balthazar

There was one about 10 minutes from me.... tho that had to be a good 8 years ago. I like all the flat front pickups: Dodge A100, Econoline, the FC Jeeps- just different.

MAYBE if the 'SB' term DID pass out of usage, I could get past the association with Chevrolet & my unacceptance of said termed motor in a Cadillac. Still working to get past the 'Corporate engine' announcement.

>>"The Northstar is not a Small Block to begin with. In general, the term "Small Block" applies to GM Pushrod V8 engines with an 111.76 bore center spacing. "<< Correction :: the term "small block" is a relative term to differentiate between 2 V-8s of markedly different external dimensions in the same marque. It has nothing "in general" to do with an internal dimension. Chevy, Buick, Olds, Ford, Merc, Plymouth, Dodge all had small blocks.... because they also had big blocks at the same time. For the catalyst for the term, note than 'SBC' was not applied to the Chevy V-8 when it debuted for '55; it wasn't until the big block 348 showed up in '58 that the term was ever used. However, in recent times, the term has become synonymous with the GM corporate V-8 that has decended / replaced the traditional SBC. BTW, the BBC V-8 went out of production last year, IIRC, so by rights, the term 'SB' should fade out of use over time.

Super wweet white/ gold '71 Riv, excellent shape w/ collector plates, ripping down the highway and gaining on nearly everyone.

Industrial archeology IS terrifically interesting. There was a house 2 doors down from my grandfather's, for some reason it was moved around the corner in the early '70s, less than .75 miles away. I suspect it was to get off a busier roadway. I & my brother dug around a house and dug a new basement hole so that it could be moved from 30' off the road to about 200' off the road, on the same property... tho in this case, money was not a major concern. Sam- what's the rumor WRT the railcar- just want to find it?? A guy I worked with told me a story, there was a boxcar on a siding, and "a whole bunch of kids from the neighborhood pushed it into the woods so they could break into it and get at the beer inside". This guy is a regular BSer, so I don't necc believe it (HOW heavy would a RR boxcar be, again??). Long-gone industry and life in general always intriques. For sure, we cannot learn anything from the future, and I have little hope for the betterment of man as man there, either.

And the XTS as presented is much more than merely a hybrid powertrain in an old vehicle.

SAmadei~ try historicaerials.com - they have shots of Jersey back to the '30s. If you can locate your specific structures in question, you can cross-reference google-earth with it (Jersey is, for some reason, one of the only states where images go back that far) and maybe learn what was there. With railroad-related stuff... someone has maps of tracks going all the way back- those have been relatively well mapped over the years. That info is out there somewhere.

Took an up-close pic of the marks in question last summer, just stumbled across it on my camera. Here 'tis : The marks are spray-painted. Unquestionably the same exact stone. They were there in 1948, looking somewhat dated (thinner), and they are still there today, repainted at some point I would guess in the last 20 years. That'd be since 1990. Nearby station was a hideous ruin in the 1970s, has been gone since the 1980s. This is up in the mountains of NY State, and foot traffic is nil here. Railroad work here since they took up the 2nd track circa 1980 : nil. Still puzzled by this- will have to seriously investigate the immediate area next summer.

Since we were talking about a potential March meet, and in that a date is totally unset @ this point, just want to put it out there that I am not going to be avaiable the first 2 weeks of March. Still interested in meeting up & seeing the stuff - hope something the latter half of the month works out (the later the better).

The hell with the house; we need dimensions (including overhead) of the garage, and pics. Power supply, tool/equipment plans, storage potential, automobilia thoughts, c'mon... Seriously: Yahoo for you & yours.

Gotta love it when stereotypes get destroyed.

Interesting, but somewhat vague: >>"$21.6 billion in sales and benefits"<< NASA sells stuff ?? What is a "benefit" ?? Would like more info here. >>"jobs created or saved"<< >>"$355 million in federal corporate income taxes ('76-84)"<< Sounds like a LOT, but '76's budget alone was 3.6 Billion. Still, its enough for me to keep my mind open. Like I said above- I don't have an issue with what NASA does, my impression was toward what I thought it cost.

I heard that 49 out of 50 states have / had snow so far. Al Gore must be sh!tting himself. Had 2-3 inches of the fluffiest snow I have ever seen, but it was self-melting off the roads, so I didn't have to plow Monday night. But this crap doesn't seem to be melting much in general, either.

>>"when you compare a 4 liter DOHC V8 and a 6.2 liter Pushrod V8, the amount of reduction in bore friction may be more than offset by the increase in valvetrain drag."<< This would be very interesting to examine scientifically. I don't think bore differences, and the accompanying smaller piston rings (the friction source there) is going to be detectable without specific instrumented testing. Do not forget side loading --> increased friction of larger pistons, too. Stroke differences should be more demostratable, but it looks like most modern motors are over-square designs anyway; minimizing things there as much as performance goals allow. Whats far more likely a source IMO is lifters (IBC: 8, DOHC: 0) and cam bearings (IBC: 5, DOHC: 20). What this net friction tests out as, IDK. Let's leave the rockers in both as rollers, tho again (IBC: 16, DOHC: 32 (or more)). I would like to see the common sense test of this: taking the same car and replacing the engine from one type to another & running careful MPG tests on both combos. The honda EX above could also involve preferences of performance capability & engine costs, that together may trump putting the s2000 4 in the civic.

