rec.autos.tech
02-26-94
to:  ERIC W SIMPSON
from: DAVE WILLIAMS
Subject: Re: American content

-> I am as much of a xenophobe as any Japanese citizen.  True, we are

 Shit, not another one of those.

 Anyone want to propose a new group, rec.autos.jap-bashing?


-> Eric Simpson         Red-Blooded Canadian-American

 So you're a foreigner anyway, eh?  'Kin you squeal lahk a pig, boy?

=======================================================================
can you help me...help me get out of this place?...slow sedation...
ain't my style, ain't my pace...giving me a number...NINE, SEVEN, EIGHT
(Nazareth)               XJ900 TURBO at 15psi          DoD# 978 xKotFAQ
=======================================================================


dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: 26 Dodge -- Where do you ck oil??
21 Sep 94 07:53:00 GMT

-> Some old engines, especially tractors, but maybe cars too, didn't
-> have dipsticks. They had check ports on the side of the oil pan. You

Lots of cars back in the 'teens had an oil tank with a hand pump.  In
the morning you'd go out, climb aboard (we don' need no steenkeeng
DOORS!) and pump oil until it ran out the engine's overflow tube and
onto the ground.  Then you'd set the spark advance and mixture levers,
switch on the ignition (if there was one; some magneto-equipped cars
simply used the mixture control to shut off fuel), pumped up some fuel
pressure if you didn't have a gravity feed, then got out and cranked it
over by hand.  No sissy starters, nerdy automatic mixture control or
spark advance, or Big Brother ODB-II computers.


dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us
12 May 1994 07:36:00 +0000
dragnet@chiller.compaq.com (DragNet)
Subject: Re: Cheap Project Cars

-> Nobody can afford $20-30,000 for one of these 8-second, 600ci
-> "street" cars.

A fair number of people *can* afford those sort of cars.  The guy who's
making $250K/yr and wants a bad ride.  Or someone who's been in the
sport a long time and has accumulated the parts over ten, fifteen, or
twenty years.  I dunno about you, by my storage shed runneth over.

Lots of these "$20,000" cars don't have $20K in them.  Sure, if you did
like Warm Rod or Car Crap, bought an expensive body and a trailer, than
hauled it around to Ed Pink for an engine, Alston for chassis, Tony
Nancy for the interior, Kolor Me Kustom for paint, yeah, you could peg
$20K without half trying.  Maybe $20K to have a car duplicated by an
expensive shop, but not to build it yourself.  And even with the high
dollar weenies out there, the average racer still builds his own, at
least around here.


-> But put a limit on the budget for a heads-up shoot-out so more people
-> can participate.
-> Maybe three budget classes like $5,000, $10,000, & unlimited?

Other than instituting a claiming rule (I HATE claiming rules!) there
are very real problems to enforcing budget classes.  So far I don't know
of any racing organization that has successfully done it.

I used to resent competing against trailer queens.  Street classes
should be street driven, right?  I dunno.  I can't afford to keep
insurance on a car fleet any more.  As I compete further away from home,
consequences of a breakdown become larger.  A 200-mile wrecker bill
would HURT.  A new dual-axle car hauler is only $1300 or so locally.
Yeah, the car will still pass inspection and I could get the plate
renewed, but it's a lot more reasonable to just tow it.  Then I can run
twice as hard, and if I detonate it, I can just throw all the pieces on
the trailer and come home.  It's hard to make maximum-effort runs
knowing you're three or four hours away from home.  Maybe the trailer
guys have a point.

-> So now I'm looking at just towing to the race track.
-> But I don't have a car that can tow!  AAAAAHHH!

Been there, done that.  And if you had enough money for a tow car,
you'd spend it on the race car, right?


dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us
12 May 1994 08:00:00 +0000
dragnet@chiller.compaq.com (DragNet)
Subject: Re: Cheap Project Cars

-> One suggestion I have thought of would be a "claimer" class. It's
-> stolen from the circle track guys. I don't understand their process
-> completely, but the premise is roughly that everybody's engine is "up
-> for sale" for some fixed dollar amount, say $2000. If you think Joe
-> Schmoe has been putting a few too many trick parts into his engine
-> and winning too many races, you can claim his motor for $2000

Yeah.  Except you're looking at maybe a $5000 motor there - aluminum
block, aluminum heads, billet crank, etc.  The bomber class guys locally
run with a $250 claim.  You can't buy a running engine from a junkyard
at that price, not locally.  And a minor freshening will blow that money
away fast even if the engine was free.

