London riots: Fiery happy Miata

Mercedes Benz C126 Coupé Development

On Wednesday, I became the owner of a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC.  It is another European grey-market vehicle like the W116 I picked up last fall. I may take before/after pictures, but the after could take a while.

Rowan Atkinson's UK Top Gear lap

I've been waiting patiently to see this episode, but really just want to see Rowan's antics on the track.



 Unfortunately today he shunted his rare McLaren F1 just outside of Cambridge and suffered a minor shoulder injury.
http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/news/update_tv_star_rowan_atkinson_in_hospital_following_cambridgeshire_crash_1_985153

July Coffee & Classics photos

July 31st classics and coffee

Last Sunday of the month classics meetup! I will be attending with my classic ford truck (hey it's over 25 years old!!) Ok its not Euro or in very good shape...

Temptations of the Day

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/2508167856.html

77 Datsun 280Z,
very clean inside and out, although not orininal, Panasport minilite replicas.
Dubious interior stereo modifications, but otherwise looks almost like a track car.
Too rich for my pockets, but not a bad deal if its really sorted as well as it looks.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/2513444760.html
74 F100 for $850, runs drives, someone put a tach on it. No details on engine or trans :(

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/cto/2509845540.html
Just posting this because it's in Evanston and it's under 1k.
Running MGB project car. Has a bit of the rust.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/2514850258.html
complete euro headlights for W116
Aw crap. I guess I need these for the 280. There goes my paycheck.
I think I'm done looking at craigslist for the day.

3.0 CSI video

There were a little over 8000 3.0 CSIs built, so they are getting pricey. I'd go for any coupe in this family, regardless of the numbers. 

Temptation of the Day: 69 Toyota Crown

Saw this on BAT. 1969 Toyota Crown  (or Toyopet? ). 1960s Toyota lowrider/hot rod potential. I'm pretty sure it has no engine, and the price is up in the air. Something I don't need at the moment is another non-drivable car, even if it is sans-rust. Someone git it!

Auto Historica this Saturday (7/23)

Auto Historica XI.  Lots of Northshore owned European classics.
11:00 to 3:00 at the Highland Park Historical Society located at 326 Central in Highland Park.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/cto/2498090786.html
Euro 280CE. Many parts interchangeable with W116
This one also suffers the expected rust

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/2495362068.html
Bronco ugly, $850

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/cto/2500010452.html
need more info. 630 csi is desirable collector, $2500 is about right

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/2498083662.html
'74 F100 longbed. Nice 'patina' $800, reasonable

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/2500977912.html
Triumph GT6 bring a trailer and $600. That's worth it. One of the best looking Triumphs.

Bavarians for rescue

Nothing special.

An e23 (733i) only 300k miles, sitting for 10 years. I'm partial to e23 slant noses.
This one is probably a nightmare. But Wilmette is so close, why not take a look?
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/cto/2488097506.html

Und ein e30:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/2496340666.html
Far, but so cheap. Electrical gremlins.

Seriously though, I'm waiting for a 70s New Class roller. So's that I can drop a M30 engine in it.

Tank fab for GL1000

Tank build for GL1000.  The tank's shape looks simple from the outside, but its actually pretty tricky underneath. The tank Honda designed sat below the seat between the rear wheel and transmission case. That puts the center of gravity lower and to the rear (when it's filled), and protects the tank in the event of a crash between the frame rails.

I've thrown all that good design out and built one to sit where it usually does, on top of the frame between the rider's knees! I wanted to move the battery into the space where the old tank lived, just in front of the rear wheel and centered. The old tank is rusty and will kill the carburetors. 

As it stands

I expected A FEW leaks after welding up, but it was leaking like a sieve. I didn't bother to count.

Flux core TIG welding is very dirty. There are lots of pin holes and potentials for voids. This also has a lot to do with welding technique and prepping the weld areas correctly, but.. 

 

Filler Neck welded in

I'm grinding the welds down flat and laying another wider & hotter bead over them. So far this has filled any voids and killed leaks along the seams. I'm using pressurized air and soap to find pinholes, then grinding and laying a wide bead over the area. I don't think I could do such wide, flat beads with as much penetration if the first pass welds were not done. The top and bottom halves were shaped and tacked. Then the tacks were stitched together at the same heat, alternating sides to keep distortion low. All the tacks and stitches are hammered flat, then stress relieved. I did the tacking and stitching at the lowest heat with the wire feed a little higher than normal. Once all of the leaks are out and the pressure holds at 50PSI for a few hours, I'll etch the inside with a solution of phosphoric acid in water, dry it with MEK and use the liquid polymer liner to seal it. Then the outside will get smoothed/sanded and painted some color. 

