I went and done it.

[piece-itpete]

I've never bought a car sight-unseen or -undriven but in my very limited range I gave it a shot.

I'll post how the whole thing goes down. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:

The U.S.S. Lincoln.

Pete

[noonereal]

very very nice :)

[piece-itpete]

very very nice :)

Thanks!

I hope so :o

The wait is going to kill me.

Pete

[finnbow]

I hope you've already made appropriate plans to "pimp your ride.";)

[Sandy G]

My uncle had one of those, his was an 86, 87, or 88 model, can't recall right now, but he spent something like $200 on it for repairs over 100K+ miles, needless to say, he was pleased.

[rickr15]

I've never bought a car sight-unseen or -undriven but in my very limited range I gave it a shot.

I'll post how the whole thing goes down. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:

The U.S.S. Lincoln.

Pete

Gotta go pick up mom at prison?

BTW I have a bolt on wing I'll sell you cheap.

[finnbow]

Here's a suggestion for improving the sound system.

http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2007/11/Bluesmobile.jpg

[piece-itpete]

I hope you've already made appropriate plans to "pimp your ride.";)

Gotta go pick up mom at prison?

BTW I have a bolt on wing I'll sell you cheap.

Rotflmao!!! After the neon ground effects and coffee can muffler I've planned 13 subwoofers with 1 tweeter. Great quality sound is important too.

My uncle had one of those, his was an 86, 87, or 88 model, can't recall right now, but he spent something like $200 on it for repairs over 100K+ miles, needless to say, he was pleased.

Truth! I've owned 3 box Grand Marquis and two went over 200K without batting a - tranny? :) (the 3rd I didn't like). MUCH more reliable than my current 97 Grand Marquis. Bulletproof and comfortable. Looking over the hood's like a Rolls. I'm really looking forward to it.

Pete

[piece-itpete]

Here's a suggestion for improving the sound system.

http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2007/11/Bluesmobile.jpg

That's it!! On a mission :)

Pete

[finnbow]

That's it!! On a mission :)

Pete

A mission from God, that is.:D

[Fast_Eddie]

I've always driven small cars, but will admit I like Lincolns and large Fords. Hope it works out well. Looks like a beauty.

[d-ray657]

A mission from God, that is.:D

"No Ma'am. We're not cops; we're musicians."

So Pete, you gonna wear your cap'n hat when you cruise in that baby? I'll bet the stock music system is analogue. You can find some pretty decent cassettes nowadays at 3 for a dollar.

Regards,

D-Ray

[piece-itpete]

I've always driven small cars, but will admit I like Lincolns and large Fords. Hope it works out well. Looks like a beauty.

Thanks! I HOPE so, it's kinda nerve racking. As in really, really nerve racking. Communication with the dealer is going well, impressive so far.

"No Ma'am. We're not cops; we're musicians."

So Pete, you gonna wear your cap'n hat when you cruise in that baby? I'll bet the stock music system is analogue. You can find some pretty decent cassettes nowadays at 3 for a dollar.

Regards,

D-Ray

What are these... ka-sets? of which you speak? :)

No captains hat, but a Fedora and a fat cigar :D

I'll have to practice driving too slow and wandering out of my lane.

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

Thanks! I HOPE so, it's kinda nerve racking. As in really, really nerve racking.

Man I bet. My car is at the mechanic and I have that feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can only imagine how you're feeling.

[piece-itpete]

That stinks. What's wrong with it?

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

That stinks. What's wrong with it?

Pete

Well, if I'm lucky, there is a coolant hose leaking. If I'm not, who knows. But it leaves puddles of coolant when I park it. I wouldn't be worried, but it does something odd. If I fill the overflow, it leaves a big puddle next time I park. If I don't fill it for a couple of days, it doesn't over heat or anything and stops leaving puddles. Hummmmm. Can't explain that. Don't know of any leak that stops leaking in a pressurized system like that. Worries me a bit. I put an engine in this car a couple of years ago. Actually, I had a broken wrist at the time and paid a kid to do it. I helped. Runs like new. Hope it's nothing serious.

Thing is, I couldn't mess with it at all. The '72 Capri project has the garage tied up and I don't like to do any real work in the street.

[BlueStreak]

Still see a lot of those old boats around. Built to last, apparently.

Good luck with her, Pete.

P.s.
Looks like you and I both are gonna be hatin' it if gas hits four bucks a gallon again. Eh, Pete?

[piece-itpete]

Well, if I'm lucky, there is a coolant hose leaking. If I'm not, who knows. But it leaves puddles of coolant when I park it. I wouldn't be worried, but it does something odd. If I fill the overflow, it leaves a big puddle next time I park. If I don't fill it for a couple of days, it doesn't over heat or anything and stops leaving puddles. Hummmmm. Can't explain that. Don't know of any leak that stops leaking in a pressurized system like that. Worries me a bit. I put an engine in this car a couple of years ago. Actually, I had a broken wrist at the time and paid a kid to do it. I helped. Runs like new. Hope it's nothing serious.

