Random Thoughts Thread

[A Horse With No Name]

This is the best looking post war american car, 65-70 Mustang FB, along with 58-62 Chevy Corvette. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Meyrs manx is sold...

https://journal.classiccars.com/2020/11/11/bruce-meyers-dune-buggy-creator-finally-sells-meyers-manx-business/?fbclid=IwAR3FTmPDd6aF2iFK94cuklepWzQnQvlDFQCow1ipqgZFPqbWb2tz4kEYEcY

[A Horse With No Name]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/401224424387397/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=undefined

[daves87rs]

18 hours ago, balthazar said:

How are you supposed to know if a given automotive consideration is comfortable for you, or has good vision, or you like the sound system, or you can FIT in it, if OEMs move to primarily online sales??

I know quite a few automakers who want to do this, but I do not think they could handle the undertaking, including Nissan.  Requires ..

- requires more of a built on demand model. Not helpful to your labor workforce. (Possibly unionized) Everything would have to be built by robots. Kinda pricey there.....

-If someone’s car happens to do poopy in sales, it makes it very hard to discount a given model. It’s not like they could do an Prime day to fix the lag....

 

As far as dealerships go, I’ve already heard that they would simply pay folks to bring the cars to you. Though getting rid of dealerships gets rid of the service experience for automakers, as even EVs will need some kinds of services........

[ocnblu]

10 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Self portrait, Bill?

?

[ocnblu]

 

[daves87rs]

Boy, not used to this cold yet......

[ocnblu]

5 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Boy, not used to this cold yet......

Just rub it a little bit, hopefully it will come to life.

[daves87rs]

2 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Just rub it a little bit, hopefully it will come to life.

But then you have wind too.... ? 

[ocnblu]

SPRING'S COMIN'!

[trinacriabob]

On 11/13/2020 at 9:08 AM, A Horse With No Name said:

The black F-bird:

Says 4.9, if I'm reading it correctly.  So, that's a 301 c.i. Pontiac V8, it has no air (look at all that space under the hood ... and pull tabs for interior venting!), manual windows, and cloth seats.  I'd happily own it, but not in that color.

The maroon F-bird:

My favorite year for this car; just need to get rid of the hood intake scoops, the white vinyl interior, and the aftermarket wheels

Edited November 14, 2020 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

41 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

The black F-bird:

Says 4.9, if I'm reading it correctly.  So, that's a 301 c.i. Pontiac V8, it has no air (look at all that space under the hood ... and pull tabs for interior venting!), manual windows, and cloth seats.  I'd happily own it, but not in that color.

The maroon F-bird:

My favorite year for this car; just need to get rid of the hood intake scoops, the white vinyl interior, and the aftermarket wheels

The black Trans Am is an '80-81 w/ the 301 and automatic...pretty weak sauce, compared to the nearly-identical looking '79 which was still available w/ the 400 and a 4 spd manual IIRC.  (some '79 T/As came w/ the Olds 403 and an automatic, IIRC). 

The maroon '75 has the Formula hood, would be a 350 or 400..not sure if the 455 was still available in '75.   This one is very similar to one my brother had in the late 70s--his was a '75 Formula 400, dark blue w/ the white interior.   He had wide Cragar SS wheels on it.

[balthazar]

I believe the 455 went thru '76 in the Firedbirds (unlike Chevy- who killed their big block after '73 or '74 in the 'maro).

301 N/A is lethargic, but the 4.9L Turbo moves well for '80-81. No; it's no Super Duty.

[trinacriabob]

34 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

The black Trans Am is an '80-81 w/ the 301 and automatic...pretty weak sauce, compared to the nearly-identical looking '79 which was still available w/ the 400 and a 4 spd manual IIRC.  (some '79 T/As came w/ the Olds 403 and an automatic, IIRC). 

The maroon '75 has the Formula hood, would be a 350 or 400..not sure if the 455 was still available in '75.   This one is very similar to one my brother had in the late 70s--his was a '75 Formula 400, dark blue w/ the white interior.   He had wide Cragar SS wheels on it.

I can do without the Cragar part.  I can almost hear some of the low riders in SoCal describing how neat they thought their cars were with those wheels and sounding like Cheech Marin while doing so.  Hard pass.

21 minutes ago, balthazar said:

I believe the 455 went thru '76 in the Firedbirds (unlike Chevy- who killed their big block after '73 or '74 in the 'maro).

