--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00000 Date: 01/08/98 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 05:28pm \/To: C.A. KLINGEL (Read 0 times) Subj: Monza diagnosis -=> Quoting C.A. Klingel to Alan Morrison <=- AM>The Monza seemed to be more cold natured in the morning recently. I AM>had already advanced the timing a little and richened the choke a notch. AM>This helped but it still feels a little sluggish. AM>Care to make a stab at the problem, which I just recently found? AM>It's a 1975 Monza with the 350 and a Holley carb on a Performer intake. AM>Other than that it is nearly stock, with single exhaust and automatic AM>transmission. CK> Wow...I was stewing about this one. You didn't give a lot of hints. CK> I would like to buy a Vowel and have the results of a cylinder CK> balance and leakdown/compression tests. If you aren't giving up any CK> more hints I'll go with a vacuum leak. The original post also had the following, which may have been edited out of the response you read: No smoke, or noises present, and basic engine condition is good. It has had spark plugs, rotor, and filters changed in the last 10,000 miles. --- I'll post what I found this week. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00001 Date: 01/08/98 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 05:31pm \/To: BILLY GOODWYNE (Read 0 times) Subj: Monza Diagnosis -=> Quoting Billy Goodwyne to Alan Morrison <=- AM> The Monza seemed to be more cold natured in the morning recently. I AM> had already advanced the timing a little and richened the choke a AM> notch. This helped but itstill feels a little sluggish. AM> Care to make a stab at the problem, which I just recently found? AM> It's a 1975 Monza with the 350 and a Holley carb on a Performer AM> intake. Other than that it is nearly stock, with single exhaust and AM> automatic transmission. No smoke, or noises present, and basic AM> engine condition is good. It has had spark plugs, rotor, and AM> filters changed in the last 10,000 miles. BG> How thick is the oil your using...if it's real thick, the BG> colder it gets, the more it becomes like syrup... Thanks for the response... I'll post the results this week. BTW, it has 10w30 Valvoline in it. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00002 Date: 01/08/98 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 06:29pm \/To: MARC GERGES (Read 0 times) Subj: Forced Induction -=> Quoting Marc Gerges to Tobias Heuer <=- KH>> and braking 60-0 MPH in 112 feet is good all around performance. > 112 feet? Either my convertion chart from feet to meters is wrong or your > car breaks better than every Porsche, Ferrari and McLaren available... TH> I has an anti-gravity generator... MG> That explains :-) Actually these have pretty good braking numbers; similar to those listed. The best 60-0 MPH number I show is one '96 Porsche 911 Turbo which stopped in 99 feet. Other 90's 911's did this in 111-120 feet. 90's Corvettes are close with between 105 and 116 feet, and the F-bodies 112-120 feet. TH> The americans usually measure their mileage driving straight ahead TH> on the highway with decent speeds. MG> Mmmmh... it's a nice way to measure if you want low measurements. :) They are measured two ways by the EPA, which is on the new-car sticker. One is an estimate for CITY driving, the other is for HIGHWAY driving. A typical V8 Firebird or Camaro is rated 17 CITY and 27 HIGHWAY. This is in Miles Per Gallon (MPG) and is measured with an actual vehicle run under varying load by computer, to simulate actual driving conditions. I own a 12 year old Camaro with the 5 liter V8, fuel injection, and overdrive automatic transmission. When moving over 2000 miles away and the car loaded full and 2 aboard, it delivered 27 MPG. This was with the AC on and driving 70 MPH+, which is only 2000 RPM in overdrive. TH> One time I took my car, a 1984 Chevy Caprice Wagon with a 5 Litre TH> V8 (carbed!), switched on the CruiseControl as I reached 100km/h TH> (60mph), and enjoyed the ride. TH> The other time I took our 'family-car', a 1996 Fiat Bravo with its TH> 1,4l 4Cylinder-Engine 75hp (DIN). Due to bad weather I drove just TH> about 100km/h too. TH> AND believe me or not the Bravo took MORE Gas for the way... MG> Some ideas: MG> - Cruise control is great to save fuel... give 1 l/100 km to that one. MG> - due to the bad weather, you used lights, wiper, rear window MG> defroster etc. in the Bravo. MG> - you weren't driving very constant in the rain, as many people MG> switched the lanes. MG> In the exactly right conditions the Bravo will use less fuel... it's MG> physics. Under a steady cruise the weight is not a factor and the more efficient