Random Thoughts Thread

[A Horse With No Name]

Some wagon love!

 

Some more wagon love...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/622178201719125/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=undefined

[A Horse With No Name]

More Wagon love....

Thinking of 'Blu...

 

We couild have Wagon Wednesday but its only Tuesday. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by A Horse With No Name

[A Horse With No Name]

Little b it of Mustang fastback in here, you all KNEW this was coming...

 

[David]

43 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Still snowing this morning...

Awesome, Thank you. We are frozen here, but clear skys for the week and weekend. Want more snow, but ski season does open this coming weekend.  

[A Horse With No Name]

[David]

Come on @A Horse With No Name ya gotta post a proper Taco Tuesday Auto!  

[A Horse With No Name]

Taco, as in Tacoma....

 

 

Roof top tent on Ranger, i could see doing this...

One Jeep pic to finish it out...

[A Horse With No Name]

One last one, Good news, cool Ranger read, three minutes...

https://fordauthority.com/2020/12/women-on-wheels-use-ford-rangers-to-deliver-ppe-to-those-in-need/

[David]

Just now, A Horse With No Name said:

One last one, Good news, cool Ranger read, three minutes...

https://fordauthority.com/2020/12/women-on-wheels-use-ford-rangers-to-deliver-ppe-to-those-in-need/

Very cool indeed!

[A Horse With No Name]

One last pic, for our domestic guys, after posting the Tacomas...good day, Gentlemen. 

[A Horse With No Name]

This is amazingly cool, less than 4 minutes. Love the memory of the Fitzgerald, had friends of friends on the boat when it went down. 

 

[balthazar]

3 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Turning the water back on at the short supply lines is a trick because they always drip until they're turned at the EXACT angle necessary.  Does anyone know a secret to avoiding this problem?

Tighten the packing nut a bit.

[Robert Hall]

4 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

This is amazingly cool, less than 4 minutes. Love the memory of the Fitzgerald, had friends of friends on the boat when it went down. 

 

Sweet...I've seen the Anderson a couple of times here in Cleveland... seeing these huge ships come up the river and out on the lake is so cool.

[A Horse With No Name]

7 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Sweet...I've seen the Anderson a couple of times here in Cleveland... seeing these huge ships come up the river and out on the lake is so cool.

I can't get enough of it. One day of my Honeymoon my new wife (32 yeqars ago) spent with me jsut watching big ships. One of the best most enjoyable days I ahve spent with her, and we have had a lot of damn fine days since. 

The mother of all gas powered tow rigs, I can't get enough of this either. 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I can't get enough of it. One day of my Honeymoon my new wife (32 yeqars ago) spent with me jsut watching big ships. One of the best most enjoyable days I ahve spent with her, and we have had a lot of damn fine days since. 

 

Back in '88 right after high school took a vacation w/ my folks to the Michigan UP, went to the Soo Locks and watched the ships going through...I find them fascinating..

[Drew Dowdell]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I do hate fooling with water shut-off valves.   Turning the water back on at the short supply lines is a trick because they always drip until they're turned at the EXACT angle necessary.  Does anyone know a secret to avoiding this problem?

 

 

Do what @balthazarsaid, but on supply line valves, I always replace them with quarter turn valves. They don't seem to have the problem you described. Much more reliable.

[A Horse With No Name]

9 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Do what @balthazarsaid, but on supply line valves, I always replace them with quarter turn valves. They don't seem to have the problem you described. Much more reliable.

Ditto

49 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Tighten the packing nut a bit.

With all due respect, 'Blu is the last guy on the planet who needs advice on working a nut. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by A Horse With No Name
Spelling

[A Horse With No Name]

I love how purposeful and simple this looks. I prefer trucks and off road vehicles to have a simple work truck/down to buisiness vibe. 

[A Horse With No Name]

[balthazar]

Bardstown KY, 1940 :

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Bardstown KY, 1940 :

I miss America being unique from town to town and place to place. Was much more so when i was a boy in the 60's and 70's. This is infinitely preferable to the endless strip malls and chain resteraunts of suburbia that we seem to be currently afflicted with. 

