tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post7201411508600536791..comments2023-11-10T04:17:00.492-05:00Comments on View From The Porch: I know they're everyday bits...Tamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-46396998343037401372008-10-27T00:22:00.000-04:002008-10-27T00:22:00.000-04:00FWIW torque convertors (AKA viscous couplings) wer...FWIW torque convertors (AKA viscous couplings) were used to transmit power from the parts-err, power recovery turbines on the big radial aircraft engines back to the crankshaft. As for their use in cars.. blech.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-45095895623792043112007-11-07T12:04:00.000-05:002007-11-07T12:04:00.000-05:00"I've been tempted to disable the anti-lock pump o..."I've been tempted to disable the anti-lock pump on my truck for years because I feel it's too intrusive."<BR/><BR/>I appreciate mine... even though it scares the hell out of me. *shhhBRWAWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNT*. You'd think they'd noise-insulate them a bit better...Dr. StrangeGunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349076338197668654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-75488091506962347502007-11-06T21:37:00.000-05:002007-11-06T21:37:00.000-05:00Yes, and let's get rid of those damned interfaces ...Yes, and let's get rid of those damned interfaces in most every new car that allows one to plug in their gawd-damned cell phone...and while we're at it, can we take away all of that damned stability control horseshit too?<BR/><BR/>I mean, if I want to hang the rearend out in the other lane, I want the full cooperation of the vehicle.<BR/><BR/>I've been tempted to disable the anti-lock pump on my truck for years because I feel it's too intrusive.<BR/><BR/>Funny you should bring up Studebaker. I've been doing a lot of reading lately on the "other" American car makers, with Studes being the most researched. Lots of stuff out there if you really want to know about them. Sounds as if you are of an age that you might still remember them on the road. What a shame they had to go the way of the Dodo bird. <BR/><BR/>The Hawks were actually kinda pretty cars, with a flair for more of a European GT than most of the other stuff at the time. The Lark seems like it was way ahead of its time too. The Avanti, of course, needs nothing said about it.<BR/><BR/>It looks as though the Studebaker name and rights to produce vehicles under that name has recently changed, and they have a website, though it's extremely disappointing. Lots of talk and no real product to speak of. They seem to be wanting to go green too, with the descriptions almost universally being "ecofriendly" in the rundown of each model.<BR/><BR/>I think it's studebakermotorcompany-dot-com, if you are at all interested.<BR/><BR/>If it wasn't for my interest in doing a wagon resto-mod on a 60's Falcon, a Lark of similar vintage would be neat as hell.theirritablearchitecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04105315709746689270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-57610719763119655412007-11-06T13:36:00.000-05:002007-11-06T13:36:00.000-05:00b&n, Detroit makers have never offered a "free mar...b&n, Detroit makers have never offered a "free market" (I know you were joking); many customers' long-term prejudice against them stems from just that. They do the damnedest things with what is offered on the lots. In the 60's, when four seemed like a lot of speeds (I'm a T-10 man myself), they saw to it that manuals would be hard to get--because the marketing department was given responsibility for long-term vision, and the guys with enough pull to stay in marketing formed their taste when the automatic was new and exciting. A certain kind of sexism comes into play, there, too, "for the ladies." And for the longest time, virtually every 4-speed was a three with a stump-puller, designed for trucks. Our engineers knew how to make a 5-speed; the front office decided we didn't need it. I feel bad about all the gas that was wasted (a small-block with OD easily gets 25; imagine that in 1965). Of course, if we hadn't burned it, where would it have gone? <BR/><BR/>Studebaker's overdrive unit made a nice compromise. It made stoplight-to-stoplight in traffic click-click easy, didn't have any hydraulic losses, and got such good mileage they wouldn't let them in the Economy Run anymore. And yet...Stude couldn't <I>give</I> them away.