Goat Toy Day 25

@narfcake That’s kind of what I’ve done, they’re just a little flashier than steelies. The SS has big huge wide 20" wheels with very low profile tires. The winter tires and wheels are 18" and narrower, with a taller profile. (Don’t tell anyone but they are actually light truck tires to get that size.) The overall tire diameter is almost identical.

So I’ve got both a skinnier contact patch and full blown winter tires and it transforms the car. Sure, you still have to be easy on the the throttle, but that goes with the territory.

It snowed the day before I got the winter tires, and the commute on the summer tires was terrifying!

Oh, it was a little cheaper to buy tires AND wheels in 18" than to buy winter tires for the 20" wheels. That made the choice even easier. I’m sure the width of the tires, especially the rears, makes the difference.

And of course with two sets of wheels I can swap them myself instead of having to make two trips to the tire shop every year.

@blaineg Yeah, that’s what I do with my cars for winter, too. Winter tires/wheels on in November, off in March. What do you do about syncing the TPM sensors? I just don’t bother and let the dash light stay on all winter.

@macromeh I bought the TPM sync tool, I think it was about $60. You trigger resync mode from the dash controls, and then just walk around the car holding the tool at each valve stem in turn. The car honks when each one is done, and double honks when you’re all done.

@blaineg Thanks for the tip - I’ll have to look into one of those.

@macromeh Well, I just did a quick search and made myself choke. Except for the labeling, this one for $17 looks identical to the one I paid $70 for.

https://www.amazon.com/VXDAS-EL-50448-Pressure-Monitor-Activation/dp/B072BK693N/

@Kidsandliz I’ll try for a better answer tomorrow, but here’s kind of a reverse answer. A very kind friend (one of my Heroes from the platelet adventures) loaned me a Toyota Camry for several weeks while the Camaro was dead.

Walking out of work one day I hit the unlock button as I’m walking towards the car. And something beeps behind me. “That’s strange” I think, “Did it open someone else’s car?” I press it again, and there’s another beep from behind me. I turn around, and there’s the Camry I drove into work a few hours earlier. I’m standing near a Honda Accord.

Doh!

I know cars. An Accord and a Camry don’t look that much alike. But I couldn’t tell the difference between them as I left work that day!

@blaineg Well they certainly stand out and I don’t know many cars. I had, for a bit more than 25 years a grand caravan. It looked like a dump after a while (my kid nicknamed it the ghetto van and said it was so embarrassing she was not going to learn how to drive if she had to drive that; she lied, she not only learned to drive with it but swiped it a few times without permission). The advantage was, once it was older, it was easy to spot in a parking lot. When it threw an engine bearing I got a 10 year old honda element that was tan and black. That was really easy to find. It got wrecked when a commerical truck without a rear bumper backed into it and crushed to hood. Now I have a 9 year old silver? gray? minivan and it looks like just about everything else in the parking lot. I am having to make a serious effort to remember where I parked it since it seems like every third car is gray/silver.The only way it could have been worse was if it had been white.

@blaineg @Kidsandliz For me it’s kind of a nostalgia thing (I don’t own one now, but I do appreciate the new “retro” models). Back in highschool, I had a '69 Mustang Mach 1 and my buddy had a '68 Camaro RS. We spent many hours wrenching on those cars. I think the updated Camaros do a better job style-wise of capturing the essence of the '60s pony cars than the new Mustangs or Challengers.

@Kidsandliz Is it tomorrow yet?

There’s probably as many different answers to the question as there are individual gearheads, but I think a common thread is something about these machines speaks to us. It may be learned, or it may be genetic. I’ve got a little nephew who’s been obsessed with cars since he could walk, and he doesn’t get it from either of his parents!

Personally, I appreciate how they look, what makes them work, and how they perform.

But there are all sorts of variations. Some people love driving, but never want to touch a wrench, and have no idea what’s under the hood. Others go overboard into fanaticism, where my brand or model is great, and everything else is crap. See Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge, or USA vs. import, or Harley vs. everything else.

If you’ve got a warped sense of humor, the fanatics can be a lot of fun, since they are so easy to wind up.

Why do you never see a biker with a “Honda” tattoo? Because Honda riders can remember what they rode in on.

I don’t really do “brand loyalty”. I’ve got a Camaro, but I looked at and appreciate Mustangs. In motorcycles I’ve got a Suzuki and two Yamahas, but that’s because I just replaced the Honda I’ve had for 25 years. Ducati and BMW and Triumph make interesting bikes, but none I’ve ever fallen in love with. I don’t hate Harley-Davidson, but they’ve only ever made two bikes I’ve found interesting.

