Sagen Sie Ihre Meinung: Für diejenigen unter uns mit „Punkten“ anstelle von CPU

(Use your headphones, for a "rush" next to---well,---an orgasm, for us dyed-in-the-wool "gear-heads"!)

This could have been my brother or I---except ours was a '69 Dart GT, an' we used the LENCO-three speed, with an air-bottle assist. Later, after I'd gone-on to a more-"mature" life, he'd go with some-sort of combo, that involved a high-stall TCI-torque converter---which was equally-"deadly"☺!

I'm no good at politickin', so I'll stick to other dirty, greasy,(cheat-when-you-can!)-subjects, which can be equally-underhanded as politics, when caught!☺

Oh, sorry---I got side-tracked! Here's the "link to ecstasy"...!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zx54zjDU4s

Donknowme, what the Heck are you talking about? Something about cars or gears, or somesuch. Dumb ol me makes no sense out of it.

Ahh, that MAY be true, VOYAGER---but, I DID mention "ecstasy"---even if it ain't a Porsche...!!!☺☺☺

Now donknome, you just mentioned the magic name! If I could afford it a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS with PDK and all those lovelySports options would be sitting in my driveway today! What dreams are made of!

Alas, finances being what they are.

donknome-2,

I'm from the hills so we do our drag racing in the mud!!!!

Konknowme,

The reason the camera was focused on the floorboard was because no self-respecting MOPAR freak would videotape for public consumption his doors getting blown off by a Chevrolet SS.

Enjoyed the video, though. Reminded me of my friend's 69 Yenko Camaro. He had an inline Hurst shifter.

SEE??? Now, THAT'S what I meant by "ecstasy", for YOU!!!

Don't you feel "better", now, with "that" having been done for the day......???☺

JoeDirte: I live on a rural-unpaved road, so in a sense---so do I...!!!☺

Pure ecstacy is still the forementioned Porsche, and all factory built at that!

Pure ecstacy is still the forementioned Porsche, and all factory built at that!

-- Posted by voyager on Thu, Jul 28, 2011, at 12:17 PM

But the real joy is in busting the hide of your knockles doing it yourself for many.

STNMSN8: HA!!! How do WE know it's not some idiot(like myself!) who'd put a MOPAR engine an' floor-mats in a Camaro, just for the irony of it???☺

REAL-Yenkos' are kinda few an' far-between t' come across of nowadays, ain't they?

Inline Hurst wasn't for the weak-of-leg, that's for sure! I acquired one second-hand years ago that could be adjusted for three OR four speed.

But by the time I got it, it was so worn by neglect-of-maintenance that it couldn't be depended upon to differentiate between 2nd and 4th, when you'd come out "hot-n'-heavy" from 1st---not good!

BUT---it DID work quite-well, when used as a replacement for the boring "three-on-the-tree", in my '60 Chevy, with the massive 235-c.i. engine....!☺

Chrysler showed a customized version of their Chrysler 200S retractable hardtop. Nice looking, but ain't no Porsche.

By the way, that Porsche is capable of doing 191 mph but where in the USA except possibly Montana. Strikes me as being crazy to even try.

Donk, Did that 235 have a split manifold and headers, and was it ever beat by a nose by a stock 55 Chevy 6 cyl 3 spd?

Joe,

Real mud racing beats street racing. But the mud has to be deep enough to be stop most trucks. When it becomes just a speed race I lose interest.

BTW what ever became of Jack Hawk?

Agreed, its alot like tractor pulling, if you go the distance and it looks easy, it needs to be more dificult.

I know a guy that worked for Pontiac in the power train design workings in the early '60s. He hit upon a combination of parts to go fast cheap. He mixed parts from Chevy, Pontiac and Olds to build an engine from all stock parts. No big showy carbs or headers or aftermarket ignitions. He had the engine in a beat up truck to make what we called a sleeper, embarassing a lot of kids driving daddy bought muscle cars.

Now that was fun!

donknome

I had a 283 Chevy engine in a 49 Chevy pickup and later in 1966 Pontiac Lemans. Back then, you never knew just exactly what a car was unless you looked under the hood........and the you better know what you were looking for!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upB86Y35CBo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qw46UZPtgA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8du-7XHzylc8NR=1

RICK: We were SO-innocent when young, weren't we?☺

And, by the way: Now I'm trying to remember exactly what the acronym of MOPAR stood for?

(I was once told it stood for "Made Of Parts Already Ruined"---but since Chrysler actually endorsed the moniker?---I kinda doubt that to be the solution???)☺!

OLD JOHN: Well, you're close! Mine had a cracked-manifold(closed when it heated-up!), practically NO muffler---an' it WAS beat by a fence-post an' a Big Freakin' Hammer afterwards, ON the nose.

Close-'nuff???☺☺☺!!!

Donk, I hope someone remembers what MOPAR stands for. I should as I worked for a Chrylser dealership in the early '70s. They were I think the first to have performance and racing parts marketed directly to the public.

In those days a lot of folks disliked Chrysler products because the were a bit different. They were a leader in innovation of electrical and electronic stuff.

I learned a few tricks peculiar to the brand. I asked my friend and old school mechanic if there was a cheap way to kick up a 383. He said set the points a little wider and turn up the timing and fill it with premium gas. And that did work!

Kind of like shortening the manifold on a Farmall M.

STNMSN8: That name---Jack Hawk---why does that sound familiar to me, all of a sudden? Maybe mud-racing? Mid-to-late'70's/early '80's?

Locally now: Do any of you remember the name of a fella that "haunted" the mud-races with a '49(?)Dodge w/opera windows, rusty as all get-out, had four-full-sized---maybe 9N-Ford?---tractor tires tied onto it? It was a six-cylinder by "sound", possibly the original flathead?

Whoever it was, he could NOT be stopped! Couldn't believe it! He threw very-little, if any, mud even once he got "door-latch deep" in the sauce.

Only time I ever saw him lose was when his right-front broke off at the lugs.

Upon once he was pulled out, he simply welded the wheel back where the lugs SHOULD HAVE been---an' got in-line for the next-round!☺

"Improvise, Adapt, Overcome!"-in-deed.....!!!

OJ: Wasn't the moniker MOPAR exclusive to the DODGE-line of Chrysler, as well???

Wikipedia says MOPAR is short-hand for MOtorPARts---but I don't believe it. I think there was more to it, than that?

And although I know DeSoto was the predecessor to the "modern"-Dodge line---I'd NEVER heard them (DeSoto)referred to as a MOPAR, as they claim.

Maybe I just didn't wanna HEAR the truth, though....???☺!

Suggestions for MOPAR - http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/whatismopar.html

As for me - it's Ford trucks, and GM cars. Although after my current experiences with the Impala - now rethinking the GM part of the deal.

Had a 1948 Dodge pickup - first year the headlights were in the fenders instead of the teardrop housings mounted on top of the fenders. Big ol' Ram hood ornament. 218 CID flathead 6, used the same spark plugs that the lawn mower used (Champion J8). Vacuum windshield wipers that didn't move going uphill, but flapped fast enough for lift-off going down. 6V electrical system where the headlights went into parking light intensity at idle. Hole in the front for sticking the hand crank through whenever the battery just didn't feel like a Rolling Stone, "Start Me Up". Convenient holes in the floor for easy beer can disposal. Oil-bath air cleaner, cartridge oil filter. Starter was on the floor, with a long throw that engaged the gear before hitting the starter motor button - a real treat to start on a hill. Ran so quiet at idle, all that could be heard was the water pump swishing. And it survived a teen-age driver quite well.

Then moved up to a Jeep - or, as I likened it, the Model T of the 70s. No wonder they called it American Motors - Ford carburetor and brakes - GM alternator, ignition lock, and power steering pump - Chrysler transmission. Reminded me of Johnny Cash's One Piece At A Time song. But simple enough that a know-it-all teenager could work on it - which was good - cause it needed a lot of work. :-)~

MoPar products always used to turn me off due to the characteristic yipe-yipe-yipe of their starter motors. Nowadays, just ain't seeing nothing I like - other that Jeeps. Still chuckle at the Ram Tough slogan - which came about as one story tells it - if you can't Dodge it, Ram it.

Found this an interesting site for MoPar history and stuff - http://www.allpar.com/

And the "original" pre-'84(?)CJ-7 Jeeps with, what was that, a 292 c.i. in-line six? Indeed, my '83 had the GM-alternator, Harrison radiator, Ford/Autolite ignition/starter system---and what appeared to be basically a Ford-engine, overall? Power-steering was obviously a GM-"box"---can't recall the brand GM used anymore? Saginaw, maybe?

One big advantage of the L-6-vs.-V-8 was the LACK OF power. Wasn't as easy to twist the splines outta the rear-hubs with a 6, and basically standard tires!☺

It's been YEARS ago now---I THINK it had a CARTER-carb---but for some reason, I'm thinking it was a THREE-barrel, with a manual-secondary? It got at least 25-mpg, and was far from "cherry" when I bought it!

(But then again, that MAY have literally been "Only in my dreams"!☺)

Ironic how "back then", you didn't need to SEE the car, to know the brand---you just LISTENED for the starter. Each had it's own "signature", fer shure......!

fxpwt, What a great post! Now that's entertainment! I think that's what Donk was looking for when he started the thread.

HEY!!! Get outta my mind, OJ---unless you got a map for it!☺

I ain't sendin' RICK in there with the "Fifth Dimension", to find you, an' see "What Condition My Condition Was(Is!)In"!!!☺

But while yer on the way OUT, pass-thru my right-ear, an' see what's itchin' in there! Git somethin' an' pry it out, it's drivin' me crazy.....!!!☺

Pardon ME, that should be the original "Kenny Rogers And The First Edition"!

Although the "Fifth-Dimension" was kinda funky, too....!☺

See what happens when you stomp around inside my haid, without wipin' your feet BEFORE entering...???

MOPAR.........Motor Parts Corporation, a division of Chrysler.

Jack Hawk was the king of the mud pits in about the early 80's. Before that he was into stock car racing. He was the first person I knew to run nitrous oxide. He ran a yellow JEEP powered by a small block Chevy and if I recall correctly Budweiser sponsored him. After he worked out the kinks on the nitrous he was able to turn so many RPM he could literally float across the mud pits. I saw him blow through the mud pits at Glennon in every class on an afternoon that no one else got out of the second pit. He was one of the first to run tractor tires in the open class.

He told us one weekend that he was going to St. Louis the following weekend to run with the big boys. The next time we saw him he was asked how the weekend up north went. He said he found out he was the big boy but he wasn't going back. They outlawed him!

There was also his buddy Terry who ran another yellow JEEP. And then there was the Silver Bullet. I think that JEEP had enough power to challenge Hawk but the driver (I can't remember his name) could not handle it. His girlfriend showed him up every time, running better in the powder puff than he did in the other classes. She was an ex-girlfriend before the summer was over.

Those were the days!

stnmsn8,Tthat reminds me of a cousin that took his tractor to a local pull. When he blew them away it was insinuated he cheated and he was asked not to come back.

He got his revenge at the SEMO fair where everyone was weighed and checked to be running a field ready unmodified tractor.

Donk, Try an eye dropper of alcohol in that ear, you'll forget about that itch real soon.:)

Thanks, STNMSN8---I thought that name sounded familiar, but I just couldn't place it! I, too, wonder where he is now---and, if he's finally "mellow", since he's OLD like WE are, too???☺!

OLD JOHN: Supposedly, alcohol is THE-thing for flushing the ear, IF you have no open inflammations.(Once ya' fill-'er-up, it's too-late to back-out---you've done committed yourself to PAIN, if already sore!)Hydrogen Peroxide is OK---a bit "hot", though. Carbomide Peroxide is best, if you make certain of the freshness-date on the box.

I used to use a Q-tip to ease-it out, until I discovered the key to my shed-door was the PERFECT-length and angle, to get-in there an' gouge-out those crusty-suckers!

Aaaah, don't fret none about the cleanliness: I wiped the key off before I put it back on my ring!☺ Ya' think I'm stoopud or sumthun???

HUH??? Speak-up, ah cain't HEAR ya' when you're standin' up-there at the front of the car! Guess while I'm sittin' here, I just as well drive, too....!!!☺

donknome-2 - If'n I recall correctly, the CJ-7 series ended in 1986, with the Wrangler picking up in 1987. The CJ-5 model bit the dust in 1983, mainly due to the rollover concerns relating to its short and narrow wheelbase. The CJ-7 was a stretch version of the CJ-5, introduced in 1976 mainly for the extra room for families and automatic transmissions, neither of which belong in a real Jeep, IMO. The even-longer wheelbase CJ-8 Scrambler was offered for a few years somewhere in the early 80s.

Although time has passed since the joke was current - the CJ's were proposed to be the Cool Jeeps, the YJ's (1st generation Wrangler with the just-flat-wrong square headlights) were the Yuppie Jeeps, and the TJ's (2nd generation Wrangler) were the Trendy Jeeps. And Jeep itself was observed to stand for Just Empty Every Pocket.

The last year a V8 was offered in a CJ was 1981. I think the 292 was a GM truck engine, not aware of it being used in Jeeps, unlike the Buick 350 was used in some Jeep pickups. Jeep did make a 327 in its pre-AMC days that was different than the Chevy engine of the same displacement, going iinto the Wagoneers.

The six-cylinder was a 258 CID (4.2L), which was worked over to become the 4.0L in the Wrangler - both very fine engines in terms of torque, reliability, and service life. The V8 offering was the 304, which many gearheads swapped out for the 360 or the 401 since they were all from the same block family. All of these were AMC's own designs, with the 304/360/401 having been upsized from the 290/343/390 original designs. The 258 was an upsize from the 232 offered in many Ramblers of the 60s. For a short time in the 80s, a four-cylinder was again offered but not sure whether it was the GM 'Iron Duke', or AMC's own four-cylinder - both at about 150 CID.

Ahhhh, the infamous AMC20 rear axle. Had the joy of replacing an axle shaft due to the stripped splines. Struggled to get the doggone thing out, then a friend's father suggested bolting a log chain to the lug nuts, standing back, and cracking the chain like a whip. Couple-three tries and the axle shaft was launched out of the housing, and proceeded to put a big ol' dent in the '48 Dodge's hubcap parked next to the Jeep, before it dropped to the ground. Aarrrrgh.

Yep, remember the Ford ignition box used on Jeeps - DuraSpark, or something like that. Numerous problems with failures in the early days of electronic ignition. Still remember pouring water over the module to cool it off long enough to limp on home. Kinda hard to believe there were the days when the old-school, die-hard stalwarts hanging onto points and carbs over them infernal computers and fuel injection systems still had a somewhat valid argument. The joy of setting points and cleaning carbs and changing plugs every 12,000 miles led me to fully embrace these new-fangled improvements.

Those with V8s in their CJs often opted to install wide turnout glasspacks - Black Magic was a popular offering from a local muffler shop. Very unique and throaty sound. I discovered the entertainment of rolling on down the road, turning off the ignition for a bit, then switching back on. Kah-WHOOM - the resulting flames shooting out the sides proved to be quite the attention-grabber. Then came the engine problems, where the tires weren't the only thing smoking, hmmm.

The axle incident and the Kah-WHOOM incident provided the beginnings of my observation that if experience is the result of bad judgement, then I've got a long history of experience. :-)~

Hehehe, there I went again with the sporadic and rambling recollections - similar to the yakking and spewing of a college frat boy after an all-night kegger.

fxwpt mentioned the 258 cid used in AMC products.

I made the I knew better dumbest mistake ever concerning a 258 with a severe rod knock. I yanked out that engine with 110,000 miles one night after work and tore it down to find the bearings still had that new just installed look.

About that time it hit me, what I learned from the best engine noise diagnosis man around. Carbon on top of the piston! Outside of normal wear out, I can't remember a well maintained 258 ever failing. They were very good engines.

There was an incident in the mid 70's where parents bought a soft top Jeep for their daughter. While stopped at a light she was pulled from the car and accosted. The family sued because the doors did not lock on the Jeep claiming the company owed compensation due to an unsafe product.

Another AMC tidbit, the fenders of a 69 Hornet would still fit an 80 Eagle.

Rick, That reminds me of another story. My uncle developed boils on his arms and wrists. We had a real Doc in them days. He started asking him about his daily routine making unc tell him every detail untill he was in the field and she brought his lunch. Doc said hold on there, you you said you greased the disc and then ate the sandwhich she brought, weren't your hands greasy?

Unc said he opened the cotpit on the tractor carb and washed the grease off with gasoline.

Bingo says the Doc, don't do that! Problem solved.

The uncle I referred to was the man to beat when it come to checkers. Looking back I realize it wasn't the checkers challenge that made him great but the time he took making me feel like a legitamate challenger. Never could beat him though. He was also a pretty good mechanic although Dad was the best.

Unc had a 235 powered Chevy truck that he was ready to trade due to a dead cylinder. Most uncles wouldn't ask a youngster what he thought but unc did. I tightened the intake manifold and carb bolts and fixed it.

That same night I beat him in a game of checkers.

Imagine that!

STNMSN & OLD JOHN: Thanks for that correction! It WAS a 258 L-6, indeed.(Don't know where I pulled-out the 292??? Almost said Ford 300, before I caught myself, too!☺) Last full-size p.u. I had was powered with a 300/6---I loved the exhaust-tone sans muffler, in 4th at an earth-shattering 50 + or - mph.

(I couldn't tell---the speedo would rattle an' float at least 5 either way, from the rumble!☺)

Don't stop reminiscing yet---ANY of you! Just like a bowl of three-week old mustard potato salad: We're just now gettin' back into the YELLOW-part!

I tried comments on politics. That was a dismal-failure.

I even attempted an ill-fated stab at morality---and soon discovered that I was manufacturing the very-rope that would eventually hang-me.

Now, I didn't do TOO-badly, on Ancestry. On that, I can pretty much hold my own---as long as I don't need to hold it for too-long!

Nope! MY-best combo is "Grease, Grit, Grime, and Gears". And, I hold an advanced-degree in "Alternative-Methods Of Engineering", more commonly referred to as "rigging"---with numerous non-PC variations having been used in the past, of course.

Gimme duct-tape, zip-ties, J-B Weld, a B.F.-brand hammer, an' a pair of REAL-Vise Grips---and I'll give you a temporarily-permanent fix that'll boggle even MY-OWN mind....!!!☺

Oh, and thank-YOU, too, FXPWT---gotta get all the "credits" right!

I tried to be a secretary once---but they said ma' laigs weren't pretty-'nuff.

Even after I went an' shaved-'em, an' slipped-on a pair of size-12 red pumps, with a 4-inch heel, to-boot...!☺

I am not much of a mechanic; but a pretty fair part swapper. The first car I purchased on my own was on the installment plan.

1.Bought a 66 Chevelle SS 396 body from a friend who failed to put any anti-freeze in the engine the winter before.

2.Purchased engine, clutch, and transmission from salvage yard.

3.Installed them myself with help of a friend

The result was the best car I ever had!

Ahhh, the trip down memory lane has been fun. At the risk of running a good thing into the ground -

Had a '74 Mercury Capri - billed as the 'sexy European', complete with the ads that had a gorgeous model in an evening gown sprawled across the hood. Imported from Germany, before moving on to become the bloated American, and at last watch, the underpowered Aussie, it was supposed to be the Mustang of Europe of the time - a small, fun little sports coupe.

Had a 2.8L V6 with a four-on-the-floor. The other engine option was the 2.3L four-cylinder - both being upsized from the 2.6L V6 and 2.0L I4 when the model was originally introduced in the states. The V6s could be identified by the blacked-out rocker panels, the fours just had factory paint to the bottom.

Neat feature was that in fourth gear, the angle of the tach and the speedo matched perfectly throughout that speed range. Pretty peppy car - would beat the big-block-boys' 440s, 454s, 455s, and 460s off the line to about 40mph, then this giant sucking sound could be heard as the big blocks wound up, caught up and went by so fast - it like to have pulled the metallic Autumn Gold (more like crap brown) paint right off.

Even driving it like a dog, would still get just shy of 30mpg in mixed city/highway driving. Had a 2-stage 2-barrel Weber carburetor - basically a 4-barrel for small engines.

How many remember the ill-fated and thankfully short-lived seat-belt interlock of the 1974 model year? If'n you rolled the key to start, and the seat belt wasn't fastened - the interlock would set. Then one had to get out, pop the hood, and hit the reset button to go again. Colorful language wasn't required, but often thrown in at no charge with every event. Didn't take long to remedy this situation with some creative rewiring.

Then there were the 5mph bumpers, that made otherwise neat and trim looking cars look goofy with their disproportions. The Pontiacs of the time looked really sorry, since the jutting 'beak' in the front was already an established design, taken to an extreme with the extra 6-inches or so protrusion added on by the required bumper and shock assemblies. IIRC, todays bumpers only have to withstand a 2.5mph impact.

1975 brought in unleaded gas, IIRC. Ah, the fun of catalytic converters - stinkin' to high heaven, unlike the relatively 'sweet' smell of today's cats. The unleaded stuff was initially hard to find, so many people knocked out the filler insert so to be able to use regular leaded fuel with the larger nozzle. Then the cats would plug up, which brought on the snake oil cat cleaners poured directly into the carb until the engine died. Geez, Louise, don't think my eyes have ever watered that bad, or have struggled so much to breathe, as when the engine was fired back up after the 'cleanings'. Simpler solution was to pop the plug and let the beads fall out, or cut the pipe and knock a hole in the honeycomb - depending on which type of cat. Others just cut the cat out, replacing it with a 'test pipe'. Some engines weren't adequately redesigned for use with the unleaded fuel, and had valve problems.

Heheheh - the Ford 300 inline six - another bulletproof motor of days gone by, having been abandoned for the more disposable, use-it-up-wear-it-out-getcha-another-one thinking of today. Take care of this motor, and 300,000 miles is not a pie-in-the-sky goal, it's an expectation. Always had a chuckle when someone put a cherry bomb muffler on them - I suppose to each their own, but to me, it ended up sounding like a really mad John Deere.

I never did understand why Ford did away with the in-line six when they did not have a replacement which would stand up to the work load of a truck.

In '75 GM had a widespread saftey recall. It seems they forgot the "UNLEADED FUEL ONLY" on the fuel guage so the recall was to intall a decal on the inside of the fuel door.

One of my customers installed a 383 in his 56 Ford 2-door. It looked as it belonged there and he said it was surprisingly easy the way things matched up.

A lot of Mercedes had the expensive to repair diesel relpaced with a Chevy 235 in the old days.

Jag engines were swapped for small block Chevys too.

Rick - the family had a Suburban - yep, had the Chevy 454 in it. Took it to the full-service filling station that had just added a couple of just-coming-en-vogue self-service pumps to fuel up, checked the oil - doggone, not even on the dipstick.

As I was walking back out of the cashier's area with two quarts of oil in my hands, in the containers that still required the manly-man, he-man-woman-haters-club, no women allowed puncture spout thingie - a wise man in a similar vehicle offering - the very much underappreciated International TravelAll, piped up in an all-knowing tone, "I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut (back when doughnuts were a dozen for a dollar forty-nine) you have the 454".

Yep, it sure did like the oil - figured the oil consumption was helping the fuel mileage, upping it from simply abysmal to just a 'holy cow'.

stnmsn8 - figured the well-proven 4.9L (300), 5.0L (302), and 5.8L (351) bit the dust in 1996 due to the inabilities to meet emissions regulations. Heck, even for my '89 vintage truck, rumor had it that Ford had to giveaway a certain percentage of the 351 as a free upgrade just to meet the corporate emission averages for that year.

As I hear tell, the replacement 4.2L V6, and 4.6L and 5.4L V8s offered in the Taurus-styled trucks of 97-01 had some issues. The 4.2 received mediocre reviews, the 4.6 and especially the 5.4 had spark plug blowout issues costing boo-koos to repair, with Ford dodging any responsibilities for warranty. Nowadays, or at least the last time I looked - can't even get a 6-cylinder in the pickups, and the 04-06 model years are definite avoidances due to an apparent peak in the spark plug problems.

Well, at least our air is incrementally cleaner - unless one considers the additional emissions produced by having to make all these replacement parts and the additional vehicles manufactured due to early obsolescence and just flat giving up on the newer POS's.

My brother and I are opposites. Back in the day of the new and neat-o guido American-made reduced-size pickups (not the import Isuzu-based Chevy LUV or the Mazda-based Ford Courier) - I had a 2WD Ranger, he had a 4WD S10.

Bad weather, going up the trail to his house, I skeetered right on up. I heard him having a few problems, but he eventually made it on up.

He gets out and says, 'man, good thing I have 4WD'. Heheheh, not being one to miss the opportunity replied, "yeah, or you might have to upgrade to a Ford". :-)

I think there must be some difference in 454s that went into pickups ans Suburbans than what went into trucks. My 454 went 400,000 and never used oil but finally broke a crankshaft.

In the 70s I remember having a lot of oil leaks on Camero and Chevelle, same engine in Caprice/Impala seldon leaked.

One of my brothers showed up with a new 56 Ford. Dad told him that space between the radiator and grill would be a good place to carry his oil.

We had cousins with 55 Chevys 265, the first with fuel injection. The Ford was no match so bro spent a lot of money milling heads and adding all the few performance parts available back then. I'm thinking Dad even gave him some pointers.

He finally beat the Chevys one night but busted pistons doing it!

Fast forward to the 64 Galaxy special order 390 and he was king untill 66! Dang them Buick Skylarks.

Most people remember the GTO as the fast car in 67. Actually the fastest Pontiac came in a Lemans wrapper. And the fastest car in 67 [top speed]was a full sized Bonniville.

I'm thinking that was the year the P-11 Norton Cammando was the fastest production motorcycle.

68 brought in the GTX only to be out done by the 69 Swinger 340.

I don't want to leave out the 66 plain Chevelle 327 that could almost hold it own with any of them.

What I mention is merely in context with the cars I was familiar with, buddys and family and may not be factual as records and specs go.

Oj,

You nailed the difference between 55-57 Chevys and Fords although you might not have realized it. Space between radiator and grill for Ford was good for carrying oil. Space between grill and radiator for Chevrolet was good for concealing/carrying cooler full of liquid refreshments!

I had a nice 67 T-bird once. You could stomp it to the floor and it would just glide up to cruising speed, not seeming fast at all, but the speedo moved up pretty quickly with the 428 or 429. I decided to find out what it would do and as it leveled off it last power and white smoke plumed out the back so bad you I couldn't see through it. Oh no, a blown head gasket or worse.

Turned out a pin hole developed in a heater hose and sprayed coolant directly into the air cleaner snout!

A few days later it got to where it would smother out and die after a few miles driving. As soon as the hood was raised it would run fine. The hood insulation was sagging over the air cleaner inlet. Took five or six incidents to figure it out! I was a bit slow even back then.:)

FXPWT, others: NEVER gets old, I love it!

It's ALWAYS fun to re-remember our 'mechanical-conquests' of the past, OR present---especially since age has taken it's toll on(some)of our 'PLUMS', which are now better depicted as 'freeze-dried 'PRUNES', in their-'stead!☺

With TODAYS' vehicles, if you physically/mentally/admittedly-can't/don't feel like fixing it?

Pull the 'Old-Pharts-Card' on the fella/gal at the Service Desk, and simply look pitiful and say: "If this thing was 30-years older, I'd be fixin' it myself!"

At least that statement lets 'em know they ain't gonna be sellin' YOU no 'muffler-bearings', or 'johnson-rods'---and hundreds' more, too-numerous to start with!---on THIS-visit...!☺

OLD JOHN: I think you 'almost' get the prize for the hood-insulation, there! At the very-least, 2nd-prize!☺

I'm missin' one, here: Where's WHEELS? Need to get 'im out of that political-'soup' for some fresh bull-s***---I mean, AIR!

I'll get back later, for sure. This-stuff is too-good to miss!

And educational, to-boot....!

RICK: I favor the old-models, that's a-given!

But that '02-version is/was just---well---hopeless. Sorry, it just ain't 'got-it', for me.

Now, occasionally, these new-version Ford Mustangs will cause me to pant, an' reach for an inhaler, parallel to me at a stop-light!

But then again, so do old,'original' Harley-hogs, as well...!

OJ - yep, AMC was an innovator on a tight budget - reusing and transposing pieces-parts between models.

One story goes that the popularity of the CJ series eventually took its toll on the sheet metal stamping dies, so that the Jeep stamped into the kick panels started losing their edge. Jeep's solution was to put the Jeep decal lettering over the stamping to bring it back out and tide them over until the Wrangler could be introduced.

The 1st generation Wrangler was an AMC design, just that Chrysler bought them out before production began. Many of the innovative new Chrysler offerings after the AMC buyout were reportedly attributed to the AMC engineers brought over.

Have to chuckle at the Pacer. Certainly no style magnet, looking somewhat like a melted Hershey Kiss, but thought it was neat that the passenger door was 4 inches longer than the driver side, to allow for better access to the back seat. Sad to say, but I suspect the height of its popularity came during it's use in the movie, Wayne's World.

Ahhhh, the Gremlin commercials - greasy Gus the gas station attendant growling 'hey lady, where's the rest of your car'. The Javelin and the AMX were sharp looking cars, and held their own on the stock car race circuit. IIRC, there was some rule in TransAm racing about a 5.0 liter limit on engine size - so I'm figuring the reason for the abundance of the ~300CID engine offerings - Ford 302, Chevy 302, AMC 304, etc.??? Supposedly, during the Pontiac Trans Am's popularity run, Pontiac donated $5 per car sold to the Trans Am circuit.

The mention of the Buick Skylark brings back memories of my time in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The city hosted at least three major car shows that I remember, supposing the attraction being the nearby Beech Bend raceway. There were the Buick Grand Nationals - the Grand National and its sister T-Type being high performance Regals of the mid 80s, but the gathering also brought in a lot of the early-mid 70s high performance Skylarks and Wildcats. Just hard to think of the traditional stodgy, grampy-geezer Buick line as ever being in the high performance business but all were beautiful machines.

Then there was the Impala SS gathering, with the then-current Impala model looking to have taken some styling cues from the Pacer.

Then there was the granddaddy - the Corvette gathering. I owned a house in a subdivision behind the museum, and it was amazing to see what looked to be a 10-acre field next to the museum filled to the limits parking lot style with nothing but the enthusiasts' Corvettes, from the earliest ones to the latest offerings. Was also neat in that if one ate at the Hardee's on the 231 Bypass at around 4:30 on any given weekday - could watch all the test Vettes with their various super-double-secret disguised modifications rolling back into the plant.

Perhaps the Ford Thunderbird retro offering was ahead of its time? Look at today's popularity of the retro Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger. I'm thinking Ford also offered a retro Model T around 1980 or so, with the then-current 2.3L I4 engine. Funny how that works - what was old, is now new again for another generation.

Ford's retro Model T was a Model T look-alike body with Pinto power train; can't say that I ever saw one on the road.

Hmmmm, this looks like an economical licensing procedure for the ol' '81 Jeep CJ5.

http://dor.mo.gov/motorv/historic.php

No inspections, a one-time fee less than the two-year renewal, and I'm too old to endure 1,000 mile annual limit of three-dimensional fore-and-aft, left-and-right, and up-and-down bouncing around Cape, thanks to the fine city street system resulting from the 1/2-cent sales tax penalty for all.

My long-ago offer of a seat-of-the-pants tour around Cape has not yet been taken up by anyone.

Amazing what today's suspensions absorb, wondering how much the total costs are to maintain vehicle suspension problems and wear-n-tear, versus maintaining the roads properly.

Mt. Auburn and Lexington and the new Independence are favorite roller-coaster rides, as is 61 South from 74 to the interstate interchange. Seat belts are mandatory - hard to drive when you're not in the seat. :-)~

'and she'll have fun, fun, fun, until her daddy takes the T-bird away'

Don't hear anyone writing songs about today's cars!

Rick, Thanks for the T-bird link. I had forgot about the missiles mounted on the sides of the 59. The smart styling post war was aircraft inspired. Seems there was an Olds or Merc or something that had a four engine jet and com-trails displayed in chrome down the full length of the barge sized car.

Donk. I think the Mustang is still the best retro style although the Cuda comes close.

fxwpt. Amc designers didn't quit when companies changed hands. One design went through three companies before becoming a 66 Charger. Pacers were major engine donors for Jeeps! An AMC commercial for the Javelin started the trend of measuring performance in terms of zero to 60.

Everyone has their idea about old cars. Some insist on stock restoration. some street rod etc. I always favored keeping it looking original with modern updates.

I'm missin' one, here: Where's WHEELS? Need to get 'im out of that political-'soup' for some fresh bull-s***---I mean, AIR!

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Sun, Jul 31, 2011, at 1:49 PM

Donknome-2

I been kinda busy this weekend. Besides I haven't had an automobile give me the kind of satisfaction my little 41 Ford Coupe that I purchased for $100 while still in high school did. Little flat head V8 that just purred, manifold heater that stayed warm for a long time in the drive-ins. As mentioned before a radio button on the floor with which you could surf the airwaves, and without taking your hands off the wheel or the girlfriend. I was at peace with the world. Don't believe I have been since.

And by the way I just returned home a couple of minutes ago.

Wheels, Was the 41 the model that got the great mpg?

Another repair story. Not sure if factual but a good story.

A fellow had hit something causing an oil pan leak and showed up at quitting time. Dad told him he could pull the pan and try to repair, but he may need a new pan. The fellow insinuated Dad was giving him a line to sell him more than needed and insisted there had to be a way to fix without pulling the pan. Dad told him he could weld up the leak if that's what he wanted.

When finished, the oil plug was involved in the weld and the fellow asked how he was going to change the oil since the plug was welded up.

He was told to just turn the over on it's top and let it run out that way, and no charge for the help, we are closed now! "Is that cheap enough for you?"

Old John,

I don't remember the mpg. But at somewhere around 23 to 27 cents per gallon and plenty of cut rate stations and gas wars around, who was really keeping score?

I had enough money left over to afford the $7 to $10 sleeping rooms that were furnished. Third floor in South St. Louis without air conditioning was a little uncompfy at times, but when you worked 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and roamed around half the night, you usually didn't have that much trouble sleeping. I was getting pretty close to your 3 hrs and 59 minutes sleep per night.

He was told to just turn the over on it's top and let it run out that way, and no charge for the help, we are closed now! "Is that cheap enough for you?"

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Aug 1, 2011, at 12:23 AM

Your Dad and I would have made good business partners. I like that answer.

A guy got me out of bed one night to repair an oil furnace. When I got to the basement I found parts scattered all over the floor. I asked the guy just how long he had been working on it himself and he told me since early afternoon. So I put the furnace back together, checked it out, found the offending part and replace it. When I made out the bill the guy complained that it looked a little high. I explained to him that he had been working on it himself all evening and somebody had to pay for that labor as well and that it might as well be him.

Wheels, I like that, just glad it wasn't my furnace.

Tonight a big three phrase unit is not working. The condensor fan and compressers come on but the evaporator fan is not running. The proffesional tells me the motor is burned out. I'm skeptical for I can't remember a modern large motor "burning out".

Since it's above my pay grade to question and not my money or authority, I have to leave it at that.

Wheels, Was the 41 the model that got the great mpg?

-- Posted by Old John on Sun, Jul 31, 2011, at 11:59 PM

Old John,

While tooling up the highway today, it occured to me that you might be talking about those Ford 60's that were not exactly a success story. Mine was a full 80 or 85 HP.... whatever they were, cannot remember anymore, but rest assured it was the biggest one of the little flat head V8's.

Regards your blower motor, did they get it repaired today, and was it really the motor? They can go bad though, no matter the size.

Wheels, I figure you are aware of the standard back then. That would be the top speed reached on that long hill leading up to the county seat. I always heard 50 mph at the crest was indication of a super car.

30 mpg was not unheard of in those days.

I didn't work today, don't know about the AC outcome. I guess a guy spending 15 minutes and concluding the the motor is "burned up" makes me wonder. If he would have said the motor is not working and may need to be replaced would have suited me better.

Old John,

Not saying this is the case, but we do have a certain amount of mechanics that are parts changers. They do usually hit on the right one... sooner or later.

We had a company in our area a few years back that required their help to sell X dollars worth of parts per day. I had a guy quit me to go to work for them. In a couple of weeks he was back wanting his job back and he gave me this story. It was not the only one that I had heard on that company doing that kind of shoddy business either.

I think that must be the Wolf Hill you were talking about.

Wheels, The easiest sell at an automotive service desk is accomplished with a simple question: "How's your wiper blades?" Works even better if it's raining!

Gates used to have a program where the sales rep would offer a quarter for each belt or hose label or sleeve was saved. Without overselling, belt and hose sales increased dramatically each time it ran.

The hill I refer to I think is called Wes Null Hill. Most of todays cars make it up that at 50mph easily, but imagine that road gravel, narrower and a bit curvier.

Donk, Remember when gubment started trying to teach us a new way to measure stuff.

A lot of those old school guys wouldn't touch the Metric System with a 3.048m pole!

A lot of those earlier Japanese and European toys couldn't be serviced and repaired because those Allen head screws were stripped out using SAE sized tools.

I had a '64 or so Yamaha that needed a drive sprocket and traded it away because I couldn't get the cover off to see what was wrong!

Now I am trying to recall some of the fun and admiration for those toys with a '77 Vespa moped I found that had been sitting in a barn for years.

I know your frustation at the service desk. I recently had a valve stem leaking on the old truck and scrounged around and found a new one that would fit in a box of related junk kept in the barn. I couldn't find my pull it into place tool and I needed to use the truck. So I aired it up and hurried down to the tire store. $17 later I was on my way. Next time I'll go by the Ken Tool TT2 or whatever for $7 and save that feeling of being had!

Gonna dig-up some "Chrysler-Bones" here again!

Can anyone explain to me, a LOGICAL-reason for the early-models to have LEFT-handed threads on the drivers'-side wheel lugs, an' RIGHT-handed ones on the passengers'-side? Were they the ONLY-company to do so?

AND: How long---in minutes, please!---did it take YOU, to pull the hubs, drive-out the lefty-studs, and drive-in the right(as in, correct!)handed-studs, after your FIRST-flat-tire on the road, with that Dodge or Plymouth...???☺☻☻☺)

This is the story i have heard, take it for what its worth.

The Dodge brothers started out building bicycles. The left foot pedle on bikes are left handed thread. They continued this when building cars by using left hand thread on the left side of autos.

Hmmmm, I remember on the '48 Dodge mentioned earlier that one side did have left-handed threads.

A little Google research says that this was done on the driver side for its self-tightening action on a wheel turning counter-clockwise, as reports had that driver side wheels came loose much more often than the passenger side when both sides were righties.

I was thinkin' it was the passenger side on my Dodge that had the lefties - eh, guess that's what I get for thinkin' :-)

Another remembrance - bolts were used instead of studs and lug nuts. Try getting that lifted and lined up.

Rick - women should'a learned by now they shouldn't change tires. After all, look at all the times they've changed their mind, and the new one doesn't seem to work any better.

Remember the days when; if your car was overheating you could cool it by pouring a bottle of water, soda, or beer down the carburetor as the engine idled?

Try that with fuel injection!

I too am thinking the right wheels were secured with left hand threads.

Chrysler had a special niche of hiding turn signal flashers in their products in the '70s.

Most old parts guys remember someone plopping down on the counter a time delay relay for the headlamp and ignition switch illuminaters while asking for a flasher. "Do you want one of these or a flasher?" The fun began as they bantered back and fouth.

I visited a bodyshop one time to arrange some paint work on a project car. There I found the body man scratching his head while trying not to look overwhelmed as the owner of a high end Imperial looked on. All the door panels were removed. The windows and locks would only work with the drivers switch.

As the owner was looking away, I pointed to the master lock-out switch. My friend said ah, here it is, this wire wasn't in the connector all the way. He came out and gave a price on the work I needed. I always wondered what he charged the owner of that Imperial, but knowing him it wasn't much if anything! I'm guessing he had to figure out how to be compensated and explain the switch function too. :)

I can't contribute much to the Chrysler discussion; always liked Chevrolet because the parts interchanged so well. But I do remember that any Chrysler product could be counted on to run like a striped jack***!

Gear reduction cranking motors, transmissions, differentials and most of their engines gained a reputation of last forever in the '60s and early '70s. Chrysler was also way ahead of competition concerning electrical and electronic developement.

I asked a factory sevice rep in '75 why all of a sudden there were so many product failures in those time tested and unchanged components. He admitted that the company was going broke and they were passing almost anything off as ok in quality inspection.

Anyone remember the Magnum or the Cordova with Rrrich corinthian leather, as Ricardo Montebaum described it?

Dodge got away with the same truck frame, basic drive train and body forever. Changed the chrome and grille, rearranged the dash a little every couple of years,'77 was the year of the great disquise and I'm thinking the introduction of the extended cab. Peanut butter and jelly as we called it was the most popular color combination.

I am sure she appreciated the wave!

Well, whatever the reason for left-on-right, or vice-versa---I know it only took a second or so, to realize I hadn't reset the impact-wrench to the "correct"-reverse, for those wrong-way nuts! If I only broke TWO? I'd drive it till next-payday. Three or more? Yank the hub, an' drive-'em out, replace with the "right"-type of studs.(Brother was notorious for mixin' rights AND lefts, ON THE SAME-WHEEL, out of laziness, I suppose???)

Yeah, there was a little-"L" on the tip of the lefty-studs.(usually!)But that's where the impact payed-off. Set-'im on "remove", zzzip-ONE, zzzzip-TWO, zz-POPP!-THREE, zzzip-FOUR, zz-POWW!-FIVE!

Wheel was off, an' you could STILL drive it to work til next payday, 'cause y' STILL had THREE-"good-un's", holdin' it on....!!!☺

Oh, I almost forgot: RICK---maybe she recognized YOU???☺

Hey, similar-stuff has happened to me before, when a fella with a flat thought I was my "To know him is to LOVE-him"-brother.(He's STILL certain that the sun rises AND sets, in his---"crevasse".)

And, to top it all off: I was drivin' a fully-equipped SERVICE-TRUCK at the time---although the truck wasn't MINE to own, I wasn't on the clock. I was just on my way home, to get a jump on the next "start at three-a.m."-day!

By the way, MY-"victim" was a MAN, who simply needed a five-minute lift, put on spare, an' drop. Male-pride, I guess?

Of course, with MY-luck, he'd probably have had ALL-"lefties", an' I'd have popped-and-powwed ALL of 'em to the ground, and we'd BOTH been S.O. of luck.....!☺

Donk, I got to thinking and you can imagine what a risk I take when I get to thinking, but the Dodge bros built wagons and axle nuts on wagons if I remember correctly were left handed on the left side. The dynamics are reversed though with lug nuts due to centrifical effects on rotational forces versus inertia.

Now if someone could explain what I'm thinking, then I'd be less misfused!

My dad always thought engines and motors in the southern hemisphere were designed to rotate opposite of those in the northern hemisphere. I know some Chrylser marine engines were the same as some in cars but with opposite rotation. I figured that was so you could mount two engines on a boat, one turning counter rotation to the other to avoid torque rolling the boat over.

Maybe some of our Navy posters can educate me.

Howz about the digital age of the 80s? Those fluorescent tube displays using bars to indicate fuel level, volts, and coolant temperature - with numeric 7-segment readouts for the vehicle speed.

Chuckled at how slow the speed updated in cold weather.

This was along about the same time that the Fed decided that 85mph was the top speed that could be displayed, even though the vehicle would go faster. In this case, the speedo just started blinking 85, and from there on up, it was just a WAG - unlike the traditional needle-and-dial speedos where one could at least 'estimate' pretty close.

OJ - yep, you got it - opposite engine rotation to balance out the torque twist. Kinda like why a traditional helicopter needs a tail rotor.

Back in my parts-scrounging days, was neat to walk through the junk yard just to look-n-learn. The early 70s Continental that used the power steering pump to supply the brake booster instead of traditional vacuum, the telescoping steering wheel on a 60s Ford Thunderbird, the Jeep with a PTO in the front - just things that made me go, 'hmmm'.

i slowed down , honked , waved , gave her the thumbs up , and kept on going...naturally...

-- Posted by Rick** on Thu, Aug 4, 2011, at 7:04 PM

Now Rick, as you and I are tarred as birds of a feather.... I want everyone to know, I never taught you that trick. ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

But i really like it.

"The early 70s Continental that used the power steering pump to supply the brake booster instead of traditional vacuum,"

Had a 77 with that system, it had a problem with the electronic ignition as well, causing it to die without warning and in some really inconvenient places. They finally correctly diagnosed and fixed that problem.

I still remember the day I was turning into a side street and the engine died, next to no brakes and you had an "h" of a job steering it as well. I nearly took out an electric pole.

fxpwt, I remember some cars back in the late '50s I think, had a speedo that worked like red mercury rising around a half circle or expanding in a horizontal line. They had an adjustable warning bell that could set to go off at a certian speed to keep you from speeding. Seems one of those cars I remember had the rear view mirror mounted on the dash and the high tail fins dictated tunnel vision to the rear.

Flash forward to 74 emission controls. The Sapporo and Challenger Chrysler imported were clean enough to get a reprieve from some of the junk added to the American produced cars. California and maybe a couple of other states were not happy thus a red light was hooked to the odometer to pop on at 75,000 miles as a reminder to service the emission system. In most states the emission testing was not mandantory and the it took a long very well guided finger to reach up behind the odometer and push the reset button to turn off the light.

Problem was, the button was hard to push and doing so many times broke the printed circuit rendering all the guages in-op. Then figure down for two weeks to get the part from Japan.

OJ - I remember my grandparents' Buick Electra 225 (that would be the deuce-and-a-quarter for the young-uns) that had the same speedo overspeed alarm. Always had a chuckle when I turned it down to 30 or so, and the buzzer would light off on our trips to Horseshoe Lake.

Yep, remember the Japanese cars promoting their emissions compliance without the need for cats - the Honda CVCC-powered vehicles (Civic?) was another one that comes to mind. The Plymouth 'me and my Arrow' jingle somehow just popped into my head.

The 70s and 80s were tough times for American manufacturers, between the gas crisis and emissions regulations. Totally caught them flat-footed, IMO.

Still shake my head in amazement that the '81 Jeep with the 304 (5.0L) V8 was rated for only 160 hp, the '89 Ford 302 (5.0L) was rated for only 185 hp - heck, today have the little 2.0L ring-tinger chain-saw engines rating near that nowadays.

I won't forget one of my best work trucks; 1976 Ford F-100, 390 automatic, four-wheel drive. It had pop-up pistons, RV cam, aluminum intake, and a Holley four barrel. Got 12 miles to the gallon pulling a load or running empty. But if you hooked it up to something and put your foot in the carburetor, something moved!

I took it to one of the local tire stores one year (middle 90's) and asked for a set of 7.50-16 bias ply mud grips for it. The smart*** salesman told me those biaz plys were obsolete; that I needed a set of wide radial tires. My smart*** reply was, "that's okay, my truck is obsolete too. But I can get a set mounted today at Glen Allen and they won't argue with me."

Never have bought a tire there since.

That reminds me of the time I took my wife to work in it. Only did it once, she wouldn't ride with me any more after that. It had snowed overnight so I was off. We were driving through Delta when I hit one of those sloppy spots of half-melted snow. One big snowball came up through the floorboard and hit her in the face! Never did understand why she would never ride in that truck again!

I am surprised nobody has mentioned those really snazzy bumpers they installed in the early 70s. The ones that made your car a foot or so longer.

Reminded me of those vehicles the railroad used to use to run down the tracks with.

fxpwt, The speedo caper sounds like something I would do.

Horse power has always confused me. Cars were rated with "indicated horse power, I think, and has since changed to something else. I'm thinking that all coincided with the change of foot pounds of torque to pounds feet of torque. Gubment again, like the rating of a shop compressor used to be 5hp is now 3 because it is rated on running hp and not starting hp.

stnmns8, Good story!

Wheels, I took a test "ride" in a new '74 VW. The salesman made a point of running it into the block wall of the dealership. It just bounced back!

Just so all of you know: I am enjoying the HELL-outta these stories!☺

(P.S. to RICK) Yeah, I said the same-thing about the "...pure as the driven-snow..."-deal, of myself as well once. It was just before my Dad responded with something like: "Better check that snow again, boy---'cause I just wrote my-name in it, while you were busy blowin' hot-air."

Lesson-learned!

STNMSN8:...put your foot in the carburetor, and something moved!"...

Reminds me of the long-lost-in-history "Tree-Moving-Incident", with my then-young-boy neighbor.

I just MIGHT dig that one outta the archives later?

As for now? I gotta "shag-it"---I'm behind on my "Daily-Doin's"....!☺

OJ - it seems there was a change in horsepower ratings sometime back. IIRC, it went from the gross horsepower as measured with the engine on a stand, to the net horsepower measured at the wheels. Eh, or something like that.

Torque and horsepower kinda go hand in hand - horsepower = torque (lb ft) x engine speed (RPM) / 5252. The horsepower peak occurs around the place where the torque begins to fall off faster than the engine speed is rising. Clever thing I've noticed is that the ring-tinger engines develop a lot of horsepower because they are rated at a very high speed - 6,000-7,000 RPM - not really a range I regularly choose to drive in.

Tree-moving incident brings back a D'Oh memory here. Wanted to remove the shrubs which had past maturity and were fading fast from the front yard. Simple enough - hook big 4WD truck up to shrub with log chain and pull out. Repeat down the row.

Except the truck didn't do much except excavate some semi-circle ruts in the yard. Hmmmm, I feel the need - the need for speed. So's I backed up until the rear bumper was into the shrub, dropped 'er in Drive, and let 'er rip. Figure I'd use inertia to my advantage. Unfortunately, the laws of physics busted me good for not wearing a seat belt.

fxpwt, I had the same situation with some large junipers along the driveway. I needed to remove them to intall a carport. The 9N Ford I had then would rare up or spin. The 18 hp 316 JD lawn tractor positioned on the asphalt driveway pulled them out with repeated tugs. I don't remember the hp of the tractor but sure it was more.

Later when I got the little MF compact, it's 23.5 hp diesel proved to have less pulling power than the 316, but the backhoe had enough power to scoupe them out in a couple of passes.

Originally I think hp was based on a horse raising a certian weight a specified height in a certain time frame. I know I could google it or look in Dad's old 8th grade school book but I lack the horsepower tonight.

Donk, Quit teasing us and come clean with the tree moving story!

Old John,

You remind me of this friend a few years back. He had a total of 5 acres and he had 3 tractors.

Wheels, I'm down to one tractor with a loader and backhoe, a lawn tractor and weed eater I haven't started this year. I have a 6' finish mower but it's too big for my tractor unless the grass doesn't need mowing. The old 316 sits in the barn waiting until I get a shop built here so I can replace the wore out Onan with a fuel efficient Vanguard. The John Deere always started and performed well but the Simplicity does a nicer mow with half the gas.

Rick,

My dad had nine kids to take the place of that tractor. As I remember it, we never had much trouble moving the cows across the road. Sorting the feeder calves was another story.

I remember one time when I was holding the gate we used to squeeze them up the hallway of the barn. One of the bigger calves got it's head under the gate, lifted me off the floor, and took me for a ride the length of the barn!

We never got electric cattle prods just for that reason. We used our sasafras walkin sticks, and usually got them busted over our back side before it was all over.

Nothing better than taking a old tractor and bringing it back to life. We have a 1939 Farmall B that my great uncle bought brand new. We later bought it from him and I did a top to bottom restoration of it when I was in high school. Since then we have restored a 1952 farmall M, a 1962 Ford 2000 and this winter start on a 1967 International 806.

My dad bought the last 2-cylinder John Deere that Kenny Schreiner sold in Marble Hill. My brother has it in the shed waiting for restoration. I created lots of memories on that tractor!

It is a 630 John Deere with tricycle front end; I believe rated at 45 horsepower. When I told one of our laborers that my dad bought me my own tractor when I was ten years old his reply was, "you must have been rich!" That was a John Deere 40, wide front end. I remember a couple of times when my brother and I had runaways on steep hills; the brakes on it were not too good!

That was music to my ear; a two cylinder John Deere pulling under load with the muffler glowing red in the dusk of the day! Foxes following in the plow furrows catching the mice we plowed up. I spent the first 18 years of my life within arms length of my dad, working in the fields with him every day. Good memories!

I aint sure who they persuaded more, the cattle or me!

We had an M, Super M and a 300 when Dad quit farming. I've only seen one but always thought I would like to have a MTA.

I"ve heard those persuaders also called tall sticks.

At about 3 the old milk cow nudged me off the top rail of the fence around the sow nursing, fell right into the litter. Scared the whey out of Mom!

Guess the ole sow thought I was just another customer cause she didn't react.

Honestly, MY-story had to do with log-chains & trees as well---although, I wasn't trying to remove the tree.

We had a "collection" of well-used chains, which tend to develop bad-links after years of hard-use.(Duh-h-h!☺)So, we'd wrap-'em around an old hedgeapple, that insisted on growing/surviving next to the machine-shed. I'd latch the hook onto the rear-bumper of my first(and last!)NEW-truck, an '82 GMC 1500 Sierra. I'd yank 'til it broke, OR 'til I spun-out on the grass, in 2wd-LO, at a "fast-idle" in first-"cog".(Yeah, I know '82's had auto-locks on 'em---but, that's yet ANOTHER-story in-itself!)Then I'd fix the link, an' yank a few more times, just to be safe.(Insert an ironic eye-roll HERE!)

Anyways, the neighbor-kid/boy---then in his "easy-to-influence" pre-teens---sauntered-over while I was "testing", and asked me and Dad: "Whatcha' doin?"

Dad LOVED messin' with what he ONCE-was---a green-horn-KID!---and says: "Well, this tree here is too-close to the shed, an' we're gonna pull-it over here(pointing)farther away from it!"

(Bear in-mind now, I had already "tested" three or four-chains, all of varying-length, and had scratched-out over a half-dozen divots by now, from the spinouts.)

Lil' feller replied to him: "Don't look like it's workin' too-good, t' me?"

(Here was MY-chance, to show Dad I really-WAS part of him!)

I beat Dad to the punch, an' told the boy: "Well, the heck it ain't! Goin' by these-here tire-tracks---I'd say we've moved it at least three-feet by now!"

"Oh-h-h-h!!!" he exclaimed. Turned-around to go back home, first walked, then RAN towards his house, yellin', "MA-A-A-A-A...!!!"

His Mom kept a closer-eye on him after that...!☺

By The Way: Any of you other "Brothers Of The Grease" plan on goin' to the Pinckneyville-Threshermans' Association get-together this year? Matter of fact, I think it's next-Thursday-thru-Sunday? Always the third-Thursday of August, I believe?

I've missed the last couple-years, tryin' to keep my health in-sync with the danged HEAT.(Was kinda like a sauna in the past, when it would RAIN, an' bounce-off those steamers!☺)

Probably miss this one, too. Wife will be working, and I don't like goin' by myself. And, I really can't afford too-much pleasure-driving anymore---I hold it in-reserve, for HER-job, and MY-doctors!

But, BOY did I once "haunt" that place, and other "Old-Iron"-shows, because I'd always run-into some of my "original"-relatives with their tractors---and they knew ME, instead of my self-centered, much-younger brother.(That in-itself was worth the trip!☺)He USED TO go with me, but not for a long-while now.

(I THINK he's afraid I might keel-over daid, an' he'd hafta pay for a permit to haul the carcass back-across state-lines to Missouri!☺)

Eh, maybe NEXT-year. Maybe things'll "fall-together"-better, then?

It's probably not the same for everyone---but I've NEVER visited anywhere, that the people were as NICE/FRIENDLY to us as in Pinckneyville.

And I'm even talkin' about the ones' who literally DO-KNOW-ME....!☺

Donk, I haven't been to a lot of old equipment gatherings but one thing I saw they all had in common; people smiling!

I went last year, good time. Not gonna make it this year. Dad goes every year so I am sure he will be there.

Your chain pulling story reminded me of something. Like most logger/farmers, dad always needed several more sources of income to rely on. We had a junkyard for a dozen years or so. We bought a old 1 ton Chevrolet tow truck.

A man near Ste. Genevieve had a old barn on his property he wanted torn down. As payment we could keep all the materials. We tore the sheet iron off the roof. Pulled most of the good 1 inch boards from the sides of the barn down to where it was only the frame work standing.

Dad decided he would cut most of the 6x6 post off at ground level leaving just a few solid. Then we would hook the wrecker cable up to the main beam and pull the barn down.

We broke cable after cable trying to pull that barn down, never even swayed it. Finally a neighbor said he had some "wire rope" It was unbreakable. So we spooled his wire rope on the winch. Dad put me in the truck to work the throttle and winch control. The front end of the old truck rared up off the ground three or four feet, so dad chained it to a big tree. I reved her up again, pulled until the chain broke loose from the tree, zipping me and the truck back 15 or 20 feet.

We finally surrendered and took the rest of the barn down a piece at a time. We eventually found out why it was so hard to pull it down. All the post and main beams were put together with mortise and tennon joints, and 1 inch wood pegs hammered in a hole boared through each joint. It also had hand forged nails drove in every piece. We found a section of the main beam with the builders name and the date 1867 carved into it. They dont build things quite like they did that barn anymore.

Donk,

I thought you were raised in the country? By the chain-pulling story you told I would assume you had neighbors within yelling distance of you. That would be considered cityliving by us down on String Ridge. (Our closest neighbor was 1/2 mile away)

As for the Thresherman's show, I was planning to go; have meant to go the past several years. I will have to be a little creative to make it work this year. Have never been to one but it really looks enjoyable.

Story time for me since you told about your dad picking on the young green horns. Several years ago we were doing the stonework on a big house between Cape and Jackson.

One brick supplier had an annual barbecue scheduled for the contractors. The second brick supplier's representative had been by the jobsite handing out t-shirts. I told the youngster who was working with us that on Friday we would quit early, clean up, and put on those new t-shirts so we could go to the barbecue looking our best as a group. When Friday noon came up I told them to go ahead as I had a few things to catch up on. Before I got away from that site I received a phone call from my boss. The boy had paraded through the first supplier's office with those nice new t-shirts advertising the competition. And the main man in the office had already called my boss complaining about the fact. Some people do not have a sense of humor!

stnmsn, When my father n law got a hankering for a new hat he always visited a dealership or supplier wearing a competitor's cap.

The night before his funeral, his life long friend and car dealer paid his last respects by placing a hat in the coffin, Some thought it tacky but those that knew them both saw it as a thoughtful last goodbye.

Theorist,

There was a time when I belonged to a union but it has been a while. I am vested in what was then the BC&T (Bakery, Confectionary, and Tobacco Workers) We have a golden 80 retirement plan but I received a letter from the union telling me the plan was downgraded.

I think that I am perhaps too independent minded for union work now but I try never to burn any bridges.

Why do you ask?

There are pluses to unions and minuses as well. I have had my share of both of them; worked union for the first 20 years after school. Carpenter's union, BC&T, and Teamsters.

After I had back trouble and could not find anyone willing to take a chance with me I talked a friend into hiring me. I worked as a mud man the year I turned 40, then was trained to lay brick and stone. I enjoy the atmosphere working residential construction with local contractors. I could make more money working union but do not want to do the traveling that often entails.

It is not that I dislike unions; they serve their purpose. There was a time the union saved my job; there was a time the union cost me my job. But I disagree with many of their methods.

STNMSN8: Correct, indeed! I was raised in the sticks, until, say, I believe I was 16? Then Dad & Mom moved to a "bigger-smaller-town" here in SEMO. It was strange to have PEOPLE that close for a while, alright!

I went in the service in May '69, came back "home", as in stateside, in March '71. Done another year or so in Active Reserve, because when we shipped-back, I didn't quite have all the points filled-in on my "Lady-FIGMO".

Tried to make a go of it in the North County-area of St. Louis---which at that time, was a fairly-nice neighborhood---as compared to NOW. But, me and "city-life" just wasn't gonna "jive", even if the pay was, for the most-part, satisfactory.(A non-EMT firefighter of the time didn't get paid NEARLY the amount of todays' multi-functional crew.) So I stuck it out for a few-more years, and headed back "down-here", to my own-little pile of sticks. Felt-GOOD to be able to step-out & take a leak in your yard again, WITHOUT being arrested!☺

Years later now, my two-closest neighbors are still at least a half-mile away, and we get along fine.(Mainly because we're all DEAF to our noise, and BLIND to the point of privacy!☺) I've still got a mostly-wooded 10-acre patch for any firearms practice---and, I could even HUNT, if I just HAD to! And, all of us get-along pretty-well, mainly because we're all 3 pretty-good shots, with our readin'-glasses on!☺ I've been here a little-more than 25, Neighbor#2, about 22? And, Neighbor #3, he's the "newbie", at maybe 5?, now?

I like 'em so good now, that I usually-don't even consider them a lowly-HUMAN no more!☺

(Now, there WAS the coon-hunter who USED to live in the area, and a cold, dark night with a pop-up perimeter-flare...? But that's another "installment", for later on-still....!☺)

I just hope that I can enjoy what's left of my life without too-much more "urban-sprawl" pinching me off---but it don't look too-promising.

(Ironic how, over 25-years ago, I bought a '30's-era farmhouse, on a total of 12-acres, for a "hair"-more than $28,000---and THAT was kinda-HIGH, for this area then.

Now, identical-parcels of land immediately adjoining mine are/were selling for $10-to-$13,000 PER ACRE, just last year.

Not sure, but I believe if worse-comes-to-where? I just MIGHT be able to "cover my initial investment", y' think?

I may hafta settle for a smaller-pile of "sticks" if such happens, but still?

Can't help it! I just ain't that "chummy"!!!

Don't believe it? Ask my WIFE....!!!☺☻☺

(P.S.:And NOW I think I just MIGHT-know what stnmsn8 actually stands for! I like it!☺)

And there's THEORIST, even! Glad to "see" you!

At least now we know we won't ALL be RIGHT, anymore. Gonna give the "other"-side of our brains some exercise, now! Gotta straighten-up our acts, now, dudes(and dudettes!)

Sorry, "THEO"---I couldn't resist the opening-"barb"! And, it IS all meant in a sarcastic frame-of-mind!☺

And, I "think" I really am glad to have you stop-by...!

OLD JOHN: I went to a family-fight---er, I mean,---reunion!, once, an' I thought those were SMILES, too.

But they weren't.

They wuz "grimaces"!!!☺

DING-DING-DING-G-G---"And, in THIS-corner, weighing in at.....!!!"

But, I know the difference between a SMILE, and a GRIMACE, now.

SMILES ain't cussin' you, when they's walkin' TOWARDS-you.......!☺☻☺!!!

We went to an event in Colechester Ill one time that was a big swap meet, tractor and car show, and meeting for a International Harvester Club.

Several dumb old retired farmers [as one man described himself] were showing off downsized models of the big iron of the past that they had built. A large steel wheel giant about the size of a modern compact that when came out of a camera looked just like the real thing.

One guy had one of the bigger 2cyl JDs down to lawn mower size. The flywheel cover was on hinges that allowed acess to the little Briggs engine that powered it.

This was all in the shade of a pine grove and I never knew the Harvester name was on so many different products.

As a bonus, if you didn't have your truck or trunk full when you left, the whole town turned out in yard sale mode.

And yeah, those were smiles!

Donknome,

It sounds to me as if your investment/presence has increased the value of your whole neighborhood! Urban renewal or community revitalization is what politicians would call it today. Perhaps you should run for political office? :)

Perhaps you should run for political office? :)

-- Posted by stnmsn8 on Wed, Aug 10, 2011, at 8:04 AM

Stnsmn8

Donknome2 has authored a fine and successful thread here, we don't want to ruin his character by running him for office.... do we? :'-(

OLD JOHN: I'm sittin' here, LMAO---at MYSELF!

In some ways, I wish I'd have had access to my camera at that moment, and done a short-vid on how I was twitchin', an' rockin' around in my chair, using a mental-image of ME, at that swap-meet you mentioned!☺

Stuff like that works better than a strong-cup of coffee, with a Diet-Coke chaser, for me...!

(And, YES, that WAS a smile---it was NOT just a gas-cramp-gone-bad....!☺)

STNMSN8: Now, THAT-one may have been a "gas-cramp-gone-bad", rather than a smile, in-deed...!☻☻☻

WHEELS: True.(Patting-self on back.) But, I think I'll throw-in jalapeno, here---just for the heck of it! Won't take long!

I definitely lean RIGHT, from my fence-row perch. But I don't claim ANY-political party as "MY-party".

I COULD HAVE, perhaps, taken-over my Dads'-job, several-years after he retired. But, there's something that I just don't like, about the qualifications that were needed.

He had the qualifications. He had the work-ethic. And I like to think he done the BEST-thing for his FAMILY, by "selling his soul", so-to-speak.(It literally DOUBLED his income, as opposed to the ol' venerable shoe-factory!) He once said about the shoe-factory job: "I liked the job---but a fella with a family might starve to death, if he's not careful!"

OH, sorry! Didn't mean to wander, there. What I meant by "selling his soul"? When a fella has to sign-on-the-line, registering as a Republican, or Democrat, depending upon who/which is "in-power" at the time---sorry, that's just not MY-idea of an "open"-job. Same goes for voter-registration: Seems like the Freedom To Vote Ones' Conscience tends to disappear, when the first-thing you're asked is, "Democrat or Republican-ticket?"

"VOTE-INDEPENDENT!!!", someone yells.

No. Why? I dunno, maybe 'cause I don't WANT-to.

After all, it IS about CHOICE, isn't it?

"You choose what we TELL-you to choose!"

Not-unlike some RELIGIOUS-affiliations today...

I'll post it, but---naaah---from now on, I think it's best to stick-with what I know and like: "Old Iron(and "rods"!)Are Beautiful".....!!!☺

And, where'd my THEORIST-go?

Mainly just curious, as to if she actually DID watch the YouTube-link, that started this?

If she DID? Probably STILL ain't sure WHICH-end was going FORWARD, and WHY?

It's a "Gear-Head"-thang! One tends to be born with it, and I would think it's very-seldom an acquired-"taste".

Kinda like cooking. I've already slipped-up and let the wife discover I'm pretty-good at it---a lot better than her, actually! (Dad had always cautioned me about that! He could cook, too---IF he just HAD-to!)

She uses the the ol' time-tested "Chow-Line Recipe". Throw a bunch of stuff in a pot---sans directions!---an' drown it with tap-water.

IF nobody dies, or needs hospitalization?

"Save The Recipe".....!!!☺

One of the first things me and my city girl wife went at it over was the dinner table. I had to explain a few things.

A meal with no meat cannot be a meal.

Noodles are not a food group.

A good meal cannot come from a box.

Salt and pepper are not the only spices in the world

Though shall not burn meat should be the 11th commandment.

Things have changed alot. We very rarely eat food from a box. We have some type of meat at every meal. Our spice cabinet is full of different flavorings. Steaks are never well done, at worst medium.

On the other hand, I have learned to tolerate things like pasta, tea with artificial sweeetner, only having ham hocks in my beans instead of fatback etc.

HAHA! There y' go, JOE!☺

How-Ev-Er: The Stouffers-brand Lasagna is about the best pre-cooked-frozen dish I've came across---and SIMPLE/FAST, too! But---it ain't cheap, as normal "heat-n'-eat"-stuff sometimes goes.

Wife CAN cook---but, she absolutely HATES salt/pepper/other "necessary-additives"! Everything's bland, tasteless, until I get a hold on it!☺ (But then again, considering the "pigs" she once cooked for before ME? ARSENIC would've been a nice-addition to their salt-shakers!☺)

Only-thing I hate--other than my mess!--if you're the COOK, between the samples and the aroma---you've done ate-it once, and it makes the actual-meal hard for me to enjoy anymore!

My favorite-time to "make-somethin'" is when I'm alone, with her at work or visiting, where I can eat-it straight off the burner, half-raw/half-burnt, with EVERY and ANY-thing I can pile on it---and scratch, belch, an' fawrt all I want!☺

Yet ANOTHER reason to NOT want close-neighbors...!!!

Joe,

I remember meals growing up when I was young. Nothing was ever wasted. Not only did we have hamhocks and fatback with our beans, we often had the pig's tail. Now I settle for chunks of ham.

I always got in trouble if I shot the squirrel in the head; Mom's favorite food group was squirrel brains.

I never was late to the dinner table; there would have been no reason to be there.

stnms8, I think that fear of waste has rubbed off on some of us from our folks that went through the depression. Mom and Dad and older sibling endured the depression and by the time I came along those habits of "waste not want not" were securely instilled in all of us.

Of course my mother was the greatest cook in the world. My mother n law has never downsized her table and there would have to be a serious situation for anyone not to take her up on an invite to that spread.

So that is the only serious rub between me and my wife. I can eat her mom's left overs until they are gone... right in front of a hungry dog with big eyes a lookin. I can eat my chili, stew, chicken and dumplings, dressing or pot roast over and over til it's gone.

She simply refuses to eat anything left over except sometimes what I just mentioned.

And because I can't waste, anything else; I do, and that wasn't exactly the kind of "I Do" I had in mind back in the days without Radar in the kitchen.

My GOD!

I've started our own semi-private "Mr. Food"-column, now!☺

FOOD: Second in importance ONLY to things that go "Crank, Clank, an' BOOM!!!" which then showers you with hot, smelly petroleum-distillates---and, in that particular-order, as well.

Fella's got to have his priorities, y' know.....!!!

Donk,

I agree, the worst part about cookin is you never seem to enjoy the meal as much if you cooked it. We will have a big fish fry or pig roast for friends and family about every month or two. After spending all night tending the smoker or a couple hours workin the deep fryer my appetite is gone.

stnmsn,

Granny always gave pig tail, ears and feet to a old man down on the creek, it was a big treat for him. As a kid, we would make our own head cheese. I havent made any for awhile, but every time I am buy a select few butcher shops I trust, I pick up a pound or two. As far as the squirel goes, it depends on who I am shootin them for. I pride myself in my marsmanship to the point I can not stand to shoot anything but head or neck on a squirel, to much tasty meat in the front and back legs and I hate gut shootin any critter. Plus its 22 only for me, no shotguns. I am the same way with deer, neck shots only, wont catch me shoulder shootin one. If I miss the neck its a clean miss, if I hit its a clean kill

Hmmm, food and cars - turning into an interesting thread combination.

Gots me to thinking about some of the, er, unconventional methods offered back during the fuel crisis of the 70s - back in the days of real freedom of choice - one could choose to complain about the price of gas, or one could complain about the unavailability of gas, or both.

Tips such as cooking/warming your lunch on the way to work by setting the foil-wrapped meal on the intake manifold. Or warming up foil-wrapped leftovers by running them in the dishwasher during its normal cycle.

Whatever happened to the Sonic #3 burger - the one with the smoky sauce? Or the entertainment provided by watchie a newbie carhop on skates.

What about when A&W brought out root beers in a real glass mug? What'd they have - the Papa Burger, Mama Burger, and Baby Burger, er, or something like that for sizes. Howz about the $0.19 Coneys on Tuesdays(?).

Or the cars from the 70s with extreme sloped-in tapers of the door windows, so that the carhop had to be careful when hooking the tray on, less everything became a nouveau-fashion statement on the driver.

Ahhhh, frozen Cokes from Blue Hole - have yet to find a frozen Coke with that consistency - almost like a shake rather than just a Coke over crushed ice like today's.

The satisfaction when choosing to get to-go at the fast-food restaurant - being able to go in and get out before the same cars in line on arrival get through the drive-up window. Heheheh.

FXPWT: You said it!!!

Indeed, what happened to the Sonic #3 burger? For that matter, what HAS happened to ANY of Sonics' once-proud-to-be-eaten burgers? I had a #2 with(supposedly!)the whole-nine yards of condiments about a month-ago now. Brown, chunky lettuce, a rock-hard pink-tomato, and y' gotta BEG for the catsup. And, MUSTARD??? What's THAT??? "If we can find it, it'll be xtra!"☺

And, the "BEEF"? I wanted to CRY so-bad---but, napkins apparently are optional, too, now??? I'll NOT go back there anytime soon.(And, who wants to see MALE-carhops, anyway?)

And as for warming "delicacies" on manifolds? I could start a whole-'nother thread on THAT-subject, and it'd start with "Beans, W/Franks", and end with Green(never Yellow---too-bitter!☺)Dragonflies in Mudballs.

But I won't. That's gettin' WAY-Y-Y outta the "groove", there!

OH, YEAH-H-H---A&W in-the-mug!(My kidneys & bladder are STILL makin' me pay for the overload, years-later!) And---didn't A&W have gals-on-skates BEFORE Sonic came to town? One of my GOOD-natured☺!, at the time a Soon-To-Be Sister In-Laws was GREAT at "hoppin'" on the skates, and I could SWEAR it was at the long-gone Jackson A&W? Before it became the Cardinal-drive-in? Matter of fact, weren't there TWO-A&W's in Jackson, then?

I unfortunately didn't allow myself enough "free-time", to ever indulge myself in/at the Blue-Hole---I didn't "haunt" in Cape too-much, back in it's "hey-days"---and I understand NOW that I'd missed quite an opportunity, for "young-men" of the time!☺ The FAME of the Blue-Hole BBQ did, indeed, spread far and wide, even then. And too-late, I found I had let opportunity pass-me by, once again.(Sobbing, wiping tears)...:( :(

I hafta skip drive-thrus altogether, nowadays. I can still hear---but, I "hear"-better with my EYES, now. And, some days I don't SPEAK as coherent as others.

And THAT'S where the WIFE does double-duty as a portable "hearing-aid/interpreter".

A kind of an interactive teleprompter, if you will...!!!☺

(Yeah, I know what the term, "TELEPROMPTER"-immediately brings to mind---I ain't as stoopud as I luuk, Bubba!)

It has been some time since I have helped with a batch of headcheese. However, the makings are available at little or no cost at the local butcher shops. And the freezer needs cleaned out at times. I am beginning to think that the time for some good homemade headcheese is just around the corner!

Might as well make some lye soap while we are at it.

By the way, I tracked down a manual produced by the government giving the design for a still to produce gas from wood or charcoal. This was printed back in the 1970's and is based on the gasification units Germany used to power it's vehicles during WWII. I think I can still find it.

For any of you that might be interested:

http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/0302hsted/fema.woodgas.pdf

It is a fairly hefty download but a handy farmer could make one out of easily available material. Donk would be a natural.

Typical government stuff, takes longer to download than to build it. 15 minutes to get the first 2 pages, I'll try later.

I have no idea how to make head cheese but lye soap I've done.

That episode of the Beverly Hillbillys where the lye soap washed the spots out of a leopard skin coat gave lye soap a bad rap. Nothing more gentle than home made soap. Rain water and lye soap makes the hair shine akin to teeth like the stars that come out at night. :)

Man, that IS a heavy-download!

I'll try it tomorrow, too---I gotta hit the rack!

UN-fortunately, I have helped make head-cheese, and blood-sausage. The experience was somewhat---umm,---"unsettling", for me!☺ I'll take my chances with a good, ol' fashioned, painted-up hot dog!

If a fella can FIND a good-"bar"-soap anymore---like the old, original, GREY-LAVA Soap---the base-ingredients really aren't all that different from basic LYE-soap. Especially in the DOVE-"beauty"-soaps.

But I've used Dove a LOT of times in a pinch---an' it NEVER done a thing for my-looks!

Although I DID have a whiny-VOICE for a few-hours following.....!☺

Got one more stick of blood sausage in the freezer Donknome-2.... just in case you change your mind.

Donk,

Lava soap has went downhill a little, but I still keep a bar in the house, shop and boat. I wish the wouldnt have added the fancy "moisturizers" to it, but the green bars still do a pretty good job. Don't waste your money on the liquid kind though.

Wheels,

I got a strong stomach but I never could go the blood sausage for some reason. I'll just let the Dutchmen have my share.

I am sure Rick and a few others have made a stop at Dog n Suds in Cherokee Pass. The put a sign up last fall that said "closed for the winter" I still check in from time to time, but they aint never opened back up. I hope somebody gets that place going again.

We also have a place in town called The Pig. I stop in once a week for a combination, which is smoked pork, melted cheese, and hot sauce between 2 pieces of toast. Add on a side of fried mushrooms and your good to go.

Must be a long cold winter. I will call it the 'Obama winter'. It has been a long time since I stopped at that Dog n' Suds but I still have the memories.

Those who have never taken the time to develop the refined palate of the true 'Dutchman' have no appreciation for the finer things in life.

Rick,

Try it.... you'll like it!

Joe, The Pig sounds like my kind of place, I kind of remember maybe eating in there a couple of years past. Are we talking Fredericktown?

The Sandwich sounds good and I would love the fried mushrooms, but if I ate them you would have to capitalize GO! They don't agree with my delicate constitution.

Google 'FEMA manual, gasification unit' if you are interested. There are other sites which provide information without that heavy download. That is the FEMA manual itself.

Yea Rick, I'm not sure what the deal is. They built the new truck stop with a Subway shop inside just north of Dog and Suds. They closed the gas station on the other side and have a sign in the window claiming they will open a BBQ joint when it is remodeled.

Stnmsn8,

You nailed it... I was going to say something here but everybody would think I was bragging, and I don't want to do that.

I will go this far though, my Grandma supervised the making of some of the world's finest blood sausage, headcheese and liver sausage.

Stnmsn,

Having spent alot of time in perryville/ste gen areas working with many a Dutchman, I agree they is some fine cooks. Some of them have some peculiar ways in the mind of a hillbilly.

I know a large family of them that own property along the Mississippi north of Ste Gen. They were draining a pond on a piece of property they bought in order to rebuild the dam. As the water drained into the field below fish were laid out on the ground, mainly catfish and carp. They started picking up the carp but not the catfish. When I asked why he said they considered catfish trash. It wasnt suitable for pickling. I politely asked if they would mind if I took those nasty catfish home with me cause I could probably find a use for them.

Wheels,

Yes the pig is in fredericktown, the combinations are great, ribs are good, also serve browns and other good stuff. I agree on the effects of the mushrooms, cant help myself though. I get both excited and dread springtime morel season. I know what a big bait of em will do to me, but I cant resist.

Aren't liver dumplings some of your clans creation also?

I love liver of any kind, and maybe I never had a "good" batch of liver dumplings but I am not a fan.

Don't know that a liking for carp and aversion to catfish is a dutchy thing. All of us in Bollinger, Cape, Scott counties seem to enjoy catfish, even though they ARE bottomfeeders. Mom was very good at fixing grinnel but we never liked carp.

Joe,

I thought so, we were looking for a place to eat that might have a little 'uniqueness' to it. I had to convince my wife it would not be too 'unique' but we both would do them again if in the neighborhood.

I like those kinds of places. That is how I happened onto 'The Roadkill Cafe' in a little town on Hy 98 a couple of miles east of Foley Al. All my winter friends thought I was nuts until I convinced them to try it, now we descend on the place with about 6 to 8 people several times a season. The place is only open a couple of hours a day at lunchtime and it is all you can eat, fish, chicken and fixins. The previous owner told me, when I mentioned his short hours that if he didn't like to eat there so well himself, he would close the place entirely. His son is running it now and hasn't changed a thing.... except he must have had a business course, he stays open 30 minutes longer than daddy did.

Joe,

I'm not sure liver dumplings are Dutch, we never ate them. Only time I ever had them was in a restaurant in St. Gen. and was not that wild about them either.

Stnmsn8,

I remember when somebody would always come through during lent selling Grinnel to the 'poverty stricken (exceept we didn't know it) Catholics in Bollinger County. I remember them being as low as 15 cents a pound. We ate fresh carp which my Dad gigged when the diversion channel was backed out over the cornfields, also a few Buffalo.

Near here, there is a tavern and restaurant on the Mississippi which serves a "Bonefish Sandwich" with a nice big slice of onion that is pretty good. They score big fillets of Carp/Bonefish and deep fry them and the bones kind of melt. Wouldn't discount them as being inedible, if you are hungry.

Now that bonefish sandwich sounds good. The neighborhood taverns which have been established for some time often serve some very good meals.

Didn't know we were 'poverty stricken' until I was away from home for some time. I would return to that situation in a heartbeat!

Maybe the pickled carp and liver dumplins is more of a Ste Gen thing than a dutch thing.

Granny used to can buffalo alot. We would take the sain over to the backwaters along the river and draw out some nice buffalo, bring em back and put them in a big stock tank with clean water and a little electric pump to aerate the water. A few days later after the river water was flushed from their system we would butcher and can. Usually fried them into patties or ate it for lunch right out of the jar. Tasted similar to the canned tuna or salmon you buy today

Donk,

I know of a couple of remidies to prevent chiggers and ticks all together. It doesnt work 100% but it will cut down the majority of the bites.

First is eating garlic or a garlic pill daily. The garlic coming through your pores deter must biting critters from hanging around long.

The other is hard liquior. Chiggers dont like alchohol in their blood as much as we do.

Wheels, Liver and dumplings I think are German, generally served with kraught.

We never had them on our menu but I have and old German cookbook that has a recipe for a German dish of potato dumplings and liver.

Old John,

Entirely possible. We had plenty of chicken and dumplings but no liver dumplings. Don't remember potato dumplings either. Our fare probably gravitated more to the Dutch than the German, and there is some differences. Had an out of town friend with me one day and we ate over at the Leopold store on Chicken and dumplings day. He didn't think he would like them but soon went back for seconds. He was thinking of a dumpling being something made of dough about the size of a cue ball and half raw in the middle.

WELL---it seems someone apparently was quite-offended, by my posting of the chigger-rid-recipe, seeing as it's no longer on here.

Things are pretty-SAD, indeed, when you can't make fun of YOURSELF anymore. Too-much non-PC "veiled-temperament", I suppose?

Yet, we have some broad---or somethin'?---that goes by SEPHORA?, whatever that is, on another posting that can publicly spread gossip, and use EXACT-FREAKING-NAMES. Kinda like that TOPIX-crap, which is where it belongs.

(WHY NOT GO THERE, MODERATOR, AND SENSOR THAT, TOO??? HUH???)

I guess I should try THAT-angle myself, instead? Seems to be the most-popular.

To HELL with HUMOR---let's all go ruin somebodys' life, instead.

I always WAS better at that, anyhow......

Donk, Some posts are so good that they are plucked from the threads and put in a special file for later exposition of the great works of greater minds!

Yeah, well, I've just got one closing-remark, and then the SE Manurian can K.M.A.: I think it's about time we STOPPED givin' these about-to-go-belly-up "paper"-clowns ALL OF THESE FREE-HITS they enjoy. I've lost track of how-many times I've came back HERE, to catch the next-witty reply, even when it smears me.

To The Moderator: Your POLITICALLY-based postings resemble some of the arguments I'd witnessed just before a bunch of drunken-sailors would start swingin'.

(My-Apologies to Mr. Shapley Hunter, and any others of the current/former Naval Branch Of Operations---but what more would you expect from a former-Marine, y' know???☺)

Don't like self-beating humor? Fine. Start PAYING me, and I'll become one of the NASTIEST-damned Political-Pundits since Rush"The-Enema"Limbaugh---and I've even been caught listening to him, in the past, when I need some motivation to HATE-POLITICS!!! And, danged if it doesn't WORK, too!!!☺

So at least for now, I'll tell the Manurian the(basically!)same-thing I was told, with discharge in-hand, at the end of my final-debriefing: "The Corps thanks you for your service to your country. It is now, at this time, that we wish you the best of luck, back in civilian-life. So, on behalf of the Corps---Good-Bye, Good-Luck, and Get-F*****!"

Or, as RICK might end it: "PEACE, OUT!!!"........☺!

stnmns8, I did a little reading on gasification. My biggest surprise was learning it has been around so long. I always thought to Germans developed the technology, although they did get pretty good at it, it goes way back.

I remember a 7th grade teacher heating wood chips in a coffee can with a hole in the lid and lighting the gas coming out. Not sure what the lesson was about for paying attention in school wasn't one of my finer traits.

JOE DIRTE: Garlic is good, but tears my guts apart with the "urrps".

The hard liquor probably does---but, I can't seem to remember if it worked for ME???☺ I never did try just splashing it on. Be rough explaining to the wife, though???(Ol' dried-up "rummy"!☺)

Another natural remedy is---I know WHERE and HOW to get/use it, but not it's name, for certain?---is it Pennywhistle, or somethin' like that? Grows real-close to the ground, has a STRONG-minty smell. Rip-up a handful, an' rub it in---no self-respecting tick will dare crawl up your leg!

But I still swear by the original DEET. Now, I like to mix about 10-20% PYRETHRIN in with it. Some claim it burns their skin, but I've never had that problem? But if it does? Then try it on your EXTERNAL-clothing, instead. Slows-'em down, anyways!

As for my ORIGINAL-solution to the itching and burning, from "the ones that got thru regardless"?

If the all-knowing MODERATOR, and Who/Whatever ELSE, that was offended, would've bothered to overlook the "salt" I put in my apparent "non-PC" posting of earlier---and maybe get their butts-off'n their nice, A-C cooled office chair/recliner once, and RESEARCH(now, THAT'S a censorable-word for 'em!☺)---they'd discovered my solution contained Dibucaine---a "cousin" to Lidocaine, if you will---as well as lanolin, AND states such "alternative-uses" on the label. Kinda-"pricey", though.

Figured I owed-you at least a reply, JOE D.---and the others, too!

But it sure wasn't much FUN, without the "self-disrespecting"-humor.

Kinda like a burger without the fixin's: Dry, bland, tasteless---nothin' there to enjoy.

You know---"Just Like REAL-Life"....☻☻☻.

Donknowme-2,

Don't let it bother. I had a post removed because another poster wanted to get back at me for something a bit ago and reported a statement I made like.... something suc***. But she can post things like LMAO and thinks it's fine. A cowardly thing to do I think! Just remember.... Life is a *itch and then you die!

Illigetimus Non Carborundum!

WHEELS: Oh, it don't bother-me, as much as the double-standard that you mention.

I mean, it's OK for 'em to hammer-someone BY NAME on this forum, and use the excuse:"Well, it IS available on public-record!" True, it is.

So are DEATH-CERTIFICATES. Are we gonna start hammerin' the names of those, too, now? I mean, is it OK? 'Cause if so---I gotta list as long as my arm, to start-in on!☺ I mean, hey: If y' don't respect 'em ALIVE? Why not burn-'em in DEATH, too?

Poor-ol' RICK gets hammered at-will, most every-day. Of course, NO ONE has the gonads to call-him by his full-name---let alone have the balls to mention THEIR-OWN. Where are the damned-moderators at then? Yeah, right. Fair and equally-applied standards. MY-EYE.

I'm surprised we can still "screw in a light-bulb", as opposed to "insert with a moderately-strong clockwise twisting-motion".(I admittedly checked, just in-case!☺)

NOW look at what I've done. Taken a perfectly-good "Sentimental-Journey"-sort of a thread, that I started---and totally RUINED-it to no-end. If I had any shame left in myself anymore---I'd be using it right-now.

"Illigetimus Non Carborundum". In-deed.

I got a box of 7-inch surface-grinder wheels once. Had the same-thing penciled on the side-flap of the box with a China-marker, that said pretty-much the same-thing. Hmmm.?

Now that's REAL-sarcasm......!☺

And to shoot-it with the final-finishing bullet: On my radio, I can't STAND Rush Limbaugh anymore, since he's started equating himself with our GOD---but when I hear that Mark Stein is standing-in for him? I'm right-on top of that dial, buddy! He's one of the very-few orators I'll listen-to, that concerns political-banter, since the late Paul Harvey Sr.

Years ago, Dad used to listen to, I think? it was Herbert W. Armstrong(not Jr.), and, was it, "The World Tomorrow"???

Not sure anymore, but I learned fast to NOT disturb him while listening.

And I learned THAT when I was at LEAST 25-years old myself....!☺

Like THEO or not, she DOES make a valid-point.

LET'S ASK "DA-MODERATOR"!!! C'MON, CRAWL-UP HERE AN' GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK!!! Of course not.

But that's more or less what I was affirming to.

Gee, THEO, I HOPE you're not that "other"-troll I'd asked you about once, in a flippant-way?

(If so, then YOUR "Jekyl/Hyde"-condition is VERY "fine-tuned", in-deed! Much-more so than MINE...!☺)

Watched the Waltons again the other night. I wasn't around back then but according to the standards of my raising they were pretty well off!

Nine of us were raised in a three room house. When the girls got a little older, one of the side porches was enclosed so they could have their own bedroom. We didn't have running water; drinking water was in a bucket on the kitchen counter. In the winter we broke the ice with the dipper in order to get a drink. It was about 1966 that one of the neighbors retired from farming and moved to town. We bought his place and moved into the house; inherited his indoor plumbing. Before that we took our weekly bath in a #2 washtub on the other side porch.

Black River Electric Coop extended the power lines to us in 1954. My dad told me that when he was growing up, the boys slept in the loft. On winter mornings they often awoke with their blankets covered with a layer of fine snow.

Yes, I am quite sure that the Walton's were an example of the upper crust of rural life!

stnmsn8, I guess by the time I came along we were out of the poor stage. As far back as I can remember the folks had some kind of old truck and one tractor. The outhouse was retired around '64.

I think we were last around to get a phone.

When my two older brothers were youngsters they traded with cousins for a pet 'coon. They slept in/on a back porch that had been boxed in. It was hot weather and they didn't want the 'coon to get away in the night so they tied him to the bed post and kept him on the bed with them.

They forgot one thing. About dawn the old tom cat jumped through the window at his usual bed time right onto the 'coon.

Although the parents didn't know about the 'coon, the whole house hold and neighbors a 1/2 mile away heard that ruckus!

Old John,

Kind of reminds me of a friend I will call Tom. He and his new bride went on a camping trip with his new inlaws. They had individual tents, and when it came time for bed all went to their seperate quarters.

Sometime about two in the morning, Tom stirs and moves his hand. He felt something furry and being half asleep did not recognize it for the cat that had crawled into their tent and curled up on his stomach. He came alive, circled the tent about three times screaming at the top of his lungs knocking the tent down on top of the new bride, before he finds the tent flap and rips it open, escaping this wild beast that he left his new wife to deal with in a collapsed tent.

As the father-in-law described it.... "It was quite a spectacle". By this time the entire campground was alive with half awake people bumping into one another in the excitement. The father-in-law said when the weekend was over a number of people wanted to know when they were going camping again because they wanted to be there to watch. It was a long time before Tom lived that one down.

It is not an old story but well worth telling. My wife and I had hit on hard times and rented a trailer house. We moved in the first day; all went well. We were asleep that night when I awoke to a blood-curdling scream.

My wife was asleep with her arm hanging over the side of the bed when she awoke to the sensation of something licking her fingers. Opening her eyes, she saw a small possum looking back at her. Nothing would do but that I open the door to that trailer and shoo that possum out of the house. And she was of little help; busy standing astride the bed screaming.

Come to find out, the previous renter had unhooked the clothes dryer and left the vent hose laying on the ground. The hungry possum crawled up that hose and into the trailer.

Still can't hear well out of my left ear!

Stnmsn8,

☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

We sat in the lawn chairs one forth of July and watched the fireworks from a distance in town. We had some cats around back then and I reached down and petted one next to my chair. That was about the same time I saw the outline of another critter pass in front us and recognized the distintive trade mark of a furry friend not invited.

We dashed inside as the momma skunk gathered her youngster that now had my scent on his back.

old John,

Was that the year Thanksgiving came on 4th of July evening?

The old dog tangled with a skunk one time. It was a good thing he liked biscuits well enough to dive in the pond after one. Took several biscuits before anyone cozied up to him again.

Donk,

Dont let em run you off. Remeber, whatever you do, don't post any threads about horses. I know from experience the mods will not tolerate it!

Guess I should start a "fresh"-thread a little later, eh? Especially since this-ones' been-deemed "CAUTION: May Contain Fragments Of REAL-LIFE, Found To Be Offensive To Those Allergic To Non-P.C. Statements".☺!

Jus' like the warning of "Watch For Pits!" on the pies, "Now, with REAL-CHERRY filling!"

I'll hafta go on a "sabbatical" to my man-cave(i.e., machine-shop), meditate, an' see what materializes before me...!☺

JOE: Man, what TIMIMG!!!☺

But, no---HORSES???

Maybe we can "thinly-veil" it with horse-POWER, instead?

Gimme a while---I'll come-up with something that'll offend at least TWO-people next-time...!!!☺

You gotta be careful how you talk about horses arses also, they sometimes get offended.

A sad day for the dogs!

A neighbor and his friend were looking at a John Deere Number 4 Big mower I have in the yard.

I learned a little about how it worked and heard some stories. It seems the dogs of those days on the farm naturally liked to be close to the action and follow the horses as the heavy machine was lugged through the grass or the hay field. Imagine the serenity of riding the spring seat as the mower near quietly snipped the foilage and the dogs following along the right side of the horses when heed to "haw!" swung the sickle blade around behind the dogs.

Hopefully the saddest part for the dog was being jailed in the corn crib on mowing day.

Old John,

I am beginning to remember why me and them mules didn't get along that well. Neither of us could remember "gee" from "haw". Kind of like "Port" and "Starboard". Why didn't they just say "Right" or "Left'. Hell I had enough trouble with that!

I can remember riding on the fender of that 630 John Deere (no seat belts or other safety devices) with the old pull-type combine. The dogs were hot on the heels of a rabbit It ran under the header. Our beagle was a little too tall.............he lost a leg. Still ran rabbits on three legs!

It is amazing how many memories this thread brings to mind!

Here is one of the stories he told in last nights talk. I will tell it in the first person to make it easier to follow. It was somewhere around 1935, he was around 10 years old.

>

Pop and uncle Aaron had the mill set up down toward Patterson, about 25 or 30 miles from the house one summer. Every Monday he would take the four oldest boys, load up the wagon and stay at the mill till Friday night, when they would head back home. Me, my sisters and youngest brother would stay home with mom and take care of the place.

We didnt get many strangers that far up the holler where the house was. We sure didnt get many driving a car, but early on Friday morning we heard a car coming up the holler. It stopped along the creek down from the house a ways. All us kids wanted to go see who it was but mom said we had plenty to do around home so leave em be.

Early Saturday morning Pop and the boys pulled in. We went and unhitched and watered the team while they ate breakfast. After they ate Pop wanted to go cut enough wood for us to cook on the next week so we started off.

We made our way down the creek to get some wood, when we came up to where the car we had heard the day before was parked. My oldest brother never seen a car that he didnt want to climb around on and get a closer look at, but Pop persuaded him that wood cuttin was more important at that time.

After dark my brother snuck back down toward where the car was at. There were three men sittin around a fire. He noticed a couple of hogs already cleaned and quartered hangin on a post in their camp and enough guns leaning up against their car to outfit a regiment. He went back, told Pop what he seen and pop sent two of the boys through the woods to the filling station about 4 miles away where the nearest phone was to call the sheriff. There had been some stock theiving going on lately and he thought these men might be involved.

Later in the night, we heard the car fire up and leave. Pop went down to where their camp had been and all that was left was the butchered hogs. He took the meat and tied it off in the creek to keep it cool.

The sheriff arived the next morning and my brother described the men and the car to him. The sheriff said those were the Bush brothers. They had been lookin for them all over SEMO for several robberies and a couple killings. Pop asked the sheriff if we could have the meat the men had left and he said take it. We hadnt had much fresh meat since the weather had got hot so we felt like we had hit the jackpot.

A few days later pop ran into the sheriff who told him they had caught up to the Bush brothers hiding in a house in Iron county. There was a shootout, which the Bush brothers did not survive.

It is amazing how many memories this thread brings to mind!

-- Posted by stnmsn8 on Mon, Aug 15, 2011, at 8:48 PM

You are right on with that remark stnmsn. I was going to start a thread awhile back of a similar nature but as this one is going so well, I will just add it here.

I began a project awhile back of recording stories told by my grandpa. I have spent my whole life listening to these stories but it seems his mind is sharper than mine cause I forget many of the details of the stories he has told. I'm not really doing it cause I think others would enjoy hearing stories of normal everyday people who they have never met, but because I want my kids to see and hear them and realize where they came from. Most are just stories of everyday life, work, huntin and fishin and so on, but I imagine many of you who grew up in SEMO can relate to much of it.

Sorry, last 2 post order got switched around

Joe,

I have an aunt with many stories to tell. The problem being that when you ask her a question about a certain past ancestor she goes down the holler, around the mountain, and over into the next county with her story before she finishes telling it. It is impossible for me to remember all the details and write them down. If these stories die with her it will be a great loss.

I have promised myself many times to take a recorder along to help me with the details. Perhaps I should take a laptop along next time and record her on video? It is time for me to get off my duff and pass along the stories as you are. Kudos to you!

Joe You say .......I'm not really doing it cause I think others would enjoy hearing stories of normal everyday people who they have never met,....

Good Old Days Magazine has a lot of readers that enjoy stories like you describe about folks they never met. Me included.

In my Mom's later years she would have to stop and think about what she did yesterday, but get her started on yesteryear and she could tell what color shirt someone was wearing as part of a story from 75 years back. The price of eggs and how much she got for the chickens sold, not to mention how many quarts of pickles canned.

Stnnmsn8,

I spoke to that aunt of yours this morning. You are correct on all counts. And she doesn't make things up. If she errs and tells you the same story twice, the details match. Please do record her, the loss will be to future generations if you do not.

Take plenty of storage capacity, she can talk a long time without taking a breath. ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

Wheels,

Not only does she not make things up, she gets rather perturbed at people who tell stories about the past without being too careful about getting the facts straight.

By the way, I found a topographical map of Crowley's Ridge, the swamps of southeast Missouri, and the railways that was done in the 1890's. You may have already seen it but I will post the link just in case:

http://www.showmenet/~fkeller/quake/crowleymap.htm

http://www.datasync.com~rsf1/crowley.htm

Stnmsm8,

Thanks for the links, I haven't looked yet, but will in just a couple of minutes.

Yes this aunt of yours does get upset when people play fast and loose with the facts. She once took another relative to task over a statement made that questioned the literacy of what I would consider one of your and her family patriarchs. She asked me if I had any knowledge that he was literate. I had access to a document with his signature on it. While I can not attest to his reading ability, he sure as heck could write, while others on the document signed with an X and an acknowledgement by a witness, he wrote his name as did his brother.

Stnmsn8,

Would you check those links? I am having a problem getting them to open. Thanks.

http://www.datasync.com/~rsf1/crowley.htm

http://www.showme.net/~fkeller/quake/crowleymap.htm

Thanks for the maps. I enjoyed many of the links along with the description of the global warming hoax.

http://www.showme.net/~fkeller/quake/sitemap.htm

I appreciate that help with the links, Regret.

Thanks guys.

Stnmsn,

You really should record your aunt. I have always heard stories of relatives who were long gone before my time. I wish there would have been a way back then to record their stories. I think it would be amazing to sit down and watch a video of my civil war era ancestors, or the first people in my family to come to america. Some day my children or their children will hear me tell a story of people before their time, and all I will have to do is show them the recordings.

Joe, I think that video of civil war time folks exists. It is a video related not on an LDC or Plasma screen but a video assembled in the mind conveyed by combinations of photograph, folk lure, written accounts and historical records along with geneology.

Those with the ability to collect, sort and organize that history owe it to their self satisfaction to pass it on.

Too good a thread to just forget.

A friend in Poplar Bluff is well known for his expertise in hot rods. Although he is old school at heart he has kept up very well. When he tired of being known as the guy with the blower through the hood, signature paint job, almost hidden wiring and neat plumbing and chrome,[that everyone began to mimmick] he created himslf some new passions; Corvettes, custom Harleys and Rat Mobils as he calls them. You know about the first two and may know about the latter. I had to learn. A Rat Rod is to each his own. His included no exterior chrome and everything painted a dull black, dents and all, but with a trick engine, lowered suspension, and a host of goodies.

I guess since the beginning folks have always used cars as a way to make a statement. Some drove a fancy car to impress cousins in the next county or state and some just want to be different!

Th term Rat was applied back in the 60's I think by a builder of notariety. There were cartoon drawings of a hot rod with a little monster like character who's head was bigger the car smoking the tires.

I could use some help getting that story straight.

And of course, the shifter---ALWAYS a four-speed, and ALMOST-always a Hurst T-Handle!---was at least as tall as the "Rat" with a death-grip on it, which naturally made the "Rat-Rod" about the size of a Matchbox-car!

Hell-yeah, I remember 'em! And, I think one could even get "E-Z Peel-n'-Stick"(ONE-CHANCE ONLY!)Decals, if you had "The Right-Connections"!

And, T-Shirts---all-OVER the place, even if they DID cost almost half-a-days' worth of hay-haulin'---it was WORTH-it, to be "one of---THEM-guys", at least once in a lifetime...!!!

Pontiac had an OHC six cylinder in the mid-60's. The one I saw was in a 1966 LeMans. It had a Holley 4-barrel with a three speed manual and would keep up with a small block Chevy.

I remember that odd plain car with the Delorean influence, thinking it was a Tempest Lemans and was breifly featured in the Tiger ads before the GTO. I seem to think there was a tiger under the hood, in the tank and tiger paws on the wheels in those days.

Anyway that car went better than it stopped with front drum non power brakes and a tendency to die during hard deceleration.

What brand of gasoline put a tiger in your tank? I forget, but I do remember the ads!

Stnmsn8,

What was the compact Pontiac that came out in 61 or 62. A neighbor had one. I remember it having a 1/2 of a V8 4cyl engine and seems like a curved drive shaft he told me. Independant 4 wheel suspension where the back wheel could wind up under the car when slid sideways on a tight turn. That happened with him and myself in a ditch one night, without major damage. The 2nd time it happened he traded it off before a real disaster occured. Just thought of it I think. Tempest maybe???

Wheels,

You're before my time. I had to look it up on Wikipedia. It is the 1961 Tempest, with the rear-mounted transaxle and the flat front floorboard; independent transmission. Perhaps Chevrolet was trying to imitate this with the Corvair?

"What brand of gasoline put a tiger in your tank?" - looks to be Exxon - http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/history/about_who_history_alt.aspx, http://www.pawsonline.info/cats%20in%20advertising/esso%20tiger.htm

Stnmsn8,

The Corvair came out in 60 I believe, might have even been 59. The Ford Falcon came out in 60 as well and I purchased one of those fine automobiles. Big old 144 cu. in. whispering six with less than enough power to get out of it's own way. But it would deliver a whopping 21 to 24 MPG. Being a glutton for punishment, I later purchased a used 61 Econoline pickup with that same great power plant.

Stnmsn8,

Also forgotn to mention that the Corvaire had it's engine firmly planted in the back end. It also has some of those transaxle problems which earned it Ralph Nader's famous "Unsafe at Any Speed" designation.

Former site of exxon gas station. Station is gone but the tiger is still there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/javadoug/3101880258/

I remember that 4-cylinder Falcon. One of the Nenninger boys had one. The only time it would spin a wheel was on ice and snow.

Tiger in your tank commercials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNnbXOstqA&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dywrbNss-Y&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB5ROD4CGG8&feature=related

Somehow I missed altogether the Pontiac with a transaxle. Just now looked it up.

It is clear that in those days GM cars were very different while sharing a lot. Then they started making cars like Nova, Ventura, etc that were the same with different hub caps and name plates. In the same period Chrysler made Aspens and Volares that were sometimes shipped to dealers with the nameplates and hub caps reversed!

I know a guy that has one of those full sized every option added station wagons of the late '60s sitting covered up in his garage. Big and ugly as it is, he insists on keeping it until his grandkids can see the beauty in it.

Heheheh - Nova.

I think it was Popular Mechanics that pointed out the GM nomenclature of the time -

(N)ova - Chevrolet

(O)mega - Oldsmobile

(V)entura - Pontiac

(A)pollo - Buick

Also thought it was funny that Chevy ran into problems when trying to sell the Nova in Spanish-speaking countries - where No-Va means 'won't go'. :-)

I guess Avon was already taken.

Chevrolet Nova (1966 thru early 70's) was a fantastic car. It had the same basic running gear and engine options as the Camaro. It made a great 'sleeper' for those who could not afford the sexier Camaro or wanted to sneak up on and blow the doors off fancier models.

I remember there was some confusion when the Chevy II and Chevelle came out. Both cars looked similar and the TV ads contributed to the confusion. Of course the Chevy II premium model was Nova and Chevelle's was Malibu. They both had SS models. The 65 Nova SS was fast and didn't look much different than the Chevy II with the 4cyl. Wiki says it would keep up with a GTO.

I had to look it up but I remember a lot of bragging about the late '60s Novas. In '68 a 396 was an option.

The '76 Nova I drove was dependable and the SR-PBF model. [squeak, rattle, poor body fit]

Not sure where I'm going with this, so either bear with me, or scroll on past -

It just seems that people aren't as 'into' their vehicles as before. Figure if one asked today's young'un about their first car - probably get nothing more than, 'it was red, I think', instead of the recollections similar to my post of 28 July at 1946.

Perhaps it's just my perspective as the ol' sideboards grey at an alarming rate, or maybe it's due to the generally improved reliabilities not requiring the 'love' and attention of days past.

Don't hear near as much about waxing, due to clear-coat finishes. Paint never dulls, right up to the time it peels off in sheets.

Don't hear near as much about tune-ups, due to electronic ignitions and 100,000 mile spark plugs.

I was thinking 100,000 miles on spark plugs was the stuff of fairy tales, but changing them at 80,000 on the Impy turned out to be a wasted effort - plugs looked great, gap had only opened 0.001 inches. A long way from the days of changing points, plugs, and condenser on an routine basis due to the fouling from leaded fuel and the mechanical movements of the points off the dizzy lobes. The centrifugal timing advance mechanism amazed me, but it is no match for today's processors calculating very precise adjustments.

Tires are now lasting almost forever, well, if you don't drive an Impala :-) Always used the Popular Mechanics rule of thumb to multiply the treadwear by 200 to get the sorta unofficial expected mileage - comes out reasonably close. Seeing tires with treadwears over 500 - meaning the tire should last around 100,000 miles - a far cry from the Generals on the Jeep which barely saw 20,000 before becoming transparent.

And where's the craftsmanship and ingenuity? In the past - a lift kit for a pickup or Jeep consisted of some square tube stock from the local steel supply house put under the leaf springs, and some drilled out donut spacers from the local machine shop put under coil springs - all field-fitted by hand on the fly by the owner, with numerous trips to the parts store for longer u-bolts and stuff found through discovery as work progressed. Followed by a trip to the alignment shop to have things bent and straightened back in line so as not to wear out the tires or go sidewinding down the road. Followed by another trip to the machine shop to lengthen the driveshaft after it fell out a couple of times on Broadway Friday night cruisin', where everyone could take notice and share a laugh.

Now, it seems I hear that someone buys some ready-to-go painted-up kit from a magazine, then takes it to a garage to have someone else bolt it in, cuz the owner substitutes money for the lack of tools and motivation. Pffffft.

Don't get me started on that neon light underbody craze of a few years back - a clear indicator of people with way more dollars than cents, er sense.

Eh, for me, 'pride in your ride' meant knowing your vehicle and personally taking care of it - not just making payments, and running it through the automated car wash and JiffyLube every so often.

But, I suppose times and priorities change - sometimes for the better, but sometimes not, IMO.

FXPWT, we wouldn't DARE scroll-down and away, on our past(s), regardless of how humble they may have been---because, THAT'S where we learned how to handle TODAYS'-life!

I honestly feel sorry for anyone who "skated" their way through their youth, with a gold-platter in one-hand, an' a silver-spoon in the other. Why?

Because they have SO MUCH MORE to learn now, by the hard-way, in what should be the prime of their life. Dollar$ are nice, and silk-panties soft---but they make lousy-food when worthless, and poor-torniquets when injured! And precious-metals just "paint a target on you", so to speak.

Just take a peek at those injured in todays' quake, on the East Coast---most of 'em don't know whether to tear a sheet, or go blind, right now?

NEVER take tomorrow for granted, 'cause the education is only just beginning, for us all---and sooner than we care to admit, I'm afraid....

Perhaps waxing a bit too hard on the nostalgia, but gots to wondering...

One source long ago said that one of the contributors to the successes in World War II was that many of the American soldiers had a farming background - and brought their mechanical aptitude and fix-it / patch-it / make-it-work abilities to the battlefields and such.

Which suggests to me the importance of not just knowing what stuff does, but figuring out how it works. Not just a bolt-on, slap-in app like a store-bought lift kit, but full hands-on development, understanding, and appreciation of a made-by-me lift product.

The young-uns I've worked with are amazing - they can point-n-click, drag-n-drop, and find canned applications for plug-n-chug solutions to problems with amazing speed to no end.

But when I ask how their commonly-used and personally-owned buzzwords such as PSK, spread spectrum, CDMA, 128-bit encryption, hashing, or interleaving really work, or why a common IP address has four numbers, each with a max of only 255 - I see the fog rolling in, clouding the deer-in-the-headlights look.

Perhaps stretching a bit, but wondering if the houses-of-knowledge under-construction are being built on poor foundations - with lots of symbolism and style as compared to the intrinsic value and substance. Or is it that the ability to use today's tools has become more important and more valuable than understanding them? Here lies my interest in the various education topics, articles, comments, and feedbacks presented.

I hope that America's next opportunity to excel isn't valued on our texting or Grand Theft Auto gaming abilities.

Eh, dunno - or, it could be just my crotchety and warped - er, unconventional perspective :-)~

Yeah, well, there's at least a bakers'-dozen still on these threads that'll agree with you. And, still be learning with you, as well.

It's a shame PC's don't have gears. Otherwise, I'd really "be-into" them, literally!☺

I'm still amazed at the over-engineering of the truly-old Superior 15-hp single-cylinder stationary engines. No fewer than fifteen-different parts, that move in as-many different directions---all just to make a SPARK! Or, the "hot-bulb" engines, of about the same-period: One literally has to set-'em on-fire, to make 'em run!

And today we make a spark, where the only-thing moving is electrons, i.e., solid-state ignition. Must admit, they ARE dependable, and, eh---"simple", to some!

But they just ain't no FUN to watch-n'-learn from, anymore....!

One source long ago said that one of the contributors to the successes in World War II was that many of the American soldiers had a farming background - and brought their mechanical aptitude and fix-it / patch-it / make-it-work abilities to the battlefields and such.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Tue, Aug 23, 2011, at 6:09 PM

Had a slightly older friend who was in WW II and he said basically the same thing to me 50 years ago. He said if they were in the field needing food, they would as likely get a case of condoms air dropped over them.

I think a lot of our problems started with the advent of the transistor and printed circuit boards instead of hardwired products. It was not long before it was more economical to just replace a plug in board than it was to trouble shoot it and make a repair. Pretty soon you get a bunch of parts changers who really have no idea of why they do things, just that the test instrument they put on it showed bad readings, so replace it. This kind of logic has spread through almost any trade or industry one can think of.

It was not long before it was more economical to just replace a plug in board than it was to trouble shoot it and make a repair. -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Tue, Aug 23, 2011, at 6:34 PM

Seems to be a recurring theme - the disposable society - use it up, wear it out, getcha another newer one. OMG - the ash trays are full, now what?

Why settle for G3 phones when G4 is available? Why fix your old car when we can put you in a new one for 'only' $xxx per month? Why keep a real mechanic on payroll when a flunkee parts changer costs less and the customer pays the real difference?

Suggest some place a very high premium value on their time and effort in order to justify things that seem otherwise financially unfavorable.

Ever consider that the value of the cash-for-clunkers payout has essentially evaporated due to depreciation? :-)

Fxpwt,

Unfortunately we are a throw away society. I am driving a 7 year old car with nothing wrong with it in lieu of a new one because it has that nice paid for look and it gets me there and back very comfortably. I have alway subscibed to buying a car that was 12 to 18 months old with low miles, because some other idiot took the depreciation and I could save that money. That is how this one was purchased. A factory program car, sold in a factory auction and with warranty left on it. With less than 60,000 miles on it, it will probably celebrate a few more anniversaries with me still owning it.

Technology, is another matter with me... I do like gadgets, I admit it. My cell phone is still 3G and does just fine. I use an air card for data because I travel, there I upgraded because 4G is faster by far and is supposed to be available at my winter location also by the time I get there in January. 4G is consistently faster than the DSL service I had by about 3 to 1. And since my contract was up they gave me $10 off per month to sign up for the same amount of data service. That is the kind of technology upgrade that I really appreciate.

Technology has made it possible for me to sit under a tree in the woods in Bollinger County and allow me to answer a question for my daughter or son-in-law who own my former business. I still remember the days when we would visit my wife or my parents when we were first married with no money. When we would arrive back home in the St. Louis area we would call and let the phone ring a predetermined number of rings and hang up because we could not afford that 35 cent a gallon gasoline to visit home and make a long distance call too. They knew we made it home safely.

Thought you guys might enjoy this. My heart skipped a beat when I got to the "T" Pink Crown Victoria.

http://kithannecarclub.com/brown/brown.html

Wheels, Is that you standing behind it with the tray? :):):)

Check out the floor, nice garage!

A buddy of mine built little airplanes, not as pretty as the one hanging from the ceiling in one of the shots. The first one had pedals and a belt that spun the propeller, the second used a weed eater for propulsion. His granddaughter liked the pedal better.

My God, it DOES look just like him---or at least, his avatar!

I at first thought you meant the one on roller-skates---but upon further examination, I noticed two, maybe three, "outstanding-features".

At that time, I pretty-much surmised THAT-one may have been called WHEELS in the past, indeed---but just not "our"-WHEELS!

(Unfortunately!).....☺!

Well, I'll be hanged! No it's not me.... it's an imposter. I have a case for damages!

In efforts to keep this thread alive, since it covers things near-n-deer (hey, does it look like I have antlers on my head), as well as the tangible things we can see, hear, and feel when compared to things we really can't - like gubment -

what has happened to manual tranmissions? You know, the ones where the driver selects the gear via a real clutching and selector-moving action. Have Americans become that lethargic, and does anyone believe that an eight-speed automatic isn't a future warranty claim in the making?

Back in my travelling days, when I was young and carefree as compared to older and couldn't-care-less - had to chuckle when renting a car in foreign countries.

The rental agents at the airports, upon finding I was American, would always ask if I could drive a 'steeeek', like it was a privileged act reserved for 'real' drivers.

Heheheh - between the '48 Dodge with the unsynchronized gears, to the Jeep with the inter-county throw lengths, to the Mercury Crappy, er Capri where reverse was a best guess in there somewhere, to the Ford Ranger which knocked the passenger in the knee going into reverse, to the Chevy Cavalier Z24, eh, OK, that one was good and tight - heck, the first daily driver automatic wasn't until 1992 - a full 15 years after I got my license. Quite the trick to learn all the different friction points and lengths of clutch pedal throws.

Some of the foreign offerings were really foreign to me. Apparently it was a standard feature at the time across the pond for all cars to lock all doors when the driver door key locks. Really weird was the feature on the 'common' cars that the headlights were adjustable - could dial the low-beams up and down from the dash.

Of note was the Renault Saffron - apparently the French were really mistakenly proud of this car - cuz it took not only a company American Express, but my own personal MasterCard to secure this wonder. And it still came with a manual. In Europe, Visa may go everywhere you want to be, but it takes a MasterCard to charge anything.

Imagine a stripped Chevy Corsica, but the headlights would turn corners with ya. The diesel sounded pretty puny, but it rapped out to 220 km/h on a long downhill run - a speed which the local French dude noted would cost 5,000 francs if busted. Eh, the French and their inflated sense of worth - that would've only been $1,000 real money at the time.

Still got passed by the local supertrain buzzing on down the A1 - son! Then there was the joy of maneuvering through Paris during the transportation strike - think I hit every stinkin' roundabout except the one by the Eiffel tower trying to figure out how to leave town in all the confusion and idiots banging on the hood wanting a ride. Eh, bang all you want Pierre, it's a rental. :-)

Then there were the laughs in the Opel station wagon as we tried to keep up with the Mercedes'es, not realizing that was a really big faux-pas on the Autobahns which ended up in the paint about being 'vacuumed' off the car as the offended Mercedes dudes blazed on by in retaliation.

The Alfa-Romeo, eh well, the Italians need to stick with making wine, IMO. Unleaded fuel had just came to Milan - had to chuckle when it was called 'green' gas. Didn't laugh so much when it cost 93,000 lira (about $70 real money) to fill up this go-cart. Then again, the smallest coin was a 50 lira piece, and a draft beer at the local bar was 7,000 lira. Took about the same amount of money to fill my tank as the car's.

Going on down a four-lane highway into Pavia - came up to a stop light. Got to looking - the two lanes going in my direction were now eight cars wide at the light, no hope of opening the doors to get out if needed. Hmmmm, er, WTH? Light turns green, and the eight 'lanes' neatly merged right back into two without issue. Doubt that precision will be seen in Cape anytime soon.

Never appreciated the stories about those who had been away for awhile wanting to get off the plane to kiss American soil again - after these travels, a new understanding. Just no place like home. :-)

In about '74 I became familiar with the Fiat line up. Fun cars to drive when they were working ok.

Clutch mechanisms relied on an undersized cable and lacked firmness of a solid linkage. Once past that, the transmissions were operated with short throw levers unlike the America cars that took a roomy cab to allow room to shift.

One thing of note, none came with a radio or any power accessories.

The 128, 124, and X19 were dependable most of the time. The 850 was on it's way out back then.

What I never understood was the goofy electrical system in the Fiats. A dashboard light dimmer was called a potentiometer and required a whole bank of relays to make it work!

Only the French could top the confusion with the Renault and it's backward cooling system.

Heheheh - FIAT - Fix It Again, Tony.

They had a car over there called the Twingo - quite popular given the price of gas at about $5 per gallon back then. In a place where parking space was a premium, one could pull into a parking space along the street head-first, and still not stick out into traffic.

Figure I would have looked like a circus clown driving around one of those - have to rip out the front seat, sit in the back, and have the ol' jughead out the sunroof/tarp thingie.

The X1/9 was a sharp car over here - didn't it have only three lugnuts per wheel?

How about those cars with Lucas electrics - the Prince of Darkness? Whaddya expect from a nation that can't even make a good refrigerator, given the temperature they have to drink their beer at? :-)

Who remembers the magnetic properties of AutoShack - the attraction of a lifetime warranty on the parts, and the repulsion of having to change them out so often - especially when it was a part difficult to change, like a clutch?

Still have one of their alternators on my truck. Can't remember how many I've gone through - must be five or six over the last 22 years or so. In fairness, they still honor the warranty, or at least still did the last time I needed it.

This current one seems to be a winner, which is good. The thermal paper that the register receipt was printed on has all but faded into obscurity - but I still gots it :-)

I think the original Auto-SHACK of years-ago had better overall service, before it switched to the current-Auto-ZONE---at least, for the two-local franchises.

For some reason it seems---maybe only to ME---that the O'Reilly's-store could be doing better. Didn't think Jackson needed another parts-store, especially with Wally-World, as well. I don't know why I don't shop O'Reilly's---maybe location, for one? Very-little difference in price, if any, between the three.

Although admittedly, when it comes to "serious"-repairs, especially non-OEM parts---I tend to favor NAPA over all of 'em, mainly because of the overnight-ship.

I hate it when I need to explain that "I need a 12-volt battery for a '45 Case tractor." Of course the next-thing I hear: "Umm, we don't handle heavy-equipment batteries."

I explain: "It's rectangular, it's 12-volt, and it's got two-big connectors on top. The smallest and cheapest you've got fits fine!"

"Umm, I'm sorry, but we don't warranty commercial usage for our batteries."

"Then don't sell me a warranty. I just need the battery."

"Sorry, sir---but we can't sell our batteries without a warranty, especially for commercial-usage."

I just turn and walk-away. No need to beat a dead-horse anymore.

I've never had that problem with NAPA, at least not yet...

The only local place I'll go to for real car parts is NAPA. Love the knowledge, professionalism, and customer respect of the counter-staff as compared to ... well, anyway.

Will hit Wally or the chain discount stores for the generic stuff - car wash soap, wax, oil, etc - although NAPA seems to be quite competitive, just not as convenient.

Love the concentrated white-wall bleach at NAPA - dilute with water one-to-four - a gallon lasts a long time and actually comes out cheaper than the ready-to-go stuff. Makes for a good engine cleaner too!

Getting to like the online sites like rockauto.com and lmctruck.com - get the OEM-level or better stuff delivered to the door, with the shipping costs offset and then some by the 7.975% sales tax savings. :-)

IMO, when it comes to the important stuff, like filters - want a name-brand / OEM-recommendation rather than an off-brand that test results suggest are more towards a strainer than a filter.

The Fiats I remember had 4 lugs. We joked that someone had an uncle in the relay business. The 124 had a neat cluster of 9 relays under the hood and a couple more clusters under the dash.

Any accessory, be it the X19 lazer stripes, radio, fog lights or air conditioner was dealer installed. The 128 was a pretty good car [when working] and got about 28 mpg driven hard and fast. The later 131 family sedan still had a long throw manual transmission.

A close look at a Yugo reveals a haphazardly put together Fiat 128, the spare tire on top to the air cleaner is the first givaway.

Rereading the thread makes me ask; what major manufacturer has Renault not tried to partner with? I remember AMC-Renault and recently heard Chrysler is encouraged to team up.

Speaking of parts, I have been suprised a few times recently. A wheel cyl kit, brushes only and a mirrror glass [to save replacing a mirror assembly] for the 26 year old truck were found at Advanced Auto Parts.

That NAPA white-wall cleaner works BEAUTIFULLY on mold-stained house-siding, too!

Works best with a pressure-washer, but you can just "mop"-it on as well, then rinse.

Just don't let it re-dry, before you rinse---or it'll be the same-battle all-over again---times-TWO!

I didn't have that problem, though, when I used a pressure-washer, instead...

Donk,

Thanks, I was planning on power washin the house this weekend, I will try that.

On the subject of parts stores. I know alot of the big chain parts stores have just about everything you could ask for, but many do not have a good "parts man". You know the feller who can identify the push rods from a 1966 Ford 390 from 10 feet away.

These guys are usually not found in the big chain stores because they have a ciggerette, cigar or pipe permanently attached to their lip. They dont need a computer to tell them where your part can be found on the shelf. They will also tell you of a ole boy down the road who may have a parts car with the piece you need sittin around to save you a few bucks.

I havent found many of those "parts men" at Autozone or Oreily's. If you are looking for noisy chrome muffler tips or neon accent lights they are top notch. If you need a set of points for a International Scout they will tell you the tractor dealership is down the street.

Hmmmm, may has to add concentrated whitewall cleaner to my list of multi-purpose tools - alongside duct tape, baling wire, channel-locks, and WD-40.

If it moves, and shouldn't - apply duct tape and / or baling wire.

If it doesn't move, and should - apply channel-locks and WD-40.

If it's dirty, and shouldn't be - whitewall cleaner.

If it's clean, and shouldn't be - then it's not a real Jeep. :-)

Yep, I value the true parts-guy. One who knows what you need, even when you have no idea what you're really after. One who apologizes, instead of defending a wrong part selection with the phrase, "well, that's what the computer showed". One who can offer tips and tricks for installation. One who never pushes hand cleaner or towels or air fresheners at the register.

Just something about doing it yourself - whether it be the satisfaction, the money savings, or the independence enjoyed.

Just something about doing it yourself - whether it be the satisfaction, the money savings, or the independence enjoyed.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Wed, Aug 31, 2011, at 5:13 PM

Agreed. I am however not looking forward to the day when engine troubles begin on my new powerstroke. Checking fluids is difficult enough under that hood. A more complicated mess I have never seen.

Aw the simple pleasures

I put a new set of points

in my old car the other day

44044: Nah, it ain't OLD---it's just been "retroactively-reconditioned"...!☺

"Agreed. I am however not looking forward to the day when engine troubles begin on my new powerstroke. Checking fluids is difficult enough under that hood. A more complicated mess I have never seen." -- Posted by Joe Dirte on Thu, Sep 1, 2011, at 8:30 AM

Ahhhh, gone are the days of climbing up to sit on the fender while changing the plugs on a Ford 300 inline six pickup, with enough space to stand with feets on the ground inside the engine compartment, if needed.

Then again, really liking the blinky-light OBD-I and newer text-based OBD-II diagnostic code readers.

Figure it's a good progression to let the computer that has been constantly watching the goings-on share its opinion of the problem.

Sometimes it will tell you exactly what the problem is, and even when it doesn't, it still helps by telling what the problem isn't.

Yep. Didn't matter if it was rain or shine---absolutely NO-excuse, for not doing regular-maintenance on the old-Ford trucks with the 300/6.(What was the "standard" V-8-option? 302? 351 as well, maybe?)Whatever it was, even with the V-8-app, in a rain-storm your butt was the only-part you couldn't quite suck-in far enough!☺

I've started to like the OBD-systems myself. I can't bend-around like I used to anymore, so the "nasty-stuff" gets done at a dealership, if the smaller-garages can't handle it.

It's nice to know you have some "evidence" with the OBD-code. Keeps the good-mechanic honest, and weeds-out the rip-offs.

Had a questionable(dealership)-mechanic not too long ago, who told me one of my pickups(Toyota)was just literally on it's last-leg---MAJOR-overhaul needed! Symptoms were: Just flat-out wouldn't start, as in no-"fire", it seemed.

My cheap-little code-reader showed it was a "shorted/faulty temperature-sensor". The mechanic wasn't impressed---even though HIS-reader showed the same-thing!☺ Uh-huh. Right.

So I said "Well, let's try it anyway, just in-case. I mean, you never know!"

And danged if it wasn't! And though it still wasn't cheap---it wasn't no engine-job by far, either!

His ego got hurt pretty-bad, to say the least.

But MINE didn't hurt at all! As a matter of fact, it GREW two-sizes that day....!!!☺

Found a reasonably accurate timeline of the F-series trucks, along with the available engines of the time - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_F-Series - although some of the larger blocks weren't offered in the F150.

Heheheh - knowledge is a good thing. Had a call from a fellow Jeep-er - running rough, Check Engine light on, had replaced plugs, wires, air filter, cleaned the MAF sensor, replaced the oxygen sensors - no good. Er, this would be the Jeep, not him.

He was frustrated and wound-up, and I feared he was about to do something crazy and regrettable, like sell the original poor man's convertible.

Went over, hooked up the reader, and told him in my calm, cool, and matter-of-factly way to replace the throttle position sensor, pointing out where it was and being about $50. Took all of about five minutes.

Surprise, surprise! Jeep now purred like a kitten - perhaps not the appropriate analogy for a real Jeep, but hey, it does only have the 4.0L six-cylinder. Got elevated to temporary 'genius' status in his garage, with all the benefits and awe that entails :-)

Which brings up the only three qualities that, IMO, make for a good beer - free, cold, and yours.

Held off on pointing out (er, rubbing his nose in it) that with all the money spent on his shotgun troubleshooting efforts - he could have bought a code reader of his very own.

Along the lines of free and unexpected entertainment - took a cruise through town this evening.

On my loop up Broadway heading west, through the surprisingly-large tailgating crowds around Houck, got alongside a puke green Hyundai Tiburon wearing Illinois plates - should've been my first sign of the intelligence to come.

Little rat-racing dude who apparently was still figuring out a clutch, given the way the engine wound way up and the car rolled back a bit before the clutch engaged. Apparently had some fire to get to, given the way he took off at each light.

So, we're matched up evenly side-by-side at the Perry Ave light on Broadway - and he's off and running. Pffft, er, OK - go South Korean Speed Racer with the clever Spanish term for shark, burn that clutch out.

I catch up to him stopped at the Caruthers light. Side by side again. And he's off on the green, as I putt-putt away - the old Ford is dependable, but any attempts at racing is just a sure ticket for embarrassment.

I catch up to him stopped at the Clark light. Side by side again. And he's off on the green, as I putt-putt away.

I catch up to him stopped at the Kingshighway light. Side by side again. And he's off on the green, as I again putt-putt away.

Going south on Kingshighway, I catch up to him again at the Independence light. Side-by-side again. Yawn, same story, different verse same as the first.

After making a couple of lane changes, this chowder-head decides to veer right from the inner lane at the last moment to head west on Route K. Er, OK - I was going that way anyway. Caught up to him again at the Broadview light. Same story again at the Silver Spring light.

After several lane changes of questionable precision, threading through sparse traffic, yo-yo decides to go north on Mount Auburn. Adios, amigo as I continue to head west.

All that wear-n-tear on a vehicle to get somewhere in a rush, matched pretty evenly by someone with no particular place to go and no particular hurry to get there. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. :-)

If this clown was delivering pizzas, he's an embarrassment to all those of us who came before him. Besides being late, guessing any hot-still-semi-liquid pie would've been sloshed all over the box. And any good pizza delivery guy has learned that a route involving lights is not good for tips. :-)

It's been said before that experience is the result of bad judgement. heheheh - been there, done that, got the t-shirt. At least I gots to eat the bad judgements, although peeling the now-hardened and deemed-defective pie off the box involved the consumption of a lotta cardboard.

There was a PopEye cartoon early on where Brutus would smoke the tires and be sitting at the light. Just as it turned green PopEye would pass him.

Diagnosis: When points were replaced it wasn't long 'til the coil was replaced with a coil pack.

Equipment salesmen touted bigger and better machines to find the cause of a misfire.

I knew a guy selling Allen test equipment. He went to a country Buick dealer that had started out as a motorcycle dealer.

The salesman demonstrated how his machine could pinpoint which coil was at fault. The old man pulled out a hand held magnetic volt gage and held it over each coil. The guage fluctuated wildly until he held it to the offending coil.

"Don't need a $1,000 rig to tell me that."

Rick**,

I put a 283 V-8 in a 1949 Chevrolet. The ignition wiring didn't work and I was too lazy and too cheap to replace all the wiring. So I direct wired a toggle switch to the starter. That worked great until one night when I had a bit too much to drink and forgot to flip the switch off after the engine started! I had to crawl under the truck the next morning to replace the starter WHILE I suffered the hang-over.

That '49 truck came factory with a floor board mounted starter lever/pedal. It was a mechanical link that engaged the starter gear into the flywheel as it made the electrical contact.

Some, Ford was one, that put the ignition switch on the far left of the dash citing saftey of keeping it out of children's reach. Dodge doors at one time featured a key lock only on the passenger door citing saftey of enter-exit from curb side. Notice in all the old movies folks used the right door and slid across the seat.

Confusion of headlight location led federal [I think] regulation to standardize location of light and ignition switches.

A mechanic instructor told his class about a car with a complaint of no power and black smoke. He checked for every cause and even kept the car over night but could not get the problem to occur. Curious, he asked the lady to come take him for a ride in the car and show him what she was complaining about. She entered the car, pulled out the choke knob and stem, hung her purse on it and preceded. Lesson: Always verify the complaint before repairing. :)

"Dodge doors at one time featured a key lock only on the passenger door citing saftey of enter-exit from curb side." -- Posted by Old John on Sun, Sep 4, 2011, at 10:56 AM

Hmmm, always wondered about that - the '48 Dodge pickup mentioned in my previous posts had that - I just thought they were being cheap, but why the passenger door instead of the more-used driver door? Now I know.

Found it interesting that the Hurd key on the Dodge also fit the sliding door lock of the house - although it didn't turn the tumblers, scratching hopes and plans for a quiet after-curfew sneak around dad sitting at the dining room table awaiting.... ahhh, busted again :-)

Heheheh - the fully manual choke, which also accompanied the fully manual throttle to dial in the fast idle on cold starts. From the days when one really had to know their vehicle in order to start and drive it.

"Confusion of headlight location led federal [I think] regulation to standardize location of light and ignition switches." Still laughing about the faux-proposal joke making the rounds a few years back about legislation requiring the dimmer switch to be moved back from the turn signal to the floor - cuz too many blondes were getting their foot hung up in the steering wheel. Perhaps funny only to me, cuz I knew of too many blonde fluffsters at the time to make the joke credible.

Much like my observation that redneck jokes weren't really jokes where I lived at the time (south-central KY) - heck, just stating obvious facts of life. :-)

fxpwt, Reminds me of another story. My mom's friend had an old Rambler that she said no one could fix it's "choker". Mom volunteered me to fix it. When I raised the hood I saw new plugs, wires, distributer cap, battery and starter. I had to bring out the WD40 to get the wing nut off the air cleaner. This old car had an ingenious set up where the choke cable pulled against a bi-metal spring on the exhaust manifold. When the manifold heated up it defeated the choke cable thus if she hung her purse on the knob it wouldn't matter.

A little more WD40 on the carb. linkage and I had fixed her "choker". After that every old lady around was calling mom about car problems. It got to the point that I would listen or take a look and convince them the local garage should be called.

A buddy pointed out once "I been working on that lady's car for 15 years".

I said, dang, reckon you'll ever get it fixed? :)

For reasons that still elude me, been getting into watching old TV series, available through Netflix. Mannix, Mission Impossible, Airwolf, Knight Rider, MacGyver, Rockford Files, Cannon, Rip Tide, Wonder Woman, etc.

Get a kick out of seeing the cars from the respective eras AND being able to name the model and the year in most cases. Liked the simplicity of Rockford's Firebird without all the Trans Am effects and being able to catch the mixed model years used in the same episode - hey that's a '74, now it's a '73..., as well as the clean lines of the Knight Rider's Firebird offshoot. Mannix always seemed to have a MoPar convertible. MacGyver had his Jeep, even if it was the square-headlighted one. The Tempest GTO-inspired Monkee-mobile. Not sure what the make and model was on Gilligan's Island, but I'm sure it was one of a kind :-)

Then comes all the related trivia that serves little purpose other to keep the brain cells occupied - like

1967 being the last year for the Pontiac 326;

1972 being the first year for electronic ignition (MoPar);,

1974 - seat-belt interlock fiasco;

1975 - unleaded fuel and the related stinky cats required for passenger cars;

1979 - unleaded fuel required for light trucks;

1985 or so - fuel injection is here to stay;

1986 - third brake light;

1994 - R134 freon;

somewhere in the mid-90s - OBD-II appears - making for yet another tool I was gonna need in about 15 years on my next used car;

the push-button transmissions of the mid-60s MoPars;

the non-standard shift sequence of auto trannies - where on some Oldsmobiles, Reverse was all the way down;

and the Super or Second gear nomenclature on some auto trannies, making one wonder about the trip one was about to take with a shift sequence that went L-S-D.

Ahhh, this has been a fun thread, except for the realization I'm turning into the old man I used to laugh at 30 years ago.

FXPWT: Yeah, it HAS-been a good-'un! I've just been catching my breath reading instead of writing for once.

I'm not much on any models of pre-'50, but I can do pretty-good from '52-upwards to '79/'80---but I start "foggin'-out" after that. And ANYTHING after '95, to ME, is just another "cookie-cutter"-style.(I've got a pewter-colored 2000-"Jimmy"---but then again, so does 95% of EVERYONE ELSE, as well!☺) But thank God they've at least lost that "Pepto-Bismol"-pink paint-brush for the body, and the black-one for the top!(A mid-'50's Plymouth Valiant comes to mind.) Always made my stomach wanna churn!

Didn't think I'd ever get used-to an EFI-system, either. But you can't beat it, especially in the WINTER! Doesn't need a "pump-n'-prime" to start, and if you've kept your moisture out of the tank, and that motor will make just ONE FULL TURN, it WILL-start---no cranking about it! For GASOLINE-engines, that is.

As for DIESEL? Umm, let's not get into that-subject just yet---that-one goes full-circle with the "Oilers"-thread, and locomotive-engines...!☺

My quick identifiers are side marker lights 68 and up, quad headlamps about 59-60, fenders as part of the front end instead of hanging on about 49, tail fins growing from 56-59 then turning sideways, seat belts anchors in pick ups 66, and the progression of grills from fine mesh to course. Short lived was coil springs all round starting 58.

Seems to me there is a revival in the works for the bullet front end like some of the old Studebakers, or at least the circle in the middle like the 49 ford. I learned to spot the venitian blind style grills and call them Ford.

And yes, hooray for EFI for cold starting. I've learned that with the new blends of fuel, the old carb car needs a new starting procedure. A couple to three pumps to prime and 15-20 seconds wait to let the gasoline vaporize before cranking.

Anyone have a 55 Chevy 265 with MFI. I have never seen one, heard it made Ed Cole proud.

Old John,

Was MFI available on any model besides the Corvette? Like you, I heard of them but never saw one except where someone had picked up a unit from a junkyard.

stnmsn8, Haven't had time to read up but a quick google says I missed the year and know less than I thought I did. Chevy intoduced MFI in 57 on the 283 as an option on corvette. Is was available also on one of the 210 based models, not sure maybe Belair.

They used MFI that year on some police cars including buick Centurys.

Meanwhile AMC featured EFI on a Rambler model.

Rick, I had a '80 yellow AMC Eagle. Bought it used with a certificate of origin directly from AMC a couple of weeks after they hit the market in 79.

Every time I see one of those Lincoln small SUV things coming toward me I think of the old Eagle. Sits up a little higher and overall grille look is similar.

It was ahead of it's time in idea but was put together with a bunch of old off the shelf stuff they had around except for the transfer case. The front brakes were a constant reason for repair and the AC system was a bunch of 1960 style crap jammed under the dash and hung on the engine like a downed tree held up by a power line. But overall it did perform greatly on light snow and ice.

Audi used the same idea to build a modern all wheel drive within a year or so and todays AWD crossovers continue to fill that market very well. I always though if the IH Scout and the AMC Eagle were crossed, out would come a great rig!

AMC Rambler, and other brands that were associated with that group of failing auto manufacturers came up with some great ideas and products.

The whole scenario reminds me of James Disson's vacumn cleaner technology where Hoover waited and watched, then built a like machine for half the price.

To STNMSN & RICK: You both kinda-sorta mentioned on a different-thread how "...it seems once they(threads)hit one-hundred, they're totally off-subject."

This is TRUE, for this-thread as well. But, at the same time: It's amazing, how it can go "dry", and seize-up---and then along comes someone with a can of Deep-Creep, an' gets it all back in-motion again.

And here at the 270-mark we've ALL done our part to keep the machinery moving, I think.

And since I was standin' next in line with the Lincoln-pump, I figured: "Eh, why not, just in-case someone forgets this weekend? Never can get enough grease on these old-threads!"...☺

Hmm. After lookin' back at least half-way---I don't think we ever did get too far off-subject?

Maybe ran off the shoulder once or twice---but we were still driving...???☺

ahhhh, the AMC Eagle - wasn't that the 4WD 'upgrade' of the Hornet station wagon? Eh, maybe not. Perhaps AMC could afford to be innovative because of their relatively small size - look at Ford's gamble with the Edsel and Pinto, Chevy's reputation with the aluminum block Vega and the diesel 350, Pontiac's rep with the Aztek and Fiero.

Always rooted for AMC, then again, for perhaps the same strange reasoning - always have liked the Cubs.

On a different note, installed the new arm rest in the Ford. The original one had failed, making for an additional degree of difficulty to close the driver door from inside. Amazing what one can find online to keep their golden oldie going 'just one more year'. Beats traipsing around the junk yard, and the color matches up, to boot. Then again, one does pay for convenience.

Heheheh, remember that logic of 'just one more year' when I bought the eight-year warranty battery - eh, figured I'll never keep it that long but I want a good'un while I have it. Lo and behold, when the battery did fail - it was in its eleventh year.

Hard to believe I'll have this truck 20 years in Feb - and I bought it used back then, feeling sorry for it being the sole homeless orphan on an all-Chevy dealer lot - but keeping after the nickel-and-dime stuff like failed arm rests, broken wiper knob, and torn seat cover - not much reason to upgrade to newer other than 'want to'. Believe it or not, children, we hads air conditioning - the real cold stuff with R12, power steering, power brakes, automatic transmissions - even if only two- and three-speed instead of eight, and bone-rattling headlight-dimming stereos (albeit cassettes) even back then.

Not even cash-for-clunkers tripped the trading trigger - although I looked it through, just didn't seem to be a good decision to get back into the payment and depreciation cycle. Really like the $5 per year property tax bill on the ol' Ford - much more palatable than the two-hundred dollar plus tax bill for the Impy that the 'new GM' won't recognize as its own warranty issue.

New is nice, but have arrived at the point where paid-for is priceless.

The year I broke my hip; I pointed to my old Ford work truck and told my son, 'it isn't costing me a thing sitting there'! As you say, that is priceless!

Fxpwt, My Eagle I think was derived from a Hornet. It had a lot of faults that just were not fixable due to design but it had some uncanny good points too. Something in the design allowed panic braking with one side on dry pavement and one on ice without locking a wheel. Same thing reversed upon acceleration. On the slickest snow, a hard romp on the gas from a standing stop and no wheel would break traction for at least a 1/2 turn. Although very underpowered, it would always try to move a few inches.

The arm rest supplier must have sold to GM too. I got a laugh when brother was browsing a salvage yard and found one to replace one on mom's Nova. He said, how lucky can I get, right color and someone already had taken it off... all I had to do was pay for it! It was broke just like mom's!:)

I went through the motions during cash for clunkers but ended up thinking the thing you did.

And yeah, some of those A/Cs really got cold. I parked in front of a soda machine to grab a drink and left the car running. A buddy pulled up and hollered for me to get in and hear his radio. I forgot I left the car running and 2 hours later on a hot August night I had to scrape frost off the glass.

Rick, Did I see one of our fellow posters working on the assembly line? :)

Rick, She was the one supervising the spoke person.

OK - technology is 'new and neat', old school is 'boring but reliable'.

2008 Impala - the one I've ranted about before about being totally fun to drive, but the reliability being, um, disappointing - with prior disappointments expressed on failures with power door locks, emission valves, A/C compressors, and the inability to keep things aligned.

The one that the 'new GM' won't recognize because it was built by the 'old GM' as far as warranty and known problems/flaws.

Left rear wheel bearing is failing - roar is loud enough so as to overcome the Bose premium sound system.

New hub assembly is $180. Old school bearings and races for the 'old and reliable' way of things would be about $30.

New school vehicle has a failed bearing assembly at 106,000 miles. Old school bearings have yet to fail at 200,000+ miles.

Is this really progress, or a business plan designed for denial of costs for planned failures versus the benefits of profits? Or did I just get one of those dreaded Monday-hangover or Friday-mind-is-elsewhere built POS's?

Rant off.... and the saga continues.

