Random Thoughts Thread

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

On a more positive Mustang note...this driver and car both Rock!

[A Horse With No Name]

MOAR...

[trinacriabob]

13 hours ago, balthazar said:

Definitely has 4 wheel drums, but I drove this same model car for 25,000 miles as a daily with the (manual) drums, and I hammered on that car hard- no problems with the brakes. Not Buick-level drums, but pretty good/never an issue. No one who hasn't driven such a car will agree with that, of course- only discs could possibly stop a car.  Or so I'm told. I have a set of Pontiac aluminum drums that would fit this, too.

I only say this because when I'd take my dad's 10+ year old, indestructible Pontiac Le Mans coupe with the 250 c.i. inline 6 out right after it had rained in SoCal, it sometimes got a little dicey and stops weren't as responsive.  That was always a problem in SoCal, though.  Since it's dry for so long, the first rains always affect the oils and such that have accumulated on the road surface.  It could have partly been the tires.  They weren't as good as today's tires.  However, both the '76 Cutlass Supreme and the '76 Regal coupes, both with front disc brakes, performed reliably well in wet weather and during the first heavy rainfalls, like they're having now.  I'm just wondering how sweet that simple Pontiac Le Mans coupe could have been had it had front disc brakes.  Throw in bucket seats, cloth seating surfaces, a console, and some gauges ... but it was the entry level model and you couldn't have asked for a more reliable car.

Edited December 7, 2018 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

My only experience driving cars w/ 4 wheel drum brakes (non-power) were driving my folks' '67 & '68 Cougars in the late 80s-early 90s.  Both are strangely equipped for Cougars--only option being an AM radio on each.   289 2bbl in the '67, 302 2bbl in the '68.   4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering, 3spd manuals.   Drove them around hilly E. Ohio area around the family farm and through various small towns, local state routes, no freeways.   My Dad and Mom loved driving them, but I found them very awkward w/ the drum brakes, heavy steering, lack of seat or steering wheel adjustment,  etc.   Their 3rd '68 Cougar (a '68 XR-7 w/ automatic and 390 4bbl, power steering, front disk brakes) was more pleasant to drive.    

Edited December 7, 2018 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Edited December 7, 2018 by balthazar

[balthazar]

Mustang's were under-braked to begin with, then the Cougar packed another 500 lbs on the same brakes. 10 x 1.75-in : puny.
'59 Buick : 12 x 2.5-in.

 

EDIT : found a '67 Merc Cougar road test, said the 4 wheel drum 289 Cat did 60-0 in 143' and the 390 CI Cat did so in 158'.  143' isn't terrible, but nearly 160 is not great.

Edited December 7, 2018 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

On 12/6/2018 at 1:36 PM, dfelt said:

So ebonics at C&G!  

Remember when you were a kid or a teenager and there were those 1-800 infomercials for "Hooked on Phonics?"  One of my friends remarked that there should be a product called "Hooked on Ebonics."  Just saying.

[G. David Felt]

 

 

[balthazar]

I prolly posted this before, but the Mustang racers reminded me of it. That's a Ferrari 2+2 V-12, and it was only ONE QUARTER of ONE SECOND faster than the '65 Catalina 2+2 421 on a 2 minute lap.

"The Ferrari lapped faster than the Pontiac by a very small margin. I'd say that this was due to somewhat better handling and a little bit to its brakes, The limited slip was good, but I wouldn't say it was any better. Of course, it didn't have the work to do that the Pontiac's did. I don't think the Ferrari would be quite as good in the rain as the Pontiac, but that's largely because of the disc brakes- disc brakes are generally pretty poor in the rain until they're hot."

Ferrari : 3430 lbs, 300 HP 242 CI V12, 415 TRQ, 4-spd manual, 4.25 axle, 1/4 mile: 14.6 @ 97
Pontiac : 4155 lbs, 376 HP 421 CI V8, 461 TRQ, 4-spd manual, 3.42 axle, 1/4 mile: 13.8 @ 106

[G. David Felt]

Newest Prius with Toyota's All New V8 being used for racing. Talk about sounding like a Corvette now! I approve of this!  

