Dear Fellow New Yorkers ...

New Jerseyans, Pennsylvanians, and whatever the fuck they call you Connecticut people; all of you who share my daily commute with me.

I'd like to alert you to this little thing we have here on the Isle of Long called rain. You might have seen it; little water droplets that fall from the sky and collect on our roadways? Yes, that. I believe you've experienced it once or twice.

Now, just because we haven't had any in about a month or so doesn't mean the physical properties of water have changed. Swerving wildly and applying brakes suddenly on wet roads causes your car to slide out of control, even with whatever fancy 'roll control' or 'traction control' your car maker built into the motherfucker. Driving like Enzo Ferrari on rain-slicked roads in your Toyota with bald tires and bad brakes ends somewhat inevitably.

Also, be advised this rain stuff won't hurt you if you drive more than 20 mph on an interstate fucking highway. What the fuck is with you people? If you're scared of going a bit too fast in the rain, use the excellent service road (frontage road for you 'other' folks) system for the Long Island Expressway, not the left fucking lane of the highway.

Another point. Rain collects in lower-lying areas of our roadways. At this time of year here in New York (we call it autumn, by the way), the leaves that fall from the trees (those crunchy brown things) clog the drains and these low lying areas fill up quickly. You know this, you live in the neighborhood by the shop, the same places that flooded in the last rain (last month) flooded yesterday.

You see me laughing at my other customers who drive through the lake at the bottom of the Avenue at full speed and destroy their engines or other parts of their cars. You see 'em in my lot waiting for the insurance adjuster to get there and total them. Why the fuck do you have to do the same thing? That 2 month old, 7-series BMW sure was a nice car until you filled it up with water to the dashboard, until the engine sucked in enough water to hydro-lock and make me pick up the internal parts with a broom and snow (that's a whole other post) shovel after they slide off the flatbed with your car.

What the fuck? We get 43 inches of rain a year. Can't you get used to driving in it?

Me at work ...

Pic courtesy of the Cheezburger.

Army To Unveil New G,W,Bush Assault vehicles

The G.W.






And the Bush.

I Don't Believe It,

Another Birthday !

Happy Birthday Mr. Fixer!

(Yesterday)

Wally Parks 1913-2007

LATimes

Wally Parks, the hot-rodder and entrepreneur who curbed drag racing on city streets by steering drivers onto legal racing strips and founded the National Hot Rod Assn., has died. He was 94.

"Today is a sad day in the world of NHRA and the sport of drag racing," NHRA President Tom Compton said in a statement. "Words simply can't describe the immeasurable impact Wally has had on the sport he created and the millions of people's lives he touched along the way."

If you've ever been to a drag strip, Mr. Parks is the one who legitimized drag racing as a sport instead of an unlawful activity. A true pioneer of motor sports.

OH MY GOD!!!

IT'S GORDONS BIRTHDAY!!!


Happy Birthday Gord

Multi Functional Dinnerware

Finally, for the do it yourselfer who also has a culinary interest!

Some folks just have too much time on their hands....

My friend Manuel ...

Owner's Manual to be exact. You don't know how many times I look for an owner's manual in a customer's car and don't find one.



When I ask them where it is, I get a blank stare. Far be it they read the fucking thing when they buy a car. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't bother me for stupid shit all the time, like what the 'check engine' light means or the host of other multi-colored shit that goes on in the instrument panel.

You'd also know where your spare tire is and how to operate the jack. You'd also know how to open your hood, program your sound system, GPS, OnStar, compass, and a whole buncha other assorted shit you need to know about your car. Or you can pay me to hold your hand and walk you through it.

I could use the owner's manual in the car so I can decipher your fuse box (usually they're numbered and then I have to go and hunt for a cheat sheet to figure out which fuse controls what), figure out the grade and type of motor oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze, and a whole host of other fluids your manufacturer recommends. It's also easier for me to find the procedure to reset your 'oil change light' without having to search through my huge Service Bay Manual.

It also helps the tow truck driver if you're broke on the side of the road. Some cars have to be towed a specific way or it will do damage to the drivetrain, electronics, whatever.

Want to tow a trailer? Your manual tells you that too. It tells you how to load your car safely (think that doesn't matter? Put a few hundred pounds in the trunk and try and control the car at any type of speed). It also tells you about the tires (size, speed rating, and tread wear rating) and how much, or little, they can be inflated for safe operation.

Your owner's manual is the most important tool a driver can have in the car with them. Read it (sit in the fucking car when you do and familiarize yourself with what they're talking about) and then leave it in the car. No, the two minutes your salesman spent going over shit with you doesn't count. If you don't have one, go to the dealer and order one. It's a small price to pay for a boatload of useful information.

Confessions Of A Tool Whore

OK, I admit it.
I am a tool junkie.
I buy tools that I don't even need, somehow rationalizing it to myself.
I have so many fucking tools, I have three roll aways to hold all of them and still have shit laying around.
Thousands and thousands of dollars worth.
The Snap On guy loves me.
I get mailers from Harbor Freight and my fucking eyes glaze over.
I can't even go into a Sears store anymore.
People wonder why I have always driven piece of shit cars, priced a screwdriver from Snap On lately?
Thats why.
The price of good tools has skyrocketed in the past ten years.
The stupid bastards where I work wonder why I get so wound up when they want to borrow something.
Fuck that, go buy your own shit, asshole.

An old, old mechanic joke;
Why do you never use your screw driver for a prybar?
Because the next time you want to use it as a chisel, it's bent.

Thank you, try the veal.

Iron Butt? I Think Mine Would Be More Like Jelly.

Lurch, over at Main and Central is reporting on the most grueling motorsport event in the world, the semi annual Iron Butt race.
11,000 miles in 11 days racing around the perimeter of the United States looking for 5 checkpoints that you have to find in a two hour window, on motorcycles.

No consideration is given for bad weather (during the running of the Iron Butt, riders can expect to ride through rain, sleet, snow, severe thunderstorms, hurricanes and the occasional tornado). Temperature extremes routinely run 125 degrees or more in the desert Southwest in fact, in living up to the name, "World's Toughest Motorcycle Competition", event organizers intentionally route the rally through such places as Death Valley or the Mojave Desert during the hottest part of the day, to extreme cold at the top of mountains like Pike's Peak in Colorado where competitors may have to struggle up a muddy road to reach the peak's 14,110 foot summit.


Go read the rest here

My ass is sore remembering the 100 mile round trip every day between San Jose and Frisco I used to do on a Honda 450, so, no thanks.

PS,
I can't believe Gord didn't post this, I know he saw it before I did!

Ultracapacitors May Have Batteries Beat

AP

Millions of inventions pass quietly through the U.S. patent office each year. Patent No. 7,033,406 did, too, until energy insiders spotted six words in the filing that sounded like a death knell for the internal combustion engine.

