--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGQ00064 Date: 12/19/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 06:15pm \/To: GERRY CALHOUN (Read 0 times) Subj: Battery FAQ -=> Quoting Gerry Calhoun to Alan Morrison <=- AM> I looked today and all the Wal-Mart batteries here had "Distributed AM> by Johnson Controls" on the plastic labels. They had octagonal caps GC> Out west, they are almost all Delco now. It has been that way about GC> two months here now. Maybe they shipped the J.C. batteries to stores Just yesterday I was there again and they had a premium battery in a grey case that was probably a Delco. It was the 84 month 950/750 CA/CCA, version for about $59.99. I decided it was a Delco when I noticed it had the Delco Eye, even though it still had "Distributed by Johnson Controls" on a label. GC> The ones I have seen look like the standard Delco caps. These had the same octagonal caps as the others. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGQ00065 Date: 12/19/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 06:42pm \/To: JAY EMRIE (Read 0 times) Subj: Battery sizes -=> Quoting JAY EMRIE to RONNIE THOMPSON <=- JE> One wxploded in front of a parts house. The poor guy had just opened JE> the hood enough for the engine compartment light to come on. JE> Wonder why either of those blew up? Not knowing exactly which part you want input on, I'll start with the basics. When you put a current through a conductive liquid, like water or battery electrolyte, it will separate the Hydrogen, and Oxygen through electrolysis. Quite an explosive mix if in proper proportions; remember the Hindenburg? Most batteries now have some form of vent system that will contain the small amount produced in a good battery. However, if one has a bad cell the regulator overcharges the others trying to maintain the set voltage. This is probably what happened on the ones you described. A car that goes through a lot of batteries may have an overcharging regulator too. Just in case of excess hydrogen near a battery, I like to blow a good puff of air across it before making any connection. Back to the electrolysis and hydrogen production... This is part of the equation for a fuel cell. If you combine Hydrogen and Oxygen with the aid of a catalyst, it will produce electricity. Run a current through water and it will separate the H2O into two parts Hydrogen, to one part Oxygen. Add a little air and you have fuel for an internal combustion engine. The reverse will run an electric motor. One day, when solar cells become more efficient, we may see them used to aid the Hydrogen production. Combine this with regenerative braking and we may see some very low emission vehicles that cost little to run (but perhaps much to purchase). --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGQ00066 Date: 12/19/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 07:07pm \/To: CURIOUS GEORGE MEHNER (Read 0 times) Subj: Battery Terminals -=> Quoting Curious George Mehner to Ronnie Thompson <=- CGM> Why do cars now have battery terminals made of steel instead of CGM> lead, as in the old days (I'm referring to top terminals, not CGM> side)? CGM> What I meant was, why are the terminal connectors now usually made CGM> of steel instead of lead, as they were in the past? Steel is very cheap, and it takes much less of it to hold the same force. The part I dislike is that it will corrode and fail sooner. The old lead ones would last longer than the cable if not abused. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGQ00067 Date: 12/19/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 07:12pm \/To: ROY WITT (Read 0 times) Subj: BMW vs Corvette -=> Quoting Roy Witt to Mark Logsdon <=- AM>> Chevy hasn't produced a 302 in almost 30 years... How old are you? AM>> ;-) ML> I never knew they did. I recall the 283, 307, and 350 v8. RW> the 1967 and 68 Camaro Z28's were 302's... I wasn't sure if they sold 302's to the public in '67. They did in '68 and '69 as I looked at a few '69 Z/28's before finding a 350 RS/SS. I really liked that car, and it was about half the price of a true '69 Z/28. BTW there were a LOT of fake Z/28's then. Every time I looked at one I would check all the badges (some would forget the interior ones) and finally look for the 12 bolt. There were a lot of fake ones that had been converted from sixes with a 10 bolt rear. If it passed all the other criteria you had to check the numbers to be sure it still had the original 302. Say Roy do you remember a Gulf No-Nox commercial that ran in about 1969 that started out "Call it a ping... Call it a knock..." while in the background you could hear a high winding V8 going through a road coarse. Finally they would show an orange '69 Z/28 running at what may have been Laguna-Seca. Oh for the days of 100 octane gas and high-compression, high-reving V8's. We're almost back to where we left off in 1970. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGQ00068 Date: 12/19/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 07:48pm \/To: ROY J. TELLASON (Read 0 times) Subj: Engine Wanted -=> Quoting Roy J. Tellason to John Faerber <=- JF> The 318 was used in the Dodge Diplomat police cars, and was JF> made until '89 or thereabouts. RJT> Motors Manual, etc.) at engine specs, the '70 Dart I had was rated RJT> at 230 HP for that engine, while the '75 was rated at 170 HP! RJT> Can anybody explain to me just what exactly it was that they did to RJT> change the engine and lose all those horses? Two things. In 1971 a large portion of tetraethyl lead was removed from gasoline, which required a drop in compression on those that had needed premium fuel. Also, the standard method for rating horsepower was changed from gross HP (at the flywheel w/o accessories) to SAE net HP, which is closer to what was available to move the car after driving all accessories and loss through the drivetrain. The one you describe, is mostly the rating difference. For comparison a 370 HP LT-1 was dropped to about 270 HP with the compression and rating change. RJT> Is there stuff I can do to reverse that? Or would I be better off RJT> just getting another engine and building it up from scratch? If you don't mind running premium fuel you can boost the compression a bit. Look at the specs you mentioned to see what it was. Generally 8:1 to 9.5:1 was common on mild engines with iron heads and stock cams. On some, they used dished pistons to drop the compression so you just replace them with flattop pistons on a rebuild. Some use a head with a larger volume to reduce the compression; these can be shaved and installed with a thinner head gasket or replaced with a smaller chamber design. Keep in mind that cranking pressure (like a compression gauge reads) is more important than the ratio, and it is also affected by cam timing. (More duration can use more compression ratio). Also aluminum heads will more readily absorb heat and can therefore be run with more compression. