Random Thoughts Thread

[Robert Hall]

That's cool...my coworker in Scottsdale that is into camping and off roading goes to that event every year.   He's the Land Cruiser fan, has a restored '70s FJ 40 and an '86 FJ 60 resto mod w/ a GM LS e-rod engine and 6spd automatic. 

[balthazar]

51 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Please correct me if I am missing it @balthazar but did not the beginning of the industry do a type of skateboard concept with the frame and the body was just bolted down onto the top of it with everything else either between the frame or under it?

There was little in the way of 'convention' in the early years. Some vehicles with large flywheels did have portions of the power train south of the framerails, but others just had their frames 'riding high' with all the buggy wheels. Here's Henry Ford's 1896 Quadricycle- all is north of the rails here. 

 

I don't think the term 'skateboard' really applies; it's really just 'body on frame'.

Edited May 4, 2019 by balthazar

[regfootball]

Car shopping. Rust already on drain holes at door of a 2016 bmw 3 series 

 

 

[ocnblu]

reg, that is not rust.  I am no BMW fan by a long shot... but that is corrosion protection material spilling out of the door drain holes.

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

Here's Henry Ford's 1896 Ecosport - all is north of the rails here. 

Fixed that for ya Balthy

[regfootball]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

reg, that is not rust.  I am no BMW fan by a long shot... but that is corrosion protection material spilling out of the door drain holes.

Fixed that for ya Balthy

ORLY?  so some BMW douche upped for the full package..including rustproofing?

Edited May 5, 2019 by regfootball

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

6 hours ago, regfootball said:

ORLY?  so some BMW douche upped for the full package..including rustproofing?

Well that is a factory situation.  VW slathers a similar stuff on their cars too.

[balthazar]

Hydro-Carbon System ~

[balthazar]

^ $1000 in 1899 equates to $30,500 today.
- - - - - 

[balthazar]

I think they should still write obits this graphic ~

Edited May 6, 2019 by balthazar

[ocnblu]

[balthazar]

For DD ~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhZ0o8jNd0A

[balthazar]

1965 Corvette Manta Ray ~

 

[balthazar]

Hmmm...

[balthazar]

"Whaddya mean - that Caddy just fit in!"

[Drew Dowdell]

23 hours ago, balthazar said:

For DD ~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhZ0o8jNd0A

I've been watching the new videos on this daily. I intend to go chase it someday.

[balthazar]

Lee Petty, photo-finish winner of (first) 1959 Daytona 500 (in race pic, car # 48 was a lap down) ~ 

[balthazar]

Fageol Super Sonic ~ 

https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Fageol_Supersonic
 

Edited May 7, 2019 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Unfortunately the 'Past EV Vehicles' thread doesn't allow replies, so I'll add these here. @balthazar

 

Sorry about that. It was a permissions issue that has now been fixed. 

[Robert Hall]

What is it with 4th gen Chrysler minivans and hood rust?  Everything 4th gen I see around here had rust holes or blotches at the leading edge of the hood...

[Drew Dowdell]

3 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

What is it with 4th gen Chrysler minivans and hood rust?  Everything 4th gen I see around here had rust holes or blotches at the leading edge of the hood...

That's an ohio thing

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

That's an ohio thing

Salt...probably got that in PA also... 

[Drew Dowdell]

Just now, Robert Hall said:

Salt...probably got that in PA also... 

Yeah, but it seems much worse where you are.   

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Yeah, but it seems much worse where you are.   

Could be...we have salt mines under Lake Erie...road salt is a big thing here. 

[G. David Felt]

9 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Could be...we have salt mines under Lake Erie...road salt is a big thing here. 

So hard on the environment. 

[Robert Hall]

Just now, dfelt said:

So hard on the environment. 

Oh yeah...and it leads to so many potholes..the streets outside my subdivision are pretty cratered...

[G. David Felt]

5 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Oh yeah...and it leads to so many potholes..the streets outside my subdivision are pretty cratered...

May I suggest a Hummer?  

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

May I suggest a Hummer?  

heh-heh..yeah.  I saw rusted, battered yellow H2 the other day.   

[Drew Dowdell]

5 minutes ago, dfelt said:

May I suggest a Hummer?  

He's already got a 4x4 Jeep, he should be fine

[Robert Hall]

37 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

He's already got a 4x4 Jeep, he should be fine

I glad I do have a decent amount sidewall w/ the 20 inch tires, but I still dodge the potholes..don't want to foul my alignment...

Edited May 7, 2019 by Robert Hall

[G. David Felt]

3 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

He's already got a 4x4 Jeep, he should be fine

True, but you can always use a beater for beaten streets.  

1 minute ago, Robert Hall said:

I glad I do have a decent amount sidewall w/ the 20 inch wheels, but I still dodge the potholes..don't want to foul my alignment...

Yea, this last winter was harder late in Feb and so we have more than usual and that is with using environmental deicer what ever is in it. At least non of my auto's have become rust buckets.  

[Robert Hall]

27 minutes ago, dfelt said:

True, but you can always use a beater for beaten streets.  

 

Yeah, but I never bought into the 'winter beater' idea..I like one reliable vehicle for year round use.  Though my sister has gone the winter beater route sort of with her STS. 

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

General Motors has applied for a trademark to register “Chevrolet Trailblazer Activ” with the United States Patent Office.