<BR/><BR/>I'm afraid Cruise Control has to go, too. It's responsible for a lot of the long-swoop formation flying you see on the Interstate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-19989785771823131672007-11-06T09:15:00.000-05:002007-11-06T09:15:00.000-05:00"For me, a conventional manual transmission is sim..."For me, a conventional manual transmission is simply more fun -- and tends to help keep me on task"<BR/><BR/>Ayup. And I don't see any reason to change any of it. In fact, that last bit is the <I>key</I> to keeping the idiots off of the road, outlaw the automatic. Let's face it, automatics are equipped in about 90% of the new vehicles sold (Effing free-market), since the new-age sissies simply can't do it the right way. I'm going down with the ship too; I'll be driving a stick for the rest of my life, even if I must rebuild old vehicles to do it.<BR/><BR/>Make everyone learn on a stick and they'll be better drivers, I say. No more driving with BOTH feet in an automatic.theirritablearchitecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04105315709746689270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-50752994231594458852007-11-06T09:04:00.000-05:002007-11-06T09:04:00.000-05:00"Someday your left knees will wear out."Already th..."Someday your left knees will wear out."<BR/><BR/>Already there, sir, and at only 35 years of age, next week.<BR/><BR/>I still do 63 miles, round trip, every day in my plain vanilla Nissan pickup, and I wouldn't have that drive any other way. I simply curse the rest of the drivers out there without the skill to drive properly.<BR/><BR/>Ask me how I know this.theirritablearchitecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04105315709746689270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-31711686208500689052007-11-05T23:36:00.000-05:002007-11-05T23:36:00.000-05:00"Me, I prefer to spend more time driving than conv..."Me, I prefer to spend more time driving than convincing the car to do what it ought to do."<BR/><BR/>See, now, that is pretty much my definition of "driving." So you would be, what, "steering"? <BR/><BR/>Studebaker's automatic had a no-nonsense name that would still be right at home aboard <I>Rodger Young</I>: Automatic Drive. "Helmsman, Bridge. Engage Automatic Drive." Set mixture full rich, advance the timing as in the Very Old Days, and set the controls for the heart of the sun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-62421479175154424422007-11-05T20:08:00.000-05:002007-11-05T20:08:00.000-05:00Automatic transmission means a free gear (the torq...Automatic transmission means a free gear (the torque converter acts like one), and the ability to drive in slow traffic sensibly.<BR/><BR/>Standard: I bet there are still people out there who think Real Drivers <I>adjust their own timing while they drive</I>, like in the Very Old Days.<BR/><BR/>Me, I prefer to spend more time <I>driving</I> than convincing the car to do what it ought to do.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous: There are non-hybrids with CVTs (like the Mini) and some hybrids do shift, depending on where the electrics are and if they're parallel or series hybrids, so...<BR/><BR/>Will: Depends on the manufacturer. Saturns can be flat-towed, and Mercedes made autos with rear pumps at <I>least</I> as late as '76 - and I think they continued until at least the mid 80s.Sigivaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16152366541957466049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-11804848213427334182007-11-05T18:36:00.000-05:002007-11-05T18:36:00.000-05:00Yea, the torque convertor is similar to two fans, ...Yea, the torque convertor is similar to two fans, one powered by the engine, one powered by hydraulic pressure. Which is the same hydraulic pressure that powers things like your brakes and a <I>lot</I> of clutch setups in modern cars.<BR/><BR/>The major reason a automatic can accelerate like a bat out of hell is the stator element inside the torque convertor. It directs oil that would normally 'bounce' off of the turbine blades into the incoming flow (thus disrupting that flow and losing power) back agains the turbine blades and finally, to a position where the impeller can pick it up and send it back again. This causes torque multiplication at lower gear ratios, which eventually evens out. Of course, unless the convertor is a locking-type, you're going to lose some power to slippage.<BR/><BR/>And yea, since the loss of the rear pump capability, there's no longer any way to push start an auto. They gotta cut costs, you know.<BR/><BR/>Me, I prefer an auto for in-city driving, but can handle a stick just fine. After all, how the hell is a stick shift any fun to drive if all you wind up doing is just floating from first to second between stop signs every block?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-17729515170793101132007-11-05T16:03:00.000-05:002007-11-05T16:03:00.000-05:00Yeah, but do you have an interocitor?Yeah, but do you have an interocitor?Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780425923108876647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-56052941350594783262007-11-05T08:27:00.000-05:002007-11-05T08:27:00.000-05:00I kind of miss my last car with an auto trans. Onl...I kind of miss my last car with an auto trans. Only one I didn't rip out for a stick setup. 