The Bad Ideas Garage

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United States
Albany, OR
The Bad Ideas Garage

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Garage:
2021 Mustang Mach E
2017 Mazda 3 GT
2008 Infiniti QX56
1998 Mercedes C43 Ute
1990 Subaru Justy
1990 Miata
1981 Subaru GL EJ22 Swap

11/05/2026

Who knew awnings could be so challenging? 😂

OPENROAD was generous enough to provide an awning and roof-rack crossbars for the Fauxerlander project.

Which is awesome!

Except the mounting brackets are too short for my particular setup.

So naturally, what should have been a straightforward installation has turned into a custom fabrication project.

Because nothing says “outdoor adventure” quite like standing in your driveway trying to figure out how metal brackets work. 🤣

Who knew getting some shade would require this much engineering?

Big thanks to openroad4wdsupport for providing the gear and supporting our increasingly questionable decisions!

11/02/2026

Fall is here! 🍂 Which means it’s probably time to figure out why the heater doesn’t work in my $1,600 Infiniti QX56. 😂

After spending most of the summer trying to convince the A/C to work, I was thrilled to discover that the heater apparently had its own opinions about functioning.

The culprit? A very clearly broken heater control valve.

Thankfully, it’s easy to get to, and a replacement is relatively inexpensive.

So naturally, instead of replacing it, I took the cover off, manually opened the valve all the way… and left it there. 🤣

Now my heater core gets to stay warm and happy ALL THE TIME.

Is it fixed? Technically, no.

Do I have heat? Absolutely.

Happy fall from The Bad Ideas Garage! 🍂😂

11/01/2026

Having electrical problems? Have you tried hitting it with your favorite hammer? 🔨😂

Here at The Bad Ideas Garage, we believe in percussive maintenance.

We are clearly certified professionals. Probably.

(Please don’t actually hammer your battery terminals. Ours need replacing. 😂)

10/29/2026

I made a terrible mistake with my $1,600 Infiniti QX56.

I started trusting it. 😂

After driving it around for a while without any major disasters, I decided it was finally time to take my tools out.

You know, like someone who owns a reliable vehicle.

Naturally, that was getting a little ahead of myself - because I discovered that my battery terminals were apparently holding on through sheer determination and questionable engineering. 🤦‍♂️

At what point do you actually start trusting a $1,600 project car? Asking for a friend. 😂

10/27/2026

Rule number one of overlanding: always talk about overlanding. I think.

Rule number two: start strapping random things to your rig.

Rule number three: channel your main overlander energy 🤪

Thankfully, OPENROAD is helping me achieve at least rule number two by providing a 180° awning for my $1,600 Infiniti QX56.

But before moving onto rule number three, I’ve now realized that I have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, and my factory crossbars apparently aren’t the right roof racks for mounting this thing.

But I’m still talking about overlanding, so I guess I’m doing something right?

Big thanks to openroad4wdsupport for providing the awning and helping the Fauxerlander build.

10/25/2026

I swear, I’ve seen more car problems because of poorly installed stereos.

That might be the case here given the disaster that’s in the trunk. Or maybe the mechanic who recently worked on the starter.

My buddy owns this 2006 supercharged MINI Cooper S, and every time we try to start it, the voltage drops to around 2 VOLTS, there’s an audible POP, and absolutely nothing happens.

My suspicion? Something is grounding out or shorting somewhere around the starter wiring. But that’s just a theory, and this car has already demonstrated that conventional automotive logic may not apply. 😂

MINI owners and electrical gurus - what would YOU check first?

10/21/2026

At some point during the never-ending Mercedes fuel-leak saga, I discovered that a PVC pipe cutter makes a surprisingly clean cut on a hard fuel line. 😂

Is that in the Mercedes factory service manual? Probably not.

Did it work for what I needed? Surprisingly, yes!

Did that mean the C43 was finally done leaking fuel?

OF COURSE NOT.

Because on this car, fixing one problem just unlocks another.

And judging by our most recent smoke test, this car still has plenty of surprises left. 😬

10/18/2026

There’s nothing quite like spending time and money diagnosing a problem that could’ve been solved by checking a fuse. 😂

The HID headlight on my $1,600 Infiniti QX56 wasn’t working.

The bulb was physically broken. Easy fix, right?

Wrong.

Replaced the bulb. Still nothing.

Must be the ballast! Bought one.

Still nothing.

You know what I never bothered to check?

The gosh darn fuse. 🤦‍♂️

The most expensive part of this repair was my troubleshooting strategy.

Just another day at The Bad Ideas Garage.

10/16/2026

Over the summer, I decided to christen my $1600 Infiniti QX56 by using it as a tractor and pulling down a small tree.

Because that’s the best way to break in an SUV is to immediately give it a job it was never designed to do. 😂

This is also the unofficial kickoff to the Bad Ideas Garage overland series. We’ve got some big off-road plans coming together through a sponsorship deal, and I’m finally getting around to sharing the adventures here on Instagram.

Just kidding, we’re going to put a bunch of overlanding stuff on it, and just drive around town mostly. I think I’m doing this right!

10/13/2026

I’m still not sure if cutting through the body is a wise planned to fix the top of the fuel tank, but here we are. And just in case you wanted to know, a standard PVC pipe cutter will definitely cut the hard fuel line of a Mercedes-Benz. The more you know.

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Address

Albany, OR
97322

Website

https://thebadideasgarage.com/

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