Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
Back in high school (70s), my parents bought a Chrysler station wagon second hand from a wealthy family. We'd sit at stop lights (2 parents, 4 kids) next to hot rods and rev the engine, then take off like a shot leaving them well behind us. I was later told by a friend who would know that the previous owners had installed a 426 hemi with 4 barrel weber carb. I don't know as I wasn't into such things, but it was fun nonetheless. And yes, gas was cheap!
BTW, seems like a familiar conversation. Didn't this already come up once?
I had an 850 CFM Holley 4 barrel and a 750 CFM Carter. The Carter went on for the initial fire up since I could tune those things with a soldering iron, some tiny drill bits, and an exhaust sniffer.
Other fun goodies were the aluminum Indy cylinder heads, 10:1 pistons, headers, and a hot cam. I rebuilt the Torqueflite and the Sure Grip differential with heavy duty guts to handle the extra kilowatts!
For those who haven't figured this out,
Voltage is analogous to RPM
Current is torque,
and power IS power......1 HP = 746 watts, so my Mopar engine makes about 373 Kilowatts, and the big tube amp that I have been contemplating for years will make 1.34 HP.
Amps * Volts = watts
RPM * torque / a constant = power
In the US system of units (HP and Lbs/Ft.) the constant is 5252.
The factory setup on the 426 HEMI was a cross ram manifold with TWO 4 barrel 650 CFM Carter carbs.
Carters, Elelbrocks and Webers were all the same, and made in a Weber factory. The Carter was the most popular since it was OEM on Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors cars. Mine was actually an Edelbrock since it was about half the price of the equivalent Carter. The manifold was also an Edelbrock piece.
Other fun goodies were the aluminum Indy cylinder heads, 10:1 pistons, headers, and a hot cam. I rebuilt the Torqueflite and the Sure Grip differential with heavy duty guts to handle the extra kilowatts!
For those who haven't figured this out,
Voltage is analogous to RPM
Current is torque,
and power IS power......1 HP = 746 watts, so my Mopar engine makes about 373 Kilowatts, and the big tube amp that I have been contemplating for years will make 1.34 HP.
Amps * Volts = watts
RPM * torque / a constant = power
In the US system of units (HP and Lbs/Ft.) the constant is 5252.
The factory setup on the 426 HEMI was a cross ram manifold with TWO 4 barrel 650 CFM Carter carbs.
Carters, Elelbrocks and Webers were all the same, and made in a Weber factory. The Carter was the most popular since it was OEM on Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors cars. Mine was actually an Edelbrock since it was about half the price of the equivalent Carter. The manifold was also an Edelbrock piece.
Maybe it was dual weber 4 barrels? It was all after-market/custom (I'm talking about a '72 or so town and country wagon after all, which never had the 426 stock). I don't know as I didn't understand my friend's assessment and didn't get into car engines until grad school (when I bought my first car), and that for decidedly more practical reasons...keeping me on the road despite seized valves, burned clutches, spent idler driven water pump, worn out brakes and other mishaps of my '68 Saab 96, then 99, then '76 super beetle (with SUNROOF!).
But for all that muscle, it wouldn't stand a chance against the 2 second 0-60 Teslas...
But for all that muscle, it wouldn't stand a chance against the 2 second 0-60 Teslas...
Last edited:
I think we are recycling part of the conversation.
Yet, one thing I have learned in 50+ years is to memorize the timing of the lights. That way, I can always beat a ricer in my Ford Expedition urban assault vehicle by getting off the line just in time (i.e. milliseconds before the light changes). I love doing this when we come back home after church but it scares the beejeezuss off my wife.
I had a Dodge Magnum with a hemi and was stopped many times for the window tinting - but it was OEM and would withstand challenge.
All that wouldn't matter in the weather we've been talking about, snowy/icy pavement.
Got up at 2 this morning to find the heat was off! Turns out one of the flexible pipes connecting my water heater to the heating system got a pinhole. The water sprayed all over the heater. GFI turned off the power. Shuting off the valves to the leak and drying things off allowed reseting the GFI.
