One thing you'll notice about My Summer Car, you're going to need to drink a few berooskis otherwise there's a chance there may be a keyboard going through the wall.

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Basics

You might want to run to the store in the van to stock up on food and drinks before you start building the car. The van can be found at Uncle Kesseli's House and you'll need to get the keys from him when he's in. In order to do that, there are information on how to get the van. If you can't get the van, use the boat to get to town. It is recommend that you take the Jonnez as well. You might also want some way of cooling yourself down, because you will get very, very hot and frustrated from building and playing a lot.

Before you leave, load up your van with canisters. A diesel canister (black) is in the barn where the tractor is at. A spare gasoline can (green) is in the back left corner of the garage. When you're at the store fill up the van's tank and both of the canisters. From the store, make sure you buy everything from the left wall. The alternator belt, multiple canisters of each fluids. They will be important for building and starting the engine for the first time, so don't be afraid to spend almost 3,000 mk.

Below you will find a recommended shopping list for your first trip to Teimo's Shop:

↑ Depends on route and driving skills.

Starting the van

To start and drive the van, get in by jumping into the seat (you should automatically crouch when entering the cab of any vehicle). Start the van by left clicking on the ignition (left side of steering wheel), then wait for the glow plug indicator to turn off before clicking and holding down to crank the engine. The same procedure applies to other diesel engines in the game. Headlights are to the left of the radio near the gearshift. Disengage the handbrake by holding right click, do it again if the parking brake indicator is still on.

Make sure you turn off H-shifter at the main menu if you're using a gamepad or keyboard and mouse. By default; X is clutch, G to shift up, B to shift down.

Finding the store

To reach the shop, turn left at the first three way junction at the end of the dirt road leading to the player's house, just after the railroad tracks. Follow the dirt road down to a four way intersection and turn right, a paved road (the highway) should now be visible. Turn left and enter onto the highway. After that, take the fourth left-hand side exit to reach Peräjärvi (the second exit leads to Loppe, Fleetari repair shop), the shop is the first building on the left (You should be able to see the fuel pumps).

Warning: There could be a police checkpoint on the highway. If there is, pull up and take the breathalyzer test. Make sure to also drive within the speed limit (80 km/h for van and truck, 100km/h for Satsuma, Ruscko and Ferndale), and to always wear a seatbelt. When driving with the moped, make sure to wear the helmet. If you violate or break any rules, you will be fined, which can prove to make your early game very difficult.

There are few other ways to get to the shop by driving, but the route above is the fastest and safest. The entire road map of Alivieska can be found here.

Note: You might also want to visit the Abandoned Mansion to get the starter wheels. The mansion is located near Loppe, just after a small bridge. Remember to visit it at night (because of the wasp nest ) and to bring something that can open the locked doors, such as a beer case. These wheels most likely won't pass the inspection, but after May update these wheels may actually work. These wheels aren`t the best, but they will prove very useful in your first rides aboard the Satsuma.

Eating and drinking

To drink beer and eat food, look at the beer/food and press the action button (default F ). You can also drink from the kitchen or bathroom tap by turning the tap on, then crouching in front of it (default C ) or bending over into the water stream (default Q ).

Making money

To make money, there is a barn to the right down the road from your house. Inside is a chopping block and an axe which you can use to make money. Click the log stack to put a log on the chopping block. Click the axe, hit action button (default F ), then right click to swing.

There is also a tractor in the barn. You can use this to tow your car by driving the tractor near it, then left clicking a tow hitch. Left click again to disconnect. You can also use the forklift to pick up your car using the front hydraulics lever from the right side of drivers seat. Don't lower it too far or it will glitch up the tractor.

Saving the game

To save your game, go to the nearest toilet and select "Save & Quit"

If you damage the body of your car, you can repair it by doing the following:

Navigate to C:\Users\Username\AppData\LocalLow\Amistech\My Summer Car .

. Delete meshsave.txt from the folder.

Your car bodywork will now be repaired with your work intact. This will not replace broken windows or parts that have come unscrewed as a result of damage, and food you have eaten prior to reloading will still be gone.

Make meshsave.txt a read only file if you want damage to be repaired upon reloading.

Note: Delete the file manually or remove the read-only property before starting a new game or it will result in an infinite loading glitch because the game can't reset the file and continue the loading process!