 

[balthazar]

Reading on a Buick board :
Buick 350 CI V8 factory 2-bolt block, aftermarket crank, rods, pistons, ported iron heads & intake, roller cam, 850 cfm carb, 8.6 CR.
Made in 'mid 500s' HP/TRQ naturally aspirated.

Added procharger (12 PSI) : 838 HP @ 7100, 674 TRQ @ 6000
Different procharger (20 PSI, still on pump gas) : 950 HP @ 7200, 731TRQ
Final pull on race gas : 1021 HP @ 6800, 808 TRQ @ 5750

Edited December 8, 2018 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

33 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Reading on a Buick board :
Buick 350 CI V8 factory 2-bolt block, aftermarket crank, rods, pistons, ported iron heads & intake, roller cam, 850 cfm carb, 8.6 CR.
Made in 'mid 500s' HP/TRQ naturally aspirated.

Added procharger (12 PSI) : 838 HP @ 7100, 674 TRQ @ 6000
Different procharger (20 PSI, still on pump gas) : 950 HP @ 7200, 731TRQ
Final pull on race gas : 1021 HP @ 6800, 808 TRQ @ 5750

Interesting...wonder what that was installed in.

[balthazar]

A circa 2800 lb tube chassis Camaro, ran in the 8's in the quarter.

[ocnblu]

Seems pretty darn brilliant to me:  The Honda Passport just debuted at the auto show, and it is in production already!  Way to strike while the iron's hot.  GM could learn so much from this approach.  Seems like the Blazer was shown 5 years ago.  Now Chevy is going to need to rev up the media frenzy AGAIN, closer to actual availability of the product.

[Suaviloquent]

 

What do you think of this? The arguments seem quite rational. 

[balthazar]

[reflections at the 10:xx mark...]
They are grotesquely overestimating the current demand for EVs. If there was currently that much 'waiting demand' for EVs, on a growing magnitude to render IC sales "Zero by 2026", sales of IC vehicles NOW should be down by a huge magntitude- maybe 50% if I'm to buy into their narrative. But 2017 was another 17 million unit year in the US. Also, 'EV minded people' are forced to replace an existing IC vehicle just as frequently as anyone else; one would think that -besides the Model 3- that other EV and hybrid cars would be selling far better than they do. They don't.

"2026" is a laugh riot. They ignore their solid points on 'tech acceptance rate vs. cost' completely and mention EV product without admitting the costs are often DOUBLE the IC versions. "Rivian just brought out" = they showed 2 concepts; they are NOT in production and they are rumored to be well over $60K. Model S seems to be a pretty good car, has super high awareness, been around 6-7 years now, how come it's only moving about 24K units/year?? Could it be the $78K MSRP? Nah, couldn't be.
- - - - -
RE trucks : "All these other competitors are entering their space" [Rivian, Bollinger, Bison, Workforce]. Rivian's reveal happened hours ago, Workforce has been 'out' for what- 2 years now, still no production/sales on these. Workforce seems to be concentrating on fleet Government sales, not the consumer pickup (via their website/internet news). In July of '17, Bollinger had a one-off hand-built prototype and only SEVEN employees- when -even roughly- are they supposed to 'sock it to' GM & Ford with their SUV?

People seem to have a real tough grasp on the time element here, yet they continue to make earth-shattering prediction about near future time. Prius is now 20 years old, the electrification of automotive propulsion is no longer 'news'. Tesla Model 3 "entered the space" in April 2016, it's only had it's promised level of production this month. We still have the comments I made elsewhere here RE inner city EV obstacles- many people park on public streets or live in high rises- there's no infrastructure for them. Ignoring these hard facts puts companies in the grave, and I'm not talking about GM or FoMoCo here.

They make some interesting points, but overall it cannot be considered "rational".

Edited December 9, 2018 by balthazar

[riviera74]

When it comes to EVs, infrastructure is a real issue.  Only Tesla seems to have put much thought into charging infrastructure.

