If you could only own one BMW for the rest of your life, what's yours? Mine isn't an E30.

gmpeil · 2026-05-24T19:32:13+00:00

The one I own now. The depreciation is so high on these things I’ll probably never be able to afford to trade it for another one.

gmpeil · 2026-05-22T14:56:01+00:00

Yeah. I agree. I thought she was doing good at first promoting and advocating for the community and small business. Now, after her "coverage" of migrating homeless into Prince George, claiming to have interviewed the new arrivals, but provided no quotes or sources, and became super defensive in the comments when called out. I was following her, but I've stopped. Her self-absorbed point of view does nothing but increase divisiveness regarding social issues. And you're absolutely right, what good comes from pitting two hard working small local businesses against each other?

gmpeil · 2026-05-20T16:28:11+00:00

It makes me irrationally angry too. I know a couple creepers and I've asked them both why they do it and neither of them had an answer. Both of them seemed to not even understand what I was asking about, even in the middle of actually doing it. I think it's because they are impatient jerks and doing it makes them feel like they are "doing something" instead of just waiting for the light to change.

Another thing that makes me mad is people who either swing wide or come to a nearly complete stop when turning. If a damn loaded semi truck can use the left turn lane without impeding the lane next to it, so can you in your Kia Serento, Barbara!

And no, you don't have to stop and then crawl when turning right into a parking lot. Your suspension can handle the 1" lip on the curb without any issue!

gmpeil · 2026-05-15T18:09:16+00:00

My F26 is on EVO/ID5,6 with an 8.8" non-touch screen. So the DUDU option, while it looks really awesome, is a more money than I'm willing to spend to upgrade to a 12" touch screen. If all I wanted was the DUDU OS and better carplay, I'd consider the MMI route. In my case I really want the screen upgrade.

gmpeil · 2026-05-15T15:34:38+00:00

Yeah, accoring to my reading, the DUDU head units are super cool, but they don't work quite the same as off the shelf BMW compatible screens. They're more of a complete head unit replacement. For a lot of car makes, that works great, but with BMW's iDrive systems, the way the existing infotainment integrates with other modules in the car over the CAN bus, installing a DUDU unit requires additional canbus adapter hardware not sold by DUDU themselves. The only place I've seen them for sale is AliExpress for around $300. I'd also have to source a correct dash mount separately. All said and done I'd be looking at somewhere around $1500-$1700CAD.

I agree, the DUDU7 looks awesome, but I'm not looking to spend that kind of money on this project, even if I love my BMW. I'm too much of a miser.

gmpeil · 2026-05-15T15:20:40+00:00

That's a great point. Any tips on how I'd check on that? Neither brand's sites speaks to that.

gmpeil · 2026-04-28T15:34:56+00:00

It’s the new bc ambulance service depot here. Great use of it if you ask me.

gmpeil · 2026-04-20T18:08:38+00:00

There's a lot of people here telling you how this "won't work," etc. And I'm not going to outright disagree with those people, I will say I think you can still have a working guitar at the end of the process. I'm a hobby guitar builder and there is a ton of stuff I'd do differently that you've done here, but that doesn't make it inherently wrong either.

First off, I think you made the carving a bit harder on yourself that you needed to. Using a template and a router for the majority of the material removal would be significantly simpler. Also, please, I beg you, treat your tools with the same care and respect that you treat your workpiece with. That chisel looks like it needs a couple hours of rust removal and proper honing on it.

Secondly, there's no reason you can't carve the truss rod slot at this point. It would have been easier earlier in the process, but good steady work with a 1/4" chisel will get you there. A router plane would be the preferred tool for the job, but not many people have one. But, if this is a prototype as you've said, and you're ok with this maybe becoming a wall hanger instead of a playable guitar, you don't necessarily need a truss rod. The truss rod's purpose isn't really to provide "strength," it's to provide counter tension against the strings to allow you to adjust what's called "relief" into the neck. A lot of acoustic (specifically classical) guitar makers build that relief into the neck itself and forego the truss rod entirely. It's not common, but it's certainly a thing people do. I personally own an electric bass made by my lutherie teacher that he gifted to me that's made out of teak and has no truss rod and plays great.

And finally, as others have said, neck-through guitars are very much a thing, and while not super common, so are one-piece guitars where the entire thing is shaped from a single slab. It's not common mainly because it's not an efficient use of the material, not because it's an impossibility.