'Course, it would spin both tires till just short of the timing lights on the primaries. The secondaries would then do it through the lights. Really needed wrinkle walls for the track! <BR/>One of a handful with the auto. '71 Mustang 429 SCJ(Super Cobra Jet), with the Fairbanks modified C6 from the factory. Ram Air and 4.11 Detroit Locker. So rare I've only seen the auto mentioned once in the mustang books/mags in 30 yrs. Original buyer only had one arm. (bean thresher accident)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-20805637139352295192007-11-05T07:38:00.000-05:002007-11-05T07:38:00.000-05:00Combining 'cavity' and 'high voltage' does not bri...Combining 'cavity' and 'high voltage' does not bring warm memories to the fore. Spent some time building/tuning a flowing gas co2 surgical system. The cavity mirror mounts were hot, about 20-30kv. 65-70w output. Used an allen wrench w/insulation to tweak the alignment, and occasionally it would throw me across the lab. I don't think it ever occurred to them that a left hand should not be used to do a hot tweak! Only good thing about them was neurosurgeons loved the beam quality.<BR/><BR/>BTW, the Dyna-Flow when disassembled looked to have maybe 3 trans worth of parts inside.<BR/><BR/>Early auto trans cars could be push started, up to early-mid '60s I think. When they stopped putting rear pumps in them, which is also why you can't tow them with the drive wheels on the ground. Without that rear pump, no oil moving, fries the guts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-91994044302876834212007-11-05T00:28:00.000-05:002007-11-05T00:28:00.000-05:00Funny thing is, I ripped apart a CVT for a car tha...Funny thing is, I ripped apart a CVT for a car that's not on the market yet, and I'll be damned if the oil pump in it wasn't almost identical to the one GM put together in the 50's. Don't get me started on hybrids, and auto's are for geriatrics or drag cars.jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07682952829635407505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-17814972406267719072007-11-04T14:17:00.000-05:002007-11-04T14:17:00.000-05:00Just for the record: the IRL (the league sanctioni...Just for the record: the IRL (the league sanctioning all Indy car races) will be going to paddle shifters NEXT year. Up till now all the cars have used sequensal shifting with a small lever on the right side of the cockpit. <BR/><BR/>They've just completed two test sessions after the '07 season ended to make sure paddle shifters would work and paddle shifters have now been approved by the IRL.<BR/><BR/>All the Best,<BR/>Frank W. JamesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-6170775221854698232007-11-04T13:36:00.000-05:002007-11-04T13:36:00.000-05:00Gewehr98, Re: Clutchs for high output motors;Most ...Gewehr98, Re: Clutchs for high output motors;<BR/><BR/>Most normal High performance(IE single disc) clutchs with a 2800lb release are good to about 700HP or so, beyond that, it means Multidisc clutches like the Crowerglide, but that brings it's own problems, like clutch adjustment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-43085317223567374822007-11-04T12:43:00.000-05:002007-11-04T12:43:00.000-05:00I've actually got a couple bigger Klystrons, with ...I've actually got a couple bigger Klystrons, with huge accompanying magnets, in my vacuum tube collection. They were part of the final output stage for a couple radio stations back in the day. I even sold a few more over the last year or two on EvilBay.<BR/><BR/>I'm partial to the smaller tetrodes and pentodes, though. My living room is heated by a bunch of GE-designed, Russian-made 6550s. Heck, I bought a new FatMan iTube amp for my iPod and computer audio last week. Sweet! (Reminding self to post pictures on the blog later...) <BR/><BR/>Regarding slushbox trannies - my pro-stock blown big block 510 inch S-10 used a vintage 2-speed Powerglide slushbox with a manual shift setup. My left leg couldn't handle the pressure plate and throwout bearing stresses for long otherwise, because 1000hp through the rear spools and on to the rear wheels required some serious leverage. Otherwise, I prefer stirring my own gears and using the leftmost pedal, as Gawd intended.Gewehr98https://www.blogger.com/profile/14440119702457734221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-18124746914527476722007-11-04T12:26:00.000-05:002007-11-04T12:26:00.000-05:00Just wait until quantum annihilation lasers show u...Just wait until quantum annihilation lasers show up in consumer devices.Bob Hawkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06384565746734984949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-69924039292768619452007-11-04T11:15:00.000-05:002007-11-04T11:15:00.000-05:00Every so often the dealership lets me wander off t...Every so often the dealership lets me wander off the premises in a G35 with one of those so-called manumatics, which will do the shifting for you if you leave it alone but which will allow you to stir the lever yourself should you so desire. It's not quite the same as having three actual pedals, but knocking the lever seems a bit quicker than stomping the gas and waiting for the electronic brain to do the math.