balthazar

>>"Funny, I thought your list would be longer."<< Average model year I've owned is still 1965- I've had a LOT of 64-65-66 cars. There's a bunch I would love to own, esp a half dozen Caddys from the '50s. I'd love a chopped '49-50 Merc- have lusted over these all my life it seems. '57 Eldo, '56 Roadmonster, '53 CdV, '56 Merc, '57 DeSoto, '61 DeSoto... long long list of wants here, some stock, some custom. Came real close to owning : '58 CdV, '60 CdV, '56 Buick Super Riviera, and my first was nearly a '51 Hudson Pacemaker Custom Brougham coupe.

There's a beautiful black GTO 5.7L across from my M-I-L in the inner city. Usually parked on the street, the owner dotes on it. I talked to him last year- he was going to ship it to TX and have a PMD 455 powertrain installed, but hasn't as of yet. It's a beaut. You are right- many will die hard & too early, but these are not mainstream 4-dr sedans; I guarantee you a (minority) percentage will be babied & preserved. Prying them out of their owner's fingers... and when, is another question.

Hi. '59 Buick Invicta '59 Buick Electra (parts car) '57 Ford F-250 Would love to add more... as long as I could swing a turn-key car. I'm done with restorations

AS I see it; maintaining a good condition '90s vehicle is all well & good (WRT future possible collectibles), but the nature of this era makes full-scale restorations prohibitive or impossible. The electronics & the sheer volume of time-sensitive plastics (with no aftermarket repro) makes it a formidable job compared to -say- a '66 Chevelle. I also don't see many 3rd gen F-bodies on the road, tho I have spotted a number 'parked for future projects'. I cannot recall the prices, but in a discussion w/ my brother, he said both a Prowler & a GNX went for big $$ at BJ. -- -- -- -- -- >>"I would hazard a guess that cars such as the GTO and G8 GXP among others will probably be abused in the long run and may not fair so well. "<< This will be like the musclecars of yore: a polarized result. Many will be abused / preventibly wrecked, but the position of these 2 among enthusiasts is well-known : some will be babied & saved with regards for the future. Those that are used as regular transportation until their life is over will be the minority.

>>"This is where I part company with "conservatives" because I think simple, effective regulation of light pollution/energy wastage could save us a huge amount of energy."<< I have never heard a proclaimed conservative advocating blazing lights 24/7. 'Conservatively' speaking; regulation of commercial lighting should be of little to no issue. There already are a host of local ordinances to comply with. Having a shopping mall dim it's parking lot lights to -say- 35% at night and -say- completely off or cycle on/off from 2AM on... something on that order- is not unreasonable in anyone's book. But you cannot legislate private property lighting nor should you try. Stick with conservation education there.

Something I've taken notice of recently while out driving in the middle of the night. Some commercial/ retail businesses are completely lit up all night long: parking lots & signage, too. Complete waste of energy- these should be minimally lit & dimmed while at it. This cannot be prohibitively expensive to retro-fit for, and there's no reason to keep everything lit- the businesses that are darkened or very minimally lit are NOT going to be statistically any more prone to vandalism or break-ins. Why this is not targeted urgently, I have no idea, but the practice is rampant.

One can certainly find peace & harmony in a (box wrench) in hand.

Would like to learn more on exactly how buildings emit 'greenhouse gases'. Is this only taking in the intial product/material production, or does it also include existing buildings & their HVA/C system output ? -- -- -- -- -- I like animals fine, have lived w/ a number, but I think in general the practice gets abused to a degree. I see MANY owners who keep dogs out in the yard 24/7 - that's not a 'companion', that's captivity. There's no point to it. Our cat was put down in '07 after 16 years, and I have no desire to replace him with any sort of indoor pet, likely ever. I do not care to be beholden to an animal at this point in my life. But the number of animals out there is staggering, yes.

>>"the garage is what i like though, 15' x 46' ooorah!"<< We'll need some inspection-quality shots of this (assumedly) basement garage. For your garage CO, you know. BTW- according to your county's charter, anything over 6 acres requires a mandated mini-junkyard of iron older than 1970 and totaling no less than 5 vehicles. You are well advised to begin accumulation immediately. -- -- -- -- -- I'm with XP & usonia: no complaints, holding steady, edging forward business-wise... tho some future monies are getting lined up... for the future. Unspecified, but spoken of in glowing analogies. I cannot even think about 2 thin dimes going toward the Buick.... but is it possibly possible ???

