Yesterday was car repair research day for me. I re-read the "famous" thread at a Corvette forum yet another time, on the fix I need for my Corvette's fatal problem (failed EBCM), and realized it should work on my car. It's new ground, nobody has done what I would be attempting, but on paper it should work. Hardest part is actually not so much electronics, but retrofitting a brake system pressure sensor to my car, which as far as I can tell has none at all, and later model EBCM's need one. Biggest problem is actually that I'm hurting for cash and the CAD/USD exchange is poor. I need at least one of those to improve before ordering parts from US Corvette salvage yards.
I had also thought that may be the case, until I noticed that oil recommendations were different in different markets, not so much different climates.
How long do you keep your car?
My first car was given to me by my grandmother in 1970 and it was 21 years old then. I was still driving it occasionally in the late 80's and had driven it over to a friends house around 1990 where I traded it for some vintage tube stereo equipment.......this woman has me beat by a long shot. I would keep that one too!
YouTube
On the other hand I have owned about 20 cars over my lifetime, with the shortest time of ownership being 3 days........unexpectedly sold a 1970 Plymouth Valiant for a profit.
My first car was given to me by my grandmother in 1970 and it was 21 years old then. I was still driving it occasionally in the late 80's and had driven it over to a friends house around 1990 where I traded it for some vintage tube stereo equipment.......this woman has me beat by a long shot. I would keep that one too!
YouTube
On the other hand I have owned about 20 cars over my lifetime, with the shortest time of ownership being 3 days........unexpectedly sold a 1970 Plymouth Valiant for a profit.
The Edge will be my 10th vehicle and second new one. Most of the others started around 100,000 kms and were let go around the 200,000 km mark, with the exceptions of my first two. They both met untimely deaths in eerily similar ways.
Both:
Mine were white Toyota Celicas
The other cars were driven by 20 year old females
Their cars were owned by other members of their family
They came out from behind a vehicle on my right
No time to brake before contact
T-boned on their drivers side
Both my Celicas dead.
Both:
Mine were white Toyota Celicas
The other cars were driven by 20 year old females
Their cars were owned by other members of their family
They came out from behind a vehicle on my right
No time to brake before contact
T-boned on their drivers side
Both my Celicas dead.
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I've only ever purchased 6 vehicles, and still own 3 of those 6 now. The first 3 weren't resold to drivers, I drove 2 to the junkyard myself, and for the 3rd accepted the free tow from the charity. As you can tell I don't put a lot of miles on cars, and like to drive them into the ground. All 3 cars I junked were less than 200kkms.
As far as I can remember I’ve registered 11 four wheel vehicles and 5 two wheel. 5 of the cars/ trucks came for free. Intercepted on their way to the or taken out of the junk yard. Early seventies 240Z, opal manta, and Pontiac GTO stand out. Most were junk when I was done with them. A few survived on being given to friends even more desperate then I was at the time.
How long do I keep my car? Well I've only owned two and I still have both. First one like Tubelab, was given to me by my grandmother. It is a 1965 Morris 1100. I got it in 1982. It is in a state of dismantlement waiting to be restored.
The second car is a 1995 Peugeot 306 S16 which I got in 1996. It is currently in the doghouse, and I'm not driving it again till I get a new ignition barrel (spring failed and I was driving it (returning to ignition position after starting manually) however on Thursday the key went to the start position whilst I was driving and I didn't notice, burned out the wiring to the brush on the starter motor, car stalled and I couldn't restart so had to be towed home. I'd just put a new alternator in at $550 and had spent a small fortune at the mechanics getting some oil leaks fixed as well as other overdue items attended too.
So a third car may be on the horizon, however If I do get a third one I really don't want to get rid of the pug. Wish there were some cheap industrial units around that I could purchase to store cars!!
Tony.
The second car is a 1995 Peugeot 306 S16 which I got in 1996. It is currently in the doghouse, and I'm not driving it again till I get a new ignition barrel (spring failed and I was driving it (returning to ignition position after starting manually) however on Thursday the key went to the start position whilst I was driving and I didn't notice, burned out the wiring to the brush on the starter motor, car stalled and I couldn't restart so had to be towed home. I'd just put a new alternator in at $550 and had spent a small fortune at the mechanics getting some oil leaks fixed as well as other overdue items attended too.
