mws

I've got a stompin' and bulletproof FI'd 383 (w/vortec heads) with an ultra stout TH700 trans that may be looking for a home.... Not "stock", but will almost bolt in (assuming trans would fit) and produce way more torque and power than any period engine. And get you well over 20 mpg in an el camino.... With the O/D and locking TC in the trans, over 25 on highway would be easily achieved.

/\ is thinking of furry kittens! < Does own a LOT of helmets.... hmmmmm..... \/ Also rides the short bus

I've known a few ferret owners in CA. For the most part, the law is in place to punish stupid owners and to remind all owners that these would be really nasty animals to introduce into our ecosystem. Banning them and then allowing selective violation ain't the right way to do that, but whatever.

Hack hack, cough cough. After several days of nice Delta breezes, the southerlies shut off and the palor has returned. I forgot just how unpleasant the smoke is.... Maybe next month will be better.

A lot of the TBI'd pathies have this problem. Mine does. I sneak it through by turning the idle speed up a bit. Just 50 rpm above the recommended idle speed does it for me! I use a smog tech I know, and have him hook it up and I just turn the idle speed up in tiny increments until the HC reading plummets - just a few rpm makes a huge difference. Haven't figured out why yet....

Ahhh, you speak with newfound wisdom, grasshopper. A little inside information: The batteries that Exide makes for Wal-Mart are of significantly poorer design, materials, and quality than those they make for others. Upon Satan-Marts request. After all, the only thing that matters is price, right? Exide makes at least 4 quality levels of battery, with Satan-Marts version at the bottom, and the ones labeled Bosch/NASCRAP Extreme/Exide Marathon at the top. The Autozone Dura-Last is about a level 3, not quite the best, but way better than the really cheap ones.

Let me get this right... You have (4) Jag engines and you claim they would all run? At the same time? That, my friend, qualifies you as a wrenching god.....

Whew, had me sweating on that one! I have you beat by 1. Yes, 1. Pathy: 6 BMW: 4 Frankenvan (she runs great, just no interior yet): 8 Triumph: 3 BMW bike: 4 (dual plug heads....) Dirt bikes: 2 ATV's: 2 Generators: 2 mower, weedeater, pressure washer, rototiller: 4 And, the ace up my sleeve, the F250 with the rompin stompin gas guzzlin' V10! _______ 45

What about the BMW? And doesn't the bug at least fire up?

Something we did at work years ago when we were bored: Count up how many spark plugs you have at your house! The winner gets dubious bragging rights.... Rules: 1) These are YOUR plugs, not your mommy and daddy's. To count them, you must have contributed to the acquisition of the machine. You can count your spouse's or children's if they live with you and YOU paid at least half (or share finances). 2) It has to be routinely stored at your house. The only exceptions are big boats or aircraft that can not be stored at home. 3) Machine must be functional. In the case of a project car, if it runs, you can count it even if not currently registered. But it must be able to be started and run within 15 minutes of a challenge being issued! 4) No, you can not count the glow plugs in a diesel or RC toy engine. Spark plugs only. 5) Yes, yard equipment (mower, chain saw, generator, weed eater) counts. Anything with internal combustion engine. But it must meet rule 3).

'89 Pathfinder, 4x4? You can tow it with the rear tires down, driveshaft connected and transfer case in NEUTRAL. In fact, you can even tow it with all 4 down with the TC in neutral. Although Nissan's official position is "no", there are pathies around that have been towed behind motor homes for many, many thousands of miles with no issues.

Easy? No. Doable at home? Yes. If your are using an aftermarket manual, keep in mind one of them (Chilton or Haynes) is wrong in defining where the thermostat is. It is where 88 described.

You'll lose. If you do ANYTHING that is different from the factory that "may" affect emissions and it does not have CARB EO paid for and assigned, it is illegal. You can try to fight, but if there is a piece of equipment that is not factory stock or does not have an EO, you will lose 99% of the time. Hence, the whole Frankenvan scenario. The fuel injection system I installed on the '79 was illegal because it did not have an EO. The 90%+ reduction in emissions was considered irrelevant.

The Holy Grail Raising Arizona The World According to Garp The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Space Balls Being There On Any Sunday Brazil The Princess Bride

The longest 6 months of my life were spent in Biloxi, Mississippi. Good god.... I can handle 110 if it's dry, but anythin over about 85 degrees at 90+ is absolute torture. After living here for 30 years, my body has adapted to produce plenty of perspiration to keep me comfortable in the dry heat. But that not so good for comfort when humidity is high! I looked like a pro basketball player last week when it was 95 and 45%.... the sweat was dripping profusely. Just nasty.