This doesn't surprise me in the LEAST. When the mitsubishi disaster broke (and was immediately forgotten), it revealed the true inner japanese corporate culture, not the cultivated mask of benevolence & customer concern, but ruthless lies to preserve a false image. Here is toyota doing the exact same thing, an automaker the LEAST pressured to do so due to expanding sales & monster (criminal ??) profits. 19 needlessly dead because of shoddy engineering and the lies to cover it up to protect stockholders. 8,xxx recalls in 2000, 4,8xx,xxx in 2009, or 600 times the volume of merely 9 years earlier. And yes- there is more, MUCH more to be uncovered.

WK- can you get in touch with the GSCA or other turbo Buick clubs and see if they'd be willing to help 'save' a nice 'build' Buick by running an ad thru their clubs ?? A long shot, and maybe not nearly as prompt as you need...

Have known & been friends with a number of gays (having been in the art field for years; not so since being in construction, tho). Even have an openly gay family member. I have no problem with people living their own lifestyles, but as I don't push my issues on others, I'd thank others not to push their issues on me. And I'd especially thank others not to disparage me for not taking up their issues when I have no stake in them or plain choose not to. If I can respect your choices, you should respect mine... or you WILL lose mine. Co-exist, bring civility, respect privacy, value individuality. Most of the rest should follow.

A LOT of the AC Delco filters got way too small. PF-24 was the 'regular' sized unit, but a common modern one was the PF-47, a 'small' one. They should never be smaller than the old PF-24s, IMO, regardless of the engine or oil recommendation.

NAPA / Wix here. FL-1A is a 'big boy' filter, my 300 Ford took them; no doubt the volume of filtration material has something to do with it being a 'good one', tho I thought 'FL-1A' was a Motorcraft designation. Most filters are too small anymore, IMO.

{Wonders when huge dollop poised over driveway will fall from roof and freeze infront of garage door}. So that's the domicile, eh? What would that be termed- a 'bi-duplex' ? IMO, I'd keep to similar shingle colors if you do your half, since the only visual difference (beside garage door windows) is shutter color.

Back from 20 wonderous hours in the winter wonderland. Truck had a few issues: heat was tolerable, but could not clear the windshield & side glass from ice/fog. Then, after making but 2 passes down the main drag, I lost the hydraulics. Blade laid on the road like a dead frog. I waited for over 2 hours for someone else to show (after repeated SOSs) -their truck had broken down on the way- so we could chain up the blade and I could get down to the repair shop about 30 minutes away. Radiator was quite low, topped it off. By the dash gauge it was only running 140-150 deg. Inspection suggested there was also no thermostat, so even tho I had a bit more heat & could keep the windshield clear, now the truck was running at about 120-deg. They decided not to swap one in. Yip. Guess it's up to me before the next snow. In reading Camino's ROPOS thread- I have 2 of the same other issues: no plow lights and only 1 sharply-bent corner guide. Guess I'l install some new ones (plus the 'stat). Left my house @ 3:45PM, got back in @ 3;15AM. Slept about 4 hours, then plowed another 8.25 hr. total. I put 166 miles on the clock, most of them at about 10 MPH. The short wheelbase was very helpful, tho this particular job might be even better suited logistically to a CJ5 with a plow. Fun in a way, breaks up the monotony, now let's not have anymore snow until mid-Jan, thanx.

I thought the justy was the 3-cyl econobox ? They had AWD, or did I whoops! misfile a subaru factoid? Was in a small old-time town, and I could smell the vintage iron. Side street- a gorgeous white '63 Sedan deVille, no 'QQ' plates or anything, curb-parked. 5 minutes later (same town): a truely pristine '69 Sedan deVille, sort of a greenish-gold. You could see the crazy factory upholstery, what with no clunky B-pillar in the way. Wow was it fresh.

Truck belongs to my buddy; I don't want to put a plow on my Silverado (153" wheelbase = plow truck fail). Esp my assignment- all circular loops off a main branch. Duh- it's a GMC Sierra; I read something else in the glovebox that made me think it was a Chevy. This era is not of my interest, so whether a GMC grille snaps into a Chevy mouth, I wouldn't know. Heat is marginal, I drove it earlier for 30 minutes and got it maybe to 60 inside. Workable, but not the best. Just got the call to go push, so I'm off. Still only showing about an inch here, tho it's started up again for the last hour (real fine), but the property manager there claims he has about 3" on his sidewalk and we have a 2" trigger.