I understand that car manufacturers have determined that they are losing sales due to used parts purchased at salvage yards. Therefore, their engineering departments have been hard at work determining the expected life time of their vehicles. Then they design their parts to wear out at expected end of lifetime for the vehicle. Thus they plan to eliminate competition from salvage yards! Do you think their plan is working?

stnmsn8, I remember in the early '70s a Chrysler service rep told me that Japanese engineers were surveying salvage yards to determine which parts were over built. Unlike American cars, the Japanese cars were usually wore out at about the same time they rusted out.

Remember when Ford had used sheet metal crash replacement parts available through their dealers?

Fxpwt, I went through the wheel bearing failure at 130,000 miles and was lucky it was when the great O'Reiley-Napa price wars were on in this area. Cost $81.

Good Lord! It's STILL-alive! And, still on-subject, basically! So, I couldn't pass-up the opportunity to post something, anything.

FXPWT: There's the magic-words---wheel-bearing ASSEMBLY. And, unless yours is/was different than mine on my "Jimmy"? There is NO-way to access an INTERNAL-replacement for that assembly either, short of a cutting-torch, which in-itself would be self-defeating in this case.☺! Although it does make the rotors/calipers easier to work-with.

STNMSN: Learned the hard-way about THAT-lesson. Someone who knew better than I had warned me, in-advance: DO NOT BUY used GM(brand)-SUV's, close to 90xxx miles, with NO record of repairs yet made to the 4-speed auto-transmission with the HD-towing feature. He told me he'd made personal-"bets" in the past that they'd NEVER make it past 100-grand, before self-destructing.

He was right. I bought mine at 88xxx. It made it to 101xxx, before it went POOF!. No noise, no warning. Converter self-destructed at a 4-way stop, taking off DOWNHILL, with just a hint of a "hard-shift"---and that was all she wrote!

Me and the tech thought, well, let's at least LOOK at it, maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked?

He was right. It was WORSE! He dropped the pan while I watched, out of his work-zone. Drained the fluid off. Tilted it my way, to better see.

Nothin' but SHAVINGS. I'd seen cleaner-looking chip-collectors on an engine-lathe, in the past.

Went with a new-tranny, as opposed to rebuilt, since the NEW-one has, ironically---a nation-wide, 100,000-mile/10-year warranty, labor-excluded. There's a good-chance it'll outlive ME, all joking aside.

Possibly, considering how much it's costing us to pay-back the loan we had to take-out to repair? We probably should've sold the whole nine-yards for scrap, and bought NEW/CLOSE TO NEW, instead.

Oh, and OLD JOHN: Apparently, that same "stopwatch" was connected to the front-bearing assembly(s),on the same-vehicle. But, on the POSITIVE-side of things: I didn't need my ROTORS replaced!☺

Water under the bridge now, though. Even if it DID take the bridge along with it.....

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/ford-reintroduces-the-1965-mustang.html

..........................................

But still, it just wouldn't be the same, somehow...???

On one hand, my wallet is $180 lighter. On the other - I saved the cost of shop labor and added to my repetoire of 'do-it-yourself' stuff I can actually do. :-)

Wasn't too awful bad. Took about 3 hours. Referred to the shop manuals to see how it comes apart - to know if things were stuck and needed a little more persuasion with the BFH, or if there was another hidden bolt or clip tucked away holding things.

Parking brake assembly provided an additional degree of difficulty towards disassembly - essentially, it's a toy-sized drum brake on the inside of the disc rotor using a mechanical lever that expands the shoes.

Vehicle is much quieter and more stable going on down the road. Guess the bearing had been on its way out for quite a while, rapidly changing noise levels within only the last week or so. Suspected the driver side, but wasn't absolutely sure which of the rear wheels was bad. Grabbing the top and bottom of the tire and being able to rock the driver-side about 1/2 inch in and out pretty much validated the problem child.

First time I've ordered something online to pick up at the store. Both AutoZone and NAPA allow one to see if the desired part is in-stock in the store of interest. Chose to go with AutoZone since they offered the Timken bearing assembly - add to shopping cart, pay by credit card, print out receipt, go to store and pick up. Only hitch was the leap-of-faith that the order went through - no e-mail or other acknowledgement stating the order was ready, as the site said would happen. May has to file this approach for future reference - an opportunity to save a lot of time.

Next up is likely the battery - had the radio playing during the work, then had to jump-start afterwards. Been pretty impressed with some of the 8-year warranted ones. Just had to replace one on the Ford truck - remembering when I bought it, figured 8 years would make it the last battery the truck would need while I owned it. Pleasantly surprised to find the 8-year battery failed in its 11th year, somewhat chagrined that I'm still driving the same truck. :-)

Donk, I'm familiar with that transmission problem. Many second failures can be conributed to debris left in the fluid cooler which should be thoroughly flushed. For some more make sure, an in line filter is available.

The retro Mustang body surprises me. I am not up on all that but I thought the previous bodies offered were intended for restoration of an existing car, titled as such. Is it possible to build a new titled car without including today's saftey and emmission mandates?

Fxpwt, I don't know if they still exist, but at one time in the cities there was always a guy with a brake lathe and stock of brake pads, wheel seals and related parts in a truck that would come by the service station to supply the mechanic. Last time I checked, a set of Chinese made brake rotors cost less than resurfacing.

I miss the days when I could walk into a parts store and buy parts like wheel cylinder cups, alternator brushes, etc and other small parts instead of having to come away with a rebuilt unit.

All respected mechanics have been taught one important thing first, "Don't force it, get a bigger hammer!" And if if draws blood, it's going to cost extra. :)

FXPWT: To show you how out-of-the-loop I've become: When you mentioned REAR-wheel-bearing, and your ability to rock it in and out, I was thinkin', "What planet does this guy live on---and just how strong IS this dude???"

Six-hours later it "hit"-me---he's referring to a FWD-CAR, not a 4wd-GMC.(Or do the Impalas' still-have the "old"-rear-wheel drive?) If you could rock the rear-wheel of those "retro"-models, with an actual AXLE? You would have already progressed BEYOND the "problem"-stage, and probably had your thumb stuck out for a ride, by that point!☺

For ME, work on anything below waist-level is pretty-much off-limits, anymore. Even the oil-changes. Can't "do" the on-the-back stuff anymore. Got good peripheral-vision, just can't look UP and OVER, when on my back.

(Wife occasionally does GREAT oil-changes on her Toyota-truck, while I "coach" from above. But she gets "high-centered", so to speak, on the Jimmy.)

Tried it once. It could be compared to locking your house-door, and having the knob-assy. to fall-off in your hand, as it closed. Although I must admit---being the "locksmith" WAS kinda-fun, in-itself!☺

Ironically, I can still do pretty-good work on garden-tractors(use a platform), and moderately-heavy-within-reason stuff on old-tractors.(use an overhead, and/or a cherry-picker.) Probably because 99% of "stuff" is, yes, quote:---"at-waist-level"---, unquote. But I only last about an hour or so, then it's time for a "recharge"!

OLD JOHN: I'm always STILL-amazed, at how many(one-year & under)BRAND-FREAKIN'-NEW vehicles I see in service-bays---an' they ain't in there for an "oil-n'-lube-only", either! Stuff like "seized-engines", or "broken-brake-calipers", and "collapsed-brake-lines". You know, stuff that used to only happened to those "100-grand-plus"-milers of not that many years ago---instead of the "under-5-grand"-crowd!

As for the fake-"retro" Mustang? I dunno anymore if it'd be exempt or not? I remember years ago, mostly all was required was a mandatory-inspection at the(Sikeston)MSHP-satellite, by a DOT-officer, to qualify for a valid new/rebuilt/salvage-title, and I THINK "certain"-combos were exempt from emissions, etc.(I'm talkin' very-late 70's/early 80's, here.)

What I miss most about the "old-school" parts-places? The fella at the counter having the authority/trust to tell you: "I gotta go take a dump. C'mon back here, and see if you can find it yourself! Anybody comes in, tell 'im to grab a free-coffee, an' I'll be back in a few!"

Or, the sage-advice of: "Boy, when are you gonna buy somethin' that is made of only-one manufacturer?"(I got this lecture constantly, with the '83-Jeep.) I'd always tell him, "Just as soon as they make somethin' that's as much FUN as this one is to tear-up!"

(I would mention his name, but since he's no-longer with us, he's probably suffering-enough already, by tryin' one of his "make-it-fits'" on St. Peters' gate-locks!☺) Miss ya', "Dr. S."!

Looks like after mid-week, I'll possibly be gone from here for some time. So, defend what small-bit of honor I might have still had intact up to now!

I've got a CV-joint on my independent-floating rear-end that lost it's boot, an' got grit in it, an' done went an' shattered, an' the resulting shrapnel went an' ripped-up some of my wiring-harness. Gotta put me in the shop for this one!

(It couldn't have anything to do with one of my earlier-attempts to "make it fit" on MYSELF by any chance, now, right???)☺!

As far as the Mustang bodies, I suppose where there's a perceived demand, someone is going to step up to supply that demand. At $15K per copy - suspect there won't be too many takers. Jeep CJ tubs and other sheet metal have been available for quite a while, but I was thinking they were in the $2-3K range depending if one opted for fiberglass versus metal.

Donk - yes, the Impy is front-wheel drive - the rear wheels are just along for the ride. :-)

My challenge with this newer stuff is figuring out the 'how' - after all, pretty much anything on the '81 Jeep is pretty intuitive and obvious as to how to get it apart. I find the need to refer to the shop manuals for the newer stuff just to understand how they put it together. Another challenge is figuring out just what in the ol' toolbox will substitute for the special tool GM-J89762341.

Gots to thinking about engines - like the Ford 302 and Chevy 350 had pretty much a 30-year run from the late 60s to the mid/late 90s. Solid, reliable powerplants with lots of parts and knowledge and confidence floating around. The Impy has the 3.9L V6 first offered in 2006 as a replacement for another bulletproof motor, the 3.8L Buick-derived V6 (what was GM thinking?). I see the 2012 Impy will be coming with a 3.6L V6, so the 3.9L had only a 6-year run? Hard to keep up with all these changes and just wondering how easy it will be to get parts and find knowledge in the future on such a short-lived engine.

Donk - wow, not exactly sure what you have going on there with the CV-joint, but hoping for the best for ya here.

Donk, Good luck with the repair. I've been delaying a like repair for a few years now. I've been careful not to tow anything much and try to stay off steep hills. Was hoping to wait until the borescope evolves to a point where a new reppza cage can be tricked in without removing the entire boot.

A buddy did a lot of custom rod building and on a lot of rigs he did away with the heavy fan and shrould assemblies in favor of an electic fan. It allowed a cleaner look and he had more room to customize the grill etc. When I decided to do the same with the 454 GM work truck, I went to three parts stores looking for the universal thermostatic control for the fan. It's a simple dial in with a capillary extented into the upper hose. At the last stop, an Auto Zone, the clerk like all the rest, denied anything existed. I spotted it myself hanging on a display behind his head.

I was surprised how much power and fuel a 7 blade fan robs.

As I understand it, Camaro's have been accepted as original restorations as long as they have the original serial plates. The theory is that as long as the serial plate is required the market cannot be flooded with clones. Of course, the value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for a particular vehicle and many, if not most buyers will not accept these cars.

stnmsn8, Since I dont' expect to be involved in such a project, I'm not curious enough to do the research. I think if you have a complete bucket of rust with a title and a serial number tag, the new body would be considered that car even if the everthing about it was new.

I guess you could transfer a Falcon into a new Mustang but the title would say Falcon. But if you ordered in the new body and added other parts to make a totally new car, would not it have to meet todays mandates and be titled in the current year?

Eh, IIRC there's an exemption for low-production vehicles - not sure what all is exempted, though.

OLD JOHN: Yeah, I was thinkin' about just cuttin' my old rear-end OFF, and converting to a newer-style front-axle drive, but the wife says she's afraid she couldn't handle the part of a tag-axle, so that idea is off the table!

There are a LOT of spare rear-ends out there, but nobody wants to part with 'em! But it's just as well, because the models I would need are already worn-out, and the pinion leaks an' drips on 'em, and they have a LOT of lash in the gears---you can tell by watchin' the way they flop-around, when they go downhill against the thrust-washer/shims.

The wiring is the touchy-part of it all. Just gonna hafta try and patch, splice, tape, an' silicon-it together, and hope it stops blowin' a fuse every six-weeks or so.

Just ain't no parts worth rebuilding out there anymore, for these 59-and-up models, it seems...!☺

(OK, YOUR-turn!)

A gynecologist had become fed up with malpractice insurance and HMO paperwork and was burned out. Hoping to try another career where skillful hands would be beneficial, he decided to become a mechanic.

He went to the local technical college , signed up for classes, attended diligently, and learned all he could. When the time for the practical exam approached, the gynecologist prepared carefully for weeks and completed the exam with tremendous skill.

When the results came back, he was surprised to find that he had obtained a score of 150%. Fearing an error, he called the instructor, saying, "I don't want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding result, but I wonder if there is an error in the grade."

The instructor said, "During the exam, you took the engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total mark. "You put the engine back together again perfectly, which is also worth 50% of the mark."

After a pause, the instructor added, "I gave you an extra 50% because you did it all through the muffler, which I've never seen done in my entire life.

Wheels, It's past my bed time, what's your excuse?:) :)

I bet they made this guy a government emission tester!

Old John,

I am trying to get some progress made on Genealogy and looking over a few old files, I found a few jewels that had not been deleted.

Wheels, Funny how sometimes things just pop up. I recently found reason to think my gramma's gramma was of a comletely different heritage than we thought.

Boy, I'm glad Briggs & Stratton thought of this, BEFORE the now-obsolete Harley-Davidson kick-starter!☺

Briggs DID have kick-starter on washing-machines, but not this. Maybe a reel-mower?

Either way, who needs OSHA-warnings, when you already have a blaze-orange pulley? Ironically, other than that? It's the only MOVING-part exposed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=dUT5g76sJoA

Donk, One of my cousins had a large collection of old stationary small engines that he would load onto a trailor and take to reunions and gatherings.

They made a certian music when all of them were fired up and running. The hit and miss engines provided the beat for the different sounds and tones of the other slow running engines to blend in with!

Only thing missing is the hole in the roof for the rats'-arm, workin' a Hurst-shifter!

Can't remember which of you fellas started the "rat-rod"-thing a while back? Anyhow, this is for you!

(I'm takin' advantage of this, while I still feel half-way decent. It'll end in another day or so, I guarantee. So just be patient!☺)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyIsf-37CyA

A buddy drove his to my house one time. When he was fixing to leave I suggested he open it up on the way out. He said making such sudden acceleration attempts is highly Not recommended when the engine is bigger than all the rest of the rig; somethings gonna break and hurt you! :)

There's them wide whitewalls we was discussing on another thread the other day!

Liked the starter on the old Briggs. Are you sure the rope pull starter is an improvement?

STMSN: I'm assuming you mean the "old" open-faced rope-starter? Oh, I LOVED the pain they'd cause, if the knot-slipped, an' you overextended your arm. Not to mention the welk that thing would raise on your leg, when you had one too-long, and it'd do a half-wrap, an' bull-whip ya'!

A pair of "Buddy Holly Specials" saved my eye once, when I was being somewhat less-than-careful, and walked-behind a fella right at the end of his "yank"! Hurt, too!

And, YES, I taped-them together, and wore-'em that way until the next pay-day, too...!☺

But here's what it's all-about in the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcI1asBaHNs&feature=fvsr

I'd bet I could string a hammock out in a shed like this, and sleep as peacefully as ever!

(Tie a short-rope on yourself, just so's you don't start sleep-walking, though!☺)

I hope to be back here one more time tomorrow, but if not, I'll hope to catch-up to you again---be it here, or somewhere's else---sooner rather than later.

Take care, and "Carry-on, Montesque!".....☺

Anyone remember this? Neat video about a California guy's idea for a problem still being worked on.

http://blog.1aauto.com/2011/02/28/park-car-5th-wheel-concept/?utm_source=campaig...

Now that is a keeper! See, these threads are good for something after all. Thank you, OJ.

My God, this thread is like a zombie!(Not-unlike it's originator.☺) Just HAD to leave my crypt for a bit, for a stretch.

As for this vid: HOW? I mean, I can imagine how it MIGHT-have worked, but even then?(An electrical-drive would've been more logical, maybe? Naw-w-w, that'd ranked it right-up there with the "Electro-Shift" Edsel, heh!) And, having to ergonomically-turn an actual-HANDLE to activate, as opposed to a keypad-"button"---whoa, dude! Talk about "Retro"!

And, of course it had the obligatory wide-white-sidewall, to-match!

Kinda curious as to how this system ranked, when it came down to retrieving it, for use as an actual SPARE ? I mean, it HAD to be mounted to something pretty-hefty, to support the rear-weight of that Caddy, even temporarily?

Speaking of FLAT-spares: Years-ago, in the day of tires, especially truck tires, that would use bias-ply tubes---a fella seldom ever had a flat-spare, that wasn't his own fault, I mean:"Yeah, I'll hafta fix that nail-hole one of these days." Sometimes, a bad-core, or a pinched-tube, though, too?

I've always carried a portable-compressor. And before the 12-volt version? Yeah, the old "hump-n'-pump". That's ONE-retro I don't miss!

Are there any tubes made today, that are compatible for use with modern-radials, that should do away with the "flat due to non-useage" of the spare, from no-load leakage?

Matter of fact, do they even issue a spare, with new-cars/trucks anymore? I seem to recall reading that only an emergency-inflation-kit, with some sort of liquid-sealant, and a small-bottle of what I would assume to be compressed nitrogen---with the reasoning being, the proceedure of jacking the auto was deemed too-hazardous, anymore?

I kinda miss those "donut"-spares in a way, though. They made great-wheels for heavy-duty lawn-carts. And I think they came pretty-close to a safe-fit on some Ford 8N/9N-fronts, not to mention some of the MF-35's...???

Donk, Glad to see you back.

I'm guessing power steering pump or electric over hydraulic pump.

If the extra cost was mentioned, I missed it. A great idea, but would people pay to have it?

And to think this was in the day some cars still had vaccumn operated wipers.

Aww, I was almost-missed! I humble myself to the Great O.J.(busy grovelling here!☺) I've been reading more than writing, tryin' to get the dust outta my circuits again.

I don't feel much better. And, I sure don't look any better, at all.

But at least my HEAD faces forward now, and I attract a lot-less attention in-public, as a result.

Makes it a LOT-easier to drive now, too...!☺

RICK: Good in snow and ice, too!☺

Jay Leno once said something about the the prewar luxury cars being akin to a ox cart driver with a cell phone and GPS.

There were many neat and futuristic ideas that had no purpose at the time.

Rick, Remember those plastic/nylon clip on snow tire straps and studded tires for winter?

There were many neat and futuristic ideas...-- Posted by Old John on Tue, Nov 29, 2011, at 11:22 PM

I remember the promise of the Wankel rotary engine in the 70s. A better idea with a good deal of initial support and backing, which never really took off - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine

Then there was the Chrysler turbine engines that didn't quite make it - http://www.allpar.com/mopar/turbine.html

Watching with interest as the electric vehicles make another run for it. It seems today's Chevy Volt is gaining notoriety to rival the Ford Pinto's post-collision ignition problems.

Just amazing that guys over a hundred years ago came up with a design that has been improved upon, but the basic reciprocating piston concept hasn't yet been beat for the application.

The Wankel was a good motor. A friend had on in his Mazda pickup. Not a lot of torque but very dependable. I think there was only one internal moving part.

HA-HA! Found it again!

Had to make sure the link still works---it does.

C'mon, guys---and any daring-gals!---strap-on your headphones, deafen yourselves, and smell like hot-rubber an' "Gorilla-Grip"-resin again!(Like I told 356: "Before the days of Rolaids, Doans' Pills, and Preparation-H!")

Pull yourselves outta this 'funk' we're stuck in...!☺

Well, unfortunately we don't have ~RICK on here anymore, an' I ain't in no mood to say WHY, either. Doggone shame, too. He had some good-un's!

Maybe the other RICK will show again, I hope.

But right now, I'm "trolling" for one-OLD JOHN, who's probably at work about now?

Donk, You mentioned things that leak oil and blow up.

In the late '60s my brother and I bought an old International pick up to share for occasional hauling of trash and such. Once we took a load of trash to a cousin's gulley and came back with more than we took, but that's another story.

The old truck had a good body and drove great. The fellow we got from had just replaced the all the tie rod ends and ball joints or king pins, I can't remember which and it started and ran good.

We bought the thing cheap and were happy as kids with a new toy and proceded to try to make her shine. We found some empty bottles of instant motor overhaul under the seat but never put two and two together until I took some valuable cargo on thirty five mile haul down the highway. I first noticed a light tapping as the engine leveled off into a cruise. Then it got loud enough to be the distintive sound of a loose rod bearing. I stopped at a station and added two cans of STP and the noise went away so I got to thinking, I've been fooled by a carbon knock before, and comtinued.

Then it came back loud enough to promp a turn around and head for home. I got right in front of the old blacksmith shop and that thing came apart and left a hunk of the block and a twisted rod on the pavement.

Now that old man [the blacksmith] came out, took a look and spat some chew juice and said, let's push her into the shop, we can weld up that block... there's been a many of 'em run on five cylinders!

Now I knew from the work he had done for my dad on farm equipment that if he said he could do it, you could count on it. But I called a buddy and sold her to him to make a trailer out of the back side and scrap the rest for $50 less than we paid for it. :)

OJ: LOVE-it! I once(shamefully!)helped to put in ONE .030-over piston in a 392-IH motor---a '69, I think it was???---since the other-seven were still well in-tolerance. Thirty-thousandths is about all I'd go-over, especially since it was in a heavy-use Loadstar. They may(have)taken more---but that cylinder-wall looked mighty-thin to me, since I was the poor-sucker sittin' on top of it. (And I mean that literally, since it was the left-rear 'hole' from the 'cockpit'.☺)

Idled kinda funny, though. Like the difference in-sound of a rubber-mallet and a steel-ball pein?

Some(then)weenie-kid, just a lil'-shaver, told me:"My-dad wouldn't own a piece of junk like this, anyway---he only drives Fords!"

You think I'm a good-liar now---you shoulda' heard me back THEN, when I still had my own "late-middle-age" Dad for a coach! Now, for the moment---forget the fact the name INTERNATIONAL was stamped into both valve-covers. Also ignore the fact the # on the block-casting started with IH, and the parts'-box was red, black, & white, with 'International Harvester Company, Chicago, Illinois'-written all-over it. OK, now we're set for "the-BIG-lie".

As somber as I could, I looked at him and said: "Now, I really shouldn't tell you this, as it's a Ford Motor Company secret-experiment: This is actually a highly-modified(true!)engine, designed by Ford,(not!) to replace the trashy-stuff IH puts in their heavy-trucks!"

"And, you see this here odd-sized piston? Well, that's what Ford is gonna start using in ALL-their heavy-trucks as sort of a horsepower-boost for passing, so's you don't need to shift as much. Makes driving a Ford that-much easier!"

He couldn't WAIT to get-home, and tell his dad!

And me? I couldn't WAIT to cover it up with a tarp, grab the keys to my OWN-Ford truck, and take the rest of the day-off before his dad could find me!☺

It all came-out good the next-day though. His dad actually about died-laughing. Which was good that he DIDN'T die, and DID laugh, since it was his-name on the bottom of my-paycheck.

And as recently as 5, maybe 6?, years-ago, I came upon what was left of that ol' binder in a salvage-yard. Tranny was shot. Both fenders & hood were gone. Driveshaft had a quarter-twist in it. But although it wasn't startable---no carb or starter anymore---that engine could still be turned by-hand easily. And, the oil left in it didn't look that bad, either!☺

Ahh, that felt good, OLD JOHN. Thanks for 'listening'. I'm afraid I'll hafta just say so-long for a while, until this 'hate-quadrangle' goes-away, as I get tired of being tempted to respond. I've tried to sidetrack the movement, even after I'd stepped in it myself---but I give-up.

Just like now, I was tempted to mention something ELSE about cycles, and months of the year---but I couldn't figure a way to fit bicycle-riding into it, safely...???☺

Donk, Another good story to me is the sage of a friend's old daddy. He had a mid fifties Ford of the two tone paint style with some factory upscale options rare on those models at the time. It was not too high mileage and looked sharp and ran great.

His son was showing it to me and popped the hood and asked what I thought. I didn't even notice what he was talking about.

For some unknown reason, maybe just to see if it would work, the old man dropped in a 383 and 727 out of a Belvadere and it fit and looked like it belonged there. The Chrysler exaust manifolds hooked right up and so did the driveshaft.

Well he may have been smarter than he looked. A fellow came by and wanted to buy the car. Drove it, liked it and offered him $2,000 for it saying if it had the original engine and transmission in it [in good shape] he would gladly give $4,000 for it. The old dad said "Ok, come back tomorrow evening with the $4,000" and shook the guys hand!

And yep, the fellow kept his word and the Ford was back to original the next day.

Rick, Gaining is the Rat Rod culture. We used to call that Sleepers. I saw one recently that looked like it just came out of the junk yard. Still had rust on the hood and dents and door dings, but everthing inside and under the hood had been updated to the latest with GPS A/C etc.

OJ: You gotta be kiddin' me! I'm trying to remember, what size engine was original for that style? 289? Can't even remember the next-'normal' size up for Fords, anymore!

I guess the dead-giveaway for the purchaser was that crow-calling "CAW-CAW-CAW"-sound of the Chrysler-starter!

Wonder why he insisted on the original-setup? Must've been into serious restoration.

(P.S.---that was a dirty-trick you pulled there, using grease, gears, an' 'rigging', to re-instate me from my self-imposed hibernation!☺)

Hope we can get several-more, before the trolls get here. Man, all I wanna do is get my mind OFF of this freaking-world, and it's AC/DC-PC-ness politics for awhile.

(Even though I prefer DC-positive ground, when I use 6010-rods on my old-retro Lincoln 'tombstone'. They fill so-o-o smooth! Wire-feeds aren't the solution to absolutely-every repair job...!☺)

There's the RICK-ster!

You just reminded me of another "icon", on the north-side of East Jackson Blvd., just before Shawnee as you're going east.

Boy, I'd love to have that thang! Even still has HUBCAPS on it! Equally-rusted, of course! But it doesn't appear to extremely-beaten up, dent-wise, at least not upon a passing-glance?

Ford Groves has probably offered a showroom-trade-plus-'boot' for it at least once. Why?

'Cause there's gotta be somethin' secret holding that thang together---an' it sure ain't paint...!☺

Donk, (Even though I prefer DC-positive ground,....

That reminds me of another story.

My cousin is a well taught mechanic on about anything. He had a big rig he bought to fix up and was having fits figuring out why the starter wouldn't turn. Even the lights and other stuff just didn't figure right with a test light. I ask a stupid question. You do have the battery cables on right? Then it hit him and he hit his forehead with his hand and said @=~! it's got a positive ground!

Dad always said a good welder could mend anything but a broken heart! He once [before I was born] cut off the solid metal rims and lugs on a tractor and braised on rubber tire steel rims to the cast iron spokes and ended up with the same ride height if you will.

Now you got me curious, so I think I'll google up that Ford and see if it was a 252 or something.

OJ: I was always curious, as to the positive-ground advantage claimed.

Although theoretically, current DOES travel from negative TO positive, so I've been told? But as for an advantage? You tell ME! I still think it's as useful as the "left-nut, right-nut" boondoggle, of Chrysler-fame!

Unless it has to do with voltage, i.e., 24-volt vs. 12? Even that don't figger, 'cause I've seen a lot of 6-volt +grounds, as well?

Seems like it does-tend to be kind of a "Diesel-Thang", though...???

RICK: Never seen the local-'Stude', but I've been seeing a chopped-top coupe here a lot lately.(I'd tell ya' the color---but I honestly was busy lookin' more at the "ZZ-Top"-style. But, I THINK it was RED?)

It may have been a 'rat-rod' at one time---but it shore hain't one now!

Or at least I didn't SEE any rat-knuckles stickin' out the top, anyways...???☺

Donk, I too have no idea if there is an advantage to positive ground but always figured it had to do with the type of metal the cables were hooked to as an anti corosion idea.

OJ: You know what? You just MAY have a point, there!

On NEGATIVE-grounds, the POSITIVE is the only-one to corrode---the 'other' only rusts, unless the seal of the battery leaks onto it.

Now---stir-up your brain-cells, and tell me: My current vehicles both have what appears to be galvanized lug-type connectors---both are negative-ground.

Of course, we all remember the LEAD-cast clamps. Try as we might, they cannot be forgotten!☺

I'm not sure---and since I'm in my underwear here, and am NOT venturing outside, due to zombies, to check for myself☺! A 1940's-ish Allis-Chalmers---I think a WD?---with a SIX-or-EIGHT-volt system: Almost certain it's a POSITIVE-ground, and relatively certain that it has a copper-alloy set of clamps, and of course those HUGE-cables. I don't recall ever seeing one with severe-corrosion?(But then again, the hand-crank was still standard-equipment hangin' there in the frame. You know, just in case!☺)Kinda strange, considering some(most?)models already used a coil-fired system? Low-battery-start, maybe???

Had to love those mag-fired models. Actually quite easy to start, IF you listened for the 'click' of the mag. If you yanked before it clicked---you were gonna be in a world of hurt! Not unlike the original kick-start Harley-hog: If you KICKED, before you made it KLICK? "To the MOON, Alice!!! To the MOON!!!"☺

I could get-into OLD-aircraft starters and such---but my key-knockers ain't gonna hold-up to it, for now!☺

Always wondered why "modern"-vehicles use such small-gauge cables, until my-wifes' Toyota had to have the starter rebuilt about 10-years ago, at it's 80-grand-plus life.

Hell, the starter MOTOR is barely the size of a wiper-motor! It's all about gear-reduction! Turned the armature, new brushes, repacked the gear with fresh-grease, and she was on her way. It's up to 130-grand now, an' still goes 'yeep-yeep-yeep' an' she's gone!

And even more ironically: Remember how slow-w-w the MOPAR 'caw-caw-caw'-starters turned the fan? They were gear-reduction too, weren't they?

Honestly, I don't remember ever burning one out?

If true, maybe MOPAR-starters were way-ahead of their time, eh...???

Donk, Actually some of the most significant designs in automotive history came from zombies and that's why I don't undestand the reasons behind a lot of stuff.

Regarding those starters, the old '71 Fury I had got to giving fits of misengagement at 168,000 miles but it was a simple matter of slipping in a new drive. My old Dodge truck still gives puzzelment in that the battery gave out recently. It sits more than driven and after two weeks it would take ten minutes on a trickle charger to start.

Well thinking of her first, I got new battery for the wife's car and put her two year old in the truck. Now as best I can diagnose the truck starter has decided not to work. I've got two hours into it even checking voltage drop at the starter cable, just seems a strange coincidence that it decided to quit when the battery was changed.

I remember an episode of Married with Children when Al figured out how his socks were disapearing out of the dryer. The little green men were stealing them to use in making spaceship fuel.

Some things ain't meant to be understood.

OJ brought up my second favorite mopar in TV history, after the general Lee of course, Al Bundy's beloved Dodge.

http://www.dodgepedia.org/2008/03/dodge-on-tv-al-bundy-edition/

Joe, I can understand the confusion. When the Aspen and Volarie, Dart and Dusters were coming into the dealerships it was not uncommon for a lot of them to have Dodge nameplates and wheel covers on one side and Plymouth on the other.

The early Valiants also made good targets for TV comedy.

Oh, just one more thing....

Remember the '59 Peugeot Columbo drove?

For some reason I think it would suit Wheels' avitar. :)

I think COLUMBO would suit WHEELS'-avitar...!☺

JOE: Mine's the original-Dodge Bluesmobile, a '74, I think?

"It's got cop-tires, cop-suspension, cop-motor, and was made before catalytic-converters, so it runs good on regular-gas. Waddya' say---is it the new-Bluesmobile?"

---------------------------------

"Fix the lighter..."☺!

Tale of my muscle car project

Part 1

About 10 years ago I was looking for a "cheap" project car. I have always been a Ford man but when it cam to muscle cars Mopar was were my intrest was.

I began my search for a Charger,Barracuda or Road Runner. After pricing a few project cars I decided I would settle for a 1970 Plymouth Duster.

I found one for sale a few miles away. The man had bought it for his grandsons 16th birthday but after thinking it over he believed it to be to "powerful" for the boy. The car had a fine bondo filled body, tires were barely even beginning the dry rot phase and the smell of gasoline inside the car was hardly noticeable.

I paid the man for the car. He handed me the title and off I went. First order of business was to gas her up. The tank was nearly empty as I began to fill it. After the first few gallons the smell of gas began to get stronger. I looked down and gasoline was flowing beneath my feet. i stopped the pump, looked under the car and saw gas pouring from the seam in the L shaped tank.

Yep, sittin' on too-many gallons of power for a 16-year-old grandson, there!

As for YOU? Are you SURE it was gasoline you saw, when you finally looked down?

Although gasoline DID tend to be a bit-darker in hue, in those days...?

Donk, that time it was gasoline, but the ride was not over:)

Part 2

I paid for the gas I had pumped, inside the tank and out. I pulled to the side and waited for it to leak down below the level of the rotten tank seam. After a short while I decided it would be "safe" to continue on...

(Side note: My version of safe and a sain persons version are two different things. I would probably be the guy you see on youtube saying, "hey yall watch this" if I allowed video evidence of my exploits.)

The time I spent looking under the car at the leaking tank caused me to notice aother feature on the car that I had not seen before. It had air adjustable shocks on the rear. I found the air valve under the carpeting in the trunk, backed over to the air nozzle at the filling station and put the air to it. The back end of the car lifted up several inches instead of sitting level. I thought to myself, now this looks like a muscle car. I started back down the highway for on my 30 minute drive home, ready to get my car in the shop and give it a real going over. After the first few miles I had forgotten about my gas tank problems and turned on the radio to find me some drivin' music.

After a few minutes I began to smell a new odor in the car. It was the smell of wires burning. I began to look for a suitable spot to pull the car over and inspect the situation when sparks, smoke and melting plastic began to flow from behind the stereo. All of a sudden my thoughts of my gas tank problems returned to me. I pulled over and with one pull ripped the aftermarket stereo from its housing, tossed it far out the window and began snuffing out the electical fire with my hat.

Geez, where WAS technology like cell-cams back then???☺(This thread is startin' to sound like a Tom Runnels' Picture-Show!) Lord, we could've kept him busy drawin', for hours on end!

Gabriel "Hi-Jackers", without the 'bags', I'll bet? Delco had a sweet set-up too, with a remote air-pump.

Oh-h-h, that Hi-Jackers' Rabbit looked SO-freakin' cool on my rear side-glass.

It matched the reddish-yellow color of my standard u-joints, just before they flew out!

(P.S.---the now-bent driveshaft could be cut-down into a kick-*** pair of header-collectors, too. especially after you'd painted 'em with hi-temp BBQ-grill black!)☺

I've gotta pic of it somewhere, both before and after full-blown race mode. Wouldn't do us any good, though---don't allow graphics on here.

(Probably quite-fortunately, in that-respect...!)

I bought a 63 Falcon with 60,000 milesw one time for it was all I could afford with a $100 mine and $300 borrowed. It had a good straight body, 170 cid and faded paint and fair tires and ran ok. When I got it home I of course started wiping and cleaning. On the white visor, written in ink was a record of repairs with the last oil change at 263,000 miles. The only probem I had with it was the tires that all popped right after I got it and a broken motor mount. I had it two months when I loaned it to a mate one weekend and he totaled it.

My brother in law was kind enough to sell me his low mileage 66 Mustang cheap rather than trading it in, otherwise I would have been walking a long time!

Part 3

I sorted through the handfull of melted wiring that had a few minutes ago led to my stereo. I clipped of the burnt wires, made sure the sparking was over and started on my way once again.

Over half way home now, having already had fuel and electrical problems I assumed the worst was behind me...I was wrong. Cruising at a decent speed down the highway it happened. Two quick shots, boom...boom. The car dipped and swirved but I kept control. I pulled to the shoulder once again, got out of the car to determine what had happened. After a quick study I found that the air adjustable shocks had burst, dropping the tail of the car and jolting the gas tank causing one of the rotten tank straps to break.

I figured it was now time to wave the white flag and call for back up to trailer my new 'project" home.

Over the next few weeks of checking the car over i began putting together a list of what would be needed to restore my project. The 360 V-8 still had some life in it, but some work needed to be done to whip it into shape. The filler putty job on the rear quarter panels was past saving. The trunk floor was rotted through, along with the fuel tank. Numerous other problems were found but all in all a fine project car.

As with many other projects of mine work began, but would stop for a while for various other reasons which were more important. The car went from the center piece of the shop, to the lean-to on the side and finally to the field beside other forgotten projects that were on the back burner.

A neighbor had mentioned the car to a friend of his who wanted a older Mopar to restore. He asked if I was interested in selling it. As with most of my other "important" projects I couldnt bare the thought of parting with it. I just knew that any day now I would be pulling it back in the shop and getting back to work on it. Unfortunately my project manager (wife) caught wind of the buyers proposal and suggested (threatened) I sell it, as I already had more projects than I had time to work on.

The man came to pick up the car. I asked him where his trailer was. He said he would just drive the car home. I reminded him that the current gas tank in the car was from a old ford pickup. After removing the old rotten tank I had used it as a makeshift gas tank for testing purposes. It was just sitting in the trunk, next to the battery no less which I had moved to the rear of the car for weight distribution purposes. He said he didnt mind as he was also not known to always put safety first and that all would be fine.

I had lost track of the old Duster for several years until one day my neighbor mentioned how his friends shop had recently burned down. Apparently he had put in some time continuing the restoration, but as many tend to do the Duster got pushed to the back burner and was sitting out back of his shop. According to firefighters they believed the fire started in the old Duster, possibly with a wiring issue and spread to the garage.

Everything was a total loss, but atleast that old plymouth will never haunt anyone again, except maybe the scrap yard where it was sent, or whatever device the recycled parts have been turned into. Personally I beleive it was reincarnated as a Chevy Volt.

JOE: Y'know, that's got potential for a new video-game format. Todays' generation would just think, "WHOA! How retro!"

They'd never suspect that it actually did happen.

But now, in all-honesty: If such were available, would you REALLY have wanted a "game-reset"-button?

Naaahh. Why tempt fate a SECOND-time???☺

Had an '86 Chevy Cavalier Z24 - like this http://auto.howstuffworks.com/chevrolet-cavalier5.htm, only in blue over silver.

It was the 2.8L V6 coupe - dunno what GM did, but one of the best sounding stock exhausts I've ever heard on a V6. Four-speed (the five-speed either was optional or wasn't offered until '87) - a blast to drive, a peppy little rascal that cornered like it was on rails, and easy on fuel too. 60-series tires were stock - wide for a stock offering at that time. Unless I had to come to a complete stop, could stay in 3rd gear all around town - torquey little dude.

Had a digital dash - only the tach was a conventional needle. The digital speed readout updated slower than Christmas on cold days. Never could tell how fast it would go, cuz the speedo would just blink '85' at speeds above.

Got the wild hair to put air shocks on to hike up the back to give it that sportier look of the prior generation muscle cars. Drove it for better than two years, and not one person ever made mention of the silliness of hiking up the rear end on a front-wheel drive car. Ah, to be young and foolish again. Well, I'd settle for young - still gots a pretty good lock on foolish. :-)

fxwpt, The trend for rear bumpers low may have been to emulate the moonshine runners with a full trunk, not sure. When the fad changed to running downhill I remember discussions about which was best. Not sure which side if any won those arguments, but with a lot of those old sleds getting transplants of more power up front it was only logical that bigger rear tires were needed to hook that power to the pavement. The easiest way to get clearance for the bigger tires was to jack up the body above the wheels. That meant in some cases removing the chains that tied the body down tight to the differential and allowing the body roll they were intended to prevent. Air shocks replaced chain down technology.

Big tall wide ovals to me meant better fuel economy.

Oh, just one more thing....

Remember the '59 Peugeot Columbo drove?

For some reason I think it would suit Wheels' avitar. :)

-- Posted by Old John on Thu, Mar 8, 2012, at 10:55 AM

I think COLUMBO would suit WHEELS'-avitar...!☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Mar 8, 2012, at 11:53 AM

Hey you guys... quit picking on my self portrait!

Wheels, You should photo shop some down south fashonable snacks and drink and put right next to the monitor. You know, celery sticks and Koolaid:)

FXPWT: It took me a few-seconds before I snorted a laugh at what you just 'said':

"Drove it for better than two years, and not one person ever made mention of the silliness of hiking up the rear end on a front-wheel drive car."

Now, THAT'S a true-individual hall-mark, if I'd ever heard one!☺

I just never could seem to "warm-up" to a front-drive, for some-reason? Probably just the idea of KNOWING it's "backwards" of "normal"???

Well, I asked this on another remotely-related thread, but it looks kinda like E.STL over there at the moment, and nobody's answering the phone, so I'll ask it here.

Years ago, I took my road-test for my operators, and then chauffeurs both with manual-trans clutch car/truck, so it wasn't an issue. But I'm curious---am I the only-one who brakes with my LEFT-foot on automatics? Can't really remember if I learnt that way, or if I was actually taught such, somewhere?

I've had no problems being able to "float" my way out of these over-corrections we're always hearing about in reports. You'd think it'd be the opposite, but for me, it eliminates the possibility of hangin' my big-foot on BOTH-pedals.

Call me weird, but it just feels natural. Wonder how many points a Driving Instructor would knock-off for that?

Donk - another fun trick was showing off the torque twist effect on the vehicle having a transverse mounted engine.

Took a bit of practice, but if one popped the accelerator with the right timing, could get the rear end bouncing almost like one of those California low-riders - although nowhere near the extreme of getting the tires airborne.

Yeah, I know. *hanging head low* But it seemed so cool and happening and all-that back then.

Back in my Alex Pizza delivery days, the owner provided a delivery car because he said we drove our own cars too nice. One of those Dodge Colts made by Mitsubishi, front wheel drive, stripped, didn't even have a radio.

Learned how much fun front wheel drive can be, almost perfecting the art of the Bat-turn. Pinched for time, behind on deliveries and go past the street you needed to be on? No problem, a short quick yank on the steering wheel, while yanking on the emergency brake lever, then quickly releasing the brake and punching the gas, and voila - a time-saving instant 180. The tires were so small and thin and light in the back end, they wouldn't even squall during the slide-around - a real Stealth-mobile. Had to have new brakes every 8,000 miles and a new clutch every 30,000 - and he never said a word about it.

I'm one of those one-foot for both brake and gas pedal. When the dimmer was located on the left side of the floorboard, I had to keep my left foot against it or get blasted in the eyes by angry on-comers.

fxpwt, I can relate to that.

Reply, That's what influenced my feet although sometimes I find myself braking with the left, don't know why.

I had a VW Bug that took a lot of abuse. The old pull the park brake lever while yanking the steering wheel resulted in that same 180 fxwp relates.

Donk, If you go fast enough the driving instructor won't be looking at your feet. :)

OJ: Well, they docked-me 2-points for making the nose "wallow", on an uphill-start. Called it bad-usage of the clutch.(Have you ever NOT made the cab shake it's head like a bull, breaking a 3-ton service-truck loose from a stop?☺)

And, the irony of it all back-then, before CDL: You first re-took your Operators-written exam. If you passed that, you took the Chauffeurs-written---and you could take the danged-ROAD test in a freakin' CAR!

But that ain't the way my-employer saw it. Take it in the truck that you'll be responsible for.

Amazing how many years it took the State of MO to figure that out?

Almost as bad as my MOTORCYCLE-test---but that's for another time, I gotta "pound-ground"...!☺

Dug the ol' Jeep out for its annual get-ready-for-summer top removal, figured it was still a bit early so just pulled the doors and rolled up the back window.

Eh, since I got this far, might as well take it for a spin. After getting through the initial blinding caused by the collection of dust being blown off after being layed up in the garage all winter - a thoroughly pleasant day for a 'no particular place to go and no particular hurry to get there' drive.

At any rate, was reminded of the implicit camaraderie with Jeep drivers. This would include only the original-style Jeeps - the CJs and Wranglers. When passing each other, it's customary to wave as you go by - nothing extravagant or attention-grabbing like trying to flag down help or direct aircraft, more like a small hand motion often accompanied by a head nod of acknowledgement.

Seems to be somewhat unique to this area, as this wasn't observed during my time in Kentucky - but then again, over there it seemed everyone waved to everyone especially on rural roads.

A long-standing tradition that I'm pleased to see continue, as I remember this gesture going all the way back to my first Jeep days back in the late 70s, when Jeeps seemed to replace vans with shag carpet interiors (heheheh - shag carpet) as the fashionable vehicle of choice for the younger set.

Not every one participates, usually the younger drivers with the newest Jeeps - but there still hope they'll come around. :-)

fxpwt, Down the road from me is a house that has had a jeep project in the driveway every since I moved here in 2007. I've lost count of how many, but looks like fun. A couple of older military jeeps and some that look like mid '70s have been off the frames and made to look new.

A few years ago a fellow told me about a propane truck driver that always waved and smiled at him as he was going to work and the gas truck was heading out on morning deliveries. He always waved back and said it kind of made his morning each day. Like a smoke from a chimney saying all is well with the world as he looked across the field toward the old house where his folks still lived, it was.

Anyway, one afternoon he saw the propane truck at the local coffee shop and figured he would find out which old aquaintence waved so cordially each day. He spotted the gas co uniform and joined the man at his table to learn he had no connection what so ever with the man and he had only lived in the local area for a couple years.

"The way you wave every morning, I just figured you were someone I knew."

"Boss said if he ever met me on the road and I didn't wave, I was fired..Don't know what he drives so I gotta wave at everyone." :)

FXPWT: True, and I always enjoyed the 'salute', as RICK puts it. It used to be almost the same-percentage was true of motorcycle-riders in earlier-days, but I'm not sure about now, as I no longer ride?

OLD JOHN: I've got a 'picture-perfect-picture' of a 'rat-rod' I'd LOVE to show you, but since I can't download it direct, I'm still trying to find the link. It's included with several others.

But in a nutshell, it's got EVERYTHING a 'rat-rod-race' needed: Two-'rats', a paved-highway, wide-WHITE sidewalls, and of course, the little 'flag-girl', instead of a Christmas-tree! And, it's NOT a photoshop-job, either.

What really stands-out is one-'rat', indeed, has the hairy-knuckled arm, with an extremely-long lever on the left-OUTSIDE, instead of through the roof!

Given the location, I'd guess a clutch, instead of a shifter, but still?

As soon as I'd seen it, I thought: "OLD JOHN MATERIAL, HERE...!"☺

Donk, Your mention of relocated shifters reminds me of a buddy's Montgmery Ward bike with the shift lever on the right foot and he brake on the left. Every time I tried to ride it I got mixed up and hit the brake by mistake.

Here's a humorous story I can relate to, rather long but a good read. http://darryl.crafty-fox.com/Riverside

OLD JOHN: Ye-e-e-ears ago, I had an "extremely-well-seasoned" 250-Bultaco MX off-road I'd bought for the grins, and $45. It had factory-reversible mountings made into it, for those "functions".

Didn't really matter though. No rear(working)brake, and the front one kinda-worked. Had three-gears: Slow, medium, and faster.☺ No-neutral, at least that I could ever find?

Which didn't matter either, since the clutch either slipped---or not at all.

But, it did have good, knobby-tires. And ran like a striped-ape. When I wanted to stop? I just put a death-grip on the ignition kill(power-shift!☺)-button, and let it crash to a COMPLETE-stop.

Hey, I was almost age 15 B.C., as in, "Before Car": I was invincible...!

I also learned yet ANOTHER grease-related lesson today. As in, how NOT-to store an old-type Lincoln lever grease-gun.

Do NOT hang them by the pump-linkage, as in, "loading-handle-down", which lets the bypass-oil drip out into a strategically-placed pile of kitty-litter.

I've only recently gotten seriously back into greasing, gearing, and repairing, due to previous health limitations---of which I still remain "on-probation" of, so to speak.☺

So, imagine my SU-prise when I tried to grease after two-years or so of the ol' Lincoln hangin'-around sleeping. I thought it was just "out of prime", so I locked the loader, and removed the head, to let it bleed the air-pocket off.

That wasn't the problem. So much of the liquid-part of the grease had dripped-out---it was now just like soft candle-wax, and had to be dug-out one-screwdriver-full at a time, to simply remove the old-cartridge! The rubber plunger was literally-stuck INSIDE of the mess.

So, from now on, I'll store it either horizontal, or hanging from the charging-handle, with the pump-lever itself secured against the housing.

And now I'm off to read that lengthly-link you posted with your comment...

Oh my God, OLD JOHN: That sounds eerily-similar to my old Spanish Bultaco!

And I swear to GOD that I didn't copy mine from his...!!!

Time for another grease monkey story.

My brother in law being a accomplished mechanic was challened by a Dodge Dart that lived up to it's name. One touch to the brake pedal or an uneven pavement caused the Dart to dart. After exausting all other ideas an aftermarket front stabilizer gave the early '60s product of American economy car thinking way some manners.

That brings me to the story.

I bought a Mercury Comet, I think it was a '73, that had the same problem. It had 16,000 miles on it and the only option it had was an automatic transmission, no radio, no nothing.

It belonged to a retired state trooper and one of his friends [also a retired trooper] hooked me up with it. This guy knew my dad and we clicked right away. His widow said it was his fishing car. It had obviously been parked close to where her car was parked for some time because one side had unmistakable evidence of a car door slamming against it.

Not considering all four corners had minor damage, this was a real cherry.

After a new battery and fresh gas this thing sounded like a treddle sewing machine, not a peck, tap or whine as it idled smooth enough to stand nickel on the cylinder head.

Only one problem besides using quite bit of oil that I figured would cure it's self. The thing had been sitting for five years!

Yup, this thing had the same problem as my brother in laws Dart! I tried setting the tow-in, and everything possible with no results.

Never did figure out for sure the problem but a new set of radial tires replacing the original biased tires made it drivable.

Oh, that oil burning problem, never fixed it's self. The folks I sold it to said they found the rings on 3 and 5 stuck.

I paid $300 for it and made the queen drive it to work at 25mpg for about a year and sold it for enough to break even counting the tires.

Old John,

I got a story started but at this point I would rather not talk about it. Time will tell if I ever mention it again. ;-)

Wheels, Are you talking about the brother in law or the car?

Come on, tell the story! :)

Can't Old John, it doesn't have an ending yet, and You was supposed to give me an impartial judgement call on how I get talked into this kind of mess. This one is a car and it fits under the heading of "If it's got ****, wheels or needs an anchor... sooner or later it's gonna cause you a problem." ;-)

Old John,

The brother-in-law kind of keeps his distance. Here several years ago at another brother-in-law's funeral, he comes up to me and says.... "You know, we're the only two brother-in-laws left now.

Then you know when you have one of those moments where your mouth gets engaged before you brain has been put in gear... I without thinking looked at him and said "Yeah and you ain't looking all that good." He damned near choked there in the funeral home. He hasn't forgotten it either.

Wheels, I think you know how you got talked into that story. It was a gift that kept on giving.

Step back and look at it and I suspect the story was worth the outcome. :)

Old John,

It's been fun, and I'll let you know when there is a conclusion. To compound the confusion my friend the preacher has some Old Greek call me who wants to buy it from me. You cannot sit down and have a cup of coffee with my friend without it getting complicated, :-)

I recently read a story written by a military wife of a guy that flew airplanes. This guy had a GTO in his younger days and flew over a junk yard one time and saw what he thought was a car like he had in his youth. To make a long story short, years later he had two GTOs and met John Delorean.

He was consumed with learning all about the GTO.

His third GTO find turned out to be an original factory race car ordered by a car dealer that was into and promoted racing.

The story of how the identity of the race car came about is incredible, a lot of chance and happenstance.

I love it when a story comes together!

Had the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) light go on over the weekend, identifying the right front tire as being low.

Got out to have a look - tire looked fine. ???? Then I looked at the right rear tire, and yes, it was low. Hmmmmm.

Gots me to wondering what the value of identifying a specific tire would be, if it's gonna be wrong.

Thought a bit more, and got to rationalizing that surely GM would have figured that at least a few people rotate their tires, and would have a way already figured out to coordinate which wheel goes where.

Finally broke down and perused the owner's manual - yep, there is a procedure.

I'm thinking someone at GM was having too much fun, as the procedure is quite involved with button pushing on the instrument panel information center, rolling the key, deflating the tires at least 5 psi one-at-a-time in a specific order, and waiting to hear the ding-ding. May have even been something in there about patting your head while rubbing your tummy and spinning around three times.

Geez, life is just getting too complicated. But, I'm sure there's an app for that. :-)~

Fxpwt,

I have an aftermarket set of those on my motor home and tow car, for a total of 12. These screw onto the valve stems and were a real pain to get programmed correctly. Plus I take the ones off the car when not towing as it had a factory installation, but the frequency was such that the factory set could not be used for towing the car.

They are a nice safety feature in my opinion. My brother-in-law blew and inside dual pulling into a rest area about a month ago. He was lucky because of the low speed he was traveling at. He might or might not have had advance warning if he had a set of tire pressure monitoring system.... I would like to think he would have.

Wheels, I'm familiar with the big boom of a rear tire blow out followed by the flapping of the tire against the wheel well. :)

Tonight a question I thought was answered years ago has came up again.

A fellow with a very original German name began a conversation. [he was obviously drawn to me by witnessing the excellent job I was doing regarding one of my work duties :)]

Years ago I worked with a couple of guys that told similar stories about military experiences.

They were from communities that still spoke German and were expected to be unofficial translators when their units were shipped of to Germany. Both of these men said they couldn't understand a word of the language spoken in their ancestors homeland.

This fellow had a similar story as he was from a German Lutheran communinty north of Cape, but he said he had no problem communicating with the Germans where he was stationed in the late '50s.

My only reply was that I can't understand a lot of the English I hear now days. :)

He was able to give many examples of English that has been influenced by German and French post WWII and because of the interaction of soldiers with those languages.

Also, interesting that his tour was extended by the Cuban missle crisis and his comments on that era from an over seas deployment perspective.

Old John,

I remember my uncles with Dutch and German background relating much the same thing fron WW II when I was young. Think some of it had to do with different dialects on the part of the Germans and the mixmash on our part that a couple of generations away from the old country may have turned it into with mixing the languages.

Today those languages are different than they wwere a couple of hundred years ago as well. My Dutch cousin who was here to visit a year and a half ago has helped my understanding of this somewhat. We got into some 1850's era dutch writing and she had some trouble with it... say8ing, some of those words we do not use anymore. Another case, we had a letter written in German pertaining to an ancestor of mine. She told me, I can read German and translate it to English, but I cannot read the old German dialect. I tried a guy from Perryville who said he would try but he was not good on the old dialect. Before he had even started on the letter, my cousin e-mailed a copy of the letter to a friend in Germany that knew the old language as well as the current usage, but she did not know how to translate to English. So the cousin's friend in Germany translated the letter into the current dialect and my cousin then trsnslated it to English for me. All done within 48 hours. She has recently translated a couple of newspaper clippings from a Dutch newspaper from the late 1850's relating to the people who had settled the SE Missouri town I am researching.

Wish I had known I was going to get into with genealogy when I was younger and I would have studied at least German and Dutch.

There are a good number of little German Lutheran towns north of Cape and I think they stuck a little closer to the language of the Fatherland than some did. I know a few of them.

Today there are some translation programs out there that help, some off them worse than others. A good way to test one is to write something and run it trough the translator say to German, then translate it back to English and see if you can make any sense of it.

You know you could write a book on what some of those older folks could tell you. You could get Theorist to help you with the spellig. ;-)

Wheels, I knew a guy that said John Wayne taught him to understand German.

When he was stationed in Germany his unit had no more than the standard military written help with the local language. He said he watched a lot of westerns where Wayne's voice [and others] was dubbed over in German and some were subtitled in German. The church he attended had a regular service followed by the same sermon in English. This fellow was from Peurto Rico so he ended up speaking three languages, good enough German to get by.

I remember my folks laughing about a neighbor that would say things like " I threw the pigs over the fence twice today the slop." :)

The phrase I remember is this,

"By ****, Bobby, throw the cow over the fence some hay now!"

As I understand it, even in the past there was a big difference between 'high dutch' and 'low dutch'.

Age before beauty - a regular visitor to a couple of user forums for the vehicles owned, to see what kinds of issues others have as well as to share my experiences.

Multiple forums are typically out there for a given make and/or model - takes a while to sort through, as some forums are nothing but chuckleheads and flamers, but a few have an interesting and worthwhile information exchange.

Figure it's good to reply on questions I do know about, as building goodwill towards getting answers on any questions I may post.

At any rate, had the opportunity to share experiences about drum brakes with a younger user - younger, as evidenced by his/her writing style and other questions previously posted about fashionable (?) appearance mods.

It's encouraging to see younger folks trying to do repairs themselves. Satisfying in being able to share experiences and to relive my first time with that repair. If 'experience is the result of bad judgement', then I can say plenty of experience has been acquired through the years. :-)

Back when I was taking computer classes - one of the instructors said that half of what we're teaching you today will be obsolete in five years, we just don't know which half.

Much like with MS-DOS, punch cards, RS-232 serial communications and the like - seeing that obsolescence happen a lot with vehicles - perhaps not half, and not within five years, but it's happening. Drum brakes, carburetors, and distributors with points gap-settings all have gone or are going by the way-side.

By the time the post-er puts out a question, they've usually done tore everything apart and are now in a mess, looking for help. Ahhhh, been there, done that, now know better - most times.

Walked him through my thoughts on how to salvage the job. Shared that in the future - good idea to do one side at a time and refer to the other as needed, the key being to remember how you took things apart to know how they goes back together. Make references using a second assembled unit, drawing/sketch, tags and bags, or for the 21st century people - cell phone pics. What may seem trivially obvious on disassembly becomes painfully obscure going the other way.

Maybe I helped along a future shadetree mechanic, or perhaps just helped the user decide that mechanics are not for him.

Theorist, The only German I speak is the common terms for some tasty foods. I have noticed that when watching foriegn movies with the English translation at the bottem of the screen, several words of German, French and Spanish are similar.

````````````

fxpwt, I put new brake pads on the old car and was suprised it only took me an hour including greasing the ball joint fitting that are hard to find with the wheels on.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find it took two days to work the soreness out of my legs. :)

I imagine we will see a lot of parts gone with the struggle to reach the upcoming CAFE standards.

Took Spanish in high school, figuring if I ever did leave the country, my chances of going to a Spanish-speaking country were much better than going to a French-speaking country, as French was the only other elective language course taught. Well, that, and the 'yuck' perception factor with a snooty-patooty, mush-mouth language.

As luck would have it - been to France and Quebec several times each (not by choice, travelling on the company dime and direction), but never yet to any country using the Spanish language. "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all..."

The Spanish lessons did help out quite a bit in Italy (gracias a la Sra. Brice!) - between the two languages being pretty close and the observation that Italians talk about as much with their hands as they do their mouths - got along OK there. Even had that 'Norm' from Cheers thing going at the local pub frequented in Pavia, "Jack Daniels - Kentucky!". Eh, wrong person from the wrong state - but regionally close enough from over there.

Never picked up much German - still chuckle about the exit signs on the Autobahn - "Ausfahrt!", which was translated here to be emissions from one's posterior. I tried to be law-abiding to the extent possible. :-)~

Back to the 'experience is the result of bad judgement' - a lesson learned here.

Whenever the boss sticks his head around the office doorway and asks out-of-the-blue, 'hey fxpwt - you got a passport?' - first wonder what is driving the question, and then respond accordingly.

Getting this sequence out-of-order may result in finding oneself in a timezone and place far, far away within hours. :-)~

Some of these newer safety devices aren't really so new after all. For example, in many areas, the passenger-side air bag has, and will likely continue to be referred to as the ol' lady.

OJ - yes, will have to hand it to the manufacturers - stuff seems to be easier to do. Disc brake pads are so much easier than drums.

Although from a previous rant - the four-bolt wheel bearing assembly on the Impy was easy, but the $180 to buy it each time for three out of the four wheels thus far was a bite in the shorts as compared to the $20 set of traditional wheel bearings requiring grease packing and race-changing that adds a whole nuther level of 'ewww' and 'ouch' to the process.

Did some preventive maintenance on the Impy today - trying to stay ahead of the game now that it's rolled 120K miles, and also to prevent my checkbook from getting too full.

Changed the air filter and cleaned the mass-air flow sensor and butterfly - about $12 for the filter and $7 for the 'special' spray.

What was interesting was that the air filter was dirty, but not terribly so given the 38K miles since the last change. However, the cabin air filter, changed at the same time as the air filter last year, was absolutely filthy with crap built up in the folds.

Don't understand why a simpler cabin filter with a non-essential function costs 50% more than something that protects the engine. Guess where the profit margin is lacking in sales, it gets made up for in price?

Holy cow - forgot how much air the HVAC system could deliver on the 'high' fan setting. I now have that Don King hair-do due to the breeze.

Still hoping for the best on the transmission. Failure rates are high within the forum usergroups I frequent, trying to offset this with frequent fluid changes. The 4T65-E transmission has been termed environmentally-friendly, since it appears to made out of decomposible eggshells and recyclable glass. :-)~

fxpwt, I got to looking back and found the reciept for the last set of brake pads put on the '98 the wife drives. Was right at 80,000 miles and had a lifetime wearout warranty. Oh well, that's $24 I don't have to worry about losing to inflation or some impulse purchase.

I never had much problem with brake shoe installation exept getting the drum off. Sometimes it comes down to "Don't force it, get a bigger hammer!" :)

We are already seeing integrated heads and exaust manifolds eliminating some bolts and gaskets and I suspect accessory drive belts will be eliminated also via electric driven devices. All that big spagetti wiring harnes will be reduced with use of a master remote control to operate windows, locks etc. Spare tires are already being replaced with fix a flat stuff and steering lock and other theft control can be replaced with electronic disable and tracking devices.

Shall we just imagine a plastic enclosure, a dust buster motor and 40 air bags?

I'll stick with the lesson I learned based on what a respected car guy said in '73: 'The piston engine is doomed because there is no improvements left to be made to it.'

Rick - might pose a challenge considering all the alcohol being put in fuel nowadays.

May never even get the car started when using E85.

:-)~

Now I wonder WHY 'adding-comments' MIGHT have been put in place, for this---'idea'?

Could've at least posted his obituary...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E4GmFX3Puo&feature=related

Donk, Reminds me [I don't know why] of a grand dad's heavy wrecker a fellow was showing me one time. It had a differential out of a big truck mounted across behind the cab that wound the cable.

Perhaps expand the focus?

Already have vehicles that can parallel park their own selves. With GPS and mapping technologies, how far away is it until they can drive their own self home?

Put some RFID chips in the speed limit signs so it knows how fast it can go.

Expand on the collision avoidance systems so it knows when safe to proceed and when to stop NOW.

In order to actually drive the car - one would have to pass a qualifying game of Grand Theft Auto or the like on the heads-up display flashed on the windshield. Not just disqualify the impaired drivers, but also the incompetent ones. :-)

Otherwise, artificial intelligence would be in complete control, with the real (?) intelligence relegated to the 'back seat', playing make believe with the controls complete with the Vroom Vroom sound effects.

Dad told me of his younger wilder days when he was too drunk to drive home, the horse wasn't.

After 100 years later technology should be able to match that. :)

I've always said we will see the day cars can't speed. I'm surprised there hasn't been some interaction between cars and mile markers to prevent speeding, but then if the car can't speed how can tickets and fines be imposed.

Look for it coming to a school/construction zone near you.

A different simple puzzle to solve on the integrated information touch screen could prove adequete concentration and clear mind before a car could be started.

Police cars would have to be exempt. :)

Excessive swerving and tailgating could put the car into safe mode.

I figure we ain't seen nothing yet!

OJ: I once made---and very-successfully used!---a wood-splitter that used a Ford 120 hydrostat garden-tractor, and a heavy-truck dolly that was locked in "low-crank".(Still got most of the pieces, too!) Too many details to explain here HOW it worked---but it'd split right-up there with the Troy-Built® models!

As a matter of fact, it was reasonably-safe, to boot, unlike this poor fellas' in the vid.

Somehow, I can see that axe-head he(hopefully!)at least welded on, breaking-loose and---well, we don't really want THAT vid, now, do we?☺

FXPWT: Second ONLY to the game of "Spontaneous-Combustion-Dart", eh???☺

RICK: I've seen a few apparent "prototypes" of such vehicles in the past-month---but so far, they've only been successful in turning them upside-down.

Must need a bit-more tuning done on the gyro-system...???☻

(Sorry, guys---I TRIED to stay-away! But when I saw that even FE-males come and go here? Well, I figgered I'd best come back and 'mark my territory' again, just to be on the 'safe'-side...!☺)

Sounds like the movie, "Demolition Man"!

I used to laugh at that movie---but anymore...???

Never did figger-out how to use the three-sea-shells, though?????????☺

I would have liked to match Donks wood splitter up against the one my old man built. He took a late 70's Toyota Corolla we had in our junkyard that had been wrecked, cut it in half and mounted it to run his big pump and cylinder of the driveshaft like a PTO (late 70's Corolla were still rear wheel drive) I never saw a stick of wood that would even so much cause it to grunt. Also rigged a hydrolic cherry picker with a set of skid tongs to do the heavy lifting. No more wrestling those big blocks up on the splitter.

JOE D.: I, too, adapted an engine-hoist for such. Took the steel-rollers off, replaced 'em with boat-trailer tires on the 'front', or hitch, end, and pneumatic bush-hog swivels on the 'hook-end', so's it'd swivel nicely. All hooked-onto a heavy-duty type garden tractor, w/ball hitch, to move it around.

Matter of fact, I still use it to pull fenceposts, or lift storm damage with.

Plus, it makes a GREAT-"lock-n'-block" for my machine shed, where it still does daily-duty holding the door solid. Looks impressive, too...!!!☺

Somehow, I can see that axe-head he(hopefully!)at least welded on, breaking-loose and---well, we don't really want THAT vid, now, do we?☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Tue, Apr 17, 2012, at 11:29 PM

Wonder what inpired that guy to install that guard to begin with? And it looks like he cannot use it to split wood on Monday's

Here ya go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsPXOxs__k0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmtMv7Cz0HA&feature=fvwrel

Regret, That first one looks just like the one Grandpa had, well not exactly but I'm sure he would have thought of it sooner or later had he lived another 50 years! :)

Donknome2's was more exciting. Just wondering when his Momma discovered her motor was missing off the washing machine.

Wheels, You could mount one of those on the back of your house and do custom wood splitting to pay for the diesel. :)

WHEELS: Guess the "other"-guard was for the safety of any helpers/lookers. OSHA, y' know.☺

If you dare look closer, you'll notice he bolted what appears to be a split-maul head on the wheel first, BEFORE he welded it fast.(And here I am, accusing him of being-lax on safety!)And, he DID put a counter-balance on the opposing-side of the wheel.(Looks like a rock???) I can't imagine WHAT possessed him to use a SPOKED-wheel, though???

(And did you notice the OLD, ORIGINAL, REBUILD-ABLE, spark plug in the Briggs? I'd almost bet it's a Ford/Champion, of days gone by? Yes, I meant CHAMPION---I've got one right-here in front of me. It's shined-up, fixed-up, and for "display purposes only"!☺)

Now I'm gonna go see what REGRET found...

REGRET: First link: DEFINITELY needed, if you're in it for the $money$---or, if you've got a LOT of same just layin' around!☺

Second link: Well, at least the wheel is a lot-heavier, and the motor smooth. And, it DOES actually SPLIT the wood, as opposed to SMASHING-it into submission!

And I thought I'd had an-original idea, 'back-then'!

(P.S. : I've still got the original dolly-jack layin' around here in my 'inventory'. Might make a good-press for corn-squeezin's???)

I mean, hey: Ethanol is THE-thing here, lately...!☺

"SMASHING-it into submission!"

My Dad split wood.... smashing it into submission would better describe my attempts at the job. Whoever said frozen wood splits easier, never tried to "smash" a dead elm tree into pieces small enough to fit in a fireplace. I should have known there was a reason we never messed with the elm trees back on the farm.

I had a friend who said he needed a little firewood... I gave him the whole pile, not split of course. You should have heard some of the things he called me.

PS: Neither of us had more than an axe, a wedge and a sledgehammer to work with. I was a little 'less educated' in those days. Next dead elm tree, I gave away... 'on the hoof'.

Wheels, Not sure if it's anything like the elms in Bollinger County but Henry Ford used the box elm for spokes, maybe because it won't split.

Old John,

Elm is practically indestructable in my opinion. I got one picked out that I am going to hide under in case of a nuclear attack.

OK, who's Wheaties did RICK 'tinkle' in---AGAIN? Kinda miss 'im, in a weird-sort of way.

(sigh) And just when we thought we had his electrodes in the right-places, too...☺!

WHEELS: Yeah, I've done the same-thing to a few-folks who wanted wood---and I was giving it away for FREE, after our ice-storm a couple-years back. The only stipulation was: YOU cut it, and load it. I would, however, pull it into access with a tractor, IF they'd just do the previously-mentioned two.

I never had ONE-taker.

Well, except for the idiot who offered to let ME pay HIM for the 'clean-up'.

Dedicated wood-burners, in-deed...!☺

To check and clean computers, try: www.dcwg.org

-- Posted by Rick.. on Fri, Apr 20, 2012, at 2:55 PM

Nope, it ain't oily or greasy(yet!), but it's a good-link. First I'd heard about it.

And, I'm glad to see RICK.. back---even if he DOES have some new age-spots...!☺

RICK..: S' okay, just as long as we don't hafta pay you any Al-or-Pal-imony.

And unless you've been to Sweden, and PHYSICALLY-changed?

There ain't NO WAY you'll EVER see any Child-Support, either...!☺

(It was HERE, that I thought about a 'crack' at WHEELS-expense---but that's all I did, was think about it!)

Now, where were we???

Rick,

10-4 on the hickory, but easy beside elm.

Your Grandma and my Grandma.... no problem with the wood stove. Most of those old gals could turn out a meal that would make a French Chef green with envy.

Donknome-2,

Go ahead and take a shot, hell everybody else does, you may as well join them. Otherwise we will have to leave it totally up to Common today. ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

WHEELS: I hope not on THIS-channel!☺

This thread so far seems like 'Cheers', where even if we DON'T know your name---you can still sit-down, and "virtually"-enjoy a brew or two...!!!

"In the spring, a young man's fancy turns to ... what young women have been thinking about all winter." Not exactly expected as the opening introduction from the professor of English composition on the first day of class, but it did catch and keep my interest - much like this thread has.

Speaking of spring - been trying to get the car care caught up. Even with the advances in auto finishes - clear coat and the like - still try to get at least one coat of wax per year applied.

Have tried several different types - the liquids, the spray-n-wipes, the pastes, etc. Kind of funny in that the one I like best is the old-school hard paste wax although one having the new protective features.

The spray-n-wipe 'minute wax' just doesn't last, and it seems with the liquids and fluffed pastes - always put too much on which results in a lot of buffing. The hard pastes go on easy enough, and just takes a few swipes to buff it out - if you don't let it sit too long. I suppose there's only so much wax that will stick each time and anything else is extra work.

On the new-school front - just can't beat the home pressure washer. Doesn't do quite the job as a hand wash - but doggone, it's so much quicker and easier. :-)

Hmmm, got to looking - my last post was #429, which gots me thinking - hey, we're in the big block range.

Some that come to mind

409 - Chevy

426 - Chrysler Hemi

427 - Chevy

428 - Ford

429 - Ford

430 - Buick

440 - Chrysler

454 - Chevy

455 - GM other than Chevy

460 - Ford

472 - Cadillac

Did I miss or mis-identify any?

Noticed that one of the D-I-Y car washes was promoting a hand-held dryer feature that offered wind speeds up to 160mph.

Gots me to thinking - hey, I've got a leaf blower that promotes the same air speed. May has to give this a try next time around - sure would beat the fire out of chamois'ing. :-)

An idea perhaps not on the same level as the future Faces-of-Death wood-splitter, but hey, gots to start somewhere.

Rick - been there, done that - get the car all cleaned up for nothing - bird poop, rain, etc. - aaarrrgh!

I'd at least like to think I'm getting smarter. Love the look of dark vehicles - black, dark blue, maroon and so on. But doggone - so difficult to keep them clean. Barely get them washed, and they're dirty again.

Chose to get the Impy in white - man, can almost have mold and mildew growing, and a month's worth of road film on it before it looks bad.

FXPWT: I thought of the same thing, too, when I saw the counter say '409'. But I was afraid I'd look too-desperate!☺ I almost cry nowadays, when they hit me with the liter-crap---I miss the 'old-tyme' C.I.D.-designation. Sounded more---HUGE!!!

I'd wax my cycle, when I still had one.(Only a tank, windscreen, & two-fenders. Learned early-on to NEVER wax the seat, regardless of how pretty it looked!☺) I even waxed the front of my Jeep I had, but only because someone had reworked it with a metallic-maroon, and sealed it with what appeared to be triple clear-coat. And, well, my wifes' little truck, when it was brand-new.

Anymore, we just hit the ol' "hearse" with a water-hose, an' mop the windows with a brush.

And just break-out a fresh-can of grey-primer for the little-truck...!☺

Couldn't stand it!!! I HAD to toss this-one in, before I hit the rack.

For ALL of your auto parts needs.....

http://kalecoauto.com/

Yes, a fella COULD spend all night at the previous-link---but I'm only spending HALF-of it!

The REST would be tomorrow-DAY...!☺

I'm thinking 396 Chev; 383 Chry; 401 Buick; 358 Ford? Cadillac 500cid.

````

When we bought our first house the previous owner left a lot of fireplace wood. About 3/4 of it was ash, the rest hickory. 3 big ash logs and 1 hickory worked out well, the hickory would still be alive in the morning when the ash was all burned up. Also made good hot dog roasting. :)

`````````

I still wash my car once a year. ;) I have a good Fuller truck brush with soft bristles that works well. I sold the pressure washer [that was back when a good one was $300]

The wife's car came with no extra charge the self destruct clear coat thanks to EPA regulations that GM decided to deal with by using the cheap stuff. Not much hope for it except it does meet my tradition of paying premium for cars and selling them for scrap price when there is nothing left.

My uncle from Arkansas had the right idea, always buy a car the same color as the mud you drive through!

A friend of mine years back used Kiwi or Esquire to wax the front end of his black car!

Rick. Back before the odometer laws were enforcable and milage readings were traceable state to state, some real artist were at work.

One car lot I know about always had large, full sized one or two year old cars with 7-15,000 miles.

I worked in the shop at this place and we went through these cars top to bottem as the dealer guaranteed them for a full year bumper to bumper.

The ball joints and tie rod ends were wore out, the carbeurators worn out, etc etc., but the seats, carpet, pedal pads and all the interior were just like barely used.

Those folks in Kentucky were masters at their art. Material from junk yard cars were sewn in to replace torn or worn seat covers and other well matched parts were used to bring the vehicle back to that of a low mileage car.

But looking back, those well built cars were sold and buyers were overall very happy with them for another 100,000 miles. The dealer made enough profit on those cars to go above and beyond his stated warranty and folks came back and bought again.

Going back a bit farther, a lot of guys I knew would make and extra buck driving cars from St. Louis car lots down to Kennett where a less elaborate process took place and then the cars were sold for a down payment equal to what the dealer had invested plus weekly payments for the rest. In those days if the customer was unable to make his weekly payment, he most likely would bring the car back, hand over the keys and come back for it when he had the money to catch up.

"Buy here, pay here"

Rick, My silly brother in law was a myth buster way back.

He was about to trade in his car so he hooked a reversable drill to the speedo cable and let it run all night. For his efforts he took off about 900 miles and burned out a $50 drill. :)

Donk - still having trouble with the 'liter' system too.

The Ford 302 V8 became the 5.0L, however with the true displacement, it should have been called the 4.9L, but then what would the 300 inline six be named?

Then there's the 5.0L Chevy (former 305), 5.0L Ford (former 302), 5.0L AMC (former 304), and even though International Harvester barely made it into the metric age, the 5.0L IH (former 304) - all different motors, but metrically the same.

On the other hand, have the Chrysler 360, the Ford 360 truck motor, and the AMC 360 - so perhaps one shouldn't bark too loudly about the failings of the metric system. :-)~

One thing universal between the two systems - just ain't no replacement for displacement.

Rick - heard that crumpled aluminum foil will do the same thing for chrome bumpers, would be afraid to try it on glass, though.

True, used to be able to roll off miles on the speedo by driving in reverse, but the later models were supposed to have a mechanical lock on the odometer so the miles couldn't go backwards.

Newer cars are getting smarter. The speed actually registers in reverse, rather than just bottoming out the needle below zero. Taking this one step further, would figure that the odometer registers positive miles no matter which direction you're going. :-)

As I hear tell, the computer also has a hard, unresettable flag that sets if one tries to dodge miles by driving with the speedo cable unhooked. Of course, one has to know this, and the tools and know how to look at the flag...

fxpwt, I don't know of any modern cars that still use a speedo cable. Some are simply PM gerneraters on the transmission output shaft that produce an alternating current and the computer translates the signal into distance and speed.

By now they may have that all combined into the ABS and traction control.

Rick, In the old days salvage yards relied on Hollander manuals that listed all the parts that would interchange and fit on different models. It is fasinating to learn many Ford, GM, AMC and Chrysler parts would interchange with one another. Whole assemblies, even engines and transmissions were used in common among brands. [ie '80s five speed gearboxes and turbo chargers]

I'm guessing as you say the suppliers of parts for new cars would not collaspe if one brand was eliminated as has happened many times in the past.

I rode one of the true mo-peds back at school - a fraternity brother had it, and it became the community 'wheels' for the house.

Fun little rascal - ran forever on a tank of gas, could go and could park just about anywhere.

It was shared that I looked like a circus act going on down the road - big ol' me on that lil ol' bike.

The entertainment value for onlookers was kicked up a notch when I forgot to roll the pedals on making a turn. The lowered pedal on the lean-in side of the turn caught pavement, followed by a rather unceremonious smearing of my posterior and all that followed onto the asphalt.

Since the embarassment hurt worse than the road rash - figured I lucked out pretty good.

One of my favorite commercials. Even though the 'green-logic' sucks---I LOVE the 'what-if'-mechanics of it...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn__9hLJKAk&feature=g-lik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cETqTR1JCCI

Just a 'hair' off-subject, but, at 2:01 is when you suddenly figure out what that message on your plastic-ration pack meant, when it says: "Not for in flight/pre flight use." (I learned after my 'maiden'-voyage!) It wasn't this-particular aircraft, of course, but it very-similar, one of God-knows how many "sub-species" that were used.

But in all honesty, I LOVED the sound of a radial-engine, and still would, if I ever get back to feeling like/being able to afford "hittin' the circuits" of air-shows again.(I'm still workin' on gettin' back into the antique-tractor-shows, first!☺)

I was told during Short Take Off & Landing-maneuvers each engine was running at 120%-power, from "staging" to about 45-seconds(?) after clearing the runway, esp. if loaded 'heavy'. (I was always in-awe, of how they 'landed'-supplies into a 'hot'-LZ: They never actually landed, just unloaded "on the fly"---literally!)

Since they are turbocharged, there's always just a leetle-bit more there, at the pilots' discretion, you might say?

Not unlike the command of "throttle-up", that(used to be)heard during our space-shuttle launches.

Man! Hollywood IS gettin' desperate, in-deed...!☺

(Well, of COURSE I had to check it out! And, well, it IS kinda 'dirty', & probably 'greasy'? So, I guess it fits-in, after-all...!☺)

The Cosworth Vega lives on! ☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyhQvbd60rE&feature=fvwp

fxwpT, I bought one of those original mopeds last summer from a guy that said it had been sitting in the barn for a couple of years. I think he used couple as in a couple of beers. Everyone knows a couple of beers is a six pack or two.

Anyway, the '78 Vespa still runs, needs a leaky petcock replaced and the plastic housing for the air cleaner is broken. It is a deluxe model with turn signals and a neat variable speed hub assembly that let's it gear down for hills and go 35mph on the flats. All parts needed to restore it back to the low mileage rig it is are available for about $35. Only one problem, the get up and go required for restoration has got up and gone. So far about all I've managed to accomplish is to let it sit in a nice dry spot for another year!:)

Here's a few-reasons I don't fish:

http://www.wimp.com/classicbloopers

It's just too-much like my normal, everyday routine---FUBAR, y' know.....!☺

Donk, These guys are the professionals but boy they're slow!

http://blog.1aauto.com/2012/04/24/9-days-of-body-work-in-9-minutes/?utm_source=c...

Hmmm, never thought I'd ever be relieved to the point of rational exuberence seeing the days when gas reached $3.50. The ol' Jeep now has burned fuel ranging from $0.579 up to $3.749 during its lifetime, ranging from about a $6 fill-up up to about $40.

Then got to wondering whether ethanol was ever introduced, given the current Missouri law mandating E10 must be sold unless regular unleaded is cheaper. Given the wholesale price of gas given $2.97 / gallon here - www.oilnergy.com, and the futures price of ethanol at $2.17 / gallon here - http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/ethanol/cbot-ethanol.html - eh, another thing that makes me go, 'hmmm'. As with the past inspections - the flex-fuel Impy is still showing 0% alcohol calculated. Eh, well, given the luck I've had with the rest of the car (gloom, despair, and agony on me - wah-ohhhhh, as sung by the HeeHaw quartet), willing to concede that its calculator may be fritzed.

This week's Ride of the Week - http://www.semissourian.com/story/1836094.html - gots me to remembering a time when dad went to license the ol' '48 Dodge and inquired about the historical tags, as it had just become 'of age'. The license bureau lady explained that the tag was only for 'parades, car shows, and special occasions'. Dad replied, 'shucks, every time I drive it, it's a special occasion'. The license bureau lady gave him a look equivalent to the Family Feud's 'errrrrrrrrrnt'.

When I moved back from Kentucky - went to get new tags on the Jeep. The license bureau ladies had a chuckle in that I had moved from Kentucky to Missouri, and had rented a house on the corner of Kentucky and Missouri streets. Going further, she asked what kind of tag did I want. Apparently, Jeeps were one of the original crossover vehicles that had no definitive home in the registry - as a listing of then-currently licensed MO Jeeps had some tagged as passenger cars and others as trucks. Being the ever-cheap buzzard, or in politically correct circles, a frugal and thrifty type - I inquired as to which was cheaper. Odd that the 4- and 6-cyl Jeeps were cheaper to license as a passenger vehicle, but the 8-cyl was cheaper as a truck. So, a BL6 tag it is. :-)

fxwpt, My neighbors bought a new Enclave 2010 and made a trip to Branson running on E10 (or was it E8 maybe?] and said the way the mpg dropped it figured to cost more than regular gasoline.

````

I remember some of my gearhead buddies saying Missouri allowed a certian amount of pleasure miles on historic tags. One would have to keep a log to seperate parade and car show milage. The trooper that was in our group said it wasn't a high priority as far as enforcement goes.

```

Some business associates in Illinois said they always bought under weight tags because you pay 3 fines for the price difference of the heavier tags. Not being commercial rigs required to stop at weigh scales and seldom on roads that had scales, only one reported getting caught. In Missouri my rig was always at or just over the 12,000 tag it wore and the only time I was questioned was at a routine random road block. The guy couldn't find the GVW tag and I played ignorant to where it was [hid behind some custom interior] and without a tag showing how heavy it was designed to be I convinced him it was a one ton chassis and no way it could be over 12,000 lbs.

OJ: Dunno how I missed your post on Saturday? Actually now that I think of it, I may not have even READ the paper that day?

I DO remember over-doing things a bit that day, beatin' a REAR-tire back-on the rim of an old '45 Case 'Victory-Tractor'. After that, I was pretty-much "out of it" later in the evening.

(Doctor was right on Monday, when he suggested I leave the tire-beating to the younger-enthusiasts---after which I told him: "Those-types are gettin' hard to find, especially as they(read, WE!)get older!"☺)

Yeah, I may have bruised-up my insides a bit---but, by golly, I still have my PRIDE-intact!!!☺

A shame I can't show "live"-pics. Puttin' a double-boot in an ORIGINAL-60-plus year old tire is no small-accomplishment.

One might say that I "---employed some rather clandestine-methods.."---, of keeping it in-place, as the self-vulcanizing glue took-'root'...!☺

Donk, Brings up a question: How come we still see some of those WWII military rigs running around in parades and such with the original tires and the tires on my car wear out every couple of years?

Same thing for batteries. I remember my buddy saying it was a real coincedence that his '55 Chevy grain truck battery died 10 years to the day he bought the truck.

I had a valve stem leaking on the truck a couple of years back and had a new stem among the junk bucket. Figured what the hey, I'll just run down to the tire store and let them do it. That $17 charge led to my decision to change my trailer tire myself. I got lucky and was able to break it down with the back hoe bucket and the new tire seated and aired right up.

Had one of those old manually operated Ammco tire changers I bought for $50. A buddy offered me $100 for it and I thought I was a wise man for the $50 profit. Later I figure he was a wise guy for talking me out of it!:)

Good-question, OJ. I think the "real-originals" were made of RAYON, as opposed to NYLON---but still, rayon is supposedly more vulnerable to rot? Maybe it's that universal tread-pattern, where the non-directional lugs(seem like they are)☺ already six-inches deep---and they just "smooth-down", as opposed to wearing-out?

Ohh, the ol' manual AMMCO. Made men out of boys, and nurses out of their women!☺

IF by some chance you might be interested, here's a link to an alternative tool, that actually works quite-well, and easily, once you get the "hang" of it. I bought the "parent" to this very-same tool, about 12-years ago now. It wasn't---still isn't!---cheap, but, by gar, it WORKS as advertised! And, with relative-ease---really!

(Nope, it was the sudden-"ping" of the tire-iron popping-out of the bead/rim, that caused me to stumble-into the axle-staub, which caught me just-under the right-ribcage. Can't blame it on the "de-beader"!)

Originally invented by an-Australian, Doug Sims, for use in the Aussie-wheatfields...

http://www.gemplers.com/product/145883/Tire-Bead-Breaker-Manual

D' ya realize that---barring any unforeseen-circumstances---in another couple-months, this thread will have lasted ONE FULL YEAR.

Amazing how 'neat' it is, that we "Adults-In-Age-Only" can still enjoy sharing our past/present "younger"-days.

And STILL not care, nor worry, about who the hell the OTHER-guy/gal really is, after all?

(And, I don't THINK we've even bothered to threaten each other here yet?☺)

And that's the way I LIKE this-version of "our"-little Twilight-Zone.....!☺

Recently read a story in one of the old folk's magazines. A fellow was fixing to cross a little stream in the backwoods about 10' wide but a couple of feet deep. He rolled up his pant legs tossed his shoes and socks across. About that time he heard the distinct sound of a jet plane and this was a time when jet planes were something special to see. As he stood there with his eyes focused on the part of the sky that wasn't obstructed by the trees, waiting to get a glimpse of a newfangled jet, he realized the noise was the rush of water from an upstream storm.

Had a heck of time explaining why he came home bare footed!:)

Perhaps a bit off-topic, but have been subscribing to the hard-copy version of this magazine - http://www.reminisce.com/ - for the better part of the past 20 years, starting back in the times when the bragging rights of having a web presence applied pretty much only to spiders.

Have noticed the change in photos and articles over the 20 years, the transition from relating to stuff I'd only heard my parents and grandparents talk about, to stuff I remember first-hand.

Ah, well - growing older is still much better than the alternative. :-)

FX

My mom get Reminisce. I read them a lot but she doesn't miss a page.

For me, the quotes in the sidebars are in itself worth the subscription price. 'Name that Car' calls to service brain cells long ago put in storage. Just a 'feel-good' (for me) reading magazine.

"(And, I don't THINK we've even bothered to threaten each other here yet?☺)"

Donknome2,

If you don't quit telling all of those great stories about days gone by, and causing others to do the same... all the while making me remember how old I am, probably others too, we're going to threaten you. Some of us may even challenge you to a duel.... say wet noodles at 10 paces? ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

Just pulling your leg... keep it going.

Good Ole Days is another publication and I think one is called Looking Back.

I plaggeratize some of my best stories from some of those articals!:)

Hmmm!

Plaggerization to a new level. What will the monitor think?

Plaggerize. OJ uses the same-dixionery I does sometimes.☺

Then I guess 'plaggeratize' is when you 'plagger the hell-outta it' den, eh?

And, WHEELS: Of COURSE I'll continue---at least, til I kick-off.

And I'd think it best if I DIDN'T continue to update and be 'heard', AFTER such occurrence...!☺

Plagiarism may be 'bad', so just rebrand it to a more favorable term.

IIRC, the music industry was big on a thing called sampling, where a track or rhythm beat from a previously popular song is inserted into a new song. Yeah, that's the ticket - sampling.

See that 'sampling' going on a lot with vehicles - someone will come up with a selling design, and others rush to copy - like the current rage of sedans with a rear quarter window and a fastback look.

Then there's retro, where today's Camaro, Challenger, and Mustang look pretty much like their late 60s / early 70s models - can't really call it plagiarism if you're sampling your own stuff.

If I state that 'imitation is the most sincere form of compliment', can I be accused of plagiarism?

Robert,

I like that... I have to think about that for a while.

Remembering the old cars like some Studebakers and even the '50 Ford that had the look of a cone lopped off at the point with a chrome bezel to immitate the the nose of a fighter plane, I think I see a pattern emerging in new cars. Subaru and a few others have sampled this into their new models. With aerodynamics such a factor there is not much room for identity in style today.

We can easily estimate the year model of mid '50s thru '80s cars and trucks by the grill, bold in the '50s to finer in 69-70 where it starts getting bolder again ending in '85. The first modern styling of the Riviera [78 or 79] and the last of that body style show a full circle of styling changes. The last of that body style looked very similar to the first.

But ahh the days when you could recognize the make of a car dang near a quarter mile away!

Heh, yeah OJ---I concur, to use a 'fancy'-word.☺

And, after seeing what I THINK was a new-Ford Probe yesterday, I must say that I consider the models'-design to be aptly-named, in-deed!

Just IMO, Ford screwed-up by discontinuing the Crown-Vick, especially for Police-Interceptor/Taxi-usage.

(Not sure about recent, but they used to be made 'in the same mold'---literally. Saw a lot of Crown-Vicky cabs with a 'Police Interceptor'-tag on the trunk-lid in the '80's, that used the xtra-hd suspension, and---was it a 460-c.i., coupled to a Ford C-4(?) tranny?) And, ALWAYS rear-wheel drive.

A lot more affordable for fleet-usage, even if they were a whole 10-maybe-15-mph slower than the Dodge Chargers. As for Chevy? The only place I've seen any Interceptors from them recently was in Metro St. Lou. But then again, I don't get around as much as I once did, so, maybe someone can correct me on that?

Always LOVED the tough-lookin' "black-out" appearance of the Commercial-Duty equipment.

Even as a kid, I had to lose those wheel-covers, paint the rims black, and let my nuts-show!☺

(Yes, I wrote it that way 'on-porpoise'.)

After all, if you can't be humerous??? Then go break an arm!

HAH!!! I just kill-me sometimes.....!!!☺

Donk, About that black-out thing. I decided long ago that city police cars should all be black and whites, county sherif cars should wear full side decal stripage and Highway Patrol cars should be just as they are. But like Rodney Dangerfield, I get no respect at all!

Once had a 60 Ford spotted sitting in a barn and had a hankering to paint it up black and white. My cousin got to it first, sold the contenintal kit and engine for 10 times what he paid for it and had it crushed before I knew was gone.

One car that always looked like a down to earth practical design to me is the old Checker cabs. I wonder, are they still in use much?

OJ: Oh, Lord, did you ever strike "a target"! Indeed, the Checker-cab. They defined the term "tough" to a new-level!

I'm sure a fella could still find one, IF he really wanted to torture-himself in it.☺ Didn't dent easily, and if they did---who'd notice? And, simple was an-understatement. Came in a choice of colors: Yellow or White, w/the "checkers", of course. Also had 4 wheels, A-steering wheel, and at least TWO-functional brakes at any given time. Honestly sounded/rode NOT UNLIKE the "Ontos", made by Allis-Chalmers, for the Marine Corps units of the time---even though the 'Ont' had TRACKS☺.(Not surprising, since they BOTH used a similar-engine. Early-models a slant-six Chrysler, and towards the end, a 318(?)V-8 of the same-make.)

I remember one Checker in-particular from the early-'70's, when Kelley was THE-cab in Cape. It was yellow, sounded like what MIGHT have been either an in-line six, or a big-displacement four, coupled to an auto-tranny that was either a TWO-speed 'glide locked into LOW---or a SINGLE-speed of some-sort, with A-neutral, and A-reverse. And, a round-thing in the rear-floorboard that was nice and WARM. By it's shape/size, it was either a heater---or an egg-brooder?☺ Either way, I was GLAD to have it in the way of my feet/legs at the time!

Glaze-ice on the streets, a driver who had NO-fear of possible-pain(but he was GOOD, and knew all the correct-"moves", when it came to driving-skills!) Had it out-fitted with studded-tires, w/baloney-skins on the front. Went right-on UP the old-Lacey St. of the time---even if it was sideways. And backwards-uphill. Slithered to a stop at the hospital---and then cussed because he'd forgotten to trip his meter at the start! It was about then I'd discovered I had maybe three-bucks w/change, and a half-pack of Marboros. And he was "good" with the fare, a really fair-minded guy. He even gave me ONE-cig in return, for what he laughingly-called "nerve-tonic"! Good-fella all-around, even if he did seem a bit-'shady', at first!

I wouldn't have missed that ride for the world! I KNEW I was home-again, after-that...!

Donk, There you went again and got me curious! I think I remember my first taxi ride was in a Checker, but that was a while back. The only thing I thought I knew was from the movies and it sure looked like a timeless design with a a lot of rear seat room and a big trunk.

The google sent me to Wiki and a couple of long winded sites. Now that I think about it, dang things do look like '50s Russian advanced technology. But they did keep up being first up to add seat belts and other saftey features.

I had mentioned parts interchanging between major manufactures before. Checker used parts from everyone and made parts for a lot of them.

OJ: I forgot to mention the super-luxurious interior, upholstery which was to die for---or rather, LOOKED-like someone/thing HAD-died on, and that trademark(lack of)exterior-trim.

I think they must've been built in the same-generic mold as the older, original UPS-route trucks, as in: "We dare you to wear one out!"

It took me longer than I care to admit, to discover that REO-military deuce-n'-a-halfs, as well as their heavier "civilian" counterparts, were in reality OLDSMOBILES!

Sure didn't drive---or, ride!---like that one-liner ad would proclaim: "...it isn't your fathers' Oldsmobile..."!

Donk, I'd like to hear more about: "It took me longer than I care to admit, to discover that REO-military deuce-n'-a-halfs, as well as their heavier "civilian" counterparts, were in reality OLDSMOBILES!"

I notice the paper has that ride of the month feature. I'm thinking a ride of the past feature might be more interesting than what I've seen recently in that offering. :)

Boy could we give them some material! Just thinking about all the so called classics I've owned and sold for junk!

One comes to mind. I traded a motorcycle for a '67 T-bird with a fender crumpled. The thing was low milege, perfect interior and the engine and compartment cleaned up like new. Trouble was, no replacement fender was available. Ford had quit supplying and there were no after market suppliers back then. I found a salvage yard tucked away within the hollows of Bollinger County that had the same car, but wouldn't you know that with my luck the same fender was damaged. The salvage yard owner was an enterprising guy and we took the fenders off both cars and made one!

After finishing out the fender I had a great car only lacking good tires and exaust repair.

Those were the days when I seldom had two dimes to rub together and I ended up selling it to a cousin for a profit.

I'm sure that T-Bird had to have been a gas hog, but talk about a smooth ride. A slightly heavy foot from a dead stop and the speedo would indicate the kind of speed that would get you a ticket without any awareness of the acceleration. One heck of a mushy torgue converter!

Old John,

I had a 67 or 69 T-Bird, cannot remember which right now, then bought a 71 repo, both were 4 doors with the rear suicide doors. They were good riding autos. The 71 was a dent collector. All but one of the fenders was crumpled while I owned it and I never caused one of them. One of them was when a guy in a 4-wheel drive pickup stopped in traffic ahead of me threw it in reverse so he could make a u-turn and find another way instead of waiting. I had owned it about a month at that time and boy was I sick. Good thing when were turning to the left or he would have wiped out the whole front end, instead of the just left fender.

The more I think bout it, I'm pretty sure the first one was a 67, a red one with a black top I think. Don't know why I don't remember that car better. I have a picture of it somewhere.

OJ: A-"Ride From The Past"-feature!!! OH, that would be "da-berries", now, wouldn't it?☺ But, I don't think the Editor or his staff would go for it: Way-too "retro" for the majority of their readers both on-line/in-print, I'm sure?(Looking for them to figuratively-"slam the door" on these forums, if they don't start leaning-away from the "Topix-slant" pretty-soon?) But I hope not!

Anyway, as for REO/Olds? It just never occurred to me that---as obvious as it was---the moniker of Diamond-REO, and many other variants, stood for the initials of Mr. R.E. Olds, whose company in it's infancy actually made R.E. Olds-trucks, long-before the Olds-"mobile"-auto ever came about!

And again, as far as the "Ride Of The Past"-feature? I believe we could keep 'em in material, and best of all---it'd be(basically!)truthful, dependent upon our memory-recall!(☺)

But it seems that political-rhetoric is what "draws the hits" in this case.

Personally, I don't like a Dem, a Rep, an-Ind, or ANY-B-I-N-G-O-political "hacks".

But it seems they are a "necessary-evil", when it comes-down to the "brass-tacks": Can't live/die with 'em, nor without them...☺

And, WHEELS-here just reminded me: Most people associate the "T-Bird" with compact, short wheelbase-convertibles. They weren't ALL-necessarily so!

Now, to be honest: As for the CORVETTE? I never did really "warm-up to" the Stingray-body style---but, I simply adored the early-models, that had it's "eyes"-open always, and didn't look like somethin' from "Lost In Space"...!☺

(And I don't know WHAT-kind of combo the MONZA-was? Kinda like an-emaciated Stingray, with all of the CORVAIR's-engineering???)

And, OJ: In quick-passing here: Isn't it amazing how a full-90 percent of our "death-defying escapades" centered-around the(non)-workings of our BRAKES, STEERING, or SMOKE with/without visible FLAMES...???☺

Wheels, The upholstry of that car was of good quality, a heavy vinyl or something.

Unlike other cars of the era, the engine and under hood paint of those old Fords could be cleaned with a little solvent and would come out looking new. I've always enjoyed a lot of effort in such when the results were worthwhile.

Oh, and my cousin was and is an accomplished trader. Somehow he turned that old car into his first new pick-up!

Another story, One of my best friends bought a new retractable hardtop. Now this guy is a neat freak, everything he owns is always maintained to the max and looks like new. Anyway after he had had the thing about 70'000 miles [enough years for twice that] a car dealer tried to buy it. He refused all $ offers and finally agreed to trade it for a brand new car.

Last time we talked he had big time remorse over that decision. Kind of like me and the T-Bird! :)

Donk, Got to thinking and recall those long finned and other vehicles with tail lamp lenses were the first to teach a pocket book lesson about when to stop backing up. Many of todays cars look as if they could teach that same lesson in a very costly way. And what were they thinking when spare tires were hung on a nearly all glass $1,000+ lift gate?

`````````

In checking the recent posts on other threads, I wonder if there is a new energy drink called "Forum Juice". :)

Retractable hardtops... I had a friend who bought an old Lincoln with a retractable that didn't. Do not remember the year but he and I adjusted microswitches and checked circuits until we got it working. He kept it for awhile and finally traded for somehting else that didn't work. He did not seem to be able to deal with anything that worked properly.

Wheels, Those retractables were doomed to the Tucker syndrome, to far ahead of their time. Vaccum over electic and vise-versa plus other demands made a good idea just too unrealistic.

The Edsel incorporated a crazy idea; electric solenoids to make the transmission shift, almost as silly as a car with a clutch in front of a torque converter and manual gear box. [Remember those, you could come to a stop without clutching.]

Today we have some high end sports cars with retractable hard tops that work flawlessly. And those crazy transmission ideas are the basis for most all of todays automatics.

This also reminds me that front wheel drive and the Repza joint, forerunner of the constant velocity [CV] joint was an idea tried and failed long before the practical materials were invented to make it work.

Oh, and about those old Lincolns: if you got that part to work you could start on the climate control. :)

Old John,

Yes I remember those old Chrysler Fluid Drive products. I worked for my brother-in-law once and he sold appliances. I was doing service work. He traded a used refrigerator for an old DeSoto with just what you were talking about. He said use that thing to run service in for awhile. It had a huge trunk and using the backseat for a truck was no problem. It was hard to damage anything. Two positions on the gear shift up where second should be and down where high should be. And reverse was not impossible to go into without clutching. It was a decent riding old boat but not exactly a rubber burner with that old flat head six in it.

Once when I pulled up behind one of those things at a stop and watched the guy shove it up to the lowest position, or so he thought. It was slightly up hill and when he slipped his foot off the brake and gave it hell taking off I dang near got whiplash. Only thing I can tell you, it was a good thing they put bumpers on those cars. If it had been a current model there would have been plastic all over the street.

SIOUX.: Wonder how long that technology would "survive", in, say, E. St Lou?(Probably would have the destination entered as, "DATA-Not-Available!"☺)

Or maybe try it on St. Louis-City'-METROLINK?

Reminds me of a movie, with a robotic-driver. Had pre-set parameters, and wasn't driving fast-enough for a getaway, so---was it Schwarzenegger?---pulled-him from behind the wheel, wires, speakers and all, and chunked-him in the passenger-seat while HE took-over the driving?

Could have been Gibson, of a "Road-Warrior"-spinoff? I would suggest Bruce Willis, but I don't see it as his sort of "humor"?

Of course, we had Stallone in the "instantaneous-fill-with-styrofoam"-car, with Bullock.

Man, I would be praying for a collision, dude...!!!☺

Better hope one of those self driving cars never ends up in Hazzard county. Those Duke boys always seemed to be coming up on a "bridge out" sign. Not sure if a self driving Prius could hit the dirt pile and clear the creek like the General Lee.

JOE: Heh, just like the old-Bugs Bunny cartoon, where the bomber-pilot pushes the button labeled, "Auto-Pilot". Little-electronic 'stick-figure' robot pops-out, takes a look out of the cockpit---and grabs a 'chute an' JUMPS!

So, obviously, we can trust TODAYS' technology to be far-superior, eh---right??? ☺

Anyone remember when the latest fad was to weld one bicycle frame on top the other to make a high rider? A buddy did that and swapped some sprockets around. The thing was geared to high to peddle normally so I pulled him with a rope attached to the motorbike. Got up to the top speed of the motorbike [35mph] and he started to peddle and passed me right up. To bad he neglected to think about hooking the brakes up to the lower part!

This the guy that put the disc spool in a piece of well casing atop of a bunch of M-80's and sent 5# of steel straight up. We learned a lot about physics on our own back then.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/05/19/disappearing-carsthe-automotive-threat...

The idea explored here could apply to a lot stuff not only cars. Seems to me there was a time when dang near every other car on the road was a white 57-59 Ford.

OJ: There, you see? If he hadn't had all of his Government-mandated safety equipment on---helmet, gloves, steel-shank riding shoes, knee & groin pads? Why, the outcome wouldn't have been so-funny!

Oops. My-bad. That was back when WE were "Real"-kids---at 13, you were already 18, "street-wise". The only "sue" most of our parents' knew was the name of the RN at the family-doctors' office, as-opposed to a LAWYERS-practice.☺

Good-thing Joey Chitwood & Hal Needham were born "in the OLD-days". Otherwise, ONE-particular year at the SEMO-Fair would've been "dull as a froe".

(I, myself, didn't think froes' were all-that dull---but then again---Mom was always-right, IF you wanted to continue to steal cooked bones from her ham and/or beans-recipe.)

I would've been a champion "bone-marrow-sucker", except the master of the technique was my Dad.

And, there was an art to it, indeed, lest you choke-yourself---and therefore, bringing shame upon you, and being "banned from the bone" for at least a week...!☺

Huh, the only Monza I recall must've been an early/mid '60's-version, as it had the "Vette-style" sloped-nose, and an air-cooled "flat-six" in the rear, ala-Corvair?

"dull as a froe"

Donknome2,

Do you know what a froe is? If so, don't tell anybody else and see how many of them know what it is. If all that really knows won't tell we can have the others guess at it.

Ferget it... I just checked google and there are several explanations on what they are and what they do.

I'm off to see if they have a picture of a left handed monkey wrench on Google.

Wheels,

I have a couple of frows somewhere in the back of the shed if you are wanting to relive your younger days. Doubt I can find the "wackin stick" granny used to bust kindlin to go with it though.

Side note: This post is the first time I have ever seen the name of the tool spelled out. I always assumed it ended with a W so thats how I'm gonna spell it. The E looks to uppity for me:)

I would be lucky if they actually drop all the way through. Mine always seem to disappear into a black hole located somewhere above the frame rails or beneath a rats nest of hoses and wires.

WHEELS: Well, the "Google-Version" didn't match the description my Mom gave me. Moms'-version was more of a "hoe", than a "froe".(Believe it or not, I did NOT rhyme that intentionally!)Dad compared it more to a "footed-bead-breaker"---which, according to him---would've been more-accurately described as a "beaded-foot-breaker".☺ So, now I'm not sure if I know, or not, since what "Wiki"-shows is yet-ANOTHER-"animal", to me?

By the way, WHEELS: You DO-have an-Officially Licensed "Round-Tuit" in your possession, don't you? If not, here's where you can find 'em---as well as that rare left-handed monkey wrench!

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=7

SIOUX: That's where a magnet-grabber, and a curious-wife, come in handy for me...!☺

Oh, and JOE D.: I's gotta spell it with an-"uppity" flair, since I's lives on the CAPE-county side, of the BOLLINGER-county line.

We duz thangs difrunt o'er an' up-hear, 'cuz we's-all smarter.

Even though ah gotta ad-mit: Bollinger-County has a LOT-better quality of "Throwin' Rocks".

God hisself couldn't-of made 'em better for such...!☺

My father in law took the car to the dealership when the AC quit. It had worked fine for 10 years after being fixed once during the warrany period.

The mechanic said it was obvious what what wrong, some stupid duffis left a wrench between the frame and condenser causing a hole rubbed through.

A ways into the repair he got to the wrench, looked at the marking on it and said "Well I guess I'm a stupid duffis!" :)

Anyone know what a kilson wrench is ?

-- Posted by Sioux. on Tue, May 22, 2012, at 1:10 PM

I think it is the tool needed to change the blinker fluid on your car if I remember right.

The extendable magnet - looks like an old-school car antenna - is one of the most used tools in my box. Nothing like that feeling when poking around to hear that 'tic' when the magnet grabs the elusive ferrous item. Doesn't work so well on plastic items :-)~

I was thinking the kilson wrench was the tool needed to thread the firing line used to bind the cannon report.

Hmmmm, or is it the tool used to remove the cap from the bottles of thinking fluid - a restricted-use lubricant available at many retailers, but requiring a photo ID or grey hair to purchase.

We once joked about changing air in the tires and now people actually pay to have it done! Look for the green valve stem caps. :)

I love those Chinese wrenches - never twist a bolt off because the wrench breaks first. Just has to be sure to have lots of Band-Aids to catch new-found leaks of knuckle fluid.

OJ: Yeah, it's Nitrogen now, isn't it? Yes, yes---of COURSE it's "Being-Green"---just look at all the dollar-$ign$ involved.☺ Geez, just "plain"-air is, what? About 10-cents per minute?

SIOUX: About the magnet NOT working on foreign-made tools: You gotta take the magnet loose, an' turn it a full 180-degrees to the left, an' re-insert. Some of 'em were made for use in Australia, ONLY.☺

FXPWT: Is there some kinda solvent for this thinking-fluid? I mean, I'd be nice on my head, I guess? But I left it in my rear-pocket, an' sat on it, instead!

(But at least it broke on my-RIGHT-side, instead of the LEFT. Well, that, and anything in the middle would be, umm---"Indie"...????????☺

GAWD, I wish we could upload limited-graphics of some-sort: I've got a drawer-full of "hand-made-by-Grandpa-while-hung-over"-hand tools that one would KILL-for!☺

They weren't/aren't for left OR right-handed use: They're used with/for BOTH-hands...!☺

Chinese wrenches, eh?

Bet they're GLOBEMASTER-brand, ain't they?

(Man!!! How long does it take for this "Thinking-Fluid" to run it's course, anyway?)

To quote Yosemite Sam: "SHADDUP! Ah'm a-thinkin'! An' mah hed herts!!!"

Joe,

If you are looking to market those two froes you have in the back of your shed..... I ain't interested. They require too much manual labor.

And if I am not mistaken, the original purpose of the froe was for splitting shingles for roofing. At least that is what I remember my Dad telling me. And I heard him use the 'Dull as a froe' phrase many times... right before the file came out.

Donknome2,

I have 2 round tuits, but foregot where I put thenm. I will look for them if I ever get around to it.

I've heard of a 'stillson wrench', which is a type of pipe wrench, but never heard of a 'kilson wrench'.

WHEELS: Mom always compared them(dull-froes)to somethin' else she'd call a "Grubbing-hoe"?

I'd hide when I heard such language, since grubbin' hoe sounded awful-close to "tater-fork"!☺

Donknome2

We had a 'grubbin hoe' also. We both must have grown up rich.... what do you think?

Did you have any whatchmacallits where you grew up?

WHEELS: By the hundreds! And, just like Dr. Seuss, with his "Thing-1" and "Thing-2", I'd 'designate' them "Whatchamacallit-1", "W-2", "W-3"---up 'til at least 10, whereupon I'd switch "brands", an' go with a version similar to SIOUX's-"thingamabobs".☺

Matter of fact, I still have that original grubbin'-hoe. Handle is turned-grey, from non-use.☺

And it's STILL "dull-as-a-froe"......!

Unfortunately, I still have the occasion to make use of that 'grubbin-hoe'. There are times when it is the best tool for the job!

Unfortunately, I still have the occasion to make use of that 'grubbin-hoe'. There are times when it is the best tool for the job!

I always wondered why the business end of the grubbin hoe was not fixed solid to the handle. Was there a use for it reversed?

Perhaps it allowed the handle to be used as a club by those of us who are no so highly evolved?

Best decision of the day! Of course, I have NEVER had a day like that............that I will admit to.

Doggone, when I first read the chatter about the grubbin hoe - thought someone was fixin' to talk unfavorably about an ex... :-)~

"And one flatbed Ford truck . They all looked brand new."

Would have paid admission to have seen that. I was told by a friend in Wisconsin where a 41 Ford Coupe like I traded in for $50 (yes I know, but I only gave a $100 for it a couple of years earlier) was located. Was going to call him back and get details but I am afraid it will end up costing me money.

Sioux,

You need to wear a hard hat when you work. Not that it would keep you from setting yourself on fire, but it might protect you somewhat from Buicks that throw screwdrivers.

Sioux,

:-) :-)

It is good, that you can laugh at yourself... cause it doesn't matter if or not you do, others will in a case like that.

I appreciate that in a person as I think people as a whole take themselves way too seriously.

An example of taking oneself too seriously comes to mind.... Once many years ago, I was called to look at a commercial rooftop unit on a bowling alley. When I get there, I was made aware that someone else had been working on it and could not diagnose the problem. In less than 15 minutes I had found the problem.... not because I was so damned smart, but because the other guy was not very sharp apparently. It was nothing complicated at all.

Anyway, the guy who had called me and I were discussing the needed repair when here comes service man #1, and he isn't real pleased that I was there, but wants to know what was wrong. We told him and his words were... well, I guess I could have made a mistake, but it has been SOOOO LONG since I made a mistake... with a lot of empahsis on the so long.

I turned around to hear what the punch line was going to be, and boy was I glad I had not laughted at what I thought was his way of being funny, he was not being funny, he was dead serious. He would have probably thrown me off the roof if I had laughed.

Taking yourself that seriously could cause serious repercussions in a real crisis.

I can't recall the last time I made a mistake...............It is not that my mistakes are so rare........Rather, my memory is short and convenient!

Sioux and Robert,

It gets better as you get older. You wake up in a brand new world each day.

There is a certain talent required to grow old. Many never develop that ability.

Robert,

Given good health and you don't hit a 'bridge abutement' in your travels, we are all going to get there eventually and we may as well accept it, because try as we might, we cannot borrow back any time. Heard that drinking a beer in the Flora Bama from a Crooner sitting on his stool and strumming his guitar.

You people have no clue. I'll tell you a real story soon as I get a round tuit. I ordered the thing three weeks ago, probably lost in the mail.

Wheels, Knock off the talk about hittng a bridge abuttment, you'll cause me to drive the long way and that poses more risk to fellow motorist!

I was gonna give OJ a comeback on the "reversible"-head of a grubbin' hoe/fro/D'-Oh!---but I got side-tracked when I went to clean-up, after I sprayed milk all-over myself.☺ But, with that having been said: I think ROBERT probably summed-it up best? Other than a "Quick-Change"-feature for a "sharper-than-a-froe"-head, instead?

SIOUX: Yep, there was a "fine-art" to that method of belt-replacement. Probably a GOOD-thing that todays' youth not listen to their "wiser-elders". But then again, they will be the ones stranded in the middle of an-apocalypse, with a BELT---and only for-want of a lousy bent screwdriver!☺

WHEELS: I literally hate people who are NEVER-wrong. Never is, nor will there ever be, a bigger-waste of oxygen and time-spent trying to help. IF you're human, you WILL make mistakes, and hopefully learn from them. But the "never-wrong-perfect" group never does, nor wants to.

And OJ: It took me almost 6-months to get MY-round-tuit delivered. But, at least it's here, still hanging on the shop-wall, in it's original-packaging...!☺

donk, I have a fanblade wrench stamped with a warning: "Do Not Use With Engine Running". :)

Round-to-its seem to be in great demand but short supply. I am still waiting for mine. The wait bothers my wife more than it does me.

OJ: Equally-scary is the fact that it's even stamped on there as a warning! Kinda like the "Blades-Rotate-Quickly, When Motor Is Running!" Well---DUH-H-H..!☺

SIOUX: As a probie years ago, one of the foundry-bosses sent me for a "key-stretcher", for railcar-couplers. He described such, and told me just where to find it. HA-HA! LOL!!!

Well, except for the fact that I actually FOUND-something that matched his description. He looks at me, at the tool, and then at the Plant-Super, who just bluntly told him: "WELL??? You got 'em, now USE-'em,___-____!"(insert derogatory term, here) My-'victim' was yet ANOTHER-one of those "never-wrong" people, so, he couldn't DENY they were there...???

ROBERT: Call Customer Service, IF you can get them to answer the phone! Have them look-into the matter, eventually they'll trace it for you.☺

Just like the police report, on damage that caused a hole to develop in the fence of a local nudist-colony: They're looking-into the matter, and checking it out, as we 'speak'......!

"WHEELS: I literally hate people who are NEVER-wrong."

Donknome2,

I am rarely ever wrong before 8:00am as I am usually either not up yet or... not up long enough to screw something up yet.

Wheels, I slept til 7:00 and that must have been wrong for most everything I did today was wrong. I decided to drive down hwy 25 and see a buddy and stop in on my sister. I got to see two very extra wide loads with escorts meeting in the midst of yard sale mania. I figured what the heck, since traffic is tied up, I might as well take a look at what's for sale, and since I never got a chance to make it to Spatula City, I figured I might find that egg turner I've been looking for! Well that I did but my buddie had evacuated and my sister didn't answer the door bell. When I got home I had a message from her left at he same time I knocked telling me to stop by sometime!

No respect I tell you, I get no respect at all!

Old John,

Turned in early last night, tired from driving. Had a great day, saw my old friend, met a couple of government people with common sense, got my mission accomplished, stopped and had dinner with some more friends, had a good nights sleep and not screwed up yet today.... but only been up about 20 minutes.

"... met a couple of government people with common sense,...." Are you saying you made it to Bollinger county? :)

Careful, Sioux, some of us from Bollinger County are able to read AND write............and some of us have met a glugite.

Sioux,

Totally off the subject of this thread but I thought you might appreciate this.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/05/the-american-west-150-years-ago/10030...

Check out the boat in #24.

They left out his pictures of the native girls. :(

A beautiful people indeed!

Sioux, I got that album. I played a bunch of those old tunes with all the scratchy for a friend a while back and he was blown away! Said that's what he liked about old guys like me.:)

What old guys like is getting away with hugging the young guys girl friends! Yabba Dabba Do!

Noticed yesterday that the Interstate was a bit busier than normal - as expected with the holiday weekend.

Just venting on a couple of things that grind my gears.

First, whenever a vehicle is observed to be travelling much faster and much more erratically than the normal traffic flow, chances are way-better than average that the vehicle will have Michigan plates on it. Whether that's just the way they drive in Michigan, or a sign validating that a much greater than average proportion of idiots live in Michigan - eh, dunno.

Second, the campers in the passing lane. Not campers as in RV-type vehicles, but those who just expend extended times in the lane regardless of the parade line building up behind them. Truckers seem to be getting worse at this, pulling into the lane to pass a leading vehicle just as I'm about to go by, then taking up to 7 miles to overcome the marginally slower vehicle and get back in the regular lane so's the rest of the world can resume normal operations. Then there's the passenger vehicles languishing in the lane - to which I've observed these will typically fall into one or more of three categories - woman driver on a cell phone, elderly driver oblivious to anything going on behind them, or a traditionally thought-of import vehicle of higher dollar.

Finally, idiots that haven't learned merging practices. You know who you are - the ones who blunder down the on-ramp at merging speeds not exceeding 40mph and coming on out into traffic travelling at 70mph or greater, expecting people to make room, one way or another. Not such a big deal when traffic is light, but yesterday with a two-lane-wide parade moving on by - a serious multi-vehicle cobble-fest almost happened.

On the brighter side, if things like these top the list of stuff that grinds my gears, burns my clutch, screeches my tires, and splats my windshield - life is pretty good. :-)

fxpwt, I find that if I settle in at about 68mph, things go a little better. Seems there are more trucks and cars running under the limit than over and the difference in fuel usage within a 2-3 hour drive is worth the 15-20 minutes time and stress gain.

I remember the caravans of Memphis-Chicago years back. I got a kick out of seeing one trooper in the right lane holding a shot gun over his head and another in the left lane pointing the whole group of about 30 cars to the shoulder to line up behind the car headed toward the Jackson courthouse. :)

Old John,

I must be getting old. I watch the speed on a GPS, if so equipped and set it about 69 MPH and take a nap.

Thought you would have rented a large truck and been on the yard sale trail today. Didn't think we would hear from you until well after dark Monday. Get out there and spread the wealth.

Wheels, Had a little preview of that Thursday. I was too stingy with fuel to drive to Spatula City so I bought a USA made one for 50 cents. :)

Boss asked me if I wanted to work weekend and Monday, said he couldn't get any of the full timers to work. This way I'll be able to spend a whole dime at the next spread the wealth around event!

Old John,

Sounds about as exciting as my weekend is going to be. I put a pork butt on to smoke... when it's finished maybe I will see if I can find a beer or two and spend the rest of the Holiday weekend eating it.

fxpt,

It seems to me that there needs to be a lot of 'merging practice' for those using the south Kingshighway ramp to 55. First of all, too many stay in the right lane to pass one more vehicle, then cut someone off to get on the ramp or have to take the Dutchtown exit. And then there are those you speak of who fail to get up to speed in time to merge with traffic. MODOT is always replacing metal posts and rails in that area.

Sioux,

You must not be over 50 or your reflexes would never have let you respond quickly enough.

Wheels,

I am having one of those 'exciting' weekends as well; what with the wife's yard sale and a 50th wedding anniversary tonight. I am pretty much incapacitated for the summer so I guess I will be a 24/7 presence on these threads until at least August. Maybe I will be able to be on my feet for the Leopold picnic. Already tired of everyone treating me like a cripple.

Robert,

I had heard of your unfortunate accident and don't know how well I would handle that. I understand how you feel about everyone acting like you are a hopeless invalid.

Got a small dose of that when I had my knees replaced (one at a time for a double dose). Came close to threatening to beat a couple of people to death with my can if they didn't stand aside. :-) :-)

It would be nice to see you at the picnic, providing doctor approves of course.

I will be a little busy in the next week or so, so give em hell on here, maybe you can make a conservative out of Common given the extra time on your hands. Then maybe his name would fit his personality a little better.

Oh dang it... didn't realize the thread I was on, please forgive the indiscretion and disregard the last paragraph in the previous post. Also missed an "e" in "can". That should have been 'cane'

OJ & Wheels - admit that 68-69mph may be a more-friendly, less stressful speed, with better fuel economy to boot.

However, the Impy (the POS I've railed about many times previously) has the displacement-on-demand, active fuel management, or cylinder deactivation feature - where the fuel and valve operation to half the cylinders shut down at lighter loads in efforts to improve fuel economy.

While it may work fine on the SS model with the 5.3L V8, it has an annoying little glitch on the 3.9L V6 - essentially a slight pause like a brake tap going into the 3-cyl mode and a slight surge coming out of it. Enough people must've complained, since this option was discontinued - the year after my model year, of course.

It does work - notice the instant fuel economy jumping up 1-2 mpg in 3-cyl mode. However, 68-69mph is right in the sweet spot where it always jumps into and out of this economy mode. Go a little slower, it stays pretty much in 3-cyl - a little faster and it stays pretty much in 6-cyl mode.

As I've usually got a particular place to go, and a particular time to be there - opt for the 'little faster' mode.

Doggone, that was a beautiful rationalization - and I ain't even dipped into the thinking fluid yet. :-)~

Fxpwt,

Understand exactly what you are saying. I have the same problem with my motor home. Forget the exact speeds right now, but if you run below a certain speed it will not shift into 6th gear. While I have not checked the fuel economy at the lower speed driving in 5th gear. It is my contention that I will save fuel by driving at the lower RPM's of the engine while in 6th gear. Of course this 5th to 6th shift does take place before 70 MPH. If my mind is close to correct, it seems like the shift takes place at about 61 or 62 MPH on level highways. I usually drive at about 65 to 66 MPH. Much faster and the right seat starts making annoying noises.

There were a lot of complaints about that little surge and shake when the lock up torque converters came on the scene in the mid or late '70s. One manufacturer even gave it a name: "chuggle". The first action was to tell the owner that every time that was felt, the car was saving gasoline! Next was to change the pressure switch to one that delayed the lock up to a higher speed. Even 10 years later different PROMs were installed to lessen the lock up and overdrive shifting defeating the CAFE standard reason for making them like that way in the first place.

Even today, transmission operation inducing lower rpm highway cruising can make it hard to tell a miss-fire from a transmission "chuggle".

WHEELS: I'd be glad to help you get rid of that pork-butt! On second thought, I'll "donate" my-portion in a CARE-package for ROBERT---an' I'll either toss-in a pack of Marlboros', or 2-"high-end" cigars---your-choice!☺

Yeah, I hate being "babied" too. Well, OK---MAYBE-once a week, if I really-don't feel all that hot?

Normally, I'd be in the sack by now, but I'm still tryin' to cool-off an' wind-down. Spent the better-part of the day sticking-flags for this weekend/Monday. Had to quit an' go-home by around 1:00, though---was a bit-more heat than I expected---an' it's not even HOT, yet!(Hence MY-"pity-day" was to-day, for this-week!☺)

Oh, yeah---mechanical. WHEELS, is your motorhome equipped with a Cat-engine, Cummins, or---whut?

Once had a bro-in-law---well, I guess actually, he still IS, tho widowed/remarried? Anyway, he had a "house-on-wheels" with a V-8 Cat, the Model # of which escapes me at the moment? Boy, did it sound, and run, sweet! But Jesus H., did it LOVE the fuel---somethin' of 6-to-8 mpg, and most of his running was "out-West".

Now, the next "house" he bought was just a bit-smaller, and had a V-6 Cummins. It, too, sounded sweet, and ran very-smooth, but it just didn't have that "oomph" the Cat had. But then again, it didn't have the appetite, either. Got closer to 13-mpg, although the tranny might have been different than the previous-one?

Just wondered, because I noticed a relatively-new International "heavy-truck" with a Mercedes-Benz Diesel in it---I "THINK" it was in-line 6, I could only get into "smelling"-distance---but, BOY did that thing "wind-tight" when they would break a load-loose, even on a(basically)flat surface!

Whew! I think I'm about "wound-down", now---one-eye is closed, an' the other-one is blinkin'!---so's I'll 'talk' with y' all later...!☺

Donknome2,

Motor Home has a Cummins 500 HP In-Line 6 with an Allison 6 Speed Automatic. About 7 MPG on a good day.

That Mercedes Engine you spoke of in the International... not sure how large they go with it, but all those little Sprinters both Dodge and Mercedes have 5 Cyl In-Line Diesels in them, or that is what I was told. Do they possibly build 5 cylinder large enough for heavy trucks???

"Motor Home has a Cummins 500 HP In-Line 6 with an Allison 6 Speed Automatic."

That explains Old John always getting passed by a house!:)

Old John,

I always try to give two days notice to be cautious on the highways when I plan a trip. I am at that "Unsafe at any speed" age. Credit: Ralph Nadar re: Corvairs in the 1960's. Don't want to plaguerize.

Still waiting on that 4.4L V8 diesel which Ford was going to put in the F150 since, well, back when Bush II was still President and no Hope and Change was even on the horizon...

Somehow not at all enthused about the Ecoboost that reportedly delayed the diesel introduction to at least 2014 now. Something about turbo-charging a gasoline engine just doesn't ring synonymous with the durability and long-life qualities expected in a truck.

Somewhat humorous that one can get a diesel in the SuperDuty's, and one used to be able to get a Mazda-built Perkins 2.2L diesel in the early Rangers - but a diesel has never offered in the F150.

Not that I would look forward to standing the the typical puddle of light oil while fueling up - just figuring that a solid diesel in a light truck would do wonders toward corporate fuel economy averages and the nyah-nyah one-up self-anointed-esteem factors of the early buyers.

WHEELS: It very well could've been an in-line-5. I'm guilty of thinkin' EVERYTHING in a V-design is either an 8 or 6, and anything in-line is either a 6 or a 4.

GM once made a REAL-V6. Slow-turning, also liked gas/diesel---but, talk about torque! And---like the Ford 300 in-line 6---if you kept coolant and oil-levels up-to-par, you'd NEVER wear one out!

As for that Allison 6-speed: Is that a "straight"-sequence of 6-auto shifts? Or do you need to go thru a "splitter", for those "Bollinger-County-Brand" of hills?☺ I mean, 500-horses IS a lot of meaty-torque, but then, we're haulin' around a mini-Taj Mahal, here!

I never got to sit in the pilots'-seat of the bro-in-laws' "house", but that didn't stop me from dreaming about "One of these days, buddy---one of these days..."

Donknome-2

Allison is a straight sequence goes 1,2,3 etc to 6th. 4 is 1 to 1. Both 5 and 6 are overdrives. Geared low enough to handle the hills without a problem and still capable of 80 & better if you so desire. As a matter of fact when driving in Utah a couple of years back and the temperature was cooking along at about 109 degrees all day, you would have to manually cause it to downshift on some of the 'hills' to keep the engine reving fast enough to provide water circulation for cooling. Saw a lot of truckers sitting on the hills letting them cool down a little.

SIOUX: Ironic how Diesel #1 and/or #2, home-heating fuel, K-1 Kerosene, and JP-4 Jet Fuel are all more expensive per-gallon than there much-more refined "cousin", Gasoline.

Yet, Diesels' tend to be much more cleaner/efficient/better mileage, IF the owner would leave the "chip"-alone in the brains of such.

Yeah, I know why that chip needs upgraded: If you gonna PAY for that much potential-horsepower, you might as well GET it.

But there's a reason OTR-heavy trucks have "stacks" that are generally ABOVE the level of traffic---and it's not(only)because they SOUND/LOOK-good!☺

WHEELS: Huh!!! Now, THAT'S new to me! Appreciate the info---as I still live in the past, where a fella just HAS TO SHIFT/MOVE/PULL/or YANK SOMETHING, or else he ain't drivin'......!☺

Donk, Any number that can be evenly divided into 360 is fair game for how many cylinders.

fxpwt, Didn't Ford put an Interational diesel in F-150s one time? May have been the heavier pick-ups.

I was thinking the government change in fuel requirements was the reason for the delay in the diesel engine you mentioned.

Not sure about the economy but those old in line Mercedes would go dang near forever before someone dropped in a 235cid gas in as a cheap replacement.

OJ - don't recall nor can find any reference to the diesel being put in the F150 - more the F250s/E250s and up.

A quick run through the Ford truck forums has general agreement that the International / Navistar PowerStroke made its appearance in Ford trucks in 1982, continuing though to 2010. Ford began putting its own in-house built-in-Mexico diesel in trucks beginning in 2011.

Was thinking someone was playing a joke along the lines of blinker fluid and thinking fluid when I saw reference to diesel exhaust fluid. Quite surprised when this was found to be real stuff required for emissions control on some of the newer trucks. Geez.

Having a lot of problems with the new diesels on construction / earth-moving equipment - all the electronics and emissions controls and other now-required crap just aren't robust enough to hold up in the operating environment - so much so that the last few purchases have been late 80s models factory-refurbs, sold as used equipment but with a full as-if-new warranty on everything. Much more reliable and trouble-free, reinforcing the KISS principle.

I remember there's only so much diesel / gas / jet fuel / misc stuff available from a barrel of oil, so can understand why putting more diesels on the road would tend to push that price up. Heck, it wasn't too many years ago when diesel was cheaper than gas. The proportions of each fuel type per barrel can be tweaked a bit, but there is a limit as to how much and how far, so there may be a limit and a reason as to why more passenger-vehicle / light truck diesels aren't being marketed in the U.S.

Kinda like one of the Murphy's Law corollaries - every solution yields another problem.

I like that K.I.S.S.-principle. As a matter of fact, I employ it as much as possible, even when it does require the "bending" of a few-established "Because we CARE for you!"-regulations.☺

Hmm. I'd noticed a few commercial-equipment dealers had started putting more-emphasis on their older, refurbished stock in the last couple years---but I'd never paid it much mind, until now that you've mentioned it, FXPWT. That explains a lot, to this K.I.S.S.-'fanatic'...!☺

Wait til the Construction Equipment goes "green" - heheheh, well, suggest some order would be restored to the universe when John Deere colors their construction equipment the same as their farm equipment - the classic Joe Diffie "John Deere green" instead of the current burnt school bus yellow. :-)~

I tell ya - the new electronics are nice, and provide a lot of factory built-in supervisory and protection features that used to have to be added aftermarket - such as automatic engine shutdown on low oil pressures or high coolant temps (the former Murphy switch combo - Murphy referring to the manufacturer of the type of switches, not the law of clusterflops) - but good grief, much like experiences with types of equipment happening to be German-made - great the few times it's working, a royal pain in the posterior the many times it's not.

Then again, never perceived Germans as being the affectionate type, so they probably don't have much use for the KISS principle.

Computers are fantastic.....as long as they work. Problem is: moisture, dust, and vibration are the enemies of all electroics.

where a fella just HAS TO SHIFT/MOVE/PULL/or YANK SOMETHING, or else he ain't drivin'......!☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Sun, May 27, 2012, at 11:43 AM

At my age I prefer smooth and easy... that way you can take a little nap now and then while you tool down the highway. ;-)

As a sidenote... my first motorhome was a converted mail bus that was factory set up with a converter from 12 Volt to 120 V. and had a 375 amp Leece Neville alternator on it, with a regulator that never worked correctly even after rebuilds. This thing was 35' long and was used to deliver and sort mail while traveling to and from rural post offices in Michigan. It was a 1956 Twin Coach built in Elyria, Ohio. Someone else did the conversion, and it was really decent inside, but the ugliest appearance outside you have ever seen. They had found some extra brown paint and must have used a broom to paint it. We had fun with it for awhile and I added a 5 KW Generator and an RV gas furnace while I owned it.

But to driving it. It had an English Leyland in-line 6 laying horizontal mid coach with a 5 speed manual transmission behind it, and not even 5th was syncronized. And the weardest shift pattern you have ever seen. With some 18 to 20 feet of linkage between the gear shift lever and the transmission you would have had all the driving experience you needed. Double Clutching and all. Same scenario for the clutch linkage and the accelerator linkage. Once in Kansas while traveling on a level highway it started slowing down and slowing down and I finally had to pull over to the shoulder. Hmmm must have quit running. Nope.... idling as pretty as you please, but no response from the accelerator.

After pulling out the hidden panel in the false floor which was carpeted and the original panel over the engine which was not... there was the engine and there was the joint where the linkage made a 90 degree which had discomglubliated. Put it back together, tried it and it fell apart again. No real stress on it, but it was just worn out. What to do, what to do. Grabbed a tie wrapper off a loaf of bread and made a nice but loose enough to be free little loop around the connection and tried the accelerator. Success, and we made it all of the way home on a bread tie.

Besides trying to remember where the gears were, you had to remember the MPH in each at a given RPM, cause it had no speedometer. But it did have a truck odometer bolted onto one of the rear wheels.

So you see Donknome-2, I have had my driving experience and I actually do prefer my rocking chair style driving in today's slightly upgraded motor home.

Regards Fords use of diesels. I think you will find that prior to all of the emmissions requirements, they had a 6 cyl in line diesel that they used in some of their midsized trucks. Quiet and smooth running. Think they built it themselves but could be wrong... might have been a Perkins but I didn't think so.

As a younster I rode in a Southern Coach from St. Louis south. I figured all that gear grinding when shifting was just because the driver was too far away to hear it.

Wheels, For a while it seemed the B Series Cummins was a universal fits all for box vans and such. For about $8,000 if I recall correctly, you could get a new big block gas rig converted over to the Cummins with an overdrive box behind an Allison. Figuring that diesel was cheaper than gas in the '70s and those trucks generally were kept for 4-5 hundred thousand miles, it was probably a good investment.

Oh, and I once drove a Fiat X19 from Poplar Bluff to Cape with my shoe strings tied to the throttle and threaded into console.

WHEELS: Oh, gawd!!! That converted/perverted mail-truck-----I WANT IT!!! That "Bread-Tie"-repair? Screams "ME!!!" all-over it!☺

Which ravine did you "lose" it in? I'll go look...!!!

And another off-the-wall Que, maybe for FXPWT? What is the 'correct'-pronunciation of KOMATSU? Is the accent on the 'A'? Or maybe on the 'KOM'?

Seriously, I've yet to hear anyone call it by it's 'formal'-name. I've heard different variables/combos of adjectives/nouns already, that basically say, "You know---that %&*%$$!!-yellow piece of $%!! over there, with the @%$&!!-lookin' name on it....!"☺

Donknome-2

I think it is probably gone forever. I tried to sell it, I tried to give it away locally, so I paid to get rid of it... really.

You may have seen me mention my Methodist Minister friend... I got him to agree to take it as a donation to the Swartz Creek, MI Methodist Church, providing I did not bring it by the Church Parking Lot. I had to put two new batteries in it and a couple of gallons of diesel in it to get it delivered. He said he would meet me at an intersection on the highway and he would show me where to take it. I said fine, but if you are not there, I am going to the church parking lot with it.

Well plans were made and the wife and I took off for Michigan with it. Closer it got to it's home territory the better it ran. When I reached our agreed meeting place I saw him setting on the ramp but acted like I didn't. I put it on the floor and watched in the mirror. He came down that ramp like a race horse coming out of the gate, because he knew I would carry out my promise/threat. :-)

He did over take me and think I detected a look of terror in his eyes when I peeked over and saw him trying to pass me, and me wobbling a little for effect. But he got even... he insisted on taking ownership there on the highway by driving the rest of the way. Now that was terror when we got to the two lane roads with no shoulders and a few 90 degree turns later. There was no power steering and to compensate it seemed like there was about 40 complete turns lock to lock. Once you got around the corner all you had to do was turn loose of the wheel, it knew what to do. Try turning it and you might keep 90 degreeing head on into the ditch.

The Church got a "historic" vehicle, I got a tax deduction and would you believe that preacher found someone to buy it, putting money in the Church's account. What the Yuppies would call a "Win - Win" situation.

You would have come along about 15 or so years ago, I could have been talked out of it very easily.

"What is the 'correct'-pronunciation of KOMATSU?" -- Posted by donknome-2 on Mon, May 28, 2012, at 1:36 PM

Suggest dealers and other sellers pronounce it 'Kuh-MAHT-sue'. Further suggest many, if not most, operators and mechanics pronounce it as 'junk'. :-)

OLD JOHN: I thought I was the only-one who actually LIKED riding in the back of the bus, just to hear the "roar"! The "old, normal" front-engine SCHOOL-bus was fun, too, when the driver'd miss his/her 2-speed axle throw. Terrible-sound! Kinda like a wood-hen, with it's knocker stuck in an oak-tree on HIGH!☺

By the way---how DID they shift the old REAR-engine buses? Was it just "simply" one continuous linkage? Cable? Maybe air/vacuum shift? Or maybe an "Edsel-styled" electric-shift?

I once drove a HYSTER fork lift with power-assist steering, as well as a clutch-assist, that was powered by the exhaust from the engine. I THINK? maybe some Massey-Ferguson tractors MAY have had this, as well?

All I know for sure is---it had MY-attention for a long-time afterwards, as in, "How In The Hell Does This Work???"☺

WHEELS: Yeah, that's pretty-sad, when a fella won't take-delivery in front of WITNESSES...!!!☺

And, thanx FXPWT, for confirmation, there! Maybe a few of those "alternate-names" really WERE-accurate!☺

Oh, and WHEELS: Lemme 'bounce' a name off'n you, and lessee how close we once MAY HAVE CAME, to meeting. Many-years ago now: Does the name Harvey Ellebrecht ring a bell? NO, of course HE ain't ME, an' I ain't related---but I'll bet YOU'VE heard of him, given your background...!

but I'll bet YOU'VE heard of him, given your background...!

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Mon, May 28, 2012, at 2:06 PM

Donknome-2,

Are you trying to say he was crazy?

Donknome-2

Actually I do not think I know Mr. Ellebrecht, although the name does sound familiar for some reason. At least it is safe to say, I do not know him well. I googled the name and found out he had a water leak question Aug 29, 2010 on the roof of a trailer he purchased from Apache Village.

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Mon, May 28, 2012, at 2:06 PM

Doubt those old buses had anything but mechanical linkage and it was one of those wiggle it around and hope it goes into the right slot. Remember trying to be cool and downshift in plenty of time because I knew 5th would not make the hill. Just about what I thought was the right time to keep her revved I went for 4th. Smoothest double clutching job I ever made, never raked a gear, but I miscalculated and hit 3rd instead, just too much to think of at the same time. You should have heard that old Leyland rev as I made a nice slow down going uphill. Too late for 4th so I slowed traffic down considerably until I got to the top.

Never saw an exhaust assisted clutch and steering. Would surprise me on Massey though as they were so proud of their hydraulics. That was a hi-lighted feature of the first Ford-Ferguson tractors produced right after WW II.

I did own a little Farmall Cub once complete with manual and they had an exhaust powered lift on some models, not the one I had though. Just remember seeing it in the manual.

Yep, this is a longer thread.

We also had a smaller-HYSTER, with an automatic tranny. Shifted-it with a tilting-foot pedal, which would close an electrical-switch on either side of the pedal, therefore shifting by a solenoid, as well as regulating speed/throttle.(Left-side Reverse, Right-side Forward, Middle,(hopefully!) STOP!!!.) Only accessory was a much-used St. Christopher medallion on the keyring.(For those so-inclined, just to cover all bases!)☺ Really, seriously!

HYSTER-reps said the same basic-solenoid design was used on the last-production B-29's for WW2. I know an old '45 Case I've got sittin' in my "Inventory-Yard"☺ has a 12-volt system, supposedly original.(I didn't think 12-v. came along that early?) But it's there! We had the technology, without a doubt. We just had to be shown WHY we should use it, I guess?

As for Mr. Ellebrecht: He was in-contact with me on an-inferior installation of a HVAC-residential system, which the original-installer would NOT honor correcting the flub. So, he authorized ANOTHER-contractor to re-do the job, and BILL it to the ORIGINAL-installer.

The man was apparently just one-notch below Christ-Himself in-authority, when it came to Carrier Sales & Service. Probably was Regional Sales Manager for Carrier, of some-sort?

All I know is, when the original-contractor started to "crawfish" on payment to the replacement-contractor? All that was needed was to wield the threat of HARVEY ELLEBRECHT like a two-edged sword---and, the "threat" was eliminated...!

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Mon, May 28, 2012, at 3:08 PM

Dk[onknome-2

And that is where I heard the name. We were not Carrier dealers but when you went to meetings "Shop Talk" always brought out names... some very good and some very bad. A lot of the very bads had to do with people to watch out for because they did not pay their bills.

Our industry like all others ranges from the great people to do business with to the ones you hate to have your name associated with as a fellow participant of the industry. Most were great guys and a pleasure to compete fairly with.

Dk[onknome-2....... what happened here????

Hell, he made a burger outta me: A DK[-double!!!☺

Well I learn something new as I hac never heard of an exhaust powered anything but manifold air pressure booster [turbo charger]. I would have thought that given the fact that a well placed potato would make a Baptist preacher late for fried chicken, well there wouldn't be enough pressure to do much.

My uncle worked for Ferguson way back and told of field days when he liked to be in front of a 9n. Said he would keep throttling back until the Ford had to downshift, run over him or stall, then he would open it up and with the advantage of draft control and torgue he would really show off.:)

The patient rights limitions for the Ferguson inovations ran out before the court case was settled. I read once that upon Harry's death plans were found for a powershift transmission eerily similar to and preceding the John Deere version by quite a while.

Wheels, I bought one of the early Lennox pulse fired funaces. The dang thing was so noisy it would scare the crap out of you when it exploded into action and then had a constant ringing noise.

The good dealer to the north along with a factory rep never gave up. The warranty was long expired when a loose spark plug electrode was found to be the culprit.

