Was channel surfing and caught an oldie on the AMC. The scene was a flat tire on the road shoulder. Guy was changing it for cute girl in ’56 T-bird. The remarkable thing to me was that, and I had forgotten all about it, but back then you put the jack under the bumper and lifted the entire weight of the beast from the bumper. Cain’t do that no mo. Here is a great link about cars that where made of steel, had Road-a-Matic steering and Air-Scoop brakes (super cooled) and the dimmer switch was on the floor! I particularly enjoyed the linear look ’59 Olds 98 section. Dad had a 2 door holiday hardtop SceniCoupe. (and a Rocket V-8 — used it to ride the range) Be sure and read the ‘car in the barn story’ too.

On the anniversary of our new car purchase the manufacturer’s distributor has sent us one of those little appreciative desktop knickknacks. Following this gift was a telemarket call from someone from somewhere with a local dialect asking if we’d like to trade-up. Nay. “The ’03 models are much improved in the reliability department and…” Oh! Puhleez. We know that the NEW ones have the bugs resolved. OURS was their test mule. I have a litany of repair order forms as proof 😮

The 350Z is a looker. We couldn’t resist a closer inspection of this new stunner and so we visited our local store for a test hop. The ‘track’ model that we drove had the huge alloys with the Brembo (racing) brakes. With 287 horsepower advertised it certainly could put them to use! I must say that I wasn’t that thrilled. The shifter was precise but the clutch loose and sloppy. The exhaust note did not inspire and the transmission had a gear whine just like the original Z’s from 1970. There would be some learning curve to be smooth with that long throwclutch. The emission controls don’t allow it to idle down even though the throttle is closed. Lack of space for my roller bag or even the grocery bags was a non-plus unless you were to lean clear forward over the rigid body torsional structure roll bar under the rear hatch.

So, we tried Honda’s offering, the S2000. This is a sports car that’s been out for awhile but I must say that their engineers got it right! By contrast, you feel like you are wearing this ride. Easy to handle. Point and squirt and with the tach in the sweet zone (between 6000 and 8000 revs) it makes awesome Formula One metallic mechanical song underhood. Not a Miata. Never bothered to preview the radio. The driving experience was enough. We came away wearing big grins after this one.

I’m an ebay virgin. I know that ebay is a household term and I do consider myself to be a computer power user. But up until now, I’ve never used the service. My first auction is now in progress! It sure seems like fun. Except for the part where I’m selling my ‘old junk’ at 38 cents on the dollar(!?*!)…

• dial gauge
• Z block
• crows foot
• cam holder
• tune-up
• cyl head socket
• heat xchgr socket

These things have been in my tool box for 20 years. May they find good use and preservation with someone else.

This was due month for the annual safety | emissions inspection and I was successful in starting out early, and got the drop on everyone else with the same intent. I was congratulating myself when the tech approached me in the customer lounge with the unwelcome news that my vehicle had failed 🙁 He was unable to complete the emissions test because my OBD II connector was dangling loose underdash when it should have been secured in its bracket. (tisk tisk – picky, ain’t he?). I knew about the mounting. It disintegrated the last time I plugged in my laptop cable to download a pesky intermittent airbag fault code that I’m tracking. Cheap plastic. “They [factory] need to make the bracket more [robust]. You cannot be the first with this problem…”, he told me. I knew it would be fruitless to argue that my connector link was still serviceable regardless. He was only following guidelines from some thick manual no doubt and wouldn’t bend without a 2×4. So, I collected my rejection slip and departed with the realization that what could have been a 50 minute chore could now easily burn the better part of the day what with chasing down the part at the dealership cross town (assuming that they even had it in $tock and could $pare a man to install it). I drove back to my shade tree garage hopeful to discover remedy. The first object that I laid eyes on was an old paint tray(!) with an 90 degree angled metal foot that would do nicely as a bracket. With a saw, drill, and some assorted screws, washers and nuts, I robbed the piece and fashioned two new brackets that would mate up with the original in place of the broken plastic tabs. In the end I don’t know if I really saved any. I pondered as I measured and fabricated ‘that if my twin had raced for the parts department at about the same time would he handily return with a new bolt-in-part before I had finished’. I suppose there is some personal satisfaction however in my spit ‘n bailing wire fix. Finally, I made my way back for the re-test and it was over and done with in time for a late lunch. Until next year then!

Not that I can claim never to have got-stuck-in-the-mud — what we have is a lapse in driver SA (situational awareness)when said driver tried a short cut out of the parking spot. With some fairness, it was less than ideal parking lot design with the curb and planter anchored on the right side and not visible when entering or exiting the vehicle. After a cell call plea, I arrived with a floor jack and some 2 x 4 boards and was able to extricate this mess. Tell tale mud tracks leading out of the trap showed that ours wasn’t the first or only car to land into the pit. I left the wood pieces for the next poor fellow. Fortunately, there was no physical damage or animals harmed during the creation of this blog. Only mental anguish and some hand wringing and a lesson learned. Okay kids, let’s be careful out there.

Each successive layer of black dust on those shiny alloys = brake job. The empty weight on B.O.U.R.G’s truck is 4800 lbs. and depending on useage those front pads can convert to black dust in as little as 10,000 or as long as 40,000 miles. Friction products are primarily a combination of calcium carbonate, rock wool, various resins, steel wool, brass filings, silica, and fiberglass and a few other odds and ends. luckily they don’t incorporate ASBESTOS anymore, but still one wonders about the long term effects when aspirating this carcinogenic brew. Not all of it clings to the wheels. Where does it all go? I could let the authori$ed $ervice fa$ility renew my brakes or or how about a do it yourself. I will be sure to wear a filter mask.

If you like old cars you must visit ephemeranow.com. It presents some very high quality scans from original brochures and advertising copy. A few pictures are photo images but most were drawings as was typical in those days. The automotive dream could be portrayed much more favorably in a sketch with lower, longer, wider lines. Today, a computer can enhance the shot but then you needed a studio to get it right. (and a w i d e angle lense) The webpages view like a quality coffee table book. High art.

Hey! Check out them wheels! GM’s Hy-wire concept vehicle powered by skateboard chassis and hydrogen fuel cell tech.

Regarde the spare tire, a mere vestige of its former self. This one is the ubiquitous ‘space saver’, good for a limp home. It is difficult to access and requires 3 arms to put back. Not that a person is actually going to ever put this wheel on an axle. With 24 hour road side assistance and cell-phone help is on the way. But I figured, as the vehicle owner/caretaker, it is my responsibility to check it for proper inflation because you never know… This is when I realized the thing is just for show. A selling feature, or rather, something not easily explained away if it were eliminated by design. I wonder who was the first manufacturer to do away completely with the hand crank and rely totally on the electric starter and how much hand wringing anguish that decision took. The spare tire is on the endangered list.