|
|
Post by RocDoc on Nov 2, 2005 13:46:03 GMT -5
Well IF there were a current BMW model with a center of gravity of comparable height to that of an '89 740 Turbo, I would wager anything that I could go through turns as tight(like some of the spaghetti bowl highway interchange ramps in downtown Chicago)as any the BMW could handle....the handling of my car, WITH high end rubber on its wheels, was phenomenal. The ride was FAR stiffer than say, my wife's former Sedan deVille boat, but I honestly like it that way.
Now, her new Buick Rendevous, with some sort of near-4WD entity, called 'Versatrack' also tracks in a very solid manner, despite the way high center of gravity this thing gives you...
|
|
|
|
Post by RocDoc on Nov 2, 2005 13:47:43 GMT -5
BTW,
With the Volvo, I useta do those aforementioned interchange ramps (traffic permitting) at 50-55 with eeease...and with very little sway.
|
|
|
|
Post by strat-0 on Nov 17, 2005 22:31:09 GMT -5
Ugh! My head hurts! Just got home from taking ASE recertification tests. In the past, I've taken eight regular certification tests at once - don't know how I ever did it then, but I wouldn't do it now! They can be grueling! I only had to take three tonight, and they're shorter than the regular tests, but I'm still glad it's over! So I'll hopefully retain my certified master technician status.
|
|
|
|
Post by ScottsyII on Nov 18, 2005 6:22:31 GMT -5
Congrats Strat! I'm sure it was worth all the work! My head is spinning juust from doing my job.... working with 30 - odd 5 - 6 year olds!
Certainly makes me enjoy the nice open road drive home for a good twenty minutes or so.... I find a good decent drive is actually a perfect unwind for me... anyone else the same??!! It just gives me the perfect headspace where I don't need to think about anything other than the road, my car and my inputs... all the other shit from the day can just fade away!
|
|
|
|
Post by RocDoc on Nov 18, 2005 15:52:24 GMT -5
It depends...when I was in school, I'd study til 10PM on-campus then drive prob 12-15 miles to get home. I'd start out sleepy and dead-tired, but then as I'm winding my way back home at my usual 10-20 over the speed limit and I'm running into numb-nuts iceholes barring my way, then I'd get so wound up that I couldn't sleep when I got home.
I'm generally a bit of an intense driver, y'see.
I then found a wonderful medical school library at Loyola University within 10 minutes of home and that problem was solved.
I would take just the local arteries (no expressways) and I'd get home, have a beer and pass out instantly.
|
|
|
|
Post by strat-0 on Nov 18, 2005 16:32:33 GMT -5
Thanks, Scottsy! I understand mechanics must be licensed to work in Australia - certification is voluntary here and administered by a private nonprofit organization, but you more or less need the cert to get a job as a tech. And the industry prefers to push the term "technician" now; it sounds so much fancier than "mechanic."
I agree about a commute sometimes being a good thing for clearing the mind and unwinding, but my experience is now more like what Doc described.
|
|
|
|
Post by ScottsyII on Nov 18, 2005 16:53:49 GMT -5
I agree that a daily commute can be dead boring on the wrong roads!!! My current drive to work is kinda nice though, a nice little 100km/h stretch where you can let the car have its way a little and you can enjoy a few bends here and there... t'is good! Some of the places i have worked at though... blah, driving to work could be quite a chore!
Yeah, licensing is very much the done thing here for mechanics... I think that has been the Government's way of stamping out too many dodgey back yarders... considering roadworthiness inspections are hardly ever carried out on cars, at least in my state anyways... it's probably not a bad thing!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by strat-0 on Nov 28, 2005 20:51:27 GMT -5
We went to the drag races Saturday to see my friends' son race his Mustang. The track is only about 10 miles from here, and you can run anything in the foot brake / bracket racing class. His is a real race car, but I might be running there next season (this was the season closer and I wasn't ready). Yep, I can run my everyday driver there with the "trailer queens"! And in bracket racing, you can still win! A lot of street rods run in that class. He did good, but got eliminated in the 3rd round.
