(01-11-2017 06:46 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 06:06 PM)JMUDunk Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 10:41 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  Two of the most fun fire trucks I ever drove were straight drives. One was a 1971 Ford Bean pumper at my first volunteer dept. 390 V8 with a five speed transmission and dual straight pipes. Between the roar of the pipes and the rumbling of the old Federal Q2 siren we would set burglar alarms off on Main St when we ran down that way. That old girl would haul ass, and being an older piece of apparatus it was long and low so it handled like a sports car compared to the behemoths they build today.

The second was a 78 Ford/American LaFrance reserve engine that at some point had been repowered with a Cat 3208 non-turbo diesel engine and a five speed. It topped out at 62 mph wide open but it was a jackrabbit. Best thing is when you stood it in the 8" diameter straight pipes blew black smoke like a late 1800's freight train and rumbled like a demon from the depths of hell. We had some fun with people who would pull up alongside and give the guys riding in the open canopy back seats a hard time. They would knock on the divider window and the driver would stand on it and proceed to "de-louse" them in a cloud of black smoke. Those rich kids riding around in the jacked up 4x4 diesels are amateurs at "rolling coal" compared to that old Cat powered LaFrance.

My first car had that same engine, '68 Galaxie 500. Dangerous in the hands of a 16-18 YO, but boy did those bench seats come in handy in HS.

Went from that to my '74 Super Beetle, that little bugger could move right along too, actually.

Probably wasn't but a couple hundred pounds less GVW than the fire engine.

Ok, yes.

thought you meant wasn't the same engine. But yea, GVW probably came in at about 2 elephants.

Grandpa had places to git to!

(01-12-2017 01:14 AM)JMUDunk Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 06:46 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 06:06 PM)JMUDunk Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 10:41 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  Two of the most fun fire trucks I ever drove were straight drives. One was a 1971 Ford Bean pumper at my first volunteer dept. 390 V8 with a five speed transmission and dual straight pipes.

My first car had that same engine, '68 Galaxie 500. Dangerous in the hands of a 16-18 YO, but boy did those bench seats come in handy in HS.

Probably wasn't but a couple hundred pounds less GVW than the fire engine.

Ok, yes.
thought you meant wasn't the same engine. But yea, GVW probably came in at about 2 elephants.
Grandpa had places to git to!

I had trouble parsing that as well. If you throw a period or comma in that wasn't actually there, it changes the whole meaning of the sentence.

(01-11-2017 06:59 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  Manual takes a measure of skill and hand-eye coordination that I never really had. I stalled out on an upward-incline red light in late 80s Mazda light pickup and that was it for me. Didn't find out about the parking brake kick-off trick until much later. Had lost what skill I had by then

I got to where I would abuse the transmission by not using the brake on hills, just popping the clutch in and out to keep it steady. I'm sure that was not good for the car... it probably ranks up there in terms of stupid things learned the hard way with using a heat gun to defrost the pipes in cold weather (it turns out that is not good for the washers, gaskets, etc).

(01-11-2017 11:47 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 08:06 AM)I45owl Wrote:  Another question - has anyone ever driven a column-shift manual transmission?

3 on the tree... you bet.

(01-11-2017 02:14 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Just curious but how many of you have ever changed your own oil or changed out and installed an alternator in any vehicle? Anyone ....?

I wasn't allowed to drive until I learned to check and change the oil, check and change a tire. Installed batteries, shocks, starters, alternators, replaced multiple belts, idler pulleys AND these newfangled single belts... lol. Oddly, never did brakes.

Good parenting. I made sure my daughter could check the air, jump start the car, replace wipers, fill the gas tank without me telling her how to get to it (most, but not all, cars have an arrow on the gas gauge telling which side to fill on). She was out riding with a friend and sent me a text asking me what the blue jellyfish on the dash was.

I have to fess up to not reading the thread before I posted about three on the tree. Someone had actually brought it up before I posted.

(01-11-2017 12:29 PM)Redbanksdog Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 08:06 AM)I45owl Wrote:  Another question - has anyone ever driven a column-shift manual transmission?

Yep

Yep...I had a Maverick and my Dad had a old Bronco with it.