engine, gearing, and aerodynamics play the biggest part; excluding any driving differences. I had a 1.4 liter Datsun give the same mileage as the 5 liter Chevy. It also had Overdrive, but was a 5 speed and had no air conditioning. It was driven a little slower than the Camaro, across an elevation loss. The Camaro was driven from sea level to several thousand feet elevation, across mountains. TH> BUT in city driving where my car hits the 20litres/100km easiely, TH> the Bravo does it with max. 10litres. In the city when you stop and accelerate again, the weight plays a huge role in the mileage... It will beat the big wagon every time! --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00003 Date: 01/08/98 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 06:37pm \/To: JOHN FAERBER (Read 0 times) Subj: Injectors x-=> Quoting John Faerber to Gary Hall <=- GH> to get the codes press the off and warmer buttons on the heater AC GH> panel at the same time. There is lots more you can do from this GH> panel but it gets complicated. JF> No error codes, it pulls up 70 which I beieve to mean all is fine. Code 70 on Cadillac means an intermittent TPS (Throttle Position Sensor). The most common symptom would be a hesitation or stumble on acceleration. You can test the TPS with a Digital Voltmeter. It would be best to have the exact test procedure, and a schematic. You can probably find this at your biggest library, if they have Mitchell's Manuals. Also make sure the wires and connectors are in good shape and clean. JF> What got me to asking about injectors is the fact when I start it I JF> get a rough idle until it warms up (would almost say choke if it was JF> not injected) then it seems to smooth out, though it has a bit of a JF> sight miss at times on the expressway. Since this is an older vehicle, it would be best to determine the general engine condition with a compression gauge, or leakdown tester first. A low cylinder or two will make it run rough and may improve when the warm parts expand and seal better. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00004 Date: 01/08/98 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 07:07pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: 2000 Cars Motor Trend 2000 TIMELINE ACURA: TL sedans receive a freshening and new engines... AUDI: The radical Bauhaus TT Coupe and Roadster will finally reach American showrooms... BMW: Face-lifts are due for the 3 and 5 Series... BUICK: Park Avenue will get a mild freshening... CADILLAC: DeVille and DeVille Concours are completely redone or replaced by a new model with a more import-style look and handling. Potent Northstar V-8 power remains... CHEVROLET: Astro, Tahoe, and Suburban will be redone with new Gen III V-8 power. Dual airbags and four-wheel anti-lock will be standard. A bigger Lumina, possibly called Impala, will be built on one of the new midsize (MS2000) platform variations. Monte Carlo coupe, likely built on a different platform than Lumina, will return to rear-drive and get 3800 V-6 power. The exterior designs will look significantly different between Lumina and Monte Carlo to support their appeal to different buyers. Venture front-drive van will be freshened... CHRYSLER: Sebring and Cirrus will be redesigned on a common platform... DODGE: Avenger coupe and Stratus sedan are redesigned onto the same platform. Neon convertible will join the small-car line... FORD: Escort is engineered in Europe on "world-car" platform. The midsize Taurus is completely reskinned with more of an edge and grows a bigger trunk. Explorer is redesigned, possibly on a unibody platform. A sleeker Mustang, still rear-drive, will be redesigned on the new Ford Motor Co. large-car platform. A completely new compact sport/utility based on the Contour (CDW27) platform is born... GMC: Safari, Yukon, and Suburban are redesigned for lower weight, better aerodynamics, and better economy and will be powered by the Gen III V-8... HONDA: A new Civic line will appear in fall 1999... HYUNDAI: Accent model redesigned. A compact sport/utility is introduced... INFINITI: The front-drive I30, (Maxima), gets a complete redesign... JEEP: Cherokee completely redesigned on Jeep's new platform... LEXUS: The prestige division's new flagship LS 400 sedan arrives on American shores... LINCOLN: Mark VIII gets a complete engineering redo and a fresh new skin. Power is provided by an new V-8. It will share suspension pieces with the entry-level Jag and Lincoln sedans... MAZDA: Millenia flagship and the sporty Miata are likely candidates for redesign... MERCEDES-BENZ: A new S-Class arrives. The SL convertibles are reengineered to reduce weight and save fuel. Engines, suspensions, and