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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    '48-50 Ford F-1, dark blue, cheapie chrome wheels, chopped about 3 inches, nice shape, in the Home Depot lot.
  2. balthazar
    >>"Because a Prius weighs more than a Corvette, so if it is about road damage and wear and tear, why should the Prius driver pay 1/2 or 1/3 as much in tax as a Corvette driver?"<< Because there is no quantified data to show a prius does ANY more wear to a given roadway than a Corvette does. Therefore, in the absence of proof, this is nothing more than a penalty for drivers who made a choice to burn less fuel/mile ... which is exactly what Gov't is strongly advocating, all the time. Which F'ing way do they want it (if they have any collective view)??
  3. balthazar
    Many in Japan would Eat. This. Up.
  4. balthazar
    Then perhaps DC should consider using a greater percentage of the gas tax on actual roads/bridges, than that which they manage to squeeze out now. But that's not the way our broken-assed system works; I know.
  5. balthazar
    It was an Army vehicle when it was designed FORTY years ago and when outfitted as such. Time has marched on; while others have made very tangible improvements, the g-wagon has been transformed into a blingy dinosaur intended for gazing on paved roads, riding on a simply ancient chassis. Daimler just killed off the so-called 'professional series', which was a stripped down version specifically intended for off road, instead adding more bling & gimmicks & power to the 'pavement series'. It really doesn't matter in the big picture; the G is a boutique car that very very few people buy; sales are excruciatingly low.
  6. balthazar
    Currently, EVs are still approx. 3% of the yearly sales volume, or less than some year-to-year fluctuation in volume. My disgust is twofold- that highway monies are misappropriated to so many NON transportation projects, and that politicians are only quick to enact more taxes, and never quick to improve efficiencies or follow their own proposed intents. The 'second shoe' is that EVs are NOT causing any measurable shortfall in any way, this is just another means to put sticky fingers on more dollars. IOW; this is not a "free ride" AFA politicians are concerned, but an opportunity for more taxation. It's akin to the toll charge to pay for a highway's building, that continues decades after it is. DC has a chronic addiction. They have no data to support their contention. Amazing to me that anyone would willingly & intelligently support vast, widespread & pervasive taxation on everything & anything based on the PR statement of it's "purpose". If we don't start objectively examining the circumstances, motivations and money trails beyond the PRs, we're doomed to financial servitude.
  7. balthazar
    "probably have to get taxed" is the guiding mantra of Big Gov't. Blech. Would love to see the scientific hard data on the additional 'road damage' of a 5500 LB vehicle vs. one that weighs 3000. IF –and this is a huge 'if' IMO– this can in any slipshod manner be quantified by D.C., one can actually hear from here the salivating at the tax rate on 80,000 LB vehicles ("Never mind that Revenue behind the curtain!").
  8. balthazar
    Another Nomad today! '55, white with red scallops, chrome wheels, very nice shape, rolling. '62-65 Nova 2-dr hardtop, blue, stock down to spinner hubcaps, very clean.
  9. balthazar
    Range Rover has overly wide, rubber band street tires; not well suited for off-road, only pavement. I saw a road test in a mag of the G vs. the GC and the approach angles on the Jeep were slightly more accommodating. GC also has another gear.
  10. balthazar
    I think you'd do much better off-road in a Grand Cherokee.
  11. balthazar
    '56 T-bird, black, nice, parked. 62-64 Studebaker GT Hawk, red w/ gold roof, decent, parked on street.
  12. balthazar
    NO ONE takes these off-road, so that's a non-issue. I don't believe anyone likes the looks/features, drivability either, I believe 100% of the sales are for 1 single reason : "Look how much money I spent!". G has no place in the MB lineup - not only is it completely out-of-step stylistically, it's out-of-step with the 21st century. "It's good enough" is what got GM on the (far) downside of it's bell curve. daimler should put the G to permanent rest.
  13. balthazar
    '72 Monte Carlo, dark green, clean, up on the lift with the rear open.
  14. balthazar
    The German W-body Impala (to the 3rd power).