An Austin-based startup called EEStor promised "technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries," meaning a motorist could plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip between Dallas and Houston without gasoline.

The technology also could help invigorate the renewable-energy sector by providing efficient, lightning-fast storage for solar power, or, on a small scale, a flash-charge for cell phones and laptops.

Skeptics, though, fear the claims stretch the bounds of existing technology to the point of alchemy.

So? I took alchemy in school. Blacksmithing too. They both still come in handy.

The result is an ultracapacitor, a battery-like device that stores and releases energy quickly.

Batteries rely on chemical reactions to store energy but can take hours to charge and release energy. The simplest capacitors found in computers and radios hold less energy but can charge or discharge instantly. Ultracapacitors take the best of both, stacking capacitors to increase capacity while maintaining the speed of simple capacitors.

Until EEStor produces a final product, Perry said he joins energy professionals and enthusiasts alike in waiting to see if the company can own up to its six-word promise and banish the battery to recycling bins around the world.

"I am skeptical but I'd be very happy to be proved wrong," Perry said.

The problem with capacitors is size. Capacitors are rated in terms of capacitance in units of farads. Most capacitors are very small and measured in microfarads. When I was learning how to fix radios for Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, my instructors told me that a one-farad capacitor would be about the size of a football field. That's maybe a little dated, along with the vacuum tubes they taught me about, although those are still being used for design and prototype work because they are highly adjustable. But I digress...

There are capacitors in every piece of electronic gear. Period. I think their earliest use in automotive technology was as the condenser in contact-breaker-point ignition systems, where they were used to prevent counterflow voltage from causing arcing at the points and subsequent rapid point wear. CB ignition has gone the way of the buggy whip.

In motorcycles, electrolytic capacitors are sometimes used as battery eliminators, providing a load for the charging system, in effect fooling the charging system into thinking the system has a battery. I explained this to my buddy Sluggo one time in his garage, and his reply was, "Damn, how ya gonna fool it now? You said it right in front of it!", pointing at his motorcycle.

There's no reason you couldn't do this on cars as well, if your car has a kickstarter.

In this age of electronic miracle progress, nothing seems impossible. I hope they can do it.

Crossposted at the world's other Best Blog.

Gear ...

I been using Mechanix Wear since I worked for Motorsport. In my book, they make the best work gloves in the business. If you're tired of skinned knucks and little shitty cuts and burns that get annoying, you should give 'em a look see.

F&G, Alternate Brain honored by USPS

Click for even Superer Heroes

Fixer, of course, is top row right. I'm 2d row left. Wordsmith is 2d row, 2d from the right. Jersey Guy and Bustednuckles, and our Illustrious Emeritæ can identify themselves, but in 'Nuck's case, I'm holdin' out for right next to the F-Man. Mechanic, you know.

Cross-posted at the other "Best Blog in the World".

Tongue, meet cheek.

Old Iron

Because I love old cars trucks and equipment, I am going to run some by once in a while.

This is a 1941 Plymouth pick up.
My buddy has one of these and I just get a huge kick out of it.
I think the top speed on the thing is 35 to 40 mph.
His is green with black fenders. The tail lights even say Plymouth on them.
Another friend found a 1:24 steel model for him that even has the same paint scheme.
It has the old push the switch to start under the gas pedal and everything.
Just a sweet old pick up that he takes to parades and sometimes farts around town in.Nothin' fancy.

This Is My Kind Of Ride

I have seen this around for a few years now. I have always loved old iron, they just don't build 'em like this anymore, haven't for going on 35 years now. If I was to build a rod, you can bet your ass it would be one of these. I can not stand trailer queens. If you are going to build the damn thing, run it, HARD.
A fancy paint job does not make it run better and out of the forty odd cars I've had, only two or three were good looking, nice cars. All the rest were beaters, barely legal, sometimes not even close. You know the type, you see it coming in the rearview mirror and bail into another lane, hoping nothing came flying off as I wizzed by. Any way, I was surfing the net and found this site, Rat Rods, there are some nice ones and there are some terrible ones. I think I was born 15 years too late.

Rat rod is a newly developed name for the original hot rod style of the early 1950's. A rat rod is usually a vehicle that has had many of its non-critical parts removed. They are usually finished in primer-like paints and are often period correct. They are very often the conglomeration of parts and pieces of different makes and models.

A typical rat rod is an early 1930's coupe or roadster with the body set low on the frame, fenders removed, whitewall tires, big-little tire combos, exposed engine bay, home-made upholstery, and lots of power.

Link to more pics.

PSA

If you own a Ford product with cruise control, go read this.

Cross-posted at Alternate Brain.

I Learn A New Word

I stumbled on a new word today technology wise;
Tribology.
I immediately Googled it because I was researching another Alternate Engine piece and it stopped me in my tracks.
Even with a degree in automotive technology it was a new one for me, to wit;

Tribology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Tribology is the science and technology of friction, lubrication, and wear, derived from the Greek 'Τριβο' ("tribo") meaning 'I rub'. Formally defined, it is the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion and all practices related thereto.

Contents [hide] 1 Applications 2 Origins 3 Fundamentals of Tribology 4 See also 5 Bibliography 6 External links

[edit] Applications

The study of tribology is commonly applied in bearing design but extends into other almost any aspect of modern technology, even to such unlikely areas as hair conditioners and cosmetics such as lipstick, powders and lipgloss.

Any product where one material slides or rubs over another is affected by complex tribological interactions, whether lubricated (e.g. hip implants and other artificial prosthesis) or unlubricated (some studies, for example, have looked at high temperature sliding wear in which conventional lubricants can no longer be used and the formation of compacted oxide layer glazes have been observed to protect against wear).

snip

I will leave the literal translation of 'I rub', alone.

Fascinating stuff, this goes all the way into molecular motors and other exotic things like viscosity and God only knows what else.

Not a term I think would be easy to drop into a conversation though.

Self Portrait

Thousands more at CartoonStock.com.

Impressions, observations, and wild-ass guesses...

Clicking will make it HUGE!

So how come I didn't notice that my yard needed weeding until I saw it in that picture? Where's that Meskin...but I digress.

That's Mrs. G's new '06 Buell Blast (backstory here and here). By now I've had a chance to think about it, look it over, poke it and and prod it some, and even ride it a little. Here we go...

I think it's a very pretty bike. It's got modern styling, which doesn't always work for me on some bikes, but on this one it does. It's a small bike, but everything's in proportion. A lot of new bikes are pretty angular, but this one's round. In my view, motorcycles should be round in styling, more pleasant to my eye than a buncha harsh angles. Score one for the styling department. I like the color, too.

The heart of any bike is the engine. This one is conventional and unconventioal at the same time. It's coventional in the sense that it's an air-cooled pushrod-operated overhead valve 500cc single-cylinder layout with two valves. It's unconventional in the sense that this is a traditional layout since the dawn of time which fell out of favor over thirty years ago in favor of overhead-camshaft engines, which make more power because they can rev higher and have less moving parts in the valve train to have to throw around.