Never had much experience with Ferguson or Ford myself. I can remember when my dad took delivery of the last 630 John Deere that Kenneth Schreiner sold at Marble Hill. He bought a three-point hitch plow and a wheel-disc at the same time. This would have been about 1959. This was a big step up in technology at the time. I remember plowing in Bollinger County and times when that moldboard plow failed to trip. On at least one occasion I was slow to break the hand clutch and stood that tractor on its back wheels. And then there was the power steering which would catch at the most inopportune time.

I also remember John Deere days when the new models came out; going to the movie theatre in Marble Hill to see films advertising the new equipment.

A couple of years later he bought a used 40 John Deere so my brother and I could help in the fields. This was replaced a few years later by a new 1020 John Deere which I think was a big disappointment to him. It never held up like the Johnny pop.

SIOUX: I thank myself each day, that we'd never met 40+ years ago! Because if we had? We'd very-likely BOTH be doing 25-to-LIFE right now!☺

Man, sometimes you remind me of---ME!!!

(Para-quote by John Wayne, in the movie, "True Grit".) "By-gawd! She reminds me of---ME!"

I miss the quality of those "old"-movies. Eastwoods' "Gran Torino" ain't bad, either: I WISH I was still that mean....!!!☺

"WISH I was still that mean....!!!☺"

We all eventually get to the point where we ain't mean.... we just smell bad!

Sioux,

I have heard of that gas-mileage trick before, but I have never before had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of one of those involved in the trick. I am honored to have had this opportunity meet someone with such a creative sense of humor. That is a classic!.............kind of like the time someone took a neighbors's team wagon apart and put it back together in the loft of his barn!

Robert,

The old 'Beacon Light' used to be a good place for some of the local sports to "help" farmers store parts of their machinery. I know of one who had to send his wife up the ladder to retrieve some belts as he was a little too robust to fit through the cage around the ladder. :-)

I once had an old '64 Ford pickup. It ran well, except that at times out on the road it would seem to run out of gas although tank was never empty. Tried changing fuel pump but that did not cure it. The only fix I came up with at the time was a good trading.

Since then, I have had time to reconsider. Seems to me that the fuel line inside the tank probably was rusted through and allowed it to suck too much air. Sure wish I had thought of the possibility at the time!

Robert, I remember one John Deere film that starred Donna Douglas [Ellie Mae]. A lot of guys sit through that one and never saw a tractor. :)

There weren't too many johnny poppers in the fields around us but a lot of farmers went green when the 4cyl came about.

We were small enough that the 630 was a good fit. I do believe that my Dad kicked his butt several times for buying the 1020 later rather than a 3000 he looked at.

I liked the IH fast hitch. If left in the right position I could hook up and go with a 4 row cultivater without getting off the tractor. Dad bought an original Super M that started it's life as a black market sale from a neighbor and punched it out with an over bore kit. That old tractor had a magic quality about it as my cousin pointed out it would out pull and out drink a 560. The other magic thing was that the exhaust fumes would start to smell like cornbread and beans and a whole lot of good stuff around sundown! :)

OLD JOHN: Allis-Chalmers had an-early version of a 'quick-hitch' of some sort on the WD-45's. Matter of fact, I think everybody came-up with some sort of "Do it faster, more productive"-system, at about the same-time. Which brought me to this question:

On most every-model of an A-C model WD-45, from '47(?)-on up, had what was called a "Traction-Booster"-system, that I assume "floated" the attached-implement to eliminate stall-out. What I remember most about it was, when pulling a full-load of---whatever!---and, the governor was just-starting to "crack", those drawbar-arms we rode on(yeah, boys developed gonads earlier, 'back-then'!) would start creeping-UP, and leave you with TWO-options: Either fall-off, or suddenly become very-close intimate friends with the driver.☺

OK, now that I "took the long-way around the barn" about it: Was that Traction-Booster system operated by A. Exhaust, B. Manifold vacuum, C. Governor linkage, or D. None of these?

There was a gauge that was labeled as such---but, it's only graphics were the words, "Light", and "Heavy", on opposite-edges of the bezel. Best I could tell, when the going got "Heavy"? YOU started gettin' 'scrunched' up against the driver!☺

One quicky-solution in the field was to tie a hunk of baler twine onto the lift-control lever, and triple-wrap it around the steering-support, then bring it back to the lever, and end-up in a triple-knot. The 'arms' still crept-up, but a lot more slowly!

Of course, tarp-straps worked better---but then, that was too-logical, not to mention expensive...!☺

(Yeah, we COULD "Google"-it---but, THIS is a lot more fun!)

I'm not that familiar with Allis Chalmbers tractors. Some folks way off five or six miles away had them. Now Donk gets me to thinking. Vaccum or exhaust pressure sounds reasonable as to inputs to hydralic draft contol. I think as I remember it the Ferguson system used a simple spring loaded valve to regulate plow depth. The idea was that if the load was too much the plow should raise. Sounds like the AC system incorporated the idea that also if the engine lugged the the plow should raise.

I remember reading that the early thinking was to make the implement raise and lower with it's own device and then came along the idea of the tractor lifting and lowering. Not sure if that can be conributed to Ford or Ferguson but the rivaly certainly began around that time with the 3 point hitch.

OLD JOHN: The GAUGE had a pressurized-fluid fitting on it, that was for certain. But I always wondered what "triggered" the pre-set for the system---if it was a governor-link, or more along the lines of an-exhaust/or vacuum-pressure sensor? Because it was definitely engine-load-sensitive?

I kinda eliminated ENGINE-oil pressure, as it should be relatively-constant over all rpm-ranges.

Well, UNLESS you have the old Case I like to play-around with. In it's case, the oil-pressure raises by 5-pounds in a hard-pull because the RINGS are worn-out. Only-time it uses-oil is when I coast-against the engine---DUUHHH!☺

Yeah, I SHOULD fix it.

But it uses an obsolete-style of an-antique "aroundtuit", to complete the job properly---an' I've yet to use my NEW "aroundtuit", to order the antique-model!☺

I wonder if "aroundtuit"s EVER become obsolete, and need upgrading...???

Here's a good-link for REAL "aroundtuits":

http://www.steinertractor.com/ACS124-fully-functioning-traction-booster-gauge

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1459&context=tractormu...

Check this for some neat pictures and advertising from AC.

Has anyone ever had the occasion to use a square 'roundtuit' ?

Robert,

I have owned several 'round' roundtuit... but I don't think I have ever seen a 'square' roundtuit.

Since this will be a special order, should I tell my wife it will be a while before I get a 'roundtuit'? She will be disappointed........again.

Robert,

If you get them ordered now, they should be in by the time your doctor turns you loose on your wife's honeydo list. So the special order on the 'square' roundtuits should not be a problem.

Seriously you doing ok with your recovery?

I ordered an octagonal-roundtuit once, years ago---but it got lost in-shipment, an' I never got it. NO-refund, either. But, it was still OK---since I never got around to sending a check for it, in the first place.☺

And, it was just as well, because it's specifications stated it could be used ONLY in February, on Leap-Years...

Ahhh, better bump this thread before it falls off the blog listing on the opinion page. :-)

Got to reading the SEMissourian article on the Honda Fit electric advertising 118 mpg. http://www.semissourian.com/story/1857403.html

Scratching my head a bit - the authors seems to have some sense, but what is the motive of mainstream media to have an attention-grabbing headline for a vehicle which gets unbelievable gas mileage, then flop over to effectively tell one why it's not a good deal. Guess I just don't understand modern journalism where the headline doesn't necessarily need to match up with the body of the article.

Eh, well, perhaps overthinking things. I did like the way the authors essentially agreed with my line of thinking - new is nice, green is keen, but the decisions of the general public will almost always hinge on the economics of the deal - well, at least for those that understand that the money supply isn't infinite, especially when it comes to their wallets.

fxpwt, Great fuel economy and all that green stuff might make sense in a way. I'm reminded of of my buddy's thinking about his Harley. He said everyone knows they leak oil, vibrate and shake, have to be repaired all the time and of course there is that H.D. thing about a Hundred Dollars for something everytime you ride it.

He admits a Japanese bike is way better but "It ain't a Harley!"

Maybe some folks get that same feeling with their purchase of cutting edge technology.:)

FXPWT: Yeah, I'd like to see it(thread)make a years' run myself. Only gotta keep it goin' for about another six-weeks!☺

And, I'd like to think that a full-90% of the responses have actually been useful, if for nothin' else than to jog the memory-cells, an' enjoy a good-laugh---usually at ourselves!

OLD JOHN: For some strange reason, I find myself fantasizing about test-riding one of those Segway-scooters? Supposedly, they get around pretty-good on ice, not so much on snow, though? And, I've heard of an off-road version as well?(Wonder if'n anybody has tried one in a 4-foot mud-pit, yet?)

Yeah, me on a Segway would be ALMOST as entertaining as-same on a unicycle.

ALMOST, that is!

But, we'll NEVER know.

Because, even Industrial-Strength Preparation-H ain't all-that, an' a bag o' chips, too...!☺

SIOUX: Ahh, you tempting-devil! Yeah, the possibilities with THAT-line are endless, in-deed!

But I wanna see the "One-Year" mark pretty-bad, too---so's I ain't gonna do anything to tee-off the "sensor-police".

YET, mind-you.....!!!☺

Donk, A few years back some fellows I know had these rigs that looked like an air boat fan and motor with a seat strapped to it and a parachute dragging behind. Once it got going the fan moved it along and the parachute lifted it up in kitelike manner. They would tool around over my house at about 30 mph.

Always thought I would like to do that but never had the nerve and the finances together at the same time! :)

Rick,

I don't need a chapstick. Been told I was near perfect in that department. ;-)

Wheels, That mean you're a perfect ....?

:) :) :)

Old John,

It has been mentioned a time or two... but I just attributed it to envy, or jealousy.... not sure which. :-)

Eh, yeah---that COULD-qualify as "thread-related".

Old. Greasy. Worn-out joints. Yeah, I think it'll fit-in OK.☺

Now, I don-know HOW "Who Was That Masked-Man?" got the "." inside of his "O"---but I'll give 'im credit: He sure does get-around!

Kinda like the original-"Phantom" of yester-years' comics.

(I just hope he doesn't try to do a "cover" for "Wonder Woman", though. Gotta be a "line-in-the-sand" somewhere, y' know???☺)

Perhaps it's just me - but really enjoying the PBS concert-type series of the older music, well, aside from the relentless commercials to buy the CDs and DVDs and coffee mugs of the show to support the local station.

Even the Lawrence Welk shows bring back memories of youth, along with the indestructible leisure suits and other fashion of the day such as the Farrah-flip and Opie combover hairstyles.

Just having a hard time envisioning the future, with the thoughts of hearing Britney, Judas Priest, MC Hammer, and Aerosmith blaring down the nursing home hallways singing the songs the future residents remember and embrace from their youths, such as 'Do It To Me One More Time', 'Turbo Lover', 'Can't Touch This', and 'Big Ten Inch'.

I recently saw Glenn Campbell performing on a show about Alzhiemers disease. Although he has to use a teleprompter for the words, he still plays the music as well as ever from memory.

If the average age of folks in a nursing home is 80, that means it would likely have been the early '50s when they had settled on the favorite music, what they would remember best. It is easy to mistakenly assume WWII era tunes would be their fancy. It won't be long until the tunes from Hee Haw will be all the rage at nursing homes. :)

On the subject of old, today I saw part of a 1937 Dick Tracy episode on TCM. The story line featured the bad guys [German I presume]in a flying wing. It had all the basic design features of the U.S. modern machine. It was explaned later it was a real plane as in a model 4x7 feet filmed in the sky. Pretty good for 1937! Dick Tracy appeared to go down in a flaming derigable but I didn't catch when the conclusion episode was to be aired.

RICK O: Why, YES, most of us have! Or at least it was pretty-much the norm, for ME, not that many years-ago!☺ If anything resembling a back-fire occurs in todays' "modern" autos? Kinda like a different-twist on the movie, "Gone In 60-Seconds"---or, whatever the name of it was? No need to fight it. Color it "GONE"!

OLD JOHN: And I thought Glen Campbell was already dead! Maybe I was thinking Kenny Rogers?

Keith Richards MIGHT still be alive? But then again, WHO can tell???☺

And, y' got a point on the nursing-home tunes. Unfortunately, when you've been committed to those-asylums, you can't even enjoy the rockin' and rollin' of a good-6.0 quake anymore.

Watched both my-parents die in the captivity of nursing homes, at separate-times, because I was given no-say in how, or where. Nasty, condescending "nursing"-staff. Half-cooked, already partly-rancid food. NO-body knows NO-thing, about ANY-thing. And we moan and groan about how animals are treated, and prosecute like mad. And, BTW, in no-way do I condone the mistreatment of animals. But us humans should get a fair, humane-demise too.

C'mon, let's get back to more-encouraging news for us-aged, such as a NEW-strawberry-scented Preparation-H?

Wonder if they can make "Icy-Hot" any more obnoxious-smelling? Not that it works worth two-hoots-in-hell anyway, for my-pain...!☺

I thought I'd remembered such a thing as a "Corvair-powered"-Monza---and I was RIGHT for once!

Lot of "old-flames" in here. Kind of short on details, but if you ALREADY-know/remember "what was in what"???

Then you'll still enjoy this quick-'sampler'...☺!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?feature=endscreen&=R=1&v=RvVmDsWnMOk

Donk, It's your fault I'm up this late. I never figured out the Corvair powered Monza but I remember the Monza was a big project to introduce a Wankle engine car. Emission rules nixed that so with a nice car ready to roll they decided to get rid of a bunch of Vega motors and later used the tried and true V-6.

Anyway, I couldn't help watch the movie offered after the link you provided. When it came out I was primed and ready but fell asleep and have always wanted to see it again.

I'm talking about the Preston Tucker story. What I wouldn't give to be a time traveler and go back and witness those events!

OLD JOHN: Then I guess there's no-need to explain why I'm ANSWERING-you, at 2:51 A.M., eh???☺

Steve Earle "Sweet Little '66" with "My Old Friend, The Blues", plus a lot of talk show chit chat with Joy Behar in between. 8min 25 sec - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivGgqnXytwY

fxpwt, The 66 Chevy in my opinion looked best in plain fashion with chrome wheels and "Baby Moons"!

That brings up another thought. Over the years I have had a lot of cars that I sold or traded for junk and today they are considered classics. But what cars and what years were the best cars as defined by dependability, long life and enduring styling?

I seem to like 66 most all, 70-71 Chrysler and GM products, 77 GM, and I know I like a lot of Fords, just need to to remember the years.

The AMC Hornets of the late 60's would go dang near forever too.

FXPWT: (Pssst!---OLD JOHN needs to start accumulating the pre-'83 Jeeps, then! As we all remember: They had a little-bit of EVERYBODY in them...!☺)

Oh! HI-there, OJ! Didn't see ya' there, still slumped in the recliner from last-night...!

Wheels,

The recovery is coming along well; perhaps I will be allowed to put some weight on the leg by by picnic weekend. The leg has about a dozen screws and plates holding it together for now.

My biggest problem seems to be with blood circulation; as soon as I allow my leg to dangle the toes begin to turn purple and the leg swells. So I spend most of my time either sitting or lying with my leg elevated. The doctor really wants the leg elevated above my heart as much as possible. The doctor also prescribed rat poison (coumadin) to help avoid blood clots in the leg.

I get kinda testy at the end of the day when my leg is swollen and itchy in the cast but, other than that, life is good!

Went to Uncle Justin's 50th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago and quickly figured out that being up for that long is not a good idea!

Robert,

Uncle Justin was just a skinney kid in school best I remember him. Married 50 years.... unbelievable. How time flies when you are having fun.

Went through two knee operations a few years ago and learned it is best to pay attention to what the doctors tell you. Stood in a record vault for 4 days with another idiot gathering data about 6 or 7 weeks after my first knee replacement and managed to see it swell to about the size of Obama's head. Fortunately no ill effects in the long run, but I didn't repeat it.

Good luck to you and heal up, we need you on your feet.

Wheels,

I broke my hip in 2000. Recovery involved a great deal of time regaining my strength, agility, and balance. I know that I face the same challenge again but I know ahead of time the challenges I face; the work it will involve. I know better than to disregard my doctor's recommendations and also have a better understanding of the questions I need to ask him.

Once again, my wife bears the heaviest burden while I am on the mend. This is a lost year in many ways but it also offers many opportunities.

Hmmm, looks like the CNG offerings are headed towards becoming more available, with natural gas being so relatively cheap now - http://autos.aol.com/gallery/ford-f-250-natural-gas/

Not foreseeing a stampede, but as the article suggested, CNG has much more immediate promise than electric.

CNG shows some promise but at this point is looks to me as if most people who use the truck for work will have to tow a trailer. Not enough room left for payload. How much weight is added with a full tank of fuel? (tank included)

CNG shows some promise but at this point is looks to me as if most people who use the truck for work will have to tow a trailer. Not enough room left for payload. How much weight is added with a full tank of fuel? (tank included)

How much weight is added with a full tank of fuel? (tank included)-- Posted by Robert* on Sat, Jun 16, 2012, at 7:12 PM

Eh, tough question, as Ford only sets the engine up to run CNG and to switch between CNG and gasoline, but doesn't yet offer the CNG tanks and related hardware.

Suggest the weight factor will depend on the size CNG tank chosen, and whether the flexibility to switch fuels is retained. If not, then the room formerly taken by the gasoline tanks could be utilized. 1 GGE (gasoline gallon equivalent) of natural gas at 3600 psi takes up 3.82 gallons of space, suggesting one can't get irrationally exuberant with tank size, or the only trailer that's being towed could be the fuel tank.

The only out-of-the-factory comparison I'm aware of to make on weight is with the Honda Civic. Looks like the CNG-only version weighs 143 lbs more than its conventional gasoline sibling, with a 8.03 GGE tank as compared to the conventional Civic's 13.2 gallon tank. An old Miller Lite commercial comes to mind - More Weight, Less Filling. :-)~

There will necessarily be a sacrifice of either range or payload capacity if we change over to CNG. Is there more or less chance of explosion in case of accidents with CNG?

Rick,

I just posted an attempted translation of your original posting on the SO thread. It looks as if someone really has a problem with you!...........stuff happens.

Rut-roh, Rorge! Just not envisioning the manly men of the world driving around in vehicles that go, 'phting phting phting' and fold up into suitcases. :-)

Well, not unless it's cheap enough.

Is there more or less chance of explosion in case of accidents with CNG? -- Posted by Robert* on Sat, Jun 16, 2012, at 8:09 PM

Eh, dunno. Suggest that with natural gas being lighter than air, a leak would dissipate quickly. The GGE designation would suggest that the energy released would be the same as gasoline, although the rate of energy release would likely be faster. Wondering whether the OEM recommends periodic tank inspections, as 3600 psi is a pretty significant pressure to contain.

This information is a bit dated (two years) but seems otherwise to be well-researched:

Updated 12/15/2010

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Vehicles

Since T. Boone Pickens has been strongly advocating a shift to the use of natural gas (NG) in vehicles, it's important to look a little more closely at its implications.

Natural Gas Prices:

The primary motivation today for reconsidering NG vehicles (NGVs) is that the U.S. is currently not expected to need to import much Liquefied NG (LNG) for the next decade. Moreover, the well-head price of NG in the U.S. near the end of the summer has often been little more than one-third the price of oil per unit energy (even less yet in 2009), though most of that disparity usually vanishes near the end of winter.

We have a brief summary of the long-term costs and cost considerations for LNG. The current wellhead costs of natural gas are not the issue, in the same way that the current costs to extract a barrel of conventional crude oil are not reflected in its eventual sale price. The combination of continued growth in Asian and European demand, and the announced intentions of Russia, Iran, and Qatar (as well as others) forming a national gas cartel similar to OPEC, will keep the spot price of LNG at most ports similar to the price of oil in the future. That high price will motivate more U.S. gas producers to begin exporting LNG from Gulf LNG ports that were built in anticipation of a need for imported LNG. The global LNG trade is growing rapidly, and that trade will steadily reduce the differences in gas prices around the world.

Vehicle Costs:

Another factor in the marketability of CNG vehicles will be the cost and convenience of the vehicle itself. Right now, the only mass market CNG vehicle available in the U.S. is the Honda Civic GX . The Honda Civic sedan (sale price starting at $15,405) runs on gasoline, while the Civic GX (sale price starting at $25,090) burns natural gas. The GX has less horsepower, less torque, slightly lower miles/gallon of gas equivalent (gge), only 60% of the driving range, half the trunk volume, and can only be fueled at home. The home fueling process may take all night to fill the entire tank volume by a system which must be purchased separately for $3000-$4000 dollars.

The average U.S. residential retail price for natural gas in the fall of 2010 was about $15/1000 ft3. Assuming ~121 ft3 per gallon of gas equivalent (GGE), the GX owner who fills his/her tank at home would pay $1.80/GGE for the gas, plus an additional ~$0.30/GGE for the electricity powering the compressor. The average price for gasoline at the pump in 2010 was about $3.00/gal. If one drives 15,000 miles, gets 26 miles/gge, and saves $0.90/gge, the annual savings is $500. That doesn't justify the initial capital premium for the NG vehicle, much less the time and inconvenience associated with filling the tank several times a week, along with the other disadvantages mentioned earlier. We expect interest in this option to remain low for at least several years. In 2014, the average price of gasoline at the pump will probably be $5.00/gal, and the mean residential price for natural gas will probably be $20. The annual savings then could be $1200 (unless the government determines a road tax is required on natural gas). . That will start to look attractive to a few more buyers, most will strongly prefer staying with liquid fuels-- especially for convenience.

The rest of the article is available at:

http://dotyenergy.com/Markets/CNG_Vehicles.htm

Good discussion, wish I had something intellectual to add.

When it comes to fuel tanks, I know a small 2000 psi portable oxegen tank has some heft to it.

Alright, now, I know this is a strange, but: Where would the advantage be, in using LNG, as opposed to "standard" LPG? Or is there any difference?

Majority of short-run, stop/go-type operation, such as light-forklifts, delivery trucks, taxis in the past were at one-time using LPG, in order to be "Pro-Environment", "Pre-Green", etc. But they would suffer from a loss of "sudden-load"-horsepower, i.e., acceleration.

Household generators seem to work quite-well on LPG, but then again, they're basically a constant-load application, only needing to compensate for a surge. And, they're stationary. I've seen smaller, portable-units on LPG---but I don't see where it'd be all that logical, given the minimum-size tank of the "BBQ-grill"-type, what are they, 25-pounders?

My 6000-watt portable is "just-gasoline", but when the day comes for a replacement-portable, I'm gonna lean-hard towards a small-Diesel, for fuel-economy/usage, instead.

So, what's the skinny on LNG-vs.-LPG? Is it kinda like comparing MAPP-gas, to Acetylene, as in overall best-choice?

For ME anyhow, MAPP would cut slower, but smoother, with almost NO-"pop". Acetylene was faster, but rougher, and tended to make me "gun-shy" when cutting!☺

This site explains LPG vs. LNG better than I could begin to.http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/LNG.html

A Student's Guide to Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) - natural gas that is very, very cold

Natural gas can be made into three forms. One kind is the low-pressure form you use to cook or heat your home. It comes from the underground pipe from the gas company. Another form is compressed natural gas (CNG). This form is compressed into high-pressure fuel cylinders to power a car or truck. It comes from special CNG fuel stations. The third form is liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG is made by refrigerating natural gas to condense it into a liquid. The liquid form is much more dense than natural gas or CNG. It has much more energy for the amount of space it takes up. So, much more energy can be stored in the same amount of space on a car or truck. That means LNG is good for large trucks that need to go a long distance before they stop for more fuel.

Liquefied natural gas is made by refrigerating natural gas to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees below zero!) to condense it into a liquid. This is called liquefaction. The liquefaction process removes most of the water vapor, butane, propane, and other trace gases, that are usually included in ordinary natural gas. The resulting LNG is usually more than 98 percent pure methane. As this was first written (in 1999), Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Mack and Navistar sell heavy-duty natural gas engines that can operate on LNG.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) - hydrocarbon gases under low pressure

Most people call it propane.

Most people call liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) "propane." That is because LPG is mostly made up of propane. Actually, LPG is made of a mixture of propane and other similar types of hydrocarbon gases. Different batches of LPG have slightly different amounts of the different kinds of hydrocarbon molecules. These hydrocarbons are gases at room temperature, but turn to liquid when they are compressed. LPG is stored in special tanks that keep it under pressure, so it stays a liquid. The pressure of these tanks is usually about 200 pounds per square inch (abbreviated "psi").

Most LPG produced in the U.S. comes from natural gas wellhead processing. That is because natural gas has LPG gases and water vapor in it, which have to be removed before the natural gas can be sent away in pipelines. Most of the LPG produced in California comes from petroleum refining.

The LPG used in vehicles, such as the Quantum / ProCom's Propane Van pictured above, the same as that used in gas barbecues and camper appliances. LPG is also used in many homes in the country, where there are no natural gas pipelines. These homes use LPG for heating, cooking, hot water and other energy needs.

LPG fueled engines can pollute less than gasoline and diesel engines. LPG usually costs less than gasoline for the same amount of energy. In some countries LPG is used much more for vehicle fuel than in California. In the Netherlands over 10 percent of the motor fuel used is LPG.

Donk, I heard the story of a guy that installed a whole house gernerator and hooked it up to LP. A summer storm took out his power and that thing ate up a half tank of propane in just a couple days with central air going.

I have been looking into a portable storm generator to run the deep well, furnace pump and a few essentials [about 6000 watts]. Natural gas conversion and dual fuel kits are available for a lot of them and aren't too expensive.

Gasoline at 4-5 hours a day can run around $10 per day and up even on the Vanguard powered units which in my research seem to be the most efficient.

The Briggs and Stratton 9hp model I decided on was unavailable for a good while but is back at a higher price and now made in China. :(

Rick,

I cheated. I found a couple of places on line to translate for me. It is good to know that people are working to save customs and languages from the scrap heap of history.

Old John and I were discussing evaporative coolers on another thread and it turned to cars so I am bringing it over here.

Here goes.......

Old John,

They are not new here. Laundramats used to, not sure about now, use lots of them. In the trade they call them swamp coolers. They work off the principle that for every 1 lb of water evaporated you remove 970.4 Btu's of heat from the air passed through the cooler. It's called Latent Heat of vaporization. The drier the air passed through them the better they work. So on a day with low hunidity and you need less cooling, you get more cooling and vice versa.

They used to make one that fit in the window of a car back in the late 40's early 50's. The car traveling down the road produced the air movement. I can still remember seeing one occasionally. Then in the mid 50's mechanical air conditioning started becoming more popular, with many brands of add on equipment to convert your current automobile to air conditioned. I put one on a 53 Ford, and it worked quite well. Only problem I had was the kit was for a 55 Ford and the clearance between the fan and the radiator was not quite what it should be and the first panic stop I made sent the fan blade into the radiator. Back to the junk yard for a fan blade and a radiator. A little longer bolts and a couple of dozen washers rectified the problem.

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Mon, Jun 18, 2012, at 12:34 AM

Wheels, I've never seen one on a car but had heard of wet tow sacks on front bumpers. Not sure if that was to cool people or cool radiators in the desert.

Supposedlt the first car with AC was a Rambler I saw in a museum. If I remember correctly the entire unit, evaporator and everything but the compressor was in the trunk.

So just thinking, if you go to Walmart with the AC off and the windows down there might not be any complaint about the store not being cool enough! :)

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Jun 18, 2012, at 12:54 AM

Old John,

I think the wet tow sacks were to cool the radiator. I have heard of people hanging some kinds of canteens or water bags that oozed a little water that evaporated and kept the rest of the water cool, in front of radiators under desert conditions.

The first recorded automobile air conditioner installation was a 39 Packard, and it was in the trunk. According to a man I knew when I was in my 20's by the name of Otto Tinke, it was a poorly designed installation, but a start anyway. Tinke was a small time inventor who had some really great ideas but instead of marketing them to a large manufacturer he would try to produce them himself and consequently never got anything to really go over.

And yes quite a few of the car manufacturers put the evaporator blower unit in the trunk on their better models in the early days. There were even add-on units that were designed to go into the trunk. Remember seeing the clear plastic tubes that ran up in front of the back window?

56 Lincolns had them and the clear plastic tubes terminated into a duct system in the roof to direct the cooled air overhead throughout the car. Actually the best way to do it for comfort, as chilled air drops.

Backsliding a little, I decided to google the evaporative coolers for cars and here are some pictures of them. First time I saw one it was tooling down Highway 91 towards Advance. I'm surprised Old John missed it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_cooler

Wheelsw, If I have seen one like on the '50 Chevy, I've forgot. New to me!

Maybe that was a Packard in the museum, it was a long time ago.

Hmmmm, this is going to be easy. I can tell Old John anything and if he doesn't remember it, he will just think he forgot.

Old John,

Remember that $100 I loaned you back in 1957?

Heard stories from the folks living in Texas at the time, about the 'window' unit air conditioners of the day hanging out the passenger-side door. I suppose when it's that hot, form always wins over fashion, although suggest the race would be close. And a definite improvement over that 2-60 air conditioning - two windows down at 60 mph. :-)~

Remembering the old Dodge pickup - had a cowl vent. A little lever would pop a piece up on the cowl that deflected a pretty stiff breeze down on the feets. Had to watch the first opening of the vent in the spring, as the downforce would levitate all the winter crud off the floor mats, so much that by today's OSHA standards, eye protection would be required. But between it and the windows down - a nice velocity airflow through the cab.

Much like cowl vents and drum brakes, another soon-to-be lost art is the conversion of an R-12 unit over to the more environmentally friendly, and more importantly, easily attainable by the unlicensed masses R-134.

Converted the Ford back in '98, trying to get a jump on what was coming. I suppose conversions were a relatively new concept - as the recommendations then were to replace the drier with a R134 compatible type, replace all the o-rings with the green ones, replace the orifice with a slightly larger one, flush the system, and change the compressor oil. After doing all of this by the book, I was rewarded with the compressor shelling out, blowing crud and crap all through the lines - so's I gots to do the flush-n-fill thing all over again. Eh, well - if practice makes perfect, then I made a good start towards my current state of flawless. :-)~ And, it's been running fine every since - although the cooling output is about 3/4 of the R12, just have to kick the fan up a notch.

Wheels, That was $50 in '59 that I borrowed to pay what I owed Jim so he could pay the $50 he owed you and you had bet me $50 you would never get back the $50 you loaned Jim. I thought we were even. :)

Fxpwt, I remember reading all those government rules and regulations and noticing at the end it said R134 would be approved as a drop in refridgerant in [was it 2000?] Anyway I changed several over without changing any parts. I understood the R134 would cause the oil to seperate from the refridgerant and settle into the dryer, evaporator etc. The PAG oil added would take over the job of lubrication. What I noticed was nearly no cooling at slow speed, but increased cooling at steady highway speeds.

I understood that all GM cars and many others were fitted with R134 compatable parts in '90 or '91. All that and I still think the reason was that Dupont's patent on R12 was expiring.

"Wheels, That was $50 in '59 that I borrowed to pay what I owed Jim so he could pay the $50 he owed you and you had bet me $50 you would never get back the $50 you loaned Jim. I thought we were even. :)"

Good grief Old John. Maybe that is the way it went.

I think I will quit while I am still even. You repeat that one more time and I have a feeling that Jim and I will each owe you $50.00 ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻

Reminds me of anudder story.

It was one of those hottest and dryest summer days during the toughest of times when Mom was working in the garden and watching babies watch babies when a fellow came down the lane and came into the yard. He said Dad told him to come by and get the dollar Dad owed him.

Mom had 50 cents in the egg money jar and 50 cents in her secret emergency jar. She gave it to the man and he thanked her as he went on his way.

When Dad came home he said he didn't owe anyone a dollar nor did he tell anyone to come get a dollar. I think that's when the fight started!:)

I always wondered if I was an unwanted consequence of the reconciliation of that war. :)

Oh Lord, Old John, I better check.... is it a full moon?

Can't match your stories but I will pass on one of mine.

I bought a slightly used 1976 Chevrolet pickup from a buddy of mine. It came equipped with air conditioning but I seldom used it because I enjoyed the air flow from the sliding back glass. One summer day I was coming home from Cape, both side windows and the rear glass open. I met a tractor trailer doing the speed limit or a bit over. The sensation of all that hay and straw sucking through the back window and out the side windows was a shock! Straw was down my back, piled level on the dashboard, and everywhere in the cab.

Moral of the story: Take a minute to clean out the bed of your truck! No telling what problems you will avoid.

The way I figure it, a gas guzzler hauling four people and getting 12 mpg is getting better fuel mileage than a roller skate hauling one person and getting 40 mpg. Just sayin, if they are too small to do the job...............

ROBERT: I gave-up tryin' to match these "monkeys"---with all respect-intended there, to my-Senior "Consultants"!---about 699-entries ago. Now I just enjoy the(free!)education, and occasionally get to "teach" even, when they take time-off to breathe!☺

RICK☺: Yeah, I've seen 'em. What are they? A KIA-"SOUL", or is it "SOLE"? I guess they serve the purpose---but I don't know if I would sit IN-one, or ON-it?(Chop the top off, make it a "loafer"☺, an' it'd make a helluva-sweet go-kart!)

WHEELS: The evap-cooler ain't that-far off-subject---like we care anyway! I know a lady who once lived off-the-grid in N. Mexico, and she swore by one for survival. A literal oasis, in a place of DRY-hot temps.(She claimed she didn't need the generator OR the cooler at night, due to natural-nightime-coolness, in the desert?)All I know is, she about busted a gut laughin' at MY-suggestion of tryin' the same-thing HERE, in "Humidity-Hollows". She likened such a venture to living inside of a moldy-loaf of bread, so to speak.

I'll try to get back later, with a lie---er, story!---about an old-style wooden-slatted cooling-tower, and yet another educational-experience.

But I gotta go do some "work in my Oval-Office" first, as Fred Sanford would put it...!☺

Donknome,

In my experience, the first liar always loses........so I tend to watch and listen.

And I have enough people who think I don't know what I am doing without spilling my guts.

Bought a new refridgerator one time and the store folks helped me load in the truck right snug behind the cab. It was taller than the cab and still in the box/crate. One of the store folks warned that 55mph meeting a big truck would blow the fridge over.

He missed it by 10 mph and one truck. Blamed thing blew over at 45mph before I met a truck.

Wife still thinks I got such a good deal because of that small dent on the corner where it hit the tailgate. SHHH! :)

One learns by experience how valuable a length of rope or a bungee strap is.

OLD JOHN: Amazing how it fit-right in there, AFTER it'd blown-over, ain't it?☺

ROBERT: But, the TRUTH is just, like, SO-O-O-O boring...!

RICK: Yeah, one wouldn't want it too-LONG, of all-things. That'd be rough on the ol' joints, when y' stepped though that trap-door, and hit the ground...!☺

Robert, Best I can figure the advantage of fuel economy of a motorcycle is dwindling too.

Rick, Maybe it's a lack of observation on my part but all those poot scooter cars look alike to me.

"With your permission, oh heck, without your permission, I am going to move the car part over to Donknome-2's thread. A little copying and pasting if you will, even if it disturbs some. I am in a disturbing mood anyway."

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Mon, Jun 18, 2012, at 9:00 AM

LOL!!! I apologize ahead of time, WHEELS---I just now found the "original"-reason you brought this here. And, as much as I hate to admit it: I "Fell Outta Chair, LMAO"! You made it sound like that downstairs-bar, "Cheers"!☺

Kinda like: "I've heard enough of your crap---I'm gonna go to "Donks", an' get durnk---I mean, DRUNK!"

So come on over! The women---or men, whatever twists your crank!---are FREE, the beer LUKEWARM, and after a few-rounds of the latter, you'll not care about the availability of the former.....☺☻!!!

I'll bet there's a hidden-message in there, somewhere? But ah 'haint diggin' too-deep to find it---you're still "bloodied from the fight" earlier this morning!☺

I'm gonna rent me a 'rastlin'-cage, an' throw-y'all in it, THEN charge a buck-fifty a head---50-cents 12-and-under---to watch the show!

Of course, this means the WINNER gets to clean-up afterwards, as I've already absconded with the cash...!!!

Rick, One of the best ones I've seen was when one tow truck hooked up to a disabled car and then quit running. The second tow truck lettered up just like the first with the name of the frame shop on the doors hooked up to the first tow truck. As it started to pull away, it broke in half leaving everything from the cab back. It was obvious the frame had been cut and welded right behind the cab. There it was with the driveshaft on the pavement and the 4-way flashers on.

That had to be embarassing! :)

Old John,

I am sure that those tow trucks passed the state safety inspection? :)

Rick, Back in the day I had a VW and with those narrow tires and rear engine they had a reputation for going well in snow. One year we had ice and snow making it difficult to get up one heck of a hill in BC territory to see my gal. I put on the newest and greatest nylon chains from JC Whitney and got half way up that mountain, swapped ends and went right back down.

Knowing the mail was delivered and seeing his tracks up that hill, I drove across the flat field and walked to her house the next day just to see what kind of go anywhere rig the mail carrier was driving.

It was a Ford Maverick! What the ...?

He had real chains on the front and rear. :)

Goes to show that the 'latest and greatest' aint always what it is stacked up to be.

RICK: That's not the first-time I've heard that "Toyota rescues Suburban"-story, but it's been many a-year, now.

Was the Toyota by any chance a copper-colored early-80's model 4x4, with off-white/cream colored graphics on it's sides?

And by any chance did your uncle pull-in too-close to the bank of a creek, in order to get "humbled"?☺

That story sounds awful-familiar, for some reason...?

Both OLD JOHN, and ROBERT: Heh, yeah, years-ago when I was still a lernin'-dryver☺, I had a set of matching-spares(no, they really DID match!)with a full-set of "real"-chains pre-fitted, and the end-links all tied down SO-pretty. Told Dad I'd swap-'em out in the ice & snow, as needed, with my "normal"-tires.

Looked/sounded-good in theory---but didn't work worth two-hoots in-practice. As in, you still had to jack the car ON EACH SIDE, and fight with ten-total lugs TWICE, in below-freezing temps. And by the time you were done? The snow/ice had already DOUBLED in-thickness---and, you STILL couldn't STEER any better!

But, in the end, for as much laughin' as Dad did at ME?

Mom gave it away, than Dad had tried that trick himself years ago, too. And she said it didn't work a bit-better for HIM, either!

(Sigh) Ya' just gotta let a fella learn by-doing sometimes, it seems...!!!

There was a time I preferred to be snowed out than snowed in. Now I prefer to stock up and wait the storm out in a nice warm place.

RICK: Man, must've been more than one "humbling"-rescue of small-vs.-big in the past!☺

Sure sounded a lot like a "rescue" I'd taken part in years' ago.

The 'Burbans owner was a bit-disgruntled, to say the least, for an-hour or so.

He was just lucky he didn't have more than $10 in his wallet that day, since he'd bet "...all the money in his billfold!", that it couldn't be done.

But he got better, after the boys in the 'yota left, so's to go and enjoy their "loot"...☺

Just another time when bigger was not better. :)

No drooling allowed.

http://www.familylegacyvideo.com/video-clip/charlie-thomas-collector-3/

Wow!

RickO (sorry, haven't figured out the special Alt-keystroke for the Omega) - suggest to make things look right quick while the inconsiderate pile of pond scum making payments on the four-door club cab pickup with the trailer of beater lawn mowers occupies space in front of the gas pump that others gasoline-fueled vehicles are wanting to use.

Or, the theory that a hard-run diesel engine cools quicker by letting it idle as compared to shutting it off and risking boilover.

Or, the speculation that the tough-guy, bad-boy image the driver is trying to project is diminished by the sissy inability to do without the A/C running full-blast.

Or, hoping that someone will steal it for the insurance, and relieve them of the payments.

Or, too cheap to buy good batteries, and doesn't want to pay for the wrecker service.

And, the list goes on :-)~

Fxpwt,

If it is turbo charged I do believe they would like to see the engine fast idled for a few minutes after some hard running to let the turbo cool down properly. Leastways that is what I think I remember reading somewhere. It would seem that if this is critical a heat detecting sensor could be installed to let a person know if there is any benefit in running the engine for this purpose or not.

But this machoman thing of letting them run for a half hour to an hour to just listen to them rattle is nothing more than wasting fuel.

Wheels, They call that a pyrometer I think.

My compact deisel tractor manual says to idle 1 minute before shut down after running full load.

So does my gasoline powered lawnmower. I think that has to do with even expansion and contraction of aluminum.

Old John,

I think I remember reading on a diesel engine that the turbo charger bearings take a lot of heat and therefore need some cool down before shut down. But as you said, a minute or so will do it. I have always tried to allow any engine being run under load to idle a minute or so before turning off. It only makes sense I feel.

But I certainly would not consider a diesel pickup being run in traffic and stop and go to be running under heavy load.

Wheels, Agreed. Some of the old big rigs had reasons to idle. In cold weather the water temp for the heater cooled quickly due to length of hoses, keeping air pressure was a concern and the simple fact that deisel engines rely on cylinder temp for combustion fueled the idea of letting the rigs idle. Also, at one time deisel was cheap enough it wasn't a concern for the pocket book.

A while back I saw a tour bus idle for about an hour outside Lambert's in Sikeston for no reason I could think of. It wasn't hot or cold outside.

I'm guessing the pickup drivers fit one of fxpwt's reasons.

Now an old man in a motor home might leave his engine idle while his wife runs into Walmart to purchase a new pair of old man's pull-ups and he sneaks around back to check for glugites! :) :)

Old John

You covered all your bases!

RICK: Nope, they weren't pullin' your leg. Diesel will "gel" in winter, especially when it gets into the low-20's, and facing a head-wind. At one time a fella could run #1 Diesel, and help with the cold-run problem. But #1 tended to cause premature failure of injection-pumps/injectors, of "modern"-engines, because of it's lack of paraffin.(#1 fuel is just a hair-away from home-heating oil. The two are interchangeable, in an emergency.) Don't even know if #2 is available anymore? Probably "just low-sulfur Diesel", now? And, additives are always available, to prevent gelling, for the most-part.

And, yeah, the turbo DOES need a cool-down idle---and that's where OLD JOHN's pyrometer comes into play.

But FXPWT has good-points. And, he's probably closer to the truth than he expects, in re: to the "purchase of GOOD-batteries". COLD-weather isn't the only-enemy of-"it'll last a little-longer"-batteries. HEAT will do 'em in, too. I'm assuming that even modern-Diesel "pickups" still/are supposed to use TWO-batteries?(Which would back-up FXPWT's point.) If ONE is going, the OTHER will follow. In an emergency, YES---use ONE, then upgrade ASAP. If ya' can't afford to maintain the thing properly? Get rid of it, and stick with a "civilian"-style of truck.

(P.S. to FXPWT: Set-'em up with the old time-tested "pony-motor" starting system---eliminates the worry about "wonder if the battery will last?" Just carry a spare-rope, and make sure the GAS-tank of the "pony" is full!)

All-else aside though: A well-maintained/tuned Diesel can idle no-load for a long-time, on just a literal-tablespoon of fuel. That's why you see locomotives idle for HOURS on-end, esp. in winter---it's just not worth the extra-expense/wear & tear on the equipment, to shut-down for even an 8-hour layover. That, and it keeps the moisture from accumulating inside the combustion-chambers, of those HUGE-C.I.-displacement motors.

(Ever see what happens, if a fella/gal forgets to open the cylinder-cock for a few-turns BEFORE shootin' the juice to one of those big-busters? It ain't pretty---an' it ain't just a "normal"-Diesel knock, either!☺)

As for the vid? LOVED it! Just wish he'd opened the hood on a few of those ol' jewels, for a "show-and-tell"!

My fingers are thirsty---I gotta go refresh 'em....!

Fxpwt,

You are right on with the 'gelin' business. Many years ago when there were still a lot of oil space heaters around and 'pot type' oil burners in mobile homes, they used a lot of outside oil tanks. And #1 fuel oil was the order of the day. Let some new guy on the route dunp #2 into those tanks and the cash regigster went 'ka ching' 'ka ching' at the local heating guys place of business. If the cold weather didn't get you first, the carbon in the bottom of the 'pot' in those vaporizing burners was going to. Pull the filter off one of those outside tanks with #2 in it in subzero weather and what you pour out looks like what you pickled pig's feet in.... if it didn't smell so bad.

I use oil to heat with in my motor home, but it is a pressure burner and gets it's fuel right out of the tank for the engine, so I get to pay road taxes to stay warm. Before I beat it for warmer weather I have had to dump a 100 or so gallons in the tank and the big caution with the delivery guy that I would rather pay than unhook in freezing weather... make sure that is road fuel. Cause I do not want to be sitting on the side of the road somewhere 'splainin' to some DOT guy why there is dye in my tank.

Do not know what is the answer to the availability of straight #2 fuel oil as oil furnaces are almost extinct around our area. But still used big time in the Northeast.

Actually meant to address that to Donknome-2 as he was the guy with the 'gelin' information. Oh well, it's still early in the day... plenty of time to do some more screwing up.

Don't worry---we younger-oldsters will cover for you!☺

Y'know, we hafta "take care of our-own", after-all!

An' if the seat of this chair weren't so jungle-like, I'd sit here longer, an' write yet ANOTHER-"book" of self-assumed intellect...!☺

Wheels, That's a new one to me, just figured you had a 200 lb propane tank under there.

I'm thinking grandpa or someone had a car with a inboard gasoline heater.

I saw once an old advertisement for a soapstone heat retention device for buggies. Keeps feet cozy warm!

A friend made a shop heater to use old motor oil. He made use of a electric iron as a prestart heater to get the oil flowing and then a drip system dropped the oil into a small stream of compressed air creating a pulsing blow torch effect. Worked pretty well but a bit noisey.

Old John,

What I have is a small 50,000 BTU hot water boiler. Oil burner for supplying the heat with an electric element as secondary supply. Supplies the domestic hot water supply as well, so have no tank type water heater. Heat is supplied with fan coils, some ducted some just behind a grill. Has two seperate zones and the enter system works off 12 Volts DC, including burner, blowers and pumps. Very comfortable and not as limited as the more standard force air gas furnace. I understand someone has now built one of these with an LP burner as well, but that gets you right back into the problem of fuel storage capacity. The electric heating element is sufficent for supplying hot water, unless you want to take an hours shower. Switch on the oil burner and it will supply as much hot water as you can run through it. You can come out of the shower all red and wrinkled.

This boiler also has a loop that uses engine heat. You can drive down the road and be comfortable without using oil as it uses the hot water from the engine and the waste heat that would normally be disapated by the radiator.

Wheels, I assume you can still run a shore line through the woods to BC's get-away when he's not looking and run everthing all electric?

Well, that is if his 'possums didn't chew through the cord.:)

Absolutely!

Doggone - you know it's hot when your temperature gauge is already off the 'C' mark upon starting a cold engine.

I was on Grand yesterday. They did not need a burn barrel to keep warm.

OLD JOHN: I know a '60-model Corvair had in/on-board gasoline heaters. Also more than a few 50's-model school-buses(?)/heavy-trucks, as I still have a fully-functional GASOLINE-fired heater-"system", sittin' on the shelf in my man-cave, that I "procured" from such years ago. Not gravity-fed, either---used a tap-line from the fuel pump.

Dads' Corvair, with the on-board/in front trunk heater, worked great, and eliminated the morning warm-up of the engine-coolant.(Duh!) But he chose to double his cover-alls instead, in the name of "personal-safety"---he, like myself, just didn't trust it! It was a huge-thing, given the size of the car. Or so it seemed to me?

(Somethin' about a gasoline-fire just inches from your face, PLUS the flames would follow the leg/windshield vents, in the event of an "Unforseen, Extenuating-Circumstance", if you get my drift!)

And besides, when it threatened freezing rain/snow---MY-old left-over '60-Biscayne was always available, with it's "old-fashioned" hot-water defroster.

(I used to "steal" it back from him myself at times---it got around better on ice/snow than my new-'76 GMC did, with it's empty-bed.☺)

"I still have a fully-functional GASOLINE-fired heater-"system", sittin' on the shelf in my man-cave, that I "procured" from such years ago."

Donknome-2

Someone gave me one of those, new and in the box years ago. A Southwind I believe it was. I did not secure it properly and it merely 'walked off' one day.

Donknome-2

http://classiccars.about.com/od/maintenancetips/a/Southwind.htm

Saw something on the site above that reminded me. My first automobile, a $100 41 Ford Coupe had a manifold heater that was nothing more than a shroud around the exhaust manifold, a blower and some ducting to take the heat into the car.

Part of it fell off one day on Clayton Road and I had to stop and retrieve it. Put it in the trunk and it was still there when I traded the car.

It was great at the drive inn. Run the car for a few minutes and you had heat for 20 minutes to a half hour.

WHEELS: Mine ain't much bigger than a dress-shoe-box. Has an eagle on it, but I can't recall who, or where, it was made?(Made in U.S., for certain, though!)

Wish they'd support some-sort of limited-graphics on these pages, as I've got a whole snot-load of stuff that you "more-fermented" bottles of wine could help me I.D.

BTW: Anyone "seen or heard" from VOYAGER lately?

(Twenty-Seven more days, an' we'll make a YEAR on here.)

I'm tempted to "burn" a copy on disc, just in case the world ends, BEFORE it's scheduled disappearance this December...☺!

A happy day was when Dad got "Comforters" for the M, Super M and 300. There were days though when I would peel back the canvas wrap up about noon and still get too hot before the day was over.

Wheels, The article says the Southwind pulled the combustion fumes back into the manifold but leaves how to the imagination.

I ain't that imaginative. :)

Old John,

I understood by vacuum... and I could see how that would work, unless you stepped on the accelerator real hard. Maybe the forerunner of the EGR valve?

They also said they used Vacuum to pull the fuel in and vaporize it... that one had me more confused. I have seen them work and they did throw out the heat. My Grandfather's 40 Ford Sedan was equipped with one. I would presume it was an add on after he purchased the car... or maybe a dealer installed option?

Wheels, If the combustion was contained as in a household furnace with the heated air just outside the combustion chamber forced into the cabin, I can see how the exhaust could be evacuated via engine vaccum and recirculated. An exhaust gas recirculation as you put it.

Just seems to me it would have to be too large to fit.

The VW Bug used a manifold heater. An option was an extra electic blower fan to keep the heat working at lower rpm as it relied on the engine cooling fan to move air into the car. At least that's what I was thinking. I could be wrong though!:)

And oh, BTW Wheels, relying on a car heater to stay warm at a drive in movie, well that just don't seem logical. ;)

OK, maybe if her parents tagged along. :)

Old John,

Yes as I understand it the combustion took place in what I would in HVAC terms call a combustion chamber, from which the flue gases were pulled through a Heat Exchanger, which the passenger compartment air was passed over to remove the heat and deliver the heated air to the passengers. Anything else could have well resulted in some carbon monoxide poisoning of the passengers. As I read the article again, it appears that the connection to the intake manifold pulled fuel from the carburetor bowl through the heater where it was atomized, ignited and burned with the fumes continuing back into the intake manifold. Actually should be a pretty safe system where the carbon monoxide was concerned as the combustion chamber was constantly under a vacuum.

My manifold heater had a blower on it. And Old John, being the perfect gentleman that I always was, the thought you presented never crossed my mind.....

Well maybe a couple of times, but you don't want them bundled up like an eskimo, so heat is a requirement.

Donknome-2,

Surely you aren't thinking of preserving this for posterity? You're liable to supress free speech at the very mention of such a thing.

I dunno---I think it'd make a GREAT-read, on a cold winter night, while sittin' in an outhouse.

And, one would NEVER fear running-short of paper, again....!☺

It has been a good run Donknome'2. Hell let's let her run until the world ends in December!

Indeed.

Just look back three or four, or more, months'-worth of posts. There were some good-times there, not to mention actual-USEFUL information.

I miss a lot of "ex-regulars" that'd stop by on occasion. Can't say as I'd blame them, if by some chance they're still "quiet"-readers. You get to liking, and enjoying a tale or three---and then suddenly, one troll can/will take you down, and ruin the whole fun-game of reminiscing for everyone. Or maybe even learning a new-interest?

If it DOES make it to 7/28/2012---I swear I WILL "burn" a copy, just for me, and what once was honest,(basically!)clean fun---and, there's NO-way you can beat the price...!☺

Besides---one of our "regulars" has at least a bakers'-dozen more avitars/tag names to go through.

They're gettin' more interesting & imaginative each time!

Gotta respect 'im though, for his tenacity...!☺

And, upon further re-review: I now know who ROBERT*-'was'.

Yeah, I know---took me long-enough!

Thought he "sounded" awfully-familiar....☺

Memories: Sometimes they get distorted with time like how deep the snow was or how steep that hill was. Many times listening to others reminince and the desire to kind of disremember certain events can alter one's true recall.

I guess the folks in the family with cameras didn't think my little freedom machine was proper subject or worthy of the expenditure of film but

I recently ran across this that confirms my recollect is pretty much http://www.flickr.com/photos/30036957@N00/4267979502/

No that's not me but the machine is exactly the same as I terrorized a 20 mile area around home on.

Yet to be known to me is anything that would take so much abuse. I didn't keep it in the house but it was easy to walk it up onto the front porch with the help of an easily controlled clutch and engine at idle.

I ran that thing until it got to smoking and was hard to start. Dad said it was wore out.

Being unafraid to tear up anything and a reputation for such expertise, I unthreaded the 4 nuts that held the cilynder head on. The whole thing came off and that night I got up the nerve to ask Dad to look at it. He said the piston was shot but the rest was ok and after a lesson on mechanics he said if I bought the parts he would show me how to put it back together.

$5 for a piston, rings and gasket and that thing outlived him. When the front sprocket wore out I was sill young and dumb enough to sell it for junk. The next kid rode it for several years after that.

Didn't start out quite so young. My first was a 1972 Honda 450, candy apple red with sissy bars, and chhrome turn down tips in place of the stock mufflers. I bought that one used from a friend's friend. That same friend rode it home because I had never ridden one. Once he got it home I had to try it out. Got to the end of the lane and realized I did not know how to turn it around and it was too big for me to wrassle it around so I had to take it out on the road. Never stopped after that.

My first "motor"-cycle was a 5-hp B&S-powered---ummm,---machine, with a handful of 3-inch worm-gear clamps, an' a rusty-piece of 1-inch round-stock holding the frame together. Add to that the flat-plate friction-"brake" on the rear-tire---and there was never a dull, nor safe, moment!

But after I got too "growed-up" for it, the next-choice was a 160-Honda, with no-cover plate over the points, so it didn't do too-well in the rain, let alone an early-morning start in the dew.

However, after the 1-an-a-half-cyl., 325(?)Honda---sometimes the 2nd-cyl. would fire, sometimes not!---trades were always going the POSITIVE-way after that one, until the sport outlived me. After my open-heart in 2000, I just couldn't take the pressure of the air pressing against my chest anymore, not even with a windscreen.

Of course, if I were to try it again now?

Heh, I do good to straddle a lawn-tractor, without breaking-noises coming from my knees.....!☺

Ah, the Honda 160.. the next step up from the Riversides and Brigstones and Honda 90s. I never owned one but seveal buddies rode them and they proved reliable and easy to handle. Replace the stock mufflers with straight pipes and they would purr quietly at idle and roar like crazy when opened up!

A cousin had a Briggs just above the rear tire of his bicycle. It took one hand to reach back and operate the throttle and had only the coaster brake on the rear.

Later on Sears sold a Tonaka? built unit that hung off the handle bars with a rubber wheel that rested down on the top of the tire. Sounded like a bumble bee.

OLD JOHN: You were REAL-close---I'll still give ya' the cigar!☺

It doesn't list it, but I wonder if this thing comes standard, with a first-aid kit, and pre-paid cell, locked to dialing 911...???

http://gokartsusa.com/tanaka40bicycleenginekit.aspx

Heh, THIS-one's for RICK!☺

http://gokartsusa.com/Little-Badass-Minichopper-Motorcycle.aspx

Donk, Thanks for the link, very close to what Sears sold under their brand name. Basic difference is rear mount and belt driven vs the front mount roller against the tire.

A couple years back I ordered a 70cc engine kit. It mounted on the frame of my old Western Flyer like a conventional motorcycle with a clutch and chain drive. I spent a week on the thing, repainting the bicycle and shining the chrome. Only one problem. It took pedal power to start it and I never mustered enough to make it happen. Had good spark, fuel, air and timing, I guess it was a little tight. At the time I didn't have a steep hill close and when we moved to Cape a fellow saw it and wanted it. The kit was $189 and I sold it for $200. Last I heard he never got around to getting it going either but is pleased to have it as a ..conversation starter.

I bought a '78 Vespa Bravo motorbike the guy said had always been kept under roof and had been sitting for two years. I believe the under roof part but figure the sitting part to be more like 8 or 10 years. I got everything cleaned out and ran it up the road and back. The variable speed hub gives it plenty of power and speed [35mph] and it looks really nice. A petcock leak and a missing air filter put it on the back burner, waiting for a round tuit now for 2 years. :)

OLD JOHN: I'll give ya' TWO-cigars, for compensation of MY-reading skills! You caught what I "forgot to remember"! The "original" was, indeed, a front-mount.

Must've had one-eye shut, an' the other half-open. Well, that, and was full of hot dogs, chips, and the ever-explosive Coke Zero.

Man, it was a foggy-road to the "Oval-Office" for me to walk this morning, steppin' over the remnants of last-night...!☺

Rick,

I thought anyone who could spend a night, and live, in the Kinloch City Hotel would be a mean SOB and not skeered to die! ;-)

I let someone at a Rally talk me into buying a new motorized bicycle a few years back. Thought I would use it for exercise and when I was too tired to pedal, I could also crank up the motor and ride back. Like a lot of good plans, this one is like old John's.... waiting on a round tuit. I already cleaned the gummed up carburetor out once.... and no doubt will get to do that exercise in futility once more if I ever want to hear it purr again.

Wheels, I still every once in a long while enjoy a ride on the old bicycle up and down the short level part of the street I live on. I get my real exercise dragging the bike out of the shed and airing up the tires and then putting it up.:)

Did you buy a Wizzer or one of those more modern rigs?

Did you buy a Wizzer or one of those more modern rigs?

-- Posted by Old John on Thu, Jul 5, 2012, at 6:13 PM

I guess I got a modern rig.... not sure. The motor mounts down kind of inside the rear wheel and the wheel is a special 'cupped' affair that lets the motor mount a little closer to center. I understand this outfit also sold kits, which included a new rear wheel (and tire I suppose). They had an automatic clutch, so there was no engaging and disengaging power to the wheel. It would zing right along. Now I may have to drag it out again and see if I can bruise myself up a little..... after it cools off.

Not sure if they are still around. I googled the company PB Cruisers Inc, in Redford MI and if they ever made a bicycle they are keeping it a secret. Maybe I have a collectable, or more likely a piece of junk that has no parts availability.

Ahh haa... I took another look and it was built by Pro Rotary International and PB Cruisers probably brand named it. But before you jump to conclusions, it is not a rotary engine but a piston instead and it is a 30cc.

http://www.allproducts.com/manufacture1/rotary/

I had this information at hand because I had scanned it into my computer and saved it for just such an emergency as this thread.

Wheels, Did you notice the total number of employees? 20 might make it a one of a kind on your block at least.

Old John,

When I pass on, I will instruct my heirs to look you up. You would be about the only one besides me that I could imagine buying one of these things. Someday I will tell you about the bargain I got on one of those little scooters that the flea market dealer lost the key for and his "mechanic" was not swift enough to wire a new switch up on. It has been as great a bargain as the bicycle, but it had electric start, and my two grandkids had a great time on it the last time we took them to an RV Rally. I let em terrorize the other attendees, just to get even with em for letting their dogs use my wheels for a fire plug.

Man, what would us REAL-men do, if we couldn't stop-by "Donks-Place", for a cold-one of whatever, and a heapin' helping of BS!

(Hmm. Y' know, that just MIGHT be a good-name for a new-thread, if/when I can get THIS-one to make it until the 28th of the month?)

Does have a nice-'ring' to it. "Donks-Place". Just like the hole in the fence of the nudist-colony: I think I might just look-into it....?☺

Wheels, When the Chinese scooters and such first came on the scene, A respected mechanic in the area spent a half day on one because the starter wouldn't engage. Just couln't figure it out. It ended when a kid came by and told him you had to squeeze the clutch lever before it would start! :)

Old John,

This one I have with the centrifical clutch cautions you a number of times, not to start it with the accelerator anywhere but in the "A" position.

Y'alls discussion of making sure this is there and that is here before starting reminds me of how complicated things are getting.

The ol' '48 was plain and simple - hit the starter, get the starter.

Nowadays - have to have the gear selector in P or N, or have the clutch depressed to get the starter to roll off. The clutch thing is a real PITA for those times when changing oil and the like, and just want to start it without having to crawl in, greasy pants and all.

The Impy is so smart (*sarcasm*), that the starter won't engage if the engine is running. Yes, I had an increasingly not-so-rare 'moment' there, but before I reached the D'Oh conclusion - went through the 'great, now this POS has a dead battery / bad starter' followed by the playing out of events to come resulting in the violent disposal of the vehicle. A simple ching-grind-whoa could have prevented all this.

The remote start won't work if the computer has flagged a fault - such as a failure in the solenoid valve that pulls a vacuum on the fuel tank so them noxious nasty fuel fumes can't escape - but the key start continues to work fine - leading one to suspect the remote system has died.

The '81 Jeep came with an owner's manual about 40 pages deep - the Impy has what amounts to a reference book 200 pages plus. Even those 200+ pages don't cover all the 'whys' and 'look heres' of the problems encountered.

Suppose the question is - is all this protection really necessary 'for our own good' - or is it a clever ploy in this day of "I've got people" to ensure mechanics will always have a job? :-)

We have so much government controlled protections that it could easily kill us... financially at least.

I purchased a new ZTR Mower this spring and the guy delivered it, showed me it ran, gave me the papers and left. When I went to start it, I thought I was going to have to push it inside. If the brake, the blade switch, the switches on the two fold out controls, the seat switch and seems like I missed something..... are not all in the right position, we are in battery saving mode cause it ain't gonna attempt to start.

And when you are my age, after you get it started you may just wonder what you were intending on doing to begin with.

I was mowing my neighbor's acre yard with my mower for $100/month. Quite a bit of mowing when added to my 1.5 acres. When I moved I had 3 yards to mow, about 5 acres so I started bringing the utility tractor and a 6' finish mower.

She decided to buy her first riding mower and like in Wheels situation the Sears guy started it, proved that it would mow and left.

She never got the hang of mowing and proposed to furnish the machine if I did the mowing of her place and mine with it.

First off the thing used twice the fuel as the Simplicity and had a smaller deck, was god awful noisy and would die when backing up unless the mower was disengaged. Then there was the wind row effect. The yard looked like a hay field raked and ready for the bailer.

What bothers me the most on the tractor is that the seat switch will kill the engine if not in neutral. I understand the reason but the thing won't move anyway unless the foot pedal is pushed.

Oh, and if you ever run out of fuel or have a dead battery and want to coast the thing down the hill to the barn, turning the steering wheel does nothing at all unless the engine is running.

Just came across something I had seen previously but forgotten about - doggone, I don't care who you are, it's still funny.

Haven't decided which is funnier - the idea or the forum group's responses to it. CAUTION - some language is not appropriate for public airing.

http://www.eugeneleafty.com/DEI/Nebraska%20GM%20Modern%20Muscle%20%20View%20topi...

I think the dude may just have come close to inventing perpetual motion. Or maybe perpetual motionless, in the case of that particular vette!

Given the photo of his presumed house and car - figure he one of those blessed people having way more dollars than sense. :-)~

fxpwt,

If the account is actually true... there is no doubt in my mind that this fruitcake is operating on 'Daddy's Money'.

I'll bet it's QUIET, though---and probably "green"-enough for a Federal-grant, as well! You know---NO-emissions! (Wonder if he lives in the land of "fruits & nuts"???)

Surely he's not THAT-stoo-pud? But then again?

But to his credit: He has stated that he still"---has a few-things to work-out."

An-understatement, to say the least...!☺

Tooling on down the road - came up on an old 4-door beater, guessing it was a late 80's mid-size such as an Olds Ciera.

The vehicle was suitably weathered with the then-new low-volatility paint and clearcoat peeling as if the car were shedding its skin, but what caught my eye as being unusual was the abundance of relatively new bumper stickers haphazardly placed, sharing a similar message that 'seat belts save lives'.

Intrigued by this apparent mismatch of reasonable logic and order in the universe - a highly-pronounced passion for safety, but not a similar demonstrated enthusiasm, as given by the vehicle's appearance and assumed correlated maintenance - I had to take a look at the occupants as I passed. A cigarette in every mouth, and not a seat belt one seen in its proper place - just the webbing material flapping loosely in the 2/70 air conditioning.

Best I could come up with was they ran out of duct tape... :-)~

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sat, Jul 7, 2012, at 10:55 AM

I like stevewix comment. :) BTW Diesels will burn the exhaust (I think) 5 times when they hit the final tier.

fxpwt, Friends bought a new 65 Ford Galaxie and after 6 years the paint started to turn loose. They wrote a polite letter to Ford and got a reply telling them to take it to the selling dealer and arrange for a new paint job at Ford's expense.

In 74 another friend bought a brown Corvette and you could see the primer through the thin paint. I was there when the Chevrolet rep said it was not a factory covered defect concerning the 1 year old car.

Fast forward to the '90s when the GM paint was blowing off and the Japanese were using real paint that stayed on and the fumes blew to Hawaii and the cane field smoke blew to California. :)

-- Posted by fxpwt on Mon, Jul 9, 2012, at 6:47 PM

"---assumed correlated maintenance..."

I like that one! Reminds me of "Beans, With Pork, In Tomato Sauce. Not for in-flight/pre-flight use."

It's goin' into my "Shop-Sayings Manual", as we---"speak"!☺

Did I just get ripped off by a local garage who changed my oil? I was charged $25 labor to change oil, PLUS oil and filter cost were listed under parts. Roughly $50 total.

I don't put a lot of miles on the car; only have to change the oil about once a year. Trusted this mechanic because I've known him forever; I didn't feel the need to ask "how much" up front.

Query - suggest more information is needed. Yes, at face value, seems a bit high, but -

* Any other services included with the oil change - such as other fluids topped off, inspection of the underside (ball joints, tie-rods, suspension check, exhaust integrity, etc.), tire pressure check and fill, car wash and vacuum, etc.?

* What kind of vehicle? Some are easy-peasy oil changes, at least one SUV-type requires removal of a skid-plate panel, others require the grunt-n-groan method to get to the filter. Some vehicles take four quarts, some diesels take double-digit quarts.

* What kind/brand of oil and filter? Dino (conventional) vs synthetic, name-brand filter vs. a sieve screen in a can.

IMO, a mechanic you know and can hopefully trust means a lot. Good ones aren't doing this work out of the goodness of their heart - if you want Quickie-Lube prices, be prepared for Quickie-Lube quality - such as cross-threaded drain plugs that dribble on the driveway afterwards or getting charged for a filter that wasn't changed.

Query, If I needed the money and have many times in the past, I would be happy to change your oil for $15. Add the oil at $3/quart and a quality filter and that puts it at about $35.

I have yet to pay anyone to change oil but understand a lot of folks don't care to get that down and dirty. Old school tells us to change oil twice a year, regardless of mileage. Yeah right, nobody cares about that so it may or may not apply these days.

In the old days a lube oil and filter meant a lot more. Tires were checked for pressure and wear, fluid levels were scrutinized, rubber lube was applied to suspension bushings, air filters were checked, etc. The door hinges were lubed and a lot of places vaccumed the carpets. Only those items that needed attention were mentioned, there was no big sales pitch to flush and renew the power steering, brake, transmission or other fluids.

Given all that, todays cars are different in that the designers have figured out how to make them all a little more predictable in their natural course, that being they are all headed for the junckyard.

Today's more trouble free cars are a stark contrast those earlier vehicles that benefited greatly with tender loving care in the way of maintenance.

Old John,

I think I'll be in the area at the end of the month. I would like to schedule one of those $35 oil changes.

Wheels, No problem, I'll be here. My wife can explain why the shop fees and enviromental disposal costs added on are more than the labor and materials combined. And if you would like a free wash and wax with that, well be sure and bring your wash mitt, step ladder and bucket. :)

Old John,

You can have all weekend. Can I plug into your electric? Maybe I ought to mention... it holds 42 quarts and should have a filter change.

Ugh. Called to help on an intake manifold gasket replacement gone wrong, replaced due to the coolant emulating a water fountain out the top of the engine. This is the easy-peasy 70s era Chevy 350 - nothing exotic.

Fine - job salvaged, put everything back together, but no start - just an occasional snort or backfart.

Quizzed the guy whether he marked the distributor before removing. "Uh, kinda - but I know I put it back in the way exactly the way it came out." Frickin' perfect - I had a sinking feeling where this was going!

Rolled the engine to the timing mark - rotor was nowhere near #1, nor 180 out.

Extended arguments, er, conflicting discussions pertaining to where things need to be versus 'that cain't be right' ensued.

Allowed the friend to ride awhile with different arrangements of his thinking - rolled the dizzy 180 and back and forth several times - figured with the dizzy being in the back of the engine - his back would soon be telling him God gave you two ears, two eyes, and one mouth for a reason - being to look and listen at least four times as much as one sprays the verbal diarrhea. The timing light never indicated we were even close.

Finally, received the go-ahead to set the engine on the timing mark, put the #1 post where the rotor was, which required rolling all wires one post clockwise - which couldn't possibly be right since the guy claimed the wires weren't touched on removal.

After prior episodes of rolling and rolling and rolling the starter with the related increase in frustration levels - the motor piped right off barely after the starter hit the flywheel. Tweaked the timing a couple degrees - perfect, right on the mark, and a sewing machine would be proud to run so smooth.

I just smiled and left.

Wheels, You got a shore line long enough to reach my neighbor's house? :) You are aware of the disposal fee for that much oil, right? If you do take me up on my offer, don't forget the usual gratuity consisting of Alabama's finest and St. Charles' highest tradition! :)

Fxpwt, Many times I have been amazed at some of the old school mechanics that had no idea of what made an ignition system work but always new how to fix them! Cam timing can be a bit challenging without a timing mark but distribitor posistion shouldn't be that complicated even without timing marks.

My most recent challenge is a blower fan and headlamps that don't want to turn off. The '94 Buick has had a windshield leak and I suspect that has something to do with it. I've yet to locate the $200 blower control the parts listings show and have no idea if that or a body control module or other component is at fault.

Oh, and about that manifold leak, some of the newer rigs with that problem require replacement of a plastic manifold.

OJ - one of my favorite online parts sites is rockauto.com. As with any online purchasing - have to watch the shipping charges to evaluate whether it's still a good deal.

Also, with a little scrounging, can find several dealers operating websites where true-OEM parts can be had at pretty good prices and excellent customer service, as compared to what the locals offer. Plus, I don't have to walk past the leering eyes of the salesmen, avoiding the ugly remembrance of my last attempt to buy a car locally, and was subsequently four-squared by an easy-greasy who couldn't make any kind of decision without first checking with the boss.

As for the newer cars, got to looking at the Impy with its bank of three coils. Haven't had the misfortune, er, 'opportunity' to do anything besides change the plugs so far as the ignition - hey, believe it or not, those 100,000-mile plugs are for real - but guessing the timing is based off that mysterious crankshaft position sensor. Bet that's a fun dude to troubleshoot, especially since electronics like to tease ya by failing on an intermittent basis first.

fxpwt, I heard an Allen test equipment salesman telling about his attempt to make a sale of his latest machine of diagnostic wonders and impress the customer powers. He was at an old Buick dealer that had also sold motorcycles and not many of either.

The salesman pointed out the three coils and asked how he was going to test them in the event of a misfire without his new machine. [the early ones had two plugs firing in series, a bad coil or wire would take out two cylinders] The old man took out a hand held magnetic current indicater and held it over each coil. If the needle didn't rock back and forth from - to + the coil was dead and all you had to do was figure out which wire or plug was the problem which took less time than hooking up the $3,000 machine.

I too have a favorite parts site. So far so good and they have some good how to videos and car stories.

http://www.1aauto.com/

The nuts and bolts blog sometimes has some interesting stuff.

If y'all would be so kind to indulge me in a little venting - going back to the 'life is getting too complicated' theme.

The Impy has been doing pretty good lately (yes, a lead-in to the impending swirl around the toilet bowl). Almost starting to talk favorably about it. Until today.

Stopped off at one of my most-est favorite convenience stores - you know, the kind that only has to charge 5.425% sales tax. Went inside, traded dollars for stuff, came back out.

Got in the car, slapped on the seat belt, fired the V8 wannabe up, and went to shift to Drive. Errrrnt. Well, let's try that again - step on brake pedal, pull selector back - Nope.

After taking apart half the console in the parking lot, finally found the magic detent button to override the gear shift interlock - and away we went.

Suppose I gets to drive around for a while with a screwdriver in the passenger seat and the console on the passenger-side floorboard, so's I can at least continue to go somewhere until the problem is found - a wiring failure or a failed brake transaxle shift interlock solenoid (that just doesn't sound cheap) or other.

Which brings things back to - things are just getting too complicated, or, there's seemingly just no end to the efforts certain parties will go to in order to protect people from themselves.

On the brighter side of this seemingly electrical upset to my apple cart, realized that those Tibetian monks must have had equivocally frustrating electrical issues, given the way they meditated and reached a level of calmness and serenity by repeating - 'ohm, ohm, ohm'. But frankly my dear (er, that would be 'deer' for the Cape folks), I don't give an amp. :-)~

Rick - not sure about a button on the column, but the starter button used to be on the floor near the accelerator. The ol' '48 was so far back there that it had linkage that took about 6" of stroke to engage the starter gear into the flywheel before the actual starter button was made. A real trick to have the toe on the starter, the heel on the gas and the other foot on the brake. Perhaps an early version of theft deterrent? :-)

As for the saga of the Impy - found a broken wire going to the brake transaxle shift interlock connector - now for my next trick - figuring out how to get the super-double-secret special connector out of the socket so's I can fix it.

I remember my aut had a car that started when you pushed in the clutch.

I have had cars that started when they felt like it.

FXPWT: My-experiences with the foot-starters always ended-up with a skinned-right ankle, from lettin' the plunger-"pad" whomp-me on the return-stroke, especially if my shoe was wet, or muddy.

(Well, that, and forgettin' to turn-on the ignition!)

That old-Dodges' starter-pedal had the prettiest-"S-S-SQUE-E-E-EAK!" on the down-stroke, an' a satisfying "THUMP-D-DUMP-DUMP!" on the return.

Seemed that everything on that truck squeaked or thumped. Steering-wheel. Brakes. Even the clutch, brake, and gas-pedal---squeaked.

Well, except for the doors, which squawked, instead. And, the tranny, which groaned or moaned, depending if you were going UP the hill---or DOWN it...???☺

Donk - getting me to waxing nostalgic there.

Can still hear the brake pedal 'thunk' as the cast iron arm slammed up against the floorboard on release since the master cylinder was underneath the floorboard instead of on the firewall, the screeeeech of the clutch pedal as its arm rubbed the side of its hole in the floorboard, the 'I think I can, I...think...I...can, I.....KNOW.....I.....can of the starter as the 6V system faded rapidly during a cold weather start, never failing to die out before lighting off the 218CID flathead six. The only way one knew the engine was idling was the swish-swish-swish of the fan belt driving the water pump.

Changing gears, still remember standing in line at the bank many years ago, when the lady behind me tugs my shirt and informs me that I must be driving a CJ-5 Jeep, cuz my left jean pocket is torn exactly the same way as her son's.

Rick, I saw a Toyota that had a button. The way I understood was you carried a thob in pocket or purse and when you got close to the car the doors would unlock and the button would work.

fxpwt, Don't forget those vaccumn operated wipers. Dad's '51 had those and came factory without rear shocks. When it got cold enough the battery came out from under the floorboard and into the house to keep it warm.

when the lady behind me tugs my shirt and informs me that I must be driving a CJ-5 Jeep, cuz my left jean pocket is torn exactly the same way as her son's.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Wed, Jul 18, 2012, at 7:12 PM

Fxpwt,

You should have told her it wasn't nice to be checking you out like that. ;-)

Wheels - I was a bit flabbergasted, as she had paused between telling me what I drove, and how she knew.

During that time - the cranial gears were grinding as to how? Was there a big ol' grease stain on my behind from all the time spent underneath, was it because I wore my ballcap backwards before it was 'cool' and 'all-that' - solely to keep it from blowing off my jug head, was it because the ballcap had a Jeep label, or did she recognize me from some of the prior exhibition driving stunts around town such as going airborne over the William St tracks by Indian Park or turning the key off to let the engine load up before turning back on for the big Ka-bloo-ey fire and noise effect out the sidepipes - man, wasn't sure where she was going with that lead-in.

Being as I was at the bank, was more focused on the money transaction than being checked out. After all, I'm more than just a cheap library book. :-)~

OJ - don't forget the headlights with the replaceable bulbs - before sealed beams. By the time I got the truck - the headlights weren't much more than glorified parking lights since the reflector stuff had deteriorated. Found a set of 6V sealed-beams in the early 80s for $0.98 each, layer of dust on the box at no extra charge, in that little narrow, long, and crooked (the building, not the people) country store just north of the old Sunny Hill. Sealed-beams were great, but I suppose we have de-evolved back to the replaceable bulbs once again. What was old is now new again!

Or the gear shift throws so long that they would now be marketed as a Guthy-Renker As-Seen-On-TV exercise machine, tied to an unsynchronized transmission requiring a fair degree of coordination between the left and right feets as well as the right arm. Sloppy shifting was usually quite noisy - if you can't find 'em, grind 'em.

fxpwt, Just went through the headlamp ritual. All that was wrong was a cracked lens. Have to buy the whole assembly. Found a replacement aftermarket on-line $49 to the front door that seems to be same qualitiy and fit as original [$185 from the dealer] and came with bulbs. Now the other side looks dim. :)

In the early '60s Dad was texting while driving late one night and nosed the old Chevy head first into a creek. I helped him change oil, repack wheel bearings and dry out the distributer etc. Not sure today's trucks would take that without a couple of weeks in a shop and later electrical problems.

He didn't say much a month later when my motorcycle and I fell through the ice on pond. He saw me messing with it the next day and said "This machine's been wet", then he helped me dry it out without any questions. :)

"Not sure today's trucks would take that without a couple of weeks in a shop and later electrical problems."

Have to agree - the Impy has an Engine Control Module, a Body Control Module, and a buncha other stuff that communicates over GM-Net. Not exactly something one would troubleshoot with a voltmeter or wiggie.

Seems like things have progressed from the days of several little problems that could be fixed under 'most any shade tree, to fewer big problems that just may not be fixable.

Like the comedian said - if the opposite of 'pro' is 'con', then the opposite of 'progress' is... :-)~

FXPWT: Did your '48 have the "Opera-Windows" in the rear of the cab, too?

The one I occasionally drove had one-more-noise from under the hood than yours: The elderly gent who owned it tied the flat-red-rubber belt back together with a dose of hog-rings. Made a neat-little "clip-clip-clip" at idle!

Actually, I now wonder if that flat red belt wasn't the original? Seeing as it ran the fan/pump & generator, they had to have flat-pulleys? Surely he wouldn't have put a flat-belt on-----nah-h-h-h!!!?

But then again, he swore to God that he NEVER changed oil in it, ever since he bought it new?

Always claimed the old coal-black oil was "slicker" than that new, tea-colored stuff.

I don't EVEN wanna know what he used to "top-off" the level! Considering that he substituted beer for brake-fluid once. Not-exactly DOT Level 3, but, it did make them---"functional"---enough, to get back from the mailbox to his house, 2-miles in, so---?

(Didn't have any cold-start problems, either: No compression...!)

Really! Serious as a heart-attack.....!☺

Eight-days an' counting!☺

Donk - nope, as I heard tell, the '48 was the first post-war major redesign with the headlights put in the fenders instead of the teardrops on top of the fenders, the '48 was the only year with just the single back window not much bigger than the rear view mirror. The '49s and up had the wraparound windows on the corners.

IIRC, it was a v-belt driving the water pump and generator, but wide and thin, not like the more typical v-belts that followed. But heck, the belt tension was loose, so I figure a hemp rope with a square knot would work as a get-around. :-)

A mechanical engineer, or 'flangehead' as I likes to call 'em, once told me that new oil is not as good as it will ever be. Suppose the trick is to stay in the sweet spot of broke-in without getting to just flat wore-out. The '48 had a cartridge sock filter with 1/4" lines - not sure how much if any filtering was really done.

Compression wasn't great - I thinks the spec on the 218 was six-point-something-to-one. Heard tell once you lit it off on gas, could switch over to kerosene or 'coal oil', but never tried it.

Brakes were, um, interesting. Simple enough in the early days of hydraulic brakes, before the dual-redundant systems became a requirement in the 60s or so. But self-adjusting meant your'self' doing the adjusting. :-)~

Kinda neat that the same tailgate design was used on the stepsides into the 60s.

FXPWT: Then that must've been a '49??? It sure sounded like a dead-ringer to yours!

And I was thinkin' v-pulleys, since even my '45 Case VAC "Victory"-tractor has them. (Yeah, who needs belt-tension?☺)And it, too, has a screw-on bypass-filter. I had to replace it when I got the thing---the outside shell was rusted-through!(Lost 5-pounds of oil-pressure when I done that!) Ironically, it has a 12-volt system, and HAD a 12-volt gen, until I replaced it with a GM-alt. Starter and distributor are both OLD, 12-v. Delco-Remy.

(Yeah, a knotted-rope is pretty-close, alright---plus or minus a 3-inch slack in the---"belt!")

BTW, where was that I'd read in the last-couple days on these forums, about a fella who was wondering about gettin' ripped-off on oil-changes? Man, the price of such has long-surpassed those $20-base-charge-days! And, there's a major-difference between an oil-change, and a full-lube-job, that includes grease, air filter and fluid-checks. $35-bucks is pretty-much the norm, for the full-nine-yards.

Hate to admit such, but I now wuss-out on under-side work. If it's upright, and/or at waist-level? I'm good to go.

That's why I'm good with the old-tractors when needed: Everything is right-there, at waist OR shop-stool level. Still weld pretty-good, too, as long as I don't have to get into any "weird"-positions...!☺

Gotta go to bed, boys---my-milk's gettin' cold, an' my cookies-stale....!☺

The '51 Chevy pu we had was with the windows at the cab corners and I understood that was a feature of the delux cab.

I was told one time not to clean the 3/4" thick black goo out of the rocker cover because that was deadening the sound of the worn out rockers and loose lifters. Doing so would cause the owner to think we did something to make it noisey.

Another time I noticed one front tire over inflated and the other very low. I was told to leave it that way because it was easier for the owner put up with a steady pull to one side than fight all the play in the steering.

Speaking of high tech, I think some of us saw the blunder right off when Buick put a "take your eyes off the road/stop and read the manual" touch screen in a car. The Riata and Riviera had the hi-tech features to attract the younger crowd but the price and luxury targeted at middle age folks that could afford such. Along came the Miata.

Chrysler did a good job in the '70s selling Chargers with sport and power and Cordobas with personal luxury. They were basicly the same car. When's the last time you saw a Magnum of that era?

Going back a ways, who would have noticed that 55-57 Chevy 210, Belair and equivolent Pontiac and Olds all shared the same door shells. I understand they all including Cadillac had the same roof panel and floor board. I remember a lot of guys called the '57 Chevys "babie Cadillacs".

Too bad the Hudson Hornets and Studebakers didn't get a chance to continue!

OLD JOHN: "Leaving the goo", and the mis-flated tires, because of slack"---now, those are classics!

I can indeed, see someone complaining about valve-lash noise, after a cleaning: "Well, it wasn't making that noise until you guys worked on it! You're just tryin' to soak-me for an-overhaul!"

And, what IS it with the local service/fast lube-places lately, with their NOT using Pennzoil anymore? Seems as if I can't get it anywhere, except for the parts-house.

Even found one-place that gave Coastal-oil, as an option.

Don't you EVEN-come near MY-filler neck with that stuff! Ranks right up there with the old-fashioned Harvest King-brand, which was "...fortified with the finest-grade paraffin your money can buy!"...it said on the can.

We used to joke about changing the air in the tires. Now they do it for about $39.95 I think. Notice the bright green valve stem caps?

"We used to joke about changing the air in the tires."

One of my favorites relates to those who proudly claim they've changed their minds, with the silent observation that the new one doesn't seem to work any better.

"worn out rockers and loose lifters" - this brings up a remembrance - the wonders of hydraulic lifters. Even as late as '74, my Mercury Capri 2800 V6 still specified that the lifters needed to be adjusted every 30,000? miles. The difference before and after adjustment was like night and day - from a clatter sounding like rocks in a coffee can (back when coffee cans were made out of steel and were sized in true, even pounds), to just a slight hint of tick-tick-tick-tick.

A 75 Fiat X19 required valve ajustment at 7,500 miles and you had to change out pucks. [checker sized rounds that came in differences of 2/1,000"]

"We used to joke about changing the air in the tires."

I remember the first time I heard that one. I think I was about 18 and working the pumps when a customer I knew pulled in and after I had him all finished and he and I were chatting... he says I think your boss is looking this way, hurry up and change the air in one of my tires or something.

Rick is that like sitting on the side of the road in your car with a hair driver in your hand?

geezzz is right make that dryer not driver.

Never did see'd a hair-driver afore? But if it fits in your hand, it can't be too-big?

Must adapt onto a set of hair-clippers, so's one can make a zero-turn radius back there between the ears?

As for myself, I just use a spark-lighter with a thimble-full of Red Devil, for a controlled-burn.

I ain't had no haid-lice in over 40-years with that-method...!☺

Donk, You might like this: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1858590.html

That wrecker picture brings back memories of Joe James. He proudly let me inspect his new big wrecker, the biggest in the region at the time. That was in th early '70s I think. He said it cost $100 to start it plus milage etc.

Since I have seen a wrecker pick up a loaded concrete truck completely off the sinking shoulder and swing it air born around to the solid pavement.

That was a rotater that had a sorta tank turret ran by a seperate deisel engine with a boom and it was all remote controlled. Quarter million dollar rig I was told.

OLD JOHN: Ooooh, that's a sweetie! I like the backdrop on the pic, too. Ain't that "up-there", in Fruit-land?☺

And wasn't that wrecker of James' that you refer to once in the Guiness-Records as the worlds' largest, in lifting-capacity?

I was thinking it was a "civilianized"-tank retriever? Or was it someone-elses' wrecker that held that honor?

I do remember James was the "go-to"-wrecker service of the times, for the righting of overturned road tractor units, as well as anything else big, that turned over, got stuck, or fell-down...

Three-and-a-half days until "THE"-Day. Then, if you like, we can let it "retire", in posterity.(I think that term could apply, in a broad-sense?)

A well-balanced and informative-thread, thanks to all of you. And, to our credit, we've kept it basically-"clean", at least up-front.

"See" you Saturday...!☺

"Then, if you like, we can let it "retire", in posterity."

Why? It's been a good run with lots of fun and some good information thrown in for balance.

That's why I said "...if you like...". I enjoy this mechanical-stuff, not all do---I LIVE for it!☺

I honestly don't think we'd EVER run out of experiences to relate with on here. Just glad the "fleas" have stayed away, for the most part.

Guess there just ain't much to argue about, once you leave the politics, prejudice, bigotry, and hate out of it.

Because, when you're workin' with GREASE, FLAMMABLES, and EXHAUST?

EVERYBODY looks the same-color, and equally-sweaty, when the day is done!

Like when I started working in a foundry: After the first 2-hours---who could tell the difference???☺

You worked in a foundry... so did I, the Tower Grove Foundry. That freaking place would make todays temperatures look balmy when they were pouring. Saw a guy get a shoe full once. Not pretty.

I suspect folks with foundry experience know more about iron and steel than I do which is little.

Dad had a favorite blacksmith that we took broken farm equipment to. He could fix about anything with a torch set and his forge. I don't remember him using an electric welder.

For welding there was another guy that honed his skill on the Alaskan pipeline. We also depended on a machine shop for really clean precise work such as milling.

I watched the welder guy work two hours with his truck mounted equipment fix a broken drawbar. It looked fine to me and was workable and stronger than new. Then he stepped back and said "I don't like it". That tractor was down for a few hours while he went to his shop and returned with a perfect piece!

One time we had a replacement frame shipped in for a JD Johnnie Popper that had suffered some fatigue and abuse. The thing came without any bolt holes drilled. I took it and the old frame to the machine shop to drop off and he said, hold on ..won't take long. Now comes the part that sounds a little windy but I watched as he pulled out a piece soapstone and eyeballed the old frame, no tape or other measuring device and marked where to drill the holes. Within an hour he had the holes drilled and threaded and they all fit to a tee!

I want to think there are still folks like that out there doing work above what would get by.

EASY: And it REALLY-shows on castings, esp. for large bench-vises.

A Wilton-brand vise may cost out the wazoo, but they're basically built like a tank on the body. And, the lead-screw is something for a machinist to "die"-for: Actual bearings, as-opposed to "rub-til-they-squauk"-bushings, or metal-to-metal. And, REALLY-replaceable-jaws.

For the "weekend-warrior" shop, the made-in-Bum, Egypt-brand will be more than sufficient. But it you're gonna weld/braze/or bend metal with "increasingly-larger-BFH's"? Go with the name-brand---it'll be worth your initial-investment.

"I want to think there are still folks like that out there doing work above what would get by."

-- Posted by Old John on Wed, Jul 25, 2012, at 6:37 PM

There are---but, they're steadily getting fewer AND farther-between. It just doesn't PAY, in todays' throw-away society. Mainly because you hafta have somethin' you actually CAN fix/make parts for.

And that "animal" is all-but extinct nowadays. Resin-reinforced plastic, and disposable, is the new "quality", anymore.

(sigh) And lawn-equipment---be it pushed OR ridden-upon--is just, I dunno, SAD-anymore. People laugh when they see me weld a metal-patch over a rust-out hole in my METAL-decks.

And then come back crying about the replacement-cost of that state-of-the-art polycarbonate/resin deck, after they've hit one-too-many of those old, out-dated pieces of Bollinger/Cape County-history, commonly referred to as ROCKS.

I mention both counties, as I'm basically on the line of each, and get the best/worst of such...!☺

Yep! Will be just-before noon-Saturday, if I'm cipherin' right?

This, of course, goes without saying...☺

Easy, You mentioned imported steel quality..have you noticed stainless steel may still be somewhat stainless but today's stuff will rust if nicked or scratched. As I say I now little about metallurgy but thought stanless steel was steel blended with nickel or chrome. Anyway I don't think it should rust.

Seems like when a new product comes out it can be pricey but of somewhat quality and competitors keep making it cheaper and cheaper for the Wally world market. That was the case I witnessed first hand with portable battery booster packs a few years back. A Canadian co introduced them and they were pricey. I know of several that lasted 5-7 years. The price kept coming down and now they last a year of so with less performance. I was told that the cost of the USA batteries they used was why they were pricey and now only a few aren't made with import batteries. I understand the USA battery factory now ships most of their production overseas because Americans are to cheap to pay for quality.

I too am a cheapscape, just something in my nature as I demonstrated recently by choosing a plastic waterhose shut-off valve over the three x the price brass product. But I tell myself, that probably wasn't real brass anyway. :)

If I were "King Of The Riggers"? I'd simply have to admonish my-throne to these-folks! But then again, it goes with that saying: "Poor-people have poor-ways!"

I'd seen a variation, wound around a flywheel with a straight-pull from a pickup---but never off-the-side like this.

Man!!! Rope-burn, anyone???☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=zcBE8HEAyi4&NR=1

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Fri, Jul 27, 2012, at 10:55 AM

And here I though crank starting our old AC with the hand crank was bad; well it was, but still...

When I was a youngster there was a man that everyone called "Bean" who had an old McCormick I believe, but it was a good sized machine. He pulled his Seperator (Thrashing Machine) all over and of course powered it with this tractor. It was on rubber. Watching him start it always amazed me. Bean was a horse of a man to begin with, and when he went to start it the two short pulls appeared to be mandatory, but his third pull amounted to spinning the crank 360 degrees two or three revolutions and then yanking it to it's neutral position. Never saw it fail to start and never saw him do it any different.

That rope on the rear tire trick is hard to believe!

Dad had our old Farmalls tuned to perfefction. I could start them as a skinny 7 year old. Simply pull the choke, raise the crank from 9 to 12 o'clock, set the choke at half, pull out the ignition switch and repeat the 9 to 12 o'clock with a little more oomph and they started every time. In the rare case it didn't start, well here came the what's the matter with you boy?!!

Well maybe that truck was fine tuned to perfection too! :)

I used to be good with a crank---but I ain't fast-'nuff on the yank, anymore!

John-Deere twins were simple, and with very-little effort actually: Most were even marked on the flywheel. Just like a Harley---(kick)turn it 'til you hear the mag "click", then roll-'er on over. Of course, this didn't apply to Diesels, but that's another story!

Was actually simpler, and somewhat easier, than the "twin-sixes" 12-v battery starter system on newer JD's. Had to jump on the pedal just to get it's attention! Awfullest-noise for a starter---"whoop, whoop, whoop!", while stomping harder still on each "whoop"---and when it finally caught, you'd hear "flump---flump--flump-flumpflumpflump!" as the flywheel caught-up to the rhythm of those one-gallon paint-bucket sized things they called pistons...!

Donk, The most starteling starter noise I ever heard at the time was when I was told to move a truck out of the shop. I held down the long winded start button and dang near jumped out of the cab.. let the spring loaded button come back to stop the racket, surely something came apart big time.

The guys were laughing. I went to school and studied diesel engines. I learned how to lap injectors, rebuild and trouble shoot etc. But I had never heard of or heard an AIR STARTER!

Here are a couple you may not have seen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Sr8S9uQMc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJpZfp0Ss2U&feature=related

OLD JOHN: I "said" it just a half-second before I "heard" you write it---AIR-STARTER!

Enough to make a Xanax-salesman jumpy...!☺

356: Oh yes I have! Just pick most any antique-equipment show/picnic, and between the shot-shell starters, and the hot-bulb oil-burners---there's never a dull, nor quiet---moment!

Just in time to be the first to say it - "Happy 1st Birthday, blog"

For Those Of Us With "Points", Instead Of CPU-Ignitions...☺!-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Jul 28, 2011, at 11:42 AM:

This makes the 868th entry, across the 366 days (leap year, right?) for an average of 2.37 posts per day.

The guys in that second video have one heck of a play ground!

I remember in the movie Flight of the Phoenix, Jimmy Stewart used one charge to clear the cylinders and the last one made the engine start.

How old are those rigs?

Yeah, I was thinkin' to allow for leap year, but I think it should even-out in the end?☺

(Still not-official for another hour and 25-minutes, though!)

Oh-Jay beat me to it---again!

I was gonna add there were some aircraft-applications to the shot-shell start as well. I think(?)it MAY have had something to do with the CLIMATE of it's theater of operations? Maybe European-winters of WW 2? That's just a shot in the dark. But it SOUNDS-good!☺

Matter of fact, I seem to remember a "starter-charge" of super-finely-ground walnut shells with a touch of blackpowder(?)literally shot-into the intake of jet-engines while starting, to clean the compressor-blades? That would've been in the early-'70's.

But don't take that as "gospel", 'cause my-memory is about as long and sharp as my---toenails, anymore...!☺

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Jul 28, 2012, at 10:14 AM

http://www.tractordata.co.uk/field_marshall/index.htm

356, Thanks for the link.

As for those Fieldmarshal-tractors? They're not as old as one might like to think. That first-one(link)I'd guess as early/mid-forties?

I'd bet there are still a lot of Aussies that still use them today, even! You wanna sell an old-tractor in good-shape real fast, just find a "scout" that spends his/her day looking for such, to re-sell overseas---esp. "down-under".

I was told it had something to do with the ownership-taxes, or lack-thereof, on older-equipment? But don't hold my feet to the fire on THAT-one, either!

356: Thanks for takin' my-feet out of harms'-way, with that link....!☺

MADE IT!!! ONE-YEAR COM-PLETE!

Now, I'm gonna drink A-beer, curl-up in a corner with a cigar, and enjoy the rush.....!!!☺

877 posts averages out to about two and a half posts per day. I didn't go back to figure out who was doing the half posts, but why not go for a 1,000?

I heard from a confidential informer that there was an uncomfortable moment or two at that picnic I wanted go to but couldn't. Seems someone at one of the tables was hogging all the chicken and dumplings and complaining there wasn't any blood sausage being served. :)

Congratulations, Guys.

You can tell it was a "man column". We gals would have gotten it shut down the first week or so.

OLD JOHN: If we wouldn't have kept "losing-entries-by-attrition"☺---we'd made it a-grand easily!

INREPLY: And never once did we offend those of the feminine-gland, did we? At least not that I was aware of? And, we kept politics out of it, and our religious-overtones were from asking-forgiveness of what we said after that skinned-knuckle. Or that flat in an ice-storm. Or that expression just before we hit the fence, and afterwards as we had to fix-it, at our cost!☺

And by the way: The "door" is still-open, it seems. So, you're more than welcome to come-in!

We'll still be runnin' around in our underwear---but, it's OK, 'cause we're all family, by now....!☺

To infinity - and beyond! :-)

EASY: Well, if you'd quit gettin' run outta town, we'd have made a thousand fer shure!☺

I doubt it'll make it, to that level. Trolls/arrogance/jealousy will be here soon---we've had too-good of a run for them. Will likely come from within.

I'm just glad it made it so far.

And, YES, I did "burn" a copy of it for myself Sunday-mornin' early---just in-case, y' know!

FXPWT: Careful, there---remember what happened the FIRST-time Buzz Lightyear said that, an' tried to fly?☺

(Yes, I'm still "juvenile"-enough to watch "Toy Story"---and "Cars", too!☺)

As a critic, I didn't care much for the second-version of either-one, really.

(And that's "either" with a long-"I", boys---nuthin' but class 'roun-heah...!)

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Jul 30, 2012, at 12:56 AM

Old John,

Now I didn't eat that much!! It was good though. One of the group, when I asked them to pass the dumplings one more time, said.... surely you are not going to eat more of them? I surely was.... and did.

I don't recover as well as I used to though. Been kind of tired out for the past two days and on my way to bed now.

Donknome-2

Congrats! Job well done.... best thread ever.

And by the way: The "door" is still-open, it seems. So, you're more than welcome to come-in!

We'll still be runnin' around in our underwear---but, it's OK, 'cause we're all family, by now....!☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Mon, Jul 30, 2012, at 8:43 AM

Thanks. I do stop in everytime I see new posts. Reading this thread reminds me of my dad and his cronies. I always hovered on the edge listening to their tales of favorite autos, road trips, and tinkering. Best I could do was change my oil and my tires and then I found out that you guys would do the job and I didn't have to..

One of my favorite oldies is Adam 12, but I remember seeing the same scene in other old TV shows where the cop tells the driver to pull into that station up the road and get those tail lights fixed.

Yeah, try that today!

OLD JOHN: Yeah, at least they didn't drive around the city WITH THE SHIFTER IN-PARK POSITION for the entire show!☺ That always made---and still does make!---me cringe, and wanna scream, "Take it outta park already, for Christsakes!" (And todays' "modern"-shows are the worst for it---still!)

And they did have their steering down-pat, unlike on one-episode of "Emergency", where the paramedics' truck had one of the tightest-steering boxes I'd ever seen---they'd do a 90-degree left-handed-slider, with only an-eighth of a turn on the wheel. And the wind/wind-noise from the open-windows never seemed to flap a sleeve, or create a roar, even during a Code 3-response!

And I was always impressed, at how they could back that-thing into a BLIND-SPACE DIRECTLY IN-FRONT OF THE ER, at Rampart, by looking straight-foward, and never once glance in either-mirror!

Man, they MUST have had some IN-ten-sive training in that battalion...!☺

INREPLY: Yeah, now since we're older---we PAY someone-else to do it, 'cause it makes us "feel-good" about ourselves. That, and I'm suffering more from the disease Lazy-itis more with each-year.

(Well, except for OJ---he's an exception, since he can still "bend where necessary". Not to mention, he's "cheap".☺)

I can still service tractors and such, where it's at waist-level. Lawn-tractors and mowers go on an ATV-lift. Great-investment, if you're "bendably-challenged".

My-wife still does change her own oil occasionally on her lil' 4x4 Toyota truck. I'll reach over the top for the filter, since she's "vertically-challenged" for that task.

In-turn, she goes under for the drain, as I can no longer look up-and-over enough for it since I had a "titanium 2-by-4" put in my neck a year ago. And, I seem to get hung-up on the "punkin" half-way in/out. But she's got it down to a fine-art, for sure!

But she can't tackle the oil-change on the Jimmy---she tends to get "high-centered-up-there" a bit too-tightly for her desires.

But, BOY that oil-pan would look "factory-fresh" afterwards!

I'd bet that even OLD JOHN couldn't have done any cleaner job with his "hands-on" service...!☺

Donknome-2

Knowing that you have a fertile mind... I know you will be able to come up with something to top this.

http://www.c3vr.com/vrforums/message_go.asp?MID=428798&Jump=1&title=minnysota-ho...

Rick,

I would bet that Donknome-2 has the materials on hand to build a better Hot Rod than this one and maybe his would have holding tanks.

Wheels, This reminds me of those picture puzzles that challenge one to find hidden stuff.

I found so far a M M radiator shroud, wash tub fan blade enclosure, planter box headlamp holder with an adjustment wrench, a single tree, a planter chain and a cross cut saw.

I'm sure I missed a lot of other stuff.

Rick,

Maybe he has a sack of corn cobs in there somewhere.

Old John,

You did catch the toilet seats I am sure. I saw a neck yoke but never did see the single tree.

Wheels, You're right, it's a yoke.

Buddy of mine from Texas already hit-me with this one.

Yeah, it's a "pick-through-and-find-it" puzzle, of sorts. He wanted to know what that "thing" was on the floor, just behind the drivers seat. I told him it was a toolbox.(Probably a steering-"tree"-mount?) He says, "Ya' sure couldn't put many tools in there, though."

I agreed, but told him, "With the old-tractors, you didn't NEED that many!" Then I uploaded a picture of my "7-in-1" IH universal-wrench, that came standard-issue with the seated, pull-behind hay mowers, and sent it to him. He couldn't comprehend such a thang! Can't teach "Urban-Texans" a danged-thing, can ya'?☺)

Well, of COURSE it was designed for horse-drawn. But take off the tree, find a big-ol' bolt an' a nut---it'd convert to tractor-drawn, in no-time!

Worked best with a two-man crew, of course. But, if you were in a pinch and in a good-flat field? You could drop the bar yourself, and substitute 200 or so pounds of your favorite-ballast on the seat and around the "floor", and go for it! (Three-solid concrete blocks were perfect!)

But it was a lot-easier on the equipment if you used the two-man setup. Very-seldom would break a Pitman-arm using that system.

On the other hand though: It didn't do a doggone-bit of good tyin' a set of reins on the TRACTOR-seat---and tyin' 'em onto the DRIVER weren't much of an option, either...!☺

"Knowing that you have a fertile mind... I know you will be able to come up with something to top this."....

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Tue, Jul 31, 2012, at 8:33 PM

Hmm. He's either telling me I have VERY-nicely cultured, educated mind---or, on the other hand, he may be using a thinly-veiled method of sayin' that I'm full of it up to total capacity.....???☺

Donknome-2

Yesterday I found the perfect Label for your CD of this thread. It comes from Lightscribe and is burned into the CD. If you do not do Lightscribe and want me to burn a label on an empty CD or DVD I will do so if you contact me at the following e-mail address. It is a temporary one, not my regular e-mail address, but I will respond to you with my regular address.

[email protected]

Only if you are interested of course.

Wheels, on your web site, the seat backs were New Home Sewing Machine legs. The treadle was on the floorboard under the dash.

Did I see a threashing machine cylinder wrench?

WHEELS: Believe it or not, I already have Lightscribe installed on my system, it came with the package. But since I used a non-Lightscribe-friendly disc from Staples' "cheapy-line", a felt-tip marker done the duty!☺ Thinkin' about re-dux with a Verbatum-scribe-friendly disc soon, though.

First-time I used the Lightscribe-app, I was so impressed at how much fun it was, I started "tattoo-ing" every compatible disc I could find!

Almost as much fun as this-thread! Stick-'er in the burner---jelly-side UP!---pick your format, title, and---PFFFTTT!!!---an' dere it be...!☺

Donknome-2,

In their package of extras there is a label with a 49/50 Ford pickup with an exploded parts view of engine and transmission. I was looking for something else and ran across it and though it would make an appropriate label for your disk you saved this thread on.

Have phun!

That just might be the "berries" I need for the redux! Thanks for the tip-off, WHEELS!☺

For a couple of old coots in the magnetos, points and mecanical brakes club, you guys can sure go hi-tech on us in a hurry! :) :)

I saw an ad for a post and beam, mortise and tenon barn building company. With the hi-tech saws and machinery they got nowdays, I can just see Wheels and Donk designing the ultimate place to store classic import cars and tractors with room to park a motor home and one of those big Cats from the GM Futurama show!

Old John,

Not speaking about me.... but I figured out a long time ago that Donknome-2 was not your run of the mill dumb arse. Then neither are you and some of the other posters on this thread.

Old John,

Regards the building, I would make sure everybody had fresh ice water to drink.... but if you give me one of those new high tech saws I wouldn't have any fingers left to eat with in a day or so.

Someone once said [paraphrase] "Well, we designed all these things for your generation."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=eNlgfkE9nWA&NR=1

I remember watching a CBS documentary about the future in the late 50's or early 60's. In 2000 we would be driving cars much the same but with aerodynamic shapes akin a bananna. Looks like that has panned out with the sloping fronts and high curled down backs we see today.

In those days we all reckoned by 2000 we would be flying around like the Jetsons.

"Not speaking about me.... but I figured out a long time ago that Donknome-2 was not your run of the mill dumb arse. Then neither are you and some of the other posters on this thread."

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Aug 2, 2012, at 2:52 PM

........................

Why, THANKS for the acknowledgement, WHEELS!

Yes indeed, I had to spend many a sleepless hour, learning how to be certified as an Exceptionally-Gifted Dumb Arse.

I'd show you a diploma, but alas, I can't. Never did completely graduate, because I'm still in class, an' larnin'.

But at least I did already earn my Bachelors in Advanced Dumb Arse-studies.

Man, I'm tellin' ya' though---the tuition is unbelievable, and every year, it goes up and up...!☺

From one of Ken S Capecentral blogs

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq3qa_wildroot-hair-tonic-1957_shortfilms

I like the 67 - They don't make them like that anymore.

"Yes indeed, I had to spend many a sleepless hour, learning how to be certified as an Exceptionally-Gifted Dumb Arse."

Rut Ro! Donknome-2, hope you didn't take that the wrong way. I am especially gifted at putting my foot in my mouth at times.

WHEELS: What? I loved it! Y' gotta EARN that-shingle, dude!☺

I'd have made a Doctorate-level-dumb-arse, if I hadn't retired when I did. But, it just wasn't worth the pain, literally!

One of these days---we're gonna ALL get that much-needed beer/soda/alka-seltzer together, that we all want...!☺

OLD JOHN: Please tell me that I laughed at the "correct"-commercial of #1, as opposed to the Wildwood tonic?

Oh, it was neat, too---but, I ain't got nowheres' to slather it onto anymore, that wouldn't become an instant "fly-trap"!☺

Since we're on the subject of grease: Do you remember that grease that was sold by Western Auto in the early-60's, especially for(ball)wheel-bearings? It was "Fiber-Reinforced, Stabilized For Todays' Extreme Bearing-Loads" as it stated on the can. It was just a bit-more pliable than Huntsman Crew-Cut Gel---but not quite as much as cold modeling-clay. Looked/felt kinda like a pre-chewed twist of Bees' Wax. Seriously!

It sure did take the slack outta a set of worn ball-bearings though.

I mean, you could sling a gob out on the ground when it was cold, whomp-it with a 16-oz ball-pein BFH---an' it STILL-layed there, like your sisters' cookie recipe gone bad. NO-splatter, just a "f-lwomp" when y' whacked it...!☺

And, of course, the quintessential "parting-shot"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=R9ETlTZoF1E&NR=1

Donk, Was that Western Auto grease designed for the penquin car? :) I remember a respected mechanic comment on the lack of grease fittings on some cars. He said it might be a good thing since old grease always runs when new grease is added.

Rick, '68 Chevys were known to break the right engine mount under high torque when they got up in miles. The engine would twist up and push the throttle wide open. The only way out was turn off the key and go to the condition you describe.

They recalled them and rather than pay for a new mount, they added a cable looped through the engine bracket and around the frame. An aquaintance of my designed the upside down pivot throttle linkage for the 3 carb Pontiacs and a side advantage of his design was that it was fitted to other GM models to prevent throttle variation due to engine torque rotation.

This guy was pretty sharp. He had a recipe of all stock parts, Olds, Chevy, Pontiac pieces mixed together to make a fast engine without spending a bunch on racing parts.

The traditional Ramblers and many AMC cars of that era were ugly then, but looking back at the Ambassador and some others, now I think they look great.

I remember a Hornet model with a small engine that got really good gas mileage even at todays standards. I got to looking at the parts books in '79 when I bought the '80 Eagle coupe and saw that the old Hornet fenders were the same as the '79 Concord except for the side marker lamp cutout.

"...on I-70 in downtown St.Louis on the under pass by the Arch..."

Ah, this bring back many entertaining moments - for whatever reason, I like to take I55 to I70 to Lambert Field, rather than taking the I270 loop-around. The biggest challenge for me is the changeover from 55 to 70 - three exits at mile marker 209 - one to Illinois, one to 70, and one to the Downtown area.

Now, if one knew to take one of the three exits without being told which one - odds should be 1 in 3 that the correct exit would be chosen.

The way my luck runs - I know which exit to take, but the odds turn out to be better than average that I still somehow end up either in Illinois or on Downtown loop. D'Oh!

One of the cars AMC got really right IMO is the Javelin, especially its two-seater variation, the AMX. Towards the other end, the Pacer still brings a chuckle with its half-melted Hershey kiss design.

Check out the Marlin [second part of the video]

I think the designer went to work for Dodge and took his ideas with him for the '66 Charger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=isJYZPxDK0M&NR=1

Rick,

Sounds like you were driving a Lincoln Mark ?. Most power brakes used vacuum to work and you had a little reserve. Those Lincoln brakes quit when the engine did, just like the power steering... just like you described.

The ignition switch was my final hope .

-- Posted by Easy Moneys on Sat, Aug 4, 2012, at 1:21 PM

Well Rick, by then you almost had a new car. ;-)

Rick, I saw a sign at the parts store: "If you bought the wrong part..you now have a spare"

"Have you ever had the pleasure of taking the left ramp off I-55 onto I-44 ?" Can't say that I have. If I needed to go down I-44 from I-55 - either suffered around I-270, or took 141. Of course, at the time, 141 was a two-lane country highway with a White Castle near both ends, at Festus and Fenton - so's the 'gas' tank could be topped off. I hear tell now that 141's a full-blown four-lane or more. Not one to willingly go to St.Louis - another one of the many areas that I like to refer to as a good place to be 'from'.

Always liked AMC for some strange reason, maybe along the same lines why I like the Cubs - a perennial underdog who's little engine just quite couldn't.

I suppose the last remaining remnant of AMC's work in production was the 4.0L inline six - a revamp of the venerable 4.2L (258CID). IIRC, Chrysler kept it in production up until the last couple of years. Most don't realize that the Wrangler (the square-headlight CJ) was AMC's work just about ready to go into production at the time of the Chrysler sale.

The only major flaw with the Wrangler was choosing to use the Renault 5-speed transmission, which turned out to be much like my present-day Impy transmission - environmentally friendly, as it was reported to be made out of eggshells and glass. :-)~

Rick,

My daughter had a something or other, but early vintage Mustang when she was in high school. Something happened to my car and I had to drive that thing to SEMO one weekend. That was the worst driving automobile I ever had the displeasure to sit in. My 41 Ford Coupe was a far finer riding automobile. I paid a $100 for mine and she paid $500 for her Mustang.

"Wasn't the Ford Mustang Lee I. Ococa's bright idea ?"

Rick,

I believe that you are correct here. Didn't make it ride any better though.

Well, at least the Chrysler of the 80s paid back their loan in full and ahead of schedule - or so we've been told...

IMO, the Mustang was the right idea at the right time - a sporty, affordable car, much like the mini-van successes of the 80s - things just clicked. Mercury jumped it with its twinkie Cougar offering - simply amazed by the blink-blink-blink turn signals, as well as Ford-Europe with its Capri.

Always liked Mr. Iacocca's saying - 'lead, follow, or get out of the way'.

Well, I got me a brand-new one out of a box of Post Honey-Comb, AND a new-Mercury Marquis!

There was also a Cougar, and I think, maybe, a Dodge Charger? I never could find that one.

Mom always thought I had a healthy-appetite---but all I was after was that danged-car at the bottom of the box!

(Yeah, tried opening the BOTTOM-first once---but those were the days when the liner was GLUED to the flap. Not good news for my rear-end, when I'd tear the bag!☺)

Any of ya' remember the KAS-brand potato chips, with the trick-"mouse" in them? Not to mention the cut-out 45-record, "Potato-Chip", by "The Shadows Of Knight"?

And somebody even put "wobble-toys" of a donkey and an elephant in their products, so's you could have your own "political-race". (Regardless of which one won, they'd BOTH crash off the edge of Moms' table in the end!) Not much different from today.☺

Even the Communist-party had it's own mascot: An action figure of Nikita Khrushchev, banging his shoe on that same table, as he, too, went over the edge.

Naw-w-w, not really. But I had to end it somehow...!!!

Here, wash your ears and mind-out with this for a night-cap....☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ4Or3k3Hv0&feature=g-vrec

I kept telling myself that I liked my 66 Mustang but it was hard to get out of and rough riding. I thought it was the handling until a 67 Camero passed me on 51 south of Lutesville and I couldn't come close to keeping up with it.

When the tranny failed I traded for a 67 Cuda convertable. Liked it ok but handled worse than the Mustang and would not go past a gas station.

Traded that for a VW Bug. Went from that to a 71 Fury, [one of the best cars I've had] and a 69 Charger. The Dodge had to have been a mistake because it had the same rear axle ratio as the Superbird, the thing was a dog around town but would prove need for the 150 mph speedo given enough road.

"Well, I got me a brand-new one out of a box of Post Honey-Comb"... I remember the same enthusiasm digging out that Frito Bandito eraser from the lunch-pak assortment boxes. :-)

OJ - drove a '76 LeSabre with similar characteristics as your Charger. Figured, man, a 455 with a 4BBL carb resembling a toilet bowl has just gots to go fast, even in a land barge!

Didn't understand then what a 2.56 axle ratio meant - but soon figured it out. Flooring it just kinda seemed to annoy it, as evidenced by the loud drone coming out of the engine bay and the absence of any kind of tire squealing. Up to about 30mph, had the feeling that helping out with the Fred Flintstone feets would get things moving faster.

Then, along about 30mph, it was as if a switch was thrown, the launch sequence commenced - and whoo boy! A real rocket ride, hitting 2nd gear around 65 and 3rd just as the speedometer needle went past the max reading of 100, with no signs of letting up, aside from the white-knuckled chicken behind the wheel. :-)~

I ran accross this last night:

Cdnuolt blveiee waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabeigdre Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are. The olny ipemoptnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. :)

And I can read it, too, but with just a slight-touch of a pause between---just can't SPEAK-it out loud.

Does this make my wires crossed? Shorted? Or just loose?☺

Heck, OJ, throw in a few more random CAPS, and you'll be easily camouflaged alongside some of our political blogger newbies. :-)~

Speaking of which - only one more day until the barrage of 'my candidate is better simply because your candidate is worse' subsides, for a while anyways.

Apologies - I know we kinda agreed to keep politics out of here, but, er, um, hey - I'll be driving to the voting place tomorrow - gots to renew my 'license' to gripe, ya know.

Easy - I suppose most every car has some memorable features that stick in one's mind like the melted pizza droppings do in the oven.

The Mercury Capri had the high-beam flash way back when American cars still had it on the floor. What made it neat was the momentary feature - pull the turn signal stick toward you for a blip, push it away for normal high beams. Really got people's attention by spazzing out on the momentary - an especially nice response to those pesky and perpetual high-beam offenders in the oncoming lane who defied John Deere to build a tractor big enough to pull their heads out of the sand.

The ignition switch was not quite in the dash, not quite on the steering column, sorta wedged in the nook between. The odd thing was that if you rolled the key to Start, and it didn't - then you had to take the key all the way back to Off before you could go to the Start position again.

Could lock the driver door from the inside only when the door was closed. Neat way to prevent locking your keys in the car.

The horn was actuated by pushing the end of the turn signal switch inward toward the steering column.

Of course, being a '74, it had the US-spec seat-belt interlock - a thankfully short-lived and failed experiment in mandatory seat belt usage, followed up later by vehicles with annoying ding-ding-dings and automatically strangling shoulder belts that buzzed around the doorjam to 'zip' you in.

Being a 'sexy European' Mustang clone - it also had that high-performance Armstrong steering that made parallel-parking as desirable as a toothache.

Ahhhh, the memories - one of the things that makes this blog so great! :-)

Easy, I don't know but I'm thinking Buick in the late '30s. Dad added blinkers to the '51 Chevy truck. It was a box with a stick mounted on the column with a hose clamp. It had two lights that indicated which signal was on.

"It was a box with a stick mounted on the column with a hose clamp." Heheheh - put one of these units on the '48 Dodge. Quite the trick to wire up - at first, no matter which way I turned, both sides flashed. Then I broke down and read the directions...

Ya think young'uns accustomed to cruise control, automatic transmission, anti-lock brakes, and the like would believe that there was a time when you had to manually cancel the turn signal after the turn - or risk going on down the road proclaiming "I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot"? Then again, there's many folks who've figured out how to do just this thing on newer cars.

fxpwt, Was it Leno that said you could tell when John Glenn was driving the shuttle by the left turn signal flashing? :)

OJ - hadn't heard that, but depending on the direction of orbit - I figure there was a 50/50 chance of being correct.

Wife says she may want to retire the still running fine 170,000 miles on it car sighting the desire for something easier to get in a out of. I suspect a crossover-part car, part suv would please her. We drove through four dealership lots today so I could point out the models. One thing for sure, the place that has all but one entrance blocked off causing me to have to dang near run over a salesman to get back out will not get my business!:)

ahhhh - perhaps a tale of little value, other than to keep this thread from being bumped off the 'hot' list.

Mentioned previously I had the pleasure of owning an '86 Chevy Cavalier Z24. Fun little car, great gas mileage. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/chevrolet-cavalier5.htm

Had the 2.8L V6 - an engine that never gained much towards accolades of high performance, but it was dependable. Wondered why there were never any high performance offerings for this engine - then found out it was a good, solid 'commuter' engine, but too weak for anything else.

4-speed provided the entertainment - as long as one was rolling, 3rd gear fit most needs around town - enough torque to take off from an almost stop, enough high end to not sound rapped-out at 35-40 mph.

But it was the factory exhaust - man, just sounded good for a V6 - had that high-performance growl without being 'breathy' or air-laden or off-beat or cheesy as many V6s did at the time.

Had the coupe version, before the fastback/hatchback came out in '87 with the 5-speed. Looked good, especially with owner-added Gabriel Hi-Jacker air shocks in the back - had the look of the 60s/early 70s muscle cars with the rear-end hiked up a bit. Sunroofs were the rage then, and this one came with the factory pop-up, so's didn't have to cut the hole in the roof for the aftermarket version.

60-series tires were as wide as one could easily get then, and this came from the factory with them - had the Jetzon aftermarket offerings from a local tire shop - great in rain, unbelievable in snow, thanks mostly to the front-wheel drive.

If one remembers the 80s - everything was moving towards digital and tech - MTV was plastering the airwaves with synthesized music with white-washed videos, Max Headroom was a comical shape of things promised, and the Z24 had a digital dash, with only the tach being a conventional needle. Neat, but not so reliable, and slower than Christmas on updates, particularly in cold weather.

Perhaps nothing more than a chuckle by today's standards, but at the time - served as a bridge for those wanting a bit of performance, without doling out the cash for the Z28 / TransAm level, along with a bit of economy without selling out for the Citation X11 goober-mobile.

The emergency brake provided so much entertainment - idiot pulls out in front of you, just coast on up to his bumper, yank the brake for the tire squall, then regale in the pleasure of seeing two big whites of the offender's eyes in that car's rearview mirror as the message of 'lead, follow, or get out of the way' was not-so-subtlely passed on forward.

"But it was the factory exhaust - man, just sounded good for a V6 - had that high-performance growl without being 'breathy' or air-laden or off-beat or cheesy as many V6s did at the time."

I had a 4 cyl Ford Contour once that I pulled behind my motorhome. 4 cyl - 4 speed - 4 passenger - 4 doors, and one of the more miserable cars I have owned. You rowed it with the gear shift when around town and the wife could not stand the front seat, so most often when we went somewhere she sat in the back.... making it look like a cheap episode of driving Miss Daisy.

And did I mention it did not have a throaty roar... but it looked pretty good.

"If one remembers the 80s"

Fxpwt,

Remember the 80's you say.... Yeah I remember the 80's, the 70's, the 60s, the 50's and quite a bit of the 40's. ;-)

I don't remember much about the Cavalier except it was always parked up front at the dealer lots in brite colors, nice and sporty looking. I do remember the Citation. Delivered to the dealers with 13 pending recalls. They changed the towing industry due to having to add a 4x4 just right to the tow sling to keep from bending the whole front end. Thank the Citation for wheel lifts.

Wheels, did you ever install a glass pack and run the garden hose up the tail pipe when it was hot to tune it?

Wheels, did you ever install a glass pack and run the garden hose up the tail pipe when it was hot to tune it?

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Aug 11, 2012, at 11:49 PM

Old John,

I never had glass packs. I was a phenomina of the 50's and the cops were pure hell on noisey mufflers, and I could not afford the tickets. I also could not afford the glass packs.

I did run my little Ford with a straight pipe for a while... until I could afford to have the muffler, that was in the trunk when I bought it, welded back on. A temporary fix with a piece of cistern pipe got me by in the meantime. Until I had the muffler put back on, when I saw a cop, I would step in the clutch, flip that little switch Ford's had back then and coast by,

Well, it seems like my hopes for a reprieve on the political chatter have been dashed - so I figured I'd come to the safe place to Voyager and Rambler and Scout about a bit. :-)

Wheels - your memory is much better than mine, which rememories only back through late 60s on the good days, at best.

To me, the late 70s / early 80s were interesting, partially because of the period in my life where vehicles were the end-all, be-all of being independently mobile along with having the time to twiddle and tweak, and additionally because of the new phase of revolutionary changes coming on. While electronic ignition was already old news, the expanding horizon of electronic engine controls was really breaking out.

Carbs were getting flippin' complicated with all the dashpots for high engine idles, variable venturis for emissions compliance and fuel economy, and ported switches were everywhere to direct vacuum through the masses of tubing to the correct places. I suggest that fuel injection was brought on equally or more for relief than for reliability or progress.

Emissions were a big concern, replacing fuel economy as a driving reason for low-performance - the 304 V8 in the '81 Jeep was derated down to 160hp - it had been said that the emissions levels outpaced the technology of the day which seemed to be compensated for by making the engines less capable of burning gobs of fuel. Where high-performance cars in the then-recent past were approaching and even surpassing the magical 1 hp per 1 cubic inch value, we were now looking at stock availabilities approaching half that.

GM brought out the Iron Duke 151CID inline-four engine, proclaiming the benefits of a cast-iron block, presumably to squelch the bad taste from the earlier 140CID aluminum block put in the Chevy Vega/Pontiac Astre. A reliable dog which AMC picked up to put in many of their vehicles until their own 2.5L I-4 powerplant was developed.

Then there was the Olds Quad-4 promoting significantly fewer parts for economy and reliability, but having significant reliability issues anyways. Ah, nothing like the built-up hype of technology falling flat on its face. :-)~

Figure understanding how things got to where they are today falls in line with the thinking that if you don't know where you're going, you'll never get there.

"Wheels - your memory is much better than mine, which rememories only back through late 60s on the good days, at best."

Fxpwt,

I wouldn't go so far as that. See the problem I'm having is remembering the 00's.... sometimes as far back as last week. Like where are my shoes. Keys are no problem as I always keep them in my right hand pants pocket. Now should I put them inadvertently in my left pants pocket, we could be delayed a little while.

fxpwt, I do remember the '74 emmision mandate. Full size Ford cars had a jungle of harness and hoses running to all kinds of add on devices. The distributer had both a vaccum advance and retard. We learned real quick the best way to find a hesitation or general drivability problem was to start disconnecting stuff.

Fast forward to what you mentioned, I met a guy driving a '78 Chevy with all kinds of crude looking guages and a large box to monitor and record the data. He was a GM engineer testing an early version of Cumputer Command Control that debuted '81.

We quickly learned that to diagnose a drivability problem on an '81 you unplug the cooling senser and throw into open loop. If it ran better, a CCC problem. If it ran worse, a basic engine problem [vac leak, fuel restiction etc.

And aah, the Iron Duke, as it evolved it started claiming 5% more power and economy every year to the point the thing should have been 400hp and 60mpg. :) Over all it was a good engine that did suffer from some ring siezure traced to unsuited oil viscosity. GM wanted to compete with the fast lubes so they capitolized by changing to a 5w30 spec at about the same time they introduced fast lube at the dealerships.

"Well, it seems like my hopes for a reprieve on the political chatter have been dashed - so I figured I'd come to the safe place to Voyager and Rambler and Scout about a bit. :-)"

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sun, Aug 12, 2012, at 8:30 PM

------------------

Yeah, you'd better wipe-off those feet before y'come in here---I just got finished moppin' the floor, and wipin' down the bar.

(And close your barn door. I've got ladies and/or women who(admit!)to visiting now.☺)

Yeah, had to clean-up. Made a mess of the place yesterday.

Fella came in, started "politic"-ing. During the second-drink, he sneered an' called me a Republican. I told him to pay-up, and get-out.

This offended him, and as he finished his drink, he got even nastier, an' called me a Democrat. So's I picked him up, an' chucked-'im out the door on his ear.

He'd just stood up, and had his mouth gapped-open ready to say somethin' else when suddenly a shotgun-blast-full-of #12 birdshot ventilated his hind-end, an' off he staggers, screamin' like a banshee. The wife hands me the still-smoking gun, an' says: "Here---YOU can clean it!"

I says, "But darlin'! Why's did y' shoot-'im? He was already leavin'!"

She says, "Cuz he done called you a Republican, and then a Democrat, an' by the way his mouth was forming the words, it looked-like Independent was gonna be next---an' I ain't gonna have you ridin' the fence THAT-far down, ever-again, babe...!" ☺

☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

Yeah, not bad, eh?

At least for a Monday.

You should see what I can do after a THIRD-cup of coffee...!☺

Boy, a THOUSAND would look "sweet", wouldn't it guys?(and gals!)☺

"...people will start to think it's a movement!" Yeah, paraphrased from Arlo Guthries' "Alices' Restaurant".

No, I didn't care for(some)of his views. But then, neither did HE, of MINE, I'm sure.

I DO wish I could sing and play like he did, though.

Oh! Sorry! It's about time for the 900-th rerun of "Lawrence Welk, & The Geritol Power-Hour", for the REALLY-old amongst us...!!!☺

From a preacher blog: Joe and Jim grew up together and both were good ball players. Stocky Joe was a catcher and lanky Jim was a pitcher. They remained close friends and toward the end they made a pact. The first to go would communicate the important answer to the question "Is there baseball in heavan?".

Soon after Joe passed he appeared in Jim's room one night and said "Good news and maybe bad news, depending on how you take it, there's great baseball in heavan and your pitching tonight!"

-- Posted by Easy Moneys on Tue, Aug 14, 2012, at 10:27 AM

Rick,

I did that number on my prescription glasses once. Needed them to read but for not for anything else. That was more than 20 years ago... and the day I started wearing my glasses anytime I was awake and out of bed.

Yes I have driven a right hand drive. Feels a little funny but you get used to it. I just bought one of those little Japanese mini-trucks for driving around through the woods. They are dropping it off for me on Saturday. It is less than 5 feet wide, kind of anxious to see if I can get it stuck between two trees. Think I should make a chain saw a part of the necessary gear?

WHEELS, here, has just pointed-out a "quirk" some of us have: Why do those of us, who are more-acquainted with the larger of the "wheeled-species", seem to prefer something much-smaller, to "play"-with during our leisure-time?

(Must be a "superiority-complex" for us? Or is it just "us-two", who suffer from such?)

Me? I still like "playing" with the fast-disappearing REAL-lawn/garden TRACTORS. Yeah, I look like a monkey ridin' a football, but, hey, it's still a free-show!

BTW, WHEELS---did you buy it new, or "pre-conditioned"? And, would I lose a dollar-bet, saying that there might-be a little-Diesel tucked in there? Maybe a Kawasaki, or Mitsubishi?

Donknome-2

Bought it to keep my sorry behind from having to walk everywhere I wanted to go on the farm, plus haul a few rocks, and to get through the woods without building a road.

It is "pre-conditioned". Could not justify new for the use I will give it. Set a couple of conditions since I chose it over buying a four wheeler or something of that nature. One, enclosed cab where I can be warm and cool as the season dictates, and as mentioned heater to stay warm and A/C to stay cool, and 4 wheel drive with low range.

Would have preferred a diesel but where I bought it there were none available. It is a Susuki and I think it is going to be a nice 'toy' though. There is an importer in your area, where I purchased it who seems to handle more of them than anywhere else I looked.

4-wd, huh? I wonder if one could be made-up to be useful/practical as a "semi-suburban" snow-removal unit? And/or to use as a unit for a self-powered pull-behind trail-mower?

That air-conditioned/heated cab sounds tempting for a LOT-of otherwise "ugly"-tasks.

Man, I was thinkin' 2-wd, and a cab with all the frills of the old-tyme "Bus Stop"-shelter.

Dude, you'se got a piece of "movable-heaven", there...!☺

That importer/place doesn't have a website, by any chance, does it? Name of the location/city doesn't start with a "G", by that very-same chance?

Don't wanna be slammed for advertising, y' know...

I think I will like it. Although I understand some counties will allow them on the roads, I understand there are some that will not. Supposed to do about 60 MPH but at about 10' 6" long and about 54" wide, I don't think so for me.

They are EPA certified so I guess you could license them, although I won't need to as it is strictly for off road use. That is why it is being delivered, since I didn't have anything handy to pick it up with.

Donknome-2

Yes they do G&R and they are outside of Jackson. They had about 50 or so of them listed on their site for sale.

They come in the color of your choice as well.... so long as your choice is white.

PS: Donknome-2, I could have had Power Steering as well... but I didn't want anyone thinking I was a sissy.

Ahh!!! OK, now I know EXACTLY where "you talkin' 'bout!"☺

Easy, Our mail carrier bought a RHD Jeep-like rig one time. Sure enough, when he took his ten year old to school the next day, the local Barney Fife pulled him over and asked the kid for a drivers license. The coffee shop crowd never let him live that one down! :)

Wheels, I looked into those mini trucks way back. Then they were rare to have a heater. Sounds like yours is well suited for the task. I seen guys use Geo Trackers for woods travel, don't know if they're 4wd or not though.

Old John,

I been thinking about one of these for awhile and finally decided to do something about it. First thought was it might be a parts problem. Then realized the Gator and the rest of these toys were foreign made as well. So we shall see. Spent less than I would have on a new Gator or a Mule and I get to sit inside where the limbs aren't hitting me in the face. Hopefully I can get to the creek, and back as well, with it. I had a riser kit and a bigger set of tires put on it, for a little more clearance.

Wheels, Sounds like the perfect rig to haul sugar and corn down to the creek. :)

Old John,

Problem is I don't have any experience there and dear old Great Uncle George is long dead. He would have made a good instructor from all I've heard. Maybe I better google it to see if there is a recipe on the net.

Perhaps a bit more not-so-useful drivel, so as to keep the thread on the hot list, without doing a shameless, commentless 'bump'. :-)

Doggone - went to change the oil in the Impy. All going well - car up on ramps, filter changed, oil drained, plug reinstalled, new filter installed - making sure the old gasket came off so as not to have another Exxon/Valdez re-enactment in the garage. Things were going well, and all I lacked was finishin' up. Then, D'Oh - oil!

Been buying it in the gallon or 5-quart containers - and didn't have any full containers on-hand. Scrounged around and was able to piece together enough leftover oil from prior changes in the 5-quart jugs to get 'er filled, as it takes only 4 to do a change.

Unusual for me, since I likes to keep a couple changes' worth on-hand, given the frequency at which I religiously change the oil. It's been said the mind is the first thing to go - guessing I needs to work on its brakes to slow that down a bit.

At any rate, got to looking around - man, oil sure has gone up from what my rememory recalls. $3.99 / quart was the general price, not much if any of a break for the larger containers - and I sure didn't need any of those 'free' oil filters thrown in. Finally found one of the chain auto parts stores running a special for $2.99 / quart for their store-branded stuff - so's I bought everything they had on the shelf. The philosophy is that if it meets the OEM-spec 'SM' designation - we're good. Not influenced by the high-mileage or synthetic or super-special additive packages the name-brand stuff proclaims.

Detour - always wondered how the oil was rated - seeing the SF, SG... SN, and CC, CD... designations. Found that the 'S' rating was meant for Spark-ignition a.k.a. gasoline, and the 'C' rating was for the Compression-ignition a.k.a diesel engines. Yeah, I know - but it's stuck in my head and just won't come out, freeing up room for more important stuff.

May have to start looking at the bigger containers to achieve more of a bulk discount, or shopping harder for oil sales - seeing one of the farm supply stores offering 2-gallon containers for a regular price of $25.99, or $3.25/quart. The viscosity 5W-30 is gaining popularity, but unlike Visa - not yet everywhere you want it to be. Hate to switch - hear stories that the cylinder deactivation doesn't work properly with the wrong grade oil.

Eh, well - yet another opportunity to excel. :-)

"It's been said the mind is the first thing to go - guessing I needs to work on its brakes to slow that down a bit."

Fxpwt,

I always heard the mind was the 2nd thing to go, and.... I cannot remember what the first was.

What about buying oil by the 35gal drum? Like the Super Lube does. Maybe Hunter Oil over here at Mtn. Grove does that, or your equivalent.

The local Ford dealer here, Wehr Ford, consistantly advertizes a 17.95 oil change with Shell Moter Oil or 19.95 for Motercraft AND they lube the chassis and top all fluids. They do it too! Of course they 'inspect' you car and make recommendations for other service 'issues'.

They don't make a dime doing it. It's an advertizing gimmick, but who cares, right? I can''t change my own oil for that price.

I can't find ANY quart of oil for 2.99 here.

Good-idea, DCHANNNES---but I'm curious as to whether any savings might be off-set by a possible drum-deposit? And, of course, your initial purchase of a hand-pump for the drum.

As a young-fella, with a Schwarzenegger-bod, I'd replace the bung with a petcock-valve, and then tilt-'em on a barrel-"cradle", in-lieu of "Da-Pump". Learned NEVER to take ANYONES' word for it, when they'd say:"Ya-a-ah, dude---I put the fill-spout in the bung already!"

Oh yea, they'd put it back IN. They just wouldn't bother to SNUG IT UP.(Buncha weenie-kids. "Eww, don't get that oil on me!"☺) So, guess what'd happen when I started to load that 35-gallon drum---with the "half-thread holding" bung-plug---onto the cradle? Not exactly the "Exxon Valdez"---but horribly-close

Hey, I was fast-'nuff back then to catch-'em on the run---even though my name wasn't Usain Bolt!☺

And drag 'em back by the collar, to clean it up, and 'fess-up to the deed.

Then I got OLD---and had to rely upon one of my "henchmen", to trip the absconding-offender...!☺

I doubt there's a deposit. They give the empty drums away at Super Lube. I've made several wood stoves out of them. I doubt Wal-Mart would be as giving though. Once a person had the drum, he could possibly have it filled at one of the Lube places... maybe...

For now, the Ford Dealership $17.95 price is good for me!

Eh, seems to be a diminishing rate of return on bulk oil. Found only one of the chain auto parts stores offering only a name-brand oil in the 55 gallon drum, for $899.99. Assuming one gets the full 55-gallons - comes out to a little over $4 per quart. Guessing the economies of scale are offset by the economies of unit sales in this case. :-) Then there's that net present value analysis of kerplunking down almost $1,000 all-at-once for something that would take me almost 8 years to use.

dchannes - sounds like you've got a heck of a deal going on there, especially if it's a garage you trust. Two things have me balking to that approach - first, available time where my times of opportunity and the shop's hours of operation often don't align well; and second, my experience with one of the quickie lube places that told me time and again there were no grease fittings, all the way up to the premature failure of a tie-rod end - you guessed it - having a grease fitting plain as day if one bothered to look. They then topped it off shortly afterward by cross-threading the drain plug on another vehicle leading to a bad trait of the vehicle marking its territory wherever it went. Grrrrr - banned from driveways all across Kentucky.

At least when I do it, I gots nobody to blame for the foul-up but me. Pity, given my decades of experience, there's somehow still plenty of blame to go around. :-)~

A car dealer from way back once told me that if you have one using a moderate amount of oil, switch to Trop-Artic and it will likely quit using oil. I found that true several times back then. It's been several years since I had a car that used oil, so I can't say that holds true anymore.

An old joke about how man vs woman changes oil went something like this: Woman pays $20 for oil change. Husband goes to town, buys a case of oil and filters. Starts draining the oil and checking things out. Heads back to town to get an air filter and picks up a six pack while he's at it. Comes back to find the drain pan wasn't just right and all the oil went on the floor. Goes back to bet a bag of oil dry and returns to find the parts girl gave him the wrong filter. Goes back to town and exchanges the filter and gets caught up in a sobriety check point on the way back.

Case of oil; $25; filters $24; oil dry $6; DWI; night in jail to start with; $$$$$

Woman calls tow truck to take car to garage to finish oil change; $75.

DCHANNES: Seriously? They're giving them away? Man, I need to make a trip "down and over" there! Those, and the 55's sell like water at a jalapeno-picnic, for just the reason you gave: Do it yourself wood stoves for shop-heaters.

That having been said, the $17.95 oil change sounds good, can't beat the price. I THINK the local-Ford dealers in my-area are doing the same right now, some sort of promotion?

FXPWT has a point there, with the difference between an oil-change, and a lube-job included. Lots of unsuspecting folks don't know there's a difference---they're just lookin' at their watches, and that "cheap"-price.

Not that proud of it, but several years ago, I saw to it that a pit-"mechanic", and his manager at an unnamed local Fast Lube were introduced to the unemployment line for a while. The reason is, as follows:

My wifes' then-new Toyota was still under-warranty, so she insisted on a Toyota-branded oil filter.(She would supply her own filters, factory sealed.) At about the third scheduled change, I began to notice how clean the exterior of the filter was NOT. Hoping I was wrong, I took a paint-marker, and put a small "x" in the center of the cap-end. This time, I went along for the ride.

Invoice stated 5-qt oil, & new customer-supplied filter. What she got was a "short" 4-qts, and her SAME-filter. It didn't take long---with the willing-help of the owner of the "parent"-store/shop next door---to determine what was happening, but not why.

Apparently, the manager and his buddy were "hoarding" name-brand filters of ALL-brands, by this very-same method, must've been re-selling somewhere? Apparently, there were a number of other victims of these idiots as well. Lots of Toyota, AC/Delco, Motorcraft, etc. stashed away.(Found out later that some new-car dealers would use the "quickie-lube" at times too, esp. when they were on a "tight"-schedule.)

That little red-"x" done 'em in, though. The owner offered me(us)FREE-servicing on her truck, for as long as she owned it. But we both turned it down. Neither of us wanted a "freebie"---but we DID want to see him "clean-up his house", so to speak. Which he immediately did, out of earshot. He fired the two on-the-spot. Although he probably lost two otherwise good servicemen, he had gained/kept a regular customer---although I/we never did go back to that-particular Fast-Lube again.

(And FXPWT thought that HE was the only-one good at ranting....!☺)

(C'mon, we only need FIVE-more comments for our "quota", and then we can all take off early---without PAY, of course!---and start our weekend ahead of schedule...!☺)

Jiffy Lube striped out my oil pan a number of years ago and without telling me, put in a rubber plug. When I discovered it, they promised to take care of it and rethread and put in a new plug. I allowed them to do it, but checked the work.... rubber plug again. I went back talked to them and they said it could not be fixed, the plug would have to do. I had to have a new oil pan installed. Probably should have taken them to court, but did not have the time to mess with it. I just stay out of those places to this day and take it back to the dealer.

Wheels - had a similar thing happen with the Jeep, albeit self-inflicted. Of course, it was back in my younger days, ahhh, those days when I knew it all and before the difference between 'tight enough' and "can't tighten no more" was appreciated. Nothing like that sinking feeling when the threads yield on that final turn.

Went to the parts store to see what could be done - parts guy just smiled, reached under the counter and pulled out a handy-dandy plug kit, essentially a nut with a typical fine-thread oil drain plug, teflon gasket and all. Apparently, some genius had done thought ahead about guys like me and had a fix ready to go - likely turning it into his retirement plan. :-)~

Involved taking the oil pan off - which seriously was easier done than said - take it to a machine shop to have the nut brazed on over the stripped drain hole. Voila, been working like a champ for the better part of 20 years. Stout enough that I believe the oil pan would wrinkle before these threads gave way.

One of the few things I won't go cheap on is an oil filter. Can't remember the link, but it had photos of many different popular filters cut open to show the filter media, backflow preventers, etc. Thus my prior statement about not needing no 'free' filters, most of which skimp on media surface area.

