Unfortunately I have to start the year out with a legal notice. It seems that my writings are so inspiring(…ok…stop laughing!!!) that a few sites have decided that they would use them on their sites in total, placing ads in the middle for their profit and not requesting permission.
I enjoy writing my blog and I do it to share experiences and social interaction.
If you like it, great!!
If you’d like to share links, I’m all for it
If you want to post entire articles ask permission and I’ll send you my list of requirements for accomplishing this.
If you want to use my articles and place and in the articles, we need to talk first.
As we close out the year that was 2010, I celebrate the first year anniversary of Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing.
Over the past year, I’ve enjoyed jotting down my thoughts and experiences. Mostly, I’ve enjoyed hearing back from readers here on my Word Press main site and in other social media.
This past year I’ve seen the page views on this “one man” blog go from just a couple per week, to nearly 1500 a month. Not bad for a non-commercial blog, with no paid advertising. So THANK YOU. I hope to hear from and read your comments and views in 2011.
What’s coming up in 2011? Mods on the ’70 Mustang, tweaking of the LS2 on the 07 Corvette and I’ll continue with the Auto Factoids in their new format. You will see more mini engine series, kicking off the New Year one of my favorites Chevy’s 283 and there will be more racing events, test ‘n’ tunes and Mom and Pop racing teams highlighted. There will be more contests and DVDs to give away and project updates from readers. Oh…I’m coming out with the Average Guy’s 2011 Calendar look for that on-line.
It’s going to be a fun new year.
To you and yours – may 2011 bringing nothing but happiness and joy.
O.K., I don’t do this too often on this blog but every now and then I have to point out something I think is just ridiculous.
I do a lot of reading. A disproportional amount of that reading is car magazines. (To my son: Yes I will get to the two Stephen King novels you bought me…promise!!) In fact, I get so many car magazines that it’s difficult to keep up (sounds like a New Year’s resolution is in order). They stack up and my wife’s patience goes the opposite direction with my messy side of our shared office and piles here and there of unread periodicals. (O.K. so that New Year’s resolution may turn in to a ‘CLEAN IT UP’ New Year’s directive, in which case, failure to comply would not be an option.)
In the course of all this reading I’ve become familiar with a lot of writers and their styles (some I communicate with via email or social network). You also gain a general over all tone of their respective magazines. With the exception of my favorite writers at the mega car publication company (SHOUT OUT TO) Hemmings (I refer to them as “They Who Do No Wrong”) who seem to be pretty down to earth and hug the middle line pretty well, it’s clear that some car magazines want to project a blue-collar image and others a blue blood image. Every now and then, the blue-collar want-to-be’s do grab a seat on the snob express and leave us average guys going.”..W..T..H(family blog)!?!?!?!…..REALLY!?!?!?!”
My inner lawyer cautions me to not use names of magazines and writers, of course suing me would pretty uneventful, you might end up with a 70 Mustang coupe and a 302 and that’s about it. My inner writer says “If you ever want to move your writing anywhere other than on this blog, do not insult the established press.” My inner wise-ass (still family safe, I believe) wants to poke fun by name at both (magazine and writer). Normally my inner wise-ass wins.
So I am reading the latest Car Craft, Jan 2011 (yeah, it some how ended up on top of the pile) which I considered a blue-collar magazine, lots of get dirty articles and useful techie stuff and not just shiny pages, shiny paint and expensive wheel. Well apparently I missed the fact that they were moving to a new location (probably in a back issue I haven’t gotten to yet..if I can find my Car Craft pile again”). All I can say is “WOW” and “the Auto Magazine business must be paying good”, because their new garage is to die for!!! Really, how did they ever survive without an ocean front garage in El Segundo, Ca. where, while you are on your lunch break, you can catch a bite to eat, a Pepsi and a wave ???!!!!! With a few more earthquakes my Arizona home might one day be ocean front property.
