Grease Monkies Garage: A Place For Gearheads.

[Vyk]

Haha! I know enough about my husbands work to know what you are talking about- if I hear the engines I know which you are referring to though don't expect me to be able to pull engine numbers out of my head ask me what the part number is for an oil filter for a Mitsubishi or Holden or ford or Hyundai and I can usually tell you off the top of my head and get it right, sad I know.

Challenge accepted!  What's the oil filter for a 1984 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe?    (Yes, of course I'm cheating--AFAIK that model was never sold outside of North America.)  You probably would know it for my 2001 Mercury Cougar, though; it was the Ford Cougar over there, and it's also the same engine as the Mondeo ST24.

FWIW, I'm only geeky enough to quote engine and chassis codes for cars I have a particular interest in; Jeeps, a few Fords (mostly performance-oriented), and 1- through 4-Series BMWs. 

hubby hasn't had too many issues with the valvetronic systems themselves, or at least he hasn't come home whinging about them the 7 series with the V8s are notoriously problematic once they hit a certain age, and whenever the older 4cyls (E36s and E46s particularly) it's almost always valve stem seals. The sixes are relatively reliable.

M54s had problems with their VANOS seals, but that's an annoyance rather than a real problem and it's not hard to fix.  I haven't actually heard about Valvetronic problems--it just seems like such a complex system that I feel like it should be problematic.

My hubby isn't as much of a fan of Audis. Their styling gets old real quick and they don't age well, they depreciate here like crazy. And when it comes to fixing them so much stuff in the engine bay requires the front of the car to be pulled off. Given that Audi are part of the Volkswagen auto group unless you are getting a higher performance Audi, you are better off getting a VW because they are often the same car underneath, but VWs are cheaper to buy and maintain, and age better/ depreciate less. Pretty much you buy the Audi over the VW for the badge.

That's how I feel about Audis as well.  A 2001 3-Series still blends in with modern cars; a 2001 A4 looks ancient.  I haven't spent a whole lot of time driving them, but what I have done hasn't impressed me.  It doesn't help that I'm not a huge fan of AWD in general and like Quattro even less than other AWD systems I've driven.  Even worse, the maintenance that various friends' Audis have needed have been ridiculous; it felt like my buddy's A4 needed wheel bearings more often than oil changes.

It is amazing what modern electronic systems can do. The next gen of automotive tech- that is all the driver assist technology which who knows, may one day become cars that drive themselves- are frikking amazing. So much stuff is constantly monitored and corrected by the computers so that if the driver stuffs up, it'll have a bit of input to stop the driver'sstuff up. Hubby was explaining one system in a Merc I think it was which videos everything going on around to evaluate if there are safety hazards, driving down an autobahn (so of course going pretty fast) and the recognition and detection systems are evaluating and detecting literally hundreds of different objects per second.

Not even "one day"--self-driving cars are coming soon.  I was standing outside a coffee shop when a nearby university's prototype car drove up to the stop light, put on its turn signal, waited for the green light, and then went when traffic was clear; the entire time the sole occupant (the "driver") was sitting with his feet flat on the floor and his arms crossed.

That said, the biggest thing that impresses me about modern safety systems is that they've gotten better about getting out of the driver's way.  Look at 2000-vintage traction control and it's a bloody nightmare; slip a wheel the tiniest bit and you're stuck with maybe 20 horsepower for three seconds.  (Even better was my wife's '96 Saturn, where a 4-3 downshift would trigger the traction control!   Just what you need when you're trying to pass somebody on the freeway in a 124hp car.)  In my Cougar, turning off traction control is as automatic as buckling my seatbelt, maybe more so--I've found myself doing it when I was only starting the car to move it 20 feet.    Fast forward a decade and you can actually get both rear wheels sliding in a 128i--the stability control only kicks in once the drift angle starts building.  The only time modern traction control has annoyed me was when it reduced power to stop wheel spin that was actually due to many closely-spaced potholes rather than excessive application of throttle.  Thankfully, every time a new safety system is released now it seems to be closer to the "get out of the driver's way" model than the "over-protect" model.  (All that said, I'm aware that not every modern car's stability control is quite so lenient; likewise, there are cars where you can't actually disable it, which I'm not a fan of.  Still, the general trend has been positive.)

[B1ondeange1]

Haha, nice try but Ford Cougars are far from common here.

I can tell you off the top of my head that a heap of Hyundai's take a Ryco Z79A oil filter, they seen to really like using those. Just about every Toyota Corolla (and Camry 4cyls) up to mid 2000s take a Z386, older Ford Falcons 6cyls take Z9s while the BA and BF falcons take Z516s.

And a V6 VS/VT Holden commodore takes a 4000A water pump

*has now made every ones eyes glaze over with boredom* yep, my work here is done *brushes hands together*

[Vyk]

Haha, nice try but Ford Cougars are far from common here.

I figured the Cougar wasn't common, but Mk 1 Mondeos have to be thick on the ground; were they mostly 4-cylinders there?  Over here, you saw a lot of V6s, although these days the 4-cylinders keep hanging around while V6s slowly vanish; a combination of poor fuel economy and the weakness of the CD4E transmission, I'd guess.

