balthazar
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Everything posted by balthazar
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Got the nut/ associated hardware/ bearings/ drum off. Initial inspection: bearings/races & brake shoes looks to be in very good shape. Rubber cups on wheel cylinder in exc shape, still going to pop it open to check. Drum need a minor clean up, but I think it's also going to be usable as is. Drained rear; after poking thru the 1/2-in of sludge at the bottom, an ounce or 2 of water drained out then 13 pints of gear oil. Going to pop the rear cover, flush/scrub everything out, clean the brake areas, and bolt everything up. Will update when I pull the rear cover with a pic. Extremely pleased- the axle servicing will only cost me a gallon of 90-weight, and some gasket paper. This truck continues to manage to surprise me with signs it has plenty of life left, when no doubt to most, it looks like it belongs in a junkyard.
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Open one rear axle end today, not as scary as I was fearing. Saw a similar vintage Chevy HD truck rear, all sorts of geared interfaces & spider washers in there. FoMoCo/Eaton was very straightforward. Temporary setback; I need a 3" socket to remove the nut. Not exactly commonplace. There's enough scunge inside there that I am going to have to open the differential up just to clean it all out. Everything turns, but the rust/grit would kill the bearings pretty quickly. yay. On the positive side, those who like to 'bench brag' about, say, how many gears their trans may have…. some guys like to compare axles, such as "8.8-in" or "9-in". It will be neat to see the 13-in ring gear inside this Eaton.
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I think a LOT of it is, unless one is willing to go down the Dysfunctional Highway where vehicles like the datsun cube gestate, there is almost no where to go, design advancement-wise, which is why the vast majority of supposedly top-tier brands are just swirling like a leaf over a drain; no advancement, just twiddledicking of the details. Fender vent, check. 'bumperless' front; ooo! check. 'underwear showing' black plastic @ the rear to disguise terrific height mandated by CAFE aero, check. angry head light shape, check. chrome (split single) exhaust outlets, check. Luxury car, done. WhenTF is anyone going to save us from the boredom & predictability of it all? WTH is anyone going to bring out in -say- 2020??
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At least the sedans are in increasing alpha order... XE < XF < XJ. But what do those letters MMEEAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN ?!?!?!?!?!? Is the XJ really 4 steps better than an XF, and how does the F-type relate to the XF? Would an AWD Jag be an 'XEX' and how would you pronounce that, exactly?
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Needs pic.
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[ Can't start a topic in this sub-forum, so sticking this here. Feel free to split it off if desired. ] Aston-Martin's rumored Lagonda sedan has broken cover: My take is; I'm seeing a LOT of Ford / Lincoln in this; Ford up front & Lincoln out back. The 3/4 & profile views frankly are strangely ungainly, like somehow 2 or 3 images with slightly different POVs were digitally spliced. In as much as the original Lagonda was hot wedgy weirdness, this is severely underwhelming from the exterior. Still, remembering the fuss the original generated; looking forward to more specs/pics on this.
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Ahh, OK. Didn't see any MSRP mention in the article and Jag. alpha-numerics are completely meaningless; on the same lousy confusing order as Lincoln.
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Yep, the original digital fuel consumption readout was clearly visible on the REO's HUD display. :/
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Most all current LED- equipped cars do this; turn the LEDs OFF when the signal comes on. Yet anytime anyone states they find modern lighting to generally be too bright, they get jumped all over… yet the OEMs recognize a flashing amber bulb can't be seen well next to an LED. Hmmm. Anyway, it would far more elegant to have the LED fade to -say- 25% illumination rather than cold switching on & off; not sure if this is common think or a Fed mandate. Looking forward to the day OEMs (Cadillac aside) do more than paste these on and pat themselves on the back for being 'modern'.
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If the CLAh is pegged at $29K, this had better greatly undercut that in order to get any showroom foot traffic. I think $24K would be a great starting price, then Jag can pile some incentives on top, get it snug & spread-eagled at around $19,500.
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I saw it the 2nd time on the main drag going out of New Brunswick, it was rollin' right along at about 40-45 MPG… wonder if it's been repowered or at least overdriven. Also wondering what sort of discount I might be able to work if I rolled up in my '40 COE. (Actually; no fan of brick oven pizza. )
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And this sort of factual nonsense is continually brushed aside as if insignificant. I will state it again, Cadillac is NOT here to push volume, but still people -clinging to Old World Think- believe Cadillac needs to outsell every competitor or it's 'floundering/failing'… yet no such talk about the A6 or GS, for example. Wonder why the standards are so different for some people??
