The Platforms For My Vehicle Are Complete - (Carpeted 2 x 4's)

[DerbyDad03]

Your mention of shearing teeth reminds me of my 66 Rambler Ambassador.

That car needed some dental work on the flywheel and sometimes screeched when I tried to start it. Each "screech" would move the flywheel a little bit and the starter would eventually grab enough good teeth to start. 2 - 3 screeches at most. ;-)

But what I was really reminded of was the "switch" I installed for the sound system. The AM radio in a 66 Rambler Ambassador was not the type that could be replaced with an aftermarket AM/FM radio because of the vertical mounting layout of the factory radio. Tall and shallow vs. short and deep like most radios.

So I hung one of those FM Radio/Cassette Players under the dash and used a big toggle switch to swap the 4 speakers from the OEM AM radio to the FM/Cassette unit.

[krw]

I'm not sure what it's turning off. Everything seems to work. It's surprising to me that the battery doesn't last months with these little loads. I gotta measure them sometime. They may not be as small as I think.

[krw]

I don't have a start/stop vehicle (before and after) but a friend's Infiniti (or Acura, I can't remember) had some sequence of cockpit controls that disabled the feature completely.

[Ed Pawlowski]

If the car was tested using the Start/Stop mode to get the EPA ratings, it must start in that mode every time. You'd have to get into the ECU to disable it. The question comes up often on car forums.

[Leon]

Where are you going to hang your CB radio? ;~)

[DerbyDad03]

I actually had a mount for that too. I didn't use it in NYC, but I would throw it in if a bunch of us were taking a multi-car road trip "upstate". Slap that big ole' magnetic antenna on the roof and off we'd go. ;-) (no cell phones back then)

I remember the day that I moved out of NYC and was heading up north. It got so foggy that I could barely see the white line on the side of the highway. I got behind an 18 wheeler, called him on the CB and let him know that I was close behind, using him as my guide. He was more than happy to help.

Another time I was travelling across the top of NYS in a blizzard. With the remote area and the weather, comms were really bad. I reached a point where I heard a trucker trying to raise someone - anyone - on Channel 19. He had slid off the road. We kept talking until I reached his location, took note of the mile marker and told him that I'd keep trying to raise a trooper and let him know the location. I eventually managed to do that and (I assume) the situation got taken care of.

[Michael Trew]

I've owned a few cars that have to have the brake depressed to shift from park, but not the older ones. My '89 Olds cutlass cruiser is the newest one that doesn't require the brake I believe. Every one before that back to my '75 Dart are the same. Perhaps that's an early 90's thing?

[Michael Trew]

That's most manuals since the 80's. My '83 F150 is the newest I've owned that doesn't have a "clutch safety" switch. I'm not sure if that's due to the transmission, 3 on the tree, or if that just wasn't implemented into trucks until later (alternatively, it could have been bypassed by someone). I feel like I've talked to people with vehicles older than '83 that had to have the clutch pressed to start. My 90's and newer vehicles all require that. My dad's '70 Chevelle doesn't require the clutch pressed. If you want an auto starter on a manual, you have to have the clutch safety bypassed... don't leave it parked in gear!

[Michael Trew]

Prefer is not a good term. I prefer a cheap car, that runs. I was making an amusing point about the "push button start" in my car, since it was hacked in to fix some issue by the prior owner. Possibly a failure in the ignition key cylinder.

[Michael Trew]

If enough teeth break off, it won't be able to catch at a certain point on the flywheel at all. I have a couple missing teeth on my '89 Olds Wagon. It doesn't prevent it from starting, but it's sometimes noisy when starting. I think it happened during a catastrophic starter failure. I killed the engine in the KFC drive thru, and it went pop/bang and only made a grinding noise when attempting to start after that. Perhaps the started wasn't lined up correctly, but whatever happened, the whole starter case was cracked through, forcing the starter teeth away from the flywheel. I ordered a starter, and replaced it in the KFC parking lot the next day. The people behind me helped me push it into a parking spot, and the manager let me keep it there until tomorrow.

