The Official Automotive Thread

[Heisenberg / HNB]

I know there are some gear-heads here including myself, Jewy, DGSB, Smokey Joe.  This thread is for discussion and questions on any and all things automotive.

On a similar note, in addition to our 3 Beach Bar & Pharmacy locations (Jamaica, India, Uruguay), we are looking at expanding our enterprise to include a new branch called JewenBerg's Imported Auto Care (all credit to Jewy for the name).  Will update once the grand opening is complete.

 

[DorothyZbornak]

Ooh!  Will it be located in Germany???

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Right On!!

I am bursting with auto related jibber jabber but wasn't sure if anyone wanted to hear it, and too many details in posts isn't good.

But I did just acquire and will pick up this week an all original 60s car in great shape from its original owner. This car was never sold in the US for the model and year it is.

My non daily driver cars are a restored show car i did at home and also original survivor cars and all are very factory stock. They all are in great shape and get driven and used and we load our dogs and bags and go on 200+ mile trips in them. I was even in a car magazine with the restored one and me and my dog are in the photo too (if you look waaaay in the back of the photo I'm in the background, haha). Don't get the idea I have a brightly lit 500000 square foot building with a coated white floor for my 50 cars, we're talkin old VWs.

I would like to apply to be the Grand Vizer of the Auto Care location when it opens and I hope it is Germany, the home of the VW.

Great idea!

I got to thinking that maybe Grand Vizer is too big a start, and I am happy to start as a Lot Lizzard and work my way up to changing oil and more /default_smile.png.

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

Ooh! Will it be located in Germany???

Germany, Japan, US.. we're goin all over baby!

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

Hey, nothin wrong with starting as a lot lizzard and working your way up /default_wink.png. That's what I did. But its just a PT/on call job for me a couple days a week. I'm the oil change/brake change/fluid change/spark plug, etc. guy. I've got no official certification, but turning wrenches and modding cars has been a hobby/passion of mine for a while now.

 

[Maybesomeday]

I was invited to drive the new Aston Martin model(s) on Thursday. I'm not a car person; help me not sound like a moron!

I know they're expensive, have been around 100 years and um are fast?

Help a gal out?

 

[Jewbacca]

I was invited to drive the new Aston Martin model(s) on Thursday. I'm not a car person; help me not sound like a moron!

I know they're expensive, have been around 100 years and um are fast?

Help a gal out?

LOL, yeah, definitely fast and very expensive. I have a client who loves Aston Martins, and just traded his 2005 DB9 for a new 2013. Don't recall the exact price, but I think it was in the $185,000 range.

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

I was invited to drive the new Aston Martin model(s) on Thursday. I'm not a car person; help me not sound like a moron!

I know they're expensive, have been around 100 years and um are fast?

Help a gal out?

It's OK, you are already excused since you're female.  /default_wink.png 

On a more serious note, that's f'n awesome!  I'm jealous, you get to take them out on a track I assume?

 

[Maybesomeday]

It's OK, you are already excused since you're female. /default_wink.png

On a more serious note, that's f'n awesome! I'm jealous, you get to take them out on a track I assume?

Honestly don't know. My first thought was street driving, but we won't be THAT far from a track so who knows?!

I hope I won't be too nervous to enjoy it!

 

[Smokeyjoe]

How did you get invited to drive the car? Is this some promo or for a test drive or car review?

The first thing you should ask is how many cup holders does it have so you don't sound dumb not asking.

Be sure to ask where the DVD player and monitors are too in the car.

Haha, just kidding, don't ask that! /default_smile.png

Pretty much ask where the start button is, look at the floor for the gas and break peddle, and GO!

If you want to make comments focus on how smooth/quiet the motor sounds, comment on how quickly it accelerates when you hit the gas, how smooth it goes around corners or over bumps or rides in general. Basically anything that you like in a car you drive and don't worry about all the bells and whistles like sports mode active suspension and driving modes and all that. If you haven't driven one before you won't need these options at all and it would be best to leave the auto assist things enabled.

Also you could comment on if the dashboard is appropriate and everything is easy to see and use and if the interior looks nice to you and the seats are comfortable.

It really depends on what you like in a car in general when you drive as to what you focus on. There are no specific things you should focus on that others are expecting you to notice, and if they are it's because they did that part themselves on the car.

Sounds like a good day coming up this week, have fun.

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Hey, nothin wrong with starting as a lot lizzard and working your way up /default_wink.png. That's what I did. But its just a PT/on call job for me a couple days a week. I'm the oil change/brake change/fluid change/spark plug, etc. guy. I've got no official certification, but turning wrenches and modding cars has been a hobby/passion of mine for a while now.

When I decide to stop working at what I am doing now and retire so to speak, I plan to do something like you mention above. Had certain things not occurred I would most likely be a mechanic now, but computers break just as much and pay better so my auto habit was shelved from 1988 to 2007 when I finally had space and a bit more time for cars again.

I would really like to learn more of the welding and body work side of things, and the crappy paint prep sanding and all that fun stuff just to learn. I was sneezing Sea Blue snot for days as I prepped the car I restored at home, but it turned out very well and smooth with single stage paint and no color sanding (yet) even though it was really done by reading alone and no one assisting. I'm sure there are a lot of things pros do or use that i know nothing about and volunteering some time to sand cars or change breaks in exchange for the knowledge works for me.

