Thread: Your First Car!

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

Now we have "Check Engine" lights that go on if you don't click the fuel cap 3 times after fill-ups, ABS and TCS lights that go on for no apparent reason, really sucky electrics with mini-fuses smaller than the white crescent of a fingernail which requires a trained hummingbird to change, AND absolutely NO ROOM in the engine compartment for anybody bigger than 6'1 in which to actually do any work. Too many components have to be removed in order to reach the one that's acting up.
Yeah, today's cars really are all that and a bag of chips. I'm with Wullie and Furcifer. Heck, I've used a pair of pantyhose as an emergency water pump belt -- try that in lieu of a serpentine belt sometime and tell me how that works for you. And when the timing belt -- belt, not chain -- snaps after a measly 50k miles and sends a valve shooting straight up through the hood, just how much HP is that fancy new engine generating?

That's why some of us buy trucks

My first car -that I actually got to drive (long story)- was a 1990 Buick Lesabre. It was a luxury addition. It lasted me, well, it's still outside. Lol. Boss car, not gonna lie.

As for this straight razor meaning in art work... Symbolism is something I have always admired, and though I get the meaning, I just dont think that a straight razor was chosen because it is just straight. Arrows are straight, lines are straight, swords, bullet trajectories are straight ... Sorta ... But I think they just picked it cuz they are cool.


... Not to be a jerk, but what do people who get a straight tattoo for beating drugs/alcohol do if they rebound? I guess they could give it a frown...

Originally Posted by Wullie

Can't argue that, BUT, I can still work on that old iron without a having to have a fancy COMPUTER to tell me why that fancy little engine has the hiccups. I could set the points on my old shovel head with a matchbook cover for a feeler gauge. Try that with all this NEW stuff.

My boy and his first car.


We've rebuilt the front end, brakes, carb, windshield wipers, and bunch of other little stuff. The old 289 is long in the tooth, but the compression numbers are OK and it doesn't burn much oil. Tranny is tired, but it gets it down the road. AND is doesn't require a bunch of METRIC tools!

If he doesn't sell it, well rebuild that 289 and give it some arse and re-do the tranny and rear end while we're at it.

Right on. The fact is, however, that you're not even limited to points and such with that car. A Pertronix ignition and other goodies can take you all the way to as good of performance out of that 289 as any similar sized engine on the road today. By the time you port the heads and match up a good cam grind, transmission rebuild (easy with a C4) and suspension to handle it, you'll still be in cheaper than a lot of new cars, especially new performance cars. After you're done, you've got something that turns heads, a blast to drive and everybody wants to talk about.

BTW, I once fabricated an entire A/C system for one of those that didn't have it from the factory. All I needed that I couldn't fab easily was a compressor bracket. Got one off a Ford pickup in a junkyard that I modified. That's the other thing. That car has a lot of parts in common with Mustangs, etc., from those same years. These are among the easiest cars to restore, too.

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

Now we have "Check Engine" lights that go on if you don't click the fuel cap 3 times after fill-ups, ABS and TCS lights that go on for no apparent reason, really sucky electrics with mini-fuses smaller than the white crescent of a fingernail which requires a trained hummingbird to change, AND absolutely NO ROOM in the engine compartment for anybody bigger than 6'1 in which to actually do any work. Too many components have to be removed in order to reach the one that's acting up.
Yeah, today's cars really are all that and a bag of chips. I'm with Wullie and Furcifer. Heck, I've used a pair of pantyhose as an emergency water pump belt -- try that in lieu of a serpentine belt sometime and tell me how that works for you. And when the timing belt -- belt, not chain -- snaps after a measly 50k miles and sends a valve shooting straight up through the hood, just how much HP is that fancy new engine generating?

My Dad always said that there is nothing that can't be fixed with bubblegum, bailing wire or duct tape

Originally Posted by Theseus

My Dad always said that there is nothing that can't be fixed with bubblegum, bailing wire or duct tape

Well, sometimes a hammer is needed...not to disrespect your father, but occasionally a stubborn part requires a little animated persuasion. That and it just feels really good to cathect with a mulish component!

When we were 18 and gear heads , we would find one of our buddy's car that was parked...and we would open the hood ( because you could) and change the spark plug wires on his distributor !!!! I still to this day know the firing order on a small block Chevy ... What is it Wullie ??? No google search either

Originally Posted by Theseus

My Dad always said that there is nothing that can't be fixed with bubblegum, bailing wire or duct tape

Don't forget the BFH!

Originally Posted by nessmuck

When we were 18 and gear heads , we would find one of our buddy's car that was parked...and we would open the hood ( because you could) and change the spark plug wires on his distributor !!!! I still to this day know the firing order on a small block Chevy ... What is it Wullie ??? No google search either

18436572.

Originally Posted by nessmuck

When we were 18 and gear heads , we would find one of our buddy's car that was parked...and we would open the hood ( because you could) and change the spark plug wires on his distributor !!!! I still to this day know the firing order on a small block Chevy ... What is it Wullie ??? No google search either

GOOD ONE!

Originally Posted by Wullie

18436572.

nice one !!!