[Hutnicks]

Quote:

She's only 16 months old. My wife handed her the box to bring to me of course, but it was still extremely adorable, because she was all dressed up for church in a white dress with bonnet and tiny slippers. For a few moments I felt like I'd been propelled back in time 80 years.

 
OhOh. That being the case she's angling for the Bugatti

 

[Magick Man]

Quick query. If I have U-verse at work and at home, and it's the same plan, with the same router, why does it appear to be 2x faster at home?

 

[Hutnicks]

Quote:

Quick query. If I have U-verse at work and at home, and it's the same plan, with the same router, why does it appear to be 2x faster at home?

Could be network loading issues. What exactly is connected at home and what is connected at work?

 

[Magick Man]

I talked with AT&T and we got it sorted out, they said the router had been running asynchronously, so they went in and changed some settings and now it's noticeably more responsive. Thanks, though.

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Had a lot of fun in the time machine today, the Mustang SVO not the DeLorean. It was incredibly cool, we increased boost pressure a few pounds, installed a larger intercooler, and swapped the ECU/retuned it on the dyno (new CO shocks and stickier Michelins too). Almost magically, I was 16 again, it was exactly like I remembered it. The feel, sound, smell, and even the quirky factory shifter that really doesn't like going into reverse when the gearbox is cold, we even located the same model wheels I had back then. So many memories came back of both fun, and stupid, things I'd done in the old SVO, I'm blown away. I can't say it would be the same for anyone else, but if you get a chance to pick up a car from your youth, do it. While not powerful or nimble by today's standards (it is now making almost 80hp over stock @278), it's one hell of a feeling, almost like getting back a chunk of your childhood. Like Chris Harris would say, it's a tonic, and I both love and enjoy it every bit as much today as I did back in 1989, I'm not changing anything else. It's amazing just like it is.

There's going to be a Mustang rally in town soon and I was going to take Eleanor, but now I've changed my mind.

 

[Magick Man]

Rain, rain go away, I want to drive my cars today. :confused_face(1):

 

[billybob_jcv]

For the business trip I am currently on, I am renting a Nissan Altima. It's OK, but I am underwhelmed. There is nothing really wrong with it that I can point to - but it is just boring. It sort of reminds me of driving your Grandma's car.

it also seems to have some sort of really nasty tire whine on some highway surfaces. It is LOUD and really annoying. I am going to check what kind of tires are on this thing, because I NEVER want to buy them!

 

[veyrongatti]

Quote:

Rain, rain go away, I want to drive my cars today.

Just choose another car..... 

  I believe your F1 has a roof right 

 

[gikigill]

Pull out the Cayenne Magick, its times like these that the 4WD comes handy.
 

 

[Hutnicks]

Quote:

Pull out the Cayenne Magick, its times like these that the 4WD comes handy.
 

Don't be silly, he must have a 959 lying around somewhere

 

[gikigill]

I agree with your sentiment Hutnicks but the 959 just might misbehave. Pushing the Turbo Cayenne to its limits might be more entertaining than expected, the synergy between the turbo boost and manipulating the grip. I tried it with the Jeep SRT8 and it was a hoot in the rain, surefooted but a bit on the edge.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I used to have an old ex-mil Jeep that had big balloon tires for cruising in the sand dunes. They weren't *exactly* street legal tires, but the Jeep would only do about 50 MPH (on a good day and with a tail wind). But on rainy days, that thing was a death trap. If you hit the brakes while doing only about 25 MPH in a decent rain storm, it would immediately begin hydroplaning. It would slide for a frightening length and a couple of times I slid right through a stop sign and out in the middle of the intersection. I was never in an accident - but it was just pure luck!!

 

[Magick Man]

I don't mind rain, it's the torrential downpours we were having that are a problem. Slipping and sliding is run, but not being able to see is a b****.

For the business trip I am currently on, I am renting a Nissan Altima. It's OK, but I am underwhelmed. There is nothing really wrong with it that I can point to - but it is just boring. It sort of reminds me of driving your Grandma's car.

it also seems to have some sort of really nasty tire whine on some highway surfaces. It is LOUD and really annoying. I am going to check what kind of tires are on this thing, because I NEVER want to buy them!

Not surprised about the Altima, I owned one a long time ago and kept it for 2 months before trading it. Most vanilla, generic, uninspiring vehicle I've ever driven. It made an Accord feel exotic.

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* Rant Mode On *

My guys are working on the Buick GNX, the one with 12 miles on it, and it's a complete cluster****. If a person is going to collect cars, that's great, I'm totally with you, but please for the love of God start the thing up and let it run every once in awhile. Everything on it is ruined, no we didn't try to start it, of course, but all the lubricants are now like paste and the block is seized. Right now I'm wishing I'd never bought it. Even the window motors are messed up, and the washer pump, and well, just about anything else with moving parts. (The stereo works, hah!) My guys are like, "No, no, we can fix it" and I'm sure they can, but I don't want them wasting weeks completely tearing it down and replacing most of the powertrain, with expensive hard-to-locate parts, just to get it back to some semblance running order.

Essentially we're going to get it back to where it's cosmetically and electronically sound and then I'll donate it to the local muscle car museum for a tax write off. I'd like to give the previous owner a good shake and box his ears, though, there's no excuse for this type of idiocy and neglect. It's absurd. I doubt I'll bother trying to find another, the car itself just isn't cup of Joe anyway, it feels cheap and poorly designed, even compared to a Mustang of that era. I'm surprised these things have such a rabid following, TBH.

* Rant Mode Off *

 

[billybob_jcv]

Sounds like the Queen Mother of all Garage Queens. That is really too bad. It also makes you wonder how many other cars that dipsh!t ruined - I'm betting that anyone that would do that once would do it to other cars as well.

 

[ssrock64]

We used to see things like this all the time at the Shelby shop I worked at. People would bring in a really low-mile car for freshening before an auction, and we'd have to break the news to them that they'd basically ruined their car by letting it sit improperly. Some of the guys had fluids in the engine and gas tank that'd frozen over many winters in unheated garages, for Christ's sake!

Most of them still ended up at auctions, unfortunately, with the next owner having to deal with the stupidity of the previous. It's one reason I never trust auction cars.

 

[Magick Man]

Sounds like the Queen Mother of all Garage Queens. That is really too bad. It also makes you wonder how many other cars that dipsh!t ruined - I'm betting that anyone that would do that once would do it to other cars as well.

It was actually a Buick dealership, they'd had the car since new and it had never been titled. You would imagine that a dealership would know better, but obviously not.

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A foremost Miura restoration specialist, Philip Cordone, is coming in for a few days to oversee the last part of the work on my S, to make sure all is up to snuff. We ran the engine on the dyno and it's making a very healthy 393bhp, after a modest cylinder enlargement, reworking the carbs, and improvement in exhaust flow. An upgrade to SV spec, perhaps a little more, and a rework of the engine and transmission cooling to use separate sumps (I was told that was a PITA), allowing for the tranny to use an appropriate fluid (not sharing the engine oil). Also fan upgrades, a more robust coolant pump, and a minor re-route of the coolant lines to allow it to run more comfortably (Italians weren't aware that water doesn't usually like to run uphill, it's true, except for Galileo and look how they treated him). So that's almost all together and represents a good sized chunk of the shop's time over the last few months.