Thing is, I couldn't mess with it at all. The '72 Capri project has the garage tied up and I don't like to do any real work in the street.

It sounds like you know what youre doing, but you sure that's not the overflow running the extra out because of expansion? One can hope...

Still see a lot of those old boats around. Built to last, apparently.

Good luck with her, Pete.

P.s.
Looks like you and I both are gonna be hatin' it if gas hits four bucks a gallon again. Eh, Pete?

You ain't kidding. During my search I kept bumping into Metros with 150k+ miles, for more than $1500.

Having owned one, it's a rip :)

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

It sounds like you know what youre doing, but you sure that's not the overflow running the extra out because of expansion? One can hope...


Pretty sure it's not. It will empty the overflow. [/THREADJACK]

[piece-itpete]

Got me Eddie. Hope it's something simple!

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

Got me Eddie. Hope it's something simple!

Pete

Crap, looking around on the internet (where did this slow day come from? I've been non stop all week.) and found two very simple and very likely candidates. Could be the radiator cap, but seems a little unlikely. Put a new one on when we did the engine, so it's not really that old. But old enough it could be the problem.

Ah, but this is what I think it may be- the lines going to the overflow cap could have been reversed. The line going to the cooling system should be hooked to the side with the tube that goes down into the overflow. Wondering now if it's been like this since we did the engine and once a little coolant is belched out it works okay.

Here's the really ironic thing- I looked at that thing the other day and thought it was backwards. Didn't think it made any difference. So I switched it. Could be they'll call and say "can't find anything wrong with it." Wouldn't that be nice for a change. Damn, wish I could remember if I filled the damn thing when I did that or if I said "screw it, it's going to the shop in a couple of days".


(edit) Good news and bad news. It's not a head gasket or anything. It's a water pump and a hose (thought there was a hose leaking, but had a feeling it was more). Bad news is, this damn MR2 has the engine smack dab in the middle of everything. Makes it a great autocross car, but you have to drop the engine on one side to put a waterpump in it. Going to cost $775 to fix it. Ouch. But I'm looking on the bright side and counting my blessings. Could have been a lot worse.

[Sandy G]

As well as I remember those Lincolns-Being Ford's TOTL car & all, usually had pretty decent sound systems in them-at least for when they were new.

[Boreas]

As well as I remember those Lincolns-Being Ford's TOTL car & all, usually had pretty decent sound systems in them-at least for when they were new.

Yeah, great Philco 8-Tracks!

John

[Sandy G]

8-tracks, Ugh...Never could stand 'em. They always sounded muddy as hell. But I remember when that was about all we had, & we thought they were the cat's whiskers...

[Boreas]

8-tracks, Ugh...Never could stand 'em. They always sounded muddy as hell. But I remember when that was about all we had, & we thought they were the cat's whiskers...

Yeah, until Dolby 8-Tracks were actually better than cassettes. Hard to believe.

John

[BlueStreak]

8-tracks, Ugh...Never could stand 'em. They always sounded muddy as hell. But I remember when that was about all we had, & we thought they were the cat's whiskers...

I can remember yanking them out of the slot as the hungry little monster inside chewed voraciously at the tape. I hated those effin' things.:mad:

Dave

[d-ray657]

8-tracks, Ugh...Never could stand 'em. They always sounded muddy as hell. But I remember when that was about all we had, & we thought they were the cat's whiskers...

One of the guys in the dorm got the Led Zepplin 4 album on 8-track. Apparently you could set them to repeat a track. We must have heard "Stairway to Heaven" 25 times one Saturday. I used to like that song.:(

Regards,

D-Ray

[hillbilly]

Not bad at all Pete.


You'd laugh at the type of shit that I drive. Only got four auto's left, the newest being a 2000 Cougar .. and the Cougar is the only one I cuss each time I drive it. I didn't like sitting in the damn wheel barrel the day my wife insisted that was the car she wanted. I'm most happy with my 1975 Chevy SWB 1 ton flatbed dually. You know ... the granny low tranny deal ... with the old timey non hyd HD 12'' clutch that a young buck today would probly grunt'n pull the steering wheel off tryin' to push the peddle down. That'n it's sorty slow on the hwy with 4.56 gears between the axles :D

I love the old thing, nobody asks to borrow it lol.

