Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

argatoga said:
Wow. What fucking idiot will pay over three grand for a B series super charge for an MGB?

http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=37879

For that money you can buy and rebuild a Rover V8 and have it installed professionally. So a lighter V8 with nearly 200hp (not hard to do) or a leaky and heavy B series with at most 140hp? That's a hard one.
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There's lots of people out there in the Britcar world that do that sort of thing.

On the other hand, you're talking to someone who's planning on putting a turbo on his 4.2L Jaguar engine.... Then again, unlike the B, the XK engine isn't a steaming pile.

nouseferaname90 said:
Why do germans hate me and my 'Murican math?
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It's not American math yet. It's California math, where 1+1='whatever feels right, because to get the answer wrong would destroy a child's self esteem.'
 
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argatoga said:
Bah. I still have you beat by 500 lbs or so. Mr Fancy pants with your crumple zones, airbags, heater, A/C, and stereo.
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I don't have A/C, and my power steering has been ripped out.

nouseferaname90 said:
How many G's is it pulling now?
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Haven't checked it yet. But lets just say I don't need to slow down for any of the interchanges... even the ones for the 710 ;)

Oh and no more problems with inside wheel spin, the car is so well balanced now (not to mention the extra grip from the tires) it's as if I installed a limited slip, but without the added understeer :thumbsup:


freeferrarisdonotexist said:
Unladen my MX5 weighs about 990kg (1950lbs). Lightened wheels, stripped/refitted interior, various bits kept the weight down.

Wouldn't want to tell you how much it weighs with me in it though:lol:
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Nice. My car is only missing 1 section of the interior carpet, that is the bit right behind the seats, as I'm too lazy to order the clips to hold it in place.

With that being said, thats an exact weight. I've got 51:49 weight distro (f:r) and my fat ass is throwing the left:right bias off to 51.3:48.7

Now I just gotta get around to Properly de-powering my steering rack.
 
thedguy said:
I don't have A/C, and my power steering has been ripped out.
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Let me correct myself then:

Bah. I still have you beat by 500 lbs or so. Mr Fancy pants with your crumple zones, airbags, heater, IRS, decently sized tiers, and stereo.

Spectre said:
There's lots of people out there in the Britcar world that do that sort of thing.

On the other hand, you're talking to someone who's planning on putting a turbo on his 4.2L Jaguar engine.... Then again, unlike the B, the XK engine isn't a steaming pile.
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I still don't understand why. Even complaining about the car not being "original" spec wouldn't make sense. The V8 is still "original" because some MGBs was sold with that engine. Yes the exact car this person would have was sold with a B series, but then it wasn't sold with a super charger from the factory.

klankymen said:
Whatchu mean? it already is under 1 ton (2240pounds imperial, 2205pounds metric)
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In America we understand "ton" to be a short ton not a long ton. There is nothing wrong with assuming either as default as ton is not exact nomenclature.
 
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argatoga said:
I still don't understand why. Even complaining about the car not being "original" spec wouldn't make sense. The V8 is still "original" because some MGBs was sold with that engine. Yes the exact car this person would have was sold with a B series, but then it wasn't sold with a super charger from the factory.
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I didn't say it made sense. Just that they did it. It seems to be some peculiar form of religion.
 
argatoga said:
In America we understand "ton" to be a short ton not a long ton. There is nothing wrong with assuming either as default as ton is not exact nomenclature.
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Hmmm, I went to school in America, and was taught that a ton is 2240 lbs.

Maybe it's an east coast / west coast thing?
 
klankymen said:
Hmmm, I went to school in America, and was taught that a ton is 2240 lbs.

Maybe it's an east coast / west coast thing?
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I've always known it as a short ton as has the people I know. I spent quite a few years in Colorado, and my Dad grew up in Ohio.

And from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ton
short Ton, net Ton -"Ton" (US) - 2,000 lbs - Used in the United States and Canada[1]
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It had been probably a sad week...

A broken original Mini from the 60's or 70's (according to the number plate)

DSC04206.jpg


DSC04207.jpg


Our Rolls, 2 days ago...

DSC04208.jpg


DSC04210.jpg


DSC04211.jpg
 
^Did she leave a note?
 
Posmo said:
^Did she leave a note?
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:lol:

Story:
My dad let one of his employee, the company's account manager, drive it around for the boss (while he is here for a few days) because it is tiring work to drive such a big car.

Just even before the accounts manager piloted the car completely out of the parking lot, he turned the wheel too quickly, and the car grinded against the pillar adjacent to the car! :|

No insurance claims, since insurance premiums without bonus discount is nearly SGD$20,000 a year, and no claims bonus transferred from my dad to the car is 50%.