[Robert Hall]

4 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I miss America being unique from town to town and place to place. Was much more so when i was a boy in the 60's and 70's. This is infinitely preferable to the endless strip malls and chain resteraunts of suburbia that we seem to be currently afflicted with. 

I always think of the old Simon and Garfunkel song 'My Little Town' when I think of the small Ohio towns of my youth--'Nothing but the dead and dying back in my little town'...so true.    

[A Horse With No Name]

4 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I always think of the old Simon and Garfunkel song 'My Little Town' when I think of the small Ohio towns of my youth--'Nothing but the dead and dying back in my little town'...so true.    

Yeah. a lot of places I hung out at as a teen ahve seriously gone to seed....

Hey Balthazar...your wife wants a boat apparently....you have an older GM Diesel....get the best of both worlds...

 

[trinacriabob]

A very random thought: I can't help but wonder if AOC has AOL?

[A Horse With No Name]

4 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

A very random thought: I can't help but wonder if AOC has AOL?

I am not sure. 

Do think confirmation bias is common in our discussions here, a good video on how to get away from it. 

 

 

[surreal1272]

28 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I miss America being unique from town to town and place to place. Was much more so when i was a boy in the 60's and 70's. This is infinitely preferable to the endless strip malls and chain resteraunts of suburbia that we seem to be currently afflicted with. 

That is one of the main reasons why I moved to a small town a couple of months ago (would have been back in the Spring but COVID slowed the renovation on my home). It's a town of just over 15,000 yet less than an hour to at least four mid-size cities like Raleigh and Greensboro. Nice round-a-bout around the courthouse kind of town that has seen a nice revival over the last few years. Some nice Home-Brew bars and independent coffee shops and a local hardware store that I frequent often. It's not perfect, by any means, but it is a FAAAAR cry from the previous seven years in Phoenix metro. Strip mall hell.

Edited December 1, 2020 by surreal1272

[A Horse With No Name]

8 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

That is one of the main reasons why I moved to a small town a couple of months ago (would have been back in the Spring but COVID slowed the renovation on my home). It's a town of just over 15,000 yet less than an hour to at least four mid-size cities like Raleigh and Greensboro. Nice round-a-bout around the courthouse kind of town that has seen a nice revival over the last few years. Some nice Home-Brew bars and independent coffee shops and a local hardware store that I frequent often. It's not perfect, by any means, but it is a FAAAAR cry from the previous seven years in Phoenix metro. Strip mall hell.

Even in a big city I shop independant hardware stores and small family owned restaurants and businesses. And I live on the edge of Columbus....

OK, so I bought this ICE toy for myself as an early Christmas present...ICE isn't all bad... Stihl MS 250. 

Sorry the shop is messy but I have been busy. 

[surreal1272]

7 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Even in a big city I shop independant hardware stores and small family owned restaurants and businesses. And I live on the edge of Columbus....

OK, so I bought this ICE toy for myself as an early Christmas present...ICE isn't all bad... Stihl MS 250. 

Sorry the shop is messy but I have been busy. 

You can never go wrong with a good Stihl chainsaw. 

[daves87rs]

5 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Love the clamshell wagons!!!!

[surreal1272]

9 minutes ago, daves87rs said:

Love the clamshell wagons!!!!

As an owner of one now (yes, I consider my Flex to be a wagon lol) and one in the past, I approve of this post lol.

[Robert Hall]

5 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

Is it weird that I'd like to have both the Porsche and the wagon for my dream car barn? 

[surreal1272]

Wagon of the brain now. Saw this on Craigslist. 2007 SRT-8 with only 67K miles on it and in pristine condition. The down side, of course, was the $22K asking price but still, dark blue on a SRT-8 is hard to find. Only 140 of those in that color.

 

[balthazar]

Finding the truck I want/need is impossible.  If I want to get one, I've going to have to order it.  GM just isn't building CC/6.5' trucks...

[A Horse With No Name]

30 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

Wagon of the brain now. Saw this on Craigslist. 2007 SRT-8 with only 67K miles on it and in pristine condition. The down side, of course, was the $22K asking price but still, dark blue on a SRT-8 is hard to find. Only 140 of those in that color.

 

Hot... entirely hot.