[JJIII]

One of the guys in the dorm got the Led Zepplin 4 album on 8-track. Apparently you could set them to repeat a track. We must have heard "Stairway to Heaven" 25 times one Saturday. I used to like that song.:(

Regards,

D-Ray

Same thing happened to me, only it was "Light My Fire" by the Doors. All night long in the barracks at Ft. Stewart, Ga. Somebody finally smashed his player.:D

[BlueStreak]

Same thing happened to me, only it was "Light My Fire" by the Doors. All night long in the barracks at Ft. Stewart, Ga. Somebody finally smashed his player.:D

I remember doing that to an Lp once when I was in the Navy. Guy was from Puerto Rico and kept playng some Salsa record over and over again. Now, I actually like that music, but after I heard the same side about twenty times in one day-------I yanked it off the turntable and whipped it at his head. It hit the wall and shattered. The drunken brawl was on.

Regards,
Dave

[BlueStreak]

Nice car, Pete.

There, we're back on topic.

Regards,
Dave

[piece-itpete]

(edit) Good news and bad news. It's not a head gasket or anything. It's a water pump and a hose (thought there was a hose leaking, but had a feeling it was more). Bad news is, this damn MR2 has the engine smack dab in the middle of everything. Makes it a great autocross car, but you have to drop the engine on one side to put a waterpump in it. Going to cost $775 to fix it. Ouch. But I'm looking on the bright side and counting my blessings. Could have been a lot worse.

Well, good I guess :)

An MR2? Fun car! I changed the water pump on one, believe it or not, a couple lifetimes ago. Out of all the 2 seaters I've owned the MR2 was the most refined, comfortable one.

Not bad at all Pete.


You'd laugh at the type of shit that I drive. Only got four auto's left, the newest being a 2000 Cougar .. and the Cougar is the only one I cuss each time I drive it. I didn't like sitting in the damn wheel barrel the day my wife insisted that was the car she wanted. I'm most happy with my 1975 Chevy SWB 1 ton flatbed dually. You know ... the granny low tranny deal ... with the old timey non hyd HD 12'' clutch that a young buck today would probly grunt'n pull the steering wheel off tryin' to push the peddle down. That'n it's sorty slow on the hwy with 4.56 gears between the axles :D

I love the old thing, nobody asks to borrow it lol.

Your truck sounds great! You'll appreciate this - I went up to the junkyard with my neighbor yesterday, he needed a seat belt latch & I just like junkyards.

They had just put out a 71 chevy flatbed dually! (it is one tough looking truck!) Owner said they drove it around the lot a few days, ran strong. So my neighbor, with only a very basic 'English' 3/8 drive socket set, a flathead screwdriver, and a knife, pulled that engine out in less than an hour! Only had to borrow 1 tool, a 9/16 combo wrench. It was amazing. (the yard had an A frame & winch)

It's going in his Jeep :) The junkyard folk told us it was a 400 (because of a narrow balancer), that it was a four bolt main (because of a little screwed plug kinda behind the water pump) and it has the 'vette' exhaust manifold (which is really a 307 manifold). I love junkyards.

One guy also mentioned an old Cadillac v6, that it made a great truck engine?

Nice car, Pete.

There, we're back on topic.

Regards,
Dave

Lmao!!

Pete

[Sandy G]

Got banned for life from a pizza restaurant in Richmond for putting $3 worth of quarters in the juke box 'n' playing "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" over 'n' over 'n' over...That lasted about a week, as the owner realised we bought a LOT of pizzas from him, along w/copious amounts of beer...Once, we spilled a pitcher of beer on the table, I was just drunk enuff to grab a bunch of paper napkins, sop it up, & wring it back into the pitcher..."Gotdam, boys, don' be a-wastin' good-BURRRRRP !-B'yeer like that..." Made perfect sense at the time....The Lord generally looks out after drunks, fools 'n' teenagers, I was in all 3 categories at once SEVERAL times in my checkered past...

[d-ray657]

Got banned for life from a pizza restaurant in Richmond for putting $3 worth of quarters in the juke box 'n' playing "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" over 'n' over 'n' over...That lasted about a week, as the owner realised we bought a LOT of pizzas from him, along w/copious amounts of beer...Once, we spilled a pitcher of beer on the table, I was just drunk enuff to grab a bunch of paper napkins, sop it up, & wring it back into the pitcher..."Gotdam, boys, don' be a-wastin' good-BURRRRRP !-B'yeer like that..." Made perfect sense at the time....The Lord generally looks out after drunks, fools 'n' teenagers, I was in all 3 categories at once SEVERAL times in my checkered past...

The customer can be wrong as long as he has the cash?:D

Regards,

D-Ray

[JJIII]

I had about half a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon open itself in the heat in my car once in Myrtle Beach.

There, we're back on topics!

[piece-itpete]

Update: Still waiting....

I'm going to explode.

