Blerv's Car Chit-Chat

[Evil D]

I think at some point a car very much becomes a weapon in the wrong hands, whether it's a bone stock '90s Honda Civic that some kid thinks is a race car or it's a 1200hp Veyron in the hands of a billionaire. Just watch any video of people losing control and plowing through a crowd of people for all the proof of this that you could ever need. People also need to be mindful when they have passengers in their car.

The good news is manufacturers seem to understand this, and have given us things like traction control and driver assists that help tame all the power cars make these days. But, just like guns, they're only as safe as the people wielding them so there will always be some level of danger involved. Also car manufacturers at least put their cars through crash testing and most of them make an attempt to make the car safe enough that the driver will survive a crash. But again, there are always instances like the Paul Walker crash or the Ryan Dunn crash where speed and physics overpower these safety features and all bets are off (ironic that both died in Porsches).

My car for example, has no traction control, no anti lock brakes, no driver assists at all. At 120mph it's down right terrifying because it's riding on stock 31 year old suspension and has a short wheel base and weighs all of 2800lbs. I actually have to make a conscious choice to behave myself when on public roads around other people because I know the reality is it can get out of hand real quick and bad things can happen.

Ultimately though, just like gun manufacturers, cars are only as dangerous as the operator so even if you take a car that's insanely fast and has almost zero safety features, that is almost guaranteed to kill the driver if crashed, nobody is forcing the driver to push it to those limits just as nobody forces a person to kill with a gun. It's a pretty fine line though and I can see where it can be argued that it's irresponsible to make such a car, but I think the responsibility will always fall to the user in the end. The catch would be if a manufacturer made that car that they knew was unsafe and didn't disclose the risks, and then a person died in a crash (some say that's the case with the Paul Walker incident).

[Evil D]

Here's an old video of mine idling. It was running a bit rich at idle, never did get it to the dyno for tuning before I broke it. If I ever get motivated and get my new heads on we'll see what it makes.

https://youtu.be/ihc1siDHBGY

[Blerv]

Here's an old video of mine idling. It was running a bit rich at idle, never did get it to the dyno for tuning before I broke it. If I ever get motivated and get my new heads on we'll see what it makes.

Very cool David :D. Keep us posted. Hoping for the beast's return eventually!

Thanks for the comment on the "morality of makers" question. I guess between increased safety requirements and electronics the only thing you can't out-engineer is the frail nature of human bodies. Then again, what allows free choice allows for absolute consequences. Just glad I can scare the piss out of myself with a Miata. I don't need to go sideways at 160mph in an AMG S65...

[3rdGenRigger]

There's no such thing as too much horsepower...but with great power comes great responsibility. People do stupid things with very underpowered cars and others drive responsibly in crazy powerful cars. It's all about the person behind the machine as far as I'm concerned. The last time I was pulled over (I was speeding) was in 2009. It was midnight and I was the only car on the highway for miles. The cop snuck up on me from behind without his lights on (I almost shat myself when I saw headlights turn on behind me out of nowhere, and then started cursing about 2 seconds later when the red and blues turned on).

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

I swapped in the Nordic Oak trim into my V50 this week:

It adds a lot of warmth and character over the aluminium trim which was easily dented.

[Blerv]

I swapped in the Nordic Oak trim into my V50 this week:
It adds a lot of warmth and character over the aluminium trim which was easily dented.

Stunning! Cars like that deserve hardwood.

I've been half tempted to buy a Lexus SC430 just for the interior trim :).

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

Cheers, what I like most is the lack of shiny finish. Here is a daylight shot:

[Blerv]

Cheers, what I like most is the lack of shiny finish. Here is a daylight shot:

Oh nice. I can see what you're talking about :).

[Blerv]

So an update to the 1988 Mustang...

The last picture I posted were when we first bought it. It was running a bit rough but we thought it was just an exhaust leak due to the corroded headers. Turns out there were a ton of leaks after all.

This was a good reason to get some new MAC ceramic shorty headers which should last quite a bit longer (and look great). We also purchased a Bassani catted X-Pipe because the car was ungodly loud and while technically emission exempt in WA an illegal eyesore with the cat-bypass pipes :rolleyes: . The exhaust shop changed all the fluids, fuel filter, and put some new plugs in as well. Still had had idling problems but sounded great and didn't reek of raw fuel.

We drove it half a mile to the Ford dealership. Not an ideal situation but close and the most capable speed shop
had a backlog until October. After a day of looking at the car the dealership basically said it was too old and modified for them to figure out :p. Hey...path of least resistance right? They cut us loose without a wrench turned and without a bill.

