balthazar

If you have a forced air NG furnace & the power is out, how is the furnace's blower motor powered ?? I suppose there might be a battery backup system for such, but I've never heard of/encountered such.

Really hate yellows on cars. 1938 Cadillac Italian Cream : 1953 Cadillac Artisan Ochre :

A few questions. I thought you had said on another thread that diesels benefited most from using DOHC due to the superior breathing offered from DOHC and the lack of air obstructions in diesels. It would certainly make intuitive sense that an engine that always runs lean would benefit most from using a DOHC valvetrain. IIRC; the emphasis was on 4-valve heads for air flow, not DOHC. Duramax is an IBC 4-valve design- best of both worlds in some instances.

Hoo boy, I don't know I could list them all. Maybe I can break it into segments : Drilling ~ I have my first corded C-Man 3/8" drill, mid '90s- basement shop backup. Dremel & 72-piece acc. kit : I don't have much use for it (light duty). (2) Makita Li-Ion cordless 3/8" drills plus an impact driver. Drill #1 has driven thousands upon thousands of screws, quality piece. DeWalt 1/2" corded drill- I don't know the amps offhand but I always use it with 2 hands. Bosch Bulldog SDS hammer drill. Sprunger table-top 12" drill press, 4-speed, late '60s. Index Model 55 milling machine, 12-speed, 1940, weighs about 2000 lbs. Superior 'camelback' floor model, 20", circa 1880, resto candidate. killed : C-Man 14V cordless 3/8" drill. I have another small table-top drill press, never used it, I believe it's Taiwanese. Works fine, needs to go. Sold a small C-Man table drill press last fall, light duty. I really like Makita drills. Compact & relatively lightweight. Rigid feels a bit more powerful, but they're much heavier to work with- gets tiring. DeWalt falls between the 2. Cutting~ Makita chop saw, 10", cast iron base, maybe early '80s, I use it to cut scrap & firewood. Makita 2708 8.5" table saw, circa 1990, hand-me-down from my brother, still kicking ass. DeWalt DW715 12" chop saw, what a nice piece- love it. Friend just picked up a C-Man 10" chop saw- piece of junk (the laser is off about 1 degree and the fence is bowed). Useless for trim work. DeWalt circular saw Milwaukee Super SawZAll, 1990s Central Pneumatic angle air grinder. This cheap piece of crap is almost 20 years old, still slicing steel pretty well. Black & Decker jig saw, 1960s, works great (but doesn't like overly thick material). Just replaced my B&D grinder (worn out) with a Bosch. Bosch makes some smooth, powerful motors. Fien MultiMaster- the best in this field. Bosch Pony router, nice piece. Rockwell 14" band saw. Used regularly- indispensable.

Hungerford Rocket Car

I day dream all the time about stumbling upon anything from Left Field of automobile history :

Interesting issue, Nov '79. Granatelli-built Turbine-powered Corvette road test, Turbo Trans Am, Citation vs. Omni vs. Fairmont, prediction on next gen Opel T-car (Chevette), and more. Clean issue with no damage, no musty smell. $5 (plus $3 shipping)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth-Mitsubishi-3-0L-complete-tune-up-parts-1990s-/221363979125?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item338a524375

Hudson was in Buick price territory, but I believe it was much more for stylistic reasons; the Hudson was completely leading edge in '48. Even the production Cadillac still retained non-integrated rear fenders, Hudson was ahead here. As this video highlights approach & departure views, it's styling focused.

One Man's insane GM car collection : http://www.fleetwoodcountrycruizein.com/private_collection/private_collection.html#1953

In addition to the NOS Pacer side view mirror @ $113, I also sold an NOS center console for $162.50 and the aforementioned cruise control system for $99. Not bad for stuff pulled out of a dumpster. Yes Virginia, people ARE working on Pacers. -- -- -- -- I had seen this pic of the post-war Cadillac prototype years & years ago. It is commonly ID'ed as the "Interceptor", but clearly this is a clay, 'in-progress' design study. But I love learning new auto history, and here's today's reveal: the Interceptor was obviously strongly considered, as a functional model was built. : Boy, would THAT have taken Cadillac down a different stylistic road !

Interior volume ( ) or exterior dimension, Cadillac doesn't need to be in the 'cute ute' class. Trim a bit (6" or so) off the next SRX and call that the 'floor'. Fact remains the Buick already has a entry off this architecture/size and it just becomes redundant for a small segment. I'd prefer something unique, more along the lines of the ULC rather than the 'shrunken head' of a Gamma-sized SUV.

The main line HD / Lowes tool lines are either made in China / Taiwan, but some select items are USA made, such as Channellock, and Dasco, and these 2 are quality. You have to look around.