[THREADJACK] (edit) Good news and bad news. It's not a head gasket or anything. It's a water pump and a hose (thought there was a hose leaking, but had a feeling it was more). Bad news is, this damn MR2 has the engine smack dab in the middle of everything. Makes it a great autocross car, but you have to drop the engine on one side to put a waterpump in it. Going to cost $775 to fix it. Ouch. But I'm looking on the bright side and counting my blessings. Could have been a lot worse.

Back on the road yet?


One guy also mentioned an old Cadillac v6, that it made a great truck engine?


This piqued my curiosity. It must be the GMC 6 that started life as a '305' in 1960 and ended in 1974 as a 440 ft lb monster @1400 rpm! I can see how that would make a smooth running old Caddy.

Sidenote - I see that the current 3800 GM corporate engine was actually first built in 1960 as well! That gives the Ford 302 a run for its' money longevity-wise.

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

Back on the road yet?

Well, yes and no.

Okay, they had to order parts for the water pump, so I picked it up that evening and took it to a friend of mine. He was welding some suff for me. I autocross the MR2 and - oh, long story, but predictably the sway bar mounts broke. He fixed that and let me use his Echo while he worked on it. Great guy.

So, that's fixed. Got the car last night. Dropped it back at the mechanic this morning. Should be done by EOB today. Whew. I have new parking brake cables to put on, but after that I should be in good shape. I hope. At least for a while.

[piece-itpete]

Good! Is it the 'square bodied' one? I liked how the tach and the speedo matched while accelerating in 2nd gear :)

I'm guessing the Echo felt a bit different! Funny little car.

One thing I'm learning about the old Towncars/Grand Marqs/Crown Vics ('panthers') is, most all parts from the newer ones can bolt on to the older ones (same frame).

So, if I have to say change the lower control arm bushings (groan), I just head down to the junkyard and pick up '98+ ones, and wa'la, bigger front brakes! And swapping the rear drums for discs are equally easy and cheap, steering boxes, Mustang heads cams and intakes, etc etc etc...

I might enjoy this :D

Pete

[Sandy G]

Yeah, the Lincoln is basically the same chassis Ford has used since '79 in their "big" cars...Or '77 if you wanna go back to the start of the "Fox" platform...Whatever problems that might have been in them were taken care of DECADES ago, & parts, in any case, should be plentiful & cheap.

[Grumpy]

Did ya get one of these with it ? :p

[Charles]

Did ya get one of these with it ? :p

I always liked the one's with the snap down brim.

Chas

[piece-itpete]

Yep, with a big purple feather, velvet suit and a couple'a hos.

Pete

[BlueStreak]

Don't forget curb feelers, and the purple fur on the dash.

[Charles]

Don't forget curb feelers, and the purple fur on the dash.

Can you still get them curb feelers from J. C, Whitney's?

Chas

[Kamakiri]

Me thinks that Pete developed a love of Lincolns back from the one he got from me a few years ago :)

[finnbow]

Me thinks that Pete developed a love of Lincolns back from the one he got from me a few years ago :)

My pappy said son you gonna drive me to drinkin' if you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln.

http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/c/commander-cody-and-his-lost-planet-airmen/album-lost-in-the-ozone.jpg

[Boreas]

I'm old enough to remember the original rockabilly version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MS9fk1u6kA

Back in the "flathead era" Ford had what more or less amounted to a "big block" V8 they used in trucks and in Lincolns. The regular flathead was only 239 c.i. but the big one was about half again as big, somewhere around 350 C.I. as I recall. My guess is that's the "mill" in the Model A in the song.

John

[finnbow]

Cool link, John. I didn't know that song didn't originate with CC and the LPAirmen. BTW, with you roots in these parts, you're probably familiar with Bill Kirchen, the Airmen's guitarist for all those great albums including the hot licks on Hot Rod Lincoln. He now hangs his hat around here and plays at local clubs and has a pretty faithful following.

[Boreas]

BTW, with you roots in these parts, you're probably familiar with Bill Kirchen, the Airmen's guitarist for all those great albums including the hot licks on Hot Rod Lincoln. He now hangs his hat around here and plays at local clubs and has a pretty faithful following.

I'm familiar with Kirchen from The Airmen but I never realized he was living around there. Pretty cool!

'Course, out here you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a rock & roll star. I'll be visiting Greg Errico later today. :)

Before that it was Roy Buchanan. You used to be able to catch him at (I think) the Crossroads in Bladensburg on a regular basis. He lived in Deale as I recall.

John

[finnbow]

Before that it was Roy Buchanan. You used to be able to catch him at (I think) the Crossroads in Bladensburg on a regular basis. He lived in Deale as I recall.

John

Crossroads (in the form you're familiar with) shut down last year. It reopened under new ownership and is a totally different place of no particular interest. DC has certainly produced some great guitarists - Buchanan, Link Wray, Lofgren, Kirchen and above all the incomparable Danny Gatton.

