Captain Obvious

That first short run out on the road is a blast isn't it? I remember the first time I took the 260 around the big country block after it had been sitting for so many years. Half ecstatic, and half terrified. Good work on the project so far and hope it continues to come together!

Well don't get me wrong. I'm not questioning any of the decisions about the planned process and it sounds very interesting. I just don't understand it completely. Pics of the process would be cool. (Not that you like to take pics of the work in process or anything! )

What he said. The higher the gauge number, the thinner the metal. If you're having troubles with 16-18 ga, then 20 gauge is going to be even more difficult. Love the practice sheet. I think everyone who ever messed with a welder has one just like that! Out of curiosity... Is that MIG, or flux core?

Thanks for the additional input guys. I will definitely update on experiences when I pull the trigger.

Haha!!

LOL! Yeah, that wire is to run through a MIG. I've never used it, but that's what it's designed for. What isn't clear to me though is exactly the application. I was aware of the process of using silicon bronze being used as a brazing filler, but I never knew it was also used in a welding operation... Especially MIG. (My rudimentary understanding being the basic difference being in brazing, you do not melt the parent materials, but in welding you do melt the parent material.) So in the few cycles of web searching that I did, I saw that silicon bronze MIG wire being used as welding filler when welding copper alloys together. I did not, however, see it being used to "weld" two steel pieces together. So in the end I really don't know what the guy doing the work on five&dime's car is really intending to do on the car, but that's not important as long as he knows. If forced to guess, I was thinking he was going to whip out the torch and braze some silicon bronze into the previously spot welded seams on the chassis and then grind them smoother. The tight seams should encourage a good wick of the brazing material to be sucked into the gap and provide the strength needed to allow reduce the thickness of the materials with the grinder. But that's all speculation on my part. For all I know, he's going to hit it with the MIG with a spool of that bronze wire in it. I'm way beyond my area of expertise.

Just a public service announcement to make sure we're all talking about the same stuff... This is silicon bronze: But THIS is silicone bronze: I'm Captain Obvious, and I approve this message.

Yeah, I couldn't tell if they were on a cell phone or not, but whatever the deal was, I was happy they drifted backwards just a little bit when the light turned green and they let off the brake. Just enough to get them to realize they were in reverse. I wanted to hit my horn to try to get their attention, but was afraid that it would make them think the light turned green and make them stab the gas harder and quicker. So there I sat... Looking in my rear view mirror thinking that I had a couple feet I could use to back up closer to the car behind me if necessary. Anyway, it turned out to be a non-event, but just that this shite is happening day after day after day. As for the cell phone stuff, I don't think they can legislate it out of use. It's already illegal most everywhere and not much has changed. I know people who won't text while their car is actually moving, but at every red light they're checking their phone while stopped. They say "I wasn't driving, I was sitting". I think if the car is on a public road in traffic and you're sitting in the driver's seat, then you're "driving". And to support that argument... It would be illegal for a twelve year old kid with no driver's license to do that. Regardless if the car is moving at that instant or not. Why? Because he doesn't have a driver's license. Enough ranting... So nobody can pull me out of my abyss trying to come up with that movie scene? I just spent another half hour looking for it. One car is sitting still and another car comes up next to them in the other lane. There are teasing words exchanged, the light turns green, and one of the cars goes forward while the other goes backwards and slams into the car behind them? And I think you were supposed to think it was funny that the other guy did that? Like he was the "bad guy" in the movie? Is that the antagonist? Protagonist? Where's @siteunseen when you need him... He's seen all the same stupid movies I have.

Tenacious D would call it a Tribute.

So I have some errands to run today and take the Z out. I take my still camera along with me because I figure that since this might be the last time I drive the Z this season, I might take a nice pic of the car at a park or something. They are going to be salting the roads again soon and figure it would be nice to post a pic on maybe my last drive of the season. Anyway, I'm still running yesterday's near-miss over and over again in my head, and I pull up to a traffic light behind this car. Yes... They're sitting at a red light. In reverse. Waiting for the light to turn green so they can stab the throttle and fly backwards into the front of my Z because they forgot they were in reverse : Thankfully, when the light turned green and they let off the brake, they noticed their error before tragedy happened, but I'm really starting to wonder. I don't know if everyone is just crazy due to the holiday season or what, but I'm wondering if I should just park the Z now. ** Fifty bonus points for the name of the movie in which a similar scene occurred. I spent about a half hour searching for it, but just can't put my finger on it. Driver had backed up for some reason and subsequently forgot the car was in reverse... Another car pulled up next to them and taunted them into a race? Light turned green and they slammed into the car behind them. What was the movie???? Not American Graffiti. Not Hollywood Knights. Not Porky's. Not Animal House. Just can't come up with it and it's bugging me!