Building the Satsuma

Before building

There are some things that could save a lot of hassle during and after the car assembly:

Most damageable parts are in critical condition at the start of the game. These parts can be serviced at the repair shop, but the smarter, though slightly more expensive option is to buy new ones from the repair shop shelf. Replacing everything will be very expensive, but all parts will eventually get replaced anyway. The easiest way to make a quick buck is to take the wrecked cars to Fleetari, but there are also other ways to make money.

Ordering the fuel mixture gauge and ratchet set from the parts catalog will prove very useful for the initial assembly of the car, as well as for tuning it later on. In total these items will cost 908 mk, and will take some time to arrive. This will also require two trips to Teimo's Shop; first to take the envelope to the post box, and later to pay for and pick up the packages when the shop is open. Note: The envelope should be taken to the store at the same time as the initial grocery trip, as the payment will only happen once the packages have arrived at the shop.

Getting started

Below is a complete list of car parts with their bolt sizes and quantities required for the car to run, for example: 6x9mm is 6 bolts/nuts with the 9mm spanner or ratchet.

Press F to open the spanner or ratchet set and then press 2 to enter tool mode, press 1 to go back to normal mode, pick a spanner or ratchet with LMB while in tool mode. Spanners and ratchets cannot be placed back inside the sets, the normal hand mode will still function normally regardless of whether a tool has been picked up or not.

Engine

Chassis

You may want to jack the body up off the ground using the floor jack. Or you can push the car inside of the garage with the blue van (this slightly damages the car-frame)

It is recommended to pick up the suspensions from the front if you can, as it tends to tip off as it gets weighed down by installing new components. Otherwise just be mindful as you go.

Alternatively you could jack the car up and build the suspension and push the car into your garage, giving you access to the underside easily.

Finishing up

Fill up the car's fluids by unscrewing the caps on the engine components, then holding the containers upside down over them until a white bar appears (the fluid containers don't have caps). The clutch cylinder uses brake fluid. The gas can, coolant, brake fluid and motor oil aren't infinite. Tighten the caps again when you are finished. You can also pee in your radiator if you want.

Note: Buy at least 3 bottles of brake fluid as the two brake reservoirs require a full litre each, and the clutch reservoir 500ml. The reminder will be useful for topping up your fluids as they are slowly consumed over time. If you're not very familiar with the Satsuma it's best to get 4 or even 5 bottles as the brake lines will steadily leak fluid unless you tighten every single nut.

Starting the car for the first time

To successfully start your car, make sure you have filled all oil, coolant, and fluid reservoirs and have installed the alternator belt. To start a car (especially a Datsun 100A or other cars with a choke lever), pull the choke all the way up, located below the radio on the dashboard meters, holding the left mouse button. After that, start the engine and rev it several times without revving it too much, if you don't want the engine to overheat. Holding the right mouse button on the choke, it pulls itself all the way out. Make sure to pull it off, because, when driving the car for the first time, the engine will overheat while driving.

Inspection

Now that the car runs perfectly without any problems during/after assembly whatsoever, the next step for it is to get it inspected. Before this, however; there are still a few things left to do:

Go to the tractor at the woodshed and pick up the warning triangle, it can be detached from the back of the tractor by pressing RMB . The triangle must be somewhere inside the car during the inspection.

. The triangle must be somewhere inside the car during the inspection. Make some money, 1,375 mk to be exact if everything goes well, and take the Satsuma's wheels to Fleetari Repair Shop. The best way to transport the wheels is probably by using the van. Once there; leave them on Fleetari's desk and select the "Standard Road Tyres" option from the tyre list for 1,050 mk (with the 40% discount) and drive back home. Fleetari will eventually call the player's phone to inform them that the wheels are ready to be taken back. Note: The "Gommer Gobra" tyres will also pass the inspection, but are slightly more expensive.

everything goes well, and take the Satsuma's wheels to Fleetari Repair Shop. The best way to transport the wheels is probably by using the van. Once there; leave them on Fleetari's desk and select the "Standard Road Tyres" option from the tyre list for 1,050 mk (with the 40% discount) and drive back home. Fleetari will eventually call the player's phone to inform them that the wheels are ready to be taken back. Make sure that there are no aftermarket parts installed . There may be some exceptions as to what is and is not accepted, but in any case; aftermarket parts should only be thought about after the inspection.