I love the kinetic feeling of acceleration, braking and cornering. So a vehicle that provides more of that is inherently more interesting than something slow. For years I couldn’t afford any car I was interested in, so I drove practical, get-you-through-the-winter cars, and rode motorcycles for fun. And the daily commute is just a little bit better in the Camaro, or on the FJ1200.

I also enjoy working on them (most of the time). And I’ve taken apart and rebuilt engines (just motorcycles so far, but I’m taking on the truck engine this spring), so I’m pretty far gone compared to normal people.

A nice car or motorcycle just puts a smile on my face.

@blaineg My dad had (one of my sisters has it now) 1940 packard (had it since 1953 when it was just a really old used car). It had a place of honor in the garage and was only driven in good weather. I drove it some and it was a guy magnet - one of two kinds. Kind 1: white haired man. Kind 2: greased back hair 20-30’s something guy in a tight t-shirt often with a pack of cigarettes rolled up a sleeve. Pretty humorous driving down the highway. Got paralleled a lot with people staring. Also I don’t think they expected to see a girl behind the wheel. Also a bit dangerous since it was pre turn signals and many people do not pay attention to hand signals.

Because he dragged us to a lot of antique car shows (of course driving us in the packard) and to demolition derbies I do appreciate cars a bit for something other than basic transportation or a place to sleep at night while on the road. As a kid back when there were only 3 kids and not yet 4 all 5 of us slept in the station wagon on trips. Fortunately the family moved on to a tent top trailer.

And I got somewhat of a perverse pleasure driving the ghetto van once it was 20+ years old and did things like spray paint the roof with gray rustoleum to keep the roof from rusting through. Car was light blue and at that stage of its life the gray roof basically matched the faded paint.

Glad yours is up and running and can enjoy it again.

@blaineg Probably. Either that or, since your dad had one, as a baby you imprinted on it for life. Like a baby duck.

@Kidsandliz Definitely imprinted on it. He had lots of great cars over the years, but that one was something special.

@Kidsandliz I was about 10 years old at the time, so way to young to drive. But sometimes he would let us shift, and it had a aluminum Hurst t-handle. Something like this.

He’d tell us: When I tell you, move the lever over THERE.

We thought it was the greatest thing!

The same uncle also was a big influence on getting me into motorcycles, along with my dad.

@blaineg My dad would hold us in his lap to steer the car when we were kids. Good thing no cop around. Mom would have a fit.

@phendrick Church is close, it’s the Las Vegas Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormons). Our temples aren’t used for Sunday worship services, but for marriages and other ordinances. The temples vary in size, but it says the Las Vegas Temple is about 7500 sq. ft., and the tallest spire is 119 feet. The lot slopes quite a bit, so that may make it look smaller.

https://www.lds.org/temples/inside-temples?lang=eng

I found the car in Henderson, Nevada, so I flew down, bought it, and drove it home. I figured the Temple would make a nice backdrop and contrast to the muscle car, so I detoured by it to take the picture.

The Camaro was at a Lexus dealership because the original owner traded in for a Lexus because he wanted an automatic transmission. I think maybe the Camaro wasn’t the right car for him. But that’s fine by me, he only put 6000 miles on it, and he saved me almost 10 grand.

There were several amusing things about that day.

Seeing the Camaro on the marble floor of the Lexus dealership.

Watching all of the techs drool over the Camaro instead of the pricey Lexii (?) they see every day.

The dealership finance guy whipping through all the paperwork, saying: “I’ve got to offer you the undercoating, but I know you want to get on the road, so sign there to decline.” “I’ve got to offer you the extended warranty, but I know you want to get on the road, so initial there to decline.” Etc.

Dealership paperwork should always be that easy! So thumbs up for Lexus of Henderson.

so sign there to decline.

@blaineg A no-nonsense finance manager? Kudos!

@blaineg “Lexii”, I like that, as would any former Latin I student.

@blaineg Well, one sentence of the several dozen I wrote managed to post above. I’m too tired to re-write it all at the moment.

If you are interested, I will try to get back later and retype the saga of my 66 Chevelle SS.

@blaineg @phendrick I would like to read the saga of the 66 SS

@phendrick Ouch, I hate losing posts like that. But yes, I’d love to hear the tale of your Chevelle.

@narfcake Yes, the finance guy was wonderful, he just blazed through paperwork and the add-on sales pitches. “You won’t want that.” “You don’t need this.”

The whole experience with Lexus of Henderson was great. I found the car on their eBay listing, and called them to talk about it. The salesperson said over half their business was out of state, or even out of the country. She said they just needed a deposit on the car to hold it. They’d pick me up at the airport, and let me test drive the car. If I wanted it, we’d do the deal. If I changed my mind they’d give me the deposit back, and I’m not out anything but the plane ticket. She sent me even more photos than they had posted online, and the car was exactly what I would have ordered from the factory

The car looked great, and the test drive cinched it. I was laughing and grinning most of the drive home. The 426 HP V8 was a huge step up from my 150 HP Toyota pickup, and the handling was great. A lot of I-15 is pretty straight and boring, but the stretch through the Virgin River Gorge is entertaining. If I hadn’t been wanting to get back home, I’d have turned around and run through it again.

