The Car of the Day(For My Amusement)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkzavAUucyw"]SRT-4 Minivan - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkZXxIdPoPE&feature=fvwrel"]Sleeper minivan beats riced Honda Civic on track - YouTube

 

I have no difficulty with the idea that modern cars are better engineered, quieter, more fuel efficient, more comfortable, safer and easier to drive.

But that's what makes them all the damn same......I want a car that has quirks, uniquenesses, glitches and idiosyncracies.

I want a car that won't give a fuck whether I have my seat belt on. I want a car without ABS, ESC, traction control and all the other computerised add-ons that are made for morons who can't drive. I want a car with feel, personality and class.

That's why custom cars are such big business.

 

I Wouldn't Exclude ABS If I Were You.

About 3 Days After I Bought My Current Car, I Was Doing About 90kmh

When Some Turkey Pulled Out Of A Side Road, Saw Me, And Froze.

With An Ordinary Brake System I Would Have Locked All Four Wheels

And Most Likely Hit Him Dead Centre.

As It Turns Out Under Full Brakeing Power I Steered Around Him Easily....

The Only Problem With It Is On Gravel Roads, Where'as A Locked Up Wheel

Will Go Through The Gravel Till It Reaches Solid Ground, And Also

Push The Gravel Ahead Of It.

With ABS As Soon As It Senses A Skid It Will Let Go, Resulting In

A Longer Brakeing Distance.

When They First Realised This Some Car Makers Added A Switch So If

You So Desired You Could Turn Off The ABS On Gravel Roads....



Cheers Glen.

 

Why On Earth Would Somebody Give Me A

"Thumbs Down" For That Post.....



Cheers Glen.

 

No ABS here and with factory brakes it was exciting to get it stopped HAHAHAhahah
But it sure was fun getting it going

 

That would be my 75 Bronco.

 

With its big Hemi V-8 it goes 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and with its massive Brembo brakes, stops in a remarkable 116 feet.

 

Hey, my car has all of that, except the class part....

AND it's computerized. And no ABS. And no airbags. And no main oil seals, for all practical purposes.

I work to have the most functional, reasonable car that I can, for really cheap.

It's about to stop going though, the other day I had to roll start it and had to go about 15 and let the clutch out slowly to make it actually turn over, instead of chatter and slip.... and now it starts even more "gently" than before. Clutch is hanging on by the skin of it's teeth, and I don't have the tools or knowhow to do it alone.... which is a bitch, because if there was one near me, a good motor/tranny for this car would cost less than a full clutch job. (and for it being a bitch, it makes me feel like a bitch, because a RWD clutch looks like such a simple job)

I'd give you a picture of my "unique" engine bay, but I feel that's personally identifiable information, in some paranoid way....

 

^there are many books, online videos, and forums that show you how to change out motor/tranny. It's not that hard to do if you take it slow. I did my first clutch replacement when I was 15 with standard tools and a Haynes book.

A new clutch is usually only around $100. However a lot of the time you will find another couple hundred bucks worth of parts that need replacing along the way.

 

Auto-zone does 99 dollar clutch kits. Lifetime warrenty, though apparently they'll only actually do three replacements, before they tell you that your car should be dead.

I have a chilton manual, and probably all the tools I'd need, but I'm just one person, I have 4 jackstands, 1 jack, and nothing else, I don't know how the fuck I'd get the transmission out of the way, which I'm pretty sure I need to do, unless the bellhousing has some great trick that I don't understand?

 

In the absence of a pit or a hoist, you're being wise. A friend of a friend was killed years ago when a car slipped from a jackstand and the sump crushed his chest.

 

That too -- I don't want to have it higher than it should really be on stands, and then have to apply great amounts of torque, which could shear the car off the stands. And yeah, this is a mild sports car, so It's too low for me to shimmy under by a few inches, and combined with downward force (and shot suspension, but that's another story) it would easily kill me, or maim me, or trap me, or all of the previous in a slightly different order.

I suppose I could put it on pretty safe blocks if I really wanted.... but then the problem remains, what I do to actually move the transmission. It ain't going to sit nicely on a little jack. I think it weighs about as much as I do.

So yeah, I wish.... but without help or the right stuff, I wouldn't stand a chance. And if I had that stuff, I'd be learning to rebuild a motor, anyways. And it'd go back in turbo-ready.

Given that it's a wear item, why the fuck can't they make doing the clutch like doing the brakes? Just make the transmission so it can be loosened on it's mounts and slid back, and a 2-piece bellhousing, and no biggie...

 

I always love the "friend of a friend years ago" stories

 

Doubt me if you wish, it doesn't bother me.

 

Rental places might have a transmission jack that might work...

I don't recommend this but I used to drop GM 400 Turbo-Hydramatic by laying under it and lowering it on to my chest... then roll out from under it. Do not attempt this at home, you could seriously die. I used to install them by doing the reverse... No wonder my body is so fucked up.

 

Jesus! You're a BRAVE man........that's a big hunk of iron....

 

Yes... yes they are.

 

No no Meagain, my car is RWD and though small, really has plenty of room under it (was designed for a larger motor, and has had about everything in the world dropped in it, like LS1's n' such). If I blew my slave cylinder, I'd just have to raise it a few inches and roll under there, it's hanging right down.

As for taking it out, no wiggling required, it should drop right off once everything's disconnected.

I honestly have no idea what a transmission jack looks like or how it works, would it cradle it and hold it in a stable way, and then lower nearly the the ground and roll?