Back in 1960 my dad could have bought a Duesenberg (not sure if it was a model J or SJ) for $2500. At that time, that was a princely sum to pay all at once. A full size car was about the same money. He just couldn't afford it. He kicked himself for many years after.  And, as someone said, we lived in Illinois- would the Duesy have survived the crappy weather (we would have had to store it outside). Sigh... ... View more

At first glance at the photo, I thought it was a Chinese attempt at copying...something. Kind of like that 58 Corvette wanna-be, including bad proportions, only this thing is much uglier! Didn't opera windows go out in the 80's? ... View more

I thought it interesting that Paul Hogan, supposedly driving his Outback in the outback, had a left hand drive car- as did the guy chasing him. ... View more

With many of the comments talking about the ballast resistor, why not find out what the true voltage is at the coil?  Voltmeter red lead on the coil + terminal, black on battery ground, and run the engine. If the voltage is around 10V-11V, with 14V at the battery, that would be about right. If you find that you are around 8V or less, try bypassing the external ballast resistor and see what the volts are then. Also, run the engine for long enough to get everything up to temp, as higher temps increases resistance, which lowers both voltage and current. You may start with a decent voltage that drops as wires heat up. TimK noted that Ford used a resistor wire for the ignition. Maybe check the volts both in and out of the add-on ballast resistor.  Good Luck! ... View more

I will start by saying I live in Phoenix, AZ. They say it gets warm here. I will also say that these two stories really don't have anything to do with weather anomalies. I am a mechanic, not a bodyman or painter. I have two stories that are basically the same, spaced 14 years apart.  First, back in July of 96, I had a 68 Ultravan (Corvair powered motorhome) that needed paint RIGHT NOW. I prepped for weeks.  When ready, I bought the slowest evaporating thinner possible and got to work. Work consisted of getting up at 2:30AM, getting everything ready, and spray painting around 4AM. Why the middle of the night? Because daytime highs were over 110 degrees, while the lows, (appearing around 5AM), were "only" about 90. I painted one section per night (motorhome is BIG). When done for the night, I cleaned up and went to my job. It took about a week, in the back yard, dirt lot, no cover.  Aside from a few runs, it actually looked nice!  Fourteen years later, same thing, this time my 61 Rampside. Same time of year, same temps, but this time at least I had a carport! It still took several days.  The main problems here was sweat dripping from my head onto the paint, and then little bugs seemed to love the paint smell. Overall, it came out pretty nice, not show quality, but parade worthy. Im older now, microscopically wiser, so if there is a next time, I will wait until winter! ... View more

I worked for 8 years as a Ford Trim Tech in the 90's. I did quite a number of dashes. Mustangs were the easiest- I could get them out in less than an hour. Doing your first dash is harder, because you do not know where all the hidden bolts and screws are. You also learn to HOLD THE DASH IN PLACE as you remove that last retaining screw!  Probably the worst dash was a Windstar- they were huge and heavy!  I also bought or made some special tools to help get to those screws at the base of the windshield. Never what I would call "fun". ... View more

Two things about that top photo: First, it's parked like a typical Caddy driver would (taking up multiple spaces, and Second, there seems to be lots of fluid (antifreeze?) emanating from under the car. Is that why the A/C wasn't used? Or because it was used? I agree with everything you wrote, by the way. ... View more

In reply to Greg_B:  I 100% agree with all of your faves. But let's not forget one of the funniest car guys out there, (aside from Bruce McCall), P.J. O'Rourke. And I agree that LJKS was almost like trying to decipher Hieroglyphics. ... View more

Easy... bring back the late model Corvair!  Modern, flat 6 or 8 DOHC engine, still rear mounted. Air cooling probably gone, as Porsche did, but with modern electronics and fuel injection, plus turbocharging (remember, the Corvair was among the first).  Make it a drivers car. Don't hang a bunch of useless electronic crap on it. Sell it for about $25-30k. Too bad GM didn't have bigger balls back then, and they probably still don't. ... View more

This is why I read the comments before posting. My first thought was any vehicle that could enter the 24 hours of LeMons. ... View more

I had to look again, but you are right. Also, that black lead should be in the center COM port on the multimeter, and shouldnt the dial be on 20vdc? ... View more

Don't forget about the original American compact pick-up, the 61-64 Corvair Rampside. My 61 is the most useful vehicle I have ever owned. I have moved the entire contents of my garage twice, and large storage shed twice- by myself! The fold down ramp allows you to just put stuff on a hand cart and roll (or comealong) it in the bed. The bed is 9 feet long, too.  People have offered large sums to buy it, but what could I replace it with? Nothing today comes even close! ... View more

Not mentioned in any of the comments, but surprising from Jason, is the boiling brake fluid thing. When Brake fluid boils, it VAPORIZES- turns into brake fluid GAS. After cooling down, the fluid condenses and there are no more bubbles in the system. This means that you do NOT have to bleed the brakes afterwards! (Maybe Jason was just trying to make it simple for non-gearheads?) ... View more

Excellent point about the stop leak.  Stay away from ALL of the "do it yourself" kits, too. Avoid the cans of refrigerant that claim to "fix leaks, add oil/ dye, and blow 34% colder". And, I just found out last week, Auto Zone R134a cans are NOT the same diameter as a normal can. I like to use can side-taps... and the AZ can was the same diameter as an R12 can, so most of the R134a went spraying out everywhere. If you dont know what you are doing, find help from someone who does!  Those DYI kits arent called suicide kits for nothing! ... View more