19 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Finding the truck I want/need is impossible.  If I want to get one, I've going to have to order it.  GM just isn't building CC/6.5' trucks...

Then order it...we need some fresh Iron in the C and G fleet.

[Robert Hall]

32 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

Wagon of the brain now. Saw this on Craigslist. 2007 SRT-8 with only 67K miles on it and in pristine condition. The down side, of course, was the $22K asking price but still, dark blue on a SRT-8 is hard to find. Only 140 of those in that color.

 

I wish they had made a 2nd gen Magnum....a current one based on the Charger would be great. Love the idea of a Hemi sport wagon.

[David]

21 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Finding the truck I want/need is impossible.  If I want to get one, I've going to have to order it.  GM just isn't building CC/6.5' trucks...

Have ya searched inventory nationally as there seems to be allot of Diesel Crew Cab with the standard box that you want. Sadly mostly in white for some strange reason. A few red, black and brown.

 

I always liked the Buick Roadmaster Wagon.

And the older Buick Vista wagon

[balthazar]

There are more CC/6.5s in the 2500, but I'm downgrading to a 1500. Would prefer a Sierra, also.

GM gives you a 50 mile, 100 mile and 250 mile radius (among others). I don't find going 250 miles out as being logical; would someone drive the truck 250 miles (or more) to NJ, or would they trailer it?

[A Horse With No Name]

35 minutes ago, David said:

Have ya searched inventory nationally as there seems to be allot of Diesel Crew Cab with the standard box that you want. Sadly mostly in white for some strange reason. A few red, black and brown.

 

I always liked the Buick Roadmaster Wagon.

And the older Buick Vista wagon

Olds Vista wagon

[David]

53 minutes ago, balthazar said:

There are more CC/6.5s in the 2500, but I'm downgrading to a 1500. Would prefer a Sierra, also.

GM gives you a 50 mile, 100 mile and 250 mile radius (among others). I don't find going 250 miles out as being logical; would someone drive the truck 250 miles (or more) to NJ, or would they trailer it?

Sorry about that, I thought I had clicked the 1500. I was curious and so I called my local Chevy place here and they said that any truck can be brought in from any dealership. If it is greater than 25 miles, they trailer the truck to the dealership. Depending on the association of the dealers it could just be a auto exchange or there could be a basic trailering cost for the company that brings the truck in.

They said if I found exactly what I wanted online searching the national database, then a good dealer should be able to get the truck for you or negotiate a like equal truck. I told him the base requirements were CC, Standard bed, 4WD and 3.0L diesel.

His response was if it was out there exactly what I wanted he could have it within a week, otherwise it would have to be an order.

Very nice guy, I would seriously consider using him down the road.

So it looks my friend that if you want, just build it online and see where it is at if it exists the way you want it. Then you have a choice of a delivery fee to have the truck brought in or order. 

Was an interesting exercise for me, GM seems to be far more flexible or I should say the dealers are being far more flexible in getting a sale than I have seen them in the past. This Pandemic is working in the customers favor I believe.

[daves87rs]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

Wagon of the brain now. Saw this on Craigslist. 2007 SRT-8 with only 67K miles on it and in pristine condition. The down side, of course, was the $22K asking price but still, dark blue on a SRT-8 is hard to find. Only 140 of those in that color.

 

 Yep, a bit on the high side. But very nice...like these, especially in this color! Hard to find these in any trim in good shape though.....

[David]

2 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

Wagon of the brain now. Saw this on Craigslist. 2007 SRT-8 with only 67K miles on it and in pristine condition. The down side, of course, was the $22K asking price but still, dark blue on a SRT-8 is hard to find. Only 140 of those in that color.

 

Wish I could photoshop decently and it would be nice to put the current body of the Charger on this and see what a updated station wagon would look like.  

[balthazar]

There's a Sierra in transit listed @ $48.1K, tho it's 180 miles from me.

I sat in a '19 Silverado last year... but I haven't driven one of these yet... and I'd REALLY like to test a TD out.

I looked at Ram's site a few times, but they are more expensive relative to GMs.
Ford ties the diesel into elevated packages/trims I don't need.