Basically, claimer rules let second-raters steal from the winners.
Now, if the claiming price was high enough to give you a reasonable
chance of replacing the motor... but I've never seen or heard of
anything like that.


29 Jul 1994 18:36:00 +0000
dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams)
Subject: RE: GTV6 front air dam
italian-cars@balltown.cma.com

-> I thought that a vehicle importer in the US had to carry all spare
-> parts for his cars for 10 years which in the case of the GTV6 would
-> be until 1996. Any comments anyone?

Manufacturers have to stock emissions-related items for five years,
goes to seven next year.  Other than that, no automobile manufacturer is
obligated to stock or sell you *anything* for your car.

Long ago it used to be more or less "how things were done" to make
parts available for many years, maybe 10, though there was no
requirement do to so.  With model proliferation and just-in-time
assembly, there are not only many more different parts than before, but
fewer left over for the supply bins.  Also, tax laws changed some years
ago, making those inventories of old parts a recurring liability.

The Buick GN people ran into this head-on a few years ago - many of the
parts unique to the GN were never available as service replacements.
I've run into it on cars just a few years old.


10 Aug 1994 21:20:00 +0000
dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams)
Subject: 900RR vs RGV250 mShootout Postponed
2stroke@sol.quadsys.com

-> broken) the insurance will only pay fair market value for the bike
-> and not a penny for the helmet ($350) lethers they cut apart ($750)
-> and boots they also cut ($250).

Yes, the paramedics take some sort of fiendish delight in cutting off
all your clothes so the bystanders can gawk.  When I got whacked by a
DWI I got my left leg pulverized (nice steel rod in there now), so
naturally they had to cut off my shirt, boots, and pants.  I had to
fight to keep my jockey shorts.  Buncha pervies.  They were real pissed
I took my helmet off, citing "possible head injuries."  I pointed out
the helmet was unscratched and had never touched the ground, but this
carries no weight with Helmet Believers.  They were mad because they
didn't get to saw the helmet off.  They kept trying to get it away from
me, but I kept my grip on it until I gave it to my wife four hours
later, before going into the operating room.

You can probably send your boots and suit back to the manufacturer for
repair.  If not, scout around for a leather shop and see what they can
do.  Repair usually involves dressing the edges of the cuts and
stitching a backing piece behind the cut.  It won't make them new
again, but they'll be just as strong and you'll be many hundreds of
dollars ahead.

You'll have to make your own decision on the helmet.  Paint or replace.


rec.autos.tech
Date: 06-07-94 (16:23)               Number: 3392
  To: WB7CKY@VNET.IBM.COM            Refer#: NONE
From: DAVE WILLIAMS                    Read: NO
Subj: NEED POINTERS FOR BUILDIN      Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE

-> find.  Speaking of engines, what should I get?  I am leaning towards
-> a 302 but everyone here at work say I should get a 350 because parts
-> are easier to find and they are cheaper.

 Whoopee snot.  90% of all the street rods around here or in the
magazines have 350 Chevy engines.  They're generic.  They're boring.
And you're not talking a whole lot of price difference, either.

 Why not go for something different?  How about a 360 or 440 Chrysler?
You can get plenty of stuff for them.  Or why not a Mercedes Benz or
Porsche V8?  You're talking about two years before you seriously get
started; enough time to have a talk with your local insurance companies
and salvage yards.  The Mercedes and Porsche are mostly cast aluminum
and would look absolutely gorgeous after a long session with the buffing
wheel.  You'd need the transmission that matched the engine, and the
driveshaft, and any EFI control modules - probably the whole front
wiring harness.  Buy a whole wreck, pull off what you want, and sell the
rest to a scrapyard.  Heck, both cars have independent rear suspension;
a little work and you could put it on your car.

