Blerv's Car Chit-Chat

[Evil D]

Here's one I got to play with last week. '64 1/2 with 25k miles on it. All original and unrestored except replanted the factory color 10 years ago (with proper lacquer paint).

[Mad Mac]

Sweet.

Is the Alfa Romeo yours too?

[Evil D]

Sweet.

Is the Alfa Romeo yours too?

Oh, neither are mine lol. I wish.

[SpeedHoles]

Picked up my new LS3 powered SS Sportwagon.
The boys approve of the bi-modal exhaust

Very slick!
Wish they weren't going the way of the dinosaurs.

A good friend of mine has a Pontiac G8 with an LSA swap and other modifications. He's hoping to get it into the 9.9x et range this summer.




By the way, what are you putting the Barra into, Blerv??

[Evil D]

Here's the latest drool inducing car I've handled. 1967 Jaguar XKE 4.2.





It was pretty envy inducing.

[Blerv]

Here's the latest drool inducing car I've handled. 1967 Jaguar XKE 4.2.


It was pretty envy inducing.

That's painful to look at! :D Very cool, David.

It's a shame they aren't close to cheap. A restomod with a newer straight-six would be an amazing death trap to build.

[ShaneInDenver]

Here's one I got to play with last week. '64 1/2 with 25k miles on it. All original and unrestored except replanted the factory color 10 years ago (with proper lacquer paint).

David, are you near Owensboro by chance? I have a cousin who used to live out that way and it's amazing how many Mustangs are around there!

[Evil D]

Here's one I got to play with last week. '64 1/2 with 25k miles on it. All original and unrestored except replanted the factory color 10 years ago (with proper lacquer paint).

David, are you near Owensboro by chance? I have a cousin who used to live out that way and it's amazing how many Mustangs are around there!

Nope that's about 200ish miles South Westish of me. There is an OwensBURG in Ohio that isn't terribly far from me. Cincinnati is a hot city for Mustang enthusiasts. There are quite a few clubs around and you can't go to any local drag strip without seeing a couple dozen of them.

[Evil D]

Here's the latest drool inducing car I've handled. 1967 Jaguar XKE 4.2.


It was pretty envy inducing.

That's painful to look at! :D Very cool, David.

It's a shame they aren't close to cheap. A restomod with a newer straight-six would be an amazing death trap to build.

Man that car would go 150+ in 1967. Imagine just putting a turbo on it? You're right though that's a car that was built in the days when men died like real men lol.

[Blerv]

Man that car would go 150+ in 1967. Imagine just putting a turbo on it? You're right though that's a car that was built in the days when men died like real men lol.

Oh for sure!

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Blerv, David, and others, I have a question for you about cars: As you know, with most cars and trucks and other wheeled vehicles, in order to make a U Turn or turns, you cannot make a full 360 degree turn IN PLACE, you have to back up and make a couple of turns to complete a turn. Is it possible for car designers to make a car that has an axl system that enables you the driver to turn the car in full 360 degrees, without interfering with drive train control? How would you do this?

[Evil D]

Blerv, David, and others, I have a question for you about cars: As you know, with most cars and trucks and other wheeled vehicles, in order to make a U Turn or turns, you cannot make a full 360 degree turn IN PLACE, you have to back up and make a couple of turns to complete a turn. Is it possible for car designers to make a car that has an axl system that enables you the driver to turn the car in full 360 degrees, without interfering with drive train control? How would you do this?

Sure. Imagine how the front wheels of a shopping cart swivel in place. There are planetary gear systems that drive single wheels independently which could be attached so they can swivel 360 degrees while also being drive wheels.

Another way would be independent driven rear wheels and then turn just like a zero turn mower.

[Mad Mac]

The smallest things defeat me but more about that later. You know how they say, "You can do it in a Saturday afternoon." Well today is Tuesday and I'm at the point I usually reach by this time. The car is in pieces and I can't drive it.

All I wanted to do was change the headlights. Back in the old days, nothing could be easier. What could possibly go wrong?

The headlights on the 2009 Toyota Tacoma had become cloudy. There are restoration kits for that, but that wasn't all.

White flakes were accumulating in the bottom of the headlights. They began to resemble snow globes. But wait, there's more.

The daytime running lights, which also serve as the four-way flashers, had burned the plastic lenses. To Toyota's credit, they extended the warranty from three to five years in 2014 and replaced the headlights with ones with improved DRLs, but somehow I never learned of the recall.

Because I thought it would cost hundreds to replace the headlights (the turn signal, headlight and DRL are all one unit), I had postponed replacing them as long as possible, but I could no longer see well at night to drive.

The good news, Rockauto had replacements for $39 each! Those 12-year old Chinese girls do good work.

YouTube provided some videos of how to replace the lights, but they left out one detail. Unlike the old days, the plastic fasteners are the reusable two-piece push-in type. That is if you know they are two-piece and don't rip them out with brute force.

Wednesday, I may be finished.

Cloudy headlight lens and snow flakes.


Burned DRL.


Ta dah! Passenger side done.

[benben]

Mad Mac, you should have been contacted by mail by your Toyota dealer. Bulletin T-SB-029-11, covers 2005-2011 Tacoma trucks, I've seen hundreds of these headlamps in our dumpster!

Were you having a problem with the grille & lower filler fasteners/push pins around the headlamps? The actual headlamps just bolt in to push in grommets.

[Mad Mac]

Other recall notices have reached us in the past. But I don't recall that one, and I would have taken it in for sure.

The plastic push pins were the only thing I messed up. Did not realize I needed to pry up the center button with a knife point or sharp screwdriver to unlock them. Was able to reuse them again anyhow. It's all back together. Let there be light!

PS: Ah. Just read that a TSB is not a recall. http://www.toyotaproblems.com/tsbs/ It's sent to the dealers for their mechanics and I guess if the customer complains, they take care of it. I got a new engine in a Mazda 929 like that. Took it in for routine service and casually commented that it makes a noise sometimes. It was mild piston slap and the dealer had instructions from Mazda to replace the engines if the customers complained.

[benben]

Yeah, most people take bulletins as recalls or warranties when in all reality the manufacturer just finally admits there's a problem, if enough people scream & complain loud enough then they'll address it, hopefully?

[Mad Mac]

A vehicle is the second most expensive thing we buy after a home. Yet car commercials that last about 30 seconds are like perfume commercials. They tell us nothing specific about the vehicle. Instead, most of them only communicate a feeling, an aspiration.

Meanwhile, a $19 pair of sunglasses or a blender gets a 30 minute infomercial. Somehow this is backwards. Shouldn't a $50,000 vehicle deserve 30 minutes? Yes, I know they are selling the sizzle and not the steak, but would you watch a 30 minute infomercial for a vehicle you might consider buying?