November Banter 2020

[CAPE]

8 minutes ago, BristowWx said:

That’s quite the car collection.  The SRT8 looks amazing in black.  I have a wrangler JL.  Also amazing in black.  It’s a saharacon.  I put Rubicon rims on it and rockrails.  It’a a good look.  

Nice!

I also had a gray srt8. I have bought 2 new cars ever, and leased one. Other than that, my usual strategy is buy a 2-3 yo vehicle, keep it 2-3 years, rinse and repeat. Best bang for the buck. I have owned a lot of vehicles lol. Only Jeeps for the last 20 years.

[CAPE]

14 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Buick Grand Nationals came in 3 colors .

BLACK,

BLACK, OR...

 

BLACK . 

Black cars are definitely work and show every little scratch and swirl mark but when cleaned up they command attention. 

White is my 2nd favorite color along with some blackout trim .  Doesn't show the fine scratches but it will show  dirt easily. 

Both are high maintenance. I love the look of black, but yes it shows every possible imperfection in the paint/metal(or bondo lol), and stays clean for maybe a day if you drive it. Never was a fan of white.

I just bought a 2017 Overland a few weeks ago, and everytime I searched, I filtered the exterior color to silver and gray. Both popular colors in the Jeep GC line, and along with white, very desirable colors for resale.

[CAPE]

Anyone who has ever owned a black car knows that "wax on-wax off" is an absolute disaster lol. Not sure it helps with karate either. 

[Chris78]

17 minutes ago, CAPE said:

Anyone who has ever owned a black car knows that "wax on-wax off" is an absolute disaster lol. Not sure it helps with karate either. 

I have a triple black 2002 vette and it shows every imperfection, every scratch, every flake of dirt no matter how small. But looks sweet when it's washed and polished up.I use ace it polish. Really shines and hides scratches temporarily. 

[RDM]

4 hours ago, losetoa6 said:

Buick Grand Nationals came in 3 colors .

BLACK,

BLACK, OR...

 

BLACK . 

Black cars are definitely work and show every little scratch and swirl mark but when cleaned up they command attention. 

White is my 2nd favorite color along with some blackout trim .  Doesn't show the fine scratches but it will show  dirt easily. 

Seeing a lot of articles around about GNs these days for some reason.  Dunno why.  Seeing a few here and there show up on the online auto auctions too - like Meecum etc.  IMO the GN was the beast that started the turbo trend and shift.  Didn't see a lot of turbos before, other than funk offs like the Merkur XR4-TI and Dodge Omni Turbo etc - most of which had issues with turbo oil bearing failures due to oil cookout after shutdown.  

Enjoyed the debate between you and CAPE on color and car purchase volume.  I'm nearly 60 and have owned 7 cars in my life.  Still own 5 of the 7, including the only 2 I've ever bought new.  A 91 Chevy Silverado with 183K miles and a 2001 Sienna van.  The Truck was my daily driver until a couple years ago.  Took both to Germany some years ago.  Was a blast cruising am der autobahn in the truck at 110mph (it topped out at 114 and took about 3 weeks to stop).  

 

 

[RDM]

21 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Imo the Buick Grand National was wayyy ahead of it's time and even more impressive was how detuned they were from the factory.  It literally took me $500 bucks back in 1995 to go from 13.60s to 12.60s 1/4 mile times . Turbo buicks ruled the local streets back in the day.

RDM...oldschool rule on turbos is let it idle for a few minutes before shutdown so coked oil can circulate through..especially after a hard pass .

Did that Silverado have 4 wheel drum brakes lol.

Rgr on the GN and the turbo cool down - that was std in the 80's era until the installation of post-shutdown oil circulation pumps, which is now std.  Not sure if I mentioned to you when we were talking about GNs some time ago, one of my best HS friends was a co-op at GMI (Gen Motors Institute - Now called Kettering).  He helped develop the control algorithm for GM's Gen-I ABS system in the early 80's on the Vette.  He had one of the first GNs sold with some special tweaking.  He had access to the skunk works at GM and they did all sorts of things to the "chip" the performance and the track time to try things.  Dunno what improvements he had over a stock GN, but they were substantial.  His GN was a blast in a straight line, but could be a hand full on curves.

 The Buick guys drove the Vette guys crazy in Chevy because GM had never before contemplated having something in the same model year that would take on the Vette.  The GN broke the glass and helped opened the GM aperture to sharing more performance components across the entire GM line.  Just like we see a Cadillac now with Vette powertrains.  

My Silverado is the 2wd extended cab short bed.  Dark blue and silver two-tone paint and real steel/chrome bumpers.  Has front disks and rear only ABS.  That was the best you could get on a Silverado in 91.  Has nearly every option except locking rear differential, which I wanted but couldn't find.  Doesn't have remote locking and no rear doors on the extended cab.  Both were not available in 91.  Many times Germans would come up and ask to see the engine and marvel at all the extra space under the hood.  Sometimes they'd ask to hear it run and would get giddy at the rumble of the torque.  Was one of the best stewards of all things great in the USA.  

