Ace-Garageguy

What irked me today? Excuse-making, buck-passing, mentally deficient and morally bankrupt babies masquerading as competent adults. Big-boys take the blame and take the whipping they deserve, rather than insisting that "the dog ate my homework".

Got a cheap, old-school Thrush Turbo muffler for my '89 GMC. What was on it was so rusted out, it was gassing me. The Thrush Turbo is, of course, a copy of the 1960s Corvair turbo muffler, developed by GM for very low restriction and reasonable sound levels. For a long time, it was my go-to performance muffler, and lotsa what's on the market for a lot more money is essentially the same (off-patent) design.

Yeah, but I learned early on (when I used to use newspaper to mask real cars, 50+ years back) to never let masking material touch any critical surface unless it was specifically made to resist solvents. That's a ticking bomb for people who use "cheap hardware store tape" too, as that garbage is generally made to withstand water-base latex and not much else. They'll learn when all the adhesive transfers to the model, and/or the tape is firmly glued to the surface. The inexpensive "store brand" body-shop masking paper in 12-inch wide rolls, and genuine real-car masking tape, is the best insurance you can get...available at any body-shop supply outlet. Considering what a royal PITA it is to strip a bodged paint job and re-do everything, it's money very well spent. EDIT: At least if you place any value on your time.

Yup. And the rear brakes are seized on the '86 XJ6 from sitting since 2014. Not really looking forward to that job, but I can't even load it on the transporter otherwise.

Usually, just whatever I have lying around...depending on how critical the masking is. Brown wrapping paper as apparently shown above, leftover shelf paper, newspaper, junk mail, clean plastic wrap from packaging, and I usually have a 12" roll of real-car body-shop masking paper in stock if it's something I really need to trust completely.

Kinda surprising GM hasn't licensed these for production. If ever a machine was a reflection of the society that spawned it...

Talking hysterical gibberish, or sounding like I'm having a mental seizure is much more fun...with the same results. Marketing calls are down to about one or two per week now.

Yeah, it's not the kids so much 'round here either. But whenever I see children, I immediately slow way down anyway, knowing kids can do really stupid things. And it's tough to get them cleaned out of the suspension. Unfortunately, it's primarily the "adults" who seem to think any paved area is their sole property, and it's my obligation to take care of them no matter what they might do. Some of the waddling sacks of protoplasm in the parking lots won't even get out of the way as a courtesy, but insist on walking right down the middle of the aisles. The kids at least seem to have a better sense of self-preservation.

The cars are just a reflection of a society-wide mindset that says taking personal responsibility for the control of one's own vehicle, or any aspect of one's own life for that matter, is old-think, no longer relevant. Everything is supposed to be guaranteed to be "safe" and to take care of widdle babies from cwadle to gwave. Don't bother to become a competent and skilled driver. It's hard, and it interferes with texting, taking selfies, and updating your social media accounts. Everything in the real-here-and-now world is either somebody else's fault, or somebody else's responsibility. Old man yelling at clouds? No. Just a dose of truth widdle babies don't like to swallow.

A business associate is moving his shop, made me a smokin' deal on a 20-ton Chinesium shop press. My 15-ton unit got away years ago, caught in the crossfire of another guy's divorce, and I've been making do with a little guy at the house. This thing will last forever, as seal kits for the ram are easy to come by, and cheap.

I'm justa yearnin' for a rig like this...

Lotta the opposite around here. Entitled pedestrians just step out in traffic anydammwhere, expecting drivers to slam on their brakes to accommodate their whims. Guess their mommas never taught them to look both ways before crossing the street, or to cross at crosswalks if they're designated...and to wait for the lights.

^^^ What Pete said. As for me, I'd still be more than happy to answer or clarify just about anything from my old build threads. Funny thing though...there seem to be a fair number of users who are of the opinion an older thread can't possibly have anything of value in it if it's been dormant for more than a couple of days or weeks...kinda the internet mentality in general, where anything more than a few hours old is ancient history. Their loss.

Just a note of clarification...it's really kinda OK to loosely refer to any of these things as "traction bars", as they're all "bars" that help increase traction...but only if you know the functional differences. Sloppy terminology usually leads to erroneous assumptions that everything under the same general heading is the same, and works the same way...particularly among people with no first-hand knowledge. Ladder-bars and lift-bars (once again, there are subtle differences in how those two work) are also routinely referred to as "traction bars" by a lot of folks...and again, the physics of operation is largely misunderstood or never even considered.

Prior to about '67, "traction bars" were as I noted above, i.e. Traction Masters brand. https://www.npdlink.com/product/traction-bars-traction-master-style/202903 With the development of slapper-bars to give better ride under normal conditions, the nomenclature "slapper bars" was used to differentiate between the two designs. Later, as is always the case, the definitions got cloudy...and many folks called everything that had a similar function "traction bars" (including ladder bars/lift bars, though they also function differently). But y'all can call 'em cheese doodles for all I care. People will still argue endlessly about what "lakes pipes" are too. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/slapper-bars.585811/page-2

No, they're not. They are similar, but different.

"Slapper bars" were developed for street-strip dual-purpose cars because "traction bars", by virtue of their more solid mounting, with bushings at either end, could introduce a lot of ride harshness into a vehicle. Slapper bars only function during hard acceleration, when the rubber snubber at the forward end contacts the spring to limit spring "wrap-up". They can also be easily "tuned" for conditions. The rest of the time, you can't tell they're there...other than an increase in unsprung weight that some sensitive drivers can actually feel. "Traction bars" work differently. They bolt to the spring retainer on the axle like the slappers, but also are pivoted to a solidly mounted bracket at the forward end of the spring. They eliminate any spring-wrap-up, but as I noted, they often also introduce harshness during normal driving.

They're more correctly called "slapper bars" (though nobody much cares about word meanings anymore), and as said above, they don't necessarily touch the spring at the forward end. Actual "traction bars" are a different animal and function somewhat differently.

Exactly, and I'd like to respond in depth to these thoughts, but anything I would say would certainly go way beyond the bounds of oblique references to "politics". As an aside, I do think it's rather ironic how the more enlightened motoring press of the late '60s and '70s tended to bemoan Detroit's styling tendencies embracing "tortured sheet-metal" and useless ornamentation, when today, those are about all that visually differentiate one brand from another.

Excellent.

Looks great. I want some. Damm...it just never stops.

Filling a few more holes in the "cars I've worked on over the years...and actually liked" part of the collection. Tamiya 1300 Beetle, for which a '49 split-window conversion is also on the way: Tamiya Fiat Abarth 695 SS, a semi-factory hot-rod: Gunze Fiat Abarth "Assetto Corsa", the full-tilt-boogie race version of much the same car: And a Fujimi Ferrari 288 GTO...probably the Ferrari I'd choose if I could afford a real Ferrari:

Agreed the Heller and Gunze kits look pretty good. I have every E-type ever kitted, and the "punched in the face " lumps are the coupe and roadster that started as Aurora kits, and got reboxed as Monogram and Revell...but they share absolutely nothing with the Revell kit I posted above. Pity they're so awful body-wise, as the early box art is lovely, and the reason I squandered my hard-earned ducats on them when I got back in the hobby. Revell boxing of the hideous Aurora Jag coupe below:

Not as far as I know.