It also departs from OHV tradition in that the bore/stroke relationship is undersquare, meaning the stroke is shorter than the bore diameter, which lets it rev higher than the old long-stroke singles, which had bags of torque but only produced a power stroke about every other phone pole. Redline comes at 6500RPM, fairly high revs. There's no tach, but revs are limited electronically by a spark randomizer, which is a pretty common way these days to avoid over-revving and the resultant attempts of the engine internals to exit stage any whichaway, or as us pros say in techspeak, "go blooey".

The Buell company is owned by Harley-Davidson. The engine was derived from the Sportster V-twin and pushrod engines are the only type of four-strokes that H-D has built for about the last hundred years until the recent OHC V-Rod. That's not new. Vincent made a line of singles such as the Comet model out of their V-twin Rapide sixty years ago.

We can leave H-D's old ('40s-'60s) 2-smokes out of this for now, but just as a point of historical interest, they were copied from the German DKW as spoils of WWII, along with the BSA Bantam and early Yamaha 125s. Hey, why design an engine when you can liberate one?

The Blast engine is 'dry sump' which means it has an external oil reservoir and a separate gearbox/primary oil supply. That, too, is old-fashioned and it works. It has an added benefit of helping to cool the oil as well.

On to the Frame. The Blast barely has one. It has a rectangular steel tubing backbone, which doubles as the oil tank, from which the engine is hung. There's a short stub extending downward from the steering head which connects to the engine via a Heim joint rod, which, along with one to the rear, serves as a top motor mount.

Since there's no frame tubes under the engine, a no doubt truly expensive set of crankcases are left vulnerable to damage from running over curbs, pedestrians, etc., Buell has protected the mill in a very clever way, I think. The exhaust pipe segués neatly into the muffler directly under the engine. The line of the pipe follows the curvature of the front wheel for eye appeal, and resembles a 'chin' fairing used on some bikes as an an air intake for various purposes. A little dab of 'fool the eye' put to good use. The muffler is triangular in shape, which makes it look aerodynamic and won't high center on anyone you run over.

Speaking of engine protection, take a look at the footpeg support, the Y-shaped pressed steel bracket extending downward from just under the front of the seat. Since this a supposed to be a 'beginner' or 'starter' bike, this is a real good idea. It won't do much good at anything over walking speed, but that's when beginners tend to tip over. Bikes self-stabilize once they get going. Don't ask me how I know this, but they actually work. The slight drawback is that they need to be removed for some service work, like adjusting the clutch or changing the gearbox oil, but it's only two bolts per side.

I've got more to say about this neat little sled, but the pups are clamoring to get emptied and then it'll be lunchtime. Later.

I'm Back

Damn!
I go on vacation and come back to a dysfunctional computer.
Took damn near a week to get up and running again. I have never heard of an IP address expiring.
After pestering my buddy the computer guru, he finally got through to the bastards that run our service.
Come to find out, all he had to do was unplug something and plug it back in.Jesus Christ on a crutch.
No fucking email, no toobz period.
In all of my bitching and whining I did manage to score a faster computer,heh ,squeaky wheel and all that.
I am afraid to find out how much spam is waiting for me,oh well, the boss is gone today and I am the only one in the shop so I think I'll have plenty of time to find out.
I will do some surfing and see if I can find any new gizmo's out there we can talk about. Back soon.

Where I work* ...

So, come to find out, our little tramp Sam is a practical joker.

To set the scene, Indian is one of those guys who has a chronic 'plumber's crack'. You know, when you can see the crack of his ass above his jeans? So, one day in the past I tell Sam, when she remarked 'I can see Indian's crack', that when I catch him bending over, I slide a long Phillips screwdriver between his cheeks. I didn't think anything more about it.

The other day, Indian is bending over under the hood of a car and I see Sam run to the refrigerator. She puts a finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet. Seems she stuck a wrench in the fridge earlier in the day. She takes the cold wrench and drops it down the Indian's crack. I ain't seen him move that fast since the time one of the auto parts places was giving out free beer. Heh ... Good thing Sam runs faster than the Indian.

***

Next, I have a bad habit, or bad timing, to be the most politically incorrect at the totally wrong time. Like the time I was doing my best mama-san impersonation, "yeah, GI, ten dollah for boom-boom, my first time, love you all night", while the Korean mail lady was dropping off the mail, or I'll go off on some profanity-laden tirade when, unbeknownst to me, a female customer is in the shop.

So, the other day, Sam froze a bottle of Dasani and would stick it down our shirts when we weren't looking. She does it to the Indian and he tells her "I'm gonna shove it up your ass if you do it again". Of course, that's just asking Sam to do it again. Couple minutes later, I see her sneaking up behind him.

I come around the other side of the car behind her and as soon as she drops it down his back and goes to run, I snatch her up and throw her over my shoulder, her ass up in the air. Sam's screaming bloody murder and I say to the Indian as he approaches with the frozen water bottle "okay, dude, stick it in her ass".

Wouldn't you know, one of the little old Russian ladies picks that time to walk into the shop. She makes the sign of the cross and runs out. I'm still surprised she didn't call the cops.

Just another day at the shop. Heh ...

*Part of an ongoing, semi-regular series.

Sorry but ...

Putting one of these on the street is like waving a red flag at a bull.



I see one of 'em and I put my foot to the floor to see how high I can get it to register.

And if you decide to do what this clown did, I'll drive up on your lawn and run 'em over:

The West Salem firefighter found a way to slow down the drivers who cruise through his neighborhood by using life-sized cut-out photographs of his own children, reported NewsChannel5.

If you drive by Mike Wood's home too fast, you may not be able to tell if those images of children are real or just cut-outs -- and that's the idea, because the photos are making drivers slow down. [my em]

...

Listen to me. If a cop gets me speeding, I'll gladly pay the fine. I take responsibility for what I do. If a private citizen decides to do the cops' work, I'm gonna hand him his ass. If you ain't a cop, you'd better not fuck with me on the road.

You got speeders on your street? Petition the local government to install more traffic control devices (like we did in my neighborhood). Believe me, playing cop will only get you hurt, regardless of your motives.

Disclaimer: I do not advocate speeding through residential neighborhoods. I don't do it (I keep my excessive speed for the interstate highways) but I got a big problem with wannabe cops getting their jollies at my expense.

It Should Be Painful To Be So Stupid

After reading Fixers last post I just have to share what just happened here at the shop.
I work with some seriously stupid people, really, seriously ,stupid.