So a third car may be on the horizon, however If I do get a third one I really don't want to get rid of the pug. Wish there were some cheap industrial units around that I could purchase to store cars!!
Tony.
There was a period of time when I first moved out of my parents house until I got married where I purchased a car for $100 to $200 and drove it until it died, then repeated the process. Some wouldn't die, so they were sold cheap or given away because something better came along cheap. I went through most of my cars during these 6 years or so.
Example, I was driving a 1965 Dodge Dart with the 170 cubic inch slant six (the smallest of the 3 sizes). It had about 150,000 miles and couldn't be destroyed. A co worker had abandoned a 1968 Plymouth Fury III with a 440 Magnum (big a$$ V8) engine and was going to call a tow to have it taken to scrap. I asked if he had a clear title and he did, so I gave him $200 for the car, dragged it home behind the Dart and fixed it. I gave the Dart to my little brother who had just gotten his drivers license......he couldn't break it either. He got a better car and sold the Dart for $200 a few years later.
Example, I was driving a 1965 Dodge Dart with the 170 cubic inch slant six (the smallest of the 3 sizes). It had about 150,000 miles and couldn't be destroyed. A co worker had abandoned a 1968 Plymouth Fury III with a 440 Magnum (big a$$ V8) engine and was going to call a tow to have it taken to scrap. I asked if he had a clear title and he did, so I gave him $200 for the car, dragged it home behind the Dart and fixed it. I gave the Dart to my little brother who had just gotten his drivers license......he couldn't break it either. He got a better car and sold the Dart for $200 a few years later.
This one actually burnt through the brush wire on the positive brush. but before it managed to do that it pretty much toasted all of the insulation on the windings!
Luckily I had kept the old starter motor which failed because the magnets unbonded and collapsed onto the armature. I swapped the armature over and one quite worn positive brush and it lives (note that I initially only changed the brush, until some good advice to check the armature!!)
edit: attached pic of the amatures, original 23yo one on the left. The one the magic smoke was let out of on Thursday on the right.
Edit 2: added pic of brush and the car on the tow truck. Note that the fibreglass on the end of the brush should be white. The ones in the 23yo starter still were. I think it got pretty damn hot. I also suspect that the black ring at the top of the armature on the right should be the same colour as the one on the left....
Tony.
Luckily I had kept the old starter motor which failed because the magnets unbonded and collapsed onto the armature. I swapped the armature over and one quite worn positive brush and it lives (note that I initially only changed the brush, until some good advice to check the armature!!)
edit: attached pic of the amatures, original 23yo one on the left. The one the magic smoke was let out of on Thursday on the right.
Edit 2: added pic of brush and the car on the tow truck. Note that the fibreglass on the end of the brush should be white. The ones in the 23yo starter still were. I think it got pretty damn hot. I also suspect that the black ring at the top of the armature on the right should be the same colour as the one on the left....
Tony.
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Did a whole bunch more research on my Corvette fix and talked to some guys on a Corvette forum. I was wrong in thinking it was easy, as I don't have the proper options for that, but after more thoroughly researching it, I think I actually could do it myself. Toughest part is actually fabricating a BPMV bracket, and disassembling the steering column to install the later model position sensor. Cool thing I came across is that some road racers use a BMW ABS in their race cars, but that wouldn't help me for a street car.
That wouldn't be unusual here. Asians love luxury cars, and they can't stop being frugal. So many Mercedes badges in the parking lots of the cheapest Asian grocery stores.
A few weeks ago I saw a big Bentley in the parking rank of my daughter's school bus stop. I thought "which one of the parents is that"? Turns out it didn't leave, just parked there by coincidence, it was there to do something at the park or local elementary school. My guess is affluent stay at home mom.
Also saw a Ferrari 488 and a 911 Carrera and a Jag while on the way back from buying some towels for my mum.
Take note that I saw all of these cars in just one day. Yesterday. In the same general area as my house. I think that they hold occasional weekend car get togethers over at the local beach not too far from here, hence the sighting of so many exotics.
Oh yeah almost forgot, also saw a Supra. And a Mini Cooper S.
What you usually see around here is a bunch of 4x4 utes and SUVs of a wide variety of brands and models. See very few small cars now days. Rare enough to see a Falcon or Holden Commodore even.
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