Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Hum, interesting. Just goes to show that things that happen when you're young make a sizable impression even when you're grown. Also reminds me I need to do some research on our local gun laws, specifically what needs licensing and what doesn't, what's "concealed" and what isn't. :yawn: Research is boring.

PM me your location and I can get you pointed in the right direction. Unless you live in Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, California or Massachussetts, you can probably get a permit fairly easily.

Apparently carjackings go down/stop when there's a good chance that the would-be victim can make it 'no fun forever' by ventilating you. :p


There's this man that's annoying me, he works as a DJ at a local TV station (well when i say tv station i say half-assed news channel that is the only one approving of that ex-presi of ours) he drives a Morris minor in bright yellow with ?only Morris in Honduras? written all over it. It annoys me so much that i would be willing to import a Ital just to print ?This is a Morris too? in one of those things you put on the windshield and park it next to his.

Then i would donate it to the beeb :p.

Yeah, but then they'd have to actually pay for it to be shipped. I would donate it to the nearest foundry.
 
PM me your location and I can get you pointed in the right direction. Unless you live in Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, California or Massachussetts, you can probably get a permit fairly easily.
Why is Maryland not on that list? Have they fixed the "You need to be recognized by the police as at-risk, or the previous victim of violent crime" crap? Because I'd have one right the hell now in several contiguous states if Maryland would just become sane.
 
I actually saw an appliance white Morris Marina today!

I really did, in person, driving on the roads.
I actually did look up for a piano, alas none appeared.
 
Why is Maryland not on that list? Have they fixed the "You need to be recognized by the police as at-risk, or the previous victim of violent crime" crap? Because I'd have one right the hell now in several contiguous states if Maryland would just become sane.

Knew I'd forgotten one. Maryland is 'may issue', though. All you'd have to do is find a locale there that's sympathetic... and be female. Alternately, have some of your friends knock you around a bit, then 'find' you lying unconscious.

I actually saw an appliance white Morris Marina today!

I really did, in person, driving on the roads.
I actually did look up for a piano, alas none appeared.

Kangaroo Air Piano Moving was a bit busy today. That said, Suborbital Musical Instrument Relocation is who they subcontract out to when they're overloaded and pianos do take a while to fall from orbit.
 
Last edited:
I actually saw an appliance white Morris Marina today!

I really did, in person, driving on the roads.
I actually did look up for a piano, alas none appeared.

:eek: :cry:
 
Just watched, out of curiosity, one of those "hybrids are the future!" propaganda films.

Now, what I want is a small car with a massive V8, RWD, carbs instead of FI, and a tiny 9V battery to power the interior light so I can have a hybrid badge on it.
 
Just watched, out of curiosity, one of those "hybrids are the future!" propaganda films.

Now, what I want is a small car with a massive V8, RWD, carbs instead of FI, and a tiny 9V battery to power the interior light so I can have a hybrid badge on it.


:lol: Just saying to people..."yah but ...its a hybrid!" and watching their reactions would make every day priceless! :p
 
I know of a guy who has a W124 300DT Mercedes estate with a huge turbo and ~400hp. He is running water & diesel injection, so he has rightfully put a "Hybrid" sticker on it :) Sure, the water is only there to keep the exhaust temps down, but it's still technically a hybrid! :lol:
 
Hey Corrado's aren't that bad - maintanance wise they aren't much different to MK3 Golfs. The only problem is part availability...You would think that using the same parts as a Golf and a Passat, parts would be interchangable but nooooo...
Luckily, some of the parts can be easily modified to fit a Corrado.

My mecnahic drives a bright yellow G60 and he is quite happy with it.
 
I just realized that Audi uses the same retarded click-to-connect waterhose technique for the wipers as Seat (my trunk got flooded 3 times now and my engine bay once). Damn VAG. Connection on our A6 Avant broke open, my dad had no water on the rear window, so he topped the storage tank up and kept pumping because he thought it might be blocked.
I had to remove 2 litres of antifreeze from our trunk. Luckily there was a little plug, and I solved it by just accelerating violently. Gave a nice little SPLOOSH when ~2l of Antifreeze fell on the road, creating a nice foam-spot. Re-connected it with zip ties this time, now I need to let the car dry. Topped tank off, ~2.5l missing :p

Oh and btw.

Those hoses run over a control unit which controls the locks for the trunk lid. This is why it sometimes unlocked or our alarm went off....or our car threw errors.....or a window rolled down on it's own.....

Way to go VAG!

Example from my Ibiza:

https://pic.armedcats.net/d/d-/d-fence/2010/01/02/heckwischer.jpg

You can see it's all just plugged together :/
 
Spent the new year's eve and a couple of days at a cottage, and one of the cars with which we got there was a Honda Jazz, a couple of years old. Apparently it's got some battery issues, as by the time we were ready to leave, it had lost its jazz and wouldn't budge. Luckily there was a battery booster at the cottage, so after some time it could be coaxed to life. It doesn't have a block heater so it's always started cold, the battery is tiny and the use it gets is short and infrequent. But imo, it's just bad car care that results in a Honda becoming unreliable..
 
Just watched, out of curiosity, one of those "hybrids are the future!" propaganda films.

Now, what I want is a small car with a massive V8, RWD, carbs instead of FI, and a tiny 9V battery to power the interior light so I can have a hybrid badge on it.

I say it all the time, make it so the electrics are electric powered instead and you have a hybrid that actually has better performance then the regular car because things like A/C and radio don't drain the car. :p
 
No, even better - capture waste engine heat and use it to drive a steam piston which in turn operates a generator which powers the electrics.

The problem with running the electrics off strictly battery power is that then we need some way to charge the battery in transit, or we'll run flat eventually (naturally the engine should still run an alternator to supply its own ignition power) - so we need to install regenerative brakes or some crap to charge up the electrics supply. The problem comes when you don't brake for extended periods - motorway driving for instance. Therefore the steam engine is the answer.
 
.... Lugnuts?

I use a four-way to tighten my lugnuts. As long as they are good and tight, that is good enough for most driving. When I buy a race car I will also have a 1/2" drive torque wrench that won't get used to tighten the lugs because the air tools will do that. And I can go that route now, I just don't like to.
 
Well, it's been 3 months since I've been in Canada, which means I'm technically not allowed to drive here anymore without getting a Canadian driving license... I think I'll wait spring until I actually do it, could be useful.
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQomWjhUcjY&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

The later model Fieros with a series II or series III supercharged V6 would have made one hell of a car. I'm also starting to like the 3800 supercharged noise too. It may not be as powerful as most modern V6s, but it probably has enough torque to keep up with them. A bit of tuning could probably safely bump the stock series III 260 hp as well.
 
[YOUTUBE]GQomWjhUcjY[/YOUTUBE]

The later model Fieros with a series II or series III supercharged V6 would have made one hell of a car. I'm also starting to like the 3800 supercharged noise too. It may not be as powerful as most modern V6s, but it probably has enough torque to keep up with them. A bit of tuning could probably safely bump the stock series III 260 hp as well.

I must say, that still of the youtube video looked awesome! The whole video was good too! :cool:
 
Top