kant explain wrote on 2023-11-16, 23:33:

I need a really big van or possibly even a shuttle or short bus, possibly even a step van. I'm in NJ. Suggestions please. I want to keep it under 5k for now.

You could go see if the "Official COMPUTERCRAFT Information System Ambulance" is for sale... http://computercraft.com/docs/classic.shtml

Aww thanks man.

Am I gonna get any cool puter parts with it?

I dunno, he (Anthony Olzewski) was turning them away as donations at the thrift shop kinda place "Garage Sale" and "street.cheap" and seems more involved with the https://www.jerseycityfreebooks.com/ and petcraft than computercraft and the classic "graverobber.com" site now. Think that was a thing where he was trying to get everyone into online capable computers by fixing up anything, then realised the internet was questionable way to promote literacy going forward. Anyway, in the "dark ages" of retro, like beween 1997 and 2005 his was one of the only sites with info about 486s etc on. The van might be long gone actually, I think I remember something about it being for sale in 2007 now I've woken up the part of my brain with remembering stuff.

edit:
Oh actual advice of what to look for, I'd look for a Grumman Step Van with the cummins 4bt diesel because you can sell the van for what you bought it for to the offroad engine swappers when you're done with it, and meanwhile have a solid, cheap to run van. Alternatively, long wheelbase Sprinters, though I think you wanna stay away from anything older than about 2010... and newer ones will require the smurf piss. .. If you like fixing up rust, you can probably get one with a few hundred thousand left in it, they go to like 450k normally, if you want a smarter one, then 5k might be getting you something with high 300s low 400s and a year or two use crossing your fingers, unless you wanna get into all the reconditioning yourself later.

CrazyCatman wrote on 2023-11-16, 11:21:

A quite nice ride; I absolutely enjoy my 2019 Camry. I have the Hybrid. I would say though that the main thing that sucks with t […]
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pete8475 wrote on 2023-11-14, 00:33:

After driving that car for about 2 years or so I bought a brand new 2023 Toyota Camry AWD SE in July of this year. Really liking it so far!

A quite nice ride; I absolutely enjoy my 2019 Camry. I have the Hybrid.
I would say though that the main thing that sucks with the Camry are the hinges on the trunk! The trunk is enourmous but I can only have room for 2½ suitcases without braking them because of the enormous hinges going down into the trunk instead of into the body (very old fashioned). Our trim names are a bit different, so I don't know how a H4 compare to an LE/SE/XLE/XSE, and from what I could read it even seems that the American and European trims can't be compared at all.

Got a video from the dealer of it here.

Awesome!

So far the only thing I've put in the trunk is the summer floor mats... 🤣

My Second car is 1991 Dodge Spirit RT. It has every electrical option that was and wasn't available in the US market.

bobconan wrote on 2023-11-18, 16:09:

My Second car is 1991 Dodge Spirit RT. It has every electrical option that was and wasn't available in the US market.

Have fun, Mitsubishi 3.0L V6?, Pretty good MPG. They are cool cars. I had red in red Caravan 1987 with carb 2.2L 3 speed. Went well till rust and engine starting issues when below 0C had to scrap it back in 2011, missing that beloved caravan.

Cheers,l

My old 90/91 LeBaron had a Mitsy 3.0. Good engine but for the blown valve stem seals. If I sat at a light for at least 30 seconds I'd drive away with a wad of smoke behind me. The mileage was significantly better then my 3.1 Beretta's v6. The Beretta was made so much better though. 205k of virtually maintenance free driving. I just go a new muffler installed, then the car refused to start, so I gave up. Drove magnificently right up until then.

pentiumspeed wrote on 2023-11-19, 00:47:

bobconan wrote on 2023-11-18, 16:09:

My Second car is 1991 Dodge Spirit RT. It has every electrical option that was and wasn't available in the US market.

Have fun, Mitsubishi 3.0L V6?, Pretty good MPG. They are cool cars. I had red in red Caravan 1987 with carb 2.2L 3 speed. Went well till rust and engine starting issues when below 0C had to scrap it back in 2011, missing that beloved caravan.

Cheers,l

Nope, the 2.2 T3. 228 hp. 1 of 3000. Even more fun.

I've been driving a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid for a month now.. and I wish I didn't have to..

kant explain wrote on 2023-11-19, 06:00:

My old 90/91 LeBaron had a Mitsy 3.0. Good engine but for the blown valve stem seals. If I sat at a light for at least 30 seconds I'd drive away with a wad of smoke behind me.