I was walking across the shop when I hear this very loud BANG!
I turned to look and see a tractor truck pulling away from the 40 ft. trailer it had just pulled out from under, with the landing gear UP.
Dumb SOB didn't check the fifth wheel for being latched.
Of course now the electric cable for the lights and both air lines go snap too.
This is just one more for the Bozo's around here.
We had another idjit drive across the yard with the boom up and try to get in the wash bay.
CRUNCH. Tore the front of the building off. Yet another idjit, this time a lady, drove under a conveyor belt 20 ft. in the air with the boom up.
That one was ugly. Twisted the frame and wedged it into the superstructure holding up the belt.
Had to get a monster forklift and drag it back out. Bent a pin for the boom that was 3 inches of solid steel and completely fucked up the boom.
Yep, it's always interesting around this joint, no wonder I drink so damn much.
Speaking of drinking, I am taking a week off to restore whats left of my sanity and will not be anywhere near a computer or phone. I think I am going to fishing in the Columbia river, see if I can finally catch something besides a buzz.
See Ya's in about a week or so.

Things ...

First off, I get a car in on the hook, Subaru Impreza. We've been having some shitty weather here on the Island and the customer said he went through a puddle (it's a Subaru, ain't it?) and it stopped running. I told him "don't get your hopes up".

I open the doors and water pours out. I look over and there's water in the center console cup holders. Indian and I pop the hood and pull the air cleaner ... soaked. Next we pull the spark plugs and a combination of gas, water, and oil pours out of each hole. I crank the motor with a big ratchet on the crankshaft pulley and empty the cylinders, about a gallon of the mixture, onto the floor. I call the customer up and tell him to call his insurance company so they can total it. He wasn't happy but the motor was full and so was the automatic transmission, not to mention the car was flooded up to the dash, there's no point putting a motor in it when it will have electrical problems for the rest of it's natural life.

Moral: Avoid puddles, I don't care what kind of car you drive.

Next, Friday Amateur Hour on the Expressway. Listen, if your minivan is packed to the gills with all your stuff and your kids so it drags on the road, maybe you shouldn't be driving like an idiot on the highway. I can't understand why people who live on Long Island pay exorbitant amounts for timeshares in the Hamptons (we have 300 miles of some of the best beaches in the world), but you ain't gonna make it there if you flip the fucking thing.

If said minivan also has front wheels whose tops point in and wants to pull violently to one side or the other, you might also want to have some front end work done before you kill the whole damn family.

There's a lot of shit you can let slide on your car, but the safety items, brakes, lights, steering and suspension, tires, should never be ignored. A tire blowing out at highway speed or having to stop suddenly with an overloaded vehicle with shitty brakes, can mean the difference between life and death, not just for your sorry ass but for your family or the poor innocent schmuck who's just trying to get home to his family on a Friday evening.

Alternative Engine Equals Direct Current Here.

To start, a tantalyzing snippet;

Motor

Some people find it hard to imagine our car’s Lamborghini-beating acceleration comes from a motor about the size of a watermelon. And while most car engines have to be moved with winches or forklifts, ours weighs about 70 pounds — a strong person could carry it around in a backpack (although we don’t recommend it). Compare that to the mass of machinery under the hood of $300,000 supercars that still can’t accelerate as quickly as the Tesla Roadster.

But more important than the motor’s size or weight is its efficency. Without proper efficiency, a motor will convert electrical energy into heat instead of rotational energy. So we designed our motor to have efficiencies of 85 to 95 percent; this way the precious stored energy of the battery pack ends up propelling you down the road instead of just heating up the trunk.

snip
Here is the link for more about the drivetrain of this electrical demon;
http://www.teslamotors.com/engineering/how_it_works.php

Zero to sixty in four seconds. No blower, turbo, carb,pistons or gas.
It's all electric, and it is bad assed.

The Tesla Roadster.
The car is under production now and they are taking orders for the '08 model.
Two cents a mile to run ,by their estimates, it has revolutionary battery packs to store the electricity that it uses and can create its own by using regenerative braking.
This uses the electric motor to create electricity as a generator and greatly increases the distance you can go on a single charge.
For us older gearheads, remember the old days when cars still had generators instead of alternators? How did we test them?
By hooking up a battery to it and turning it into an electric motor.If it spun, it should generate when hooked up and driven by a belt.
Same thing here, just wayyyy modern electronics governing the input and out put.
Here is their home page.

High Tech Weed Whacker

Direct Injection 2-Stroke Technology

Direct in-cylinder fuel injection (direct injection, DI) is a technology that has shown the ability to greatly reduce emissions from two-stroke engines. In a DI system the carburetor is eliminated, and the fuel is introduced into the combustion chamber via an injector mounted in the top of the chamber’s cylinder head. This allows exhaust products to be scavenged from the cylinder using air only. Fuel is injected into the cylinder later in the cycle, greatly reducing the amount of unburned fuel that is allowed to escape during scavenging. The DI process allows for a locally rich region around the spark plug, eliminating the need for enrichment of the entire cylinder to achieve stable combustion. Elimination of rich air/fuel ratios significantly reduces carbon monoxide emissions.

Snip.

The link.

Gordon?

How long has this been around?

I will admit that I don't keep up with Motorcycle technology like I used to, but I have been waiting to see this for a while now.

Lawnmowers, outboards, yes, even weed whackers can greatly benefit from this.

There are literally hundreds of small engines used in construction, all powering different types of useful devices.

No more choke, no more fiddling with the damn mixture screws trying to make it run right, I like it.

Pane Relief

Just a quick drive by tech tip, I am as busy as a one armed paperhanger in a hurricane.

If your power windows are slow and sticky, grab a spray can of liquid silicone. It is colorless and works great without a bunch of smearing.Spray it in the guide channels as you work it up and down.
It also works well on door seals etc.
Gotta go.

Last Chance Garage

We run into this a lot. A car that's been from shop to shop in the area, chasing a problem nobody seems able to fix. As I said before, we're a small shop (2 bays, one dedicated to NY State Vehicle Inspections). We work by appointment only because we have to plan our time wisely. We also charge a little more because we're good and we know it. We have to be due to the lack of space. Shit can't sit around while we're thinking about what's wrong with it. Cars get diagnosed quickly, parts are ordered, the car is fixed, and it leaves. Most (95%) don't stay overnight.

That said, we get people trying to save money (we're not anywhere near dealer prices and we work fast so our labor comes out less anyway) or time (they can't wait a couple days), taking their cars to other places. Especially true with a service (notice I don't call it an 'oil change') which will set you back $50 in my place. We get those cars back eventually, with a buncha new parts under the hood, with the same problem (so how much did you save getting $19.95 oil changes). We're not parts-changers. We treat a customer's money as if it were our own and they get only what they need.