[surreal1272]

1 hour ago, daves87rs said:

 Yep, a bit on the high side. But very nice...like these, especially in this color! Hard to find these in any trim in good shape though.....

Yes. Daimler did it absolutely no favors with the cheap plastic slabs inside the car and cheap plastic bits all about. 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

There's a Sierra in transit listed @ $48.1K, tho it's 180 miles from me.

I sat in a '19 Silverado last year... but I haven't driven one of these yet... and I'd REALLY like to test a TD out.

I looked at Ram's site a few times, but they are more expensive relative to GMs.
Ford ties the diesel into elevated packages/trims I don't need.

Were I to buy diesel it would be GM all the way. RAM and Jeep have had lots of trouble with diesel light truck motors. Co worker blew six turbo chargers in sixty thousand miles and had electronic glitches that would make a Jaguar or BMW blush. He traded it in a V6 crew cab RAM and has had zero issues out of the V6.

Shame because I would love a diesel Gladiator.

 

 

 

 

 

Plus I am with Blu on finding the Current GM trucks attractive.

2 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

Yes. Daimler did it absolutely no favors with the cheap plastic slabs inside the car and cheap plastic bits all about. 

Thier current selection of vehicles is fairly well sorted but in 2007 most of the lineup was a train Wreck. 

IIRC they actually built a two wheel drive Wrangler in 2007...and all Wranglers came with a 3.8 V6 from the minivan that was under powered and thirsty in that application.

[surreal1272]

21 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Were I to buy diesel it would be GM all the way. RAM and Jeep have had lots of trouble with diesel light truck motors. Co worker blew six turbo chargers in sixty thousand miles and had electronic glitches that would make a Jaguar or BMW blush. He traded it in a V6 crew cab RAM and has had zero issues out of the V6.

Shame because I would love a diesel Gladiator.

 

 

 

 

 

Plus I am with Blu on finding the Current GM trucks attractive.

Thier current selection of vehicles is fairly well sorted but in 2007 most of the lineup was a train Wreck. 

IIRC they actually built a two wheel drive Wrangler in 2007...and all Wranglers came with a 3.8 V6 from the minivan that was under powered and thirsty in that application.

There were some dog engines from them during those years. For every Hemi, there was the garbage 3.7L. For every SRT-8, there was a 2.7L holdover from the 1990s. My old 3.5L Magnum was a decent engine but should have had more than 250HP and sure as hell deserved better than that garbage four speed. While mine ran well, I know of others that had a host of issues with the Trannies. So hit or miss.

[A Horse With No Name]

5 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

There were some dog engines from them during those years. For every Hemi, there was the garbage 3.7L. For every SRT-8, there was a 2.7L holdover from the 1990s. My old 3.5L Magnum was a decent engine but should have had more than 250HP and sure as hell deserved better than that garbage four speed. While mine ran well, I know of others that had a host of issues with the Trannies. So hit or miss.

Getting the newer 8 speed Transmission has been huge. Current Wrangler drives like it was built on a different planet than the 2007. 

The ten speed in the Ranger is really nice... would love to try the ten speed in the Turbo diesel Balthazar is looking at.

 

 

https://youtu.be/bRWIqrmiTN0https://youtu.be/bRWIqrmiTN0

https://youtu.be/bRWIqrmiTN0

Youtube video is about Central African Republic. Interested in Western Africa and it's many issues.

But the country is so effed up cannibalism is a problem as is child rape.

I am disappointed in a huge number of things about our country but there are times it is damn fine to be an American citizen.

[A Horse With No Name]

I find it really interesting that GM is only worth about a third of what Toyota is worth in terms of market value.

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

Now see, that is a very handsome machine.  If I had money and a big enough garage, I'd try to leverage my employee discount and get myself one.  DO IT!  YOLO!

[Robert Hall]

13 hours ago, David said:

Wish I could photoshop decently and it would be nice to put the current body of the Charger on this and see what a updated station wagon would look like.  

Google brings up many renderings...could be nice.  The red one appears to be the current Charger front stuck on the old Magnum body, seen pics of several of these that have been done in 1:1, even seen a couple w/ Challenger fronts. The 2nd rendering is a wagon w/ the current Charger lower bodysides..

Edited December 2, 2020 by Robert Hall