I ran one of those motors for 10 years in a Voyager, and found out it was a three part thing. Yes, the valve guides could drop on earlier 3.0s, yes the valve stem seals got bad with age BUT... the stock PCV system failed to remove vapors/pressure from the heads when the engine was warmed up.... and it didn't happen however long you had the hood up in the driveway staring at it.... only with the hood down... because the top PCV hose would get hot, soften and suck flat... sealing off the head... then having lower pressure in the exhaust ports at some points in the cycle the mist, vapors and any oil clinging to the valve would get sucked down into the exhaust port and burn off there. So even if your seals were done, guides were dropping, if you replaced the top PCV hose fat plastic bit with a metal tube or better plastic part, then you'd change it from doing "Red Arrows/Blue Angels smoke on, go!...." at lights where you'd lay a trail for a whole block to just a one cloud puff, about washing machine sized on an old engine with the other troubles, but still a hell of a lot better. You could then further reduce this by running penzoil or motomaster "High Mileage" oil which cleaned up the head a bit and swelled up the old valve stem seals, and you'd be down to just a basketball sized puff. <<< which is still what a "rebuilt head" with fixed valve guides and new viton seals will do if you don't fix the PCV hose.

So full fix you could do on the vehicle, without pulling heads, was, use the rope trick to stop the valves from dropping, take apart the valvetrain, springs off, use compressed air to pop up any slipped guides. Groove the guides and circlip them, fit new viton valve stem seals, reassemble with springs and lifters, new gaskets on the rocker cover.... AND.. fix up the PCV line and then finally you'd have a fully smoke free 3.0.

I didn't have the car for that long. Only put about 40k on it. I was in my mid 30s, still had a thing or 2 (or 10,000) to learn about cars. For instance don't go bending and breaking off little protruding pieces of metal belonging to the radiator. Just because you have your head under the hood and you're bored. And that thing looks out of place. I was in Binghampton NY and noticed fluid leaking a bit. Turns out you can drive a long while without a tiny coolant leak becoming a problem. I eventually replaced the radiator. Which possibly had something to do with the tranny slipping, don' t know. It was a reliable seemingly well built car other then the problems I had. Just can't understand why the mpgs were 10-20% better then my chevy 3.1.

Noooo my Beretta had a 2.8l. And was nearly 300 lbs lighter.

And the lebarons were known to be money pits. Mayne a bunch of stuff got fixed before I got it. I did replace an alternator and timing belt. First time I unbolted an engine partially. It was skeery and confidence building. All worked out well.

Heh, my thinking is "don't buy old Chrysler products if you don't like noises... but they'll rattle on down the road with a dozen things wrong with them" 🤣 though yeah alt, starter etc I kinda think of as 10 year parts so if you buy 10 year old cars, you're replacing them.. yeah weird that 3.1 didn't do good on gas, relative had one in a Corsica sedan and that got 30mpg without thinking about it, had to struggle to get 27mpg in the minivan and it would drop to 21 with a lot of city.

The 2.8 was getting 17 I think with mixed driving at the end of it's life. The lebaron had like 160k and I think it would get 24.or 25 mpgs mixed.

Driving it like a saint with 91 octane the Spirit RT gets about 36 mpg.

Of course it is not the kind of car you drive like a saint.

That's quite impressive. There's a Turbo LeBaron selling locally, that I keep mooning over the ad for, it's a ragtop though, which i could maybe find two sunny days a year where my allergies aren't bad to drive with the hood down. So I need to confine myself to hardtops really.... and with cabin air filters if possible.

The Chrysler TC was a hardtop based on the Lebaron.

The worst aspect of my lebaron far and away was the rag. Poc leaked on the driver's side. I never rode with it down, what for, to have someone throw somethimg out the window or spit. No thanks. I need steel over my head anyway.

Late 80s amd 90s cars came a long way. Many used foreign engines or parts of engines made in japan. Some chevy engines were also used im Japanese cars. As said the Chrysisler Lebaron was a known notorious money pit. I was pretty lucky. The only redeeming thing about the car was the engine. But it was also flawed.

I have a Ford now. My 2nd (had a Fairmont in 1989, wit duh stupit slant 6). This car has very low miles. It has a few small issues already 🤣.