° of timing from idle to ~4000 RPM
• 32° from 4000 RPM to redline
• Commanded AFR / PE of 13.0:1

The vehicle immediately became finicky with starting issues, lost substantial power and drivability, and entered heavy audible detonation under load with significant Knock Re**rd (KR).

In this video short For Part 2 we pulled the low-RPM timing back while keeping everything else the same:

• 40° of timing from 0–4000 RPM
• 32° from 4000 RPM to redline
• Same 13.0:1 commanded AFR / PE

Then repeated as close as we could the same testing. The result? The vehicle was still finicky and still produced clear, audible spark knock (detonation) under load.

Pulling 4° of timing out of the lower range did not eliminate the detonation or restore proper drivability. This further demonstrates that the promoted settings operate far too close to (and in this case, into) uncontrolled combustion a.k.a. "Detonation".

REMEMBER: "Detonation" is never a tuning target. Nor should it be used as a guide.

If you can "hear" detonation, It is clear evidence that combustion is uncontrolled and is actively damaging the engine.

This is Part 2 of our short series documenting the results under controlled conditions.

Next up we'll cover some of the log setting for the timing and fuel tables along with data logs, knock activity, power comparison, and a safer calibration on the same vehicle using proper timing and fuel tables.

As we said in part 1, Every engine combination is different. Always use proper knock monitoring, quality fuel and delivery, good cooling, and application-specific tuning.

Remember: proper tuning is never one-size-fits-all, and detonation should never be used as a guide.

This post is intended to share real-world data and help educate the community about a potentially dangerous set of settings being promoted online.

We performed this test on one of our test vehicles solely to document the outcome and provide factual information.