Need to make drain-plugs like the one on my old Case tractor. Not much different than a sewer-plug. Takes a 7/8-wrench to break it loose, and the threads are about the same-size as a Reese's Mini-Cup.☺

Gotta love it, when it's change-time. Crack-'er loose, turn left, left, left, le---PLOP! She's OUT! Four to five "glugs" later, clean threads, turn right, right, right, a half-right til it squeaks, then stick that 7/8-on there, an' give it a three-fingered whack with a small ball-pein, to "lock" it. Refill with 30wHD-times-five---DONE!

Oh, yeah---the filter. Ever see'd one about the size of a small fire extinguisher, with a finger-twist "key" on top, that has stamped in it's casting: "Turn handle clockwise at least four-turns daily."?

A mechanical-marvel, in-deed! And, quite functional, apparently. Has a one-inch plug in the extreme-bottom of the housing, with further instructions to "Drain At End Of Season, For Best Service."

Nasty-lookin' stuff comes outta there, sometimes...!

"ahhh, those days when I knew it all and before the difference between 'tight enough' and "can't tighten no more" was appreciated."

Fxpwt,

I remember those days.... you tightened it up until it started to strip, then gave it another quarter turn to see if it did or not.

fxpwt, I'd bet the filter cross cut was a Wix. A lot of old schoolers are die-hard Wix fans. Napa Gold filters are Wix, even have near same part #s.

Donk, We had an old truck or something that used a roll of toilet paper in a canister for oil filtration.

Talk about fast lube goofs, when Jiffy Lube came to town they either had their hose connections crossed or someone had their wires crossed. The first few days they were topping off master cylinders with power steering fluid. Made quite a mess!

Donknome-2,

Does Old John get a prize? He was number "1000".

Donknome-2,

Yeah, How about a twisted out of shape autographed oil filter off a '63 Falcon with a screwdriver hole punched through it?.....Or at least a story to that effect. :)

WHEELS: I noticed that! Why, YES, he does, in-deed: He can take today off. And, YOU can take off at noon, for "heppin'"-him, you 'old-dude'!☺

(Sorry, but I was just waiting for the chance to "zing"-you with that one!)

O-h-h yeah, just like yourself, I "read all-over-the-place". Always on the search for a good-brawl. Man, she was wantin' to saw a chunk-outta yer hind-end, fer shure weren't she? I laughed til I literally cried, you ol' sweety! lol!☺

Next-time, try "♥'s" and "♫♪'s", an' a side-order of cherry-cordials...!☺

"Donk, We had an old truck or something that used a roll of toilet paper in a canister for oil filtration."

Old John,

Would a sears catalog work?

OLD JOHN: In all seriousness---no, really, no tricks!---wasn't the toilet-paper 'element' an-approved replacement for the original-equipment AC-passive-filtration canister? Or maybe I just dreamt that, in a nightmare?☺ I DO know J.C. 'Jesus Christo' Whitney sold such a---"combo" for a long-g-g time, though.

Reason I ask is, on yet-another hunk of "inventory" I have on-hand is another early-40's Case, that used----or, is using!☺---a Ballwin-brand #T300-M spin-on filter, of which says it's also used for filtering HYDRAULIC-systems. It replaced a literally-rusted through FRAM # C-158, and both are packed with a quite-dense filter media, not-unlike the aforementioned "Outhouse-Specials". BTW, the system is, indeed, the standard "passive-filtration", of the time period.

How did I know the original-FRAM #? Yeah, I SAVED-it, even if it did have a hole rusted in it.

I figger if an-OIL filter can hang around long-'nuff to rust a hole through?

It simply MUST-be priceless, in another 100-years or so....!☺

WHEELS: Sears---maybe. But not the old-Aldens---pages were too-slick, even for it's "original"-second-life usage.

Especially in the Womens'-sections. I always tore those out, an' kept 'em in my back-pocket, for an "emergency-situation", should one "just-happen"...!☺

Now, I'm gonna go make a mess of somethin', an' blame it on lack-of available-caffeine....☺

Especially in the Womens'-sections. I always tore those out, an' kept 'em in my back-pocket, for an "emergency-situation", should one "just-happen"...!☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Wed, Aug 22, 2012, at 10:34 AM

You ain't the guy I heard about that ordered him a woman out of one of them catalogs and only got the harness are you??

Heh heh... that'll fix him for them remarks about old guys......

Before you guys get in trouble talking about the women's section, I reckon it might be time to tell a different story concerning my desk. Like all important business men I have a desk, but being a has been important in my mind only busisiness man, well my desk ain't what it used to be.

It's a big desk with a printer and other expected attachments to a modern day computer. Too bad I'm too hard headed to learn to use all that crap in the expected way.

But that's beside the point I bring up. As big as this desk is, there is not a square inch of surface not covered with something.

There are the two pen and pencil stands full of pens and pencils. I need to see if any of them still work. I know some were mighty fine writing tools and some have printed reference to fine companies and individuals I've done business with.

There is also several mathmatical devices, an adding machine with a printer and several small calulators. One was a gift from a friend when he started his endeavor of free enterprise. Then there is the jar or small stuff including the Gristo Feeds lighter a kind and helpful fellow gave me after we got aquainted via my flat tire and his generosity.

Maybe it's time to clear away the Accutire electronic tire guage that served me well for 10 years since the quarter size battery has died. The power leads are soldered to the battery and somewhere around here I have a precision soldering tool.

Also on the desk is a very early transistor radio still in all it's glory, wrapped in a leather case. Too bad the antenna connection needs some of that delicate soldering.

Gee, here's a copy of "The complete care and maintenance of farm equipment", and no it hasn't been here since '47 but it is getting dusty!

Like any respectable has been's desk, mine has a lot of paper taking up space. It takes an exciting guy to stay up late to jot down the highlights of weekly grocery prices.

Might be time to clear the desk and then start looking inside the desk drawers. Never know, there might be some pages from an old JC Whitney in there somewhere.

WHEELS: Ya, a big Svedish-gal. Or so they claimed, anyhow?

Personally, I tink it was a "conversion-model", made in maybe the late-'60's???☺

Had a big, strong, tough-lookin' "final-drive"---so's I ordered a spare-harness, just in case the original broke in the field, y' know? ☺

Figured I'd best move my rants back ovah-heah, wheres't they belong!

WHEELS was layin' some bull on me---figuratively, that is!---over on another-thread, and my-"solution" to such a situation fit-in place better here, than there.

But then again, it's all "Greek to me"...!☺

(Look at it from the MECHANICAL-p.o.v. now, guys. After all, it WAS made by Allis-Chalmers!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M50_Ontos

Donk, When I was growing up on the farm, humor didn't have to be sophisticated. One reason, it was said to choose poppy orange over green was that if you left a John Deere in the corn field to go to lunch, you might not find it until fall!

OLD JOHN: Yeah, Allis-Chalmers must've learned that the hard-way, too, since they were still as GREEN as the fungus behind my ears in 1929.

Not sure when they went all-orange? Either just prior to WW 2, or immediately following? I 'THINK' the wartime-models sent to England during the war were maybe already orange?

I'd hafta look-it-up, an' that's too-much like work, and MY-Central Processing Unit needs to have it's leads disconnected for a bit, so's it can re-boot itself.

After being poked, prodded, inspected and/or rejected/repaired all morning by strangers in the Dr.s' office???

I now know how my ol' 'Jimmy', and the wifes' 'Yota must feel, when I drop-'em off at a repair-shop---since they both have electronic-'brains', as well!

Maybe I should be nicer to them, since they just MIGHT remember me later...!☺

Or, as RICK-might say it: I'm easily "mix-fused", for a few-more hours yet...!☺

Bought a used '89 John Deere 85hp tractor several years back because it had a cab and A/C - a big step forward from the open-air Massey, 4WD, and was relatively cheap. A few things seemed odd - and upon tracking the model number - found it wasn't a model marketed in the U.S.

Hmmmm, er, OK - started to understand the 'cheap' part - a term I'd never before seen used in parallel with Deere. As luck would have it, found that all Deeres of this size came off an assembly line in Germany, with the model reportedly representing packages meant for different countries' various requirements.

Quite relieved to find that the major powertrain parts were pretty much universal and readily available locally. The specialty country-specific parts were available, just not so readily.

Somewhat humorous to note some of the differences - the headlights are out front like a passenger car instead of mounted in the rear fenders, the three-point hitch is some gerflunkee slide-and-lift arrangement that looked to be a maintenance nightmare and was quickly converted to a more robust and typical U.S.-style. The hour-meter registers in metric units (heheheh, hours is still hours - just seeing if anyone was paying attention). The cab roof has an escape hatch. It has turn signals and brake lights - stuff I'd never seen on a tractor.

But perhaps the most humourous difference is the absence of a seat belt, replaced by a sticker that states something along the lines of, "In the event of a rollover, do not jump. Wrap arms around steering wheel firmly."

Fortunately, haven't had the opportunity to check out this OEM-recommended procedure...

Aww, c'mon, FXPWT---I wanna see you jump-out of that cab, BEFORE it jumps on YOU!☺

I thought you were gonna say you found out somebody'd painted "Deere" over "Claas"---they practically look-alike, but allegedly parts will NOT interchange.

(And, NO, that would NOT make it a Christmas "reindeer", either!)

Beat at least ONE of those two-"other monkey-nuts" to the punch-line, this-time...!☺

Did it look like this?

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=claas+tractors&hl=en&sa=X&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4NNVC_enU...

John Deere makes some models in Germany and some in India and of course a lot of components for the smaller tractors are Yanmar, Japanese. If you buy from a Deere dealer, it will have been made for distribution in the US, "gray market" units are a whole different thing and getting parts may be problematic; still good tractors though.

I took a break from chasing around dried up fescue stems a few weeks ago and made my annual trip across the river to Pinckneyville for the American Threshermans Assoc show.

Anyone here who has never been should make a point to visit next year. If your idea of a good time is to spend a day...or two or three, looking at thousands of antique and modern tractors, steam tractors, plowing and threshing demonstrations, by steam and animal power or sawmilling, shingle making and veneer cutting this is your place.

http://www.americanthresherman.com/

Rick,

We just dont see lespedeza ( I had to look up the spelling) as much around here anymore. We have several fields of it on our place mixed in with timothy grass. It usually does good in dry times cause of how deep the roots are with it but it hasnt came back for a second cutting this year even after cutting it early.

We almost always do good getting seconds on our fields that are sowed heavy in red clover mixed with the fescue but this weather has killed out all our clover, gonna have to re-sow clover for next year.

Missouri conservation has recently lifted somme restrictions on mowing CRP land because of the drought.

For those not aware, the CRP program in a nutshell is the government pays a landowner a certain dollar amount per acre to let a field just grow up with weeds and saplings and such or to plant it in a native grass and let it grow up. I do not participate in the program but alot of people do. To me the land is to imortant to let it grow up into a brush pile. We have lost several of nice farms in our area after the people who inherited the farm found out they could make a few bucks by simply doing nothing with their place.

-- Posted by Joe Dirte on Wed, Aug 29, 2012, at 3:01 PM

We recently spoke with someone about CRP and was told the land had to be maintained so it was "farmable". There is also a CRP for reforestation.

Heheheh - very funny, OJ :-) Actually, it looks like a twin to this - http://www.tractorfan.nl/picture/9194/, exceptin' we didn't get those stylish front fenders.

Best I could tell, this is the U.S. version - http://www.usfarmer.com/#/Tractors/4WD/John_Deere/2755/1989_John_Deere_2755_1106...

Ah, lespedeza - fun times. The old favorite 2,4-D won't touch it, Round-Up does a fine job on it and also everything around it. Found that metsulfuron does pretty good - but takes a while to work. Miss out on that satisifying browning and shriveling as you rage, 'die you worthless weeds, die!' - more towards just quietly fades away after being cut.

Rick,

Right you are about the higher the stack got in the loft the hotter it gets. Its a shame to not still have a hip roof barn on our place anymore, not for hay stacking though, round bales staked in pole barns is the only way to do it. Wish the old barn was still around though, spent more time in there than in the house it seems.

When we used to square bale we always pulled the wagon behind the baler. I never understood those who didn't. Only reason I ever saw was for those who were selling hay and the folks buying it could just drive along behind and pick it up at their own pace, but I know several people who bale on the ground then load it and put it in their barn. Most of those folks can't stack fast enough to keep up with a baler and they like taking to many soda breaks.

We had some neighbors I would put up hay for on Sundays since grandpa used it for his day of rest. They always baled on the ground unless I was there. I did all the stacking, never could teach them how to tie a load together. If they loaded it theirself, half of it fell of in the creek crossing.

When we would get to the barn to unload they would break out the cooler full of pepsi and start chuggin. Never understood how or why someone would drink a can of sugar and syrup when your workin in that heat.I always just stuck to the end of a garden hose when I got thirsty, less belly aches.

As far as snakes go I have seen more grown men jump off a wagon when they went to hook a bale and 4 inches of a old copper head was staring out of the bale at them.

Donk,

Some of the rock farmers up here would have considered calling lespedeza a weed "fightin words":)

It would grow anywhere and a hungry cow wouldn't turn her nose up at it once the snow was on the ground.

JOE DIRTE: You dog! You went to Pinckneyville, an' didn't take ME along!☺ I've pretty much went each year for the past 10 or so. But, I didn't make it this year. Too-hot, and I was kinda sickly this time around. Couple of my cousins once had a helluva-pile of old-iron they'd show there, several years back. But I think they've sold-off most of that collection. Takes a lot of spare-time AND $pare $money$, to keep up with it all. And once they started families, they had none of either!

LOVE the hamburger-stand! Yeah, a soda with a burger will set you back a few-bucks---but to me, it's worth it.

Ain't nothin' got quite the taste of a REAL-hand-fried burger, and an overflowing Pepsi---especially if someone else is frying/filling it! Then throw-in the smell of oil/diesel/coal/wood---call it heaven on earth!☺

Even though I prefer Coke, instead. But S. Illinois is "Pepsi-Country", instead of "Coke-Territory", like it is 'round here. Loyalty to your "local"-brands, y' know...!

And I'd like to say that I miss stacking-hay behind a baler, OR off the ground---but I can't, because I honestly DON'T!

I kinda DO miss the opportunity to drive at least three-different brands or types of tractors while working in those fields, though.

But I NEVER-have missed the "round-baler-option", with WIRE-bindings. Had to use a hook, 'cause they was so-tight, there weren't no-place to grab.

That, and it was usually clover, to-boot. Might as well snatch-up a bale of cast-iron scraps, in-deference to the weight of such...!

It was a little warm at the show this year, but since it had been over 100 degrees every day since new years 85 degrees that weekend was almost jacket weather.

You are right about the Pepsi, I don't drink much soda no more but when I do its gotta be a Coke. Whats that they used to say, "Its the real thing."

They had a guy over there for several years with a BIG trailer smoker, made some GOOD pork. Even though I smoke pork 2 or 3 times a month, I couldnt pass his stand without a sandwich. Didnt see him this time, probably a good thing for my belt I missed him.

One complaint I have about the show is every year the number of folks riding around on golf carts has been climbing. I don't begrudge crippled folks or citizens of advanaced age, known on this forum as "old coots" riding on a cart. Problem is every Tom, Richard and Harry over there no matter age or lack of ailment seems to not want to take a chance of scuffing there boots up. Its one thing with all the tractors moving about. I can hear them and step aside, but when little junior zips up on your heals in a electric cart your in trouble.

You mean, alfalfa by any chance?

And, you can't wait for the "Omega"-hour to show, can you?☺

Yeah, JD, they need to "ride-herd" a little-better on the carts---NO operators of "kid"-years. That goes for the lawn-tractors, too. And even 85-beautiful degrees was too-hot for me---I think MY-thermostat was stuck shut, as I was constantly boiling over, and needed topping-off by the minute.☺ Ironic to hear it from me, but, I don't miss the beer stands that never were there, that I know of?

That's what turns me off from most "social"-outings, always some fella(or gal)gettin' about two-of the required-three-sheets-in-the-wind, and just daring someone to touch/look at 'em wrong. Nothin' worse than a sloppy-drunk gettin' in your face.(I'll gladly choose a SMOKER any-day over a 'boozer'.)

Can't remember who sponsored the burger-stand? Just after you crossed the "train-tracks", and to the right, as you were comin' in? Everybody in there was just SO-nice, that I couldn't help but buy "one for the road" on the way out!

I dunno. Maybe just different-people, in a(somewhat)different-place/way of life?

Whatever it is, it's kinda refreshing!☺

Maybe next-year...

When we were still square bailing we had a ford 532 baler, pulled by a 2000 ford tractor. Mowed with the 2000 with a ford 501 sickle mower behind it and racked with a old Oliver side delivery rake pulled by a farmall b tricycle.

Still have all those machines. Had a matching set of the 2000 fords, one with a front loader. Traded the one with the loader in on a 4000 ford diesel with loader. The farmall b is now restored and on display piece duty. Still use the sickle mower on occasion when my conditioner is on the fritz. This is the final year for the oliver rake, over 30 years of service, I figure we can use a break from each other so I am getting a V style wheel rake. The square baler sits in the shed as a reminder to take extra good care of the round baler.

Donk,

Speaking of the railroad tracks at the fairgrounds, that poor feller that has to squat down in that little locomotive they run around there was a sight.

He was covered head to toe in soot, drippin with sweat and had a water bottle on the dash. It was covered in soot and oil. My dad was with me and I asked if he thought the bottle was water or his oil can. Dad said as miserable as that ol boy looked it probably didnt matter to him if he was watering the machine or drinking the oil.

Yea Rick, gotta give it time to cure. My granny did alot of baling and raking. She threw hay off the wagons on to the elevator too. She did about anything the rest of us did on the farm.

She worked with us at the mill to, either off-boaring pieces off the saw or catching finished boards out of the edger and stacking them on the truck.

About the only thing I never saw her do was run a saw when we were cutting timber, not saying she never did, just that i never saw it:)

I just keeping checking this thread to make sure there is no horsing around going on. With Joe Dirte around.... there's no telling. ;-)

Wheels,

Closest I got to horsing was talkin about the draft plow teams they had turnin sod over in Pickneyville a few weeks back.

I did notice that certain poster above has Horse in his name now. I am sure that has only served to increase attacks against him by some of the "Old Nags" who tend to be offended to easily IMO...Wait a minute, Old Nag, won't work, another horse reference:)

Think for now I will just keep checking in now and then on here, posting in "tame" threads like this one and leave the future of our country to the experts in the other threads. In the end, Nov 6th will come and go, everything the gubment touches will continue to turn to chit no matter who wins.I will continue to rely on me and mine to get by as good as I can.

Joe,

Good seeing you in print again. Was going to ask how you were, but after reading your last post, I see the mind is working good and with that the body will fall into line.

Have a great, if rainey, holiday weekend.

Wheels,

Same to you, and everyone else for that matter.

If I could get south of that storm and push it this way a little quicker I probably would. I have felt like a kid waiting on Christmas ever since I heard the words "significant rain". I know many others probably share those feelings even with the holiday.

Rick, you should just keep on being Rick IMO. Anyone who wants you to be anything else outta run up a alley and holler fish.

Just dropped in, seems this thread is still the first place to go for education and entertainment.

I have yet to attend a tractor, old iron or what ever you call it event where anyone was without a smile.

That hay discussion brings back memories. I decided early on I didn't like hay. I don't know much about hay but know the neighbors have talked about the alfalfa across the road wondering how it keeps growing in such dry conditions.

We recently spoke with someone about CRP and was told the land had to be maintained so it was "farmable". There is also a CRP for reforestation.

-- Posted by 356 on Wed, Aug 29, 2012, at 3:58 PM

Sorry 356, missed your post the other day. Yea that is how it is supposed to be, but my idea and others idea of farmable ar two different things. Landowners in the program are suppossed mow/bushhog certain amount of acerage every year to prevent over growth. The area should rotate every year to make sure as a whole the land is "farmable". Many people do this, many don't. Atleast of the people I know in the program, they all get their money whether they do or dont.

Alfalfa is a deep rooted plant kinda like lespedeza so that may help it in dry times.

I haven't noticed alot of it planted in my neck of the woods the last few years. Could be demand is down locally because all the weekend warrior trail riders have been selling off their horses in favor of using the money saved to put food on their table instead of the horses mouth.

We sowed some alfalfa in a few patches several years ago because all of the request we were getting for "horse hay" After 4 or 5 years yields were headed way down and we never re-sowed it.

OJ,

I like your line about deciding early on you didn't care for making hay. I thought about it and I don't guess I've ever heard a older farmer say "You know, I used to like making hay, but I just don't care for it anymore":)

OLD JOHN: Have you---or, any of you others---seen the '57 Case on display at Buchheits for this month, before they change it out? Can't remember the Model # of it, though? BEAUTIFUL-piece of work!

If I only buy a pair of socks---I always make it a point to get there each month, just to see what's "on the stove cookin'", when it comes to their static-displays!

Still ain't as "home-like" as the ol' original was in Biehle---but, the spirit is still-there, for the most-part.

They occasionally develop "quirks" from time to time, like all businesses---but it generally doesn't take 'em too-long to work-'em out, in due-time.

Ain't Mr.(Rudy)Buchheit no more---but then, no one ever will be, either...!

Donk, I haven't been in there for a while. Their sale bill shows a '34 Thieman as pick of the week.

Says it was a kit and buyers supplied their own engine, transmission and differential. Not sure what was left but the frame and such.

RICK: Why, of course we did! It's just that the REAL-thing---as well as using bigger parts!---responded better to the heat of a cutting-torch and a welder!

And ironically, my models would look just like the real-thing, when I was done: Both had equally ill-fitting joints, and NO-paint...!☺

OLD JOHN: Yeah, I don't see much more that a fella could BUY, after "the big-three"!

Dunno about the weekly-picks, but I know the static-displays at the front are rotated about each month. And, as far as I know, they start-'em, drive 'em in, and when it's time to change-out---it's just "repeat as necessary"...!☺

Several years back, we went to Colechester Ill for a labor day old stuff gathering. They've got a nice grove of pine where cars, trucks, tractors and you name is displayed. When we went an International Harvester club was the main attraction. Anything with that name was displayed, bragged about and parts swapped.

Speaking of models, several displayed their minitures, the old big titans of yesteryear were pared down to about half size or less. Even some regular tractors had been reduced down.

One I remember was a two cyl JD that was the size of a large garden tractor. The flywheel cover was hinged to open and give access to the Briggs that powered it. Various parts recognizable once pointed out came from small cars and all sorts of stuff.

I tell you, these guys are pretty clever and very talented, and there were several.

I took pictures but they are not remarkable because they just look like regular tractors unless there is a person in the picture or some other reference.

RICK: Now, ain't that ironic!

I had trouble pryin' my-eyelids open after one-too-many arc-flashes while tacking-up!

Ah-h-h, the good ol' days, when "no-pain, no-gain" was the rule.

Well, that, and the "auto-darkening"-face-shield was still being "tweaked"-upon!

If I had to rely upon the time-honored method of nod-the-head, to drop the shield---like I once did---today?

It'd turn out just like "Junior" Buford T. Justice in the movie, "East Bound And Down": "DADDY! M'AH HAT FLEW OFF!!!"

And-d-d, we all already KNOW what the good-Sheriffs' response to such was....!☺

My friend, a professional welder tried to teach me to arc weld. A lot of the lesson was choosing the right rod. The best I ever got was "maybe it would not fall apart" and that was only after getting an ADH. I can get by somewhat with the little MIG if ugly don't matter.

My dad once cut the steel rims off a tractor and brazed a rubber tire rim back on, one spoke at a time. For the tough jobs he took stuff to and old blacksmith that folks said could fix anything but a broken heart!

Ironically, the thing that bothers me the most now is the smoke/fumes. Since I've been away from the "daily-dose" of such for several years now, my lungs have become "wussified"! Man, I look like "Safety Sam" now when I work around or with welding---don't hafta ORDER-me to wear a respirator and "greens", anymore!☺ Wish I could afford a Racal-type "air-conditioned"/filtered-hood. They was the "berries"!

My prettiest-welds were made with an-electric DC-negative 6010-rod, in flat-position. But I was a lot-better in the old, now-outdated gas-torch, with a #4(?)tip, in most any-position, when using MAPP-gas instead of "carbide"(acetylene). Wasn't as hot, but the MAPP didn't "backfire" like the acetylene.

(MAPP was a "NEW"-thing at the time, an experiment of a mix of Acetylene & Propane---smelled like whiskey sour-mash, and welded, esp. brazed, equally-smoothly!☺)

RICK: As long as you're good with "J-B Weld"---it'll all work-out well for ya' in the end!☺

As to how many cattle in a herd? I'm sure there's a standard, but I have no idea?

I DO have three-deer in my back-yard every morning that aren't above staring in the kitchen window at the sink, and scaring the bejeezus outta the wife.

Before she goes out to pet-'em, that is. She's a natural-born "Animal-Whisperer", that's for sure.

But she still ain't been able to "master" the wild-turkeys, yet...!

Rick,

Had a friend of mine told me once that he had quit turkey hunting as he refused to hunt anything that was so much smarter than he was.

Gonna has to invoke the Roger Murtaugh clause - "I'm too old for this (shtuff)".

Doing some maintenance on the Impy today - a rare pleasure as it involves doing stuff resulting from normal wear-n-tear, done at a time of my choosing, as opposed to the more typical repairs on stuff that failed way before their times, done at a time of the car's choosing.

Figured it was time to replace the struts, as the car is well into six figures on miles, and the bouncin' and wallerin' on down the road like a worn out Electra 225 was getting on my nerves - certainly not the sport suspension performance of the car's youth.

First time to tackle struts - definitely more involved than the 'remove two nuts, change shock, put nuts back on and tighten' procedure of the truck - don't even have to jack it up, and pulling the tires is optional depending on how much squirming around one wants to do.

So - jacked the front end up, rested vehicle on jack stands, removed the tires, scribed the mark on the steering knuckle so one keeps a semblance of wheel alignment, removed the top tower nuts, removed the bottom bolts connecting to the steering knuckle, pulled strut assembly out, interrupted by door-to-door saleswoman pawning free cleaning of something, put it in the clamshell spring compressor and compressed, removed strut nut, pulled strut out, verified change was a good call as no downward resistance whatsoever, put new strut in spring, interrupted by another door-to-door saleswomen pawning the same free cleaning of something, reassembled in reverse order paying attention to the alignment mark, tightened everything to spec, re-mounted tire.

Whew - all that and still three to go. Tackled the second one - then called it quits for the day, as productivity was going down fast, and frustration was going up with equal speed.

Kinda funny looking now - the front end with the new gas-charged struts is now sitting about an inch higher than the back end - IIRC, some of the younger set considers that a desirable look, calling it 'bulldogged'. Pfffft - IMO, it looks like crap - so Round 2 of the strut saga will be coming soon.

At any rate, the physical toll and time required gave me a better appreciation for the seemingly outrageous-at-the-time quote from the shop, and the pains will soon subside thanks to a couple-three aspirin chased by a couple-three red-n-white sodas - who's your 'Bud'-dy?

Ahhh, for the simpler days of 10-minute jobs. :-)

Gonna has to invoke the Roger Murtaugh clause - "I'm too old for this (shtuff)".

Doing some maintenance on the Impy today - a rare pleasure as it involves doing stuff resulting from normal wear-n-tear, done at a time of my choosing, as opposed to the more typical repairs on stuff that failed way before their times, done at a time of the car's choosing.

Figured it was time to replace the struts, as the car is well into six figures on miles, and the bouncin' and wallerin' on down the road like a worn out Electra 225 was getting on my nerves - certainly not the sport suspension performance of the car's youth.

First time to tackle struts - definitely more involved than the 'remove two nuts, change shock, put nuts back on and tighten' procedure of the truck - don't even have to jack it up, and pulling the tires is optional depending on how much squirming around one wants to do.

So - jacked the front end up, rested vehicle on jack stands, removed the tires, scribed the mark on the steering knuckle so one keeps a semblance of wheel alignment, removed the top tower nuts, removed the bottom bolts connecting to the steering knuckle, pulled strut assembly out, interrupted by door-to-door saleswoman pawning free cleaning of something, put it in the clamshell spring compressor and compressed, removed strut nut, pulled strut out, verified change was a good call as no downward resistance whatsoever, put new strut in spring, interrupted by another door-to-door saleswomen pawning the same free cleaning of something, reassembled in reverse order paying attention to the alignment mark, tightened everything to spec, re-mounted tire.

Whew - all that and still three to go. Tackled the second one - then called it quits for the day, as productivity was going down fast, and frustration was going up with equal speed.

Kinda funny looking now - the front end with the new gas-charged struts is now sitting about an inch higher than the back end - IIRC, some of the younger set considers that a desirable look, calling it 'bulldogged'. Pfffft - IMO, it looks like crap - so Round 2 of the strut saga will be coming soon.

At any rate, the physical toll and time required gave me a better appreciation for the seemingly outrageous-at-the-time quote from the shop, and the pains will soon subside thanks to a couple-three aspirin chased by a couple-three red-n-white sodas - who's your 'Bud'-dy?

Ahhh, for the simpler days of 10-minute jobs. :-)

Doggone - double-bounced my previous entry somehow. Ahhh, if only life were like Internet posts - the back struts would magically be changed and I'da had time for six red-n-white sodas, to boot. :-)

"Rick, Had a friend of mine told me once that he had quit turkey hunting as he refused to hunt anything that was so much smarter than he was.

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Sat, Sep 1, 2012, at 3:15 PM"

********************

I quit the sport when I got tired of coming close more than once to being the GAME, instead of the HUNTER, in full-camo! I'm surprised more aren't shot, when the "sportsman" pulls that "ready, fire, then look!"-system outta his/her pocket.

But those ghillies are hard to pick-out, I must admit. Which is yet another reason I stopped, vision ain't what it used to be, either.

Other than the annual-prowler or two, the shotgun is pretty-much only for dispatching tree-limbs that are just out-of-reach of the pole pruner.

Although I do admit to "slingin' a hog-laig" on my person, when out in the field.

You know, just in case zombies and/or guglites really are on the prowl...!☺

If'n you're into old television - the very first Lawrence Welk show, known then as the Dodge Dancing Party is on PBS Channel 8 now - from 2 July 1955.

fxpwt, What ever happened to the idea of strut cartidges? Late '80s GM had some like Regal and Cutlass that you could just pull the shock out of the strut from the topside.

Donk, Seems I remember those small tank torch sets were MAPP. Available now are portable battery powered MIG welders for tac it together repairs in the field. Not sure how well they work.

FXPWT: I'll leave Mr. Welk to the "crank-start"-community---I'm in the "push/jumpstart"-arena, myself.☺

OLD JOHN: Personally, as for me? I wouldn't "urinate-in-a-monsoon" for the NON-gas-shielded MIG-setup. But then, that's just my-opine.

One-thing's for sure---if you can weld with an AC/DC-stick? You can weld even better with an Argon-shielded MIG. Although admittedly, a few "practice-runs" on some scrap would be nice, if you're really "green" to it. I learned to "push" even a stick-welder, so I "fell"-into the MIG naturally.(But I still like the smoothness of a 6010, with a negative-DC "stick".)For prettiness, use an AC-only 6011 on that DC---the extra iron-powder makes it look like a steel-centipede!☺

As for MAPP? I especially like to cut with it. So-o-o smooth, and soft-flamed! And, a LOT-easier to remove what little-slag is left afterwards.

(Nope! Don't take much to "twist-MY-crank" anymore---I can still "ramble with the best", even yet today...!☺)

OJ - one of my lines-of-thought is that the manufacturers intentionally dial in a certain amount of difficulty in order to keep the shops busy. Perhaps a measure of goodwill as I suspect there would be a great deal more shadetree mechanics tackling a drop-in, plug-n-play replacement as opposed to one where most of the front end needs to be taken apart.

As for Lawrence Welk - I view it as a history lesson without the effort. After all, as old as his shows are, the music on them was typically even older. Was surprised to hear an organ rendition of Unchained Melody, reportedly written in 1955 but not really popular until the Righteous Brothers rendition some 10 years later - so at the time, music hot off the presses was featured on the Welk show.

I would Rambler some more - but I gots to go 'strut' my stuff. :-)~

fxpwt, I was always under the impression manufacturers sought to keep buyers happy with their products. Besides a factor in prompting trade in instead of repair, one would think the oppososite, ease of service would be a key factor in brand loyalty. I could be wrong though.

This simply must be OLD JOHN!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpUcRYq73YY&feature=related

OJ - hmmm, hadn't considered the idea of making repairs so expensive, it would lure people to trade instead of maintain. Given the disposable society that seems to be encouraged nowadays - use it up, wear it out, cheaper to replace than repair, so getcha another one mentality - quite plausible.

Ouch, ouch, ouch - I think I threw something or two or three out during Round 2 of 'strutting my stuff'. Instead of listing the things that hurt - the shorter list would be the things that don't. On one hand, pride in doing things for myself. On the other, a restored appreciation for career choice - while I likes to mechanic around and consider myself somewhat competent, still believe I would starve if this path had been chosen to make a living cuz there ain't no way I could bring a job in on the book rate hours alloted. FWIW, the rear struts are much more difficult than the fronts, IMO. :-)~

Rick - have tried to go by the thinking that if it takes more than 3 years to pay off a vehicle - one bought too much vehicle. Perhaps not so relevant given the interest rates today - but still wondering why people would sign on for so long given that the first round of repairs will come due during that time - so not only still paying on the 'new' of the vehicle, additionally paying on the upkeep.

Heheheh, Donk - two-wheel drive without any options? Or an original Segway scooter? :-)~

Donk, This you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=w9AOhPgCNJs&feature=endscreen

Old John,

It is obvious that some people have too much idle time on their hands. Not exactly sure how they are keeping those oddities in balance. I kind of like your ride, but I could see myself falling off Donk's and getting run over by that danged wheel.

I went to an RV Rally one time and some senior citizen had motorized his easy chair and was riding around the grounds with it. All I remember was whatever he had used it really screamed to get that contraption at more than a fast walk.

Wheels, You can make all kinds of neat loud slow things out of those 2-cycle mini tillers. :)

Old John,

How in blue blazes do they keep something like that orange machine from dragging your butt in the grass or taking a noze dive. I know they use gyroscopes but I cannot feature them spending that kind of money.

For some reason, I knew EXACTLY which link O.J. had found, before I even clicked on it!☺ Must be somethin' in the air???

You should see the mini-"limb-skidder" I made out of an old tiller-gear, and a spare-set of 12 x 10.75 x 8.50 calcium-filled turf-tires. I honestly done it as a joke, but it works better(and, safer!)on ice/mud than any of my yard-sized tractors---AND, I don't risk being run-over(as badly!)as I do, when the wife is operatin' the "big"-tractor with wet, frozen-feet, an' a cantankerous-clutch!☺

Gonna hafta set up a "static"-YouTube account, I guess, so's I can show you some of my---umm---"trophies", eventually...!

"I know they use gyroscopes but I cannot feature them spending that kind of money."

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Sun, Sep 2, 2012, at 11:47 PM

-----------------------

This from a fella who drives his HOUSE-around all of Gods' Creation, to "get-away from it all!"...!☺

An old bragging mechanic once told me he had worked on everything from a helocopter to a dirt stomper. I just grinned. It was years later I found out there was such a thing as a dirt stomper. :)

As my Uncle Ben once said, if man can dream it he will build it someday.

Donknome-2

Some days I cannot drive far enough to get away from it all.

Yes Rick, people.

Rick,

I like dealing with my ancestors, they don't give me near as much trouble as the live ones do.

A couple of familiar entrepreneurs who were way ahead of the curve - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goj1kIN6lJA

Same guys demonstrating their recreational prowess - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa8L-7yeD_o

WHEELS: I don't like people, either---they scare me! Especially those "human"-types, can't predict what they might do next?

Here's an idea: Buy US---as in, WE-ALLS'!---one o' those 35-foot-plus tow-behind campers, an' latch it behind your "house". That way, YOU can drive the house, WE can do your maintenance/repairs/lube jobs while on the road for you!(Let RICK drive your tow-car, so's he can "spot" for us!☺)

There's a few good "humans" on here, true.

But that's only because us "un-humans" are still in the majority---a.k.a., "In-Charge By Proxy"...!!!☺

(Man! We're on the door-step of 1100! If I had $10-bucks for each comment? I wouldn't speak to ANYONE, for at least a week, maybe two!)

WE can do your maintenance/repairs/lube jobs while on the road for you

That reminds me of a true story. Well it was told to be true. A well known old timer told me about coming back from a job with a dozer on the low-boy when the boss leaned over and eyeballed the odometer. "Shut her down and pull her over up here, she's fixing to be due for service!" He said they were 20 miles from the shop but that didn't matter..they had oil, grease and filters in the storage hold. Mr. Potashnic was particular with his equipment!

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Tue, Sep 4, 2012, at 9:13 AM

Sounds like a plan Donknome-2.... but I don't know how some of these places would take to havin that many SEMOurians showing up all at the same time.

WHEELS: Couldn't be any worse than the retirement-centers'-bus on Senior-Day at Wally-World!☺

(Or so I've been told, by others who are much-braver than myself, to have actually-witnessed the INSIDE of a Wally---and survived to tell about it!)

Well, I COULD claim to be "Just Visiting", since my birth-certificate says I was born in Illinois? And that I was kidnapped by this roving-band of "Road-Gypsies" from the sticks of SEMO, whose leader has been referred to in the past as an "Old-Sweety".

Or, could've been an "Old-Sweaty"?

Either way, it sounds scary.....!☺

A great, somewhat dated gas-saving tip from our familiar entrepreneurs - everyone be sure to put on your 'commercial' eyes (for those who remember Uncle Briggs) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3XdsooBbu4

"whose leader has been referred to in the past as an "Old-Sweety"."

Donknome-2

Well one thing for sure you can rest assured that leader guy was not me. None of these fine folks on here have ever referred to me like that.

Course they have used a couple of other names from time to time. Wish I could remember all the names that one darling called me last week.... Racist Pig was part of it, and condescending I believe. Done forgot the rest.

Old Sweety, was probably that guy you showed the other day on that balancing orange thing.... you know, Old John.

Wheels, Sweetie without the Old in front of it might be kinda like when friends called each other "par", short for partner?

Donk, Wally is where you get reminded of simpler times when what they call deli was lunch meat. :)

WHEELS: Racist pig. Hmm. I missed that one.

But, if it WOULD'VE been on here?

I had a "Hi-Jackers" RABBIT on my Dodge once?

Actually, the posting I done earlier about the ONTOS just might have "fit that bill"?

As far as racist? Yeah, they were kinda-fast, for a tracked-vehicle?

I'm gonna stop, now---I'm about to choke on my-tongue, which is firmly-implanted in my cheek at the moment...!☺☺☺

OH, and if you didn't have a good-fit on the lines of a set of air-shocks?

Yeah, they would "condescend". And always at the wrong-times, too...!☺

Donknome-2

Nay it didn't happen on this thread. Posters too nice for that on here.

Yeah, we spray for gluglites on here pretty-regularly!☺

Nah-h-h, we ain't nice: We're all afraid that we just-MIGHT run into each-other, in person someday---and discover that we've respected/hated☺ each-other for many prior years after all...!☺☻

Just for grins I typed "glugite" into Google.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=glugite&oq=glugite&gs_l=hp.3...422...

It would appear that for years to come, anyone searching for glugites will only be able to get their info right here.

Joe,

That should go a long way in enhancing the image of SE Missouri in days to come. Good Grief! One more valid reason not to use your real name.

JOE & WHEELS: And, by 21-authors, none the less!☺

Amazing how the 'term' seems to lead toward the European-communities, in it's "original-origin"---that is to say, before WE 'thunk-it-up' for general-usage.(Shades of Wheels' roots in it???)

(Ugh! I hate being serious! Like Redd Foxx'-character said about Chinese food: "---It gimme gas!"☺)

Donk, Rick and I drew poor ole wheels into that, kinda caught him off guard. I was tossing a bit a friendly humor Me'Lange's way but she didn't take the bait. Rick and I must have been on the same brainwave [no dispespect to rick indended] that night.

Last I heard, PBS is investigating and we may see a documentary about glugites in the future.

I would rather see something on the elods.

Old JOhn,

Ain't goin there.

Wheels, Sorry if elods are a sore subject for you. Forget I brought it up.

How's the dead ancester studies going, got any good stories?

Old John,

I could tell you a few but it may not be appropriate on here, to protect the guilty.... living or dead. :-)

The more of the easy details you ferret out, the harder it gets to find easy work.

Wheels, I understand family history is like a lot of history in that vaninty and pride has affected how some of it was recorded.

Early on I remember some of my folks saying we were of English and Irish decent. Later it was revealed we came directly from Germany Dad's side and Germany/Prussia Mom's side. There was definitly a time when it wasn't cool to German.

Growing up I always thought Mom's dad was Lutheran because he always had Lutheran cough drops on hand. Now I know those were Ludens. :)

OLD JOHN: Hmm, wonder what the difference was then, between a CHERRY-flavored Lutheran, and the "brown"-MENTHOL?(Maybe American-vs.-Missouri Synod???☺)

Yeah, my Dad had me 'hooked' on the cherry-ones, as they kept my mouth-shut when the 'men were being men' at the wood-stove in the hardware store. Of course it was only temporary.

For a longer-lasting effect, a bottle of "Baptist-Mothers'-Severely-Scorned"-Black Draught would do wonders---an' you'd never hear so much as a sniffle outta me, let alone a cough...!☺

Sasquatch is bragging to everyone about having a picture of Rick! :)

Glugites and elods tend to avoid areas where bigfoot trods. I wonder if elods like possum fat.

Doggone - have I been asleep at the wheel, or have vehicle license fees gone way up?

Reason I ask - the Impy tags are coming due, wanting $73 for a two-year renewal. Hmmm, two years ago, remembering $55? Eh well, if so, I guess a pledge not to raise taxes doesn't include fees...

Which brings up another dilemma - vehicle is four model years old, don't have to get an inspection in the first five now. So, trying to figure whether it would be better to get a one-year renewal this year and a two-year renewal next year in order to push the inspection fee out a little further, more than offsetting the local office transaction fees - heck, given the reliability, may not ever need to get it inspected in its projected lifespan.

Eh, knowing Missouri and my run of luck, guessing can only get two-year renewals that align with the model year - evens or odds. Pffft.

On the brighter side, if things such as this are occupying my thoughts - life can't be too bad, er, or I'm missing something. :-)

"For a longer-lasting effect, a bottle of "Baptist-Mothers'-Severely-Scorned"-Black Draught would do wonders---an' you'd never hear so much as a sniffle outta me, let alone a cough...!☺"

Anybody on here old enough to remember the Hadacol phenomena? It would **** near cure anything and it made you feel a whole lot better when you took it. From what I remember when they finally found what was in it, the sellers probably should have had a liquor license.

WHEELS: Well, I "hadda" cheat and google it, which sent me to wiki---but, it sounds like the next-best-thing to Laudanum. Well, except for the hydrochloric acid, maybe?

Parapectolin---paragoric, pectin, kaolin---was a sure-fire solution to diarrhea. If ONE full-dose didn't put you on the straight-and-narrow within about six-hours? It was time for a doctors' visit.

Apparently, Laudanum IS still-available, although I'd bet ONLY for terminal-illness' pain? As a matter of fact, I'm thinking that was what my late-sister had available. It was only a small-bottle with a dropper. Or it may have been "just plain Morphine"? Either way, it done it's purpose for the last days.

But, back to "cough-syrups". Creomulsion wasn't worth a sip, let alone a glug.☺(No alcohol in it, which made it "Safe For Children", even then!)

I especially liked the way you had to take the pliers to the gooey, crusty, rusted-on cap of the Black-Draught, after you'd let it "drool" after use, an' it'd been sittin' in a humid-medicine chest for at least three-years.

Had such a satisfying-"sque-e-e-ek---FOPP!!!" when you got it broke-loose!

And the taste was made for Satan himself!

Not nearly as tasty as OLD JOHNS' "Lutheran Cough Drops"---but a LOT-more "sinfully-effective"!

And, for about ten-minutes, I was "Superman-On-A-Bicycle"---I feared NO-loose gravel, let alone NO-brakes...!☺

"Not nearly as tasty as OLD JOHNS' "Lutheran Cough Drops"---but a LOT-more "sinfully-effective"!"

We never bought the "Lutheran" cough drops... hopefully it wasn't because of religious reasons. We used Smith Brothers cough drops.

Back to that Hadacol. I remember having to bring a bottle home from the store after school, and try and not fall down and break it on that about a mile and a half hike. (Up hill both ways, to and from school)

I ain't done with Hadacol yet.... there was a joke going around at the time. Why did they call it Hadacol?

And the punch line.... They had a col it something.

Remember "Jaynes' PW-Pills", for pinworms? Came in a lil' ol' cardboard "matchbox"-like. Dull-purple colored jobbers, about the size of an 0-buck shot. Kinda nasty-tastin', an' would leave your fangers purple, if'n you held 'em too long?☺

And the medicinal-Turpentine. What Sis didn't use in her oil-paints' kit, we used on minor-accidents, such as broken-arms, gaping-head wounds, etc.☺!

It was also a sure-cure for lethargy: Just apply to the affected-area, and a scream or two later---you were movin'! Equally-effective was Merthiolate. (Mercurichrome was for girls and/or wussies!☺)

Don't worry---once we start coverin' "Grandmas' Home Outpatient Surgery & Dental-Care"? We'll be gettin' back into TOOLS, GREASE, and other MECHANICAL-stuff...!☺

Donknome-2,

Then there was Doan's Little Liver Pills.

My Grandmother had really bad asthma problems.... don't know what the stuff was, but she would burn this greenish looking powder and inhale the smoke. I guess that was before they heard of what smoke does to your lungs. Today if the powder would have been white they would be snorting it.

Ever have a hernia and get fitted for a truss? I did when I was about 8 years old.

I also remember some kind of linament that you could water down and make into a tea to drink. Had a sassaphras flavor about it. Horrible stuff. And then there was the cod liver oil we had to take in the winter time because we did not get enough sunshine to provide us with proper vitamins.

It's a wonder we ain't all dead from some of the junk we took.

Doan's Little Liver Pills---I missed that one! Weren't they roughly the size of a hammer-flattened-BB, and came in a glass-tube, with a(red rubber?)stopper?

Now, I don't remember such, but YOU(Wheels/Old John)may: Coca-Cola with actual cocaine in it? And, it was innocently enough intended, "For that daily pick-me-up!" (Probably due to the hangover of Laudanum, for a head-ache!)☺ Just an index-finger full would do ya'!

I actually enjoyed the taste of a good, heavy-slug of Geritol liquid, back in the days.

I was given a choice by Grandma: Geritol---or some kinda "tonic" mixture with Castor Oil. Since I couldn't hold the Castor-mix down---the "chosen" treatment was, indeed, Geritol, "To help build strong-bones.." not to mention equally-strong stomachs!

Up 'til 10-years ago, I couldn't STAND the taste of vegetable-juice cocktail, or buttermilk. Now I can't seem to get enough of either to please me.

Guess my taste-buds are worn-out.

Either that, or they've just flat given-up...!☺

The only thing I remember as a traditional need it or not was sasphrass tea. That old tree is still growing, last I looked, right across the road from the home place.

I remember reading somewhere that Coca-cola got it's name as a spin off of Cocaine cola.

Seems another popular pill was Hinkle pills, don't remember what for.

As a youngster many times I used a wet match tip to speed the healing of a minor cut or sore. I've heard today's germs are imune to the healing effects of sulfur. And when's the last time you heard of a dr perscribing penisilin?

Yeah, that wasn't fair, my asking the Cola-question of any of you---that'd been a "stretch" even for MY-Dad or Mom!☺

As for penicillin? Dr's still prescribe it, but in a dosage-strength that is still hard for me to comprehend. It's become so germ-tolerant that todays' DAILY-dosage is heavier than a MONTHLY-dose would've been in the early-60's. Don't know if the germs have gotten more resistant---or the medicine has gotten impure and/or diluted?

And, OLD JOHN---I will vouch for the sulfur-treatment, except I got it from a shaker-can. Good for treatment of gluglites---er, I mean,---"no-see-'ums"!☺

There's also an-emollient version available called 'Soldiers' Choice'. Very-few places around here carry more than a handful 'in-stock' each year, so I order mine direct from the factory early in each(summer)season. UN-fortunately however---it does NOT contain DEET. But, adding an ounce on top of the air-space in the bottle isn't a problem for me, at all.

And as for "Dr. Hinckle's Pills? Glad I was treated with more---'conventional'!---methods...!☺

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/what-dr-hinkles-strychnine-constipation-pi...

It has also suddenly came to my attention that BLACK-DRAUGHT wasn't necessarily for COUGHS---unless there was an-alternate version of such? Could've sworn that was the name of same?

But then again, a regular-daily-dose of B-D just MIGHT, indeed, discourage coughing...!☺

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-Bottle-of-Black-Draught-Syrup-Laxative-in-Original-B...

You CAN'T be serious...!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bees-Laxative-Cough-Syrup-Full-Bottle-in-Box-With-Advert...

Somebody on here mentioned a while-back about how their headlight-assemblies were still cloudy, even after they'd used a restore/polish-kit.

Here's an idea you might try.

Using a soft-cotton rag---I find those blue roll-out shop towels work quite well---apply a generous coating of what used to be known as Armor-All, for dashboards/vinyl-tops.(An original Armor-All application sponge works best, of course.) Don't try to polish it OUT---leave a fairly-heavy coat on the lens.

Not sure how durable it'll be against rain/slush/road splatter, but I done mine a week-ago now, and they still look relatively "new-used". Works good on the tail-lights, too.

But don't try any paste-wax, as it just fills-in the cracks/scrapes, and then dries white/opaque, and is a pain to get buffed back out.

Man, do I ever miss the simpler-days, with the "glass-eyed" vehicles...!☺

Donknome-2

I about runned out of medical advice. The Coke thing, I believe they weakened their product before I came along.

I do know if you are going to drink non-adult beverages Coke does it for me. Those first couple of swallows where it kind of cuts a new channel to your stomach are the best. After that pretty much like anything else.

Maybe a person should take a couple of slugs, pour out the rest and grab him another one.

I wouldn't be able to clean battery terminals without it. See now I have tied drinking materials back to automobiles. Hmmm..... wonder if Jack Daniels would be good on battery terminals, or maybe some other automotive use?

Wheels, We used to pour coke on the windshield when the wipers left a cloudy view.

Donk, Bonami might work as well as those restore kits when cleaned off well with diluted vinager and wiped well. I wonder if Mop and Glo would work. :)

I was kind of hoping some of those high powered special hi-tech light drivers that follow me close at night would let their lenses cloud as much as possible.

Rick, And Coke and onions tender up a tough piece of round steak quite nicely too.

"She is for-ever telling me how to fix my Jeep ." -- Posted by Rɨck on Sat, Sep 15, 2012, at 3:23 PM

Suggest you're missing an opportunity here, Rick. Remind her that this is Missouri, so it would be best to stop with the yap-flappin' and just Show-Me. :-)

Heheheh - one of those people having the outlook of, "Take my advice, I'm not using it". :-)

For whatever reason, brought back memories of my time in Bowling Green, KY. Bought a house in a quiet, well-kept subdivision - then I met the neighbors. Every household around me was retired, each probably having 30 years or so on me at the time.

An evening ritual in good weather was for several to collect near the curb to share the day's events, a.k.a. shooting the breeze. Once, was replacing the engine in the Jeep, struggling as I was up-n-down oodles of times, trying to adjust the cherry-picker so that the engine and transmission could be mated. Heard people talking, and as I looked out the garage from under the Jeep, saw about five pairs of feet in the driveway outside the garage door - the 'curb' crew. It seemed my activity was the high point of their day, and they had come to watch - but not a one of them jumped in to help - "we didn't want to bother ya".

It was actually an interesting experience there - their yards always picture-book immaculate, with me lucky to get in a once-a-week mowing, between the overtime and travel required to get them diapers made. I once shared that a good neighbor would let his grass grow as tall as the guy's next door. Given their stunned looks, it seems our senses of humor were on quite different wavelengths...

Came home one day, found the yard mowed and trimmed. Hmmmm. As I was standing in the front wondering what had transpired, the next door neighbor comes trotting over with a worried look on his face, saying he hoped I didn't mind. ????, I thought. He went on to explain that he had just bought a new riding mower and weedeater, and wanted to try them out. It looked like my yard would be a better test than his...

The plant was having a complete diaper line built in various parts of Europe, requiring me to be over there to oversee the electrical construction. Most trips were a week or less, however the final trip required four weeks straight. Shared with one of the neighbors that I was going to be gone for a month, and asked if they would keep an eye on the house. Was perplexed by the rather cool neighbor relations on return. Shared this with a co-worker, and he busted out laughing - saying that in these parts, if you're gone for a month, people assume you've been locked up in 'county'. Ahhhhh...

fxpwt, Great story, keep'm coming!

Speaking of Jeep engine replacements, A lot of Pacers made the big sacrifice as engine doners.

Rick, That gal reminds me of a theory I developed a few years back. Walk into the show room of any new car dealership and ask if Motormouth is here today and nine out of ten times they will know who you're talking about! :)

RICK: Be glad she talks, and acknowledges your presence. To you, it's "yappin'"---but to her, maybe it's just "exercising the vocal-cords".☺

You wouldn't rather see her coming-out each day, wearing a dead-end Mickey-D's uniform, would you? Of course not!

I've worked with women in heavy-industrial jobs before---as you may have yourself---and if y' ain't careful, they'll use that smaller-size to put a fat-man to shame!☺

One of the best-helpers I ever had to help me with changing the wheels and/or center-pins out of railcar-"trucks" was a young-gal working her way through college. She was quick on her feet, steady with her hands, and always kept her mind on the job, regardless of how extreme-hot or cold it was outside. If your mind was "out in left-field" on that-job? You could lose a hand or worse, really-fast. "Goof-off", and prank-time, was reserved for before clock-in, and lunch-break. (Didn't hafta worry about AFTER-work. All any of us wanted to do by then was GO HOME!☺)

What happened to her after graduation? Dunno, but I can always hope...!

"Nobody , NO ONE , gave her any **** at any time about anything."

Rick,

Sounds like you may have had the occasion to need that large jar of 'red *** salve' that I have heard tell about. :-)

By The Way, here's a short-vid to better describe the process. Nope, ain't me, but this fella has the best "Readers-Digest"-version of the proceedure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1DWvsf4yXk&feature=em-share_video_user

The roadways around Lexington, KY are a little safer today.

Man issued DUI while riding horse

http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Man-on-horse-arrested-for-DUI-170100436.html

Man charged with DUI on riding lawn

http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Man-charged-with-DUI-on-riding-lawn-mower-spe...

Joe, I wonder if the evidence in the saddle bags will last until it's needed in court.

Wheels

According to Grandma , she was "Upper New York" Dutch , what-ever this means .

I do not believe I ever saw her back away from any one or any thing .

-- Posted by Rɨck on Sun, Sep 16, 2012, at 10:52 AM

Rick,

She was probably Peter Stuyvesant's sister, or at least descended from him.

I had a Grandma who was Lower Bollinger County Dutch and I would bet she was equally as "determined" as your Grandma. And that is a good thing. They didn't put up with a lot of crap from their Grandsons but they loved them and that made the Grandsons better people than they might otherwise have been.... at least I think so.

A direct quote from mine when she was a young lady that I found in a letter.... "I will not (deleted for privacy), and there ain't nobody going to make me do it either."

Joe, wasn't that other horse story you posted a while back from Kentucky also? Could this have been the same horse?

Old John,

I know/related to several law officers. If I ever need to borrow a extra cooler they all have several extra ones in the garage, many with beer included. Seems rural deputies stumble on alot of abandoned beer coolers while on patrol:)

Wheels,

I do beleive the other horse was a KY citizen as well. If he was the same one the other horses back in the barn probably can't wait to hear the stories he tells on his return every night.

Joe,

That horse would probably be easy to recognize... trotting around Kentucky with a smile on her face.

Anyone ever had their gas gauge broken and live on the edge of excitement ? -- Posted by Rɨck on Wed, Sep 19, 2012, at 12:01 PM

Not exactly - closest thing I've got is the Ford F150 - stays on Full-plus-plus for the longest time, then drops from Full to 1/8 tank within about 10 miles. At 10mpg, best be findin' a gas station pretty quick.

Another Kentucky story - when I first moved over there to start the new job, heard the electricians at the plant complaining about having to take a serious sex class.

Whaaaaat? I knew the company claimed to be progressive with its team concept, lovey-dovey, Kumbaya approach to labor relations - but I just couldn't believe any company would or could offer such a class. Even more unbelievable - couldn't even begin to understand why the electricians were complaining about it.

Later found out the complaints were about the Series6 - the General Electric version of a programmable logic controller.

Yep, it took a while to tune my ear into that Kentucky drawl...

Doc Adams let the horse do the driving after a long night of doctoring. In a modern like situation, would the horse be charged with driving under-influenced?

fxpwt, In my younger days for some unknown reason I always tested the gas guage of any car I owned by running it out of gas.

Speaking of trucks, I always figured it would be a good project to equip a mid 60's to mid '70s pickup with the modern equipment to get good gas mileage. Surely it could be done for a buddy had a slant six powered Dodge that got 20 mpg.

"slant six powered Dodge"

I know a man.... a died in the wool Chrysler man I should say, who refers to the slant six as the "Leaning Tower of Power".

Old John,

I went the other way. Bought a 89 model F150 with a blowed up 5.0. Pulled out the 5.0 and dropped in a 351 windsor out of a galaxy. Had to find a rear sump oil pan for the windsor, get and switch some things like ignition, etc, to take the truck back to the days of carberators and distributors.

JOE DIRTEs' project here could get interesting.

Let's just hope his mind, soul, health---and billfold!---are up to the task!☺

Startin' to sound ALMOST-as daring as the fella who--quite literally!---dropped a '60(?)-Rambler flat-head six, complete with auto-trans, into the shell of a '53-Ford Stepside. Used 2-by-4s for the engine-mounts. NO, it actually-worked quite well, except he should've used exterior-treated lumber. Or at least seasoned-oak.☺

(And, NO, it was NOT me! I would be the one who replaced rear-springs with pieces of 6-x-6 corner posts. SUPER-load capacity---but quite-lacking in steering/overall vehicle response, on bumpy/curved-roads...!☺)

Joe, I remember the Hollander manuals back in the day that told what parts from what vehicles would interchange. Some of the old Studes and other now lost brands would accept several different brand engines with mounting hardware from different yet manufacturers.

I always figured it would be fun to have a junk yard. :)

One of the old Rod and Custom magazines I've kept from the '50s is a showcase of custom cars made hard to identify by swapping grilles, chrome and bumpers etc.

I think I've got a plan for buying my next car, whenever that may be.

The plan is - scrounge up all the user forums pertaining to that model and see what the problems are. Seems to be a bit of searching above and beyond the traditional Consumer Reports and Edmunds guides - but more informative as to what's involved and how much it will cost to fix.

*sigh* yes, the Impy saga continues. Power steering fluid and engine coolant leaks - which users relate to the pump high pressure hose failing and the coolant crossover pipe gaskets failing. If nothing else, makes for a short list on where to start looking for confirmation on the sources of the driveway dribbles. Now that the vehicle is getting on up there in miles, most every problem encountered relates to fairly common issues from other owners who have posted.

Back to the observation that simple is good. The more features and stuff on the vehicle, the more features and stuff that will cause problems.

Back to the observation that simple is good. The more features and stuff on the vehicle, the more features and stuff that will cause problems.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Mon, Sep 24, 2012, at 8:20 PM

I do not believe there is such an animal anymore. The government mandates over the years pertaining to emmissions, safety and on and on have pretty much taken care of simple.

Wheels, I think you said it there.

fxpwt, Only once did I go into the ownership of a nearly new car with the maintain it to the max to make it last strategy. Dang thing didn't last as well as those higher milage cars I bought and gave a complete going through, belts, hoses, plugs and wires etc and brakes and then just drove'm till they needed more repair than they were worth.

A large piece of heavy cardboard where you park at home and a can of fluid is a bargain compared to a major power steering component. :)

FXPWT: In re: to the Impy---have you swapped-out the(auto)tranny, yet? Or, does that year use a different-one than earlier GM(light-truck)-models do?

The reason I ask, someone, some-where(may have been here?)stated that 110-grand on the odometer was about the "terminal"-point, for the 4-speed autos. I didn't think much of it, until my '00-Jimmy shot craps in the middle of a 4-way, a year back. NO warning, no leaks, no slippage, just flat-out QUIT, with a final-lunge, if you will! Odometer read 130xxx.

Neighbor had/still has a FORD-150 of about the same-age. Apparently uses basically the same-tranny?(They share basically the same model/style #, in "The-Book".)His, too, went the same-way as mine did---just flat-out QUIT. Although he got closer to 140xxx. And both of us had the HD-towing version, to-boot. I very seldom pulled anything with mine. He, on the other-hand, pulled anything he could latch-onto!☺(We both like the body-style of our vehicles, which is the reason we invested in a NEW, as opposed to a REBUILT, replacement, instead of trading.)One-year TOTAL-warranty, transferable-lifetime pro-rated.

I'll hafta check, can't recall off-hand the EXACT-maker, model of either of them---but I'm thinking it was/is Allison, what used to be a direct-part of GM?

And, ironically: We'd BOTH had our trannys' filters/fluid changed-out, cleaned, and of course refilled barely THREE-MONTHS prior!(At totally-different locations, BTW.)Both our trannys checked A-OK, for cooler-flow, pressure, and electrically.

Unless a USED-model can be shown as having relatively-recent replacement of such---I'll be VERY-"skiddish" of buying something like this as used, again. Repairs like that clean a fella out FAST...!

Donk - still have the original tranny with 135K miles. The 4T65E has been quite problematic for Impy owners, particularly the SS model and the 06-07 model years. Various colorful descriptions on the mode of failure abound, with my favorite being 'grenaded'.

So far, so good here. Been diligent on changing the fluid and filter - first at 60K, then 30K afterwards. The 'new' thing is a flush - but I remain old school with the pan drop. Just not comfortable with the methodology and the fluid waste of running fluid through the system until it comes out clear the other end. Figure a pan drop changes about 70% of the capacity - so by increasing the frequency of changes - the fluid is never as clean as new, but never as dirty as when at the recommended change interval - towards a more consistent level of crud. A co-worker once said, 'the solution to pollution is dilution' - kinda extrapolated that thinking to the fluid changes. First two changes had a lot of crud in the pan and a lot of fuzz on the magnet - this last change, fluid looked almost like new with next to nothing in the pan or magnet, so figure it's either broke-in, or just about worn-out.

The F150 has the AOD tranny - made it 209K before failure, and that due mostly to my lack of 'round tuit' in changing the fluid. Now, I'm a believer in regular fluid changes - especially after the rebuild cost vs the cost of fluid and filter those four or five times I was supposed to.

Was reading on the Impy tranny - apparently, its overdrive doesn't truly lock-up the converter like on the Ford AOD - rather it limits and regulates the torque converter slip. Perfect - more complication and computers added to the mix. Reason being to reduce the driveline shock - which got me to wondering just how manual transmissions last so long. :-)~

OJ - maybe my thinkin' is unconventional - but I figure if I stay after the nickel-and-dime stuff, then I push out the throw-in-the-towel-and-trade phase with related costs. Just bought an OEM rotary wiper knob and armrest cushions for the 23-model-year-old F150 trying to keep it a step ahead of Father Time and Mother Nature. The rear main has been leaking forever, for which the outlook of 'oil is still cheaper than fixing it' is being used. If only they made diapers for trucks, I could get that well-weathered piece of plywood off the drive. :-)

FXPWT: And, that maintenance-adage you mentioned---"...the solution to pollution is dilution.." fits right-in with that leaky-main: A fresh-quart every thousand or so "dilutes-the-pollute"---or somethin' of that nature?☺

(Sometimes a mostly-creek-rock drive/parking spot for those leaks has it's advantages!)

Just keep a watch-out for EPA-aircraft/satellites...!☺

fxpwt, Went looking for a car for wife a few years back. Came upon a nice looking 50k Bonneville. One rear window wouldn't work so I got them down another $300 after they already came off the asking price quite a bit. I'm smarter than the average bear you know. Got it home and had her to hold down the window button while I slammed the door a couple of times and fixed that problem!

About a month later we went somewhere I drove. Traffic was tight and I hit it hard to pull into the rush hour traffic. The thing shuddered hard and barely moved. Felt like gears stripped. She said "you can't do that with this car". My Transmission guy drove it and said the little spyder gears were stripped and he could fix it tranny in car or just don't do that anymore and the thing would probably last longer the rest of the car. Since, several interior parts have broken or fell off and most of the paint has blew off. Other than that it still runs ok and gets decent gas mileage. The tranny is still working a 100,000+ miles later as it was.

Now I'm seriously thinking about buying our first new car because the better rigs now days don't seem to be had at big savings unless they are years old and very high milage. Guess what brand it won't be. :)

OLD JOHN: I'm sorry, I'd simply HAVE TO GET it fixed, or somethin'---I still like the throttle too-much, to stay that "mellowed-out" for long!☺

My(taxpayers!)drivers-ed car in school was a Bonneville. Son-of-a-ball-of-beeswax that thang would RUN! 400-c.i., 4-bbl. 3-"spud" automatic, of course. A young-mans' dream!(A Mothers' nightmare!) Gawd, that thing would bellow!(And with the air-filter lid in "normal"-position, even!☺) And, believe it or not, our instructor/jr.high coach actually picked a winter day when there was still ice/snow on the bus parking area, and didn't force, but strongly urged his students to instigate a spin-out. Intentionally-steered us OFF the paved-area with NO-warning, to teach us how NOT to over-correct coming back-on.

(Yes, Supt.-approved, even. I'd like to think the fact our Super lived out-'round Patton, as his incentive to learn "real"-driving!)

Any-hoo, naturally us testosterone-laden BOYS had NO-problem with this "strong-suggestion". But, the GIRLS weren't quite as easily-convinced. Well, except for a gal named Donna. She could also FIGHT-better than most-boys!☺ She leapt at the chance to slide!

(Considering she'd drive Daddys' feeder-truck to school at 15, so's to save chore-time after-school---it weren't no-"big", to-her! And, she weren't all-that bad-lookin' either, to-boot!)

But Coach didn't dock them any points/credits if they didn't partake of "Da'-Slide"---although, he did "strongly-suggest" that they "go along for the ride"! And, he did require seat-belts for ALL, when in-class---even though it was then LEGALLY-optional, still.

(I got to where I kinda liked "the-feel" of 'em---and still-do, to this-day!)

Too-much PC'd-ness, and liability-lawyers, for that kinda-"hands-on" instruction nowadays.

Want a durable, dependable-ride? Go buy yourself a Mil-surplus "deuce-an'-a-half".('50's-through-'80's are best) Can't dent one, let alone scratch the paint. And, since they GVW-at under 26,000?(13,500-16,000, different-accessories, winch) NO-CDL required! Even if they do have air-over-hydraulic brakes.(Admittedly, LEO's do look a bit-more "favorable" on the matter, if you've at least the "old-fashioned" for-hire Chauffeurs'-license, though---even if not legally-required.)Wouldn't recommend such for "kids", though. There's an "art" to their safe operation, that's gotta be learned hands-on, as opposed to read-about.

Although fuel MILEAGE, and suburbian-HANDLING, are not one of it's better "selling-points"---it DOES, indeed, make a statement...!☺

RICK: Now, what would be scary, is IF you actually TRIED one of these "solutions"---and it WORKED!☺

But look at the POSITIVE-side: If you had to stop and think? You at least got a bit-of PHYSICAL-rest...!

Hmmm, Rick - sounds like her thinker fluid may be down a quart.

Have to agree, OJ - there's a certain traditional American auto manufacturer that's pretty much scratched off my short list too.

I've noticed side air bags are a trendy safety feature nowadays. Still waiting for side bumpers to hit the scene. Coming home today, saw two side-swiped car-casses along the side of the road, then a more conventional bumper-to-bumper compaction in front of the convenience store on Route K. Geez, Louise - idiots coming at ya from all angles.

Donk, She said she was going to heat up some pork-in-beans, I said I'd just have mine cold. She said" Well, I guess you'll have to wait till they cool down."

Without looking it up, I think I remember the Bonneville of maybe '67 being the fastest full size American car made.

I try to not get to critizing about other drivers, although I have invented a few choice words for some. I too have done some dumb moves. The thing I can't understand is why people think getting to the stop light first is going to change anything.

I put brake pads on the old Pontiac, that makes 2 sets excluding the originals in 179,000 miles.

Maybe someone will perfect a system based on likes repell so cars will avoid each other like two magnets.

And, you KNOW a thread is gettin' LONG, when ya' gotta hold-down the "end-page"-key for almost a full-second, in order to hit "rock-bottom"!

And, BOY, do I enjoy it that-way...!☺

Donknome-2

Try the End and Home keys. I am telling this because I don't want the smart guy that told me, to think I forgot.

When these forums started my computer was really slow and I would arrow down forever to see the next comment. I think I learned the end button by accident.:)

Now if I could figure out why I can type a whole paragraph before it shows on the screen.

Old John,

Try hitting CTRL ALT DEL all at the same time and then start Task Manager. Once Task Manager is running watch your CPU usage to see if it is busy, busy, busy.

If it is check and see what program has either been installed by you or along with something else such as a Home Shopping Program. I have seen these things constantly looking for bargains and tying your computer's CPU up with usless garbage to the point it wouldn't even make a good boat anchor. Or I have seen people put multiple virus checking programs on and create themselves a problem.

Not saying that is the problem, but it is a place to start.

If that is not the problem you might try downloading a couple of free registry cleaner programs and use them. That sometimes can help. Two that I have used are C C cleaner I believe it is and Glary Utilities. If they want your credit card number you are not downloading the free version.

Good luck!

Saw in the Fredericktown paper where Madison and Iron county have been added into the emerald ash borer quarentine zone for firewood transport. I hope the glugites will not be up my way next.

" Maybe someone will perfect a system based on likes repell so cars will avoid each other like two magnets.

-- Posted by Old John on Wed, Sep 26, 2012, at 8:14 PM"

Old John, I was watching Nova last night on PBS and they are working with liquid metals for cars. The Army has fuel tanks that, when shot with bullets, heal themselves. So your vision of cars that repel each other is not very far fetched.

Also, I have Avast as my virus protection program and a malware program called "Spybot". Sometimes my pc starts running really slow. First, I run Spybot. Then run the defragmenter utility program that comes with Windows. If it's acting really weird, I run a deep system scan with Avast. That has always worked for me, so far.

Normally, I use a Mac...but the dear wife got me this old HP Pavilion laptop and I've had to learn how pee cees work. I've found that the random way that they put files back when I exit them is a big part of why they move so slow. Defragment.

To locate the program you click Start, Programs, Accessories, System tools, defragmenter. Hope that does it. Shutting down everyday is important too. With the Mac I could just let it go to sleep and not have to worry. A pc needs it's rest!

DC

Don't disparage the PC with hype about a MAC. The biggest difference is an Operating System that won't let you use a lot of programs and a much higher price, while still using many of the same components. I have a friend in Ohio who still sends me things to do that he cannot figure out how to do on his MAC. He is not a newbie either, He has been singing the praises of MAC since we were still using DOS. That was back in the days when they had DOS for those of us who could read and they had MAC's for the rest of the world.

Oh and my wife's PC, which is my 7 year old laptop was not shut off since not sure when, until yesterday that is, when the thing got unplugged somehow and she wondered why the screen got dimmer and finally all elecrical action ceased. Was going to say molecular action seized but then thought, that is at -460 degrees F. or absolute O degrees.

OLD JOHN: Now, how did you hit the YEAR of that Bonneville right-on the head like that? Accident, or are you psychotic---er, I meant---"psychic"?☺

Indeed, a '67, as I was just turnining 16. The sponsoring-dealership was the old Cape GMC/Pontiac-dealer of the time. Beautiful old car! A powder-blue, and, not sure---but thinking it MAY have had white-sidewalls, even? Definitely had the full-wheel-covers.

(Punishment for not paying attention in most ANY class at the time, was to be "drafted" into the "chain-gang" which had to HAND-WASH & WAX the Drivers'-Ed car---NO hoses allowed!) Very-effective for "opening-the-mind"---even in History-class!☺

Graduated in '69, but didn't make it to the ceremony, as I was already on the bus headed to---umm,---"college", in Beaufort, SC., a.k.a., Parris-Island, of course. Hell of an-itinerary, but you learned FAST!☺

(DCHANNES-made me think about that, by mentioning the "self-healing" fuel tanks.The foam-filled NHRA-approved fuel-cells of my "faster-days" come to mind!)

Not a new-idea, by any means, but I'm sure they've improved the process considerably. Fighter-planes in WWII had self-sealers, too---though it took awhile to perfect-them. Not sure about Nazi Germanys' fighters, but apparently the Japanese-planes had NO-shielding to protect the pilot from flak, etc., whatsoever, IN ADDITION TO NON-sealing fuel-cells.

Man, we're just like the old "Lead-FULL" Red Barn Paint: We cover EVERYTHING, on here!

To quote the late-Central Hardware: "From Scoop-To-Nuts".....!!!

Donknome-2 and Old John,

If you guys are into Old Model (50s) Pontiacs, I know were there are pretty close to a dozen best as I could count driving by setting in the weeds in varying states of rust.

I was out of high school in 56 and got a job where I needed a Chauffeurs License, I was worried about something on mine passing muster so I borrowed my older cousins 55 Pontiac 4 door Bonneville to take the test in. I should have borrowed a 2 ton truck. I think it would have been shorter in the parallel parking exercise.

WHEELS: Pffftttttttt---LAUGH OUT LOUD!!! Ain't/Wasn't it the truth!!! A '60-Chevy wasn't much better!

And I can count on my-elbow the exact-number of times I had to parallel-park a service-truck. Lessee, it was---NONE!!!

I've parked 'em IN-ditches/sinkholes/across tangled rail-road tracks, and gave smoldering railcars a not-so-gentle "nudge" with them.

But I've never---EVER!---parallel-parked one, that I can remember???

And, since I'm retired? The prospects of doing-so doesn't look too-promising, from MY-p.o.v....!!!☺

Wheels, So far so good I thought untill just now. As I type I am once again plagued with what I type not showing up until I sit back and wait.

dc, I also have Avast, I haven't did the deep scan or the defrag for quite some time, I'll try that next.

Donk, Don't know why I remember that nor do I know why I remember the P11 Norton Cammando was the fastest production bike back then.

Joe, I have a dieing ash that has shed a few limbs, sure draws in the woodpeckers but I have no idea the cause.

Rick, the newly relocated glugite ditch is nearly complete across from Menard,s just in time for halloween. They are hoping that will draw some away from Walmart, should please one poster in particular. :)

OLD JOHN: I think it's because you're part psychotic! DANG! I mean, PSYCHIC...!☺

WHEELS: Seriously, now: I still have the Apple "PC" that I'd started on, what seems eons-ago, now. All the "state-of-the-art" floppys', w/games.

(Even the old-Epson printer, which I STILL wish was compatible with my Windows 7---even if it DID sound like the old AP-News "gravel-crushers", with the "golf-ball"-printer heads!)

Plugged it in. Still-works. But, I was just like ol' Homer Simpson, and his "Any-Key": Took me a bit to discover I was hittin' keys that, uh---were no longer there, y' know???☺

Internet? Well, it DOES have an-available punch-out, where the optional phone-line adapter socket WOULD HAVE BEEN, if it'd been thought to be a necessity of the time...?☺

Does anyone on here know how in the heck to re-glue a rearview mirror on the windshield. In all the years I have had vehicles, I have never had to do this. It is for my 2001 Nissan Frontier that I only use about 5 times a month if that makes a difference.The truck sets outside in this Texas heat and the cars get the garage.

I have tried two different kits that Auto Zone swore would work and both times the mirror fell off after a couple of days. Any tips? Better brands of kits?

T.C. - have always used the kit, even ones from AutoZone - never had any problems.

Making sure things are very clean - removing all old residue, using the prep wipe round and round until it's almost dry, a very little dab'll do ya, and pressuring for the specified time seem to be the ticket for me.

Thanks fxpwt. I think maybe I will try parking it in the garage next time where it is not so hot. It still has been 90 degrees plus here thiss week, but should cool down soon. I think I will wait until it does. Also I think I might be using too much glue.

T.C. : Have you tried asking your-choice of any auto-glass/auto-body/dealerships repair shops? The formula they tend to use is basically the same chemically, as the wally-world/auto-hell crap---but a LOT-more concentrated, as in, "takes just a bit-longer to "set"-permanently.

Now, I can't say they'll do it for FREE, but, hey---you never know. Either way, it'd be worth the expense, and since these places like return-visitors? It'll be done RIGHT, or done-again RIGHT-ER!☺

I had the same-problem several-times in the past, from using inferior-"glue" that I'd bought "cheap". Especially on truck-mirrors/windshields, as they catch a lot-more hell in-general than a "plain"-auto.

Wife's lil' Tacoma's inside-mirror dropped-off a year or so back. It cost me one-cup of black-coffee, a breakfast sausage biscuit, and $5 to cover the cost of opening a new-vial of what he called, "Superman-sperm". Still-holding!!!

(P.S. What he used had a very-light blueish-color to it, as opposed to the "normal"-clear you get at the "box"-stores.)

He's a local-business, to me, but unless I'm mistaken, I don't think YOU are in the same-locale, as me?

But there's good-shops, with good-people, everywhere. Just gotta sniff-'em out, sometimes...!☺

Donknome-2, if the cooler temps don't do the trick, then I will take your advice and go to a body shop or auto glass place. I miss the good old days when the mirror was just screwed in to the window frame or overhead. Thanks

No-big! We all need a little-hint or two from time to time.

FXPWT has a good-suggestion, too. Too-much of a good-thing won't stick, either. Even then, "Buyer-Beware".

Buddy of mine bought a kit from Wally-World a good-while back, and his prep-pad---instead of "plain"-alcohol---also contained "5%-Benzocaine, to-relieve the itching." It also "relieved the STICKING, as well.☺

Ironic how---even yet!---some auto-makers "glue" the mirror-BASE to the glass---yet still employ a pot-metal "e-z strip" screw, to hold the mirror-head in-place?

Dunno. You tell me, and then we'll BOTH-know...!☺

(Even the old-Epson printer, which I STILL wish was compatible with my Windows 7---even if it DID sound like the old AP-News "gravel-crushers", with the "golf-ball"-printer heads!)

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Fri, Sep 28, 2012, at 5:55 PM

Donknome-2

You might scout around on the internet and find some third party that would have drivers or at least some kind of program to make that old Epson work.

I had a small Cannon scanner that I used on occassionally that I suddenly find does not work on Windows 7 and Cannon does not care enough to create drivers for it. With a little snooping around on the internet, I found a company called VueScan who has a program that will let you use a slug of those old still good scanners that are not compatible with Win 7. Not quite what I was used to using but it works and it cost me about $30. Next I find my large legal sized HP 8200 Scanner which is a real work horse and which I knew did not work on Win 7 but could use with some make do's with Vista drivers and program, suddenly quit working, same day actually that an XP machine quit driving the big scanner. Makes me think HP might have had something to do with this with an update. Uninstalling and reinstalling the program fixed the XP machine, but at least 4 uninstalls and reinstalls and trying to hold my mouth just right would not make it recogonize on Win 7 again. Checked it with VueScan and off and running. I'm getting tired of buying hardware just to keep the manufacturers in the black.

No guarantees, and I don't think VueScan does anything for printers but I feel sure there is somebody out there. Good luck!

Only one thing missing from the mirror hints and tips. I use a razor blade to make sure the glass is clean, also on the block if not new.

On a similar problem, the bracket on the bottem of a door glass that is bonded to the glass takes a special material. In a pinch I folded a piece of quality clear packing tape over the area and used a common glue between the tape and the bracket. It was still holding 6 years later when I sold it and bought another clunker.

Wheels, I still have my first, a Tandy laptop DOS operated. I could build an order and send it. If there were no glitches in the dial-up the operation would be complete in about an hour. When I went to bed I started the download to print a packing list and it would be done and printed 3hrs and 59min later! :)

Over the years, each time I bought a new computer I had to load the previous soon to be out dated operating system to be compatable.

Oh well, At least I can say I was one of the first few in the nation to use a computer in that business, never having operated the manual paper/hand written way.

Old John,

My first computer was a true wonder, a Radio Shack TRS 80 Model I with 4K of Memory. Better known after a while as a Trash 80. Upgraded to 48K with 4 daisy chained floppy drives and runing TRSDos it was a wonder to behold. We did run AR, A/P, Payroll and General Ledger (Intergrated) on it in a rather primative fashion. We found out what the term Floppy Swappy was all about.

Old John,

Are you doing Ok with your computer after the other night?

We are going through a Server Change at the kids business. They started the installation about 10:00 am this morning and still have a couple of hours of fine tuning to do Monday morning. Things seem to be going pretty well after pretty much hanging by a thread on a cobbled together temporary server for a few days.

I inherited the problem this afternoon late, of trying to make an Old Dos program that we still use for a specific purpose print on a Network Printer. The Tech said he had his doubts it was ever going to work. He is in his early 30's and never enjoyed the fun of actually getting DOS to do something. Nor did he ever have any experience with the program.

At 7:30 PM this evening I finally hit the right combination got it to print as programed to do so way back when and hung it up.

Wheels, I still have the problem of typing a full sentence and the sitting back to wait for it to appear on the screen. When I first fire it up, it works fine. After being on for 30 minutes of so the problem returns. I have yet to do the scans and defrag.

I would wish you well with your change over but have the feeling you have it under control.

How's the dead people research coming along, has your cousin linked you up with the hub cap hiesters yet?

Oh I forgot to mention, I still have the curse of the back arrow. If I try to go back to correct/edit the post disapears into Theorist land! :)

Sorry Theorist if you are reading but I never let an opportunity to poke fun go to waste. :)

WHEELS: I'd also be happy to find a GOOD-quality manual-typewriter, as well. The (local office-suppliers) have chintzy-made crap that is way-y-y too small for my fat-fingers, and so light-built that they'd NEVER survive more than 2, maybe 3 "train-wrecks", without permanent damage to the typing-"arms".

Todays' stuff ain't got NOTHIN' on a(now)antique Underwood---even if you were tempted to "type" with a ball-pein, after the first-full-hour on it! That's what I learned on, in my Junior-year of high-school.

(Only took the class because the teacher was "HOTT"---and it wasn't from the lack-of A/C in those days, either!☺)

I'll "check-it-out", in re: to the old-Epson. I've been using this HP PSC 750 for YEARS-now. Love it's simplicity! BUT---it's almost at the "end" of HP's "still-barely-compatible"-list. And, this blasted Windows 7 that I HAD to buy---unless I wanted to pay TWICE, and have it UN-upgraded back to an XP-format---didn't help the compatibility-matter, either....

OLD JOHN: Gotta agree with RICK, here, in re: to your program-issues.(But in a nice-way. I'm sure your "bugs" are just---bugs!---and not gluglites!☺

Do you---by any chance---have ALL of your "Factory-System Restore"-CD's? You can erase EVERYTHING(for this purpose, anyway)from your hard-drive, and start all-over with the FACTORY-DEFAULT settings---just like you'd bought a NEW-one.

My old XP was so peedered-out that it couldn't BE restored to default: It wouldn't even acknowledge(read)the Restore-DISC.

Oh well, I needed some target-practice-time in my "lower-forty" anyway, so-o-o-o...??? ☺

Went to looking for one of my preferred cheap, er, less-expensive beer brands - the red cans that just couldn't be missed when scanning the various beverage choices are no more, back to the brand's more classic gold and white colorings with a very small depiction of the classic lady in the moon.

Found it somewhat humorous reading the new-styled labelling - "The Champagne of BOTTLE Beer", while drinking it out of a can.

FXPWT: Brought this over from "Boy-Scouts...". I think it'll fall right-into place here, now.☺

**********************

FREEDOM FADING: Yeah, I enjoy Miller, as well---I just wish they'd left the full-sized "Girl In The Moon" on the front-label. She reminds me of the wife, when she(and I!)were both 30-some-odd years YOUNGER!

She never was tall, but she did have the cutest-little "Coke-bottle" figure. And I looked like fresh beef-jerky.

But now? I just look like frozen-then-thawed summer-sausage. And she? Looks more like the old-Pepsi "twisted"-bottle.

But she's a LONG-way from bein' a 2-LITER TWIN-PACK, by any-means of measure!☺

(NOW you know what/who to look-for--LOL!!!☺)

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Wed, Sep 26, 2012, at 4:25 PM

Oh, and P.S. : She's STILL-got the natural-wavy reddish-blonde hair, and pretty-close to the "Miller-Gals'"-length---except, it's gettin' a bit-more "highlighted" each year, now!(But she's still a few-"hairs" younger than myself---and gainin' ground fast. But I'm still in-the-lead!☺)

Ain't it somethin'. Lots of much younger-women PAY to have that done to their hair---an' us "pre-seniors" get it for FREE.

(Don't EVEN mention the term, "entitlement", either.....!!!☺)

Since this thread contains a lot of that nostalgic wax(ing) - found this site a few years back - http://www.usbeerlabels.com/bestbeerstuff/product_list.php

Found it interesting that offerings from former breweries in Old Appleton were available - the Appleton Brewery and Ice company, and McGovern - not sure if these were one in the same or two different breweries or one being a successor of the other. Used 'Appleton' in the keyword search. Equally as interesting to me were some of the older labels of the name-brands.

As I had more dollars than sense at the time, ordered a couple of shirts, going with my theme of being unique bordering on antique - cuz I figured hardly nobody else would have one, even in these parts. The quality appears to be that of a scanned label transferred to a silk-screen, but quite readable. The shirts themselves were good quality, not the see-through cheapness like some of today's offerings.

Huh. That's interesting, to say the least.

Yeah, Appleton wasn't always "just-another-small-town". Matter of fact, just a "couple-hairs" south of there, Oak Ridge had at least one, maybe two?, food-cannerys. And a bank, that I think Bill & Billie-Lou still own, as a "retro-collectables" shop,now?

I was aware of the "Appleton Brewery & Ice", but not familiar with the "Mc Govern"-name?

Never lived there, but I'd lived "around"-it, and hunted in the area pretty-regularly, in days'-long-gone now...

Actually, it seems BARBER-beer was the one made in Appleton, MO---Mc Govern was in Appleton, WI.

But I still aren't familiar with the Barber-brand?

(Danged fine-print on that linked-page---must've been set-up by some-youngster under 40...!!!☺)

MICHIGAN, dang-it!!! MICHIGAN!!!

Gotta go wash the crust outta my-eyeballs.....!☺

And once again, I DIDN'T SCROLL FAR ENOUGH!

D'-OH!!!

Pardon me while I go hide-away for a few-hours. Maybe the world will end before I get back, and I won't have to show my beet-red face---due to both EMBARRASMENT, and FRUSTRATION, with myself...!☺

Hmm - 'Brews and Busts' - mentions a bit about the Old Appleton Brewery - http://www.semissourian.com/story/1173881.html

A Google archived SEMissourian article - http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19240417&id=WScrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qNM...

If you've got the time, here's a couple of beer history sites to peruse through -

http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/

http://www.stag-beer.com/

♫"If YOU'VE got the TIME, WE'VE got the BEER! MILL-ER-BEER!!!♫"

Sorry! I couldn't stand my self-imposed "exile", from my-OWN "country"☺ any-longer in peace-and-quiet!

"Feed your head, baby---feed your head!"---Grace Slick/Jefferson Airplane.

"It's OK to enjoy the taste of YESTER-YEARS' 'leftovers'---just make sure they's still-GOOD!"---MY-Quote/ME!!!☺

RICK: Two-minutes, eh? Lucky-dog!

Oh, I can "make" it in two. But add gouty-arthritis to the mix? Those-minutes seem like HOURS, when you only have SECONDS!☺

My old house has it's "Oval-Office"(thx:to Redd Fox!)at it's extreme NE-corner. Bedroom is off-center set, in the SW-corner, approx. 35 feet, 6 inches away.

(Hmm. That's the 'normal'-path of a tornado. Wonder if it's 'just-coincidence'???☺)

Needless to say, it makes for some GREAT-examples of a "photo-finish" at times, in-deed....!☺

Joe Dirte

Do you know where I can find a Fredericktown cap in town ?

-- Posted by Rɨck on

I know alot usually this time of year Walmart in Ftown has alot of Fredericktown High Blackcats clothing, hats , shirts, etc. Seems like in recent years they have had caps and such with "Blackcats' or just "Fredericktown" printed on black and gold material.

Old John

In my humble opinion , you have a bug or two .

-- Posted by Rɨck on Sat, Sep 29, 2012,

Rick, A very good friend, that I have never met in person as far as I know sent me some help and it turns out you were right. I had a bug or two.

Silly thing is now running super fast when first turned on but still gets slower as like now when it's been on for several hours.

Too bad he's too senile and out of touch to make approved contributions to our forums. :) :)

Hmmmm!

Hmmmm!

It's amazing what you can learn from a dummy. I kind of miss Vince and Larry.

Old John,

You got mail.

O&T

So you decided to drop in over here and try to turn the one good thread on here political. Nice going!

As far as your ill advised attempt at humor. Your joke is old, it's stale and the punch line was on Democrats.

You failed again.

Ah-h-h, let it go, WHEELS: Don't get the "PC-Offended-Delete"-police started on here. Just like a bad-spot in an-apple---if it don't look-good? Just eat around it!(If it gets TOO-rotten? THEN throw the whole-thing out, not before!☺)

Gotta give credit where due, though. OT-did stay on-subject, with cars, printers, laptops, etc. Which IS what we were discussing, at the time.

Everybodys' welcome here, as long as you don't get too-drunk and start a fight that gets the attention of the Management that owns this place---and I don't mean ME, either...

Actually, to correct-MYSELF---we were swimmin' in an-ocean of BEER, that once was?

Or as "Eeeyore" might say: "Oh well, Pooh---it-happens!"☺

Of course, Eeeyore is no-longer depressed, as he was CAUSING-depression among children.

And, shamefully, in the same-exact way that Bugs Bunny was inciting-violence in those same-childrens' minds!

Oh, the indignity of it all....!!!☺

If the internet went down for a day it could be as memorable as this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzHLUBP0qiIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzHLU...

They came all that way for a WOMAN?

"YEAH, BABY!!! MARTIAN-BOOGIE!!!"☺

(You didn't think I'd click on it, didja'?)

Just a bit-more exciting than "Bullied-Peanut-Butter"---but not much...!☺

Donk, I see you understand my twisted and warped logic, few do!

It might be time for a Bob Cat that can pick up logs and turn'em into firewood thing!

OORAH!

Oh, you've ALREADY seen one of those in-action, eh?

Beats weldin' an axe-haid onto a aigg-shaped, steel-spoked wheel tho', don' id?☺

You DO remember that-one, right?

NEVER-grow up, nor get too-"old"---NEVER...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DJlc13sOKw&feature=related

And, as if life is not complicated enough:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=U7j5jtVFmXI&NR=1

On another thread are talks of trips to Cape and going bear foot, a poor but simpler time.

We managed to make it to Cape in the early years about every other month. Sometimes for other reasons but mostly for shopping. I credit that to a wise salesman.

When dad was at the peak of his farming with our 40, grandpa's 300, unc's 160 and a neighbors 100ac he had 3 good tractors and equipment for each one and one wagon. Instead of buying a grain truck, he bought 4 new John Deere wagons to haul grain to the elevators, 3 miles at the farthest.

Looking back that decision may have had something to do with my suspsicions he never had a driver's license. Of course the standard logic was to keep the combine going instead of waiting for a truck to get back.

Now here's where the skilled salesman comes in. Dad had a buddy that worked at Montgomery Ward automotive and hardware on Spanish St. The wagons used the same size tires 900/15 that were on a lot of big Buicks, Cads etc and anytime someone bought a new set of tires he would save the best take-offs until he got a pretty well matched set and call dad to give a bargain on used tires for the wagons!

Seems like a lot of things came from Montgomery Ward. I still have the heavy 1/2" drill, the John boat was sold,..anyway by getting dad over to Cape to pick up the tires for a little of nothing, he almost always managed to make a more profitable sale. And while we were there and after he had spent some significant money, mom had a little easier time getting the children new shoes or whatever and bringing home a little variety in groceries. :)

Old John,

The day of the "used" wagon tire is coming to a end. All of our wagons have 15" rims. It is not easy to find used 15" tires anymore. Even alot of the smaller cars/suv's are running 16", 17" or bigger.

Same goes for 14". I went to the local tire shop back in the summer for a new tube for the hay rake. One of the rake tires has seen better days so I asked if they had a good used 14" for it. He said he couldn't remember the last time he put on a set of 14" tires. I took my tube and left.

There was a post made a few days ago where fxpwt linked to a archived edition of the southeastmissourian from 1924. It had a article about several people busted for making/selling alcohol.

Reminded me of a story about a long gone uncle who prefered to wander and drift instead of working in the woods with his pa and brothers. He was on Twelvemile creek in Madison county when a couple guys asked him if he would watch their disabled car while they walked to the nearest house in search of some gas. Several minutes passed when all of a sudden 4 "revenuers" surrounded him with guns drawn. They went a few feet behind the car, moved some brush and uncovered a still and several jugs of liquor.

The uncle explained to the men that he was just watching the car for some strangers while they went to find gas. The government men asked him what was in the jug he was holding when they walked up. He explained he was thirsty and saw the jug in the back of the car, assumed it was water so he was going to get a drink. The government men then asked why if he thought it was water did they see him pouring it in the gas tank?

Needless to say the government men didn't believe his story and arrested him. A few years back while doing some geneology research I found a court record for his conviction for making liquor.

Also in the paper fxpwt linked to I looked few some of the other pages and got to the classified section. There were seveal interesting ads.

YES WE HAVE FIRESTONE BALLON TIRES

THAT ARE GUM DIPPED

BROADWAY TIRE STATION

PHONE: 948

FOR SALE OR TRADE

1923 FORD TOURING CAR $265

1922 FORD TOURING CAR $225

1921 FORD ROADSTER $ 145

AUTO TIRE AND PARTS

PHONE: 175

To the colored people:

The Marquette cement plant boarding house under new management. Colored employees seeking a refined boarding house will find this a good home as there will be positively no lawlessness tolerated. Just as the plant has been improved so has this boarding house. Board, room, short orders, sandwiches, soft drinks and ice cream served.

Times have sure changed in alot of ways:)

Here, clean the political-fuzz outta your head with this refreshing "Q-Tip".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=0hrjF0L-cQw&feature=endscreen

(I want the very-last one! Actually, I've got all the pieces for "it"---just not the incentive to stick-'em all together, at least not THIS-year...!☺)

Donknome-2

Many years ago, a friend and I attended a tractor pull in the Old Arena Building on Oakland Ave in St. Louis. The smoke pouring out of these things reminded me of that. They had smoke catchers on them because of it being an indoor pull, but they did not work well. They finally opened all of the doors to try and ventilate the place. Being on a cold Saturday night in January we nearly froze to death inside.

Donknome-2

I'm thinking this would be a good time for a video or story about a home made dirt stomper or something of real interest! :)

As this thread has stayed mainly within the boundaries of motorized vehicle stuff - figured this'd be a good place to share some random and perhaps too-lengthy thoughts that surfaced while operating a motor vehicle in an abnormal state seemingly rarely practiced by the masses - you know, thinking and driving. :-)~

MoDOT has put these electric billboards up along the Interstate posting informative messages. Won't go into whether the cost of the installation is worth the benefit of the messages, as most times rather trivial information is posted - buckle seatbelts, watch your speed, etc. Occasionally, there have been really helpful things posted such as 'wreck at mile marker xx consider alternative routes', and the like. Got to thinking about one of the recent messages - something like 661 people have died in traffic accidents in Missouri this year, 64% were not wearing seatbelts.

Hmmm, first impression was that seatbelts aren't all they're cracked up to be, considering that if all were equal - such as average severity of wreck, average type of car involved, average ability of driver, those wearing belts vs. those not, etc. - it should be a 50/50 proposition. So, initially thought a seat belt only offered a 14% advantage. Ahhh, but looking at it again - if 64% were not wearing seat belts, that leaves 36% that were - so seat belts are now approaching a 2-to-1 likelihood of surviving a crash.

Still thinking that ratio should be higher - remembering the talk a trooper gave at our Scout meeting so many years ago on seat belts - about how he'd never yet unbuckled a dead person, and my personal experiences of head-butting the windshield and related ribcage deformation by the steering wheel before I converted from being a scoffer to a true believer in the value of belts. Or another way to look at it - experience is usually the result of bad judgement.

/***/

Coming up the road yesterday, was participating in a lengthy two-lane parade led by two slower vehicles side-by-side, one of which apparently believed there was no time limit for hogging the passing lane. Going through an overpass, saw one of those little import 4-doors blundering down the onramp, driver's eyes looking forward, apparently preoccupied with something involving the use of her right hand and right ear. She arrived right on time in the merging area, just as the parade was going by. Quite the entertainment segment commenced as she realized there was no room to cut in, and she then braked and swerved on into the emergency lane after the onramp ran out before she could stop. Heheheh - thinking and driving - look down the Interstate before you get on the onramp, to see what's coming - look over your shoulder going down the onramp to gauge a merging opening - adjust speed to match, then execute a non-eventful merge. Guess they're not teaching that anymore - remembering another trooper addressing our driver's ed class, citing that many Interstate accidents could be avoided by being aware of what's going on beside and behind you.

fxpwt, I've been wearing the belt so long I feel naked without one. Even my compact tractor has a belt but it's pretty unhandy when getting on and off a lot. I have used it in near tip over operations while using the hoe. Sometimes when I get really tired the dislexia takes over and the boom goes the wrong direction. ;)

Since we are on the subject of driving... there are some that would like to see those of us who learned how to drive defensively tested on a regular basis.

I have not been tested in my ability to drive for 58 years 8 months and 3 days now and I still have enough moxey to not go charging down an on ramp (which did not exist where I grew up and was tested) into 70 MPH traffic and find myself having to slam on the brakes as the on ramp ended. Of course you will not find me driving with one hand and talking on the phone at that point either.

I have had two driving tests though... the one my Dad gave me at 14 before he told me to get in the truck and take Mom to town on Saturday afternoon to get groceries and the one the State gave me at 16.

Rick,

I think in a case like that, they say an inch is as good as a mile.

They must be the same thing.

Do the huge lighted signs still uses little bulbs that can be changed around to spell different things ? A creative person can make traffic do a lot of different things .

In my opinion , there are not enuff people who learn how to drive anymore .

Yes , they know where all of the bells , whistles , and gadgets are suppose to be and located , but do they really know what they're doing ?

Just because a person has a car in their garage doesn't make them a mechanic...

-- Posted by .Rick. on Sat, Oct 27, 2012, at 12:21 PM

Rick, The newer signs are controlled from district headquarters online. They can and have been hacked by people who know how to do such things in recent years to create a personalized message of some sort, no bulb change needed:)

Old John,

I remember you saying awhile back about you typing a full paragraph before it showing up on your screen. I just switched internet providers and moved up to our partially gubbmit funded Big River broadband for us folks of the backwoods who were still living in the stoneages of dial up, and now when I visit this website I have the same problem. Think I will refrain from posting on topics other than this one so I dont bring on the wrath of the spelling?grammar police. Atleast in this thread a good ol boy can feel at home without watching his spelling or language:)

Joe, Our friend Wheels helped me out with that problem. I still have a bit of a slowdown at times but most of all fixed.

It also seemed that if I didn't type slow and deliberate, well when what I typed showed up on screen, a lot of letters were omitted. Then when I would go back to correct, I couldn't back space and add a letter without removing what I intended to keep.

Sounds like you may have the same thing?

Wheels may be busy for a while as I suspect it takes a while to disassemble a hay rake and rebuild it to balence on top a barn. I hope Donk don't let the rope slip!:)

They done got the hayrake on top of the barn. You ought to see Wheels trying to tip the two seater in the back of the truck to haul it to the top of the street. Oops. He forgot to check inside first. Donk is a little upset!

Dish Network now has internet

Rick, I still have the problem with the back arrow. If I go back to review and edit my comment nothing happens, click it again and the comment goes into the twilight zone.

I don't get a lot of email but that Charter program is poorly designed, Almost as stupid as Food Giant's web page. I get tired of having to type in my password and waiting so long for it to load.

Whoknows, Reckon Voyager is on the scene with an outhouse loaded up for relocation?

Joe, Is your service from Big River or did you have Dish and other newly available services as an option?

Boys you better behave yourself. And Joe, you can say what you want until you start horsin around. ;-)

This high speed internet they are taking to the backwoods.... they are going to wind up getting all that fibre optic laid and half the phone lines and gas meters pulled out by the roots before they do. Then it will be ready to compete with wireless, where I think it is going. I have 4G on ATT cell phone with internet connection in Bollinger County when I am there and I believe when Verizon gets the new tower sparkin over on 51 by the Null Hill, I should have 4G wireless on my internet. I use my wireless 4G to the max at home because it is so much faster than DSL. Makes DSL look like dialup.

SE Missourian has a slow server or something, because even with 4G it makes me wait when nothing else does. I think that is when I double dribble when I get too impatient.

Settle down Old John.

Wheels, I'm trying to settle down. Just completed one of those handshake deals as the guys finished my little workshop building. A handshake deal that went fine, I was well pleased with what I got and what I paid, but for some reason unexplained, my hand is still shaking after writing that check! :)

Old John,

I feel your pain!

I had one of those factory built garages delivered to my farm in Hawk Point earlier in the summer. Talk about sticker shock... I'm from the day when you could nearly buy a house for that kind of money.

Old John,

I think you been exposed.

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ItXKGyO6cRA?rel=0

Wheels, I figured the guys would use one of those cranky-up poles to raise the trusses. Instead they built the roof framework and hired a fellow with a crane truck from your stomping grounds to hoist it into place. I'm convinced this guy could stand an egg on top a flag pole with that rig and the wind was gusting pretty good that day.

I reckon you have researched why it's called Hawk Point and will share that with us sometime.

Rick, Back button works fine everywhere but on semissourian.

FWIW - for my more lengthy responses, I like to use Notepad or Wordpad, then copy-n-paste.

This also remedies those occasions when flipping back-n-forth between preview and respond, when the comment just up-n-disappears, essentially evaporating my quality thoughts into cyberspace.

Kinda along the lines of when I'm working on an evolving spreadsheet or document - open it, save under another filename, edit at will but save early and often - then when satisfied, rename the copied-and-saved filename under another title from the original file. Backup essential stuff to DVD or other alternate media regularly. If you don't know where you're going, be sure to be able to get back to where you started... :-)

fxpwt, I don't know where I'm going or where I've been when it comes to this stuff.

Sometimes when you get the blank screen, if you hit forward to preview again you can copy and paste your own work, saving some typing.

Naaa, OLD JOHN---you go ahead and test-drive it. As much as I hate to pass on such an honor---YOU deserve it more than I.

I'm stayin' here, waitin' for the Ice Cream truck.

Fellas' got to have his priorities, y' know...☺!

http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/500/tims37_small.jpg

Old John,

Actually I have no idea why they call it Hawk Point. And if I did Theorist would disagree with me. I will throw something out there though. Since they hunted with Falcons in the days of King Louis, the one Theorist was named after instead of St. Louis... then since I believe Hawks belong to the Falcon family... or vicey versy then it only stands to reason that they name Hawk Point after old Louie's hunting bird. And the main drag through Hawk Point comes to a point where it makes a 90 degree turn and heads east instead of north, therefore it is almost a certainty that is why they called it 'Hawk Point'.

Donknome-2,

That racey picture sure has a nice chassis.

Donk, I think I recognize the wheels and the grill looks like from a Farmall W9? Am I close?

Wheels, :)

OLD JOHN: Why, I'd never noticed. The pic of the 'rod seems a bit-fuzzy? Must be my glasses? Lemme clean 'em.

Nope. Wasn't the 'specs. But, if I close my LEFT-eye, and concentrate: Yeah, it does look-like such.

Just kidding. All-joking aside---that's EXACTLY what I thought it looked-like, too. Although I was thinkin' mashed-flat Farmall-M? Actually, weren't/aren't ALL of the FRONT-grilles pretty-much interchangable on the mid-'40's Farmall H, M/MD, on-up through the "lower-numbers"-models?

I'm sorry, it's just SO-hard to concentrate on tech-issues, when there's such a need to finish body-work on that chassis.

And, it wouldn't hurt none to work on the rat-rod again, as well...!☺

WHOA!!! WAIT A DANGED-MINUTE!!!

IF you can pry your eye(s)off the "candy" for a moment: Try "blowing-up" that radiator-section, and that tag on the upper-part of it.

Does that say "FERGUSON"??? Maybe in-ref: to the rod being part FORD, as in, FERGUSON???

My resolution ain't set that high, even with the screen-magnifier---but it sure LOOKS like it.

And, I love the "left-handed-twist" on the grille of that OTHER-ride to the left, as well...!☺

Yep, Think you're right, a slight blow-up clearly eliminates Farmall. TO-30?

Shamelessly cut-n-pasted, but got a good chuckle out of many anyways.... You know you're getting older when -

"I just can't drink the way I used to", replaces, "I'm never going to drink that much again".

06:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.

90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good stuff".

A 'late night' now ends at 11 pm.

About half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast relief".

An "all nighter" means not getting up to pee!

At the breakfast table you hear snap, crackle, pop and you're not eating cereal.

Conversations with people your own age often turn into "dueling ailments."

Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.

Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt, doesn't work.

Getting a little action means you don't need to take a laxative.

Getting lucky means you find your car in the parking lot.

Grocery lists are longer than macaroni & cheese, diet Pepsi and Ho-Ho's.

Happy hour is a nap.

It takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.

It takes twice as long to look half as good.

It takes two tries to get up from the couch.

Many of your co-workers were born the same year that you got your last promotion.

MTV News is no longer your primary source for information.

Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.

One of the throw pillows on your bed is a hot water bottle.

People call at 9 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"

Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

The candles cost more than the cake.

The car that you bought brand new becomes an antique.

The clothes you've put away until they come back in style... have come back in style.

The end of your tie doesn't come anywhere near the top of your pants.

The girls at the office start confiding in you.

The highway patrol sigh or shake their heads but don't give you a ticket.

The little gray-haired lady you help across the street is your wife.

The pharmacist has become your new best friend.

The twinkle in your eye is only the reflection of the sun on your bifocals.

There's nothing left to learn the hard way.

You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.

You and your teeth don't sleep together.

You are no longer 'promising'.

You are proud of your lawn mower.

You begin every other sentence with, "Nowadays..."

You buy trousers with the waist size larger than the length.

You can go bowling without drinking.

You can live without sex, but not without glasses.

You can pinch an inch on your forehead.

You can remember that your school desk had an inkwell with real ink.

You can remember when "gay" meant joyous and lively, merry, happy, light-hearted.

You can remember when a stop sign meant STOP!

You can remember when coke bottles had the town location of the bottling company on the bottom.

You can remember when you could get a room at Motel 6 for six dollars.

You can remember when your milk shake came with two straws.

You can't remember the last time you laid on the floor to watch television.

You carry an umbrella.

You come to the conclusion that your worst enemy is gravity.

You confuse having a clear conscience with having a bad memory.

You consider coffee one of the most important things in life.

You constantly talk about the price of gasoline.

You develop a knack for wearing hats.

You discover that your measurements are now small, medium and large. In that order.

You discover the words, "whippersnapper", "scalawag" and "by-cracky" creeping into your vocabulary.

You don't care where your wife goes, just so you don't have to go along.

You don't get liquored up at home, to save money, before going to a bar.

You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.

You don't recall what the first thing to go was.

You don't remember when your wild oats turned to shredded wheat.

You enjoy hearing about other people's operations.

You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonalds leftovers.

You feel like the morning after when you haven't been anywhere the night before.

You finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.

You find it hard to get out of a low-down car.

You find yourself beginning to like accordion music.

You find yourself standing in line and can't remember why.

You frequently find yourself telling people what a loaf of bread USED to cost.

You get into a heated argument about pension plans.

You get propositioned by AARP.

You get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.

You give up all your bad habits and you still don't feel good.

You go from hoping for a BMW to hoping for a BM.

You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.

You got cable for the weather channel. Old Folks MTV!

You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.

You have ever used the word NOSIREEBOB.

You have more hair growing out of your ears than you have on your head.

You have more patience, but it is actually that you just don't care anymore.

You have too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine cabinet.

You hear your favorite song on an elevator.

You hold all reading material at arms length just to read it.

You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

You keep repeating yourself.

You keep repeating yourself. ;)

You know all the answers, but nobody asks you the questions.

You know the frequency of every oldies station in town.

You know what a Big Chief paper tablet looks like.

You know what the word equity means.

You learn where your prostate is.

You light the candles on your birthday cake and a group of campers form a circle and start singing Kumbaya.

You look both ways before crossing a room.

You look for your glasses for half an hour and they were on your head the whole time.

You look forward to a dull evening.

You make it a point to attend all the RV shows that come to town.

You move something to a more logical location and then can only remember where it used to be.

You no longer drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

You no longer get winded running long distance, you get winded just DIALING long distance.

You no longer take naps from noon to 6 PM.

You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

You owned a car that had running boards.

You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.

You read more and remember less.

You read the obituaries each day to make sure you're not listed.

You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you.

You realize that a stamp today costs more than a picture show did when you were growing up.

You realize that caution is the only thing you care to exercise.

You realize you've reached your sexpiration date.

You realize your rock-hard abs have turned to pillow-soft flabs.

You refer to your $2500 stereo system as "The Hi-Fi."

You regret all those mistakes you made resisting temptation.

You remember when shopkeepers used to say "Come Again." instead of "Have a nice day."

You remember when the only people who wore rings in their noses were called pygmies.

You run out of breath walking DOWN a flight of stairs.

You scout for a warmer place to spend the long, cold winters.

You send money to PBS.

You settle for a workout video titled "Buns of Putty".

You shop for health insurance the way you once shopped for a new car.

You sink your teeth into a steak and they stay there.

You sit in a rocking chair and can't get it going.

You step off a curb and look down one more time to make sure the street is still there.

You still have a rotary phone.

You stop growing at the ends and start growing in the middle.

You take a metal detector to the beach.

You talk about "good grass" and you're referring to someone's lawn.

You tell your kids about the "Olden Days".

You tip more and carry less.

You tune into the easy listening station... on purpose.

You turn out the lights for economic rather than romantic reasons.

You wake up looking like your driver's license picture.

You wake up with that morning-after feeling and you didn't do anything the night before.

You walk by a teen-ager with a boom box and you want to just smack him.

You wave goodbye to someone, your underarm flab causes wind shears.

You wear black socks with sandals.

You were alive when crayolas only came in eight colors.

You wonder how you could be over the hill when you don't even remember being on top of it.

You work on your short game.

You would rather go to work than stay home sick.

You write down a name with the telephone number and when you look at it again, you still don't have a clue who it is.

You're 17 around the neck, 42 around the waist, and 106 around the golf course.

You're asleep, but others worry that you're dead.

You're on vacation and your ENERGY runs out before your money does.

You're sitting on a park bench and a Boy Scout comes up and helps you cross your legs.

You're the one calling the police because those **** kids next door don't know how to turn down the stereo.

You've seen it all, done it all, and can't remember most of it!

You've still got it, but nobody wants to see it.

Younger men ask you for advice.

Younger women start opening doors for you.

Your "get-up-and-go" got up and went.

Your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper.

Your back goes out but you stay home.

Your best friend is dating someone half their age... And isn't breaking any laws.

Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

Your childhood toys are now in a museum.

Your drugs of preference are now vitamins.

Your ears are hairier than your head.

Your friends marry and divorce instead of hook-up and break-up.

Your hot flashes set off the smoke alarm.

Your house plants are alive and you can't smoke any of them.

Your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio.

Your insurance company sends you half a calendar.

Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service.

Your knees buckle and your belt won't.

Your little black book only contains names ending in M.D.

Your memory is shorter and your complaining lasts longer.

Your new easy chair has more options than your car.

Your pacemaker makes the garage door go up when you see a pretty girl.

Your potted plants stay alive.

Your Saturday Night Fever turns to Saturday Night Hot Flashes.

Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

Your sideburns are 6-8 inches long and are combed over the top of your head.

Your Social Security Number only has three digits.

Your stuff strutted off without you!

Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.

Your try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren't wearing any.

Youthful injuries return with a vengeance.

FX

I notice about 80% of those. Dang I'm dying,,,,,,,

My.best guess from blowing up tbe picture until it got fuzzy is Ferguson.

You know your getting old when you start telling stories like this one:

A few years back I swapped, traded, added some cash for something I was familiar in my early days.

When I told my cousin I had just aquired a '39 Farmall M that was still crated, and never started, well I got his attention for sure. I still have it. I uncrated it but have never started it.

It sure looks good on top of my bookshelf!:)

Front of a '48-Ferguson---waddya' think? Maybe?

(Close-'nuff for hand-grenades an' horse-shoes...!☺)

http://images04.olx.com/ui/13/04/07/1298068863_168199707_1-Pictures-of--1948-Fer...

And, yes OLD JOHN: I do believe it IS a TO-30, indeed.

We done GOOD, didn't we???☺

Yes, An early one. I had a Ford once that had Ferguson badge on the radiator cover/grill. Was told it was rare because when Henry renigged on his deal with Harry he quit puttin the Ferguson recognition on the front.

The last tractor of that style I had was a 9-N Ford and it had a Ferguson System badge if I remember correctly. Amazing how many of those old tractors are still in use and how easy it is to get parts.

Figured I best be showing the Impy a little TLC, what with the winter predictions and the vehicle getting on up into middle age and all.

Battery seemed a little slow in rolling things over since the temperatures have cooled off, the coolant and fan belt are rapidly approaching the recommended 150,000 mile change intervals - then there's fresh wiper blades, fluid level checks, and a general once over to satisfy myself we're road-worthy going into the winter season.

First step - pull the old battery for the core charge swap. The local parts store website advised to allow 45 minutes to change. Grrrr, it took me that long just to figure out how to pull it.

Geez, Louise, wondering whether the factory installed the battery first, then built the car around it? Ended up removing a frame stiffening strut, the upper radiator hose, and the engine compartment fuse box cover to get enough clearance to yank it from its secluded tray.

Then went to the parts store - holy cow, they've gotten mighty proud of their batteries since the last time I needed one. After that shock, the coolant - uses that pretty orange DexCool stuff - about double the price from my last stocking-up on the green stuff. Whew, had to go by the ATM to re-inflate my wallet after that trip.

Figured that was enough for the day - as I've learned through the years that my productivity and success have an inverse relationship with my frustration level, which was running pretty high.

Hoping Round 2 goes better tomorrow...

FXPWT: Did you manage to NOT-spend at least $85.00 on the battery? If so, congrats! (There's a reason NAPA calls it their "Gold"-line!) But at least they're maintenance-free, with the sealed-tops, so's you no-longer must resist the urge to add-water from the rain-barrel anymore!

I like the Dex-Cool, even though I've heard both pros-&-cons about it. One thing's for certain: The GREEN don't mix with the ORANGE! A-'professional'-shop owed me for the damages, when he finally-admitted he "...topped-off the filler-tank with green---because it's all he had at the time...". I'll bet he keeps-it on-stock now, though. I don't care, he's lost my-trade either way.

BTW---remember to chunk-out some change for the "cake-pan-shaped" AIR-FILTER, too! And, of course as you mentioned, the WIPERS.(Don't get the Chinese-made ones from Wally, either: Get the MEXICAN-made ones, from the "name-brand" stores!) One-thing about Made in Mexico radiators/heater cores---they must know what HOT-is about, I've had good-luck with 'em!

It's sad. Once upon a time, I could go in a parts-house with a couple-hunnert(when I was young & single)and come back out with a-fourth of a car, and a new-set of open/box-end wrenches.

Now I go in with that amount, and come-out with a "whiskey-bottle-sized"-sack of miscellaneous---and a bad-attitude for the rest of the month...!☺

Donk - the battery easily sailed into triple-digits, and it wasn't even their 'platinum' line.

Same battery line that I was initially ticked at - having put one in the Ford, thinking with an 8-year warranty, it would be the last battery I would ever need for the remaining life of the truck. When it failed before I thought it should have, the 'ticking' subsided when the receipt showed it had been in service for 11 years at the time of failure.

Wipers were a shock - $20 each, but they were the 'good' ones, and I've started to shy away from refills and just bucking up to get the entire blade assembly - seems nothing interchanges with anything anymore, unlike the prior days when one-size fit all - back in the days where there was ANCO and TRICO, period, and none of this thin-blade, flex-blade, winter blade variation.

Air filter isn't due until spring, along with a tranny fluid pan drop and filter change. Given the ecologically-friendly 4T-65E transmission reportedly made out of eggshells and glass - been treating the tranny as well as I know how.

Have heard good things about DexCool. Intrigued by GM's recommendation to NOT/never-ever use a chemical flush, but if the fluid is fouled, to fill/run/drain with 'clean, drinkable water' until clear. Guess that aluminum is really sensitive stuff. After validating that GM really did get it right with the 100,000 mile plug change interval, willing to believe they got the coolant change interval correct also.

Know what you mean about parts prices - doggone, the expense of maintaining a car is only offset by the sticker shock of buying a newer one. Just tell myself that it still beats walking.

Donk, You got one of these back behind the shed?

http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=37370.0

I have a Classic Farm Tractor book that has a picture of that snowmobile version. These big screws are impressive. Wonder why some one hasn't used the same idea for a pontoon boat.

I think I've noticed something in the marketing strategy of a lot of products. A new high dollar wiper blade or otherwise mundane product appears and is advertised heavily. Then the price wars for that product begin and we all fall for it. Meanwhile the old mundane cheap product declines in quality fast. Kind of like dulling down the razor blades in the '50s.

One of the neatest re-education product maniplations is the 50-50 coolant. That alone has almost doubled the price of full strenght antifreeze.

fxpwt, I visited a buddy's shop and saw he had a fender off a car. I asked if he had taken up body work and he said he was changing a battery.

Good luck with the rest of your projects. If you plan on changing a headlight, it might be a good idea to study up on rear bumper removal!:)

Try Odyssey batteries. I'm sold on them. Thin plates made up with a higher percentage of lead than others is the key. Charges fast and will not sulfate as fast.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/

FXPWT: WHOA-A-A!!! Man, they have become 'proud' of 'em, ain't they? Got one for the Jimmy about 6-months ago, also 'rang-up' in the "three-D's". BUT---I did find a ONE-YEAR-WARRANT-eed(old)tractor-style utility battery, for $87.

(Got a LAWN-tractor bat for, I think, $39.99(?), when NAPA had their start-of-summer sale.)

Wifes' '94 Toyota-truck originally used the RED-Toyota stuff. Flushed it---water ONLY---and replaced with GREEN. Had to change-out a hose later, flushed again, and went with ORANGE Dex-Cool. Of the three, 'Yota-RED ranks 1st, GM-ORANGE a close-second, and never again the "generic"-GREEN. That stuff was just plain-nasty lookin', after only a year.(But the '45 Case LOVED-it♥!)

Wipers. Yeah, I'm overdue for BOTH-vehicles on those. Don't know if I should use the "blade-edge-lube" on the new wipers' edges---or, save it for MYSELF...!

OLD JOHN: Nope! But gimme two-water heater tanks, a bottomless electric bill---for the welding!---an' a updated-version of "The Urban Dictionary" for the swear-words, an' I could MAKE y' one!☺

Have you already seen the original film-to-video with Henry-himself on it?

Sorry, but if my gonads didn't go first---the HEART would sacrifice itself, in-sympathy!☺

48-or-so ago, though?

Yeah, I'd have "bitten"...!

REGRET: JEE-zus Christ! Those plates must be GOLD, instead of LEAD!☺

I was ready for TWO-hunnert---but when I saw the 3 followed by a couple 'non-zeros'---I about passed somethin' that weren't a gas-station...!☺

I'd never even noticed! Thanx, .RICK.!☺

Round 2 with the Impy is complete. I mentioned to a friend that I am invoking the Murtaugh rule (think Lethal Weapon) - "I'm getting too old for this *stuff*".

Fan belt was a treat - whoever coined the term 'serpentine' got that right, as the routing around all the pulleys is crooked'er than a barrel of snakes, or in the spirit of the political season - a roomful of politicians. Of course, the tensioning pulley was all kinds of easy to work with (NOT!). Resorted to using a pipe wrench and a cheater for adequate persuasion - 'that just ain't right' collides with 'be results oriented'. Perhaps an improvement over the v-belts, but certainly not as user-friendly.

Opted to replace the thermostat while everything was apart. Other than it being in the lower hose, instead of the more-traditional-American upper hose location - not too bad. Getting the air out of the system during the filling was a chore - fill, start engine, run up to 3000 rpm and down to idle several times, stop engine, repeat. Decided things were good enough to let the reservoir jug do its job.

Wiper blades were another opportunity to excel - doggone, had to break down and dig out the instruction - lift, slide, pop, snap, clip - in that order. Geez.

Battery was a good call - really rolls the motor over now. Instead of the old-school coat of grease on the terminals, or the newer school treated felt washers, gonna give the CRC Battery Terminal Protector spray a whirl at preventing the typical corrosion.

Now, it's changing the oil and greasing the Ford and the Jeep, along with a good wash-n-wax for all - then winter can 'bring it on'. :-)

fxpwt, The Pontiac requires removal of the lower engine mount to get the serpentine in place. I had to do that in the rain on a parking lot one time. Removal of a bracket spacer and a 38 x5/8" screwdriver loaded with a 300lb passerby did the trick. :)

FXPWT: Would you prefer WITHOUT-a starter-system?☺!

(Swear-to-God, I'd be layin' on the floor DEAD from laughter, if that thing had launched him "To The MOON, Alice!"...☺!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHq7nfEkzpI&feature=g-hist

Heheheh - yeah, Donk - what used to pass for 'that's the way it's always been done' now throws all kinds of safety flags and opportunities for funniest videos winner up.

Was in a public restroom a while back - had that big continuous roll of toilet paper that one tore to length. Given the absence of reading material to otherwise occupy my mind - got to looking at the dispenser, first trying to figure out how I'd fit one of those in my home bathroom to reduce maintenance efforts and incidents of zero inventory on hand when most needed.

Then I got to looking at the exposed serrated plastic blade used to tear the paper thinkin', man, if this were a machine, OSHA would certainly have required a guard on that thing. :-)

FXPWT: How to fit it into your home-setup? Dunno, maybe hang it overhead on a swivel, like a hose-reel? Boy, that'd be a "bear" to lift-up there to re-load though, wouldn't it?☺

.RICK. : Well, at least you know you were CLEAN---I mean, hey---a BLUE-flame, y' know. NO-impurities there, bro!☺

Shhhhh---The gov'ment don't know about that sharp edge yet since they can't find their hiney with both hands--no need for a sharp edge. They find out about it and we'll all be carrying our own paper around.

WHOKNOWS?-here has a valid-point---although, the Gov likely uses one o' those bidets.

But they still need US, to pat-dry themselves on.

In-deed, if they had to use one of their own for such? Things would change FAST, guaranteed!☺

(No-no! Now, fellas/gals---let's be fair! WHOKNOWS?-comment IS valid, since it concerns dirt, grime, and a hands-on effort.☺ Although a motor-driven hot-air dryer would've been a plus...!☺)

Hmmm. Idea for a more efficiently designed Bidet (Foot Washer to some).

How about one of those wiggle waggle nozzels they use in a car wash (with the same pressure) with maybe an application of wax (optional of course)and then one of those blow dry gadets at the end, that would make your cheeks shake like they wuz in a tornado, for a finale?

Have they started regulating them Sears Roebuck catalogs yet? The recycling place kind of frowns when they're brought in used though.

JC Whitney/Warshawsky & Co.-catalogs work better than anything, in a pinch!(Ooooh! Bad-choice of vernacular, there!☺) Just be sure to avoid the gummed-lip of the mail-order envelope...!

Oh, and .RICK.---For the VERY-elite, a selection of a THIRD-option: A popcorn cob---shelled, of course.☺ They're practically WHITE, and tough as---NAILS...!☺

WHEELS: Yeah, they're a BIG-improvement over the old-style UPRIGHT WALL MOUNTED-models---even if you DO hafta raise your foot to use, as-opposed to the "step-in"-option of the "oldies"!

You could even wash your hands AND elbows at the same-time, with those old-Royal-brand "personal-needs"-centers...!☺

Boy, that soap-cake they used in 'em though wasn't worth washin' with. Hard, no-lather. Smelled like moth-balls.

(Paradiclorobenzene, I think? Yeah, I was worse than FXPWT, when it came to sittin' an' readin'!☺)

But then again, I NEVER suffered with insect-bites for a LONG-time afterwards...!

Oh, and those 360-degree urinals, w/water spray. Man, those were the "berries"!

Never could understand why they didn't put the "GoJo with Pumice" over there next to the little waist-level hand-washers, though...???☺

Gee, Donk - you're on quite the roll (ar,ar,ar)

Always liked the Scott 1000-sheet roll myself. Tough enough to avoid the risk of penetration such as one risks with the fluffy, cushy "don't squeeze the Charmin" stuff, and plenty of material so's one isn't changing out empties too often.

My travels to Europe previously mentioned, Italy in particular, were eye-opening in several ways, one of which was restroom facilities.

Unisex bathrooms in the public places were, um, interesting. No urinals, and each stall was completely enclosed - no gaps above or below, a complete room to yourself. But, by golly, when your business was done, you best be all pulled up and buttoned up when you opened the door and came out, cuz there was no telling who might be at the sink fixing her makeup, hair, etc., with a smirk on her face as she now knew who unloaded that tremendous windy.

Bathroom in the hotel was extremely small - heck the whole room was not much bigger than my 9x11 dorm room back at school. The toilet there had the drain in the front - so instead of a traditional ker-plop, more along the lines of thunk-slide-splash. No tellin' how many times I had to flush to erase the evidence.

The biggest 'oh-hell-no' came at the fabrication shop. Restroom had partitions but no doors, wide open for full inspection to anyone who walked in. There was a porcelain tray cast into the floor, drain running off to who knows where, with two feet-print marks indicating where to position oneself. No tree or anything to lean up against. One had to manually open and close a gate valve to 'flush'.

Basically came down to - if you have pride and feelings of shyness - better lose 'em, or learn to hold it.

OMG, that reminded me of my first-weeks of recruit at Parris! NO---as in, ZERO!---privacy.

I stayed constipated for almost a full-freakin' week, before my---"body!---said, "To-HELL with pride!"---and "got back on-track"! And NOTHIN' to read, either!☺

But eventually? Developed a conversational-firewall, like, "Hey, bro! Hows' ya' doin'? Wonder if they'll feed us better, once we're REAL-Marines?" And pretty-soon? Hey, life went on, just another "duty for the day"!

And, NO, the menu didn't change for the better---but, it DID keep a fella 'regular', that's for sure!

OK, I'm gettin' WAY-Y-Y out in left-field here, I'll 'reel-it-in' again---but, boy has it been fun...!☺

Alrighty then, shifting gears a bit - decided to burn some dust off the 'hi-fi'.

The music of choice was among some of the first CD's I acquired - Freedom Rock. Figured y'all might enjoy the well-worn and all too familiar commercial I scrounged up - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eGWW8KOQio

Got a chuckle through this, as I remembered my dad's reaction when I told him how many CD's I had acquired up to that point in time - he initially lit up and thought I was a flippin' financial genius. When I showed him one - I could see that he found his measure of my intelligence premature and irrationally exuberant as he asked, 'what is that, some kind of record?'. :-)

fxpwt, Did they leave out the part about "Just pay seperate shipping and handling?

OJ - seems they snuck in the 'plus $3 shipping and handling' in at the end, when the announcer was rattling on in rapid-speak. Took me a couple of times through to catch it, though.

I had an eyebrow-raising moment about the part - remember the good ol' days, you know - war, protests ... going to jail. Ah, um, OK.

Good pivot-point there, FXPWT! Let's get back-to-basics here, again! Good-times, bad-times, worse times---and now, NO times left anymore!☺

Here's what OLD JOHN should take up in his ample spare time. Gotta LOVE the "real-V8-sound" it still-has, after it's been "morph'ed"-DOWN in size!(Must be an Ed Iskenderian-"Isky"-cam in there, fer shure!)

Long-vid, the first few minutes he explains the technical-aspects, for the "budding-builder"---but if you skip to around 3:20 is where he starts & runs it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9zt3SF_Flc&feature=related

Donk, That would soup up Granny's treadle machine to the max, especially if it had a little of Granny's ruematism tonic pured in!

A few years back, someone here in semo, [I forgot who] was said to have built an exact miniture running scale model farmall about the size of a big peddle tractor.

I've seen some of the miniture Titan class rigs and the such but they were just look alikes made with all sorts of parts.

Donknome-2

Jim needs to install a pair of 'Hollywood Mufflers' on that thing.

Wonder how many hours he has in that project?

Hmmm, 44cc (2.65 cubic inches in American terms) would meet the requirements for unlicensed scooters.

Sure sounds a lot better than the asthmatic mosquito whines of the present 'gonna grow up to be a real bike someday' ring-tingers.

Once was told that the V8 was the perfect engine setup, saving engine bay real estate as compared to the inline or horizontally-opposed versions, with cylinders firing every 90-degrees of crank rotation for balance and torque ...

FXPWT: Keen-observation, there, on the scooter-angle!(And, imagine the "Chick-Magnet"-appeal it would have!☺!) If this fella could just find a relatively-simple way of cooling that "V-8"---I'd see a BIG-increase in his retirement-portfolio!

WHEELS: I was curious, too? I even went back and double-checked---he never did say how many hours total?(Christ, I wish I could afford even a good-USED Bridgeport---but I can't even "swing" a used "wanna-be-a-B-port"-anymore!☺) Ten-years ago, it was a(real)possibility---but, "no-mo' "☺!

OLD JOHN: You've got me curious, as to if/who/where. I'm gonna poke around, and see if I can find out? Was it a "modern"(like a 560, w/red/white sides)Farmall? Or was it designed around the "old" M/H-series?

I'd POSSIBLY-seen it---or a variant---of such, at Pinckeyville a couple-years back. It very-well may have been one of the Titan-class rigs you speak of, but BOY, was I salivating!

I was so-dry afterwards, that I actually drank a PEPSI, instead of waiting for a Coke on the Missouri-side comin' back...!☺

I know this is not old but thought you gadget heads might like to have one of these around the farm.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/L3j6HaAieEU?rel=0

Donknome-2

Your thread is getting so danged long it is starting to cause a pause when you press end, just for it to reach the bottom of the posts.

.RICK. : In re: to the use of Diet Coke---"normal"-Coke worked good, too, esp. with a bit of sand/sawdust/oil-dry, at times, for the "rough-spots".

(For a few-years after I "got back home", I was a FF/PMD-with the then-still newly-formed North St.Louis County department, in the early-'70's. Yeah, back when it was literally an exclusive place to develop in, and was referred to by it's original-names of divisions, like Black Jack, Normandy, etc., instead of "DON'T GO THERE!!!", like today. Didn't take long for IT to go "sour", and ME to find a much-better/safer line of work, though.)

WHEELS: Yeah, I know! But, STILL we come-back to torture our arthritic-fingers, don't we?

(FXPWT must be the "baby" of the bunch, with the best-joints! Just LOOK at how-much, AND how exact, that-sucker types!)

On the OTHER-hand? He MIGHT be usin' "voice-recognition"-tactics on us...???☺

RICK and WHEELS: I was amazed at how CLEAN the roadside was in that link---until I realized, it WASN'T in this country!☺

Man, we've become such slobs in the last several-years, haven't we? Especially our Interstate. Looks like a scene from "Escape From St. Louis", or somethin'.

Eh? Y' say it HASN'T been made yet? What's the hold-up?(sigh)All those tourism-dollars, gone over our heads...!☺

Spank, Good to hear from you. My father in law told about the time he shot at some ducks. He used the mule for cover to get close to the pond and fired off from under the mule. That mule jumped sky high and broke wind, came down with a rear hoof knocking the gun out of his hand as the ducks flew away.

Ok, you had to be there and hear him tell it.:)

Donk, I think that was based on H or M Farmall but keep in mind it was hearsay.

Wheels, We are treated to the now old school remote grass and brush cutter where the operator has to pay a lot of attention lest he mow a mailbox.

Rick, Coke works well on the windshield to clear off that oily haze.

Speaking of oil, I've noticed that on some of the old TV I like to watch there are sometimes aerial shots of cops chasing bad guys. Adam 12 comes to mind. The California highways are typical of those across the nation in that they show a heavy black streak down the center of the lane.

Ahh, but evidence of history confirming most everything going down the road back then had a potential for leaking..oil!

Coke.... "The Real Thing" is my favorite non-alcoholic drink. Those first couple of swallows really clear the flim out of one's throat.

Rode on a Royal Dutch Airlines plane once. Coke was a buck 50 and Heinekin was six bits. That made the choice of beverages easy and the 8+ hour ride enjoyable. Better to have an isle seat though.

Wheels, It taxes my mind to understand the reason of the pricing. ;)

Old John,

I think, knowing where they were going to dump us off, the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce might have subsidized the beer to make us feel better about parting with our money when we arrived. :-)

Wheels, They wanted to keep your mind off the hub caps! :)

Time for me to go dream about catching chickens the way my g.g.g.granddads did it.

Old John,

I still have an hours work to do. But will sleep in tomorrow morning.

Unfortunately for the mechanical-world, this man is one of a dying-breed. The "youngster" helping him will likely do OK---but, he'll NEVER match the quintessential-skills, of the "Old-School"-mechanic. You can see it in his eyes, and expressions.

Some of us MAY-even see a bit of ourselves, eh?

(How skinny are ya', OLD-JOHN???☺!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOFQklwf7OU&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Me'L - no problems encountered here. One other suggestion seen was to clean the key, also saw a recommendation to not have a big heavy keyring as it stresses the lock cylinder - but that point seems like advice after the fact.

I'd opt for bypassing the entire system - the challenge would be to find someone around these parts qualified to do such work - not sure I'd want Gus the cigarette-smokin', gas-passin' grease monkey foolin' around with wiring. Maybe one of the local stereo shops with experience in installing car alarms?

Heheheh - brings to mind a similarity to computer passwords. Once upon a time, didn't need no stinkin' password, mainly because most who used computers were trustworthy or because the user packed the entire program and data in on one of those stylish 5-1/4" DSDD floppies. Then passwords became commonplace.

Now, the flippin' passwords have to be a gadzillion characters long with certain quantities caps, lower case, numbers, and special characters required. Now that I've finally got my brain cell count down to a manageable level, it's getting hard to remember all this crap.

Me'lange, I've yet to hear that complaint although I got a no start SOS from wife this morning and it was earlier than I normally come alive. I went with tool to tighten battery cable and hammer just in case I needed to temper my temper. Couldn't see the starter must less get a swing at it with the hammer. Tow home and two hours later I managed to find and replace the starter.

I know there is a locking plate just above the lock cylinder in the steering column. It is held in place against spring tension with a lock ring and a nut opposite just behind the wheel. If the nut in that position behind the wheel, well then you have the reason for all kinds of problems.

Sorry I just couldn't resist the ole "loose nut behind the wheel" joke. :)

Seriously, The pass key system is pretty reliable and the security light blinks on my car for a while just as a way to say the system is working and the bulb is good. I would have bubba check it out, he gets a bad rapp sometimes and is usually smarter than some think. Also you can go to some of the parts stores and get a free scan that I think would reveal a trouble code if the problem is in that system.

Donk, Did I watch the right one, starting a Cat pony, then the engine of a road grader?

Me"Lange, Archie Bunker once said everyone knows colored people are good with cars. [or something to that effect.] I suspect that in the same spirit you give us gearheads too much credit. My old Buick has decided not to turn off the lights at night when I get home and not to blow heat at my feet on the way home. I have no clue. Suspect I missed my chance with the clunker buy out.

I'm pretty good with nuts and bolts and normal diagnosis, but lacking in second guessing the complex integration of so many silly to me computer stuff on today's cars.

I'm trying to think what would Click and Clack have to say.

OLD JOHN: Yep, you got the right one. Was there another one you liked better?(Yeah, there were some nice "optional-choices" in the panel, and they MAY have been greasy, but still...?☺)

ME'LANGE: It's NOT limited to singles "of the feminine-gland". It applies to BOTH-genders. If they still made vehicles the way they STOPPED making them in the early-'80's? Dealership-mechanics would be obsolete still today, at least for me.(That danged replacement-key would set you back a minimum of $150-bucks-plus now, I'd bet? Maybe not?)

When literally everything went to electric---as in, windows, seats, "theft-proof" accessories, monitors for this, that, and all bodily functions included---I had to throw-in that ol' towel myself. And, when at least HALF of your exterior/interior panels/trims are nothin' but PLASTIC? Self-repair is a moot-point, anymore.

This especially seems to apply to YOUR-problem. It may be something as simple as a loose/dirty connection, but I hate to say, yours sounds pretty-'deep' in the system. It very-likely is 'only' the chip in the key. And those ain't cheap, either. My-'00 model Jimmy---made just barely BEFORE the 'chip' was standard---has a 5-second 'systems-check'-delay before starting, too. But, nothing like you describe. That, I would DEFINITELY need to fix.

Sorry, ma'am---but I'm gonna need to point you in the direction of a factory-dealership-mechanic. No-"Gus the gas-passing, cigarette-smoking, grease-monkey"-like FXPWT mentions. Any-"savings" would be throwin' good-money-after-bad, I'm afraid.

Besides, maybe they can unlock that security-code on your radio while they're at it!☺

By the way: Have you ever needed to shut the engine off, and just as quickly(within less than a minute)need/try to re-start again? Does it still have that much 'reset'-time?

That just don't sound good. PLEASE---keep us informed, if/when the results of the 'auto-biopsy' come-back.

And stop bein' such a stranger. Stop-in more often.

Believe it or not, the 'bar'-around here stays pretty(basically!)clean---though, very-seldom honest...☺!

Y' know, I just got finished lookin' at the system on my 2000-Jimmy---and it appears a previous-owner has ALREADY installed a "NewRockies"-kit with a by-pass chip.

Man, we NEVER stop learning, regardless of age/experience---and esp. EGO.....!☺

Donknome-2

There are a certain amount of problems related to all of the electronics on an automobile, but would your rather have one of these new fangled machines with all of the gimcracks on them that get an easy 200,000 miles and sometimes 300,000 miles and more, or would you rather go back to the 50's with a simpler automobile that needed a major overhaul when you got much over 60,000 on them as a general rule?

With our increased driving habits of today, I think it wouuld be a no brainer. Today's automobiles overall are probably a much better value.... for all of our carping about them. Something starts acting up on my car I open the hood, give everything a bewildered look and call my friendly service writer at the dealership and make an appointment. I get there SHE gives me a car to drive and I go home until I get a call. After, I tell her if it is not going to be ready by day after tomorrow you do understand that me and this loaner are going to make a three or four hundred mile round trip and she says.... put some miles on the sucker.

I'm with Donk - the late 80s / early 90s seemed to be the best of both worlds - enough technology for enhanced mechanical and electrical reliability and reduced troubleshooting time, but not so much complexity that one requires high dollar training and tools.

IIRC, the second generation of on-board diagnostics (OBD-II) came out around 1994, which seemed to mark an acceleration of complexity as computers gained a stronger foothold. I read a several years back - before the BlueTooth / GPS / Sync / social network craze - that Ford put more computers in its vehicles than Dell, HP, Apple, etc. made, combined. Can only imagine that imbalance now.

OBD-II is really nice in that it used a universal reader that displayed text, where the previous generation (OBD-I) required a code reader generally specific to that manufacturer in which one had to count blinky-lights or beeps, then use the handy dandy decoder sheet to see what it means. I think I gave $150 for the OBD-II reader, about $35 for the OBD-I reader for Fords.

I bought a new key and fob for the Impy, just to have an extra set. The key blank was about $20, the fob with the door locks, trunk, and remote start features was about $45 - both from online vendors. Programming could be done by following rather tedious directions buried deep in the owner's manual. For the key - had a local shop cut the blank, then one has to put a known good key in the ignition, roll to On, wait a bit, then remove the good key, insert the new key, and roll it to On within 15 seconds. For the fob, similar procedure using the Driver Instrument Console. I think there was also something about having to rub one's tummy, pat one's head, and jump up-n-down all at the same time somewhere in the instructions. :-)~

As I hear tell, the complexity continues to grow, as my model year ('08) was reportedly the last year one could do this programming oneself. The newer models require a trip to the dealer to use the Tech scanner tool. Looked into getting one of these for my own general use and mischief - however, these go for $2,500 - $3,000 on EBay. Survey SAYS - errrrnt.

I think Chrysler kinda started things off with electronic ignition in 1972/3. Now some 40 years later, vehicles have multiple computers with communications networks. I would hope they would buy into the idea of plug-n-play parts that are non-proprietary, readily available, and relatively inexpensive. Guess we'll just have to hold our breath. :-)~

Once again, which makes twice in one post, have to agree with Donk - some of this complexity may be driven as a means to garner return business and related revenue for the stealership.

fxpwt, The new format for onboard diagnostics was a government mandate and only applied to federal emmisions issues. It did over the years seem to help in synchronizing the nomenplature of those code cards. Fast forward and $3,000 scan tools could read all model info but some areas still required dealership interaction. I'm not sure where it has led since I've been out of the loop since early '80s.

FXPWT & WHEELS: You BOTH have good, valid points. I agree with WHEELS, on the matter of the dealer-service dept., since I've become physically-unable to do the "down-under-lookin'-up"-portions of the repairs in the last-two years or so. And, I DO like those 110-grand-plus spark plugs---even though I will need the pro-shop to change them, seeing as how 3-freaking-tons of wire & accessories will/would need to be, uh---"relocated" temporarily, for access.

What I miss the most is the ability to adapt, interchange, and/or "make-it-fit" with a few-minor "alterations" involving a drill, file, small-"BFH"---and occasionally, a fast-trip through the chuck of my "plus/minus-.050-at-best"-lathe.(Like MYSELF---it's old, worn-out, seen it's best-days---but stamped, "PAID-IN-FULL".☺)

I've made some beautiful, "sweet-fitting" custom-fitted AIR-cleaners for 25 h.p.-and-under small-engines, from the INSIDES of Toyota/Nissan OIL-filters. Just chuck-'em-up "safe-tight", spin the crimp out/off the threaded-end, an' pull-out the "goodies". Plus, the left-over shell can be used as a rain-cap.