[CAPE]

8 hours ago, RDM said:

Rgr on the GN and the turbo cool down - that was std in the 80's era until the installation of post-shutdown oil circulation pumps, which is now std.  Not sure if I mentioned to you when we were talking about GNs some time ago, one of my best HS friends was a co-op at GMI (Gen Motors Institute - Now called Kettering).  He helped develop the control algorithm for GM's Gen-I ABS system in the early 80's on the Vette.  He had one of the first GNs sold with some special tweaking.  He had access to the skunk works at GM and they did all sorts of things to the "chip" the performance and the track time to try things.  Dunno what improvements he had over a stock GN, but they were substantial.  His GN was a blast in a straight line, but could be a hand full on curves.

 The Buick guys drove the Vette guys crazy in Chevy because GM had never before contemplated having something in the same model year that would take on the Vette.  The GN broke the glass and helped opened the GM aperture to sharing more performance components across the entire GM line.  Just like we see a Cadillac now with Vette powertrains.  

My Silverado is the 2wd extended cab short bed.  Dark blue and silver two-tone paint and real steel/chrome bumpers.  Has front disks and rear only ABS.  That was the best you could get on a Silverado in 91.  Has nearly every option except locking rear differential, which I wanted but couldn't find.  Doesn't have remote locking and no rear doors on the extended cab.  Both were not available in 91.  Many times Germans would come up and ask to see the engine and marvel at all the extra space under the hood.  Sometimes they'd ask to hear it run and would get giddy at the rumble of the torque.  Was one of the best stewards of all things great in the USA.  

This was mostly an "opportunity"  presented by the detuned, low compression engines of the 70s into the 80s resulting from emissions/fuel regulations. GM always had plenty of powerful contenders in its lineup going back to the 60s, but nothing that could quite touch the highest performance option for the vette for any given year. (The 1966-67 427 Vette was a beast). Fast forward to the late 70s/early 80s and the small block vette had become an actual embarrassment to refer to as high performance. By the mid 1980s, technology began to overcome the emissions control/ performance limiting era, but the  corvette had been essentially reined in to the pack and pedestrian for a decade.

[Vice-Regent]

[RDM]

2 hours ago, CAPE said:

This was mostly an "opportunity"  presented by the detuned, low compression engines of the 70s into the 80s resulting from emissions/fuel regulations. GM always had plenty of powerful contenders in its lineup going back to the 60s, but nothing that could quite touch the highest performance option for the vette for any given year. (The 1966-67 427 Vette was a beast). Fast forward to the late 70s/early 80s and the small block vette had become an actual embarrassment to refer to as high performance. By the mid 1980s, technology began to overcome the emissions control/ performance limiting era, but the  the corvette had been essentially reined in to the pack and pedestrian for a decade.

Yup - largely agree.  We're from the same era.  Only thing is, in the first year of the GN, they would take a Vette in 0-60.  GM upped the ante on the Vette as a response.  What really got the GM 3.8L going in the GN and T-Type was sequential fuel injection.  My HS buddy's GN had some tweaking on the injectors too, but I don't recall what he and his GM colleagues did.  The Buick T-Type had the same engine as the GN and was a real sleeper in the 80's.  

Always had a soft spot for the Gen 2 Vettes.  First thing in my life I ever drove with a stick was my older brother's 67 Vette.  Was a small block with factory side pipes - aka leg burners.  Sounded great but a small block isn't the big block and even the 396 was wasn't the 427, which came in several variants including the top of the line 435 tri-power (rated at 435, but actuals were much higher).  Then there's the 69 ZL-1 beast...   My brother had 4 different C-2/3 Vettes when I was in HS and college.  Was really cool getting to use them on special occasions.   Then in 85 I bought my first car - a 84 Honda Civic.  Drove it for 13 years and put 150k miles on it including overseas tours in Germany and India.  Sold it in 98 for $2000 - most reliable car I ever had.

 The mid to late 70's was a forgettable time for hp and US manufacturers.  They made some of the poorest excuses for automobiles ever produced, like the Pacer, Matador, Gremlin, Chevette, Pinto, etc.  Still remember the Arab oil embargo vividly - long lines at the pumps and rationing...  

[wxdude64]

Awesome car discussions. My (sadly) stock 87 MC SS Aerocoupe is a great cruiser, DEFINITELY not a 'track car' lol. But, with it being the black/gold combo I feel the pain of keeping it clean. Even after washing and detailing, sitting in the garage a day shows EVERY dust speck possible.....sheesh. With you 100% on the Meguiar products LTA6!!

[wxdude64]

1 hour ago, Vice-Regent said:

 

So relaxing......

[CAPE]

35 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Definitely is  some truth to that but numbers don't lie . The 87 Buick GNX 0-60 times(4.5-4.8s) were top top tier of all time up to that time including the 60s early 70s muscle era. 

 

And then there was the Yugo ...

Burning it up at 16.8 seconds to 0-60 lol

The GNX was a beast. You should try and locate one. Six figure investment  to be in a club with probably 500 members is nothing. 

