mws

Wow! Just looked up ambitious in the dictionary and found your letter! I do know folks have successfully transplanted SBC's in there. I believe AC even offered a kit to help. Space is going to be a serious challenge - especially with a 4x4. The differential and steering are going to pose major obstacles for you. You may end up fabbing a custom oil pan to fit. Obviously, all of the exhaust piping is going to be extremely custom. You can do a body lift and get a lot more vertical room. The suspension is torsion bar and the inner fender wells are non-structural, so that gives you a lot of latitude in making room horizontally. Forward clearance for accessory drive and radiator will also require some creativity. Bottom line, I think it could be done, but I foresee some real challenges! And unfortunately, when you're all done you'll still have a short wheelbase vehicle that was not really designed for anything beyond casual lightweight towing. The auotmatic trans may prove to be a weak link. I believe the diff and frame are capable (assuming frame is rust free - which is iffy if they use salt in Jersey), but it will never be nearly as stable as a big ol' long wheelbase suburban, and will get the attention of every LEO you see as they will not believe that vehicle is capable of what you're doing. If they enforce GCWR limits in your state, you may be in legal violation as well. All in all, I have to say the WD21 makes a far better off road truck than a tow rig. I used my pathy to haul a twin axle flat bed and the engine/suspensionless carcass of a full size G van across town, and I was far from comfortable. I also use it to push my 6000 pound travel trailer around the yard, but have never even considered trying to tow more than a couple hundred feet. The wheelbase is just too short for any stability, and the suspension is way too soft. Could it do it? Probably. But not a really good match.

Exactly - I have to let it go. I have to be maximum support for my friends and somehow accept their siblings selfishness. I am not even going to consider forgiving them at this point. I just have to accept the reality of what they have done. I just can't get how people choose this!!! I'm no puritan, god no. I have my addictions and did my irresponsible antics. But to choose something guaranteed to ruin you. WTF????? Ooops... anger rising. Back to accept. They are what they are. They chose long ago to end their existence as meaningful humans. They are the walking dead. I need to accept that. Stupid frucks.

Anybody want to come over to my place tonight for some cheerful casual conversation? I'm sure I could be a riot... Thank goodness we're going on a long scooter ride this weekend. I need some time to process this stuff and strengthen up. My friends need me strong, and right now, I'm weakening by the second. Sequestered anger is not healthy. I need to accept the selfish addicts' and not be so angry as it does not help.

Steak sneakers in a swamp is OK as well. The key is going way out in the forest. A forest with lots of bears. Leaving a mess for others is equally selfish. A friend walked into her house to find her mother had eaten a shotgun in the living room. To this day I can't imagine what she was thinking to leave that for her daughter.... Why are people so dammed selfish???????????? I'm angry. Really angry. This seems to go against all it means to be a human.

Go wayyyyyy out in a forest and blow your brains out. Do it. Now. Or shove a stick of dynamite up your butt and light it. Either will get the same results, and you will cause all your loved ones a whole lot less pain. Stupid selfish A-holes.

I've been putting these voltmeters in most of my rigs: http://www.datel.com/data/meters/20lcd-01-dcm.pdf Tiny, extremely accurate, easy to mount and wire in. Only downside is no back lighting, but exact voltage is not something I need to monitor constantly. They do have lighted versions if you're willing to do more research and wiring: http://store.cd4power.com/cgi-bin/cd4power...58/Catalog/1043

Just to rub SALT into the wounds (ooooooh, bad pun. My bad!), I still have 0 rust under the flares! No salt = no rust. Another critical area to clean (and this applies to pretty much any vehicle) is behind the lower back corners of the front fenders. Open the door all the way and look down in there. It is likely packed full of dirt and debris, holding moisture that leads to rust through from the back side.

Marketing 101: That is a correct but absolutely meaningless statement. Moog can't offer CSE Technology, as they would have to call it MSE (Moog Select Engineered) Technology. And that would be different, because they would have to use the word Moog instead of CARDONE. Get it? Marketing jargon like that is not worth the ink it is printed worth. It is very possible everybody else offers the exact same part, exactly the same. You need to do your own research to know.

I absolutely will. They are scarce, but who knows? Anybody have any idea how tricky it is to stuff SBC into a G60 Patrol?

More like a Jeep at that point, I know... But I'm not going restoration, I'm going utility! I clearly won't be starting with a "nice" one with my budget. I'll leave those for the passionate restorers. Like little red, this will be form following function all the way. If only there was a pre-'76 pathfinder, I'd be all over that! I just really want to not have to deal with smog. And putting my SBC into an LC will be simple.

Hmmmmm..... I have a line on a 1975 (SMOG EXEMPT!!!!) Toyota FJ55 Landcruiser!