(Just like butcherin' hogs---use everything PLUS the squeal!☺)

One of my 'pet-peeves' of even the older GM-products: They've got/had the chintzy-est excuse for a DOOR-HINGE-PIN/BUSHING-combo I've ever seen! My wifes' Toyota has pins fully-TWICE the size of a non-commercial GM-product, as did an old '79 Ford 150 that I'd once had.

But I solved it about a year-back. Pulled the OEM-pins/bushings out. Re-drilled the holes to accept new-bushings machined-down/bored from a hunk of old-Monel, from the stem of a chlorine-valve. Inserted a 3"x3/8" Grade-5 machine bolt in/through each hinge.

They don't be squeakin', crunchin', or droopin' no-moe, jack...!☺

ME'LANGE: Yeah, a radio is just "a formality", agreed---at least, for me. The wife can't seem to drive without one, though. And since she seems to do quite-well with I-270-traffic---only threatens to kill-someone once, maybe twice, each trip, as-opposed to ME threatening every 15-seconds?---well, I figure, "why mess with success", y' know?☺

Well, that, and there's just somethin' about that thing that's literally part of the dash, gettin' a free-ride "just-because".

And your price of $15-bucks makes it a VERY-good investment, in-deed...

Donk, You still got this rig?

http://www.lilligren.com/Redneck/images/redneck_forklift_1.jpg

OLD JOHN: Call it "redneck" or whatever one wants---but I call it "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome!"☺

Probably could use a bit-more ballast in it's hind-end, and the hydraulics a bit-over-estimated---but then again, I dunno? Those headers ain't nothin' light, for sure?

But still? Wish I'D thought of that!

Actually, if I ever "get-rich-again"? A combine "gear" without the header just might be somethin' worthy of scouring salvage yards/estate sales for, with this in mind...!

I knew a guy that spent consideral time and effort adding a shaft for an outside transmission gear to make a combine all wheel drive via chain and a duece and a half differential.

Next year another guy did the same with a hydrolic driven gear box.

Yep, The combine grave yard would be a good place to play "what you could do..".

One of my many rules-of-thumb is that one has to be smarter than the machine.

Score a big *fail* today.

Been running the tires about 2 psi under the recommended 32psi due to the previous set wearing out in the center first, the observation that I could'a got another 5,000 miles or 10% life before the treadwear indicator touch-down if the set had worn evenly, a set of tires pushing the 4-digit dollar mark - my bad for not checking out replacement tire costs for 18" rims before buying a sport-packaged, premium trim-level sedan in Illinois for $3,000 less than the same sedan vanilla-packaged in Cape, and my naturally bird-like ways *cheap* *cheap* *cheap*.

In a twist of fate, the TPMS (tire-pressure monitor system) reads a consistent 2 psi below my trusted tire-gauge reading, further adding to the upcoming problem.

All well and good, until today when it turned cold. Pulled out of the parking lot, and this annoying dash light comes on, with the friendly information console berating me to check my tires - all of them, as they all were reading 26psi, apparently below some pre-determined limit.

It's been said that ignorance is bliss - as the car drove fine, and I would have been much happier not knowing anything was amiss. After about 10 miles, the light and annoying messages went away, as the system was now happy that the pressures were up to 28.

The challenge of the evening is whether to air the tires up to make the computer happy, or just strategically apply electrician tape or other screening media over the dashboard annoyances.

:-)~

On the other hand, if this is the biggest problem encountered - it's still been a pretty good day.

fxwt, I guess everyone differs in their logic regarding tires. The last time I got tires they were installed with the pressure the door sticker indicated, 5 psi less than what the tire sticker recommended.

I think one has to consider fuel economy, traction and ride vs tire life. I generally inflate to max stated on the tire. Seems tires always manage to lose a little pressure and that way I don't have to check them so often.

I managed to MaGiver the headlamp headache by pulling the little light sensor on the dash out of it's socket and jumping across the terminals. Now instead of the automatic feature that was flashing the lights on and off in daytime and refusing to go out after the car was shut off, lights work ok with the manual switch. Now if I can get the blower motor to work manually since when I checked the control module alone is over $200.

What I have trouble getting my pea brain around is the idea that the full sized 94 luxury car gets over 30mph highway and a suitable smaller replacement gets less. I'm considering spending nearly half what the old car is worth and try to get another 120,000 miles or so.

With my luck a suv driven by a cell phone or an untested old codger would run over it resulting in an insurance check for less than I spent for repairs. :)

"untested old codger"

Nah Old John.... your odds are pretty good that won't happen. I don't drive around Cape area all that much.

I do know what you mean about the insurance deal though. The officer who did the VIN number inspection for my latest aquistion was telling me about the older model Mercedes Diesel he had purchased at an estate sale for very little money. Which was more money than the insurance company wanted to pay him for it after the damages exceeded the insurance company numbers for the car. It seems some guy from Argentina in a rental car and in a hurry to get to the airport to catch a plane rear ended him.

"untested old codger"

Just checking to see if you were reading! :)

Several years ago I read quite a bit about stuff like that [I think was in Motor Age] involving folks with restored cars still being considered for what the title indicated value wise. Once the thing is worth quite more than that, insurance is available to provide proper coverage, but for the average poor boy that has his uncle's old truck shined up and running like a top, well he'll pay the clunker rate and get the same in case of loss.

The article used "rear ended by a Ford Fairmont". :)

MELANGE: Thanks for the update! Glad you didn't resort to pullin' out every hair on your head for a "solution"!☺

Look at the plus-side: Now you have a spare "Door-Only"-key!

(And don't lock it INSIDE the car for safekeeping, either...!)

FXPWT: I once used those little "smiley-face" stickers to cover my "check-engine" light, and/or any other light that got in my way.

But I had to stop---all those smileys were making me feel depressed, so's I went back to the tape/felt-tip solution.

Except for those REALLY-annoying flashing-red ones.

I used a paint-marker on those...☺

OLD JOHN: Double-throw-double-pole switches with a center-neutral are your friend!☺

Dashboard may look like mission control when you're done---but it'll be "unique"!

Buddy of mine "modified" his dashboard with those cheap-little Wally-World switches, with the plastic-bodies and little "pilot-lights" in 'em when you'd turn 'em on.

For some strange reason, the heat from the pilots tended to fuse the switches into "Perma-ON"-position after a long-drive?

But other than that? They LOOKED-purty all warped together there on the dash...☺

~bump~ For Dr. Doom's conspiracy theory. :0)

Missouri secession petition:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-state-missouri-peacefully-secede...

OJ - figuring the recommendations are a one-size-fits-all best-guess based on assumptions about average driving.

Suspect for a given recommended pressure, that those who drive short trips around town would experience more wear at the edges due to all the corners turned along with the tires never fully heating up - thus needing a bit more than recommended pressure. Those who drive a higher proportion of highway miles would experience wear more towards the center, perhaps needing a bit less than recommended.

Have made it a point to have a quick look whenever I warsh the car (yes, I put an 'r' in warsh - makes up for the Northerners who leave the 'r' out of quatter, you know, the 25-cent piece) - tweaking pressure 1 or 2 psi as needed, and also checking for early warning any alignment issues.

Part of my philosophy to keep a check on the small things, before they sum up to big things that drive one to costly decisions - like trading.

Used to hear people joke that they always traded when the ashtrays got full. Suggest GM is missing out on an important trigger opportunity for sales, as the Impy has no ashtrays. :-)~

"I'm considering spending nearly half what the old car is worth and try to get another 120,000 miles or so." -- Posted by Old John on Mon, Dec 10, 2012, at 9:46 PM

Eh, if you have confidence in your current ride - I'd say, 'go for it'. By the time you figure sales tax and then the annual property tax difference along with depreciation for something newer - fixing the current ride may not be as expensive as initially thought.

Had a red '90 Honda CRX-HF - the economy version of the then-relatively popular two-seater. Gave $1600 for it at auction, it was soon totalled after getting T-boned at an intersection. Insurance settlement essentially made it a free car with some boot leftover, and the bashed in passenger door had sealed up tight with window intact in the wreck, so I left it alone.

Bonus - now that it was an even smaller car, found my personal bubble had expanded while going on down the road, cuz whenever other drivers saw that door, they gave up a little extra space. :-)

At any rate, getting a-round to making a point, the A/C had failed along the way, and I opted to invest about $600 in a compressor, condenser, and miscellaneous parts to get it going again. Got quite the ribbing about putting that kind of money in a $300 car - but hey, it made the next 100,000 miles more enjoyable, in addition to the extra smiles of entertainment watching people's expressions on seeing a rolling circus act - big ol' bear packed into a little ol' roller skate, just waiting for the wheels to come off.

Donk, A three position pole switch, an old fashioned resistor and a relay may well be coming to a car near me! :)

fxpwt, I drove a salvage title car dang near 300,000 miles before it was rear ended and the check was enough to refix it with enough left over to sell it cheap and buy the one owner car I speak of. It belonged to the dealers mother and had never been driven in the rain and was always garage kept. Also never driven at night.

Now I know why, the windshield leaks and there's that headlamp problem.

Back in the day when Hyundai stood for Hope You Understand Nothing's Drivable And Inexpensive, nobody wanted a wrecked Hyundai. A fellow I know who rebuilds wrecked cars started buying lightly damaged Hyundais after they started their quest to be a quality nameplate in America. By the early '90s they were pretty good cars but the stigma remained and he could by one that was totaled due to a damaged grill and headlamps via the salvage pools for 3 or 4 hundred $. He drove them, sold them to his friends and family and everyone came out very well.

Now days they want nearly a new price for one with over 50,000 miles.

Heheheh - good acronym there, OJ.

Back when the Ford was less than its current reliable self - got ribbed with all the acronyms - Found On the Road Dead, F***ed-Over Rebuilt Dodge, Fix Or Repair Daily, Failure Of Research & Development, Fast Only Running Downhill, etc.

Took awhile to find a snappy comeback - then I saw an old 60s advertisement in a magazine - Finest Offered Ride and Drive. Ahhhh, now that's the ticket.

Of course, have'ta agree with the Jeep acronym - Just Empty Every Pocket.

Now that the Impy's getting on up there in miles and given its Active Fuel Management that deactivates 3 of the 6 cylinders, getting to the point of realizing that the Car Has Extensive Valve Rattle On Long Extended Trips.

Over a day for the Chevrolet acronynm to sink in in. I got distracted wondering why the AFM would cause valve rattle.

My brother always came back with First On Race Day although I can't remember his Ford ever being so. He never could keep up with cousins' 265ci MFI Chevys. :)

I've had some Fords but other than the Thunderbird they were pretty mundane. My uncle laughed at the Mustang calling it a Falcon make over and the Maverick refused to give me a logical reason to get rid of it. I was starting to warm up the Galaxy when someone wanted it more than the money they offered.

Rick, Not sure if it's factual, but I was told as a kid that in the early days of cars some people felt they should on the left so they could better watch the ditch and then as more cars began to meet each other they started watching each other from the right side, therefore the english started out on the right and the Americans started out on the left. :)

May have to do with mounting one's horse always from the left side?

Rick, When walking on the sidewalk with a lady, I was taught the man should always be on the street side so the lady could be away from the mud puddle splashed by the passing buggy. Maybe the same thing applies when driving cars meeting cars, having the lady farthest from the splash of the meeting car.

Of course that only dictates the drivers are placed on the side closest center road, and has no bearing on which side of the road they drive on. :)

When watching the old movies, notice how often drivers enter and exit from the passenger side. I was told that some cars back then [it might have been Dodge that started it] only had door key cylinders on the passenger side as a part of a saftey inititive considering it less dangerous to use the right door than open the left door into oncoming traffic.

"Didn't drivers of Covered Wagons heading West during the Gold Rush steer from the middle ?" / by .Rick Lately on Fri, Dec 14, 2012, at 11:52 PM

I don't know exactly WHY I found this amusing---but for some reason, I'm STILL "LMAO", as they put it???☺

I think the Germans claim to have "invented" the Automobile, but then again the French do to. Germany has a rich heritage of fine automobiles and French cars seem to go down quicker.

Gentlemen driving fancy carriages drove from the left side, the chances of staying in control was enchanced by being center of a rough riding general purpose wagon. Or at least it sounds reasonable. :)

The surprise of our local Barney Fife was the talk of the town when he pulled over our mailman in his newly aquired right hand drive Jeep taking his first grader to school. :)

Why are motorcycle sidecars always on the right? Or are they?

Old John,

Could the same thing be said for their ladies?

Some of life's hardest lessons are self taught. -- Posted by .Rick Lately on Fri, Dec 14, 2012, at 8:03 PM

Heheheh - GMTA, or at least real similar. My favorite twist on the ideal is 'experience is the result of bad judgement'.

Been my observation that the manner in which one shares this experience makes all the difference between being seen as a flippin' genius, or just another fool who happened to encounter the problem first.

Back in my programming days, when PCs were a new novelty and all serious work was done on mainframes, was approached at the lunch table by a relatively new-from-school, cutting edge of 'with it' and 'knew it' and wasn't afraid to tell everyone about it colleague. He had been struggling with a routine that tracked serial numbers of product - a six-digit number based on year and production sequence. The routine returned bogus numbers, even negative. That he was even asking for help told me a deadline was uncomfortably near. I casually flipped through the code, pointed out a specific change to make in how the variable was declared, then non-chalantly went back to my original preoccupation with lunch.

Of course, the solution worked, and he now viewed me as the flippin' resident Fortran 77 genius. Had I shared that I had gained my experience in the same exact head-banging manner - just another fool with too much hat and too few cattle ...

Shifting gears a bit -

http://www.oopslist.com/yeah_its_a_woman.jpg

http://www.oopslist.com/yeah_its_a_woman2.jpg

http://www.oopslist.com/yea%20its%20a%20woman3.jpg

http://www.oopslist.com/yea%20its%20a%20woman4.jpg

http://www.oopslist.com/yea%20its%20a%20woman5.jpg

http://www.oopslist.com/yea%20its%20a%20woman6.jpg

http://www.oopslist.com/yea%20its%20a%20woman7.jpg

http://www.oopslist.com/yea%20its%20a%20woman8.jpg

If the links don't work directly - just go to www.oopslist.com - lots of relatively interesting mainly aircraft-based photo and video *fails*.

Sharing a recently encountered problem. Noticed the vehicle starting to operate sluggishly Thursday. Immediately suspected bad fuel, or maybe a virus picked up wirelessly.

By Thursday evening, stability control warning light was on, vehicle functioning poorly. Shut vehicle down for the night. Friday morning, warning lights abundant, all stability control gone, vehicle took extended encouragement to pipe off. Vehicle inoperable to conduct path to professional remedy, owner too cheap to pay for tow truck.

Vehicle left on charger all day Friday, attempts to get up and running unsuccessful, fluid leakage observed - colors known not by what they were, but more by what they were not - 'snot clear, 'snot yellow, 'snot green, 'snot brown, with a trace of 'snot red likely due to blowing one's trumpet too loudly. Also observed pressure relief devices actuating violently at both ends.

Attempts to remedy throughout Friday were unsuccessful, as the on-hand remedy expiration dates were from '09. Sometimes no solution is better than an out-of-date solution, based on prior "Experience is the result of bad judgement".

By Saturday, systems seemed to auto-correct and kick into 'limp' mode, much better than the 'all but dead' mode of Friday. Random fluid expulsion stopped, pressure relief devices holding. Current remedy solutions obtained and administered, although thanks to current restrictions requiring a government-approved purchase order - solutions were not of the strength needed for immediate relief and cost-effective remedy.

Thankfully, today (Sunday), the vehicle started and ran fine, although not quite at its full firing on all eight. This situation will hopefully continue to improve as good fuel and adequate recharging methods continue.

On the bright side, consider it a win-win that my calling wasn't the medical profession :-)~

fxpwt,

I was going to suggest the junk yard a good ways into this report, then got a handle what was going on and began to wonder if stripping off the useful parts and donating the balance of the carcass to scientific research was in order. :-) :-)

On the serious side better be careful if you have the flu. I have heard of two deaths associated with it. One a distant relative who was only 46 years old. This year's strain seems to be on the serious side. Good luck on getting back to full speed.

fxpwt, Great post! Also thanks for the links, beats the jell out of what's on TV these days.

Get well soon and write some more!

It's time to send this thread into retirement.

VOYAGER: Tried that once, when it hit 1,000---these guys AND gals wouldn't let that happen.☺ Seems like it's one of the few-places that we can leave our politics outside the doors anymore.

I wouldn't blame the Editor/Staff if he/they decided to "retire" the WHOLE-FREAKIN'-FORUMS-section, as biased & divided as it's become. Arguments, "sniping", back-stabbing on every new entry. But, for SOME-reason: That hasn't been prevalent on THIS-thread---yet.

Ask the people on here WHY they like coming here. Seriously.

And then, YOU can tell us why it should be "86'd", instead...

FXPWT: Amazing how we've all managed to "rub-off" onto each-other, in re: to "converting" ourselves to "real"-machinery!☺

An Endocrinologist asked me once to describe my overall-feeling of wellness, in simple-terms.

"Need a tune-up, new-wires---and I feel like my battery has a weak-cell. And when I start to walk for any distance, it seems like my rear-differential is out of grease, as it starts to pop, and seizes-up to the point I've gotta stop."

Judging by his blank-look---and, the lack-thereof for any useful-diagnosis?

I'd say it was safe to assume that he was NOT "mechanically-inclined", to say the least...☺

Donk, Years back,[I had been shying away from tooth doctors since I had a wisdom tooth pulled without any deadning] Dr Herbert [dentist] took a look and said he saw belts, hoses and a tune up. "Let's get the gravy work out of the way and then I'll drill and pin that loose rocker stud and fix that worn off cam lobe then Sally will give the whole works a good degreasing."

That was after I asked if he ever had the arms pulled off a dentist chair! :)

He did a lot of that work without disconnecting the battery cables.

Wheels - thanks for the well wishes. All seems to be getting close back to hitting its groove again, with an extra dose of vitamin Caution until the heavy sinus fog clears.

Liken this episode to cold-weather driving - tooling on down the road just fine until the patch of black ice on the overpass - then, kah-bloo-ey, it suddenly becomes 'hang on for the ride'.

Shifting gears a bit - for whatever reason, starting to notice the amount of red-light runners around town. Attribute some of that to differences in what constitutues running a light. IIRC, our driver ed instructor taught that one should be clear of the intersection before the light turns red to be legal. As I hear tell nowadays, one only needs to have the nose of their vehicle into the intersection to be legal. Eh, still figure the majority of red light running is due to people who either can't or won't plan ahead.

At any rate, been thinking on this a bit, and I believe a suitable remedy has been found. Not that it will correct all red-light running, just significantly raise the bar on the stupidity required. http://mdotwas1.mdot.state.mi.us/public/mivideo/mivideo.cfm?vidId=8

Yeah, I was thinking that was maybe a bit slow for a street application - so maybe this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goCEdabrMHs

Enhancements could include a aircraft-carrier type of tailhook for those who still choose to barrel on over the barrier, to snag-n-drag them to a stop.

Funding could be provided by the city's new apparent cash cow, perhaps even synergizing (ooooh, I like that word) on the gambling theme with signage to the effect of, 'do you feel lucky, punk?' :-)

Of course, my immediate and more realistic solution is to just stay away from major signalled intersections in Cape as much as possible.

FXPWT: I like your "tailhook"-idea myself! Wonder if they still use a final "Hail-Mary" catch-net for the "Extreme End-Of-The-Line" on carrier-landings, for that "Murphys' Law"-moment when the hook/cable just don't cut it?

Apply this technique to ANY main-line intersection in Cape OR Jackson?(Although I favor Mt. Auburn @ William? Oh, no-no---Kingshighway @ William! Between 3-to-5 p.m.---FRIDAYS!!!)

I would spend an entire day, rain or shine, watching, waiting, for "THE-One"!

Matter of fact, they could sell ringside-seat tickets, to help finance the cost of maintenance of the system...!☺

Redneck GoKart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULQ6196Tfds

I like the Pony Motor.

Rick,

That little piece of art was a direct result of me looking at one of your links and the other u-tubes listed. Here is another one. If you owned one of these it better start cause after you cranked on it for an hour or so you would be too tired to use a pick and shovel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=XIxEeYxuwmI&feature=endscreen

A person could amuse himmself all day just going from one to the other.

Rick,.

I can kind of close my eyes and see Donk pulling up to the post office to pick up his mail in that GoKart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxWUz1Qc51g

Regrets

Somehow that is not the way I remember making firewood. From the looks of the way he was tossing that wood around, I would bet that it takes one man just to tend the fire. It sure wasn't oak or hickory.

Rick,

Just a guess, but it appeared to me that guy was probably harvesting wood on public property, where in some places at least they are allowed to harvest the dead stuff. I know when hunting in the mountains in Colorado you were allowed to cut the dead aspens for firewood, and they weighed little to nothing when they were dry. Not a lot of BTU content there either. we had a wood burning stove in the tent we used for cooking and sitting around with the one we slept in attached in the back. You learned to wake up often to throw some wood in that thing if you didn't like being cold. There was no such thing as banking the fire for the night and hoping you still had fire in the morning. That wood was probably birch or something of that nature.

We also hunted in Canada some. Some of the Native Americans did it in a different manner, They took their boats to the huge beaver lodges and stole the wood from the beavers. Kept those busy beavers even busier replacing the missing wood. :-) :-)

I think it was just a toy. Some of those sticks could be thrown on by hand. He did have a heavy duty saw and splitter at the end. Sure would hte to get my hand in that one.

There was mention that wood was for the "Boiler". If he had a very large boiler I think he would have been working a little faster. And I was thinking the same thing about picking up the logs. I remember my Dad cutting "poles" for making the winters wood. I was too small and in the way once it was on the ground, but I did get to handle one end of the cross cut saw. Once he had the logs trimmed and cut to length, he would pick up the heavy end, which was a strain, and put it on the wagon, then go to the other end and put it on. No machine and no straps. He did that while I was staying out of the way and piling up the limbs trimmed from the logs, into brushpiles. Gives me cold chills to think about. The gas or electric modern furnace and wall thermostat is the greatest invention known to mankind in my opinion.

'

"The gas or electric modern furnace and wall thermostat is the greatest invention known to mankind in my opinion."

Profitable too.

Well I see we've all been busy this weekend, already?

If I knew you alls was gonna stop by---I'd stayed home....!!!☺

Yeah Donknome-2, you're just lucky that we didn't get totally out of line without you to look after things. ;-)

Wheels, That five year old thing again; I thought Regret would like this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTOzrkC-21M&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Start em young.

My nephew was operating a full size backhoe at that age. My brother once told me, if they had been as strict with car seat laws at that time he would have had to unbuckle him out of his car seat to put him on the backhoe.

We never had pretty toys like that to play with when I was 6.

Adding yet ANOTHER-"notch" to the discussion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anWOXxBOD0Q

Or, as my Dad would sometimes accuse ME of lookin' like, on some of MY-earliest "toys", putting it mildly-enough to pass the "censor-test":

"Ya' look like a monkey(being VERY-intimate)with a football!", ending with:

"Did you have fun making that---"thing"?".....☺!

RICK: Some-fella of a "relatively-large-proportion" was using one similar last week, at the 72/34 "Starlight"-Junction. Couldn't tell WHO-controlled-WHOM---but, the man was sittin' ON-"it", an' had it by the ears, so, I guess HE was the one in true-control???

Kinda like a track-layin' unicycle, or somethin'???☺!

Donk, My neighbor's boy has one of them rigs. What I like is the little blade that keeps the hoe from pulling it into the work and being able to swing around and dump where you want. You could dig yourself into a hole of no return with that thing, maybe find the treasures of the hole people if they got tired of chicken!:)

Old John,

If you dug a complete circle with that thing, wouldn't it kind of be like an inverted doughnut?

Never thought about that. Might be subject for one of those youtube shows.

Wheels - if there is such a thing as a day to delay heading south, I would suggest today would rank amongst the top of the list.

Geez, Louise - took one look outside while prepping for work, and knew the Impy wasn't going anywhere, no matter how fast the sport tires could be turned over. Plan B - take the F150 4x4. Took an effort resembling an archaeological dig to get it out, windows cleared, etc., but it piped right off with its trademark initial plume of incompletely oxidized hydrocarbons that has earned it the nickname, "Smokey Joe". But hey, after 24 model years and 214,000 miles, I cut it a lot of slack, especially since I figure oil is still cheap, relatively.

Went to stop in at Wal-Mart to grab some grub, but was interrupted by a new greeter - Mr. Policeman sitting in his police car, along with his apparent new-found friend, Mr. Really-Loud Bullhorn sporting the highly desireable 'makes everyone sound like Mrs. Donovan - Charlie Brown's teacher' only angrier feature http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss2hULhXf04 - who subsequently announced that WalMart was closed and if I didn't work there, I needed to leave - NOW. And so I did, ears having a newfound and off-pitch ring in them.

Took off skating down I-55, falling in behind two MoDOT trucks side-by-side, leading a parade approaching speeds of, oh gosh, 25mph. It may have been slow, but it was steady, and the parade was orderly and in-line. After they pulled off to loop around, things got a little more interesting as the parade fell apart and went two-dimensional.

Don't know what it is, but it seems that if one drives a low-end import beater sedan or a crew cab dually - driver sense and courtesy appear to be directly related to driving conditions.

After their slush wash had been cleared from my windshield and their taillights had long disappeared, figured 35mph was a good speed compromise between the extremely limited visibility and the road conditions. Probably put on 5-10 extra miles, if one counts all the sideways slippin' and new rut grabbin'.

So yep, a good day to stay put, IMO.

Anyways, back to MoDOT - do gots to give them an attaboy. They were out in force early doing what they could in the middle of the mess, and the return trip this afternoon was uneventful with all driving lanes clean and clear, with a pretty good portion of the emergency lanes too.

FXPWT's-experience was MUCH-more exciting than my own.

All-night before, I had planned my morning-"attack" on the "white-hoarde" forecasters were issuing Buzzard---um, I mean, Blizzard---Warnings for. So before bed, I girded my loins, put white smudge-paint(Liquid-Paper)beneath my eyes, and lay in-anticipation all night/morning long, to launch an-epic assault.

I awoke early---mostly due to the constant-chafing of the girded-loins---dressed, and, with a heavy-sigh, stepped out, expecting knee-deep horror.

I found ankle-slush.

Dang.

Forgot to gird my-FEET.

But---it just wasn't---THERE, y' know? Actually, I'm NOT disappointed, but I WAS hoping for more of a challenge. Oh, it WAS-kinda fun smashing through the two-foot wall of wet, slimy snow that the grader had furrowed-up against my drive.

But seeing as I have no-"real"-vehicles anymore with a metal-grille---with the exception of the wifes' old Toyota---I soon determined this little charade should stop, before it starts.

So I UN-girded the loins, scraped-off the smudge-paint, and settled for a microwaved-bowl of chicken-noodle soup, a bag of cheese-balls, an' a 50-degree can of Coke Zero from my-utility room---and wound-down, awaiting in-anticipation of the NEXT-predicted battle, possibly this Friday/into the weekend.

Faith In Knowing You CAN!!! It's what keeps one-going, in the face of a challenge....!☺

For grins, started checking out newer vehicles to replace the aging fleet, the newest of which has 142,000 miles.

Holy crap, the fleet started looking better right before my very eyes.

So long as parts are available, I think we're good-to-go as-is, unlike my recently failed VCR with built-in analog TV tuner that works so well with my 1979-vintage big screen TV that only tunes in VHF channels 2-13, for which there apparently is no financially viable replacement...

Man, it WAS a boring New Years, indeed. We didn't threaten to blow-up anything---let alone play "dodge-it" with a 10-ton flatbed-"Binder", at the Main-&-Themis clock.☺

Guess everybody but you an' me done-went an' matured, or somethin'?

Oh, I was a-gonna make it there---but I fell-asleep after a dose of some-kind of new-brand of cough/cold/flu-medicine?

Some kinda Ruskie-soundin' name, like, "Vootka"???

At least it was CHERRY-flavored, instead of that green-stuff Vicks tries to sell...☺!

FXPWT: Your entertainment-center sounds quite-similar to my-own. Mine LOOKS like a ham-operators' worst-nightmare, with what I think is a 1990s'-RCA 36"-diagonal, with 1-VCR, 1-compact DVD/CD, originally meant for a laptop, and of course the necessary modem for digital conversion---all of which is "hardwired-where-absolutely-needed" into a late-'70s Pioneer audio, with REAL-STATE-OF-THE-ART-FM-Stereo WITH-Dolby, bay-bee!!!☺

And it even SOUNDS like a HAM-system as they all heat-up, y' know.

Just like when a HAM-operator starts shovin' the juice to those linear-amps with a cold, wet-antenna: "HMMMMM!---WOOOOOOP-OP-OP-OP"---with a short-pause and then a high-pitched "DEENG!!!", as it peaks-out...☺!

We went through the changes too as far as gadgets that play music billed as entertainment. One day a few years back I was looking for something and spotted the Winthrop [I think that was the name] on a high shelf. Strange, the excitement of bringing that thing home is something I just can't seem to comprehend anymore. Sure, it made those 8-tracks sound good but I can't remember using it much.

Fast forward to out with the old and in with the new and I find myself handed another problem to solve.

I worked Christmas day and new years eve and had no social events to comply with so I was figuring on an uneventful and pleasant transformation to the new year.

Nothing like a mechanical problem to start off right! Wife says Pontiac temp guage is going up and heater quit a mile out. I tell her to return and find it low on coolant, Can't believe I missed that for I checked under the hood a couple of weeks back. Sent her on he way after adding coolant and not finding any leaks.

Two days later she says misfire when first started to leave work and later white smoke from exaust. This is very disappointing as the thing only has 179,000 miles, typical blow-off paint but is ok otherwise.

So the problem is deciding whether to have it fixed [head gasket, intake gaskets or whatever] or scrap it. Wife still sticks to idea of a new car in 2014 but offers no suggestions otherwise.

So what's a fellow to do, spend the money now or look for another beater to get her buy till next year?

Old John,

As I see it, after a couple of "Jacks", You are trying to involve us in a personal problem than can only earn us the displeasure of a lady we do not even know. Hell, if I am look ing for a woman to **** off... I been married for 55 years, I don't have to go too far out of my current environs to do that. ;-)

Good luck on that one!

Heheheh Donk, I feel your pain and confusion.

Last piece of equipment I integrated into the stack was a DVD player. Ended up pretty much unplugging all the patch cords and starting over to get the signals looped and swooped to the right places.

Pretty much everything else is 1980s vintage - the LaserDisc player, cassette deck, turntable, DBX sound enhancement boxes, amp, pre-amp, and speakers.

The amp trips people out. It's a Hafler DH-500 that was built from a kit dating from my more ambitious days. All the other equipment has knobs and meters and blinky lights - the amp is physically the largest piece of the hodge-podged, multi-manufacturer ensemble, yet has a plain crap brown front with only a small illuminated on-off switch - that's it.

Amusing how their laughter on how primitive everything looks gets rapidly replaced by their awe on how clean and loud it can get.

Sorta like 'The Little Ol' Lady From Pasadena' of stereos. :-)

OJ - suggest if it's got the 3.8L and all else with the car is OK - go for the fix, kicking the 'can' on down the road for a few more years. Otherwise, if a 3.4L, 3.1L or other, it may be time to scrap.

If you do decide to repair, suggest to also 'inspect' the catalytic converter. My '90 Honda CRX failed in much the same manner you described. The cat happened to be attached to the exhaust manifold, so had a look inside when taking everything apart - the cat was stowed up near solid, and I suspected the backpressure likely contributed to the head gasket failure.

As far as finding another beater - good luck. Seems people are pretty proud of their beaters nowadays, or are hoping to hit the next best thing since the lottery with their asking prices.

Read somewhere long ago that the wealthiest 20% buy 80% of the new vehicles. Hmmmm, had to chew on that awhile, but after rationalizing the average number of owners that a vehicle will have over its life, with a dollop of trickle-down economic theory plopped on top - the percentages didn't sound so unreal.

On the other hand, would like to think that most of the 20% didn't get that way by regularly putting money into something that does nothing but depreciate.

fxpwt, The height of my audio-technological creations was two six inch speakers with two foot of stove pipe poking up through the rear shelf of the car. Bloodrock DOA sounded ok to me on the quad track but then again I may have been a little musically impaired and tone deaf to anything more complicated than Lipstick On Your Collar.

Why, OLD JOHN---I do believe YOU may have been the original-inventor of the sub-woofer system, by your description!☺

FXPWT: I'm not a professional audiophile by any means---but I've been told that many-a-modern day band---esp. those who play what is now-known-as "Classic"-rock---would give both-sets of their dentures, an' two-arthritic legs an' an arm for a still-functional TUBE-powered stage amp system.

The old-tubes are said to have enhanced the smoothness of the overall-tone---especially for the bass---to a quality that todays' techo-systems can only dream of. A fella can still get vacuum tubes---but, it's as easily undertaken as gettin' teeth pulled, AND costs about the same!☺

I still got a good-LEFT ear, although my RIGHT-one hears "noise", but I can't understand voice with it.

But I like the way my old-Pioneer makes my-glasses dance on my-nose---even if it's only at 10, on the "20-notch"-knob...!☺

Old John,

I have a pair of Chevrolet Venture vans, both with 3.4's. One has 300,000+ miles, the other only 200,000. Both had head gaskets replaced this year and are running well. The money I paid for two repair bills was still less than car payments would have totaled for the year. And I look forward to the next couple of years before anything major comes up. Just sayin..............

Yeah, Donk - I've heard similar raves about tube amplifiers - something about the even-harmonics and odd-harmonics being more pleasantly proportioned as compared to the semiconductor amps.

Don't think I could hear the difference, though. After all, my idea of a really good beer is when it's free, cold, or yours.

Still have a set of Jensen Triax's in the Jeep, sealed into a home-made box enclosure, dating from the days when everyone was oooh'ing and ahhh'ing on the new step up from coaxial speakers. The box has been trimmed over the years to fit the different vehicles, heheheh - making customized speaker enclosures before they also became all the rage. The only thing keeping me from calling them 'collectable antiques' now is the remembrance that some things are classic, and well, some things are just old. :-)

Donk, I know little about tubes and transistors but have heard that some older MIGS are still flying around in Russsia with tube technology.

Robert, The more I think about it the more I suspect the plastic intake manifold. Still yet went car shopping today. Just got home to try to shake off the "used car" sticker shock.

I know what you mean about the little vans. I put 300,000 on an Astro with no major problems except getting a replacement fuel pump to last. I sold that thing just today for $500 and had paid $1,300 8 years ago with 186,000 miles on it. Hauled anything I needed to and got about 18mpg.

Car dealers have changed tactics since I bought anything decent; they want you to almost say "I'll take it" before giving a price. :)

"I put 300,000 on an Astro..." -- Posted by Old John on Thu, Jan 3, 2013, at 6:28 PM

Heheheh - still chuckle at the wisdom of GM to name a vehicle after the Jetson's dog. :-)~

fxpwt, I guess they left the "G" off the front and ended up with Astro for a reason. Ever notice how many car names start with "C"?

Chevette, Citation, Camaro, Corvair, Caprice, Corvette, etc.

Ford seems to favor the "F", Falcon, Fairmont, Fairlane, Freestar, Futura, Fiesta, F Series, etc.

Must be because it rolls off the tounge easy.

Of course there are Darts, Dakotas, Dynastys, D-100s and Daytonas too.

Over all I think the "Cs" may be ahead.

OLD JOHN: I don't doubt that, about the MIG's. Tube-systems are much-more resistant to the energy/shock waves of a nuclear-explosion, which literally will fry semiconductors.

Not too-long ago, the Missouri Highway Patrols' main-HQ's transmission-systems for each Troop were powered with big, freakin' vacuum-tubes, for this very-same reason. (May STILL-be, not certain?) Don't think it included the "repeaters", though.

The ONLY-reason they even considered re-fitting with solid-state components? Couldn't find anyone who knew anything about the maintenance of the "outdated"-tube systems anymore---nor seemed to think it would be "profitable" to (re)learn.

There are still one or two-places in the U.S.---and a few or so more in a palm-full of other-countries---that still custom-make Commercial-Duty tubes, for a $price$.

I can remember one was in St. Louis, another in Chicago---and still another, in Bangladesh, India.

I think it's time to go "Google-ling"...!☺

RICK: I was gonna say NO, Rayon---but then, thinking farther back, as in Model T, etc., days? May be, as in, REAL gum-rubber from trees, refined by Charles Goodyears' vulcanizing-method.(C'mon, somebody get this foot outta my mouth for me!!!)☺

As for SOLID, though? On the TRUCKS of the early-1900's---YES. A solid band vulcanized(or maybe bolted?)on a solid-cast iron, spoked-wheel.

Rough on the drivers' hemorrhoids---but he NEVER had to worry 'bout FLATS...!☺

Learned a little secret about the electronic security systems today. Seems that you cannot just change the battery in the newer models; when you disconnect the battery you lose everything electronic.........including the codes on your electronic security system. You can reset the radio but it will require a trip to the dealership to reset the alarm!

There is a device which you plug into the cigarette lighter before disconnecting the battery which helps to avoid the problem. Most of you probably already know about this......but it was news to me!

Robert, Used to be you could use a 9v battery jumper device into the cigar lighter, just enough to save. As we were car shopping one vehicle we were interested in had a dead battery. Salesman got a Chinese under powered booster box and the alarm went off. I cancelled that with the key remote but it still wouldn't make a sound in the start position. He figured it may take a while for the amperage to transfer. Now that you mention it, the security system may have been keeping it from starting. Surely there is a way to reset without towing to a dealership?

Another thing, in my experience when a battery goes totally dead in real cold wheather it will never come back up all the way.

Rick, I'm thinking the more modern cars as in T-model Fords came with a tire patch kit and pump.

Donk, It was a common thing to see tube testers in radio/TV shops but it probably wasn't a good idea for the average dummy like me to be fooling around with a cath-ray as some of them things could electrocute even after unplugging. I guess I was lucky. :)

I understand that many of the newer model cars come from the factory with two batteries in an attempt to avoid losing all information when one battery goes dead. Solve one problem by creating another?

-- Posted by Robert* on Fri, Jan 4, 2013, at 10:35 PM

Robert,

Was not aware of the device that you plug in, but it does make sense. I do know that you loose things when the battery goes dead. I am sure different strokes for different folks when it comes to how they reset them. This will sound screwey but on my Mercedes, you reset it by turning the front wheels all of the way one way to the stop, then all of the other way to the stop a couple of times, and it resets. I think you are supposed to only have to do it once if I could ever remember, do you start by turning right or do you start by turning left. Found my battery dead when coming home after being gone for the winter when my dear children 'forgot' to start it a few times as they promised. I have something more dependable this year, a battery tender. A Google on your brand and model might find a simple way to avoid the dealer's shop.

"Rick, I'm thinking the more modern cars as in T-model Fords came with a tire patch kit and pump."

Old John,

And a "Monkey" wrench that had Ford molded in the handle. Somewhere I remember seeing one of those.

They had inner-tubes ?

-- Posted by .Rick Lately on Sat, Jan 5, 2013, at 11:11 AM

--------------------------

Most-DEFINITELY had inner-tubes, AND the on-road-side repair kit that OLD JOHN mentions. Same for Model A truck-versions.

The exception for trucks was, for just an-example, here:

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYMzpDjS6BWwJ4RO0VyGfxyfnd...

And, here's one that OJ was referring to, and I believe they not only used tubes---but the beads of the tires were BOLTED to the rims, as well?:

http://www.google.com/imgres?start=250&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-http://www.goog...

(Danged-good model work, there!)

I've got a whole bucket-load of those TEXACO-collectables, that I'd accumulated over the course of many a year & dollar...!☺

Rick, I never saw this before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6sH8WRl6yI

Ford Groves has a 99 year old Ford in their show room. Cars have came a long way since then gaining maybe 3 or 4 miles per gallon. :)

I wonder if cars get any more computers on them, will we have to open a window to turn the dang things off?

By The Way, if anyone's still interested in vacuum-tubes:

http://www.vacuumtubes.net/

(Character-cartoon kinda looks like a "Wheels"-type, so be careful!☺) And, to top it all off: He's located in Florida.

Click on the "FAQ"-tab, to get a quickie-education that answers---and confirms---much of what we've already was pretty-sure was true.....☺

Donk, I suspended the Texaco Stearman biplane from a stud that the previous owners of our first house had for a hanging lamp. After about 25 years wife finally got used to it. :)

OLD JOHN: What RICK said, about the clincher-vid---true! And, it DOES save the finish, but, geez---I think I'd hafta stick with the 'irons', if confronted with such!

Although admittedly, the bag is safer, since there are NO TIRE IRONS involved to THROW, after I pinch myself for the third-time...!☺

OLD JOHN: I've got this one:

http://www.the-collections.com/Texaco/wings2.JPG

I'd threatened to suspend it with a harness made of hi-C guitar string, on a ceiling-fan hub with opposing counter-ballast.

But it was soundly-defeated, by a vote of 1 for, 1 against, with the pivotal-vote cast by "She Who Must Be Obeyed".

Although admittedly, in retrospect---it MAY have been "a good-thang" it didn't "pass"...!☺

I can't see why they didn't leave the bag in the tire when they got it mounted. It would have given the car chasing dogs something to grab hold of.

Heheheh - this thread is like the booger on the end of your finger - just can't get rid of it. :-)~

Robert* - hmmmm, changed the battery in the '08 Impy back in November without issue. Then again, it may have been nothing more than a matter of being lucky rather than good. This relates to one of my many concerns with technology - what happens when the technology exceeds the capabilities of the end-users? Newer can be neat, but 'change' means only that it will be different - for better or for worse is still to be decided.

Liked the tire video - reminds me of the video posted on here somewheres before, where the guy changed a fan belt on a running motor, using only a screwdriver. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQhfcdQf1QA If that would've been me, figure the screwdriver would've shot off the pulley and impaled itself into something - likely me. Some people are like electricity - if there's a path of lower resistance, they'll find it.

I managed to pinch a leak into a bicycle tube three times before I got it on to hold air. A fellow with a bicycle shop in Poplar Bluff showed me how he could change a tire using nothing but his fingers and made it look easy. That was before I patched that tube three times. :)

I have had good luck using the backhoe bucket to break down car tires and then remount with a couple of bars.

I paid very little for a manual Ammco changer once and made a healthy profit reselling it. One of the dummest things I ever did. I still have the old Weaver headlamp aimer/Illumimeter [or what ever you call it] along with the Baldcamp engine analyzer. Gone is the on car Hunter balancer.

Donk, How many planes and different collector stuff came in Texaco wrap? My brother gave me a Texaco weather station he got for opening a charge account with them in '51.

I seen my dad change a long flat threasher belt running bare handed, but it went pretty slow.

OLD JOHN: I haven't the slightest-idea of how many versions of planes/trucks/autos/horse-drawn wagons/fuel-pumps, both gravity & pressure-fed---that were/are branded with the "TEXACO-Star".

All I CAN-vouch for, is the fact I've accumulated at least 260-plus different versions of the truck/car/racing car/wagon, and ONE-aircraft version, of their collectables.

And still yet, everytime I just passively "Google" the matter---I find no fewer than a dozen-MORE, that I've NEVER even seen/heard of!

The "Weather Station" you mentioned is one of those.

(And, the "TEXACO Fire-Chief" scale-built fire apparatus' of the early'60's(?)---I'm thinking 1/25-scale?---which REALLY-pumped about a quarter-pint of water, were AWESOME!!!)

" Heheheh - this thread is like the booger on the end of your finger - just can't get rid of it. :-)~ "

****************************

FXPWT: IF there were EVER to be a contest for "Best-Described-In-Less-Than-Sixteen-Words"---I would nominate YOUR-entry.

Although honestly, God Himself only knows WHAT the prize-might be?

(As for myself, I like t' roll-'em into little-sticky balls, an' flick-'em at the glass-covered various "sheep-skins" on my little home-office wall...!)☺

Didn't believe me, about the TEXACO-"squirt-pumper", did ya'?☺

http://www.holyokeenterprise.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57...

The only firetruck I have left is the one I paid way too much for. Had to be at a meeting to order one and only those ordered were built. Original cap was 600 but they only got just short of 600 orders. Mine is one of the last two built and I only bought it thinking I would sell it to another dealer at a profit. So much for that idea. So now I have a full sized pedal car and a diecast replica to match, and no I ain't gonna ask if I can display her prize '50s big walking doll in it. :)

"It should be one of a woman's jobs to change flat tires." -- Posted by .Rick Lately on Mon, Jan 7, 2013, at 3:53 PM

Yeah, but given the number of times they change their minds, you'd think they'd eventually get ahold of one that's an improvement... So, following along that observation - just how many tires d'ya suppose it would take to get it right?

Heheheh - and, at least the tire's problem generally deals with only one side. :-)~

A wise elder once shared that it was funny to him that with all the time- and labor-saving devices nowadays (this was ~1975), it seemed nobody had any time and everybody was tired.

Now I'm seeing the same humor.

Whoever came up with the idea of the mobile phone ought to be kicked in the bee-hind until he bleeds out the ears. Sure, I thought it was neat-o gwee-doh to watch the Cannon TV series, where he had a phone in his car, albeit a tedious process going through a mobile operator to complete the call. Also thought I was stylin' when I got a bag cell phone for the car. At least in these cases, the phone pretty much was stuck in a fixed location, and I was free as long as I was out of the car. Now, with the current generation of mobile phones - it rarely leaves my side, attached firmly to my belt, leading to interruptions in my routine at any time, anywhere, at almost all hours. Fatiguing to be 'connected' all the time. But much like eating spicy hot food or a certain brand of potato chips - once one starts, it's painful to stop.

Ahhh, drive-through windows - whether one is short on time, or just can't or won't get out of the car, most any store that has one almost always has a line of vehicles waiting. Additionally humorous is when I can pull in to a convenience store, park, get out, get stuff, get back in, and go - all before many of the vehicles in the drive-through have completed their business. Hmmm, so who's saving time now? :-)~

Sunday Blue Laws - genious, IMO. For at least one day of the week, most everyone could take a break to recharge. Involved some usage of the thinking hat - as one had to be sure that any necessities were obtained ahead of time, or one just had to go without. Now, it's just continual, almost non-stop engagement that seems to have contributed to a decline in planning ahead and time-management skills.

Almost seems to validate the saying that 'the faster I go, the behind-er I get'. :-)~

[from same site] http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=eeb_1236582573

Had the opportunity to solve a problem one won't encounter with today's newer ignition systems involving distributor-less coilpaks and what-not.

Went to fire off the Ford. Man, it took to running rough, idle speed all over the place, misfiring right-and-left.

Hmmmm, sounding a lot like the first start after an engine wash, so popped the the dizzy lid. Yep, condensation likely due to the sudden temperature change and recent rains.

Dried everything out, lit off good as ever.

Point being - even the good ol' days can be improved upon, although sometimes the solution can be worse than the original problem. :-)

Just think about the good old days. Anyone ever catch a condenser that was tossed to them at the shop. I did once.

Better question would be.... did anyone ever catch one twice?

Regrets - suggest you're addressing a pretty limited audience who even know what you're talking about.

Heheheh, for some strange reason, Debby Boone's song, 'You Light Up My Life' came to mind. Gives a whole new spin on that Lifestyle Lift she's now hawking on the TV. :-)~

Just remember the good old days of doing tuneups.

Heheheh, especially for those manufacturers who chose to put the dizzy in the back. Can only imagine the fun of setting the points while spread-eagled over the top of the engine. :-)~

For drivers of the four or five vehicles seen in various states of demolition down by Sikeston about an hour ago, I offer Driver Ed lesson #47 - when other people have slowed to 40mph on the Interstate, continuing to blaze along at or above the speed limit in the passing lane may not be such a time-saving choice. Whoo-boy, it got slick quick!

Rick, The eagle has landed. [Watch till the end]

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=nr9KrqN_lIg

Never know what hobby an old geezer might have. :)

Hmmmm, may have to rethink my position on GM - http://www.chevrolet.com/new-2014-corvette/?seo=goo_|_GM+Chevy+Awareness_|_GG-AW...

Can't afford it, don't need it, but I really likes it! :-)

You know Fxpwt, I have never wanted to own a Corvette, not even when I was young and bullet proof.

Probably something wrong with me.

Wheels - suggest there's nothing wrong with ya, well, at least not in this regard anyway. :-)~

My insanity in these matters generally clears up quickly after the insurance and property tax implications are investigated. Yeah, just an annoying quirk that has put the damper on a lot of fun stuff.

Thus far, the Jeep is the only convertible ever owned - even after being strongly advised that the Corvette version of the ragtop would attract a whole 'nuther class of women.

Diss -

A church key was one of the original multi-purpose tools, enabling one to drink their favorite beverage, whether it required popping the bottle cap using one end, or puncturing a drinking hole and a venting hole with the other end in the days before those handy-dandy pull tabs.

Don't remember green stamps, but perhaps one of their competitors - was it Top Quality? Had a redemption store - I'm thinking it was in the Town Plaza in the Dollar General store area?

I do remember the commodity peanut butter - came in unpainted steel cans with black paint lettering and no paper labelling, as it seemed many commodity products did at that time. Good stuff!

Diss,

Remember most everything you mentioned. Never been around a nickel phone booth nor did I see the peanut butter mentioned.

I think the commodities came into vogue after I was on my own and working. I do remember the day of having the groceries delivered to the car, but I never used their services.

Thus far, the Jeep is the only convertible ever owned - even after being strongly advised that the Corvette version of the ragtop would attract a whole 'nuther class of women.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sun, Jan 27, 2013, at 4:37 PM

Fxpwt,

By the time I might have been in a position to afford a Corvette.... I definitely could not afford a Corvette and the extra women of any class. My wife explained that to me. It wasn't quite the way an acquaintance had it explained to him, but close. His wife told him if she caught him fooling around she would see to it that he was living in the woods in an 8 wide trailer and driving a 37 Ford. And that was before a 37 Ford had any real value.

"even after being strongly advised that the Corvette version of the ragtop would attract a whole 'nuther class of women."

One of my favorite stories. I had a Jeep and a friend of mine had a Corvette. I had the corn fed country girls and he got the expensive purdy ones. I married one of of the country girls and still have her. He got one of his classy ones and they were broke and divorced within 2 years. She moved on to a big farmers son and cleaned his plow when she left him.

You talk about the commodities. We had the Karo syrup, peanut butter, and another that I cant think of now. My dad got them from someone. That why I say how much peanut butter can you sell? Getting cash from a EBT card didn't happen back then. Kids got to eat.

A couple, both bona fide rednecks, had 9 children. They went to the doctor to see about getting the husband 'fixed'. The doctor gladly started the required procedure and asked them what finally made them make the decision. Why after nine children would they choose to do this.

The husband replied that they had read in a recent article that one out of every ten children being born in the United States was Mexican, and they didn't want to take a chance on have a Mexican baby because neither of them could speak Spanish.

I have a book or two of green stamps and like Wheels remember everyhing mentioned except a nickle call and peanut butter in a can.

I not only remember groceries carried out, I carried out a bunch. There is a bit of an art to loading a paper bag properly so it doesn't fall apart and do it keeping up with the check out register. Before scanners each item required punching the keys and pulling on the register handle. We had a tax chart to show how much to enter after the subtotal.

We find it hard to believe so many have never used a rotary phone and what I read recently predicts those born in 2013 will never use a land line phone.

After having the privledge or misfortune of working on a few Corvettes, I never really wanted one, I had a '67 Barracuda rag top. It was an ok car in it's time but unless you kept the top up the country dust was always seeping in and birds seemed target the drivers seat.

How many rembember when canned goods were individually price stamped. I still have a ink price stamper.

Old John,

I do believe I remember the the price stamped on the can.

I can remember when with the Cherry and Peach trees in the back yard, along with the vegetables we grew, we could feed ourselves and 2 kids on about $10 per week. We did a lot of canning in those days and even made our own ketchup. Both Chicken and Pork Steaks could be bought for $0.19 per lb.

Never had time to think about how poor we were. I worked 6 days a week and 10 to 12 hour days. Not sitting at home watching the 17" black and white TV we had.

Now Obama wants me to share what the little I have saved for my retirement. **** him and the horse he rode in on.

Oooops sorry, forgot what thread I was on and got carried away.

Wheels, You had a Tv?!!

We didn't do but a little gardening. Mom always managed a garden spot bigger than most city lots of today. The thing right up there with the grape juice, jellies and other canned stuff in the cellar was the ketchup. It had a little sweet to it and if not mistaken I think that was from basil.

I remember well an evening snack of mustard on a cracker or a ketchup sandwich.

We had an apricot tree and plenty of wild plums, elderberrys and blackberrys in the woods and along the roadside.

A treat was pork rinds baked. [we always seemed to have salt pork on hand]

I recall the signs starting to show up on the doors of Cape stores, "Air conditioned" with a picture of a pack of Kool cigarettes. :)

Actually Old John, what I was referring to was after I was married, We didn't spend near $10 per week for groceries when I was at home growing up.

And yes I remember those first air conditioned stores. Big old Upright packaged units that set towards the back of the store most often and had a water cooled condenser on it. I worked on many of those. Frigidaire made a lot of them and Carrier.

Wheels, I'm thinking I remember a humid cool. Of course those were the days when the produce display was sprinkled with water every morning to replicate that dew fresh condition.

It took me a few years to be in the long hours work mode but once I did I also prescribed to the work hard play hard thinking. Should have left off the play hard part. :)

I still sometimes think I would like a '63 300 with the squared steering wheel and wonder bar. The rag top had A/C.

The video doesn't say what year. I don't remember a Beaumont if that's what it said. Looks like '55 but the grille was oval on the '55 I had.

Old John,

A humid cool (Brand?). If so it was probably an Evaporative Cooler, better know as a "Swamp Cooler" versus Mechanical Refrigeration to cool with. They worked pretty well in arrid locations, but weren't real good for humid areas like Missouri.

I have an 88 RX7 convertible that has air conditioning. Just because it is a convertible you don't have to be miserable on a hot day. My little Jap mini truck that I use to wander around in the woods has air conditioning.

Old John,

The ad said it was a 56 and I recognized it as such. Had a cousin had one of them.

I went back to that vintage car commercial site. There's a lot of neat stuff to watch, thanks for posting that.

Wheels, I just figured the units were so oversized they didn't have time to take out the humidity. Can you still buy a car without AC? Was a time heaters and AC was an option depending on the market of where the car was sold.

Old John,

Oversize is entirely possible. And I doubt you can buy a car without Air Conditioning. Maybe special order... which they might charge an upcharge for their inconvenience.

Still my favorite thread, but now's the time for bed.

I've been tweeking the 4 hours and 59 minutes latley, may settle on 5 hours and 59 minutes. :)

Good night Old John.

Now Obama wants me to share what the little I have saved for my retirement. **** him and the horse he rode in on.

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Sun, Jan 27, 2013, at 11:52 PM

Amen!

OK, let's keep the OBAMA-"virus" OFF-here, if possible? I don't like who won either, but then again, I'm not sure there'd have been any difference, the "other"-way? Don't KNOW, don't CARE---don't want it HERE. Deal? GOOD!!!

As for the off-color jokes? I and several-others once trusted our well-being/healing to the expertise of a Corpsman who was a full-blooded Mexican. After his work was done? I never got any darker-skinned. The Corpsman never "bleached-out", and my Negro "A-gunner" stayed just as "Hersheys' Tropical Chocolate"-black as he was before---and still equally-bitter!☺

I dealt with good AND bad, of ALL-nationalities. When EVERYBODY is equally-"endowed", so to speak---you learn fast who to watch, who not to turn your back on, esp. in a situation where "Stuff Could/Did Happen".(And this applied to YOUR OWN SIDE, too, just like it still-does TODAY.) For the most-part, I've pretty-much outgrown such prejudices---esp. since on "S.H.T.F."-Day, the sewage that'll slither down from the Metro-areas when the food runs out ain't gonna be all one color, either. Hunger and desperation of those who said "It can't happen in THIS-country!" will know of NO-color boundaries.

DISSIDENCE., here, made a pretty-good attempt to "re-align" the original subject matter of this thread.

Maybe we can try this again, without the political-vomit.

Oh, and, do I hear an "AMEN, Reverend!" back there, in the seats closest to the door...?☺

Amen, reverend!

Closest I wish to get to politics here is righty-tighty vs. lefty loosy.

Hmmm, somewhat humorous in that the above is characteristic of a bunch of nuts. :-)~

Yeah, and y' know what's even MORE-scary?(I was gunna use "scarier"---but it didn't look "bad"-'nuff!☺)

A fella---or gal---relies upon those NUTS to keep everything together, for a safe-arrival home/or work!

Though I'm more scared of the "nut" behind the wheel, instead of the ones' ON-it.

'Cause if ONE-type of 'em goes-loose on me? I can replace it.

The OTHER-one, I simply must tolerate, and hope he/she "loses-it" somewheres' other than where I'M at.

Left OR Right---it's gonna be BAD!

And, then, of course, we have the MIDDLE-man, who WELDS his wheels on, instead of relying upon a bunch of NUTS, to keep HIM-safe....!☺

I dunno about that, but MY-wife has a bad---ok, just A habit!---of hangin' onto the console(floor)shifter of our automatic Jimmy. Comes kinda natural to her, since her Toyota IS a 5-spd. manual.

OK, I admit the first-time I drove the thing(Jimmy), I couldn't find the shifter on the column---it just weren't there!

Took me a few-seconds to figger-out that T-handle-lookin'-thang between the seats WAS NOT the parking-brake handle---"D'-OH!"

I still like drivin' her little 'Yota---if it'd just be a bit-lawjer in the cab!

Just like shiftin' with a bunch of little-watch gears:Smooth an' quiet---only need 3-fingers to run-it through the pattern...!

To this day , go to any auto repair shop in any town or city in America and try to find a woman mechanic . The odds are worse then finding a male hair dresser .

Again , not trying to be sexist but the facts speak for theirself .

-- Posted by Dissidence. on Mon, Jan 28, 2013, at 6:02 PM

Now Diss, in my town, at the local Fantastic Sams, they have a male stylist. He does both men's and ladies hair as do the ladies. I rarely ever get the same hair cutter twice as I always opt for 1st available, all I want is my hair clipped and to be on my way.

Was part of a major project on a rolling mill. Since downtime meant lost revenue opportunity, our outage group was charged with making the most of the time budgeted.

The electrical part of the project involved a lot of wire-pulling and terminating. Was somewhat bummed out when I saw that the extra electrician requested from the Core Maintenance group was 'the' female - the only non-male craftsman at the plant. Perfect! Not exactly known for being an enthusiastic blazin' ball o' fire, but very well-known for painting her tools DayGlo pink - the pre-engraving theft-deterrent device.

Bad enough that us electrical guys always take the rap for a project running over, since we can't complete, and in many cases can't ever start our work until the mechanics put the stuff in place - now I gots to deal with Miss Slo-Poke.

Mindful of being non-biased and non-discriminatory with the job assignments, gave her the task of correctly completing the terminations in a fair-sized terminal box - labelling and landing the wires pulled in by the previous shift. Figured it would take a competent craftsman most of the shift.

Checked back on things after lunch break - she was nowhere to be seen. Grrrrr.

Reminded myself that I had told the crew how critical it was to bring this job in on time and that the mechanics had already put us behind. Asked a crewmate where she was, he replied she went to clean up - the terminal box being located in a nasty greasy corner of the mill. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Opened up the enclosure to see just how much was left to do - to properly proportion the amount of fury, er, disappointment to unload. Doggone! Son! Every label applied and heat-shrunk, wire routing neatly laid down and tied off, ring connectors applied per spec, and during the later ring-out commissioning - found every wire to be landed on the correct terminal.

Gained a higher appreciation to use caution when projecting work throughput based solely on gender or outward intensity. Guess it goes along the lines of not judging a book by its cover.

Three of "my" best---and most reliable, plus safety-minded machinists/millwrights, and/or welders---were, indeed, WOMEN. Small, fit easily in tight-places, easy-to-get along with---yeah, I was LUCKY!(I was also younger then, as were they.) I still out-aged 'em by at least 15-years, so I guess I was a substitute "Father-Figure", or somethin'?☺

Had one little-lady who(probably)weighed maybe 110-pounds wet. Added on another 35, maybe 40 pounds of equipment, with her "Darth-Vader"-hood, air-supply hose, and "skins"-on. A weldin' lil' fool, she was!(Easier to push/pull IN & OUT of tank-cars, too!!)And, that semi-pressurized suit kept your welder a sweet-70-to-80-degrees inside, whilst outside could push 160, in real close-quarters.

The "secret" to working WITH-them? Didn't have, nor need, one: They LIKED their job, their skills. Didn't have to "ride-herd" on 'em, like the testosterone-laden boys, er, MEN, of the crew. By that, I simply mean they didn't see the need to "show-off". Speed-quotas LOOK pretty---but then so does QUALITY as the finished-product. Unfortunately, very-seldom can you find BOTH in the recipe.

But I had the girls "p'wnd" on the old-style engine lathes. Took a LOT-more upper-body strength than any TWO of them could muster!

Yeah, THEY knew it, too. That's why I always got stuck with "it" on the weekends...

Sorta back to remembering and nuts and bolts, the old in-line 6 GMs liked to shake the carb and intake manifold fasteners loose. My brother gave me a safety wire plier/twister and I couldn't wait to find something to saftey wire. I drilled the carb studs and nuts and safety wired them in place, problem solved. That was before we ever heard of lock-tite.

My uncle had a knack for telling a good story. The tie-rods of the older cars were made in such a way that when really worn out they could seperate. He told of ending up on a curb in front of the Bloomfield courthouse due to that failure once and they halled him into the jail house for a sobriety test! :) He was allowed to borrow some baling wire from a fellow and tie it together to get it home. He said the fix lasted good enough till he traded it in.

OLD JOHN: You should see the method I recently used to hold a full-length tractor tire boot/casing in place, because the rubber was so old it wouldn't vulcanize anymore.

Take my word for it: It would do the movie "Road Warriors"-proud!☺

Oh no, I've actually got several pics of the---"accomplishment"!---but they're in my personal albums,

Guess I'll hafta open a YouTube account for a link, an' show a few-other of my past---"endeavors"...!☺

And, for anyone the least-bit curious, as to what a "Darth-Vader"-welding hood assembly is:

http://www.weldspares.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/HT_749_He...

It all ties-into this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=racal+filter+pack&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=iEH&...

And you thought "Star Wars" was a kid-thang...!☺

Diss, A mind's a terrible thing to waste but has it's advantages. I'm sure I've seen those car commercials before but they are now for me to enjoy anew!

Looking back, those GM cars we could all recognize by division a quarter mile away were cleverly styled to highlight the key features of appearance that made them different cars. Some old school Bollinger County types were quick to recognize the '57 Chevy as a baby Cadillac and later I learned the roofs and doors on most all '55-'57 GMs were close to the same. Grilles, bumpers, fenders and trunks made one car bigger than the other.

Donk, I recognized two things on the last link, a can of coffee and a box of baking soda. I've seen some well decorated and themed welding helmets but the rest of that is over my head.

Speaking of over my head, a fellow from my neck of the woods designed a helmet with a periscope type box to weld overhead or eye level and see as if looking down. Not sure if it caught on or sold but it did work well.

OLD JOHN: Ooops! MY-browser zooms-into the desired-pic---we obviously are using two-different "animals", to do our dirty-work!☺

Here's a verbal-description: Imagine a battery-pack-powered mini-fridge, which dispenses a low-pressure/moderate volume of filtered/cooled air, with two-pinkish-red "gas-mask" filters, and a 4-foot-long highly-flexible ribbed hose that runs up your back, and under the rear-"lip" of the "Vader". It all straps around the waist with a heavy-duty tool-style belt.

(And, before anyone asks---NO, it does-NOT filter-out "That-Smell".☺) You'd think it would, but OSHA says that sort of smell "isn't noxious-enough" to warrant a mandatory "organic-odor"-filter for same. (Uh-uh. Don't wanna hear it---"not my-job"...!)

If you've partaken a bit too-much of the broccoli---you WILL want to use the adapter that allows you to tie-into a FRESH, pre-mixed air-supply, which is what you will DEFINITELY-use inside of a soon-to-be-airtight spot like a tank/most bulk/type railcars.(And, NO, it doesn't make the closed-area an "oxygen-bomb" when/if-equipped with "The Right Stuff", as it uses a recovery-system for such.)

Yeah, I know---about 50-more words than the 10 that it should've taken to explain such.

Boo-Hoo...!☺

Life is just getting too complicated -

"GM's New Engine Oil: Use It Or Else!" - http://autos.aol.com/article/gm-engine-oil/

"Further, GM says that if a customer has an engine failure that is traced to oil or lubrication issues, and if the customer does not use dexos 1 oil in their gasoline-powered GM vehicle, that act alone could void the warranty. The same goes for GM vehicles with diesel engines, which use a diesel-specific "dexos 2" oil blend."

"... expect a 25-30 percent cost increase ..."

Guess I'm falling behind, the equivalent of a DOS expert in a Windows world - the article is over 2 years old, and this is the first I've heard of it.

FX

Don't buy GM.

fxpwt, Sounds like a replay of the 5w30 oil recommendation that read like a requirement and came along about the time GM wanted in on the quick lube business. In reality 10w30 met their published specifications. The amount of viscosity additives to achieve 10w40 performance didn't go well with the new prone to hot spot version of the newer designed 4cyls and would coak up.

It didn't take long for other than GM's Mobil oil supplier to compete.

This would be GREAT for driving(surviving!)on I-270 goin' to "The Lou".

(Not to mention late-night/wee-hours excursions into North County/E. St. Louie...!)☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS87U5UWnfg

Front wheels look like the end of a cement truck drum.

Here's a lot-better link, and explains what it actually was for.

I was "right-on", with my desires to use it in the 'Lou...!☺

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d62_1258628654

All the good stuff is on week ends and this dummy works week ends, wish I was there with some of my junk.

http://www.semissourian.com/gallery/14522

Check out the face behind the red cap in photo #9, anyone we know?

Just got this link in a video from a friend. Thought maybe some of you 'Gearheads' might enjoy it.

http://www.varietyvideosllc.com/about2.html

Been SO-much "cooler", if he'd painted it BLACK with all that trim---kinda like a "mini-ZZ-Top"-ride!☺

(Opens the hood)"I don't clean under the hood, because I drive it."

Gotta appreciate that angle, as he actually "plays" with his toys...!

Nice

Wow - talk about being crazy for a mini-MErcury. :-) Outstanding workmanship and unbelievable dedication to a project.

Then, of course, the obligatory song popped into my head - both the 'wild hair' and just losing hair versions -

Mercury Blues - Meat Loaf (skip to about the 2:00 mark to get past the concert opening wind-up stuff) - http://www.metacafe.com/watch/wm-A10302B0000239169K/meat_loaf_mercury_blues_offi...

Mercury Blues - Alan Jackson - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T3MgIRUwj0

I think NOW someone should hand-craft a MEGA-'49 Merc like he did that one. Scale the size on a mil-spec."Hummer"-frame---and THEN go "cruisin' for chicks", brotha!

(I'd suggest Broadway---but, it's no fun anymore, and besides, you'd likely end-up with "old-tough-hens" nowadays, instead!☺)

I've seen many of the early giant sized tractors miniturized but never anything as nice as the Merc.

I new an old blacksmith back in the day that fashioned his grandson a mini-car that was pretty impressive considering the tools and material he had to work with but it wasn't modeled to look like any particular car.

Someone near the lake had a giant tricycle at the end of his driveway. I figured it was to discourage intruders. :)

Donuts tend to sneak-up on ya' in the end, don't they?☺

Yep, that was---different---to say the least!(Considering DEVO, however? Perfectly-normal!)

And, it IS about fast-cars...

Excuse me---that's GORILLAZ!

Sure sounded like somethin' DEVO, to me?

I'm too OLD for this.....!!!☺

Hot wheels for Wheels?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IDisltYSJQ

A bird for the snowbirds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=1GwLZgX1cUA&feature=endscreen

Hot wheels for Wheels?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IDisltYS...

-- Posted by Old John on Sun, Feb 24, 2013, at 12:37 PM

Old John,

That brought back memories. Take a look at 2:11 and again at 2:27. I used to own one of those. If I am not sadly mistaken those were customized from an Old Twin Coach. The company was located in Ohio, cannot remember the town and the company is gone. They built various buses. Mine had been a mail bus in Michigan and they had people working in it. Sorting mail as they drove from town to town. The good thing about it, there was a really big converter and a huge generator. Believe everything was 12 Volt in it, but when they were parked at a town they could plug in to shore power and covert it to 12V. Worked out nice for a conversion. I didn't do the conversion but they did a nice job on the interior and finished it off with a paint job that looked as if it had been done with a broom. Had a Leland (spelling?) Diesel engine six cylinder in line but laying horizontal under the center of the coach. The transmission was a 5 Speed and not even 5th was synchronized, requiring a lot of double clutching Was a 1956 35 footer. We had a lot of fun in it, and it drove the truckers nuts when they went by, trying to figure out on the CB what it was.

Some of the other older factory made stuff I recognized also, we worked on some of the furnaces and air conditioners in them. People couldn't find anyone to work on them so they would beg you to help them.... and hell I wasn't too proud, they paid and I needed the money. Plus many were so grateful they gave you all of their business in our line of work which helped to build our customer base. We didn't have Earned Income Tax Credits in those days.

A bird for the snowbirds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=1GwL...

-- Posted by Old John on Sun, Feb 24, 2013, at 12:40 PM

Somebody with too much money and too much time on his hands maybe?

Diss,

Glugites had not been discovered yet in that day and time. Matter of fact, I suspect you and Old John are the only people who have seen them to this day. Which concerns me some,

Our friends vacationed every year at Branson and we happened to meet them there one year. They parked their Airstream by the lake next to a finely crafted rig, totally homemade starting with the chassis of a box van. It had an add on over-under gearbox and lot of today's expected features. That was 40 years ago.

Just shows to go you there are a lot of talented people out there that do stuff because they want to and can. Most of the people I've met that fit into that catagory are just down to earth plain old folks.

Wheels, We have documented the plight of the glugites well. If you were paying attention, you would know they went through a "dorment" period before becoming the nusiance they are today.

Wheels, We have documented the plight of the glugites well. If you were paying attention, you would know they went through a "dorment" period before becoming the nusiance they are today.

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Feb 25, 2013, at 12:14 AM

Yeah, that's what I am going to do in a few minutes.... go dormant for a few hours.

OLD JOHN/WHEELS: Would've LOVED seeing the conversion-combo, but apparently, someone was as embarrassed by it as much as WHEELS-was: I hit the link, and it says, "Sorry! This video is no longer available."

(Probably those dang-gluglites at work, again...!)

Donk, The links still work for me.

Here's something diferent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56XL0TysIn0

OLD JOHN: We're good---your links' workin' now!(Must've been an-overload of Gluglites shopping online for 'em!☺)

Yeah, a lot of 'em are kinda funky-lookin' alright---but I wouldn't mind havin' one of those tour-bus refits even now, myself!

I'll bet if we scrubbed that one in the last-frame hard-enough with a burnisher?

It'd probably say "KAS-Potato-Chips" under there...!

And, in re: to your last-link: Seems like that arrangement COULD-have worked, but, didn't the design kinda-sorta cut the COOLING-air off from the VWs' engine-air intakes?

(I'd like to see this-combo take-on the hills of Iron/Madison/Wayne-counties---going-UP, that-is...!☺)

Now for a "tech"-question: I have, at my-disposal, a front-load automatic dishwasher with a blown-out heater. Now, we all know the element costs MORE than the price of a similar-type replacement new.

SO, instead of the dump, I was wondering: Could it be used, in a practical-sense, as a parts-washer? Especially for dismantled small-engine blocks/engine covers/larger automotive items?

Of course you'd be using a NON-flammable parts-cleaner---maybe like you'd use in a pressure-washer. It'd still be hooked-into a HOT-water supply.

Matter of fact, now I'm starting to wonder if one with a fully-functional element would work, as well?

Donk - don't see why it wouldn't work, at least for a while. Heck, if the dishwasher is headed to the scrap heap anyway, certainly worth a try, especially if it's still hooked up in its current water supply and sewer drain location.

I'm envisioning the use of Gunk or other water-soluble degreaser for a soaking period, then tossing the parts into the washer??

Would be concerned on how long the pump and seals would last, and whether enough pressure would be developed to mechanically remove the crap that isn't solvent- or water-soluble. If kept outdoors or in a garage or shed, there's freezing to watch for.

One gripe with Gunk is that is does a good job of getting the oils and greases, but not so good at just dirt, as evidenced by what's left behind.

Donknome-2

Can't help you much on the old dishwasher, but if you are looking for a new one, you might want to look at Fisher & Paykal drawer type. Lowes did handle them. We have one in our motor home and while a single drawer is not real large, it works for two people. For heavy use some install two of them. We like it because it is small and it is quiet. Some older models used to be noisy. Bosch makes a good and quiet full sized front loader.

FXTPWT: Yeah, I bet it would be a short-service life for the door-seal.

I've got a small-pressure washer as it is---I was just gettin' tired of chasing-down anything that weighs-less than 5-pounds...!

WHEELS: Nah, don't need another---this one's been sittin' idle for a long-time. Besides, it's been rendered-obsolete by a newer, more-efficient version that washes AND rinses each-item individually. Called a double-sink. H-and-W-brand. Requires TWO-operators. Bought-it in '89,,,!☺

Donk, I'm told an old working crock pot does wonders for small parts if you have the time.

Works well for soaking the paint off old brass door hinges and such too.

OLD JOHN: What do ya' use for the medium? Something like Gunks' "Hydro-Seal"? Or just a diesel-fuel "recipe", of some-sort?

Donk, For soaking off old paint, powdered laundry detergent worked for me. I haven't tryed greasy or baked on crud but suspect if you've got the time, it would do the grime.

I've been seriously thinking about using the roticery motor on the bq grille to slowly agitate a basket in a 5 gal bucket for small jobs. Those 2/$ jersey gloves could be degreased before putting thim in with the rest of the not so greasy duds. Come to think of it we got a hardly ever used electric ice cream maker that could be converted for the task.

First and foremost in the back of my mind for some time now has been an efficient can crusher powered by somthing other than me.

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Tue, Feb 26, 2013, at 2:22 PM

Yeah, I hear you. I have been told that women have smaller feet, so they can stand closer to the sink.

First and foremost in the back of my mind for some time now has been an efficient can crusher powered by somthing other than me.

-- Posted by Old John on Wed, Feb 27, 2013, at 4:22 PM

I thought we had covered that some time back on this thread. I don't want to be the one going back through all of these posts looking for it though.

Maybe Donknome-2 could catalog all of these posts and put a searchable index together.

Wheels, Now that you mentioned it I reckon you're right but I think the re-runs of folks with points instead of cpu ignitions are more interesting than the constant rehash of the other thread subjects.

Hey, WHEELS---If I wuz a good-'nuff to collate all of that-stuff? I'd grow my hair long, shave twice-daily, and change my name to Lola!☺(Even then I just wouldn't have the legs for it---there's just SOME-things you can't shave-away!☺)

And it might be true, about women, short-feet, and closer-standing, BUT---I work around that issue: I have a "splash-shield" that's built-in at waist-level, that keeps those sudden-surges in the sink, where they belong!(Even has a finger-hole in it, so's it's easily-repositioned, if-needed!☺)

OLD JOHN: I believe the ice-cream make set-up would fit the 5-gallon bucket better, or one would think so?

As for the can-crusher: Ever consider yard-sales & such, for an-old trash-compacter? Don't know if anybody even uses 'em anymore?

Need one of those old hay-crimpers, y' know, with the serrated-steel rollers? Bale them suckers!

(Seen it tried with an-early model New Holland square-baler before. Let's just say "...it looked-good on paper, but in-practice..."☺)

Old John,

I just had a 2 hour power nap and I think I remember posting about a can crusher that I saw some time back. A few pieces of angle iron, a couple of old tires, wheels and hubs and an electric motor and belt and this fellow had fashioned him a production line can crusher. He just mounted the tires side by side and just barely touching each other and powered one of them with the electic motor and a belt. Forgot to mention he needed a proper sized pulley. He then aired up the tires to just the right pressure, turned it on and started feeding the cans down between the tires. I never saw it in action but there were lots of squashed cans laying on the ground.

With a little ingenuity and a few more spare parts this fine machine was just waiting for the addition of the optional automatic can feeder that he should have been able to install with another hour or so of labor and a little tweaking here and there.

Huh. Yeah, now that just MIGHT-be lo-budget feasible, and work quite-well.

Add a chicken-wire "baffle-box" at the exit-end, to catch the high-fastball "strays"

WHEELS, go back and take ANOTHER-nap, an' see if'n you can find us "enthusiasts" a pic-link in the Closed-Captioning of your dream.☺

I'll start lookin' on MY-end, in just a bit-later...!

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Feb 28, 2013, at 10:23 AM

Donknome2,

I saw this contraption... I mean invention setting outside in the rain where the guy had been using it to crush cans. I know it was homegrown. Won't be back in the area to take a picture for a month or so.

I'm thinking more on the lines of a simple hand operated wall mounted crusher powered by a simple air or hydralic cylinder. Put in a can and push the button, situated over 30 gallon barrel.

I have a trash compacter, use it for steel cans. Aluminum cans seem to have a tendency to use their collective rebound to avoid compaction in such a device.

WHEELS: That's OK---I'll take your word for it!(Meanwhile, I'll wait!)☺

OLD JOHN: There you go again, being logical and all. That ain't no fun...!!!☺

There's a lot of examples similar-to the "bending-knee"-action on YouTube. One of them may be of whom you're in re: to. One in-particular has a round-piston shaped ram, and a slow-cycle---not-unlike the action of a square(hay)baler. Electrically-driven, with a VERY-heavy flywheel/pulley...

"the hydralic cylinders have a nasty habit of leaking as much as pumping ."-- Posted by Dissident. on Sat, Mar 2, 2013, at 10:06 AM

Ahhh, sounds like the dreaded PSO/PSI imbalance - where ya gots too many Pounds Squirtin' Out, and not enough Pounds Stayin' In. :-)~

Both of which directly-affect the Gallons-Per-Machine requirements of each individual piece of equipment.

(Of course it's double-talk-bull---but I had to do something, to make this thread hit 1600....☺!)

And, DISS-beat me to it!☺

BTW---I wish I'd invested in stocks for those "Oil-Pig-Socks" for soaking-up leaks, when I was still-working. I'd be a virtual-millionaire, by now!

The traffic-areas of our building were literally-paved with impact-hardened, oil-saturated "kitty-litter" absorbent, that would still "get-away-from" those-"pigs"...

I'm not an expert, but it sounds like the machine has a bad case of 'ain't got no do right'. :-)~

-- Posted by Dissident. on Sat, Mar 2, 2013, at 10:56 AM

Yeah, we started with samples too, from a slick-talkin' rep.(Probably the same-one that YOU-had.☺) And, of course, with men-being-typical-men---we had a lot of fun unpacking the 4-foot "sausages", using our imaginations!☺

Even MORE-worthless, however, was those 1-foot-square, tear-to-size absorbent pads. Worthless as boobs-on-a-boar! Designed more for soaking-up errant-coolant "splatter"---as opposed to our "dike-ruptures"!---they WERE handy to slip and fall-on, just when you needed your footing the most.

We were just tossin' 'em in the "daily-truck-to-the-dump"-bin, until the factory-rep who "sold" us on 'em came back a week or so later, and went ballistic when he found we were NOT PUTTING THEM IN THOSE NEON-GREEN HAZ-MAT BARRELS, with the red-liners in 'em, that he'd left behind for us to use!(Not to mention he was liable for the HAZ-MAT disposal-fees, since the barrels were "his", so to speak!)

Between the full-time job of collecting, sealing, and the paperwork for disposal of the "pigs"?

Yeah, our-response was the same as yours: "Na-a-ahh!"....☺

"Donknome-2---Your thread is getting so danged long it is starting to cause a pause when you press end, just for it to reach the bottom of the posts."

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Mon, Nov 12, 2012, at 10:44 AM

..................

Tell-me about it! This-comment of WHEELS-here is where it stops on it's first-"pause for breath" on the way down!

And my pointin'-finger is gettin' cramps from holdin' it down so long.

Guess ah needs t' switch fangers, an' use mah-fumb for a while...!☺

Donknome2

As someone, I believe it was Spank, pointed out maybe a year or two ago when I complained, just hit end and it will go all of the way to the bottom. Home will bring it back to the top. That was instant when we started, now it sometimes seems a little slower.

I don't even try to read this thread on my Android phone. That scrolling to the bottom takes forever, and if there is a better way to get from the top to the bottom on a Droid... I haven't found it. I'm from Bollinger County and the days of the old hand crank phones. :-)

I don't move-around enough, to need an-Android phone!☺

And I kinda-miss a couple of my---OK, I mean, OUR---"regulars" that were here.

This was one of the few-threads where we could---and, would---leave politics in the toilet-threads where it belonged.

This-thread was started in the interest of fun, retro-memories, and a spot where a guy OR gal just might LEARN-something, if they weren't careful!☺

(Besides, the beer an' pickled-eggs are FREE-here...!☺)

"I don't move-around enough, to need an-Android phone!"

I probably don't either.... but I wanted one! Say no more.

Perhaps shared before - but a little computer-generated mechanically-stimulated easy-listening - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjBDfZZQz54

Getting things rounded up for the Spring session of TLC on the vehicles. Much to my chagrin, apparently most stores still won't ship fluids direct to the doorstep, thus necessitating a trip out of my comfort zone to a local store.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Happened to be in one of the local chain parts stores for other fluidy-type stuff when a mystical force grabbed ahold of my eyeballs, directing their point-of-view over to the oil section. Holy cow - a special! The 5-quart jug was on sale for $11.99, including a store-branded filter. Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding, we have a winner, limit two per customer!

Not a fan of cheap filters, but heck-fire, the price made the oil alone more than worthwhile. Figured if nothing else, could toss the filters in the trash ... which was done upon finding the filters were made in China, had a rattle to them, and the o-ring just didn't look to be seated properly. Purty paint job and neat-o graphics, though.

Looking back on the buying experience, don't know whether to feel good or bad about the purchase. On one hand, willingly supported the economy of China. On the other hand, saved about $16.00 plus another $1.28 in sales tax penalties as compared to regular pricing.

-- Posted by Dissident. on Mon, Mar 4, 2013, at 7:08 PM

Diss,

It is almost a certainty that I won't live long enough to find out what all this one does.

But it is kind of handy. I have been able to use the mapping program to find out exactly where I am, because it works off of GPS free, and I can see that the street I am looking for is 3 streets west of and 2 streets North of where I am sitting in someone else's car without a GPS program.

Does lots of different things and I have barely scratched the surface.

Oh and you can make phone calls on it too.

Nah, Diss - everything was in US English - however, first hint that something was amiss was that the physical size did not match the OEM filter. Then there was the brittle shrink wrap covering only the mating face, unlike the gooey stretchable wrap covering the entire filter which I'm accustomed to. The O-Ring seemed dry, and the seating area used six dimple crimps to hold the ring in place rather than the typical full-circumference interference fit.

Given the smaller size, could only assume that the filter media was not as fine so as to maintain rated flow and pressure drop, if that was even a design criteria.

I'll go cheap on oil, as long as it meets the spec'd rating - SG, SJ, SN, etc. Haven't yet converted to the synthetic line of thinking, for reasons I can't really justify other than being cheap, er thrifty. Not willing to go cheap on filtration, as conventional wisdom remains that you get what you pay for, and the observation that it doesn't take a lot of dirt to ruin an engine.

A new wrinkle for me is the 0W20 oil called for in the manual of the wife's car. Reminds me of the time GM decided to specify 5W30. I never complied with the 5W30, continued to use 10W30.

Seems like overnight oil got to $3 a quart for the cheaper varieties and the rating letters don't match up at all with the old car specs.

As long as I'm able I'll change my own oil instead of doing it the woman's way. That is to take it somewhere and write a $35 check and be on her way compared to the modern man's way which is to spend $60 on a case of oil and filter, buy a drain pan, filter wrench, creeper, 12 pack and forget the bag of floor dry causing another trip costing a total of $10,000 including the ongoing DWI expenses. :)

OLD JOHN: You wanna tell him why you can OIL the O-ring---but not GREASE-it? Or maybe I've just been un-lucky?(However, I do admit to using Vaseline, or other low-vis lube on such in the past, which came-out OK---literally!)

FXPWT: Should've threw those filters MY-way. Nope, I'd NEVER use 'em for oil, but I've cut the cap for the filter-media/rubber seals inside, and "perverted"-them for use as an AIR-cleaner, on a lot of the OLD-small engines, in-place of the foam-doo-hickeys.(Especially the PF-35 AC-filters. And, the left-over "can" of the filter makes an ideal rain-cap, for the "antique-tractor-groupies"!☺)

OLD JOHN: 0-20w---somehow, that combo sends a chill up my spine? Especially for anything older than a 2010-model. I'm like FXPWT---I've yet to embrace the synthetics, as well. My favorite "fellow-greaser" told me there's nothing wrong with synthetic, in a NEW/REBUILT-"modern" engine---but just don't be switchin' back and forth. Stick with what you started-with.

DISS: Agreed. And I think it's a simple-matter of what each individual considers a "dab". I just never had good-luck with GP-grease, as it seemed to wanna seize-tight, before it was full-seated.

But you're the winner, on the "shims-in-place". Works with "overhead-washers", and blind-taps, too!☺

Somethin' about this strikes me as "goin'-the-long-way-about-the-barn", as it pertains to felling-trees?

But, hey---it looks-like somethin' I might've thought-up, so, can't be ALL-bad, eh...?☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=nPq3Prf1dyY

Donk, If my recall is correct, I've only had two oil filter leak, One was when I forgot to go under with a light and of course that was the time the old gasket stayed on. The other time was when they were out of my brand filter and I tried a never heard of off-brand. That thing just looked warperjawed and I should have known better. All I ever do is finger a little oil on the gasket. Someting else I do is fill the filter as much as won't spill.

Regarding that video, was that rig a stump grinder? It looked like it could be used to cut grooves in the highway. Nice that it fell the right way.

I'm going to reread the owners manual about that 0w10. Dang stuff is about $7 a quart at Walmart. Surely 5w30 might work. The dealer says $42 for service which includes a tire rotation and of course a 12,000 point or whatever free inspection of things you're sure to want done, :)

"Nice that it fell the right way."

That was what I was thinking about as he was working on the backside of that tree. Kept looking for some movement and wondering how fast that machine would move in case the wind changed.

OLD JOHN: Yeah, the "hanging-chad"-o-ring got me in the past, as well. And, like I told DISS, a lot of it is in the interpretation of a "dab", when it comes to "grease-type"-grease. I, too, just dip the(gasket)end in a coffee-can-lid of oil, and go NO MORE than one-FULL-turn, after-gasket just-"rubs".

And I've tried the oil-filter prime-trick you mentioned. Works FINE, on most-engines. Well, except for the in-line 6, that I had in an-old Jeep, and the 300-in-line Ford I once had, as well. Couldn't have designed those filters to fit any more HORIZONTAL, if they'd tried!(Advantages? I guess the fact you couldn't splash hot-oil on you during a change???☺)

As for the tree-"feller"? I, too, thought it looked-like a groover, as I was under the impression that a stump-grinder had a LOT-bigger & fewer-"teeth"---but, maybe not true for all? The ones I've seen around here---mostly PTO-driven---certainly don't look like that one. And it SEEMED to be a bit-underpowered, at least to me?

And, WHEELS: That was much my-same impression! Not to mention what I said to myself, upon his FIRST-"attack" on the tree: "Oh, NO! You wouldn't DARE-try to cut-it from THAT-approach, would you?"

Which is the only-reason I watched it all the way through---it had "Homer-Simpson"-potential written all-over it....!☺

The topic isn't totally-"automotive"---but, it does echo the mechanical-subject.

And, to ME, the sub-titles scrolling the bottom says it all to us-"original" gear-heads of yester-years---even if you aren't "into" aircraft. The message isn't lost on us "rubber-burners", as well...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkcX0KGIBwk&feature=g-user-f&list=FLhC64GJ8yfesuJ...

Guess I'm getting a little more persnickety. Now that the Impy is starting to use a little oil between changes, gots to thinkin' - man, only a 4-quart capacity, is it really a good thing to let it get a quart down before adding? So, when it gets a half-quart down, I top it off - just like auto trannies have always recommended with their 10+ quart capacities.

Given the weather forecast this weekend along with the lawn greening up - figure it'll be time for the lawn mower tuneup. May have to scrounge a bit, as last I heard, Tecumseh went out of business in 2008 but so far, parts still seem to be available.

Seems that too many things I like just go away - 8-track tapes, Betamax and LaserDisc video, and MS-DOS to mention a few others. At any rate, the activities will be a reminder that there is at least one thing I like about winter - no grass cutting.

One thing I likes about the warm weather is the extra daylight - meaning this weekend will also involve changing the time on the gadzillion timekeepers on older equipment that didn't yet feature the auto-update.

fxpwt, I was waiting for that airplane to blow the metal off the back side of the shed.

FXPWT: In re: to the four-quart capacity---is that counting the filter? I know---every-one of anything, anymore, is different. "Jimmy" holds 5, "long"-filter included.(However, it may be "only" four for the engine, since it takes a full-quart to fill the oil-cooler system?) All I know for sure is, I WANT that "top-off" you speak of, as in, FIVE---not FOUR AND A HALF, like one of the Fast-Lubes tried to pull on the wife once.

(Danged-right I went back an' got that pint, as well as the CORRECT-size "long" filter. That towing-package ain't on there for looks---and it sure ain't on there, for "blazing-acceleration"-purposes, either!)

*************

As for the Tecumseh-parts: Yeah, you can get 'em still---but on-line MAY-be your best-source. Or at least they are for me? Yep, they sold-out to, I THINK, Lauson-engines?(Don't quote me on that.)

Amazing how the air-shroud/recoil starter housing of the Chinese-"PowerHorse"-brand look almost identical to the "old"-Tecumsehs, and the "generic"-type Hondas?

So, you MAY get "modify-to-fit"-parts like I did, but if so, it's generally just a bit of minor-reaming out/filing of castings/stampings, as it seems the Chinese don't know what a De-Burring Tool is used for.☺

I just never was too-impressed with any of the local-suppliers of parts. Seemed to have an-attitude, unless you were buying "REAL"-parts, for the ("REAL")expensive Kohlers, or the "Modern-Day" B&S's.

Maybe just me, though...

I know power ratings have been changed pertaining to small gas engines and electric motors since the old days. An electric air compressor is now rated on running horsepower and I'm not sure what has been done with small gasoline engines. I do know that my old Monkey Ward 10 hp garden tractor that has been undergoing restoration for about 7 years now has as much power as most modern 18hp rigs. The 18 hp JD316 Onan powered tractor in the barn and still waiting repower will still outpull a pickup truck if in the right situation.

One thing sets the 20hp Simplicity Vanguard apart though, it will mow the yard 3 times on the same fuel as the JD mows once and twice as fast. {yeah, I seldom get rid of anything]

OLD JOHN: And don't START-"getting-rid-of" those REAL-lawn tractors/mowers either!(Well, unless you'd like to give/sell them to ME, that is?☺) The "retro-classics" still had enough "meat" on 'em, so as to be rebuildable, let alone reconditioned, for cosmetic-stuff like decals, weldable cracked-METAL-hoods, etc.

That's a twin-opposed Onan, ain't it? Years-ago now, me an' my-bro made a "pulling-lawn-tractor"☺, with a Cub-Cadet frame/final-drive. Had an opposed-twin 17-hp Kohler on it. Sounded like a 350-Chevy when those governors opened-up.

(Should've seen & heard-same when we had an-extended frame on it, with TWO, 5-hp Briggs' in-tandem, before the Kohler.) Yeah, it WAS an-expensive hobby---but we were both "independently-wealthy" AND single,---not to mention, YOUNG!---back-then!☺ PLENTY-of stats that I could give you on it, but for the sake of brevity: It would run at least FIVE-minutes, on a quart-sized tank of aviation-fuel, which was, what---104-octane?

Oh yeah, I still got pictures of it. But this forum doesn't seem to like my format...!☺

Donk, My plan had been to replace the Onan with a Vanguard 23hp. One of by business associates replaced his with a 18hp Honda kit. Came with wiring harness and adapter sleeve for the hydro, cost a cool $1,000. For some reason I just couldn't cozy up to that and found the Briggs kit was a lot more but should have got it then. Now I understand the Vanguard comes from China and that particular model is not made anymore.

The Onan is good for power but hard on fuel and I haven't owned one yet that didn't use oil.

Diss, The blades stay sharp longer that way too.

Well, I can't match those last-three---ain't even gonna try!☺

Reminds me though---guess I should go out to "Da-Shed", an' knock the bird-poop off the cover-tarps, to make sure there's STILL a mower underneath them...☺

Donk - yep, the Impy 3.9L V6 is four quarts, including the filter. I guess the engineers know what they're doing - but my former Honda CRX with a 1.5L four-banger called for 3.7 quarts - just seems to be stretching things rather thin.

Did another tranny pan drop and filter change today - given the relative fragility of the much-talked-about and lowly-thought-of 4T65-E tranny - figuring expensing $75 worth of synthetic fluid (Dexron VI) and filter a bit more than called for will delay the $1500+ tranny rebuild. So far, so good - as others are reporting too many catastrophic failures at less than 100K miles.

One benefit of keeping a vehicle longer than average - get to know all the tricks on regular maintenance. Had the engine oil and tranny fluid and filter changed in less than two hours. Well, not including cleaning up the ExxonValdez sized spills, resulting from too wide of a pan draining into too small of a tub. Would really like to see a drain plug in the tranny pan, rather than the recommended yet still wrong loosening pattern of the 22 bolts. On the other hand - the garage floor has that showroom sheen to it after mopping up.

Now to get ready for that time warp 'leap forward' that usually results in 'falling back' into bed for more zzzzzzzzzzz's Sunday AM. :-)~

"Would really like to see a drain plug in the tranny pan, rather than the recommended yet still wrong loosening pattern of the 22 bolts."

---Posted by fxpwt on Fri, Mar 8, 2013, at 7:37 PM

Yep! When it gets to the point where you can recall how-many of 'em---plus the one in the far-dark corner, that always has the bummed-up "weak" threads---you're officially qualified for the job...!☺

Any of you Gearheads driven a Ford lately?

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=4TshFWSsrn8&vq=medium#t=35

Thing sounds like it has a rev limiter working overtime. And what's up with all the smoke from the front tire during spins, individual braking?

Old John,

Shame on me, I should have posted the following with the link as an explanation. But you nailed it on the Rev Limiter.

"You can smell the rubber burning as you watch. It's a must view on a full screen.

What a ride! What a driver!!! You'd have to wear 'depends' to ride with this guy!

Betcha can't watch it just once.

It sounds like the little car is running bad ..... one reason it sounds like it is cutting out is because the rev limiter keeps the R.P.M.. from going too high and blowing the motor ..... the other popping sound is the wastegate on the turbo.

Also note at the very end, the sparks coming from the rear wheel rims as the tires have burned off the wheels."

Wheels, Yeah, I saw the tires and that's when I knew it wasn't a commerical for a tire company.:)

Did you notice the reference to Oba...OOPS, we agreed to keep that crap off this thread!

I noticed the stick and assumed it was a shift lever but also saw the gear changes being done with the steering wheel paddle. Anyway, the guy didn't have any problem worrying about what to do with his hands.

I wonder if his other car is a motor home?

Old John,

I don't believe this guy could sit still long enough to drive a motor home. Performance and handling is a bit different than what he appears to excel at. ;-)

A little different than backing two trailing wagons into the barn or racing down 67 from the big city to Bollinger County on a friday night. :)

Wonder what he eats?(or maybe, doesn't-eat?) Must drink that "DEXRON III-colored" Mountain-Dew X-Treme Red?

Yeah, OJ, it took me a bit to figure-out the "stick" wasn't a shifter as well, once I, too, saw the "paddles" on the steering. Now I know how he got an-AWD to "drift"---that stick is a split-system brake...

My wife's Acura came with paddle shifters on the wheel. Fun to play with but you can't help wondering what that screaming sound is until you remember you forgot to shift it.

Diss, I don't recall what but I do remember driving something that had unsychronized reverse where second gear should have been. That's a little more understandable than my tendency to grab the column mounted multi-stick intead of the console shift lever. :)

Used to hear about one of the many mods the rodders from the 40s and 50s used to do - take the three-on-the-tree shifter and roll it 180 degrees, so that the shifter was on the left side of the steering wheel.

Thought for a bit about doing that to one of my first rides having that grampy-geezer setup, rather than the neat-o guido, all-that four-on-the-floor - but didn't trust myself.

As the stories were told, not only was one shifting with the 'wrong' hand, the pattern was now backward - where 1st was in-and-up, 2nd was out-n-down. Could just see getting conflusterationed and grinding the gears down to nubs.

The fun part of listening to these stories was hearing the older elders, who had earned a degree of respect and honor because of their age, talking about the things they used to do, which were right in line with the things I was presently trying to get away with doing. :-)

FXPWT: Yeah, talk about irony! Now, it's YOU---er, rather, WE!---who are the "older-elders" who are STILL-"earning" a-degree of respect and honor.

(And when we get into an-argument with OURSELVES, as to what's right or wrong---it's simply a moot-point, anymore...!☺)

-- Posted by fxpwt on Fri, Mar 15, 2013, at 6:40 PM

Fxpwt,

Sometime in the mid 60's Ford put a 4 speed transmission in one of their underpowered Econoline Vans. I was in the market for a new Econoline Pickup at the time and test drove one.... then went and bought a Dodge A 100 with a decent sized leaning tower of power 6 cyl.

That 4 speed on the column was one weird shifter.

Wheels, If memory serves me correctly, those A-100s were pretty good rigs and easily identified by those oversized headlamp bezels. They had one little problem exagerated by the cooling system rot typical of Chrysler products. The too short heater hose nipple on the head was forever eroding away and was near impossible to remove without pulling the head and getting serious with some machine shop skills.

fxpwt, In my crowd the big fad was switching out the column 3spd for a floor shifter and a 4spd. Wrinkle paint on the dash to simulate the padded dash look was also in.

A buddy had taken a 3spd OD out of his '55 Chevy and put in a 350ci 4spd. I wanted that OD tranny for my '64 pick-up in '73 but he had already taken it to the scrap yard.

I wondered why the oldies were lowered in the rear. I am told the moonshiners chained the bodies down tight to the rear differentials to decrease body roll and make them take corners faster, thus the fad.

Donk, When's the last time you had a set of curb finders on your car?

Old John,

Never had a problem with that heater hose nipple on the A 100. But with a 90 inch wheel base and a little ice or snow things could get interesting.

Last curb feelers I had were on a 53 Ford prior to 1960, when I went Green and purchased a 1960 Falcon with that great big 144 CI 6 cylinder engine that could barely achieve 20 MPG.

Wheels, I had a '63 Falcon with I think a 170 engine and best I recall it got really good mpg after I put 15" wheels on the back.

Someone told me that the same engine in truck had bigger valves = more power. I paid $20 and pulled the head off a junkyard truck and swapped them. I was too dumb to actually measure the valves or assertain any difference in the intake or exhaust ports and never could tell any change in performance.

OLD JOHN: I skipped the "curb-feeler" stage, an' went straight to the "bruised-side-walls"-stage, a.k.a., the "feel-your-way-in"-parking method.(I think I wore the feelers off in the ditches during the first few weeks of driving on an-actual road.☺)

Those-things would work your shins over really-good, too, when parked on a flat, no-curb area.(Almost, but not quite, as good as the extended, un-covered drop-down ball-hitches of todays' vehicles.)

I wonder it those things are(would be)legal to have in place anymore?

Old John,

I have to admit, I cannot imagine a Falcon with 15 inch wheels on the rear. Must've been gravity that got you started moving as it could not have been the power from the engine. ;-)

Or did you launch it like they do a glider?

Whhes, You're right, no power but once it got going it saved gas. :)

My uncle was a die hard Dodge and Plymouth man. He made fun of the Mustang as just a Falcon in horse leather.

I do remember the Mercury version of the Falcon, [maybe a Comet] of that time frame having a bit more go.

You do realize we were talking about "curb" feelers, not "curve" feelers? ;)

In the '60s CBS did some documentary style programs about cars. One question explored was what the cars of the turn of the century would be. Remember many of us expected cars to evolve into personal flying transports and all sorts of technological advanced machines. They got it right by predicting the cars of 2000 would be much the same with improvements in aerodynamics. I recall the shape of a banana being the end result. They also did a feature about a national driving test that challenged viewers awareness of road facts and driving skills.

One was about how close or far to follow a motorcycle. Tests showed that following a heavy fully dressed bike was not apt to be of concern but the newer lighter import bikes could stop faster than a car and required more following distance.

Just wondering if anyone else remembers those shows.

You do realize we were talking about "curb" feelers, not "curve" feelers? ;)

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Mar 16, 2013, at 11:55 AM

Old John,

I remember when I first heard the concept of "Grading on the Curve" system, and thought to myself, hell I been doing that since about the 8th grade.... maybe earlier.

O.J.sez:---"I recall the shape of a banana being the end result."

Y' sure it wasn't more like THIS, instead?

http://api.ning.com/files/82y1FCQArgyWksXRLNX8bqXxLEhpeI*gRYmL0ug*3obNwJZFHU3QRN...

Donknome-2

I do not know how many of those weinermobiles there are around, but at least one of them has been in St. Charles from time to time for repairs at a specialty shop there.

RICK: Now that you mention it, got me to thunkin':

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/highway-splatter-scene-ketchup-truck-cr...

Some really-interesting "related"(somehow?)videos here, too. Still-wouldn't live in Cali, even for this-"perk". Although, it DOES-appear Quality-Control has paid-off, from at least 40-years ago(☺)!:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/pot-heads-swarm-truck-crash-spills-bags...

And, for us "mustard-lovers", instead:

http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/810401-man-rear-ends-mustard-truck/

To quote a "Dirty-Harry"-line from the movie, "Magnum Force":

" You know what REALLY-(ticks)me off? YOU!!! I mean, Nobody, but, NO-body, EVER puts ketchup on a hot-dog...!!!"

(BTW, what's the diff between CATSUP &/or KETCHUP? I mean, hey---MUSTARD is just, well---MUS-TARD....☺)

"Oh I wish I were an Oscar-Mayer wiener---that is what I'd truly like to be-e-e."

"'Cause if I were an Oscar-Mayer wiener---everyone could take a bite of me...!☺"

(I can't even remember the "real"-lyrics!)

------------and, of course----------

"My baloney has a first-name, it's O-S-C-A-R."

"My baloney has a second-name, it's M-A-Y-E-R."

"Oh, I love to eat it every-day, an' if you ask me why I'll say-y-y---"

"'Cause Oscar-Mayer has a way, with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!" ☺

(THAT-one is confirmed correct by my-wife, which means it's "Certified"---wrong or no...!☺)

Pretty sure you don't have to be crazy to do this.... but I bet it would help!

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/rock-bouncing-500-hp-buggy-climbs-sheer-c...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7KpE_ag0Us

Wrong one. Here ya go.

Don't stand too close.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfsfwCRWHgo

Now if you want to see some guys that can turn it on watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOuh6D5Q_4I&list=LLKG8Bwrdw2LW9TYTQQFP8mw

And I used to "sweat" the loose-gravel, soybeans, and snakes in the curves.

"This is the stuff dreams(nightmares?)are made of!"

Man, I can STILL-feel the road-rash, even years-later...!☺

Regret, That dune buggy flip reminds me of a toy a younger cousin had. I was probably too old to play with it and he never gave me the chance. It was a Mighty Mike track wind-up that would go fast and climb walls and flip over and keep going like the one in the video. Do they make toys like that any more?

I confess my ignorance, had to look up and learn about the motorcycle race. Imagine something like that in the states.

Man, I can STILL-feel the road-rash, even years-later...!☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Mar 21, 2013, at 9:55 AM

I have scars to prove my ignorance of pain.

......................................................................

OJ

I had a thing that looked like a dune buggy that did that. Ive always wanted to go to the Isle of Man race.

Regret, Seemed to me to be akin to the bull runs in that someone's sure to get hurt. Any faster and a missed curve would land them in Ireland.

I don't watch sports channels, is this televised? If so I will tune in to the next one.

I knew things were going just a little too well.

Lit off the ol' Ford yesterday, seemed to have a bit of a miss. Hmmmm. Kept getting worse. All the typical suspects were running through my head - condensation in the distributor, water in the gas, fouled plug, bad plug wire, plugged fuel filter, fuel pump failing ...

Didn't help that the passenger was 'helping' diagnose the issue - gonna throw a rod, can see the manifold coming through the hood, ka-blooey, it's goin' down, you're gonna be walking home, etc. Of course, didn't put much credit in anything said by a guy who favors Bow-Ties. :-)~

Finally, the Check Engine light came on, so I knew the computer got around to not liking what was going on. Limped on home and dragged out the code reader.

Ahhh, next opportunity to excel. Battery in the reader was dead, had a 'use by' date of 2007 - which was taken as a really good thing, meaning that the reader hasn't been needed for a long time.

It had been so long since I've used the reader, had a moment of private shame when the directions had to be pulled out and followed step-by-step.

Now, you have to remember, the truck dates back to the late 80s, back when MTV still played music videos, Cape Riverfest was only about halfway through its 21-year run, and fuel injection and expanded computer controls on a commercial scale were still relatively new on the scene, as were the diagnosis methods. Instead of a fancy text display like nowadays, had to count the blinky light, or if one prefers, count the annoying tinny-yet-still-offpitch beep - then match up the counts with the handy-dandy decoder sheets.

Code number 63 was spit out, which means ... look for it ... look for it ... ah-hah, the throttle position sensor has low voltage. Checked the wires and connector, all looked good, so called the part as failed.

If you're expecting this story to have a happy ending - well, you're gonna have to wait. Used my rule-of-thrifty, where if the shipping charges are less than the local sales tax and time is not of the essence, then RockAuto is the way to go - expecting it here by Wed/Thur.

Along the lines of the Dos Equis guy's advice on beer, "Stay Thirsty", not-so-master mechanic here advising, "Stay Tuned".

Heheheh - get it? Motor, stay tuned? Yeah, some say I'm losing it - but on the bright side, figure that means that at least at some point in time, I actually had ahold on it.

FXPWT: Indeed, I went screaming & kicking, as I was dragged-into the abyss of the "Electronic Fuel Injection, more commonly known as "EFI". I swore to God Almighty that the day they'd get my carburetor would be the day they pried my cold, dead fingers out of it's throats.☺

But I gotta admit, it's the "bees-knees" when it comes to blue-assed-cold starting. Guess that's why the "modern" starter systems are gear-reduced, with that sewing-machine motor on them?

I mean, all it needs is three, sometimes three an' a half to four-full-turns to light-off.

My right-leg has gotten fat-n'-lazy now, due to the lack-of exercise it once got from the bass-drum technique of "pump-it 'til it fires---then pump-it some more, and harder"...!☺

fxpwt, Donk, You have a way with words describing what I can relate to.

Donk, I have the same reaction to fuel injection. On the carb ran rigs I have Iv'e learned the lesson of fuel volitility: pump it a few times and wait before cranking.

fxpwt, I hope that TPS solves the problem although I can't comprehend how throttle position can influence misfire. I'm not familiar with Ford trouble codes before OBDII. In the GM world of ignorance gone to seed the first code spit out was many times the effects of the cause. A missfire would trigger a rich mixture code ie.

Back then I liked to disconnect the coolant sensor or other device to eliminate computer influence. If it ran worse it was basic engine, if it ran better it was an electronic engine control problem.

I love it when a plan comes together!

To put an ending to the saga started Sunday - the parts ordered Sunday afternoon were sitting on my doorstep when I got home yesterday. Son - that was fast. Planning ahead, had 'em throw in some Wix oil filters and a cabin air filter for the Impy, as my round tuit seems to be picking up momentum now that the weather is at least promising that a Spring is in sight.

Tackled the job today. First, read up on the how-to by flipping through the directions-for-dummies in the handy-dandy Chilton's manual, which has served me quite well over the past 20+ years, pages brittled and yellowed with age, and generously stained with my greasy paw-prints throughout.

As stuff was being taken apart - the air inlet ductwork, the various vacuum hoses, accelerator cables and the like towards removing the throttle body - something seemed vaguely familiar, validated by the remnants of handiwork from younger days.

The worm hose clamps that had been tightened too much so that the rubber poked through the slots, the Phillips head screws that had been rounded due to using the wrong tool for the job - figuring a blade screwdriver tilted at a 45, and the fuel line substituted for the coolant line used to warm throttle body all supported that I had been in this area before, and before learning better by buying some good tools.

The changeout and put-together went without a single dammit, and am happy to report that the bucking, snorting, farting, and hitching in the giddy-up are all gone, as is the Check Engine light. Seems to be running as good as ever, given its advanced years and miles. For now anyways, we're gonna score this one in the Win column.

Curiousity got the better of me, so started digging through the pile of receipts stuffed in the glovebox to be sure I hadn't lost my mind. A little trip down Memory Lane was taken, as all the work that had been done on the truck through the years was recollected. And yep, sure enough, on 05Aug94 at 1724, a throttle position sensor was purchased for an '89 Ford at the only parts store in a small-town Kentucky.

Interesting that the parts-store discounted price almost 20 years ago was pretty much the same as the price just paid for the same top-quality name-brand part. I had already learned by then that cheap parts mean only that you're gonna get a lot of practice.

Good to have the house back in order again, especially since it's almost that time to drive around topless in the Jeep. :-)~

fxpwt, I'm confused a usual. What fixed the chuggle-misfire?

Heheheh OJ, I guess in my irrational exuberance to share, went to telling everything about it, except what it was.

Turned out the computer was spot-on when it flagged the throttle position sensor. Whether it was lucky, or just that good, remains material for future discussions. :-)~

I'd venture to say they're called that because if(when!)the door-latch failed while underway, the air-pressure will pop them open and/or completely off, as-opposed to the "normal"-type of doors, where the air-pressure will pretty-much hold them shut, at least 'til you can bring it to a stop.(It's been my-experience, that with the old, REAL-steel doors---even under heavy-braking---they didn't/wouldn't open to begin with, until you were down to, say, maybe 10-m.p.h., more or less?)

Now, as for WHY they opened "backwards"? Don't quote me on it, but I THINK it had to do with at least TWO-things. In the case of the FRONT-doors: Ease of entry. No snagging your cuffs/shoes in/on the floor-pedals.

As for the REAR-doors? Same-reason---ease of entry, PLUS, back when a "Lady Of Class" wearing a REAL-dress, similar to a late-Victorian style? It was a LOT-easier to tuck-in the "tail", and prevent it from getting-soiled by road-splash, or WORSE---getting it caught between the door & frame, literally-OUTSIDE the vehicle.

(P.S.---I know "those-kinds" of dresses, clothing WOULD HAVE MADE for a dull-lifestyle, IF I had been raised in the time. But pics of both-Grandmas' as young-ladies look just SO-proper, organized. Classy and pretty-lines. Even though they were sheer-torture for the wearer, with the laced-down(or, up?)corsets...!☺)

By The Way---I forgot to mention, Lincoln-Continental had these "backward"-doors on the REAR-compartment, I think still into the late-'60's/early-'70's???

I'm still-YET trying to cope with the doors that open UPWARDS.

Bet after a while with those kind of doors, a fella would learn to be more-attentive, to gettin' that left-leg inside just a bit-faster when he's leaving the doctors'-office parking lot THIS-time...!☺

I owned a 69 and a 71 4 Door T-Bird and both had the suicide rear doors. Never have heard a real explanation of why they were called suicide doors. Just used my imagination as to why.

fxpwt, I remember a Buick I had witha TPS code. I went to my long time experienced dealership parts man to get one and without looking it up he came back with the part and said they all use the same, two years in both directions. I put it on and had worse troubles and all kinds of codes. Then I went to another dealership and the girl [that's right, a dumb girl:] that knew little looked it up and said my year was one of a kind. She gave me the right one and all was well. Looking back, I suspect TPS gives input on so many different computer decisions that several symptons can result.

Regarding those doors, might be the suicide of the door that rendered the name,... open that thing before coming to a stop?

Donk, I like that Victorian style for the ladies, encourages some of my best my thinking.

A Rasberry Pinto? I had a girlfriend once that had a Pinto but it was blue.

Regret, Was it an exploding Pinto with self-destruct Firestone tires? :)

Diss, I'm surprised that fifth wheel isn't used on some of the 4-door extended cab pick ups.

Maybe I should tell this story on the shopping experience thread we had going a while back but I feel more comfortable revealing my ignorance here where maybe I'm not the first to be so.

A good while back the old car started giving a murmer from the rear. When it got louder I stuck my head up and under the rear bumper [if you can call that mass of plastic a bumper] and figured the muffler was leaking.

When the noise increased enough to drown out any potential important noise that might arise I started planning in my mind the how to replace the muffler. I also started shopping the local parts stores on line. Gee, what happened to a lifetime muffler installed for under $50 after all the extra clamps and hangers?

Anyway I found one on line for $30, some modification required and went to check it out. Discontinued but one for $80 could be ordered.

Well, I figure while I'm in the mood I'm going to get this done somehow so I go to Advance Auto [had pretty good luck there before finding parts instead of assemblies] and find the a muffler is $127. When I said no way and asked what happened to those muffler shops, he suggested a place. I went there and agreed to a new muffler installed for $85 and was suprised when the guy said he could fix it for $35, muffler fine, hole in pipe in front of muffler.

I get dumber every day!

Heheheh OJ, kinda along the lines of how the Jeep ended up with sidepipes.

The Y-connection tying each side of the V8 to a single exhaust had failed, Chrysler was really doggone triple-digit-and-then-some proud of their replacement part, and JCWhitney had a dual-muffler kit for $99. Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner! I suppose I could've tried harder by going to a local muffler shop - but c'mon man - dual exhausts! Vroom, Vroom! :-)~ But now that several years have passed, kinda wish the Jeep was a bit quieter - gettin' on my nerves.

Shifting gears a bit - wiped the weatherstripping around the Impy doors with silicone lube as recommended. Also a good time to clean the crud out of the various channels. Never really appreciated how much wind noise there was, until it was gone.

OLD JOHN: At $35-dollars, it must've been a 15-second job with the MIG-welder, I'd assume?

Many-eons ago, when I had balls of Chrome-Vanadium, I could do such with a Lincoln AC/DC-"tombstone" and a 1/8ths-powder coated 6013.

I was DANG-good, with that same-welder set on 75 amps POSITIVE-ground, and that-particular stick.

But if I tried it with AC? Looked more like a pigeon or two had "helped"...!☺

Donk, I assume that was a bit more substantial than the coat-hanger-torch method. :)

fxpwt, I agree, like the sound of a Harley or a high compression engine with a voice but not all the time. Still haven't learned to like the noise of loud pipe diesel pick-ups especially at a red light when I have the radio on.

One of my favorite sounds is from a Farmall Super M straight pipe at idle or in a hard pull, right up there with a Johnny-Popper in the distance when the air is heavy.

OLD JOHN: True. Todays' plastic-hangers just don't "cut"-it, either........!☺

Donknome-2

Well this thing is still going. Well on the way to making 2000. The thought just occurred to me that if you allowed a little sex and violence, we could push it to 3000. Strictly related to the current subject matter you understand. :-)

Perhaps a bit off-topic, but I promise to do my best to do my duty to ... er, not bring politics into the mess :-)

Trying to get the yard in shape. Already have completed three mowings with the then-bottom-of-the-line Sears Eager-1 mower with the now-out-of-production Tecumseh motor and the wobbly wheels that resulted from mowing sideways on a hill over the past 13 years, bought at an end-of-season sale for half-price, ratcheting the mower deck up on its way from winter close-groom height so as not to catch so much trash and leaves, to its summer height of 5-inches. Whew! Ever have one of those sentences that just run on and on? :-)~ I've noticed that taller grass can go longer before it looks like it really needs to be mowed, and seems to go longer before it appears to be thirsty - another energy saving tip near-n-dear, since it's my own personal energy being saved.

Now that the weather has finally warmed up and things are growing strong - gasp and gadzooks - weeds galore! Good grief. Went to matching up the observed specimens with online photos - seems like a doggone barnyard has taken up residence with CHICKweed, HENbit, and BULLthistle, along with other varieties that I quickly tired of searching for. Also, there's the occasional, run-of-the-mill dandelion, compliments of the various adjacent neighbors whose lawns put on an annual yellow flower show with their bountiful dandelion numbers.

At any rate, I suppose last summer was a bit harder on the lawn than I thought - haven't had this much lawn recovery work since I first moved in almost a generation ago. Went to pulling the weeds that would pull, leaving the rest for the good ol' 2,4-D - ah, better living through chemistry.

Figure a good lawn helps make the house, plus some of my better ideas have arrived when just aimlessly cutting or otherwise tending to the grass. Since I'm not a Ford, but only a Ford person - I can use all the 'better ideas' I can get ahold of.

Used to put out a pretty good flower display several years back, but stopped that cold after a couple of the neighbor ladies commented with delight one spring day that they couldn't wait to see what I was going to put out that year. Hmmmm, ouch, lost more than a few points on my 'he-man' card that day.

Coming soon, to a Ford near you......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bch5B23_pu0

first they got rid of our hand-cranks.

Then they take our Ignition Points.

Next they take our beloved Carburetors.

Then they take our Spark Plug Wires.

Now they want to take our trusty Camshaft too???

What Next???

"Well this thing is still going. Well on the way to making 2000. The thought just occurred to me that if you allowed a little sex and violence, we could push it to 3000. Strictly related to the current subject matter you understand." :-)

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Mon, Apr 8, 2013, at 12:33 PM

/////////

He must've forgotten all those links to the eye-candy we'd hang on the sides of the "rat-rods"! Oh, silly-me---WHEELS &/or OJ, here, are from the "Before Jungle-Jim/Jungle-Pam"-handcrank-era!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqexMLnzlfc

Heh! And they think the ONLY-reason we'd burn, bruise, and cuss-ourselves for(then-less-than)SIX-seconds---while strapped-inside of a hot-steel tornado---was because we were trying to impress the MEN in the crowd!☺

(You ain't been "bleached-and-spotted", until it's been done by a "Jungle-Pam"-doin' such for you!)

FXPWT: Moles are hell-times-two this year, at least where I'm at. Ain't no problem killing them out---but it's a pain to repair the tunnels.

Wish I had the "solvent-income" to afford one of those 800-pound-or-so "sheepsfoot"-rollers.

Then again, BRAKES on the garden-tractor I'd use for it would be nice, too---esp. once I top "The Hump" just past my well-house, headed towards the north-wall of our house.

Sometimes, that "E-Stop" on the throttle just don't act quite-soon enough, when y' gettin' down-and-dirty with it....!☺

Just had a Tornado WATCH-issued for here. So, guess I'll go LOOK for one.

BTW---IF I find one, an' catch it---any of you WANT-it?

Better still: Should I GIVE it away, to be charitable? Or, SELL it to the highest-bidder, tossing all-morals to the wind...???☺!

Donk - FWIW, had mole problems over in Kentucky. Neighbors were using those guillotine contraptions that didn't work worth a hoot. The neighborhood dogs were pretty effective, except for the tremendous craters they left behind after the digging.

Being the tech-sappy guy I yam, figured I'd be smarter than the average bear and got one of those electronic mole-poles that is supposed to put a sound wave or something in the ground. Guess I had the battery in backwards or something, cuz it seemed to draw them in, rather than run them off.

Co-worker suggested to try Juicy Fruit gum. Said that moles can't process the gum after they eat it, so it just kinda JB-Welds 'em up and constipates 'em to death. Went on to explain that one had to be careful never to touch the gum with the hands due to scent transfer or the like.

So I bought one of those convenient ten-paks of five sticks each at the local WallyWorld, and carefully rolled the gum up using the wrapper. Used one of the rods from the Jeep top to waller a hole in the runs, and dropped the entire 10-pak of gum into the various holes in the numerous runs.

Not sure whether the theory was true or false, or whether I was lucky or just that good, but it worked like a charm!

Try duplicating this in your workshop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73txXT21aZU

WHEELS: Believe it or not, you aren't the first-person to have sent me that exact-same link!

Nope! Hain't NO-way I could dupe that!

If the tolerance is less than a "curly-red-hair"---it's outta MY-league!

(P.S.---the "hair"-measurement, though admittedly "sanitized" so's it'd stay-printed!---is literally/roughly .050, but less than .060, tolerance. Says so, in the UN-official "Machinists' Handbook". Ask OLD JOHN for a copy, if you don't have your own!)☺

FXPWT: Sounds plausible. I still use Mole-Tox™---when/if I can get it---in a sub-soil deposit-probe. Supposedly works similarly to your idee, except it "converts" the moles' digestive enzymes into a minute-amount of Phosphene(not-gene, though related)-gas, which kills quickly, efficiently.(duh!)

Here's the next-best-thing to Juicy Fruit---but, good LORD, the PRICE!!!

http://www.gemplers.com/product/134528/Motomco-Mole-Killer

Black-Powder is cheaper---not to mention, quieter!---although maybe not quite as safe, and not to mention the grapefruit-sized craters it tends to leave-behind...!☺

Yeah, I already KNOW that Black-Powder is NOT-quieter---but, it's too-late to fix that faux-pas now! And, it IS-cheaper, AND more-fun, too!

Danged-"Mixedfused-Virus", for some reason? Tends to happen when one-eye goes shut, whilst the table-fan dries the other-one OPEN...???☺

Wheels

Good video.

Some people have the knack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9zt3SF_Flc

I was waiting for it to blow up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c1i_UIEsSM

Here, OLD JOHN---this'll help the bowels move! Or, at least, it worked for ME!☺

Sound repro ain't all that good---but, the REAL-message is in the caption, fer-shure...!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=-HbUFa7l3DM&feature=endscreen

I don't understand all I don't know about the tin-can engine. Looks like compressed air from a hose was spinning it.

At $3 a mole and I could build the moles their own private luxury condo if I had $3 a mole. The only real success I've had is when I used an old metal vaccumn cleaner pipe to run the exhaust from the worn out Onan into the main intersection. Did it early in the morning and could see steam and smoke coming out the ground 50 feet away in all directions. :)

When drag racing was fun [and dangerous] was when we did it on the streets a little bit and then took it to the two lane roads just out of town. Nothing better than whipping up on a V-8 with a little 6-cyl or seeing a hot rod swamped by an old lady's car! ;) I'm told that back in the real old days, money didn't matter; if you wanted performance parts you had to make your own. That was before speed shops.

I guess I consider myself very attractive.

Heheheh - before you start thinking I'm too full of myself, let me do some shplainin'.

As you have probably guessed by now, I spend a lot of time on the highway, specifically good ol' I-55. Startin' to notice a pattern that is gettin' on my nerves.

Traffic is generally light most days, but it never seems to fail that I'll get someone on my tail tighter than my underwear, or ponied up alongside - and then just stay there. Speed up, they'll speed up - slow down, they'll slow down. Wide open road, and they want to be glued to me thisclose.

Figuring it's someone who has never been in a wreck of any consequence to truly appreciate how much hurt and damage can happen.

Also gets me to realizing how much I've changed. In the younger days, with the front-wheel drive Cavalier Z24 having the hand-operated, console-mounted E-brake lever - loved to yank-and-release on the brake just long enough to get a good tire squawl but not enough to noticeably affect speed, all of which usually brought on the reflection of two big ol' eyes and a nosediving front end of the tailgater in the rear view mirror. :-)~

"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of ... what young women have been thinking about all winter."

Eh, apologies for the off-topic detour. Sharing the opening line from the first day of an English literature class, where instructor seemed to have a split personality between prim and proper, and Groucho Marx.

All seriousness aside, another helpful hint for your considerations and comments.

Got into the A/C this past week, as the parked Impy's internal temperature was higher than comfortable after sitting in the sun all day. Now that the airflow was directed to the vents instead of out the floor, noticed it just didn't seem to be puttin' out like it should.

No biggie - I knew it had a cabin air filter - a clever ploy to increase maintenance revenues for the parts manufacturers, but geez, I just changed it last spring.

Pulled it out of its well-stowed away spot, only destroying one of the plastic retainer clips, but the filter just didn't look all that bad. Since the sun was shining, went for the tried-and-true test, holding it up to the sun to see how much light comes through.

In the words of Homer Simpson, "D'Oh!", as a lot of fine dust, about the consistency of what one finds in the vacuum cleaner bag, rained down on my face and into my eyes.

Finished changing it out, airflow is now good-to-go - once again approaching tornadic velocities on High fan speed.

Kinda gripes me that the cost of the cabin filter is actually a bit more than the regular motor air filter - considering the importance I place on each. On the other hand, it does seem to keep the interior of the vehicle much cleaner over time.

Anyone remember these?

http://clintonengines.com/

Diss,

Is that the mower you were trying to give away?

Old John,

Yes, I have seem those engines, but a long time ago.

Old John,

Yes, I have seem those engines, but a long time ago.

Diss, My first rider was a Murray. When I got it home and started mowing, the drive pulley fell off. I fixed that and the steering wheel came loose. I fixed that and the throttle cable broke.

Anyway, After a while I got everything working and it served me well for a couple of years and started smoking and wouldn't start half the time. Like the younger dummy I was I rebuilt the engine. That cost me $50 in parts, meanwhile I bought a 111 John Deere. [That's another sad story]

I posted the Murray for sale in the local paper for $150 and a preacher with a gift of gab I've never seen matched came to look at it. By the time it was over he bought the thing from me $50.

The funny thing about the whole deal was I never felt cheated, for I enjoyed his gift of gab a $100 worth!

The funny thing about the whole deal was I never felt cheated, for I enjoyed his gift of gab a $100 worth!

-- Posted by Old John on Tue, Apr 23, 2013, at 5:49 PM

You cheated? From your account of that mower's history..... if you were a Catholic you would need to go to confession for selling it to a preacher. ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyOo8Q2ye3k&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Wheels, Since I am not, refer to above post. :)

Regret, May be. I'm too dense to understand what actually split the wood.

Old John,

Just pulling your leg a little.

I see you're still a "night crawler" on these threads. :-)

I recently aquired a 20 year old. Didn't need another expense but the 19 year old may need a sabatical.

I'm talking cars here Donk!

I talked with a friend a while back about replacing the Park Avenue that has been my most favorite car and he suggested it would be cheaper to spend some money to fix it up than buying another newer used car. I might just do that although it sounds crazy to spend about $3,000 on a $2,500 car.

It has 120,000 miles on it and needs a windshield, headliner, trunk pull down motor and blower control module, plus the intake manifold is starting to leak oil. I'm sure a good detailed inpection would find more.

There was a time I laughed at people that thought they needed all those convenience features like electro-lumanince rear view mirror and cornering lights, six way seats both sides etc, but it is nice. 30 mpg highway at un-retested old folks speed is also hard to beat too.

Anyway the Grand Marq is in nice shape with 103,000 miles and I had my chance to give her a once over this week. So far I got to test my theory about those yellow-dull-dirty headlamp lenses that I'm too cheap to buy a restore kit for.

Yep, a 2 inch rolock attatched buffing pad on a die grinder ran at slow speed works just fine when wetted and sprinkled with Bonami. Followed up with Turtle Wax buffed with a clean pad.

Regret, May be. I'm too dense to understand what actually split the wood.

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Apr 29, 2013, at 12:03 AM

I guess it's top secret.

"Regret, May be. I'm too dense to understand what actually split the wood."

Something like I have heard they used to make the doughnut holes in the Navy ship's galley... only a lot bigger and harder maybe?

Today's chore was to change oil on the lawn mower and tractor. I made up my mind not to pay $14 for a tractor filter from the dealer that looks very similar to the lawn mower filter that is overpriced at $8. Spent 2 hours last night looking up part numbers to find a Wix filter is about $7 for the tractor. No one in this town has one. Neither does anyone in this town have a 10W30 oil complient with the specs of the little diesel under $7 a quart.

Oh well, being the cheap-scate I am, it got a $4 Fram and $4.50/qt close to spec oil. I plan to order a few Wix filters on line before they start adding sales tax for future use.

Wheels, Today's events of traffic and frustration at the parts girl that said they dont have it, and me having to tell her to look again because it wasn't manufactured in Ireland and it wasn't a 50 year old Ferguson tempted me to say something confessable. :)

Old John,

I had this good Baptist friend of mine a number of years ago took this friend we had in common and his wife out for a nice warm evening boat ride on the Lake of the Ozarks. Well the water patrol didn't think he had the right colored sticker on the side of his boat and pulled him over. Yep it was expired and according to my friend Ed.... Bill was a confessin and professin and his wife and he were interrupting one another explainin how that happened. Poor old Bill has been gone these last dozen or so years, but he was a dandy and I truly miss him. Never will forget when he got to explain his automobile expense account to the IRS and the agent wanted to know what that fuel bill from Village Marina was far. Bill not being short of words, stuttered briefly and then blurted out, well I guess the other day when I was down at the marina I must have forgot to put my car in park and it rolled down on the dock and they must've fueled it up. I don't remember what the agent said, but I don't think he was amused.

Speaking of your dilemma and finding what you want hard to come by. I was truly amazed this evening when I went on line to look up some information on an Echo leaf blower that I had purchased 15 plus years ago. I had forgotten the correct oil/fuel ratio and went totally brain dead on if it was 50 to 1 or 32 to 1. Imagine my surprise when I put the model number in and up popped the owner's manual and in a couple of minutes I had my information.

Looks like summer-blend gas is making an appearance. Noticed the fuel economy on the Impy is noticeably up over the past two tanks.

Noticed MoDOT is extending those wonderful cable barriers on down past Sikeston. Wondering if anyone has any statistics on any changes in the numbers of deer-vehicle collisions where these barriers exist? Don't seem to come up on the numbers standing alongside or in the middle of the road like I think I used to rememory. Of course, there's the other hand... Saw what appeared to be a hawk folded neatly over the top cable strand. I'm guessing he got clotheslined during his dinner dive.

Bought some pieces-parts for the weedeater, a 1990-vintage Craftsman which apparently was just a reskinned WeedEater. I think there's a website somewhere that decodes the Sears model number as to who actually made it. New not-so-automatic string feeder head, air filter, and trigger handle - and it now runs as good as ever. It may smoke a lot (thanks mainly to the 16:1 fuel mix), and make more noise than current standards permit, but it still gits 'er dun, boy howdy.

Which for some strange reason brings me to vacuum cleaners. Not because parts were recently put on it to get it back up-to-snuff, furthering my general quest to use stuff until it's wore smooth out. More towards the remembrance of a Consumer's Ed class many years ago, where it was shared that manufacturers intentionally wanted vacuum cleaners to be loud, as the women generally thought a louder vacuum did a better job.

Seems that when it comes to women and noise, shortcomings in sheer volume are offset by the endless quantities. :-)~

Wheels, My little tractor back hoe is a 2007. I got to looking at the owner's manual and noticed 10W30 would work year round in this climate. I had 30wt in it because that's what the dealer said to use and noticed it a bit hard to start when it comes time to push the snow.

So I decide on 10W30 and the spec listed in the owner's manual for oil has been obsolete since the 80's. Next comes the decipher of the specs to find the proper designation and that was confusing. Finally figured it out and found that the only 10W30 fit for the little diesel is a high priced commodity. I settled for one that came real close at $4.50/quart.

About fuel mix, my little Vespa that I have yet to put to good use states a 20% ratio. Now you can imagine the mixfusion this bollinger county educated dummy had figuring that out.

fspwt, I always thought vaccumn cleaners were designed to be loud to please the man using it; can't hear her over the noise.:)

About fuel mix, my little Vespa that I have yet to put to good use states a 20% ratio.

Old John,

If the oil is to be 20% of the mix then the fuel would be 80%. I make that a 4 to 1 ratio of fuel to oil.

You should be paid to fog for mosquitoes, or at the very least gluegites.

Wheels, Make that 2%.

Old John,

That sounds better, you may not get locked up for being a public menace with the 2%.... Which should be a little higher than a 50 to 1, I think. :-)

Although 2-cycle engines seem to be a dying breed, thanks to emissions regulations and fuel economy standards - just wondering why they never could make the mix ratios easy to understand for the American crowd?

50:1 - Eh, 2.5 ounces oil per gallon is close enough. 16:1 - one pint oil per gallon pretty much gets it. And so on, based on the stuff the average guy has around the house, not requiring beakers or graduated cylinders or calculators to get it spot-on.

In some cases, being smarter than the machine is harder than it looks. :-)~

Fxpwt,

Isn't 16 to 1 a little overkill on the oil? I thought most were using 32 to 1 or 50 to 1 these days. I use a squeeze bottle with the measuring cup built in to get the correct mix per manufacturer's recommendations. I do believe in erring on the heavy side is better than the light side for the oil.

I had a 47 Chevrolet van once that used about a pint of oil per gallon of gas. Had to clean those teeny weeny spark plugs about every other tank of fuel. Oil changes were not necessary. Got one every tank of fuel.

If I'm not mistaken 2.5 ounce per gallon is close to 2%.

The bike I had as a kid was treated to a quart to 5 gallons. Part of the recommended maintenace was to remove the baffle from the muffler and clean to prevent a complete clog. I just left the baffle out. :)

Wheels - gots me to 2nd-guessing myself. 16:1, eh, haven't thought too much about it. Put it in terms of a pint per gallon - WHOA!

So, I dug out the user manual out of the 6" binder chock-full of all the manuals from all the 'important' stuff I've bought over the last lifetime - noticing that a significant portion of them are either Sears, Craftsman, or Kenmore, obviously purchased before the store moved west from the Town Plaza and became all man un-user friendly in Druryland.

Was relieved to see that I hadn't lost that particular marble - the manual clearly states a 16:1 ratio. Wondering if that may be the reason it's made it 23 years now - plenty of lubrication.

Looking at the receipt - hmmmm. Seems I paid $199 in 1990 dollars for it - quite expensive by today's dollars. On the other hand, perhaps some validation that quality doesn't cost, it pays off.

Also, provided a reminder of the money-foolishness I had in my younger days. Saw that I also purchased the 3-year extended warranty for 'only' $35. If I could get my foot high enough in the air, I'd kick my younger-self in the posterior. :-)

Since I haven't decided the best way to get electric to the new shop building, [spend a fortune and properly put it under ground to the house and update the house panel and then to the shop], or just hire an electiction to tell me what to do], I decided to run something temporary.

I remembered I had a spool of wire in the barn with a heavy rubber casing and 5 stranded wires of about 10 gauge.

I had bought that at an auction and recall that I and someone's brother were the only ones bidding and I for some reason unbeknown at the time figured I needed it more than someone's brother.

After running the price up a bit farther than someone's brother wanted to pay, I won the bid and the seller announced he had 3 more spools for the same price if I wanted more. I'm thinking someone's brother took the other 2.

Anyway, now I confess my real talent when it comes to the subject at hand. That would be anything like a rope, wire or hose.

I found that spool of wire in the barn neatly coiled but the wooden spool had fell apart. Ah, but the chain was still wrapped through and I lifted and hauled it out with the loader.

Next was my talent or disease of corditis at it's best. Took me 4 hours to untangle 500 foot of cable. Yeah, I have have a special talent to just look at a cord, rope or hose to make it tangle up like that.

So what have I been up to? I've been on the roof of the shop, the house roof and up a telephone pole!

Oh, and she who must be obeyed figures all I did today was mow the yard and that's ok with me.:)

Old John,

If you and someone's brother had the the smarts to stand next to one another at these auctions instead of across the room from one another, you might be able to work these situations out to both of your advantages ;-)

Somehow, I think that auctioneer loves you two. At least it appears you save one another from yourselves occasionally. :-)

Better hide that wire if it is copper. Because if you have owned it long enough for the spool to rot, you might experience sticker shock when you see the latest pricing.

"Was relieved to see that I hadn't lost that particular marble - the manual clearly states a 16:1 ratio. Wondering if that may be the reason it's made it 23 years now - plenty of lubrication."

Probably kept you from getting the West Nile Verus also. :-)

Wheels, Those were so some fun times. I wonder if someone's brother as I call him remembers the time they sold fruit filled cookies and folks that sampled them were considering a designated driver. They were a bit firmented! I guess I'll never know.:)

Old John,

I don't believe I heard that story. But rest assured, I will ask. I take it you were smart enough not to sample them and someone was not. :-)

I was at one of those auctions over at Zalma one night, but as I remembered it I already had about one or so of each of the items in my garage already. Made me think, I should have a sale if people will actually buy some of that stuff you and someone's brother appear to be bidding against one another for.

Someone needs to wake Donknome2 up... he appears to be laying down on the job.

I need to report, I have an old Echo Trimmer, made back when they furnished you a couple of blades you could install in place of the string trimmer spool. I am sure OSHA put the kibitz to that long ago. Well everything about the trimmer is good except the Carburetor isn't carburetoring. I have determined that it is the pump diaphragm that is the problem as I already have received a mouthful of gas and oil mix (50 to 1) sucking on the fuel line, and gas just not makeing it to the carburetor no matter how much rope pulling I do.

I found a parts supplier and while the carburetor is not available, most every piece of it is. So a diaphragm and a gasket cost $3.00 and change, but shipping and handling is an additional $12.95. Ok, I need it because I have a fence that had this beautiful honeysuckle growing on it, and it smelled so fine and looked so good when it first got started. Well I cannot get with 3 feet of the wire in that fence now and something needs to be done. I feel that suicide setup on the trimmer may be just the thing. It took the honeysuckle 15 years to get where it is at.... I am wondering how long it will take me to get it back under control.

Wheels, You could take that diaphram in hand to a small engine parts supplier, [chances are that other brands use the same thing] and spend $12.95 in gas, wear and tear and time.

I wonder if any WWII flame throwers are available. :)

Old John,

That's about the way I figured it. By the time I waste an afternoon driving all over town aggravating hell out of a couple of dozen people, just order from the place that has it and pay the shipping and handling. I don't blame them for not wanting to spend a ton of time on a $3 plus change order.

You know I have thought about those old flame throwers a time or two. I remember the first time I saw one in operation. It was about 1947 or 1948 and I was about 4th grade and I remember hearing this roar and carefully peaking out the window in our 2 room school, I watched this guy cleaning up a fence row across the road. I imagine those things have been OSHized about like my old string trimmer with the solid circle blades on it.

Wheels, Which year in the fourth grade was that? :)

Old John,

Hard as it may be for some to believe... I made it through 8 grades in 8 years. :-)

It's been said that bad things come in sets of three - just waiting for the final 'ohhellno' to complete the series...

The new auto-feed weedeater head is anything but. IIRC, the last new head put on also took a bit to 'break-in'. At least during the short time it runs between string breaks - it now is a cellulose eatin', neighborhood foggin' machine.

Then, got the first signs of trouble on the much-talked about, but never in a good way Impy 4T65E tranny. Tried to take off from a stop in second gear a couple of times, then changed its mind and went into first with a 'BAM' that would make Emeril jealous. Things have cleared up in the few days since, but stuff like this usually never get better for long.

The suspense is driving me nuts as to what's behind door #3...

Trying to keep a straight face through all this because of past experience. I was once told to 'Cheer up, things could be worse'. So I did, and sure enough, things got worse...

:-)~

fxpwt, Sometimes it seems the gremlins just have you singled out for fun.

Today I put the Slime in the left front tire and fired up the Simplicity. All went well and I was almost done mowing when I stopped for a break. When I returned the throttle lever was locked up solidly in the idle position. I pulled the hood off, removed the air cleaner assembly for access and couldn't see any thing wrong and determined the problem had to be at the other end.

The gremlins dropped a little stick in just the right place to jam the lever.

Fxpwt,

This afternoon has not been exactly a peachy experience for me either. But I got both 2 and 3 to look forward to. One, thanks to a bit of a Presidential Solution is corrected.

I was peacefully shaving my face in preparation to go out in public when all of a sudden all things electrical ceased electrificating. Breaker not tripped inside. Breaker not tripped outside. Breaker not tripped back at the main panel. WTF is going on.

As you undoubtedly have heard, I am semi homeless, having sold my house and moved into our 45' motorhome some couple of years ago now, temporarily of course, but we liked the traveling and the lifestyle and so here we are still. Well this thing has a reel that winds up the 50 amp cable when I am ready to roll. And if you think about that for a moment, things cannot be as simple as rolling up the wire that eventually terminates in a transfer switch. This contraption that I find sells for $599 has a spool with brass rings and a set of brushes to carry a 50 Amp 240 Volt service. The whole mess was riveted together and I drilled them out to see what exactly had happened. Can you believe a #6 wire terminated at the brushes fastened with a sheet metal screw drilled into some kind of material, which had overheated causing brushes to go to melt down. I now have a solid mechanical connection all of the way back to the transfer switch. I loved the convenience but I will deal with the inconvenience before I put another piece of junk like that in the circuit.

These kinds of things that are hard to bend an old body into position to do, so I am a bit stiff and sore this evening.

Old John,

When I was mowing on Tuesday the Gremlins pulled a pin that allows for a quick disconnect of the mower deck and then the little b******s threw it and the washer behind it out into the leaves somewhere. I had to go to the neighbor and borrow one from a spare mower he had setting around. Now the trick is to remember to go get some of these and washers in to take with me next week lest it happen again and to return to the neighbor what is his.

Wheels, I'm hesitant to tell this but I guess most of our SO friends have figured out I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

When I got the temporary 10-5 wire ran I was a little cautious of how much amperge I could depend on. When I got it all fired up it blew fuses and fuses ain't cheap now days.

I had to go to the big box to get more fuses and after all that I discovered I had wired a direct short, both back and white on the same side of plug in. All the time of this confusion I thought the air compressor was drawing too much at too much distance when the switch was turned on.

Happy to say all working fine now.

Old John,

When you can figure out your own problem you have accomplished more than most.