[merrylander]

We (my parents) had a 1937 Ford Tudor with that small block V8, the V12 in the 1939 Lincoln as basically 1-1/2 of that V8.

[finnbow]

Damn. That's gorgeous, Rob. I'd trade an Impala for that any day of the week.:D

[Sandy G]

Yeah, Ford had a "60 horsepower" version of its 85-hp V-8 from 1937-40. It was 136 cubic inches, where the 85 was 221. The 239 was the Mercury version, at 95 HP, in 1939. The Lincoln Zephyr's V-12 was 267 CID in 1935-39, then 305, then back to 292 til 1948 when they stopped making 'em. The Ford truck V-8, also used in the 1949 Lincoln, was 337 CID, but had a LOT of teething troubles at first. I think the Mercury V-8 was increased to 255 CID at some point, & stayed there til the end of the flathead era in 1953. While these engines seem small to us today, it must be remembered that cars were somewhat smaller & lighter back then, & an engine also typically did not have to drive power steering, power brakes, airconditioning, an automatic transmission, etc, etc, while being throttled back as well for pollution control. The Lincoln was, even w/its V-12, somewhat underpowered-They were primarily designed for silence & smoothness rather than for raw speed. And the V-12 was a troublesome motor, too-Fords had a tendency to vapor-lock & overheat, & the Lincoln, being nothing but an overgrown Ford V-8, had the same troubles. The Lincoln had several other troubles peculiar to itself-the cylinder heads were an alloy that disintegrated w/use, & set up an electrolytic reaction w/the steel in the block, the heat & the gasoline...& the exhaust manifolds' design created an internal smog factory. The 305 CID v-12s were bored too large, & wore out quickly, & that's why they went back to 292 CID. Many V-12s were replaced w/Ford V-8s back in the day.

[Combwork]

Good news and bad news. It's not a head gasket or anything. It's a water pump and a hose (thought there was a hose leaking, but had a feeling it was more). Bad news is, this damn MR2 has the engine smack dab in the middle of everything. Makes it a great autocross car, but you have to drop the engine on one side to put a waterpump in it. Going to cost $775 to fix it. Ouch. But I'm looking on the bright side and counting my blessings. Could have been a lot worse.[/I]

Hi. With zero knowledge of this car I might be talking rubbish but with the engine in place, could you remove the outer wing then as long as it's not structural, cut an access hole through the inner wing big enough to reach the pump? You could cover the hole afterwards with a stainless steel plate inside the engine bay held in place with self taping screws through the inner wing. Seal it with mastic, and it has the advantage of easy access if you ever need to get in there again.

[Boreas]

Hi. With zero knowledge of this car I might be talking rubbish but with the engine in place, could you remove the outer wing then as long as it's not structural, cut an access hole through the inner wing big enough to reach the pump? You could cover the hole afterwards with a stainless steel plate inside the engine bay held in place with self taping screws through the inner wing. Seal it with mastic, and it has the advantage of easy access if you ever need to get in there again.

The car in question is a mid-engine 2 seater. Sadly, no possibility of removing the appropriate wing.

But I like the way you think. ;)

John

[Charles]

Hi. With zero knowledge of this car I might be talking rubbish but with the engine in place, could you remove the outer wing then as long as it's not structural, cut an access hole through the inner wing big enough to reach the pump? You could cover the hole afterwards with a stainless steel plate inside the engine bay held in place with self taping screws through the inner wing. Seal it with mastic, and it has the advantage of easy access if you ever need to get in there again.

You'll never make it as an engineer, thinking like that.

Chas

[Fast_Eddie]

Appreciate the thought, but alas, no.

The MR2 is fixed and back on the road.

[Boreas]

Appreciate the thought, but alas, no.

The MR2 is fixed and back on the road.

Which, after all, is the important thing. Great news, Ed.

John

[merrylander]

Damn. That's gorgeous, Rob. I'd trade an Impala for that any day of the week.:D

Only if I can put the 3800 V6 in it. Seriously though Edsel Ford designed that beauty so what do they do? Develop a truly fugly car and name it after him.:rolleyes:

[piece-itpete]

Don't forget curb feelers, and the purple fur on the dash.

Um, I actually thought of feelers :)

Update - date of original post - 2-5. Car - still in Philly!! The carrier FINALLY got someone lined up, showed up at the dealer - the dealer said he didn't get the paperwork from me! Sheez. Straightened out now but I could've had the stupid car today :(

Me thinks that Pete developed a love of Lincolns back from the one he got from me a few years ago :)

And your old beast is still rolling! My dad-in-law ended up giving it to another in need, last I heard it's still being driven (at 10 mpg!).

I'm old enough to remember the original rockabilly version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MS9fk1u6kA

Back in the "flathead era" Ford had what more or less amounted to a "big block" V8 they used in trucks and in Lincolns. The regular flathead was only 239 c.i. but the big one was about half again as big, somewhere around 350 C.I. as I recall. My guess is that's the "mill" in the Model A in the song.