*has now made every ones eyes glaze over with boredom* yep, my work here is done *brushes hands together*

Nice try.  My eyes are highly glaze-resistant.  (I can't speak for anybody else, though.) 

[bigBear]

we're lucky there  will never be a "classic" Ford Tempo...most will be turned to rust piles long before they reach that age. cheaper and thinner metal.

granted I know some vin codes, 1b3el46x or 1b3es but I know those cars too well from experience.

[Vyk]

we're lucky there  will never be a "classic" Ford Tempo...most will be turned to rust piles long before they reach that age. cheaper and thinner metal.

...it's funny you say that; that actually ties in with a pet peeve of mine.

How does one define a "classic"?  When I was growing up, a family friend had a classic Mustang.  I don't remember exactly what year it was; let's call it a 1965 (first full model year) just for the sake of argument, and say that I was 10 years old (although I think I was younger than that).  I don't think anybody, then or now, would have said, "no, that's not a classic car!"

If I was 10, that was 1987.  The car was 22 years old.  If age alone defines "classic," that means any car made in 1994 or earlier now counts as a classic.  Tempos were made from 1984 to 1994; all Tempos must be classics.

Let's instead say that we need to have a maximum number of sales to count.  Maybe we don't want it to count as a "classic" if they were too common.  First model year, Ford sold 418,000 Mustangs.  First model year, Ford sold 402,214 Tempos.  Tempos are classics.

Wait, maybe we should count the Topaz, too, though, right?  Same car!  And that takes it to 531,468 cars, more than the Mustang.  Crisis averted!  Sure, more cars were sold in 1984 than 1965, but enough?  Nope, 5.1% of cars sold in 1984 were Tempos/Topazes; 4.5% of cars sold in 1965 were Mustangs.  Put a 5% cap on it and were set, no classic Tempos in 1984!  ...instead, Tempos don't become classics until 1986.

Ok, but they're not the same part of Ford's lineup!  I mean, the Tempo was cheap and boring, and the Mustang was exciting!  Nope.  Original Mustangs were built on the Ford Falcon compact car platform, the cheapest platform in Ford's lineup; Mustangs were a step up from the Falcon (but below the Fairlane) for not much more money.  (And killed off Falcon sales as a result.)  The Tempo was Ford's car for people looking for something nicer than the Escort; it was a step up from the Escort (but below the LTD) for not much more money.  Nope, same segment, Tempos are still classics.

Sports car vs family car?  Nope, they made coupe Tempos, and in early ads, Ford stressed the car's performance (which actually was comparatively good for its segment on release).  Classic Tempos.

Front-wheel-drive vs rear-wheel-drive?  That works, but we just kicked out the '67 Cadillac Eldorado, among many other cars.

I could go on (if you've seen my other posts, you know this to be true ) but I think you get the point.  What makes a car a "classic"?  How do you define it in a way that keeps Tempos from counting but doesn't exclude undeniable classics?  And if you choose to define it as a simple "made from this year to this year", what's the name for old cars that are newer than that?  And will there just never be a classic C4 or newer Corvette?

[B1ondeange1]

No, older Mondeos were not common. Modern Mondeos are far more common though as an interesting point we rarely get people in our shop asking for them. Either there aren't that many around our suburb, people take them into workshops for work rather than DIY, or just the wrong clientele for them- it's amazing how much car parts request change depending on what suburb you work in. My old store I knew part numbers off the top of my head for multiple series of Holden Commodores, Ford falcons and Toyota Landcruisers coz that's about all we ever looked up there

'classic', 'vintage' etc is an age thing, and also related to modifications to the car. Definitions vary depending on state, club and law, but these are the classifications for the veteran car club of western Australia:
- veteran- pre 1919
- vintage- 1919-1930
- post vintage- 1931- 25 years of age.

Other clubs have more extensive listings eg
-Edwardian and Veteran- pre 1919
- Vintage- 1919- 1930
- Post Vintage- 1931- 1949
- Classic Acceptance- 1950-1969
- Modern Classic- 1970- 1989
(or 30 years or older).

I always grew up to know classic meant more than 25 years old. But definitions can differ.

[Vyk]

'classic', 'vintage' etc is an age thing, and also related to modifications to the car. Definitions vary depending on state, club and law, but these are the classifications for the veteran car club of western Australia:
- veteran- pre 1919
- vintage- 1919-1930
- post vintage- 1931- 25 years of age.

Other clubs have more extensive listings eg
-Edwardian and Veteran- pre 1919
- Vintage- 1919- 1930
- Post Vintage- 1931- 1949
- Classic Acceptance- 1950-1969
- Modern Classic- 1970- 1989
(or 30 years or older).

I always grew up to know classic meant more than 25 years old. But definitions can differ.

