Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

argatoga said:
What about a Mustang?
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People think mustangs are ferrari's here. they're worth about 2.5 times as much as the nearest comparable car. And I wouldn't buy something with another 3.8 Ford engine if I was held at gunpoint.

I also gave up on american cars entirely. Anything I can afford is gonna be a low quality vibrating sorry excuse of a car and I'm not going near them.

I'm leaning towards 1995ish corollas and 2000ish civic hatches with standard transmissions. I'm looking for something small,high quality, and good on gas in a nutshell.
 
Miata? Or are they super rare there too?
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
I never understood this about you...after all the time and energy spent on the Series III, why isn't it your daily driver? This car is just meant to be driven :)
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The car won't pass the smog test with the free-flow exhaust on it (due to the particular fuel injection system's air metering system) - and it is therefore not street legal at current due to the expiration of the last inspection certificate. It only has to wait another seven months before it is completely exempt from any exhaust testing due to age, so that's what it's going to do - with occasional, erm, 'extracurricular sorties' to keep it in shape. And I'll be MegaSquirting it soon, so it'll be down while I convert it anyway.

argatoga said:
If/when she does get one make sure she doesn't allow your dad to drive it. :p
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He liked mine so much (though he lawndarted it) he bought one of his own, a black 2001 convertible.
 
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More strange discoveries with mystical the British wiring. The seven has Smiths gauges, oil pressure is mechanical, but water temp and fuel lever are electrical. These electrical ones need a special voltage regulator, because for some reason they require +10 V and not +12 V. And this is how the regulator works:

SmithsVoltage-02.gif


Amazing. Entirely mechanical voltage regulator, basically making a PWM 10 V out of constant battery supply. And they still produce those! I'm probably going to replace it with LM317 or something.

I'm suspecting the gauges themselves work on some arcane principle, utilizing bimetallic strips and heating coils. They give positive readings when voltage is applied in any polarity, and it takes 10 seconds or so to get max. reading.
 
That's how most Smiths ancillary gauges work, yes.

Also, many if not most pre-stepper-motor Japanese vehicles (both cars and motorcycles) use a somewhat similar dashboard voltage regulator for the instrumentation - only the voltage it's providing is 7V.
 
MXM, if you are looking for gauges I'd suggest these guys:
http://www.caigauge.com/
http://www.greengauges.com/ (For customized gauges)

Speaking of which, here is a question concerning British electrics. My Dad's MGB had a 6V coil that on startup had 12V run to it, then it switched to 6V when running. What was the purpose of this when they could have used a 12V like in previous versions of the car?
 
That is done to increase the power of the spark at startup when supply is weakest. A 6V coil is used on a 12V system to assure a faster rise rate and that there's enough power to fire the coil.

Rarely seen now, but used to be common with can-type coils. The Series III is essentially the same way, my old Jeep was too.
 
argatoga said:
Miata? Or are they super rare there too?
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Cheapest Miata I've ever seen was around 6k and needed a few small things for inspection. But I should have mentioned I'm gonna need 4 seats either way.

I found a nice looking MX3/Precidia in my range but it was automatic, I might have a look at it though.
 
I'm assuming E30s around your parts are rusted out or too expensive, so it might be worth looking for a CRX maybe? I'm sure those are rare too...My Newfoundland is a tough case to crack...Subarus are probably out due to their demand, Mercs are probably all rust buckets, and a relative dearth of Japanese cars isn't helping. Maybe an older Ford Ranger? I know it's a pick-up, but they came in manual flavor and they're very plentiful.
 
Oh, look, my XJR is now a plug-in hybrid. :p

04082010309.jpg


:lol:
 
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Night_Hawk said:
Cheapest Miata I've ever seen was around 6k and needed a few small things for inspection. But I should have mentioned I'm gonna need 4 seats either way.

I found a nice looking MX3/Precidia in my range but it was automatic, I might have a look at it though.
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Is buying from Quebec out of the question?
 
Considering the size of the battery I'd be surprised if it wasn't . :p
 
argatoga said:
MXM, if you are looking for gauges I'd suggest these guys:
http://www.caigauge.com/
http://www.greengauges.com/ (For customized gauges)
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I was thinking about getting another gauge for the oil temperature, or a double gauge for oil/water temperature. But decided to stick with just one water gauge and make a switch between the two senders. Didn't want to start re-arranging the dashboard. Besides, I imagine the oil temp is only useful when you get going, while water is something to keep an eye on.
 
YO DAWG....
 
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