what do "you all" think abput a section where we can post perminate articles with pictures of various repairs or upgrades we've done to our 914's. kind of a step by step repair manuel for others to research before attacking a repair we've never done before. i'm going to be doing the fuel line conversion for example and plan to document it. in the 914 info. there are a couple that are helpful. maybe add to it somehow?

Great idea! Here is the link to that area of the forum.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showforum=5

Good idea. That way the newjacks have a place to go if nobody's around. I'll post a step by step next time I pull my engine. A lot of questions on that lately.
Mark D.

Orange, you are reading my mind. I've been hanging out here for nearly three months so I'm still a newbie, but I have opinions, especially since I have a lot of experience keeping 914's running back in the 70's and 80's when I used my cars as daily drivers.

Another passion of mine is hi-fi stereo reproduction. I belong to an FM tuner group and they have some really good info for newbies on their site (and for experienced people as well). Check it out: http://fmtunerinfo.com/#intro I think it would serve as a good example of giving good information to a group's members.

Anyway, without stepping on toes and getting bent out of shape about who "recommended" who and what product, etc., it wouldn't be hard to put together some "nailed" info posts that are closed to comment. The Lapuwali site does some of that, but not always in a succinct way. And it seems the Lapuwali site nails longer threads that turn out to be classics "after the fact."

For instance, recently I asked about the Optima Battery and Steve G was kind enough to post exactly which battery I would need to order. He did mention that he thought this info was already on the site. Well, it probably is but a search for Optima battery just didn't give it to me. How many members here have Optima Batteries or thought about buying one? Probably dozens. Why not have a paragraph about batteries stating how some members like the Optima, pros and cons, which model number you need to order, links to the Optima website, etc.

Maybe an easy way would be to change the name of a topic once the info is deemed to be a "useful reference." Many of the topics here have nebulous titles, like, "I've been thinking" or "Whadda ya think about?" when "Optima Battery" might work out better for a classic post.

Like today's post about gear oil and transmission capacity: necessary information to keep these cars running:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=69867

Anyway, just my .04!!!! (.02 two times over)

Paul

glad to see positive response, i think we're an active club and we all could contribute alot of good "archive info". this is a great run site and i'm not trying to load more on admin. but maybe we could set a few basic rules such as a basic step by step discription with a few pictures. they could be sent into admin to be posted in 914 info. section (locked). what say??
this would be different than the "lapuwali classic threads" in that its a closed how to "my experiance" with a few pictures and not a discusion. the purpose to be a referance helper for one thinking about attacking this type repair.

Good morning!

IMO, the Classics forum is single greatest "refined/purified" 914 resource on the web. Anyone can nominate a thread to go there. If it's solid 914 content, it usually does.

In general, I vote against anything that subdivides the site anymore and takes info out of the Garage or the Classics section. It makes searching harder for members.

If you have a suggestion to change the title of a particular thread (to aid searching), please PM any admin.



What do you recommend to make it more "succinct"?

There's nothing nailed in the Classics forum. Should anything be nailed with only 97 threads in the forum? We usually wait until a thread has played out, everyone has had opportunity to add input or ask questions, and then move the thread after it's complete.

If you have a specific how-to you'd like to do, I'd be more than happy to move it to the Classics section.

James (Lapuwali) was in the process of reorganizing and 'cleaning up' the classics section. It's long been a dream of mine to give the How-To section of the site a SERIOUS boost. But there's just too many projects and not enough time.

Taking pictures of projects and creating step-by-step threads is the BEST thing you can do to help produce the type of content you're looking for. Once the pictures and instructions are in a thread, it's a simple matter to move that thread around or copy the content out and put it on another part of the site.

I guess by succinct I mean a single post rather than a thread. Or maybe even a condensed single post that boils everything down to "the answer." I'm not criticizing by any means because this place is the major 914 lifeline IMO, it's just a suggestion. Maybe it's too much work. Maybe when I finally get my car in the next few weeks I'll have some actual real-life experience to post, rather than just questions! lol

Paul

I agree and think it would be ideal to take the classic topics out of the forum and convert them to tech articles similar to what Pelican has on their site. It would be easier to find specifc information. Of course, it takes time and effort on someones part.

It's up to you.

Make a clean thread, with undertandable tittle, lots of pictures... and wait for votes ...

BTW, despite votes my last tutorial was not transfered to the classics
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...mp;hl=headrests

I have observed over the years that this issue comes up occasionally and it appears as if the majority of members seem to think it's some sort of admin responsibility to write articles of the type this thread is discussing. Anyone... including yourself, can write such an article and submit it. But in 4 years, not many people have taken the initiative to do so.

It's your site, your garage...

Did you PM an admin and ask to have it moved to the Lapuwali Classic Thread Forum?

hmmm
would it be ok to transcribe someones thread to re-create it as a technical article??

