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Reply 380 of 918, by pete8475

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Bige4u wrote on 2020-01-11, 22:27:

Nice peice, but that truck is 30yrs old, now considered a classic, smog regulations shouldnt apply anymore, i say turn that factory 350cid into a 383cid stroker and hot rod it, or just restore it stock and have yourself a reliable daily driver... "its time to choose". /G-man

Thanks, it's quite reliable and is my only vehicle at the moment. I am not planning on doing anything to it anytime soon aside from regular maintenance.

Reply 381 of 918, by shamino

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pete8475 wrote on 2019-12-28, 02:12:

This is my truck, it's a 1990 Chevrolet C1500.

This photo was taken by my Father before I purchased it from him. He called me one day and said "I want to sell the blue truck on Kijiji", so I went there and bought it from him.

I love it. If I was going to buy a truck, I think that's exactly what I'd look for. Past experience has made me comfortable with GMs from that time period, and I find cars from that era to be easier and more mentally relaxing to maintain than newer cars. Just modern enough to have computer controlled fuel injection, but not modern enough to be unduly complicated or too much of a PITA to work on. Parts are also common and usually cheap.

I haven't looked but you might be able to datalog all the sensors and ECM spark/fuel calculations on that truck with an old laptop running some free software like WinALDL or Tunercat. Comes in handy sometimes to make sure everything is working as it should (or to help figure out why it's not).
It can be done with USB, but for a vogons user the cool way is with a real serial port on some chunky old laptop that you're not worried about breaking or somebody stealing. (I think Tunercat requires XP though. I've used WinALDL on NT4 and it probably works on Win9x.)

Reply 382 of 918, by Bruninho

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My ford fiesta engine is running super hot now. I guess its time to pay ($$$) a visit to Ford for a revision...

"Design isn't just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
JOBS, Steve.
READ: Right to Repair sucks and is illegal!

Reply 383 of 918, by pete8475

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shamino wrote on 2020-01-14, 03:09:

I love it. If I was going to buy a truck, I think that's exactly what I'd look for. Past experience has made me comfortable with GMs from that time period, and I find cars from that era to be easier and more mentally relaxing to maintain than newer cars. Just modern enough to have computer controlled fuel injection, but not modern enough to be unduly complicated or too much of a PITA to work on. Parts are also common and usually cheap.

I haven't looked but you might be able to datalog all the sensors and ECM spark/fuel calculations on that truck with an old laptop running some free software like WinALDL or Tunercat. Comes in handy sometimes to make sure everything is working as it should (or to help figure out why it's not).
It can be done with USB, but for a vogons user the cool way is with a real serial port on some chunky old laptop that you're not worried about breaking or somebody stealing. (I think Tunercat requires XP though. I've used WinALDL on NT4 and it probably works on Win9x.)

No fancy fuel injection in this old Detroit iron, it's carbureted. 😁

Reply 386 of 918, by henryVK

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I just signed up with this car sharing scheme. They have one spot two minutes down the road from me that has several 2018 Ford Fiestas which are stick shifts, and there's another station maybe 6 minutes away that also has a 2018 Toyota Aygo automatic. The latter is really ideal for zipping around our dense urban area but maybe a bit dinky (and loud inside) for longer stretches on the Autobahn. So far availability has been really good, since there's even more stations with a wider selection of cars and vans just a short tram ride away. My monthly pass for public transport also includes access to a bike sharing service, so I can use that for free for half an hour to get wherever I need to be. And I also have a subscription to another, better quality bike sharing service, just in case the first one fails 🤣

I only got my driver's license a couple of weeks ago (at the age of 33, nonetheless) and I'm pretty happy that I just have to walk down my street to rent a car at a reasonable price. Parking is an absolute nightmare in town so right now there's no point in me adding another car to the mix that will just sit at the curb for 23h every day.

If I wanted a "toy", I'd be an old German 50cc moped. I used to have one as a teenager and they're tons of fun and pretty easy to service even for a layperson like myself.

32689337oo.jpg

Reply 387 of 918, by sf78

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konc wrote on 2020-01-16, 07:17:

OK, you have my attention! What exactly is this?

CitiCar from the 70's, a neat little thing.

edit: Actually looking at the bumpers, ComutaCar might be the right model.

Reply 388 of 918, by Bruninho

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Right, the engine of my car is overheating. Gonna take it to my mechanic.... Pretty sure its low on water and oil since I should've done it in August but forgot. Meanwhile I get to drive my dads car so I can go to work. Yay

"Design isn't just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
JOBS, Steve.
READ: Right to Repair sucks and is illegal!

Reply 389 of 918, by bjwil1991

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My car had almost overheated again and it turned out that there was too much air in the radiator, so after removing the bleeder valve on top of the radiator (above the lower radiator hose) and opening up the coolant tank cap, then closing the bleeder valve (and breaking pieces of plastic in the process), then starting the car up, all of the air got released with the cap off of the coolant tank and the heater set to full max. It goes a bit above the 1/2 marker, so that's normal now instead of creeping up to the 3/4 marker like it did several months ago. I also had to replace the coolant tank and swap the coolant level sensors since the sensor in the new tank was broken and said that my coolant was "low" at the full hot line and the old tank had a hairline crack at the return line housing on the tank. Hoses are still good, but I'll be doing a swap in the future for preventative maintenance.