I also found that working on cars cleanses my brain from too much technology issue all week long. It really added balance when I started working on the restored one over two years. When I am working on my car my mind doesn't seem to have all the usual thoughts of "I gotta do this for work and that for work" and other standard stresses and it's fun.

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

Agree, there is something therapeutic about working on mine and other's vehicles. Sweat and bloody knuckles go with the territory of course, but its worth it.

Also therapeutic for me to detail my cars on a nice day. Nothing quite like it.

As far as body work goes, I've never been interested in learning that. I rolled my rear fenders this spring though, to clear my summer tires and it actually came out pretty clean. Especially for using a heat gun and a rubber mallet :lol:

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Also therapeutic for me to detail my cars on a nice day. Nothing quite like it.

I totally agree, and the results of the detailing are instant satisfaction when you see what you have done.
I got one of those orbital polishers for my bday last year and it's been great!

The physical effort is cut way down and the newer polishes, glazes, compounds and swirl removers are better then I thought possible. Compared to what I did by hand with my old polish routine the machine wins hands down.

I would like to get one of the direct drive polishers to remove some deeper scratches and swirls in my old ford explorer, the orbital did a great job but some were just too deep to remove. I am amazed to see a 1992 explorer that's spent most of its life outside shine like a mirror.

And ladies, the orbital polishers work great to clean showers and tile!

We needed to have our shower re-grouted and wanted it to be clean for the work. I used an older foam polishing pad and a thick liquid bathroom cleaner and that sucker cleaned the tile walls and floor better then we had ever done by hand all in about 10 minutes!

**Note: Electricity or electric tools don't mix well with water so I wouldn't really recommend doing this.

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Auto Detailing Tip of the Day: Steel Wool

Steel Wool comes in several favors, the more zeros the finer the grit. A 00 would be very gritty ad a 0000 is not very gritty.

Use 0000 Steel Wool and a little liquid cleaner like Simple Green and you can remove rust off of chrome very easily, then follow that with a chrome polish and a car wax and the rust won't come back for a long period of time. When chrome is rusting it's because the chrome layer has "holes" and sealing it with a wax prevents the rust from coming back thru as quickly.

Also you can use 0000 Steel Wool to clean your windows and it will remove all the sap, bugs, water spots, and other very stuck on debries. This is what people who show cars do to make even old glass look crystal clear. Use a good window cleaner to wet the windows and then use the steel wool to clean them, followed by a normal window clean with a towel (microfiber of course for no lint or streaks). My favorite window cleaner is of course Stoner, no joke it's a brand, and it works 10x better then windex or other generic household glass cleaners.

0000 Steel Wool and a finishing polish will revive faded and scratched black hard plastic trim like is found around the wheel openings on fenders and also works on smooth hard black plastic bumpers. light pressure and the way the finishing polishes work let the steel wool remove the layer of weathered plastic and leave a smooth non scratched looking surface. A heat gun works too.

 

[trae901]

I love this thread already lol. Speaking of classic restored cars. I thought I was about to be the proud owner of a 69 camaro yesterday, but didnt quite work out. Damn bank wouldn't let me get a loan for a vehicle over 20 years old. A bit odd since I was doing a trade-in and the camaro was over $10k less than my current vehicles trade in value. Oh well. The bad boy i speak of is below

 

[trae901]

lol I know hooter.. I want it soooo bad 

 

[Smokeyjoe]

I love this thread already lol. Speaking of classic restored cars. I thought I was about to be the proud owner of a 69 camaro yesterday, but didnt quite work out. Damn bank wouldn't let me get a loan for a vehicle over 20 years old. A bit odd since I was doing a trade-in and the camaro was over $10k less than my current vehicles trade in value. Oh well. The bad boy i speak of is below

That is an amazing looking car! If that is a restored one and not a survivor stock car, the restorer did a very good job keeping it original looking.

Bummer you weren't able to get it, and I would suggest you try another bank. That seems arbitrary for the bank to make that call if the car appraises around 20k. Maybe you can convince a friend to go in on it as an investment.

 

[trae901]

I think the problem with a lot of banks is they base value on kbb.com. The book value on most older cars are beyond the dates of the blue book, obviously the damn bankers don't appreciate the actual value of something like this.

yea your right, they dont appreciate the value of them at all. Oh, and it wasnt based off KBB it was based on a system they had called NADA. whatever that is. I bank with Navy federal credit union and their rates on loans is by far better than anywhere else here. It was also odd that the loan would not have been an auto loan either, they said since it was over 20 years old it would have to be a personal expense loan with collateral which would end up raising my finance percentage. whatevs. I got my eye on this beast. Checked it out earlier and it looks virtually untouched. Here is the link to other photos http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=123560330&listingRecNum=23&criteria=feedSegId%3D28705%26rpp%3D50%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26stkTypId%3D28881%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26rn%3D0%26zc%3D28532%26rd%3D30%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId%26mdId%3D20770%26stkTyp%3DU%26mkId%3D20053%26sf1Dir%3DDESC&aff=national&listType=1

 

[Smokeyjoe]

The NADA is a very reliable place to get car values.

I don't have the details on the camaro but the SS seems to show its an SS and assuming it has a 6 cylinder engine and nothing special, NADA shows the value between 10k and 40k.

Link to the NADA value.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1969/Chevrolet/Camaro-Super-Sport/2-Door-Coupe/Values