Lovely BMW 2002

I saw this excellently prepared BMW 2002 at a party over the 4th of July weekend. I didn't get any pictures of it then.  Image courtesy of http://fuelfed.wordpress.com/ which is also excellent.

Craigslist temptations of the day

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/2478182570.html

Has 292, 3spd probably on the tree.
"not running now did run when parked 8 or 9 years ago"
Or 12. Who's counting.

$800
More like ... $600? $700? OK $750
Bring a trailer.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/2466382726.html
75 F100 extended cab which is in much better condition than it should be. This truck is looooong. Extended cab/long bed makes it something like 18 feet. Good deal, nice color and remarkably intact for having lived in Chicago. Woo. Fuck.

$850
More like
Fuck thats a good deal.
Drive it home.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/2471050077.html

I don't get this one.
Selling it or fixing it or what?
too much money for having been so crawled over.
$1200
more like $400
Bring a trailer.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/2455877142.html

No real info on this one except it has:
"CLOTH INTERIOR"
"GOD WHEELS"

$2100
More like $800, but I guess with God wheels..

Excellent striping

Nibbles

Klien Nibbler

This is the best tool I've found in a long time. It's a sheet metal nibbler. It's for nibbling sheet metal, rather than shearing. I have shears, I have nibblers. I have 2 air nibblers. They are for getting the job done fast. They can nibble in square feet per minute measurements. This Klien nibbler is perfectly designed. It requires very little effort to nibble through 20 gauge steel. It's not the quickest, shears are probably quicker, but it does very clean, precise cuts. You can drill a small hole and start right in the middle of a sheet (try that with shears), you can cut tight radius curves, and it wont raise an edge like a can opener the way a shear does.

I think this tool is made in Lincolnwood, IL just around the corner from me. The design is simple and perfect. The materials, coatings and finish are perfect. The heat treating of the blade is perfect. This tool is designed and made by experts, in America. The parts are all high quality, adjustable and replaceable or easily repaired.

Almost every time I go to the hardware store I see a deal on some Husky or other house brand tool which is too good to be true. $9 complete 1/4" socket set, $4.99 ratcheting screwdriver set, etc.

The products in this container may come from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Mexico or the USA.

The quality of the house brand tool varies as widely as its origin. It is most likely to break, but it carries a hassle free lifetime replacement warranty. The cheaper manufactures believe that brand loyalty is easily gained by convenience, low price and replacing any defective product for free. Customer Service!

Everyone replaces broken tools for free nowadays. The material cost of a tool or part is low compared to customer satisfaction. I find broken 10mm sockets all over the garage. I break 10mm sockets more than anything else. All of the broken ones are house brand X, none of them are American made SnapOn, MAC, MTF, SK or Klien tools. Broken tools waste time, which is worth more than money. I think.

The saved time and satisfaction of using a well made tool are worth the extra money, as is knowing that Your Country (America) still makes the best tools available in your country.

German tools are great, but we all know that it was the American industrialists who helped them out after WW1 that made them that way.

Adore

My entry did not win the GRM/FFR design contest. I congratulate the winners. I liked some of the designs and renders very much.

SO, since I didn't win, here is a picture of Audrey Hepburn.

More rendered views

The door seams are missing. I haven't figured out a clean way to do that with Wings3D, and it should have been done before smoothing

More Render

I added the NACA duct to feed the cockpit. The airflow from the radiator is directed up via the larger vent behind it which follows the contour of the glass. The carbon front splitter is new. It will need some adjustable support rods as it provides most of the front end down-force. There is a rear wing modeled, but I didn't include it here.

M110 Vacuum diagram

woot! I have most of them connected now, but there are a few hanging around. This one shows a single line to the distributor vacuum advance. I have a dual diaphragm distributor, one for advance, one for retard. The retard is not connected to anything, and I can't find a place to connect it. I imagine it has to go somewhere AFTER the throttle plate, only because the advance line (see #8 above) is BEFORE the plate. And it would only make sense for them to be on opposite sides of the throttle plate to me. The before side is lower pressure, at idle, higher at full throttle. The after side is highest at idle,  lowest at full throttle. Why they needed a push-pull system is beyond my reckoning. If you connect them wrong the engine will either not idle at all, or have no power over 3000 rpm.