If so, I may plug away...

Rich

Don't misunderstand me here, I think this is a great idea. It's come up many times in the past and the admin team has discussed it before also.

Based on your reply here though I would like to take this opportunity to point something out. There is a great wealth of information on this site. If you put some time into learning the idiosyncracies of the search engine provided by this site's software, you will be rewarded many times over. Many, many times late at night or during a garage session I have used the search function to find the information I wanted in less than 5 minutes... all from information that is already archived here.

that's a pretty good thread

Gint, I am still not efficient with the search function. Next time you are over, would you mind showing me the tricks of it

It's really easy. If I were at home I'd do a screen capture, but in the meantime...

Just below the search field there is a link labeled:

Enter a keyword or phrase to search by. [ Advanced Usage Help ]

Click on the "Advanced Usage Help" link and it will popup a very clear description of how to modify your search. Try it.

thanks

BTW, maybe it would be a good idea to have nailed thread that links to t he classics forum. Perhaps put a brief description of what can be found there, and then supply a link. I am sure there are many people that do not even know it exists. Not a link at the top of the page, but a thread with a link in it. I think it would gain more exposure, as more people read nailed topics than they do the links at the top of the page. just an idea.

I guess my thoughts on this were that the threads in the "Classic" section
could be candidates for creating a real "Technical Article" under
the [914 Info]->[Technical Information]->[Technical Articles] page.

The structure on the site is already there, it is just a matter of using it.
To me one of the great mysteries of the site is why the technical
article section is so underutilized in favor of classic threads.

Some of the classic threads are of a conversational style or
perhaps even of a historical blog type style but some are
definitely intended to be a technical "how to" or "step by step" type article.

Just quickly scanning through the list of classic threads, there are at least
5 or 6 that would be really easy to make into great technical articles.

I mean how many times do we see questions about how to hook up power
for a fuel pump when running carbs? To me it would seem easier to
find if this were in a technical article rather than in a thread even if
it is a classic thread.

If its a matter of time, well, I have plenty and can help there.
I'd be happy to work with the admins to convert some of the more
"how to" or "step by step" threads into articles.

I'm not suggesting that the original threads be removed, just that
we begin to start to use the technical article section a bit more.


Just my thoughts.

--- bill

Fantastic!

i'd be willing to help too

Bill, that is pretty much the consensus of the admin team and the intent for the technical articles area of the site. It's just that no one has taken the time to do it. And anyone can do it.

I believe this a great thing for new and old members. I am sure the older members have all seen Georges book (Tech Tips 700), I am also sure most newer members have not.
Back in the appendixes he deals with many repairs, what was nicely done in each case was he starts out with;
Tools required,
Supplies and parts required,
and then numbers the steps.
This may be a format that some may find useful.

I guess I can't search very well either, b/c I usually get 8 pages of responses or nothing at all. If I graze down into the threads I will often find the answer, but I will also find threads that just fell away from non-response. I would love it if the gold was filtered out of some of the LONG threads about dizzy set ups or flare installs or clutch cable problems or...
I would not try to cover alot in any article- "ignition" is too big, but "spark plug choices" would pop up in a search I think.
Leave the converstaional threads as they stand, just make reader's digest condensations of the best sellers. It should NOT be an admin function, but voluntary sort of wikipedia style.

this is a beuatiful example of the "article/repair" that could be pasted to a section for others to research/learn before tacking on the project. nice step by step and pictures

a big thank you and pat on the back to all the admin. and there efforts on this site. i dont want this to sound or appear to be a load to them. i am willing to be a part of the solution to improving this site in any capacity i'm able. maybe admin can imput a list of things needed from us-914world members -, to establish the section.
mike

i'll do what i can, let me know

Lots of good ideas on this topic. I guess I never fully explored the 914 Info link that's hiding RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE IN PLAIN SIGHT!!!

I will also try the advanced search options in the future. I try to search normally before posing a question and have been successful at times. Other times, I see a lot of posts that are seemingly unrelated to the query.

Anyway, I appreciate everything the site administrators do and I am willing to contribute more meaningful stuff once I get my car! In the meantime, I will continue to learn about the car by absorbing everything the site and its members has to offer.

Paul

#1 lesson in searching: Put a + in front of each word. (i.e. +brake +master +cylinder)

If you search for 'brake master cylinder' you will get any thread that has the word brake in it. (i.e. If I push this too hard, will it brake?)

Adding a + before the word makes it manditory.

OK gang, you asked for it, you got it. I posted Eric Shea's Sail Panel Vinyl Installation Step-by-Step in the Technical Articles section of the site. I used Eric's doc first to refamiliarize myself with the processes involved to get these articles posted and Eric's doc was 90% complete.

Where are my volunteers? Look at the articles posted and try to duplicate the style for your chosen tech article subject and let me know when you have something ready.