(01-11-2017 02:14 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Just curious but how many of you have ever changed your own oil or changed out and installed an alternator in any vehicle? Anyone ....?

yes to both

(01-11-2017 02:14 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Just curious but how many of you have ever changed your own oil or changed out and installed an alternator in any vehicle? Anyone ....?

Grew up on a farm. Can work on any engine with the right tools.

(01-11-2017 02:14 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Just curious but how many of you have ever changed your own oil or changed out and installed an alternator in any vehicle? Anyone ....?

Still change my oil on all my older cars and brakes as well. Have changed alternators, fuel pumps, radiator hoses, etc., but will admit that was back when you opened the hood and could actually find the stuff. With today's engine bays, there's so much stuff in there crammed so tightly, it's hard to do much shade tree mechanic work.

When I was young, drove both manual stick shifts and on the column 3 speeds. Haven't had a manual transmission car for like 25 years. I drive in enough rush hour traffic that a manual is just a pain in the a$$.

(01-12-2017 12:56 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 02:14 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Just curious but how many of you have ever changed your own oil or changed out and installed an alternator in any vehicle? Anyone ....?

Changed oil. Changed plugs. Changed coils. Changed brake pads. Rotated tires. All in the last 6 months.

I used to do those myself with my dad.. if the car had a problem Dad and I would jump on it and change it.. until the alternator went out on wife's Saturn one year... We literally had to take EVEYRYTHING out of the engine to get to it.

It was at that point my Dad and I said.. enough is enough. We'll take it to our -local- mechanics from here on out.

So I decided from that point on, everything went to my local mechanic, no matter where I lived (not the chain store ones, unless absolutely desperate).

First car and many that followed were sticks. I also taught my kids how to drive a stick.

(01-12-2017 11:25 AM)DaSaintFan Wrote:  

(01-12-2017 12:56 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 02:14 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Just curious but how many of you have ever changed your own oil or changed out and installed an alternator in any vehicle? Anyone ....?

Changed oil. Changed plugs. Changed coils. Changed brake pads. Rotated tires. All in the last 6 months.

I used to do those myself with my dad.. if the car had a problem Dad and I would jump on it and change it.. until the alternator went out on wife's Saturn one year... We literally had to take EVEYRYTHING out of the engine to get to it.

It was at that point my Dad and I said.. enough is enough. We'll take it to our -local- mechanics from here on out.

So I decided from that point on, everything went to my local mechanic, no matter where I lived (not the chain store ones, unless absolutely desperate).

The rear bank of three plugs/coils on my Mazda are a PITA to get to. You have to take off the entire upper intake manifold and disconnect it from the throttle body. Naturally it was Cylinder #1 -- in the rear bank -- that was misfiring leading to this problem. The misfire came back so joy of joy I think the coil I put in was a crappy one so I get to do it ... ALL OVER AGAIN! Yayyyyyyy!

(01-12-2017 12:39 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(01-12-2017 11:25 AM)DaSaintFan Wrote:  

(01-12-2017 12:56 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 02:14 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Just curious but how many of you have ever changed your own oil or changed out and installed an alternator in any vehicle? Anyone ....?

Changed oil. Changed plugs. Changed coils. Changed brake pads. Rotated tires. All in the last 6 months.

I used to do those myself with my dad.. if the car had a problem Dad and I would jump on it and change it.. until the alternator went out on wife's Saturn one year... We literally had to take EVEYRYTHING out of the engine to get to it.

It was at that point my Dad and I said.. enough is enough. We'll take it to our -local- mechanics from here on out.

So I decided from that point on, everything went to my local mechanic, no matter where I lived (not the chain store ones, unless absolutely desperate).

The rear bank of three plugs/coils on my Mazda are a PITA to get to. You have to take off the entire upper intake manifold and disconnect it from the throttle body. Naturally it was Cylinder #1 -- in the rear bank -- that was misfiring leading to this problem. The misfire came back so joy of joy I think the coil I put in was a crappy one so I get to do it ... ALL OVER AGAIN! Yayyyyyyy!

Nothing p!sses me off more that getting partway into a job and finding you have to be a contortionist or have special tools to fix something. That's about the time I'll just throw the wrench in the dirt and say 'eff it and close it back up and take it to the local mechanic.........