. There may be some exceptions as to what is and is not accepted, but in any case; aftermarket parts should only be thought about the inspection. Finally make sure that all parts are in good condition. If no replacements were bought from the repair shop prior to assembly, replacing them now can be a tedious task.

Now that the car is ready, drive to the inspection shop on any weekday (Monday-Friday) between 08:00 and 16:00. The inspection shop is located northeast of Teimo's Shop and behind the wastewater treatment plant.

Drive the car on the lift inside the garage, turn it off, put on the handbrake, and walk to the cheerful man at the desk. Left click on him once the paying prompt of 325 mk appears on the screen and wait for the man to do his work. Once he is finished; he will walk back to the desk, congratulate the player on their successful inspection, and hand out two register plates; they are attached to the front and back of the car without any bolts.

Congratulations! The car is now officially driveable. If, though, for some reason the car failed the inspection; it can be re-inspected as soon as the problems have been fixed, even on the same day. To figure out what could have possibly gone wrong; click on the inspection report on the desk and, by the off chance that Finnish looks like gibberish, click on the Union Jack at the top-right corner of the form to view it in English.

Note: The "additional notes" section won't get translated, but it is the same regardless of whether the car passed or not, and translates to something along the lines of: "This is a very beautiful car".

Tuning

Tuning your valve-train

My Summer Car How To- Adjusting valves on a turned off engine

Remove the rocker cover to access the valve adjustment screws. With the engine running and warmed up to ideal temperature, adjust each one with a screwdriver; mouse scroll up tightens, mouse scroll down loosens just like the nuts and bolts. If the valves are too loose or too tight, they will make a 'ticking' noise.

The car performs best when the valves are as loose as possible without ticking. Be careful not to go too far in either direction or the engine can stall. If this does happen, immediately reverse whatever you just did before you forget which valve you were adjusting. Only then should you go back and attempt to continue tuning the motor.

The best way is to loosen each valve (mouse scroll down) until it starts ticking, then carefully re-tighten until the exact setting it stops again. Some valves are already in a too loose or too tight position, but will not start ticking until you fiddle with them. If a valve immediately starts ticking when you loosen it, keep loosening for another 5-7 wheel scrolls (or about a half turn on the screw head). If it stops ticking again the valve was in the 'too tight' position and you should proceed as normal (keep loosening until you hit the 'too loose' ticks and re-tighten) if it's still ticking after 5-7 scrolls you're in 'too loose' territory and should start tightening until the ticking stops.

Some great charts can be found here for the results of tuning your valve-train.

Tuning your carburator

It doesn't matter if it's stock or not. Take the screwdriver from the spanner or ratchet set, find the idle screw, and then "unscrew" (mouse scroll down) 10-20 times. Get inside the car, pull the choke all the way out (by holding left mouse button on it), turn on the ignition and start the motor. Hold your RPM at around 3,000-5,000 by using the throttle pedal. Once the temperature gauge has reached the halfway mark it is at running temperature; release the choke by holding down right mouse button on it.

Get out and go back to your carburator. You can manually pull the throttle linkage to rev the engine and tune it while it is running. Rev the engine a couple times and pay attention to the exhaust. Dark smoke means you are running too rich, popping and cracking combined with the engine temperature steadily rising means you are running far too lean.

For now, being your first time tuning and this is still a stock car, we'll go for the richer end of the ideal mixture range. You can easily tell when you're in this range because the exhaust smoke turns a greyish white colour. Rich-en your mixture until the car blows dark exhaust smoke and then lean it out a bit, or if it is already dark, just keep leaning the mix until the exhaust colour changes. At this tune you should have plenty of low-end power to prevent stalling. If you still have issues you can hold the clutch and rev the engine gently before releasing the clutch for a bit more power; rev too hard though and the car will happily spin its wheels. This may or may not be a bad thing. If the RPM 'bogs' while taking off give the clutch a quick tap to let the RPM pick back up momentarily before the clutch re-engages. Again, this may result in a burnout but is preferable to stalling.

By tuning your carburator, you can enrich to improve your low RPM torque (less stalling, faster starts) or lean out to increase your high RPM power for better acceleration at top-end for things like the rally event, where you will constantly be down shifting for corners and generally always at high RPM. Be sure to re-apply your airfilter on the stock carburator if you have removed it for tuning.

