A mallet.

The homogenization of radio has ruined indie radio voices. Everyone is owned by the same couple of corporations, and every station plays the same playlist from the same script. And that is before we get into the horrors of Christian Rock in the heartland...

Spark plug wires. Need to be the correct length and resistance, need to be routed just the right way, put in the easily broken little plastic clips, and ran from the correct part of the ignition to the correct spark plug. Modern cars- unclip connector on ignition coil, remove one bolt, pull of coil, install in…

BMW and VAG would like a word about sagging headliners and fabric glued to trim pieces. Their excuse was that they used low VOC, environmentally friendly adhesives that hugged trees and Mother Nature. My E46’s everything is coming off. Further, I’m completely convinced this was what caused the famous E46 scent and the…

Judge: A newt?

And yet if it hadn't had the work done you would be saying "just think of all the deferred service and maintenance work that needs to be done".

I’m pretty sure that when Management came to Engineering and said: “How fast can you make our cars efficient?” The answer was “Several years.”. In the meantime they needed to do some virtue signaling for marketing ressons, and voila! FWIW, if you want to see vacuum hose nightmares, look up a Jag v12 or Mazda RX-7.

Maybe at some point manufacturers will realize we don’t want quirky-looking EVs and that high-priced/low-range toys for the one percenters are never going to sell in any kind of meaningful volume.

It is absolutely the fascist party now. I do not consider myself a democrat. I have voted for republicans before but the new R party is so fucking gone from where they used to be that I could never think of voting for one. The fact they make everyone fall in line behind a dictator and won’t respect any contrary…

We might differ on some details but I’ll have a drink with you anytime (after the pandemic obv.).

Buy a name brand used bike on Craigslist. Then replace the brake pads and cables. Pay the local bike shop to do it if you’re not entirely comfortable doing that.

a nearly 50-50 chance of living or dying

Also found this twitter thread to be informative.

Union Pacific: lays off security and doesnt lock doors

Just because something has a timing chain doesn’t mean it’s timing system is reliable. Just ask VAG, BMW, and Ford to name a few.

When manufacturers sent back to timing chains they didn’t replace the belt with a robust dual row chain. There are multiple engines out there with under designed single row chains and brittle cheap plastic guides. I've an older m271 Mercedes that I wouldn't go past 60k on a chain.  Belts are generally good for 75.

Did it come with the standard rebuilt title?

The R107’s are all over the place. Because they were so solid, a lot of people didn’t maintain them. Low mileage, maintained and garaged 560’s are highly sought after.

I think I’d pay $50 just to sit in it and row the gears through that gate a few times (making appropriate motor noises, of course).

Please, for the love of all things XJ, slather those new bolts in as much anti-seize as you can pack in there between the new bolt and bushing sleeve.