Someone put an AM/FM/Cassette similar to that into my dad's Chevelle under the dash. The '75 Dart that I just bought has the factory AM only radio in it. There is a wiring issue somewhere; the fuel/temp gauges don't work, neither do any of the gauge lights. Same for the AM radio... I'd assume it would still work. I'd love to test it if I can find the bad wire. I replaced the fuse; it didn't seem to help.

[Michael Trew]

I didn't know all of that. I don't know much of anything about cars newer than 20 years old. I have owned plenty of cars that sometimes don't like to start again when shut off, and the thought of the engine being off momentarily and needing to be on again at a moments notice, such as sitting in traffic, gives me a lot of anxiety. Out of habit, I always park in such a manner that I can bump start the car myself to get moving if need be.

[Michael Trew]

Well, 70's to 90's cars. I've only owned one or two vehicles newer than

2000, and it wasn't for very long. The thought of being stuck in heavy traffic in a disabled car gives me anxiety, and that's not pleasant to drive around with.

[Michael Trew]

I wish! That would be awesome... I'll find myself a pre-war car one of these days.

[Michael Trew]

26, but age doesn't matter. Simplicity is key! I also dislike automatic transmissions. I know plenty of younger "car people" that also prefer standard transmissions. It gives you more control, plain and simple.

I drive to Geo Metro car meets twice per year; Minnesota in the Autumn, and Florida in the spring. Most people that drive Metros are extremely budget conscience, and will shut off the engine as soon as possible. It was a running joke for a while with how light the cars are that if someone has to move one a few feet, the instant reaction is to kick it into neutral and push the little car a few feet, rather than adding a hint of wear/tear with an unnecessary start or wasting an ounce or two of fuel.

[Michael Trew]

Well, it's still *going*, how's that ;)

[Michael Trew]

Yes, cost is typically the root cause of changes. Whatever makes the manufacturer more cash to swim in.

One of my many reasons for disliking new cars. If you are uneducated and don't know how to properly "threshold brake" or handle a car in poor conditions (eg: someone who mashes the brake pedal and prays for dear life in a stressful situation), then yes, ESC and ABS are for you -- the masses I presume. The other side to the situation, is that people who know how to drive, can be very much hampered with ABS and these systems. I'm glad that none of my cars have this stuff.

[Michael Trew]

I probably sound like a broken record mentioning "geo metro" in almost every other post, but I've torn one of these cars down to the bare chassis. If it has a standard transmission, the only real "computer" is the ECM. The A/C system is simply powered by a switch that goes to a standard relay. Most of these systems that are "chip controlled" on modern cars are controlled by simple relays on my Metros. The ECM monitors the O2 sensor. I'm sure the OBD2 Metros (1996+) have some additional computers -- but mine are all the old style '94 and back.

Of course, the Metro being a dead-simple basic style car, it isn't surprise that it has all basic controls. I'm sure my '89 Olds wagon and others do have some computer/chips that I'm not aware of. I'm not counting the radio in any of my vehicles either. The climate controls are vacuum controlled in my Oldsmobile, and there is a loose line somewhere, because it's stuck on defrost. Of course, there are faults in any system, but I like simple mechanical systems where at least I can fix the fault myself (eg: stuck lever in the climate controls).

[Michael Trew]

Ah, well that's pretty cool, I must admit! There are a couple free electric charging stations around here. I assume they will go away when electric cars become more standard. There are a few near the food court of a Pittsburgh mall sponsored by so-and-so.

[J. Clarke]

I think your article kind of misses the point. It says "practice in a parking lot to learn threshold braking". Personally I have never had ABS activate on a dry road unless I was deliberately setting out to activate it. But many times I have had it kick in on an _apparently_ dry road where there was oil, residual moisture, or black ice present that I could not have detected other than by locking up and starting to skid.

[Leon]

Oddly It can only be one tooth on the flywheel/flexplate that can prevent the starter from properly engaging. My BIL's Mustang had 1 broken tooth and it seemed to be in alignment to not engage almost all of the time. I suspect where the compression stroke stops the engine from turning may have been how that happened. Apparently it happened quite often as that particular tooth probably took the brunt of the bendex engaging.