Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

It's funny, it made a huge difference in my Astra which had fucked aircon, but in the e46 with working aircon it doesn't make much half as much difference.

I'm sure that cars now don't demist at all without AC whereas they used to.

In the summer when we had that epic rain I was in the outside lane of the N. Circular and somehow had tuned the AC off. Started to mist so I cranked up the fan and caused a total white-out.

One of my scariest driving moments. Couldn't see a thing, foot of water on the outside, couldn't take my eyes off the road to resolve the problem. Just put my hazards on and did 20mph and followed the central reservation barrier.

Isn't it called Fog-X?

I've used Rain-X quite a bit but not the fog one

Minor Tesla update; been allocated a car (via text message) today.

Think that means it's on a boat that only left San Fran yesterday meaning 1st week of December for delivery.

Not many electric give me a chub these days...

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Doesn't that rather miss the point of super light plus one of the best four cylinder engines ever

I'd have it over a tesla.

I'm all for classic conversion ... But to fitting cars, like old rollers, Citroen, VW Beetle etc. But an old 105 Alfa, nope. They need revs, fumes and noise!

I get it. I would have an alfaholics resto in an instant.

If Doomsday arrives and the Green PoPo lock the internal combustion in a museum for good then it might be a whimsical trip down memory lane...

In an Italian milk float. ;oP

It's disappointing that E85 isn't as much of a thing in Europe as it is in Australia. Would give an option for keeping combustion-based cars running while minimising fossil fuel consumption.

An old alfa probably prefers 4 star!

What does float my boat though is the idea of an electric Baja buggy... Real life Tamiya fox

I'd be totally ok with having some kind of classic car scheme and reserve the fossil fuels for those with limited use. The everyday kid transport or commuting can be done with leccy cars.

In some ways bio fuels are better for classics- and of course in others far worse.

Cars designed for leaded fuel were really just designed for higher octane fuel than standard unleaded (and potentially some super unleaded) - so the use of bio-fuels that have (in some cases much) higher octanes than 100% fossil fuel based unleaded is useful. However, the alcohol/methanol content can rot fuel lines, bits of the carb etc- but really nothing that can’t be fixed by giving the engine and fuel system a once over.

I’m a fan of the idea of running a car on what I’ve grown (and then fermented) in my garden.

Isn't it also the metallurgy or some of the older engines? I know my 83 505 I didn't need lead supplement as the valve seats were hardened and we're happy with unleaded but other older engines needed the lead as lubricant.

This from Wiki (usual caveats apply):

Microwelding of the exhaust valve and valve seat is now thought to have occurred due to the increase of flame front speed when the switch to unleaded came about. The increased combustion pressures caused microwelding in older style motors that had the valve seats machined into the cast iron head. Retarding the timing of the engines reduced the combustion pressures and proved to be an effective short term measure in the switch to unleaded fuel. The long term solution was hardened steel valve seats.

Caveats aside, that does make sense... I don't know either way so am at the mercy of internet knowledge.

CSB.... When I was a kid I lived in sugar cane land in Queensland. Every season they would burn off the old crops. Thousands of hectares Just up in smoke. Just imagine if that had been mulched and turned into biofuels instead.

I’m a fan of the idea of running a car on what I’ve grown (and then fermented) in my garden.

I look forward to running my next car on white lightning / joy juice.

buys corn futures

The funny thing is that a '69 engine ran unleaded fine, but a '72 allegedly didn't.

In the end, I ran the '72 on unleaded and waited till the valve seats started to receed and then I'd strip the head and then machine the head for larger valves as possible.

Got any more detail on this?

Insta page....natch.

https://instagram.com/totem.automobili?igshid=hbdr579aopef

finally the doors are on my garage. only six months late...

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Noice!

@BRM Yeah very nice. This week I acquired my own garage for the first time so very interested in how people organise things. Any interior photos or tips for making the most of the space?

I just use massive IKEA kitchen cabinets and a janky workbench I built in about 40 mins.

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