Don Coatney

To become a ZEN Master on the forum all one has to do is make a lot of postings irrelevant of meaningful and non meaningful content. I think we need to get Herrigel and Pirsig to join the forum as they could assist in differentiating between sense and nonsense.

Patina: a surface appearance of something grown beautiful, especially with age or use, which adds value to an antique, collectible or scarce and should not be cleaned, in some cases, and preserved in other cases.
 

This is patina

This is sanded paint

I learned how to shift sans the clutch pedal when I was about 12 years old. Have been doing it ever sence.

Learning and knowing what is the normal amp gauge reading in your vehicle is in my opinion mandatory. This goes for all gauges in your car. Not all cars are alike. GTK posted what is normal for a stock setup. However wiring changes may have occured over the years that can and will effect what the amp gauge is telling you. As an example I am using LED tail and brake lights. When I hit my brake pedal my amp gauge does not move because the amp draw to my brake lights is so small that the amp gauge cannot read it. But if you know normal readings for youe vehicle the amp gauge can and will alert you to problems.

A couple of years ago I drove about 45 miles to a car show. On the drive to the show my amp gauge stayed just slightly to the plus side and that is normal for my car. At the time I made this trip my battery was about 4 years old and the summer temperature was over 90 degrees. As most know battery failure happens more in hot weather than in cold weather. On the way home I observed that my amp gauge was running more on the plus side indicating that the charging system was working harder. I suspected that my battery was failing so I elected to drive straight home with no stops. As soon as I arrived home I turned the engine off. I then attemped to start the engine and sure enough the battery was gone. As soon as I installed a replacement battery my amp gauge was showing normal readings again.

Motors Auto Repair Manual. I have a 1953 edition and it covers 24 makes (Buick to Willys) for the years 1935 to 1953. I also have a 1948 and a 1974 edition. These books are loaded with information that covers in great detail all mechanical repairs. You can find them on e-bay and at swap meets.

A book that I would like to have is a "flat rate" book. These books were used to generate estimates to customers on how long it takes to make specific repair and by the paymasters to judge if the mechanic could meet or beat the average time to do specific repairs. This book is not any help in making the repairs but it is fun reading.

In 1879 Edwin Hall did not know what effect his studies would have on the automobile as the automobile had not yet been invented. A case of Old Technology Doesn't Always Mean Obsolete Technology in a nut shell.

Plain and simple it is all about the money. That is the only reason these (lack of) reality shows are produced. Weather the cars are built to any standard (safety, realiability etc) does not matter. Only thing that matters is they are shown as being built in one hour and hit the street or auction block at the end of the show.I get mad when I hear them call an engine a motor and a paint job a restoration. If we all wrote letters to these shows explaining our discontent most likely the drama would boost the ratings. I would rather laugh at Archie Bunker for a hour as watch these shows. He is the real deal.

Must this blog be P-15, D-24 related?