I also am NOT in favor of an Encore-sized Cadillac SUV. Too many in favor seem forgetful about their prior protestations over GM brand overlap. Fortunately, Cadillac is NOT in the same forced box BMW & MB are in, where they have to be in every single segment because (1. they're sales whores, and 2.) they cannot make a viable sub-brand to carry these types of vehicles.

You mean flops like the maybach, don't you?

Dodgefan ~ >>"I forgot the breaker bar, Oops!"<< No way to list even a 'basic' set of all inclusive tools. I am a strong proponent of 'the right tool for the job' philosophy, so as the job changes, the tool needs to also. Agreed on the sledge / hand sledge; only time I ever used either was the same scenario; fused rim. A good, weighty hammer does most of the duty here; once you get to the 'sledge zone' you should be using air at that point, and/or heat (be careful on the plastic fantastic of modern vehicles!) I have a bunch of breaker bars, but I also have a section of pipe, about 15", that's served me well in some instances. I'd rather hammer on a pipe than a breaker bar, for example. BTW, Drew- my Buick is rust-free! Wasn't when I got it but it is now.

Modern cars are extremely tight, hence the suggestion for a thinner ratchet. Breaker bar is still a simple, good thing to have. Couldn't get the rear calipers off my '04 SIlverado without one; GM used Locktite on the threads.

I want to like the 'roto-ratchet' but when I've held them in hand, they're very bulky. Seems that those spots where micro-angle adjustment would be handy, they'd be too thick. You could do the same thing with an offset flex-head that would be 1/3rd the thickness. Good to know RE the reversible GWers- having to flip a wrench over all the time (yea, I know; mathmatically it should only me 50%, but it's more like 80% ) is an annoyance. Another good piece to have alongside a socket set is a breaker bar.

My ramblings~ Like most industries, there has been a LOT of manufacturer shuffling thru the years; Craftsman may be currently built by Apex, but they've had numerous makers over the years. The quality range for non-moving part hand tools is much closer than that for ones that do move (like ratchets). Tool hounds are usually down on all 4 of the above brands. That said, the premium brands are overpriced, IMO, but they absolutely do have some specialty & unique pieces the mainstream brands do not. Only Snap-On stuff I own (maybe a dozen pieces), I didn't pay anything for. I would recommend buying used stuff at swap meets or local auctions, too- you can get stellar deals, and the stuff is usually vintage, which is already proven & often lasts longer than new. When I needed a 1.5-in socket for my Ford's lug nuts, Craftsman wanted $30 for 1 socket. Swap meet: got a Williams (VG brand) for $4. My MAC 3/8" ratchet set must date to the late '70s, I've used the crap out of it for a few decades (3 actually) and generally on rusted stuff- have not had to replace a single piece. I've broken Husky socket stuff tho (3 pieces actually, tho I don't use them much), but they will replace them. They're maybe 10 yrs old at this point; they're OK for the price. I would not buy one of the 'master' C-Man sets, IMO they stuff a lot of seldom-used bits in the large sets- who needs 4 or 5 sets of allen wrenches? C-Man is in transition- changing manufacturers around & shipping more & more offshore. Sometimes that's of no consequence, others times its the kiss of death. In fact, I would say that I came into possession of more than half of my hand tools (I have a good quantity) for nothing (no; I didn't steal any of them). That's just good fortune / 'right place,right time' karma. As a matter of practice, I buy tools when I need them (at this point, I don't need much of anything). SK is a very good quality brand, and the Co is bringing manufacturing back on-shore. Supposedly, it's a Corporate re-focus on product. If I were to buy a large socket set, I'd check them first. I really like the ratchet box wrenches (ALA: Gearwrench), tho I have an early Crafstman set. C-M has a small thumb lever, allowing you to switch direction, but Gearwrench you have to turn the wrench, see which way it turns, then usually flip it over to go the way you want. I don't think the CM pieces are still made, unfortunately.

Nice Merc :

I just CAN'T omit the AMX/2, here, even tho it was branded a '1969'... it's just such a killer mid-engined design, my favorite:

Where have you seen it took 4-6 years to develop a model?? Engineering something completely new is another matter, but 'standard' new models? Traditional lead times were always right about 24 months. The GM '59 program shifted gears during the program- the bodies as produced were first penned Mar '57, they had to be cranking off the assembly lines in August '58 for the Sept intros, so that's 17 months. Prior to that, up to Feb '57, the bodies (very early stages of development) were totally different, and extension of the '58s. GM Styling threw all that in the trash & started new.

Of course..... these were all penned in the 1960s.

Like any decade- there's good & bad. The swelling tide of plastics was one of the Very Bad, tho.

Size looks good, but it it's merely a 'larger sausage', vs. something with a killer proportional presence like the Ciel, I'm dubious.