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGQ00069 Date: 12/21/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 10:38am \/To: DEVIN DIMITRI (Read 0 times) Subj: cool cop cars -=> Quoting Devin Dimitri to Alan Morrison <=- AM> I saw a book on Cop Cars that showed comparisons on different AM> vehicles supplied for Police duty. They included Caprices, Crown AM> Vics, Luminas, Camaros, Mustangs, a Volvo (!), and a Geo (!!). DD> repeatedly begged you for the title/publisher of that book? Found it Devin. It is titled "Chevrolet Police Cars" by Edwin J. Sanow. ISBN #: 0-87341-483-7 Price: $19.95 in paperback which is a large book about 9x11 inches. It covers Chevrolet police cars way back and has test comparisons with other brands, from NY, MI, and CA police depts. for the last decade or so. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGR00000 Date: 12/20/97 From: ROY WITT Time: 01:21pm \/To: RONNIE THOMPSON (Read 0 times) Subj: Monte Carlo probs. 18 Dec 97 16:45, Ronnie Thompson said this about Monte Carlo probs. to Roy Witt. RT>> Sooooo, your claim would be that the filters keep all trash out of RT>> the carbs?? RT> RW>> No, just most of it... RT> RT> Doesn't take much to make a carb act up, especially Holleys. That's right. Q-jets, on the other hand, can have all kinds of junk in the float bowls and still get you down the road. ... And it'll be MOUNTAIN OYSTERS for everyone! --- * Origin: Bow Tie Racers, Been There, WON That! (1:202/909.13) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGR00001 Date: 12/20/97 From: ROY WITT Time: 01:24pm \/To: PETER HARLE (Read 0 times) Subj: Battery Size 18 Dec 97 18:18, Ronnie Thompson wrote to Peter Harle: RT> -=>> Quoting Peter Harle to JAY EMRIE <=- RT> JE>> I do not understand. Do you read all the messages on line then JE>> download them as a QWK pack? I simply get on the BBS, download a JE>> QWK package for a predetermined group of conferences and get off JE>> the BBS. Usually less than 1-2 minutes. Then I read them all off JE>> line. RT> PH>> When I logon to the BBS, it informs me of any messages addressed to PH>> me and if I want to read them, I usually do, then download the QWK PH>> package, same as you. That's how I knew I had a message from you. PH>> But somehow the mailer managed to screw up sending me "that" PH>> message. I Try resetting the message counter after you read the log-on messages. You can reset it to include any messages that were included in the log-on. ... Dyslexic policeman gives driver a ticket for IUD! --- * Origin: Bow Tie Racers, Been There, WON That! (1:202/909.13) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGR00002 Date: 12/20/97 From: ROY WITT Time: 01:31pm \/To: MARK LOGSDON (Read 0 times) Subj: BMW vs Corvette 18 Dec 97 19:35, Mark Logsdon said this about BMW vs Corvette to Roy Witt. ML> RW> ML>> I never knew they did. I recall the 283, 307, and 350 v8. RW>> RW>> the 1967 and 68 Camaro Z28's were 302's.... ML> ML> Didn't they make a 396 back then? Yup. But it was called an SS396 (Super Sport), not available in the Z28... They also made an RS (Ralley Sport) with the folding headlight doors, which could also be ordered with the SS package combined. The RS was what most people bought, it also came with the 250 six, 327 and 350 engines and the SS could be had with the 350 as well.. I believe most Z28's were RS's with the Z28 package. ... Canadian DOS prompt: EH?\> --- * Origin: Bow Tie Racers, Been There, WON That! (1:202/909.13) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGR00003 Date: 12/20/97 From: ROY WITT Time: 01:53pm \/To: JAY EMRIE (Read 0 times) Subj: Antifreeze 19 Dec 97 21:05, JAY EMRIE said this about Antifreeze to ROY WITT. JE> RW>> 17 Dec 97 13:16, JAY EMRIE said this about Antifreeze to JAMES RW>> ARNOLD. JE> RW> JE>> the warranty period - They say the original coo lant is supposed RW> JE>> to last 30000 miles or 3 years. JE> RW>> Only if you use that same kind of antifreeze to top it off when it RW>> gets low. you use the ordinary antifreeze, you'll lose the longevity RW>> and maybe even c e your freeze protection... JE> JE> I have a hard time accepting that. Ford's owner manual states "Use JE> Ford Cooling System Fluid E2FZ-19549-AA >or< an equivilant engine JE> coolant that meets Ford's Specification ESE-M97B44-A. I'd say Ford JE> would be in deep doo doo if they claimed Prestone didn't fit the JE> specs. Better check with your Ford dealer then. Both Prestone and Texaco state that you'll lose the longevity of the extended life antifreeze if you use ordinary antifreeze to fill up when it's low. JE> I do know for a fact that some years back my brother-in-law JE> used to drive a truck for Chemical Lehman and hauled antifreeze from JE> the chemical plants on the Texas Coast to ALL the major antifreeze JE> makers AND to FORD, and pumped his load out of common tanks to each JE> of these places. With the advent of extended life antifreeze, I'll bet he doesn't do that any more. JE> This same thing happens with gasoline here. Texaco, Exxon, Shell, JE> et al would get the same gas for their filling stations from one JE> common refinery lots of times. That happens here too. Ours isn't trucked in, it's piped in from the refineries in L.A.. ... I wish Noah had swatted those two flies... --- * Origin: Bow Tie Racers, Been There, WON That! (1:202/909.13)