So in the near future, it will pay a visit to the Rolls Royce workshop, where the car will hopefully be restored to its former pride, albeit at extreme high price (think about the paint, which is two-tone) :cry:
 
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Nabster said:
Yeah, stick welding on a car is fairly useless unless you're working on the frame or have a tiny welder and tiny rods.
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Well, the jokes on you, Mr. because after trying the welder today, I am able to say that it is fucking easy to use. I was able to get nice, seamless (wrong choice of word) solid welds within 10 minutes of touching the thing :p Tried it on some old rusty exhaust pipes, and got far better results than expected :) The thinnest sticks I have are between 2.5 and 3mm (by eye) and the thickest are around 4 mm. The thick ones are a bit too much for our house amperage, but the thin ones are perfect :) It's going to be really easy to fix rust with it.

Overall Im really chuffed with the results :)
 
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thedguy said:
I don't have A/C, and my power steering has been ripped out.



Haven't checked it yet. But lets just say I don't need to slow down for any of the interchanges... even the ones for the 710 ;)

Oh and no more problems with inside wheel spin, the car is so well balanced now (not to mention the extra grip from the tires) it's as if I installed a limited slip, but without the added understeer :thumbsup:




Nice. My car is only missing 1 section of the interior carpet, that is the bit right behind the seats, as I'm too lazy to order the clips to hold it in place.

With that being said, thats an exact weight. I've got 51:49 weight distro (f:r) and my fat ass is throwing the left:right bias off to 51.3:48.7

Now I just gotta get around to Properly de-powering my steering rack.
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Yep, one of the ways I kept weight down was switching to manual steering- great at track speeds, a bit annoying in town, but nothing that can't be dealt with unless there's a tiny steering wheel installed.

Ah damn, you've got better distribution than I do, at last measure it was 52:48.
 
Homer_Bart said:
:lol:

Story:
My dad let one of his employee, the company's account manager, drive it around for the boss (while he is here for a few days) because it is tiring work to drive such a big car.

Just even before the accounts manager piloted the car completely out of the parking lot, he turned the wheel too quickly, and the car grinded against the pillar adjacent to the car! :|

No insurance claims, since insurance premiums without bonus discount is nearly SGD$20,000 a year, and no claims bonus transferred from my dad to the car is 50%.

So in the near future, it will pay a visit to the Rolls Royce workshop, where the car will hopefully be restored to its former pride, albeit at extreme high price (think about the paint, which is two-tone) :cry:
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How's the maintenance and does it get driven on a daily basis?
 
Posmo said:
Well, the jokes on you, Mr. because after trying the welder today, I am able to say that it is fucking easy to use. I was able to get nice, seamless (wrong choice of word) solid welds within 10 minutes of touching the thing :p Tried it on some old rusty exhaust pipes, and got far better results than expected :) The thinnest sticks I have are between 2.5 and 3mm (by eye) and the thickest are around 4 mm. The thick ones are a bit too much for our house amperage, but the thin ones are perfect :) It's going to be really easy to fix rust with it.

Overall Im really chuffed with the results :)
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How's the joke on me, I said it generally won't go well unless you've got the tiny sticks, and you have them. Just remember to dial down the amperage so you don't completely burn through the panels from using too much power.

FYI, I learned stick welding on the hulking 60's and 70's welders with ~1/4-3/8" sticks on steel and scrap iron. For a car body I'd much prefer a mig welder, even an oxy/ace setup. Too easy to make a mess with a stick welder.
 
klankymen said:
Hmmm, I went to school in America, and was taught that a ton is 2240 lbs.

Maybe it's an east coast / west coast thing?
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Not that I'm aware of. They must have been teaching UK measurements.

The US Ton, or short ton, is 2000 lbs (907 kg). This is the ONLY normally used "Ton" in the US. If you were dealing with international shipping then maybe you'd also use long Tons. The UK Ton, or long ton, is indeed 2240 lbs (1016 kg). Neither of these is to be confused with the tonne, or metric ton, which is 1000 kg (2205 lbs). Mind your capitalization too. "Ton" is capitalized, "tonne" is not.
 
Up until this very moment, I've only heard of a ton being 2000lbs, unless someone said, what I thought was "metric ton" which I always assumed was just 1000kg.
 
For all this discussion of just how much a ton actually weighs, nobody has yet asked the question "What the hell weight system do pickup truck manufacturers use?
F-150/1500-series = "Half ton"
F-250/2500-series = "3/4 ton"
F-350/3500-series = "1 ton"

Payload on an F-150 is 3030lbs. Tow capacity is 11,300lbs. Curb weight is 4743lbs. GVW is 6450lbs. None of those are ANYWHERE NEAR half a ton.
 
^
Originally ?-ton, ?-ton, etc. referred to the axle rating, but somewhere along the line "half-ton" just became synonymous with light-duty pickup.
 
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