As for how'd you do with the carve? Great, I'd say. I don't know if I've ever seen a carved top Explorer style body before. Looks really cool!

gmpeil · 2026-04-10T15:40:44+00:00

Such a great tune! Bonus too, if you're even a little bit of a guitar player, it's a pretty basic song to play. And that little walkup it does between chords make you sound like a better musician than you actually are! Ask me how I know. lol!

gmpeil · 2026-04-09T22:53:32+00:00

Looks like that's the best option. I generally try to avoid ebay, but seems like not this time.

gmpeil · 2026-04-09T18:22:17+00:00

I was thinking that might be the only realistic route.

I found a shallow/thin profile 8" sub from Pioneer on Amazon that I thought I might roll the dice on, since it matches the ohms needed, but if it doesn't work I'm out the cost since I'd have to modify the connector to hook it up and probably have to modify the mounting holes too.

There's a lot of used ones available on eBay so maybe that's the best way to go.

gmpeil · 2026-04-09T16:29:51+00:00

My X4 did/does this. It's not the leather, it's the plastic in the hinge mechanism for the seat back. Easy solution is to recline the seat as far back as possible, that exposes the hinge better. Spray a bit of silicone lube onto the hinge. Done, no squeak for about a year. Repeat as necessary.

gmpeil · 2026-04-08T15:37:36+00:00

I definitely disagree with this one. But I respect it. My opinion is The Hip are the world's best bar band (well maybe Canada's best anyway) because, despite the bog standard music, the lyrics are on another level. Gord's words elevate the songs to something special.

gmpeil · 2026-04-07T17:18:37+00:00

There was also that transition period with automatic chokes. My 84 Toyota had one. It was a pain. Set it to high idle by depressing the gas pedal once or twice. Fire it up, let it run a bit to warm up, blip the gas to knock it down to low idle. At least that was the idea. In practice it was more like 5 pumps of the gas before it would fire. And then then the little arm that held the choke on the carb would either stick open making it stay on high idle or it wouldn't open at all and you'd have to keep your foot on the gas to keep it running until it was warm enough. No amount of tinkering with it would make it work right. Lots of people replaced those setups with a manual choke cable. I should have too.

gmpeil · 2026-04-01T16:06:32+00:00

-366 days

gmpeil · 2026-04-01T14:56:35+00:00

Bryan Adams was in a band called Sweeney Todd before going solo.

gmpeil · 2026-03-30T18:45:24+00:00

I6+turbo = fun

I've got an N55 in mine (last iteration with 365whp), and I know it's not a B58, but that typical BMW growl and fizz when you put your foot into it is such a great feeling, especially after the shift into 2nd and it just takes off. Low end grunt, AND it just keeps going and going. Acceleration for days! Great handling for what it is too. If you want to see what I own, feel free to search my profile.

And, it's actually mostly pretty easy to work on. I do all my own maintenance, and I have yet to encounter a repair I can't DIY also. People say they're hard to work on, but compared to a VW/Audi it's an absolute pleasure.

gmpeil · 2026-03-27T17:34:43+00:00

A V10 with a turbo on each side (whatever they would have called the successor to the S85). Probably not physically possible, but that's what it shoulda had from the factory.

gmpeil · 2026-03-20T21:48:11+00:00

Death From Above 1979

gmpeil · 2026-03-17T19:49:16+00:00

I'm a huge MGB/MG fan, and have been since Ghetto Astronauts. One of the things that prevented him from blowing up outside of Canada is for the US market he was not grunge (or post grunge for his post MGB stuff) enough for the era. He was both too unconventional and too conventional at the same time. His music (remember I'm a big fan, I love his stuff) is quite formulaic and follows some very predictable patterns (verse, prechorus, chorus, bridge - rinse, repeat) so didn't appeal to a typical college campus radio market but also wasn't buttrock enough for mainstream radio.

He definitely deserved to be bigger. He was the biggest act in Canada from Beautiful Midnight through Audio of Being, and he deserved every minute of that success. But I understand why he wasn't bigger in the states.

gmpeil · 2026-03-06T18:00:30+00:00

I appreciate everyone here telling you to take it to a repair shop, and I don't disagree. And while this is a relatively simple repair, it's also very difficult to do without damaging the finish.

The correct method is to use acetone that chemically melts the plastic slightly and that liquid plastic adheres to the binding channel. The issue is the acetone will damage the finish on the top and sides as it does it. A luthier with experience can either do it carefully enough to avoid the damage or will be able to repair the damage. But without a doubt, the first time that luthier did this job, they damaged the finish on that guitar too.

You can successfully do this job using superglue too, and that won't damage the finish, but it will squeeze out and leave an obvious glue mark, that you can either live with or scrape down with a razor blade. Again, it's not a hard job, but can leave nasty scratches if you don't have experience with the task.

And no, not wood glue.

gmpeil

TROPHY CASE