Well, got the ol' Jeep out for a drive, during one of the relatively few days per year when it's enjoyable - not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, not too windy.

First chuckle was seeing that I had put a total of 18 miles on since the last oil change - in November 2012. Kinda puts the cost of liability insurance way over $1 per mile annually. But, it's a toy - one of my few splurges otherwise known as an almost complete waste of money. Heck, I figure I'm still burning off some of that $2 per gallon gasoline that our predecessors rave about in the BO days - no, not body odor, Before Obama. :-)

Anyway, a nice drive through town - giving the mandatory wave to all other open top Jeep drivers - and there were a lot of them, er, us.

Well, until I drove down Broadway. Holy crap, I've been on drives through the woods that were less strenuous than those functional-in-looks-only crosswalks which exerted enough upward force that would've launched me out of the seat if'n I weren't wearing the mandatory lap belt - the only belt offered in that model year. Most people don't appreciate how far suspensions have developed over the years.

The rumble of the 304 V8 (that would be the AMC 5.0 liter, for the metric crowd) through glasspaks brought back many memories, and a realization after about 500 yards that they get pretty doggone annoying, although the ability to pull smoothly away from a near stop in 3rd gear while sounding totally cool reaffirms that the V8 is the perfect all-around motor setup.

May have to think about dropping the bikini top, and parading around topless tomorrow. :-)~

-- Posted by Old John on Tue, May 14, 2013, at 5:56 PM

Old John,

Got the diaphragm and gasket in the mail a few days ago and it laid on my desk until today and I thought I would install it and put the weed eater back in operation. Well the little sucker sucked gas with a vengeance and with me having had the rest of the carburetor apart and cleaned out all of the ports the adjustment was so bad I had it flooded in no time flat. Took the carburetor back off, pulled it over until the piston was at the top and turned it over. Sure enough gas ran out of the crankcase. Pulled it a couple of times to blow some of the gas and it caught and ran itself dry with the carburetor off. Reassembled and finally got it running and adjusted the carburetor. That was a site to behold. With the motor vibrating and shaking and my hand shaking as it is prone to do these days, getting both synchronized and placing the screw driver in the adjustment screw slots was a trip. It purrs like a kitten again. Next, take this mini brush hog out and give it a workout.

Wheels, A few years back I had to give up the weed eater routine, when I got done using it my arms tingled and it took a while before I had a steady hand. I got one of those DR type things from Sears, a big weed eater on wheels. After moving here with less trimming to do I got a cheap string timmer again. It worked well until the motivater started to wane. I started getting better at trimming close with the lawn mower and now that thing has a problem going over far enough. Sometimes it has a problem even getting started or finishing. :)

Eh, Diss - that car looks like a lot of fun, but not $50K+ worth, before recurring insurance and annual property tax costs.

Heck, the sales tax alone for Cape residents buying from a Missouri dealer would push $4K. Feel kinda like the monkey having inappropriate relations with a skunk - ain't got all I want, but I've had all I can stand. :-)~

Went to recharge the F150's A/C - seems to have a minor leak needing about 1/3 can per year to top off. Being as the R134 conversion is marginal on its best days - have to stay on the ball of keeping it in top running form for summer, else it's like being around a politician, with all the hot air being fanned. Doggone that freon stuff has gone up. Miss the days of $0.99 per real 16-ounce pound of R12 days. I think I still have a can or two of R12 laying around here - just ain't got nothing that needs it no more.

OJ - if you find a source for that hard-to-find motivator piece, please share. Been looking for a replacement unit myself, as mine has got up and gone. :-)

fxpwt, If Diss would by one them things I would consider getting my driving recertified if he would let me take it for a spin. :)

I recently moved a bunch of valuable at one time now junk from the garage and old shop to the new shop. Ran across some of that R12 plus a bunch of R134 that I paid 2 bucks a can for. Also, forgot I had some Mobil oil in the cardboard quart cans.

I saw some guy selling those recently at $10 each.

Todays motivater is going towards brakes on a old Merc. Caliper hung and chewed rotor and pads. So far I've spent more time on line checking parts and availability than taking the thing apart.

Speaking of junk I forgot I had, remember the big standup lightmeter headlamp testers? Yeah I got one. :)

OJ - have had good luck here with RockAuto.com for parts on not-so-new vehicles. LMCtruck.com is good for those of us with trucks. Pricing is pretty good, shipping is a bite but offset somewhat by no sales tax (yet), and delivery is such that if I order on a weekend, it's here by Wed/Thurs.

Have had a few caliper problems with the F150 - suspect my pressure washing activities through the aftermarket wheels has washed out the lubricating grease on the caliper slides, causing the hanging up issue. Still believe this to be another of Ford's better ideas of days yore - simple brake maintenance. AMC must've liked it, cuz they copied/borrowed/licensed the same setup on the later Jeep-CJ series.

I love looking at the older solutions and practices towards automotive problems - actual ingenuity, as opposed to today's current approach of hooking it up to the computer for a nominal fee, relieving the garage of some nomimal thinking. :-)

We've all known one sometime of another, the guy that could walk around it, give a look and a listen, then scratch his head or tug on his ear and then say what's wrong and be right most of the time.

I was prepared to repack the bearings on the Merc during the brake repairs until I realized the rotor and hub were seperate. I suspect it takes a bit of fuel to get those full sized hunks of mass rolling.

I did end up buying a new rotor since the parts person measured it past turning. I was going to check it myself but couldn't find the minimum thickness stamped on the rotor so at $30 more than resurface I took her word for it and got a new one.

Next motivating notion I get will be time to drag out the old Weaver clamp-on caster-camber guages and my home-made toe guage. :)

Diss, I understand their radios have gotten faster too.

I can remember drag racing a State Trooper. He beat me and thought it was funny. A few days later I outran his Ford with my Dodge and he didn't think it it was funny.

Diss, I had an uncle that truck drove for 40 years same company and never had an accident or a ticket. I think he got an imitation gold watch as a saftey award when he retired.

He and his bride moved to Florida and on the way down there lights and siren came rapidly from behind. He pulled over on the shoulder of wet grass as the trooper followed him and slid into the back of his car.

First ticket, first accident. Officer told judge he was doing a random vehicle/driver complience check. Unc's insurance fixed the state car and his rates went up.

"Her" ? May have been your first mis-take .

Give'm credit where credit is due: I bought an expensive part from the dealership parts guy. He didn't look it up, said they're all the same. That caused me a lot of grief. The girl at the next dealership looked it up and gave the right one. :)

Haven't heard from Donk for a while. This thread needs it's leader.

The rest of the story: Took the Merc for reinspection and noticed the smell of brake pads burning. Started back with the approval. Before I got home the right front brake was dragging and not working at all. I took the caliper off the rotor, found nothing wrong, reassembled and now everything works great. Are brake pad gremlins real?

Finished changing the Buick water pump today and realize they designed that configuration to test one's restraint and adherance to proper vocabulary.

I remember seeing a sign in a shop: "If it draws blood.. It costs extra".

"It's amusing to see the sign "MEN WORKING AHEAD SLOW DOWN""

Rick,

This might take the edge off the amused part.... You and I are paying those 5 people to stand around, in one way or another. Doesn't matter if they are MODOT or a Utility. :-(

Rick

I knew I could wipe that smile off your face and make you as grumpy as I am today. ;-)

OJ - haven't had the 'pleasure' of working on FoMoCo cars, well, other than the German-made Mercury Capri with the double-piston calipers and the annoying front-end wobble on stop.

If yours are anything like the trucks - found that it's important to ensure the sliding area and the wedgie thing are clean, smooth, and greased. Also, caution if reusing the caliper if the dust boot has failed - piston may stick.

fxpwt, I've not owned many myself. I had a 64 Falcon, a 66 Mustang, and a 67 T-bird. Never really liked the Mustang that much but the big block T-bird was a nice ride when gas was cheap. I bought a F150 but only kept it long enough to fix it and sell it. A customer talked me into buying his 77 Lincoln and the wife drove it for a few months; seemed to be a good car but I had a chance to double my money on it and did so.

Since then, most of the cars I've owned were sold for near junk price when I replaced them.

Seems to me the new cars of today are much less likely to need fixing but when they do they're too much in need to justify the expense.

I asked a guy at a car show if his '68 was a V-8. He said you're the first one to know it's a 68.

Anyway we got to talking about ways to guess the year model of older cars, like side marker lamps usually indicate 68 or newer and quad round headlamps around 58-9.

Anyone care to share other tips?

".... Haven't heard from Donk for a while. This thread needs it's leader.

-- Posted by Old John on Tue, May 28, 2013, at 11:43 PM..."

OK, alright, already---I'm back!

A fella has to get-up and move-around occasionally, or he'll get all-constipated up!☺

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

".... Rick

I knew I could wipe that smile off your face and make you as grumpy as I am today. ;-)

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Tue, Jun 4, 2013, at 12:14 PM..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See what I mean? THIS, above, is what happens if you ignore your "...recommended-daily fiber-intake, and exercise-program..."☺!

For better or worse, right or wrong - my rule-of-thumbs and remembrances -

Rectangular headlights - around 1975

Unleaded gas & cat converters - 1975

Third brake light - 1986

R134 freon - 1994

Disappearance of the front seat side vent 'wing' windows - pretty much between 1968 and 1970, except for a few like the Ford trucks which kept them until 1996. :-) Really makes that 2-60 air conditioning (that would be 2 windows down at 60 miles per hour) work like a champ!

Ignition switch in the steering column - 1968-1970

Driver seat belt interlock - 1974 only (aaaarrrrrgh!!!!)

Fuel injection - early-to-mid 80s

Electronic ignition - 1975 for most, 1972 for Chrysler.

Era of emission-regulatory choked-down lackluster performance - pretty much the late 70s and all of the 80s. The 304 V8 in the Jeep was rated for only 160hp for 1981, the 302 V8 in the Ford was rated for only 185hp in 1989.

Air bags - driver-side 1990?, both sides 1998? - although in many places, the passenger-side air bag had already been around for many years prior, often referred to as just 'the old lady'. :-)~

The directionally-blinky-blinking rear turn signals - 1969 Mercury Cougar??

Seat belts - 1968

Seat belt laws - 1984

Impact-absorbing bumpers - 1973 (yuck! just flat ugly...)

Safety glass - 1930s?? Still remember the ol '48 Dodge needing new windows in the early 80s, as the old ones had yellowed or cracked. Went down to Monroe Glass - they still had the pattern blueprints in their files. Since all the windows were flat, they just cut them out of flat safety glass stock. I can see clearly now. :-)

12Volt systems - early 50s???

Coming soon - required narc-o-matic event data recorders - 09/01/2014, although most vehicles already have them...

By The Way, OJ(heh, made a little-ditty, there!☺):

Concerning the dragging-brake, that now suddenly works---you don't have a brake-hose that's about to collapse, do you?

Had an old-Ford beater that done me similar to that once. Right-front stuck. Like you, I disassembled, re-assembled---everything-"peachy".

About a week-later, it did it again. This time, as I tore it down, I noticed there was very-little, if any, bleed-out as I unhooked the hose from the caliper. So on a whim, I decided to poke a choke-cable wire thru it's length.

It stopped-dead-hard cold at about 3-inches in. So, I done an-"autopsy" on it, and---bigger than owl-shavings---the inner-liner had separated from it's braided-coat, and wouldn't allow back-flow OUT of the caliper, so as to release same.

There. That's MY-"5-mils-worth" for the day...!☺

pwxt, Pretty well jives with my recollection. PCV was 67 I think and not sure when alternators first appeared. Twin antennas and Wonder Bars? Speaking of 12V, Dad converted the Farmalls to 8V in the late '50s.

Donk, I've had that hose collaspe challenge before when I had the AMC..only gave problem after a long drive. I rebuilt the caliper first and then figured it out when I was bleeding them.

OJ's query about model year identification brought back memories of fun with cats.

Like putting tape on its feets and watching it go everywhere at once at hyperspeed. Or trimming its whiskers to be narrower than its head and seeing how many places it can get its head stuck... or so I hear tell. :-)~

Ah - wrong kind of cats.

Remembering the fun with being certain that only unleaded fuel was put in the tank, how difficult the fuel was to even find at first, the tales of people who thunk they was smarter than the automakers by popping the restrictor hole in the fuel tank and putting plain ol' reg-u-lar in, followed up by the tales of these reg-u-lar folks having plugged converters. D'Oh!

The snake oil converter cleaners - where one dumped a bottle of stuff down the carburetor, trying to flood it to a stall just as the bottle was emptied - and the gawd-awful, nose-burning, eye-watering fumes that were emitted when the vehicle was fired back up. Hmmmm, then again, I suppose in the early days, even when the converter was working right - still a gnarly sickly-sweet smell.

Those with the GM converters who reportedly could just pop a plug on their converters to let all the catalytic BB's drain out, while those of us with other makes having the honeycomb mesh had to either resort to a super double-secret 'test pipe', or cut the exhaust so that an 18" socket extension could be hammered through to open things up while still maintaining the appearance of legal, for inspections and the like.

Was tooling on down the road in the Honda CRX when I noticed the temperature gauge bouncing around like a VU meter on an old stereo amp. Found it was really low on coolant and steam was billowing out the exhaust. Hmmmm. Limped on back home after filling up the coolant system, and took the head off, figuring the head gasket had blown. The cat sat right underneath the exhaust manifold, so as the manifold was removed, happened to look inside - the cat was plugged over solid. Ahhhhhh. The car was already so underpowered, didn't notice it.

Different with the Z24 - couldn't get the RPM's over 3000.

Suppose this all relates to a corollary of Murphy's Law - that every solution creates a problem... :-)

Donknome-2,

It's good to hear..... or something close to hear, your voice again.

Please don't let your children wander around in the wilderness unaided... they get a little goofy sometimes. ;-)

Geez-Louise, WHEELS--You should ditch the HVAC-trade, and go with Hallmark®-Greeting cards instead!☺ First-time I'd been missed by ANYONE---other than my-wife!---in 'pert-near 43-years! Ah-hain't used to this-kinda stuff!☺

If'n you wuz a woman? Ah'd expect a hug-an'-a-kiss.

But since you's a man? All ah'-want is a beer-an'-a fish-sandwich...!☺

Donknome-2,

"You should ditch the HVAC-trade"

Already did that, my business these days is to be a pain in the arse to the rest of the world. ;-)

I ever run into you, I will try to remember the "beer-an'-a fish-sandwich" thing. If I don't, please remind me, I'm kinda forgetful. And I will make that two of each and partake along side you. ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

But the "hug-an'-a-kiss" part..... ain't gonna happen, unless of course you been funnin us all along an is a good lookin woman. :-)

Have a good one friend!

Nope, DISS, I think DEERE is just the "modern"-name for the old, retro "JOHN"-Deere, if THAT'S what you were in ref: to?

I THINK the FIRST-actual John Deere was a.k.a., "Waterloo-Boy"---originally made in Waterloo, Iowa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Gasoline_Engine_Company

WHEELS: Well, good-lookin' OR ugly---I hain't no-woman. Although-admittedly, I've seen some-EQUALLY-ugly, self-proclaimed women, in the past?(But seein' as they wuz all-'bout the same-size of me or larger? I didn't bother to "press-the-issue", y' know?)☺

We've VERY-likely to have-passed each other MANY a-time on 270 over the years, when we were BOTH-still in our "working-primes", and seemed to actually-ENJOY that "red-road-eyed"-feeling!

One of these days, we WILL "run-into" each other---but let's hope not literally-so, that is...!☺

One of these days, we WILL "run-into" each other---but let's hope not literally-so, that is...!☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Mon, Jun 17, 2013, at 2:43 PM

I would like that... not literally though. :-)

Diss, On a slow Speak Out day a while back, I went back to the top of this thread and read down a ways. I was reminded of watching a classic movie seen before and finding a background scene missed the first time or a twist in the plot overlooked. Good thread indeed!

DISS: To para-quote a line from a famous folk-song:

"So, what d' we GET for it?"

"Well---y' don't GET-nothin'. As a matter of fact, y' got's t'-PAY-for the equipment to be here."

And they all-l-l moved-away from the key-pad...☺!

OJ: I've kept the first-1000 on disc, as a matter of fact.

We'd already have topped 2-grand, if it hadn't been for that period of the "ethic-purges"!☺

Kinda miss a few of the ones "from the other-side of the gland".(I'd always try to stay-shaven, and NOT-scratch in front of the monitor!)☺

At one time, I'd close with, "We'll leave the light on for ya'!"---but, it's not "ecologically-appropriate" anymore....!☺

DISS: Yeah, we used to sit-around an' spit on the fire---until somebody pointed-out it was one of those ELECTRIC-fireplace inserts...!☺

I think mine---which does an-admirable job of serving as a back-up for a broken table leg in my upstairs!---is an Apple II instead? I guess it'd still "work", as it does light-up and hum, once you get it to take-prime from hand-crankin' it.☺!

I know it DOES-have a COLOR-display monitor, AND, a 2-wire "in"-phone jack, which is labeled in the Operation Manual as "optional", so, maybe it's worth $50-bucks for the gold-plated circuitry, or somethin'...???

Hmm-m-m. Counter says 1812.

Wasn't there a war of some-sort fought, starting in that year? Somethin' to do with the bloody-British in the Town of New Orleans...?

No wonder Tecumseh Small Engines stopped production!

(Heh. Bet you were wonderin' HOW I was gonna "thread"-that one together, didn't ya?)

So did I.......!!!☺

Speaking of Old electronics, I still have my first, a Tandy. Also noticed I have a pistol for an old Nindindo or what ever you call it, still new in the box. Wasn't that some kind of game call Donk Something? :)

A while back I looked up Clinton small engines and jumped around reading the history of several including Techumseh. The main most thing I rememember was it was an interesting read!

Dis, I'm glad Dolly got all the art work out and didn't forget her cake recipes.

Donk, What a you say we all meet at the bridge and take in the big moon Sunday. We can get Wheels to drive us.. strike that, he may forget one of us on the way back.. We could get one of those patio fire pits to spit at..do they come in electric models?

Donk, What a you say we all meet at the bridge and take in the big moon Sunday. We can get Wheels to drive us.. strike that, he may forget one of us on the way back..

-- Posted by Old John on Fri, Jun 21, 2013, at 11:50 PM

Old John,

You catch on quick.

OLD JOHN: This is about as close as I could come-up with, on such short-notice:

http://firesense.com/products/patio-heaters/infrared-patio-heaters/item/infrared...

So, I guess you "want-I-should-bring" a generator, as well...???☺

I would think a generator just big enough would put out more heat than that pole heater. ;)

I considered starting a new-thread, for this topic---but, it IS mechanical in-nature, just in a bit-different light.

The "standard"-replacement engine of medium-to-heavy-duty riding-tractors/mowers, a Commercial-Duty 12.5-hp. Briggs & Stratton INTEK, w/VERTICAL-shaft, OR it's 21-hp."cousin", in the same configuration, will set you back $650/$700-plus---$750/$800, for the 21-hp-option--when you buy them in the "oil, gas, start, mow"-out of the crate. So, I decided to forgo the drop-ship charges for once, and buy locally. You know, "support your local merchants".

Yeah. Ri-i-i-i-ght.

Hint to "suffering" Local Merchants: IF you want return-customers? Keep your stock adequate. None of this "one-sale, one-time"-crap. AND, if you can ORDER-it, and the customer is even willing to pay a "security-fee" in-advance of the order? Then DO-so! Really, it's not "rocket-science". Supply & Demand, y' know?

And, DON'T send me to one of your satellite-stores, if they have "it" in-stock. Instead, offer to have it shipped intra-network to YOUR-location---maybe even "fee-free", y' know? Don't tell me "...you can get it for a bit-less if you go to(one of our satellites)yourself. That's why we don't stock or sell them HERE."

Pffft. SAD-day for this once-literally-"hallowed" farm & home retailer. Starting to act more and more like a Contractor-ONLY Wholesaler each year. Sure, that's where the REAL-money is, but it sure gives your once-sterling local trade reputation an ever-increasing in size "black-eye".

Without mentioning ANY-names or brands, in-parting, all I will say is this: If your founder was still-alive, active in his-business with that personal-guaranteed-TRUST he was always famous for?

There'd been a MUCH-more customer-friendly outcome to this-story---not to mention the likely-hood of one or two EX-employees.(Or at the very-least, they'd have WISHED to have been "EX's". He had a "way" with employees who were condescending to his customers.) He'd be sick to his stomach, to see how IMpersonal his flagship is fast-becoming.

I miss Mr. B*******, and his haggling-skills. And, occasionally, he'd even allow me and my-brother to "out-haggle" him!☺

Hey, NO-problemo! I'll "eat" the drop-ship charges for both-engines. Oh, I'm sorry!!! Did I mention I(was)going to order TWO-of them?

Gee, sales-dude: How's it feel to know you just "blew-off" any possible commission, from a potential-$1600-ish cash-sale??? Eh???

Gawd, how I miss the "personal-touch" of days' gone by....

Donk, When an oil leak and my inattention resulted in the need for a new engine, I made the local circuit and found none in stock and got the run around. Bought a 20 HP Vanguard to replace the 18 HP. [same engine, different timing and carb jet] The one I settled for had a 110V system requiring the use of the old flywheel and generator. I decided to use it the way it came and have found it quite handy to power small stuff. Shipped to may door cost $600 VS $1300 quoted locally.

Of course that was 6 years ago and Vanguards come from China now.

heheheh Donk - y'know, I couldn't pass up the observation that not only did the business lose $1600 in sales revenue, but the state of Missouri more than likely lost out on $67.60, the county of Cape Girardeau lost out on $16.00, and the city of Jackson (making a not-so-wild guess as to where this business was located) lost out on $32.00 in sales tax revenues from this event. Essentially, the business was not the only one losing out here.

I can appreciate the drive to keep inventories at a minimum - but I remember a savvy businessman once telling me long ago that the key to success was to be able to create a demand, and then be able to supply that demand.

When shopping locally, my 'demand' is for problem-solving and courteous service. If I walk out of an establishment without my problem solved or not feeling appreciated for trading there - will generally have suitable motivation to look elsewhere to take my demand. I don't get mad, I get (to) leavin'. :-)~

I have an old yard stick with the slogan "We Believe Business Goes Where It's Invited And Stays Where It's Well Treated"

We just had a shopping experience today. Seems the order of the day is complicated rebates and reward points with choice of discount or free financing all negated by the fine print and exclusions. Two items equal the minimum to get the goodies, but one has to be ordered so that goes against the "must be sold on same transaction" qualifier. I'm tempted to go to Kelso and pay more just for spite.

Why they can't just state a price, I don't know, or..maybe I do know. Ever wonder why Charmin is sold in so many variations of packaging and roll size? Even roll size has different nomenplature depending on what big box store it's in.

FXPWT: It's a very-good store still. But they need to get their "stuff"-together, and get back to that "one-on-one" that their late-founder had built it upon. If they don't?

They'll soon be just like one-other "faceless" mega-store, whose also-late founder started in the State of Arkansas, using that very-same mantra---making them yet ANOTHER company, who abandoned it's founders'-lessons. But, it's WAY-too-late for "wally" to recover, at least as far as I'M concerned.

I don't fault the employees of the Farm & Home---there's a management-"issue" somewhere. I mean, why should you NOT be able to "shuttle"-special request "higher-dollar"-goods between your satellites?

I know of one parts-outlet who does such OVERNIGHT, at NO-additional charge---at least, not for the "normal"-stuff!☺ More-"satellites" than you can shake a stick at!

But, they've only been in-business since 1909, so, hey---go-figure, y' know....?☺

A couple years back I was installing new siding on a family members house. I called the Perryville location (closest location to me)of the store mentioned above to be sure they had the style and color of what I needed in the proper amount to complete the job.

I was told they had everything that I needed so I left to go pick it up. Arrived at Perryville store, talked to the same clerk I had been on the phone with, made payment, got my ticket and headed to the yard. They didn't even have half of the material they had sold me. Returned inside to inform the clerk, he swore up and down it was out there because the computer said it was. After over a hour of me helping yard workers try to find the missing material, I was told the Jackson store had the rest of what i needed in stock.

I was not happy about driving to Jackson but I wanted to get started on the house so I went. Guess what, Jackson store had NONE of the pieces i had bought. They said the computer shows Perryville has it though. I am sure you can see where the conversation went from there.

Next I was told the Herculaneum store had the items in stock. Once informed I was NOT driving to Herculaneum, they offered to send in on the next truck and drop it at the Perryville store for me, should be there in 2 days.

To make a long story a little less long 2 WEEKS later and 2 more trips to the Perryville store I had all the materials I paid for. They were even so nice they gave me a $50 gift card to make up for the several wasted hours of driving, fuel and long distance phone calls to get my stuff.

I gave the gift card to a not so liked family member for Christmas as I had no plans to give them any more of my business.

Just as an F.Y.I.---I solved my "engine-availability-problem", with NO-thanks to my-original self-proclaimed-"seller".

I went with the "...since 1909..."-supplier. NO-shipping, although there's always the "handling-fee(s)"---can't deny a business the need to-recoup the "incidentals"---especially since they're letting you "use"-them for a "drop". After all, they ARE in-business to turn a profit---even if they hafta please a customer or two in the process.☺

Only ONE for now, gonna wait a few-months for the SECOND-one.(Read as:"When the fella who wants #2 pays ME to let him "have it."☺)

Either way, I still came-out ahead a bit "money-wise", as the "incidentals" totaled less than the drop-to-location shippers'-fee, and what is billed as an "unloading-fee"---which LITERALLY-means "the driver opens the door, and/or IF a "tommy-lift" gate is used, MAY-possibly lower said-crate to ground-level" for you.

Some truck-ships DON'T charge, but more of them DO.

A lot of my freight shipped out of Nashville. The carrier would unload the trailer at a Memphis dock to transfer to trucks going different directions across the country. Sometimes my stuff got left on the dock and if not it was routinely taken to St Louis and then dropped off on the way back at Sikeston, took 4 days and if it was a direct customer drop-ship, well there it sat till a truck with a lift gate came along. [$50 charge]

After enough complaining I got my freight shipped via American Freight and it was at Nash Road within 24 hours. If it was only a few lighter items the Driver would toss it in his pick-up and drop it off at my house on his way home that evening.

Usually I let my feet or my money do my talking regarding customer satisfaction but in this case I wrote a letter to the big boss with compliments.

OJ, my-man: It's time for me to "pick-yore-brane".☺

For an-independently-controlled, remotely-located engine, that would power a 36"-cut(3 blades-x-12)mowing deck, preferably using a VERTICAL-shaft engine---although a HORIZONTAL-shaft could be used, with a half-twist in the belt---anyways, what H.P.-rating would you recommend as the MINIMUM-acceptable, for "normal" finish-mower use?

Powering-same with the tractors' engine is proving to be one of those "exercises-in-futility", even though the deck IS-designed to fit the frame.

(Several years ago, I retro-fitted a much-larger engine than the original-design, the specs being much-different, as at the time I was going for power, as-opposed to a more- "practical" application.☻)

But since I've gotten more "mature", now? I'm re-fitting it as a spare-use LAWN-tractor, again.

I was thinking a minimum-of a 5-h.p., at the absolute-lowest, using the standard-size 4-inch "deep-groove" driving-pulley. Even though an 8-to-10 h.p. would "divide" the power more-evenly amoungst the three-blades?

Ironically, upon an-initial "guesstimate"-measurement: The remotely-located FRONT-clearance would be no more than the original-design of the "double-twist"-design of(what would be)the triple-pulley assembly, "out-front", as it would pertain to clearance?

**************************************

First-off, OJ's probably thinking, "What the hell is he jabberin' about?"-to begin with?☺

Plus, secondly---this has NOTHING to do with the more-recent refit ordered, for the other "normally-functioning" hydrostat Allis-C./Simplicity-designed lawn-tractor, as it fits PERFECTLY, just like it was MADE-for it---the likely-reason being because it WAS-made for such!☺

THIS-query concerns a totally-different "brain-spasm" of mine, which tend to materialize when I come in-possession of more than $100.00 in my-pocket, at most any given-time in an-early-retirees' life-line...!☺

Donk, I think you are looking at something sort of like the late 60's design Monkey Ward [Gilson?] where the horizontat shaft points to the front with 3 groove pulley. The verticle 2-pulley idler allowed for accessory drive and the rear mounted pulley drove the clutch.

10 HP was plenty with the 3 blade 36" deck and it had a granny-creep gear for tiller work. But that was the old style Briggs big bore carb engine when 10 HP was still 10hp.

OJ: Yeah! That's the type of "animal" I was referring-to. Except my-"homebrew" is using a late-'70's-style Cub Cadet frame/gearing, that I stuffed a Yanmar-Diesel on/into, going on 7-years ago now. I think the Cub was almost similar to a-'60's-ish Ford 120 I once had, where the belt double-rowed a-full 180°-back to an-electric PTO-clutch.

(The Cub frame I'm using has a MANUALLY-lever-engaged system---and, BOY, is it prone to "throw-off", when you get too-close to the honeysuckles, and it gets-braided around in the pulleys!)☺

In-agreeance with your statement of the older-"real"-h.p.-rated motors. Matter of fact, I have an "obsolete" 8-h.p. B&S vertical, which I'll likely use as a prototype. It'll be a while though, because I'll need to custom-turn a steel-pulley or two.(Hey, why buy, when you can make your own with existing-stock, AND not being pushed by a quota?) That's one-BIG-thing I don't miss about a "paying-job"---the push for quotas!

One-final-piece of equipment in the "Garden-Tractor"-category that I'd LOVE to own yet: A '56-or-mid-'60's Bolens "Ride-A-Matic"---esp. the '50's-models. Had a basic, no-frills-design, with a "paltry"-7-h.p. horizontal Kohler. Didn't need a big-21-plus h.p. engine, since it was driven by an-unbelievable cluster-flub-conglomeration of pulleys---but, I believe with only ONE-belt? Worked like the Derallier-chain-drive of a 10-speed bicycle.

It was a BIG, hulking, squawking-mass of drab-GREEN, and was slow as a slug climbin' a cinder-block.

But then, we weren't in as big of a hurry, "back-then", as we seem to need-be nowadays.

We didn't need to mow our yards at "...speeds up-to 21-mph, in a-fourth of the time!"-then.

The zero-turns do a great-quality job, at a quick-pace, true. But believe it or not? I ENJOY the "takes-more-time"-method. Forces-me to get, and stay, outside. And once I get my lawns-pattern established?

I'm just there "along for the ride", while the engine lets me daydream of the less-hurried day & time. Especially my hydrostat A-C---it literally "hummmms"-along, in a soothing-drone.

And it never fails that about this-time, God Almighty snaps me back into "real-time" with a thunderclap, strongly to encourage me to find a faster-gear, to "pull-my head out, an' git-'er-done"...!☺

Donk, Sounds like you're going to talk yourself through this ok. I'm not very good at dreaming up stuff that actually works but do enjoy seeing and trying to understand what folks that can come up with.

I went completely through the old MW welding the slack out of the steering and resizing other worn joints. Got it running and working fine and then decided to paint it. Took it all apart and started on that and decided to relocate the regulator to the outside of the frame so it could be adjusted while running. Got stumped on that and the next thing I know the dang thing has been sitting there unassembled for several years. I'm sure the float is stuck and probably

no way to get that long diagnally installed carb needle broke loose. :)

Remember the T handled Simplicity where you pushed the tiller forward or backward to go that way and right or left to steer? I think that was all one belt.

Diss, Some of those push button cars had one button labeled R for race. ☺

..."I'm not very good at dreaming up stuff that actually works but do enjoy seeing and trying to understand what folks that can come up with."...

Old John on Tue, Jul 2, 2013, at 12:02 PM

Yeah---RI-I-I-GHT!

(This from the man who threatened to put a set of DPDT-switches in the climate-control console of---was it your-wifes'-car?---instead of buyin' all of that Eee-'Lect-Rical-crap.)☺

It's hurtin' him so-bad to see the finished-project that he can't stand it!☺ Believe me, IF I can find a way to put it in a picture? I will! Along with about 50-other "blasts-from-my-past"---of which I still possess at least parts-thereof---yet today.(Wish I could come-up with a way to show even temporary-graphics, on this thread ONLY.) Don't know if I can post a "Flickr"-link or not on here---never tried to?

Yeah, I seem to recall the Simplicity-tiller you mention. I'd PAY to see someone operate it when they're a-full "three-sheets-in-the-wind", y' know??☺

Soak that needle-carb in some "Deep-Creep™"-overnight, and/or maybe a pre-soak in a bucket-of Diesel that WHEELS ain't bought, yet.☺

It'll either loosen it up---or, you'll have the prettiest-little paperweight you could ever want, after y' "...warsh-it in a dee-tur-gint bayth...", as my-Mom would've "enuncicated"-it...☺!

Had a separate-lever for PARK, too, didn't it?

"The zero-turns do a great-quality job, at a quick-pace, true. But believe it or not? I ENJOY the "takes-more-time"-method. Forces-me to get, and stay, outside. And once I get my lawns-pattern established?

Donknome-2,

If a ZTR won't let you stay outside long enough to suit.... I can send my wife over to find some surplus cow pasture to turn into lawn that will give you plenty of time outside. It certainly worked for me. Being retired I had arrived at the conclusion that Manual Labor was a Mexican until we bought this farm a couple years back and decided to turn a non productive part of it into a little weekend getaway type place.

Naah-h-h! I'd hafta have a steering-WHEEL---steering-HANDLES leave me confused!(Seriously!!! Have ya' ever had the privilege of "steering" a '40's-ish Gibson tractor?(Ask OJ what it is/was---besides a good-way to break an arm, that is!☺)

Turn me loose on THAT-many acres---and I just MIGHT find a rock to stay under, and never show in-public again...!☺

Wheels, Do they still have glugites where you've been visiting? Keep working at it and you'll turn that farm into a place to get-away from. "..been vacationing at the get-away place and came home to rest up!" :)

Donk, Still got a switch by the ash tray to turn on the hi-blower. Fixing it right would cost a few dollars but even worse it would involve some time and labor and I'm sure you're aware of the backorder situation concerning round tuits.

I got to looking at a zero turn job and noticed the deck wasn't wider than the wheels. My steering wheel rig has a deck wider than it's tracks making it a better trimmer than the zero turn. I can trim under a woven wire fence. Of course the front mounted decks can probably do that too.

I understand the slow mow. There was a time when I felt safe from the telephone when on the lawn mower. ☺

Diss, Put it in Low for go and Two for shoo, then Three for whee!

Here's a silly question I find myself asking myself: In the old movies, why is it that in any night scene where folks left the car they always left the head lights on?

Old John,

Never ran into a single Glugite. Beginning to believe they are a Cape County native species.

Regarding the ZTR's, my Dixon deck sticks out about 6 or 7 inches past the front wheels and about 2 inches past the rear drive wheels. Not sure how you trim under a fence though. I get close but not under. I opted for the heavier manufactured deck vs the stamped out one, which makes it a little taller, but don't think it makes the difference of getting under a chain link fence.

(Good-Lord---he DID use a switch! Even if it was apparently ONLY a SPST! A-"man of MY-caliber", in-deed!)☺

MY-guess---and, it's ONLY a-guess---concerning the lights on cars, in the old-movies: Possibly the sudden-loss of reflection MAY have "confused" the lighting-meter(?)of the cameras? Although, in a bit of irony, I was once told the same-thing applied to the LACK OF TAIL/BRAKE LIGHTS in the early-films, for the exact-OPPOSITE reason?(Notice on ADAM-12, when Malloy slaps on the binders for a U-turn? I've yet to notice any braking-lights.)

Much the same for shows like EMERGENCY, as well. Ever notice how subdued those Federal®-overheads are, in-comparison to the headlights during a day-shot? AND, how you seldom seen a NIGHT-TIME scene, that the lights didn't look like '12's' running on a '6'???

WHEELS: Admittedly, a ZTR-is a "Cadillac" when it comes to comfort in the operators-seat.

MUCH-better---and, SAFER!---than this marvel of early-engineering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIbo9KMFlMc

I had the mis-fortune of getting to operate one of these---or to trim. After the first---and only!---endeavor?

I begged to go back to the 18-inch push trimmer!

Of course, if you didn't mind the added engine heat, the vibration, the noise, the punishing-ride, the occasional-ember from the exhaust, AND the mowing-chaff?

I guess it really wasn't all that-bad, after-all...???☺

Donknome-2,

Never had the pleasure or misfortune as the case may be of operating a 40's Gibson. I had an even more primitive form of mowing machine to do our small lawn with when I was growing up. It was a power mower where the operator furnished the power. And when I was "privileged" to go cut the church property we had some kind of garden tractor with a sickle bar up front that I was "allowed" to use. Probably a good thing those folks in the cemetery were already dead.

PS:

All I can say after looking at that clip on the "Yazoo" is 'Yahoo'.

One time owned a 50's model Gravely with a 30" mower that was built like a brush hog. When you pushed the lever forward, it went backwards and vice versa. But it would crawl up on a good size sapling and grind until it got er down to earth level. You haven't lived till you cannot get your hand on the lever to stop it and it drags you through a briar patch. Course if you didn't know how to start it, no worry it didn't. You turned the pulley backwards by hand until it was well past compression and then wound up your stap and pulled. Otherwise all you could do was drag it around with the strap.

WHEELS: I got a small-"taste" of the self-powered machine you speak(have-nightmares!)about. Separated the "REAL-kids", from the "weenies". Didn't take me long to invent "The Gasoline Motor", after that. OK---admittedly with a little-help from two-others, a-Stephen F. Briggs, and one Harold M. Stratton.(☺)

"... And when I was "privileged" to go cut the church property we had some kind of garden tractor with a sickle bar up front that I was "allowed" to use."

I'll bet it was somethin' VERY-similar to---if not an-actual---David-Bradley like this'n:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA6-i5o_5NI

Didn't take me long to figger-out a way to attach a "surrey" on the hind-end of the thang. MY-version wasn't as comfy as the one below---mine was "standing-room-only".☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmRycchDPeA

You could skid some pretty-good sized limbs/small trees from storm-damage with one, too!

-- Posted by .Dissident on Wed, Jul 3, 2013, at 10:37 AM

Ohhhhh Nooooooooooo!!!!!!

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Jul 4, 2013, at 10:39 AM

Donknome-2,

Similar to that but it had a longer 'snoot' on it and no fancy hood, and every bit as ill behaved with it's herky jerky clutch affair.

Regarding the homemade sulky... had one for the Gravely that made sure you were in an inescapable situation when you were drug through a briar patch.

My sulky needed a longer 'tongue' in it. When mowing a patch that might have a few small ditches, one had to be really careful.... if you hit it head on, the machine's wheels went down as the mower out front went up and the handles coming down on either side of the seat could really smash your fingers. The real danger though was hitting a ditch at an angle, and not have a firm grip on the handles, as the blasted thing would try to twist bringing one or the other of the handles to the center of the seat. Stalled there once with my pants pinned to the seat.... just fortunately I was sitting well back in the seat, or I would have been speaking in a high pitched squeaky voice.

WHEELS: Yeah, thank God OSHA wasn't around in those-days, or we'd have NEVER-"engineered" our way to our-current status, on the "totem-pole of improvise".

(Also known as the "ones' that God-kept ALIVE for His entertainment, so's He didn't get bored-with waitin' to make us answer for it in the after-life...!☺)

Donknome-2

Amen brother!

Diss,

In the early 60's I had a brother-in-law living in a mobile home. When he wore his tires out on his old Plymouth, he decided those mobile home tires just sitting there going to waste would serve just fine. He somehow pried those 14.5 inch, if I remember correctly, tires, onto his 15 inch Plymouth wheels. It was quite a site to behold. Then he got rear ended and they knocked his gas tank off the car (and it didn't explode into flames) he mounted the gas tank in the trunk and wired it down. This guy was the world's original tight a$$.

Speaking of tires, my father in law told about buying a wagon during the time tires were rationed. He stopped with a new wagon in tow to buy some parts for his tractor and the dealer asked him where got those new tires. He told him they were on the new wagon when he bought it. The dealer was determined to have them for his car and offered him the price of the wagon to trade the wagon tires for his worn out car tires. They made the trade and the dealer started on a trip to Cape. The implement rated tires started coming apart at over 40mph and two blew out leaving him stranded. The dealer quit blaming my father in law for his trouble 20 years later when he sold him a new tractor.

Wheels

All I know is it's a damm good thing cars/trucks do not have ceiling fans .

-- Posted by .Dissident on Fri, Jul 5, 2013, at 1:29 PM

Diss,

Now that is funny! About the only thing that has made me grin today.

"This guy was the world's original tight a$$." -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Jul 4, 2013, at 1:24 PM

Eh, or perhaps another way to look at it - thrifty and self-reliant. Qualities that seem to be evaporating from individuals at alarming rates. Nowadays seems like the first response from many is to call someone, because much like the E.F. Hutton commercials of days past - they've got people.

On another note, coming to the realization that the push mower is heading towards its last days. On its 14th mowing season, having replaced the wheels twice after wallerin' 'em out to the point where getting the mower to run a straight line resembled an intoxicated person trying to do the same. Now the tried-and-true-and-tired Tecumseh engine is running through about 3-4oz of oil on a 35-minute yard and knocking worse than a door-to-door salesman needing to take a leak.

Yikes, in checking out the prices, things sure have come a long way from the $39 mowers the grandparents bought at Western Auto in 1964. Hoping it makes it until the end-of-season sales, anyways.

Or, just may have to check out Northern Tool to see if a suitable drop-in replacement is available, and for how much... :-)

"...knocking worse than a door-to-door salesman needing to take a leak."

Gawd, I love these one-liners, new OR old! VERY-intertaining for "The Minds' Eye"! (And certified-psychics are more-than-welcome to catch the evening-matinee for half-price on Saturdays & Sundays, only!)☺

Gonna get me one of those "talk-into's", for those "on-the-spot"-urges. Just like the doctor uses when he or she goes-through my meds first-thing each visit.

"Eh, or perhaps another way to look at it - thrifty and self-reliant."

Nay Fxpwt,

This guy was as I described him.... those tires were not safe on an automobile, nor was the gas tank safe in the trunk being held down by a piece of baling wire.

He had a water heater in an older mobile home years ago that kept blowing the relief valve. He decided the the relief valve was bad so rather than call someone, he replaced it. When that kept popping off, he found a way to cap it off. This was an older 120 Volt job under the kitchen cabinet and had a wall switch on it, so they just turned it off and on as needed. He finally tells me about it and I checked it for him. A bad T-Stat. I ordered one for him and when I received it they told me to go ahead and replace it, the door was open and they were at work. When I sat down in front of that cabinet, I realized something was wrong, things were hotter than hell under the cabinet. I realized they had left it on. I tippy toed to the bathroom and opened all of the faucets. The whole place was like a steam room before I got cold water out of the hot faucets. That was when I found out he had capped the relief valve.

I stand on what I said. He was the original "Tight Arse" and a hazard to himself and others as well.

Wheels, I find myself always trying to get by the cheap way and have to admit it has cost me more at times.

I did the do it yourself method and saved a lot replacing the fan motor, the burnt wiring, leak fixing, recharging and cleaning of the old AC unit. Finally had our friendly local Bollinger county guy to replace the whole thing inside and out and realized what I saved on electric would have covered all the parts expense and been a lot easier. :)

Fuel injection is a wonderful thing. Continue to chuckle on the '87 -'91 (Generation 8) F150 userboards about guys asking what-all it would take to convert back to a carburetor because they can't figure out what's wrong with the EFI. Geez, kinda like wanting to get rid of Windows in favor of DOS, dump electronic ignition in favor of points, well, you get the point - the return to being a Neanderthal knuckledragger excited about discovering fire.

Displacement-On-Demand, Active Fuel Management, or whatever it's called when the cylinders deactivate for improved fuel economy - well, a good theoretical idea with some reality drawbacks. Given my level of experience - which means only that I have learned from the results of a lot of bad judgements - I've found that when theory disagrees with reality - theory usually gets embarrassed really bad.

Apparently, GM figured this out also, and quit offering AFM on the Impys in the following model year, as well as quit offering replacement parts for the AFM special parts while offering a very expensive conversion kit for those engines with failed AFM-specific parts. Perfect!

At any rate, been watching the Impy's oil consumption increase through the miles - starting out with 6-7,000 miles per quart when it was newer, now around 2,500 miles per quart. Not really too concerned about it - oil is relatively cheap, 2,500 miles per quart was great back in the days of carbs and looser tolerances, and the Impy is well into its over the hill glidepath.

Got to reading on one of the Impy userboards about the oil consumption issue with the 3.9L V6 - the whining about how an oil baffle kit was made available to the 5.3L V8 owners to alleviate the issue, but not to the lowly 3.9L V6 and even lower-on-the-totempole 3.5L V6 owners.

One user responded with a lot of chatter about the way the oil is sloshed and pumped and drawn into the deactivated cylinders, piston ring carbon buildup, flash and poof out the exhaust on re-activation, and what-not - at any rate, he recommended running a couple of cans of SeaFoam through the system.

Eh, figure it's worth a try. Haven't done any kind of injector cleaning for the life of the car, so what's the harm? Had been going on the premise that fuel is supposed to have some government-mandated amount of detergents since 1986 because of the known issues with keeping injectors clean, the environment cleaner, fuel detergent salesmen in business, etc., but considered that since the government mandated an amount, would it be sufficient to do the job right, given their illustrious and repeatable track record?

Geez, Louise, they sure are proud of that SeaFoam stuff, so I opted for a few more shots over a longer period of the less-expensive Berryman's B12 - a product I notice a lot of mechanics liking.

It may be too early to know for sure, but given the Impy's consumption rate, and my preference to top up at a half-quart down since it's only a 4-quart system - it seems the oil consumption is way down.

Hmmm. I try to learn something everyday. If that something is useful and continues to be of value - win-win! :-)

1) A good userboard will yield answers and help not found in any shop manual, or shop proper.

2) Just because it's the way you learned it doesn't mean there aren't other solutions which may be even better.

3) The world and related userboards are still full of idiots whose top concern in life appears to be whether this particular set of wheels and tires (broken link attached) will make the back-end look phat. Great - a poor speller worried about a big rear end helps confirm the high probability that I will have a job as long as I want to work.

:-)

fxpwt, I've yet to track oil consumption 6-7,000 miles. I have moved up to 4,000 mile intervals with the 120,000 mile Buick. The Dodge truck at a 130,000 miles gets an oil change once a year since it gets maybe 2,000 miles on it a year.

In '86 I was confronted with a GM that took too much cranking to start. The injecters had just been cleaned. Turned out the partially clogged injecters were squirting a bit of a stream and carbon had built up on where the squirt didn't hit. The restored spray was absorbed by the carbon build up as the flood protection mode leaned out the mixture. Time corrected the problem. The owner said he only used the premium fuel from the same station. Since then I always figured it best to vary the brands as each has different additives, some that clean up what the other missed.

OJ - I guess the early computer-controls weren't programmed to handle all the ways things could go wrong. :-)~

A long, long time ago, in a place far, far away named Bowling Green but pronounced Ball-in-grin, the F150 took to running rough - real rough, as if the engine didn't want to be in the bay any longer. Fearing a major come-apart, I took it in. The mechanic found that a chunk of carbon had lodged in one of the plug gaps, effectively shorting it out. The controls adjusted fuel to the other cylinders to bring things back into what it thought was right - resulting in really bad wrong.

The mechanic also dropped a coupla-pieces of knowledge on me that I still follow.

1) Run the lowest octane fuel the engine can tolerate without knocking, typically what's specified in the owner's manual. Reason being that octane is a measure of resistance to ignition. Running a higher-than-needed octane results in some incomplete combustion, leaving deposits behind. These deposits accumulate over time, and result in irregularly edged buildup, the hot spots causing pre-ignition problems, and the deposit volume causing increased compression. In short, if one runs a higher octane fuel by choice for too long, one will then need to run a higher octane fuel by necessity.

2) Make it a habit not to run the fuel tank below 1/4. Reason being that most vehicles now have a fuel pump in the tank. The fuel acts as a coolant, helping the pump to last longer. One of the dated rules-of-thumb I've heard and gone by is that electric motor life is cut in half for each 10 degreesC increase in average operating temperature.

It's amazing to me how events and people from my formative years still impact me today. Events such as described above, and the wisdom from Saturday morning TV, where one of the hosts would always say, '... and if you listen, you just might learn something' - which fits well with a teacher's guidance of 'God gave you two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. It will serve you well, Mr. fxpwt, to use them accordingly." :-)

FXPWT: Number-TWO on your above-list is VERY-important, and TRUE, especially in summer!

I've heard time and time-again, how honest-mechanics will swear by the "quarter-tank-rule". I'll certainly vouch for it!

Actually, it rang-true with the "retro" mechanical-pumps as well, at least to a certain-point---as, "...keep at least 5-gallons of fuel in the tank, so as to hold-down the 'slop' in the tanks' sump."

Might-say it keeps it an "ice-cream float", with the GOOD-stuff at the level of the pump-suction.

As-opposed to-turning into a "slurry" of chopped-nuts, hulls, cherry-pits, and those stringy-little "banana-boogers", that get hung in the straw, a.k.a., fuel-intake...!☺

My dad always talked about stuffing rags into the tires.

I've heard of stuffing "river-barge-size" tow-rope into Model T tires before, so, that MAY-be along the same-lines as rag-stuffing...?

I heard a story from before tires were rationed. Seems some savy folks included in their tool kits a portion of bacon rind and leather.

Rind for the temporary repair of a loose rod on the crank and leather for repair of the drive shaft.

Ahhhh, the benefits of safety glass. While a web search indicates this stuff became a 'norm' for motor vehicles in the 1930s - still have to marvel at its properties.

Lemme 'shplain. First, no animals or fxpwts were harmed in this impromptu demonstration of complacency.

Was doing some mowing with a bush hog. Had let things get a little out-of-hand, with the growth well exceeding the height of the tractor hood, upwards of 8 feet tall, making for obstructed vision requiring the use of memory on how things laid out. Having to go slow to keep the clutch on the bush hog from breaking traction.

Making the first pass along the tree line of the field I'd mowed many times before, looking down at the left front tire to gauge distance so the wider-than-the-tractor bush hog wouldn't hang on the trees. By the speed markings on the tach dial for the gear I was in, blazing along at a brisk 2.7 mph.

Hear this creak, then POW, then felt a harsh peppering on the top of my head. Immediately stopped, and looked up to find one of the front windows gone, letting all the 'store-bought air' out, with pea-sized glass pellets all over the cab, in my lap, and later found in my shorts and socks.

WTH? I looked around, saw a tree trunk from a previous clearing pushed up against the side window. Hearing that creak again, I looked away just in time as the side window went ka-bloo-ey, for a second peppering.

Doggone! I assessed the damages, glass pellets all over the cab, the tractor still running without a beat missed, and I just had several 'weeper-leaks' on my arms. The glass didn't just shatter and fall, it blasted inward with some authority.

First I was mad, quickly moderating to happy. Had that glass been regular plate-style stuff, would likely have been leaking a lot more.

It was pointed out that it was a good thing I was looking down so as not to get glass in the eyes. I pointed out that had I been looking up, would've seen the tree trunk coming at that blistering 2.7 mph closure rate. Eh, well.

Was rather pleased to find some really economical replacement glass for the 'green' - only about $125 per window - and this is for glass with pre-drilled holes and curves. Actually, been rather pleased with this and other parts needs, that while the cost of getting into 'green' seems to be a premium, the cost of keeping it 'green' really isn't all that bad.

As for me, well, the nerves calmed down enough to get back on those 75 horses for another go-round, long enough to break something else. :-)

Fxpwt,

That could have really been a disaster if you had caught some of that glass with one or both eyes. Glad to hear it did not.

That said.... I remember a man in our neighborhood having some kind of 30's vintage car with safety glass in it. Think it was a Model A ford, but would not swear to it.... I was all of about 8 or 9 years old when I rode in it. What fascinated me even then was that you could only see out of the windshield through a hole about 12 or 14 inches in diameter on the driver's side. Whatever they had used between the two layers of glass had discolored badly. Being of meager means and a baling wire type guy, the owner fixed it. He in some way got a hole started in the glass on the inside and he had chipped the glass out down to the plastic or whatever was used between the two layers and then he cut out the plastic, leaving a nice clean opening to look through in the outer layer of glass.

In looking back at that it kind of reminds you of some of the "I fixed its" from some of the e-mails floating around, where they used half a library of books to hold up the kitchen cabinets where they had come loose from their moorings.

fxpwt, That sounds like as much fun as finding a stump without an over ride pto. One good thing was the shear pin slowed the bush hog blades when they hit the stump.

Rick, Doc Adams had a self driving buggy.

I wonder if that technology could be incorporated into a highway house and save Wheels from having to get "retested" on his driving skills.

It would be quite a sight to see, a house self parking right next to the chicken and dumplings table at the picnic! :)

Old John,

Leaving the House Car back at the home 20 and driving down for the day and back home. It will be me parked next to the chicken and dumplings table. Along with a little kettle beef. Better join me. Just talked to my brother and he has a busier social schedule than Obama. He says he will be there for a short time, but has a sale, a wedding and another picnic to go to. Three out of four involve food.

Sounds like on of my brothers, the three out of four part.

A friend told me her husband was working the beer stand at that picnic and said she warned him to behave. Later told me he behaved and only served himself a couple.

Everyone but her knows a couple is two if your talking people and a 6-pack when your talking beer. :)

-- Posted by Old John on Tue, Jul 30, 2013, at 1:29 AM

Old John,

And a fine time was had by all. The folks running the 'refreshment' stand were much too busy from early evening until at least when I left to do a lot of 'misbehavin'.

The fried chicken was good, the kettle beef was great and the chicken and dumplings were fantastic. They did have a lot of other things there also, but I was much too busy with the top three to bother them a lot. :-) Nobody would have mistaken me for a vegetarian Saturday evening.

I have just been informed of the upcoming high school reunion.

Shall I ask my fellow speakout posters for tips on how to look good or just resign to the fact that looking good has never been my talent?

Old John,

Asking your fellow posters how to dress and act, just might be inviting trouble and certainly leaving a lasting impression on Advance if you followed all the help we gave you.

Probably, just do what my one sister always advises..... wear whatever fits!

In the spirit of Lethal Weapon's Roger Murtaugh - I'm gettin' too old for this $h!t - tangled with the pressure washer today.

Don't get me too wrong - I think a pressure washer is one of the homeowner's essential tools - along with an air compressor and a shop vac - towards keeping the property and vehicles looking like they're owned with pride, instead of leased/rented with indifference.

Do have a bone to pick with the concept of vinyl siding being promoted as part of a maintenance-free attraction, though. Yeah, sure, when it was new - looked good without effort.

However, as the years have progressed, it has developed an affinity towards housing unwanted nasties - like green mold and black mildew. If I ever lose my direction - all I gots to do is look around - the funkiest side of the house always points north :-)~ As I hear tell - siding comes inpregnated with a fungicide to thwart this stuff - but it's only good for about 7 years.

Back in the earlier years of the humble abode, when Clinton was still in office and one just could not lose money in the stock market - could knock out the whole house in one swipe. Now, looking like it's going to take four swipes - not that the siding is that bad off, just that the operator tuckers-out and quits earlier. Or, as I like to think of it - better paces himself. :-)

Even the parts that don't look that bad, look a whole lot better after a washing, where the dust and dirt are knocked off to uncover the original matte brilliance.

It is interesting that the older I get, the more careful I be towards respecting the edges of the roof. Mr. Gravity is a mean adversary. Given the neighbors' stares as they drive by - can't tell if they are envious, in wonder of how I got up on the roof to begin with, or just hoping for a free-fall show from the resident cranky old guy with grey sideboards...

If only more neighbors would take the same pride in keeping after their property's appearance. Heck, I would be happy, er happier, if they would quit treating the street as a common trash dump for their crabgrass-laden yard clippings and cigarette butts...

Rick, Were they trying to pull a limb or a bumper off. Maybe they were trying to make a stretch limo?

Wheels, I see you're out and about again.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=emerson+farm+tractor&qpvt=emerson+farm+tract...

More fun with the pressure washer - took to washing the fleet yesterday with the pressure washer. Have developed a kind of alternating pattern - while pressure washing is certainly the more labor- and time-saving method, it just ain't no substitute for a good scrub-a-dub-dub hand washing every other or third time to get the bugs and road film off. To its credit, the pressure washer does a good job on the wheel wells, getting in the nooks of the wheels, as well as keeping the underside clean so as to minimize that face-ful of crud that seems to always plop in the eyes when wrenching below.

Was moving right along, going good on the 2nd vehicle, when Mother Nature decided to lend a helping hand with the rinsing. Didn't confront me any (as I already had my rent money - heheheh, yes, been listening to a lot of George Thorogood today), just kept on going, because all I lacked was finishing up, with the bonus of the mystified looks from the neighbors as they drove by being nothing short of priceless.

Then, I heard this thunderclap, and got to looking at the four-foot long mostly stainless steel wand in my hand, as a vision of the preacher from Caddyshack, on the golf course in the rain came to mind.

Hmmm, figured it would be in my best interest to shut things down...

-- Posted by Old John on Thu, Aug 8, 2013, at 11:52 AM

Neat Old John. Missed it a week and a half ago.

Kinda reminds me of that graphic, of the Indian on horseback with a COMPOUND-bow instead of a "normal"-one: "What-IF...???"

(And in-defense of "How is THIS considered mechanical?" It DOES have "automatic" in it's subject-matter!)☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMqd5EQXD-g

Scaringly-good detail, on this-one. But, hey! We were REAL-kids back then---not the mushy-masses of i-phone-punchers of today...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E1JO6bADeQ

This was realism, too---just tack-on a few more years, until it was well-used, and I could afford to(lose!)any investment in such....!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSHo3j72fIo

Donknome-2

Where you been, you old reprobate? :-)

Commercials like those you just posted gonna get NSA out to visit you.

WHEELS: Ah-h-h, THANK-You for the complement! It warms my-soul, to know that "Ive still got 'IT'"!(I've got PLENTY-of friends in 'low'-places:I've ALREADY been pre-approved for the position of head-concierge, when I get there...!)☺

..."Commercials like those you just posted gonna get NSA out to visit you.

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Fri, Aug 30, 2013, at 11:03 AM "...

Ah-yes, I LIVE for the thrill of anticipation!☺ Besides, if worse came to worse? In this HEAT, three-hots-n'-a-cot, A/C, & FREE-medical care sounds pretty-good, sometimes?

And I honestly believe that it really-IS a "baby" Kurt Russell, in the "Blaster"-commercial...☺

WHEELS---again!:

Been meaning to ask you---that wrong-sided Bitsumishi---er, I mean, MITsubishi☺ 4wd you bought earlier "in this thread" for a woods-lot truck, does it have a dual-range(lo/hi)transfer? Or is it only a "one-gear-fits-all", after it comes off the tail of the transmission?

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Sat, Aug 31, 2013, at 7:50 AM

Donknome-2

It's actually a Susiki. It has a 5 Speed Transmission and a Low/Hi Transfer case. It will get up and scoot and down and crawl. Best part it is heated and cooled.

I know, I'm a big sissy... but I dare all those farm boys with their air conditioned tractors and combines to comment on it. ;-)

If you need one there is a company right out of Fruitland that sells them. That's where mine came from.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/_43f9RzAqMM

And, you're RIGHT---they are Tsunamis. The emblem looks the same for the Tsunami and/or Bitsumishi, at least from the road-way!☺

Did you mean Fruitland? Or Gordonville?

Of course then again---I very seldom drive with my-eyes fully-open anyways, anymore.

Early-stages of the onset of "Clint Eastwoods'-Disease". Comes with age, or at least that's what us younger-older-farts blame it on.....???☺

And, btw WHEELS: That was a sneaky-little "ditty" you snuncked-in with that link! No, REALLY! It's actually quite CLEAN, folks---literally!

(An' I'm a-gonna spread it like peanut-butter on a hot-biscuit for the rest of the day, too, Thank-You...!!!☺)

Donknome-2,

Let me check that address.... right now it's hi ho, hi ho, off to church I go.

Donk, Them names can get confusing. A buddy had problem with his little toy tractor, [a name I never heard of] asked several if they knew how to get the pto shaft out. No one of us shade tree guys knew and he gave up and traded it for an old 8N. I later found out it was a Mittsey with a Mazda engine otherwise the same with a differnt name.

Donknome-2

The name of the riceburner pickups dealer is G & R Imports and they are located at 155 Bamboo Lane, Jackson, MO. Bamboo Lane is north of Fruitland on Old US 61 and on the left going north. Looks like just north of what I take to be County Rd 533. Their phone number is 573 204-7984. I dealt with Travis. They have an internet site where you can shop their selection, I added new larger wheels and tires on mine and still spent less than half what some of these open air 4 wheelers cost. Although it was used.

WHEELS: Oh-h-h---SWEET!!! Yeah, I know exactly where Bamboo Lane is, and this place is just-off Old-61---and I'm thinkin' it's a dead-end road still, just across from the 61/C-intersection.

I'll check 'im out someday, "close-up"...!☺

OLD JOHN, & others: Here's a bit of info you may want to stash-away for a later-"encounter".

It seems that IGNITION/ARMATURE-coils on the newer Briggs & Stratton Model 310000 Intek-Series VERTICAL-shaft engines are total-JUNK, even the brand-NEW ones.

(I've never had any-issues with the same-coil on the HORIZONTAL-shaft models, though? Makes me think it's the LOCATION, on the hottest-part of the verts' cylinder, that's causing premature failure?) And naturally, our Local "Factory-Authorized-Dealer(s)", not knowing how to spell "Paying-Customer", aren't interested in the issue.

So, here's the solution: IF you can find a reputable-source---i.e., "Order it YOURSELF!", as our "Local-Merchants" obviously don't need, nor want, our trade-$$$'s---substitute instead one of the(much)older Briggs Magnetron®-coils, from the Model 283700-Series.(The 14.5 hp/500cc Model# 310000-Series is a "Drop-In"-replacement, for the old-11.5-hp Intek Model 283700-Series, BTW.) Their "ears" are a bit-thicker, and the pickup is a hair-long. But as long as it aligns good with the flywheel mags and you keep a MAXIMUM of .015-air gap between the legs an' the f-wheel??? You're good-to-go! They have a LOT-more wrapping/heat shielding, than the chink-made OEM-units.

Not to mention they cost HALF the amount of the "correct"-part. I put in a VERY-well used one of at least 15-years' in-service, and it fires like greased-lightning, still!

I'm sick and tired of hearing this "Support Your Local Merchants"-spiel. I mean, if they don't want/need my-dollar$? To-HELL with 'em.......!☻

Eh, Donk - FWIW, when I bought the manly-man's must-have home maintenance tool - the pressure washer - intentionally avoided the B&S-powered unit in favor of a Honda-powered unit.

Even though the washer pressure and volume outputs were similar, with the Honda unit dipping a little further into the wallet - just was not impressed by the latest B&S reliability and fuel consumption numbers to take that chance on the traditional U.S.A.-made model over a non-traditional U.S.A-maybe-or-not-made unit.

Sad shift of perspective, considering the former impression of the B&S's being all-American, bulletproof, and unbreakable due to the performance of their units experienced from the 60s and 70s vintage models.

Toying with the idea of replacing the push mower - a Craftsman with the Tecumseh motor, now that it's getting into the annual yard equipment sale season.

While it's still running strong after its 14th mowing season, the knocking and the oil consumption with related smoke raises some concerns about the 15th season reliability.

Not sure what powerplant Craftman is putting into their newer units. Just looking for that Ronco reliability - set it and forget it, as compared to the newer generation perspective of use it up, wear it out, throw it away and getcha another one next year... cuz it costs more to repair than to replace. The new American way? I certainly hope not.

Donk, I had a coil fail issue at just past 12 months on the Simplicity 18HP VanGuard. When I carried it into the store the clerk greeted me with "That's not under warranty" Not sure why she said that, just figured she remembered it had been over a year since I bought it and brought it back a week later with a head gasket oil leak. The replacement coil worked ok at least for a year when the bottem crank seal leaked all the oil out and a rod broke.

Helpful neighbor said he thought it sounded like it was knocking. :) Funny but sitting above a 50" mower deck makes it hard to hear an engine knock and that oil light is useless in bright sunlight.

I replaced it with a 20HP VanGuard with a 115v alternator with minor modification and have been happy. Fuel economy equals three mows for one on the same gas as the Onan powered JD. That engine was delivered to my door in three days for $700 VS local dealer $1,300 or so and two weeks.

Original and replacement engines USA made. Irony has found it's way with the handy 115v power source. The 12v part quit working and I now have a small 12v charger connected to the 115v outlet!

Was looking at storm generators a while back an found some great deals on the VanGuard powerd B&S units. Waited too long, now they cost more and are made in China.

"...Irony has found it's way with the handy 115v power source. The 12v part quit working and I now have a small 12v charger connected to the 115v outlet!..."

Now, THIS-reminds me of---ME!☺

I think I called the 310000 a 14.5, didn't I?(Yee-ahh, ah-didd.☻) But I'll be damned if I'll run back to the shed and look---but I think it's a 17.5? (I DO know it spins a set of blades, an' drives the hydrostat---so, that's what matters, eh?)☺ And, it is/was a true "drop-in" replacement for the previous 11.5 hp IC-Intek that lasted me through TWO-overhauls and 20-plus years.(And, YES, I've wrapped it in a tarp, and KEPT-it, too---just in-case!)

But there's just no-more steel-sleeve to SAFELY-turn out and work with, anymore---already went with .020-over, at the ten-year mark, and that's not counting the "original" overhaul of .010-over, from the start.

Makes me sick, when they take a successful-combo like the Vanguard(was)---I think they used to make them in Poplar Bluff, didn't they?---an' start "China-shopping"-them, plus RAISING the price of same!

Always-nice to have neighbors with good-ears.

Y' shoulda' tole him, "Yah, it's a Diesel. Maybe I shouldn't have used that Environmentally-Friendly Bio-Fuel after-all, huh..?"☺

FXPWT: Oh-h-h, I'd almost KILL for a Honda-Genset!(I'm stuck with a 10-hp Tecumseh on a 6000-peak Coleman---at least 'til my-pension starts to accumulate more.(sigh!)Maybe NEXT-year!☻) Nah-h-h, OK---maybe just rough somebody up a bit, then?☺

All-brands/types have their quirks, but Honda SEEMS to be the quietest, honestly-believe that I could use one for a pillow, if it weren't for the heat!☺

Man, I almost-literally CRY, when I see what happened to once-proud-icon Tecumseh. They were the "bees'-knees" in their heyday, being ranked "just a hair"-below the high-rev Clintons!

Ironically, I remember the early-50's "Indian-Head" Clintons & Tecumsehs having a LOT of interchangeable-parts, i.e., ignition coils, points---even as far as some piston/rod assemblies.

And I laugh when some hallmark-company touts their "New! Improved!"-engines with the "Chrysler Slant-Six"-design.

Pfftt!!! Continental done did dat a long-time back. Looked kinda weird on a garden-tiller!

But would really "psych-out" a friendly go-kart competition when you strapped-one onto the final-drive.

Plus, they were built like an 18-year-old Amazon-recruit...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BElu3_fdFjk

"Chrysler Slant-Six"

Donknome-2,

I have heard those referred to as "The Leaning Tower of Power".

A little reading material on the Slant Six -

http://www.allpar.com/slant6.html

Fxpwt,

I had one of those slant sixes in a 1964 Dodge A100 pickup. That was one of those kind of a cabover pickups, Ford had the Econoline and Dodge came out with the A100. That purchase was a backbreaker at the time, about $2600 if I remember correctly. I purchased the 225 version and it was great, having come from a 1961 Ford Econoline with a big old 144 cu in 6 in it. Ran into the original invoice and sales brochure sometime back, don't remember where in the memorabilia I stored it at the moment. Biggest fault with that truck was the brakes. You never knew if it was going right or left when you applied them in a panic stop. And with a 90 inch wheelbase, it could be tricky. Only for sure, it was highly unlikely that it was going to go straight ahead without some real power steering, applied by me.

Heheheh - a little trip down Memory Lane for Wheels - http://www.allpar.com/trucks/a-trucks.html

And the van version - http://www.allpar.com/trucks/vans.html

Fxpwt,

Thanks for the memories. Mine being a work vehicle was not quite as duded up. I can remember many a cold night getting in that thing to get a customer some heat. It would be frozen to the ground and didn't just spring to life eagerly.

Also had couple of the vans one was a slant 6 and the other a V8. Does 273 cu in sound right.

I had just bought the V8 maybe a 1968, cannot remember. But I loaded the kids, the wife, a furnace an air conditioner and all of the ductwork needed to put in a central furnace and A/C for my mother. Picked up about a half a cord of wood for my fireplace and started home.

Somewhere along the line it started making a bit of a noise when I let up on it, and then it was if I let up or stepped on it. And with 8** miles on it, it threw a rod somewhere between Cherokee Pass and Fredericktown it made a terrible noise as I was trying to coax it to the next intersection. It shuddered hesitated and then started free wheeling. When I pulled over there was oil running out on the ground. We walked about a mile to a service station and I called the guy who had sold it to me. He dispatched a tow truck, came and picked us up, bought our dinner and took us home. Then he and I went and picked up the half a cord of wood to get it out of the way so it could be worked on. If you can believe this, I made 800 plus miles and when they tore the engine down, the rod that broke had only one nut on the rod cap. How we ever got that far is a mystery.

They put a 318, I think it was short block back in it and I can tell you, I embarrassed a few kids with that work truck. It would haul a**!

fxpwt, I read all the slant six and must have missed the part that explained why my buddy's '60 pickup got 20 plus mpg no matter how it was driven.

The Aspen Volarie part brought memories as I remember a labor strike influenced the carb change. That was the time when Dodge and Plymouth were the same cars with different hubcaps.

We saw the little red wagon do wheelies in St Charles.

Wheels, I always figured that cabover design to be OK. Toyota I think has a mini-van based on the same idea.

Chevrolet produced the Vega from 1971 to about 1978. And every one had an aluminum block. Definitely not one of their better ideas.

Pontiac also had a slant 6. I once owned a 1966 Tempest which was originally equipped with a slant 6 and a Holley 4-barrel if I remember correctly. It could keep up with the V-8s but did not hold up well in the long run. I bought it without an engine and installed a Chevrolet 283.

My mistake. The '66 Tempest had an overhead cam straight 6.

The 1961 Tempest originally came out with a slant 4 engine which was basically one bank of the 389.

I recall a term "block drop" that meant the aluminum block sagged causing head gasket failure.

Robert, Seems we discussed a Tempest with some advanced features but I don't remember 'slant six' a part of that.

Wheels, I always figured that cabover design to be OK. Toyota I think has a mini-van based on the same idea.

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Sep 2, 2013, at 10:27 PM

Yes they did. Was on a trip once where we needed to rent a car and haul about 7 people. We rent one of those Toyotas. Not sure if they still make it or not, but it would seem unlikely.

The 1961 Tempest originally came out with a slant 4 engine which was basically one bank of the 389.

-- Posted by Robert* on Mon, Sep 2, 2013, at 10:59 PM

My next door neighbor bought one of those 61 Tempests and he came very close to getting the two of us killed in it.

The thing had some kind of a curved drive shaft as I understood it and a rear transaxle that was rather loosely sprung. Approaching a T in the road at way to much speed he had no choice but brake and try to turn at the same time. Sliding sideways caused the left rear wheel to buckle under to some extent but came out of it when we slid sideways into the ditch. We were able to get out of he ditch and drive off. It happened to him one more time.... right before he got rid of the car. He worked for a Pontiac dealer and said they were prone to do that as he found out after buying it.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1961-1963-pontiac-tempest.htm

The 1961 Tempest originally came out with a slant 4 engine which was basically one bank of the 389.

-- Posted by Robert* on Mon, Sep 2, 2013, at 10:59 PM

My next door neighbor bought one of those 61 Tempests and he came very close to getting the two of us killed in it.

The thing had some kind of a curved drive shaft as I understood it and a rear transaxle that was rather loosely sprung. Approaching a T in the road at way to much speed he had no choice but brake and try to turn at the same time. Sliding sideways caused the left rear wheel to buckle under to some extent but came out of it when we slid sideways into the ditch. We were able to get out of he ditch and drive off. It happened to him one more time.... right before he got rid of the car. He worked for a Pontiac dealer and said they were prone to do that as he found out after buying it.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1961-1963-pontiac-tempest.htm

Dang it.... double dribble again!

Wheels - a friend had one of those VW microbusses - similar setup as the cabover. Never felt comfortable in it, sitting in front of the front tire just ain't right - figured if we were in a wreck, we would have THE very first-hand account of the impact. Always liked the comfort of having a little crumple zone out front.

The Tempest talk has me recollecting the unforgettable characteristics of the '74 Mercury Capri - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Capri. I'm pretty sure I've rambled on excessively about this car in previous posts - it was a really fun car to drive, peppy with good fuel economy, very few other people had one ... BUT

It came with rack-and-pinion steering - pretty unusual for the time, with the rack clamped to the front 'axle', isolated by two rubber bushings directly underneath the 2.8L V6. The problem came as the car aged and began to dribble oil - right onto these bushings, making them spongy. This, coupled with the original slim-n-trim European design fattened up by various American regulations like 5mph bumpers overdutied the front discs causing warpage. So, when slowing down from highway speeds, one got this severe side-to-side shimmy harmonics in the front end, building to become violent enough to spill the Big Gulp sitting on the floorboard.

Couldn't figure out how to get the leaks fixed, so became a regular at the local dealership for the dealer-only bushings, changing them more often than most women change their minds (and to think, they still can't find one that works any better!) - still remember the part numbers - D0RY-5484-A and D0RY-5484-B, now taking up valuable memory that could be used for something useful. :-)~

I enjoyed the Tempest link, I must have been asleep during all that for I was familiar with most of the Pontiac stuff and followed Delorean's influence on GM [On A Clear Day You Can See GM]but missed that story.

fxpwt, I have a new project, not my choice although I think it worthwile, maybe. Wife's parents had a Ford F600, typical steel grain bed single axle with fold down cattle racks. It has all the options of '74 including windhield washers and AM radio with 33,000 miles. She had it drug out of the barn and towed [carried] here on a flat bed.

Funny thing was, as I was expecting delivery a flat bed with an old bread truck stopped at the end of the driveway. Whoa, what's this? The driver had called me earlier from the barn to make sure he was in the right place getting the right truck. The bread truck hauler just wanted to inquire of the finish mower I have for sale.

Anyway the big red truck was positioned and left in the spot I reserved by an expert driver and the little trickle charger went to work as I washed off several years of barn dust and bird doo. I was surprised to see the paint looked new while still wet...still looks awful dry. :)

A couple of gallons of fresh gas and several hit and miss tries and it now idles. A few test areas tell me there might be hope for the bright grille and red paint, maybe replace the bumper and mirror brackets that are too rusty to restore.

That old gasoline mixed with some moldy grain has a distinctive smell, kinda like the smell of a money pit!

Robert, When the wife told me she wanted the truck that was always referred to as her mom's truck, I put the cables on and gave it a crank or two. I didn't notice the pto was engaged and almost raised the roof!

I have still to learn if my little tractor/backhoe will climb up and fit into the bed thinking that would be kinda neat.

John, apparently I did or said something wrong. All of yesterday's posts are gone? :-(

I am getting into repurposing. There are so many things which are now discarded but can be used in many ways; often not what they were originally manufactured for. These old trucks may not be as comfortable as the new ones and may also be a bit more awkward but it sure is enjoyable to find a way to make them useful and bring a bit of the past to life.

Ooops! I see that I was lost on another thread last night when I posted. And we are supposed to stay on topic......imagine that!

By the way.......I recall a neighbor years ago who built his own garden tractor back in the late 60's. He was much more talented than I about re-using scrap parts. Made sheet metal and all for it....It looked like a little International 'Turbo'. Ran it in the garden tractor pulls at the Cape fair (and won trophies) until those in charge rewrote the rule book as I understand it.

I traded a motorcycle one time for a red Thunderbird years back and had great pleasure with little effort changing that pinkish red back to red. The blue engine was blue again and looked nearly new with a detailed cleaning. Not sure it's going to work out that way with the red truck.

A buddy said they made F600, F601 up to F606, depending on optional springs and in the case of the F606 a heavier differiential and stuff to make it handle more weight. I've yet to find anything much about the red truck on the net. Hopefully we will come across the original paperwork.

C'mon OJ - how's about some details? Engine (330CID?)? 2-speed axle? 2-60 air conditioning?

fxpwt, I think the 330 on the air cleaner might be horsepower or something, could be a 390cid. I understand there are markings on front of the left head but I haven't got that far yet. Yes 2-speed axle. This 'beauty' [:)] has power steering and AM radio along with washers and a cigar lighter. There's a big red knob that says pump and another next to it without a knob that raises and lowers the steel bed that has folded down stock racks. A chrome grille seems out of place with painted mirrors and bumper and I wonder why the seat back is locked in place for there is room behind that could be accessed if the seat back would fold foreward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMacgwVn7sY

OLD JOHN: I've still got a '45 VAC, that runs a lot-better than it looks-like it might!☺

I'll do one of two-things with it, at the end of this-year: I'll either sell it outright to someone for restoration/parts, or I'll build a small-enclosure, and use it permanently-static with a PTO-driven AC-generator head, as a replacement for my 6000-watt Coleman with the 10-hp Tecumseh, that I keep my fingers-crossed while using during each power-outage of more than an-hour...!☺

Donk, I was thinking you would relate to that.

Not exactly all grease and gears but I found an interesting subject and blew a couple of hours reading and watching before I knew it.

For a little military/aviation/marine technology history, try a search of "Ekranoplan" or "The Caspian Sea Monster". It was a Soviet secret during the Cold War.

It started with Wheels link posting about easier ways to get rich. [Vincelewis site]

It started with Wheels link posting about easier ways to get rich. [Vincelewis site]

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Sep 14, 2013, at 12:21 PM

You up already Old John. Don't think I ever slept past noon.

Wheels, I did sleep in, got up at 8:00. :)

Old John,

-- Posted by *Rick. on Sat, Sep 14, 2013, at 12:56 PM

There's always one in the crowd.... good one Rick!

Rick, I never sleep very long but I make up for it in waking time.

Rick, A friend and I took turns driving us to StL many times for monthly 9:00AM meetings. This guy could sleep while driving 70mpg on I55 and I felt comfortable riding with him, that is until we swapped rigs one time and I learned the dang thing barely had any brakes. :)

Ok, he wasn't really sleeping but I have a cousin that has learned to sleep on the job. The machines do all the work in the factory where he sleeps and if the sound changes he wakes up and tends them.

I never sleep......I just rest my eyes!

Saw this thread was getting lost in all the political BS, so thought I would fire it back up.

Old John,

Had a neighbor worked a job similar to your cousin. Always wondered how after working a 8 hour night shift, he could come home and do his farming all day without sleep. He told me as long as the machine at work kept running, he had a good nights sleep.

After he retired, he had alot of trouble sleeping without the noise in the background. He ended up puting a old electic can opener on the nightstand and running it at night while he slept. Of course, the wife had to transfer him to the spare bedroom.

.

Also had I a mechanical FUBAR situation yesterday that was a first for me. In the shop changing a trailer tire. Airing up the tire, walked over by the compressor to get a pressure gauge, walked the 10 feet back to tire to check pressure and BOOM!!! The compressor tank exploded.

Other than the compressor, lights on the ceiling and some minor damage to a motorcycle sitting nearby damage was not as bad as it could have been.

Joe,

You could have been singing with the angels today. Glad to see you're not. What do you think, the tank rusted on the inside from water collecting in it maybe?

Joe, Curious...was that an old compresser.. did it have a pressure relief valve?

Long time back I remember a uncle and service station guy airing up a homemade portable air tank. The thing was just ahead of the raised tail gate and one had his foot on the pick up bumper. I guess they got to talking with the chuck locked on and didn't realize the pressure when the thing blew. It slammed the gate open and broke a leg.

Thanks Wheels,

Few extra prayers on my schedule for awhile.

I was at the shop about half a mile from my house. My Aussie Shepard was laying in the floor next to me. After the dust settled, I looked around and she was no where to be seen. A neighbor came up the road a few minutes later after hearing the boom and said he met the dog going the opposite way toward my house at a high rate of speed! Mans best friend my foot!

OJ,

The compressor was a 20 gal. craftsman, around 15 years old.

It had a pressure relief valve, which is still in perfect condition and never opened. Looking at what was left of the tank, it blew out on the bottom, it had some rust and pitting, but not all that bad. I drained the water from time to time over the years.

Recently it had been taking a little longer to pump up and kick off, and while working on the tire we didn't notice how long it had been running. Kinda one of those deals where you always expect it to kick off like it is supposed to, so you don't think about why it is still running.

Would this not be an interesting auction? I would be interested in just seeing the variety of models in his collection.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/27/treasure-trove-vintage-cars-to-be-auctioned...

Robert,

I heard about that auction a month or so ago and saw a video of them rolling cars out of buildings. My interest was not in buying a car but the name of the owner. Had a relative from the 1860's 187o's with that same name. The family lived in northwest part of Bollinger County and sometime or another just disappeared from the County leaving no trace. Knowing that a number of people from our community moved to Nebraska during the right time frame, it kind of piques my interest. Not sure how I am going to approach it, but am wondering about them.

You also have a relationship to that name my friend.

Wheels, What's that saying; Where there's a will...I want to be in it? :)

I'm wondering how he could stay in business putting cars aside that way.

I recognized the last name but really gave it no thought. My brain must have been in neutral. It will be interesting to work out that possibility.

I'm wondering how he could stay in business putting cars aside that way.

-- Posted by Old John on Fri, Sep 27, 2013, at 11:00 PM

Probably by making a profit on the ones he did sell. In the earlier report, I read how he had sold cars into Europe in years past. Also, they showed some older stuff that had come in as trade-ins. Wonder if I still have that link.

Here it is, the e-mail I received it in was June 30th. The video is still here but the interview with I believe I remember a daughter or someone seems to be gone.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/off-topic/3294706-huge-inventory-of-classic-cars...

Robert, I am going to try to contact the family in some way, to see if they have any ties to SE Missouri. I wanted to take a trip up there just to see what was happening, just for some place to go as it seems we have been tied down with something all summer. And still are.

Some more pictures.

http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/07/02/1940s-chevy-dealer-re-opens-to-auction-...