...and when there's a formal definition, that's how I usually see it defined, also--age.  In the state where I live, "Classic" is "A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured at least 15 years prior to the current year which has been maintained in or restored to a condition which is substantially in conformity with manufacturer specifications and appearance."  "Antique" is "A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured more than 25 years prior to the current year which has been maintained in or restored to a condition which is substantially in conformance with manufacturer specifications."
By those standards, not only are all Tempos classic, most are antiques, and even my 2001 Cougar is now a classic!

What gets under my skin is how often "classic" seems to be a fluid term that means "cars I think are old and cool".  During my lifetime, I've watched the generation above me slowly shift their definition of "classic" older and older so that a '60s Mustang is always classic but an '80s Mustang isn't, because what they really mean is "I like cars from my childhood".  Never mind that an '85 Mustang has more in common with a '65 Mustang than with a 2015 Mustang; never mind that it's just as hard to maintain or restore an '85 Mustang as a '65 (maybe harder, because they're "not classics" and so fewer companies make reproduction parts).  If you get to call cars from your childhood "classics," I get to call cars from my childhood "classics" too, dammit!

[ThreadJack]

...and when there's a formal definition, that's how I usually see it defined, also--age.  In the state where I live, "Classic" is "A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured at least 15 years prior to the current year which has been maintained in or restored to a condition which is substantially in conformity with manufacturer specifications and appearance."  "Antique" is "A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured more than 25 years prior to the current year which has been maintained in or restored to a condition which is substantially in conformance with manufacturer specifications."
By those standards, not only are all Tempos classic, most are antiques, and even my 2001 Cougar is now a classic!

What gets under my skin is how often "classic" seems to be a fluid term that means "cars I think are old and cool".  During my lifetime, I've watched the generation above me slowly shift their definition of "classic" older and older so that a '60s Mustang is always classic but an '80s Mustang isn't, because what they really mean is "I like cars from my childhood".  Never mind that an '85 Mustang has more in common with a '65 Mustang than with a 2015 Mustang; never mind that it's just as hard to maintain or restore an '85 Mustang as a '65 (maybe harder, because they're "not classics" and so fewer companies make reproduction parts).  If you get to call cars from your childhood "classics," I get to call cars from my childhood "classics" too, dammit!

Cars I'd consider classics(and would love to own all of them!) FD Mazda RX-7, A80 Toyota Supra, Z32 Nissan 300SX, S13 and S14 Nissan 240SX(though I'd prefer the Japanese market Silvia).

[Vyk]

Cars I'd consider classics(and would love to own all of them!) FD Mazda RX-7, A80 Toyota Supra, Z32 Nissan 300SX, S13 and S14 Nissan 240SX(though I'd prefer the Japanese market Silvia).

Move to Pennsylvania, and they all are classics, from a legal standpoint.  That doesn't really help with owning them, though, other than slightly reducing cost of ownership by not having to get emissions inspections.    Could I interest you in a nice copy of Gran Turismo? 

[ThreadJack]

Move to Pennsylvania, and they all are classics, from a legal standpoint.  That doesn't really help with owning them, though, other than slightly reducing cost of ownership by not having to get emissions inspections.    Could I interest you in a nice copy of Gran Turismo? 

I live in Pennsylvania....

[Vyk]

I live in Pennsylvania....

Well, hell, there goes the neighborhood... 

[B1ondeange1]

Move to Pennsylvania

That just made me laugh, since I already knew he lived there

I am itching to builds up the piggy bank again. So we can start building our Warthog damnit!

[Vyk]

That just made me laugh, since I already knew he lived there

I had known, but I forgot.  Oh well!

I am itching to builds up the piggy bank again. So we can start building our Warthog damnit!

What's this?

[B1ondeange1]

I had known, but I forgot.  Oh well!
What's this?

We are Halo (as in the video game) nuts. Hubby moreso than me, but I have always liked Halo. Hence we cosplay Halo Spartans.

One of our projects is to build a road legal Warthog. Hubbys toyed with the idea for years but now we have a house and better income it's closer to being a reality. A lot of logistics to sort out, lots of planning etc before we can even get the car and start building. But the idea is to modify an existing car to make it into a Warthog. Old short wheel based Nissan Patrols are some of the most popular vehicles to use but they are rare and as a result not so cheap. We are currently looking at possibly using a Jeep Wrangler as the base. New paneling, jack up the suspension, bigger wheels and tyres. Since we want it road legal it's not going to be 100% accurate and obviously it's not going to have the turret mounted on the back- we will have a storage box in the back that the turret is put into when we aren't on location at events we are also planning to have it rigged so the head unit (cd player) is hidden with a 'fake' one that only plays the Warthog polka from Red vs Blue

It's gonna be a lot of work. Lots of planning, more than a bit of cash. But I mean really.... Rocking up with Spartans in a Warthog? How is that NOT cool?!!

[B1ondeange1]

This, for those that don't know Halo well. And yes I am well aware there are real ones made. There are scale ones in the US from memory that are STUPIDLY big coz they are scaled to Master Chief's size (and he's 7 Ft). There are also more human scaled ones out there. Ours will obviously be human scaled