Hmmm... could Chevy be planning to sell a butched-up, off-roady Trax/Trailblazer in the U.S.?  Sounds interesting!

[daves87rs]

22 hours ago, balthazar said:

Lee Petty, photo-finish winner of (first) 1959 Daytona 500 (in race pic, car # 48 was a lap down) ~ 

Miss the Pettys.....

[ocnblu]

I have such a weird dilemma at hand... I would love a basic, regular cab Silverado WT with chrome bumper/alloy wheel package... OR, a new Trax/Trailblazer, and the idea of a Trailblazer Activ intrigues me... I know... CUV and all that, but darn it, my Jeep is so darn useful on the daily... I am also intrigued by the VW Tarok concept... then AGAIN, I am reading that perhaps for 2020 GM will finally update the Colorado/Canyon...

[balthazar]

I have a common dilemma : would love a new truck but don't want the accompanying monthly payment. $500/mnth = suckage.

[G. David Felt]

3 minutes ago, balthazar said:

I have a common dilemma : would love a new truck but don't want the accompanying monthly payment. $500/mnth = suckage.

So true, been without a auto payment for years and yet I suspect once the wife decides on her next auto, we will have one again. Life.

[daves87rs]

14 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

I have such a weird dilemma at hand... I would love a basic, regular cab Silverado WT with chrome bumper/alloy wheel package... OR, a new Trax/Trailblazer, and the idea of a Trailblazer Activ intrigues me... I know... CUV and all that, but darn it, my Jeep is so darn useful on the daily... I am also intrigued by the VW Tarok concept... then AGAIN, I am reading that perhaps for 2020 GM will finally update the Colorado/Canyon...

Wish I could say I have a GM in the future.....Chevy's baby truck is the only one on my radar....

 

Jeep stole my heart....hello Detroit Built Grand Cherokee and Jeep Gladeator.......

10 minutes ago, dfelt said:

So true, been without a auto payment for years and yet I suspect once the wife decides on her next auto, we will have one again. Life.

Went 8 years before my Nox.....

[Robert Hall]

Yeah, I went without an auto payment for 12 years until I got to the point my old Jeep was too worn out to keep driving. 

[balthazar]

I'm personally at 20 years without a vehicle payment since I paid off my '94, but that's 'ME' - my wife's last 2 cars have been on time (with a gap in between). I bought my '04 (in '06) for cash.

Edited May 8, 2019 by balthazar

[balthazar]

See? Proof positive that fins provide directional stability at high speeds, just like Chrysler claimed. Look at that Ford tumble… 

[ocnblu]

Car #43 is in second place eh?

[balthazar]

^ #42 won, #73 finished 2nd, #48 finished 5th. Margin of victory : 2 feet.
BTW - Richard Petty was in the same race, but his #43 '57 Olds was out after only 8 laps with engine trouble.
Pole speed was 140.1 MPH, average speed was 135.5. Pretty ferocious for stock-block cars- running 3.75 hrs at 135 MPH.

Only racing I like is factory chassis'd/engined cars. Modern NASCAR 'sticker' cars are boring.

- - - - - 
The quizzically styled & tagged '42 Olds 'B-44'. Olds had regular series nameplates ('98' and '76), but this year all models also had 'B-44' grille badging. I've not found the reasoning for it as of yet.

License plate in ad reads 'NU 4U 4-42'.

Edited May 8, 2019 by balthazar

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

On 4/28/2019 at 4:19 PM, balthazar said:

Is that an armrest I see in the front seat?  The exhaust looks modified.  I had a small metal model of this car when I was a kid.  I remember the sculpting above the wheels wells.  The first Riv may have been better proportioned but the first Toro made a bolder, sleeker statement.

It's amazing how many people will ride your tail when you're on the freeway and have the cruise set at 5 mph above the speed limit AND you're one lane inboard from the fast/left lane.  Is that not fast enough for them?

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

Too fastback to retain to police cruiser segment.  Will need some modification.  Front headlamps are too 04-07 GP, one of the few but big styling demerits of the last Grand Prix.

[balthazar]

• Toro has the 'Strato Bucket' interior, which had a fold-down armrest. Yes- the exhausts are unquestionably larger than factory. 
• The Dodge ESX may have 'had '04 GP headlights', but the ESX debuted in 1996. For a modern car I do really like the profile/proportioning: 

[balthazar]

I have no idea what's going on here; someone really loved their '58 DeSoto so much they wanted it in their living room? 

[Robert Hall]

10 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

 

Too fastback to retain to police cruiser segment.  Will need some modification.  Front headlamps are too 04-07 GP, one of the few but big styling demerits of the last Grand Prix.

That was the Intrepid ESX concept from 1996...kind of predicted the general styling of the 2nd gen Intrepid, but sleeker.  I always liked the LH cars, even though they were FWD. I remember seeing this concept in person on the University of Michigan campus back in the day. 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

That was the Intrepid ESX concept from 1996...kind of predicted the general styling of the 2nd gen Intrepid, but sleeker.  I always liked the LH cars, even though they were FWD. I remember seeing this concept in person on the University of Michigan campus back in the day. 

Right.  I may have even test driven this car (road hum, if I recall) when it was released.  They can work with this and the 1999 concept and bring it forward to 2020 or 2021.  If they plan to keep the law enforcement market, the size and shape of the greenhouse will be critical.