Intrepidation

Pointless. Make it a Buick. I think Buick can pull off the premium subcompact well, better than Chevy (overpriced) or Cadillac (ridiculous for a higher end brand, just don't tell Mercedes).

So I figured out how the belt attaches. There is indeed a pulley which slides over the crankshaft. Now I just have to figure out how to get that part which holds the blade in place off. I'm not sure if its just rusted in place or what.

It turns out that the air box mounting bracket is slightly different between the two mowers. The one from the 675 fits on just fine, but since the 675 has Ready Start, it doesn't have a primer like the donor engine has. I've got one on order for next week. In the meantime I put it on anyway so I could close the airbox and wash the motor. Having sat outside for a year or so and having the snot beat out of it, it's pretty filthy. Think there was even a small ant's nest under the shroud. A healthy dosing of engine degreaser and my pressure washer cleaned it up quite nice though. Looks like I'll need to pick up a section of fuel line and a fuel filter. I've already picked up a new spark plug and air filter, and I'll change the oil before final assembly. I've already made use of my spare parts by replacing the oil filler neck (old one was leaky), and the plastic cover fits perfect. I'll probably hit the newer muffler with exhaust paint so it stays looking nice, and get a new blade. I think by next Monday it should be all finished if all goes well. I'll give the donor deck back to my neighbor if he still wants it, I have no use for it.

I like the Sonic better in every way, except I like the Cobalt name better.

It fits!

Well the weather was nice after work today so I opened up the box and had a look at the engine. It seems like all of the parts are there, right down to the valve keepers. The only thing conspicuously absent is some sort of pulley to drive the transmission belt. Still not sure how that hooks up. May take a trip to the store and have a look at a new one. I spy with my little eye something that probably resulted from hitting something big and voided the warranty. Looks like some damage to the crankshaft. It doesn't look bent, but I'd probably need a precision instrument to really tell. Apparently while I was messing around with it in the garage my sneaky neighbor left me a present! The deck is in rough shape, and the wheels look like they're about to fall off... He said he got it for free. It was being thrown out and had no wheels. He kinda beat on it. It has no air filter and was used to clear the overgrowth in his shop's backyard, warned me the crankshaft may be bent, he forgot. Primed the carb a few times, pulled the cord and it fired right up though, runs great and no excessive vibration. Even better, this engine appears to be an older version of the 675 Series. It makes only .75 less hp and the parts appear to be interchangeable. That means I have a hole motor's worth of spare parts less than a year old. Even the plastic cover looks like it'll fit. Most importantly, it appears that the bolt pattern is the same. I'll know for sure when I pull it off tomorrow. If it is then I'm all set for an engine. I'll give it a good cleaning, paint it, then give it a tune up. If all goes well I'll have a brand new looking, $325 lawn mower for $35.

Why the CTS is a real Cadillac: It's RWD It platform isn't shared with any other brand It's offered in multiple body styles. In V form it's the Standard of the World All things the DTS never was. It was it is, which is whatever if it tickles your fancy. However, it was hardly the defining vehicle of the brand. Cadillac dies if the CTS goes Epsilon or something and the ATS ends up being based on Delta II. Until then it's alive to me.

Maybe the 325 hp, AWD version will come as the GSX. Not mind blowing, but respectable power.

The CTS, the only real Cadillac to me, is alive and well.

I've just realized that that poor plane was 44-85734 a 5th engine test bed, one of two or three such B-17s. It used to be on display at the Connecticut Aeronautical Historic Association. It was partially destroyed by an F3 tornado then donated and restored of flying condition by Don Brooks. It's very sad that not only was a B-17 lost, but one with a very interesting history. What's sadly ironic is that the original Liberty Belle (42-30096), was lost due to an accidental on-board fire on November 30, 1943 and crashed near Wakes Colne

I never got to see it. I've seen the movie Memphis Belle, 909, and Aluminum Overcast. It was one of only a 10 of these planes still flying. I can't believe it was allowed to burn to the ground. Then of course the media keeps calling it a "cash". There was no crash. It made a successful emergency landing and burned to the ground because the firefighters watched it burn.

Extremely said day for anyone who has an appreciation of these old warbirds. Apparently there was a fire on engine #2 shortly after takeoff. The pilot found a field and made a successful emergency landing. Everyone on board escaped. At the time teh fire was small and it was thought the plane could be saved. However the firefighters sat and watched it burn, claiming that the ground was too soft for the trucks to drive on. This last part really aggravates me. Last time I checked, an 18 ton plane weighs more than a firetruck. yet they made a successful landing on said field. And to add insult to injury, footage shows the lazy bastards with their trucks on the field half-assed dousing what is at that point wreckage. That plane could have been saved. Some more details here: http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html

Maybe not quite next. had the dust lip on the back of the rotors grinded down about 1/8 of an inch, as they were rubbing the dust shield and making an awful racket.