If it's an intermittent problem and I can't replicate it on command, and I'm not sure of what's causing it, I'll tell the customer that, and ask them to put up with it until it becomes a bit more regular (nothing fixes itself and it's gonna get worse). I'm not gonna throw a few hundred bucks in parts at it, charge you another couple hundred bucks in labor, on a 'maybe it might work'. Odds are, if I can't find it, nobody else will either, with the exception of the dealership. Those guys see the same cars all day long and they know about the little crazy shit that is chronic to the brand. I have, on occasion, advised a customer to have a dealer look at it rather than take their money to do something I'm not sure of.

If you have a shop that does timely repairs at a reasonable rate, stick with them. As I always say, there should be no surprises when it's time for you to pick up your car, and your car shouldn't be sitting at the shop for weeks, 'waiting for parts'. If you live near a major metropolitan area, most parts (brakes, starters, alternators, batteries) can be had within an hour or two. Special order usually takes a couple business days. Cars sitting around in various states of repair don't make me money, neither do pissed off customers who paid a big bill a couple days ago and the problem remains. If your guy required several visits (with requisite parts and labor charges each time) to fix a problem, look for somebody else.

I'm very happy with being known as the Last Chance Garage. It means I'm doing something right and the appointment book stays full.

Its Time Has Come.

World's First Air-Powered Car: Zero Emissions by Next Summer

This six-seater tax, which should be available in India next year, is powered entirely by a tank filled with compressed air.

Barring any last-minute design changes on the way to production, the Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI says it should cost around $2 to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. Drivers also will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car’s built-in compressor to refill the tanks in about 4 hours.

Of course, the Air Car will likely never hit American shores, especially considering its all-glue construction. But that doesn’t mean the major automakers can write it off as a bizarre Indian experiment — MDI has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.

Popular Mechanics has the full article.

Unfortunately,we will,as usual, be behind the curve on this.
India's biggest car manufacturer has ordered 6,000 of these to debut in 2008.
Ex Formula One engineer Guy Negre designed them and I think we should start putting the pressure on so we could see them here in the U.S.
Zero emmissions. Zero.
The little buggers can go just over 65 mph and 125 miles before a recharge is needed.
MDI, who builds them, is building another car that also uses fuel and the range on those is 2,000 kilometers or about 1.200 hundred miles.

The duel energy engine, on the other hand, has been conceived as much for the city as the open road and will be available in all MDI vehicles. The engines will work exclusively with compressed air while it is running under 50 km/h in urban areas. But when the car is used outside urban areas at speeds over 50 km/h, the engines will switch to fuel mode. The engine will be able to use gasoline, gas oil, bio diesel, gas, liquidized gas, ecological fuel, alcohol, etc.

Both engines will be available with 2, 4 and 6 cylinders, When the air tanks are empty the driver will be able to switch to fuel mode, thanks to the car's on board computer.

The secret, apparently, to this engine is an articulated connecting rod that allows the piston to stay at top dead center longer for the air to charge the cylinder.

You can see an animation of it at work.

I think it's a pretty cool idea that's time has come.

A link to the home page here.

Crash Test Dummies ...

This affects me directly because, as many of you know, I'm a mechanic. When I saw this last night, I could just guess what my day would be like today. No, I won't be fixing any cars, I'll be fielding questions from customers, both on the phone and in person, about the cheap Chinese tires and if they have them on their car.

Federal officials have told a small New Jersey importer to recall 450,000 radial tires for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans after the company disclosed that its Chinese manufacturer had stopped including a safety feature that prevented the tires from separating.

Tread separation is the same defect that led to the recall of millions of Firestone tires in 2000. At the time, tire failure was linked to an increased risk of rollover of light trucks and S.U.V.’s.

...

Gotta love that 'free market' economy. Fuck all you idiots who spout the Rethug line that "regulation hurts business". Horseshit. Look at the airline industry since St. Ronnie of Raygun deregulated it. Look at the mass media, TV and newspapers, and the sorry state they're in thanks to the abolition of the 'fairness doctrine'. 'Free market' means big business can run roughshod over the rights of consumers and employees.

We've seen it with the food we feed ourselves and our pets, in the medicines we use to keep us healthy, and we've seen it in the products we use and the services we contract for. Big business is using us as crash test dummies and it's time for them to be held accountable.

Too bad the Chinese hold most of our foreign debt. They know we can't push them too hard or they'll call in the note in the worst case, but they do have the power to fuck up our economy royally. Think that wasn't by design? It's time to reexamine the place big business has in our society and in the national discourse.

Great thanks to Chris at AMERICAblog.

Shop lines

Great thanks to the Cheezburger for the photo.

Ha Ha Ha Ha,,Yeah, Right.

I couldn't resist this one. All I can say to this ,is,I know a quicker way.

Tires are comprised of many layers of rubber, steel and fabric. Due to these different components, your new tires require a "break-in" period to ensure that they deliver their normal ride quality and maximum performance. As tires are cured, a "release lubricant" is applied to prevent them from sticking in their mold. Some of the lubricant stays on the surface of your tires, reducing traction until it is worn away. Five hundred miles of easy acceleration, cornering and braking will allow the mold release lubricant to wear off, allowing the other tire components to begin working together.
snip

Where I lifted this;
Must be a filler article.

Something new in valves.

To kind of continue the conversation in the comments on the last post, I googled poppet valve technology and found they are soon to be obsolete if this outfit has anything to say about it;

Art Vatsky, P.E. Explains Coates Spherical Rotary Valve Technology

Coates Spherical Rotary Valve Cylinderhead

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J.--Coates International, Ltd. (OTCBB: COTE) announced that Art Vatsky, a well-known professional engineer and CEO of Future Fuels Technology, has provided a clear explanation of the company's technology. That independent report is as follows:

"An Elegant Solution for Today’s Internal Combustion Engine Valves

Improved Engine Breathing, Reduced Internal Friction, Lower Production Cost"

George G. Coates, CEO of Coates International, Ltd. has devoted a good part of his career to developing and perfecting a spherical rotary valve to be used to replace poppet valves in internal combustion piston engines.

Snip

You can find the rest of the article here.

This One Is For You Gord

From your comment about my last Alternative Engine post,here is an opinion piece.

The redemption of the pushrod.

Heh ...

Nothing like the look on a customer's face when they say "I'm here for my inspection" and you pull on a rubber glove and say "okay, drop your pants and bend over".

Bad days ...

Thank God they don't come around too often. Yesterday at the shop was a day from Hell.

1. Got a 1982 Chevy pickup with a 6.2L V-8 diesel that needs a starter. Guy wants a new starter, as opposed to rebuilt. Starter comes in, not a factory part but new aftermarket. I rip the old (original) out (heavy bitch) and put the new one in. Connect the battery cable and the ignition line and go to connect the battery. As soon as I touch the battery cable to the negative terminal, the starter starts cranking the engine. Problem is, the key is sitting on the front seat. Piece o' shit starter. I call my parts guy and scream at him. He says all he can get me before quitting time is a rebuilt. "Fuck it, send it," I say.