platforms are shared with a new large coupe. The entry-level C-Class is redesigned... MERCURY: The midsize Sable receives a significant exterior redesign. Mountaineer will be redone along with Explorer on a possible unibody platform... MITSUBISHI: Eclipse is redesigned. Diamante flagship gets a freshening... NISSAN: Maxima is extensively redone for the turn of the century... PONTIAC: Grand Prix front and rear fascia are freshened. Firebird, although still rear-drive, is redesigned on the new large-car platform... PLYMOUTH: Expresso, a small, tall, vanlike wagon or sedan, is introduced. Breeze is redesigned on the common Chrysler Corp. compact platform. Prowler-style Neon convertible becomes available... SAAB: A new 900 line is due. It could be built on a variation of an Opel platform... SATURN: A compact sport/utility, possibly built on the sedan's platform, will make its appearance... SUBARU: A new, slightly larger Legacy platform is slated... TOYOTA: Paseo gets redesigned. Avalon gets redone on an even larger front-drive platform... VOLKSWAGEN: New Beetle convertible is introduced. A larger, flagship sedan will supplant the Passat... VOLVO: Next-generation S90 (former 960) sedan is introduced. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00005 Date: 01/08/98 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 07:08pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: American Sportscars TESTING THE 650 HP LEMANS VIPER GTS-R (0-60 MPH IN 2.9 SECONDS) --- by Mac DeMere We were on the French Mediterranean coast at Circuit Paul Ricard, once the home of the French Grand Prix. The lone windshield wiper vainly slapped at the rain being flung horizontally by a howling, 150-mph, manmade hurricane; a staggering 650 full-throttle horsepower used up every ounce of grip offered by the foot-wide Michelin racing rain tires. A 100-foot-tall rooster tail of spray filled the mirrors and obliterated rear visibility. Looming ahead at the end of the straight was the first braking marker for a superfast right-hander; last time around, the car slid wide after splashing through the puddle at its apex. This time the upshift alarm, set for 6000 rpm, glowed yellow. There was only one thing to do: Slap the shift lever into sixth and go back to wide-open throttle. Forward vision wasn't any worse than it was a half-dozen mph slower - nor was the tires' grip, in sixth at 157 mph (the terminal velocity reached before I wimped out and hit the binders). If things went wrong, the difference of a handful of mph wouldn't usefully reduce the damage the concrete walls would inflict on the quarter-million-dollar Viper GTS-R. The race car was a Chrysler Viper GTS-R. (Yes, Chrysler Viper. In Europe all Chrysler Corp. products, from Caravan to Neon to Viper, carry one label.) The striped wonder was a veteran of the '96 24 Heures du Mans and last year's BPR Global Endurance GT Series. Constructed in Dodge's Team Viper shops in Michigan, it was campaigned by the French Viper Team ORECA. Unlike NASCAR Winston Cup cars, which employ nothing from their road going namesakes, the Viper utilizes a large number of off-the-shelf parts. This is largely because of the rules for Le Mans and the new for '97 FIA GT Championship, which replaces the BPR series. The regulations fit well with the GTS's race-car-for-the-street nature and Chrysler's stated desire to race what it sells. The stock frame is hidden away in a maze of reinforcing rollcage tubing. Suspension arms are straight off the street GTS, save for the addition of hemispherical rod ends. A lightly massaged version of the stock Borg-Warner T-56 six-speed is bolted to the bell housing. Similarly, a blueprinted-but-stock Dana 44 differential was fitted. The engine retains the stock cylinder block, heads, and crankshaft (the latter turned down to accept the more plentiful Chrysler Hemi bearings). Carillo Racing connecting rods and J+E pistons help the '97 version of the 8.0-liter OHV V-10 spin to a lofty 7200 rpm, 1000 higher than the rev limit we used in France. The sound is more multicam than pushrod, much like a Formula One Cosworth from 30 years ago rather than a current NASCAR motor. Typical for racers, Team Viper plays coy with horsepower figures, but we estimate the '96 version made a bit more than 650 horses, despite breathing through the required pair of intake restrictors. Who knows what it would make with an open intake! For '97, a new 10-throttle-butterfly, single-plenum intake helps boost power beyond, we surmise, 680 horsepower, and torque perhaps tops a titanic 700 pound-feet with the GT1 restrictors installed. To avoid competing with the loophole-exploiting Porsche 911 GT1 and