301 N/A is lethargic, but the 4.9L Turbo moves well for '80-81. No; it's no Super Duty.

Did they even offer Formulas and TAs with 301 N/As at any time?  If I recall, the 301 had bore and stroke dimensions with no fractions, which I may remember because it's so unusual.  It would probably last a long time, with more room for its cooling jackets than a Pontiac 350.

[Robert Hall]

19 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

I can do without the Cragar part.  I can almost hear some of the low riders in SoCal describing how neat they thought their cars were with those wheels and sounding like Cheech Marin while doing so.  Hard pass.

Did they even offer Formulas and TAs with 301 N/As at any time?  If I recall, the 301 had bore and stroke dimensions with no fractions, which I may remember because it's so unusual.  It would probably last a long time, with more room for its cooling jackets than a Pontiac 350.

The Cragars were definitely a thing on muscle cars and pony cars in the 60s-70s... still popular on those types of cars today for the retro Day 2 look.  I'm not a Baby Boomer, but I do like the period muscle car look.

The 301 N/A was available in '80-81 in all trim levels I've read..155hp..not quite the low point, but pretty close.  there was a Turbo 301 available (210 hp) n the T/A and a Chevy 305 (150hp) also, and apparently in '81 the Pontiac 4.3 (265) V8 w/ 140hp.   '80-81 were pretty dreadful years for Pontiac performance...and for performance in general.

Edited November 14, 2020 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

301 came out in ‘77 at PMD, but would have to look up availability in the Firebirds.

[Robert Hall]

16 minutes ago, balthazar said:

301 came out in ‘77 at PMD, but would have to look up availability in the Firebirds.

Supposedly available as a 'credit option' in the Firebird in '79.    Apparently in '78 the Chevy 305 was available in a Formula LT Sport Edition (which I'd not heard of).   

Edited November 14, 2020 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

 

[trinacriabob]

10 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

The 301 N/A was available in '80-81 in all trim levels I've read..155hp..not quite the low point, but pretty close.  there was a Turbo 301 available (210 hp) n the T/A and a Chevy 305 (150hp) also, and apparently in '81 the Pontiac 4.3 (265) V8 w/ 140hp.   '80-81 were pretty dreadful years for Pontiac performance...and for performance in general.

Had a teacher who had the Pontiac 4.3 V8 in an '81 Grand Prix Brougham coupe - metallic navy blue, lighter blue landau top, honeycomb wheels.  Very attractive coupe.  And much nicer than the '78 to '80 equivalents with that clean-up of the sheet metal - the quadruplets were nicely freshened up in 1981.  I think that CCC was the weak link on those early '80s GM coupes more so than the lower horsepower of their engines.  On a stand-alone basis, the engines themselves were strong.

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

301 came out in ‘77 at PMD, but would have to look up availability in the Firebirds.

Indeed it did.

9 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Supposedly available as a 'credit option' in the Firebird in '79.    Apparently in '78 the Chevy 305 was available in a Formula LT Sport Edition (which I'd not heard of).   

I've never heard of that model.  Having had a 305 V8 in a low mileage, second hand Camaro I had for a while as a second car that, most likely due to not being broken in correctly, had issues, it has taken me a while to forget that and a time when Chevy produced batches of V8s with problems.  Our family had incredibly good luck with Chevy's 250 c.i. inline 6 but, then, what could possibly go wrong with those units ... 7 main bearing crank, cast iron head and block, and a simple, proven design?  If talking about that span of years of F-bird, I'll readily take the Pontiac 301 (4.9) over the Chevy 305 (5.0).

[balthazar]

[daves87rs]

Proud little moment. My neighbor somehow found a 1986 Escort wagon for a winter beater .  Car is in great shape, with 118k on it. And rust free. His son is almost 15, and likes cars like his Dad (who is in to Camaros, has an 80s Iroc Z in the garage) So while talking to him and his son, the kid decided he would really like it for his “classic” car. Told his dad about the radwood scene- now the little Escort sits nexts to the Chevy in the garage. ?  And the winter beater is now a 17 year old civic.......

People might laugh that is just and Escort, but it will bring us another person with a love for cars......

[balthazar]

There CANNOT be 'love for an Escort' out there in the car world.
I refuse to believe it.

[daves87rs]

3 minutes ago, balthazar said:

There CANNOT be 'love for an Escort' out there in the car world.
I refuse to believe it.

Well, they do have Yugo and Ford Tempo clubs ? While I can question taste, any love for cars at this point is a good thing........