Rebuilt starter comes. I pull out the 'new' starter (heavy bitch) and install the 'new-rebuilt'. I connect the battery cable and I'm happy because the engine doesn't start spinning immediately. I hop in the driver's seat, put the key in the ignition, and ... click ... click. Piece o' shit rebuilt. I call my parts guy and scream at him again. Can't have any kind of starter until today. Call the customer and humble myself and ask if I can have the truck another day. He's understanding, no problem.

2. 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Needs front pads and rotors. Parts come and I pull it in and start taking it apart. Get the right side done and go to the left. Indian helps me out and cleans the cosmoline off the new rotor ... and finds a crack. Cracked straight up from the hub to the outer edge. Piece o' shit rotor. Call up my parts guy and scream at him again. Gotta leave the Jeep hanging on my lift for an hour until I get a new one.

3. 1995 Lincoln Town Car. Needs a right front window motor. Ordered the part from Ford so I'd get the right fucking part. Part comes and I pull the car in. Pull the door panel and all the attendant accoutrement off, blow the rivets out of the bracket and get the motor out only to find ... Ford sent me the left side window motor. Called the Ford parts guy and screamed at him. Turns out the part was mis-boxed. Apologized to the Ford parts guy for screaming at him. Put the door back together and left the old motor unplugged so Mrs. Y won't accidentally put the window down again like she does every other day and I have to wrestle it back up.

I'll be damned if I got anything fixed yesterday.

An Alternative Engine.

Way back in the 1940's there was a gentleman named Russell Bourke who had an idea.
He tinkered around and engineered a mechanical wonder in his home workshop in 1954.
It is difficult to describe, but I will give it a shot and then point you to some links that has videos and a working diagram that will give you a more detailed idea of his vision.
His engine is a pancake design that has two cylinders . Theoretically, you could marry as many together as you wanted for any type of horse power or torque situation you could reasonably dream up.
The opposing pistons are mated to a single connecting rod with a unique triple slipper bearing. The compression ratio could be varied from 8:1 to 20 to 1! It was tested with several different types of fuel and could run on unleaded gas, diesel, Coleman lantern fuel, natural gas etc. .
The original engine was spec'd at 30 cubic inches and tested at 35 HP @ 5,000 RPM. The emissions emitted were Carbon Dioxide, and water vapor.It could be carburated or fuel injected, run a capacitor discharge ignition or use compression to fire the fuel for diesel.
He built a four cylinder version later that was rated at 400 Cubic inches and was static estimated to put out 200 HP and 500 FT LBS. of torque at only 2,000 RPM!
They were also fabulously fuel efficient, running air to fuel ratios of 30:1 and even 50 : 1 with an exhaust temperature of only 190-240 degrees!
Enough out of me, go check out the website thoroughly, it is flat out fascinating.
Here is a working diagram so you can wrap your head around the design ,and here is the home page, be sure and check out the videos.

I would love to see one of these stuffed under the hood of a car.

I Thought They Discontinued These Things.

Apparently not.





The 2008 Ford Taurus.

Start With A Good Idea...

Then run with it.....









One small bit of advice;
Next time don't wait damn near forty years to do it,'K?





Links to pics,

http://www.allsportauto.com/english/ford_mustang_shelby_gt_500.php

http://www.muscularmustangs.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=18&page=5

Are you idiots?

I'd like to know who the genius was who thought this was safe?

SELMER, Tenn. -- Two more people have died after a drag-racing car went out of control and careened into a crowd of spectators, raising the death toll to six, officials said yesterday.

...

There was a guard rail along at least part of the highway but not where the crash occurred.

...

We've been dealing with the street racing problem in NY a long time and are painfully aware of what can go wrong. Thing is, most street racing is illegal. This was a legal, sanctioned event so I ask the organizers, what the fuck were you thinking? How the fuck are you gonna sleep at night with 6 lives, so far, on your conscience?

This accident was a long time coming and as those of us in the business know, racing is inherently dangerous. I could regale you for hours with stupid racing stories of how shit happened at sanctioned tracks.

A note to the person who arranged this idiocy: You have a good cause; next year hold it at a racetrack instead of a highway. If there is a next year. Odds are, you'll be sued into destitution. Good luck living out of that refrigerator box.

Question for the Tennessee Highway Patrol: How the fuck did they get a permit for this stupidity?

3 days on ...

Click to embiggen.

Well, three days and 150 miles in with the new Escape and the first impression is that it's a solid (the doors sound as solid as the ones in the Explorer when you close 'em) well thought out vehicle.

It has as much power as the Ranger, though the automatic (4 speed overdrive) doesn't leave the line like the standard shift did. Passing power is more than adequate at highway speed.

The car is also comfortable, the seats hug you and seem to adjust indefinitely. I got cloth interior instead of leather so I wouldn't stain the shit out of it (I do drive it to work and the Mrs. always nags at me when I get something on the seats in the Explorer when I take her car) and it's easier to clean if I do.

Ergonomically, the dash is laid out well, even including a digital gas mileage meter to remind me when I'm driving ... wastefully. Heh ... All the controls are easy to get to and easy to read while keeping your eyes on the road. Blind spots are few as well and the oversize side view mirrors make you forget about the few it does have.

The tunes are awesome, the JBL Audiophile 6-CD/MP3 player along with Sirius Satellite Radio. This is my first experience with satellite (it's part of the Ford special on the car, they pick up the subscription for the first 6 months) and I am truly impressed; enough to consider continuing the subscription after the trial period is up. I'm in the car for 60 miles a day in NYC/Long Island traffic, good tunes are a must when my commute can be anywhere from 40 minutes to 3 hours, depending on prevailing conditions.

I'll have more once I put a couple thousand miles on it but at first blush, I'm very happy with it.

NASCAR question ...

Is it me or are the Busch Series races getting to be more fun to watch than the Nextel Cup cars? This whole Car of Tomorrow (seems like IROC with fancier paint jobs to me) thing is dubious (sorry, but I been a NASCAR fan since they ran real showroom stock cars) and Tony Stewart was right, it does seem more like professional wrestling than auto racing.

Resources

I found a great site, thanks to linkage to Gord's post below, run by a lady named Louise Kyle. She's from out Gord's way too. From oil changes to increasing your car's resale value, she covers it all. Give her a look-see.

Dr. John, the Auto Tripper

These pics get positively HUGE if you click 'em! By all means, do so.

I took my Dakota over to The Auto & Tire Doctor today for an oil change and tire rotation. What's a mechanic doing having someone else work on his rig, you ask? The $29.95 Special of the Month is why. I usually do my own oil changes, but the oil filter is a pain in the ass on that thing. I don't know what it's like up on a hoist, but on the ground the filter lacks about 1/4 inch of enough clearance to drop right out like it ought to, so you have to slide it forward and change hands between the frame and the hot exhaust manifold, arms fore and aft of the tire with your chin resting on it. No fun. Rotating the tires with a floor jack in my sloping driveway is a time-consuming pain as well. It costs me a little under $20 to do an O & F change myself, so another ten bucks or so to do the rotation is well worth it.