[balthazar]

"For years we were told to hoard oil because peak oil was coming, now there's going to be this worldwde glut of oil".
See, that's impossible; because I read/heard 10,000 times that Peak Oil was coming, and fast, prices were going to $8 or $10/gal and I was NOT to argue about it/ all arguments were wrong. It was settled, it was empirical. How could it possibly be any other way?

On this alone, I must conclude their premise is invalid. ;)

[G. David Felt]

27 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

When it comes to EVs, infrastructure is a real issue.  Only Tesla seems to have put much thought into charging infrastructure.

You have the Level 3 & 4 charging network that is already being installed on the EV standards that everyone has agreed to in the auto industry except for Nissan who will sell you a converter for plugging into their EV. 

Paid for by VW and expanding. GM has joined VW, specifically Porsche with going 800V charging. So right now this is like the late 1800's / early 1900's where gas stations were non-existent for ICE auto's.

I expect a faster roll-out of EV charging as many oil companies have bought charging infrastructure companies.

[balthazar]

If the 'Rivian truck doesn't have to sell huge, it can just be a tiny little blip", HTF are IC trucks going to go to zero sales in 7 years???

- - - - -
"People think 'Teslas are expensive so people don't buy Teslas, but that's not the case" compared to "GM is closing all these plants because no one buys their cars".

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

many people park on public streets or live in high rises- there's no infrastructure for them. Ignoring these hard facts puts companies in the grave, and I'm not talking about GM or FoMoCo here.

Valid true point and you are taking it from an East Coast point of view where support and investment for the future is weak at best compared to the west coast, Europe and the Asian rim where cities, counties and states / their equal out of the country are investing.

EV charging is not a problem or issue on the west coast unlike the east coast.

Some regions will embrace and change over much faster than others. Time will tell just how fast people switch over from ICE to EV. In some areas, much faster than others.

[ocnblu]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Time will tell just how fast people switch over

How 'bout never?

[G. David Felt]

21 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

How 'bout never?

How about embracing change and the future rather than trying to live in the past?

Oops, forgot your Amish!

[A Horse With No Name]

On 12/7/2018 at 11:19 PM, balthazar said:

I prolly posted this before, but the Mustang racers reminded me of it. That's a Ferrari 2+2 V-12, and it was only ONE QUARTER of ONE SECOND faster than the '65 Catalina 2+2 421 on a 2 minute lap.

"The Ferrari lapped faster than the Pontiac by a very small margin. I'd say that this was due to somewhat better handling and a little bit to its brakes, The limited slip was good, but I wouldn't say it was any better. Of course, it didn't have the work to do that the Pontiac's did. I don't think the Ferrari would be quite as good in the rain as the Pontiac, but that's largely because of the disc brakes- disc brakes are generally pretty poor in the rain until they're hot."

Ferrari : 3430 lbs, 300 HP 242 CI V12, 415 TRQ, 4-spd manual, 4.25 axle, 1/4 mile: 14.6 @ 97
Pontiac : 4155 lbs, 376 HP 421 CI V8, 461 TRQ, 4-spd manual, 3.42 axle, 1/4 mile: 13.8 @ 106

So that Pontiac is about as fast as a Golf R or WRX STI...since the Beetle R has the GTI drivedrain...I've seen similar dead stock Beetle R pull about 14.8 at the track...vintage Ferrari about as fast as modern Beetle R.

None of them looked remotely as good as the Pontiac though. Actually nothing much has since IMHO.

I feel blessed as an enthusiast to have experienced both eras.

28 minutes ago, dfelt said:

How about embracing change and the future rather than trying to live in the past?

Oops, forgot your Amish!

Or we could harness the wasted energy off of both you and blu...and build a perpetual motion machine. Would do away with the need for electric and ICE both.

52 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

How 'bout never?

Change is inevitable grasshopper.

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

If the 'Rivian truck doesn't have to sell huge, it can just be a tiny little blip", HTF are IC trucks going to go to zero sales in 7 years???

- - - - -
"People think 'Teslas are expensive so people don't buy Teslas, but that's not the case" compared to "GM is closing all these plants because no one buys their cars".