O.K., fine, so a quick Google shows the Car Craft garage address isn’t actually on the beach and really location isn’t my point. What is, is the article that Mr. Douglas Glad wrote in the “Front Man” section – “Man Cave”. Specifically a couple of items, he believes are necessary in a garage. He states “…every car guy’s garage needs the basics to be useful and a good place to get away from school, diapers,….” Hey, I get that, I was a stay at home Dad for a while and sure, you must have the tools to get the job done. I was really interested to read what he thinks we average car guys (I just tossed in the “average”) need in our garages. But at the next paragraph’s bold heading, I stopped and said “What?” I then scanned the other six paragraphs’ headings and was dismayed, but I read on hoping I could salvage something from the piece.
First critical piece of functional equipment was a….MIG welder? Nope. How about a parts cleaning machine? Nope. How about a flat screen T.V.? Yes. But according to the article, it doesn’t have to be huge. So what’s next? I’ll just list them:
1. A movie collection of guy movies – I have an AM FM radio and CD player (old), most of the stations are static interrupt by parts of a song or commercial and the player skips. I’m normally so wrapped up in what I’m doing it just becomes white noise anyway.
2. A wall collage – If there is that much space on my garage wall, I’ve got some nails and stuff to hang from them and a Hemmings’ Muscle Machine calendar.
3. An art school grad’s, air brushed wall art – Same As Above
4. Electrical – 220 – Now I can get behind that. Right on!
5. Trosley Car Portrait – First WHAT!?!? Then…Same as 2 and 3.
So I’m taken back. My image of a greased smeared blue uniform shirt wearing, lay a wrench on it, magazine, has been crushed. Has Car Craft gone soft? Do they out source the work and just drive the finished project in for photo ops?
Am I shocked and dismayed or just jealous? The latter!!!!
I dedicate this to a follow car guy who I purchases some used parts from a while back. Bill is restoring his dream car in a 3 sided building in the mid west, where in the winter, he normally has to shovel snow out of the way to work on it. You rock.. Bill!!!
As part of the mods and upgrades for my 70 Mustang, I plan on replacing all the carpet. Before I do that however, I’m going to lay down some heat and sound proofing (but that is another post).
As I start project planning, I’m looking around for parts and materials, as well as any helpful hints. (If you have any at any time, drop me a comment.) Although certain portions of the restro-mod will have to be done together, like carb and intake or heads and cam (yes I’m all four will be done at the same time), many can be accomplished separately, like adding the heat/sound proofing and the carpeting, before upholstery of the seats. In the Mustang getting the seats out are easy enough (keep in mind my goal is to not have the car tied up too long between stages) so replacing the seats after the carpet installation, isn’t a problem.
As a reminder, the mods will be done in adherence to budget, time and events. So there maybe a need to move between different phases to accommodate either 3 of those factors.
O.K., so where was I, oh yeah..carpet shopping.
As I looking on-line for the best place for ordering carpeting, began to notice a lot of choices. I start thinking “I’m going to have call up on deck my personal award-winning interior designer (that would be my wife – by profession…no not wife by profession although I’m sure thinks it’s her 3rd career, but Interior Designer by profession). Here is a little bit of what I found:
Plush Cut Pile
Ultra-Plush Cut Pile
Neon Cut Pile
100% Nylon Loop
I’m thinking, “holy cow!!!…What the heck is this?!! Ultra-Plush Cut Pile? I’m not building a ’60 Love Van!!! Oh it gets better..yeah.. you guessed it samples!!!!!
Misty Gray
BuckSkin
My favorite - Cinnabar
Oh..come on!!! Cinnabar!!!! Really!!?? Um..yup. Oh and there were many more, like Medium Gray and Silver Mist and Nutmeg and Fire Thorn!!!! I’m not kidding.
So I’m looking round to make sure know one’s looking over my shoulder (as I’m doing this over my lunch at work..on my personal smart phone…just in case “they” are reading!!!) All the time I thinking…”It’s black..all I know is that it’s black!”
Who knew that there was that much to look at? Not this Average Guy.
Luckily I found this snippet on one site and it all became clear:
Plush Cut Pile
Our nylon cut pile is constructed from 100% first quality yarn and is similar to what is found in most cars since 1974. It is tufted on a 1/8 gauge machine with 14 ounces of yarn per square yard. It is dyed using the finest dyes available and tested for ozone humidity fading & light fastness.
