CNN Money says "Drive your car to death!"

[bow-tie]

...Bow tie, can you tell me what a short throw 4 speed is? Do you mean a close ratio?

I think so... the linkage is really short. I always compared it to my pop's '63 Impy 4-speed ragtop. I swear that Hurst shifter moved three feet when changing gears in that '63.

The exhaust on the El Camino has been on the car for 25 years or better. My brother calls the mufflers "pacemakers", dunno if that's the brand, doesn't matter... but that sound.. ahhhhhhhhhhhh... such sweet music.

...In my 325 HP 396 I have a crane 312 with variable duration and lift.

Can you give me some cam-101... what is variable duration/lift. Does the duration/lift change?

...Also some guys use the term 3/4 cam, this is silly because they never measured them that way.

Maybe they're "special" cams - like them "RV" cams I've heard about..

 

[73ss454]

On many of the shifters such as Hurst you can adjust the throw, so you can make it very close. The factory shifters did not come with adjustments to my knowledge.

Manufacturers of Cams grind them for a specific purpose. Duration means valve overlap, like how long the valve stays open. Higher Lift and longer duration will keep the valves open longer. Split lifts and durations just mean that the intake and exhaust valves are open and closed for different periods of time. Again this will give you that lumpty lump sound at idle. There are also solid lifter cams and hydralic cams. I always loved the sound of the solid lifters although they are harder to adjust and need the adjustment more often in most cases.

 

[bow-tie]

Thanks 73... that helps some. I'm pretty green on the details.

So what is so wonderful about the roller cams/lifter/rockers? Longevity? Wear and tear? Less friction?

 

[packrat44]

My memory is hazy. Did Crane make a "fireball" cam with a 1-inch lift? If they did, then I'm pretty sure I had it put in.

FD, Crane had many different cams, not sure if any were ever called a Fireball. They usually gave them a # like Crane 310 or 312. In my 325 HP 396 I have a crane 312 with variable duration and lift. That's when you start to get the lumpty lump at idle. Music to my ears! Don't know anything about a 1 inch lift because they weren't measured that way. Also some guys use the term 3/4 cam, this is silly because they never measured them that way.

.

"Variable duration and lift" in the earlier days - didn't happen.

Cams are measured by lift (besides duration). A very hot cam for an OHV V8 might be in the low 0.5XX inches and not streetable. In the 60s a cam with a lift around 0.45X inches was very radical.

It was very common to refer to cams as 3/4 race cams or full race cams, especially in the days of the flathead. Was okay for those who were not gearheads, but not very technical. Knowing when the valves opened and closed along with how high the valves opened was a lot more meaningful.

 

[packrat44]

The lumpy sound comes from valve overlap. The exhaust valves are still open (in the closing mode) when the intake valves are starting to open. This allows more complete extraction of spent fuel and a larger charge of fresh fuel into the combustion chambers (more power). Not very fuel efficient because some fresh fuel is being exhausted with the spent fuel, but they are not looking for fuel efficiency in this situation.

 

[73ss454]

Thanks 73... that helps some. I'm pretty green on the details.

So what is so wonderful about the roller cams/lifter/rockers? Longevity? Wear and tear? Less friction?

Yeah, all of that. They just take less HP to run and that's pretty much it.

Also in the early days cams were still rated with lift and duration but things weren't so technical back then. Cam grinders didn't have the variety of cams that were available toward the mid 60's. Now you can call a cam grinder and get what ever you wan't.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

Same here - - I have 34,100 on a car that is over 7 years old, so at that rate I am thinking it would take me until 2047 to put 225,000 miles on it. By then I would be 99 years old, and I doubt I will drive past 80.

I do not even approach that level of LBYM!! I want a car with a sunroof before I croak.

We bought both cars new off a dealers lot. The second one was nice but did not have a sunroof. Production was lagging and to order one with the sunroof would take weeks. The dealer offered two sizes of a local shop retrofit promising we would love how it looked. Feeling cheap with a new car, we opted for the smaller one. Either there was a mix up, or the deal put the bigger one in just in case we might have missed a payment or something and they might have had to resell it.

Only reason for mentioning it, is they did a very good job of installation and it appears factory installed to me. The only down side is they did not install a light anterior to the moon roof and you must rely on the other interior lighting.
No idea about the total cost anymore but it must have been less than a thousand dollars, thinking more like $6-700. I too like my sunroofs.

 

[W2R]

However this thread is almost four years old, (which is why you had to actually acknowledge that you realized its age, in order to even post to it). Over a year ago I bought a Toyota Venza that I love, with not one, but TWO sunroofs.... and I'm so glad I did. My Venza is the best car that I ever had.

Too cheap to do it, I guess. I'm going to get another car anyway, in two or three years, so why bother.

I *love* it when a plan comes together! I bought my Venza two years and four months after stating my intention above, right in the time window that I had in mind.

Glad you like your retrofit! Sounds like you found someone good to install it so that it doesn't leak.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I don't know if my if my internal settings are wrong somehow but this thread showed up on the right hand side as a "recent threads". I did note that the thread was stale but considering you were speculating that car could last till you were 99 it was worth mentioning just because I would not have considered an after market product like that nor even known they were available.

Hope it is not bothersome to read my response to some of these as they are brand new to me, and reading them helps me get a feel about the regulars. Or perhaps we should reinvent the wheel perpetually? ; )

 

[W2R]

I don't know if my if my internal settings are wrong somehow but this thread showed up on the right hand side as a "recent threads". I did note that the thread was stale but considering you were speculating that car could last till you were 99 it was worth mentioning just because I would not have considered an after market product like that nor even known they were available.