The car made it 20 miles north to a longtime friend and shade tree mechanic. He's been a service writer for years and is quite capable at fixing/restoring/modding his own vehicles. Upon arrival I mentioned my theory that the MAF wasn't calibrated for the factory 19lbs injectors and the owner had installed 24lbs injectors. The odd thing was...looking into the engine bay I couldn't find the MAF anywhere. :eek: My friend agreed it must not have the MAF conversion that we assumed it had from the receipt in 1990. A quick Google images search and we found the twin to the MAP sensor sitting against the firewall with the vacuum line disconnected.

So...at this point we all realized this is probably the only car modified to this point using a fuel injection system worse than carburation. MAF stands for "mass air flow" which meters air entering at the intake pipe with a small wire. More air, more fuel, more spark, etc. Still crude in its pre 1996 OBD-1 state for cars but at least it actively monitored and made adjustments. In 1988 only the California cars had this so most came with a speed density/MAP (manifold absolute pressure) system. I expect this was cheaper since car companies generally only change things when necessary to meet safety or emissions :p. The MAP systems use vacuum pressure and a preset air/fuel/spark chart to determine based on RPM and load what goes where. They aren't very adaptive for lightly modded cars let alone supercharged ones with different heads and a cam. :rolleyes:

I've ordered a Fiveology Racing MAF conversion kit. 76mm unit calibrated for 30lbs injectors (and the injectors) with all the wiring and a new MAF computer to make it work. It wasn't cheap but is long overdue. I expect the car will pick up about 150whp since where it sat a stock 5.0 would have walked away from it.

Car modding gives you 100% control. You can make something better or at least "more specialized"; I'll deal with idiosyncrasies for performance because compromises are part of the biz. You can also ruin every good aspect of the car without making it any quicker. You might even grenade it's engine for the sake of ignorance. As they say, the path to **** is paved with good intentions. While that's harsh for an enthusiast spending huge money on his/her project car I would amend "****" with "poverty" :p. Whether you are cooking a cake or building a device with moving parts the ingredients all have to complement one another. A blank check with poor logic or guidance can do more harm than good.

It's sad that this car likely never ran right and couldn't have actually been fast. It's been making noise and that's about it. For a guy in his 60's who bought it new and tweaked it for almost 3 decades it's a shame. Hopefully it gets redemption in the next couple weeks. Heck...we are hoping it idles correctly but would gladly accept traction problems in second gear :D.

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

Keep us posted!!

I've brought my kids (5 & 8) to the Northern Beaches Muscle Car show, lots of "ooohs" and "aaahs" going on and they are seeing some lovely metal. From formula 1 cars, GT40, old Chevys and hot rods to new M4s and Aston Martins

[Mad Mac]

Has anyone been to the big October car show in Hershey ?
I'm going to be a couple of hours from Hershey that week but not sure I can deal with that much walking.

[Blerv]

Has anyone been to the big October car show in Hershey ?
I'm going to be a couple of hours from Hershey that week but not sure I can deal with that much walking.

Sorry to miss this until now. Car shows are certainly fun but can be tiring. The biggest one I've been to was a trek out to Hot August Nights in Reno, plenty of places to sit there but it's extremely hot.

Let us know if you end up attending :D

[Blerv]

Removed my front license plate. Equipment violation tickets are silly but I'll risk it.

[Evil D]

Man what's funny is how many manufacturers aren't even putting provisions for a front plate on their cars anymore. Where I live I'm between two states where one requires a front plate and the other state doesn't, and I see cars everyday that don't even have brackets or holes or anything in the front for a plate. I thought maybe this had to do with what state a car is shipped to when sold and maybe they put the brackets on when they're shipping to a front plate state, but I've seen slews of new cars in Ohio with no plate brackets or holes. It's a stupid law. KY doesn't require a front plate and it saves them so much money in the long run.

Back when I lived in Ohio and had to run a front plate, this was my solution. I never had any issues with it here.

[Mad Mac]

Not to worry. License plates will be a thing of the past, a distant memory, after the feds require manufacturers to install RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification tags) on all new cars and states issue them to pre-existing cars.

Officer: Sir, you are being stopped this morning because the hidden mobile scanner on 27th street flagged this vehicle as registered to a person with an outstanding warrant for failure to pay child support. Please step out of the car.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Blerv, David, and everyone: What happened to the quality of Saab cars of Sweden? I have read and been told by serious auto people that Saab was once one of the best made vehicles in the world and their quality was second to none. And then they began to alter either their manufacturing location or some other things and now they are not anywhere near as good as they once were. And supposedly at one point they were very cutting-edge on new automotive tech. What happened?