Ultra-Plush Cut Pile
This carpet is a super plush upgrade to our standard Cut Pile. A 100% nylon cut pile manufactured with over 40% more nylon fiber than our standard cut pile. It is dyed using the finest dyes available and tested for ozone humidity fading & light fastness.
Ok..still not sure here!!!
Neon Cut Pile
Our Neon Cut Pile colors are a great look if you want to make a statement! Although these are not stock colors, they would be appropriate for all applications. There is an additional 15% charge for all applications made with Neon Cut Pile.
What…not stock colors!!!??!!! What? Are you sure that is color
wasn’t stock? It’s Pink!!!!
And the clouds parted and it all became clear. The very last one was this:
100% Nylon Loop
A 100% nylon loop. This material is appropriate for pre-1975 applications only, and was the original type construction used in 1969-1973 Mustangs.
Today is the anniversary of the assembly line created by Henry Ford, did he?
Like saying night is day or Pink Floyd isn’t the greatest rock band of all time, saying Henry Ford didn’t invent the assembly line goes contrary to conventional auto wisdom. But he didn’t. It was actually Ransom E. Olds.
I love engines and the options for a 1970 Mustang – like mine, were many.
My Mustang's Enhanced 302
The sixes consisted of the 200 (120 hp) and the 250 (155hp) – mine started out as a 250
The eights consisted of 2 302 (2V and the 4V Boss), 2 351 (250 and 30o hp), 2- 428 (Cobra – 335 hp and Cobra Jet Ram-Air – 335 hp and the 429 Boss – 375 hp.
The transmission offered were – 3 speed manual Fully synchronized (currently the trans in my car), 4 speed manual sports-type w/Hurst Shifter and in the automatic the Select Shift Cruise-o-Matic Drive (more on that in another Auto Factoid.
11/10/14 – The first Dodge is produced and on the same day 11 years later Ford built its first Tri-Motor airplane.
Not the plane:
1914 - 4 Door Dodge Touring
This is the plane:
Fords 1925 Tri-Plane
11/11/1940 – The first Jeep
1940 Jeeps
11/12/1908 – GM takes over Oldsmobile.
11/25/1844 – Mr. Benz was more in Karlsruhe, Germany (Been there, the wine is excellent, the beer is better and the food is OUTSTANDING!)
11/26/1966 -The DeTomaso Mangusta debuts
1966 DeTomaso Mangusta
11/27/1870 – Joe Mach’s birthday. Yeah…the guy that started MAC trucks. The company started when Joe and his brothers purchased a carriage and wagon company in Brooklyn, N.Y. The first vehicle they produced was a tour bus. (1900) Next up was rail cars and locomotives. At the time they used the name Manhattan. Somewhere between 1910 and 1911 the name changed to Mack at about that time the Mack brothers bought a truck company. Oh..in case you are wonder the Bulldog became their logo in 1922 and the name was changed to MACK Truck. When I was a very young, we called all tractor-trailer Mack Trucks.
1910 Mack Hook and Latter firetrucks
New Auto Factoid format.
The Ford Mustang sold 419,000 cars in the its first 12 months on the marked. That number trumped the 417,000 cars set by the 1960………………Ford Falcon!!!!
Just recently I started comparing technology in cars that we own. A couple of months ago I purchased a 07 Corvette that has a lot more technology then the 84 Corvette I owned and a lot more than my 70 Mustang. We have also owned two newer vehicles a 2008 Lexus GS350 and now a 2011 Lexus RX 350. I’m not going to compare the technology between the two Corvettes nor would there be any reason to compare the Corvettes to the Mustang.
But what I have compared is the level of technology between U.S. cars and the two Lexus (Toyota) vehicles we’ve owned.
First up is the 2008 Lexus GS350. We purchase the car in late 2007, which, as far as a technology time line would be concerned, is smack in the middle of digital music, video and touch technology era. To better frame the time line 3 years ago while attending the Fords on 4th Ave Car Show, here in Tucson, I meet up with a couple of Microsoft guys (one of them I knew from a previous contract I worked) doing the first demo of Sync in a Lincoln. They gave me quick demo and it was excellent technology which is now about 3 years old. Yet this luxury Toyota only managed to have a horribly located, headphone port to headphone port connection for your IPOD or MP3 player. Compare this with the technology in my 2007 Corvette, it at least plays MP3 formatted CDs as well as standard CDs.