Hope it is not bothersome to read my response to some of these as they are brand new to me, and reading them helps me get a feel about the regulars. Or perhaps we should reinvent the wheel perpetually? ; )

I'll check into it. The warning box that you have to check, acknowledging that you know it is an old thread, should not depend on your internal settings as far as I know. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Nords]

Or perhaps we should reinvent the wheel perpetually? ; )

If I point out that's already been done, would it be oxymoronic or redundant?

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I'm not sure but I suspect it would be a government paid job related to research to determine ways to reduce unemployment. ; )

And if that suggestion to install after market was in that thread and I missed it, I was redundant and superfluous.

Oxymoron means things that conflict like Jumbo shrimp, Honest crook, Living dead, Silent shout, I believe.

I can paint a pretty decent picture with words on a page, but as to being astute grammatically I have no doubt that I leave myself open to attack often.

I view reinvent the wheel to mean invent the wheel a second time.
I view reinvent the wheel perpetually to mean invent the wheel again and again and again with no apparent end.

Should I be in error, would appreciate being told how to better say this.

 

[Bestwifeever]

....Hope it is not bothersome to read my response to some of these as they are brand new to me, and reading them helps me get a feel about the regulars. Or perhaps we should reinvent the wheel perpetually? ; )

It was sort of fun to read through this old thread. I wonder how many people have bought a new/new to them car since the last posts in 2007. And back in 2007, who in a million years would have thought one day they'd be able to trade their old cars in under a "Cash for Clunkers" program?

 

[Moemg]

I had a geo prism bought new is 1993 that I gave to my daughter .She still has it .It has 190,000 miles on it .I drive an eight year old Toyota Solara with 70,000 miles on it and I'm thinking of driving it until it drops .Best car I've ever owned and it has a sunroof !

Well that Geo Prism wins the award for best value car. It finally became terminal in 2011 . Still running but barely with over 250,000 miles on . I did not drive the Solara until it dropped . I traded it in at 103,000 miles and eleven years old for a Honda CRV with a sun roof .

 

[Nords]

Should I be in error, would appreciate being told how to better say this.

I'm not being a grammar cop, I'm just enjoying the irony of wheels in auto threads. For a moment there I thought W2R had bought yet another new car.

While the mods are figuring out what's going on with the software, you could check the date of the last post in the thread. Or the "New Posts" link can show what's changed since the last time you marked all the forums as read.

 

[Martha]

It was sort of fun to read through this old thread. I wonder how many people have bought a new/new to them car since the last posts in 2007. And back in 2007, who in a million years would have thought one day they'd be able to trade their old cars in under a "Cash for Clunkers" program?

I agree. I love old resurrected threads.

I still am driving the same diesel jetta (2001) and same motorhome (2004). But I think I bought my new scooter in 2007. I really would like a minivan to throw all my crap in when I spend summers tooling around the upper midwest. The new Honda gets great mileage but the price. . . .

 

[NW-Bound]

As I remember from your past posts, you do not have a toad for your MH. I cannot see myself RV'ing without a toad. Of course, having a toad and a scooter would make it that much better!

 

[HFWR]

I agree. I love old resurrected threads.

I still am driving the same diesel jetta (2001) and same motorhome (2004). But I think I bought my new scooter in 2007. I really would like a minivan to throw all my crap in when I spend summers tooling around the upper midwest. The new Honda gets great mileage but the price. . . .

I've been eyeing one of these: 2011 Kia Sportage EX FWD - Yahoo! Autos

Also considering the Kia Soul, Hyundai Tucson and Elantra Touring. I think gas is going nowhere but up, but I want a MPV that can haul a bike, camping gear, groceries, etc., so no sedan/coupe. Either small SUV or wagon/hatchback thingy.

 

[Sarah in SC]

See, Ready 4, we all kinda dig it when you find these old threads!
I'm still driving POS fleet, but the two Saturns are no more, sold to the junk yard and replaced with early 90s Buick and Olds.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

See, Ready 4, we all kinda dig it when you find these old threads!
I'm still driving POS fleet, but the two Saturns are no more, sold to the junk yard and replaced with early 90s Buick and Olds.

I also noted earlier you said "Now the Saturns (1996 and 1997) have 145k and 240k miles on them. They are no less reliable than your new cars--BTW, we spend a lot less on parts than most folks do on comprehensive insurance."

My 1995 saturn has about 131k. It still looks good. State quit sending me air quality check requirements as 1995 and below requires the dynometer testing and there are hardly any of those left anymore. Besides mine always passed with flying colors.

My car didn't even qualify for cash for clunkers as it was considered a fuel efficient car despite the age. It is amazing how much a small 4 cylinder car is worth, even this old.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

DH's 2002 Toyota 4Runner just hit the magical 100,000 km. We bought it brand new and it will be celebrating it's 10th birthday on Aug. 1st. At this rate, it'll last another 20 years or more!

 

[East Texas]

This was when my 1996 Land Cruiser got to 200k last October. It's a tad bit more now. When this thread is resurrected in four years We'll still have a 1996 Land Cruiser and a 1997 4Runner. The 4Runner only has about 160k miles on it.

 

[Khan]

My vehicle shall hit 50000 this month.

 

[Martha]

I've been eyeing one of these: 2011 Kia Sportage EX FWD - Yahoo! Autos

Also considering the Kia Soul, Hyundai Tucson and Elantra Touring. I think gas is going nowhere but up, but I want a MPV that can haul a bike, camping gear, groceries, etc., so no sedan/coupe. Either small SUV or wagon/hatchback thingy.

I'm looking at a Mazda5, a mini mini van.

 

[easysurfer]

I drive, and my car sure is dying (just got the A/C fixed).

I was thinking, one day I'll have had every part replaced at sometime except for the outside.

BTW..have about 113,000 miles and counting.