The Automotive (& other mechanized vehicles) thread

[Sonaboy]

My friend Lurch is trying to get rid of a disassembled mid-70s kawasaki kz1000 with a police interceptor motor, he's appreciative that I got him a job so he's offering me $200, should I take it?

Will it be your first motorcycle?

[TraceItalian]

My friend Lurch is trying to get rid of a disassembled mid-70s kawasaki kz1000 with a police interceptor motor, he's appreciative that I got him a job so he's offering me $200, should I take it?

Will it be your first motorcycle?

2nd. First one was a 76 cb750 that met ir's untimely end when someone decided to merge into me at 60 mph.

[lordgalvar]

Get the motorcycle if you're up for the work! I'd do it at least.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KnTk4SGDDI


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCRAAzAz6Sw

There is a falcon!

I've always wanted a bultaco...my uncle used to race them. Spent lots of nights at our 1/3 miles clay track (another uncle had a Sprint car). I never saw my motorcycle racing uncle race though...that was like 10-15 years before I was born (top in the state though).

We used to hang out with the Mears family...they would go mess around with Sprint cars on the weekends. I think my mom went to high school with one of them (or both Rick and Roger).

[Chankgeez]

I used to be a huge Rick Mears fan back in the day.

[lordgalvar]

The fist drag car I ever fell in love with was a super charged Anglia. It was like a 9 second car (which is insane considering it's chassis size) and the guy sat in the back seat because of the engine size. Still love them.

The Mears...they were always around. Roger, more so (he did the Baja races). I don't think they live in Bakersfield anymore and Casey is a big star these days I think.

I always forget we had drag boat racing too (these guys are nuts):



We had Famoso (dragstrip), Mesa Marin (Nascar oval), Lake Ming, Speedway (clay track), and buttonwillow (which kind of replaced Mesa Marin) when I was a kid. Mesa Marin is gone but we've got a.second track.out on the buttonwillow side now (I think it's a road track...never seen it). The convention center was setup for monster trucks and dirt bikes too. Always racing haha. Famoso used to have jet cars.

And to think that Hollywood thinks it's all rodeos (thanks baskets). Only time I remember the rodeo was at the fair or for like charity.

I think this magazine moved to town too https://www.rodandkulture.com

[Chankgeez]

[lordgalvar]

I saw that GT350...was going to post it too. The fires are getting crazy this year. Reminds me of some of the ones when I was a kid. Air was pretty bad yesterday...everything is covered ash.

I heard Paradise is burned to the ground...I'm kinda worried about some friends up there (one is a hot spotter). I have no way to contact them...it's been maybe 12-3 years since I heard from Brody or Nina.

Saw this too:

NSFW: show

Mopar
Cheap enough for a purple paint job
Can haul an amp
Can shoot confetti
Can work after apocalypse
Inline 6
http://www.thedrive.com/news/24770/for- ... nd-gadgets

What do you think, Chank?

[Chankgeez]

I'll take it!

Was never a fan of the faux woodie, but we had a red Cherokee when I was growing up.

(Hope your friends are OK. )

[lordgalvar]

I hope so too. Those northern moutain people are pretty hard to track down (and I haven't been able to find them forever..maybe I can find an old cell phone with a number?)

It's kinda nutty up in Paradise and Magalia. Even further up is where the compounds and booby traps are all set on dirt roads. Brody took me up there and showed me steal wire where the people would Sting it up to hit windshield hieght to keep outsiders out.

But, yeah, I've never been able to track them down (they may have moved on long ago). Just always wonder.

[crochambeau]

I'd hope if you're crazy enough to string up traps to dissuade people from visiting you, you've long since dug your bomb shelter..

I have grandparents that live (lived?) in Paradise, I've no idea if they have a house anymore; we lost track of them for a day or so, but they've been found - so that's an upper..

On that note, I always laugh when I see bug-out vehicles based on big fat platforms. Like dude, if shit really does hit the fan your gas guzzler is going to get thirsty pretty fucking quick.

The check brake light has started firing up on the Buick, I'm hoping it's just in need of a pad replacement and not something messier. Too fucking cold to turn wrench on brakes this time of year.

[dubkitty]

the longer i have the Matrix, the more i love it. it's like the perfect size for my 5'8" frame, consistently gets 30-35 MPG, and i slept in the back on the way home from The Orb concert in Brooklyn and was totally comfortable.

[lordgalvar]

I'd hope if you're crazy enough to string up traps to dissuade people from visiting you, you've long since dug your bomb shelter..

I have grandparents that live (lived?) in Paradise, I've no idea if they have a house anymore; we lost track of them for a day or so, but they've been found - so that's an upper..

On that note, I always laugh when I see bug-out vehicles based on big fat platforms. Like dude, if shit really does hit the fan your gas guzzler is going to get thirsty pretty fucking quick.

The check brake light has started firing up on the Buick, I'm hoping it's just in need of a pad replacement and not something messier. Too fucking cold to turn wrench on brakes this time of year.

What year is the Buick? There were some soldering recalls in the late 1990s early 2000s flasher relay on some GM platforms (messes up the hazards too). It would fire off a bunch of weird codes (like check brakes). We got it fixed for free on my wife's old Malibu...it was a cold solder joint that finally cracked I think. The tail light seal also started leaking and I'd have to drain it (she lived in SF at the time). It's probably just a pad though.

Bug out vehicles haha. Like, gas is only good for about a year after, I'm sure a normal car could get you far enough to camp so you can practice bow and arrow. I've got a plan though...I'm hoping on top of these building with solar array and hooking up the Sega.

Glad your family is ok.

My mother in law kept calling and looking for us haha. My wife just didn't feel like talking. Oops.

I think for the further up hill people it's like, "ill make a quick trap and get back to makin' this dxm"...or something haha. I liked living up there when I did and Paradise was a pretty place. Just some nutty schemes in them hills*.

the longer i have the Matrix, the more i love it. it's like the perfect size for my 5'8" frame, consistently gets 30-35 MPG, and i slept in the back on the way home from The Orb concert in Brooklyn and was totally comfortable.

Lucky...I want to see the Orb haha. Last time I slept in a car was when I got stuck fishtailing in a white out on the grapevine. I was only getting 13 mpg in my Silverado though. A cop rammed my bumper to get me straight on the 5 and I went up to Frazier park and talked to truckers for a bit.

[dubkitty]

i'm glad i'm back to my normal car usability. for decades i've preached that you should never buy a vehicle you can't sleep in, because someday you may have to.

[Achtane]

I removed the back seats from the corolla and am gonna make a plywood platform/storage area for stuff that's too awkward to fit otherwise. Right now all my tools are just tumbling around in the trunk. My car repair experience has often been something like "fuck, throw the gearbox on the backseat before it gets totally soaked by SURPRISE RAIN" so it'll be nice for stuff that would otherwise wreck the seats, too.

Plus, the suspension is tired so having more than 2 passengers is...scrapey. It'd be neat to make the platform into a bed though. Sleep with your feet in the trunk. Underbed storage...

Anyway, I've currently got two cars that crank but don't start. One just began acting up yesterday and one sitting car ran fine after I replaced the plugs a few months ago and now doesn't. I guess one perk of unemployment is that I can work at this stuff without having to rush to fix it on a cold, rainy night before work.

[crochambeau]

[What year is the Buick?

99. I have no trouble believing that it could be an electrical thing, given the stuff I've already waded through on this car. I do think the pads are in need of a refresh though, so I'll start there.