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Lost: Beagle, Last Seen Near Mars - Page 2 — Parallax Forums

Lost: Beagle, Last Seen Near Mars

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  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2015-01-18 21:40
    My Corvair has been a garage queen for many years. But it finally stopped leaking oil. Perhaps it has been quietly repairing itself.
  • msrobotsmsrobots Posts: 3,709
    edited 2015-01-18 22:04
    My English professor in Germany told once that there are languages where a double negation will produce a positive outcome and languages where a double negation will produce a emphasized negative outcome, but - he said - there is no language where a double positive will produce a negative outcome.

    And from the back somebody shouted:

    YEAH, RIGHT

    Enjoy!

    Mike
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2015-01-18 23:01
    No leaks here but my ABS isn't quite right - probably an electrical issue. I'm also going to need to replace the bushings in the suspension soon but the number one issue is to replace the timing chain tensioner. The originals are plastic and are known to disintegrate without warning - leading to pistons and valves trying to occupy the same space at the same time.

    Sure is fun to drive, nice to have almost 400hp at the ready. Mileage isn't terrible, not great either. I figure I'm doing my part to end our dependence on oil - by using it all up. ;-)
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2015-01-19 07:59
    erco wrote: »
    Who you talking to? :) Air-cooled (barely) Corvairs were the king of oil leaks. Among other places, at 24 O-rings on 12 pushrod tubes. High performance cylinder heads were often within 150 degrees of melting their own aluminum, so those O-rings got royally abused. The 1960's vintage rubber O-rings never lasted very long. GM sold their last Corvair in 1969; only in the 70's did high-temp Viton O-rings come along and helped the problem. Too little, too late. Oh, Ralph Nader's book and the V-8 Mustang didn't help things either.

    I was talking about the Jaguar. A school pal went into auto mechanics and specialized in repairing British cars when he started his own garage. I would help out with electrical problems once in a while so I ended up hearing all about the problems with them. I bought the Sunbeam Tiger from him after he got a Jag. By then it had no leaks or electrical problems. Loved driving that car.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2015-01-19 08:25
    msrobots,
    YEAH, RIGHT
    I always imagined the Germans, and in fact most of the rest of the world, had a problem comprehending sarcasm.

    Yank cars did not have such bad gas mileage. Their gallons are tiny...
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2015-01-19 09:15
    In the mid 60s my sister had a Sunbeam (Hillman) Minx. It was a dependable little thing. Just put gas in it, and go. A benefit of these older, simpler cars (though they aren't anywhere as safe in crashes as modern cars).

    A friend of mine once had an 80s-era Land Rover that had constant electrical and mechanical issues. He found a mobile mechanic that was fairly reasonable, but every repair was still quite expensive. British cars like Jags, Rovers, Bentleys, and RR's are popular in the LA area, and these mechanics are in high demand. They get the Big Bucks.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2015-01-19 10:25
    In the mid 60s my sister had a Sunbeam (Hillman) Minx. It was a dependable little thing. Just put gas in it, and go. A benefit of these older, simpler cars (though they aren't anywhere as safe in crashes as modern cars).

    My brother had an Austin Mini back in the 70's. Fun car to drive, and 5 bucks got him to work and home all week. Great in the snow too, which was a surprise considering how small those wheels were. Convinced me FWD was the way to go.
    A friend of mine once had an 80s-era Land Rover that had constant electrical and mechanical issues. He found a mobile mechanic that was fairly reasonable, but every repair was still quite expensive. British cars like Jags, Rovers, Bentleys, and RR's are popular in the LA area, and these mechanics are in high demand. They get the Big Bucks.

    Yep, finding a good mechanic for them was a problem, and the ones around charged premium prices. My buddy retired at 50 with a summer house in the Bahamas and a nice place in the country with an incredible workshop. Luckily some of my go-cart parts could be used on the mini.
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