[RDM]

3 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

The stock turbo Buicks had a insufficient fuel pump and too small of a gauge power feed wire to pump - led to a full 1 volt drop at pump. ( easy $150 fix) and non adjustable regulator  ( We would "crush " it with a deep socket lol to increase pressure).Stock injectors could keep up for some hp increases until mid 12s or so  .  Also they had a non adjustable boost actuator.  Once a adjustable one was installed you could increase boost along with chip reprogramming and race gas to stave off detonation . Turbo Buicks also responded very well to better breathing better then most cars with better air filter setups and removing Catalytic converter and replacing with test pipe.

Cool - love the "crush" solution to increasing pressure.  PV=nRT at its finest.  Remember my bud talking about the fuel pump and other stuff he did to his GN.  You and him would have a lot to talk about.  

Can relate to the test pipe too.  Had to remove the catalytic converter on my Civic when I went to India in 92.  Got the EPA waiver and had Landmark Honda install the test pipe just before shipping the car.  India didn't have unleaded gas back then.  Had to use a funnel to fill up with gas for 3 years.  Didn't want to punch out the nozzle restrictor because I planned to use the car after returning to the US.  Upon return, all I had to do was have the converter reinstalled along with a new O2 sensor.  Was shocked when it passed emissions after burning the crap they call gasoline in India for 3 years.    

 

[wxdude64]

6 minutes ago, CAPE said:

The GNX was a beast. You should try and locate one. Six figure investment  to be in a club with probably 500 members is nothing. 

Is there a listing for the 547 made? I wonder how many are still around. MANY were bought and put away I'd suspect. I remember seeing one on the showroom floor at a Buick dealer in Salem VA, the window sticker then made my eyes hurt.

[George BM]

Curious George question: 

@losetoa6Have you ever raced with any of your daughters in the car before?

[CAPE]

16 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Love turbo cars.  My brother had a 87'   Chrysler Conquest turbo 4 cylinder.  We had alot of fun tweaking that car . It was a stock 15 sec car . We got it to 13s . 

Lol I can talk cars all day 

Ha I had that exact car and year. That was a fun ride. Steel Blue. I raced a friend of mine who had a cammed up small block 1970 Monte Carlo, and he was shocked how close it was.

It had the typical slight turbo lag, but i decided to leave it stock.

[CAPE]

@losetoa6

Here are the products I still have around from my Black SRT8 days. Only one I really use now is the cleaner wax, unless I get some random paint scuff or stain.

[CAPE]

1987 Conquest TSI. It was super fun car to drive.

[CAPE]

Just now, losetoa6 said:

Definitely were . I like your castle home btw.

Google images lol.

Not sure I have an actual photo of it anymore.

[H2O]

Lazy neighbors and wind are awful. All their leaves come into my yard now that I’ve mowed, raked and bagged mine. Grrrrrrr

[40westwx]

1 hour ago, H2O said:

Lazy neighbors and wind are awful. All their leaves come into my yard now that I’ve mowed, raked and bagged mine. Grrrrrrr

You have to what a couple of more days and they will all blow from your yard the next house down... or wait til we get a good north east blow and they go back on the lazy guy's house.

[CAPE]

Drinking a Founders Breakfast Stout and watching WTF losing to the Lions.

[nw baltimore wx]

4 minutes ago, CAPE said:

Drinking a Founders Breakfast Stout and watching WTF losing to the Lions.

I got the chance to try a Founders Big Luscious, chocolate raspberry stout, last night, and it’s awesome. 

[CAPE]

17 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

I got the chance to try a Founders Big Luscious, chocolate raspberry stout, last night, and it’s awesome. 

Have you tried the Guinness Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout? I might pick up a 4 pack this week and give it a go.

[CAPE]

The Ginger Bread Spiced Stout sounds interesting too.

[nw baltimore wx]

8 minutes ago, CAPE said:

Have you tried the Guinness Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout? I might pick up a 4 pack this week and give it a go.

I don’t think so but I saw that and the gingerbread stout last night at Total Wine in Towson last night. I was tempted but didn’t pick up either of them. But I did get a Wicked Weed Dark Age. Saving it for a cold night.

https://www.wickedweedbrewing.com/beer/dark-age/

5 minutes ago, CAPE said:

The Ginger Bread Spiced Stout sounds interesting too.

 

[CAPE]

6 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

I don’t think so but I saw that and the gingerbread stout last night at Total Wine in Towson last night. I was tempted but didn’t pick up either of them. But I did get a Wicked Weed Dark Age. Saving it for a cold night.

https://www.wickedweedbrewing.com/beer/dark-age/

 

I need to find that one locally.

[rclab]

2 hours ago, H2O said:

Lazy neighbors and wind are awful. All their leaves come into my yard now that I’ve mowed, raked and bagged mine. Grrrrrrr

So True H2O. Yet while we call them lazy they consider themselves wise but negligent. As always ....

[WinterWxLuvr]

The WTF offense is gonna revolutionize offensive football.

[nw baltimore wx]

6 minutes ago, WinterWxLuvr said:

The WTF offense is gonna revolutionize offensive football.

It’s already offensive.