Thanks for the input guys. And yes, the smart phone features are lost on me, at least until or unless... well you know. So how about some input on features and failures? What is some of the stuff that makes one a great choice over another? I've heard the cheap-o cameras are useless because they aren't wide angle enough. wheee! , What's a snapshot button? Just the ability to take a still pic from your phone? SteveJ, And the shock sensor thingie... If it's running constantly in a loop, then what's the shock sensor for? Is that for when unattended like in a parking lot or something?

If I have to pay more to get my antique car bumpers chromed in exchange for my kids having cleaner water to drink, I guess I'll take that tradeoff.

So I almost lost the Z this afternoon. I probably would not have been hurt, at least not seriously, but the car would have suffered significantly. With that in mind, does anyone have a recommendation for a dashcam that they like?

Well my sample size is definitely too small to be reliable. I'm comparing two 77's to one 74 and one 73. I've got one of those cheap digital angle gauges... Should be good enough to check for castor differences between my car and my buddy's 260. Maybe I'll do that next time the two cars are together. Thanks for the input guys.

Looks great!

I really don't think so. I don't think that tension adjuster really adds that much friction. More just to keep the rack loaded under all conditions so it's not so floaty? Mine is adjusted according to the manual and the spring is not binding. Other than that, I don't think it's that much of an impact. To be honest, it really feels like a caster change from the previous years. Like I'm really having to lift the front end weight when I get the wheel cranked off straight ahead. I know they changed a lot of the sheet metal stuff in 77 and the 77-78 cars look similar from the outside, but are very different cars underneath the skin. I wonder if some of those changes affected the steering feel. The FSM's say the caster and king pin angle and all that is pretty much identical to the previous years, but I'm skeptical. I need to find a 76 close by to compare it to.

Thanks for the confirmation on the 78. So according to the parts breakdown, all of the 240's used the same rack gear and pinion gear set from inception until summer 73 (7307) when both the rack and pinion gears changed part numbers. And then from that point forward until the end of the run in 78, everything used a new pair. In other words... The 240's used one set of rack and pinion gears, and the 260s and 280s used a different pair. At the same time is when they changed the whole rack housing to the newer style with the wider bushing groove. That could certainly explain differences in steering ratio or L-L between 240 and everything later. But based on the part numbers, I think the 75 and 76 steering is identical to the the rest of the bunch from 74 through 78 and there are some documentation issues that make it seem like they are different. I don't think they are. And.... None of this explains why my steering is so much heavier than my buddy's 260.

Yes, lock to lock can be different from ratio. The stops are on the rack. The rubber washers bottom out on the ends of the rack housing at each lock. I was just doing lock-to-lock because it's so easy and clean. It's nowhere near the whole story, but one that I can do now without getting under the car or taking anything apart.

Oh, and you guys are the best!

So we got a 72 at 2.7 and every year 280 comes in at 3.1 (assuming 78 is the same as the rest). Thanks for the data points guys.

Yup, That helps! Thanks! 72 manual says 2.7 (assuming the units in the FSM are incorrect), so you are right on. Doesn't answer the question about why my 280 (with harder compound touring tires and a higher steering ratio) would be harder to turn than an earlier year, but it's confirmation that something is different!

Wow. Instant service! I'm honored!

Yeah, I don't know what's up with the 76 spec in the FSM. It seems pretty clear that they believe the ratio in 76 to be 15.8, but I'm not sure I believe that. It was eighteen in 74 and eighteen again in 77, Makes me doubt that the two years in between were that different. And for the L-L numbers in 76, I wonder if they were intending to have a different spec for the 2+2, but forgot to label it as such.

Yup. Just like that. Turn the wheel all the way to one lock and note the position of the wheel and then count the number of turns until you reach the other lock. I did mine in a parking lot moving slowly (so I didn't rip my sports-aged shoulders out of the sockets), but you don't really even have to be moving to test it. You can do it sitting still in the garage.

I thought my Z driving season was over a few weeks ago because we got a bunch of snow and they salted the roads, but it has rained and rained (and rained) since then and washed off the roads. So because of that, I've been taking full advantage of the late season opportunities to drive my Z. While out yesterday, I measured my steering wheel turns lock-to-lock and got just over three. So that confirms the FSM is correct on that spec at 3.1 turns L-L for my 77. Can someone with a 240 or 260 measure their turns L-L for comparison? As a side note, every time I put the Z away now, I park it "as though it's the last drive of the season". At least now, I'm doing it intentionally instead of being surprised by the snow last time!