One goal of this project is to explore the role of LLMs as a design co-pilot. And so far the results have been quite interesting. Here’s a bit of background on how our car choice might help and what some of the LLM help looks like so far.
924s is somewhat opportunistic but not totally mad choice for Lemons. They are relatively very cheap compared to say 911s like 914s and 944s, but they were modified and raced, so there is a pretty deep body of knowledge around mods, trouble-shooting, substitute parts etc. And they can be made quite reliable, provided you are willing to do the maintenance work!
For LLMs, this also means there is a lot of public training data. For example if you ask questions of Perplexity or just do enough google searches, you will find a regular set of references to sources like –
+ https://forums.pelicanparts.com/
So far, this means some pretty interesting exchanges. For example, now that the 924s oil cooler is diagnosed as a source of a major oil leak, it’s worth considering a weak point of 924s in warmer weather – cooling.
So there are a few options. Replace the various seals to restore repair the leak and likely restore some cooling performance. However, there are some finicky bits that suggest this repair might need to happen 2x to get right. And there is still the cooling issue that might not be fully solved. Might it be possible to improve cooling and fix the oil leak for $150 to $200. Oof. More on where some budget will come from – we have a bunch of bits to sell, most interestingly motors (headlight, trunk latch, rear wiper, etc).
And this led to series of chats with Claude.ai, eventually getting to some very specific cost questions and suggested parts like this exchange about how well a BMW transmission cooler might work as a oil cooler, which led to a $30 offer on eBay with free shipping.
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- Advantages:
- All aluminum construction
- Good pressure rating (trans pressure can spike high)
- Common in junkyards
- Usually $20-40
- Built-in mounting points
- Decent size/capacity
- Often overlooked by other builders
- Specific Models to Target:
- E36 325i/328i auto (1992-1999)
- E46 323i/325i/328i auto (1999-2006)
- E39 528i auto (1997-2003)
- Watch Out For:
- Check end tanks for cracks
- Verify core isn’t plugged
- Look for signs of previous damage/repair
- Some have plastic fittings – prefer all metal
It does seem that you can reach similar conclusions if you are patient with google and forum discussions. However, the value of essentially conversing to quickly converge on options and details, seems very high. The time required for “trust but verify” is now paying off with more trust and less verify.
Outrun Carbon 