  15. balthazar
    Most of the 'old time' hardware stores are gone in central NJ. There's one in Lambertville, tho that's right about 60 mins from me. The one good hardware store by me had nothing like it. I need a display that looks like it's 75 yrs old. There's a hydraulics shop about 20 mins away I will try soon. The 2 'big truck' service centers had nothing, in fact one carried nothing for hydraulics- they were mostly all air. EDIT : The hydraulics shop had nothing. A great old-time place in Trenton is long closed now- I'll bet boxes upon boxes of NOS parts went right into the dumpster. The guys running it were old men when I was there 20 years ago. Looks like it's the used circuit next.
  16. balthazar
    ^ That's not a 1974 Dodge sedan...
  17. balthazar
    '67-esque Ranchero, green, nice clean shape, parked in driveway. '73 Riviera, pale yellow, very clean unrestored, burned the tires pulling out into the main street right in front of me.
  18. balthazar
    Went to 4 different places looking for the hydraulic fitting adapter so I can attach my brakes hoses to the wheel cylinders. 1 is missing (I can reuse the other) and no one has anything like it. Perks of working on a 74-yr old vehicle, I guess.
  19. balthazar
    COE, happily, has wood floors (as small as the square footage may be). Above are the original & a newly fabricated replacement of the driver's toeboard. The steel plates encircle the steering column and the brake & clutch pedal arms. Below the column is the dimmer switch. Pass toeboard is done, have to make the 2 floorboards next.
  20. balthazar
    '68-70 Chevy C10 shortbed, red, very clean, parked. '56 Chevy Nomad, blue, looked original but unrestored, owner tinkering under the dash in the driveway. The roofless carcass of a '34 Olds for sale in a driveway, half under a tarp.
  21. balthazar
    Unfortunately, rust attacks sheet metal from both sides. How much to wrap my truck :
  22. balthazar
    It did when I bought it, but hasn't in a number of years. Not stuck tho; that I checked last month. I bought it in '03, it's been inside since '05. - - - - Here's the front backing plate. Lots of decades-old dried grease. I painted this inside & out, since. Here's the rear of the frame. I whacked about 10" off each rear rail, moved the tow hooks forward, and welded in a 4"x1/4" piece of angle iron to join the 2 rails at their end, plus added a 1/2-in carriage bolt thru the top. To the far right in the above pic is the hanger bracket for a mud flap (if I chose to observe the law here) and beyond that is the rear hanger for the spring pack.
  23. balthazar
    Been working on my Cab Over starting a few weeks ago. Here she be : Whole brake system needs a go-thru; I had the wheel cylinders bored & sleeved a number of years ago, along with new brake hoses. Last week or so I've been bending new brake lines. One front brake is all rebuilt, but I think I'm going to take it apart again & check it over/ regrease the contact points. Brake lines are pretty easy when they're pre-flared. Tonight I see the Co. that did the brake work, put the wrong fittings on the front brake hoses, pretty sloppy when they had the wheel cylinders in hand. Auto parts store tomm to see if there's an adapter... - - - Next up is the wiring. The factory fuse block looks servicable, but the wiring is horribly bad and will have to be 100% replaced. One would think this would be laughably easy; there's only TWO fuses in the fuse block, but there sure are a lot of wires snaking around for zero power equipment. Probably a good vehicle to learn on; very few circuits and excellent access.
  24. balthazar
    This is a badge-jobbed nissan? No thanks.
  25. balthazar
    First off, jumping a fine by a factor of TEN is ridiculous, but because they can & NO ONE can stop them, why not make it a factor of 50? Secondly, I'd be much more willing to believe the cover story if the money went to something like, say, a victim's fund or medical costs, etc, rather than yet another slush fund Big Gov't can swipe from at will. Because you know that's what will happen if the check is made out to the DOT. It just smells bad (as usual). Frankly, recall promptness should be a culture of business. This has to come from the people in positions of authority & policy in said corporations, in addition to company policy. Forcing it will only get it tied up in legal for a decade or so.
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