Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Not really, plastic handles are de rigeur for most trucks these days and a good-sized four year old hanging off one is going to break most of them.

In fact, broken plastic door handles are so common for trucks, there's a huge aftermarket out there supplying replacements.
 
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those look like dodge handles.
 
That sucks. Why does no one make things properly anymore.
 
katwalk said:
That sucks. Why does no one make things properly anymore.
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Same reason why most everything is made in China, lower cost.
 
And in the case of the door handles, people complained about (and then sued) for being burned by metal handles left to bake in the sun.

The Lincoln Town Car uses chromed plastic handles for this reason. And I must say, from working with them in junkyards, they do keep the surface temps down.
 
To the dude in the supercharged Range Rover that failed to keep up with me on a winding overpass: Well done. Next time, try harder. Or, for the safety of you and those around you, don't.
 
That's actually not a bad idea, I think. If you got a solid frame with solid axles and good drivetrain, it would be kinda nice to buy some cheap POS just to swap the body over. Then after a couple years of beating it to hell, you can rip it off and scrap it, then get another fresh body.
 
Something I randomly thought of. The holiday does baaaaaad things to your brain.
PanameraCoupe.png
 
That's some really weird looking damage. Care to elaborate? Is that wheel still on straight? It looks like it might only be bodywork.
 
I was driving in the right lane of a very empty highway doing around 110kph (which is the speed limit), glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a 88 Toyota Landcruiser (RHD, Japanese import) shoot over from the left lane at the back of my car. Tried to move over but wasn't quite fast enough, he was probably doing close to 140-150kph, got punted in the rear corner and was barely able to keep it on the road and get over to the shoulder.

The wheel is still straight as far as I can tell, but it did get a glancing blow. But either way the bumper, tail light, entire quarter panel and the hatch are all damaged, as well as whatever messed up underneath and the tire (which was three weeks old) is chewed up.
 
I felt ok right off the bat, but now that adrenaline has subsided my neck and upper back are sore. I know its the stereotypical thing to say and I feel like a wuss for saying it, but its even more of a piss off because because I'm moving right now and have to haul around furniture and boxes.
 
I was reminded about these guys after reading a troll post here. Looks like they are Spectre's favorite company, they apparently do Datsun swaps too.

http://www.johnscars.com/index.html

Interestingly from their XJ40 page:


We have no plans to develop a V8 conversion for this model. The XJ40 has nothing in common with the earlier XJ series. Nothing from our earlier kits is suitable. We don't know of any kits available and please do not call us about this type of conversion. This model has few engine/transmission problems. Most last 250K-300K.
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Yeah, the powertrain is sound (which is why we still see so many of them around), but the electronics and much of the stuff bolted to the chassis is crap. :p
 
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