[Robert Hall]

For every car, there are enthusiastic fans.   I sort of enjoyed my Dad's '84 Ford Escort diesel--5dr, 5spd manual, 52 horsepower.   It was the car I did my driving test in as a teenager, my first taste of mobility and freedom...and it did get 55 mpg on the highway, long before the hype about hybrids... it was my first road trip car....Ohio to the Florida Keys and back.. between my Dad and I, we put 140k on it...it never let us down, took many a family road trip with it on the back of the Winnebago...

The mid 80s Escort was definitely a more modern, refined product than the ancient Chevette that GM was still peddling then.

Edited November 15, 2020 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Yeah, but the Chevette was a proper longitudinal-oriented, RWD Scooter ( see what I did there, ocn?), whereas the escort was a disposable appliance.
 

I understand sentimentality; occasionally I think back to the family Safari I started driving on... but I think there’s a clear line between sentiment and enthusiasm.

[Robert Hall]

33 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Yeah, but the Chevette was a proper longitudinal-oriented, RWD Scooter ( see what I did there, ocn?), whereas the escort was a disposable appliance.
 

I understand sentimentality; occasionally I think back to the family Safari I started driving on... but I think there’s a clear line between sentiment and enthusiasm.

On one FB car group I’m in, there is a guy w/ 3 diesel Escorts, restoring one.  And this is a Millennial, someone that wasn’t even alive when they were new.  I don’t get it, but there are so many angles to the old car hobby...

Speaking of Scooters, before the getting the Escort as the dinghy for the RV, my Dad had an ‘81 Chevette Scooter for a couple years as the dinghy.  It was a real shitbox..I remember shutting the door and the glass falling off the track.  Another time the shifter came off in my Dad’s hand, leaving it stuck in 2nd..

Edited November 15, 2020 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

Very disappointed with spec and trim choices for vehicles ...

Would like to avoid the following:

- lack of a remote release for the fuel filler door (capless nozzle system is fine)

- vertical and fragile "laptop left open" look of infotainment system

- black as the only cloth interior choice for seats

- urethane steering wheel 2 or 3 trim levels up (Chevy LT trims have urethane steering wheels as standard)

- 3 cylinder engines ($29K Buicks with THREE cylinders, not for me)

Would rather not have:

- turbocharger, prefer naturally aspirated

- CVT type transmission

Come on, GM and automakers, get your act together.

[balthazar]

57 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

 It was a real shitbox..I remember shutting the door and the glass falling off the track.  Another time the shifter came off in my Dad’s hand, leaving it stuck in 2nd..

That’s ‘German engineering’ for you.

[Robert Hall]

22 minutes ago, balthazar said:

That’s ‘German engineering’ for you.

In reference to the T-car's '70s Opel origins?  

 

[daves87rs]

41 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Very disappointed with spec and trim choices for vehicles ...

Would like to avoid the following:

- lack of a remote release for the fuel filler door (capless nozzle system is fine)

- vertical and fragile "laptop left open" look of infotainment system

- black as the only cloth interior choice for seats

- urethane steering wheel 2 or 3 trim levels up (Chevy LT trims have urethane steering wheels as standard)

- 3 cylinder engines ($29K Buicks with THREE cylinders, not for me)

Would rather not have:

- turbocharger, prefer naturally aspirated

- CVT type transmission

Come on, GM and automakers, get your act together.

 

Yeah, it seems like less choices too. I was told starting this year we will see much less of the lower trim levels than before. I was more than happy with what my Equinox LS has, plus it has a nice buyout option at the end of the lease. (Thanks to Covid I will up up taking) My local GM dealership only has 1 LS trimmed Equinox, as that is pretty much all the choice they had to order.  And this seems to be holding true with order models as well. Sucks, as i like having different from everybody else. ? 

[A Horse With No Name]

Tesla put up it's 20,000th supercharging station. The times are a changing....

[ocnblu]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Very disappointed with spec and trim choices for vehicles ...

Would like to avoid the following:

- lack of a remote release for the fuel filler door (capless nozzle system is fine)

- vertical and fragile "laptop left open" look of infotainment system

- black as the only cloth interior choice for seats

- urethane steering wheel 2 or 3 trim levels up (Chevy LT trims have urethane steering wheels as standard)

- 3 cylinder engines ($29K Buicks with THREE cylinders, not for me)

Would rather not have:

- turbocharger, prefer naturally aspirated

- CVT type transmission

Come on, GM and automakers, get your act together.

Sad but true

[regfootball]

On 11/12/2020 at 4:31 PM, balthazar said:

How are you supposed to know if a given automotive consideration is comfortable for you, or has good vision, or you like the sound system, or you can FIT in it, if OEMs move to primarily online sales??

