Twitch
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Posts posted by Twitch
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I can't seem to put it any other way. Ok, lets say a 1964 Chevy 283ci had 250HP for the basic engine yet the 327ci had 300HP with equal aspiration. This is from the same small block parents, the 265ci from 1955. With exactly the same engineering from the same manufacturer the larger displacement engine produced more HP.
The whole point is that your modern tech 4 cyl vs the old 350 is not equal, equal since its a 4-valve DOHC & fuel injection. Take that pushrod 350ci with a carb put a 4 valve, DOHV head on it and fuel injection and now things are equal. And now the 350 is the same, same as the mod-tech 4-banger. And now the larger displacement engine produces more HP. Geez, take 2 stinkin 4 clyinder mills from the same manufacturer. The 120ci puts out 100 HP and next year the manufacturer bores and strokes the little turkey to 160ci. The same block now produces 145HP.
The phrase 'there is no substitute for cubic inches' is the creed of speed. If you've tried everything else, go bigger. Land speed record cars, dragsters, gran turismo- any car benefits from more cubic inches.
The tired smogged down old 350 may have less HP that the fancy new-tech 4 but it has more torque and a much broader, smoother torque power curve throughout its RPM range. Peak HP is not the only, and perhaps, not even the most important measurement of power.
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Those that use the synthetic oil, do you leave it in or plan to leave it in 25,000 miles as per manufacturers' recommendations? In some of our cars that could be 10 years or more. Just wondering your experiences in that respect...
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I have a 1950 4dr Sedan but the thing you see in the attachment in the above post was a generic Packard key tag that was in circulation in the late 40s early 50s.
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59 Olds- we can attribute most all that to 2 simple causes- 1. safety 2. emissions. As the zealots push to have zero everything the percentages closer and closer to 100% perfect get more and more costly. If we let these fruitcakes go we'll be driving nerf-mobiles so we can just mindlessly giggle when we bounce off one another's cars. All the cows will have catalytic converters attached to their butts and the fuel for your nerf-mobile will cost so much you'll pray to Satan for cheap $2.50 gasoline again.
Its a brave new, politically correct world we're closing in on.
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Talkin about 2 IDENTICAL cars- one has 250HP and one has 120HP. As for engines alone there is no way possible for 2 engines equal, save for displacement differences, for the smaller one to out produce the larger one! I'll even go one further- a 283ci vs a heavier car allowing for a 427ci weight. Given that both cars hook up and have manageable tire spin the 427 will smear the 283 after 1320 feet...always.
When did a Lotus with a 1.5-2.5 liter Coventry Climax ever produce more HP than an equally aspirated 427ci Ford in a Cobra or GT-40? Maybe in some Twilight Zone episode. The absolute cheapest and easiest way to produce more HP is more cubic inches. Simple formula- A larger displacement engine will produce more power than an equal, smaller displacement one always, always, always.
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Uh, sorry I flunked Canadian in high school, eh?
Very perceptive PackardV8- if you look closely the hands appear to be swans. Aha! But they're not! They're cornorants!
Oops! Gotta go. Heading to Tijuana this weekend to see if I can pick up some of these classic Mexican headlights!
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Call me mistrusting if you will but I can't conceive of ever accepting paper(check) for a car. Even if it's a cashiers check I'd make sure it cleared before letting a car ship. And if the hot buyer sent me any other check he'd have to wait for it to clear the bank. The only way is wire transfer- bank to bank.
And that Nigerian BS scam has been around for years. I figured everyone knew about it. If that was a chain letter it would have been successful!
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Ok, OK guys. 'There is no substitute for cubic inches' is probably the only automotive term that is un-argue-able. The quote is lost to time as to who first said it. It was a hot rodder, perhaps, looking for more power, I don't know.
We have a 150ci pushrod engine developing 120HP. We have a 283ci pushrod engine putting out 250HP. So a wise guy puts a DOHC, blower, fuel injection, magneto on the little engine and it cranks out 300HP! All that compensates for the cubic inches of the big engine so the little engine wins, right? But things are not equal. We perform the same modifications on our big engine and develop 550HP. THAT'S what the quote is about.
There is simply no way to have 2 equally engineered engines- one large and one small- put out equal power= HP and torque. Doesn't change in application either. If you have two duplicate 2500-lb. cars with the same gear ratio and final drive the 250HP car will beat the 120HP car, will it not?
I figure you guys meant that tongue-in-cheek but you never know!
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Yes every auto parts store this side of Pluto has products that usually come in 12 oz. bottles that inhibit rust and lubricate water pumps. There are many brands so take your pick. They're about the color of non-fat milk.