[Blerv]

Man what's funny is how many manufacturers aren't even putting provisions for a front plate on their cars anymore. Where I live I'm between two states where one requires a front plate and the other state doesn't, and I see cars everyday that don't even have brackets or holes or anything in the front for a plate. I thought maybe this had to do with what state a car is shipped to when sold and maybe they put the brackets on when they're shipping to a front plate state, but I've seen slews of new cars in Ohio with no plate brackets or holes. It's a stupid law. KY doesn't require a front plate and it saves them so much money in the long run.

Back when I lived in Ohio and had to run a front plate, this was my solution. I never had any issues with it here.

I love your solution to the problem :D, great minds think alike it seems, lol. Seeing your car more and more I'm starting to really fall in love with that mid 80's front end. I always thought the 87 nose revamp was better looking...not I'm not so sure. That or with all the zombie apocalypse films and the Mad Max redux those lines are just calling to me these days, haha. :cool:

Not to worry. License plates will be a thing of the past, a distant memory, after the feds require manufacturers to install RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification tags) on all new cars and states issue them to pre-existing cars.

Officer: Sir, you are being stopped this morning because the hidden mobile scanner on 27th street flagged this vehicle as registered to a person with an outstanding warrant for failure to pay child support. Please step out of the car.

That's very interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about it but am always on the boring right side of the law. I guess a small invasion of privacy for the sake of being able to catch the "bad guys"? I don't know...I tend to be an optimist and our history doesn't always show power being used for good things. Meh. :confused:

Blerv, David, and everyone: What happened to the quality of Saab cars of Sweden? I have read and been told by serious auto people that Saab was once one of the best made vehicles in the world and their quality was second to none. And then they began to alter either their manufacturing location or some other things and now they are not anywhere near as good as they once were. And supposedly at one point they were very cutting-edge on new automotive tech. What happened?

I'm far from a Saab expert. My parents had a few growing up and we all know of the legendary 900. Here's my speculation and opinion:

In the 50's and 60's the auto industry was thriving for people who "won" WW2 (for what that's worth :rolleyes: ). The 70's saw increased fuel prices and for the USA it got really bad. Emissions started strangling performance so in the States smaller economic fun cars were diamonds in the rough. Much in the same vein that the 240z struck (simple, fun and reliable) in 1969 the Saab 900 stuck in 1978. It was reliable, safe, practical (hatchback) and fairly quick with the turbo. They were also smart to keep it relatively unchanged for 15 years or so.

IMHO, early Saab was quirky as can be. 70's/80's Saab almost took a Japanese approach to auto building. Do something well and don't mess with it. Similar to what Toyota did with their early R engine four cylinders (notably the 22R and 22RE). In the 90's and onward with exception to a joint venture with Subaru which created a very cool car they changed their formula. Most likely due to GM buying them in 1989. Less thinking, more tweaking, still making quirky cars but ones that weren't reliable or even nice driving. They were fighting to find a spot in the market. The German cars were more luxurious, the Japanese cars were more reliable, and the American brands were somewhere in the middle.

[Evil D]

I always thought the 87 nose revamp was better looking...not I'm not so sure. That or with all the zombie apocalypse films and the Mad Max redux those lines are just calling to me these days, haha. :cool:

I was always the same. My first Mustang was an '88 GT. When I got this coupe I knew I wanted to find an '82 GT nose for it.

Oh, and I was rocking the Mad Max look for a looong time before it finally got painted lol.

[Blerv]

[quote="Evil D"]
I was always the same. My first Mustang was an '88 GT. When I got this coupe I knew I wanted to find an '82 GT nose for it.

Oh, and I was rocking the Mad Max look for a looong time before it finally got painted lol. /quote]

Oh interesting! So what year is your green car if it has the 82 nose? Sorry if I'm just confused and this isn't what you meant. It's a Friday. :o

[Evil D]

I was always the same. My first Mustang was an '88 GT. When I got this coupe I knew I wanted to find an '82 GT nose for it.

Oh, and I was rocking the Mad Max look for a looong time before it finally got painted lol. /quote]

Oh interesting! So what year is your green car if it has the 82 nose? Sorry if I'm just confused and this isn't what you meant. It's a Friday. :o

That's all the same car, just before and after paint. It's an '85 with an' 82 nose and hood. Ford never put this nose on a coupe body, they only came on the 79 pace car and the 82 GT. There were similar noses in 79-82 but the grill was different and looked like a milk crate and they didn't have the lower valance.