@blaineg @phendrick that church is insane. I can’t imagine how many millions of dollars it cost to build.

@blaineg @phendrick @RiotDemon I drive by this almost every day. It is certainly attention-grabbing.

@phendrick @RiotDemon The church’s temples are expensive, but it’s not meant as a show of wealth or to be ostentatious. Rather the idea is to use the best materials & workmanship to build a sacred house of God. “The House of the Lord” is inscribed on each temple, and we take that both spiritually and literally.

The temples are also built to last, with the thought that they may be in use for centuries. And there are six (seven in October) operating temples that are over 100 years old. There are currently 162 completed temples around the world, with another 39 announced or under construction.

By contrast there are thousands of chapels that are used for Sunday services and weekday activities. They are built to much more modest standards.

The most recently completed temple is in Rome, Italy and it was dedicated just two weeks ago. This video is a guided tour of the temple.

@cf1 @phendrick @RiotDemon That’s the Washington, D.C. Temple (the temples are often named for the nearest major city, not necessarily their precise location).

It’s one of my wife’s favorite temples, but we’ve not made it to D.C. yet.

It’s a clear echo or reflection of the Salt Lake Temple, which is probably the best known of the church’s temples.

It’s old and low-res, but this is a film that was done for the completion of the Washington Temple back in 1976.

And crossing the streams from Day 20, look what I found yesterday.

http://www.fascinations.com/iconx/salt-lake-city-temple

If you feel like planning ahead a bit, there will be a public open house for the Salt Lake Temple in 2024, after four years of major renovation are completed.

This will be the first time the public have been invited into the temple since its dedication in 1893. So it’s kind of a once-in-several-lifetimes opportunity.

This was just announced yesterday.

https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/plans-unveiled-salt-lake-temple-renovation

And on the east coast, the Washington DC Temple is currently undergoing rennovation, with expected completion and public open house in 2020. Again, the first opportunity for the public to enter the temple since it’s dedication in 1974.

(Open the picture in a new tab for a huge photo of the cutaway model.)

@djslack That’s great! She should keep it, and do the “Little Old Lady from Pasadena” thing. Or take it over yourself, and don’t worry about that first scratch. It hurts, but these things were meant to be driven.

My uncle told me a great tale about loaning his '69 Camaro to his mom (my grandmother). To set the stage, she’d been a schoolteacher and librarian for decades, was widowed when he was very young, and was kind of an Aunt Bee character.

Her car was in the shop, so he’d loaned her the Camaro, and was riding around town in his buddy’s Mustang. As they pulled up to a traffic light that was turning red, his friend noticed the Camaro on the cross street and said: “Hey, isn’t that your car?” And as her light turned green, she smoked the tires all the way across the intersection!

I don’t know if he ever told her she’d been caught, or kept it his secret. But when he told me, he was laughing so hard he was crying.

@blaineg that is a great story!

Another thing about the HUD: through science or magic, the display appears to be sitting out at the end of the hood, even though it’s projected onto the windshield. It works out really well since you don’t have to shift your focus much from the road to the HUD. I rarely look at the instrument panel spedo and tach.

@blaineg I can’t believe more cars don’t have this considering it’s been out for so long. My wife’s Buick of the same era has the same HUD. My dad drove her car a little while ago and that was the thing that impressed him the most.

@blaineg I found out something weird about the Camaro the other day. The turn signal clicking is faked through the sound system. I was making a turn as it announced “Low Fuel Level” and it muted the turn signal click!

That was slightly disorienting for a second: Wait, what? How can it do that? Ohhhhh.

@mehcuda67 I haven’t owned a Goat, but my gearhead uncle did. I think it was a '64. I don’t really remember the car since I was only 5 years old, but I heard plenty of tales about it.

His didn’t have the 389 tri-carb, it had the 421 high output tri-carb. He said that GM hadn’t yet figured out that a hot engine needs a drivetrain to match, and he broke everything between the output shaft and the rear wheels at least once.

@mehcuda67 I can come close to a Goat though, how about a '63 Pontiac Grand Prix with the 389 tri-carb? I was the third owner. My uncle bought it from the original owner, who used it to tow a travel trailer. He later sold it to me.

The car was thrilling and terrifying. The secondary carbs were vacuum actuated, so there was kind of a 1-2 count before they kicked in when you floored it. Worse, the same 1-2 delay was there when you lifted your foot. That could be really exciting.

It looked exactly like this.