New cars

[HYHYBT]

That's impressive. My kitchen table doesn't even *have* brake calipers

[AccountingDrone]

Hell, I was multiquoting and have just decided that all the cut and crap is too much, my face still hurts from having lost a filling and broken a tooth yesterday. Not to mention the whole body aches from controlling the panic attacks while in the dentist's chair.

I absolutely detest the modern electronic computerised shit cars. I don't give a fuck that you just spent twice Robs annual income on a Hellcat Charger. Don't have pretenses that you can outdrive someone who actually *drives* their car, you just have an obscene amount of horsepower that you *aim* around a track. Christ on a crutch, back in the day my BF Eric and I used to take our stock mustangs [both 1975s, mine having been tweaked and blueprinted. Working in a machine shop has some benefits.] to Watkins Glen, flip the track management the $50US each for the day's fun and race whatever was there. He and I regularly would beat vettes and porsches with our little $4000 when new mustangs. [this was in 82-83 so we were in used old crapmobiles] It isn't always in what you have, but how you manage what you drive.

One of my favorite rides was my 79 IH Scout. Manual, dual transmission cases [hi and lo] and lockable front hubs for 4WD. I once drove it back from central New Jersey to Eastern Connecticut with a scavenged speaker wire as a manual throttle, and a little brown box cutting out the entire ignition system. [Can't use them on anything post 1984, it connects directly from the battery to the distributor, flick the little switch on the box, the engine turns over. Only thing you need the key for is unlocking the steering wheel. Lovely little item.] Saved me a *very* expensive tow bill/garage bill. Gives me one of my favorite midnight snowfall experience - dropping into neutral to ghost through snowfalling and several inches of snow on the road in safety. Hit a patch of ice, hit the clutch and you are instantly cutting power to all the wheels, drift to a stop. I drove that beastie for 4 months with the bypass box until we could afford to deal with the ignition system [out of work for 6 months post op on chemo and healing up from being cut open and on nothing more than a Navy income, doesn't leave much money for repair bills.] With the factory repair manual [not one of the autostore pieces of crap] Rob can work on anything on a scout, as long as he can access parts. Lets see you do THAT with a Hellcat.

Driving the 74 not-a-superbeetle got Rob to where he can change out the head gasket in 2 hours and that includes running into Willimantic to buy a new head gasket kit. There wasn't anything that any competent shade tree mechanic couldn't fix with access to parts and tools. Same went for the 64 squareback or the 72 Westphalia van. And Baby demonstrates why my preferred ride is my Jetta, This happened in a 70 mile per hour roll. Rob got bruising, black eyes from the airbag and one bad gouge on his left arm from broken glass.

[HYHYBT]

I don't quite see the appeal in a car that needs repairs so frequently you get to where you can practically change head gaskets in your sleep.

[Andara Bledin]

I don't quite see the appeal in a car that needs repairs so frequently you get to where you can practically change head gaskets in your sleep.

No kidding. I've had older cars, and I've currently got a new one with all the bells and whistles. I'm never going back.

Plus, the new car only cost a couple times what the old one would have, and I've saved enough in repairs, not to mention the peace of mind of having a reliable car, that I've probably spent less overall.

I don't have a problem with people who like doing their own car work; I'm not one of them, and since a mechanic's going to be involved either way, I'll opt for almost never needing one.

[AccountingDrone]

No kidding. I've had older cars, and I've currently got a new one with all the bells and whistles. I'm never going back.

Plus, the new car only cost a couple times what the old one would have, and I've saved enough in repairs, not to mention the peace of mind of having a reliable car, that I've probably spent less overall.

I don't have a problem with people who like doing their own car work; I'm not one of them, and since a mechanic's going to be involved either way, I'll opt for almost never needing one.

The problem with the old style bugs is this:
rear engine
air cooled

OK, got that? I have no freaking idea what the fuck was going on in their engineers minds.

It makes them prone to overheating, and go through seals, combined with cheap seal materials available unless you want to dump serious cash into custom seals <shrug> Even as a non-daily ride, it was a hobby toy. And Rob does like to putter, so I don't see a problem there - his daily ride was a 96 Jetta that just needed routine maintenance until he rolled it while avoiding some idiot that couldn't manage to stay in her own lane while applying makeup in the mirror at 70 mph on the highway. The 95 Jetta we got as a replacement is still chugging along nicely except for the turkey strike making a windshield replacement sort of required.

[protege]

That's impressive. My kitchen table doesn't even *have* brake calipers

LOL it's one of those performance models. I keep it pretty low-key. No "powered by Honda" or stickers here

But seriously, rebuilding those calipers wasn't too bad. The hardest part was getting the pistons out. Luckily, there's a special tool for that. It's basically a big C clamp that fits over the caliper. Fit the clamp, force the opposite piston out with an air line, pop the clamp off and do the other one. Fit the new rubber seals, slide the pistons back in, fit the pads, shims, and cotter pins. Bleed the system and you're good.

