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Rust Repair Part 23: Fixing The Windshield Pillar Gaps And Adding Bracing
XJ Build

With the XJ sitting on the chassis table I felt it was time to address the windshield pillars not lining up with the front doors. The pillars are almost touching the top corner of each door because back when I was replacing the drip rails I didn’t brace the roof enough and it shifted.

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A Custom Rear Hitch To Haul My Mini Bike

I recently built a mini bike and needed a way to haul it around with my 93 Civic hatch. Even though the bike is small enough that it’d fit inside the Civic, I’d have to lay it sideways and I didn’t like that because it could potentially leak oil or gas so I figured my best option would be to use a hitch cargo tray.

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FreeCAD AppImage Fails to Start Due to SquashFS Error
Linux

If you’re trying to install FreeCAD on Linux via an appimage and your running into a Squashfs image uses (null) compression, this version supports only xz, zlib error on startup it’s due to a bug in AppImageLauncher. This is a known bug that’s been fixed for a few months but at the time of writing this (2025-08-04) the fix hasn’t been included in any releases yet.

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Arco Mini Bike Build With a Predator 212 Swap

At some of the larger autocross venues I go to it can be a pain to walk around on foot because of how long it takes you to get from point A to B. To get around faster people usually bring an assortment of transporation mechanisms such as bicycles, e-bikes, drift trikes, or even ATVs to get around.

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How to Install Syncthing on Ubuntu
Linux

Syncthing rocks. I use it to keep my notes and docs synced between my two laptops and it’s never let me down. Recently one of my laptops went kaput after an OS upgrade and I was forced to set everything up from scratch (including Syncthing). Thankfully it’s pretty easy to set up.

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B-Series Gear Calculator

Helpful calculator for comparing different b-series transmissions. Allows for custom gear ratios, and tire sizes.

Rust Repair Part 22: Getting Jiggy With the XJ and Putting It on a Chassis Table
XJ Build

I’ve made it pretty far on the metal work for my XJ without a chassis table but once I finish up the driver side I’ll need to start replacing the floor and frame rails so the rear suspension needs to come out and that means the XJ won’t have any wheels. That’s gonna be a problem because every so often I need to move the XJ around to make space for other projects like repairs on my daily so a chassis table just seems like the best option.

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LS Swap Part 2: Converting a NP241C Transfer Case For the XJ With a SYE
XJ Build

There’s several options for transfer cases when LS swapping an XJ. Two of the more popular options are running the stock NP231 / NP242 with an adapter so it’ll mate up to the GM transmission or use a GM transfer case such as the NP241 that can be adapted to work with the XJ’s driveshafts.

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How I Built My Chassis Table
Shop and Tools

I recently built a chassis table for the XJ I’m restoring and figured I’d do a brief writeup. I’ve never built a chassis table before and from researching them online I quickly learned there’s no one size fits all solution.

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Rust Repair Part 21: Blowing Off the Dust a Year Later AGAIN
XJ Build

Another year has come and gone and the XJ remains in pieces. I truly intended on starting to fix it last time I posted about the XJ but then I impulsively bought a second XJ and it needed some work of it’s own that ended up taking me almost a year to finish.

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