Replaced the blower motor resister and the harness in the Grand Marquis.

What car comes to mind when somebody walks in asking for help where you have to think real hard about the last time somebody needed help on that kind of car? Strictly speaking GM, W Bodies, especially Impalas. Later model full size trucks and SUVs.

Owners of S-10's and Blazers and the GMC counterparts are constantly coming in for parts to fix them, right behind the Taurus as the car most people get parts for. Coworker had his 4.3 destroy itself one night on the highway. Punched a hole right through the block.

One neighbor, which is a shop, is awesome. Really nice guy. The neighbors on the opposite side are quiet. They work on their yard and keep it looking nice. The neighbors behind us irritate the hell out of me though. Fires at least once a week, they'll play music loud during the afternoon sometimes, and they get drunk off their asses at least once a week. Now, they are usually all done by 11pm so it doesn't bother me, especially since when I'm inside I don't really hear them. But when we first moved here they dumped all of their beer cans in our yard one night. A prompt call to the cops got their asses picking them up and apologizing for a week. Still, better than the neighbors, or the whole city, where I used to live.

In my experience, and the experience of many people I know on the other two forums I frequent, none of the AA products are good for vinyl or leather surfaces. My car has a lot of those, so I don't use it. Meg's Quik Detailer cleans well, leaves no shiny or streaks. I think the AA cleaner is good for cleaning tough stains (why I use it on tools), but my car never gets dirty enough to need heavy cleaning anyway.

Sounds like the timing is off.

I'd recommend against that stuff as well for interior surfaces. However, it's great for cleaning tools.

Armor All is terrible stuff. I use Meguiar's Quik Detailer. I believe it will take the Armor All off, though I can't remember. What it will do is clean the surfaces, not leave a shine, and smells great. Its water based and will not harm vinyl or leather surfaces. Armor All will.

Its tough to tell, with all the plastic added to the top of the 650, but I think I have a 190cc B&S buried in the garage. Without seeing more images of your's, I couldn't make a judgement call if it would work or not. About 5 years ago, I had been running an old tough-as-nails Snapper lawnmower... when it started to smoke and squeal internally, I figured it was near the end of its life. That summer, I poked through all the piles of mower parts Dad left behind and some flea markets, and before I knew it, I had about a dozen nearly identical B&S motors and a Snapper "parts" mower. Its amazing how clean some engines are on the inside considering they were half-buried in mud when I found them. I was swapping this and that and had a combo working, but it was tough to start... thats when the neighbor gave me the free Craftsman. Most of the parts got shelved, as I figured the Craftsman will one day need copious B&S parts. That Craftsman has been a good mower, though. In any case, not likely worth the shipping, even if I could find it. I would hit up a flea market... know what your "short block" is and you could likely come home with 3-4 engines for $5-$15 each. If you look for one with all the fancy plastic, you're going to pay for that... most new mowers that fail are going to be engine failures, not body. Get yourself some chrome trim and side pipes and that bad boy will be the envy of the 'hood. ;-) Flea market's a good idea. If my neighbor doesn't have one I'll check that out. I I don't need a motor with a plastic cover, if I really want I could put the one this came with on...just a couple bolts. No tacky add ons for it, but if I go with a used engine I'll clean it up and make it look nice before putting it on.

Yesterday was a productive day. In addition to getting that mower I... Had the Intrepid's rear rotors inspected and grinded down the dust shields so they wouldn't rub. Much quieter now. Had the a/c system evacuated and recharged in the Prizm. Colder now, yay! Had the Mercury's A/C system recharged with good old R32 that my neighbor's friend had. A/C system works now, but it appears it needs a compressor clutch. Helped winch the race car onto the neighbor's trailer.

It's a B&S 650 Series motor. I'm not really looking for any specific engine, just one that runs I don't really even care about the SP feature. I can live without it. The mower body is light and easy to push anyway. However if I can get it all to work that'll be cool.

It's not dead yet! Actually a month ago we we thought it may have bit the dust. Died in ME and wouldn't get going again, just before that it was sputtering apparently. I wasn't there, but my brother's friend seemed to think something had gone wrong inside the engine. It gets towed back here after school was over just to find out there had been a wiring issue with the alternator that was sucking so much power that the car didn't have enough to ignite the spark plugs.