Wheels, Just remember if you happen to make it to that sale [take a fast plane], I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a vintage car bought today!

``````````

I'm thinking this crowd will be huge, other than the cars, the pedal car, old parts and other stuff laying around would be a big draw alone.

Old John,

Going was a thought I had when I initially read the first article. It was 90 days away and I had all of the time in the world and things would be at idle and I would have time on my hands. And none of the above happened. So here I sit in St. Charles this weekend while the auction goes on in Nebraska.

Getting into that pre-winter maintenance groove, albeit slowly.

Changed the wiper blades on the fleet as part of the annual routine. Seems to be one of those things that gets incrementally worse over time, and realizing how much worse the old ones worked only after the new ones are on.

Thinking about changing the headlamps out on the Impy. They just don't seem to be as bright as I remember when everything was new and shiny five years and many, many nights ago. So many choices on everything nowadays - OEM direct replacement, getcha-by barely gitter-dun cheapies, long-life, improved visibility (blue), and some kind of laser-named offering.

Was amazed by the amount of film on the windows inside. Guessing the volatiles from all the Armor-All'ings and leather protectant/conditioner applications have 'evaporated' and built up over the past year. With the recent foggy weather - was a'feared that the heater core was leaking, by the way the film looked - and ugh, changing the core on this model is a serious undertaking, unlike on the F150 where it takes longer to round up and put away the tools than it does to actually change the core - one of Ford's better ideas.

Ah, well, onward and upward, and back to the chores.

An update on today's action at the Nebraska Auction.

http://www.9news.com/news/sidetracks/357379/337/Thousands-travel-to-Neb-for-vint...

I think I will watch part of today's auction tonight. It is on the History Channel tonight if you have DishNetwork.

fxpwt, You mentioned wiper 'blades'. I used to always buy refills, sometimes one at a time for the drivers side and put the best used one on the right. I've noticed it's hard to find refills for the newer cars.

The only Ford products I've owned would be vintage classics today and were understandable as most of those years were. Wife attained nice 93 Grand Marq a while back. The radio quit a few weeks back and I just noticed the odometer hasn't moved since about that time. The speedo works so I'm wondering if is ran by a PM generator and the odometer ran by a cable or can the radio and odometer be related. So far I've been too scared of getting totally mixfused to attempt to check it out and besides there's the Vespa still waiting minor repair, a 3.8 in need of an intake reseal and of course the F600 waiting a tune-up, brake work and detail. :)

Wheels, How much work you reckon those new oldies will need to get going? Some pretty old gas turned to gum and a lot of rubber-like parts dryed out. Would the tires still be safe?

"Would the tires still be safe?"

Not safe enough for me to drive it on the Interstate!

I was thinking the same thing about all of the rubber and the gasoline and it would be a miracle if some of those engines weren't seized up.

1957 Chevrolet pedal car sold for $16,500.00! Only 32 of them were ever manufactured, acccording to the 'experts'.

Robert,

Watched a little of it last night. Have no regrets that I was not there and a successful bidder on anything. I would have liked to have been there but only as a spectator. I have too much junk already. And cars are a real storage liability. Have 4 and all are in good shape, my wife would kill me if I bought another one. Think of what some of that stuff would have been worth had it not been setting in the weather for the past so many years.

Maybe it's time to sell my pedal car of less than 600 made. Or should I wait another 20 years when it's 40 years old and then it might be worth half what I paid for it? :)

I don't know, OJ. Just think how much fun you could have pedaling it around the house for the next 20 years. That is worth something!

Wheels,

Although they are unique, none of these vehicles is anywhere near driving condition. Even if you won the bidding that would be just the first expense. Many of these will spend the rest of their days as museum pieces.

It amazes me that a person who 'loves cars' would allow so many to sit around and deteriorate for so many years before allowing someone to make use of them.

"It amazes me that a person who 'loves cars' would allow so many to sit around and deteriorate for so many years before allowing someone to make use of them."

I thought of that as well. My idea of something nice to mess with would be something like a 30's Packard Coupe, something a little more unusual. Still not the comforts you can get in a cheaper car today.

Where is our leader anyway?? Donknome-2... you better get down here and mind the store. We need some guidance.

OJ - I used to get tripped up too many times when getting new blades, er refills - the counterperson would lay out the whole assembly, I would say 'nah, I just want the blade', he would say, 'that is just the blade', a lot like 'who's on first' - 'what's on second', then finally arrive at what I was really wanting - the refill.

Gave up after getting too many refills that didn't fit the current blade structure - too thin, too wide, clips not where they were supposed to be, etc. Getting to the point where if I do get enough round tuit to do something, I only want to fool with it once. Sorta like the song line, "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was', and the knowledge that everything seems to go downhill rather quickly after that.

Was relunctant to try the new 'beam' blades. Just looked too flimsy, but since that was all that was available - went with them. Seem to do OK so far, actually stouter than they look. The less-expensive ones for the F150 are just a flat beam, the more-expensive ones for the Impy have some kind of aerodynamic fin that's supposed to keep the blade firmly pasted on the windshield at higher speeds.

Surprised by the '93s having electric odometers - seems kind of early, but could be. My '89 is conventional, the '95 company truck had the LCD digital odo readout. Perhaps you have a fuse common to both the radio and the odo that has failed?

As for the car auction - whew, some of those would be really neat to have, if one had the deep pockets needed to get 'em back into roadworthy shape and style.

Robert, I toured a SEMO Corvette restoration shop a few years back. They took everything apart and put everything back in factory new condition. Each bolt and screw went back into the same hole and if it was factory cross-threaded, it went back the same way.

Once done it was test driven about two miles, returned to the shop to drain all fluids and remove the battery. Then it was loaded on what looked like a moving company semi and sent to a museum.

fxpwt, What a sales opportunity for repair shops a day like this. A slight mist after a dry spell and after dealing with the initial concern, all the service writer needs to say is "check your wipers?'.

Wheels, I remember Jay Leno pointing out that some of those luxury cars of the 30's had a lot of stuff way before their time and during the depression wealthy people put the cars away because some folks that lost everything would be inclined to throw rocks at them.

"...Where is our leader anyway?? Donknome-2... you better get down here and mind the store. We need some guidance.

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Sun, Sep 29, 2013, at 1:28 PM ..."

*************************************

I'm sittin' here, at 3:20 in the afternoon, in a raggy-pair of Underoos, forcing myself to read in 15-minute intervals, when I should be nursing a detached-retina. Just-ruined any plans I had about gettin' to play with any of my-cousins' toys at Pinckneyville this year. MIGHT get some vision back in it---only time will tell for sure?

(Ironically, I lost the vision in it on "Dress Like A Pirate"-day, as one of my wifes' buddies pointed out, I think it was about 10-days ago, now?)☺

Throws-off my whole depth-judgement, and parallax/tight-turn/overreach, of my RIGHT-side turns, twists, and over/under reach of arms/hands.

This also means to stay-away from any 3-ton-plus flywheels, and 10-ton plus steel-wheels and/or linked tracks, for EVERYONE-elses' good, as well as MY-OWN.☻

Although admittedly, I DO kinda enjoy "soaking-up" the attention that my "Pirate-Patch" creates among a LOT of the "chicks and hens", if/when I do venture-out of my cave...!☺

(Ironically, it makes the wife wanna dress-up a little-more with a bit of "warpaint", for SOME-reason???☺)

donknome,

You mentioned Pinckneyville.........are you involved with the Threshermen up there? I have been planning to make their reunion for several years but something always seems to come up at the last minute. I swore I would make it this year but..........

Donknome-2

Sorry to hear about the eye. Hope it does get back to giving you some sight in it.

Give it a rest and don't strain the other one, and if one of us lost souls hollers at you don't feel obligated to answer. We'll try to nurse your thread along for you till you're better.... and not get into too much trouble. ☺ ☺

Need something shout!

"some of those luxury cars of the 30's had a lot of stuff way before their time"

Old John,

They didn't have air conditioning until 1939, and I don't consider that a luxury.... more of a necessity for my peace of mind.

..."We'll try to nurse your thread along for you till you're better.... and not get into too much trouble. ☺ ☺

Need something shout!"...

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Mon, Sep 30, 2013, at 3:59 PM

Aw, hell---this just means I'll hafta watch even CLOSER, now!☺

Seriously, I've gotten back to where I can type---er, word-process---again finally, although in short-bursts.(Ironically, I had to RE-learn to NOT-look at the keyboard---my Typing-1 teacher would be SO-proud of me!---and, it only took me 42-years to do it.....!☻)

..."donknome

You mentioned Pinckneyville.........are you involved with the Threshermen up there? -- Posted by Robert* on Mon, Sep 30, 2013, at 3:34 PM "...

*************************************

We-l-l-l, kinda sorta, but both yes AND no(YOU do the math, lol!)

I had(still have, I hope?) a fist-full of cousins of ALL-sorts of "extractions & removals", that would congregate there each year. But, since it wasn't a REUNION, kinda got bored at first, since fist-fights(between the Aunts!) were OUT!!!☺

Several years ago, a pair of my second-cousins had one helluva-collection of Old Iron they'd "accumulated" after their Uncle had passed-on. But I imagine they've sold-off most, if not all, of them by now---too-much overhead, no-returns on investment? Pretty-much a VERY-well-retired hobbyist' playground anymore.(Not so much JEALOUS---but, I am ENVIOUS!☺)

(IF one of them happens to read about MY-favorite: The mid-'60's model IH Scout, painted puke-green-trimmed-in-rust-highlights, THAT HAD THE REAR-DIFF WIRED "TIGHT" TO THE FRAME WITH BALING-WIRE, WHICH DECIDED TO FAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF A CREEK once-upon a time, and made us and their sweet-lil' Border Collie "Sally", get out an' LIFT the damned-thing back ON the axle---and then drive it home again, like nothin' ever happened---IF you happen to remember that??? I've done given away my-true I.D...!!)

Donknome-2 seems to stay in bed as long as I do anymore. ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

Posted by donknome-2 on Tue, Oct 1, 2013, at 10:03 AM

I don't recall the puke green IH Scout but I HAVE participated in similar escapades. Seems they were all fueled by Stag beer at the time.

WHEELS: Thank God I DON'T have a lap-top with wi-fi---otherwise, who KNOWS how long I could lay, and still be considered alive...!☺

ROBERT*: It's your lucky-day! You are NOT "The-One"! You SHOULD be proud, seeing as how you could "hang" with better than trash like ME!☺

One of the best "Golden-Oldies" I remember about "Bud" was when he got caught "altering" the phonetics of a bunch of Illinois Passing-Zone signs of the time, et al, "pass with care", or "do not pass"---all with a spray-can of black-paint.

In those days, they didn't IMPRISON-you for such---just fined the hell outta you(r parents!), and made you clean 'em off! And "painted" you with a misdemeanor, that you and your kids could laugh about later!☺

Probably a felony now, though......?

I DO recall the night a Cape County deputy had the bubble gum machines stolen off his car............with him sitting in the car. Best part was he didn't realize they were gone until later. I think it was about the time he pulled into the County parking lot.

He was rather difficult to get along with after that.

WHEELS: Thank God I DON'T have a lap-top with wi-fi---otherwise, who KNOWS how long I could lay, and still be considered alive...!☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Tue, Oct 1, 2013, at 1:17 PM

Donknome-2

A laptop is too clumsy to use lying in bed. Get you a smart phone.

ROBERT: Now, would that be considered good-old-fashioned mechanical-APTITUDE?

Or might ATTITUDE-suit the subject better?☺

I think a little bit of both; our mechanical aptitude seemed to affect that deputy's attitude

WHEELS: A-Smart phone? Nahh, ah'm two dum'n-stoopud f' one---cain't reed duh leetle-letters an' nummers on it anyways!☺

Should rename it the "Wife"-Phone: It's always stuck on you. Always knows more about YOU, and ANYTHING-else, even if not asked. BUT, at the same time, just like a good-wife, it'll bail your hind-end out of a jam, when it's needed the worse.

All for the price of an-app or two later, however....!☺

Donknome-2

Apps are cheap or free. I enjoy mine. Gives me something to do while the wife is going through the grocery store, squeezing the Charmin and the fresh bread etc. etc.

Not sure about the dirt and grease but I found this some interesting history.http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/fromthemorgue/entry/54372/

http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/fromthemorgue/entry/54372/

I really enjoyed those old articles, OJ.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/165392/perceived-need-third-party-reaches-new-high.as...

Sounds like the voice of experience!

Robert, When I was growing up I heard about the old days and seemed like the docs were always prominent with the first of something.

Later it seemed a Dr.'s car was usually a Buick.

Donk, I recently had a dead for almost two years hard maple cut down and the guy pulled a chipper that injested 10" and better logs without even making a grunt or a moan! The only stress on anything of the whole operation was on my wallet. :)

And here I went an' missed the 2-grande "celebration"! But I'm not too proud to scarf-down leftovers!☺

******************

I never, in my entire life, will ever claim to have the gonads of this---"driver"---although I've came really-close to the ones' his assistant(in the blue)must have! Light the "fuse", an' RUN---I was good at that....!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsdwLtaENmM

Wow - over 2,000 posts mostly on one general topic area! It's been a fun ride, and I look forward to the continuing refreshing mostly non-political-personas banter.

Getting a chuckle from some of the Speak-Out posts that essentially demand, 'where's our $3 gas?' Quite a change in perspective between the thoughts of $3 gas now, versus what one would think about $3 gas 10 years ago.

Then gots to wondering about the chatter of increasing the permitted ethanol limit from 10% to 15% - the negative effects on the vehicle as well as the negative impact to fuel economies.

Remembering from my time in Quebec, the gas pumps up there had a correction factor to adjust for the fuel temperature as pumped. As I understand it, a gallon of gas pumped at 40degF has more BTU than that same gallon pumped at 80degF, due to the expansion and contraction of the fuel with respect to temperature.

Suggesting that stations implement these temperature correction features, as well as an ethanol correction feature, so that one would essentially be paying for a fixed amount of BTUs per dollar. Thus, whatever volume is pumped in would be the same energy as so many gallons of straight gasoline at 60degF.

Eh, or maybe not. First, just too complicated, and second, it's more fun to sit back and enjoy the comedies from people who apparently can't be happy, unless they're unhappy about something.

:-)

http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/fromth...

-- Posted by Old John on Thu, Oct 10, 2013, at 9:09 PM

I dunno, OLD JOHN---I think it fit right-in place, myself!

Donk, I recently read an article while waiting for the dentist, [yeah I got one of those dentists that has good reading material] and didn't get to finish it. Seems there is a new kind of welding called in some circles as 'friction fusing'. A high speed spinning tool against the surface gets the metal hot enough to meld together. Honda and some others are using this to weld aluminum to steel.

You know anything about it?

OLD JOHN: Yeah, it's actually quite "old-school"---but only if BOTH parts are of the same-material.

Aluminum-to-steel, though? Man, I just don't see it! Sounds awfully-close to soldering, instead of a weld?

I believe I'd trust "J-B Weld" a lot-farther...!

Donk, I am as ignorant as can be about metallurgy, [not sure how to spell it even] but like you indicate, it don't sound right.

http://collision.honda.com/honda-develops-new-welding-technology-uhss-structure-...

Here's some steel-to-steel. I'm still lookin' for aluminum-to-steel, though?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWlWHikxtU0

Ya' beat me to it!

Eeeuwww, I dunno if I like the way it mixes or not?

And I don't even claim to be a metallurgist---more schooling there than I could ever have hoped to achieve...!☺

Donk, I think this is a technology that will further the trend to throw-away cars. It already cost more to fix a lot of stuff than to buy another one.

A new Accord hit just hard enough to tweek the sub-frame and deploy the air bags will be a total.

As if insurance wasn't high enough already.

OJ, at least the junk yards will be full of parts I can recycle! I stopped to calculate once this summer and realized my two vehicles have half a million miles between them and they are still going strong.

A half million miles between two vehicles is quite a feet. I had 430,000 on one and still not using oil, working fine till the crank broke. The hot rodders told me it would be a perfect candidate for rebuild considering all the warping and settling was done. I spent bukoos for a rebuilt since time was money and then I retired. Sold the whole rig for a $1,000.

We were admiring the old iron my late mother-in-law used. Don't make'em like that anymore although the newer ones are a lot safer and cost less. Ahh, but the old stuff like that was designed to be repairable.

Son! Things are just getting too complicated.

As I'm getting over the shock of Diesel Exhaust Fluid being required on many new diesel trucks - seriously thought this was a joke at first, kinda like blinker fluid - now comes the problems with the newer Direct Injection gasoline vehicles.

Been reading on the Impy forums with the newer models having the 3.6L engines - first requiring the use of Dexos-rated oil to prevent warranty invalidation, now hearing winds of valve coking issues and excess oil buildups in the intake plenum - so much that the bottom of the rubber accordion connector recesses are filled flush with what looks to be blowby oil from the PCV or the like.

Many are installing a 'catch-can' that traps the oil before entering the intake plenum - but these are unauthorized modifications and therefore deemed illegal.

Whew - seems that it may get to the point of rather than buying a vehicle based on having most of the options one does want, could be based on NOT having the most of the required stuff that one doesn't want to fool with...

The ol' beater fleet just keeps looking better every day. :-)

I try to drive something that I understand.

Mykind of understanding: http://abarnyard.com/roadster/eng.htm

-- Posted by Old John on Sun, Oct 20, 2013, at 12:38 PM

I've got a couple of those original "Branded As Ford/Champion®-brand"-rebuildable spark-plugs layin' around here as curios/paperweights. They'd come apart for cleaning and/or replacement of parts. Only part that was permanently joined was the electrode an it's insulator.

Guess it was the early-prototype idea for the "One-Hundred-Thousand-Mile-Plus" ignition plugs of today.....???☺

This precedes the days of 'points' but I knew it would be of interest to some here. I found an article by Ken Steinhoff along with pictures of Frank J. Brockmeyer, Cape Girardeau's last blacksmith. Some of us might be related.

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/frank-j-brockmeyer-blacksmith/

Some of us might be related.

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-phot...

-- Posted by Robert* on Thu, Oct 24, 2013, at 6:41 AM

Yes, I'll bet you are correct. ☺ ☺

Well, looks like it's time to huff-n-puff-n-breathe some new life into this thread. :-)

Giving up on the lawn mower after 13 mowing seasons, most of those at a twice-a-week clip. It's been a good one, but it's smokin' more than the rear tires on a '68 Charger 440 having one of those aftermarket toilet bowl-sized carburetors, and knockin' more than a door-to-door salesman needing to take a leak.

Haven't had much success with rebuilding small motors, so opting to go with a completely new mower. Besides, the deck is showing signs of fatigue and splits from the sideways forces of mowing the hill behind the house, and the wheels have wallered out to the point where they're almost at a 45-degree angle.

Replacing it has been a challenge. Geez, the offerings are either really cheap-looking, or the sellers are really proud of them ($$$), or both.

Have always been partial to the Craftsman brand. Why? I dunno, just a comfort factor, I guess - at least when the store was still in the Town Plaza area. Now, just doesn't seem so warm and fuzzy there.

The current mower has the Eager-1 trade name, with what I have determined to be a Tecumseh engine. Unfortunately, Tecumseh apparently went out of business around 2009. Pfffft, there goes the easy button 'gimme another one of these' replacement approach.

Offerings from various vendors seem to have either a Kohler, Honda, or Briggs&Stratton powerplant. The Kohler seemed to have a very good 'consumer magazine' rating, but was concerned about the relatively small engine size (149cc) - whatever happened to good ol' horsepower ratings, anyway? Now, it seems things are rated in CC's and torque foot-pounds - what?? - kinda like trying to convert to the metric system, where one gets a number but things are hard to relate to. Pretty much the same story with the Honda offerings - good experience, but just feel it would be too small for my mulching application.

In looking at the B&S offerings, it seems they have a Silver, a Gold, and a Platinum line - with appropriate incremental pricing between, but very little literature available as to what the actual differences are, other than the trim paint color.

For better or worse, settled on a Craftsman with the B&S Platinum engine. Price was right, especially after the end of season discounts, 5% online purchase discount, free shipping (on 70lbs!), and a much more favorable 4.225% sales tax as compared to the 7.975% (Cape) or 7.225% (Jackson) that I would've been hammered for if the mower were bought locally.

So, all is well-and-good, right? Errr, not so fast. The first mower (this should give you a clue as to what's coming) was delivered, but was damaged somewhere along the way. Surprisingly (to me), the customer service rep, in her broken English with a heavy Slovik accent, took care of the return paperwork and got another one coming all in one short phone call. Shortly thereafter, got an email saying it had been upgraded to 2nd day delivery - which ain't cheap no matter what kind of volume shipping discount they have.

For me, I understand that stuff happens, but it gives the vendor a real opportunity to either shine or be 'voted off the island'. Second mower was received undamaged on the 2nd day as promised, and if it mows half as good as it looks and sounds - it will go down as a good, memorable transaction.

Just hoping it makes it another 13 years, like its predecessor, although at a more leisurely once-a-week clip. With age comes wisdom, so starting to pace the workload of the person who puts the 'push' into push mower. :-)

fxpwt, I know more about push mowers than I care to and that is very little. As a pre-teen I pushed one with a Clinton engine that Dad kept going forever with a valve job or whatever now and then.

Later I vowed never again to push a lawn mower if I didn't have to.

My first rider was a Murray. Cost if I recollect right was a lot compared to my pay but was the cheapest out there. I didn't make it around the yard before the steering shaft broke and a deck pulley fell off. But it did serve for several years with the Briggs 8 hp. I overhauled the engine when it started drinking oil about the time we bought a place with a lot more grass.

Bought a JD 316 that was and still is one heck of a tractor, never was a really good grass mower. When the Onan oil consumpion got to the point of smoking, I bought a Simplicity. That thing mows great with about half the fuel of the JD. It had an oil leak right off and got a new head gasket. A couple of years later it ran low on oil and that red warning light was no match for the sun. Neighgor said he heard it knocking; thanks neighbor. Anyway I went on line for a 20hp engine with a 110v generator. Kind of a neat feature, $600 delivered to the door. Good thing it has the AC output since the 12v don't work, the 110v runs the 12v charger strappped to the side.

The original engine was failed by a crankshaft seal leak and now I notice this engine is making grass clippings stick to the same area.

I like the BS Vanguard, very quit and fuel efficent but either I just had bad luck or they are oil leak prone and now I understand they are made in China.

OJ - the mower that preceded the just-retired mower was a Craftsman rider. Tracking the model number back, found the manufacturer was indeed a Murray (there are websites that cross-reference the Sears model number's leading three digits back to who actually made it).

It was passed from my dad to my grandmother then to me - bought in 1976, retired at the end of the 2000 mowing season.

It too originally had the 8hp motor, but after grandma found out the hard way about the importance of checking the oil - upgraded to a 10hp. heheheheh, with this new-and-improved baby, if one dumped the clutch, the front wheels would come off the ground. Mowing in 3rd gear at W.O.T. (wide open throttle) made for really short work of the yard, complete with the stylish divets at the corners where the mower leaned out through the turn.

Wasn't the most reliable of machines, but parts were so doggone cheap and easy to replace, and kept a budding mechanic-wannabe busy feeling important fixing stuff.

Sometime before that - the grandparents had a pair of Western Auto mowers bought in 1964, one red, one green, both with the 3.5hp B&S motors. Paid $39.95 apiece for them. Brings back memories as those were the first motors I ever tore apart, put back together, and they ran better than before. Shoulda recognized it as beginner's luck...

fxpwt, There was a time when every trip to Sears ired me in some way or another. One was when I asked for a simple part for the Murray which was identical the the Craftsman on display. The guy was insistant on a model and serial number. Trying to convince him it was the same as the Craftsman didn't work. I walked around a bit and came back to a different clerk and gave him the numbers off the one on display.

Toward the end of the Murray, I had replaced our water heater. Sections of the old water tank for double strength make a pretty good snow blade. Simple brackets and a rod and lever to raise it. I used some JC Whitney nylon tire straps.

I miss those Whitney catalogs. They provided for hours of playing "What-U-Could-Do" :)

Heh. Yeah---in my-"wet" dreams.......!☺

Simple, I had one just like her back in the day, the '65 Ford the guy was under, that is. It was a rare car. After about 6 years the light blue paint started flaking and the original owner wrote a complimentary letter to Ford's zone service manager detailing the satisfaction she had over several years with Fords. Ford stepped up and paid to have that car repainted. Rare in that respect. Soon after it suffered a burnt valve and I bought it. We left out for a trip to Branson in that car a couple of hours after finishing the valve job. It proved to be a good car.

Try as I might, I can't remember parting with it.

OLD JOHN: What??? And I figgered you was talkin' about the coupe!☺

Actually, I sure am glad I never had a coupe like that one---since it needed four-or-five people to drive it???

I can see: Number ONE for the gas.

Number TWO for the brake.

Number THREE for shifting, and Number FOUR for the clutch.

But, what the hell was Number FIVE's-job? Lookin' out the window as the navigator???.....☺

Yeah, I know: He was for STEERING! I caught it right as I clicked "publish"!

But then I figured, "Meh, they'd never notice it anyways, since nobody visits this forum much any-hoo......☺!

NOW we know where WHEELS-goes to "hone" his driving-expertise'...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohkAxbeMxVo

Donk, That coupe reminds me of one built by a fellow I knew a few years back. He took a barn find and turned it into a fine ride in about a month. His had all the options of a modern car, drove and handled like a modern sports car and still looked like the orignal car on the outside.

He took it to a car show and some guy from California made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Soon after he had cars being shipped in from all over for restoration and updates. Most places put folks on a waiting list and then charged time and material without firm estimate of final cost. Bill as I will call him would quote a high price and then deliver in a short time.

Right about the time he was poised to be famous he burned out, sold out and went on to something else.

Not sure what he moved on to but I suspect if he got his candle re-lit, it's burning bright.

Well, given that winter is coming on - doled out a little TLC to the F150 in hopes of the repayment of sure-starts and gitter-dun as the mercury drops.

Been having trouble getting it started - where one had to roll it off Start back to Run in just the right position to keep it running. Figured it was the ignition switch - the one down at the base of the steering column by the brake pedal, actuated by a long rod that goes up to the key/lock cylinder which has the notorious pot-metal piece that breaks, where a rolling of the key yields nothing. Turned out to be a good call as the switch housing fell apart when I loosened the mounting bolts.

Remember that the vehicle was recalled in the early 90s as this vintage had a problem with the ignition switches catching fire. My first life lesson in that dealers aren't anywhere near all they claim, as the dealer's shop handling the recall also saw fit to pinch several wires in the steering column clamp when they bolted things back together, creating a whole new level of difficulty. At any rate, the replaced switch and repaired wires have lasted a bit over 20 years - so figure that's not too bad.

Went to replace the washer pump while I was at it. It had failed a couple of years ago - but after driving in the slush and salt of last winter - gained a new appreciation for a functioning windshield washer. Looks like fluid had gotten around the seal of the old unit, so it was corroded in the pump well pretty good. A little PB-Blaster and time, and it popped right out, dousing me in the unmistakable volatile aroma of penetrating oil in the process. This thing had better last awhile - it cost 3x that of the ignition switch.

All part of my philosophy in that if one takes care of the little stuff as it happens, one won't be so apt to pull the trigger and trade, bringing on higher insurance rates and taxes, as well as that hidden cost of depreciation.

Can't be doing things too wrong, I figure. It'll be eligible for Historic plates next year. Need to catch up with all the BowTie and Ram buddies from 20 years ago who relentlessly dogged my Blue Oval choice - just to quiz them about the longevity, 'ram-tough'ness and 'like a rock'ness of their choices. :-)~

NOW we know where WHEELS-goes to "hone" his driving-expertise'...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohkAxbeMx...

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Nov 7, 2013, at 9:25 AM

Donknome-2,

That little race ended exactly as I suspected it would..... in a heap for the most part.

A motor home has all of the handling of the Queen Mary built in at no extra cost.

"All part of my philosophy in that if one takes care of the little stuff as it happens, one won't be so apt to pull the trigger and trade, bringing on higher insurance rates and taxes, as well as that hidden cost of depreciation."

I think that is the way to go but I tend to always do the get by for now bypass of the automatic headlamp and blower motor control feature or trunk pull down system etc. By the time I figure the cost and get a plan the thing ain't worth the price of fixing.

Donk, that video won't play for me but I think I can guess what it was about. :)

OLD JOHN: Suddenly, it won't play for ME, either???

Guess we weared-it-out, huh?

Hey, OJ---did you use "Wheels"-link, from his paste/copy? Or did you use the original, from this post?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohkAxbeMx...

--

Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Nov 7, 2013, at 9:25 AM

This-one seems to work OK...

DOGGONE-IT!!! I mean, THIS-one...!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohkAxbeMxVo

WHEELS can blame it on old, shaky fingers---MY only excuse is one-eyed ig-ner-untz...☺

Oh, where IS that naughty-little boy, I think he was once known as "Rick"? Claimed to have made Drano©-bombs out of 2-liter soda bottles?

(Whilst I, myself, preferred lighter fluid in a tin-can cannon, loaded with those big 250-watt bulbs that I'd find in the GRADE-school dumpster.)☺

One can ONLY imagine---What-If?" we had procured-unfettered access to something like this, in "The Good Ol' Days", of our pubescent-years...???☻!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i-op1aceUg

I tend to notice things of relative unimportance.

Like having to use caution when using the term 'relative' in Kentucky - cuz others tend to think you're commencin' to talk smack about family.

Or that if a vehicle blazes past on the highway, chances seem better than average that it will have Michigan tags. Likewise, if a vehicle is moseying along, cobbling up any semblance of smooth traffic flow - chances are that it will have crusty Illinois tags that last saw 'clean' when they were issued.

Or, that some technology can't really be considered progress. Was in a line waiting to check out at a local convenience store. Got to noticing the pace of transactions. Those who used debit or credit cards always seemed to take longer than those using cash, due to the extended waiting on the transaction to clear, punching in the PIN number or signing the receipt, with an obligatory "OMG, c'mon!" if the card happened to have problems with being swiped.

Then got to wondering, over the course of hundreds of transactions at hundreds of stores, just how much time was being lost from all this incremental waiting? Following that, going with the thought, "time is money" - how much money was being cost?

Have always preferred making small transactions with cash. Have yet to have a 'Washington', 'Lincoln', 'Hamilton', or 'Jackson' declined or otherwise failed to be accepted, plus have a sense or a feel for how much is being traded, unlike a debit/credit card which swipes the same for a $5 or $50 or $500 transaction.

Shared these thoughts with my brother, who reciprocated in short order with his own wisdom - 'you really need a girlfriend'. :-)~

Donk, Just now watched the big race. It's a good thing Wheel's Mrs wouldn't let him play that day and embarrass us all.

fxpwt, "Hey hey hey Booboo, a slowpoke farmer on the road!" Why do farmers poke Yogi?

-- Posted by fxpwt on Wed, Nov 13, 2013, at 6:44 PM

To go along with your remarks about paying with cash..........not too long ago when I went to the grocery store. There was an employee stationed at the front door informing everyone that the card system was down; all purchases would have to be made by cash or check. Most of the customers turned away; the only thing they had was that plastic card. Cash seldom gets turned down. And now-a-days you can often get a discount for cash.

Diss,

Do you wear a hard hat while washing dishes? I know work in the kitchen has been a little hard on your head in the past.

Gots to wondering more about the question of whether technology is really progress.

The Impy, apparently in a desparate attempt for some TLC, popped on the Check Engine light - so I did. Yep, still there. :-)~

Pulled out the code reader to see what was up. Code P0523 displayed, oil pressure signal at maximum - the given odds favor a simple sensor failure, although wiring problems or outright computer failure were given as possibilities.

Even before the Check Engine light came on, figured something was up, as the Active Fuel Management, Displacement on Demand, or whatever one wishes to call the system that cuts out half the cylinders is called, quit working and stayed stuck in 6-cylinder mode. Whether it's a gift or a curse, I notice this stuff.

At any rate, it struck me as odd that a code reader, a code, and a translation of the code were all needed to replace what a dash panel oil pressure gauge could have communicated without all of the additional overhead.

No doubt some technologies offer added conveniences, such as the auto headlights that turn on when it gets appropriately dark, or when someone covers the sensor with a newspaper or the like tossed on the dash. Then there's the windshield wipers tied into the auto headlights to turn on the headlights whenever the wipers are in service - a way to stay legal for less... effort.

Had a wise elder who, several years ago, lamented about the humor seen with all the time- and labor-savings devices, where it seemed the result was that no one had any time and everyone was always too tired.

Kinda wonderin' whether the updated version of that observation would be that with technology taking care of more-and-more thinkin' and doin', fewer people are capable to actually 'think' or 'do' productively anymore...???

fxpwt, I had wondered about that head light on rule when intermittant wipers were in play. I just figured the daytime running lights qualified as proper illumination during rain.

I can see the benefit of being seen better coming but always reckoned tail lights on in daylight made brake lights less noticable.

Is it a gift or a curse? When my brother in law complained about feeling something wrong with the transmission on one of the first lock-up converter vehicles, the dealer told him that everytime he felt that little "chuggle' it meant he was saving gasoline. Ride with him and he would happily point that out. :)

OJ - guessin' your bro-in-law's vehicle was a mid-to-late 80s model? That about when I recall the automatic overdrives coming on, although my '83 Ranger 5-speed manual shifter was marked with 4-speeds and what would've been 5th marked with the overlayed O.D. letters.

Passing someone in overdrive didn't need a watch, it required a calendar. Reverse was strategically located WAYYYYY east and down, so as to get the passenger's attention when the shifter was 'inadvertently' slammed into his / her knee.

The 80s were tough - the early 80s had the last of the carbureted engines, with carburetors so complex that the exploded diagrams in the Chilton's manual were shrunk to microfilm font to fit everything on the page, calling for the abandonment of all hope of rebuilding one on the kitchen table as was done with the 1-BBL Carter carb off the '48 Dodge without any directions required.

Emission regulations back then had everything choked down - IIRC, the '81 Jeep 304 V8 was rated for 120hp - whoo-hoo. Fuel injection helped a bit, but even the '89 Ford 302 V-8 (that would be the '5.0' for the young'uns) had only crept up to 185hp, with Ford reportedly giving away limited amounts of the 351 (5.8L) in lieu of the 302 that year, due to the 351's better emissions numbers towards meeting the corporate/fleet averages.

But I do have to concede a mark in the 'win' column for fuel injection, as I really haven't had any issues with the system proper, ever. Plus, cold starts are so much better that one easily forgets the prior rituals of pumping the pedal only a given number of times and absolutely no more before starting, and then either feathering the pedal after it started to keep it running or having a fast idle set so high that lift-off was fixin' to commence at any time. Or, in unfavorable circumstances, a flooded engine complete with the smell of defeat known as raw gas, and the required wait for things to dry out before going again.

I follow a couple of forums dedicated to trucks of my vintage, and always get a good chuckle from frustrated newbies wanted to 'can' the fuel injection in favor of a carb. Heheheheh, super double back flippin' idiots...

Oh, I'm still here, "checking-in"---but, hey: It takes a little-while sometimes to come-up with a good-'nuff quality search of the minds' archives, to qualify for inclusion on here, as the "competition" starts-up(no pun intended!)as the cold gets cold-errr!☺

Can't argue with FXPWT about the "no-pump" injection systems, though---if it ain't lit-off after 3, 4-turns at the most? It ain't a-gonna fire!

It took me an-awful length of time to learn NOT TO "pump 'til you drop", even on a cool-summer morning, sometimes.

Never failed to amaze me how the bass treadle on the early---as in, OLD---drum sets ironically looked, and worked, just like those accelerator pedals of yester-year?

And though I'm not certain, but I'd bet that even today, just like it's automotive-"cousin", that bass-"pedal" is electronically-"excited"...?☺!

The last carbureted engine rig I used as a daily driver was a 85' Ford 1/2 ton with 300-6 cyl. It had three different morning pump routines.

Warm weather:One or no pumps, drive immediately

Cool weather: 3-4 pumps, feather throttle for a minute and drive

Cold weather: 8-9 hard pumps, like u were trying to stomp a hole in the floorboard(I am serious, if you didn't stomp hard Henry's ghost would not allow his creation to start) then take short tire tool, wedge between gas pedal and seat mount bracket at over half throttle for no less than 5 minutes. I installed a block heater to try to cut that time down, didn't help.

A little change of pace. Came across this video today. Car crashed at 209 mph. Driver walks (limps) away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=McJJeukIWSA

Kinda like tossin' a full-can of beer or soda out the window!

Like ol' "Foghorn Leghorn" would say: "Watch it FIZZZZ"...!☺

Had to once again invoke the Murtaugh clause yesterday. You remember, from the Lethal Weapon movies - "I'm gettin' too old for this *stuff*".

Got ahold of the piece-part needed to correct the Check Engine light on the Impy, in efforts to remove some stress from my life. Not only did that little engine indicator lamp on the instrument panel annoy me to no end, also found out that if the light is on, the remote start feature won't work.

Not that I 'need' a remote start. It's more for entertainment value, watching reactions of others as a driverless car just starts 'out of the blue'. Yeah, it doesn't take much to trip my trigger.

I can see a bright future for petite women - eh, let's make that more politically correct, generally smaller people with the proportionately smaller hands - in the automotive repair field.

I could see the part, but my big ol' mitts just didn't fit well in the allocated space to grab ahold of it, with the space having sharp-edged reminders to keep focus on finesse instead of force. This, after finding that I did not have any kind of proper mechanic'in tool to reach it, and had to resort to a gracious and careful application with ChannelLocks and a loosely-gapped crescent wrench to break 'er loose, and to apply the final cinching down tight. It was like trying to change the sensor with chopsticks, using only the ends of my fingers to roll the sensor out and back in the threaded hole.

So, with a hand that looks as if it were wire-brushed after a more-force-than-finesse journey into no man's hand land, and the remainder reminding me that the body is not able to bend, twist, and contort as well as it once could - the sensor is in, the fault is gone, and the entertainment can proceed.

Ah, for the long ago days of the F-100 with the 300 inline six, where one could climb in and sit on the fender well to easily reach anything that needed reaching...

Seems I remember those Ford trucks with a vaccum reserve cannister stuffed under the right fender with a hose too short connected below the venturi that defeated the choke to some extent.

I've yet to own a carbed Dodge or Plymouth that would start right up hot if the gas pedal was touched.

I was once told Fiat used midgets with extra long fore fingers to install their instrument panel and under dash components.

Kind of an "enema for the mind" to come here, ain't it? Clears-out MOST of that-political "fuzz", for the most part!☺

"...Ah, for the long ago days of the F-100 with the 300 inline six, where one could climb in and sit on the fender well to easily reach anything that needed reaching..."

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sun, Nov 24, 2013, at 10:10 AM

This is true. I had the same set up on a '75 F-150. On extremely-rainy days---back when I was a LOT-more flexible, physically!---I could squash myself in the compartment, and ALMOST close the hood, and work with a shop-light. Although anyone within ear-shot of the proceedure might question the trucks' running-capabiilties, judging from all the vile-sounding gutteral-expressions coming from the "engine".☺

"... I was once told Fiat used midgets with extra long fore fingers to install their instrument panel and under dash components."

-- Posted by Old John on Sun, Nov 24, 2013, at 12:49 PM

Yeah-h-h, I was gonna take THIS-one an' run with it, but upon further review? I think I'll just leave it for a sharper-mind than myself, instead...!☺

Good Morning Donknome-2, you old.... naw I'm not gonna say it! ;-)

The 2014 Mustang is just out and they introduce the 2015?

I'm thinking Chevrolet has little time to cash in on the heritage of the 55-57. May not be enough of those folks still buying cars left to make it profitable but a retro 55 might be something I would look at.

The first time I saw the Mustang and later a Cuda coming down the road, I thought I was seeing an old car. Not so with the Camero.

How about a retro of a pickup truck?

I saw a video on the new Shelby. Very impressive.

I reckon a lot of us have sold some classics for junk.

Funny how many cars that were everywhere you looked back then are now forgotten and never seen.

Pinto, Citation, Pacer, Maverick?

At one time I thought every fifth car on the road was a white 59 Ford.

Donk, You got one of these out behind the barn?

http://wikicars.org/en/Image:Supernova1.jpg

OJ: Nah-h-h, if'n I had one of those? IT would parked INSIDE the barn, and I'D be the one sittin' out BEHIND the barn, instead!☺

Although I believe I'd honestly prefer a Yenko, myself, esp. the '69's...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yenko_Camaro

donk, I never heard of a Yenko till a guy I knew thought he had one. Seems there were a lot of parts out there to make a look alike. He thought he snuck in there and got a treasure for a song, turned out he gave his treasure for song.

You boys missed your bug chance.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130823/CARNEWS01/130829905

WHEELS: Now, I'm not claiming to be an expert by ANY-stretch, here, but---that one sounds kinda like one of OJ's "Treasures For A Song"-deals.

Besides, why do I need to "bring a trailer"? Cain't ah jus DRIVE the damned-thing home...???☺

How about a retro of a pickup truck?

-- Posted by Old John on Thu, Dec 5, 2013, at 7:35 PM

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/11/05/ford-f-100-snakebit-gene-simmons-shannon-twee...

Here is one I wouldn't mind trying out, even though its not going to be a production vehicle. The 55' and 56' Ford pickups are one of my favorite body styles. being a Ford man, i can.t bring myself to admit the late 40's five window chevy trucks are probably the best looking "classic" trucks ever made.

Whew! Finally get to pause and take a breath from Mother Nature's jumping the gun on true winter.

Had to press the F150 4x4 into regular service, as the Impy's high-performance rated (*cough* *cough* *snicker*) treads are all show and no go in this stuff.

Haven't figured out whether it's my increasingly conservative nature, or that some people truly just ain't wired right.

Travelling on down the road at a moderate speed, all locked in with all-wheel all-terrain treads - it amazed me at the number of people in cars and light SUVs with factory street skins on the rims blaze on by me with 15-20 mph to spare, not all that far off from the regular speed limit.

I mentally asked them, 'how stupid can you be'? Apparently, some of them heard and took it as a challenge, as evidenced by the numerous observed unplanned detours into the median and ditches.

What's with the up close and personal approach to driving in bad weather? Poor traction, bad visibility, and it seems people wanted to travel in convoys - side-by-side and butt-to-gut.

Always went by the thinking that 'more space, less speed' was the way to go in bad weather driving. Guessing that concept has been lost on most of the younger set.

Some faith in the younger set was restored when I pulled off to knock off some ice on the back window. Young'un in his pickup coming on down the on-ramp eased up alongside, asking if I needed any help. A warm spot on an otherwise cold and brutal day.

Glad to be able to get the Impy back in service - doggone Ford with all of the aerodynamic properties of a brick wall just loves the fuel, doing its best to drink me out of house and home. :-)

Joe, My first real introduction to customization to the point of hard to recognize was a 53 F100. The guy used a grille from a Ford car and removed all the badges. The bumpers and headlights were different along with the interior. Looked great!

My idea of custom with my meager budget has always been upgrading more than hot rodding. Seat belts, bigger tail lights, better seats, etc.

fxpwt, You convey me thoughts well about winter driving.

I made a big boo-boo the morning of the big snow. Knowing the wife tends to veer to the extreme of the culvert I decided to turn the Honda around so she could punch right out to the unplowed road. As soon as I got it off the drive into the snow covered grass it was down for the count.

Luckily the old RWD Merc backed up the incline from behind the house. I took her to work and settled into the idea that a CRV 2WD ain't got what the old Buick PA has when it comes to traction.

Then there was the ordeal of getting the compact diesel tractor started. That done, the Honda was easily yanked back onto better ground and the egress was cleared. :)

My biggest impetiment on the street was a car holding up traffic at a light. I figured it was a traction issue till I noticed the cell phone to her ear.

If any of us can(could?) STILL RIDE a bicycle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqpcBpSsj1A

Hey, it says it's for ages 6-and-up.......

Just got to thinking and that might be the first warning of something amiss.

Wife said a while back after riding in my old truck that I might want to think about getting a better truck. Never did like the truck I got, but it has a certian sentiment. And it does accommodade the 50" deck of the Simplicity after a little targeteted spreading between the fender wells.

Anyway I got to looking at what's out there and was shocked to find trucks cost more than I paid for mt first house and right up there with my second house. Then I started looking for just a basic truck, not a big four door with heated seats and tail light wipers, just a truck. Do they make'm anymore?

I had plenty of basic trucks not to big or too small in the past, a 64 Chevy that had room for three, a 54 International that was easy to park, the Studebaker with an aftermarket radio and can't forget the.. well whatever it was.

Seems someone may be missing out by not making a basic truck. Ford and Mazda have quit the Ranger/B Series in the U.S. and the only thing I can find in a just under an oversized truck always has four doors and other features I don't need.

I'm not one to buy new figuring keeping till the wheels fall off don't justify the cost difference between new and slightly un-new.

Any sugestions?

Heheheh OJ - ain't nothin' simple anymore.

Guessin' between Cash-for-Clunkers destroying the good older models of those who traded, and the economic conditions forcing people to hang onto what they got - the used vehicle market is still bringing premium prices.

Always hated to trade vehicles - between the hassle of finding something else I like as much as what I got, negotiating a price, the resulting increased depreciation expenses that are not tax-deductible here, and the double-bounce of paying property taxes on the old vehicle and sales taxes on the new vehicle in the same year - blecccchhh.

Suggest to stay away from the GM Colorado (reliability) and Chrysler Dakota (fuel lover) offerings. I'm kinda partial to the full-size short-beds for the cab room and maneuverability - but they're hard to find. Not familiar with the foreign / non-traditional American brands' offerings - Toyota, Nissan, etc.

Further suggest to start perusing various sites - autotrader.com was where I found the Impy - got a great price on what turned out to be a not-so-good car - but not blaming the dealer for gross manufacturer defects, craigslist is worth a look as long as the buyer is extremely beware. Figure it's best to do a lot of scrounging and comparing - the real deals are few and far, but they are out there to be had.

FWIW - I opted to plow money into the '89 F150 back in its 19th model year over trading for something newer during the Cash-for-Clunkers hysteria - bodywork, paint, seat covers, fix all the nickel-and-dime stuff like the broken wiper knob and the seeping heater core.

For better or worse, I laid out about $4,000 to get the truck another hopeful 5-7 years down the road - a more than fair trade in my checkbook. Heck, it has power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, cold air, neighbor-awakening stereo, four-wheel drive - you know, the basic essentials in the days before blueteeth, satellite radio, mapfinders, and smart cars that e-mail you with their problems. So far, feeling pretty good about the decision - even just re-upped the tags for another two years as a vote of faith its gonna make it that far. :-)

Geez - "GM Now Uses "Smart Bolts" In Small Block Engine Assembly" http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/01/gm-now-uses-smart-bolts-in-small-block-engin...

"Introducing a screw that knows more about your engine than you do."

"Almost every automated machine on the assembly line will scan the data bolt before it performs its task and load data onto the RFID once the task is complete. If any of the machines do not complete the job to perfection, the next machine down the line will set the engine aside for it to be inspected by a worker."

Maybe not so bad, though. I picked Zoysia grass for its self-repairing properties, maybe a self-repairing car isn't so far away???

Now here is an idea for all of you guys that have a little spare time in the shop and who do not like to shovel snow. I would suggest a few improvements; first of which is an upgrade in size and second of which is a sand and salt spreader.

https://fbcdn-vthumb-a.akamaihd.net/hvthumb-ak-prn2/1096913_10152102074282489_10...

ROBERT: Good-one! And, seriously---have you seen the literal-size of some of the latest RC-"toys" nowadays, like dis'n-heah?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7zAW0yL6fw

FXPWT: I wonder if those "Smart-Bolts" make little electronic-"screams", when you strip-'em out?☺

What's next? "Terminator-nuts, with a little-brain in 'em, too? Suppose they "fastened-together, an' got it on", with these chip-filled "Smart-Screws"---and, like "Binky & The Brain"---decide that tonight, just like EVERY-night, they're "...going to take-over the world!"...!☺

Someone is sure to share a dash cam video to and be arrested for driving the Vette like it was designed to be driven.

Donk, That loader has to have an awful lot of ballast to lift that guy without tipping, or maybe I'm fooled by the perspective...kind of like those Brain Games tricks.

Heheheh - had to chuckle a bit at this - "Stick shift stymies Mass. car thieves" http://www.cbsnews.com/news/manual-transmission-stymies-massachusetts-car-thieve...

Not sure if this is a sign of the times in general, or just pointing out the shortcomings of Massachusetts residents.

All seriousness aside, resigned that it is another sign of the ever-changing times, where one's hands and feets are freed up from the chores of running through the gears, permitting other activities like cell-phone yapping, fast-food munching, and radio-fiddling. :-)

Also guessin' this is mostly an American thing. During my travels to Europe coming up on twenty years ago, in the heart of the mad-cow scare and Paris public transportation strike, was asked more than once by agents at the various rental car counters in the various airports upon seeing my passport, whether I knew how to drive a 'steeeek'. It seemed that even many higher-end cars in the rental fleets were manual trannies.

Have to feel sorry for those who will never know the fun of three-on-the tree shift pattern, or the challenges and first-frustrations of coordinating the friction point on the clutch with the RPM of the motor for those smooth take-offs devoid of rapping the motor out, rolling back into the vehicle behind, or the more-observed leap, stall, restart, repeat.

Keeping with the reminiscing, had the opportunity to use a rotary-dial phone this week. Was surprised to even come across it, much less to find that it still worked perfectly, as tested by dialing out to my cell phone. Would've figured that the phone company would've long ago abandoned its support of the pulse-dial getup in favor of the current touch-tone-dial. Might be quite the entertainment to watch a young'un try to use it - nope, just poking your finger in the number hole don't get it.

Finally, came across this 1981 news video currently making the waves now about the next new wave then, "imagine if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee, turning on your home computer to read the morning's newspaper..." http://www.wimp.com/theinternet/ Even shows a rotary-dial phone.

Ahhhhh, the memories! :-)~

"Have to feel sorry for those who will never know the fun of three-on-the tree shift pattern,"

Fxpwt,

Ever driven one with a four on the column shift pattern? I did at a dealer's lot once but did not buy it.

Wheels, I learned to drive on a 3 speed stick. Had to practice going to and fro 2nd and 3rd without using the clutch.

That learning came in handy getting an overloaded Super M from 4th to road gear.

One of the nice things around '64 was the synchronized gears in cars.

fxpwt, What do you think of the coming all aluminum Ford F series?

Heheheh - this thread is getting to be so long that my old XP machine has to think quite a bit upon loading it.

Wheels - no, never heard of a four-on-the-column shifter. Trying to figure how they'd do that - it was hard enough finding the gears in the two-row up/down shift pattern, much less having to deal with the difficulty of an additional third row to try to hit. Would give a heightened probability of 'if you can't find 'em, grind 'em' :-)

I suppose when the vehicles were newer, things weren't so tough. By the time I gots to 'em, the shifter was all sloppy and wobbly and loose - eh, second is usually kinda over here and up around there somewheres ...

OJ - haven't done a lot of research into the new F150s, although they sound very intriguing. The claimed 700-pound lighter weight could make for greater hauling capacities, more sprightly handling, more get-up-n-go for the same horsepower engines, and quicker stopping for the same braking packages - all in addition to the fuel economy opportunities.

Not sure what would happen when towing heavy loads not having trailer brakes - shove ya right through the intersections?

Body panels rusting out would be a thing of the past, although corrosion might be a new factor, especially where dissimilar metals and alloys come into contact.

The question of the current abilities of body shops to repair wrecks of this material has come to mind - aluminum ain't the most friendly to work with.

The electrics may be a challenge, making sure everything keeps its grounding solid and secure throughout the life of the truck. Sure, aluminum conducts, just have to use more care with the connections.

If the price of aluminum ever goes back up, would hate to come out to find the panels nibbled off by vandals for salvage.

All-in-all, I think it's a rather bold move by Ford, but I intend to take a wait-and-see approach. Basic rule learned here is to never buy a vehicle from the first model year after a major revamp.

I would still like to see a diesel offered in the 1/2-ton trucks - remembering the old GM trucks with the diesel 350's. While the reliability stank because the design was derived from the 350 gasoline engine and just not beefy enough for diesel service - the economy was great while they lasted - heard guys getting 20+ mpg on diesel at a time when the same trucks with gas engines were doing 12-14.

Fxpwt,

Back in the 60's and Ford was building their Econoline Pickups and Vans with the engine between the passenger and the driver, and the big old 144 Cube or 170 Cube 6 cylinder engines didn't have the guts to get out of their own way, they dropped a 4 speed in at least one of them, because I drove it new at the dealership. It obviously was not a success story and I never saw another one. And yes, three forwards was barely manageable. This thing, if you were excitable and lost your presence of mind, I think you might want to just try pushing it out of the way util you could figure out where the gears were.

http://www.mustangsandmore.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/001136.html

Ahhh, back in the days when man still mostly triumphed over machine. When there were three and four-speed manuals but only two-speed automatics.

Now, there are eight-speed automatics (predicted here to be the next upcoming warranty nightmare), but the best I've seen is only a six-speed manual (a clutch disc manufacturer's dream) - not counting the big trucks with the two-speed differentials - now there's a significant additional degree of difficulty as to which gets shifted next - the tranny or the axle?!

Fxpwt,

I once had a bus built by a company called Twin Coach in Ohio. It was built for the postal system and delivered mail between small towns in Michigan. I believe they said it was staffed by a driver and two mail sorters who worked as they traveled. It had a huge alternator and all of the sorting equipment was 12 volts. It also had a heavy duty converter and could be plugged into shore power when they stopped.

When the Postal System was through with it, someone purchased it and turned it into a motor home. I bought it and we used it for a rolling hunting camp for the most part. This thing had a 6 cylinder Leyland Diesel laying just a few degrees off flat under the center of the bus with s manual 5 speed transmission behind it. Not even 5th gear was synchronized. You talking about grinding em down to fit until I learned how to double clutch and drive that thing. And if you can feature the shift linkage on it and with 30+ years of wear on it... things were a little loosey goosey.

Once out in Kansas returning from a Pheasant hunt, it started slowing down and finally it was obvious something was wrong. I pulled over on the shoulder, sure it was dead, but then we could hearing the comforting noise of the engine idling.

We pulled up the carpeted engine cover in the the middle of the floor, that had been added when they put in the false floor on converting. Then the original cover. Step on the accelerator, nothing happens, then we see it. One of the joints on the accelerator linkage had made it's last push and fell apart. Put it together, stepped on the accelerator and it fell apart again. What to do, what to do. No baling wire aboard. We finally found a bread wrapper and made a loose loop around the approx 90 degree joint in the linkage and tried the accelerator. Success!! That bread wrapper did the job the rest of the way home.

I am past that kind of adventure anymore. I enjoy the 6 speed Allison automatic in my motor home these days. Comfort takes precedence. I no longer need to be miserable to be happy.

Doggone, Wheels - you were ahead of your time - with that drive-by-wire gas pedal technology that is now standard stuff. :-)

That's one of the challenges with all the electronic stuff now becoming the norm - how does one fix stuff that's broken, when you can't even see what's broken?

That's one of the challenges with all the electronic stuff now becoming the norm - how does one fix stuff that's broken, when you can't even see what's broken?

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sun, Jan 19, 2014, at 7:58 PM

Fxpwt,

That's the difference between you and me. I am at the point in life where I no longer care. I think you are younger by quite a bit than I am. I simply have not got the energy left to fight it. If it goes broke, I am going to have to find someone that can fix it or leave it broke.

I understand that cannot see what is broke part. I had a good understanding of electricity and mechanical controls, that is where I entered the business of HVAC. Today, we are into the age of solid state electronics and you cannot fix it, you simply have to be able to find out what to replace. I have a thermostat in my motor home that has a telephone type receptacle on the back of it.... an RJ something or other I believe and there are four wires going to it. With a sensor up front and a sensor in back and a sensor in the T-stat itself, I can control 3 zones cooling, 3 zone heating with the heat pumps and 2 zones heating with the Oil fired boiler... and it automatically switches from the heat pumps to the boiler when the temp drops low enough. Oh and did I mention that it will control a 4th zone if necessary. These four wires, a little solid state board on one of the units on the roof A/C's do all of this. There are a few jumpers that better be correct on the solid state board upstairs. But those four wires and a telephone type wire between the various units on the roof and the zone controls for the backup heat do what a few dozen wires would have done say 20 years ago.

I want one!

http://www.falconclub.com/reference/64-ranchero.html

Wheels - I'll take that 'quite a bit younger' thing as a compliment, although I do fall in that 'donut hole' between qualifying for a full AARP membership and actually able to be 'retired'. :-)~

What you describe with your RV HVAC is right in line with my challenges - the talent searches are shifting from fixing stuff that's obviously broken, to include being able to specifically identify what actually needs the fixing.

If folks think it is hard enough to find talented fixers, it has become a whole 'nuther level of difficulty to find those who possess the skills set for methodical troubleshooting so to rise well above being just a parts-changer.

On another note, just how big is your RV to be having an 'upstairs' as well as three climate control zones?? - "There are a few jumpers that better be correct on the solid state board upstairs." :-)~

On another note, just how big is your RV to be having an 'upstairs' as well as three climate control zones?? - "There are a few jumpers that better be correct on the solid state board upstairs." :-)~

-- Posted by fxpwt on Mon, Jan 20, 2014, at 5:45 PM

Oops, guess I didn't make that very clear. It's not that big... 45' with four slides, making it livable.

Upstairs being on the roof where the three A/C/Heat Pump units are located. They are controlled today by "real" thermostats instead of those window unit type from the past. And the two zones from the boiler are controlling the two pumps that circulate the water/anti-freeze mixture through the fan coils when the weather is too cold for the heat pumps. I have long been a fan of zone control for comfort and economy. Had it in a house I built in the late 70's

You are definitely correct in the difficulty in finding true mechanics with diagnostic ability, instead of changing parts until it works. On a HVAC or Refrigeration system before the advent of the solid state world, it was not that difficult to take the symptoms and a wiring diagram and be pretty accurate in pin pointing the mechanical problem. A tad more difficult today, at least in my estimation.

I want one!

http://www.falconclub.com/reference/64-r...

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Jan 20, 2014, at 1:42 AM

Old John,

I had one, not a Ranchero, but a 1960 Sedan with the 144 cu inch suffering six in it. I wouldn't trade the 10 year old Mercedes I drive for a fleet of them. And want to know something, my current transportation gets better mileage than that thing did. It struggled to get 21 MPG.

My wife learned how to drive on that thing.... and after only about 5 years of marriage, her learning to drive was a real strain on it. As I remember it, when it had about 40,000 miles on it, there was more smoke coming out of the crankcase breather than there was out of the tailpipe.

To be fair, I think they did improve them some with more power etc.. But I am definitely not in the market for one. Now if if I could find a little 41 Ford Coupe with a Flat Head V8 in it.... I could be tempted.

Wheels, We bought a cheap top freezer fridge recently and had a problem. The tech knew that the problem was a fan frosted over. He opened his laptop to the wiring diagram and went straight to the problem, a loose crimp on a wire connector.

I remember opening an car service manual and folding out pages of wiring diagrams to follow with a magnifying glass and still not knowing anything.

Oh, and not counting the car garage on my house, your house is longer than mine. :)

"Oh, and not counting the car garage on my house, your house is longer than mine. :)"

Yeah but considerably narrower!

And you aren't hasseled that you need to be tested periodically after 50 years old to operate your house either Old John.

Regards the wiring diagrams.... before I took a couple of electrical courses, my first thought when I looked at a wiring diagram or the actual wires in a product large or small, was look at all of them freaking wires. Once I learned to take it one circuit at a time when tracing through it, and ignore everything else, things kinda fell in place. You learned to see just that circuit, and then the next and so on, it was not that difficult. I always enjoyed laying out complicated control systems.

"....complicated control systems."

Why does that remind me of she who must be obeyed?

I wish I could find an article I read 25 years back about a grandpa telling his children about when there were fixers, people that repaired stuff before the age of throw away.

I have always enjoyed challenges of basic electrical stuff but there is always something to limit or restrict access in today's automotive reality. And there is little left that is basic.

Coming to grips with being a 'has been' has been tough but I'm reminded of a scene in a movie where the cracker jack ace lawn mower mechanic couldn't figure it out after hours of toil and the old man stepped in and said "it's out of gas".:)

The last time I drove a house it was hanging off the draw bar of a 4020 JD.

"I have always enjoyed challenges of basic electrical stuff but there is always something to limit or restrict access in today's automotive reality. And there is little left that is basic."

Old John,

In what ever manner we were trained for what we have done in the past, it is in the past or nearly so anyway, and we move on to something new and different. We are past being retrained in the hands on repair of these new electronic gadgets we live with, but they have made life more comfortable. So we have to learn to manage those gadgets best we can, lest they manage us.

"I wish I could find an article I read 25 years back about a grandpa telling his children about when there were fixers, people that repaired stuff before the age of throw away"

Try to find a TV repairman. There must have been 20 when I was a kid.

Anybody ever see the little pot mending kits they used to sell at the small country stores? Your favorite piece of cookware gets a hole in it, you buy the kit and repair it.

This thread's kinda like a-"dookie" on the sole of your favorite-shoes in the winter season: It never does smell THAT-bad---but then again, it just never does quite go-away until spring-rains again, either???☺

I have, indeed, seen not one, but TWO Mercedes-Benz with a "Four On The Tree"---I think they were both, say, early-'50's-models? (You know---the ones' that third-world countries, like E. St. Louis, might drive for limos?☺!) Sorry, bad-joke at MY-expense! Actually, in all-seriousness: They may have been taxis, since they were(kinda!)four-doored, and as comfy as a Checker-cab, and painted a nasty, ugly-purple-puke-like color, like the ones' you see in all the B-grade movies???

Anywhoo, they both had, I think?, a three-cylinder Diesel, and started amazingly-well in blueish-cold temps, with NO glow, and NO-spray can of "Start, Ye-*******!"(Man! Bet these forums don't have many Aussie-followers, huh?☺), neither. Oh, yeah---the SHIFTER. 1st was where "normal"-reverse would be, second was "first", third was "second", and of course forth was "third". Now, as for REVERSE? It was way-y-y back "behind-second", and down to about crotch-level, at least for me, then.

As for how did it shift, "quality-wise"? If you remember how "smooth" a '51-Chevy, with that(seemingly)four-foot long "branch-on-the-tree"-shifted? Yeah, it was THAT-co-operative.

But the stupid-lil' thing would go FOREVER, it seemed, on a gallon of the "old" #2-Diesel juice---even if it did knock like a Tecumseh lawn mower, when you'd let it idle.

Or, as our illustrious-FXPWT might put it: "Knocked like a door-to-door salesman with a nervy-bladder, in a subdivision of gated-communities...!" Or somethin' similar to???☺

GAWD, I love that one.....!!!☻

"Anybody ever see the little pot mending kits they used to sell at the small country stores? Your favorite piece of cookware gets a hole in it, you buy the kit and repair it.

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Tue, Jan 21, 2014, at 1:10 AM..."

Yeah. Except now they call 'em "Self-Threading Screws"---an' theys' the next-best thang to duct-tape an' nylon "zip-strips", as the basic road-repair kit should include.

Small vise-grips and a leather-pouched pocket-tool available as well---but, at additional-cost---and, well-worth the initial-investment, too....!☺

Donknome-2,

About time you got back to minding your children... they been gittin a little rowdy on here!

Hi you Old f*rt, a belated Happy New Year to you and yours. ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

We all should be glad we are still looking at the green side (well brown at this time of year) of the grass as 2014 is up on it's wobbly legs and starting to move along.

2100 pots and growing.

You had to go back and look didn't you?

Donknome-2,

That duct tape is an all around mend it.

A couple of years ago, while in a country cemetery, I cut a corner a little too short and catched the plastic panel under the doors and right in front of the passenger side rear wheel of my wife's Acura on the corner of a base for an altar. It was hanging precariously low but I managed to make it hang on until I got to the grocery store in Marble Hill and bought myself a small roll of gray duct tape.

The color match was dang near perfect and my wife drove it around for a couple of months before making about a $450 repair of that mistake. Personally, I didn't think my repair looked that shabby, I was kind of proud of it. ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻

WHEELS: Ain't none of these monkey-nuts MY-kids: All I ended-up with wus GURLZ.☺

YES, I simply HAD TO return to the scene, to see it break 21-grand!(But it DID take more than ONE-lone pervert to do it...!☻)

In-deed. Duct-tape is "the-berries"!(Man, I gotta start watchin' closer, as to where I fit my number-by-the-day fingers: I ALMOST-spelled the "Duct" in "Duct-tape" WAY-Y-Y-Y out there in left-field! Yeah, it would've "went", but my "Gentleman-genes" caught it first!☺) BUT---on the subject of "Other-Types-Of-Application" for tape?

I try not to over-step the bounds of unsolicited-advertising on here, but, THIS-stuff is worth it's weight in gold, esp. when you split a hose in the middle of Bum, Egypt.

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/mens/mens-workshop/quick-fix/96825.aspx

Only drawback is, it's NOT-tape, per-se. It doesn't stick TO-anything, i.e., flat surfaces---but rather sticks to ITSELF, such as wrapped on hoses, tranny-lines, etc., although not too-keen on the exhaust-hanger "mode"???

And if the(radiator-hose)hole or split isn't too-extreme, it'll patch to the point I'd consider "temporarily-permanent", to pass-muster by MY-exacting-standards....!☺

Rut-roh - it just sounded too good

"Ford's aluminum F-150 faces insurance rate, repair shop challenges" - http://www.autonews.com/article/20140121/OEM01/140129985/fords-aluminum-f-150-fa...

"Less than 10 percent of the more than 30,000 independent repair shops in the United States are certified and meet training and equipment requirements to work with most aluminum auto body parts..."

"Ford is betting buyers will accept what it estimates will be a 10 percent jump in costs to insure the pickup..."

"Aluminum has a very poor memory and it resists straightening attempts,"

"Residual values for the new F-150, which measure how well the truck retains its worth after years of ownership, could decline because of higher insurance costs..."

"Repair shops need separate hand tools for aluminum and steel such as wire brushes, grinders and sanders, because corrosion can happen when dissimilar metals come in contact with one another."

Maybe 'wait-n-see' is the winning approach, and my current F150 isn't looking so tired after all. :-)

fxpwt, I wonder if the truck panels are friction welded or glued together.

donk, Sounds like a good product. I've used electrician's splicing tape to fix those pesky pinholes in copper water pipes, near permanent with a couple of worm clamps in just the right position. :)

OJ - don't know how panels are attached. If Ford follows Dodge and others, the need for some welding and/or riveting is eliminated through casting techniques - "The Dart's front suspension cradle is constructed of high-pressure, die-cast aluminum, which is 14 pounds lighter than more conventional front cradle applications. The cradle also is stiff, helping stop the transmission of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) into the passenger compartment. " from http://www.dart-mouth.com/engineering-development.html

Always chuckled at the philosophy that all one needs is duct tape and WD40. If it moves and shouldn't - use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and should - use the WD40.

Received this link from a friend in Colorado this morning. You could spend a lot of time browsing all of the embedded links to other articles. Thought it would interest some of you.

http://www.freep.com/interactive/article/20121202/NEWS01/120823062/The-Packard-P...

Rick,

Not as much as a 30's Packard Coupe with a Rumble Seat. ;-)

Hmmm, after driving on down the road today - suggest one thing that separates those who remember point ignitions from those who've only read about them is common sense in bad weather.

Geez, Louise - slicker than goose grease out there this morning, yet some vehicles just blazed on by, business as usual. One could see the many outcomes of their predecessors along side the road, in various artistic displays of disarray - nose in ditch, tail in ditch, laying on side, laying on top, swirly circles in the road, and open space where cable barriers should have been.

Perhaps I'm age-discriminating, but it seemed that many of these vehicles were of the type driven by the younger set.

Ah, well, guess that's part of supporting local businesses - body shops, in particular. :-)

Wheels, Good link. I think I came closest of anyone in my family to owning a Packard when I bought a set of plug wires for the T-Bird.

If I'm not mistaken, those early cars with tall narrow wheels did pretty good in snow and mud for 2WD.

Fxpwt,

See any Packards in the ditch?

Old John,

On that thinking you owned a Packard when you bought a set of plug wires for a T-Bird.....

I had a young man that I had hired as extra labor to help my installers. He had no special skills except he was pretty good at running his mouth. He owned one of those late 60's model T-Birds, the 4-Door models.

He came to me and said he needed a raise. I told him I was already paying him as much or more than he was worth to me. But if he would go to school and learn what he needed to be worth more, I would give him more mmoney. He said if I paid him more money then he would go to school. I told him it didn't work that way. He quit. But on his way home he ordered an exhaust system for his T-Bird, from the manifold to the back bumper. A resonator, a muffler and another muffler like device I cannot remember the name of, with all of the connecting pipes X two, as it was a dual exhaust behind a 429 V8.

Oh did I mention he charged this whole truck load of pipes and boxes to me. And knowing he picked up parts for me a number of times, the auto parts store allowed it.

John, if you bought a Packard, I bought a Rolls.

But I was able to sell my Rolls to this young sports wife, who owned her own beauty shop. Mentioned to her what had happened and how my next stop was the Sheriff's Office on my way home if I didn't get paid in cash.

If neither of these worked , it woulda come out of his hide...

-- Posted by ~Rick on Mon, Feb 3, 2014, at 8:34 PM

Rick,

I was having trouble finding him, so I stopped by his wife's beauty shop and told her to have him get in touch with me before the day was out. She wanted to know why and I told her. As stated above she would rather I didn't involve the Sheriff, so she paid me. He already had his last check before the bill reached me.

All was well that ended well. To this day, I have never seen that clown again.

Wheels - nope, no Packards seen. Ones that come to mind are a newer retro-styled Challenger, an early/mid-2000s Mustang (in about the loudest green I've ever seen), and a Sunfire.

Talking about the skinny wheels - the ol' '48 Dodge pickup I've gone on endlessly about in many posts above had them. IIRC, it had 6.50x16 tires, which were dry-rotted and replaced with more common (and less expensive) 7.50x16s. Looked as if it were tippy-toeing on down the road, and the neighbors poked fun at it, calling it the 'Sanford and Son'.

However, that fun-poking pretty much all stopped when the great blizzard of '78 (or was it '79?) hit, as it became the neighborhood shuttlebus and grocery-getter, being one of the first and few vehicles able to get out and about and around.

I want one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JlnU1RKD7c

Yeah, but THIS looks like more fun---and, a bigger-challenge, hoping the bike starts?

The classic, "Here! Hold ma' beer, an' watch this...!"☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6PGKcVr-8s

-- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Thu, Feb 6, 2014, at 8:50 AM

Regrets, I don't think that one is going to sprout out next spring.

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Feb 6, 2014, at 9:10 AM

They could've hid Hoffa's body in a hole like that.

What if the bike doesn't start? RUN!!!!!!

They had a stump puller for the Little river project. Ive seen pictures of it but sure would like to see one do it's job.

REGRET: Yeah, I know exactly what we're BOTH "pining" for! Static-pics/displays are nice, but nothing is "sweeter" than a working-example!

Can find all-sorts of great static-pics, but, alas---NO-vids, at least not of the "Swamp-East-Missouri"-type.

But I'll keep lookin'...!

Donk, I'm thinking Regret posted some pictures of stump pullers on this thread. Also thinking someone said there was a way to search these forums for particular subject.

Did they have movie cameras portable enough to record one in action back then?

OJ: Oh, yeah---it's NO-problem finding pictures of the contraption at all. We were just hoping to find a video somewhere of a salvaged-model like that, that someone(wishfully!)had kept safe from the scrap-heap!

We're both just kinda curious, more than anything, since the "Swamp-East Missourian"-version appears to have been that proverbial "horse-of-a-different-color", where it came to overall-design for the task at hand? It just doesn't "look-like" other machines of that type & era, for some-reason? Wish I knew who the manufacturer was, which would help?

I ain't gave-up yet! Maybe IF spring/summer ever returns, and the restoration-"nerds" start to get their blood circulating again, I can pry-loose more info...???☺!

Oh, and as for the movie-cameras of the era? I honestly don't know---that's kinda what we were HOPING, as well?

Then again, maybe the estate of the 'skeeters of that swamp are holdin' the film AND the camera for ransom? Certainly BIG-enough to convince me!

Man, just think of the AERIAL-shots one o' those early-day 'skeeters could've given us.....!☺

Donknome-2,

Seems like I read that the college has quite a bit of information in their archives on the Little River Drainage Co. Doubt they have a video from the day, but anything is possible I guess. Not a student of photography, but since the time frame was around 1910 - 1912 give or take a couple of years, videos might be possible.

I recently, in the last year, saw and early video taken in Belgium of the dedication of a statue in the hometown of Pierre-Jean De Smet. The statue was honoring De Smet and was donated by some of the Sioux tribes who were friends of De Smet and a delegation of the Sioux were present for the dedication. This was early 1930's if memory serves.

From Wikipedia: "The art of motion pictures grew into full maturity in the "silent era" (1894--1929)"

So I suppose it possible that a stump pulling movie from SE Missouri might exist and surface at some point.

In the day it probably had all of the appeal of a Taffy pulling down at St. Peters..... now don't going tipping a few and then try to say that.

http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm/search/searchterm/stump%20puller/field/all/mode/all/co...

I may not be smart enough to navigate this site, but seems it should lead to something in motion if there is any.

WHEELS: As long as no one comes-up with a patron-saint for sticky-situations called St. Taffy now, I think I'll survive the choking-on of the morning coffee---and, well, the PC needed wiped-down, anyways!☺

As for the motion-pics if they exist, they'd likely be as exciting/revealing as the invention of the fly-swatter, but still---yeah, I'd like to see 'em!

Combine the action of a puller, with the "jerkiness" of such an old-film, and it'd likely look like the pulling of a cork from a wine-bottle, sans cork-screw...!☺

Old John,

You have found the mine. I was was aware of this archive effort, but never went past looking up death certificates and the likes. Should provide hours of entertainment for old folks.

Now I know what this older friend meant when I complained about having a tough job ahead. He would say, well that's your 40 acres of stumps. Can you imagine the task of removing all of those stumps with as machine that undoubtedly moved about the speed of paint drying? Then you have it out of the ground, now deal with getting it turned into ashes.

Donknome-2

I'll bet there will be enough pictures on that site Old John found, where you and he could draw up the plans and build one of those stump pullers. If you do and get it working, I'll come along and photograph it for you.

Sorry about the coffee.

Man, a fella could get lost in that link OJ left us! Wish I had the time(read:patience!)to sort through a mere-HALF of 'em!☺

And if I was presented with a task like that in the picture of the seemingly-endless cyprus-stumps, and the equipment available of the time?

Sorry, but I'd just drop to my knees, sobbing-hysterically, screaming "I QUIT!" before I ever looked-up, and opened my tear-flooded eyes again!

Just goes to show how "soft" we've(thankfully!)gotten to be...!☺

I was looking at this one and it looks like a monster.

http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/msalrdd/id/2400/rec/40

My mother remembered as a kid people living on the houseboats in the channels. There is a giant drag line that set on the Waawhi west of Salcedo. They used to crank it up about once every 15 years and dredge it out but I haven't seen it in years.

Took me a while to notice the little arrows that expand the pictures.

In this one I don't understand what I'm looking at. Seems to be a steam boiler but what is it powering?

http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/msalrdd/id/1306/rec/3

Regret, I'm guessing the monster is above the Block Hole?

If you are on Salcedo road out of Sikeston west of Salcedo and it is on the first ditch to the left. It sets on big feet that make it crawl about two feet per revolution. I'm sure it only moves from Hwy 60 to Salcedo rd.

I got on Google and started looking for it. Went down to the Arkansas line and here's what I saw. Did they write something in the swamp? :-)

https://maps.google.com/?ll=35.981479,-90.083513&spn=0.037297,0.084543&t=h&z=14

BTW this was the last place we saw the machine about 15-20 years ago.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=36.878338,-89.732487&spn=0.002304,0.005284&t=h&z=18

Ironically, it's a GOOD-thing those archive pics are the original B&W, as-opposed to a "Colorized"-version. The B&W gives a lot-better detail for "zoom"-purposes. Some pictures just aren't meant for color, old OR new-ones.

Using that same-perspective: How-much of a stump did they leave for pulling? Looks about like somewhere's around 4, maybe even 5, feet? Mentally stack those end-to-end vertically, and get a rough-approximation of the overall-height of one of these metal-wonders...!

Regret, That is strange for it looks like cleared spots. Why would those shapes be repeated and not more random?

I'm familiar with the drainage ditch and the area. I didn't think it would need as wide a clear cut and there are power line poles and a railroad track in the picture I asked about.

I know power lines ran from Cape to at least somewhat beyond Whitewater because some of the dredges were electric powered.

We had dug up a discarded bucket lip from the machine that dug the #8. It was made of magnesium. I sold it for scrap when I was a teen and no one missed it.

The flat areas along the levy is pretty wide in places but I guess those areas have required more digging and when they leveled the excavated dirt it made them wider.

A lot of the dirt removed from the smaller ditches around Mathews and New Madrid have been pulled down by the farmers and used but many a farmer has been bitten by that when it floods.

We grew up running those ditches in johnboats floating and plinking. Of coarse we never had any libations since we were southern Baptists.

Little River Drainage District - looks like our own SEMO U has their own selection of archived materials, but unfortunately, no video found yet - http://library.semo.edu/archives/collections/Finding%20Aids/LRDD/Home.htm

Thanks FX.

Just some neat stuff:

http://www.littlerivervalley.com/introduction-to-the-little-river-valley.html

Heheheh, chuckling at the chatter about Armstrong Drive in one of the recent columns.

Gots to remembering that was the named used for how to drive the '48 Dodge - between no power-assisted steering, manual crank windows, the force it took to flip the cowl vent up and to pull the floor-mounted parking/emergency brake lever - not to mention the inter-county lengths of the gearshift throw and the clutch or starter button travels - driving was more of a work-out than a pleasurable experience.

To the plus side - it meant that one usually paid attention on the road. No problems would be had with current distractions such as texting-while-driving or the like - because all hands and feets were already occupied with the task at hand.

Perhaps progress ain't all it's cracked up to be. But, if the opposite of 'pro' is 'con', well, Congress ain't all it's cracked up to be, either. :-)~ (shamelessly 'sampled' from the work of the wise wizard, George Carlin)

I want one of these.

http://devour.com/video/car-grinder/

Now we will build something.

http://www.wimp.com/traintrack/

Supposedly only two of these machines in the world. One here and one in Europe.

Due to even more-desperate budget cuts, the NTSB has out-sourced it's Seat Belt Certifications to a new---but, up-and-coming!---ISO-Approved, Independent Testing Organization....!☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdVbdioJwDg

Dang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKHz7wOjb9w

To: Mr. Shapley Hunter---You are always welcome here!

The last-time somebody got a bit-"too-much of the hair"? We sent him back in-time about a hundred-years, an' made 'im yank stumps in the swamp with a steam-powered contraption from hell!☺

An' we don't care how ya' spel it---jus' as long as it leaks, stinks, an' moves...!☺

Just-look at where REGRET-ended up at, when he visited here.

Poor-fella. Jet-bikes and(escaped!)lunatics.

(Sigh-h-h.)And he was SO-close, to being normal, too. Before he digressed to THIS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy5rkw4SeP4

☺!

And that's Regret's hoover round?? ;-)

WHEELS: Sure looks-like the one in his avatar...!☺

Donknome-2

I believe Regrets is one of those Hells Angels type with the motorcycle and all. ;-)

Some of them graduate to 2 Wheelers when they cannot keep the 2 Wheelers upright any longer. I guess that machine in your U-Tube video is the next step for the diehards. Can you imagine Regrets doing his grocery shopping for a barbeque with that thing? Ooops he just flew past the charcoal display on his way to the beer isle.

Have had a couple of 4-cell Mag-Lite flashlights for what seems like forever. Keep one in the daily driver, and the other for around the house. Dependable, multi-purpose, and a feel of quality.

Well, somehow one turned up missing - so I went looking to replace it. Really liked the durability of the originals, so took a look at the current offerings.

Opted for the Mag-Lite 2-cell LED PRO. Kinda pricey, same construction as the old, but I like the smaller size over the 4-cell, and I figure good tools are an investment which more-than-pay for themselves over time.

Holy cow, this is a case where the 'new' trumps the 'old'. It was like turning on a light saber, thought it was going to burn a hole in the wall, it was that bright and white, instead of the traditional yellow-orange!

Have to wait-n-see if the longevity matches its elder, though, to truly put it in the 'win' column.

Still amazed by the new cordless phone. Has a feature called Link-to-Cell, which allows up to two cell phones to hook up via Bluetooth. Can make and receive cell calls as well as landline calls with the cordless, which makes it handy - can hook the cell phone up on the countertop for charging, while able to answer incoming cell calls anywhere in the house with the cordless handsets. I suppose it would also be good for those who have chosen to abandon the landline, or those whose cell reception is spotty, working only in a certain area of the house. Perhaps old news, but news-to-me.

Heheheh, news. Reminds me of an old ad - News from all corners of the world - (N)orth, (E)ast, (W)est, and (S)outh. Not sure if that's the true origin of the word, but fun to tell...

At any rate, used to be pretty good keeping up with the latest technology - computers, fuel injection and digital speedometers, CDs for music and LaserDiscs for movies. Noticed the slacking off of interest occurring about the time DOS gave way to Windows.

fxpwt, If Mag-lite still stows a spare bulb inside the barrel spring you could try that Krypton bulb in your other one.

They make a pretty good rechargeable too.

Ah, another degree of difficulty with the newer vehicles that wasn't even dreamed about with the older vintages.

Got to hearing a whirring / rattling noise coming from the engine bay - somewhere between a cake batter mixer and rolling some bolts around in a steel coffee can. This went on for a couple of weeks before I got tired of listening to it. So I'm carefully poking around with the engine running, trying to locate where this noise was originating from. Hard to tell, so the sounding rod was broke out - nothing extravagant, just an 18-inch socket extension, long enough to fit between the item of interest and my ear. Ah-hah, it's the alternator, sounds like the bearings are heading south. Goot, gooot, guh - as Roscoe P. Coltrane would say. :-)

Took off the serpentine belt, in itself no small feat considering where they shoe-horned the tensioner, and rolled the alternator pulley. Everything sounded good and felt smooth. Hmmm. So put the belt back on and lit 'er off again - but still thinking the noise is coming from the alternator...

Got to poking around online, and found that the alternator uses a type of over-running clutch, internal to the pulley. Ahhh, well that explains that knob on the end of the pulley that I'd long wondered about. At any rate, this clutch engages the alternator under load, but when the engine slows down, it allows the alternator to freewheel. Supposed to relieve some of the stress off the belt and the tensioner. Well, the good news was that mine wasn't freewheeling at all, the bad news is I'd already figured this wasn't going to be cheap.

Changed the alternator, problem $$$$olved. Kinda tough forking out almost two Benjamins for what I remember used to cost $39.99 what seems not so long ago.

Gates has a YouTube video on this clutch and the ability to replace only the clutch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FBeTBcBMk0, recommending that this clutch needs to be changed every time the belt is changed, along with the tensioner. Hmmm, yeah right. They're in the business of selling these clutches and tensioners and belts, so what else are they going to say - much like the laundry detergent folks coming in a little heavy on the amount to use per load because they're in the business of selling soap.

Got to thinking about it some more - maybe not so far off - the belt change is recommended every 150,000 miles, and the car is now creeping up on 180,000 - so there maybe something to it, although it's not mentioned in the owner's manual anywhere.

Brought to mind a quote my math teacher from way back wrote on the board - "Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop back." I never knew I could learn so much, now if I could only remember it. :-)~

fxpwt, I just learned something. Never would have imagined such a rig on an alternator.

Sounds to me like a good set-up to encourage a dead-battery from an-overloaded system---unless I'm readin' it wrong? Don't see where it'd be worth two-hoots in hell on a commercial application, et.al., police cruiser, rescue equipment, even a tow-truck? Or most anything that might sit at-idle for an-extended time?

Luckily for me, I only have a Delcotron with a big-knut on it...☺

...........................

Oh, and BTW: A friend of mine "down-yonder-and-over" in Tennessee sent me this, an' I figgered it needed sharing here.

...........................

Given our common interest in all things aerodynamic, thought you'd enjoy

A FALCON NESTING IN A TREE

I've received many remarkable nature photographs over the years but this photo of a nesting Falcon is perhaps

the most remarkable Nature shot that I've ever seen. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Nature is truly breath-taking!

I've sent this to most of my older friends. The younger ones probably have never seen a falcon and wouldn't

recognize it.

http://i.imgur.com/YW6Fufm.jpg

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Sat, Apr 5, 2014, at 11:19 AM

Wasn't mine..... Mine was red Donknome-2.

The more I read about the "Big-Alternator-Overrun", the less I understand it's need. But, hey---if'n it works for FXPWT? I'll go with it!(He reminds me of my first in-pocket, LED-display calculator: A LOT-smarter and better with numbers than I ever might dream to be, but, ONLY if you inserted three-AAA-batteries---out of the always-standard FOUR-battery pack!---each morning.

Otherwise, if you didn't? At about noon, it was just somethin' else in your pocket to sweat-on...!☺

WHEELS: Mine either. Although it WAS-white, mine was a '60-Biscayne. You know, unlike the '59-"biscuit" with the cat-eyes? The '60 had "boobies" under it's eyebrows...☺

Heheheh - Big Alternator Overrun... I like it, Donk. :-)

I'm figuring since alternators have gotten bigger for all the electrical loads, along with car makers trying to squeeze every ounce off the vehicle in the name of fuel economy - it kinda makes complicated sense.

The Impy has a 125-amp alternator, physically much bigger than the 37-amp'er on the Jeep. As long as the engine is pulling the alternator along, the clutch is engaged.

When the engine slows suddenly, such as with a transmission upshift, rather than this huge honkin' high-speed rotating alternator mass being braked accordingly through the belt, it is allowed to freewheel down in speed via this clutch, until the speed matches up with the engine, where the clutch re-engages.

Supposed to take stress off the belt and tensioner and other driven components, which reading between the lines tells me that a thinner belt and a lighter-duty tensioner can be used, saving weight and permitting less belt tension that will hopefully extend the life of the other bearings -- or permit cheaper bearings... Figured the auto manufacturers wouldn't be doing this solely out of the goodness of their hearts.

Wasn't the Falcon platform the one that the original Mustang was built-on to save costs?

fxpwt, Good job explaining that thing.

When they first came out with the high amp low speed gens I was told it was like a variable speed hub on a motorbike in reverse but done with the computer controlling the field.

I wondered why they didn't just use a variable speed hub in reverse.

The one improvement I do like with electricity involved is the electric cooling fan. I cut my fuel bill $10 per day by throwing out that 7 blade fan on the big block.

Yeah, OJ, the electric fans are a definite step in the right direction, not only for the fuel savings, but also the noise reduction.

Remember reading somewhere about the proposed need to go from 12-volt up to 42-volt systems, because of the increased electrical loads on newer systems and the corresponding wire sizes needed to accommodate the higher amperages on a 12V system.

Figured they wanted to stay below 50-volts, to keep things officially classified as electrically non-shock-hazardous, but the chatter went on to discuss the challenges with the multi-cell or multiple batteries, the parts problems such as ensuring a 12V bulb wouldn't fit in a 42V socket, etc.

For now, it seems the talk has subsided, mostly due to efficiency gains and management strategies of current systems.

One continuing concern I have is whether the average Joe Wrenchhead at the local independent RightyTighty Garage can keep up, or when does the technology surpass the majority of those who work on it, thus reducing the pool of available talent, resulting in a natural supply-n-demand increase of costs to keep the vehicle on the road? Whew, another one of those sentences that just doesn't stop! :-)~

I was told 30 years ago that wireless technology would nearly eliminate those heavy harnesses into doors and under seats. I was also told further back than that by a respected fellow of business and mechanics, that the piston engine would be a relic in 20 years. :)

FX{WT: I gotta-concur with OJ, here: Danged-good job of clarifying what I was overlooking!(Well, just slap-me with a "Surprise-Stick", already.)☺ When I re-read it, with your "epilogue" in-place? It's just like the story of the blind-man that steps in the enormous-pile of dung, left by the gi-normous rampaging elephant, who exclaims: "Oh! NOW I see the problem! It was right-here in front of me all-along!"☻

Re: the 6-8-12-24-48(HIKE!!!) voltage que---once again, yeah, you're right.(color me surprised, duh-h-h!)You had to love our predecessors who'd put an 8-volt battery on their 6-volt system in the winter, especially on farm-tractors.

Never fails to amaze me, the stuff one could get away with, on those old, "obsolete"-systems. Some Oliver "Super 44's", with the in-line-six GM-gas engines even went as far as using 12-volt starter-wiring---and then auto-switching back to a 6-volt system through a dual-range ballast, for the ignition-coil/points. Don't know what benefit, if any, was realized?

Of course, we can't leave-out the "not that dang-old yet" R.E. Olds(mobile) military deuce-n'-a-half", of, I think, up-to mid-70's, still? Went with a 24-volt starting system, which was neutered-down to 12-volts for the lighting & ignition, and neutered-down further still by various-ballasts to anywhere between 8-to-36 volts, depending on the power needed by various-radios, equipment, etc.(Ever notice the yellowish-tinge to the headlights on those old-models, especially during the daytime-hours when used as running-lights?) Anything-newer, I honestly don't know what system they use.

(As a matter of fact, honestly, anything I'm expected to remember from 40-plus-ish years ago? I honestly don't know about that, either?☺!)

Man! Now I'M startin' to write "FXPWT-Sentences"!

I bet he's part-Vulcan somewhere along his plant-lines, what with all that "logic & ciphering" he does for OUR-enjoyment...!☺

Perhaps straying a bit off-topic, but figuring that guys who remember 'points' ignitions probably fall more in line with guys who like to DIY - do-it-yourself when they can, rather than endlessly playing the showboating big shot using the old EFHutton boast about how "I've got people"... Well, that, and another shameless effort to keep this thread goin'...

Dragged out the Rug Doctor today to clean up a few high-traffic areas - part of that 'spring cleaning' initiative around here, that is slowly starting to bloom in efforts to finally be rid of the winter blahs and yucks.

Remembered getting it several years ago, the purchase justified after I got to adding up all the rental charges. It's pretty much the exact same as a rental version, except for being buyer-blue, rather than renter-red. Not terribly expensive, but definitely beyond the realm of a casual purchase. Figure it was a personal decision on how much it is worth to be beyond just vacuum-cleaner clean.

The official chemicals for the unit will ding the wallet, but have found that automatic dishwashing detergent (without bleach), or I suppose other kinds of low-aggressive soaps that don't suds-up, will do quite well - just have to ensure everything dissolves, and to test a piece of fabric/carpet first.

One of the bigger challenges is getting to be having it around when the need and the personal motivation meet up - once word got out, it became a hot item for borrowing by other almost non-EFHutton'ers.

When the convenience of having it around almost any time was appreciated, all kinds of things came to mind to give 'er a spin on, particularly with the small hand-held tool - upholstery, fabric car seats and carpeting, etc. - all done without the hurry-up rush to gitter dun to get it back, or adjusting one's timetable for their 'people' to come do it.

Speaking of back - the machine does a heckuva number on the lower back, but with age comes wisdom, usually - so pacing oneself gets to be important, making me feel just that little bit wiser for acquiring it. :-)

fxpwt, Wife had to have a Dyson vac a few years back. It sucks. :)

Actually works well when it works but without an air compressor to unclog it regularly, it would have been trashed years ago.

Soon after we bought it Hoover cloned the technology and offered what I'm told is a better product for half the price.

OJ, hmmmm, have always wondered how well those Dysons worked, given that cyclonic technology has been around for a long time yet didn't see the stampede to implement the technology in a vacuum cleaner application until a few years ago.

Seems to me that getting the exhausted air clean down to a HEPA level which has become the new level of expectation would be difficult - essentially redepositing the uncaptured, ultra-fine dust all over the house, generating even more work.

Remember a Consumers' Ed teacher explaining that vacuum cleaner manufacturers intentionally made vacuums louder than they really needed to be, as many equated noise with cleaning power.

Also remember the humorous comparison on incompetence that 'the only thing (so-and-so) can do that wouldn't suck, is build a vacuum cleaner. In case this got censored, it was a four-letter word that rhymes with truck, puck, buck, luck, and duck, and means 'to draw a negative pressure, or vacuum'. :-)

Had a Homer Simpson "D'Oh" moment of my own with vacuum cleaners. Back when I was younger and more foolish and had just landed my first real job in the chosen career path, bought a brand-spankin'-new Kirby from a door-to-door salesman, figuring that it would be the first, last, and only vacuum cleaner I would ever have to buy, and how convenient that someone showed up at the door to sell me one.

Well, true to form and promise, it is still running as strong as ever some 25 years later, able to fill up the bag faster than I care to replace it, with only an occasional beater-bar and drive belt change-out.

The D'Oh part comes in when I realized just how much I overpaid - especially after the Internet became available with its EBay and online vendors' pricing to compare against.

I console myself somewhat by remembering that 'experience is usually the result of bad judgment'... and, I likes to think I has acquired a lot of experience, in the usual way. :-)~

You guys are getting desperate... do you plan on drag racing your vacuum cleaners.

Ok,I will have to admit, we went vacuum cleaner shopping yesterday. Bought a Roomba, wife and I both tired of vacuuming and it must be done. My sister has one for a number of years and she loves it.

You guys better be glad that I'm runnin' late on here---otherwise, I'd be puttin' up vids of "Performance-Enhanced" street-sweepers---not to mention the supercharged-Zamboni!☺

A-"Roomba", eh? So, THAT'S what they call a one-night stay in a cheap-motel nowadays, huh? ☺!

Oh, and OLD JOHN: I've got the Hoover-version. LOVE to watch it roll up balls of hair, dirt, stray-grass, etc.(You should see what it does when y' get a few-bread ties mixed-in!)

And, you're right about the air-compressor. Man, there's stuff gets blown outta there, that I don't think even God Himself could/would/should create...!☺

Donk, Wheels, I reckon racing vacuum cleaners ain't all that far fetched. I had a Kirby self propel model I really liked.

fxpwt, Never knew there was teachings on a guy named Consumer Ed but I had a fellow with letters after his name tell me the car companies had folks visit the junk yards to see if some components were overbuilt. If engines wore out before the accessories it was time to save money by cutting quality of the generators, compressors and other stuff. A kind of planned lifespan I guess.

Heheheh - still loves this - a 331 Chrysler Hemi from the 1950's powering the air-raid sirens - still reported to be the loudest siren of all time. The inserted video is impressive, and many other videos of this machine are available on YouTube, etc. http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130808/carnews01/130809890

Sometimes, there just ain't no replacement for displacement :-)~

How many of us had one of these?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZOgbAk01Ug

Good stuff!

Those old 8&9N's that were taken care of are still running fine. That was one tough little tractor. I was lucky to cut my teeth on the one with the engine driven PTO. I cant remember if that was a live or non-live PTO. There was a many of guys that took down a few fence posts when bush hogging.

Regret, I had a 2N and 9N, that would both run over a stump with a bush hog, the 8N had an add-on over riding clutch.

Farm tractors were really slow to evolve before the '50s. So many of the more modern features of the Jubilee were old technology just never applied and marketed to farmers.

During WWII Ford tried to help the government scrap drive by lobbying for government mandated or incentive driven reasons to buy his tractors, replacing the heavy iron horses of the day. Kind of a cash for clunkers of tractors.

All I know is Ford built them to be comfortable and rugged. I wish I would have kept mine but I had an eye on an AC 50/50 and had a friend with cash. The AC did me well also.

Tractors are like cars in a way. Everyone wants to restore and collect the ones that stood out as special and before you know it all the ordinary of soo many made are scrapped and more rare than the rare.

Regret - My brother had one of those, eh, can't remember whether it was an 8N or 9N. About all I can remember is that it was a doggone reliable mover, stopper not so much.

The video is interesting - figuring a good deal of coin was dropped for a color commercial of that length, in 1953. Eeeeesh, rollover protection is taken as a given here now, cause the one thing that stood out was the absence then.

Always have liked looking at the antique tractors at the Fair - a short history lesson on how things have progressed through the years, as well as some of the didn't-quite-make-to-mainstream innovative features.

FXPWT: Kinda like that Chrysler Air Raid Siren, eh?(I almost thought it was a true-blue "Onion"-story, at first!☺) I dunno it they could've paid me enough, to ride-around in circles with it as it screamed?

I remember the "red-belly", which I think was the 9N, not certain at all? But I do remember it as a great-combo with the section-mower for hayfield work.

And, you COULD-pull a loaded wagon of square-bales, if you were "dedicated"-enough to the task---but it sure didn't take much effort to overrun your braking potential, as FXPWT said.

Oh, and going-UP the OUT-side of a wet creek-fording---my guess would've been roughly a 12°-grade?---pretty much limited you to a MAXIMUM-of 70('green')-bales. I also remembered trying a longer-than-normal wagon with at least 80 on it, once.

Had the power---just not the weight/grip it needed. Boy, was MY-face red! Swapped-it out in knee-deep muddy water for my-"field-favorite" WD-45 Allis, an' it pulled it out like a rotten-tooth. ALMOST had to open it up to HALF-throttle, though!☺

Alright, another shameless attempt to keep this thread going.

The reliable Craftsman mower bought back in 2000 finally retired itself - just ain't got no more do-right.

Figured this was coming, and had bought another Craftsman (yes, some undying loyalty to Sears brands) last fall, catching the end-of-season sale.

But being the cheap buzzard, er, thrifty person I am, just couldn't give up before it gave up. Endured the guzzling of 4oz of oil per mow, but having to restart it every couple rows got old quick.

Son! The new one starts on the first pull, without the need to push a primer bulb a given amount, and it just flat gets with it.

Wasn't real keen on the Briggs&Stratton motor, given past experiences and the reliability experienced with the Tecumseh on the 2000 model - but it cut good, at least on the first outing.

Got the biggest motor offered in a push mower - yep, haven't ceded to the self-propelled grampy geezer ways quite yet. Motored right on through the tallest grass without even grunting, although I can't say the same for me - even the Tecumseh would'a sagged and complained through that rain-heightened mess.

Has the mulching feature, as well as the side-discharge and the bagging features. I opt for the mulching, as it doesn't leave the rows and keeps the fertilized clippings rather evenly distributed. Had a fitting on the deck - took a while to figure out what it was for - attaching a hose to wash under the deck without having to resort to old-school ways and flip it on its side. Geez - another degree of complexity to go wrong.

As far as mowing grass in general - I knew there was something I liked about winter, even after the one we just had. :-)

fxpwt, I looked a few times but have yet to find one with handles that fit me.

I did have one of those 2 wheel string trimmers with a 6 HP Tecumseh that fit ok for a few minutes at a time. It had the primer ball but never took more than 2 pulls to start.

The old 2-stroke magnesium deck Lawnboys were one of the best ever produced. High speed blades and light as a feather. I don't even know if you can buy them anymore.

"Had a fitting on the deck - took a while to figure out what it was for - attaching a hose to wash under the deck without having to resort to old-school ways and flip it on its side."

Fxpwt,

The ZTR I bought last year has one of those hose connections on the deck as well. The Dealer, who I have known for over 30 years told me to definitely not use that until everything has cooled off and preferably not at all. His concern is the seals on the bearings if doing it immediately after mowing. Don't know if that would apply to the push mower with a single blade mounted on the end of the crankshaft, but would think so.

My original ZTR was bumping 30 years old, cannot remember exact age, and I never, ever washed the underside of the deck, and it was a much lighter guage than the new one. When is the last time you ever saw a mower deck with holes rusted through it from accumulated grass clippings? Most I have ever done for cleaning was get under them with something like a screwdriver and clean off the worst of the grass.

-- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Sun, May 11, 2014, at 9:57 AM

Last Lawnboy I had was an electric start and self propelled. It was reserved for the front lawn only and was electric start so the kids could use it. I think it is still sitting in the son's garage, after he quit using it.

Aww, c'mon, FXPWT---don't worry about the SHAME of it! I mean, with just this posting, I FINALLY found out the proper-use for that adapter-fitting on the deck. I mean, I'd always thought it was for watering the lawn whilst mowing.

(You know---"multi-tasking" and "Sears" just fall right into place, after-all! Even thought it was a genuine pain in-the-keister when mowing AROUND trees!☺)

And, WHEELS: Oh my goodness! I'd ALMOST give a left-knut for an-old "in very good shape" 18-inch cut Lawn-Boy of the OLD-'60's-Johnson/OMC-style. In-deed, light as two-feathers with that magnesium deck. And, talk about a sturdy-blade mount: Tapered-shaft/coupler, a one-8th's-inch steel 'basket' for the blade back-up---all tied down with either a 7/8-ths or 1-inch "fine-threaded" nut. Can't remember, but in the '60's, anything bigger than 3/4-inch was considered HUGE!!!☺

Donknome-2,

Let me see if it is still around. Last I saw of it, it was in pretty good shape, but if I remember I had to alter the battery connection, either because, one was not available from Lawn-Boy, or the banker refused the loan when I tried to buy one. Will try to check that out this week.

SERVICE BULLETIN for suckers----I mean,"people-who-are-stuck"-with using the 14.5-thru-21-hp SINGLE-cylinder vertical-shaft Briggs/Stratton "Lawn-Tractor-Drop-In"-INTEK-retrofits.

Now, the motor itself seems to be solid, but the solid-state ignition set-up is literally anything but. I could spend all-day on the fine-points, but instead, I choose the "Readers Digest"-version, as follows: Location too-hot, module too-close(flush!)with cylinder-block. SSI-insulation WAY-Y-Y-Y-too thin on both the primary & secondary wiring of the components. So even though plenty of air on TOP---absolutely NONE on/under the BOTTOM(cylinder)side. Failure symptoms mock a partially-sheared flywheel-key just as soon as the "kitchen gets too-hot" for it!

I ran through THREE of the EXTERNAL-flywheel, solid state point/condenser/coil-assemblies, much as I hate to admit such, until I found the answer, hidden in plain-view, on my worn-out, thrice-rebuilt 12.5 hp "Red-Top" B&S I/C---which I am considering to have bronze-plated and used for a testament to a "REAL" engine-mans'-engine!☺

(Yeah, I'd have re-doed her again, 'cept the cast-iron cylinder sleeve had done worned itself egg-shaped into the aluminum base metal---and they jus' weren't no mo' meat t' work wid on it!)

Sorry! Back to the retrofit-ignition. Lil' plastic covered shockers cost about $24-bucks at the dealer---$19.00 online factory direct, but you still add on your shipping. But you'll get it twice as fast ordering yourself, instead of relying on these self-proclaimed "Authorized B&S Service"-dealers.

HOW-EV-ER---one can still(yet!)buy an OEM-factory unit for the ol' 12.5hp, at literally $16.00, plus-shipping, of course.

"WAIT A MINUTE, THERE, DUMB-A!! WHO NEEDS ONE FOR THE OBSOLETE 12.5? WHAT'S IT TO DO WITH THE MODERN 14.5-AND-UP?"

It's simple, Virginia: The "obsolete" 12.5 assembly has at least a full-1/8ths inch resin-like insulation all around it, topped-off with a hi-temp wrapping, AND---get this!---it has an-air gap UNDERNEATH it's cylinder-side of at least another 1/8th-inch.

And---here's the best-part!---although it's "just a(red)hair"-law-w-w-ja☺ than the "correct"-part? The original holes, wires, etc. all still line up, with NO-drilling/tapping needed!

The overall-profile of the "old"-ignition causes the "trigger-sensor" to set 1/32-inch higher off-center of the flywheel mags, with just a(bleached-blonde)-hair☺ of clearance between the "ears". But that ALMOST TWENTY-YEARS OLD-mag assembly still gets your barehanded attention. A quick 1/2-turn/snap of the flywheel still sends an-"outhouse-burner" of a lightning-bolt out the end of that rubber-boot-end, when those "points", per se, open!

(I THINK it was 0.10, not sure? I'd hafta go get one of my true-blonde sis-in-laws' spare-hairs.)

But ah-gots PLENTY of "OEM-normal RED-hairs" here at home---although I don't see EITHER of the donors lookin' kindly upon me followin' them around with tweezers, pleading: "But, please, PLEASE-girls---I only need ONE from each of you-un's...!☺

Yeah, I know!

If they'd quit runnin' you off every time you sneeze? Hell, we'd a-been there this time last-month!☺☺☺

Glad y' made it back, though. As much as I hate to admit---I kinda missed ya'.

So welcome back for another 15-minutes or so...!

Donk, I always found it interesting how many all new models are made up of old parts and how many parts will interchange with different brands.

Kinda like the trick we learned way back when about getting Cadillac parts cheaper at the Chevy dealer and later John Deere lawn mower engine parts cheaper from lesser make dealers.

Of course now all GM line parts use the Cadillac price list.

Yep, remember the old Lawn-Boys. Fairly quiet for their time, as I think the exhaust came out under the deck? The fun mixing the oil and gas, and the resulting blue haze. The little slider lever on the side for Normal and Heavy - which just seemed to kick the engine speed up a bit. Seemed to run forever, but a booger to get fixed if anything did go wrong. Figuring the ever-increasing emission regulations did them in, as well as most of the 2-stroke engines.

Also remember an old mower, I think it was a Monkey Ward. Had a crank on the top, where one would wind a spring mechanism up, then flip something to release the stored spring energy towards starting the motor. Seemed to be a lot more effort than it was worth.

Chuckling at Donk's 'outhouse burner' observation. One of life's earlier learning experiences happened when I somehow got my finger between the bare spark plug lead and the grounding lever one used to stop the engine. I would swear some holy smoke was coming out my ears. Can still relive that pop-pop-pop heard in my ears as I provided the ground path for the spark. That and other early misadventures with electricity led to a friend making the observation of 'fxpwt electric - if your lights don't burn, your house will'. :-)~

All of this lawnmower talk reminds me of a long time ago, when paying $10 for a used lawn mower was almost a deal breaker for me.

I had the misfortune of hitting something with my $10 mower and bent the crankshaft, causing it to seize immediately. Next day I was telling this retired blacksmith, mechanic and jack of all trades who used to hang out where I worked pretty much every day for a half hour or so about my misfortune.

He told me to get a fix on the direction it was bent in and to take the blade off, put a nut on the shaft and try to beat it back straight with a hammer until it would once again crank. When I could get it free enough to start, rev it up good and then wack the shaft again once or twice while it was spinning and it would run ok without vibrating. He said with it revved up I would hit the high spot when I struck it.

It worked and I used it for quite some time afterwards. It may not have been perfect but it ran ok.

"I think it is still sitting in the son's garage, after he quit using it."

The carb may be a little gunked up but put in a new plug and I guarantee it the oil was always mixed right it will start in a few pulls.

Yes that under deck exhaust made a lot of small engine mechanics money . I cleaned mine about every third mowing and always used LawnBoy oil. My uncle still has one that says mix motor oil in the gas. It is white instead of green.

I remember guys using chain saws and would pour a little oil in and then fill them with gas. I don't know how that worked out long term.

You've got to be kidding me! I've gotten the "wheels" pulled right-out from under me/us???

And with that having been said---and having 'rounded-off' the total hits counter,(Looks pretty-good at that spot, don't it, RICK?☺) I think I'll close my/our "little"-back alley bar/garage/thread, and take a summer vacation myself.

Thanx for the memories---maybe more again later, because between me and FXPWT---hell, we can't do without it...!☺

Regret, I used to put a quart of oil in a 5 gal can and fill it with gas then ride that 55cc bike all summer. The manual said to clean the exhaust port and baffle but I never did. Never had any trouble with it.

On the other hand I had a 4stroke Onan Genset that carboned up the heads regularly.

fxpwt, Found this interesting. A gov site to hep us find fuel efficient cars.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2011_Ford_Ranger.shtml

I'm not sure I could find a good tow rig in their selection of efficient diesels.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/33758.shtml

Joe, What do the big rigs get now days? The last I was around them was when Penske was monitoring some Detroits at 7MPG.

As ask a Ford guy why they quit making the ranger and he said because you can get good mileage with a full size now.

Donk - don't go! This thread, while not being overly sensationalistic and newsworthy, is one of the things that keeps me coming back to the site to share / exchange / commiserate plights with machinery that continues to try to be smarter than me. :-)

OJ - hehehe, looking for a 2011 Ranger? Man, I miss those trucks. Had an '83, first year they were out I believe. Had the biggest engine available - the venerable 2.8L V6, which was the same block as I had in the '74 Mercury Capri, which was an upsize from the German 2.6L V6, all having the same quirk of the thermostat being in some kind of sandwich arrangement at the lower radiator hose outlet, inlet, er, fitting. Sipped the fuel - recall getting 27 mpg highway, but geez Louise, if one wanted to pass, didn't need a stopwatch - a calendar would work just fine to measure the git'around time. Loved the size - easy to maneuver, would haul whatever I needed.

Rick - yes, things have come a long way. Changing the heater core out on the '89 F150 takes longer to round up the tools than it does to actually change out. Dreading ever having to fool with the one on the Impala - may have to rent a surgeon, at least the rates are likely to be less than at the dealership. :-)

"...Donk - don't go! This thread, while not being overly sensationalistic and newsworthy, ..." Courtesy of FXPWT, there! Man, this-guy MUST-have graduated from "Haw-w-w-vard"? Or at least was a janitor there, or somethin'???☺

Actually, I think we should take that as a compliment, seeing as 99% of the "...sensationalistic and newsworthy..."-threads seem to go to hell---literally!---within minutes of their initial-posting? ☺!

I was glad to 'see'-Rick®-back again for another 15-minutes.☺

OK, OK---I'll unpack the car, and stay-around already, geez!

Still short a 'Wheel'---but then again, he may-return as a rear-end(differential!), y' know...???☺

Good Mornin Donknome-2,

You better hang around or we'll come lookin for you! ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

Beein a (differential!) can get one in a certain amount of trouble you know. ☻ ☻

Well, I'll be horn-swaggled!!!

He DID come-back as a differential! Bet he's a 'posi-trac', too!

I mean, ain't that an "Alpha-to-Omega"-thangy hangin' out there? As in, "Beginning-to-END"?

Ah ain't even got a key for that thing. Looks like a Frenchy-like toilet seat, or somethin'?

Later! I gotta go cut some silage---I mean, grass/weeds/dandelion-combo!---in my predominately-solid-at-the-moment yard.

Man, it suddenly feels a bit-more warm an' comfy now, at least, in MY-"bar"...!☺

Always good seeing you in print Donknome-2.

Keep on keeping on you "Old Reprobate". ;-)

The mention of heater cores reminds me of the Comet I had once. Was dreading changing the window fogger and looked under the glove box. A couple of snap clamps and off came the cover. Trimmed the hose and reinstalled, problem fixed. Don't remember about the Comet but Maveric was advertised as the simple machine I think.

fxpwt, I've still not gave up the idea of spending some money on the old Dodge and keeping her around for a while. She'll carry the lawnmower in the bed and that's something the newer full size trucks won't do. But then again at a little over 100,000 miles in 30 years, one more truck should out last me. :)

Wheels, glad your back. Was afraid you turned into "Have Wheels Can't Type". :)

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, May 17, 2014, at 7:20 PM

Thank you,

"Wheels can't type" has been an ongoing problem since I took typing in high school. We used to have typing tests and we got I believe, if I remember correctly, ten keystrokes penalty for every error. I was the only one in class who could end up with a negative number of words per minute typed.

In a private conference with the teacher she told me that she was going to pass me because I really tried... not because I excelled in typing.

Over the term of that class, I had many conferences with that teacher. She was dedicated and she kept telling me, you have to see the word and type it and you are trying to think it out. It won't work... and she was correct. Best thing ever happened to typing was the backspace on a computer keyboard.

Wheels, You probably had to many young boy things on your mind like can't wait to get home and sharpen that weed hook or follow that favorite mule down the row to learn typing. :)

Dang, What did they expect, typewriters had just been invented and how come your school got them first?

I once had dreams about this---and not from the nightmare-P.O.V.!---and then I find someone has/had profited from MY-"idea"!☺

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDm54lnfoh4

****************************************

See there, RICK? They really ARE good for more than just looking at!

As my long-ago shop teacher once said, and I quote: "Any woman who truly-understands mechanics will ALWAYS appreciate a man who keeps his tools clean and in working-order!" Unquote.

Indeed, life IS good, sometimes...!!!☺

Following up to my 10 May post about mowers - have made of couple of runs with the newbie.

Son, that Briggs loves the fuel as compared to the Tecumseh. Not sure what the difference is - after all, it's the same grass. Don't know how to compare between the 5.25 horsepower Tecumseh and the 7.25 lbft Briggs ratings without knowing the engine speed.

Granted, the Briggs will motor on through patches that used to have the Tecumseh hacking and wheezing, calling for a push-backup=push again sequence, repeat. But dang, if one is going to use a presumably bigger motor, then the fuel tank size should follow.

Could make almost two passes on one tank with the Tecumseh. Doggone if one isn't making hay (but seriously, I don't let the yard get quite that bad) with the Briggs, one will be refueling before the end of one pass.

Hmmmm, dunno if I can stand much more of this progress... :-)~

fxpwt, I'm not sure the reasons and all about the new way of rating power on small gas engines.

I remember reading the reason vacuum cleaners were rated by amp draw instead of HP. Something to do with accuracy of performance for comparison maybe.

Air compressors that were known by certain HP are now rated as running HP and not start-up HP. So a 3HP is a good size for a conventional portable with a 20 gal tank.

I figured out the 18HP Briggs is the same as the 20HP, just different valve and ignition timing with a change in fuel volume.

Everything keeps changing. I bought new tires for wife's car and found the rating criteria is now all changed as well as the designations indicating oil specifications. Just 10 years ago I would never thought I would be buying 0-20W oil, much less putting it in a car. :)

Move-over, Croc Dundee---'cause HERE'S a REAL-knawf f' ye...!☺

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kRHgoQz0_c&feature=youtu.be

Eh, Rick - sure haven't run any E85 through it - as the mower even has a No E85 symbol on the gas cap. The Impy is FlexFuel ready for E85, and I refuse to put E85 in it, purely for the way-unfavorable economics.

Don't know what the pump is putting out - straight gas, E10, or the newer E15 just allowed. Mower says it's good for E10, but doesn't say anything about E15. After a 14-year run with the Tecumseh, would about come unglued if higher ethanol content results in premature failure...

I've said it before - life is just getting too complicated.

Recall the retirement of the Craftsman mower with the Tecumseh engine, replacing with a Craftsman mower with a Briggs engine, and my uncertainty with Briggs...

D'Oh - had to break out the wrenches on the 4th mowing - Briggs was running slow, sounding like it was being choked too much. Flippin' perfect! Taking apart a new engine.

Hmmm, but that choking thing just couldn't be - ain't got no choke or primer bulb. Au contraire, Pierre - it's got an automatic choke cleverly disguised under the name ReadyStart.

Some kind of bimetallic clock spring, much like on the old automatic chokes on cars, which works off of the muffler heat. As the engine heats up, this spring expands, which connects through a lever to a Rube Goldberg degree of complex widgets over to the choke butterfly on the other side of the motor.

Apparently, this spring has broken, leaving the choke on all the time. The spring lever is as limp as a politician's handshake, with no spring tension whatsoever. Not being one to whine like an old Ford power steering pump for too long - just rigged things so the choke remains pulled off all the time.

Fired right up, ran like the first time motoring strong through the yard, just gonna have to see how hard it is to start the next time the engine is truly cooled down.

Geez, if this is what 14 years of technological advances is worth - figure I'm due some money back. On the bright side, did find a YouTube video while looking for an engine exploded diagram which pretty much showed what was going on and what failed - apparently a fairly common problem with this series of Briggs motors. Great!

fxpwt, Perhaps you should have skipped that fourth mowing and went right into the fifth.:)

Neighbors made a long trip and tried the E85 on the way. Said the new rig ran ok but used a whole lot less regular fuel on the way back and figured it was about a break even except for having to fill up more often. That was when E85 was first offered and at a really low price.

Rick, Uncle Andrew had a goat for that purpose. He stayed within the barnyard. When Unc got a new truck he parked in the barn to keep it out of the weather. Goat didn't like the truck and two days later BQ goat was on the menu.

OJ - rule-of-thumb I've heard is that E85 corn gas needs to be 3/4 the price of real gas to break even on the fuel cost per mile. The challenge increases since the fuel tax per gallon is the same, at least in Missouri.

I'm a fan of consistency. Figure that whatever fuel one chooses to run needs to remain the same for best results - none of this regular fuel here, E85 there, E10 in between.

Heheheh, your talk about goat reminds me of my time at a Greek pizza palace. It was Christmas-time, and the staff was hustling trying to wrap things up for an early close to have the employee Christmas / Ouzo drinking / plate breaking / what happened last night party. Made up a pizza and was going to slide it in the top oven, but it was full. Just happened to look at the bottom oven's thermometer, which showed it to be on. Odd, as we typically didn't use it on night shift, but we're in a hurry, so what the heck. Flipped down the door, reared back to slide the pizza paddle in, and saw two eyes and a big smile looking back at me. Heard someone shriek, then realized it was me. Yep, baked baby goat in its almost entirety on the menu for the Christmas dinner.

One of the many life events which made me what I am today. :-)~

"I'm a fan of consistency."

Back in the day a fellow that was known as a something for nothing type brought his car in for recommended service which included cleaning fuel injectors. He returned to complain [as he did with anything done] and we figured he was there to get something for nothing.

Complaint was car wouldn't start cold unless crank and re-crank three times.

Come to find out carbon had built up around the valves and that carbon dried out over night was soaking up all the newly directed fine sprayed fuel from the clean injectors that were in a habit of squirting before. Thus the prevent flood mode feature of that smarter than driver computer waned the fuel before it could start. Re-cranking would reset the seven second timer and allow start about the third try.

Find out he always bought the same highest quality badged fuel at the same station.

Suggested he alternate to random brands and problem went away.

At the time I was convinced that different additives in various brands of fuel took turns cleaning up after each other if brands were used at random.

Still never liked that guy.:)

RICK-: My-first thought upon seeing this---'thing'---was: "How does one get-INTO-it, as in, inside of it's cockpit?" Then I caught a glimpse of a door-'handle', and figgered pulling it opened either a door, or---something???☺

Judging by it's claimed-horsepower ratings, I'd liken it to someone strappin' a set of rollers on one of those now-illegal/obsolete "Texas-Twister"-fireworks, and then painting the word "Car" on it!☺

(Yeah, you remember the old-fashioned "Twisters". About as big overall as a good-$10.00 Cuban cigar? Had a cheap-ink-printed wrapper with a fuse stickin' out? Throw a stream of fire, smoke, explosions for at least a half-block, AFTER it had set fire to your pants-cuffs, that is?)

Ahh, yeah---the good-ol' days, when a fella(or gal)could break a leg while rollerskating/rollerboarding---and BRAG about it with pride, without getting Social Services involved...!☺

(P.S.---If they'd quit kickin' you out every third-phase of the moon---I/we could've been to 3,000, and "retired", by now......!☻)

Donk, Mabye you don't get in it but put it on? :)

Challenge, does the post number reduce when someone's posts are removed? I could be wrong, but I think the number stays the same.

OLD JOHN: Hey, kinda like that movie, "The Rocketeer", eh? I always enjoyed his landings, after which each time he literally had to put the embers-out on his hind-side, especially after "The Cornfield Incident"!

(Well, of COURSE it was fiction, although the idea of a jet-pack is far from such. Thank God for the chewing-gum, though!☺)

If y'ever seed the movie afore, y'ud know whut part the chewing-gum played in the matter---and it's not unlike somethin' one of us, esp. FXPWT!!!---might attempt, with me an' RICK takin' notes on how many times to chew it first...!☺

Yeah, DOC Z, it knocks a heckuva-hole in some. I reckon I/we have lost close to a hundred from Rick, here, alone?

And, yes, RICK does tend to speak his mind, but I'll attest to the fact that there were NONE-posted "On The Outside Parameters" by him, on THIS-thread, at least to my-knowledge.

For the most-part, we guys---and, the occasional-gal---come on here for fun, entertainment, and the ever-present attempt of "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance? Then blind an' baffle 'em with your bull!"☺

Occasionally, I'll "go off on a tangent" about something---which certainly wouldn't have qualified me for the position of the late-Fred Rogers sidekick, who liked having neighbors,lol?

But I believe me an' Robert "Bob" Keeshan may have came closer, with "Mr. Moose And The Ping-Pong Balls"...!☺

".....After I got the screw driver wedged in and I turned the key right quick , the screw diver shot about 100 feet in the air in a nano-second and landed on the wind shield when it came back down...yup , a cracked wind shield .

I guess a person lives and learns...

-- Posted by Rick- on Sun, Jun 8, 2014, at 12:28 PM....."

Yeah. Heaven forbid wasting the 15-seconds it might have taken to loosen the alternator. Of course, IF you had done that, and broken/stripped the bolt---it'd probably taken yet ANOTHER ten-whole-minutes to fix it, too!☺

But, hey---we were once young, and proud of it!

Reminds me of a Mark Twain line, where he states he and his father were always in disagreement, so he basically left home to get away.

A few-years later, he'd 'mellowed' a bit, and decided to visit home again, whereupon he stated that he was "...shocked to see how much his father had matured over the years, to the point where they were much-more in agreeance, now!..."

Not an exact quote, no---but you get the general-idea of the matter, y' know.......?☺

Heheheh, Donk - I liked The Rocketeer, so much that I bought the LaserDisc - that short-lived video medium stuck in between VHS tapes and DVDs. Besides the story of technical wizardry for the day, and the neat-o Guido compact planes - there was Jennifer Connely, whew, son! I suppose another name for the movie could be MacGyver's Dad - the Early Years... :-)

Suppose we've all had our moments where we hoped nobody was watching. Have already shared a couple on this thread previously, but like that's gonna stop me from sharing another. :-)~

In my days prior to knowing better - had a Jeep CJ-5, not the one I have now, but another. Simple machines, liken them to being the Model T of the 70s. At any rate, the 3-speed transmission was making a noise, so I pulled the floor shifter off the top of the tranny to have a look.

Hmmm, poked here, dabbled there, didn't really see anything wrong, like I would know what something wrong would look like unless there were gnarled and gnashed gears. So I put everything all back together, and after a long day of tinkering on this-n-that, was ready for a ride around town topless, tranny noise and all.

I fired up the big 304 with the sidepipes, backed out of the drive making lots of vroom vroom noise, dropped 'er in 1st for a big takeoff, dumped the clutch and away I went - backwards. It seems that instead of 3 forwards and a reverse that the factory thought was good enough, I now had the new and improved 4 reverses.

Had to back all the way down the street to the intersection in order to swing back around to back all the way up the street into the driveway, where the neighbors and parents were standing outside, having found their variety-hour comedy entertainment for the evening.

fxpwt, If it can be done backwards, I'm your man.

I once cut a piece of quality wall paneling to fit around a door opening. It only fit wrong side out. Went to the store and got another 4X8 sheet and did it again. Ended up splicing it to fit.

One time the deer kept crossing the road and going into Mom's garden all the time so I moved that DEER CROSSING sign up the road. Got that backwards too, put it on the wrong side of the road and the deer kept crossing in the same place.

I hired a handyman who did everything backwards, including the hot and cold faucets deadbolts and a sliding glass door. Then he expected to get paid to make it right.

MAELSTROM: Hot/Cold reversed. Yeah, that was Dad. He 'fixed' it by switching-knobs on top. Well, of course it worked, and actually taught us a lesson in "think before you wash", and, which was worse---the COLD shave, or the HOT toothpaste rinse?

Deadbolts wrong. Hmm. Guess it'd pass-muster in a jail-cell, though? I mean, nobody'd want IN---only OUT?

Now, as for the sliding-glass door? All I can picture is the (in)famous sliding closet door of the Douglas's, of "Green Acres"-fame.(I liked the TRACTOR, y' know?)

Well, that, and Lisa driving the car for the first-time, and asking Oliver what gear 'PRNDL'-was!☺ Don't recall Crysler of that-year with a two-speed---unless it was spelled 'PRNDL-L' in the actual-written script???(OLD JOHN!!! You're turn UP!!!)

Anyways, Welcome, Maelstrom! You're a new-name, on "HERE", at least! Hopefully, you enjoyed your visit, and come back anytime you like!

Our 'bar' is always open, tho' we're usually sleep-drunk...!☺

Donk, Rick mentioned how not to get a belt onto a pulley. They do make a tool for that, a little guide that you put around the belt and then turn the engine with a breaker bar or the fan on the older rigs.

Not sure if it works as well as a thumb under the belt, might ask Wheels about that. :)

Speaking of backwards, a true story to be told.

Knew of a case in which a car went to several shops seeking remedy to no air conditioning. The first and obvious was need for a new compressor. The owner gave up on the first shop and took to several others for relief. After everything to do with A/C had been replaced to no avail, it was learned the compressor would fit fine backwards.

And no, That wasn't me but I have finished a brake job and found a new brake shoe left over then realized I had the three new shoes on backward.

"Not sure if it works as well as a thumb under the belt, might ask Wheels about that. :)"

Old John,

Actually, thumb under the belt is the way to remove the belt.

Wheels, :) Reckon most of us kind of self-induce a certain kind of mind control to purge from memory a lot of stuff like sticking a screwdriver through the thumb when we just cautioned ourselves not to do it.

Old John,

I cut over 4 acres of grass (& weeds)today that was getting out of control. And right in the middle of this fiasco, I had to take a shower and keep my eye checkup appointment. I should have had a brain check at the same time. 3 1/2 acres of this grass/weeds is not even mine. Please bring on the hot dry dusty weather of July and

August.

This comes under the " we just cautioned ourselves not to do it." heading. Sure hope that Preacher says a couple of heavy duty prayers for me.

Nothing like the hot dry days of August to make the grass cutting more like baling hay. Was a time my lawnmower did above and beyond, then one time the neighbor asked what was wrong with my new mower. He said it didn't cut over far enough. After that every time he mowed he added some of my lawn to his chore and I did the same. That was long ago and where I live now is the same. Neighbor has too much company and parks in my yard or the other way around, no problem.

Tires - been doing a little trial-and-error, hoping to avoid the error.

The much 'beloved' Impy runs an 18" rim, meaning that the only tires found are the high-performance type, with a speed rating of 150mph. Heheheheh - like the only time that vehicle would possibly see 150mph is free-falling out of a plane.

The challenge with high-performance tires is that the rubber tends to be softer, allowing for traction and grippy-sticky at the expense of longevity - unlike the farm truck tires that last for the better part of the life of the vehicle at the expense of slippy-sliding on blacktop in minor rains.

At any rate, getting back to my observations - ran the last set of tires at the recommended pressure off the sticker on the door - 32 psi. Maximum pressure on the tire sidewall is 35psi. Tires lasted about 50,000 miles before the treadwear indicators touched down. Noticed that the center of the tire was worn, but seemed like plenty of meat left on the edges.

Been running this set at 28-29 psi. Exact same make and model of tire as before - Goodyear Eagle GT's if interested. 55,000 miles so far, and figure I have at least 10-15,000 miles left before the dreaded indicators meet the road.

Which got me to thinkin' - most of my miles are the extended highway variety. When measuring tire pressure, one is supposed to check 'em cold. With mostly highway driving, the tires will be heated up for extended periods, resulting in running at heated pressures for longer times.

Wondering whether the vehicle manufacturer's specifications are a vanilla 'typical driving' recommendation? Meaning that if one drives mostly highway miles - perhaps knocking a few psi off would help tire life, and conversely, if one drives solely short trips, a few psi more would do the same to avoid rounding the edges.

One challenge with lower pressures is that during butt-cold times such as this past winter, the tire pressure monitor drops to 23-24 psi on startup - low enough to bring on the tire monitor warning lamp on the dash. After about 10-15 miles down the highway, the lamp goes off.

Another challenge is that the vehicle with the performance-tuned, log-wagon smooth suspension handles like a big ol' Buick Electra 225, just wallering on down the road at the reduced pressures.

But, when these high-performance rubbers run about a deuce-and-a-quarter each after mounting, balancing, disposal fees, and non-value-added government fees of 7.975% - I figure I can stand a little wallering...

Ahhh, the things that make me go, 'hmmmmmm'. :-)

fxpwt, The door sticker on her car says 32 and the new tires max psi is 40. It rides better at 40 than with the old tires at 35. Reckon I'll watch and see what happens since fuel economy went up at least 1 mpg [26 mpg] with the new tires at 40 psi and 6 miles per day.

Do you recall? Heheheh - been watching with interest on the numerous GM recalls being issued of late. If Quality is Job One, then that may explain some of the unemployment statistics :-)~ - er, wait, or was that Ford bragging about that quality thing? Just don't remember such a rash of recalls, ever, even during the problematic American-made years in the early 70s.

Taking the mower in for what is hopefully a warranty repair. It's been said that one has to be smarter than the machine - well, I've failed. Instead of running poorly before my attempts, the Briggs now just doesn't run at all. At any rate, don't care whether it's warranty or not, just want it fixed - with the lingering burn of having problems so early, when its predecessor ran pretty much one-pull-start flawlessly for 14+ years. As luck would have it - the rains have made the lack of a good mower even more visible to all.

Roads seemed awful busy yesterday, with tractor-trailers crowding the Interstate. Had an Econ teacher from way back when a dollar was worth something talk about some of the unconventional measures of economic health - such as the proportion of vacant billboards, size of the help wanted ads in the paper, and the number of trucks on the road towards being indicators of local health. Not sure whether yesterday represented an end-of-the-month rush, that things are truly looking better, or maybe I just woke up and noticed - but the thinking is that when stuff is moving, so is the economy. Eh, if nothing else, the additional traffic provided an extra degree of difficulty driving through the frog-stranglin' downpour.

Vag**nia --

Posted by ✴Rick on Wed, Jun 25, 2014, at 9:29 AM

Ain't that the newest-model offered by Fiat? Must be a compact, since he got-trapped inside of it?

(Don't mind ME---I'm just moppin' the floors around here, before somebody slips an' hurts themselves, especially in that gutter out-front...!!!)☺

"Instead of running poorly before my attempts, the Briggs now just doesn't run at all."

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sat, Jun 28, 2014, at 9:08 AM

Let me(us!)know, when you find the problem. I'm betting ignition-issues, or the latest in plastic, auto-choke "carburetors"---or, both?

Man, I miss those old-models of the later-'60's thru basically the late-'80's/very-early '90's---Briggs, in particular. Although I do admit a "weakness" for the stubborn-ness of the original-Tecumseh, Clinton, and even the Lauson-models. Ironically, many of their indivdual-parts were interchangeable in a pinch, even though they were three-different manufacturers.

(Not-unlike some/most-of the spark-systems, who's points/condensers would inter-swap 'in a pinch' with motorcycles, tractors, combines, autos/trucks---an-early '60's-model of an-IHC harvester comes to mind, with it's "leaning tower-of-power" slant-six MOPAR-engine---not to mention many-models of HYSTER-fork trucks.)☺

You know---back when 'small'-engine PARTS-were still easily gotten, and in-general would cost LESS, than a NEW-motor.

And even then, you could save several-hundred by using your serviceable used parts, on a new-short block...

Donk - yeah, I think it is something with the auto-choke. Thought I'd bypassed it successfully, but apparently not. Guess that's what I get for thinkin', eh?

Sears says it will likely be 2-3 weeks for repair, as they have to ship it off and the truck picks up and delivers on Fridays. Perfect! *sarcasm*

Eh, well, it will be one less thing to move as I trade places.

A mower I purchased in the Spring of last year, towards the end of the season started "hunting" I guess you would call it when it was idling.... with the governor opening and closing relentlessly. Speed it up and it would stop, then it quit doing it for a while. This spring it started doing it again. I called the dealer and he said, I think you have some bad gas. I started using another brand and upped it to mid grade and it stopped doing it and has been running very well ever since. This is on a Kohler engine.

-- Posted by ✴Rick on Wed, Jun 25, 2014, at 9:29 AM

It is entirely possible that this young man was looking for his brain that he left somewhere some 20 years ago.

Wheels, There was a time one could turn a screw and fix that. Now they are screwless.:)

Donk, Last time I checked, a gasket set cost almost the difference between a short block and a ready to install unit.

All is not lost. Borrowed a mower from a family member. Yes, a Sears mower with the Tecumseh engine bought around the same time as my much beloved prior mower. Even the same dark green color deck. Still running strong, although it doesn't have near the hours on it as mine did.

One of the reasons for 'trading places' is that the neighborhood has become much younger than I over the past several years. While it is reassuring to see parents with little young'uns walking, just cannot adjust to the differences in my perspective of generally accepted household upkeep and theirs.

Starting to appreciate the older neighborhood I moved into in Bowling Green KY, where one neighbor came over and actually apologized for mowing my yard, but gave the excuse of trying out his new riding mower and my yard looked like a better test than his. :-)

It was a neighborhood where residents would make it a point to gather along the street somewhere to just shoot the breeze, when the weather permitted.

It was a neighborhood that was only about a mile from the Corvette museum. Yes, I know a bit about sinkholes.

I suppose the jist of this post is that I cannot believe the shift in perspective on home ownership - the biggest purchase most will make in their lifetimes - and they're OK with crap growing on their vinyl siding, untrimmed edges, untrimmed hedges, and weeds growing in the cracks of the driveway. And this is before one gets to the even lower standards of those known to be renting in the 'hood. For a neighborhood that was brand new 15 years ago, sure went downhill quick.

*Sigh* It's been said that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Eh, while I don't consider my standards all that high - figuring I'm just going to leave 'em to waller in their own perceptions of OK, rather than adapt, improvise, and overcome.

Apologies for being such a downer post - just have to wonder whether the onset of casualness and easy-going natures of the generally younger set hasn't led to a lowering of the bar in expectations for what qualifies as excelling and what now qualifies as just being lazy...?

fxpwt, I was going to tell you that a buddy said he had ordered a 1025R John Deere and how my curiosity led me to calling up picture and specs on the web leading to three weeks now of John Deere advertising laced around every web site I visit. Well I guess I just did.

When I closed down and went on the unpaid retired, we moved. [Close to her work and closer to the hospitals and such] :) The new to us place is one like you mention.. one where folks are always improving and there's a lawnmower and string trimmer running somewhere all the time in summer. Not that many young folks though.

And yeah I sit on my neighbor's porch and they sit in my yard.

I have the highest respect for folks that keep that perfectly mowed yard and eye catching flower bed. Heck I had a big city brother in law that kept his black top driveway looking like piece of slate.

That said, you may not like me as a neighbor for I am getting a bit lazy when it comes to all that. The riding mower trims fairly close and that trimmer hasn't been started in two years.

Since ignorance is one of my notable traits tempered by a good dose of stingy, I planted a bunch or flowers here when we first arrived. Dumbas me thought 'annuals' meant they would come back annually. Boy was I disappointed to learn that ain't the case! :)

Heheheh OJ - done gave up on flowers and such here.

Reason being - back when I first became a homeowner, had quite a bit more ambition and enthusiasm than present-day. Tried to keep what the previous family had going with the flowerbeds and hanging baskets and such. Wasn't too difficult, I'd just take a picture of the house to the local garden shop, ask the staff to help me out, and return home with a pickup bed full of stuff and a sketch on where to put it.

Doggone, turned out to be labor-intensive - IIRC, names such as geraniums and marigolds come to mind - always having to pick and break and snip pieces-parts aged beyond their prime, and the watering - ugh! But it looked good. Yep, got confused here also with 'annuals' - mistakenly assuming they would come back once a year = which I guess looking back, relates to the trips to the garden shop.

My enthusiasm took a significant wane for the worse when I was cleaning things up for the spring planting, and as a group of neighbor ladies walked by, they commented that they couldn't wait to see what I put out this year, as it always turned out 'lovely' - er, or some chick-like compliment along those lines. Hmmmm, after that, have stuck with the basic trees, shrubs, and grass.

Used to be a die-hard fescue fan - the fall feed-n-seed, the spring feed-n-weed, the frequent mowings all necessary for that nice green year-round - always ending up as being the first one in the 'hood to mow in the Spring and the last one in the Fall, making for only about a two-month no-mow break.

Tried 1000 plugs of that mail-order zoysia when I first moved here as the reasons for the popularity of a common pasture grass for a yard in this area eluded me, but the zoysia didn't seem to take, so kept on truckin' with the fescue. About 3-4 years ago, started noticing that the zoysia seemed to be popping back up here and there.

Now, the zoysia covers about 3/4 of the yard, its borders expanding out about 5 feet per year. Getting to really like it - the slower growth, self-repairing features and the general fullness once established. Even like that it turns tan in the winter - brightens the area around the house up during the increased darkness periods of winter, so the surveillance system captures better images.

The next-door neighbors seem to like it as it creeps into their yards - much nicer and more continuous than the crabgrass and broadleaf-riddled growth they've invested in.

"Sears says it will likely be 2-3 weeks for repair,..."

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sat, Jun 28, 2014, at 12:13 PM

Good Lord!!! Where is their Warranty Service done at? Bangkok, Thailand???☺

Wonder if they still issue "loaners"? For a moderate-fee, of course?

"... Donk, Last time I checked, a gasket set cost almost the difference between a short block and a ready to install unit.

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Jun 28, 2014, at 12:54 PM..."

That's EXACTLY what I was gettin' at!

I guess with all the PLASTIC-"Fuel-Management-Systems", PLASTIC-cooling fins & shrouds on a bald-headed, rough-finish flywheel---that looks every bit like somethin' I might've machined-out!☺---they maybe might WOULD be CHEAPER to replace as a unit, in-deed...!

.................

Oh, and HELLO, WHEELS, you "More Elder & Seasoned Than I"-reprobate, you....!♂☺

Oh, and HELLO, WHEELS, you "More Elder & Seasoned Than I"-reprobate, you....!♂☺

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Sun, Jun 29, 2014, at 10:56 AM

Hello right back you young reprobate! ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

Just watched one of those reality car shows. Curious that they always incorporate a deadline in building or rebuilding a vehicle, sometimes ending up with me thinking I liked it better before they started on it.

If the reality is real, would you want to pay big bucks for a car that was put together in such a hurry?

Donknome-2,

Since I know you are getting old and feeble like me, I have a little weed whacker here that might be of interest for you to help you with your lawn work.

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/excamuoich2

Wheels, They could call that an F5.

Old John,

Do you think an F5 can compete?

I think it would be good advice to watch from a distance.

WHEELS: Nahh, I'd get too-"carried away" with my work, and start enjoying it too-much!☺ I mean, those homes back there look like they could use a little-"thinning-out", y' know???☻

Yeah, looks good on wood & briary-crap---but I wonder how it'd stand-up to a hill-full of Bollinger County's finest rocks, embedded in the natural-"camo"???

(I can comment like that, 'cause I live in the Bollinger/Cape County "DMZ", myself)

In-deed, OJ: From a distance, probably far-'nuff away so's we couldn't SEE anything to begin with!

"a little weed whacker"

Wonder if you can rent one of those beast at Rental Land? A relative got lazy and let his acres go wild; and I've always wanted to sit in a big yellow Tonka toy.

Geez, Louise!!

Heheheh, hope OSHA doesn't see that, else it'll have to have guards and light beam barrier interlocks, rendering it essentially useless.

I could not even imagine the amount of controls necessary on that thing. My Dixon ZTR mower has more than a few. You have to be seated, have the blade disengaged, both steering levers flipped out to the side in the neutral position and the brake on before the engine will crank. Time I remember all that and get everything positioned correctly I have already forgot what the mission was.

How is a person gonna explain the reason they got caught up in this thing ?

-- Posted by ✴Rick on Mon, Jul 21, 2014, at 9:06 AM

Rick,

I don't think the person getting caught up in it will be required to explain.... he will be hamburger if you can sort him out from the wood chips.

I've been told I need to trade my Jeep 'convertible' in for the Corvette variety - could meet a whole better class of women.

Figure a person who buys a Corvette for that reason alone has a really small, mmm, er, mind.

Or it could be that I'm just too cheap, um, 'frugal' to pay the property taxes on the difference... besides, it would take up too much floor space in the garage.

George Jones - Corvette Song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWSJAdzVBj0

fxpwt, One of my favorite songs.

My brother decided to cruise his Jeepster to car show one time and had to call his wife to come get him. Someone that had one like it back then wanted more the he did.:)

I knew a plain ole Bollinger County boy years back that had a talent for showing up driving ordinary cars of the past forgotten. He garnered more attention than the newest and fastest.

Whens the last time you saw a Luv truck, Citation or a white 1959 Ford Fairlane?

"...I've been told I need to trade my Jeep 'convertible' in for the Corvette variety - could meet a whole better class of women."..-- Posted by fxpwt on Mon, Jul 28, 2014, at 7:48 PM ....

Wah-h-h-t??? You mean, there's a BETTER-class of women---instead of just-FEMALE???

Upon further reflection---I probably shouldn't have said that.

But, yeah---I'll let it hang here, as I'd like to see 2300, before we lose "him", again....!☺

Donknome2

How you doing you "Old Reprobate"? ;-)

Donknome2

How you doing you "Old Reprobate"? ;-)

-- Posted by Have Wheels Will Travel - ΑΩ on Wed, Jul 30, 2014, at 12:32 PM

**********

Not nearly as much seasoning on ME, as on YOU, you over-salted, over-cooked, dry an' tough-OldER-Reprobate, you!!!

Aliens come-down an' take over, you'd be safe! Too-danged tough an' sinewy t' eat---but, you might make for a good-pair of shoes for 'em!☺

As for me? Well, currently:↓↓↓

I'm ☼sunny☼ with increasing clouds this afternoon, giving way to the movement of a large, fast-moving squall-line later, with a 90% chance of thunderous-episodes, following dinner---most-likely immediately preceeding bed-time. Off and on chances of precip following, in the wee-hours of the morning.

Check, and Check-Mate, you ol' squab...☺!

Is this the car of the future ?

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/07/l...

-- Posted by Dissident. on Wed, Jul 30, 2014, at 4:49 PM

**************

Kinda hard for me to see the pic with any real-clarity with my browser. But I assume the passengers do, indeed, sit INSIDE of it?

Hope so, 'cause if they gotta hang-on to the OUTSIDE of it?

It'd automatically bring to mind that somewhat-disgusting one-liner that my Dad liked to "quote", about a monkey an' a football...!☺

An' here's 2292, Thank You!!!☺

"Johnny-Cab to the rescue!!!"☺

Check, and Check-Mate, you ol' squab...☺!

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Thu, Jul 31, 2014, at 12:42 PM

Well, I took his temperature with my comment and I see he is doing just fine. Have a nice weekend Donknome-2!

"...Well, I took his temperature with my comment and I see he is doing just fine. Have a nice weekend Donknome-2!

-- Posted by Have Wheels Will Travel - ΑΩ on Fri, Aug 1, 2014, at 10:00 PM"...

As long as it only lasts for two-days, until another MONDAY comes by to drag-me back to "Complacent-&-Uncaring" again, as is normal---I'm good-to-go for the weekend!

Almost wish for a rainy-day, so's I could sleep through it!

Looks like a neighbor caught one of those-gluglites that you suspected were hitchin' rides on the undercarriage of your motorhome.☺

http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/pets/fisherman-pulls-alligator-from-st-charle...

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Sat, Aug 2, 2014, at 10:57 AM

Holy Moly, I think I'll stick to the bath tub to do my swimming.

Glugites... funny I had forgotten the name, I was thinking of that the other day and was going to use it on someone else on a different issue.

Wheels, If you check with an expert I know you know, he will tell you new safeguards have been put in place to insure glugites aren't attracted to new septic systems. :)

Old John,

Been consulting with the guy you have in mind on wells and septic systems. Subject of glugites haven't come up in one of those conversations yet.

I think maybe I should not bring up the subject of glugites with him until I can do it in a face to face so I can watch the reaction.

Wheels, Maybe you could use the subject to get him to read and add to this thread, I think he could identify with dirty greasy stuff.

Aahh, Just passed 2,300!

Old John,

Cannot get him to turn on a computer.... I even gave him one of those XPs I had salvaged from going to the shredder. Had em talked into going on the internet and they were going to do it, but then they balked and I don't know if they ever did.

The guy that is going to do the septic system for me, is someone I have known for nearly 50 years and a lot like the guy we are speaking of.... can fix nearly anything, but he won't touch a computer either. This guy... if he lays a water line for you and is requited to put it down 30 inches because of the frost line, will put it down 36 inches. Some 30 odd years ago when I built a house, he did the water line on a Saturday afternoon and with utilities located incorrectly he managed to cut a natural gas line and the main buried electric feeder for the subdivision by going a little too deep while trying to do a good job. That made for a considerable amount of excitement, good thing I was about the 2nd or 3rd house going into that subdivision or there probably would have been a lot more excitement.

I am out of here.... good night!

Indeed we did, OJ---2303 an' counting!☺

And here I am, misspelling GLUGIGITES. Or, maybe a Glug-LITE is just a smaller-version? Or maybe it's a regional-accent sort of thang?

Unfortunately, I'll bet they go by "The Cockroach Rule"---if you see one, you can be assured there's a thousand-more you can't see hidin' down there.....!☺

Diss, you must be as bored as I am this afternoon... this keeps up we'll have to get a job for some excitement. Well, if anybody would hire us.

I thought I heard the phrase,"Free-Beer!!!"???

That's the only reason I stopped by! Must've dreamt about it?

(sigh-h-h) Oh well, maybe next time. If I just have to, I'll bring my own.....!☺

Wow, I never knew Ferrari made a Pontiac Camaro.

Whew, been a heckuva summer - busier than a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.

Had an interesting (well, to me, anyway) event perhaps worthy of consuming a little bandwidth here.

The Impy - yes, that Impy - is coming due for tags, as well as its first mandatory inspection, being 6 model years old now.

Figure I'd start to have-a-look for things that may not get passed on the first-go. The obvious fault was the crack extending almost the full width in the windshield, now going on two-years old.

Didn't really bother me, nor impede my vision - heck, it didn't even clear the hood in my line-of-sight. But, it was just above the tolerance band for windshield defects as given in the Highway Patrol inspection manual.

Started out as just a small starburst resulting from running into something other than grain falling out of a grain truck I was following. Before I could get it resin-filled, it turned cold. When the defroster hit the windshield, heard this ripping sound and watched the crack run both ways to extend pretty much across the entire windshield. Hmmmph.

At any rate, getting to the promised interesting part - was dreading having to take it in. Past experience was that one had to make an appointment, get a price for both cash and insurance-paid, arrange transportation so that I could drop it off and later pick it up - just really dreading this.

Was pleasantly surprised that the glass company asked where I worked, and offered to change the windshield right in the parking lot. Even more pleasantly surprised that the quoted installed price was about half of what I paid for an installed windshield 15 years ago.

Job went off without a hitch - went to work with a cracked windshield, drove home with a new one that looked like the original with the tint bands and everything. Even brought a chuckle having to flip the A/C on high to purge the adhesive fumes - recalling the Airplane/Airport movies - "picked a helluva day to quit sniffing glue".

People don't buy beer , they rent it ☺

-- Posted by Dissident. on Fri, Aug 15, 2014, at 11:24 AM

I know! But when I brought it back, they said they couldn't re-stock it once opened, and kept my damage-deposit, PLUS an-additional 10% "Users-Fee", on the container!

Life just ain't fair.....!!!☺

FXPWT: I thought you were gonna tell me the thang popped-out at the first stoplight, after you'd flipped-on the A/C!☺

I'm "Taking The Fifth" on the matter of mobile-windshield replacements. I've nothing but PRAISE for them,from ONE-side of the coin---and nothing but rancid-sounding COMPLAINTS, from the other. So, I'm thinking, there's probably MORE of them who are very-good-to-excellent in their installation/pricing---and about an-equal number who are the exact-opposite, as pertaining to skill/outright greed.

I've never used a mobile service, only the "in-house"-repair shops.

Kind of strange though, how the PRICE of the actual-glass could be that much less?

But then, windshields are, uhhh, "cheap", compared to those tinted-rear lift-gate shields like I have on my-"hearse", esp. with the heater on 'em--=even IF you can find one in a salvage-yard that's serviceable.

CLEAR-ones are cheaper by far, yes. But I like that tint for sunscreen. Plus, all the other windows are tinted, so...???

(p.s.---It's a Jimmy, but I call it a hearse because I bought it from a fella who once worked for a Medical Examiners Office, and he occasionally used it for transporting. However, he had to let it go, and get a larger-Suburban, as the only-way he could transport with the Jimmy was with the rear-and-front passenger seats folded down---and, he said ..."that was a bit-more chummy than he cared to be with his work!"☺ Creeps the hell outta the wife sometimes, though...!!!)

Several years ago a buddy located a barn find truck that could be restored or at least be a good parts source. Owner said he could have if took it as is....that is loaded to the hilt with flat glass. He ended up getting more for the glass from a glass shop than the truck was worth so he had a good start fixing the truck.

I was told today that most replacement glass is now from China.

Donk - if the windshield would've popped out, it would've been right in line with the way the rest of my day had been going.

They used a rather fashionable Day-Glo green masking tape around the edges to hold the glass in place while the adhesive set and to draw the WTH looks out from other motor vehicle operators and passengers. None of that boring, conservative, stealth-like manila-folder colored tape that would've better fit in with my lifestyle and caused less retinal traumas.

Received the standard instructions - don't peel the tape off for 24 hours, don't wash the car for... well, I didn't really pay attention here cuz I knew this wasn't going to happen anyway, etc.

I did buy a cheap windshield once way-back. Rather pleased with the savings as I got in - glass looked just fine. Then started to notice that everything seemed bright, like really bright, doggone sunglasses-required bright. D'Oh, an untinted windshield.

One of many life lessons learned where going cheap is not always the winner one thinks it is.

One of many life lessons learned where going cheap is not always the winner one thinks it is.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Sat, Aug 16, 2014, at 10:40 AM

Huh????

I'm going back to bed, somethin disastrous is going to happen today, I can feel it.

Fxpwt, never thought I would hear that from you! ;-) :-)

Please take that in the spirit it was intended. I was thinkin if there was ever a cheap-off contest between you and my wife, you would win hands down.... now my faith is restored in her, you get 2nd place.

Wheels - suppose I label myself 'cheap' because it's so much easier to describe than, 'seeks the lowest-cost solution that adequately addresses the problem within my expectations'. :-)~

Starting the energy-efficiency sweep here in the new abode. First up was to replace the non-programmable HVAC thermostat with a programmable one. Doggone, there's a lot of choices.

Because sometimes it's better to be lucky than good - found the previous homeowner had installed a then-uber-efficient unit back in 2006 - rated at 18 SEER with the furnace side having the PVC air intake and exhaust system - still needs to do a bit more research on the specifics here.

At any rate, found this unit required a 2-stage thermostat, which narrowed the confusion of choices.

Saw there were 7 wires to deal with, and never really noticed the color coordination - red wire goes to the R terminal, white wire goes to the W terminal, green wire goes to the G terminal, etc. Hmmmm, that works out pretty slick, unless one happens to be color blind.

Brought to mind the differences between U.S. and European multi-conductor cables - where here the conductors are multiple colors, and in Europe the conductors generally have black wires with numbers printed in the insulation - 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

An awareness of color-blindness has been raised through my career, understanding the challenges and accommodating through use of standard color sets in the machine interface displays, rather than going for the huge palettes that look pretty but are rendered indistinguishable with red-green, blue-yellow, or black-n-white vision.

But, back on track - fired things up, worked first time. Whew. Kinda neat lookin', with the cool blue backlight and more modern appearance - I feel more efficient already. :-)~

fxpwt, We went through all that energy saving updating years back in our first house.

Without breaking the bank we were able to nearly half our utility bill. The one thing I couldn't justify was a programmable stat. Most were designed to adjust temps when away or sleeping. I found it more efficient to adjust manually as we left/returned, retired/got up.

For OJ, FXPWT---or, anyone else who'd like to "chime in":

Are any of you familiar with the GM-version of Four-Wheel-Steering---or, any other brands---where you have the option of the rear-wheels steering in tandem with the front? I don't hear much advertising for it anymore---though, I THINK the GMC Denali SUV can be ordered with such, and very likely the "truck" versions, as well. But, VERY-pricy, as I'd imagine it'd cost half-again-plus over the total dealer invoice?

(They don't call them "pickup-trucks" anymore, for the same reason "basement-houses" are called "EARTH-homes", 'cause it's not "couth"(sp?)☺

Anyway, although it IS an option to leave the All-Wheel-Steering engaged, while driving on pavement/hard surface(I think?)---I'm curious as to how such would affect overall stability, especially if pulling, say, a boat, or horse trailer?

Just seems to me that it would go against any logical laws of physics, as pertains to any body-frame flex, or "lean", and especially that little-bit of "slip" you normally would need for a safe-maneuver, keeping from either-extreme of crossing the center line, or running off the right side?

Donk, I recall some of the old timers saying those 4W steer army mules could get you into trouble. If you pulled up parallel to a loading dock without plenty of room to ease out forward, you could get stuck because the back end wouldn't clear the dock.

I remember that SUV steering advertised as a plus in handling and think it turned itself off as speed increased.

Donknome-2 and Old John,

When Mazda brought out their newer body style RX7 cars in 1986 they had a version of four wheel steering but it was very limited. I had one of them. The rear wheels would steer ever so slightly to enhance cornering and it was engaged with body lean. Don't know if they continued with that or not. I bought a 1988 convertible RX7 but don't remember if it was equipped that way or not. I still have it, but it sure did get closer to the ground these past few years and because of that is getting harder to get in and out of. I rarely drive it and don't know why I keep it. Maybe because the wife wants me to get rid of it.

I am finishing up the '68 Oldsmobile project that I have been working on all summer. I decided to go old school, and use the original points ignition system instead of going electronic ignition. Setting points is a lost art. So is rebuilding a carburetor. The simplicity of my old car has kept me sane recently. I now understand why restoring vintage cars is such a popular (and expensive) hobby.

Simon, A lot of us had little fear of being on the back of a tow truck when we had a tool kit and a couple spare parts for the old cars. Even if I didn't know what was wrong, someone that did know would come along usually. :)

Simon, I forgot to mention: If you need someone to test drive the Olds for a couple of months when it's finished, let one of us know.

Donk - IIRC, some or maybe all of the recent four-wheel steering systems have the feature that the rear wheels will turn with the fronts at faster speeds for better lane-changes, handling, etc. They will turn opposite the front at slower speeds for better maneuverability and tighter turning radiuses for parking and the like.

Not sure what the logic would be as to when it switches directions - might be fun to find...? :-)

Simon - One thing I loved about the late 60s/early 70s Olds was the sound of the factory exhaust coming out of the Rocket V8 series of engines. Sounded 'bad' without being obnoxious. Same thing with the 2.8L V6 in my '86 Z24 - don't know how they did it, but it just sounded so 'cool'.

To ALL OF YOU: Thanks for the input. I was just SO-curious, as the fella I asked first actually owns a Denali with the feature, and when I pressed him on these matters, I was rewarded with a snide-remark that: "If you're waiting to see me roll it over for your enjoyment? Then you are out of luck. Go together with your redneck-friends, and buy your own, and tear it up!"

Kind of a---uhh, what do y' call it? An-"obtuse-point" being made? If it DOES roll-over that easily, then I'd be lookin' for a vee-hickle that was substantially more, uh---"solid", whether it be empty OR loaded?

(GOOD-point, too, FXPWT. I wondered about forward-vs.-backward, too? Especially in a skid?)

Anyway, the little snot-nose was suffering from a bit of inebriation, and it was at about this point that the less-reserved, more-brash of our-group---suffering the initial-effects of the same-"illness-of-imbibery"(?)☺---decided to take matter into his own hands.

Actually, to para-quote Donnie Allison, about a fight years-ago with Cale Yarborough: "It was about this time he(Cale)decided to pound his face into my out-streched fist..!"☺ Or somethin' close to that!

So, I decided it was time for me to monitor the weather at another distant point of the "playground", so's no storms could catch us off-guard, y' know?

Dunno where "snotty-boy" was from? But, later I'd heard he'd mentioned somewhere called, St. Louis, or somethin'?

Although due to all the beatin', swingin', and cussin? Everybody agreed, that they couldn't tell if he said he was FROM-there? Or, wishing he was back-HOME, there?

Brings-back that ages-old advice for travellers: "When in Rome.....!"☺

Donk - Wikipedia's input on four-wheel steering - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steering#Active_four-wheel_steering including a list of vehicles released with this feature.

Now, onward and upward for the challenge of being smarter than the machine, in this case, the programmable HVAC thermostat. This particular one of choice could use that much sought-after DWIM feature - Do What I Mean. :-)

FXPWT: I'll check that out. That's the last-place I'd have figured to find that kind of info?☺

Oh, and I know that sweet-sound of the exhaust you're looking for! But, the only thing I can offer is, maybe a larger-diameter pipe---or possibly, the thickness of said-pipe, to create a "bell"-effect, if you will?

Some-models/brands of Police Interceptor versions used this idea, along with a larger-diameter than usual headpipe/manifold combo, as well.(Early '70's Dodge Monaco P.I.-version comes to mind.)

Whatever it is/was, it must be continued to this day, because those newest Dodge Charger P.I.'s sound SWEET cracked-open! But, so did the ol' Crown-Vickys, as well.

I'll never understand WHY Ford stopped production of that venerable-old model?(Money somewhere in the mix, I'd guess?) Used the same-frame/equipment on the Taxi-versions as the Police Interceptors did, too.

A guy I knew years back that was into adult go carts before they could be so readily store bought. A twin cylinder lawn mower engine sounds all together different with one pipe shorter than the other where it hits the muffler.

We used to put on glass packs and then run cold water on them thinking it was a trick to make them sound better. Not sure if it had any affect.

I wonder if CAFE standards doomed the big rear wheel full framed cars or it was just cheaper to build the uni-bodies.

How many have owned one of these?

http://t.autos.msn.com/research/passenger/15-significant-%e2%80%98people%e2%80%9...

I had forgotten how much I liked manual transmissions. Learned how to drive on one (the illustrious '48 Dodge pickup mentioned many times in previous posts), with my first 'slush-box' coming several vehicles later at the ripe old age of 30.

Sure, the automatic is great for driving in start-stop traffic and the like, but there's just something about selecting which gear oneself rather than letting some computer brain do the thinking - towards my goal of trying to remain smarter than the machine.

Another reminder of why I like manual trannies came to mind a few days ago. Leaving work after a long, hot day - looking forward to flipping on the A/C and the Bose stereo in the Impy for a bit of unwinding on the way home. Got in, rolled the key, and --- click. D'Oh! Lights are good, solenoid sounds strong, so it had to be the doggone starter...

Fortunately a co-worker stopped and rapped on the starter whilst I rolled the key - the starter had one more case of do-right left in it, and the 3.9L V6 piped off to my relief.

Stopped by the local 'know-how' store to pick up a replacement - whew, one in stock - but it wasn't much bigger than one would find on a riding mower. Hmmmm??? Guess that offset the price tag that was much bigger than expected. :-)~

Then there was the challenge of finding the tools and stuff, having recently moved but not unpacked. It seems the logic used to sort and pack and place stuff eluded me as I went through a one-man version of hide-and-go-seek.

Changing it wasn't too bad. The crumbly stuff falling out of it and the rattling validated a correct diagnosis. Removing the shrouds, covers, and deflectors necessary in order to get to it, on the other hand, was a real pain in the shorts -- and back -- and neck. I just ain't meant to bend and twist and contort as needed anymores.

Which brings things back around to one of the benefits of a manual - rather than either being stuck dead-in-the-water, or making sure not to turn the car off until home with either way having to change it before going anywhere else - so much stress to deal with - one could just roll-start it. Being parked on a hill is nice, but flatland isn't too bad if one is sufficiently motivated to go.

Perhaps becoming a lost art, much like changing drum brakes, but it still remains as another degree of flexibility with a dead battery or other failed starting component towards ensuring that one can get where they need to be, or put off what needs to be done until the weekend.

After all, why do today what can be put off until tomorrow? Or, hard work pays off over time, but laziness always pays off now.

fxpwt, Good story I can relate to. I had two towed in last year because the starter was shielded from the hammer by a big plastic shield or no hammer or buddy was around. Glad to say those two are gone.

I learned on a column shift and Dad made me practice going from 2nd to 3rd and back without clutching. I don't drive a manual shift any more but do have one rig that takes two feet to keep it from rolling backwards when looking uphill at a stoplight.

Rick,

I do plan on going South again. The weather there suits my clothes better than it does in Missouri.

So far as catching gators... don't think so, I can't run fast enough should I miss with the snare. Besides I don't have a backhoe to pull em out of the water with.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ODD_GIGANTIC_ALLIGATOR_?SITE=MOCAP&SEC...

The automatic transmission was created so women could drive too .

-- Posted by ✴Rick on Sat, Aug 30, 2014, at 8:05 AM

***************

(I see Rick has never met my wife. She "feathers" thru all-five on her lil' Toyota like it's an automatic. But it took her better than a year after we bought it, to perfect the "art", didn't learn it overnight. First thing to success on a manual is, you gotta WANT to learn it. And, the tranny on that lil' thing connects up like a Swiss-watch, so that helped a lot...!)☺

I learned on a column shift and Dad made me practice going from 2nd to 3rd and back without clutching.

-- Posted by Old John on Fri, Aug 29, 2014, at 10:53 PM

********

I learned on a "three-on-the-tree", too. And, I had the same-teacher. Well, I mean, not YOURS, but, MINE, duh-h-h!☺ And occasionally still to this day, I hear a voice back-there, telling me: "Get your damned-foot off that clutch! Quit ridin' it! Only need it for reverse, and between 1st an' 2nd anyway, from a dead-stop!"

So after that was accomplished, his teaching me on the 5-speed electric split-axle shifting wasn't a problem at all...!☺

Learned on a 3 on the floor. Ford Pickups still had em on the floor in 49.

Donk, Not sure why he was so concerned about being able to match up the gears without the aid of the clutch. It did come in handy when pulling two big loaded grain wagons to town with the Farmall M, being able to start off in fourth and get it into road gear [fifth] as it would be a little hard on the clutch to take off in road gear.

I remember how neat it was in the early '60s to be able to get her back into low and ready to go before making a complete stop at an intersection.

Wheels, When did they finally make a pickup with an inside door handle that worked? :)

Wheels, When did they finally make a pickup with an inside door handle that worked? :)

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Aug 30, 2014, at 7:53 PM

Old John, Don't remember having trouble with the door handles, but that has been a long time ago.

Anyway, when I could borrow the truck for a date the girls weren't trying to get out. ;-) I did go upscale in my senior year of high school and signed a note for $100 to my uncle to buy a 41 Ford Coupe. Told him I would sign a note and pay him 6% interest, when I got a job, in payment for the $100 car, He said that will be fine and you can give me the note, but if your word ain't any good your nsme on that piece of paper won't make it any better. A good piece of wisdom dear old Uncle George shared and I have never forgotten it. Paid him back in about 6 months and as I remember it, I gave him the whole $106.00 I was so grateful and happy to have that obligation taken care of.

I think the inside handles worked on that old truck I learned on. Just thinking all the old movies showed they didn't and everyone in the city movies used the right door for entry and egress.

May have been habit due to muddy streets in the model T days.

Speaking of Model Ts, Dad told me those were the first manual automatic transmissions because they worked on the same principle as the modern slip-slides.

Speaking of Model Ts, Dad told me those were the first manual automatic transmissions because they worked on the same principle as the modern slip-slides.-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Aug 30, 2014, at 8:22 PM

Old John

That is basically what I was told by somebody a long time ago.... but by who I can no longer remember.

Heheheh, Rick. I'm just waiting for this next degree of difficulty relating to the tire pressure monitoring system - "Sensor batteries can become discharged and fail -- the internal lithium battery is not serviceable, and it has a life expectancy of approximately 5-7 years or 80K-100K miles...all TPMS sensors have a 100% replacement rate." from http://www.standardbrand.com/TPMS-Causes%20of%20Sensor%20Failure/Content.aspx

Besides being difficult for the do-it-yourself'er to get to, I imagine these things ain't cheap. Well, at least not as cheap as the black electrical tape that will be placed over that irritating dash indicator. :-)~

"It took me almost forever to get that mess cleaned out ." -- Posted by ✴Rick on Sun, Aug 31, 2014, at 9:14 AM

Some of the better investments toward home ownership I've made are a shop vac and an air compressor.

They complement each other, much like WD-40 and duct tape, where if it doesn't move and should - use the WD-40. And, if it moves and shouldn't, use the duct tape.

With the shop vac / compressor combo, one has a similar situation, where the compressor can be used to break things loose and distribute them randomly around the house, then use the shop vac to clean it up. I take housecleaning to a whole new level!

Actually, your tale relates closely here - where the dryer wasn't working right. Stuffed the shop vac nozzle down in the lint screen cavity and pulled a heapin' helpin' of fluff out - thoop, thoop, thoop. Dryer works great now.

Remember a time not too terribly long ago, where I was trying to sell the Z24 - which puts it about 25 years back. Went in the kitchen to talk dollars with the prospective buyer - he took one look at the shop vac and compressor parked next to the fridge, and commented, "you must be single".

And here I thought everyone was takin' the day-off!☺

All I'm gonna do is sit back, chill-out, shut-off, an' enjoy---you know, the last-hurrah of summer.

Gonna be raining anyways, so I don't have to lie for an excuse to do nothing...!

"It cost me a few pair of good jeans to figure out how the bleach thing works ."

Good grief Rick, I hope you didn't just throw the jeans away... you may have created an original and highly sought after treasure by some of the younger set.

With a little refinement you may have been able to develop a new career for yourself.

And, don't forget those ball-caps! Backwards or forwards and/or sideways! The more ripped-up the bill is on 'em, the better they sell.(You should see some of the "classics" that can be picked-up at the Goodwill-store!)☺

I ran a perfectly-good work-cap through the bush-hog once upon a time, made it into an-instant classic!

Seriously! I mean, people were asking me where I'd BOUGHT it at! Stinky, sweat-stained, an' ripped-up.

For once in my life---I was "COOL"! Or, as they call it nowadays---at the moment, anyhow!---"SICK"! And I never even realized I possessed such a "treasure"...!☺

The way this fella financed these is atrocious, and should be punished to the max.

But, you can't help but catch your breath at these, esp. the Yenko-variants, which are super-rare to begin with---let alone with 28-miles on their clock...!

https://autos.yahoo.com/photos/blood-money-auction-to-sell-rare-vintage-muscle-c...

Doggone the bad luck - took a notion to clean house and the vacuum cleaner quit working.

Being the quick thinker that I am, slapped a Chicago Cubs sticker on it, and it started sucking again.

fxpwt, Don't get me started on vacuum cleaners, lest you want some stories.

Has anyone seen one of these races?

Three-Car-Train-of-Death Racing

Narrated by Rick Mercer (Rick Mercer Report)

Them crazy Canadians.

They make it better than NASCAR!

and It is a great one for the bucket list

Three cars are attached together with three foot chains.

1st car has brakes ,steering and a big engine that powers the train.

2nd car has brakes and steering

3rd car has brakes and steering.

Teams have sponsors and actually race against

other competitors on a quarter mile oval track.

What could go wrong here?

http://www.youtube.com/embed/HBd4QAxNOcw?version=3&loop=0&autoplay=1&showinfo=0&...

LOL, Wheels!!! You're right! I mean, hey---"what COULD go wrong", eh???

Kinda reminds me of the long-gone "activity" of the car-hood sled behind the tractor, during those slower, boring days of winter, ice, snow---and, school-closures.☺

(You know, back when folks weren't so sue-crazy. Plus, the car-hoods were THICKER than your pants, and were big-'nuff to carry at least FOUR-"semi-adults"!☺)

I'm kinda glad though, that I've outgrown MOST of that-sort of fun...!☺

Have you ordered yours?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SPEEDY_CORVETTE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&T...

Little-older than my day & time. More like the "heydays" of my late-sister & hubby.(About the time OJ and WHEELS started to show a REAL-growth of beard, maybe?)☺! But these certainly opened the doors for the muscle-cars that shortly followed afterwards. Kinda like sowing the seeds, for the next-generation of "Road Warriors", I guess?

So, roll those cigarette-packs a little-higher in the sleeve of your nice, white t-shirt, and enjoy.

And, even the music "fits the bill", so to speak....!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkbYa0dRgyI

Thanks Donk, that's worth watching a few times!

Got to thinking, my brother explained one time that those old guys relied more on their own ideas and skills rather than who had the most money when it came to building something different. For one thing they had little money and if they had money what they came up with wasn't out there for sale.

I can see in the video that Rat Rod is not something new.

Did anyone else see Boyd?

Yeah, I thought you might like it, OJ!

One things' for certain: You might paint the entire-vehicle black. You may choose to black-out your rims. Or, leave it all "natural-as-found", rust included.

BUT-----you ALWAYS used CHROME-nuts, and a REAL-chrome bumper of steel, almost always with "boobs", which were anything-but soft!☺

A testament to the days of real-chrome, and those real-bumpers, instead of todays' sprayed-onto-plastic, non-chrome plated, "5-mph-or-less bumpers".

Thank God for commercial-duty duct-tape, huh???

Rebel, I remember detail shops using aluminum foil to shine up the later more stainless steel trim. Before the print industry converted to soy based ink, newspaper shined up the glass. My uncle was said to have bought a car that shined like new way back in the day [maybe night]. After the coal oil dried it wasn't so shiny. :)

Rebel, I don't know but think it goes back to what was in effect when it was manufactured. Illinois required anchors for lap belts in '66 and thus most all cars made were so equipped.

Should have said anchors for lap belts in pu trucks in '66. I think all cars were to have front seat belts around '64.

Yep Rebel - my understanding is the vehicle has to have what it came with from the factory - although I don't know how close seat belts compliance is inspected. Sure would hate to think the '74s still had to have the mandatory seat belt interlock functional. :-)~

Dang the bad luck - time for the Impy inspection. Been putting it off for various reasons - and wouldn't ya know the brakes started that wear indicator squeal.

Eh, well, with almost 200K miles on the original set, guess I can't complain too much.

Except that within one week - the brakes started squealing, and two of the HVAC blend door actuators started the annoying click-click-click-click - meaning that the gears in the motorized actuators have stripped.

Ahhh, progress - instead of using a cable that requires a bit of effort but lasts almost forever, let's make things complicated with a motor and plastic gear set that requires little effort to use, but a whole dictionary worth of foul words to replace...

fxpwt, I too yearn for the simpler times but have to admit I have become spoiled to the modern.

Pretty nice to be able to hit a switch to down the right side window without having to be a mailman for a minute to get some more fresh air.

Sounds like you add a lot of miles on that Impy and that reminds me of a story.

I was broke and needed a car. Found a Falcon that looked ok and drove ok, had 90,000 on the clock and sounded like a fair deal. When I got it home I found the previous owner's records of particular maintenance and repair left in the glove box proving 190,000 miles. That old car served me well until I loaned it to a college room mate that ran it into the back of a taxi cab.

OJ - read somewhere that manufacturers actually prefer power windows for the simplicity of design, plus the reduced hardware allows for thinner and lighter doors for fuel economy efforts. A win-win situation, until it loses its do-right.

Rebs - I think the St. Louis area requires an actual sniff test on the exhaust. Not sure about Kansas City or Springfield. Elsewhere, I think they are supposed to verify only that a catalytic converter is in place - none of those 'test tubes' that used to be popular.

IIRC, the shoulder belts didn't come on the scene until the early 70's in passenger vehicles. Apparently somewhat later for trucks, as the 81 Jeep came with lap-only. Some of the early shoulder belt arrangements were real cobble-fests to mess with - having a separate buckle for the lap and the shoulder belts. Then there were the automatic attempts in the mid 80s with the motorized track along the window frame that would set and remove the shoulder belt. Guessing they were trying to boost business in the dealers' service departments.

Yep, the older mechanical speedos would remove miles in reverse, until the automakers put a locking mechanism in place to prevent the odometer going backwards. Nowadays, with the electronic speed pickups, the speedo should register miles and speed correctly no matter which direction is travelled. Hmmmm, well, except for maybe sideways :-)~

Doggone - gonna has to suspend my tool priveleges.

Changed just the front brake pads, because, after all, I'm cheap, er thrifty, and just how often do the rear pads wear out?

Ahhh, all was quiet and good - for a few days. Then started hearing a shing-shing-shing coming from the back. Aargh. Back pads were worn worse than the fronts - with one of the inner disc pads, which don't come with the nifty wear indicator feature, worn smooth down to the metal.