I see about recycling due to op and non-op status of the car. That is the way to go- drain the system and save the juice to refill later.
The water pump lubricants will immediately quiet a noisy pump too unless the bearings are totally shot too.
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Hey those hoser headlights make it LOOK like it's snowing even if it isn't, ah.
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Joe all the auto longevity stories are fine and I have some too but that's not what you are asking. The honest mechanics I've have known over time have agreed that planned obsolesence is a definite concept in cars. It has been for a long time.
Somewhere from about 1975-80 things changed even more. Before then auto makers' lines used generally the same components throughout the spectrum of their cars. An alternator, water pump, starter, or air conditioner compressor was the exact same when applied to several sub-models that used the same basic engine block. That doesn't mean the same cubic inch displacement though.
From then it spread to myriad components specifically tailored to a specific car and engine. Ten cars in a manufacturers' line up? Probably 8 different component groups. This soon held true for transmissions and differentials and more.
A new, singular alternator may have one application only. This has a couple effects. It has no history on earlier cars so it is not proven with time and miles. It costs much more since the manufacturer is buying or producing far fewer than in previous automotive eras. Mass production lowers costs and many components are produced in far fewer units than before. Components can be difficult to obtain even from the dealer who can't stock as many parts as he once did due to the vast diversity.
At about this time the 'world car' was touted as being the wave of the future. Engines built in Japan would be mated with transmissions made in Belgium and assembled on a platform built in Detroit. And manufacturers would also have cars that would transcend national borders in sales appeal. Before cars were conceived for all the various demographic regions of the world and built 100,000 each of ten vehicles comes out more costly than building 1,000,000 of one car.
Before about the mid 1970s engines, transmissions, differentials, starters, alternators, water pumps, A/C compressors and even carburetors to a great extent were not only interchangeable amongst different models of one brand, they interchanged amongst the corporations' other brands.
When you have the same basic starter that has been used in many models for a decade you pretty much know its strengths. When you use a starter that is new and specifically made to fit one car you lose that generational data. And then the same model car is nowadays more likely to change engines/starters etc. to something completely different in 3 years time. There was a time when engines and components were trace-able back like 15 years for interchangeability amongst several car models of one brand.
In 1975 the insurance industry began sqeezing the auto makers for lower horsepower. We went through that before but this time cars really began to suck. 1980s cars were underpowered and seemingly lower quality over all coupled with quirky components from all over the place. This made for lousy cars. They were 100,000-mile cars. As any mechanic would tell you at that mileage there was nothing worth rebuilding. Emmissions controls multiplied and became more complex.
This was coupled with the fact that the industry went to FWD- front wheel drive nearly completely at that time. It saved some money on drive line components and made the interior space more usaable. The downside was a motive package that was basically untried over the long term and extremely complicated to access for service in that the engines are transverse mounted. Where an alternator was a user do-able change before it was now often impossible or supre labor intensive. Rates for what was before standard and reasonable labor time now soar to bizarre levels due to the time needed to access the most basic components on the car.
So while since the mid-1990s cars have better overall quality they still require ridiculous amounts of time to service equaling $$$ to be paid and with the safety equipment and emmissions controls factored in the complexity of simple analysis before anyone even turns a wrench is a set back.
With that in mind I personally feel we still have cars that break easily. Not catastrophic engine failures but ongoing barbs like vague computer messages about a minor hiccup in some sub-system that is not at all easilly detectable when taken for service. A tiny relay faults out somewhere and plays havoc with driveability. These things are costly these days to diagnose and repair. And an individual sensor can cost $250 or more so they are expensive.
How much of this was purposeful on the part of auto makers to produce easily breakable cars is anyone's guess. The complexity of cars is at its zenith today. It all began in the 1980s with government mandated safety and emissions laws becoming more stringent and companies hustling to make a buck.
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Hmmm? A 10 gallon capacity with a 50/50 blend means 5 gallons. Peak is priced at $4 a gallon at Pep Boys this week so that means a whole 20 bucks. Geez, that's not even a tank of gas. I don't get it.
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Yeah I saw that this morning. Sad, huh? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />
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Go to your pool and spa supply store and see which chemical does more alkaline.
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Just so happens I could lay my hands on the original 1957 Road & Track road test on the 283HP/283ci Corvette. 0-60 was 5.7 seconds with a 4.11 axle. Top speed was 132 MPH and 1/4 mile was 14.3 seconds.
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Dexcool is superior to anything else in aluminum/plastic radiators. At least 2 independent mechicanics I have worked with for decades have mentioned how the green stuff will turn to a near gel with extended use. If you flush a brass rad regularly as you say you do there should be no problems with either. An important plus is that Dexcool also will not cause electro-conductivity to nearby electrical systems that we know on modern cars to be SOOO sensitive.