John, the owner of this joint, is an old pal. We started our shops one door apart in the same industrial park the exact same day in '84. He started The Auto Doctor with 450 square feet, built it up 'til he had all ten units in the original building, and through the magic of time and hard work, not to leave out a missus with a lotta business savvy, now owns the 12,000 sq.ft. building, on 2 1/2 acres, that you see in the above photo. The four bays are about sixty feet long with roll-up doors on the other end as well.

The windows above the entrance and customer waiting room (other photo) are apartments John built to house some of his employees. Forty Meskins in each one! Just kidding. That's huge. Affordable housing for working folks in our town is getting increasingly hard to come by. While the building was being designed he thought of a damn good use for what would otherwise have been wasted space.

Speaking of the waiting room, there's magazines and TV, and a lot of deco: die-casts, signs, license plates, all kinds of automotive and NASCAR memorabilia. John has an RS/SS El Camino that he built, and El Caminos are the preponderance of the die-casts. It's hard to get very bored in that joint.

I waited for my pickup in the outdoor waiting area, equipped with nice patio furniture and also a cow-condo grill upon which John occasionally cooks lunch for his employees and customers. When he's not cookin' up road kill ("From your grille to ours!"), there's coffee, popcorn, and hot dogs for the customers. For free!

Did I mention that John is a nice guy who likes to treat people right?

Just to give you the small-town flavor, while I was waiting I had a nice chat with a young lady, maybe mid-30s, who was waiting on her Ranger (smart girl, huh, F-Man?). She ended up showing me pictures of her grandkids, which floored me 'cuz she didn't look old enough. The Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt musta fooled me. She also said her Mom liked to play video games, which she thought was weird for an "old" lady of 60. I set her straight on that "old at 60" shit right quick! I also got a short visit with some folks I've known for 25 years but haven't seen in quite a while that were getting their car serviced. I got caught up on their kid: "He's in juvie. Three dirty pee tests. All the kids quit racin' motocross, too. They all got hurt too bad. Catchin' too much air." Some things never change. Heh. Pretty fun way to wait for your rig.

The shop is modern and up-to-the-minute. I don't know how many employees John has but it's a bunch. Mechanics these days need a lot more learnin' than they used to because basically they're electronics diagnosticians, but they still get greasy up past their armpits on occasion. He also has service writers, tire guys, and office folks. When he started out, John did it all by himself. Now he just walks around, schmoozes, does whatever he can to keep things goin' smooth. It's the biggest shop in town and has the best reputation.

He gives back to the community, too. Just about every event you go to around here, The Auto & Tire Doctor is on the list of sponsors, particularly all us gearheads' favorite, the annual Cannibal Cruise. By the way, the guys who put on the cruise say it got its name from 'cannibalizing' parts to build cars, but those of us who live here near Donner Lake and Donner Pass know that it's really named after a peculiar eating habit of some of the old pioneers.

I just wanted to share John's success story with you. It shows what a dumb-ass kid wrench with a dream can do with a lot of hard and honest work.

Update:

The title of the post comes from the old days when John and I both, er, worked, yeah, that's the ticket, 'til all hours to try and keep up with things. The statute of limitations has run out on some of our nocturnal goings-on, but I'm still not going there. We're mechanics, not altar boys, after all. These days I call him "the T & A Doc".

Something Wicked This Way Comes

This is the 2006 Weineck 780 CID Limited Edition A/C Cobra.

Thats right, Seven Hundred Eighty Cubic Inches.Or,12.9 Litres. Only 15 were to be built and you could get any color interior you wanted.Here is some of the article from which I got this picture along with a link;


The first turn of the key activates a gigantic high-pressure fuel pump. To tromp and release the accelerator pedal means more than half a litre of finest nutrition (fuel) have arrived inside the ultra high-performance carburetor system to feed the devil, that is Weineck's custom milled V8 engine. The next turn activates the gigantic starter motor to spin the crankshaft resulting in an latent idle of 1,000rpm.

Even up to 4,000 rpm, the Weineck Cobra 780 cui Limited Edition accelerates faster than any other supercar when fully driven. The accelerator pedal always has to be operated very gently and with respect. The world's most powerful, strongest & best accelerating road-legal car and its absent of aids from the digital era like ASR, ESP, ABS etc.

Above 5,000rpm the engine delivers its world record torque of 1300 ft.lbs (1,760 Nm) at 5,600rpm. It's more like Sol 5 on Starship Enterprise! The rev. limiter is set to cut in at 8,000 rpm and the engine reaches its maximum power of 1,100 hp at 7,000 rpm. In fact, the engine revs faster than the classic Smith instrumentation can follow!

From 0-300 km/h (186 mph) in just 10 seconds! That is, of course, not only possible by using the strongest, naturally aspirated engine ever built for a road car.

snip

Take a look here for more.

I have as many Nads as the next guy but this thing sounds very scary.
Which of course, means I want one!

Tech Tips

I would like to thank Fixer for giving me the opportunity to post here,it is an honor and I hope to have more to come later on. I am also greatly looking forward to picking Gordons mind on a few things as I love old iron and use to ride motorcycles as a crazy youngster.
I hope I can relay some time saving tips from my side as I use to work flat rate as a mechanic, which is piece work. The quicker you got done, the more money you could make.So I have a few things up my sleeve and hope you can benefit from my experiences.


Anyone who has ever done any amount of wrenching will immediately grimace whenever this topic is broached;
Gasket removal.
Who hasn't spent a few hours scraping and cursing a particularly stubborn gasket?
One that has been stuck on a piece for say, 25 years or more?
Oh yeah, been there.
I have seen some nasty hand wounds from guys who tried using a gasket scraper the wrong way,to tell the truth I have a couple of scars myself.
Well, I am here to make your day.
I first ran into the original version of these little wonder discs back in the mid nineties. Perhaps you have seen them.
3M calls them Roloc surface preparation discs.They come in different diameters and different degrees of coarseness. They twist onto a collet you put in a 90 degree die grinder.
Instead of an hour of scraping, you can do a water pump gasket in two minutes.
They are awesome for large gaskets and can be used for rust removal, paint removal (to a point)
heck, I even used one once to put a quick edge on my knife!
Care should be used, eye protection is a must, gloves, possibly dust protection.
You do not want any of the resulting dust to get inside an engine, it is literally sandpaper
particles getting into your bearings etc.Care must also be taken when using on aluminum parts as it will quickly eat into the gasket surface if you are not paying attention.
Here is a link to the 3M site, there are other brands out there.
I will say ,once you try these you will be glad you did.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/3m/3m101-4.aspx

Staff

We'll be adding a new mechanic to the staff. Please welcome Bustednuckles to the blog and pay attention to what he tells you. He's been to a lot of the Ford schools I have and from his comments it's easy to infer he knows what he's talking about.