Next is the 2011 Lexus RX350, three years further into the mobile data revolution and it still seems lacking in technology. The GS350 had a touch screen information center, the RX350 does not. What replaced that is a joy stick/mouse type device.
From my wife's Rx
It seems a like a step backward. It’s much easier for you to touch the screen while driving. The RX’s device requires the moving around of a cursor, centering it on an icon and clicking the mouse-like buttons. ( Don’t get me started on distracted driving, phone calls vs. eating McDonald’s fries.) The RX is limited to a USB connection for music and that is it. Sure it has options for satellite and blue tooth (as did the GS) , but techno-backtracking from a touch screen is a bit odd and no music storage is nearly pre-historic.
Just comparing technologies for music availability the U.S. cars are ahead. Take the 2011 Buick Lucerne, it has a 60 Gig hard drive for storing music. This particular car can even record radio station you are on for playback. Ford has a host of technology to store music and using Microsoft’s Sync technology, their Fords and Lincolns brands (the dash of the new Lincoln MKX will blow you away) are far superior to the what I’ve found in the Japanese cars. Even a tone-downed Chevy Cobalt has tire air pressure sensors.
While we were test driving the RX a week ago, I asked the salesman about the missing technology and he agreed that Lexus does in fact lag behind in offering this type of technology.
Don’t you think that’s odd? Are American car manufacturers that advanced? Are our car companies just toss in everything, even the kitchen sink to sell cars? Hey..neither of those are a bad thing!!! I’m sold! Besides it a lot easier to eat fries while driving if you have a touch screen to change your music!!!
Your thoughts?
Thanks for reading and drop me a comment.
Tim
Comment from Bill
This reminds me of a co-worker who bought a new Chrysler minivan recently. He was excited to tell me about how big the harddrive was, the DVD system, the ‘info-tainment’ bus, the ability of the ‘my gig’ to link to the satiellite,and on and on. I asked what engine he had-he paused- gave me a dazed look-and said he didn’t really know?
I think Lexus does what US car manufacturers used to do; they build a car that will travel 100K miles with just a few oil changes and one set of tires, and a resale value that is 65% of the orignal sales price 10 years later. The lag of technology does not errode the MSRP sticker prices Lexus still demands for their products while Government Motors still discounts their Buicks $5,000 off MSRP to gain a sale. Then five years later that Buick has a market value of $2,200, and the poor upside down owner is looking for his own ‘bail out’.
Me personally, I’d like to see any car manufacturer ‘de-content’ their cars a bit. It not only reduces the sales price, the weight of the car (some cars have six miles of wire in them now days), but actually increases reliability (less to fail) and performance. That original formula of the Boss 302, or Plymouth Roadrunner where you got roll down windows, a bench seat, and for a few dollars you could get a tach, AC, or tinted glass as the only options is my dream come true. Don’t forget a LARGE V8 powering the rear wheels STANDARD! I’d buy a new 2011 car tomorrow if I could get a taxi cab interior with a 300HP V8 for under $25,000. I looked at the 2011 Boss 302, but it still is techno-overloaded for me to call it a true muscle car.
Can you tell now why I replaced our grocery-getter-always-repair-proned Impala with a Grand Marquis? It is (or was-Ford stopped production in September) the closest car out there that meets my formula: no navigation-no harddrive-no MP3-no Sirius-no 8 speed automatic. Bench seat-4.6l police V8-4 speed automatic-RWD; thanks, thats all I need! I’m used to the blue hair jokes and still happy with my taxi cab, hopefully for the next 20 years and 200K miles.
I have often wondered if Dodge introduced a Challenger with Hemi V8, roll up windows, AM FM radio, and the minimum government mandated equipment for around $25,000 if they would sell, or does our generation require several thousand microprocessors to be interested in their cars?
If you’ve read my blog or found me on Facebook or MySpace or various forums you know that I recently picked up a 07 Corvette, which I love.
One of the things I notices was that the tire valve stems and a little “N2” them. This was done to suggest that Nitrogen at one time filled the BFGs.