<BR/><BR/>I once had a Toyota Celica with a five-speed turned four-speed: third had somehow disappeared. (Actually <I>broke the gear</I> itself somehow.) The repair wasn't as horribly expensive as I'd anticipated. Conversely, anything you do to an automatic seems to cost a thousand and up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-52493714805215344082007-11-04T10:59:00.000-05:002007-11-04T10:59:00.000-05:00And 230,000 volts AC at 1200 amps is FUN!Welcome t...And 230,000 volts AC at 1200 amps is FUN!<BR/><BR/>Welcome to the world of high voltage electrical power transmission<BR/><BR/>MC<BR/>(good from 0-500kV)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-82014618638563279872007-11-04T10:57:00.000-05:002007-11-04T10:57:00.000-05:00Thyratrons! Mercury vapor thyratrons bigger than ...Thyratrons! Mercury vapor thyratrons bigger than washing machines, complete with their own vacuum pumps and water cooling systems, pumping out 750 volts DC at 7500 amps apiece, and we had a line-up of them.<BR/><BR/>They had SOUL, unlike the silly little hockey pucks of silicon that have long since replaced them.<BR/><BR/>MCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-50667314492534411862007-11-04T10:53:00.000-05:002007-11-04T10:53:00.000-05:00"How do you burn rubber by spinning oil with fan b..."How do you burn rubber by spinning oil with fan blades? It's just wrong."<BR/><BR/>Think of it in terms of a gas operated semi-auto. You take energy that would normally be wasted and put it to good use.<BR/><BR/>Hence we have automatic and manual vehicle transmissions and automatic and manual firearms.<BR/><BR/>I like both. Celebrate diversity people!Shardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04851912732536833726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-84109019940197182542007-11-04T10:09:00.000-05:002007-11-04T10:09:00.000-05:00How do you burn rubber by spinning oil with fan bl...How do you burn rubber by spinning oil with fan blades? It's just wrong.<BR/> I know what you mean, it's right up there with water spray to make more power.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-34768061976385245982007-11-04T10:08:00.000-05:002007-11-04T10:08:00.000-05:00"There is nothing like running a hybrid and not ha..."There is nothing like running a hybrid and not having any shifting at all."<BR/><BR/>Yeah. And hey, why bother with the work of sex when you can just masturbate!<BR/><BR/>"High science is a blast really!"<BR/><BR/>What's your high science tell you about those lead-acid batteries in hybrids?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-31323526538644581532007-11-04T09:12:00.000-05:002007-11-04T09:12:00.000-05:00I know I can easily smoke most "normal" cars stopl...<I>I know I can easily smoke most "normal" cars stoplight to stoplight with one. When you shift you loose power, I am still accelerating. Also I have no turbo lag and nearly 100% torque at 0 rpm.</I><BR/>Perhaps, but my rumbling V8 still sounds better idling than your high pitched electric motor ;)<BR/><BR/>And when I'm bumping it through the gears (Semi-auto Chrysler trans)and nailing 45MPH in 1st gear? Fuggedaboutit.Rustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07826452759136194202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-69167829220419902192007-11-04T09:03:00.000-05:002007-11-04T09:03:00.000-05:00For me, a conventional manual transmission is simp...For me, a conventional manual transmission is simply more fun -- and tends to help keep me on task. With a manual, one thinks twice about telephoning from an automobile, even with a cordless headset. Dear Dad made me learn to drive using a three-on-the-tree Falcon that was almost my age, for which I shall be forever grateful, especially since I was not at the time.<BR/><BR/> Double-clutching? My present disposomobile was purchased for a song because "the transmission is hard to get into second." Yeah, d00d, they're like that when the synchronizer's been lunched. Double-clutched for about a month 'til I could afford to get a rebuild put in. The only difficult part is making the action reflexive.<BR/><BR/> Big science, do not look at me; it's all applied technology here and a lot of the Home Edition is 1930s tech. It <I>looks</I> cool and it's dangerous!Roberta Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.com