 There are other options - you might contact someone in Australia and
get one of those Aussie aluminum crossflow heads that'll fit anything
from a 144 to 250 Ford six, if your chassis can take a six.  Or use one
of those old Pontiac overhead cam sixes from the '60s.  Came with a
Quadrajet, 250 CID, 250hp.  Heck, I even saw a '32 once with a (Nissan?)
Diesel four in it, turbocharged.


Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Global Alert For All: Jesus is Coming Soon
From: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
Date: 23 Jan 94 01:43:00 GMT

-> God's Holy Spirit is gradually withdrawing its protection from the
-> earth and the devastating events you see are demonstrations of
-> Satan's power. All those who are not guarded by God are in danger of
-> forever losing eternal life.

Well, dang.  You know, God and I were just talking the other day.  I
was on the Yamaha doing one of my 150-mph speed runs to the 7-11 - it's
almost five miles away, you know - and He appeared right in front of me
about the time the rev limiter started kicking in at 11,500 RPM.

"Son, We have a message for you."

"No, shit?  Say, can you move to the side a little?  You're blocking my
view."

"No problem... now, as We were saying, it looks like you have a little
detonation in #3 cylinder, and #2 doesn't look too hot either.  We
recommend you drop down a heat range on the center plugs, or you're
gonna melt some pistons."

"Hey, thanks.  I appreciate it."


God and I get along pretty good.  I talked him into turning my
insurance agent into a newt once, but He changed him back that evening.



Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
Date: 08-16-94
To: Collene Strohm
From: Dave Williams
Subject: Re: REGULAR FUEL

-> >The big question is "Why are you using Super Unleaded for normal
-> use?". >

> I hope your car is fuel ijected other wise that fuel will eat the
> needles and seats in your carb try mid grade works fine..


 Sometimes I wonder if the idea of net access for the masses is really a
good idea.


Date: 09-21-94
To: G. HUGH SONG 21613
Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
From:  Dave Williams
Subject: Poisonous LEAD powder from car battery terminals

-> We all know that LEAD is the most dangerous when it is in powder
-> form.
-> How come they - the FED or EPA - allowed the use of such auto
-> batteries for so long?

 Probably because A) the average consumer could not even identify his
battery, much less eat it, and B) the same consumer would probably
object to starting his '94 Coupe de Ville with a hand crank stuck
through a hole in the grille.

 Gawd, did you know there's lead (and cadmium!) in DIRT?  They dig the
stuff right out of the ground!  You'd probably best not come into
contact with any dirt, nor let your children play in it, lest they get
heavy metal poisoning.  Something needs to be done!


From: music@reg.triumf.ca (FRED W. BACH)
Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Poisonous LEAD powder from car battery terminals
Date: 21 Sep 1994 16:08 PST

In article <17877.88.uupcb@chaos.lrk.ar.us>, dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) writes...
# 
#-> We all know that LEAD is the most dangerous when it is in powder
#-> form.
#-> How come they - the FED or EPA - allowed the use of such auto
#-> batteries for so long?
# 
# Probably because A) the average consumer could not even identify his
#battery, much less eat it, and B) the same consumer would probably
#object to starting his '94 Coupe de Ville with a hand crank stuck
#through a hole in the grille.
# 
# Gawd, did you know there's lead (and cadmium!) in DIRT?  They dig the
#stuff right out of the ground!  You'd probably best not come into
#contact with any dirt, nor let your children play in it, lest they get
#heavy metal poisoning.  Something needs to be done!


Yes.  Dixie Lee Ray, a former governor of Washington (?) was said to have
done some calculations on the amount of *uranium* in the top meter of soil
in the average back yard, based on natural concentrations in ordinary soil.

I think that average person would be shocked at the figures.

I guess the heavy metals used in engines come out in more *absorbable*
(i.e., more toxic) form.  Do you think that's right?


From: slaterm@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Michael Slater)
Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Poisonous LEAD powder from car battery terminals
Date: 22 Sep 1994 00:15:56 -0400

In rec.autos.tech, music@reg.triumf.ca (FRED W. BACH) writes:

> Yes.  Dixie Lee Ray, a former governor of Washington (?) was said to have
> done some calculations on the amount of *uranium* in the top meter of soil
> in the average back yard, based on natural concentrations in ordinary soil.
>
> I think that average person would be shocked at the figures.
>
> I guess the heavy metals used in engines come out in more *absorbable*
> (i.e., more toxic) form.  Do you think that's right?