million dollar McLaren F1 GTR, however, most Viper GTS-Rs will run smaller intake restrictors -- down from 38.2 to 32.4 millimeters -- and enter the closer-to-stock GT2 class. At low and middle revs the smaller restrictors don't significantly hinder power or torque, but will cut about 1000 rpm and 100 horsepower off the peak, said Team Viper's GTS-R Program Manager Neil Hannemann, a champion driver in his own right (with whom yours truly co-drove a pair of 24-hour race wins). The result is beyond-outrageous performance. Try 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds and 0-100 mph in just 5.4 seconds with a 10.3-second/143.9-mph quarter mile. (The rain prevented testing in France, so these incredible numbers were obtained by Team Viper from a Pi Research onboard data-acquisition system affixed to a beyond-680-horsepower '97 GT1-spec GTS-R driven by racer Tommy Archer.) Race cars vary in friendliness: The GTS-R proved to be a bon ami. Controls are familiar and felt much like the street Viper GTS I'd driven from the chateau to the track. Although stiffly sprung, the GTS-R was fairly emotive -- I easily sensed the onset of understeer before it became a problem. At higher speeds, the big rear wing and aggressive front splitter smeared the car to the road; grip was exceptional for such miserable conditions. Overall, the GTS-R was, I'm thankful, tolerant of driving errors -- except, that is, when I was too aggressive with the throttle leaving tight corners. Then it would wag its tail as if to say, "Naughty, naughty." Chrysler hopes to populate Le Mans and the FIA GT Championship with Viper GTS-Rs and, thus, convince Europeans to think of Chrysler as a high tech, leading-edge corporation -- compelling them to buy loads of Caravans and Neons. To persuade team owners to campaign its cars, Team Viper offers ready-to-race examples for the relatively bargain-basement price of $285,000, which is just $30,000 over last year's price. Of course, you'll need another $2 million -- $4 million would be better -- to seriously contest both Le Mans and the GT Championship. For this test -- auto writers from around the world were standing in line to sample the car, and, yes, one from another country pranged it -- stopwatches were wisely banished. Yet, lap times were furtively recorded by the onboard computer (along with road speed, rpm, throttle, steering position, and, for all I know, the dirty words the driver says after a mistake). But the team's computer guru didn't volunteer that information. And my times were so bad, I didn't press him. Even shifting gears in a new race car presents challenges. The regular drivers shift with just the wrist, but our man tends to use his whole arm inward, which, once, caused a 3-2 shift when a 3-4 was needed. Early in my second of two on-track sessions, the downpour rose to what locals call an escargot-suffocator. Coincidentally, the Viper's oil-pressure alarm falsely (the crew later determined) broadcast a warning across the digital instrument screen. I killed the engine and coasted into the pits. It was as if God tapped me on the shoulder and said, "That's enough for today. The car is still in one piece, and one needn't be omnipotent to see you aren't going to go faster. "Besides," continued the voice in my head, 'the first time you wreck one of these, I'm closing down this 'We test cool race cars' business." Just for a change, I listened. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00006 Date: 01/10/98 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 11:33am \/To: SIMON AVERY (Read 0 times) Subj: Escort -=> Quoting Simon Avery to Marc Gerges <=- SA>> Retail is around 12,000 to 17,000 (1100cc to 1800 turbo ghia), SA>> which for a 4-door small family saloon puts it at the top of its SA>> class. The Escort goes for $11,700 to $13,000 here (2 liter SOHC 110 HP), which is a near entry level 4 door sedan. That's about 19,300 to 21,500 British pounds, at 1.65 Dollars per Pound. MG> Don't you have the Puma? It's on sale here for a couple of weeks and MG> said to sell very well. SA> Puma, however, /is/ highly priced - around 14 - 15 thousand, although SA> every report I've seen does tend to suggest that "it's a bit special" SA> and is worth it. I reserve judgement until I get the pleasure... I believe it's a Mercury (Upscale division of Ford) Cougar here. It is a 3 door hatchback with a 2.0 liter DOHC four (125 HP), or an optional 2.5 liter DOHC V6 (170 HP). Quite stylish, but with a 'big butt' rear end and elliptical, flush headlights. All I can confirm is that it is European designed, and is probably our version of the Puma. At 1.65 Dollars per Pound it would be a base price of about 28,900 British Pounds, which is $17,500. I think you guys get much better pricing on the Ford models there, compared to a similar Ford here. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00007 Date: 01/07/98 From: JAN DEBOER Time: 11:12pm \/To: ALAN MORRISON (Read 0 times) Subj: Battery Terminals On 15 Dec 97 19:17:32 Alan Morrison wrote to TOM WALKER... -=> Quoting TOM WALKER to CURIOUS GEORGE MEHNER <=- -> Why do cars now have battery terminals made of steel instead of lead, TW> That is one of the reasons. The biggest reason is COST of the TW> terminal itself I would suspect. Bean Counters RULE detroit nowdays. AM> Detroit? I've seen them on Nissans and Toyotas. Don't AM> they have as efficient bean counters in Japan?? It's nt only cost, but weight! Anything to get the weight down, and thus the mileage up! Why do you think there are more and more of those push in _once_ plastic fasteners! JdB --- Everything/2 * Origin: Tiny's BBS - Inet: tinys.oix.com / On,Canada (1:229/600) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00008 Date: 01/10/98 From: ROY J. TELLASON Time: 08:20pm \/To: JOHN FAERBER (Read 0 times) Subj: Vehicle Confiscation John Faerber wrote in a message to Bill Mitchell: JF> Correct me if I'm wrong, but (as I remember from my high JF> school economics class many years ago) fair market value is JF> what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller based on the JF> condition of the item to be sold, be it a car or any other item. JF> Sounds as if the poiticians do not understand this concept!!! JF> (or they DON'T want to understand it to get themselves more tax JF> $$$) Bingo! You got it... email: roy.j.tellason%tanstaaf@frackit.com --- * Origin: TANSTAAFL BBS 717-432-0764 (1:270/615) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F1F00009 Date: 01/09/98 From: DAVID WEI Time: 12:05pm \/To: ALAN MORRISON (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: cool cop cars -=> Quoting Alan Morrison to David Wei <=- AM> They bolted on about 700 lbs. of parts. Parts it didn't need to get AM> an extra hundred HP or so, which could have been gained with standard AM> performance mods. I believe some the the weights are on the indepedent rear suspension... and that BIG Borg Warner T56 tranny... DW> Reducing 100 HP ain't gonna help much, as the extra 200+ HP is coming DW> from the blower... AM> No, don't keep the blower to add 200 HP and 700 lbs. Here is why: Errr... I don't know any blower that can be used on passanger cars and weight 700LBs... IMHO, most of the weight is likely to be coming from the IRON block instead of the Itlian casted alloy block... their blower should not weight more then the cyl heads... even if the blower is made solid lead, it can't weight 700LBs... it is just too heavy for such a small object. AM> Replace cast iron manifolds with tubing headers, and increase the AM> airflow through the engine. Adding less than 100 HP this way would AM> have been cheaper, the car would have been as fast or faster, it would AM> handle much better, and stop quicker. Well, IMHO, the maniafolds is likely to be made of something other than iron... maybe composite material, for that they are MUCH easier to make a one-off for show... :) but I'll need to check to make sure... But I believe you DO know that they can Chrome the plastic so it look no different from metal, right? :) DW> I'd love one that is NOT supercharged... and bolt on TWO Paxton Novi DW> 2000 blower... hehehe... Tearing down the 1/4 mile at 9 seconds, and DW> with stereo and A/C on... :) AM> Well, you would have to install a full roll cage, tubs, slicks and AM> many driveline parts to run those numbers at any sanctioned track. Do AM> you have a sponsor in mind or just have plenty of cash? Nope, just good old daydreaming... :) I fear a nuclear grade explosion if the block cracked when the blowers are running at full boost... :) "This is CNN headline news, a drag strip near Vancouver, Canada had a *VERY* powerful explosion, it had wiped out everything within 5KM radius, and lefted a crater 4KM wide. From the computer and written record salvaged at the site, indicated that at the time of explosion, a car named `David's Nuclear Mustang` was running, but no radioactive material have been detect to be out of the norm... The driver was able to escape with the world's most powerful ejection seat, which sends him 10KM up into the air at Mach 8, and then slowly drifting down, as of now, he is still in the air, at about 3KM off the ground..." hehehe... :) ... I'm not as think as you drunk I am! ___ Blue Wave/OS2 v2.30 --- Telegard/QWK v3.09.g1/mL * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Vancouver, B.C. Canada (1:153/757)