John

That's cool! And gosh, I haven't heard the term 'mill' in a while John :)

We (my parents) had a 1937 Ford Tudor with that small block V8, the V12 in the 1939 Lincoln as basically 1-1/2 of that V8.

That's beautiful. I understand what you mean about the 3800 though.

(edit)[I
Good news and bad news. It's not a head gasket or anything. It's a water pump and a hose (thought there was a hose leaking, but had a feeling it was more). Bad news is, this damn MR2 has the engine smack dab in the middle of everything. Makes it a great autocross car, but you have to drop the engine on one side to put a waterpump in it. Going to cost $775 to fix it. Ouch. But I'm looking on the bright side and counting my blessings. Could have been a lot worse.[/i]

....

The MR2 is fixed and back on the road.

Dang nab it, it's been YEARS, but I changed one of those in a driveway (I do remember it being very hard). Then the clutch blew and I ditched it. How's it running?

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

Dang nab it, it's been YEARS, but I changed one of those in a driveway (I do remember it being very hard). Then the clutch blew and I ditched it. How's it running?

Pete

Mercifly, so far so good. Running like a champ. Hope that does it for a while!

[piece-itpete]

Great! Have you done any mods? I remember talking to a 'Mr. 2' but didn't have the money.

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

I autocross it in "E Stock" so it's mostly stock, kinda. Weird what you can do in the "Stock" classes. We run R Compound tires. They're like slicks (though, not true slicks. They have a tiny grove that goes around them so they have a "tread". Slicks aren't legal for Stock). I run three degrees of negative camber in the front, five way adjustable shocks and a huge front sway bar. It's amazing what those small changes do to a car like an MR2. It will pull 1.5 lateral Gs. It's a hoot to race it.

[Grumpy]

1.5 g ? Crap thats some serious handling there !

[djv8ga]

It will pull 1.5 lateral Gs. It's a hoot to race it.
THE F%#K IT WILL! Get off the damn crack! :confused:

[Fast_Eddie]

1.5 g ? Crap thats some serious handling there !

Hardest part is keeping your head up. It's really something. Race rubber is amazing.

THE F%#K IT WILL! Get off the damn crack! :confused:

With all due respect, you don't have any idea what you're talking about. Race tires do some amazing things. Summer before last I was co-driving my car with a guy who had some pretty neat data acquisition gear. It did indeed pull 1.5G. I'm talking peak G, not continuous. We're not on a skid pad. Don't know what it would do on race rubber on a skid pad, but well over a G. Probably in the 1.2 neighborhood. Maybe more.

No crime not to know what you're talking about, but please don't make me out to be an idiot when you're talking about things you have no experience with.

[Boreas]

THE F%#K IT WILL! Get off the damn crack! :confused:

You know this how, exactly? Racing cars routinely pull over a g. these days. Even some stock production cars do. Cars like Indy cars or Formula one cars pull around 6 g. lateral acceleration and 5 g. under braking.

Stick to what you know, chump. Oh, wait!

John

[djv8ga]

Hardest part is keeping your head up. It's really something. Race rubber is amazing.



Hardest part is keeping your head out of your... With all due respect, you don't have any idea what you're talking about. Race tires do some amazing things. Summer before last I was co-driving my car with a guy who had some pretty neat data acquisition gear. It did indeed pull 1.5G.

No crime not to know what you're talking about, but please don't make me out to be an idiot when you're talking about things you have no experience with.
You are a FRAUD! That P.O.S. girls car with the shit you "SAY" you did couldn't pull 1 G. You can talk all the shit to me about politics you want, but I have been around HiPo cars ALL my life. You are so full of shit. I think all you do is sit on this board and run your damn mouth. MR2...GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!!! :rolleyes:

[Fast_Eddie]

For reference, check out what these cars are doing on street tires.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/112_0706_americas_best_handling_car/laguna_seca.html

I don't really need to get into this with you. Race rubber and a lot of negative camber really do amazing things. I revised my previous post to try to be more civil. I'm not angry at you, you just don't know what you're talking about here. If you haven't experienced R Compound tires you really can't wrap your brain around what they do.

It's all good. No hard feelings.

[djv8ga]

You know this how, exactly? Racing cars routinely pull over a g. these days. Even some stock production cars do. Cars like Indy cars or Formula one cars pull around 6 g. lateral acceleration and 5 g. under braking.

Stick to what you know, chump. Oh, wait!

John
Oh, and you...a real idiot. I thought we were talking about loser MR2's, NOT F1 cars. Yeah right, they run bolt on's on their rides...are you for real?