A note for the stock carburator, if you have the fuel mixture gauge installed, a good solid value is 14 at optimum temperature. This gives the car enough power in 1st to avoid stalling as often, but still reaches high top speed. Once you have installed performance parts and gotten used to taking off without stalling, you can lean the mixture to 14.7-15.1; this will give plenty of high end power and allow you to hit the rev limiter in top gear, as well as accelerate very quickly, provided you shift late to keep the RPM as high as possible. The downside is low end torque will be very lacking; your car will pretty much always stall from a standstill without some feathering of the clutch, and you will 'bog' and accelerate very slowly below 4k RPM, down shift to get your revs back into the power band.

Common issues / FAQ

A few common problems people have and how to troubleshoot. The primary cause of problems is forgetting/missing bolts on components, but this guide should help you look in the right direction:

Car wont start & runs out of battery: Make sure your alternator is properly fitted. Ignition requires battery power to ignite; if your alternator belt or alternator is not connected properly you will not have a charged battery. Check those, make sure your alternator is pushed out from the engine by loosening the screw in the slotted section of the alternator bracket, and scroll the mouse wheel to rotate it to the appropriate position. See the alternator entry under engine assembly for more details on proper belt tension. Also check the distribuitor. If it's unbolted, the Satsuma won't start.

Make sure your alternator is properly fitted. Ignition requires battery power to ignite; if your or is not connected properly you will not have a charged battery. Check those, make sure your is pushed out from the engine by loosening the screw in the slotted section of the alternator bracket, and scroll the mouse wheel to rotate it to the appropriate position. See the alternator entry under engine assembly for more details on proper belt tension. Also check the distribuitor. If it's unbolted, the Satsuma won't start. Engine makes a horrible squealing noise: You didn't tension the alternator belt properly. See the alternator entry under engine assembly for proper belt tension. If tightening the belt doesn't help, make sure that both alternator and water pump pulley spin. If either of them doesn't spin, you will have to get a replacement part from Fleetari.

You didn't tension the alternator belt properly. See the alternator entry under engine assembly for proper belt tension. If tightening the belt doesn't help, make sure that both alternator and water pump pulley spin. If either of them doesn't spin, you will have to get a replacement part from Fleetari. Engine ticks while running: Your valves are badly adjusted. See the valve-train guide under tuning. Your camshaft might also be misaligned.

Your valves are badly adjusted. See the valve-train guide under tuning. Your camshaft might also be misaligned. Cant get into gear: You most likely have a broken gear box or your missing the gear linkage.

You most likely have a broken gear box or your missing the gear linkage. Clutch is stuck open: This could mean you haven't filled the clutch master cylinder , make sure it's brimming with Dot4 brake fluid and try again. If it's leaking; check every nut on the clutch lining, as well as the cylinder itself. Make sure your handbrake is off !

This could mean you haven't filled the , make sure it's brimming with Dot4 brake fluid and try again. If it's leaking; check every nut on the clutch lining, as well as the cylinder itself. Make sure your handbrake is ! Keeps popping out of gear while driving/is very difficult to get into gear: You have missed one of the bolts on the gear linkage, or one has come loose.

You have missed one of the bolts on the gear linkage, or one has come loose. Brakes don't work: Make sure every nut on the brake lining is done up; see the assembly section to make sure you got them all. You may have to bleed the brakes, unscrew the brake line nuts at every wheel by 2 notches and go push the brake pedal for a bit (try not to run out of brake fluid though). Be sure to tighten each nut back up and try the brakes again.

Make sure nut on the brake lining is done up; see the assembly section to make sure you got them all. You may have to bleed the brakes, unscrew the brake line nuts at every wheel by 2 notches and go push the brake pedal for a bit (try not to run out of brake fluid though). Be sure to tighten each nut back up and try the brakes again. Part X wont fit part Y: Certain parts are very selective on how you apply them, including the angle of attachment. In some cases, such as the exhaust pipe, saving and reloading the game fixes this issue.