Must....... not...... make......... crude.......... comments I hate the Shrub. Arnie (the governator) has been here several times. I can only imagine the traffic snafu having GW in town. Containment is at 80% and getting better every day. Humidity is still way up (which means all of 30% up here!) and progress is rapid. No homes threatened. Still lots of chopper flights dumping water on hot spots. Smoke is much improved as well. Can even see the foothills every now and then (they are about 4 miles away). Even saw some blue sky the other day! Still only one human death reported - a somewhat unique individual ("touched" may be a good word to use here) who refused to evacuate in Concow and whose property was clearly not prepared to endure fire. Sad story, but his choice - which I believe in letting people have. Lots of firefighter injuries, but only a couple moderate to serious. All in all, an impressive display. Personal notes: 1 colleage had fire line 50 feet from house, another had it within 20! The fire crew (an inmate crew) did an amazing job saving his home - they cut and removed all trees near the house and hand cleared (hand hoe) a wide strip around his house. All in 100+ temps with fire racing towards them. They left an empty water bottle box with their crew number and names signed on it so he actually gets to know who to thank! So many stories like that....

/\ Is incorrect. Heck, even the paint is not shiny anymore! < Is having dinner with his wife and both of his girlfriends tonight \/ Is wondering how that works....

You can install a remote oil filter and use the relatively giant and quite standard Ford filters.... They would have more than enough filtering capacity to allow for a long change interval, and you can get pretty much any filter made in that Ford size.

Please don't use gas soaked rags. Modern gasoline is an incredibly toxic carcinogen! It contains bad stuff that will be absorbed into your skin. Use kerosene, brake cleaner, lacquer thinner, pretty much anything you can get at hardware or auto parts store rather than gas.

IF (and only if) the frame is reasonably rust free AND you can do the wrench spinning yourself, then heck ya! Offer $600 and enjoy! But if you have to pay someone else to do the work, no.

Highly unusual - this is the first I've heard of it happening. When you replace them, use factory rubber bushings. Polyurethane bushings have very little "give" to them so will dramatically increase the peak dynamic loads the suspension members see. Over millions of jarring impacts, the metal will fatigue. There is pretty considerable design safety factor in the stock arms, but it would appear to not be enough to let you use poly bushings AND drive on a lot of rough roads. Eliminate one of those stress factors and you should be back in durable/safe zone.

You may also have to remove at least one of the torsion bars to get the front diff out. I did.

This weekend is looking relatively balmy! Forecast for tomorrow is only 99.... I plan to get a lot of wiring projects done on my truck. Maybe even start on stereo...

Well said! The VAST majority of folks living up in the woods around here are fully aware of the risks and take extraordinary measures to maintain their "defensible space" around their homes so when the inevitable happens they have a fighting chance of surviving. My friends (the ones who drove out with flames on both sides of the road and near 0 visibility - just pointed car between walls of flame) are classic examples. Some of the stuff they have done: - No trees or brush within 50 yards of house. - Manually clear undergrowth to several hundred yards of house. - Steel roof - non- flammable siding - no wood or flammables (decks, fences, firewood) anywhere near house. - Immediately remove any dead trees. - No flammable landscaping (lots of dirt, rocks, water, short fire resistant grass) - Large pond with gasoline powered pump and industrial sized rain birds - Keep a couple go bags on hand at all times - Put their propane tank a LONG ways away from the house. Cost a few hundred more to run all the pipe, but if you've seen one go off.... - Cut a quad trail up to the next road and keep a couple funtional quads on hand at all times - this gives them 3 exit routes. Whenever fires threaten: - Fire up the pump and rainbird and SATURATE everything within 100 yards of house - Rake up every single stick or pine needle within 50 yards. - Shut off propane and move what few flammables they have in house out to the flammables shed. - Move all furniture away from walls and windows. And yes, they survived this one. Their neighbors (who didn't do nearly as much) lost their home. Guess who the media want to interview? It's almost comical watching the media go from house to house to find a bawling, lamenting, "OH GOD, WHY ME - SOMEBODY NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING" type of person. 99% are more like, "ehh, it happens. Glad I was prepared. Firefighters did a miraculous job."

The winds did NOT materialize and Paradise remains! Yahoo! Evacuations still stand, but they have 50% containment. The fire has just about burned out it's fuel on the east side of the river without making it across. That is what containment means - stop the advance long enough to let it burn itself out. It should be safe enough for the firefighters to cross over to the burned side and start attacking the smoldering hot spots. All I'll say on the MOAB theory is that I fully support B's position. Even a MOMOAB wouldn't touch this. The fire encompasses dozens of square miles in some of the most rugged terrain in the US. This ain't Kansas.... Some of these canyons are 3000+ feet deep and in well in excess of 100% slope on the walls. Can not even access on foot. You can rappel (sp?) in, but have to hike out along the bottom.