Having sold cars at a dealership, those are THE questions 

[regfootball]

8 hours ago, balthazar said:

Yeah, but the Chevette was a proper longitudinal-oriented, RWD Scooter ( see what I did there, ocn?), whereas the escort was a disposable appliance.
 

I understand sentimentality; occasionally I think back to the family Safari I started driving on... but I think there’s a clear line between sentiment and enthusiasm.

My high school car was a chevette scooter. Performance machine!!

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30468937/toyota-gr-yaris-photos-info/?utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=socialflowFBCD&src=socialflowFBCAD&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2GgAt126IdedS2dNe4t8qKKjDkYJh6TdI5kf-5HlnAFlfq7itW6nKCtFQ
 

ocnblu’s next ride !!!!

Edited November 16, 2020 by regfootball

[balthazar]

 

[daves87rs]

8 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Tesla put up it's 20,000th supercharging station. The times are a changing....

Shocking! ? 

[USA-1]

8 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Tesla put up it's 20,000th supercharging station. The times are a changing....

Now they just need to produce the unicorn $35k Model 3 for the masses...but they don't wanna.  Current production already can't keep up.

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

 

Thing has quite the stall converter, must be a 3,500 rpm stall. Took forever for it to build momentum off the tree.

[balthazar]

Known with affection in the V8 Buick world as... "The Beater" :

[USA-1]

@10:26 POV is some swift movement off the tree

 

 

 

[ocnblu]

7 hours ago, regfootball said:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30468937/toyota-gr-yaris-photos-info/?utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=socialflowFBCD&src=socialflowFBCAD&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2GgAt126IdedS2dNe4t8qKKjDkYJh6TdI5kf-5HlnAFlfq7itW6nKCtFQ
 

ocnblu’s next ride !!!!

Actually leaning toward one of these.  It's got everything a citizen of colonial China deserves!

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

Actually leaning toward one of these.  It's got everything a citizen of colonial China deserves!

Given how dependent we are becoming on China you should be writing repair quotes on these before your morning coffee gets cold.

[A Horse With No Name]

Just when you think its safge to travel again...

 

https://samchui.com/2020/11/16/alaska-airlines-b737-hits-bear-on-runway/#.X7J1HmhKiUl

 

 

If that bear had only been driving one of those crappy electric Chinese Cars, rather than trying to fly economy, we wouldn't have these kinds of problems. 

 

 

 

And also sadly....  

 

https://samchui.com/2020/11/11/china-airlines-to-retire-last-built-boeing-747-400-in-early-2021/#.X7J1v2hKiUl

Space X carried four astronauts into orbit...

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by A Horse With No Name

[A Horse With No Name]

Space X launch, just thought it was a cool photograph. 

I could be won over.

 

 

 

A little music from the ladies this morning...

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Cactus grey right around the one minute mark, I think the Bronco looks fabulous in this color. 

 

 

 

From my wife's morning run in  our subdivision...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Having switched to driving a pickup truck...I still love nimble lightweight cars. I think this was posted here before, hell I may have even posted it. 

However, I can't get enough of it. 

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by A Horse With No Name

[A Horse With No Name]

One last note, for 'Blu....I think ICE in this case would be badass if you are doing small...

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by A Horse With No Name

[A Horse With No Name]

Music for this morning...

 

[G. David Felt]

Anyone play this game? Did not know video game playing was becoming a seasonal thing. Season 2 is here and online chatter is excited about all the new trucks.

 

[G. David Felt]

According to the latest interview with Jeep leadership, Jeep wants to be the Greenest SUV company in the world. As such the plans to go hybrid and EV are being put into place. 

Yet with that said, Jeep is also moving forward with giving Jeep Lovers of all things ICE another monster to desire and enjoy.

Jeep Wrangler 392 which is a 6.4L V8 Monster motor.

To quote the story:

Jeep EPA combined figures are better than you probably thought.

• For the 2021 Cherokee, depending on engine type and size, 21 to 26.
• The 2021 Compass, 25.
• The 2021 Gladiator, 16-24.
• The 2021 Grand Cherokee, 15-21, with the 5.7-liter V-8 being 17, the 6.4-liter V-8 coming in at 15.
• The 2021 Renegade, 24-27.
• And for the 2021 Wrangler, 19-25, the top number being the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/37645/jeep-wants-to-become-the-greenest-suv-brand-in-the-world