Ace-Garageguy

There's a related issue in litigation with John Deere regarding "right to repair", stemming from the manufacturer trying to lock out non-corporate techs from servicing the machines. I haven't checked lately, but that outcome should be interesting...at best establishing "legal precedent" when similar cases inevitably come up against other OEMs.

There was a time in the military when failure to maintain adequate standards of proficiency had significant consequences for both officers and the men serving under them. The consequences to a civilian shipping company will become an inability to get cargos, as insurers refuse to accept the risk inherent in poorly trained crews.

Contrary to a lot of rebleated misinformation, manufacturers are not necessarily required to maintain stocks of parts for vehicles that are out of OEM warranty. (EDIT: though they are required to keep parts "available" for emissions-related systems). Many electronic modules and devices are simply not available from the aftermarket currently, and those that are are frequently of poor quality and don't last long. The car in this vid is going to have to go to a Jag dealer because of so many interrelated trouble codes, and due to the age of the thing, the owner may be SOL. I've seen the estimated cost of repairs on newer vehicles exceed the value of the vehicle by a significant margin. EDIT: Those fancy "multi speed (8+)" automatic gearboxes are particularly expensive to replace, and many necessary repair parts are just not available anywhere. This is a dose of reality for everybody who truly believes newer is automatically better. Unfortunately, this is very typical of what we're seeing more and more frequently...and some manufacturers are adding additional layers to the computer interface so that independent shops can't even talk to them AT ALL.

Early in my career, I wasn't too picky about using exactly the OEM gage metal to repair rusty floors...though seeing diamond-plate stick-welded into cars kinda chapped my backside...but as the value of old cars increased and my skills improved, I found I derived a lot more satisfaction, and made more money, if I limited myself to working for clients who'd pay to have things put back like they were originally, even when no replacement panels were available and everything had to be hand-fabbed. That was around the time I got involved in doing composite repairs too, and an offshoot of that was finding an epoxy-based material that could be used for making matched press-dies for sheetmetal, made by a local chemical company that also supplied the Lockheed plant here.

..."sheetmetal from a refrigerator"..."cool"...

Most likely that depends on who's picking up the tab for the losses. Insurers can bring a lot of power to bear on changing regs that potentially endanger their profits.

Not exactly life-changing, but Floyd's "A Momentary Lack of Reason" kinda helped me work through the demise of an unfortunate relationship with a beautiful woman who had, apparently, no use for the concepts of monogamy and honesty. Lyrics to "One Slip" , a constant reminder to look very carefully before I leap in the future. A restless eye across a weary roomA glazed look and I was on the road to ruinThe music played and played as we whirled without endNo hint, no word her honour to defendI will, I will she sighed to my requestAnd then she tossed her mane while my resolve was put to the testThen drowned in desire, our souls on fireI lead the way to the funeral pyreAnd without a thought of the consequenceI gave in to my decadence One slip, and down the hole we fallIt seems to take no time at allA momentary lapse of reasonThat binds a life for lifeA small regret, you won't forget,There'll be no sleep in here tonightWas it love, or was it the idea of being in love?Or was it the hand of fate, that seemed to fit just like a glove?The moment slipped by and soon the seeds were sownThe year grew late and neither one wanted to remain alonesource: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/p/pinkfloydlyrics/momentarylapseofreasonlyrics.html Of course a lot of critics who live to hear themselves pontificate about stuff they're incapable of creating and probably don't understand anyway hated the album, but that's OK by me. And that's my essay.

True, but what's always hard for me to totally swallow in "accidental" catastrophic losses like this is the apparent lack of training and preparedness of a crew to deal with what would initially be a small, easily controlled fire. Shades of the Bonhomme Richard debacle. “ 'Although the fire was started by an act of arson, the ship was lost due to an inability to extinguish the fire,' according to the investigation, which was written by Vice Adm. Scott Conn, then-commander of Third Fleet. ...the Navy’s investigation into the fire found that the Bonhomme Richard’s crew was ill-prepared and under-trained to contain the fire once it broke out. 'Once the fire started, the response effort was placed in the hands of inadequately trained and drilled personnel from a disparate set of uncoordinated organizations that had not fully exercised together and were unfamiliar with basic issues to include the roles and responsibilities of the various responding entities,' reads the investigation."

That's pretty cool...

Well, the ship could be getting a little long in the tooth and the owners looking at a major refit. Wouldn't be the first time corporations did a backroom deal that was "mutually beneficial", so to speak. Not a conspiracy theory..."just sayin'", as they say. But a wise man once said "never ascribe to evil what is more likely just the product of incompetence".

If I posted mine, I'd be banned for life. EDIT: But this pretty well sums it up...

Hasn't run in about a decade, and nobody there knows the first thing about Corvairs...except me...and I'm not getting involved.

Annoying, isn't it? I've found dozens of my build thread pix posted elsewhere, not by me. Nobody exactly taking credit for my work, but the implication is pretty strong. I wish there was a destruct-button built into all of 'em.

Hey...one way to keep cashflow going during the global "chip shortage": load a bunch of unfinished cars on a ship, burn it in the middle of the ocean, collect the insurance. Probably more cost-effective than waiting in line at LA / Long Beach behind 60+ other container ships. EDIT: And in that scenario, once they were finally unloaded, you'd still have truckloads of unsalable yard-art with no chips.

Nice collection. Good stuff. Fascinating info.

Another way, and more in keeping with the way you'd do it on a real one, is to simply cut the stub axle off the front spindle, and move it UP on the spindle the exact amount you want to lower the car. In real life, they sell things called "dropped spindles" that are just exactly the same idea. Measuring accurately is critical, as is making certain your work is neat, square, and symmetrical from side to side.

Great stuff. What was the story on the shoebox Ford stretch?

I'm always in awe of the folks who'll bid in $1 increments hours or days before the end of an auction. Do you really think that nobody else is going to bump your bid by another dollar in 3 days? Really? All it accomplishes is running the price up needlessly...so of course it's encouraged by eBay: "Bid NOW so you can get a deal !!!" But logic isn't a strong seller these days.

Congrats. I'm busier since I officially "retired" than I was before. Lots to do...just because I want to. James Dean is supposed to have said "Dream like you're going to live forever. Live like this day is your last". Pretty much on-point, I think.

Yup, I could definitely suffer through a long road trip in that. Need to put a hitch on it to pull a trailer full of gas money though...'cause I sure couldn't keep my foot out of it.

Beautiful job. Nice cars to drive, simple and reliable, quick enough to be entertaining. The overhead shot showing the white piping on the seats is particularly realistic. How'd you do it? Is it shown on the build thread?

Looks like the MIG might actually look better on some chrome window and side trim with enough practice. Looks like it might be just the ticket for doing some flat drag-car interior "tin" that was the subject of another thread.

The fuel line would go to a banjo-fitting on the side of the float chamber, just to the side of the velocity stack on your model. Scroll 2/3 down the link below, page 14 if it displays as a PDF, look at parts 15-18 on what appears to pretty much be your exact carb: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/547e5122e4b0193d67f28396/t/5854ddf6725e25b3b4c06d52/1481956877861/Amal+MK2+Carb+Manual.pdf