Then the smart water heater told me the flame sensor was shorted to ground. I left it to dry out while I visited my shop to get some wrenches and stopped by Home Depot just as they opened to get a replacement tube.
I turned on the clothes drier and pulled the vent hose to get a bit of heat.
Easy to change the tube, but the flame sensor was still shorted and the screws holding it in were frozen. So opening the brain box I just pulled that wire. System fired up to a point to tell me the fan motor sensor also read wrong. Pulled that connector and it fired up nicely. Replaced the flame detector and rebooted to confirm a bit of running dried it out.
With the outside at 3F the house dropped to 55F. Now nicely warming back up.
Heat back on and now it is nap time to catch up on the missed sleep.
Can't imagine what folks who aren't diy would have to suffer through.
Then the smart water heater told me the flame sensor was shorted to ground. I left it to dry out while I visited my shop to get some wrenches and stopped by Home Depot just as they opened to get a replacement tube.
I turned on the clothes drier and pulled the vent hose to get a bit of heat.
Easy to change the tube, but the flame sensor was still shorted and the screws holding it in were frozen. So opening the brain box I just pulled that wire. System fired up to a point to tell me the fan motor sensor also read wrong. Pulled that connector and it fired up nicely. Replaced the flame detector and rebooted to confirm a bit of running dried it out.
With the outside at 3F the house dropped to 55F. Now nicely warming back up.
Heat back on and now it is nap time to catch up on the missed sleep.
Can't imagine what folks who aren't diy would have to suffer through.
Last edited:
Just saw this article. Tesla drivers are getting screwed by the polar vortex [Video]
It seems that the idiots who installed the water mains here 30+ years ago didn't bury them deep enough. Every time there is an extended cold spell the water supply gets REAL COLD. Even turning the hot water full on won't compensate for the nearly frozen water supply.
Now that it's been cold for several days (12F this morning) there IS NO water flow at all. The main has frozen...again. If this time is like last time, it will burst when it thaws resulting in a day or two without water, followed by a day or two with muddy water. Last time the water from the burst pipe ran across the road resulting an a large ice flow and a couple of car crashes.
Now that it's been cold for several days (12F this morning) there IS NO water flow at all. The main has frozen...again. If this time is like last time, it will burst when it thaws resulting in a day or two without water, followed by a day or two with muddy water. Last time the water from the burst pipe ran across the road resulting an a large ice flow and a couple of car crashes.
Time (maybe not today 
to drill or dig a well and bury the pipe >4ft (below the frost line) down like we do here.
No building codes where you live?
I do not see how turning the hot water full will help a frozen supply from your utility supplier. At some point it is either your problem as the homeowner or the utilities issue to resolve. if it is the utilities issue, is it not their responsibility to get you water and fix it ASAP? That is why we all pay land/property taxes, and mine just came in the mail this week.
to drill or dig a well and bury the pipe >4ft (below the frost line) down like we do here.No building codes where you live?
I do not see how turning the hot water full will help a frozen supply from your utility supplier. At some point it is either your problem as the homeowner or the utilities issue to resolve. if it is the utilities issue, is it not their responsibility to get you water and fix it ASAP? That is why we all pay land/property taxes, and mine just came in the mail this week.
Last edited:
You might have missed the point.. LOL He's talking about the temperature of the water coming out of the tap or shower head. Our water mains are buried more than 4 feet down, but in cold weather I have noticed the same thing - the heater can raise the temperature of the water a certain amount at a given flow rate and when the water is 40°F (4.5°C) raising it 60°F (33°C) doesn't give you very hot water.. LOL
Around here on exceptionally cold days we will trickle the faucets which prevents things from freezing. We do this when temps drop below 0°F (-18°C) which is very rare around here. Unfortunately temperatures just a few degrees warmer are not uncommon here like 2 - 6°F or ~ -14.5 -16°C. Tomorrow it will warm up a lot.