On the bright side, the disc itself still looked quite acceptable, so slapped the pad and hardware set in and rolled with it. Son! with new pads all the way around, the Impy can flat shut down in a hurry - gonna has to readjust my foot to avoid that dreaded case of seat belt strangulation.

Still working on the second HVAC actuator. Doggone arm doesn't have enough joints in it to bend every which way necessary to reach it. Heheheh, in a stroke of genius, simply unplugged it to avoid that annoying click-click-click.

I do likes the newer disc brake designs - collapse the piston, remove one bolt, swing the caliper out hinging on the other bolt, remove and install pads and hardware, swing caliper in, install bolt, pump pedal to set brake clearance. So much easier than drum brakes with the stout springs, retaining pins, star adjuster wheel, and e-brake cable, lever, and guides to fool with.

Read where used car prices should be coming down. http://autos.aol.com/article/used-car-prices-expected-to-drop-in-next-few-years/ Good news for someone who was once told that 80% of the new cars are purchased by the wealthiest 20% of the people. Eh, believed it then, not so sure now considering the rather lengthy financing terms available. Which conflicts with another rule-of-thumb taught early on - if it takes you more than 3 years to pay off a car, you bought too much car.

At any rate, hoping to keep the beater fleet alive and mostly well at least until Nov2016, when it's currently promised I'll save almost 4% just in sales taxes, no matter what is purchased. :-)

There is something for everyone I guess......

http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-fastest-golf-cart-181925030.html

It's been said that, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes".

I would like to add one more to that list, based on my experience with the '48 Dodge and the '89 F150 - Glen Campbell, I Love My Truck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqAA9ZvDOiw

If nothing else, a classic country tune, unlike the crap broadcast on the recent CMA award show...

Tex: I can drive my truck all day and never get off my ranch.

Mo: I had a truck like that.

Fxpwt, Last I heard he was still performing despite severe alzheimer.

I wonder if all aluminum body on steel chassis is better than friction welding steel and aluminum as far as collision repair costs are concerned.

Nothing new about aluminum cars, a company in the 1920's was called Aluminum building all aluminum cars was bought out by Pierce Arrow.

And of course UPS and bread truck style trucks have had aluminum bodies for years.

Closer to three-an'-a-half. Amazing, huh? And we didn't need to insult anyone to GET-them here, either---let alone bribe-them to STAY-here!☺

Guess we're all just like the old "stuff" we tend to brag/blow about on here: Old, tough, and resilient, for the most part.....!☺

"And we didn't need to insult anyone to GET-them here, either....."

Lord knows I have tried to insult you a time or two Donknowme-2 but you refuse to be insulted. ;-)

PS: I forgot to add.... you old Reprobate. :-)

Yeah, and it took you an-additional TEN-MINUTES, to recall such, you "Much-More-Well-Seasoned-Reprobate"!☺

Donknome-2,

Yeah, I've always thought later... wish I had said this or that. Now it takes even longer for the realization to set in.

Do you think if you and I ever showed up for the same party that we would end up sitting over in a corner by ourselves because nobody else wanted to associate with us? Kinda like that one episode with Archie and Jefferson at the mixed race marriage. :-)

Rick,

That is probably true.

Donk, Wheels, You two could sit in the corner and discuss mutual metallurgy involved in the development of Oliver plow share improvements vs similar influence on furnace chambers and intricate bi-metal controls of such.

I saw a report that the Mississippi Ag Museum barn burned, thankfully no animals or people hurt and the oldest cotton gin in the country is untouched.

Wheels, I may be off base but I'm thinking that is in route to your winter retreat.

Old John,

If it is what I am thinking, it is right of I55 and I think I have seen it, coming home. Going down I usually cut off and go through Dyersburg and down through the country to Red Bay. Which I will do this year as well since I kind of rubbed some fiberglass on the front fender along a road bank and it needs a bandaide or something. My excuse, it was on the passenger side and I miscalculated. Would blame the wife for not watching but she wasn't in the vehicle at the time.

Doggone - all the chatter about the new aluminum-bodied pick-em-up truck started an itch - y'know, that dreaded new car, er truck itch.

Went to the build-n-price page of the manufacturer's web site - whew, son, ouch! The itch has done been scratched clean off.

Interesting to note that none of the dealers within a 50-mile radius show any in stock, yet...

Been reading chatter that the 2018 Jeep Renegade may be aluminum-bodied. Looks like the lum-num momentum is picking up speed, at the expense of mass (ar, ar, ar).

RICK: Me-neither! These two must know more than we give them credit for!

Metallurgy? Must be an allergy to heavy-metal, or somethin'?(At their ages, Wheels & OJ'd probably think Sammy Hagar is a brand of mens' slacks!☺)

And as for being offensive? Oh, make NO-doubt about it---especially when I start arguing with myself. And I also prefer dark-corners, with nothin' but wall behind me.

Although the fist-fights with myself are entertaining---I've yet to win a decision on one with myself. Always a tie, it seems...???☺

The only reason I posted my last nonsense was to be the 2400th post.

What's a Sammy Hagar?

fxpwt, Nothing like sticker shock to cure an itch. Maybe we could bottle some up and sell it as a treatment for poison ivy. Price it high enough to induce instant itch amnesia.

Better truck itch has become pricy, my first truck worked well and lasted well with a couple of factory options; a heater and rear shocks.

I wonder if the "new"-idea of aluminum-body will stand-up to the elements, a.k.a. road salt-spray from tires, etc? Wonder if it tends to develop stress-cracks like 40-plus-year old aircraft-grade aluminum does?

Wheels, My sis shared an observation about that fiberglass rub you mention. Those new cars with back-up cameras are more likely to have a rear rub. Has to due with the same mentality it takes to see how far the new car will keep going past the gas guage reading of empty.

Old John,

I ahould've backed up a little, there wasn't anything back there, then cut er just a tad shorter.

Wheels. I take it the kid in the pedal car was ok?

:) :) :) :)

I remember doing an admirable job of parallel parking between a new car and a telephone pole only to collect a lasting impression of that pole in my rear bumper when I left.

Old John,

I have only had two mishaps while driving a motor home and both at speeds of less than 1 MPH. This one was while pulling out of a driveway onto a narrow gravel road, the other one was while backing up not remembering where my own car was parked. Not a scratch on the motor home but the heavy duty bicycle rack on the back of the motor home did a number on the fender of my car.

Of course you do understand, I haven't been tested for my driving ability since I was 16 and I am a little past 50 don't you know.

Start practicing defensive driving as I will be headed down I 55 right after Christmas. I'll be easy to recognize, I will be dring down the centerline as it seems safer there.

Wheels, When were you last qualified on a bicycle?

We don't want anyone ran over on the side walks down there.

"Wheels, When were you last qualified on a bicycle?"

It's a moot subject, I gave up bicycling. I wasn't riding it enough and the carburetor kept plugging up with gunk. :-)

-- Posted by Have Wheels Will Travel - ΑΩ on Sun, Nov 16, 2014, at 9:30 PM

A buddy just called and said he did $6K worth of damage to his yesterday while taking it home for the first time. He caught a fire hydrant while backing into the driveway. They were going to leave next Saturday for their fist snowbird flight but now it will be two weeks to get it fixed.

Regrets,

Two things you learn quickly.... the back end of motorhomes are lazy, they take shortcuts on you. The other is they do not turn as sharply as you would like sometimes. I already knew that but it happened anyway.

A couple of years back I saw a brand new 45' motor home in Tiffin's body shop. It looked like the guy made a right turn too quickly and then kept going until he made it through. The whole right side was scraped. I am sure $6k did not cover that one.

At least my mistakes are self inflicted. I have caused no injurty to others yet in about 30 or so years of driving these things. My first one that was used primarily for hunting trips would have been a little hard to tell if you hit something with it. Paid $5k for it and did some work on it and while it was very road worthy it was pretty sad looking. But people did give you a lot of room.... guess they were afraid of being involved in something that was bigger and uglier than they were. A demure lady upon seeing it the first time described the color as **** brindle brown. Now I never understood that but.........

It was a 1956 Twin Coach mail bus and converted to a motor home. Had a front bumper on it stronger than a cow catcher on a steam locamotive.

Someone climbed a chain link fence with barbed wire on it one Sunday night and hot wired it and took it for a joy ride. He drove it over the big locked gate without a hitch and side swiped a car somewhere in his excursion according to the police who recovered it. It was across the river in State Park Illinois and they said they would really like for me to come and get it quickly as it was too much of a tourist attraction.

DT

I have been towing a car for the past cloe to 19 years. Have never damaged the car towing it, but I do need to watch where I park it when I go to back up. :-(

But that was a long time ago and once was enough.

Been towing a car behind a 45 footer for about 10 years, which gets you very close to 65 feet long. Can take a bit to get around an 18 wheeler sometimes.

DT,

I meant to add, you could do it I am satisfied, it is really not that difficult, they drive like a car, automatic transmission, power steering and air brakes, none of which requires a lot of effort on one's part.

The thing is is just scraped it a little' They have to replace one of the basement doors, do a lot of repainting and replacing decals. He said the fire hydrant is fine.

- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Sat, Nov 22, 2014, at 11:37 AM

Regrets,

If you are going to do any substantial damage to a fire hydrant, you are going to have to attack it with something a little sturdier than fiberglass.

I never thought I drove slow until I got passed by a 45 foot long house on a two lane. :)

Old John,

Maybe the guy was in a hurry! He might have needed to go to the bath room and there is little chance of pulling off the pavement on most Missouri two lane roads.... and it isn't legal to stop in the driving lane.

Wheels, I respect the school bus. Some are very long with short wheelbase and swing out at me when I'm waving at the children.

I've confronted that legal decision once or twice and know about that too.

Those fireplugs are always in the wrong place. Telephone poles are too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1qPe5QttLo

Are you man/woman enough?☺

http://vimeo.com/113158655

Good video

Rick, I tried that and got one heck of a head ache.

Narf - just about violated every conviction I had towards motor vehicles.

Was becoming concerned about the F150's reliability. 25 years old and 200,000+ miles - it was getting more difficult to keep roadworthy, considering its primary duty as an extended daily-driver during bad weather. The prospect of getting stranded in those wintry conditions was not a comforting thought.

Found a suitable replacement that was way more than I wanted to pay, but apparently a relatively really good deal after perusing the various Internet resources, and the realization that all vehicles now cost way more than I'm used to.

Then again, I'm still tuned in to the Whopper combo being only $1.89, $1.98 after taxes (which would be $2.05 under the current tax rate system). "Throw the pickles, burn the lettuce, shut up lady you upset us..."

In keeping with consistency - it's basically a 25-year upgrade, only in white rather than black - I am done with dark colors and the related difficulties in keeping it looking clean. Same short-bed, same 4WD for the bad weather conditions, same make and model and even trim level. In short, Merry Christmas to me, same as it every was.

Had to laugh at a recent History Channel program about the South. Jeff Foxworthy was talking about the importance of pickup trucks and brand loyalties in the South. Was saying that once a 'Brand X' man, always a 'Brand X' man, and that if one changed, people would start talking about how he was raised better than that.

Especially funny here, in that the old F150 and I endured an endless amount of razzing along the lines of 'being raised better than that', given being the only Ford owner in a group of quite-loyal Bowtie buffoons and blowhards - you know, the Neanderthal knuckle-dragger group. Payback has only come within the past ten years or so, when I ask how their bowties-of-that-time are holding up, met with responses of 'it was time to trade it' a few pickups ago, or the like.

At any rate, buying in December was a basic foul-up on my part - prices on the prior model year will only get better if one can wait, especially when the much-hyped 2015 aluminums finally start being delivered after an extended and expensive model-year conversion.

Plus, my favorite rant - taxes, of which the property variety get bumped up a year by having to declare it as owned on 01 January. But, in my defense, was watching the availabilities, and the short-bed, regular cabs dressed up in more than 'work truck' trim were disappearing quickly from the area availability searches. One basic, overriding vehicle-buying philosophy is to get what you want, else you'll be unhappy in varying degrees for a long time.

Then, there was the 'buying new' thing. Read somewhere way back when that 80% of the new vehicles are bought by the wealthiest 20% - and I know I'm not part of that 20%... This makes the first new-new vehicle bought, from a child born when coins were still silver and church-keys were necessary for beer cans, so not a complete wipe-out in lifelong thriftiness.

In hindsight, should'a bought it 6 months ago when I was still a county resident. The extra city sales tax ended up being $1100+ - and I bet I don't get no Christmas card or free passes to the water park or goof course or any other thank-you for my 'donation' to the city don't-absolutely-need-but-want-you-to-pay-for-it-really-bad fund campaigns.

In short, it was tough saying good-bye to a dependable vehicle that had served me well for 20+ years. My hope is that its replacement approaches that longevity. The technology improvements are amazing, and the 5.0L engine of today almost doubles the horsepower of the 5.0L from 1989 - whoo hoo. Too old-school to spring for the twin-turbo EcoBoost. While rated higher on HP and torque and customer satisfaction, eh, a V6 and multiple turbos just don't scream longevity and reliability to me, especially for the additional price premium.

Apologies for the rambling, just figured the readers of this thread could relate with the turmoil between 'this is really nice' and 'OMG, what have I done?'. :-)

Fxpwt,

I feel your pain. ;-) My wife's new car is 7 1/2 year old and it was really agonizing watching the poor salesman sweat beads of blood when she purchased it. I still think she would win a cheap off when put to a contest with you. She is still agonizing over the money she spent 7 1/2 years ago.

As for my own ride, it is 11 years old, purchased as a program car at 1 year or so old. Built to last as only the Germans know how to build em. Quiet and comfortable. Probably do me for cars, new isn't that important to me. Or to you for that part if your truck was an 89. :-)

Just noticed Old Voyager was the owner of the first post on this string of interesting posts.

Have to believe he is up there above, smiling, or maybe laughing out loud, at the rest of us stumbling around down here.

Rest in Peace my man, you earned it!

fxpwt, I'm comforted knowing I'm not the only one to agonize over vehicle swaps. In May I upgraded from the 85 Dodge that my late brother in law bought new. It served well and the only reason to upgrade at 120,000 miles was a few needed minor repairs and the fact that she who must be obeyed suggested such.

Getting what you want indeed is important and I searched with that in mind. One priority was economy and reliability since the old 318 delivered good on that, second was at least the same creature comforts of upscale trim of the Prospector. Third was 4WD and an auto dimming rear view mirror.

The third ended up being the path to what I purchased and all the rest and more came with it in a 2012 Tacoma.

Then comes the new wrinkle. Wife with disability can't get into the truck with out help and wonders if she needs to upgrade her compact 2011 SUV to all wheel drive so she can get to work without getting the grumpy old man out of bed when she has the early shift in bad weather when the rest of the crowd calls in sick. I check the web and figure it's not too far fetched to trade for same thing but AWD. I find several like her low mileage rig at dealers for just under $20,000 and a new with AWD is just over $30,000.

I'm thinking $10,000 difference or a little more. Boy was I wrong. Apparently the old days of a $1,000 to $1,500 profit when I was associated with the car business is long gone.

Reckon we will wait for the 2015s to become slightly used. :)

fxpwt, I'm comforted knowing I'm not the only one to agonize over vehicle swaps. In May I upgraded from the 85 Dodge that my late brother in law bought new. It served well and the only reason to upgrade at 120,000 miles was a few needed minor repairs and the fact that she who must be obeyed suggested such.

Getting what you want indeed is important and I searched with that in mind. One priority was economy and reliability since the old 318 delivered good on that, second was at least the same creature comforts of upscale trim of the Prospector. Third was 4WD and an auto dimming rear view mirror.

The third ended up being the path to what I purchased and all the rest and more came with it in a 2012 Tacoma.

Then comes the new wrinkle. Wife with disability can't get into the truck with out help and wonders if she needs to upgrade her compact 2011 SUV to all wheel drive so she can get to work without getting the grumpy old man out of bed when she has the early shift in bad weather when the rest of the crowd calls in sick. I check the web and figure it's not too far fetched to trade for same thing but AWD. I find several like her low mileage rig at dealers for just under $20,000 and a new with AWD is just over $30,000.

I'm thinking $10,000 difference or a little more. Boy was I wrong. Apparently the old days of a $1,000 to $1,500 profit when I was associated with the car business is long gone.

Reckon we will wait for the 2015s to become slightly used. :)

Wheels, First OOPS, I guess the gremlins must have hidden my post until I hit it again.

I miss Bill, we corresponded via Email some.

That thing about German built rubs Chrysler the wrong way apparent in one their commercials. :)

I dealt with a German vendor once that had no features and benefits to offer concerning his product other than it was German made. Dammed if it wasn't a superior product but that kind of stuck in my craw.

Maybe just me for after marveling at that big Italian built monster [Donk's link] coming to life, I reckon Americans aren't the owners of all innovation.

Old John,

I been buying from a friend who is a used car dealer for most of my vehicles over the years. He is about done though, in more ways than one. His health is no longer good.

I have a real problem, I have 2 too many cars, we need two and have 4. Two of them make sense as drivers and the other two, I cannot bring myself to part with.

My current driver, I went with my friend to the auto auction, me as a "driver" with a temporary pass and there was a factory sale coming up for what I was wanting to buy. So he said I am going to be in the sale, go out to the lot and pick out what you want, pick several that would do, and we will come back when they hold the sale for those items. That is what we did. I stood beside him as he bid in my first choice and we were out of there in 15 minutes. I paid what he bid it in for and his commission was 1/2 of the really nasty dually Ford pickup, I owned that we put in the next week's auction. We were both pleased. The car will probably outlast me, it rides like a dream and will get 24 to 26 MPG on a trip. It is an AWD as well, no more spinning around on wet streets when you put your foot in it.

0 minus 7 days and counting.

I remember those type auctions. We landed on a grassy strip what I recall was Peoria and the boss bought a one and a half ton duel wheel club cab and sent me back with it as the other three flew to a Chicago sale. That thing rode so bad and got such mileage that I stopped at St Louis sister's for a bed and a loan for gas money.

Old John,

I one time bought a Grandfather Clock in St. Thomas, Ontario Canada. And then I couldn't figure out how to get it home.

So, I knew my friend went to the auction in Detroit area somewhere, and my minister friend was close to there. So I offered to drive a car home for him if he was buying some Jeep Wagoneers and I could haul my clock in one. It was arranged and 4 of us left for Detroit on Monday, in a car he had paid $100 for on Saturday. A big old station wagon. Left back door wouldn't open because it was kinda smashed on that corner and I found out later neither would the back door open. We took that car with dealer plates on it and went and got my clock. Had to lay it on it's back and tie it on the ladder rack since we couldn't get it inside the car because of the back gate wouldn't open. Customs had a ball with us when we got back, but he finally agreed the clock was over 100 years old and not subject to duties. The guys were waiting when we got back and we swapped my clock into a Wagoneer and since the auction was closed and he couldn't leave the $100 car to sell, we had a problem. I said to my car dealer friend, didn't you say the car would bring $50 at the auction. He said yes, I said sign the title, and I turned to my Preacher friend and said give him $50 you just bought a car. He agreed and he sold it for $135 before breakfast the next morning to the Church secretary's husband. We didn't go to bed that night, since I made us late we got home sometime the next morning. That was about 1975 or so and I still have the clock, it sets by the front door and it just chimed for the 3/4 hour a few minutes ago.

Kinda nice to just sit and read for once. One thing's for sure: If'n I had a hot, pot-belly stove in my shop---you'd be the guys I'd invite to sit-around an' spit on it with me...!☺

Some new trucks cost more then a house use to cost.

-- Posted by ▪Rick on Sat, Dec 20, 2014, at 10:45 AM

Rick my first home, a 2 bedroom mansion of about 650 sq.ft. built right after WW II was priced at $10,500. The guy who paid that could not keep up the monthly's. So I assumed the loan when I was 20 years old. Not a legally enforceable transaction at that age at that time. Kind of one of those, don't ask, don't tell deals. But the Savings & Loan saw fit to offer me financing when I upgraded a few short years later to a $12,500 castle.

You really cannot purchase a late model used car for that money today. My 1960 Falcon had a sticker of around $2100 as best I remember it and in 1964 a fully decked out Galaxy 500 Hardtop Ford was either stickered at $3800 or $3900 and change.

Donknome-2

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, you Old Reprobate. :-)

-- Posted by Have Wheels Will Travel - ΑΩ on Sat, Dec 20, 2014, at 2:20 PM

-----------------------------------------------

"Bah-h-h-h, Humbug!!!", and, "Ahh-MAN!!! I just got in the habit two-months ago of writing 2014 on checks!" I tell ya'---life ain't fair!

Here, this pretty much sums it up for me...!☺

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfekHvlOMEQ

Rick, I remember seeing a big dollar amount sign on a product one time and debated with myself if that was a good deal and whether I would be willing to pay that much. I decided maybe so and then discovered that dollar amount was the discount. :)

I'm thinking a pickup was cheaper than a car in the 60's.

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Sun, Dec 21, 2014, at 11:43 AM

Ho Ho Ho!!!

"My first car was a 4 cylinder 1965 Mustang ."

Rick,

I have said this before, but my first car was a 41 Ford with 8 cylinders and I paid only $12.50 per cylinder for it, while you paid $25 per cylinder. Must be inflation running rampant. My first purchase was 15 years old when I bought it.

I was privileged to hear the story of an old timer's first car. He bought it from his barber when he was 14 for $12. Too long a story for here but he ended up with a salvage, used car, parts business that has lasted three generations, still going.

I came away thinking cars were sold and traded with less paperwork involved than horse trading in the early part of the last century.

Rick, One of my current vehicles has [not sure what it's called] but the radio gets louder as speed induced noise rises, My '66 Mustang had a similar feature. The heater core was leaking and the antifreeze dripped on the antenna wire and followed it to the radio. When the car was accelerated something shifted and the radio went full blast.

Rick,

My oldest daughter's first car was a 67 Mustang. It seemed pretty dependable. Had a 289 V8 in it as I remember it. That was back in the day. She used to give me that I am going out with my friends and I would tell her not to go out of town unless I knew about it. Monday morning I would go look at the tailpipe on the Ford to see if it was black or almost a gray white. Before all the pollution junk you could always tell when those cars were out on the highway for a ways.

Of course the conversation always went, where were you with that car yesterday.... oh just around town. No you were not, where did you go.... well a couple of friends and I went to the Portage de Sioux picnic. Never did let her know how I was able to tell when she did not do as instructed.

Rick,

Speaking of the Chevy's leaking, some also burned a little oil. I had a 48 Chevy panel truck. That was back when Chevy used those teeny tiny spark plugs. This one burned oil so bad that it never had time to leak out and about every two tanks of fuel you had to pull all of the plugs and clean them because it was missing so bad it would hardly rung. Then you were good to go for another couple of tanks of fuel.

Some guys used to cut the spark plug wires on an oil burner like that and bare the wires about an inch and then put a button in line with the wire causing the spark to jump the gap the button created. That was before resistance wires so the radios would play without static. They thought that created a fatter spark at the plug causing it to burn the oil better and keep the plugs clean longer. A gas leak under the hood could create a heated situation though.

Old John and Rick

You know, I don't think I long for the good old days all that much now that I think about it. I didn't mind the heated seats all that much when I was on my way to Church this morning.

Wheels, I would never have thought about that.

When my daughter was eleven we left her with my mom while we attended a convention. Not sure how she pulled it off but she ended up picking up her friends in our car and going to a school event.

Well, I taught her to drive when she was seven, a year later than I was taught, but it took me till I was 14 to sneak off with a car. :)

Old John,

I just smile when my daughter tells me about the latest one of her two kids has pulled off.

I was never bold enough to sneak off with the one and only vehicle we owned when I was a kid. That was a pickup truck and I was pretty sure it would have been missed if it was gone. I am sure it was against my Dad's better judgement, but he did let me use it as he thought I needed it. He was not for me buying my own transportation at 18 but Mom convinced him I was responsible enough buying it and the Uncle I bought it from took my note for the $100 at 6% interest until I graduated high school and got a job. I believe my Dad figured he was starting to loose a little control once I had my own transportation. :-)

My 2nd daughter was the one that cause me the most problems with a car. She saw an Austin Healey and wanted it. Don't remember the year but it was a something or other 3000. You needed a tool box to drive that thing. There was always something wrong with it and I simply was not smart enough to deal with those Bosch twin carburetors it had on it. At least I think I remember them as Bosch.

As a matter of fact you needed more than a tool box. You needed to be a full blown mechanic to own one of those cars.

Heheheh Wheels - I'll bet that Austin-Healy had the infamously British Lucas electric system.

I laugh now because I owned a sort-of Harley in years past. While it had Harley-Davidson on the gas tank, well, that was about as far as it went. For some strange reason, Harley, while owned by AMF, decided to get into the smaller motorcycle market. I had an SS250, exactly like the one here - http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1975-harley-davidson-ss-250.htm, complete with the Yamaha engine.

At any rate, it also had the prized Lucas Electric system.

Perhaps you can commiserate on some shamelessly copy-n-pasted opinions on Lucas :-)

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."

Lucas--inventor of the first intermittent wiper.

Lucas--inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF.

The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

The original anti-theft devices--Lucas Electric products.

"I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...

If Lucas made guns, wars would not start either.

Did you hear about the Lucas powered torpedo? It sank.

It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance.

Did you hear the one about the guy that peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner "How can you tell one switch from another at night, since they all look the same?" "He replied, it doesn't matter which one you use, nothing happens!"

Back in the '70s Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.

Quality Assurance phoned and advised the Lucas engineering guy that they had trouble with his design shorting out. So he made the wires longer.

Why do the English drink warm beer? Lucas made the refrigerators, too.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone. Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb. Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.

Recently, Lucas won out over Bosch to supply the electrical for the new Volkswagens. So, now the cars from the Black Forest will come with electrics supplied by the Lord of Darkness -- how appropriate!

Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices.

fxpwt, I started with a Yamaha 55cc 2 stroke. Could not tear that thing up and it worked great. Later I had one those fine ideas to upgrade to a Yamaha twin 100 cc and that was the last of my good experience with bikes. I bought a used Super Hawk and utilized my highly developed teenage temper to beat that thing to death with one of it's own tailpipes when it refused to behave. The last one, a Honda 450 I think, it worked ok but I traded it for a '67 T-Bird.

I got quite a bit of experience with the early Fiats that were all the rage for a while, early 850s, then X19, 128, and I think the sedan was 134. Fix It Again Tony, we called them. The Fiat designer had an uncle in the relay business. They used little skinny wires and relays everywhere. The dash light potentiometer had wires going under the hood to the relay cluster and back to the instrument panel, a different relay it seemed for each purpose.

Later I was lucky to be introduced to Renault technology including the backward coolant flow that required special fitting or turning the dang thing upside down to fill the radiator.

Something I learned today, anyone know that Oliver the farm equipment and tractor company made outboard boat motors?

Fxpwt,

It could have had a Lucas electrical system, but I don't remember having a whole lot of trouble with that. We bought the car fairly reasonable and we took the money and picked up the car and title. I drove it to almost home and then let her take over. I remember it had a whole passel of gears and overdrive, which was electric operated as I remember it, but it worked. Well my daughter takes over and out pops the clutch, we lurched and the engine went dead. Hit the starter and a mere grunt. We sat there for a moment and it started and we made it home. Strange the car had a new battery mounted at home in the trunk. Over the next week or so it was charge the battery and run the little devil and when you stopped it would not start. Charge the battery and repeat. Finally, since there was no internet help source and no manual with the car I go to the library and start looking at what they had. Found a sort of wiring diagram and uh oh, this blasted thing had the same kind of wiring that my 41 Ford did.... positive ground.

Back home and sure as hell the battery was in it backwards. The good thing it had a real honest to goodness generator on it and when the car started it discharged the battery and tried reversing the battery's polarity instead of burning up it's little alternator had it been so equipped. Where did this brand new battery come from.... oh year there it was proudly displayed, SEARS. Now I had a clue as to why the car was relatively reasonable. They needed a battery, went to Sears and they put the battery in the way they would an American car and since the owner never had the brains to take it to a real mechanic and Sears couldn't diagnose the problem correctly, we got a bargain.... kinda, sorta!

And the owner did not divulge to us that the car was having problems with the battery discharging. I am sure he was just happy we started it drove it around the parking lot and then left him with the money while we drove from South St. Louis to St. Charles. I bet that sucker had the check cashed before we cleared the St. Louis city limits too.

When my daughter tired of walking, she decided to sell the car and buy something more practical. My lucky day, but I got the job of selling it. All the would be restorers in the area showed up and told me what a bad car it was and how they would not give over so much etc. etc. I told one of them a big Austin Healey fan well if you don't think it is worth more than that, I have a kid interested that offered me more and he is going to put a small block V8 in it. Oh you wouldn't dare do that to that car. I said wanna bet, the guy who gets here the quickest with the mostest can do whatsomever he pleases with it.

Old John,

Did not know that about Oliver, but then you could write a book on what I don't know about Oliver.

Has anyone ever had any luck using an "Easy Out" ?

-- Posted by ▪Rick on Tue, Dec 30, 2014, at 6:59 AM

---------------------------

Y' mean the "As Seen On TV"-version with the drill? Or, the REAL-version that tempted-you with suicide when you broke one off in an engine block?☺

Rick, If it was easy, a left hand drill bit would do the job.

-- Posted by ▪Rick on Tue, Dec 30, 2014, at 12:48 PM

I never developed the "knack" of leaving a perfectly-clean thread path, but one of the girls---yes, I said, GIRLS---tried to teach me, but it musta' been somethin' in the lighter-touch???

What I mean is, she would take a MAPP-gas cutting torch, and favoring the feather-like carbonizing flame would "paint" it down between the flutes on most ANY-size broken easy-out OR machine tap.

Although the threaded-base metal would start at a dull-red, that easy-out/tap would get just at dull-yellow---an' then she'd pop the oxy-trigger open for all of a half-second.

The "offending" tap or out would shoot-out in a blaze of final-glory, just like a teenagers' zit!☺ And the original "want-it-out" was ready for another "Easier-Out", or in the case of it being a large machine-tap, the threading-path was still clean as a whistle, and ready to re-tap, once it cooled-down in a "hot-tub" of transfer-fluid!

That little-lady was priceless for welding in confined areas. We---OK, I!---could tie a loose-"hangman-style" loop just-above her ankles as a "back-up" to the OSHA-safety harness on her, uhh---"top", OK?☺ Then, if she got a little-too snug, we could pull-'er back-out, and that hangman's noose would cinch her legs together just-'nuff to keep-'em from snaggin' on the way back out!! (SO-O-O-O much easier than workin' with OLD, FAT-men!☺)

I was "blessed", if you will, with being the ONLY-one she'd trust-enough to be hog-tied in that way. She said, quote: "You're(I!)more-mature, and I trust your intentions!",un-quote.

I wanted SO-badly to quip: "Yeah? Well, you're still too-young(she was 28 at the time)an' stupid to judge!"---but, I couldn't. I mean, those big-ol' brown-eyes, circled with soot like a racoon from where the safety goggles fit---I just couldn't bust that balloon. Nope, no-way!

Besides, I was too-busy blushing, an' flustering-around trying to "preserve my professionalism", if you will...!☺

(Man! That-"FXPWT-Syndrome" kinda catches y' off-guard, y' know? Energizer bunny ain't got nothin' on him!☺)

Posted by ▪Rick on Wed, Dec 31, 2014, at 1:49 PM

This is true, this is true. But it takes even MORE-pushin' an' proddin' to get him IN, to start with!☺

Admittedly though, the lady wasn't very good---ON HER OWN, that is---when it came to setting together railcar hitches. Some of those parts, such as the draft-keys, could weigh up to 95-plus pounds each, esp. the 19-inchers. Not her fault by any means, but some jobs are, indeed, better suited for the more-manly-males amongst us.☺ But, at least to me, she was just so-easy to literally work AROUND. Took up a lot-less space, was exact in knowing where she was gonna be next, and wouldn't intentionally "splash" you with a yellow-hot splay of cutting-torch plasma.

(All but two of the men were NOT-UNLIKE working with cattle, in the sense that you'd either get kicked, fell over, spit on, or get hit by a flyin' loogy!) All by "accident", of course!☺

..................

There! Now see, RICK: You had the chance for an in-house mechanic, an' y' dropped the balls needed to play the game.(It's kinda like pool---but with a LOT-less options as to what pocket they go to, let alone how many!)☺

Y' just gonna hafta move to Sweden, where the women out-number the men. Less-competition, maybe?

Well, THAT, and the fact that the WOMEN there are probably better hunters and/or mechanics to start with...???

Y'know, I beginning to think that auto manufacturers have a theme in mind when they go to designing stuff.

First, the Impy must've had some kinda environmentally-friendly / recyclable idea in mind when they built their 4T65E transmission, cuz given the reliability, it just has to be made of nuthin' but eggshells and glass.

Now, with the F150 'Built Ford Tough', figurin' it must've went off-course with an effeminate side to its transmission - it just can't seem to make up its mind on which of the six gears it wants to be in. :-)~

Ah, for the good-ol-days of the PowerGlide - Low and Drive, rather than 1-2-3-4-5-6 AND Overdrive.

Oh, and RICK is right about the "Chicago Bolts", although I didn't know them by that name. What we called them wouldn't make it past the censor, here.☺ (Sorry! I cheated! I "Googled"-it)

Especially those "barrel-bolts", they called 'em? Two-parts, one screwed into the other to make one fastener? Notoriously found on bathroom-stalls, at least for me. Hell, they were indeed theft-proof. Once together, they was "IN-there". But, there was still always someone who'd find the need to try and pilfer one or two, hence the resulting "Floppy-Outhouse-Door"-disease.

Couldn't re-snug the things. Virtually-impossible to drill out. I never did find any better solution than to tack it tight with the smallest amount of brazing as possible.

I mean, it was either that, or knock-'em all the way out, and be left with a ¼-inch or so hole, and then pound in a small-carriage bolt-type fastener?

Which of course was even-easier for the "kids" in the bunch to pilfer...!

FXPWT: In-deed! But I still favored the GM 3-speed, what was it, Turbo-Hydro 350, over the two-speed Torque-Flight, I think? The GM 400 Turbo-Hydro with the electric downshift weren't a real-slouch either, but, BOY did it eat the gas, with that slower-than-normal upshift.

I run into trouble in-town a lot with my-2000 Jimmy if I leave it in D, aka, Fourth. Tends to run-up on the vehicle in front of me a little-faster than I prefer. So I just slide it back into Third, an' leave it there until I hit Interstate again.

donk, I think you describe opposite ideas. I had a '91 LeSabre that would coast forever; got up to 35mpg if coaxed just right. My more modern car will only coast well if the pedal has a very light touch but drags out the slowdown when the pedal is released. My truck has a hill feature I've never tried, supposedly provides a little engine breaking on steep down hills.

One thing about the old GM and Chrysler trannies, they could dirt.

About those toilet stanchions; who would ever want to steal one?

Donk - I remember a GM auto tranny from the 70s, don't recall the model, that had a characteristic whine in 1st gear, kinda like a turbo spooling up. One of those things that stands out or sticks in my memory - like the yipe-yipe-yipe of the old Chrysler starters, or that mellow yet menacing rumble from a stock Olds Rocket V8 exhaust.

Not being a betting person myself, but if one were so inclined, this is the year to bet on the Cubs winning the World Series, at least according to Back to the Future II. :-)

fxpwt, Wasn't the Future II a Fancy Ford Falcon? :)

OJ - heheheh, yep, kinda, sorta. And also for the later Ford Fairmont. :-)~

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(North_America)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fairmont

Fxpwt

From Wikipedia "Ford boasted of the good fuel economy achieved by the six-cylinder Ford Falcon models in advertising. The fuel economy was good, a claimed 30mpg,[9] compared to other American cars at the time."

I had a 1960 Falcon I purchased new. It never got close to 30 MPG. I currently drive an S430 Mercedes that is 11 years old and gets better mileage than that Falcon did. Have got as much as a little over 27 mpg on a trip.

And I believe the 430 carried a Guzzler Tax on it. Go figure.

'66 was a good year for several cars.

yipe-yipe-yipe of the old Chrysler starters"

I had a Duster. Spent about $100 trying to get it running. It still wouldn't start so a friend said change the starter. I told him it was cranking good. He told me it was pulling so many amps the car wouldn't power the ignition system. He was right.

RICK: Yeah, that's what I thought you were "naming" them for! But, ironically, the Chicago Bolt Co. must agree with you and I! Seriously, I did "Google" it, and I was surprised!

........................

OJ: That's the problem. My forth-gear(automatic)is basically---or, seems to be?---a glorified-coasting position. At 70 mph, level Interstate, cruise control on, the engine(Vortec V-6)will lumber on at just a red-hair shy of 1200 rpm. Run it in third at the same speed, conditions---and the tach will show exactly 1000 rpm MORE, as in 2200. No rocket-science there, duh! But in-town, up/downhill stoplights, etc.---that neutral-coast keeps a fella on the binders a lot more than my arthritic knee likes to "jump" on the pedal all the time. So I like to use third for the resistance, similar to the dynamic-brake method used on diesel-electric locomotives.(Well, THAT, and it's a lot-faster accelerator response on those pesky-yellow lights, too!☺)

Oh, and as far as theft of toilet-doors/stanchions/seats(yes,entire SEATS!), etc., etc.??? I haven't the foggiest-idea.

Maybe they needed a new-door and/or hinge assembly for a used-YUGO, or somethin'???☺

...........

REGRET: Indeed they could. And, would. And even some of the "faster"-GM types weren't above it, either. And, like you, I said, "Yeah! Ri-i-ight! Show-Me!!!" And, they did.

I've got an-old Case tractor with a Delco-system. Gotta start it similar to starting a radial-aircraft engine. Leave ignition OFF, engage starter, count 5, maybe 6, full-crank cycles. Now, at the same time, take your finger off the starter button, and flip the IGNITION to the ON-position---an' it'll start just as pretty as if it were MADE to start that way.

Donk

The only time it would hit was were you let off the key. Oh the memories of the so called "they don't make em like they use to days".

Regret, Sounds pretty typical of a ballast resistor. They ran 12V while cranking and 6v running to the primary.

Every one I had would have to crank forever if you touched the gas on a hot day warm engine restart. Other than that and cooling system failures, pretty dependable.

They liked to hide the turn signal flasher behind the ash tray. :)

REGRET: Yep, that's the correct-"system", alrighty!☺ Count the fifth-"yip", an' turn loose of the key!

And like OJ here just said, when(never IF---it was gonna happen sooner or later!)you flooded it while hot?

Y' might as well light up a smoke and enjoy the scenery, while you're holdin' the throttle wide-open for a few!

...."Other than that and cooling system failures, pretty dependable."....☺

...................

HA! Thanks, OJ! Needed that this morning! Yeah, that pretty much covers it! Sorry, it was just the way you put it that sounded so---sarcastic, I guess???☺

...................

"They liked to hide the turn signal flasher behind the ash tray. :)

-- Posted by Old John on Fri, Jan 2, 2015, at 5:06 PM"

...................

And unless one-side of the flasher still clicked, as was the case with most of the "older"-THREE-pronged units? It was gonna be a long-day before you FOUND it, too---unless an "Old-Pro" like you already knew where they "hid"-them!

Speaking of such items---did you ever perform an-"autopsy" on one of those little-TWO-pronged-clicky-buggers?

A hunk of fine copper wire, that functioned like a "pot", wound-around a chintzy-razor-blade-looking-piece of some sort of steel, that flexed the plate, where an even chintz-er still type of "points", that'd open an' close from the heat-flex of that-"blade".

Used to buy 'em for, what---about a buck an' a half each, maybe 20 years ago now?

Donk, Most folks would carry that little cylinder shaped shiny thing to the parts store not knowing it was the thingy that made the key hole and headlight switch illuminators work. :)

And don't forget the ready to twist off backward threaded wheel studs.

OJ: Oh Lord NO!!! It would be impossible to forget those-nightmares!

I once had a Dodge with a "potluck" of 5-lugs, of which 2 or 3 on the LEFT-side(I think?)would, naturally, be the OEM-original left-handers. So I painted the LEFT-hand studs & nuts with a can of Allis-Chalmers Orange spray-paint. Helped some, but it was still a "bear" to work with in the dark.☺

Now that you've tested my brain-circuits, here's a question: Was it my-youthful imagination---or is it true that those early-MOPAR left-handed LUGNUTS were just a reddish-blonde-hair thickness SMALLER than the right-handed ones on the other, to "prevent" confusion, say, Metric-vs.-SAE???(I tended to use a "Four-Legged-Spanner" with a lot of "miles" on it, aka, well-worn tolerances from "making it fit!"☺

Brother was notorious for breaking-out even the RIGHT-handers, because he'd prefer(well, ME-too!)to use an air impact, and forget to push the CW/CCW selector by ignoring the AC-"painted-code"-system.

It got to where I could listen for that "RRRRUNT-T-t-t-t!"-chatter of that old Ingersol-Rand gun---which would be immediately followed by a "G###@**#B#!!h !!!"---which would tell me immediately what had just transpired!!!☺

Learned real-fast, how NOT to go weekend draggin' without at least 6 or more replacements, and a "BFH" with a drift to pound out the old, an' pound-in the new...!!!

donk, You got me curious as I'm thinking along the same lines and then remembered I had an old service manual around here. Well I found it and it ain't all that old; a '74 Dodge. Had they given up on the backward lugs by then? I went through all of section 22 and found no mention. Course I reckon they could have figured no need to mention that in a factory service manual for factory trained mechanics and could have saved the surprise for the owners manual.

'74, I think was the year cars got a bunch of smog control that made them use enough more gas to make up for the smog per gallon saved.

'74 was the one and only year of the seat belt interlock, IIRC.

Unleaded gas came on the scene in '75, with the special sized fuel filler nozzle and the noxious smelling catalytic converters. As I recall, one problem with the early engines was that the valves weren't suitably hardened for use with the unleaded fuel, leading to premature oil-burning which helped to foul the converters.

Along about the time that fuel jumped from $0.299 to $0.579 - a tremendous jump, for the time.

Had wrong-handed studs on the passenger-side of the '48 Dodge - yep, studs instead of bolts. Figured there was a good reason, just never figured it out.

Suggest emissions regulation made it tough during the 70s and into the 80s, given the available technology under the then-current restrictions. Unleaded gas, the unbelievably complex carbs and the hurried switch to fuel injection, the derated engine outputs.

The '86 Ford F150 302 carbureted V8 was rated for 225 hp, my '89 fuel injected 302 (5.0L) was down to 185 hp, with the rumor that Ford had to give away the 351 (5.8L) engine for its better emissions in order to meet corporate emission averages. 25 years later, the 2014 5.0L is rated for 360 hp, or almost twice the output AND able to meet current standards.

All this cleaner air, and it still ain't enough for the greenies... *sigh*

fxpwt, Don't forget the increase in government rules and compliance enforcement in that era. GM recalled a slew of cars because they forgot to put a "Unleaded Fuel Only" sticker by the gas cap in 75.

I remember some Fords that had both vacuum advance and retard. We learned to block vacuum lines with BBs to defeat some smog stuff and increase performance and MPG. :)

And OLD JOHN makes it a 2500-count for us with his comment!☺☺☺

Speaking of BB's, OLD JOHN---here's another "que for yew"☺!

Every post '74 GM vehicle I've had the privilege of tearing-up/apart had on the passenger-side of the engine intake manifold a vacuum-operated EGR-valve that occupied a hole in the V-8 manifold, that obviously went to the floor of the intake.(The 250 in-line 6's had the same thing, but obviously centered in it's single manifold.)

OK, here's the sitch: I'd bought an '82 GMC with the 305/Electronic-Controlled 4bbl---which weren't gonna cut it! So, in the process of retrofitting a carb, it was always HEAVILY-stressed in the instructions, to assure that the EGR-valve was functioning upon completion.

Now, the thing was, I had bought that '82 practically-new, as a 1000-mile demo-truck, so I knew nobody had "violated" it yet. But, right there, inside of that heavy-duty LIVE-vacuum line leading to it, was the prettiest, shiniest, tightest-fitting stainless-steel ball stuffed-into that line, just at the point of connection to that EGR.

So I figgered it had to come out, IF that EGR was gonna move. I squashed it out of the hose, and re-connected to the EGR---and now it would do everything BUT run! I couldn't shut it down fast-enough, to suit me!☺

So as a last-great act of courage, I stuffed that ball back in that hose---and it ran BEAUTIFULLY!!!

Now my curiosity was fully-charged!!! I opened the hood on my Dads' '85 Chevy with a 250 L-6 in it. Pulled the hose, and his was exactly the same way!

Still not satisfied, I proceeded to Moms' '76 Impala, with a 350 4-bbl in it. Pulled that hose, and danged if it weren't "neutered" in the same-way! And, to this-day, I have yet to see ANYTHING that comes close to mentioning this, this---"thing", in any of my old and/or newer "Mechanic's Bibles".

So, close to 35-years later, I gotta know: For something that sounded SO-critical to the operation of the vehicle---what is/or was---up with all that? Was the EGR simply tacked-on for EPA-satisfying looks? And/or was there EVER-one that would literally "work", as far as the engine-operation went/goes???

Donk, That is something I can't answer. I do remember in the late '70s something about rerouting EGR to ported vacuum. A lot of drivability complaints were countered on PDI service in those days. Although technically illegal, they were done. Sometimes someone would accidentally drop a heavy object attached to a wooden stick on top of the EGR valve that kept it from working.

I had a 1980 AMC 6 that ran rough. A friend [one of the best carb guys I knew] put his hand around that spaghetti web of vacuum lines and said, 'You mind?' I looked the other way for a few minutes and all that clutter was gone and it ran fine. :)

For some reason I got to thinking about a long gone friend. He was a high up sales guy for Glidden Paint and traveled a lot in the 50's. They always supplied him with a midsize car, bare bones and one year it was a Chrysler product, maybe a Dodge stripped down but it had a big engine.

He told me how much fun it was at stop lights when he blew the doors off the young guys in their hopped up rods.

Jesse was a racing fan from then on. :)

OLD JOHN: Well, if it confuses YOU? Then I feel honored to continue wallowing in my blissful-ignorance of the subject!☺

Even though I admittedly DID have to actually BUY, and REPLACE, an-EGR valve once. After 100,000-plus on the clock, the one on Moms'-76-Impala had developed a leak in it's(non)-operational diaphragm, and therefore was a direct-leak to the manifold.

Could've just made a solid flat-plate, drilled & sealed. But for $5.00 from a salvage yard, and the 10-minute installation?

And since the gasket was still-stuck on the face of the "new"-EGR? I figure I broke-even...!☺

donk, That '76 would probably spark knock without the valve in place?

Sometimes one has to do a little redesigning.

I had a '89 rig with the small frame so called higher output at idle alternator. Besides failing several times it would overcharge and boil the batteries unless I happened to look at the volt gauge soon after it went rouge. Ended up making new brackets to hold the old reliable kind of alternator.

RICK: Yeah, maybe they'll start issuing S&H Green Stamps soon???☺

As for thermostats? Most any decent-stocked hardware supply should carry them. I'm assuming you want the PROGRAMMABLE style. I tried one once, but I went back to my-old "Round-Honeywell" within one-seasons' length. I just didn't like my temps to be that---"unflexible". Too-accurate for my needs. Furnace would run constant, with a variance of only + or - of 3-degrees...

My outside sensor says it is 13 degrees. I think I could be one cool dude if I wanted.

Some commercial buildings have locked covers over the stats and even if you have the key to change the setting the max 5 degrees allowed, it will reset after an hour or what other limit is programmed into it. The only way around that is the master control which is likely on the building super's computer. Imagine a big convention room and folks feeling cool. Once the room fills up the people's body heat warms it up and they call for cool. Master control has that covered.

Sounds like my late parents-n-law. She was hot and he was cold. Never knew if it was going to be 65 or 85 when we visited although neither ever touched the thermostat. :)

"I just didn't like my temps to be that---"unflexible". Too-accurate for my needs. Furnace would run constant, with a variance of only + or - of 3-degrees...

-- Posted by donknome-2 on Wed, Jan 7, 2015, at 12:08 PM

Donknome-2

I wish my customers had been that tolerant of wide temperature swings. Would have been a lot less call backs to fine tune the heat anticipator.

I would not use a Programmable T-Stat myself, but there are some that would. I like the auto feature on one where you can set a differential of X degrees between heating and cooling and it will switch itself back and forth.

I lived with wide variations of temperature with the old wood stoves on the farm. Even wide variations from one corner of the room to the other. Today I like my comfort and do not like seeing the thermometer vary a full degree. And while I haven't really worked with these new electronic T-Stats, they are usually pretty accurate and dependable, although I know a lot of them and maybe all of them, no longer have an adjustable heat anticipator. I really haven't checked that out, but there are tons of brands anymore, some I have never heard of.

Even if you are on a farm and want to burn wood you can attain an excellent level of control today. Buy a Hardy wood furnace and heat your home with hot water heat.

RICK: Unless you have central air incorporated into your heating-system, it should be only TWO-wires, yeah. (Bet one is BLUE, and the other YELLOW, ain't it?)☺

WHEELS mentioned the older heat-anticipator that(some of us!☺)still use. IF you need to go that route, just take the grill off the furnace, and look on the side of the gas-valve. It's stamped right on there---probably upside-down, just to make it that much harder to read!

All the anticipator does is matches the electrical-draw of the fuel solenoid, when it's open(as in, gas flow ON). The thermostat is also marked with these same-values, as it's adjustable. Slide the little-brass "arrow" to the needed value, and then trim your heat-cycle as it shows, either longer OR shorter, IF needed.

(The current"draw" from the gas-solenoid simply feeds back to the thermostat to a small-heater, which "fools" the thermostat into the preferred-heating pattern.)

WHEELS'-preference is real-sweet, IF you have the home heat/cool/normal insulated home. I envy him!☺

My old two-story is anything but normal. I use window units for air, and a central heat furnace---although, I heat about 90% of the time with a new-style WarmMorning®-type.

I only break-open the central-furnace on days like the past-three have been: Blue-@zzed Cold, with 20-mph+ winds!

For me? Any place on the thermo between 68-to-72 turns my crank, for heat. Anything under 80, for the(far off!)summer...!☺

I agree with donk on the temps, I like staying warm more than staying cool, We have a window fan that works nicely until it is very hot and then the big window unit is put into play with a small extra fan running to move the cool air into the bedroom. Gas fired hot water heat means our electric bill goes down in winter and gas bill goes up some.

Seems like yesterday that we never thought too much about it and wore sweaters and watched TV with blankets on our laps.

We put a lot of effort in reducing the bill in the other house, new windows, more insulation and new light bulbs.

A lot of savings was getting rid of the old fridge in the shop and the old freezer in the garage. The biggest saving was replacing the old central heat and air unit. Wheels would be the expert but I'm thinking if it's over 25 years old, a replacement would pay for itself in a couple of years or less.

"All the anticipator does is matches the electrical-draw of the fuel solenoid, when it's open(as in, gas flow ON)."

Donknome-2

The heat anticipator is actually an adjustable resistance that heats lightly according to the amp draw through the portion of the resistor you are using. This gives the bi-metal in the old style T-stats a false heat to actually turn the gas valve off prematurely, thereby allowing the blower to cool the furnace and bring the temperature up to the set point. Otherwise, under mild conditions, if you eliminated the heat anticipator the burner would run until the set point was reached and then the blower would cause the house to warm further as it cooled the furnace down and cycled off, causing a wide temperature fluctuation. And you are correct, the value on the gas valve will give you the right point to set the anticipator on the T-Stat. And you are correct, sometimes it requires a little tweaking to satisfy picky people.

I drag this from the greatest story tread.

"They do make remote start kits for cars. Perhaps you could sleep longer if you bought one for her birthday, or maybe as a late Christmas present."

-- Posted by Have Wheels Will Travel - ÁÙ on Thu, Jan 8, 2015, at 12:56 PM

I was honored or cursed to install a remote starter on an in the news prominent court official's car a way back. That was before all the instant chips and plug in circuits of today.

Once in play it was a thing of awe. First a solenoid pulled the throttle three times and after 50 seconds the starter cranked. After two minutes the throttle was pulled again to drop the fast idle cam.

One had to remember to leave the heater/ defrost on if needed .

Old John,

Yes on the old furnaces, they were rather inefficient. While the newer ones are more efficient, they also can be more expensive to repair and need repair more often.

There are lots of options today, but the highest efficiency is not always the best value, but it can be. It depends on a lot of things age of users, how long they plan on living in the house, type of fuel available, anticipated price increases of this fuel and how many years you can expect for the payback or breakeven on the purchase of a new system.

There are no pat answers for what to buy, but a good HVAC company should be able to counsel a homeowner on that. Bearing in mind that they have no crystal ball on where the price of fuel is going either.

Old John,

I had a friend who had one installed, and of course he had to be sure to play it up big with those of us who did not have one. However I have noticed he does not currently have one on the car he is now driving.

Installation should be a little simpler today, since it is an absolute no to pump the accelerator lest you flood the engine.

Wheels

My eyes ain't what they use to be , I gotta squint to see what setting it's on now .

I'd just as soon keep the original .

Those are just a 2 wire hook up , no ?

(Electrical wiring went to color coding so women could do it too!)

-- Posted by ▪Rick on Thu, Jan 8, 2015, at 12:01 PM

Rick,

No need to not keep the original so long as it is working and doing a satisfactory job.

As stated by Donk, if it is a standard heat only T-Stat it should have only two wires. If it were heat and cool it would have either a 4 or 5 wire T-stat wire. Most often on Heat only the two wires would be white and red, but they could both be the same color or any combination of colors depending on how creative the electrician was. Regularly Red and White was it and it made no difference which wire went on which terminal. It gets a little more complicated if you have an air conditioner. And there you would need some help and terminal location vs the wire colors can be very important. Definitely you do not remove the wires from the old T-Stat without writing down where each color came from. It would not be the end of the world if you did not but it might cost a little more if you had to call in a tech to figure it out for you. If an experienced guy sees the old T-Stat and it's numbering/lettering (which can vary by brand) sequence it is not that tough to match it to a new T-stat even of a different brand.

Rick not going to comment on that woman thing, might get me in trouble. :-)

Actually I would hope it went to color coding for simplicity. One of America's major A/C mfgs used to manufacture units with such a jumble of wires that were all white with numbers on each end. It definitely was not more simple in a few years when you could hardly read the numbers, and they have long since abandoned that insanity.

One last thing, wear your hard hat. You do remember the ceiling fan engagement... right? ;-)

Wheels, A friend that was locally famous for custom rods showed me that most cars can be remotely started with only a couple of connections. Get to the fuse box and jumper a couple of the right circuits and most cars can be started

Before anyone gets more interested,there is still a steering wheel lock and an ignition disable that sees and deters driving away without a key.

Of course that all goes away if we are watching a TV show where the computers can get your DNA, bank records and conversations with your mother in law in about 2 seconds.

Old John,

I am sure someone that knows cars well can do lots of things, but wouldn't you be at the car if you went to jumper things. Then you might as well use the key. :-)

I was just trying to suggest something your wife could do without waking you up. It is so hard to go back to sleep after you have been outside on a morning like today. You're bound to be wide awake.

Wheels, That wide awake feeling has long passed.

Won't be long till I'm dreaming another dream :)

"Wheels , that's my problem , it works but I can't see the settings to make it work like I want it too."

Rick,

That happened to me some years ago. I was able to fix my problem by going to an eye doctor instead of a heating and cooling contractor. :-)

Glad WHEELS came in and clarified all that "clutter" with the thermostats. He gave us the "Condensed-Readers-Digest"-version of what I was "takin' the long-way about the barn" with...!☺

Have a programmable thermostat since I'm at work a good part of the weekdays. There's arguments both ways, but I find it does help out a bit on the utility bills. Not the 'OMG where have you been all my life', but enough to be a noticeable savings.

Also like to sleep in cooler temperatures, but with a warming boost before I get up so's the bathroom is comfortable when I catch up on the morning, er, reading. This bear don't have nuthin' to do with reading in the woods. :-)

Mine has its own version of an anticipator - if one wants it to be, say, 70 degrees when one arrives home, it will kick on ahead of time so to reach that temperature upon arrival. Or not, if one chooses the appropriate menu item.

Kind of a pain to set up the first time - each manufacturer has its own logic as to which buttons to push and how many schedules one cares to muddle through. The one I just put in even asked for the date and time - and adjusted its clock for daylight time, which will be neat up until the point Congress changes its mind on when daylight time starts and stops.

You know, as many times as Congress has changed its mind, you would have figured they would've finally found one that works. :-)~

Then, if you have a higher-efficiency unit with two-stage heating and cooling - that calls for a super double-secret model thermostat using all the wire colors of the Lucky Charms rainbow to have to figure out what goes where. Just about got to the point where the machine was smarter than fxpwt!

Shifting gears (ar, ar, ar) - well, the new has done worn off a bit on the F150. Was driving on down the road this morning, when ding, ding, ding. ??? Low tire pressure. Narf!

Got out, looked around. Looked around again, nothing apparent. Thumped the tires - they all sounded good. Got home and got the tire gauge out - 33 psi against its 35 psi spec. Hmmmm. Surely it wouldn't intentionally alarm for that small of a difference?

Heck the Impy is spec'd for 32 psi, but doesn't alarm til below 26. Ah, well, another opportunity to excel...

Bout tired of winter, and still better than two months to go...

Fxpwt

Just curious, how do you handle air conditioning in the summer time? Are you one of those guys who turns it off at night and enjoys that nice fresh air?

Did anyone see Toyota's announcement of no charge for use of their hydrogen patents? They say their fuel cell car will begin selling in California mid-year.

Wheels, I'm a whole house fan fan when her hay fever ain't acting up.

Old John,

When the weather is hot and stays hot, you can actually use more electricity by turning the AC off and opening the windows at night. You let all of the humid air back inside which the drapes, carpet and other furnishings soak up. Next day the AC has to work to get all that moisture back out of your home. Humidity removal is half the job of comfort control in the summer season.

Wheels, Right you are. There are times though when it's hot and dry.

Growing up, we never had a air conditioner and didn't know any better. I remember visiting the big Woolworth and Montgomery Ward stores with the Kool Cigarette decals on the doors; "Come on in we're Air Conditioned!". Sometime that cold wet air from the over sized units would almost hurt.

Old John,

Had a two stage system in my home using two heat pumps. This way I could take advantage of the heat pumps by operating to a much lower balance point. Come summer, I left one unit (Stage 1) run until it was running continuously and then let the 2nd stage and an outside temperature control bring on the 2nd unit. Yes the total system was way over sized for cooling if you let both units come on immediately on the call for cooling. But by staging the units we managed humidity control very well. I have seen homes with over sized AC's develop mold in finished basement areas because they did not control humidity.

fxpwt, That tire pressure thing has always baffled me. The Door says one thing and the tire says another. With the original tires I would think someone thought out the right pressure for the door tag. I bought new tires recently that say on the tire Max pressure way more than the door sticker.

When radials first came on the scene I always put in a higher pressure than what the owner manual recommended. Maybe a bit rougher ride but better handling and MPG.

On the old balloon and wide oval tires too much air would wear out the middle and too little would wear off the corners.

I'm reminded of the DUCKS that had adjustable from the cab tire pressure for different conditions.

Another question: Are we still restricted to keeping tires rolling in the same direction? Back in the day, a tire rotation meant moving 5 tires.

Old John,

My understanding from dealing with my motor home is that the pressure marked on the tire is the maximum allowed cold pressure on that particular tire. I did quite a bit of reading on that because of reading the horror stories about being stranded o the side of the road with a blown tire or worse. Once out in Utah, coming back from a rally and coming down a long grade with lots of curves we were slowed down because of an accident. Lots of motor homes headed out of Oregon. One guy had a blow out on the front end and ended up on the opposite side of the road and off the road about 30 feet, pointed back in the direction from where he had came. His wife was pacing around and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

I had my motor home weighed wheel by wheel loaded to travel. By taking a Michelin chart, I adjusted each tire for it's proper pressure for the wight it is carrying. I have it written down, but as I remember it, I need 115 lbs of pressure in the front tires and an average of about 80 lbs on the balance of the tires. I bumped it just a little to err on the safe side. This gives me a decent ride while the tires run well within their temperature range. I am more concerned with tire temperature than I am tire pressure. First rest stop on a trip has me out with a temperature gun checking every tire for temperature.

Another thing I found when I replaced my tires, upon looking at two different brands and their weight carrying charts. It took about 5 lbs more pressure per tire on Brand X than it did on the Michelin's I ended up purchasing to carry the same amount of weight.

Wheels, I used a lot of had been motor home tires that were taken off because of dry rot. Since I was on the road every day and seldom more than 75 miles from home, it made sense to buy tires at sometimes 6 installed for $100. One thing I learned for sure is that a Michelin will blow out way before the tread wears out. When I sprang for new it was Bridgestone 90 in front and 70 rear.

This brings back memories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98CTHm3Xn0Q

A couple of Ahole buddies put me in one of those rigs and I took a twenty mile round trip and never got past 5th gear. :)

Old John,

He wasn't driving that truck.... he was rowing it with the gear shift.

Old John

I have never had a Michelin tire blow either on a motor home or a car. But with motor homes there is hardly any way to wear out the tread before they dry rot. Short runs and low speeds you don't heat a dry rotted tire up like you do driving at high speed for 3 hours in a row. Had a brother-in-law make a trip in his motor hone on a set of tires that should have been replaced before he left. He was lucky, he was on the rest stop ramp and slowed down when he had a blowout.

As I think about it, I do not believe I have ever experienced one. Plenty of flats and lost a cap on a recapped tire once, but no blowouts. Two things I am pretty particular about are tires and brakes.... the balance of the vehicle is just window dressing. I figure I am hauling valuable cargo........ me! So I watch the safety items.

Could always distinguish those two stroke Detroits by that wam-wam-wam of the engine going from idle to red line in rapid succession and I had no trouble with that, just never learned to get past the first 5 speeds without grinding gears. :)

Wheels, A high speed tire blow out on a motor home could take out more than the wheel well I reckon, kind of misalign a cabinet door or two?

Wheels, A high speed tire blow out on a motor home could take out more than the wheel well I reckon, kind of misalign a cabinet door or two?

-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Jan 10, 2015, at 11:14 PM

Yes, and that could be the least of your problems if you could not hold it between the ditches. A motor home does not exactly maneuver as well as passenger car. One of the reasons I will shut it down if it gets slick. I know the rules, you steer in the direction of the skid, but not sure I can turn the wheel fast enough to bring one back to a straight line when the tail end starts whipping from one side to the other.

I was impressed out in Utah when I saw the location of that motor home after the tire blew and marveled that it was still on it's wheels.

Wheels - in the summer, I likes to drop the thermostat one degree, from 78 to 77, during bedtime. I never intentionally open the windows, ever, not just for the climate control, but I really hates to dust and houseclean.

Those chores are only outranked by the most humbling of housecleaning chores for a bachelor - cleaning the toilet, particularly after a 'run' of Taco Belch or chili.

Prefer to use those high-efficiency pleated filters towards the housecleaning reduction and allergy relief. Did run into a problem whenever I missed a filter changing interval, the heat pump kicked out. Apparently there wasn't enough airflow to satisfy the unit.

Good point on the humidity loading on the A/C system, I think it's called latent heat of condensation, er, or something like that. Have been amazed when checking on the A/C, where I could hear a small but steady and continuous stream of water from the evaporator drain - figure it consumes more than a fair share of the overall BTU cooling capacity to condense that amount of water.

OJ - opinions on tire pressures are many, and like financial investments, I figure one has to pick a scheme that will let them sleep at night. My example is the Impy - the tires are rated for 35 max, the door sticker says 32, but given my driving habits and tire wear monitoring, I've found that 28-29 gives the better treadlife on the wide 50-series performance tires. At $900 per swap, am willing to put up with a little wishy-washy in handling for another 20,000 miles of treadlife. IIRC, the later model-year Impalas did start specifying 30 psi for the target on the door sticker.

Not a fan of Bridgestones here - not only for their relatively recent problems with the Ford Exploders, but also for their Firestone 500s from the 70s. IMO, Bridgestone makes tires that just kill people.

Fxpwt

I picked up that you are using a heat pump. A word of caution on trying to do a setback on heat pumps. If you setback during the day and bring the temp back up before you return home.... you could be bringing on the heat strips which will more than use up all of those energy savings from the heat pump set back. You need to let the heat pump do all of the temperature recovery and make sure the strips do not come on, or the set back T-Stat could be costing you money in any kind of weather above the balance point temperature on your heat pump.

Latent heat is the amount of heat in BTU's it takes to turn 1 lb of 212 degree water into 212 degree steam.... Latent Heat of Vaporization. Likewise there is the same thing at the freezing point.... the amount of heat in BTU's you must remove from 1 lb of water to turn 32 degree water into 32 degree ice.... Latent Heat of Fusion.

In either case you have a change of state, but not a change of temperature. And please don't ask me what that exact number of BTU's is without giving me time to look it up. It requires more to change to steam than it does to make ice. I think 144 BTUs for making steam. What I did required me to know that but it did not require me to use it every day.

In case you are interested the temperature where water starts condensing on an object is called it's Dewpoint which varies with the relative humidity of the air.

Posted by Have Wheels Will Travel - ΑΩ on Sun, Jan 11, 2015, at 5:21 PM

I need you at the lake house. I don't know what I have there but a friend was there adding security system and said my air conditioner was running and it was 30 degrees outside. He also said there is two breakers marked heat but only one had wires hooked to it.

Regrets,

If you have a heat pump at the lake the outdoor unit should be running. I used them for years and the modern units have been capable of providing more BTU's per watt of electricity burned than an electric element can, to well below zero. Not sure what the extra breaker is all about, but not seeing it, my guess is that the breaker with wires and heat marked on it are powering a 5 to 10 KW heat strip for supplemental heat.

A heat pump is nothing but a reverse cycle air conditioner with some more controls. It merely pulls heat from the ambient air and transfers it inside via a refrigeration cycle. If it is a heat pump and I suspect it is, in cold weather operation you should be getting a colder air temperature on the discharge air at the outdoor unit than you are on the air entering the coil. A temperature, I cannot give you exactly as it depends on design of the unit and the outdoor temperature. Another give away if it is keeping you warm, it is probably working ok. I doubt your AC is running and the heat strip and you are still maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature.

I guess I'm ok then. I have it set on 45 all winter when I'm not there. The heating bills are very low. It 's log so my friend goes over to turn the heat up two days in advance so it is bearable when I get there. He charges me a twelve pack every time I come over in the winter but I get to help him drink it.

Regret, The time to worry is when he reports wires going to nothing and no A/C unit to be found. :)

I worry about that OJ.

I think I'll warn the tractor up. The guys that ran these were engineers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJpZfp0Ss2U

Here ya go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULQ6196Tfds

-- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Sun, Jan 11, 2015, at 9:51 PM

I was cringin' every second, when he leaned-into that starter. God only knows what kept that shirt-tail from gettin' tangled in that little tire he was using for a "starter". Man, that'd been an-UGLY sitch for sure....!

Wheels - yes, the previous house had a heat pump, a move that I developed a shoulder problem from patting myself on the back so much on the upgrade from its previous forced-air electric system. The current humble abode has one of those uber-efficient natural gas units with the PVC pipe for inlet air and outlet exhaust.

At any rate, with the heat pump, set the thermostat option for a 10-degree difference before calling for backup. Then had the away-from-home temperature set at 9 degrees less than normal (61 vs. 70). Eh, it seemed to work OK, based on the utility bill and observations of the spinning disc electric meter.

Crying a little bit here - even though the current house was a move up and slightly larger than the other, it ain't nowhere near the 50% larger that the utility bill reflects.

Loved the heat pump. Went with the air-to-air rather than ground source because the recovery on the initial cost of installation for the ground-source took too long.

Upsized the heat pump from the original 2-ton capacity A/C to a 2-1/2 ton unit due to the higher heating demand than cooling demand for these parts. The heat pump would keep the target 70deg setting down to 15 degree outdoor temps before losing traction, and the additional cooling in summer kept the humidity under control while hitting the 78 degree target with ease, in part due to the addition of a humidistat that called for a lower fan speed in high humidities.

Knocked 40% off the winter bills as compared to the forced-air electric, making last year the first year the utility bill averaged over $100 per month, with the max winter bill coming in at $140 - a pleasant return in light of those hollerin about their $300-$400 bills.

If they ever get those cold-climate heat pumps working which guarantee near-full heat down to zero and below - suggest the savings will start replacing gas units - especially when one figures the monthly meter fees in towards their overall annual cost of utilities.

fxpwt, I upgraded my last abode to one of those efficient gas rigs. Dam thing cut our bill and our sleep as the pulse furnace sounded like a neighbor's '57 Chevy with dual glass packs starting up at 5AM on Sunday morning.

The second house has a big water heater in the basement and a pump that circulates the hot water through baseboard dissipaters, No fan, little noise except the rumble of ignition heard if I'm in the lower level. Gas bill not that bad.

The modern heat pumps and especially ground loop systems are the way to go as far as lower bills.

A friend built a gigantic house and maintained a single utility bill under $100.

The one thing I can't get past with all electric is the cook stove. I can tolerate the electric oven but would have to have the gas meter to cook my eggs. Might be magnetic induction could change my mind.

Heheheh OJ, don't know what it is about gas ranges, but those who have used them throw a fit when presented with an electric counterpart - doesn't heat fast enough, doesn't heat evenly, can't control the heat -- in short, they just ain't got no do-right.

Of course, using a stove in general here violates my basic rule of vittles - if it takes longer to cook than it does to eat, it just ain't worth it. Well, maybe unless someone else is doing the cooking. :-)

I dunno about the magnetic induction units. Watched those infomercials, but hard to believe, like someone trying to convince me politicians are honest. Have to wonder about the long-term reliability on something that complicated...

Hmmmm, been hearing all the chatter about the aluminum body. Found this video chronically the cost to repair a ding in the bed.

http://www.powernationtv.com/post/heres-how-much-it-cost-to-fix-an-aluminum-ford...

Son! $4100 for that, plus it takes twice as long??? Puts a new spin on, "they don't make 'em like they used to".

fxpwt, That looked to me like a good place to glue on one of those magnetic signs.

Heheheh, yeah OJ - just an unbelievable amount for no more damage than there was. About choked when the guy said the taillight lens assembly was $800 and was only sold as a unit.

On another note, gots to reminiscing about a feature long gone, as I was waiting for the new and improved(?) local TV website to load up. Back in the early days of Internet, when broadband was just gettin' goin', one used to have an option for a text-only page with no pictures or crazy graphics. Worked really well for those of us still using dial-up, even at the new improved 56K over the previous 28.8K and 14.4K modems. For those wondering, 57.6K is the theoretical maximum rate that could be carried over the copper-wire based phone lines at the time, so 56K was as good as it was going to get.

Speaking of a blast from the past - anyone remember the Hamsterdance? http://www.superlaugh.com/hamsterdance Had to make it my new ringtone for a little humor to lead into what I figure I'm about to hear on the other end. :-)~ A little background from our friends at Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampster_Dance And finally, the original version of the 1971 Whistle Stop tune by Roger Miller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPt1n2AdQd4

"Worked really well for those of us still using dial-up, even at the new improved 56K over the previous 28.8K and 14.4K modems."

Fxpwt, you must be a "Newbie", my first modem was 300 baud and there was no internet. :-)

Wheels, guess it's a mix of being a 'newbie' and being cheap. I have been accused of having fishhooks in my pockets, cuz money will go in but it won't come out.

A buddy at school sprung for one of the earlier PC's and was so proud he could connect to the school's mainframe computer from his house. IIRC, one had to dial a number, wait for an irritating noise, then put the phone handset in a modem cradle. I'm thinking his was 300 baud too. The monitor was monochrome orange, and I think I could almost type as fast as the text that was received.

Simply amazing how far and how fast things have progressed.

Fxpwt,

I was just pulling your leg about the Newbie thing. You are correct about the speed on a 300 bawd modem.

I started with a Model 1 Radio Shack machine and 4K of memory with a tape recorder for data storage. For a small fortune, I was finally able to upgrade it all of the way to 48K. Then I upgraded to a Model 3 and I don't remember the memory. With 2 on board double density floppies and 2 more daisy chained, I was loaded for bear... I thought. Your final floppy drive had to have a terminating resistor on it and they charged $50 extra for that. There had to be a handsome profit there for Radio Shack, but if you turned a screw on the case of anything they sold, they voided your warranty.

Finally upgraded to a couple of Corona desktops and a Corona lugable and network system along with an integrated accounting system. We were really loaded for bear now. And still no hard drives on the computers. I built some, bought some and we moved up from that. I think, no, I know we spent a young fortune over time upgrading. It took a good many years to get to the point my 3 year old smart phone is today.

But, it was fun and it was an education in itself.

Wheels, I know nothing but heard the latest device made the most profit of any company in history.

When I started it was not unusual to take two hours to order product and get confirmation of what might be shipped the next day. The next night I found out what was shipped. All could have been done over the phone and was sometimes, but the computer generated list and lack of the age old John Deere problem of understanding letters like B, C and G over the phone made the wait promising for faster things to come.

Old John

I would not begin to predict where the world of computers is going in the future. It blows my mind. What was considered impossible just a few short years ago is common place and nearly anybody can master it today.

A GPS is wonderful to help you find where you are going and many different places you would like to visit. I refuse to pay for the APP that makes my phone a GPS. I do not need to. I have a free APP called Local. Type in the name of a local restaurant in whatever area you are driving in and the phone will give you a turn by turn, along with street names of how to get there. Not quite a GPS, but it suffices.

My first was an Amstrad with two floppy drives for about $1500. About a year later I bought a 1 Meg drive. I could turn it on and in about a minute or two BAM I was up and running. I think I paid about $1000 for it. I was standing in tall cotton.

I have a simple talking phone and only take it with me when she orders such. We do sometimes turn on the nav in the car but don't trust it completely. Programmed it for a funeral home once and found out there were two under the same name seven miles apart and were almost late.

It's headed to the point where a major failure of the internet would be equal to a widespread natural disaster.

When I founded my business the big thing was getting a guarantee of payment for credit card sales at the end of the day. Now they expect to e able to start taking your money as you enter the store based on anticipation of what they are going to sell. :)

Any of youse guys or gals free tomorrow, or maybe for a couple-days?

Here, it's FUN, and it's in keeping with the season!☺

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMadxvL7YV0

A whole new meaning to wind in your face.

And interesting show on WSIU

http://www.ultimaterestorations.com/

The link is 5 minute preview.

Wheels - just for you - one of this week's feature articles on allpar.com is about the Dodge A-100 and A-108 pickups, with a link in the article to the vans, which I think I've shared previously. http://www.allpar.com/trucks/a-trucks.html

Kinda neat looking back on past vehicle arrangements, even if it's not for the first time.

Found out the hard way that today's gas is no good on yesterday's vehicles. Haven't driven the '81 Jeep much, odometer and oil change sticker shows that I've put less than 200 miles on it since Nov2012. Not even going to think about the insurance and tag cost per mile.

Last fall, had to change the fuel pump and carb as the rubber diaphragms and such had failed. After sitting most of the summer, the engine compartment looked like a yard sprinkler, spraying funny-smelling gas everywhere. Well, I needed to move it, so changed the parts, moved it as best it could go - hacking and sputtering the whole way with no power, and then it sat some more, until today.

Drained the gas out of the tank - smelled like cheap varnish rather than gas. Had a funny color to it also, and it just didn't seem to pour like it should. But, put some fresh gas in, and it's back to almost firing on all eight again, sounding more like its self of the past.

Been told it's the ethanol, or it may be the evolution in detergents' aggressiveness in order to keep fuel injectors clean. Or, maybe it's just that gas goes bad as the volatiles evaporate...?

At any rate, lesson learned. Needs to either start driving it more, or drain the tank if it's going to sit for a spell.

Used to refer to the Jeep as the poor-man's convertible. After looking at some prices on the newer offerings, not sure that's true anymore...

fxpwt, I saw the Little Red Wagon at a St. Charles Stock car track a long time back. I remember my dad saying that had to be hard on the driveline when it stood up. :)

Now I have to go back and explore that website.

I've been told the ethanol cleans and flushes to help clog farther down while it eats up the old rubber like parts. I have a Ford F600 needing the same attention. My '85 Dodge sucked all the charcoal from the canister into the carb after sitting a while.

Fxpwt.

I had a 1964 A100 pickup with the 225 leaning tower of power in it. I believe the way I equipped it the cost was $2150 give or take a little. Yes it had a 90 inch wheel base and all drum brakes. When you had to get on the binders really hard you had to be really careful because you were never quite sure which direction it was going to head and it definitely had a mind of it's own.

A couple of years later I added a van with the 273 V8 which turned out to be a disaster. One trip to Bollinger County to go deer hunting and no problems. A little using it for what it was purchased for and another trip to Bollinger County to install a furnace and air conditioner in my Mother's house over Thanksgiving did not go so well. With the wife and three youngsters, we started home. Not too far into the trip I noticed a bit of a noise when I let up on the accelerator. Then I noticed it happening if I let up or slowed down. And not too far out of Fredericktown it got worse, I slowed down hoping to make it to the station I knew up the road. Suddenly a rod went through the side of the block. The rear wheels slid momentarily and then it started freewheeling so I could get off the road. We locked the doors and the wife and three kids and I hiked about a mile to the station. The truck had just over 800 miles on the odometer. I called the guy I purchased it from and he sent a tow truck and came and got us. They put a 318 in it at the dealership and while I wasn't supposed to know about it, it appeared we had a bit of a quality control problem. One of the rod caps only had a nut on one side of it. How it ever made 800 miles amazes me.

But I surprised a number of young sports with that 318 after that. They would pull up along side and give me one of those vroom vroom noises and a sideways look. I think it really hurt their feelings to be blown off with a service truck. They would not even look my way at the next stop light. Those were my young and foolish days. Forgot for a minute.... speaking of quality control. The first time I filled that truck with fuel, half of it ran out on the concrete. One side of the fuel tank was not welded. That cost Dodge a fuel tank. It has a few other problems as well. Like sailing along about 60 or so and hit a bump and the front end would start shimmying and it was hang on until you got her slowed down to about 40.

Lord I loved that truck... NOT.

I tell ya what - one of the best investments here has been the pressure washer.

Not just for the savings on time and money versus hand-washing or the local wash bay - but it has so many uses around the house.

Grungy-looking concrete - zap. Mildew on the maintenance-free siding after the built-in fungicides have worn off after 5 years or so - zap. Surprising the blackbirds vandalizing the bird feeder - zap. Annoying the neighbors with the constant drone of the gas engine - priceless. :-)

fxpwt, I bought a $20 hand held electric steam cleaner at the discount grocery once. Liked it so well for cleaning under the hood that I bought another after it threw craps in 3 months time. Kept the receipt for the second one and it quit a few days after the one year warranty expired.

Wheels, I had that same shimmy problem on a truck. Turned out it had a steering damper bad. Looked like a shock absorber connected from the tie rod to the frame.

The story was told about Grandpa and his car. The crank bearings went bad right after he bought it. He was proud of such a purchase and made a point to idle the car for the first mile so it could warm up properly. After two overhauls at low mileage he was told to drive it fast right after start up so the oil pressure would be enough to properly lubricate the crankshaft. From then on he drove like a maniac and scared the heck out of anyone that road with him :)

OJ - recall the advice of years past that it was good to get a car out on the highway once in a while to 'blow things out'.

Apparently good advice, as the town-driven carbureted vehicles did seem to run a bit better after an extended highway run.

Interesting how advice has changed. Nowadays, the recommendation is to start the vehicle and go gently, with no warm up. While this may be acceptable given the abilities of fuel injection and computer controls - I suspect the advice may be pressured in part by the environmental folks wishing to reduce emissions...

Have to keep the warm-up practice in place on the Jeep. With its automatic choke disabled, trying to drive off on a cold engine will bring out its other personality - instead of behaving like a reliable, well-mannered Jeep, it turns into a bucking Bronco. :-)~

fxpwt, I think the cam ground pistons of yesteryear did benefit from a uniform warm up. Today many spray oil on the inside of the piston to provide cooling as well as warm up. As far as cold start and drivability, fuel injection beats carb hands down.

Anyone need a tractor?

http://www.hameleauctions.com/auction/dick-and-karen-wampler-collection

Scroll down to where the pictures start. :)

Eh, OJ, don't really need another tractor here, but it's always fun to look around. Pretty nice selection in the link there.

One of the few things left that I like about the SEMO District Fair is looking at the antique tractors to see how things used to be done and what used to be considered state of the art - certainly a fair piece from the climate-controlled cabs and GPS auto-driver options today.

In other news, have become more aware that life has order, and sometimes this order is quite important.

For example, have recently resigned myself to the need for corrective lenses beyond the occasional readers. Given my past experiences with sunglasses, where the cost and longevity are inversely related - the more they cost, the sooner they're destroyed - I opted for contacts.

The importance of order between putting in the lens and splashing on the after shave became very clear in very short order. Getting this order backwards definitely gives new meaning to having fire in your eye and a spring in your step...

:-)~

fxpwt, I find it interesting how slowly tractors advanced. The Farmall M of the '50s was basically still the F20 with some upgrades.

Some of the history of tractors like cars involves a lot of people stories. Ferguson introduced a lot of ideas in which the legal system denied him profit and recognition. Henry Ford stole his lift system and the patent right ran out before the court battle. When Ferguson died they later found detailed plans of what looked like the John Deere power shift transmission. A friend follows an Oliver collector club and there too was born a lot of ideas that ended up in other brands plus Oliver built a lot of stuff with other brand names.

About the aftershave: when you are old enough for glasses you should switch to English Leather, You work like a horse and might as well smell like one; and face it, you're not trying to impress any girls anymore anyway. :)

Had to chuckle at a recent post on Facebook, mainly because of how well it relates - lamenting something to the effect of now that I've reached the age where I finally got my head together, the body starts falling apart. That gets balanced by the words of a former co-worker who said if one is over 40 and something doesn't hurt when you get up in the morning - you ain't done enough.

One challenge with being able to see more clearly is the discovery that the housekeeping and related general dusting needs to be stepped up a notch or two around here... Aargh, no good deed goes unpunished.

Never tried English Leather - wasn't that the one that had the honey-pie, chickie-babe swooning about how her men wear English Leather, or they wear nothing at all? Thought that was a pretty racy commercial for the time. Hai Karate was another brand now well beyond its peak popularity having the catchy commercials, IIRC.

As for me, still going with the wintergreen rubbing alcohol - ending up smelling like something between the Life Saver or Pepto-Bismol. Going for the cheap here - it's like $1 a pint bottle at the Dollar Generous, lasts the better part of a year and works like an after-shave should. Figure its aroma impresses upon the girls, er women, just fine - perhaps not in the most favorable light, though. :-)~

Fxpwt

Regarding the aches and pains......

On my last physical my doctor asked how I was feeling. I said I have a few aches and pains when I get up in the morning.

His reply.....

Well, at this age if you wake up in the morning and you don't feel some aches and pains.... you're probably dead.

I think he may be on to something there.

Anyone know how to clean the inside of a windshield? I just spent an hour on that and still have streaks and smears. It starts when the glass clouds and the A/C defrost needs on to clear. No difference in the old car and the new.

OJ - Windex usually works good enough for me, but some of the aerosol foaming spray window cleaners such as from the local chain auto parts stores seem to be quicker and more aggressive on the crud, with the faster evaporation rates helping with the streaking.

Newer cars will have issues earlier on with the higher evaporation rate of the plasticizers used to keep the plastics and vinyls in the vehicle soft. As these fumes are released, they will stick to whatever else they come in contact with, such as the windshield. Over time as these plasticizers diminish, the components will become stiff and may crack, which is why the ArmorAll-type products enjoy the market they have.

Older cars need to be watched for heater core leakage usually tipped off when the coolant reservoir needs to be filled more than normal - the anti-freeze vapors will come up through the defroster and put the haze on the inside of the windshield, especially in cooler humid conditions.

fxpwt, Good info on the heater core leakage, been there done that many times.

Since she won't allow smoking in or near the car and it is in the garage at home and her work park space is under roof, the only time it sees sunshine is when driving or shopping. When she said the owners manual says not to use Windex, I told her I'd say that too if I sold glass cleaner. :)

I do admire folks that make time to keep a car clean inside and out.

Wondering, how many are satisfied with their car's cleanliness?

The former Impala had a cabin air filter - seemed to do a great job with interior cleanliness. The annual filter changeouts would find the cabin air filter having much more crud in it than the engine air filter.

The newer lower-end F150 doesn't have a cabin filter, and it seems the interior is much dustier. A bit more effort is required with the post-wash wet chamois and the handheld Dirt Devil vac to keep things clean enough.

Love the RainX product for keeping the windows clean on the outside. Dirt and bugs come off much more easily than when untreated. Challenge is to remember to reapply it and follow up with the wiper blade cleanings to prevent the smearing. Trying the RainX washer fluid, but too early to decide on its effectiveness.

I hear tell the local Teen Challenge does an excellent job with their car wash services, but there's just something about paying someone else to clean your stuff, no matter how economical. Kinda why I don't have a housecleaning service or lawn mowing service. If I can't keep my own stuff up, then I obviously have too much stuff.

Suggest to be sure with the advice not to use Windex - some glass is coated with stuff that does not react well with ammonia, or Ammonia-D, in some glass cleaning products. :-)

fxwpt, Now you tell me. I used some ammonia already. :) I have always supported Teen Challenge with clothing donations and shopping at the local store. I also understand this is the time of year Notre Dame school offers such services for good value. I don't wish to deviate from the dirty-greasy basis of the thread but that is the kind of fundraising I support.

I may start another thread and see if it is of interest.

Eh, OJ - not sure what the automakers are doing nowadays, just recall the high-dollar Larson storm door I put up a few years ago having the warning in very BOLD print not to use ammonia-based window cleaners on the glass.

Those plasticizers can be a bear to get completely off the windshield - lots of cleaner, plenty of clean towels/newspaper/rags-of-choice, and several applications needed.

Wear sunglasses when you drive.. you won't notice the film.

Old John,

You mean this thread?

Wheels, I scrolled a couple of times but must have missed it.

You thought I was gone, defeated---but you were WRONG!!! I never LEFT!!! (I just came in through the back-door, with my old 'word!) Accidentally, mind you.......

Donknome-2

I have it figured that a man.... or woman, is going to have to get up early in the morning to defeat you. :-)

Yeah, and the scary part is: It took a woman to(help)me figger it out!

By golly, hain't NOBODY "aced" our counter-clicks either, I see...☺

(Don't worry, I'm sure Old John will pass-through shortly---just like dysentery!)

I can sign in direct, to leave a comment on an article---but not to my, ok, OUR!---forum(s).

All in all, it just takes longer, which I've grown accustomed to anyway, since my right-front "headlight"(eye) burnt-out, an' I still have an-OEM-replacement on backorder now, for at least the last two-years, but, man, they just don't make 'em like mine, anymore...☺!

Donknome-2

Give us an accounting of what's been going on. I am sure you have a few good stories to relate.

WHEELS: Nah, ain't much to tell about since my absence.

(NO,I was not incarcerated. Incapacitated? Yeah, OK---I was guilty of that!)

Was just a long, unpaved road that I had to travel---except nobody told me the bridge was out on "Halfway-There"-road.

The "bridge" is slowly being rebuilt, even though it's still gonna be a "One-Way ONLY" structure: You can only go forward, and face the rest of the trip. Try and go back the wrong-way, and the past will always be there, to fight with all over again.

And although I still feel uneasy about it---I want to be one of the first to cross-it when completed. See what's over-there. Might be even MORE nightmares and sorrow. Or, might be a Garden Of Eden? Or, better still: FREE-beer, steaks & fish on Fridays,(for those so inclined, to keep all happy!☺)and, of course, nothing but the best-est, real-ist, LIVELY-IST---but, proper!---ladies in their finest!

Well, you asked, and I delivered at least one or two. I'm just glad I could find a way back to you, WHEELS, and OJ, and FXPWT if still-around? And, of course, RICK, who's still on the loose.☺ And a fist-full of others, that---all joking aside---I missed "seeing" each day.

So, let's keep it "greasy, but maintained", an' I'll catch-up again soon---and again, Thanks to all who stayed here an' kept the lights-on, 'til I got back...!☺☺☺

The best to you Donknome-2!

Perhaps now some sanity will be restored. Have to keep it short. I am out among em. And I need to watch my back. 😊

Perhaps shifting gears towards the 'off-topic', but I think I've come up with a good segue... :-)~

Have observed that if one drives an older vehicle, then if one isn't doing something to it pretty much all the time, one is falling behind. Once the 'new' wears off, upkeep goes beyond the routine fluid fills, oil changes, and the like - on to things like replacing parts that have lost their 'do-right' outright and any of the numerous consumable items that have worn to end-of-life, along with stuff like perhaps a more in-depth cleaning of the interior using a hot water extraction unit such as the Rug Doctor with the upholstery tool.

To me, it seems that the same idea also applies to houses. Read somewhere that a rule of thumb is to re-invest 1-4% of the home's market value back into the home every year. At first, figured that number was put out by some remodeler's or handyman's association, much like the usage amounts given on laundry detergent products are probably on the high side, given that source of the usage information is in the business of selling soap. But, after considering what the recommended percentage comes out to in real dollars - maybe not so far off.

Certainly on track this year to come in on the high side of the recommendation given some unplanned major come-aparts such as a tree larger than I could deal with succumbing to Mother Nature's fury in the wind burst a couple weeks' back or the boatload of not-cheap tinted caulk for re-doing the seals around the numerous windows. Not entirely apple-cart upsetters, given that the house is only a few birthdays younger than me, kinda knew what types of stuff I was getting into.

What really scorches my shorts and burns my bottom is that while most in the 'hood do a respectable job of maintaining their property to the best of their physical and financial abilities, there are those who apparently don't give a flyin' flip.

Whatever the reason - renter, saving to move onward and upward elsewhere, or as observed more often than not, just plain flat-out lazy - one can pretty much pick out the homes up and down the street where the residents aren't invested. They're simply just staying there, all the while draining the collective value of the 'hood.

Eh, not sure what can be done about it. Gentle suggestions don't seem to work, not seeing anything quite bad enough to be a code violation nor do I wish the title of neighborhood narc. So until a light bulb pops on, just have to resort to generously grousing about it - which is doing nothing to halt my slide towards becoming a thoroughly grumpy old man, the kind I used to laugh at so many years ago. At least now I appreciate how that happens. :-)

Fxpwt

Lived in a community with a home owner's association. The covenants were such that if you owned a pickup truck you must park it in a garage.

I complained about a neighbor's allowing his property to go unattended and was told you couldn't tell a neighbor what to do with his property by an officer of the assoc. I parked a running but ratty looking truck in front of my house. I became the village grouch, but it got the neighbor some attention and then I got rid of the truck.

Gots to wondering about the value of cell phones and their effects on civilization as we used to know it.

Used to think it was so neat, watching the TV series Cannon, where he had a phone in his car. But as things have progressed from the operator-assisted mobile phone calls as on the show, to direct-dial abilities that came with the bag phones, to the portability of being able to carry a phone complete with social media and games on your person - is the ability of being connected all the time having some unintended consequences?

Thinking specifically of the skills of patience and planning and do-it-yourself.

Seems like these skills along the lines of, "I'll remember to ask him about it next time I see him, or the next time I get to the phone" has been replaced by just whipping out the cell phone then-and-there for an immediate answer.

With many having a huge contact list of various Shell-answer-men at the ready, the skill of hunkering down, scrounging for information, or just reading the manual or instructions for the simple satisfaction of taking care of your own business, answering your own questions, and solving your own problems seems to be losing its attraction.

For the person making the call, can see where the cell phone is a wonderful tool. But for the person receiving the call, one typically has the Pavlovian-habit to stop and drop whatever they're in the middle of to at least look at who is trying to interrupt progress - which begs the question of whether this call or text is really that important and just can't wait.

Eh, just venting a bit, seeing as how way more calls are received than placed here. Just remembering that the old ways got to be the old ways for generally good reasons, and that change means only difference, not necessarily improvement.

Fxpwt

I have mixed emotions about cell phone usage. Actually the newer smartphones are a computer in your pocket with a phone as kind of afterthought. . Don't get that many calls any more actually, if I get a call from a politician or a telemarketer, it takes just a few seconds to block the number. Eventually you will hear from some of the telemarketers again as they roll over to a different number.

I find it handy to pull up a manual from almost anywhere on almost anything when you need a little help.

And the ability to access cloud storage for retrieving most data you have saved from your computer is handy at times.

And there is always, the ability to speak to it and just say Burger King and you don't waste a gallon of fuel trying to find one.

All in all,l really don't want to go back, but it does scare the Bejezuz out of me to be passed by some 17 year old kid on the highway when I am 5 miles over the speed limit and they are looking at their phone and texting.

And lest I forget, there is the camera that you can take a picture of some part and send it to Joe the counterman for comparison before you drive 25 miles to find you were talking about two different motors and the one you need is out of stock.

I can put up with the downside better than going back.

Still yet. Someone has to crawl under there, drain the oil, remove the pan and see if the computer was right when it said what it said.

Old John

My computer has started acting squirrely. So I enlisted the aid of some gremlins that live within the beast.

They beat around for hours testing this and that and come back telling me I have a Failure ID that is 24 digits long caused by a part number something or other. Take a picture of the report with my phone and print it cause I can't memorize past the 3rd digit.

Send the gremlins back in , come back with another different failure 24 digits long, but same part number. Head is full of numbers that I cannot remember, take anoudder pictures and print that.

The gremlins are back under the hood testing or hiding, cannot tell which and whatever they're doing they been at it for 48%.

The beast wants about 8 or 9 tests run and the slow pokes are only on number 4. The grimlins fiddled around for over 4 hours on one of these ventures.

I think this is more serious than an oil change. So far the gremlins seem pretty sure it's in the part that I am short the most of these days, the memory. Think I'll see if I can order me a new memory module as well.

Heheheh, Wheels - use to try to stay ahead of technology based on the advice, "you gots to be smarter than the machine". Gave up on that quest a long time ago.

Actually kinda like the diagnostic gremlins in the newer vehicles. Just hook up a code-reader translator, and it's pretty good at nailing down the problem, or at least sharing what the problem is not. Come a long ways from the early days of blinking lights and a look-up table.

Fxpwt

This silly box has been acting up for a while now, going into total fits of depression at times. Finally decided to do something about it last night and started the diagnostics. Everything pokes a finger back at a memory module and there are two of them, so just replace them both.

Since both are being replaced might as well double the memory. But that has to be checked to see if the machine will handle it and they say yes. So after scratching through about 50 different sets of memory at Amazon I find a set with the exact specifications except for double the 8GB I had and for the sum of $69 I can have them in my hot little hands by 8pm Tuesday evening.

Hopefully this ends the aggravation.

And I notice that on July 29th this Thread starts on it's 6th year, having completed 5years on July 28th.

Congratulations Donknome-2..... you old Reprobate!!

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Amazing how far things have progressed. Doesn't seem so long ago where 1 MB RAM for $45 was a great price, to soup-up one of those x86-vintage computers.

Have to 2nd the congrats for the thread, Donk. The most enjoyable thread I've participated in, and certainly the longest, both in posts and time.

Fxpwt,

My first computer was a 4K Radio Shack Model I. I was able to upgrade it to 48 K and I assure you I spent a lot more than $69. Went from a cassette recorder to 4 Floppy Drives and the final one on the Daisy Chain cost $50 more because it had a terminating resistor installed. We actually found an integrated accounting program that ran on that contraption. Talk about Floppy Swappy. Then came the Model III. Double density and doubled sided drives, two in the computer and two more on the outside. Then the program supplier went to IBM compatible, flying high now with a new network system based on a 20 Meg hard drive with 16.6 MB usable. Moving on up and then the program supplier went broke and mailed us all of our records. I became the IT dept. Did a lot of reading in those days. It was that or sharpen up the pencils and move backwards. Things aren't that much fun any more. Most of the real problems have been solved. I remember the days when there was probably 6 or 8 different Spreadsheet suppliers out there, now pretty much only one.

I still have my old Tandy that was DOS ran on dial up. I think it still works. All it it did was follow the same procedure as a sales pad and card system for inventory. It was connected to a printer for receipts and at the end of the day it would connect to a home printer to give a sales and inventory results for the day. Some of the old timers claimed they could figure it with a pencil and call up the girl on the phone to order product faster. I was the first between St Louis and Memphis to use a computer. The calculation process each night was a couple of hours once the dial up connected. When I retired it took 10 minutes and some mandatory expensive upgrades were coming to make it better and give the franchiser more insight and control and I was tired, my truck was tired, gasoline was at an all time high, so a $100,000 investment to work another few years not in the plan. Since I only try to keep up enough to have pfun with forums and easy stuff.

Man, I've gotten behind---and, all in the length of less than TWO-days! And, YouTube has a LOT of new-uploads each day now---finally!---in the "Greasy, Gassy, Gooey"-department. So, I need to get busy again!

I'm simply humbled. Beside myself. Like a blushing-bride---whether or not she's a "first-timer", or a "veteran of the trade".(☺) And all that other-stuff you say when you're complimented!

And our "Offensive-Scale" seems to be practically non-existent, or at least, "Politically-Tolerant"? I attribute this to our---uh,---policy?, of no more than 1.5% of the threads' political-content.

(Ooops! I gotta watch that quoting of percentile-points, since FXPWT just ITCHES for a reason to cipher-out the finer-parts!☺) No, seriously, in all fairness: I'm jealous of him. Wish my brain had one of those-apps like my PC has, so's I could clean it out, and install a new-OS, as-needed!

OK, end of MY-rant, for now. Actually, all I intended to do was stop-by for a quickie-acknowledgement of everyones' visits, such as this short-paragraph at the end.....!☺

Stop back more often you old Reprobate, we miss and need your wisdom. 😊😆

Anyone see where the new Camaros and Mustangs will have the same transmissions? Nothing new as cars have shared parts.for years. Hydromatic supplied the same tranny to GM for full sized cars in 1980 as it did for Rolls Royce. Funny that one in seven of the GM units failed and no reports of failure in the Rolls.

Hey OJ - just came across an article about the 2017 F150 with the 10-speed transmission. Article went on to say that its development was in collaboration with GM, who expects to utilize the transmission first in the Camaro. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford/f-150/2017/2017-ford-f-150-first-drive-revie...

Guess it makes sense, but blurs the lines for the die-hard blue oval versus bowtie rivalry.

Glad I held off going for the aluminum body version. Was talking with a contractor who had one - said that the commercial about the dents in the bed is very very true, and showed me the deep dimples in the bed, and where he had used a ratchet strap anchored to one of the bed's stake pole holes, and the metal had torn.

Figure with the fuel economy push as well as increasing the gross vehicle weight ratings for trucks, aluminum is gonna have to become a go-to metal, read awhile back that Jeep was looking at aluminum bodies for the 2018 Wranglers - but it looks like they're gonna need some more work on the alloying and cold working to reach a happier medium.

Sometimes being first out-of-the-gate isn't all roses and sunshine. Geez, 10 speeds - thinking a continuously variable transmission release can't be too far away.

Think of the young'uns who will never know the challenges of learning where the friction point of a given clutch is, or the joy of rowing through the gears. Eh, given all the stuff available for phones nowadays, there may already be 'an app for that'... :-)~

"Geez, 10 speeds - thinking a continuously variable transmission release can't be too far away."

Fxpwt

Maybe they could resurrect the old Buick Dynaflow. Hell with the newer higher RPM and higher horsepower engines, they might be able to make the wheels spin at 30 degrees with a light rain falling.

Wheels I remember one car that had a clutch and a torque converter. You could come to a stop and then clutch and down shift. They couldn't be push started though.

fxpwt, Wife's CRV has Constant variable Transmission and I like it. GM and Ford joined with government money a few years back to design a 6 speed, not sure what cars used it. Ford may need to do something else regarding Aluminum. I think we discussed friction welding of aluminum to steel once on this forum, maybe someone can crack the mystery of the metal in the Rosweld space ship. :)

Old John,

Chrysler came out with the transmission you are talking about. Don't know how many of their products used them but I know the DeSoto line did and I think Chysler did also. Not sure about Dodge.

Reason I know DeSoto did, when I worked for my brother in law he had an old one and when my service truck went in the shop he put me in that thing for a few days.

Believe if memory serves, that thing only had a low and high and it shifted once in the low position which was up where any civilized human thought 2nd was at. Not all that hard to poke it into reverse instead of low either. Had a guy in front of me do that once when we were at a stop light on a slight upgrade. Good thing cars had bumpers on them in that era.

Guess it's about time for the annual dragging out of the Christmas tree and related decorations to mark the beginning of getting in the spirit of things. Figure if one is old enough to remember the joys of point-ignitions, then one will remember the short-lived popularity of a type of Christmas tree from that era.

Picture if you will, a tree silver in color, with real glass ornaments of various colors, all illuminated by a spotlight near the base, with a multi-colored lens of red, blue, green, and orange that rotates in front of the spotlight to broadcast its colors onto the tree.

Yep, talking about an aluminum tree, popular in the late 50s / early 60s. Picked it up almost 20 years ago off EBay, not sure whether it was an early event of waxing nostalgic, or a twist of humor reflecting my career ties to the aluminum industry, or simply an underlying desire to avoid the mainstream or conventional bandwagon of things that everyone else is doing.

Putting it up turns into somewhat of a contruction project, first digging out the sectional broomstick sized wooden poles with holes drilled at various angles for the branches, inserting it into the unfolded tripod base, then inserting the 93 or so pom-pon branches into the various holes, making sure to find the one longer branch that goes into the top of the pole.

Hanging the ornaments presents a bit of a challenge to get the reds, blues, and greens appropriately mixed up, overriding my normal sense of order and organization. Finally comes assembling the 4-piece pie-shaped color wheel and firing up the spotlight. Have conceded to something new here - the spotlight is LED, mostly for its cooler temperatures - the old-style 150W filament light got pretty doggone hot and I suppose I'm getting more cautious with respect to risk-avoidance.

Looking at the box the tree comes in - the warning message about not hanging electric lights on the tree is somewhat humorous, and it's interesting to note the manufacturer's address doesn't list a ZIP code.

At any rate, it's that time of year when I tend to let off the gas a bit, pause to be thankful for what I have, and remember some of the experiences that got me here - even ones I'd like to forget.

Well, onward and upward - that tree isn't going to put itself up. :-)~

I watched a collection of commercials where car makers introduce their new automatic transmissions. Seems GM was the oddball with reverse all the way down. They claimed it was designed that way to more easily rock the car out of a stuck.

Took a while for things to even out. My brother said he liked Fords because the ignition key switch was on the left as he is left handed. Reckon other south paws figured it was a better place for the light switch

Now I get into the car and can't find a knob to change the radio, have to find an indicator light to tell me if the lights are on instead of a quick glance to see the knob is pulled out.

2017 Ford GT confirmed with 647 hp, 216 mph top speed

Ford Motor Company has finally revealed some of the performance specs for its new GT supercar.

We can confirm that the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 fitted to the car makes 647 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 5,900 rpm, with 90 percent of that torque figure coming up at 3,500 rpm. We also know via the EPA that the car returns 11 mpg city, 18 highway and 14 combined, which is worse than the fuel economy of the V-10-powered Dodge Viper.

http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2017/01/25/2017-ford-gt-confirmed-with-647-hp-216-mp...

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2017 Ford GT preview

The spiritual successor to the Ford GT40 of the 1960s, the Ford GT is the second car to wear that badge. The first generation was built in limited numbers in 2005 and 2006. The reborn Ford GT will be even more restricted, with just 250 made each year for perhaps four years.

A mid-engine supercar, the Ford GT features a carbon fiber tub, carbon fiber body panels, and aluminum front and rear subframes. The springs and dampers are located in-board in a race-inspired long-arm, short-arm suspension setup.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1108496_2017-ford-gt-preview

If you could suggest a model for a major auto maker to bring back like Ford did with the Mustang, Tbird and GM the Camaro or the Chrysler products, What would you like to see? I'm thinking a plain pick up with two doors and no thrills.

Old John

How about a Model A Ford with a rumble seat?

"If you could suggest a model for a major auto maker to bring back..." -- Posted by Old John on Fri, Feb 3, 2017, at 12:23 AM

I'm thinking a full-size car that truly seats six with the obligatory cavernous trunk that sleeps three in a pinch might have a warm reception from certain groups. After all, those Crown Vics driven by blue hairs and men in blue are getting really long in the tooth...

fxpwt, I have thought the same. With the more fuel efficient engines and such, a '73 Imperial should be doable. The '77 through almost forever Caprice was a winner too. Now they are box Bows and low-bows with big wheels worth more than the car. I went to the trouble of putting Oldsmobile interior in mine to gain electric 6-way seats both sides, drove it 200k and sold it to a guy that added the adjustable suspension and big rims. Last I heard that bow tie was still going.

Perhaps a sign of the times - Why Are Manual Transmissions Disappearing? http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/ownership/why-are-manual-transmissions-disappeari...

Got a chuckle from the last paragraph "There's a joke going around about the best automotive anti-theft device on the market. The punchline? A manual transmission."

Guess it's difficult to update your peeps on the smartphone when both hands are tied up with that bothersome driving task... :-)~

fxpwt, I don't miss the manuals that much except when I remember how you could find that sweet spot of rpm and load to exhaust. Once familiar with it the speedometer was the sounds and vibrations or lack of from the seldom round tires of the old days. Wife's Honda has CVT and I enjoy driving it and the fuel economy is much better in the AWD than the previous FWD 5pd A/T.

For us old folks, it's kind of like riding a bike, You never forget how, just run out of leg power. Some of those clutch springs on the old trucks were wound pretty tight. :)

Yeah, OJ, have to admit that manual trannys are fun, once in a while - but it's nice to just let the vehicle figure out what gear it needs.

Heck, when vehicles just had three speeds, shifting wasn't so bad. Now that 4, 5, and 6-speed manuals are the norm, gets to feeling like one is rowing a boat between all the right arm and left leg motions required.

The truck here has some kind of Select-Shift option. Took me some figuring as to what the 'M' was about on the tranny indicator. Turned out to be a manual feature where one can select the gear of choice with a rocker toggle on the selector stick. Eh, just not the same as clutching and moving the stick.

Then there's another feature where one can limit how far up into the six gears it will shift. Can a brainwave blue-tooth-linked 'do what I mean' feature be far off to bypass all the flippin' and switchin' necessary for these functions?

Kinda gets one to wondering about just how much savings would be available with the vehicle you had mentioned earlier - a plain ol' truck? Already tough to find - along the lines of finding a plain ol' hamburger usually well-hidden in the fine print of the menu, dwarfed by all the asiago-cheesed, flame-toasted, sesame-seeded, baconatored offerings.

Ahhh, change doesn't necessarily mean better, only different. With my luck, if there's a 50-50 chance of being better, there's a 75% probability things will get worse. :-)~

I remember the '70's when you could by the plainer short bed and add some stripes, chrome wheels, JC Wittney carpet, and radio upgrade. If you were fortunate to work for a good dealer and get a good discount, you could own it a while and sell it for enough profit to buy the next new model. Last I checked the plain rubber mat cost more than the standard carpet and electric windows cost the factory less than the crank ups. Seems gone are the days when you had choice in nearly every option. Now you take basic, upgraded, premium or ultimate package.

60 Vintage Cars Worth £12 Million Found After 50 Years Of Neglect On French Farm

http://www.earthporm.com/60-vintage-cars-worth-12-million-found-50-years-neglect...

Back from the un-dead---and I'll bet you guys, as in "Wheels", "Old John", "Rick", an' so forth, ad-nauseam---STILL-"donknome", do ya'??? lol!☺

Welcome back you old re-pro-bate!

😊😎😊

Donknome, did they let you out on good behaviour? ;-)

Donk, Glad you're back. Yours is still the most posted on thread, so long it's all new again on the reread to an Old dog. :)

Rick, Old John, & Wheels: Hmm. Like that line in Forrest Gump, when Lt. Dan asks Forrest & Benjamin Buford Blue: "You two(three, here!)related?" "No-suh, we are not-relation."☺

Yeah, I was gone for a bit.(Well, that, and I finally stopped eating the crayons---which they made note-worthy that I was now progressing. So, they give me a key to a private-restroom, which ironically had a large, swing-out window that amazingly came out just at the anchor-end of the roll of Fortuna-wire!

So's I slithered on down & out, and, well---here ah is, least til role call! (And, if you believed THAT-one? Next story will be a Western-theme: The "Good, Bad, Ugly, & "The-Other-Kind"!)

I'll be around occasionally again, likely on your "About Absolutely Nothing"-string---but I just wanted to see what the original "CPU"-title looked like in public, again. Lot of us have come and gone, in 8-plus years since I started it. Bet it still holds some kinda-record in replies---an' that's not countin' the hundred-plus that got "86'd", 'cause they wuz too---controversial!

So I'll "see" you soon---IF I can keep from eatin' the crayons, again...!☺

Seriously, it's good having you around. Keep this thread going until they run out of cyberspace.

Well, the clothes dryer decided to keep running when the door is opened and the light don't work. Even a dummy like me can tell that little switch has lost it springiness so I watch a u-tube on how to replace that $6 bugger. The fellow does it in about 15 minutes but he still has good vision, his hands do what his mind says without shaking and his fingers are able to hang on to those little screws and start them back in the hole.

So I think to myself what a beautiful world. I will use my increase in SS benefit minus my medicare premium increase to hire a youngster next year. It's a $3 decision I'm proud to make. Meanwhile those pesky gnats have became immune to the bug spray and no one but me thinks what America needs is a simple small pick up truck.

"Meanwhile those pesky gnats have became immune to the bug spray"....

Yeah, they're terrible this year, more so than last, it seems? Dang if I don't think the spray acts more like a steroid, makes 'em get even bigger, tougher?

Ah-well, now I can save on water, cut-back on the tri-monthly bath regimen, since I know it's not just me that has 'em!☺

Hey,(equally as me!)Old J.: Need the wax outta yo' ears? Here, this'n made me a grease-droppin' tyranosaurus again! (Well, at least for a couple-minutes!) Lather, rinse---repeat as necessary...! ☺

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXUqY8iAzhs

"...what America needs is a simple small pick up truck."

-- Posted by R. W. Bess on Thu, Oct 10, 2019, at 10:22 PM

Figure there isn't the market to support that, unfortunately. Surprised me when I read a statistic somewhere that 75% of new pickups sold are crew or extended cabs. Looking around, have to wonder whether that percentage isn't low...

The crew cabs are nice, but couldn't justify the extra $10K or so plus the extra $800 sales tax that goes with it, and that's before ponying up for the premium trim packages.

Really liked my '83 Ranger standard cab, first year they were out following the introduction of the S10 the year before. Never mind that if one went to pass another vehicle, had to clock it with a calendar - emissions laws were tough on performance during the final years of carburetors. But it would get 28mpg highway at a time when that was something to 'oooh' about, easy to maneuver and park, had the simple comforts like A/C and power steering but with the standard row-your-boat manual tranny, plus didn't take up a lot of real estate in the garage. It was a nice American-styled upgrade from the previous captive Japanese offerings - LUV, Courier and D50.

Somewhat funny to hear of folks taking out notes on these new trucks at jaw-dropping payment amounts for six years and up. Long ways from the learnings of my youth where a note over three years meant you bought too much car.

Additionally funny (to me) is that I've now accumulated sufficient birthdays complete with grey on the sideboards where I can say these new dolled-up trucks with options out the wazoo cost way more than my first house.

Additionally funny (to me) is that I've now accumulated sufficient birthdays complete with grey on the sideboards where I can say these new dolled-up trucks with options out the wazoo cost way more than my first house.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Tue, Nov 26, 2019, at 6:48 PM

Fxpwt, no first hand knowledge but from what I am hearing about the price of high dollar pickup trucks, you could have purchased about 6 or 7 of the price house I took over payments on when I was just 20 years old.

fxpwt & Wheels: I was just telling girlfriend today after seeing the new ford trucks ad for around $40,000+ that it was more then we paid for our house.

Semo471, I have heard there are pickups out there bumping $70,000. My first house was just over $10,000 and I was able to assume a loan because there had been a divorce and neither would keep up the payments. I was 20 years old, the bank pushed a paper over and said sign here. They never asked my age, guess they figured whatever they could get would be better than where they were. Of course a pickup in that day could be had for not a lot over $2000.

Wheels: Back in the day a cheap ride was to buy a pickup truck....now it's a luxury ride. A women told me the other day (snow flurries) that her husband wouldn't take his new pickup out because he didn't want to take a chance of wrecking it - go figure.

One thing might be the cost of union labor and benefits makes the profit margin about the same for a basic vehicle vs a fancy rig at the end of the production line. As long as the "look at me" factor and relative low fuel costs prevail, I suspect clever marketing will continue to keep vehicles a reason to make payments. Gone are the days when affordable parts and basic wrench turning ability were reason to see just how long old Betsy would go.

A few years back the Mexicans were buying Rangers and full size sedans. Then there was that brilliant cash for clunkers program that scrapped a multitude of good working Rangers and S10s and the like.

You can still find an old simple full size truck if you have the cash but then there's fuel economy and insurance to consider.

DS. A buddy and I were just discussing how a high $ truck requires a trailer so not to scratch the bed floor. Plus the short beds on the crew cabs won't allow hauling [showing off the wheeled man toy] lol

Looks like pricing on these rigs is going 'up, up, and away' - somewhere between 'the sky's the limit' and 'to infinity and beyond'...

'Report: Chevy Considering A $100K Pickup Truck' - https://www.motor1.com/news/355811/chevy-100000-luxury-pickup-truck/

Quite the chunka-change for an investment guaranteed to depreciate.

-- Posted by Crazy Horse on Wed, Nov 27, 2019, at 3:31 AM

.....................................................

Only if it can be taxed. Maybe another-version of a State-Safety Inspection tag, on it's port-front-side withers?

Besides, night-time would never work, as the first-thing a cop would stop you for is the obstructed, unreadable rear-plate, covered with, uh---"road-splatter?" Not to mention the same-applying to it's(literal!)tail-lights & signals.

Yeah, we could manually-install a temporary cat-con, to eliminate those greenhouse-gases. But just like an-auto does with one: They'll be buckin', snortin', & back-firin' with it! (As would I, too!)

In other words? A REAL-saddle-bronc to be ridden...! ☺

It's amazing to see folks from "a good-way's back", who just can't help but come back for a visit.

(This-thread is kinda like flies on a fresh horse-cookie: They come from miles-away, an' there's always plenty of sittin'-room all-around...!) ☺

"...folks from "a good-way's back", who just can't help but come back for a visit." -- Posted by bruno/rs on Wed, Nov 27, 2019, at 11:04 AM

Yep, it has been awhile, figurin' started posting here back in the '07-'08 timeframe. Kinda interesting in thinking back on the changes here with the online SEMissourian and its community through the years, some for the better, some not.

Continuing with the theme of noticing change, was chatting in the drive yesterday, when an expected delivery truck pulled up. Guys got out, unloaded a dishwasher I'd ordered, loaded up the failed 26-year-old one I had pulled out, handled the paperwork, then drove off.

Guy I was talking with looked at me, then the now-disappearing truck, then quizzed me about whether they were supposed to install it, as if they had forgotten that part.

I replied no, that I was going to install it myself - water line, drain line, electric, couple of anchor screws ... c'mon, how hard is that?

Not sure whether the look on his face was one of disbelief that a grumpy greying geezer was going to take this on, or of the unbelievable luck in bookmarking another person for his contact list to call for fixing broke stuff.

Perhaps it's my limited circle of observation, but there seems to be a decrease in the numbers or percentages of folks able and willing to take things on themselves, and to figure things out on their own - those having developed both the capabilities and the want-to to 'gitter dun' by their own selves.

Seems to be a growing number of people whose sole problem-solving skill is now merely to call someone -- a task made so much easier with the mobile phone, often done at extremely rude and inconsiderate times for the receiver of the call, further illustrating another observed vanishing trait - patience.

Ahhh, well, the one thing in life that's constant is change, with change being simply a difference. Suppose it's up to the observer as to whether this difference is for the better, or the worse. My vote in this case is for the worse - however, maybe the post-cataract prescription spectacle change needed to be picked up will help me to see these things as for the better. :-)~

by fxpwt on Sun, Dec 8, 2019, at 5:12 PM

Well said! Recently read about a professional dishwasher installation that followed all the rules and codes. Started with required ground fault interrupter and ended with nearly a whole house rewire. Then might as well replace the rest of the appliances ;)

Friend much wiser than me said the first mistake made was not making it a DYI project. I am blessed to have that good friend close enough and glad to help and another good friend available by phone to advise the best method and brands.

Don't know what I wrote wrongly in-reply to you both, but it didn't "make the cut", for some-reason?

So, I'll say it, again, for FXPWT & OLD JOHN: "I can't remember any time, when anyone visited this particular forum entry, who came in a mean, ugly-minded way---except to brag about our past-endeavors in competition!"

Oh, and I'll also include the closer: "But it goes without sayin', when it involves my-memory-remembering, anymore...!"

Maybe it was the line that I'd forgotten(again!), and am-currently re-remembering now: "I can't remember any time(edited-here)when anyone visited this particular forum entry---be they male or female---who came in a mean, ugly-minded way---except to brag about our past-endeavors in competition!"

There! Fixed-it! ☺

Bruno, you have lived long enough to enter the age where your words are checked and rechecked by a machine that only understands 0's and 1's. And to make it worse, said machine is deemed superior to us in it's judgemental ways

Ralph VanGennip on Wed, Dec 11, 2019, at 11:20 AM :

Or, it could be that I forgot to remember to hit "save"? Because I DO-remember, at the time, I had a sudden-"pager-message" from Mother Nature, and, hey: First-Priorities aren't tagged as "first", so's to be(safely!)-ignored!

That, and/or I don't t'ink it likes my indentations, and/or speling an' puncturation at times, esp. my smiley-face. ☺

But, believe you'alls and me: IF I ever find a frowny-face shortcut? Lord-knows I'll wear it out, fer-shure...!

Been gettin' used to the new dishwasher mentioned previously. Now this is a change for the good!

Got past the transition of pushing thunky, clunky buttons for selecting the desired cycle, followed by the growl of whirling the cycle timer dial around to the Start position, now replaced by tapping a few touch-pads which respond with a simple 'chirp' or 'boop', to get things going.

Hmm, all the little indicator lights suggest its running, but don't hear much going on, unlike the predecessor Hotpoint that made its presence known with the whirring, thrashing, splashing, and clanking around - where one could both feel and hear that it was really doin' some good, but no one else could hear one telling about it for all the commotion.

The new guy goes about his business with little fanfare or disturbance, although the manual says the cycle may be from two to five hours long - doggone, not much shy of describing the cycle in terms of calendar units.

Manual also went on to brag about being much more energy efficient than older models - sure hope so, cuz that #16 wire it came with sure ain't gonna carry the electric load that the #12 wire on the old unit did, without letting some smoke out somewhere.

At any rate, gots to thinking about a Consumers Ed class from long ago, where it was pointed out that some appliance manufacturers intentionally made things noisier, as folks back then related noise with performance. For example, the noisier the vacuum cleaner, obviously the better the hoovering results.

Certainly a welcome addition towards my increasing appreciation of 'silence is golden'.

Fxpwt, you must have purchased a Bosch.

I understand the noise from the Hotpoint, had a GE once... same family of appliances. That division of GE now is owned by a Chinese firm.

Always had an appreciation for American Motors and the previous companies that merged - Nash and Hudson. Sort of the low-budget underdogs compared to the traditional American Big Three. In addition to the fold-down bench seat on the Rambler, thought it innovative on the Pacer that the passenger door was four inches longer than the driver, to allow better access for passengers to get in the back seat.

Find it somewhat funny that while Chrysler bought AMC for its Jeep line, it has been reported that the AMC engineering staff kept on after the purchase helped to save Chrysler in the early 90s with their innovative ideas (think cab-forward Intrepid) and ability to get things done quickly on a shoe-string budget.

/**********/

Eh, even at the 'sale' prices, Bosch was still a bit beyond my budget. For better or worse, chose a KitchenAid, which appears to be marketed as an upscale Whirlpool - sort of like the Acura or Lexus to their respective Honda or Toyota.

Pleased to see a 'Made in America' sticker on it, although no-telling how much was truly made here.

As part of my journey through 'experience is the result of bad judgement, and I gots lots of experience', where I've found that cheapest isn't always the lowest-cost, was willing to ante up a bit more than usual, in hopes that this will be the last one of these I'll need to fool with... :-)

Fxpwt, I have pretty much lost track of who makes what anymore. After selling an empty nest house some 13 or so years ago that was too large for two people, we had a plan in mind to buy a condo they were going to build in a neighborhood we liked. Well the recession struck and they put off the development. Finding ourselves homeless we decided to travel and live in a new motor home we had already purchased. Next thing you know we had lived in it over 8 years and thoroughly enjoyed it. But since the economy had somewhat recovered and the project where we had decided to buy was back on the horizon we thought we would re enter the civilized world. But then they canceled the condos and built apartments. Well we tried that for awhile but wife got tired of giving them money, so we find a villa in a neighborhood we liked. In spite of the fact it had been trashed by renters inside and we didn't like the living room, kitchen or dining room and I am now 80, we take on remodeling the villa. Kitchen was a disaster so we had to buy all new appliances. That was when I found there was a very limited choice of American made appliances. So we ended up buying all new Samsung appliances with the exception of the dishwasher which was a tossup between KitchenAid and Bosch. With no knowledge of KitchenAid and having had a Bosch in our last home, we took Bosch. From your description, it sounds as if we would have made a good decision if we had gone the KitchenAid route. I knew I did not want another GE and then was told they were Chinese owned on top of it all.

We actually never have had large-enough messes to really need a dishwasher. But once-upon-a-time in the 80's when I was still making money to lose, we'd bought an-under cabinet installed Whirlpool. Nice & noisy, yes! But a few-years back, the lower "hot wash"-element shot craps, and it was deemed cost-prohibitive by both-"parties" involved. So, out to the "inventory-barn" it went.

About three-years ago now, I was reviewing my-accumulated inventory when suddenly, I was hit with a brain-pain: "Would not this dish-washer, work equally-well as a---PARTS-washer? So, on an-"I dare you to try it!" from my wife I said, "Here! Hold my cigar, so's I can grab-hold't of it with both-hands!" Loaded it onto my "salvage-cart" I'd made for my "big" garden tractor, and re-planted it in a corner spot of my lathe-room, with good-drainage. (Remind me to tell ya' about that particular "big"-tractor sometime, it's a story in itself!)

Since I'd already removed the element and plugged the holes for such in the interior, I generally only use it in summer, when the water through the hose is already normally-hot/warm. NO-flammable solvent, just either Dawn, or that orangy-smellin' stuff from Dollar General, which seems to work better, an' smells-great!

Whatever the case, after 'bout an hour with those dual power-scrubbers whippin' around in there, sounding like a train-wreck in the making? Small-engine blocks, esp. aluminum ones, are clean-'nuff to eat off of, IF one might be so-inclined?

And this one is actually a TRUE-lie! Real-life, in real-time, with NO-added "fluff"...! ☺

Bruno, I think with the success, you should go ahead and pop for a new quiet Kitchen Aid or a Bosch. They would sooth your tired nerves and you could sneak in a little nap in the meantime.

Wheels.

PS: Bruno, I just realized, I think Fxpwt gave that perfectly good dishwasher away to the guy who delivered the new one. :-(

Yep, former dishwasher would've worked out well in a shop - just had a pretty fair after-valve leak which wouldn't bother a shop floor, but was nervous as to what it was gonna do to my plywood subfloor.

Another good use for a dishwasher for those who homebrew - the opened door makes a great platform for gravity-filling the bottles from the 5-gallon pail set on the countertop.

Other than wasting a bit of the 'good' with the inevitable inter-bottle spillage, clean-up is a breeze - just close the door and run the next load. :-)

We once had one of those under cabinet dishwashers and being new to such frivolous amenities and running out of clean stuff to eat and cook with before getting a worthwhile load, we took it out and installed a big slide out box with fake matching cabinet doors and drawer. Kinda fun when some visitor asked what to do with the 32 ounce they carried in and we say just pit it in that drawer and seeing their surprise to find a trash receptacle . Don't recall what we did with it but if I had read the Bruno idea, I would still have a parts washer since no one but me would put any value on it at a yard sale.

Richard, now that makes two of the guys on here that I would have least suspected of disposing of something that still had 10 minutes worth of use left in it. :-) :-)

;-)

Ralph, Reckon I'm trying to change with the times but it's hard to change an old dog. If I go to an all you eat place I end up eating what I don't like cuz it's grained in my head not to waste food. Just never was smart enough to check that way outdated can of "SPAM" before I throwd it out to see if it had any worthwhile messages on the backside of the date. Maybe an "obituary" for some of those long held onto is in order when they finally leave our inventory. :)

OJ: Funny when you mentioned SPAM....that's my emergency food supply that is rotated out according to the due date - sometimes it's eaten beforehand but most likely given to the neighbor's dog for disposal.

Richard

You gonna buy a used dishwasher for the shop at the next auction?

😊😎

Semo471

Put some Potted Meat in your emergency supply, then even the neighbor's dog won't eat it.

Wheels: Wonder what potted meat is made from. Probably made in the same plant that makes dog food.

Semo471

As I have heard about some other cheap products..... maybe from what they sweep up off the floor?

Potted-meat? Beef and/or pork-tripe seems to come to mind? Same thing they "mold" into a can of vienna-sausages, I think? Guess they use the gel in there to cushion-'em, so's they don't fall-apart while vacuum sealing?

Alpo dog food used to be pretty-much like Dinty Moore Beef Stew---just without the veggies. The "Gourmet-Pate'" Friskies cat food would seem to lend itself handsomely to a Ritz-cracker. Needs a touch more salt, though.

And as for my-inventory of previously-discarded/well-used/totally-obsolete goodies? I consider myself a "Modern-Day-Progressive"-Luddite.

Not that many years-ago, I always thought "Luddite" was that hi-brow exterior paint? (Until ah-lernt t' spelll..) ☺

Ahhh, change...gotta love it.

Time for the bi-annual tag renewal on the Jeep, now 38 model years old...going on 39. :-)

Really should'a thought this out more, targeting a warmer renewal month. The average temperature in the cab is kept OK this time of year, as long as one can tolerate the range between incinerated feets and frost-bitten nose and ears.

The Jeeps of that era and before were nowhere near the glamour boy and pom-pon princess rides of today - automatic trannies, air conditioning, and four doors on a Jeep, pfffft, what are they thinking?

The day's plan had a wrench thrown in it, when ol' CJ failed the inspection. For an out-of-the-way, gotta look for it to see it windshield defect which had been there since I'd bought the thing back in the early 90s. Aarghhh!

Apparently the rules were changed a bit since the last go-round, and what had passed, now doesn't. Essentially, now if the defect is anywhere within the wiper swipe...errrrnt.

Being thrifty and/or occasionally crafty as I am, thought a bit on just fabbing shorter wipers - but practicality kicked in and opted to get the glass replaced.

Wow! Didn't realize how much the windshield had pitted and the safety stuff had clouded and yellowed through the years - thought that was just the effects of the increasing numbers of birthdays on my eyes.

With the defect also gone, went back and traded the yellow re-wait-for-it-jected inspection slip for a good-to-go white one, tags were renewed, and what had started out with planning to take just a couple hours, ended up taking the better part of a couple of days with a whole-lot more planning and scheduling.

Doggone, nuthin's easy anymore... :-)

Wonder if it'd have passed, if you'd folded the windshield down? ☺

"Wonder if it'd have passed, if you'd folded the windshield down? ☺" -- Posted by bruno/rs on Thu, Dec 26, 2019, at 12:43 PM

D'Oh - wisht I would'a thought of that! Heheheh, although I suspect there's a catch in the rules for such a shenanigan, as well as a Hotel California-type hiccup, where it will fold down, but may not flip back up without a come-apart... Would've been entertaining to at least give it a whirl... :-)

That's OK! When I still had my-old '83 CJ 7, I never did fold the thing down anyway, since the old, worn-out "rag-top" was "de-leaked"(☺) with silicone-seal!

But, for at least a full-year afterwards, I always wondered what those two-"loops" were for, about mid-ways on the hood? Maybe for bungee-cords, to tie-somethin' down against the rollbar-to-the rear-bumper?(Never wondered for even a second why they were rubber-covered.) That is, until I bought a new-soft top, and discovered as I was removing the "rag", and folded the windshield down to better clean-out the channel for the new-top t' fit in?

Duh-h-h. Stoopid-idjit...! ☺!

Still waiting to hear if that dump truck will be by to pick us up so we can bring in the New Year with our annual walk the top of the downtown wall. ;-] )

Headed for my car on the park lot, oops same color different brand, pushed the remote button and got in before I noticed something wrong as owners walked up. Dam embarrassing but they thought it was funny.

Still waiting to hear if that dump truck will be by to pick us up so we can bring in the New Year with our annual walk the top of the downtown wall. ;-] )

-- Posted by R. W. Bess on Sat, Dec 28, 2019, at 11:41 PM

.........................................................

Out of a morbid-bit of curiosity: Would this be in-re: to the humorously-threatened-demise of the Themis-street clock, with a worn-out International-Harvester 1600-Series Loadstar, whilst in-route to said-location of afore-mentioned wall, more than a few-years ago?

(If so? Yeah, it's still up-there, in the digital-clouds somewhere's...but I'd never live long-'nuff to scan around, an' find it again!)☺

Yep

Yep

-- Posted by R. W. Bess on Sun, Dec 29, 2019, at 3:11 PM

LOL!!! At least we both got a few-memory cells left! What in the world "possessed"-you to recall that one?☺

Yeah, I remember it. (Looked all-thru up t' the 2012-beginning, but had to stop there, as my eyeballs were doin' wooly-worms from scrolling!)

Good-times. But nowadays, we'd be short-handed, as more than a few of our necessary "support-staff" are either gone or moved-on to better-places/things. Much like the ol' "binder": I traded him many-a-year ago now, for a '45 VAC Case. "Victory-Tractors", they called 'em. Which, ironically, still-sets in my "Inventory-Shed". Oh no, it runs and would move (I used to brush-hog with it!) if I had a set of rear-rubber for it. Weird, obsolete-size, and IF you could find them? PRICE!!! Nope, gonna hafta wait til an-alternate lifetime for that!

(I can't believe that I once-looked forward to a retirement. Man, what a young-fool I was then...!)

Donk, Can you recap'm with a can or two of Flex Seal? Ha

You caused me to google, trying to learn why "Victory-Tractor". Still don't know.

Did learn old ones had Continentals.

-- Posted by R. W. Bess on Mon, Dec 30, 2019, at 9:29 PM

Seriously, I tried a total-circumference "boot", made for just such issues---but, it just wouldn't hold. In my instance, it was torn/ripped sidewalls.(One-rear is still old & cracked, but it's still-serviceable, and holds 10-to-13 lbs. of pressure just-fine!) Strange-size, like 9.5 X 32/32.5, I believe? Don't remember for certain, been a while since I last-messed with it, when I was draining the block for winter-storage.

The "Victory-Tractor". All I was told is it's fairly high-numbered, meaning made in the waning-part of 1945-Post-War, possibly with left-over "ingredients" intended for shipment to the U.K. On the port-side of the engine block was a cast-in # of 4932497VT, which did coincide with a tag # on the "dash". (Yeah, all THREE-gauges, ON-switch, PUSH to start, oh, and PULL-to choke.) And, YES, it does have a 151-c.i. Continental, with an-updraft Marvel-Schebler gravity-fed carb, probably-similar if not identical, to those on pull-to-site mobile welders/generators, of the time.

(Don't know if you knew the late-Nollie Moore or not? Lived in "Pokey"-hontas.☺ I got it from him, and God only knows where he might've got it. Had a "Double-Oliver". Two-1650's tied-together, front to rear. At the time, he was gettin' ready to ship it to a fella in Australia, who'd paid in-advance for him to search for such.)

A General repair manual I'd bought said how to determine Year Of Mfg: "Subtract 4, from the LEFT-SECOND-digit of the Serial No. All-following digits are just different-model variations." So, yeah. 49-minus-4 is, indeed, (19)45.

Very-vague, but here's a "quickie"-link I'd just found. Shows War Dept. Inventory/Quartermaster Corps, "NON-SHIPPED-INVENTORY", as of---looks like maybe '46?

https://books.google.com/books?id=63tGAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=case+45+victo...

Don't take much to confuse me about tractors and serial numbers.

Found this before my last post:

"When tractor production resumed after WWII, the VA and VAC became strong sellers for Case. By 1947, Case was building its own engines for the VA tractors, and introduced its Low Cost Fuel manifold, which allowed the tractors to be fueled by distillate. In 1949, it added the Eagle hitch–Case’s answer to Ford’s Ferguson-designed three-point hitch."

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/1942-55-case-va-series/

See??? Reading IS-"fundamental", after-all! I remember this phrase from somewhere's in-or-about my schooling-days.

Or, it may've been when I was helpin' "baby-brother" to cheat---er, rather, to "Acquire &/or Re-Disburse Pertinent-Information"---during the Ancient-B.P.C.(Before Personal Computer)-period...☺!

Posted by R. W. Bess on Tue, Dec 31, 2019, at 8:39 PM

And on a quickie-side note: I'll be saving that link you've supplied, Thank You!

Always enjoy reading up on the features of machines from the past. Things that are taken for granted now-a-days were once the latest-n-greatest, such as the three-point hitch. Heard of the dual-fuel units, with something like being started on gas, then switched over after warmed up to kerosene or something more readily available or economical for the time. I know I've mentioned it before, but still enjoy looking at the antique tractors at the Fair, just to appreciate the ingenuity of the time, as well as keeping up with this thread, knowing that if I ain't careful, I just might learn something! :-)

I think the Google takes us down different paths. Being diverted to some of those forums is frustrating and rewarding at the same time. By the time you read up on one thing and remember what you Googled and close/restart the search, there's something else calling for attention.

fxpwt on Wed, Jan 1, 2020, at 4:55 PM :

I (almost!) giggle in-excitement, to hear 'em actually-run, as well! The older & longer/bigger the stroke & bore? The prettier they sound!

Closely-related to such, are the stationary and movable-utility engines, from one-cylinder and up. And in particular the four-cylinder Fairbanks-Morse diesels! Never-fails to amaze me, how "over-engineered" each individual movement is timed to a-"T", to make it turn & hold-together. (Not much rpm---normally, that is---but God-awful amounts of torque!)

Ain't been to the Thresherman's Picnic/Fair at Pinckneyville for way too-long a time, now. Just can't enjoy the freedom of walking anymore. But, man, do I miss the smells & sounds of oil/wood/coal/"other-fuels"-burners, mixed-with the scent of an-actual, REAL-hand made hamburger! Smells like---good-memories! ☺

Long time back we has a "Bess" family meeting focused on genealogy and used social media to spread the word. Had folks from far and near show up, one distant Ill. cuz brought a truck load and trailer full of all kinds of those stationary power plants from a Maytag gas conversion kit to factory line drives. And they all ran! Some had outside valve trains revealing the "hit & miss" program. Kinda diverted some attention away from the family tree. Yep the inventors of that era were smarter than the average bear and had to have connections to procure the materials. I think some CYA was employed in the overbuilding of those machines. They had to last long enough to be proved useful and be expanded into a long time product with payback.

R. W. Bess on Thu, Jan 2, 2020, at 10:58 PM :

(I'd written an-intended-to-be-humorous reply to you, on your post of Wed, Jan 1, 2020, at 9:18 PM as well. Apparently, this is NOT-the place for "dry"-humor? So, on with the show!)

*************

Oooh, wish I wuz-kin! I'd have crawled-to get there, if necessary??? ☺

I'm familiar with the hit-'n-missers, but a lot more so with what's probably the "newer"-version, of a 4 cycle Briggs & Stratton 1.5 h.p. kick-start version? (May not have been strictly for the Maytag-line, though?) NO-carb to speak of, just an L-shaped tube, with a twist-cover for a choke. Didn't even have an air cleaner, let alone a governor, that I can remember? About a pint-sized gas tank, brass-tubed down to the "venturi-effect-pipe-carb", that MAY-have had an adjustable throttle, of sorts? It just sat there, and, well---ran, y' know? Lil'-bitty muffler, cut the sound down to a quiet-"P-b-b-b-b..."---and so on.

One just simply had to adore the complicated-simplicity-overkill of most(10 h.p. & up) hit/miss-style engines: A long, opposed worm geared shaft to turn the ball-governor, connect to the mag, which was connected to a grasshopper-lookin' linkage, that dragged a hunk of(usually)brass-strap that was controlled by a lobe from the governor which was part of the "grasshopper", across the external-contacts of the constantly-firing mag which, finally, was hooked to one big, lonely spark plug, with what could be described as a piece of bare chicken-wire.

Let's see todays' engineers map that-one out on an-iPhone...!☺

Hmmm, kinda makes one wonder if things have progressed too far too fast, when an occupation with a well-earned reputation for fixing their own stuff by their own selves seems to be taking a pause for relief, at least until the appropriate tools are made available to them...

"Midwest Farmers Are Tired of Tech-Loaded Tractors They Can’t Fix" https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30444879/midwest-farmers-buying-older-tractor...

Remember an article from many moons ago, which suggested that the outcome of WWII was due in fair part to the abilities of the American troops to fab, scab, rehab, and rig repairs and other work-arounds in the field, attributed to their farming backgrounds.

fxpwt: True, the only thing that I can do now a days is to change the air and cabin filters - the rest is for the dealership to handle.

After that 79 JD is completely worn out it can be rebuilt and still worth the money as an antique show tractor or put back to work with some more readily available updates.

Just reading some of these posts. A friend of mine had found a number of the old hit and miss engines and admired them when he was at the owner's shop for other business. After some discussion and they were not for sale, some time later the old guy that owned them pulled up to the friends place and asked him where he wanted the engines. Don't know details on what is there but the friend is still excited talking about them.

Regards the mention of a kit for Maytags, don't know anything about that, but my parents had a Maytag, pre electric that was later converted to electric. I built a grinder out of the discarded gas engine because I was tired of being the motor when mower sickle grinding time came. That engine I believe was built by Maytag, it was no Briggs and Stratton. It was 2 cylinder opposed and as I remember it they both fired at the same time. And it was a 2 cycle engine. Kick Start. It had about 6 or 8 feet of flexible metal exhause pipe on it with a cast iron end with holes in it. All you had to do was open a window and hang it outside and you had peace and quiet in the house. We are talking late 40's early 50's here.

Ralph, took me a couple minutes of pea brain thinking to realize there was no need to convert a powered Maytag. Not sure what happened to the old gas motor. Ours was electric powered as far back as I recall.

Richard, the REA was reaching farms prior to WW II in our area. When the war began the program was put on hold. My one Grandfather was the last house on the line when it was stopped. They had electricity during the war, we did not. Don't know when the program was resumed or just when we got a line to us, but I well remember the days of kerosene lamps and no electricity. When electricity reached us we did not connect immediately as a new house was in the works and my parents did not want to waste money wiring the old one. Well remember Mom kicking that pedal to bring the Maytag to life. It was purchased new with a gasoline motor. Prior to that, life on the farm was rub-a-dub-dub on wash days.

Wheel, Don't remember not having electricity but the kerosene lamps were in use for several years after in the barn and for necessary trips out back. I still have one and used it in 08 when power was out for 8 days.

Perhaps too much news, but if you're interested, and have a bit of time and a good Internet connection speed, the links following may be good reads about the history of the overall REA / cooperative system in Missouri...

The comments in the Win-Win link from one of the organizers in 1994 shares his perspective of what was really driving the REA movement -

"What is it that we really did for the people of Missouri?...What we did was to make less drudgery for our mothers and daughters...Now, we don't need electricity to read, we can wait until daylight. We don't need electricity to cook our food or to heat our homes - we can use wood, we can use gas. The thing we need every doggone day is water brought into the house and the slop taken out. Today in many countries of the world, in this country until 60 years ago and in Missouri even after World War II, who did that? The women brought the water from the well in buckets, and they carried out the slop. The thing that put an end to that was the electric pump. The electric pump is the thing we have brought to rural Missouri...What makes me feel good is knowing that where those lights are, there are electric pumps...it all sounds impressive, but let's remember the only reason we even had an excuse to do that was to run those goshdarn electric pumps."

https://www.aeci.org/about-us/history/

https://www.aeci.org/service-area/

http://maelectric.com/about.html

1961 - 1996 (huge files ~30+MB each)

https://www.aeci.org/media/2600/win-win_section_1.pdf

https://www.aeci.org/media/2601/win-win_section_2.pdf

https://www.aeci.org/media/2602/win-win_section_3.pdf

https://www.aeci.org/media/2603/win-win_section_4.pdf

1996-2011 (not so huge files ~3MB each)

https://www.aeci.org/media/2596/tiers-of-trust-section-1.pdf

https://www.aeci.org/media/2597/tiers-of-trust-section-2.pdf

https://www.aeci.org/media/2598/tiers-of-trust-section-3.pdf

https://www.aeci.org/media/2599/tiers-of-trust-section-4.pdf

Disclaimer - yeah, I used to work there for a time in my multi-employer career. :-)

Thank you fxpwt I will start exploring those as time permits, always enjoy finding how they dun it.

WHEELS: Kinda like this'n?

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FgA78oWX2mO...

O.J.: Maybe yours was more like this?

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.worthpoint.com%2Fzoom%...

Here's the type I previously mentioned:

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.worthpoint.com%2Fzoom%...

Hey! Couldn't let FXPWT take-off with all the gravy from this "bone-soup"-show, here...! ☺

Sure I related this before but way back we went to a old stuff fest and it was mostly tractors. Take all day to see all of them. One surprise I never knew about was the craftsmen that build scaled down working models of all sorts of big machinery. Some of those miniature but still big enough rigs had the old small engines propelling. One shrunken steam monster had an early Wisconsin hiding in the boiler tank and what looked like original wheels off an F-20. Another was a little guy version of a big Johnny Popper with a Briggs hid under the flywheel cover and valve covers from some little car?-motor with plugs and wires all where they should be. Open the hidden hinge flywheel cover and find a rope start.

A few years back I heard some have taken the art to new levels by building running miniatures right down to all parts machined and created to exact scale inside and out, but those old timers who didn't have today's fancy computerized equipment must of had true ingenious DNA in their blood

-- Posted by bruno/rs on Tue, Jan 14, 2020, at 1:06 PM

Yep, two cylinder just like that one.

Had a cousin who told me that on their Ford tractor he could grab the plug wires one at a time and tell if one of them wasn't firing correctly. One Sunday afternoon when he and another friend was over I was showing them my new grinding machine. Told the cousin I didn't think it was firing correctly and would he test the plugs one at a time like he did on his tractor. Sure. So I fired it up and he grabs one of those plugs and that mag turned him every way but up. Me and the other buddy got a good laugh at his reaction.. I left the farm and I don't know what hapened to the old motor and my grinder.

Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh - I wants me one of these...it's got a Hemi!

Built during the post-World War II Cold War era from 1952-1957 by Chrysler, its power plant contained a newly-designed FirePower Hemi V-8, 331 cubic inch 180 horsepower (130 kW) engine.Its six horns, were each three feet long. The siren could be heard from a distance of 25 to 30 miles away and had an output of 138 dB and 30,000 watts. They were 12 feet (3.7 m) long, built atop a quarter section of a Dodge truck chassis rail, and weighed an estimated three tons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shqg4a-Ols8

Thinking in the vein of what was old is gonna become new again for me, throwing in a large dollop of rambling at no extra charge.

Been on cable TV for a whiles now, enjoying the benefits of clear reception and a wide variety of mindless entertainment and not-so-truthful news to choose from.

Looked at the bill the other day, for whatever reason, the latest increase just hit me wrong. Whoa, guess I've been asleep at the wheel for a few years on this, leaving pennies unpinched.

Talked with the cable customer service rep, who didn't offer up any options that would get the bill back down to a desirable level for me, so we're up and gonna give the antenna another spin.

Remember when cable first came to town in the late 70s, thinking the bill was on the order of $9-$10 per month - come a long ways since then, the monthly TV-only portion of the bill now could pretty much cover a year at the old pricing.

Not going to give up the Internet part of cable, since most sites are graphics-intensive and otherwise loaded to the gills, dial-up just won't get it anymore, although I thunk about it. Not sure dial-up is even available anymore 'round these parts.

Still chuckle about the transitional days from dial-up to cable, more politely called low-bandwidth and high-bandwidth, when many websites had a 'text-only' feature, where graphics weren't downloaded for the low-bandwidth users who selected such.

One benefit of dial-up was the quite-effective non-selective call-blocking, so no phone interruptions, which would be nice nowadays with all those wonderful folks out there wanting to help me with my back problems, my credit card problems, my mortgage problems, my student loan problems, etc. Whew, had no idea I was dealing with so many problems!

Remember back before cable, every house would have a fair-sized antenna above the roofline, either mounted on the roof proper, or on a mast pole beside the house. Some houses had more than one antenna, with a second one specifically targeting the UHF channel out of Paducah that broadcast the original Star Trek in its pre-rerun days. Some even had a big honkin' CB antenna too, when that was the fad. Nowadays, seeing any antenna on a house just seems out of place, although it seems this has been replaced in part by the satellite dishes.

Got to poking around to see what the outdoor antenna options are - wow, the choices! All the way from the fairly small futuristic saucer-spaceship get-ups, to the more traditional di-pole units approaching 100 inches wide by 100 inches long by 13 inches tall.

Adding an additional degree of difficulty, they're apparently using color-coding as a means to compare approximate ranges of reception, from the yellow coding of the smaller units with lesser ranges with five more colors on up to the violet coding for the larger units with the longest range.

Sooooo, what color am I needing, and where do I find this out? Scrounged up two websites that kinda point me, hopefully, in the right direction - antennaweb.org and tvfool.com. Unfortunately, their results don't agree, with the tvfool giving the more technically-usable results, but somehow overlooking KFVS completely which raises doubts about the rest of the results. The other site seemed more reasonable, although it looked like a baiting front-end for hawking their own preferred stable of antennas.

Choice was made, waiting on the motivation to hook it all up for sourcing the three TVs - figuring one outdoor unit was a better solution than three indoor units decorating the place. Hoping to get the majority of the promised 25 available channels from the identified 7 over-the-air stations.

Stay tuned...ar, ar, ar, I crack myself up. :-)

fxpwt on Thu, Jan 16, 2020 :

Get yourself a Winegard® antenna, w/rotor, if desired.(I've set my-laterals in a "herring-bone"-design, to make it more-directional.) Roughly a ten-foot directional beam. Here's one pretty-close to same, with the laterals spread, in a more-station's-friendly configuration:

https://www.satpro.tv/winegardhd8200uhdtvdeepfringeantenna65mrange.aspx?gclid=Cj...

I've had one for at least 20-years, before digital was even "cool". (Well, of COURSE there ain't no-diff, since in this case a signal-is-a-signal, since we ain't transmitting, here!)☺

Kinda-pricey, but most-setups include an inline-amp for use with pretty-much ANY-usable length of coax, plus all-assorted fittings. (I just used a standard wire cutter/stripper/crimper-tool, like is used for solder-less connectors.) Minimal-plastics used, except where insulation is needed.

At the time, I think it was 'round-about $150.-ish dollars, complete? (But then, we're talkin' about the days when Radio-Shack was still in the local-mall!) And, IF you have trouble with "ghosting" from more-local channel(s), you may wish to invest in an-attenuator of decent-quality, maybe $25-bucks at the most?

I'll vouch for the toughness & "lastability" of a Winegard. Held-together through years of snow/sleet/hail/rain, and even a microburst off the side-track of a small-tornado.

Had to replace/relocate the pole---but the antenna survived, with only one-bent "ear", easily-repaired!

Forget about those Wally-World made in China plastic-"dish-enhanced"-pieces of garbage. They'll buckle like a scent in a whirlwind...!

That Wineguard looks exactly like came with the house in '74. After locals signed off I could turn it north and watch Stl TV. Don't recall having a TV at the place before but did have a crystal type scanner and added an outside antenna only to have to block all the way off stuff. One of my favorites was air traffic and hearing the problem lists called into Lambert, everything from a broken coffee maker to malfunctions that would scare the crap out of passengers if they heard.

Neighbors had a dish the size of grain bin top upside down and they could get Johnny Carson live stream before NYC sent it out at it's reg time. I've been thinking of dumping Spectrum TV but there is still some things it would take subscriptions to replace and then there's all that switching the TV mode back and forth and no on-screen guide.

May eventually work my way up to the Winegard-sized unit, depending on results.

Kinda goin' against my philosophy, "if you're gonna be a bear, might as well be a grizzly" and opted for a ChannelMaster Omni+50 with the recommended preamplifier, sold separately. https://www.channelmaster.com/OMNI_Omnidirectional_HDTV_Antenna_p/cm-3011hd.htm

Didn't feel up to wrasslin' with a big unit and related mounting needs, particularly since me and Mr. Gravity don't get along so well on ladders. But, depending on results, may have to adapt, improvise, and overcome any reception obstacles.

Should'a known... was looking for a compass to help align the VHF wings with the station, along with rounding up the tools to be ready when Mr. Postman delivers. Quite the nostalgic trip through the old Boy Scout stuff stashed away, but nuthin'. Wondered if there was an app for that? Yep, PlayStore came through, so as long as I don't lose my phone, may still get lost but I'll know which way I'm going. :-)

Eh, used to wrinkle my nose when hearing 'ignorance is bliss', now have gained an appreciation for the happiness one has before finding stuff out that increases the degrees of difficulty.

Still looking for a warmer day to crawl up in the attic for the first attempt at 'cutting the cable'. Tough enough getting up in there, without being all bundled up like the Michelin man. Y'all gots me wondering whether the antenna chosen will gitter dun, or if I will have to spring for the full-size Winegard type unit mentioned.

Gots to noodling around, trying to figure about where things stand with the current antenna of choice. Hmmm, found there are UHF band channels 14-69, and VHF-Hi band channels 7-12, and a VHF-Lo band channels 2-6. The lower the frequency, the bigger the antenna needs to be, with a pretty good frequency gap between the VHF-Hi and VHF-Lo bands.

So was concerned, as channel 3 and channel 6 are highly-desirable channels to receive here, and being in the VHF-Lo band and a pretty good distance from Cape, would call for the big honkin' wingspread of an antenna.

Oh, but wait...

It seems the FCC has got ahold of some really good recreational meds, because according to the antennaweb.org website -

* Channel 3 really broadcasts on UHF channel 34

* Channel 6 really broadcasts on UHF channel 32, with a scheduled move to channel 19 during what they're calling a 're-pack'.

* Channel 12 really does/did broadcast on VHF-Hi channel 12, with a scheduled move to channel 11 during this 're-pack' - which may have already happened, given the station's advice to rescan your TV's around the first of the year.

* Channel 23 really broadcasts on UHF channel 36.

* Channel 27 really broadcasts on UHF channel 30.

* Channel 49 really broadcasts on UHF channel 35.

None of this really matters, other than casting hope that the smaller antenna MAY work, as long as the signal strength is there - thank goodness for the auto-scan feature, cuz this would be a real bite in the shorts to figure all this out manually, like in previous days.

As an additional point of humor - thinks I'm gonna has to dig out one of those old converter boxes when the cable boxes are turned in - remember the ones about 10-15 years ago that one had to buy for ~$40 for the analog to digital conversion at that time? Yeah, still got a dinosaur CRT 25-incher in play, actually like the picture quality better than these new thin screen jobbers.

Perhaps too much news, but figure anything at this point has got to be a relief from the political and healthcare barrage going on in the other threads, eh? :-)

fxpwt: I'm getting more and more into Roku with all the Free live streaming and Free movie channels. Also some Free channels have TV programs and national news that cable carries. Can also get live Free local news and weather forecasts from KFVS, so I'm just about ready to break the cable hookup but just can't make the cut until I'm sure that I can get the Cardinal baseball games.

Been having stuff pop-up on my Facebook feeds - pretty interesting offerings with some background information on options, unique features, etc, for those interested in older vehicles, with many 60s and 70s performance and lack-of-performance models coming round for sale and such - https://barnfinds.com/ and https://bringatrailer.com/

Kinda neat looking through, although the bids being offered are a ways above what I would be willing to give.

Additionally, there is a Cape Rewound page that has older stuff about Cape proper - fun to look through and rememberate how things have changed. There seem to be other Facebook history-type pages for other local area regions, such as Bollinger county, etc.

/***/

'Bout done dinking with the antenna conversion - my own version of Back to the Future. Opted to upgrade from the first unit chosen - just didn't pull in the outer fringe stations well enough (D'Oh!), so went with a 3' x 4' vertical panel style that still fits in the attic, barely - wasn't ready to spring for an exterior pole-mounted or roof-mounted affair due to the extra degrees of difficulty and cost, and the resulting street-view cosmetic appearance...yet.

Found a site - rabbitears.info - that seems to be fairly realistic on area offerings, better than the tvfool.com and antennaweb.org sites mentioned previously. Whew, wasn't careful, and learned way more than I intended to in this whole deal.

So, for now, getting solid reception in essentially the heart of Cape on 24 channels from 6 stations - 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-4, 12-5, 23-1, 23-2, 23-3, 27-1, 27-2, 27-3, 49-1, 49-2, 49-3, 49-4, and 49-5. Some of the channels are duplicates, such as 23-2 and 49-1, and some of the others, well, just don't catch my interest. Overall, pleased with the outcome and variety offered at present, and especially the ~$100 / month savings by dropping the cable TV service.

Kinda wondering about the numbers of folks dropping or reducing their cable TV service. Went to the local store to turn in the double-secret decoder boxes, there were two already at the counter apparently with the same idea, as well as the one person that came in behind me packing a box - this all within a span of about 20 minutes.

Definitely interested in some kind of skinny-bundle streaming service to supplement these, but look to wait until the savings from dropping cable TV exceeds the cost of antennas, RG6 cable and fittings, and stripping/crimping tools. Figure I'd count the labor costs as free, a trade for the additional educations of recognizing lost flexibilities for physically contorting around in an attic, and the side effects of liberating 60-year-old dust accumulations, etc. :-)~

Dang, nothin's easy anymore...

fxpwt, having good luck with Roku with free movie channels and a couple of free tv channels....one free app allows me to get the KFVS news either live or recorded - just about to dump my Directv but quite there yet.

As an aside from the current overwhelming virus noise - fifty years ago today, AMC releases its own version of a Bug-killer, coincidentally or not, on April Fools' Day. Presenting -- the Gremlin.

https://youtu.be/ivX48OcZE_Q

fxpwt: The world's ugliest car!

I like it. Had an 80 Eagle and they were still using Hornet parts.

-- Posted by R. W. Bess on Wed, Apr 1, 2020, at 7:59 PM:

I hear you're kinda under-the-weather at the moment. IF you ever happen to run-across this little-ditty, I only hope God-Almighty-Himself is your "parts-man", because I don't think those Hornet-parts are a-gonna cut it anymore, nowadays? Us older-models are becoming obsolete.

(What? These-things, that look like tears, and the mumbling that might be a prayer? Naw-w-w, can't be. Probably just---allergies, y' know, an' a set of hoarse, dry vocal chords.)

Never was good at this kinda stuff. It's the thought that counts, though...

-- Posted by bruno/rs on Mon, Apr 13, 2020, at 7:51 PM

Stated perfectly clear Bruno. My sentiments exactly.

-- Posted by Ralph VanGennip on Mon, Apr 13, 2020

Thanks! I feel better with the matter now, having got it out in the open. Can't pack it in anymore, like I (had to) in the late-60's/early-70's.

Just hope the old, young-man gets back in his daily-groove, soon...

To WHEELS--or anyone else that might know: How's R. Bess doing? Sorry, I've not been hangin' out on "our-thread" like I should've.

And until I hear otherwise? I'll refrain from the normal-for-me wisecracks.

Sometimes the worn-out adage of "No-news-is-good-news!" gets 'old', I know. But I sure do hope it plays-out to be true, in this case...

Bruno,

Our friend is gradually getting stronger, and maybe out of the hospital in a week or so with some rehab in his future. Keep up the prayers. He has had a tough row to hoe and rehab work isn't a picnic either. Been through rehab with a couple of knees and a shoulder replacement.

On his behalf. Thanks for asking.

WHEELS: Man, am I glad to hear such! He'll probably come out even better---and more-opinionated!---than he went in as! (See? Told ya' I'd hold-off on the wisecracks---but, boy it wasn't a walk-in-the-park, fella!)

Thanks a bunch, Wheels, for the info. I appreciate it!

Way-off our 'normal'-subject, but: I know his name. I know pretty-much where he's from originally. But, do you know where he attended grade-school at, say, between 1st-to-4th-ish grades?

For a short-while, I went to school with a Richard Bess.

Just-curious, y' know! ☺

Bruno, don't know for sure, but knowing where he grew up, I would think if not Advance, maybe Goosepond Hill. And if you start knowing too many people in that neighborhood I will have to do some thinking Bout you.

Bruno, I will try to find out his school history. And I will try to not make smart a comments.

WHEELS: Simple! Just make DUMB A'd comments like ME!☺

Nah, that's OK. Fella I was thinkin' about would've went to Oak Ridge R-6, somewhere's in the very-early 60's. His family moved around a lot, think maybe the dad was a military-"lifer", or somethin'?

Let's just concentrate on keepin' THIS-Richard Bess in good-to-go shape!

(Although I DO know for a fact, that "our" R. Bess used to frequent the old Jackson Save-A-Lot a good-while back now. And through this thread, we found out that on more than one-occasion? We were both there at the same-time, same-day---but neither of us knew each other by face!)

Small-world sometimes! But to his-advantage? At the time, I would've had my-work 'forms on, and right there on that right-side breast was my "name": Bruno---and the other side would've been American Car & Foundry. Always wore 'em, because I was either just heading out---or, just getting back in?---and was just-taggin' along with the wife.

Time fer me t' hit the rack, so's I can get up an' cuss the (cold!) rain & clouds again. And then cuss the sun & humidity later on, as well...! ☺

Bruno, when you get up, just curious. Where did you get the Anerican Car & Foundry garb? Did you work in St. Charles, or did they have multiple locations? They were winding down when we moved into St. Charles, but American Car and Foundry had a respectable operation here in their day.

I don't think Richard's family moved too much, but didn't know him in his younger days. His family have been in Bollinger County for a very long time though I know that.

Yes on getting him restored to health. A great guy who doesn't miss much. His wife told me they had him up and sitting in a chair the other day. I said yeah and I bet he has a plan in mind that he figured out on how to improve that room he is in if he got a good look around.

I'm up physically, but barely mentally, so...? ☺!

Yeah, I was at the facility in St. Chuck/Earth City for a short-while? And then union called a big-adz strike, and then the Jackson, MO.-plant opened up as a non-union shop, so I went to work there. Roughly-half the pay, but also about one-tenth the weekly-drive, as well!

Jackson-plant was a kick-adz place to work, until the corporate raider by the name of Icon bought out, and "divested"-ACF holdings, whereupon ACF/Jackson became ARI(American Railcar Industries, somewhere's around '99? '01? Not-sure anymore...)---and that's when the(really-nice!)pension-plan went "plop!". Was gonna open-up a satellite in Kennett, MO, too I believe? Think the one in Searcy, AR stayed union, not sure? Just like chickweed, they once had all-kinds of out-growths, that died-off after Icon took over controlling-stock percentage.

I was there for roughly-16 years, before I suffered a series of strokes, which ultimately led to me having to "retire" quite-early. The "lucky" part was, I was fully-vested @ 10-years in the pension-plan, so I did get at least the amount it was frozen-at, at the time.

"Where did you get the Anerican Car & Foundry garb?"

Matter of fact, I've still got one set of garb. You know, kinda like gettin' discharged from the military: It was strongly-discouraged---even that many years ago!---to be walkin' around in public, even in-Jackson, buck-naked! (P.S. Just like the service, the cost of same was deducted from my final-check!)

Where was I??? Oh, yeah---and let's still pray for R.B. Although admittedly, I MAY just go back to the "standard"-type of prayer---'cause my knees are KILLIN'-me right now...! ☺

Where was I??? Oh, yeah---and let's still pray for R.B. Although admittedly, I MAY just go back to the "standard"-type of prayer---'cause my knees are KILLIN'-me right now...! ☺

-- Posted by bruno/rs on Tue, May 19, 2020, at 11:13 AM

Bruno we can each do it in our own way. They are heard, answered and appreciated.

Bruno, I have just been informed our friend Richard Bess has passed, i am so sorry to say.

Wheels - so sad to hear this, thanks for sharing.

He will be missed.

WHEELS: Indeed he will. Thanks for telling me. Just sorry you had to forward the message.

Too-bad for the current social distancing, otherwise there'd be a lot of us gettin' to see each other, and likely realize we'd ALREADY-been "introduced", possibly years ago, even?

At least I read it HERE, from friends, before the obits. That would've hurt even more.

I'll go now, although I must admit, I feel a lotta-bit heavier now. Hurts to lose a friend, and the pain is still-present, be you young or old...

-- Posted by bruno/rs on Mon, May 25, 2020, at 10:10 AM

Well said....our "Old John" will be missed on these forums.

To: ALL-of-you!!!

Upon seeing the picture in the obituary? No, I didn't know him personally---but, by golly, NOW I know who it was I (quite!) occasionally ran into, though not-literally, thankfully!

My God. Now I know who my-"famous for the one-liner greeting"-was!

Rest In Peace, now familiar-friend. I'll catch-up with you later---even if I gotta bribe my way in...!☺

OK - rather tired of all the other commotion going on, so figured it was time to throw out some automotively-inclined groaners...

I took my car to the mechanic because it was making a terrible noise. He removed the Mariah Carey Christmas CD, and now it's fine.

My car only works every other day. Thinkin' it might be the alternator.

As I put my car in Reverse, I thought to myself, "This takes me back".

Ever noticed how rarely you see DeLoreans on the road? Apparently, their owners only drive them from time to time.

People laugh at my car because it's ugly and green. But at least I avocado.

What sound does a witch's car make? Broom broom.

I had a great childhood, I remember my dad would put me in a tire and roll me down hill all summer. Those were Goodyears.

I always keep my guitar in the car now. It's good for traffic jams.

I would tell a time-travel joke. But you didn't like it.

Good Ones fxpwt! Your car stories were a riot. There oughta be a law against riots.

Needs rim-shots an' canned-laughter---but I'll bet it took him a full-three-hours, to get it all down. And spelt currectly.☺

The only one that threw me was the "avocado"-one. I think it may be in where the accent is put? I say "ahh-vocado"---I'll bet it's actually "avv-ocado"?

(OK, hang-tight, I'll go google it up. That sounds kinda sickening in itself, doesn't it?)

Yep, you-all's right. I'm wrong. Yeah, makes more sense than a skunk in heat that way! (Dirty-taste to 'em, for me. But, man those pits would be to DIE-for, in todays' modern wrist-rockets!) ☺

(Yes, my-comment is civil. What world do you live in, anyhow? Post if y' want, don't if y' don't...)

Oh my Lord, I didn't know "hang-tight", DIE, and wrist-rockets all posted in a Southern-slang would be a trigger!!!

Bet they don't like "Foghorn-Leghorn" either: "Listen-up, boy! I'm a-cuttin', but you ain't a-bleedin'!", as he explains to the weasel how to catch the "moose", a.k.a., Dawg in "antlers"... :(

Bruno, sounds as if you run afoul of the digital director of politically correct speech!👍😇

And, YES, they asked me if I was sure the final-one was civil, as well!

(sigh) Guess it's time I learn to rap, instead---esp. since I've finally fell for a smart-phone, that knows more about me than I ever(cared!)to remember! ☺

-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Sun, Jun 21, 2020, at 11:03 AM

Yeah, well, that's OK---I known where there's a flat-rock that I could tinkle-on, IF I really gave a rip...! ☺

"The only one that threw me was the "avocado"-one."

Yeah, have to 'fess up here, had to make a couple passes on that one before the light went On.

Figure it helps if one tries it with a heavy New England-style accent - you know, them folks from up-yonder who make fun of us down-here for putting an 'r' in warsh, when we're really just balancing out the language as a whole, for the 'r' they leave out of the 25-cent piece - the quatter.

Translation I come up with - av-o-ca-do == have a car, though.

As for the digital speech monitor, and the comment about a smartphone...gots to thinkin', how long you figure before they just go ahead and insert autocorrected phrasing for ya? Now that would be entertainment! :-)~

Bruno, a smart phone can be a useful tool or it can turn into an obsession. So long as you use it as a tool it can be a great resource and you remain in charge of it.

The smart tool you have today is light years ahead of my first computer. I purchased a Model I Radio Shack machine when they first came out. We have come a long way since that day. With your information stored on your computer digitally and backed up on the cloud, it can be available when you need it via your new tool. Good luck and have phun learning about it.

Bruno, how is the new smartphone going? If you get stuck find a 10 year old kid and beg/bribe for his/her assistance.👍

Once again, a little detour offered from all the current-day noises going on, read-on at your own risk. :-)

Just wrapped up an old-school refresher course here - replacing an axle seal and wheel cylinder on the Jeep, a.k.a the Model-T of the 70s, or the poor-man's convertible.

Some folks gripe about challenges with keeping up on new technology, guilty here myself, including utterances such as "nothin's easy anymore", and "shtuff is getting too complicated", and other things not suitable for print or public airing.

Hadn't thought about drum brakes in a while - whew, just who designed this get-up - Rube Goldberg? Springs, spacer bars, adjusting star wheels, retaining pins, e-brake cable and lever - the designer must've gotten paid based on the number of parts used. Disc brakes - pretty much just knock a pin out, apart and done!

The Jeep axle is no treat either. Back in the AMC days, they come up with the AMC20 axle, designed on the cheap, as was AMC standard procedure, and built such that the same axle design could be used across multiple models of varying track widths, using many of the same basic parts - with simple mods to the axle tube and shaft lengths.

Removing the axle shaft to replace the seal is also a chore. First, gots to take all the previously-mentioned drum brake stuff off to get at the brake backing plate bolts, then disconnect the brake line which means that a bleeding episode will follow regardless of replacing the wheel cylinder. Finally the Haynes manual calls out use of the Jeep #J2498 puller - where it's been found that a log chain bolted to the lugs and subsequently cracked like a whip makes a fine shadetree substitute. Compare this to the same task on the front-wheel drive Impala - popping the CV-axle out with just removal of the axle shaft nut, and a nudge with a screwdriver.

Bonus round, double the fun, as what is taken apart has to go back together, in order, with no leftover parts allowed.

Conceding that sometimes, the old ways ain't all they're cracked up to be. Now, if they'd only design a computer keyboard with a functioning DWIM button - Do What I Mean... :-)

FXPWT: Whew!!! Thanks for the break from the most-recent mundane. It was greatly-appreciated! Wish I'd had the fore-sight, to keep the ol' '83 CJ-7 I once had. Very-last of the pre-Chrysler. I made more parts for it than I bought. Just simply---"simple", for the most-part.(Not like it mattered, since with an-AMC? Just pick-one that looked like it just-MIGHT-fit with a little-"engineering" from a hammer an' a 10-ton Porta-Power, an' "Make-It-Fit!")

And, yeah, the axle(s) certainly weren't a bragging-point. Plus, that gigantic-RIGHT-hand-threaded knut on the prop-shaft from the tranfer-to-rear diff would've been SO-much better, IF it'd been LEFT-handed, instead. Or, at least one might've stood a decent-chance of keepin' it tight-success?(Ashamed to admit it, but I "fixed" mine with a one-second "snap" of a MIG-welder.)

It lasted maybe a year that way---before the U-joint gave out. Fixed it again, though: I just took the entire-shaft OFF, an' drove it thereafter in 4wd-high, front hubs locked. Ended the playing in the mud/snow---but, boy did I still LOOK-"cool-&-with-it"!

************************************

(It's here that I gotta confess to "straying": When I go off on a tangent about somethin' other than mechanical? It is, indeed, a sad day that I'd resorted to such. BUT---it would help if there just weren't so many ignert-peepul around to necessitate such!☺) Oh, and now I know why Wheels HATES being called "Mr. Vandevan": That-individual DOES-indeed tend to get under your hide with it, doesn't he? Kinda like a seed-tick, y' can't SEE-'im---but, y' sure KNOW he's there!☺

Nahh, don't wanna pollute this-thread---as in, OUR-thread!---with that crap, so, it ends here.

**************************************

WHEELS, in re: to smart phone---95% of the time I wish I'd never changed over, with the added-$$$expense, itty-bitty keyboard(I cheat. I use a "secretary-special" pen, with the rubba-bubba on it's non-functional end.) Always wondered what that-thang was for? Figgered it to be somethin' that kept you from chippin' a tooth, or knockin' out dentures, when y' got stressed-out? One-thing fer shure, I had NO-problem discovering it was NOT an eraser!

Gotta admit though, it does sound clear as a bell, and once I knock out 80%-plus of the unneeded apps, it's got a great-battery life! Just wish it was a little-dumber, sometimes.☺

But since my carrier(AT&T)is in the process of upgrading to 5G within another year or so? My 3G "flipper" was gonna be obsolete(read as, cut-off)so---??? Wife's 3G, same carrier, will be next, maybe around last of this year? With her being self-employed? She needs it worse than her "administrative-assistant", a.k.a., ME!---does.

Besides, I look better in jeans & outdoor shoes, than I ever did in a dress an' heels, anyways...!☺

Bruno, don't know what you use for a computer, but if it is Windows 10, there is an App that if compatible with your phone, you can do some of that typing on your computer. At least texting.

Congrats. I figured you had the moxie to take care of it.

One good thing, most of these smart phones have pretty good cameras on them. Works good for pictures on data plates to get the Model and Serial so it can be expanded where old people can read it, speaking only of me of course.

WHEELS: Yeah, I "run" a Windows 10. And that app is available, true. But I turned it off, even though it would, indeed, literally save my typing-pains.

But what I didn't like was how it AUTO-updated with the "too-smart" phone(Samsung S 10e)and potentially all the contacts on such, IF I happened to sweat-blindedly-stab the wrong-"◙" on it's "face"! So, it was "off-to-the-settings"-tab(s) for both, to set them to "Ask Me First!!!", before the deed is/was done?

Yeah, great camera! Equals the quality of my-"old"-Olympus, as for the pic-definition, etc. But "ol'-Oly" has "Sammy" beat in one, BIG-way: Oly is water-proof to 10-ft. plus or minus. Sammy doesn't even like sweaty/greasy fingertips on it!

So, for perfectly-clear pics, indoors or out, in fair-weather? Whup-out the Samsung!

But just keep Oly on his charger once a month, an' call for 'im on those rainy/snowy/just-downright-s...limy-nasty days or nights when you need good-ugly pics!

(P.S. : Gotta say this quietly, so's "it" don't hear me an' repeat it, but: I think Sammy likes to lean a little too-far to the liberal-side? Well, what I mean is: He wants to know EVERYTHING-about me and tends to wanna spread my-laundry & personal info to everyone but me! And if I inquire? He seems to suddenly-forget stuff? Hum-m-m...)

(Speaking in "normal"-tone now) And that's where a certain blonde-haired sister-in-law, who owns the very-same model phone came in handy, to show me how to "set-the-settings" on both-potential offenders---Windows 10 & "Sammy"!---so's they'd both mind their own business, until I say "FROG!!!", whereupon they proceed to "JUMP!"......☺

Yes, I have an old Olympus Digital that has whiskers and a something I bought since that is stored away somewhere. The Oly was purchased in 1998. Great pictures limited storage and slow. Bought it to historicalize a tilt-up commercial building I was have constructed.