I'm really glad someone out there besides me is not in the overzealous
environmental overkill category.  The quote you refer to is not from
Dixy, although she reports it in her book "Trashing the Planet".
The quote is from Walter Marshall, who among other things served as
head of Great Britian's Atomic Energy Council.  His quote follows:

In my own country, the United Kingdom, I like to point out that
the average Englishman's garden occupies one tenth of an acre.
By digging down one metre, we can extract six kilograms of
thorium, two kilograms of uranium, and 7,000 kilograms of potassium,
all of them radioactive.  In a sense, all of that is radioactive
waste, not man-made, but the reside left over when God created
the planet.

(Marshall, Walter (Lord Marshall of Goring), 1986, "Nuclear
Power:  Energy of Today and Tomorrow," ENC International Conference,
2 June 1986.

I also wish to pass on that while Dixy served as both Governer of
Washington, she was also the only woman to have served as the head
of the Atomic Energy Commission.  Having worked for the Navy for the
past 10 years on the site she sold to the Navy, I have had many an
opportunity to meet and discuss various topics with her.  She was
not a politician, but was a very astute scientist.  She had a great
perspective on the hazards of everyday life, which are documented in
her book "Trashing the Planet" ISBN 0-89526-544-3.  I encourage
everyone to read this book.  This book covers every aspect of
environmental overkill, including nuclear, acid rain, DDT, Dioxin,
ozone, with references.  The book reads very easily for the common
man (or woman for that matter).

Dixy passed away last year, and is survived by her dogs and sisters.
She will be missed.

regards, and don't sweat the small stuff.
michael


From: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: 51 Ford Custom
Date: 3 Oct 94 11:09:00 GMT

-> Is the kind of language used by Dave Williams really necessary? Most
-> netters are adults not adolescents who need to punctuate every
-> sentence with words like these to appear macho to their friends.

I use a spell corrector/grammar utility called "Redneck 6.2."  If
you're offended by what I post, you should see what the program
recommends to start with...


Date: 03-02-94
To: PHG$2326@ALTAIR.SELU.EDU
Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
From: dave williams
Subject: Restoration Instruction Books Wanted

-> interior (not just put on seat covers) and how to install new stereo
-> systems in the dashboard of old cars.

 I'll write one just as soon as I finish "How to Refuel Your Car - A
Practical Handbook For Safe Self Fueling."  (subtitle: Gas For Dummies)


 Chapters are:

"You can do it yourself - why pay an attendant?"
(offer void in New Jersey)

"How to Tell When You're Empty"
(guages, guages that lie, Chevrolet guages, late model cars with "gas
pump" idiot lights, and old VWs that just have a reserve valve)

"Recognizing 332 Common Gas Pumps"
(photos of every common type of pump, from hand crank pumps with glass
globes to the new credit-card-swipe pumps.  Also includes details on
vapor recovery pumps)  (special sidebar contains detailed instructions
on how to identify kerosene and Diesel pumps, and why you might want to
avoid them!)

"Leaded vs. Unleaded, And What It Means To You"
(how to use those little leaded-to-unleaded adapters to destroy your
catalytic convertor)

"Octane - Fact or Fiction?"
(the REAL scoop on how the Saucer People and the EPA scammed America!)

"In Search of the Gas Cap"
(how to identify cars with the gas cap behind the license plate -
Chrysler, Jaguar, and Triumph flip caps - what to do if your Jaguar has
TWO gas caps - the mystery of the '56 and '57 Chevrolets - those sneaky
old VW Beetles - others)

 My next book, by popular demand, will show you how to install a killer
auto sound system in any Old Car(tm) using only common household tools
such as MIG welders, chainsaws, and butter knives.  Stay tuned!


Date: 01-02-94
To: Gadfly
From: Dave Williams
Newsgroup: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Yea, Ford!  Quality IS Job 1.