Thank you, thank you all. Some of you shared some deep personal stuff - I appreciate that. And some ring so, so true for these situations. I know what my role needs to be in this. I don't like it, but I know what I need to do. Thank you again. Martin

Depends on the lunar phase and whether Britney is acting sane or not...

OK, thank you for staying. Here is the situation: In the last month, two of my dearest friends have revealed that they have siblings that have reached crisis points with regards to meth addictions. One, I'll call him Tom, is in jail. Late 30's, male, been a user for several years. The other, I'll call her Lucy, is trying to quit. Early 40's, been a long term user - like 10 or 20 years. Currently in intense therapy. My friends come to me for support and help. They know I am compassionate and care deeply, but I am also pretty, well, call it blunt. Hey, I'm an engineer and am not into games and deceipt. They come to me expecting that and are prepared for it. If they just need emotional salve and little white lies to feel better, they go to their other friends. I won't tell lies. I'll omit info or not share an opinion if I think it is more than they can process at the time, but I will never lie. I have encountered meth use and actually dealt with employees with problems. But always in a supervisor or manager role. I support them, keep issues in confidence, beg them to get help, do all I can to help them, but ultimately have to assume the role of performance manager. And frankly, they all turned out to not be able to control the demon well enough to retain their jobs no matter how hard I tried. Either incarcerated, dead, or still living the "life". It hurts, but I have to continue on. This is different. This has nothing to do with work. This has to do with trying to help friends save their family members. Literally, save them. Both have been suicidal already. It's bad. Here's my problem: What I read is incredibly depressing. Stuff like this: https://www.treatmentonline.com/blog/index.asp?blog_id=2293 Basically, research is indicating that meth use eventually (and it doesn't take long) results in serious and permanent brain alterations. And prognosis is not good. I spoke to a couple folks I know who are closer to the culture (DA, psychologist), and they say they have seen 0% recovery... and have lost hope. Basically, after a couple years, folks are pretty much lost. I don't like that answer. If it is true, then I need to not give my friends false hope for recovery. Instead, I need to focus on supporting them and keeping them healthy and strong and not getting sucked into their siblings' he!!. What are your experiences? Do you know someone who has recovered?

I'll apologize right up front about the seriousness of this thread. Not the usual Off-Topic jocularity.... I see no way to talk about this stuff without ending up depressed and concerned. So if you aren't prepared, stop reading this thread now. Many would say this forum is not the place to talk about this stuff. I disagree. I feel I have actually come to know many of you well enough to talk about serious stuff. I respect you and your experiences, and I want to hear from you. Again, I need serious input and help here, so if you're not mature or caring enough to be respectful, leave now. Thank you. Martin

Same wire diameter, same coil height, but one has coils closer together? In order to accomplish that, there would need to be more coils, right? Which means longer wire length, so YES. Well done, Grasshopper. Be careful, you now know more about coil springs than 99% of your friends.... Next lesson: Progressive springs!

RS5000's are not gas charged. They are actually quite primitive technology.... Basically an oversized Monroe base model shock with a flashy paint job. And ridiculous price tag.

Yes, I believe you have captured the effect.... The why has to do with the moment arm. Think of lever arms. How to demonstrate? Got it! A coil spring is nothing more than a straight wire spring wrapped in a coil to keep it compact. With enough imagination, you can see it. So find a piece of wire and play with it yourself. Say, like a 1/4" diameter rod about 3' in length. Clamp one end in a vice, sticking out horizontally. Hang a heavy weight on the end - how far does it move? Now cut it in half and hang the same weight. Or just hang the weight in the middle of the rod. It will only move about half as far. Since it moves only half as far for the same amount of weight, that indicates the spring rate is exactly double.

There were just as many (on a percentage basis) psychopaths running around killing people back then as there are today. Sheesh, look at how many Hitler found to work for him! We just didn't have the media, interconnected databases, and knowledge to KNOW the extent of the problem back then. In addition, most were never caught. They blend in well, and are smart enough to move around a lot so we aren't able to realize how many unsolved cases are related. How many kids did Daumer kill before anyone realized it was just one guy? And if the latest research is right, that it is a biological condition, a swift kick in the butt will fix it every bit as well as a swift kick will fix a lack of height or change eyecolor..... Kick all you want if it makes you feel better.... all you're doing is making yourself tired. Freud only noticed some people were fundamentally different. His theories as to why were quite hypothetical and incomplete. And some dead wrong.

