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Detroit, 10:10 AM
Sat Nov 21
32 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/02/09
Permanently attach DMMs at various locations around vehicle-a Colossal time-saver when attempting to locate electrical Inconsistencies. In point of fact, an athletic Co-Driver might be utilized to invigorate Electrical Function-even while Motivating!
You're welcome.
08/01/09
It's only the taillights, you think to yourself, as you tap the brakes for the first time and cringe as the first of the glass-tube fuses pops and showers your leg with wee shards of glass.
"Shit." You think.
It's gonna take years for the shrapnel to work its way out of your leg this time.
08/01/09
You almost always have to go find the hog.
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08/02/09
No boost, the pedal holds pressure until you get low in the stroke, then it yields. Running, you can press it straight to the floor. You can pump to get some pressure, but it won't hold.
Basically, everything points at the master cylinder, except I just replaced it.
Bad remanufactured part?
08/01/09
It is not that this car is a basketcase, no. It had just 50,000 miles on it when I bought it, practically new! And I would never accuse a british car with electrical problems of being a basketcase, either. This is just the stuff that you deal with on a daily basis.
Expect the car not to start the key every time you need it to. Expect to tinker. If you love cars, I think you would love a British car. Just don't expect to be on time for everything.
As much as I love my Volvos, when I get the urge to go tinker, they leave me with nothing to do. I have hammered out 100% of the electrical gremlin issues on my 50,000 mile MG, and it has been as reliable as a Toyota ever since. But I know, I just know, at the most inopportune time, something WILL happen again. It always does.
08/01/09
It's really a bit boring. So mod it until it isn't.
08/01/09
08/01/09
I've been told to clean the throttle body, and that's the first thing I'm gonna try.
I trust that yours also has shattered door pockets, a cracked console, at least one crack in the dash, a loose glovebox door, a hood that's not quite perfectly aligned...
08/01/09
Otherwise, yes to everything else.
08/01/09
08/01/09
I built Audiovox speaker enclosures out of 1/2" CDX ply to slop around in the back of van. Some of my roughest carpentry ever, and they sound as good as twenty pound Bozak floor speakers. Next time I build some speakers I'll have to put a crusting of lights on them. Nice handle, also.
08/01/09
@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: Yeah, vintage speaker fan!
I've been trying some 12" Tannoy Monitor Golds in prototype cabs. They sound fantastic.
Sometimes the old ways are still best.
08/01/09
That amp does go to 11?
08/01/09
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07/20/09
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07/20/09
I'm coming over. Yes, I'll bring beer.
07/20/09
I'm guessing the cooling fan switch is going to be wired into the ignition circuit, ie starter button no worky if the cooling fan isn't on. I know the 20R is virtually indestructible (hell, my cousin's was driven for 100 miles with no oil in it and it's still going strong) but why tempt Murphy?
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07/19/09
Something cobbled together like this can only mean two things: A long talking to from Ponch and John, or dying in the thing with a huge grin on your face.
When can I ride in it?
I love the fact that you made your own wiring harness. I could NEVER pull that off.
threadjack:
Has anyone else had their girlfriends give them a stern talking to about not modifying my primary transportation vehicle because you've broken so many cars during the time you've been dating? I've been through probably 8 cars since I started dating this girl 6 years ago, though now it hurts my feelings that she doesn't trust me to work on my own car (anymore) when it can mess with the car's drivetrain.
07/20/09
No but I used to get a similar lecture from my parents as a child/teen anytime I approached anything mechanical/electrical with some tools to "take it apart and see how it works".
You, fuzzy p, are just going through the normal process of "learning about cars and shit" and she's trying to "limit downside risk" of having to drive you to auto parts stores/junkyards/work.
07/20/09
See, I've been through two engine swaps, done numerous brake jobs, water pumps, alternators, battery changes, countless oil changes-- the list goes on and on and on.... but thanks for the insight.
Oh, and by the way, I'm friggin stuck as this. I can't edit my screen name anymore.
ugh.
07/20/09
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07/20/09
Like joneez there said - we never stop learning, or effing up on the journey of learning (that part wasn't core to the operation, was it?).
Alternatively http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/jax/1164383626.html
"Girlfriend Forcing Sale"
And then you could wrench all you wanted.
07/19/09
07/20/09
Imagine how it is to launch a nuke, two people have to insert two separate keys and twist simultaneously.
Jet fighters have all kinds of switches to flip and knobs that need twisting before the plane can leave the ground.
It's momentous, it's of occasion, it's important.
What's so wrong with having a little bit more to do than insert the key and twist it (on a car that likely won't be everyday transport)?
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