Thermonuclar intercontinental war would be the only way ICE pickups go out that fast. What few humans remained would use irradiated pack animals to move what little needed moved.

[A Horse With No Name]

On 12/7/2018 at 4:21 PM, balthazar said:

Mustang's were under-braked to begin with, then the Cougar packed another 500 lbs on the same brakes. 10 x 1.75-in : puny.
'59 Buick : 12 x 2.5-in.

 

EDIT : found a '67 Merc Cougar road test, said the 4 wheel drum 289 Cat did 60-0 in 143' and the 390 CI Cat did so in 158'.  143' isn't terrible, but nearly 160 is not great.

Cougars were fine looking cars in that era though.

[ocnblu]

34 minutes ago, dfelt said:

How about embracing change and the future rather than trying to live in the past?

Oops, forgot your Amish!

I did not forget my Amish.  They are all around me.  I was dodging road apples this afternoon, in fact.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, ocnblu said:

I did not forget my Amish.  They are all around me.  I was dodging road apples this afternoon, in fact.

Nothing at all wrong with being Amish if you were. Hard working people who are mostly honest and mind thier own buisiness.

[balthazar]

27 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

So that Pontiac is about as fast as a Golf R or WRX STI...since the Beetle R has the GTI drivedrain...I've seen similar dead stock Beetle R pull about 14.8 at the track...vintage Ferrari about as fast as modern Beetle R.

I see an '18 WRX STi tested at 14.1 @ 98. 98 MPH 'should' equate to a 13.9, but that's a turbo for you- implies lag.
The Pontiac at 106 MPH 'should' be at 12.8 - traction issues easily fixed with better tires.
A second in the quarter is 10 car lengths at these levels- not really 'about as fast'.

Edited December 10, 2018 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

I see an '18 WRX STi tested at 14.1 @ 98. 98 MPH 'should' equate to a 13.9, but that's a turbo for you- implies lag.
The Pontiac at 106 MPH 'should' be at 12.8 - traction issues easily fixed with better tires.
A second in the quarter is 10 car lengths at these levels- not really 'about as fast'.

14 vs 13.8...about. If you get better tires I get a computer reflash...mod to mod vs stock to stock....

[balthazar]

touche'. Still; seems to me the STi is performing at it's 99th %, whereas the 2+2 is clearly capable of more as is. Tell you what, let's switch tires between the two (STi: 245/40-18s) and play the averages. >:)
- - - - -
Going to rehash this personal issue, as new info came to me tonight. The address numbers I've lived at :

1100
211
211
1717
11
13
1501
I dunno; the statistical odds of that many double 1's (and the single '1' of '13', which is 1+1 from the number 11), seems incredibly unlikely. I'm sure it means nothing.

Edited December 10, 2018 by balthazar

[G. David Felt]

1 minute ago, balthazar said:

touche'. Still; seems to me the STi is performing at it's 99th %, whereas the 2+2 is clearly capable of more as is. Tell you what, let's switch tires between the two (STi: 245/40-18s) and play the averages. >:)
- - - - -
Going to rehash this personal issue, as new info came to me tonight. The address numbers I've lived at :

1100
211
211
1717
11
13
1501
I dunno; the statistical odds of that many double 1's (and the single '1' of '13', which is 1+1 from the number 11), seems incredibly unlikely. I'm sure it means nothing.

7's in any numbers are considered very lucky by Asian standards.

[daves87rs]

9 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Seems pretty darn brilliant to me:  The Honda Passport just debuted at the auto show, and it is in production already!  Way to strike while the iron's hot.  GM could learn so much from this approach.  Seems like the Blazer was shown 5 years ago.  Now Chevy is going to need to rev up the media frenzy AGAIN, closer to actual availability of the product.

Good news that it is out early next year....

Had to be soccer mom approved.. ? 

[balthazar]

What's their take on '1'?

[daves87rs]

1 minute ago, balthazar said:

What's their take on '1'?

Should hold enough kids.... ? 

[balthazar]

[Robert Hall]

My sister’s Trax got whacked by a Kia at a light this morning, waiting on insurance adjuster to visit.  Had to get it hauled home on a rollback, the mashed in bumper is rubbing the tire.   Way to start a Monday.  