[Fast_Eddie]

Here's a guy selling a DSP VW on the same tires I run. A front wheel drive car pulling 1.4 Gs.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4607463

[Boreas]

but I have been around HiPo cars ALL my life.

The facts are that you're wrong about this, at least in the general sense. Modified road cars are quite capable of 1.5 g. these days and purpose built racing cars can do a lot more.

I've never seen Ed's car but his claims for it are quite plausible. State of the art tire and suspension technology make this very possible. Ed is an active autocrosser and as such knows what his car is capable of. I'm inclined to take what he says at face value.

For myself, I'm a retired professional driver with experience in several categories of formula cars and somewhat less in GT cars. I have considerable practical experience in modifying and developing the cars I drove so I too know what can be achieved because I've achieved it.

So, my friend, what are your "bona fides"?

And, by the way, you may have noticed that the general atmosphere is pretty cordial, even in the midst of some strong disagreements. People here are pretty damned good at showing respect for each other and for their ideas. I hope you'll consider doing the same.

John

[Boreas]

Oh, and you...a real idiot. I thought we were talking about loser MR2's, NOT F1 cars. Yeah right, they run bolt on's on their rides...are you for real?

Yes, very real. You?

If you read my post again you'll see that I mentioned that production cars can pull over a g. I mentioned F1 and Indy to put 1+ g. into some perspective.

[Fast_Eddie]

I'm going to get out of this one because it's pretty pointless. I'll just say a couple of things to finish off with in case you want to do more research.

First, a "Stock" autocross car is far from stock. The camber we run is obscene. And the sway bar on the font of my car is absolutely huge. I have to run stock springs, so the bar does all the work. It is so stiff it ripped the mounting points out of the chassis. I just got it welded up. (Technically I'm no longer stock legal since the guy who fixed it used 1/4 plate. But for local events it's fine) Happens to autocross MR2s all the time.

Second, as I've said, you should investigate DOT R Compound tires. These aren't anything like high performance street tires. I run Kumho V710s. You can google them and see what I'm talking about. Here is the tire rack page on them http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=ECSTA+V710

Finally, I'm talking about peak G. It's not the same as a skid pad figure. The irony is, as I drive better, I'm almost certainly pulling less peak G, but more consistent time at very high G. Peaks are from being jerky. A tire will hold for a second (actually, a fraction of a second) a load it won't maintain for long. If you jerk on the wheel like I do you generate big peaks.

All said, though, I think you're just confusing figures you hear in car magazines for something that has no comparison. A Corvette that does 1G on a skid pad from the factory is damn impressive but is nothing compared to what it could do on race rubber. It's just a different world.

Sorry if I ruffled your feathers. I didn't mean to. But I do know what I'm talking about here. I'm really not making stuff up. I have no reason to. I'm not the best driver out there (yet) but I'm doing pretty well. I've won some awards and have some idea how this is done and what kind of forces we're talking about. An E Stock MR2 is a pretty amazing little car. In Autocross strange things happen. I run in a class with Miatas and Porsche 944s. Most people hear that and think "well, the Porsche will crush!" But they don't. The MR2 was the "it" car in the class for a long time. Some well driven and set up Miatas are top dog right now. The Porsche can't keep up. Too heavy. Like I said, just a different world.

Take care,

Ed

Added a pic of my car. With the sway bar not falling off the car it lifts the inside front wheel off the ground. It's pretty cool.

[Charles]

Back in the good ol' days, I'd have dared any of yew gear heads to follow me an' muh '65 Skylark down N Route.

Chas

[Charles]

...Or me in my '82 K2500 Chevy Suburban. Yeah, I know, a 3/4 tonne truck w/2 solid axles, but I could FINESSE it around about anywhere...

I done pretty good in my '70 Chevy pickup, too.

If you ain't leaving four black marks through every corner, you ain't drivin'.

BTW, I've never trusted a FWD or a rear engine machine. Not going fast, anyway. Helps to know the road, too.

Chas

[Fast_Eddie]

One of the guys I race with (actually, the guy who did the welding for me) races an old Toyota truck in Street Prepared. Wicked fast!

[Charles]

One of the guys I race with (actually, the guy who did the welding for me) races an old Toyota truck in Street Prepared. Wicked fast!

Don't get me wrong, I'm positive that a good driver in a well balanced machine that he was comfortable with could have smoked my ass back in the good 'ol days.

Then again, I've smoked a few Highway Troopers, and most anyone else that wanted to run with me...back when I was young. Even outran a Vette in a '58 Chevy Delray with the 235-6. Outran a 280Z with my '70 Chevy pickup. Bad.

But I knew the roads.

Remember when me and my buddy went out West, Colorado, Wyoming South Dakota, etc, when we were 18-19 years old. Just had the 300 CID HP (high performance, 11-1compression, 240 HP, 360 torque) mill of my '65 Skylark rebuilt and broken in. Completely wore out a brand new set of steel belted tires in 10K miles. All four. We drove kinda fast.