>>"It's amazing how nobody was able to touch Ford between 1911 and 1926, and then the 1927 Chevy came in and swooped up top sales and Chevy's first million units in a year."<< Keep in mind Ford shut down production for more than half of the model year to switch over to Model A production; this was not 'the superior Chevy shut down Ford' per say.

IF true, then the program is free to the point of being a money-maker, bottom-line. IF true, then, I'm all for NASA. But somehow I doubt that NASA has made 'several hundred billion' TIMES 7, tho (or times any factor)... but I'm willing to be proven wrong.

>>"-The rate of return on our investment comes in at $7 for every $1 spent."<< Wait- a 700% return on space exploration ??? How is this measured, exactly ?? If true, let's fly our budget deficet (sp) to the moon !!!

DL- the only difference in your Chevy/Cadillac EX is that for Chevy; that's a positive, for Cadillac, it's a negative. Chevy has far greater volume, but Cadillac has far higher profit margins. What the exact present #s are, and what will play out down the road is unknown to me. Again I see merit in your post, but understand I come from the 'first windo' WRT Cadillac- I am as familiar with the dawn of the marque as I am of the present (VERY likely moreso) and the journey from there to here. And for 70-some years, a Cadillac engine was only found in a Cadillac, and (at the risk of making an smk-esque leap of logic) Cadillac grew all during those 70-some years. The perception was buffed to a high luster and proprietory engineering was a major factor in that. Who can make the stand AGAINST the fact that engineering became the first lynch pin to drop @ Cadillac ?? 350 diesels ('78-up, Olds-built), 1.8L/ 2.0L 4-cyls in Cimarron ('81-up, Chevy built), 4.1L V6 in full-size ('82-up, Buick-built). IMO ^^ the grease at the top of the slide. Something to always keep in the back of one's mind.

>>"NASA has always been a political football. Its lifeblood is money, and it has been losing blood for several decades. The only hope now for a life-saving transfusion to stop the hemorrhaging is Congress."<< 'Hemorrhaging' = bleeding. Giving a transfusion while bleeding is ongoing & unchecked is largely pointless. >>"After 50 years and several hundred billion dollars, the accomplishments of NASA and the U.S. space program in science, technology and exploration are unchallenged. They are admired, respected and envied by people and countries around the world. Our space program has provided inspiration to the human spirit for young and old alike. It said proudly to the world that Americans could accomplish whatever they set their minds to. Young people have always been inspired with talk of sending explorers to the planets."<< In no way are these bolded things unimportant or insignificant... but recognize that they are all emotional responses...... emotional responses that cost "several hundred billions". Is space travel cool? YES! Is it massively expensive meanwhile being completely elective? YES! Simply put: I have no problem with a space program, even without widespread, demostratable benefits to everyday Joe, PROVIDED there's money for it. Right now, funding emtional responses should not be high on the list of things to spend money on that we don't have.

dwightlooi ~ >>'LS3 - chain-driven 16v pushrods'<< Typo, no? Of course the camshaft is chain-driven.. but seems very odd to call a IBC valvetrain 'chain-driven'. Interesting. DL- you make a strong argument I cannot disagree with on the surface of it. By engineering & business-case parameters, the LS3 in your chart is superior & your point is proven, IMO. Where I must part ways with your POV is market perception. Cadillac can have a IBC V-8 AS LONG AS it is proprietory and never shared with another division. Too many will bash it for 'using a Chevy motor' (as if there were such a thing anymore).

Is "6-8 weeks" from order to build, or to delivery? Because if it's 'to build'- she agreed via the order to wait 6-8 weeks, and Jan 16 ~ Mar 21 is 9 weeks. Big deal. I CAN'T call that 'jumping thru hoops' in the least. The factor of her current car disintigrating is indeed a driving, frustrating factor, tho it sounds like she pushed her situation with her DD to the brink and forced herself into that corner to a degree. No guarantee she'll find what she specifically wants on another lot, either.

I understand the no bedliner because of the tonneau... but slide-ins get a bad rap, IMO. I had a factory one (wrapped over the bedsides) installed @ the dealer when I bought my '94 new, and I took it out when I clunkered it 15 years later :: no dirt, no leaves, no rot/rust... just some scuffing on the bed bottom back near the tailgate. And I had 3/4-ton springs in my 1/2-ton; the truck definately was "jacked up' - so rainwater could certainly overflow the back edge of the bedliner & run underneath. When they wrap over the bedsides (and I'd would imagine when they tuck under the rails, too)- they keep the bed pretty well preserved. BTW- I ALSO ran a rubber mat in the bedliner, to keep stuff from sliding around. Have the same set-up in my 2500HD. -- -- -- -- -- I read a huge thread on another board about spray-in bedliners, and it seems from all the input there that Line-X trumps Rhino for longevity & durability, plus appearance to a degree.

Watch your back, and thanks !!

Knowing the '04 Duramax HD (6-ton tow rating), I can't imagine what was neccesary to change to up the rating- these are complete monsters.

Back from 20 hours of plowing. Have another few to do touching up tomm. Still vibrating from the motion. 19" here. Shoveled the truck out of being stuck 3 or 4 times. Swore often under the midnight sun. Monday better not drop more than 1"- I am completely out of room to stack snow, unless driveways become an option. '90 GMC was a real trooper (no, not an Izusu, Drew). I don't know what muffler(s) are on it, Flowmasters?, but the 350 rumbles & growl most addictively.