They were also running the "Outlaw 10.5" class that night - that can get pretty wild! No rules - you can run anything (and they do) but only with 10.5 inch wide slicks or smaller. So, you've got basically pro stock cars (wheelie bars, full cages, tubbed, with narrowed rear ends, etc.) trying to get those cars to hook up with those 10 1/2 inch slicks on a pretty rough country track! They're fast, too - some were running in the 4 second range @ 140 mph in the 1/8th mile! Several of them got squirrely - crossing the centerline, etc. One lost his door halfway down, and another did a little "weed eating," as they say, (ran off the track into the grass)! I've never seen local drag racers get that close to losing it before! Too much motor for that track! I wouldn't want to be in the lane next to one of them! No, sir!
|
|
|
|
Post by RocDoc on Nov 29, 2005 12:56:26 GMT -5
Goin' to the drags is a blast.
Tho my experience is limited to only two outings, tho on consecutive days on a Memorial Day weekend...long ago.
Union Grove Wisconsin partied quite hard, close as I can recall.
|
|
|
|
Post by phil on Nov 29, 2005 13:09:05 GMT -5
Back in the early 70's we used to go to the Sanair Speedway (near Montréal)
for the annual canadian NHRA Grand National ...
What a blast that was ... !!
|
|
|
|
Post by strat-0 on Feb 23, 2006 20:28:55 GMT -5
GAAAH! The transmission in the Sleeper took a shit on the way home tonight. Just driving down the interstate and it suddenly went POW, followed by shuddering and a nausiating bam, bam, bam, down to a stop on the side of the road. I thought I might have hit something and then picked it up, but after looking and finding nothing, I started off again - same bam, bam, bam, and no shift out of 1st. I think something broke or came apart in the planetary gearset.
The tranny is only four years old, too. I had a shift kit installed at the time, to promote long life of the clutches and bands, knowing it was going behind a 400 engine at that time, but when a 'hard part' lets go, you are just a fucked monkey. It really should have a Turbo Hydromatic 400 behind a motor like that anyway, rather than a THM350, but the original THM350 held together for many years with no problems, even hot dogging it at the drag strip, before it started slipping. So, I guess I'll be getting a new transmixer put in... I think I'll opt for the THM400 this time. I guess I really need it now, with the 435 lbs/ft of torque that 383 stroker puts out.
Meantime, I'll have to drive that shit-eating Geo Prism... Grrrrrr!
|
|
|
|
Post by Kensterberg on Feb 23, 2006 20:33:52 GMT -5
Strat -- I am both so sorry for you, and chuckling under my breath. Been there, done that when it comes to trashed trannies. I once drove my old 914 in third gear for the better part of a week while waiting for a new (used) gearbox to arrive. Slip the hell out of the clutch from a dead stop, and wind it up to the redline going down the highway ... thank god I only lived a few miles from work at the time! At least you've got the POS Geo to fall back on.   |
|
|
|
Post by strat-0 on Feb 23, 2006 20:44:12 GMT -5
Oh yeah - I'll bet there's nothing like having a 1-speed in your Porsche! "What's that burning smell?" "Just the clutch - no cause for alarm!" At least you had third - a nice compromise!
I'm still a little steamed, but it's really not that bad putting a trans in an old B-body like that. They are 'relatively' cheap.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kensterberg on Feb 23, 2006 20:52:27 GMT -5
Oh yeah Strat, it was one hell of an experience. Locked into third gear while sitting at a light, going up-hill. Didn't even stall the engine ... thank god I was planning on fixing the clutch along w/the gearbox, 'cause it sure wasn't going to be around long after those few days!
I miss the purety of those old cars, though. I'm really thinking that I'm going to swap my Bimmer for a seventies (or maybe eighties) vintage Porsche. I'd like to find a 911 or 911 Turbo in good shape w/working A/C. I don't want any fancy stuff, just big-ass (preferably non-ABS) brakes, a solid engine, and decent (doesn't have to be great, just decent) HVAC.
I had been thinking about a late-eighties BMW 325is, but the ones with the right (sport) options cost as much as some of the Porsches I like, and are actually harder to find.
I've got a couple of decent sized cases I'm trying to wrap up in the next month or so. If those come through the way I like, I just may ditch my Z (and its payment) for a piece of automotive history. Lift-throttle oversteer and all. Maybe.
|
|
|
|
Post by strat-0 on Feb 25, 2006 15:44:39 GMT -5
That would be pretty cool, Ken! My understanding is that you can readily get anything you need for those classic Porsches. I've often toyed with the idea of an older Mercedes.
|
|