Radiator starts steaming while driving: You've either left the choke pulled or your carburator tune is too lean for the radiator to keep up. You should stop immediately because as the engine overheats, it leans out the fuel mixture and makes the problem worse; ignoring it will inevitably result in broken pistons. If your car has been running fine and this suddenly happens, you may have snapped your alternator belt (alternator is too tight) and your water pump is no longer being driven.

You've either left the choke pulled or your carburator tune is too lean for the radiator to keep up. You should stop immediately because as the engine overheats, it leans out the fuel mixture and makes the problem worse; ignoring it will inevitably result in broken pistons. If your car has been running fine and this suddenly happens, you may have snapped your alternator belt (alternator is too tight) and your water pump is no longer being driven. Stalling in 1st gear: This is completely normal! Even if you use auto-clutch, when changing to 1st gear you are dumping the clutch in low RPM, this will stall a lot of cars in real life. Wait until you car has warmed up at least to the first mark on the temperature gauge, give it some gas in neutral and quickly put it in 1st to set off. You can lessen this effect by perfecting your carburator tuning (a richer tune has more low RPM power, so less stalling), upgrading the car's power, or letting it warm up to higher temperatures before setting off.

This is completely normal! Even if you use auto-clutch, when changing to 1st gear you are dumping the clutch in low RPM, this will stall a lot of cars in real life. Wait until you car has warmed up at least to the first mark on the temperature gauge, give it some gas in neutral and quickly put it in 1st to set off. You can lessen this effect by perfecting your carburator tuning (a richer tune has more low RPM power, so less stalling), upgrading the car's power, or letting it warm up to higher temperatures before setting off. Engine backfiring or "exploding": Tune that carburator! See the tuning section above for that. It can cause permanent damage to your pistons if you don't alter the tune, which means a trip to the mechanic. If you are certain your carbs are tuned correctly and it is still backfiring, you could be leaning out from overheating, or your valve tune is off.

Tune that carburator! See the tuning section above for that. It can cause permanent damage to your pistons if you don't alter the tune, which means a trip to the mechanic. If you are certain your carbs are tuned correctly and it is still backfiring, you could be leaning out from overheating, or your valve tune is off. Radiator's fan not working: This is normal. The fans only spin up when the car is too hot, however, if they still do not spin at high temps it's most likely because your alternator belt served its life and is broke. Buy a new one at the store. If your alternator belt is in working condition, make sure that you have properly wired the fan to the battery.

This is normal. The fans only spin up when the car is too hot, however, if they still do not spin at high temps it's most likely because your alternator belt served its life and is broke. Buy a new one at the store. If your alternator belt is in working condition, make sure that you have properly wired the fan to the battery. Car pulls to the side when driving: Your wheels are poorly aligned or you have bent your struts. The adjustment screw (14mm) is between the steering rod and strut. You must use the spanner set for the adjustment screw. Take both wheels to the end of their working travel (120 clicks maximum) and then align them by turning them 60 clicks in the correct direction. The airfield is a great place to test changes, if however you are too lazy, you can travel to the repair shop and choose the wheel alignment service. If your struts are bent, than you can get the straitened at the Repair shop

Your wheels are poorly aligned or you have bent your struts. The adjustment screw (14mm) is between the steering rod and strut. You must use the spanner set for the adjustment screw. Take both wheels to the end of their working travel (120 clicks maximum) and then align them by turning them 60 clicks in the correct direction. The airfield is a great place to test changes, if however you are too lazy, you can travel to the repair shop and choose the wheel alignment service. If your struts are bent, than you can get the straitened at the Repair shop Dead battery: Use the battery charger to charge it, or buy a new one from the store. If the needle on the charger is slowly moving to the left when a battery is attached, it is still salvageable, fully dead batteries cannot be recovered.

Use the battery charger to charge it, or buy a new one from the store. If the needle on the charger is slowly moving to the left when a battery is attached, it is still salvageable, fully dead batteries cannot be recovered. Inspection failed due to fuel line: Tighten the 12mm bolt at fuel tank.

Tighten the 12mm bolt at fuel tank. Inspection failed due to tyres: You tried to pass the inspection with the rally, drag, or overall too worn tyres. Only the standard or Gommer Gobra street tyres will pass the inspection. The old stock tyres can also pass inspection only if they are not too worn.

Have a different issue or a bug you've found? Try posting in Help and Support, the Steam forum, or in the comment section below. ▼ ▼ ▼

Trivia