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PICgauge Optical Belt Rib Gauge Tool
I found this tool the other day on iTunes of all places and I thought it was very cool. It’s called PICgauge. It’s an app for iOS devices (5.1 or higher) that lets you gauge belt wear on your engine’s serpentine belt without removing it from the car. As the belt wears the gaps get deeper and wider so the ribs get smaller relative to each other. Eventually the belt starts to ride only on the ribs and may start to slip.
The measurement process is very simple: Grab a silver or white Sharpie and draw a line across the ribs of your belt and take a picture of it with your iPhone without using the flash.
Open the picture in the PICgauge app. Tell the app how many ribs your belt has and use two fingers to resize the photo to fit between the lines.
Mash the “measure” button and you’re done. The app finds the boundaries of each rib, measures them relative to each other and tells you if you’re OK, marginal, or kaput. Pretty cool.
Repairs Complete
While we wait out the Frankenstorm, here’s a picture of the Porsche fresh from the shop. (Click the photo above for the complete set.) All repairs have been completed; no suspension or sub-frame damage found. The car looks terrific and we can’t wait for the roads to clear up and take it out for a drive. We’ve been gathering parts this past month: new headlights, clear side-markers, and a new intake were installed yesterday. New serpentine belt, coil-packs, plugs, and rotors will have to wait until next weekend.
Porsche Progress Report 4
One small piece of trim prevented the completion of repairs to the Porsche last week. New ETA is next Tuesday. (Can’t attache the trim, can’t put in the window. Can’t put in the window, can’t attach the door panel…) Since the garage was empty, we repainted and put down a new floor.
So today we went back to the skidpad with some of the instructors from the local BMW club. This would have been more fun with the Porsche, but the MINI is plenty chuck-able. In this video, I’m working on the Scandinavian Flick. In one case, I manage to get the back out more than 90 degrees and still recover. Also listen for the sound of terminal understeer towards the end. I wanted to see how well the camera would pick up that sound.
Porsche Progress Report 3
The rain finally subsided today and the 911 came out of the paint booth into the sunlight. Color match is very good and the paint application is excellent. Today they will buff the clear-coat, hang the door, and reinstall the side window. If all proceeds as planned, the car will be done on Friday. Woohoo!
It’s really amazing to see how much paint technology has changed since I helped Dan paint the FIAT 28 years ago. Computer color-matching, more environmentally friendly paints, rapid drying in heated booths — none of that existed back in the day.
Somethings haven’t changed, however, such as the fact that good prep work makes for a better finished product. I think this is turning out very well.
Porsche Progress Report 2
Repairs continue according to schedule. When I walked into the front office, the office manager recognized me and asked if I had come to check up on Sally.
The rocker has been repaired; the new quarter panel has been attached; and the inside of the door has been painted. The best news though is that no additional structural damage was found once the old quarter panel was removed. It should be going into the paint booth early next week. They used all Porsche part which is reassuring.