Valve Stem Caps
I wondered if any one (Average Guys) really put Nitrogen in their tires and really how much difference could it make. When I asked a few guys at my vette club Arizona Corvette Enthusiast (ACE), we had lot of “Winter Air and Summer Air” discussions. It stems from an old joke about a service attendant’s answer when asked by a customer why their was an extra charge on his bill when he had is tires rotated. The attendant stated is was for filling them with winter air.
Of course there’s no such thing, Nitrogen is used in tires, but is there really any benefits?
So what does GM say about the use of Nitrogen in tires?
From GM’s document #05-03-10-020C: Use of nitrogen Gas in Tires – (Apr 27, 2010)
GM’s Position on the Use of nitrogen Gas in Tires General Motors does not oppose the use of purified nitrogen as an inflation gas for tires. We expect the theoretical benefits to be reduced in practical use due to the lack of an existing infrastructure to continuously facilitate inflating tires with nearly pure nitrogen. Even occasional inflation with compressed atmospheric air will negate many of the theoretical benefits. Given those theoretical benefits, practical limitations, and the robust design of GM original equipment TPC tires, the realized benefits to our customer of inflating their tires with purified nitrogen are expected to be minimal.
The Promise of Nitrogen: Under Controlled Conditions Recently, nitrogen gas (for use in inflating tires) has become available to the general consumer through some retailers. The use of nitrogen gas to inflate tires is a technology used in automobile racing. The following benefits under controlled conditions are attributed to nitrogen gas and its unique properties:
• A reduction in the expected loss of Tire Pressure over time.
• A reduction in the variance of Tire Pressures with temperature changes due to reduction of water vapor concentration.
• A reduction of long-term rubber degradation due to a decrease in oxygen concentrations.
Important: These are obtainable performance improvements when relatively pure nitrogen gas is used to inflate tires under controlled conditions.
The Promise of Nitrogen: Real World Use Nitrogen inflation can give some benefit by reducing gas migration (pressure loss) at the molecular level through the tire structure. NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has stated that the inflation pressure loss of tires can be up to 5% a month. nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules and, therefore, are less prone to “seeping” through the tire casing. The real obtainable benefits of nitrogen vary, based on the physical construction and the materials used in the manufacturing of the tire being inflated.
Another potential benefit of nitrogen is the reduced oxidation of tire components. Research has demonstrated that oxygen consumed in the oxidation process of the tire primarily comes from the inflation media. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that oxidation of tire components can be reduced if the tire is inflated with pure nitrogen. However, only very small amounts of oxygen are required to begin the normal oxidation process. Even slight contamination of the tire inflation gas with compressed atmospheric air during normal inflation pressure maintenance, may negate the benefits of using nitrogen.
GM Tire Quality, Technology and Focus of Importance Since 1972, General Motors has designed tires under the TPC (Tire Performance Criteria) specification system, which includes specific requirements that ensure robust tire performance under normal usage. General Motors works with tire suppliers to design and manufacture original equipment tires for GM vehicles. The GM TPC addresses required performance with respect to both inflation pressure retention, and endurance properties for original equipment tires. The inflation pressure retention requirements address availability of oxygen and oxidation concerns, while endurance requirements ensure the mechanical structure of the tire has sufficient strength. This combination has provided our customers with tires that maintain their structural integrity throughout their useful tread-life under normal operating conditions.
Regardless of the inflation media for tires (atmospheric air or nitrogen), inflation pressure maintenance of tires is critical for overall tire, and ultimately, vehicle performance. Maintaining the correct inflation pressure allows the tire to perform as intended by the vehicle manufacturer in many areas, including comfort, fuel economy, stopping distance, cornering, traction, tread wear, and noise. Since the load carrying capability of a tire is related to inflation pressure, proper inflation pressure maintenance is necessary for the tire to support the load imposed by the vehicle without excessive structural degradation.
Important: Regardless of the inflation media for tires (atmospheric air or nitrogen), inflation pressure maintenance of tires is critical for overall tire, and ultimately, vehicle performance.
There you have it. But the experiences of the Average Guys I’ve asked, detected no difference for daily driving or when we take our toys to the track.