Picked up some hitchhikers out there somewhere. Driving rain. And the thanked us for picking them up and getting them out of the rain.

Five minutes later, we were racing neck in neck with a Chevy station wagon...badged a 327 the best I can remember. Running wide open, at least 120, maybe a little faster.

They had us stop the car and let them out...back into the driving rain.

Guess they couldn't take living large. Pussies.

And it's probably best that I never could afford a big block.

Wouldn't be chatting with you now.

Chas

[piece-itpete]

You guys are insane!

Pete

[piece-itpete]

Sandy, the next time I meet you in the flesh you'll have to give me a real ride in the Valdez!

Pete

[merrylander]

I remember driving my cousin's 1950 Pontiac fastback down a country gravel road. Now in Quebec they played politics with roads, if you voted the wrong way instead of buying your land to run the road straight they would direct it toward someone who did vote the right way. This resulted in no end of 90 degree turns and I hit one at 50 MPH. Got half way through and I floored it, my that was interesting. That Ponti fishtailed nicely and roared out of the curve like a scared rabbit.:p

[piece-itpete]

Hey Tim, guess what I found:

[Grumpy]

That things bigger then your garage ! Hell you could park the wifes car inside it :)

[piece-itpete]

That is actually the car Tim gave me a few years back.

The interior was beautiful, some sort of limited. And it rode like, well, a giant Lincoln :)

Take 17 of your closest friends! Anyway, I'm afraid when I get mine it'll look like:

[Boreas]

http://www.politicalchat.org/image.php?u=253&dateline=1267201779

Pete, did you know that your new avatar's father-in-law is responsible for Canada's single payer health care system?

Just thought, you bein' a "Con" and all, you might want to know that. ;)

John

[piece-itpete]

Dam inlaws.

:D

Pete

[piece-itpete]

Here's the 'glutton for punishment update part 18':

The carrier had a truck lined up, the dealer screwed up the paperwork and turned them away!

It's been well over a month now. The carrier has been unsucessful at lining up another hauler. Some I'm renting a 09 Impala, driving out there (Philly), and drivin gthe TC back.

14-1/2 hours straight + stops and baloney. I haven't done THAT for a while!

But with any luck (the good kind this time please?) I'll be rolling - finally.

And I've picked up an outfit for the drive home:

[piece-itpete]

Well drove a rental out to Philly, the towncar back.

An 18 hour day. Oof. I’m not kid anymore I tell ya.

I learned a lot with this buy. The seller is a shmuck. This is how he operates:

He uses a number of ebay accounts, using even different names (when you call in and ask for the listed name, you get ‘he’s not in, you can talk to XXX), and uses prepaid phones.

His ‘main’ accounts he uses for his better cars so the feedback is good. For his lower quality cars he sells under various new accounts, lists 4 or 5 at once, and after he gets the bad feedback just walks away from the account.

He doesn’t take paypal and knows the ebay motors buyer protection very well so there is no recourse.

Will I buy another car on ebay? Yes absolutely :) . I knew I was taking a risk with this and am not out very much cash. I ignored the warning signs with my eyes open. Just thought I’d pass this on.

The car? Well it made the 420 mile trip back from Philly. It runs good and has 0 rust, very presentable, dark blue. The interior is much rougher than advertised, it’s using a little antifreeze and the temp gauge is out (not conducive to worry free driving!).

I still would rather be driving it than my 97 Grand Marquis. But the jury is still out on what I’m going to do with it. Used parts are cheap and plentiful but it needs a lot of small jobs done. Probably ditch it.

The rental on the way out (Hertz is very reasonable for one ways btw), a 2010 Toyota Matrix with 7k miles.

I figured I could do 120 mph all the way out, blame Toyota if get stopped :D .

It was a nice car generally, but it had a ‘rubberband’ drivetrain (fine once at cruising speed, but if you go uphill or accelerate it downshifts immediately and stays gasping and wheezing for a while) and my butt was numbing after just 7 hours (the 13 hour trip I make to Georgia once or twice a year in the Grand Marq is fine).

Anyway it’s done.

Pete

[merrylander]

Check the oil, if it is "using" antifreeze it could be a bad head gasket and it is leaking into the oil.

[piece-itpete]

Thanks for the advice!

The oil looks good, no melted ice cream (the oil change sticker says the oil is still good, and it's from 2007 - car must've been sitting), and the antifreeze isn't turning into froth.

There is a slight antifreeze smell while driving. I suspect it's the heater core but haven't had a chance to look hard at it.

Aw heck, I hate it when I don't get a deal on cars!!

I'll be in less lately, busy here!

Pete

[Grumpy]

Good luck with the land barge pete.