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Is that no fog lights I don't see?? And, OHNOOZZ, the tailpipes are too close together!! (repeated criticism of the ATS when it came out). meh- looks fine, but no one will buy it and only a miniscule fraction will buy another jag after owning this one. Without Tata's pockets, Jag would have already gone well down the road that -say- British Leyland has.
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Seen it twice now, so I assume it's local; a 1940s REO 'Nomad Hot Dog' truck, in great, restored shape, rollin'. EDIT : This is it : Whoops; pizza, not dogs.
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Exhaust is finally, 100% done. Was worried I had snapped something when a couple header bolts popped in the block and wouldn't tighten anymore, but a quick online search revealed something that would never have occurred to me. Ford flathead 8s have paired center exhaust ports, so headers / exhaust manifolds look like they're from a V6 : For reasons that escape my reasoning, Ford spec'd thicker bolts in the front outlets ONLY (on both sides), 7/16" instead of 3/8". Reused the original hardware there, now everything's snug & tight & clearances all the chassis plumbing & linkages. Next : finish off the brakes. 1 front wheel is done, other needs to be reassembled. I've not yet taken the rear drums off- have to pull the axle shafts. The front bearings were rough, expecting the same out back.
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^ That was the Pontiac truck assembly plant, no? I thought the Pontiac Motor Division (auto) home plant went down many many years ago. My Grand Prix was built there. I've heard many Pontiac collectors state the best built Pontiacs came out of the home plant.
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Everything gets fatter over time. 5-series used to be the size of the current 3-series- it's the way of the industry… because marketing must give you 'more'. Reminds me of Raisin Bran; it's been getting "more" raisins since 1960. However, at least with the ATS & CTS, they have kept relatively svelte. Few new vehicles catch (& hold) my eye out in the world, but the current CTS front end is dynamite. I have no problem with the rear; could be more expressive but I don't have a problem with it. But Cadillac is like the only OEM who has figured out what to do with LEDs, whereas everyone else is merely pasting mail-order LED strips in nonsensical outlines in the headlamp lens. Look at everyone else; this is plain awful, zero thought, 4 hard angles in an otherwise completely amorphous, bland shape: This is so unique, echoes the long-running vertical tails :
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I was thinking of Germany retail buyers for mercedes, my bad. Growth aspirations are fine for toyota, Chevy, nissan…. and mercedes. Mercedes has been unable to create a viable 2nd brand, hence the FWD appliance down marketing. Cadillac is NOT about volume because it does not HAVE to be, a huge boon to luxury/exclusivity. Ya; according to that link it's 56.4%, or the same as mercedes. In the case here vs. mercedes, clearly it's product that talks louder at Chevy, whereas it's reputation instead that gets mercedes repeat customers. Unless you think Chevy's rep is comparable to mercedes'.
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You are incorrect. BMW & MB repeat ownership figures are between 30-35%, that's way less than, for example, Ford (which I believe is close to 50%). Terrible numbers, actually. And as I posted above, CTS transaction prices are CLOSER to MSRP than the 5-series, so MB & BMW are pulling some sort of slippery money 'laundering' in that their ATPs are much farther off of MSRP, regardless what the 'official' numbers they report.^ CTS doesn't compete with the 3-series. 2014 BMW 528i : MSRP : 49500, average paid : 44997, diff: 4503 2014 CTS base : MSRP : 45100, average paid : 42616, diff: 2484 The CTS IS the best bang for the buck, even with less off sticker. YTD 5-series U.S. sales : 37761 YTD CTS U.S. sales : 20639 Perfect. We need to break the mindset that used to say 'Cadillac is part of GM, therefore it should outsell every one of it's competitors'. Neither necessary nor desirable. I would like to see the CTS coupe & wagon continue on the current 3rd gen, tho, regardless of the sales volume. Especially the coupe!We just had a bunch of divisions ash-canned, the call is going up for MORE already?? The only major OEM with a lux brand that has only ONE other is mercedes, and only there because their range topper just flopped. BMW is 3 brands, Jag is part of the Tata conglomerate, audi is part of the VW conglomerate, Lexus is the 3rd cog @ toyoyo…. not sure where 'most have 2 brands' comes from.
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Cadillac/Buick joint dealerships are not common. I've not seen any in my travels in my state. GM made a move to pair Buick & GMC dealerships decades ago...- 34 replies
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Mini is diving like a submarine.
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