Let's get this going!

There are a lot of good articles in the classics forum that need to be copied and formatted for the Technical Articles section. We need people to do that, as well as create new articles.

Here's a quick template for formatting the pages:

i'll input an article. my son and i are presently in the middle of doing a fuel line replacement along with relocation of fuel pump. taking lots of pictures. i may be a little while but we do have to geter' done by west coast ramble.

Cool. We already have a fuel line replacement article, but if you concentrate on the fuel pump relocation that would be a great addition.

heres the link to what you need to know to get this rolling

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=70088

Check out Rob Watson's Dash Top Vinyl Installation article. Rob did a great job on it.

Thanks Rob!

I think it would be really cool to keep these kinds of technical articles in a Wiki type format (like Wikipedia). Randy set one up on the roadglue site when we were all being like lets have 9 websites.

I'm interested in maintaining/putting together a few articles. If someone wants to dole them out - feel free to throw one or two my way.

Hey Fiid!

We'd prefer to keep the look and feel of the articles that you see posted in the Tech Articles section today.

Feel free to go through the http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showforum=5 Lapuwali Classic Thread Forum, pick a thread and create a tech article. This is a low key operation. You can convert a classic thread or create a totally new tech article, but the choice is yours.

I am not sure if it is a feature of the Invision software but it might be nice to have a "printable view" button so people can print and go to the garage...

Alllllllrrrighty then....

It's been over a month. Two people have submitted tech articles in that time. So you could say that this tech article drive has definitely been more successful than past efforts. But that's not really saying much. Although the past efforts resulted in zero tangible results, this effort resulted in 5 or 6 articles. Better'n nuttin...

Anybody else? Anything in the works?

914world Techical Articles page

i feel kinda bad becouse i started this post and have yet to finish the articles i want to ad. we are acually in the middle of sway bar install, fuel line conversion and fuel pump relocate. its been tied up as we had to move my parents, put thier house up for sale and my sis was just diagnosed with breast cancer.
gint i will take you up on the offer to help out as soon as i can get you info. i'm glad there is interest i think this will help out all us teeners on our classics

Getting completed articles in the tech section is a good idea. Even threads that have been cleaned up would be better than nothing. For example, I hate it when someone is posting up a pictorial and someone inserts a comment before the person is done posting the remaining images...those comments could be removed. Same with hijacks.

People make statements like this, but when we ask for folks to convert a great classic thread into a tech article, everything stops right there. Until the next time a thread comes up about tech articles and then the comments start up again, with no results. This time we got 5 or 6 new articles instead of nothing.

Anyone/everyone, feel free to go to the Lapuwali Classic Thread Forum, pick a thread, remove all of the inapropriate content or hijacks, and convert it to a tech article and submit it.

BTW - I've already made use of the "Fuel pump for carbs" article by SirAndy and Bill Perry. Thanks! Great work.

Mike,

thanks for taking the time to get the articles posted.

-Rusty

1. Just givin' my opinion/input like EVERYBODY ELSE.
2. Got a list of tech articles currently being "fixed" so there isn't a duplication of efforts?
3. Many of my tech articles are done off site so there is no noise in the signal

While we're at it, how does one clean up a thread? Are we supposed to gather the contents and bake it into a single web page? I see the current tech articles are .php and I'm extremely weak in that language.

you can either save a existing article as a HTML file and edit that or copy & past the text & pictures into a new document.

your submission does not have to be PHP, just HTML. go back one page in this thread an you'll find a HTML "template" that McMark posted ...
Andy

Gint wrote above:



Also, see post #30 for suggested format.

But if someone can't do a thread in html, no problem. We've had articles submitted in MS Word. Mike would need to concur, but if you sent it as a text file, with indication where to place each picture - I think he'd be able to do that.

As far as:

Feel free to start a list.

I can do HTML. The template looks easy enough

Kinda hard to start a list when I don't know who's doing what How about a new thread?

1. Didn't mean to pick on you Toby, just trying to make a point.
2. As soon as I get more real work done, I'll start a new thread and nail it.

HTML is preferred, but if you can't do that, plain old text rocks. I'm a Unix guy. I would prefer plain text in the template format in McMark's post #30 over an MS doc file. Converting an MS doc to html and stripping out all of the junk is a lot more work than adding the simple html tags that we are currently using for our articles. Just list the pic file names in the HTML or text doc and email them to me with the pics. And BTW, pics need to be no larger than 800X600. Please don't make me have to resize all your pics. I can and will do it if you don't have the capability, but for those that do, please resize! Simple...


I know you're capable. Like I said above, I'll start a new pinned thread tonight. I'll post a link to that thread in this thread before 10:00 p.m. MDT tonight. Anyone that is working on a new article will be able to post their intentions in that thread.

Thanks!