I count myself lucky to have been in touch with things well after they were considered 'unfashionable' - it lends one a perspective that most people lack. My B-I-L has lived in the house his mother & aunt's grew up in (since 1917) since 1997. He only dropped the party line there within the last maybe 7 years, and not only does he still have a single rotary phone, but he RENTS IT FROM THE PHONE Co. OK- he's a strange one. I just replaced my 1980s rotary 2nd landline phone with a pushbutton one last year. Dial >< button- who cares ?? I still have a 3rd 'Cyclops Eye' 1941 rotary phone in the study closet- infrequently used but online. It's an 'extension' phone- it has no ringer bells. OK- that one dials amazingly slow, but it's fun... and the sounds of it makes doing it are priceless.

>>"First thing ya gotta do is hit Wawa for hot coffee and a snack."<< Gotta have a WaWa! No coffee here; not a coffee drinker. Tasty WaWa black (ice) tea spiked with a Mach W and a Kashi 'Go Lean' bar keeps me rolling for a few hours. 10:15 report - snow has basically STOPPED here at a 'dangerous' accumulation of .75". Plow truck sits, dusted & cold. Here she be (note the cowl hood for X-tra Performance). Daylight also revelas she wears a GMC grille (tho it's registered as a Chevy) :

>>"Quirky but Loved "<< by exactly 104 individual people worldwide. >>"American sales for Saab peaked at 48,250 in 1986"<< someone look thru my saab comments, find where I said 'saab peaked in the '80s', and I meant in relevence, not necc sales. I remember the brand & it's image then, it was the go-to source for turbo cars (which then were uncommon & 'new'), and yes; it was quirky. The company blitzed the (print) media with advertising. But saab has failed to bring anything new to the table since the '80s (except for numerous proprietory designs of Torx fasteners), it's like if Cadillac were still marketing all FWD, chopped-down, gutless, wire-wheel-capped marshmellows ALA 1985 in 2009. You CAN'T do that and expect to survive, even as part of a huge conglomerate. And saab partially dug their own grave via nationalistic pride in fighting GM and the economies of scale they sold themselves in order to take advantage of. Oblivious. >>"Auto enthusiasts across the country were dismayed by the news Friday that General Motors was planning to shut down Saab"<< Damn, I somehow missed the numerous articles documenting the country-wide dismay at the news that Pontiac was being discontinued. Someone point me to them. Saab has been a collosal waste of time & money for GM, easily among the top 5 mistakes in the Corporation's history. A black hole. And the Core Divisions have suffered because of it (terminally in the case of Olds & Pontiac). That's unacceptable in IMO.

Nothing very exciting, and I admit I muttered 'mechanical a$$hole' after I found a few bugs, but how much can you expect from a 20-yr old truck that's been beaten & abused? 1990 Chevy, 350, 4-spd auto, 4WD, RC/SB, black, red velour interior (reeks of smoke), power windows & locks, tilt, aftermarket radio w/ 8-disc CD changer. Clock says 108K.... I dunno.... Wipers are pretty choppy (not just the blades), switching to high beams shuts the headlights OFF, plow lights don't seem to work, it's wearing wide street tires, no tailpipes- so it RUMBLES.... it is what it is, and as long as it has traction & heat, it'll make me money. And I got my special request: a flashing yellow roof light. Whoopie. Took a pic, but a black truck in the 11:30PM blackness of my backyard just doesn't show anything up. Will try again tomm.- should show up well against snow. Meanwhile, it's off to sleep until a 4AM weather check. I have a whole 'development' to plow, I'll try and count the houses to give an idea of the size, plus a few driveways here & there. Here's to white roads & green quarters !

Seems like a VG price for an amazing machine (the Toro). Don't think there's much in the way of repro for these, unfortunately.

>>"altima is FWD. G37 is RWD"<< Ahh yes. Hard to remember when viewing them.

>>"If you like a G37 and can't afford it, you get the Genesis. Most definitely over an Altima or Accord coupe."<< I don't get this :: the altima coupe & G37 are 'badge-engineered'- same proportions, chassis, powertrain, no?