I'd rather do the work myself, rather than pay someone $100 per hour to do it. So far, I've done the brakes, rebuilt the front suspension, repaired my speedometer, replaced a distributor, and given it a tune up...saving myself a shitload of cash in the process

[wolfie]

I absolutely detest the modern electronic computerised shit cars. I don't give a fuck that you just spent twice Robs annual income on a Hellcat Charger. Don't have pretenses that you can outdrive someone who actually *drives* their car, you just have an obscene amount of horsepower that you *aim* around a track.

Definitely. My previous car ('93 Excel, with a whopping 81 horsepower) was able to pass a Camaro like it was standing still. Uphill, with snow on the ground, the Camaro was spinning its wheels and going sideways. I knew that I needed to be gentle with the throttle to avoid breaking traction.

One thing I saw in the Mazda 3's manual that was an optional feature (this particular example didn't have it) was the "no key" ignition - you just needed to have the transmitter in your pocket. The manual listed a number of things that would keep it from working even if the correct "key" were present - one was having a "key" for a similar system but not set up for the car in the detection zone. How many times have you given a ride to a friend who had their car key in their pocket? Have you ever taken a test drive of a car you were thinking of buying with the key to your current vehicle in your pocket? When you get a "critical mass" of keyless ignition vehicles on the road, situations like those are going to crop up.

[s_stabeler]

to be fair, I think with the keyless ignition stuff, if it turns out not to work, you can just put the key in. It's true that I think it's dumb, though- but I suppose the reason for that is that they couldn't think of many reasons for somebody to have car keys in their pocket and not be using that car. Lack of foresight, but not actually stupid- plus, it simplifies the programming ( it would be programmed as a simple IF statement- if a key not registered to the car is in the detection zone, the key must be inserted. Otherwise, you need to decide how many keys not registered to the car are acceptable in the detection zone & code it so that number or less are acceptable, which is another IF statement inside it- probably only a couple extra lines of code, but these things DO build up)

[HYHYBT]

More likely, it's a matter of interference: not getting a clear read on what key is present if there are signals from more than one.

As for critical mass, by the time that happens there will probably be improvements enough that it still won't be an issue often. Or they'll switch to a truly keyless system; I wouldn't mind getting into and starting my car the same way I unlock my phone.

[CriminalMindsRocks]

NecCat, sounds like you'd be more interested in driving a horse & buggy rather than a CAR

so glad you don't decide whether a car gets an airbag or not 'cause if you did, 5'2 you & your family would be alive & well while the rest of us would be fucked

[NecCat]

As much as I hate airbags (and I really really do) I don't think I should get to decide whether a car gets one so much as I wish I could decide whether my car gets one. I've had to take two out of my vehicles with a hammer, at great risk to my arm (and the back windshield the second time - came this close to a costly bounce) because there is no mechanic who would disable for me. "It's illegal". Much more than the existence of airbags, it really makes me mad that there is a law making them mandatory. I can pull the fuse for the ABS, the newer trucks with traction control also have an on/off switch, yet the one thing that I know will cause me the most harm I am unable to legally and safely do anything about.

I understand the risk driving the work truck, borrowing someone else's car, why is it unreasonable of me not to want to take that risk in my own personal vehicle. Just for fun the guys at work measured me one day, when I am sitting properly, so that my legs will just go straight under the pedals (ie not lock up straight when I'm on one) and the heel of my thumb rests on the top of the steering wheel when my arm is straight, my breastbone is 6.5 inches from the steering wheel, much less than the recommended minimum 10". They did that because ater one of them tried to get into the truck I was just driving, and got his chest stuck in between the steering wheel and the seat, they all became convinced, independently of my saying so, that if I'm ever driving in an accident where the airbag goes off, I will die. I agree.

I have no trouble driving a horse and buggy, or riding a horse, but it's a little slow for the miles I put on in an average year.

[HYHYBT]

It sounds like what you need isn't a disabled airbag, but pedal extenders (and perhaps a booster seat so you can see over the wheel.)

[s_stabeler]

yeah- there are other ways of dealing with a height issue- and 5 foot 2 is quite a bit smaller than most people. Pedal extenders being the one I can think of- though I think 5"2 IS still high enough to see over the steering wheel.

[Andara Bledin]

My mother and aunt are both 5'3" with short legs and long waists, and neither have ever had any issue seeing over the steering wheel, including in vans, and they don't have much issue with reaching pedals, either, though the do have to shift seats forward a bit, but I don't believe either have needed to move any seat all the way forward.

[Gravekeeper]

Your problem is not air bags its improper seating / pedal reach. If you're close enough to the steering column for an airbag to potentially lethal you're close enough to the steering column for the steering column to be potentially lethal by itself anyhow. I mean half the point of an airbag is so you hitting the steering column in a crash isn't going to grievously injure or kill you.