[G. David Felt]

13 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

My sister’s Trax got whacked by a Kia at a light this morning, waiting on insurance adjuster to visit.  Had to get it hauled home on a rollback, the mashed in bumper is rubbing the tire.   Way to start a Monday.  

Wishing her all the best in not having any aches or pains. Hope the rest of her week goes better.

Any pictures on what the Kia looked like? Interesting to see how mushed up it was.

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Wishing her all the best in not having any aches or pains. Hope the rest of her week goes better.

Any pictures on what the Kia looked like? Interesting to see how mushed up it was.

She didn't get any pics of the Kia.  Exchanged insurance info w/ the guy and he was able to drive away, she said his left headlight was broken out, grille damaged, bumper cracked, hood bent.   2015 Optima.    She's probably going to work from home today then drive over to Toledo (her client is over there)  in her Cadillac tomorrow. 

[G. David Felt]

2 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

She didn't get any pics of the Kia.  Exchanged insurance info w/ the guy and he was able to drive away, she said his left headlight was broken out, grille damaged, bumper cracked, hood bent.   2015 Optima.    She's probably going to work from home today then drive over to Toledo (her client is over there)  in her Cadillac tomorrow. 

Glad to hear she is mobile and not feeling it yet. Safe driving all.

[Robert Hall]

5 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Glad to hear she is mobile and not feeling it yet. Safe driving all.

Was a low speed shunt..she stopped at a light changed to red at a left turn onto a freeway onramp, the Kia driver didn't stop...

Edited December 10, 2018 by Robert Hall

[Robert Hall]

And away it goes to the body shop.  

[A Horse With No Name]

4 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

And away it goes to the body shop.  

Repairs are wonderful things.

 

[Robert Hall]

6 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Repairs are wonderful things.

 

Should be minor--just the rear fascia and it's parts, not sure sure if they are going to repair the hatch or replace it.  I don't know if there is any rear/underbody damage behind the bumper, though.    It was interesting--she just took a bunch of photos and posted them to the insurance company through their phone app rather than an adjuster coming out. 

Edited December 11, 2018 by Robert Hall

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Should be minor--just the rear fascia and it's parts, not sure sure if they are going to repair the hatch or replace it.  I don't know if there is any rear/underbody damage behind the bumper, though.    It was interesting--she just took a bunch of photos and posted them to the insurance company through their phone app rather than an adjuster coming out. 

That is the way it is usually done any more.

[A Horse With No Name]

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/nep9ez/photo-of-couple-boning-on-top-of-pyramids-prompts-international-investigation?utm_source=vicelandfbus&fbclid=IwAR3BVn6Ji_3WMrqWPx09tVBTi249Na8y2jdWB80jbSmtTS8tvRzjqP6Ldc4

 

World gets crazier every day it would seem.

Edited December 11, 2018 by A Horse With No Name

[G. David Felt]

3 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/nep9ez/photo-of-couple-boning-on-top-of-pyramids-prompts-international-investigation?utm_source=vicelandfbus&fbclid=IwAR3BVn6Ji_3WMrqWPx09tVBTi249Na8y2jdWB80jbSmtTS8tvRzjqP6Ldc4

 

World gets crazier every day it would seem.

For a Muslim country that is ass-backwards, not the brightest moment in his career. Should have kept those private. IDIOT!

[ocnblu]

10 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Should be minor--just the rear fascia and it's parts, not sure sure if they are going to repair the hatch or replace it.  I don't know if there is any rear/underbody damage behind the bumper, though.    It was interesting--she just took a bunch of photos and posted them to the insurance company through their phone app rather than an adjuster coming out. 

Well then, you are guaranteed to have a yuge supplement.  Those photo estimates are a giant waste of time.  Our shop at least doubles every.single.one.  The insurance company loves them... because they save so much money if the person doesn't actually fix the car.

[Robert Hall]

The total estimate came in at $3150.   $1700 in parts.   

[ocnblu]

3 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

The total estimate came in at $3150.   $1700 in parts.   

Just wait.