Good questions, and I'm always willing to help willing learners! The metal alloy will affect spring rate, but when dealing with automotive coil springs, they are pretty much all of a similar enough alloy that it becomes a rather insignificant factor. It is usually assumed to be the same. Keep in mind we're talking about spring rate here... A spring rate of 1000lb/in means the spring will compress 1 inch for every 1000 pounds you put on it. The two geometric biggies affecting spring rate: Wire diameter: Due to the geometry of a coil, the spring rate increases at a rate of the diameter change to the 4th power..... Yes, not linear, not squared, to the 4th power! That is why a .625 diameter is double the spring rate of a .52 diameter. Small change = big difference. Double the diameter, the spring rate goes up by 16x. Wire length: This one will sound weird, but stay with me. The spring rate DECREASES an a perfectly proportional relationship to the overall wire length. The longer the wire, the lower the spring rate (softer spring). The wire length is how long the wire would be if you uncoiled it.... For straight rate springs, the length is about pi*median diameter*number of coils. Pi is constant and the median diameter is pretty close to 4.7" for all pathy coils, so that is also pretty much a constant. Lo and behold, the significant factor is the number of coils! That also means that if you cut a coil off, the spring will get stiffer. Honestly. 99% of folks don't realize that! So if you need to cut 2 or 3 coils off those long puppies to get them to a reasonable length, the springs will actually get stiffer. That is why el cheapo hack job ricer cars ride like they have no suspension at all - even if they're not riding on the stops. If you cut 1/3 of the spring off to make it 1/3 shorter, you are also making it 33% stiffer. All that make sense?

Today's: "Young lady, those are some of the most SPECTACULAR breasts I've ever seen, and I thank you for revealing as much as you are. You made an old letcher very happy..."

OK, there is obviously not anywhere near enough information in this article to make a clinical diagnosis... the scary part I keyed off of was: "In the footage, the boy's face remains largely blank, Neindorf said, adding: "It was like he was playing a game." That alone is not nearly enough, but enough that I hope someone is going to monitor him carefully. Parents would be perfect, but they do tend to be biased. If he is disciplined and never repeats, great. But if he repeats, don't take it lightly. That is extremely common in people with psychopathic disorders, but not that common in most humans. Read back into the childhoods of Jeffrey Daumer, Leonard Lake/Charles Ng, Dennis Rader (BTK killer), Arthur Shawcross, Eric Harris (Columbine) or any other true psychopaths and you see that same type of thing happening - and escalating in a rather consistent way. Insects, then animals, then hurting humans, then killing. One or two episodes is not an indicator, but at some point, the behavior becomes predictable. I am of the belief we can learn from the past and prevent abhorrent things. The scary part is that we still don't have any way to "fix" psychopaths to help them behave in a more socially acceptable way. Some of the latest research indicates there are biological, physical differences in their brains. A little cut and paste: Psychopaths do not suffer from hallucinations but from a character flaw. These types of serial killers are in touch with reality and know right from wrong. They just don't care. Psychopathic serial killers lack one very important component of human nature - a conscience. Either they have no conscience or their conscience is too weak to inhibit the violence they commit. Psychopaths kill without guilt and remorse. What creates a psychopath? No one knows for certain. There are many theories including genetics in that the person is born with the predisposition to kill. Other theories favor that the psychopath is a product of his environment. Perhaps it is a combination of both genetics and environment. One of the most frightening aspects of a psychopathic serial killer is his ability to blend in with his or her environment. The person seems normal. However, beneath the surface lies two uncontrollable traits: sexual abnormality and a consuming need for power. The killings satisfies both with the ultimate control over life and death. Simply stated, killing gives them pleasure. They kill, experts say, because they want to and because they like it. The only thing that stops a serial killer from killing is incarceration or the person dies.

Those do sound like some kind of a lift spring. Double check your measurements, 5 5/8" sounds way too big - should be about 5 1/4. If they are 5 1/4" OD, you probably can cut them down to make them physically fit, but I'm afraid you're going to find them wayyyy too stiff. If the wire is truly 5/8" in diameter (.625"), they are going to ride like an unloaded one ton truck. And I suspect they really are that big in diameter. Since the spring rate goes down as the total wire length increases, the designer would have had to increase the wire diameter to compensate. Doing some quick math, a wire diameter of .63" will result in a spring more than twice as stiff as what you have now - ouch. On the plus side, you could haul ALL your fat friends around and the rear of the truck won't be squatting much at all!

Err..... I think you could say that out loud! Surely you saw something today that made you think....

For better or worse, I was brought up to be minimally offensive. "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it" and all that. But, sheesh. Everyday I see something that makes me regret that! Sometimes I just want to say it out loud. I fear they are all going to build up inside and someday, when Alzhiemers or Tourettes gets the better of me, it is all going to come out in a mushroom cloud of inappropriateness! So I'm going to vent some off. Post YOUR "not appropriate to say out loud" thoughts here. Here's mine, just from lunch today! "DUDE! YOU'RE WHITE! PULL UP YOUR (gosh darned) PANTS!" "Lady, the dress with knee high athletic socks look is not working so well for you...." "Of course I'm staring. Wasn't that your goal when you decided to gett THAT pierced? And when you chose to wear that?"