-> Actually, no.  The lesson American experts taught the Japanese (we
-> Americans wouldn't listen for the longest time) is that quality is
-> customer-defined.

 Back where I used to work, a "quality consultant" came in and gave us
lectures.  He started off by saying, "Quality isn't a fixed value.
Quality is what you *expect*.  If you buy a $5 pair of sneakers and they
last six months, you got a quality pair of sneakers.  If you paid $150
and they lasted six months, you feel ripped off."

 Then he went into one of the usual Deming religious sermons, and I
tuned him out.

 Quality in automobiles falls right in with the guy's example, though.
A Lexus or Cadillac owner would be rightfully annoyed if there was a 2mm
variance in the door fit.  A Lada owner would be happy if the door
didn't fall off when opened.


rec.autos.tech
03-21-94 (12:10)               Number: 29291
  BRADLEY SCOTT SLAVIK           Refer#: NONE
DAVE WILLIAMS                    Read: NO
Subject: Re: Octane number: What is it?

-> I agree. The octane scale is an arbritrary measurement scale, like
-> centigrade. It measures how smoothly the fuel burns.

 Smoothly, eh?  Gee, I always thought the octane scale referred to
flavor.  The lemon-butternut 97 octane is really great stuff...


rec.autos.tech
05-13-94 (10:54)               Number: 4371
  LLOYD R. PARKER                Refer#: NONE
DAVE WILLIAMS                    Read: NO
Subject: Re: Consumer Reports, and CR's reliability charts for

-> Yeah, someone driving a rusted crate 10 years old, belching smoke, is
-> a great indication of how reliable that vehicle is!  Boy, we just
-> have to bow in the face of logic like that!  Says nothing
-> about how much the owner had to repair and how much it cost

 The newest vehicle we own is an '84 Mazda pickup.  It has 142,000 miles
on it.  We also have a '79 Mazda RX7, a '73 Capri, a '72 Capri, and a
'60 Chevy.  None of the cars have any rust, nor do they belch smoke.
The '60 has 108,000 on it and is still going strong.

 Sounds like you're the kind of dickhead who just destroys anything they
drive.  How does it feel to know you're supporting a finance company and
half of UAW?


rec.autos.tech
10-14-94 (08:52)               Number: 21185
  DANIEL J. STERN                Refer#: 20965
DAVE WILLIAMS                    Read: NO
Subject: Re: What in the hell is a Camero?

-> I think the camEro is in the same car line as Plymouth Valients and
-> Valaries and Baccarudas, Dodge Challangers, Merchurys, and any
-> Chrysler product with a "hemmy" engine.  Grr.

 By crikey, I think you're right!

 That must be the car line that has the big chrome "bumbers", power
"breaks", and sometimes burn "ethonal" fuel.  Isn't Volkswagon one of
their models?  And the Fairmount too.


rec.autos.tech
Date: 04-21-94 (20:02)               Number: 2763
  To: JESSE RUNGE                    Refer#: NONE
From: DAVE WILLIAMS                    Read: NO
Subject: Re: Question 3-gen Camaro

-> I have part of this series already.  Unfortunately, the magazines
-> always have a shop do the installations, and are extremely vague on
-> problems.

 That's because the magazines are produced by "journalists" who don't
know a synchro ring from a horn ring, much less get their delicate
manicured fingers dirty actually *working* on cars.  So they rely on
reports from "experts" and fifty pounds of press releases a day.  It's a
wonder the magazines aren't even worse.

 If Warm Rod and Car Crap spent half the effort on technical stuff they
spend on graphics and bikini babes, they'd be a lot better.


From: dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams) 
Newsgroups: rec.autos.rod-n-custom
Subject: Where to find beginners info about street rods
Date: 5 Jun 94 08:26:00 GMT

-> I am interested in starting a project to build a street rod,
-> but I'm slightly clueless as to where to begin.  Before I get started
-> I would like to get up to speed on the basics, and was wondering
-> where a good place to start is.  How did you get your start in
-> building rods?

There are half a dozen magazines catering to the street rod crowd.
Check them out.  Go to rod shows.  Find out what you like, what you
don't.  See if there is a rod club in your area, join, go to meetings.
Scout around in your area to see what kind of cars are available.