Before, I had a crimped hose that was causing my car to overheat the second time and luckily, only overheated when I drove my car around after replacing that broken thermostat on my way back to my house (about 1/4 mile from the house) and before that, the temperature gauge was erratic (jumped up and down) and got the cooling system flushed out since it was old and weak. Fortunately, my car has the overtemperature protection on both the transmission and engine (shuts off certain amount of fuel injectors and lowers the gear ratio to prevent the transmission and engine from crapping out. No head gasket issues or blown seals.

Currently, my fuel gauge is broken (sticks at the full marker and the sensor is broken) and hasn't worked in 3 years, ABS is also worn out (ABS module and wheel hub are bad), foot brake/parking brake doesn't work (needs adjusting after I replaced the rotors and pads a year ago), broke a stud on the wheel hub (never use a hammer or sledge hammer close to a stud, which'll cause the threads to bunch together), and the exhaust system is loud again and will be repaired once I get home along with the fuel gauge.

Discord: https://discord.gg/U5dJw7x
Systems from the Compaq Portable 1 to Ryzen 9 5950X
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/retropcuser

Reply 390 of 918, by sf78

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bjwil1991 wrote on 2020-01-17, 13:43:

Currently, my fuel gauge is broken (sticks at the full marker and the sensor is broken) and hasn't worked in 3 years, ABS is also worn out (ABS module and wheel hub are bad), foot brake/parking brake doesn't work (needs adjusting after I replaced the rotors and pads a year ago), broke a stud on the wheel hub (never use a hammer or sledge hammer close to a stud, which'll cause the threads to bunch together), and the exhaust system is loud again and will be repaired once I get home along with the fuel gauge.

From this post it is clear you only have limited annual vehicle inspections. In here any one of those faults (except the fuel gauge) would give you a repair notice or more likely a failure to pass. 😁

Reply 391 of 918, by bjwil1991

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My state (MI) doesn't do annual inspections. In California, they require those annually.

Discord: https://discord.gg/U5dJw7x
Systems from the Compaq Portable 1 to Ryzen 9 5950X
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/retropcuser

Reply 392 of 918, by Bruninho

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In Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) we had until last year (annual inspections).

"Design isn't just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
JOBS, Steve.
READ: Right to Repair sucks and is illegal!

Reply 393 of 918, by wiretap

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bjwil1991 wrote on 2020-01-20, 14:11:

My state (MI) doesn't do annual inspections. In California, they require those annually.

Hell yea, I'm in Michigan too.. I'm so glad we don't have inspections.

My Github
Circuit Board Repair Manuals

Reply 394 of 918, by sf78

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wiretap wrote on 2020-01-24, 11:04:

Hell yea, I'm in Michigan too.. I'm so glad we don't have inspections.

But why? Wouldn't you want to know if your brakes aren't functioning properly? Or if you have something wrong in the undercarriage? Let alone corrosion, rust or other serious faults (OBD)?

Reply 395 of 918, by wiretap

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sf78 wrote on 2020-01-24, 11:33:
wiretap wrote on 2020-01-24, 11:04:

Hell yea, I'm in Michigan too.. I'm so glad we don't have inspections.

But why? Wouldn't you want to know if your brakes aren't functioning properly? Or if you have something wrong in the undercarriage? Let alone corrosion, rust or other serious faults (OBD)?

I do all that myself.. I don't need the government to force me. And corrosion/rust is common, as we salt the roads in the winter. You can't find a car older than 1 year without rust on the undercarriage. Two of my cars wouldn't pass emissions testing anyway with the mods I have done to them, since there's no catalytic converters. It would be a pain in the ass putting the cats back on every year for testing, only to take them off 30 minutes later.

My Github
Circuit Board Repair Manuals

Reply 396 of 918, by henryVK

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wiretap wrote on 2020-01-24, 11:43:

I do all that myself.. I don't need the government to force me. And corrosion/rust is common, as we salt the roads in the winter. You can't find a car older than 1 year without rust on the undercarriage. Two of my cars wouldn't pass emissions testing anyway with the mods I have done to them, since there's no catalytic converters. It would be a pain in the ass putting the cats back on every year for testing, only to take them off 30 minutes later.

Must be my Germanness, but your post almost causes me physical discomfort 😆

Reply 397 of 918, by wiretap

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henryVK wrote on 2020-01-24, 12:56:
wiretap wrote on 2020-01-24, 11:43:

I do all that myself.. I don't need the government to force me. And corrosion/rust is common, as we salt the roads in the winter. You can't find a car older than 1 year without rust on the undercarriage. Two of my cars wouldn't pass emissions testing anyway with the mods I have done to them, since there's no catalytic converters. It would be a pain in the ass putting the cats back on every year for testing, only to take them off 30 minutes later.

Must be my Germanness, but your post almost causes me physical discomfort 😆

Liberty has that effect on some individuals. haha 😜

My Github
Circuit Board Repair Manuals