Regular flushing/changing is not important for the sake of degree of protection only. Rust and corrosion is a major factor that needs to be addressed. The crapola circulating through the system has lots of chemical nasties. Good detergent oil suspends damaging materials and lubricates your engine. Does anyone get careless about oil/filter changes and just add oil as needed for life? Unless you drive 99% at turnpike speeds you need to change oil/filter at 3000 miles in a modern car.
I personally have had many radiators rodded out despite having Prestone or equivilant green antifreeze in them. If price is a big factor just hold on for a sale at your local auto parts chain and stock up.
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I had a 1963 Volvo 122S that I got in 1968 with 50k miles and sold decades later with 348,000 miles. It was the last body before Volvos got squared off with the 142/144 models in case you don't know the styling. I continually repaired and replaced parts as that was the most cost effective for me.
Is reburbishing your 86 more cost effective than purchasing a new one? Perhaps.
The Volvo mechanic I knew built a race car by hand an used a 4-cyl. engine with great success. The Volvo V-6 of the 1980s was total junk. Real Volvo mechs shunned them like the plague.
Just because a vehicle reaches the 25 year mark does not mean people should begin to brandish the "C" word around. Is a 1980 Toyota Corolla going to be a classic? How about a 1979 Datsun Clone? Sheeesh!
A car has to have a avid following. There were Volvo 544 and 122 clubs before they were 25 model years old. Do any of the many Clone cars of the past 25 years have real followings?
Volvo moved into the vacuum that Mercedes left when it went from reasonably-priced-for-what-you-get to bloated Uber-priced cars. Volvos were selling at ridiculous prices. They became wanna-be luxury cars. The true sport sedan was a blurred memory as Volvo awoke after a 4-day drunk looking at the pigs in lipstick lying in bed with them. In essence they were neither luxury cars or sports sedans during the 1980s and with zillions of them rolling off the Swedish pickle boats they aren't even slightly rare.
I could buy a cherry 1965-69 122S for about $2000-2500 in the high-priced Southern California market. At that it might be classed as a curious-interest car at best. Nothing but high-end cars from the 1980s will be true classics.
So you can pour the money into your old car or put it down on a new Volvo that has finally arrived as a luxury-performance car and enjoy the blast of hauling a$$! But realize that you are not truly investing in an old car as you would be performing the same work on a 1967 Camaro SS or similar car.
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This fellow is parting out 2- 1953s and a 1952 if anyone is needy.
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WANTED- I'm looking for the brass keychain and tag that Packard dealers had. One side had the Packard logo and on reverse it had dealers'name and address. Image attached.
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I found one oil filter at NAPA. It is part # 1080 and has a gasket. It crosses with Fram C134PL and Purolator L20700. Now to find that pesky 6 volt directional flasher. NAPA doesn't list any more. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />
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My Cingular service is so bad in my town and general neighborhood it is worse than tin cans and string. My 2 year contract is up in January and I'm going to Verizon.
There is a thing called Yahoo Messenger that allows you to SPEAK to other people anywhere on the internet if you have a microphone and speakers attached to your computer. I've used it to speak to people but really don't know if it can handle more than 2 parties. Best of all it's free. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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"Hey, Twitch, you need something like this (only better) for that Packard Merlin project car!" Yeah, and maybe I should get TWO V-12s and make a V-24, hahahaha.
If the chassis is so strange perhaps it was used in a mock up for a show car or design excercise prototype.
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You might contact a local auto glass place and see what they use. I mean you may have to BS them and say that you have some other work they are going to do in the near future but you need this question answered 1st. Some nice glass people might tell you the exact product they use and where to obtain it.
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If the layout of your carport lends itself to it, it may be possible to use heavy gauge plastic drop sheets to staple on and make a spray booth of sorts. At least it will hold out some of the cold air if you do some other work on your baby. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
antifreeze
in Technical
Posted
I have a belief in the technology of syn-oil but in truth it can't work as advertised- and they did advertise 25,000 miles between changes. I think Mobil 1 had the most commercials.
Let's pretend I buy an new Buick and put syn-oil in. At 3,000 miles I change the filter only and of course lose at least 1/2 a quart. OK top up with fresh oil and continue to 25,000 miles. In a 5 quart crankcase one will not end up with the same oil he began with and the longevity claim is null. That's not to say the syn-oil is not superior, but with advertising blurbs like that one must see what's is really going on.
I do see the benefit of using it in my Packard though...interesting.