Housekeeping ...

Figured I'd spruce the place up a bit. The impetus for this came while searching for artwork for the Brain. I stumbled across the above (the name of the painting is "Outta Gas and She's Gotta Go") and I thought it fit well with the page. Comments solicited.

Goodbye, old friend ...

It chokes me up, but I'll be saying goodbye to my Ford Ranger this Friday. The Mrs. and I got a wild hair this morning after getting a flyer from the Ford dealership advertising rebates on '08 Escapes and we decided to go look. Well, this is what I walked out with an hour ago.



The Ranger was one of the best cars I've ever had and I'll miss it, but the warranty will be up next month and as hard as I am on cars, a big repair (transmission or differential) was in the cards for the near future. I'll be sad but I look forward to driving the more versatile Escape.

The Ranger is/was a sports car (I called it my undercover mid-life crisis car; did you actually think I'd drive a red sports car?) and I only used it as a pickup once and that was to pick up 2 brand new tires from Goodyear for a customer's car.

After 35,000 miles, daily 90+ mph runs on the highway, regular powershifts, and sliding around turns, take my advice and buy a Ranger if you're looking for a small pickup. If I couldn't kill it, it's a good bet it'll take anything a normal person can throw at it.

We'll see what the Escape can take soon enough, won't we? Heh ...

And just a note, because they do treat us so well, we buy all our vehicles (this will be our 6th from them) at:

Newins Bay Shore Ford
219 W Main St.
Bay Shore, NY 11706

If you live in the NY Metro area, you owe it to yourself to give 'em a look before you buy.

And just a clarification, the reason I didn't get another Ranger is because Ford doesn't make the Edge package anymore. The closest thing they had (I had the salesman look) was the STX package and the lowest gear I could get in the differential with a standard transmission was 3.73:1. The Ranger Edge came with 4.11:1 and it was part of the reason the car was so much fun to drive.

And of course I got the 3.0L V-6 in the Escape, the same as in the Ranger. I'm not a fan of the 3.8L V-6 in the least.

Better ideas ...

If you've read this blog and don't know I'm not just a Ford guy but have worked for them and have a deep affinity for the company and the product, you ain't been paying attention. And I am not averse to criticizing them when they need it either. I've had serious issues with William Clay Ford when he was running the show.

That's why this news today makes me happy.

Ford Motor Co. snared five top category awards in an annual survey of new car quality, more than any other auto maker, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

The Dearborn-based car company bumped Toyota, winner of the most category honors in last year's survey.

...

It's about time they are able to compete with the Japanese brands, especially Toyota whose quality is legendary.

...

The 2007 Initial Quality Study, released this afternoon, rates overall brand quality and also ranks vehicles within specific segments or categories. Top model segment honors went to the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Mark LT, Lincoln MKZ, Mazda MX-5 Miata and Mercury Milan.

In all, 14 Ford Motor models placed in the top three of their respective categories.

...

Hopefully, the brand can begin to reclaim some of their past greatness.

Firsts ...

I've told you a few times that my buddy Nunzio will work on anything. He doesn't care. He and Marino (the Greek that works for him) will take in Maseratis, Jaguars, even French cars, not to mention everybody with an Italian car on Long Island goes to him. When we have piece of shit, hard to work on foreign cars, we offer Nunz the job.

Well today I get this 5 year old Chevy Cavalier (80,000 miles) in on the hook. New customer, said on the phone she overheated it and it didn't want to run anymore ("You know, it made that clanking noise"). I get it off the wrecker and there isn't one straight piece of sheetmetal on the thing. The nose is pushed over about an inch and a half to the right and the hood overlaps the left fender. Fine. I push it into the shop and fill it with water. A good sign, the water didn't just pour out of it.

I tell Harry to try and start it. As it cranked, I could hear the compression was gone in one cylinder but it fired. That's when I saw exhaust coming out of the radiator filler. I told Harry to back it out and park it. The head gasket, maybe the head itself was shot.

Now, I don't want to work on this (if it were a long-time, regular customer I'd consider it, but I don't know the person and, from the look of the car, getting paid for a $1500 bill might prove ... difficult) and at that time, Nunz comes up with an inspection. I ask him if he wants the job and we'd tow it up to him. He looks it over and says "not for a million bucks".

First time for everything.

Fireroad Special

I just like this bike and wanted to share. It's a '70 Triumph Bonnie set up for street and fast dirt roads. It will make about 50HP, with bags of torque. These things are about as much fun as you can have with yer clothes on!

The bike ain't got a thing on it that it doesn't need to get down the road without getting a ticket.

Ceriani forks, Works Performance shocks, Filtron 'green weenie' air filters, TT pipes (I'll bet those "mufflers" are hollow!), minimal lighting, fenders, and other legal BS, the rare (these days) aluminum oil tank and the very rare Webco rocker shaft oil manifold - an older-style set-up. Someone's been havin' big fun with this sled for a long time. The disc brakes and aluminum rims reduce unsprung weight, just be feather-fingered on that front one in the dirt.

Turn comin' up on that twisty ol' fireroad? Crank on some throttle in 3rd, 4th if ya got a pair, and back 'er in! Whee!

And yes, my pants are down around my ankles...

There's more "readers' rides" at the LATimes.

Giving back to the future

I appreciate all the comments on the post about Sam doing well on her final exam presentation and it got me to thinking about the kids I've mentored in the car business and the talented, promising young women Mrs. F has taken under her wing over the years. I don't know who has reaped more rewards, the Mrs. and I when we see a kid we've worked with become successful or the kids themselves.

It's our way of giving back for our success and it's also a form of investment in the future of our nation and the world. It's not only job training but a chance to bring our progressive outlook on life, and impart some of the lessons we've learned along the way, to the next generation who'll run this planet when we're gone. I don't know how much will stick, but I believe every experience can be learned from.

I encourage everyone to spend some time with a young person. Listen to them and find out what makes them tick and then lend your advice and guidance. Don't preach, don't act like a parent, be their friend and give them the encouragement they need to develop their self-esteem and the knowledge they'll need to deal with the world, whether it be in business or in life, lessons learned young will last a lifetime.

I have had several mentors in my life whose guiding hand and influence has made me a better person and a better mechanic, and I am forever in their debt. Mentor a young person, give them a hand up, teach them how to be good, successful people and the world will reap the reward.

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And a Sam update: Harry and I were talking this morning and agreed that since her internship is over, and the fact she enjoys working with us, we're gonna put her on staff for the summer. We'll work out her hours when she starts college in fall (if she'll even have the time), but we figured we might as well start paying her. She'll need all the scratch she can get for tuition and books.