Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Jun 22, 2019 6:48 pm

... and a plucky little Squareback.
Drove up from the Thruway down under railroad tracks:

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yonder past the canal:
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and over the bridge:
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in the most beautiful pastoral region in the country:
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Drove right past the triple house where I lived with those West Virginia hill-billy kids (that I visited in 2016) for a winter in 1997. The house was so big and it was so cold that we were burning the latting off the walls in the unfinished wing to heat the kitchen wood stove. I loved that place, secret stairwells, an 1890's wood floor kitchen with wood plank floors, the original house was about this size ... ... ... :
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... ... ... then wings were built around it, a front L-wing and a mirror image rear L-wing, a glass greenhouse with no glass, and a view of fields and hedge rows that was perfect country:

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Last time I drove these poor cars stuck in that old barn in western NY (August 2018), there were three teenage and one preteen helpers, all of whom who were given not only their first public road driving lessons, but their first stick-shift lessons at the very same time, AND they had to drive all three of my cars in series.
An embarrassment of opportunity that I would have excitedly called my Favorite Childhood Day Ever ("gee whiz, Mr. Kellogg, that was swell!") but these kids were pretty blase.

viewtopic.php?f=77&t=13672#p230366


The cars, however, were clearly happy to be so thoroughly exercised last August. Every one of them started up almost immediately this time through.

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Such willing cars, I am appalled as ever at their circumstance ...
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It began to rain the night I put them all back under their covers, fortified with mothballs and fuel up gas tanks, on my way out to Ohio. It rained all the next day and the day after.
Colin

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BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by asiab3 » Sun Jun 23, 2019 12:08 am

This canal system looks just like the levy road system near Sacramento Delta, except yours has actual vegetation and a very high water line…

Am I the only one thinking it was a little anticlimactic to have the entire herd start right up and run like that?

Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jun 23, 2019 5:56 am

asiab3 wrote:
Sun Jun 23, 2019 12:08 am
Am I the only one thinking it was a little anticlimactic to have the entire herd start right up and run like that?
Robbie
Absolutely, ya little Millenial looking for serial stretched plots and big explosions.
I got little video clips of them going from 0-60 ... would that be climatic?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Jivermo » Sun Jun 23, 2019 6:40 am

That’s pretty neat that those barn dwellers started right up. I have a great appreciation of the roadside sights in this part if the country...the signs of former commerce, the old railroad trestles, grey field stone walls, steel and iron bridges and huge wooden barns slowly collapsing. The artist, Eric Sloane, out of Kent, Connecticut, captured many of these things in his detailed drawings. Look him up...his drawings are to Americana, what Colin’s are to Air-Cooledicana. These days, though, I find that I am forced to pay more attention to the roads, and distracted drivers, than the scenery. The conditions of the highways in this country is appalling, and getting worse. The main roads here in northeast Pennsylvania, and the southern tier of New York, are noticeably poorer than they were two years ago. Where does all the tax money go? Some of these potholes could play hell with a buses wonderfully designed front end.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Curtp07 » Sun Jun 23, 2019 8:49 pm

Love the squareback! How do you keep them running when they’re not so much? Battery tenders/ethanol free fuel?

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jun 24, 2019 5:51 am

Jivermo wrote:
Sun Jun 23, 2019 6:40 am
That’s pretty neat that those barn dwellers started right up. I have a great appreciation of the roadside sights in this part if the country...the signs of former commerce, the old railroad trestles, grey field stone walls, steel and iron bridges and huge wooden barns slowly collapsing. The artist, Eric Sloane, out of Kent, Connecticut, captured many of these things in his detailed drawings. Look him up...his drawings are to Americana, what Colin’s are to Air-Cooledicana. These days, though, I find that I am forced to pay more attention to the roads, and distracted drivers, than the scenery. The conditions of the highways in this country is appalling, and getting worse. The main roads here in northeast Pennsylvania, and the southern tier of New York, are noticeably poorer than they were two years ago. Where does all the tax money go? Some of these potholes could play hell with a bus's wonderfully designed front end.
I have seen the countryside transmogrify from family farm to huge agricultural operations where farmers lease the land. It looks colder, emptier, the landscape does, under the sun.

I am driving slower and zanier ... avoiding potholes. Dropped my tire pressures 5 psi for the horrific roads. Stayed in the left lane on Michigan's interstates where necessary. When I get to Wyoming, I'll raise them back up.

The tax money is being syphoned to a peculiar "conventional wisdom" that has infected America's "leadership class" whereupon they convince themselves that "administration" is high executive function that demands hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars each year to "keep talent".
Colin :geek:
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:01 am

Kit Whistler wrote:
Sun Jun 23, 2019 8:37 pm
why are modern cars so tragically unattractive?
what do our current (lacking) aesthetics reveal about our current cultural philosophies?
Thank-you for asking ... one reason they are so unattractive is that manufacturers must meet crash safety standards, so there are a lot of bulky compartments to install air bags everywhere. Another is the need to pare weight for fuel economy, so they are reducing glass area (glass is "heavy"). But the worst reason is there is a fever of idiocy in the design studios where designers look at successful cars and imitate them with their own "hook" and it turns into a circular firing squad of outlandishness. Volvo introduced rear pillar tail lights way back in the 90s in their wagons, Chevy followed suit with their vans, Honda came in with a garish rear pillar taillight monstrosity, Kia said, we too we too, and now everybody is trying to outdo each other. Mercedes introduced a ventilation panel behind the front wheels of their portly pig coupe to get rid of brake heat, now everybody has pretend air scoops all over the damn place, Audi introduced a vomit-inducing huge grill that ran under the front bumper and Lexus said me too me too, and now has this krill-filter whale front end, we are fickle, we humans, restlessly looking sideways and backwards to keep up as we fall behind.

Automotive design looks lost to me, a herd of me toos that do not know how to distinguish themselves with any integrity. I could easily and happily pare down the model offerings to four per manufacturer. Lexus started with two, the "big one" and the "small one", and they were excellent. Noiw that have fourteen and they have lost their pre-eminence because it is just too much to keep track of. Bloat. That is what it is, bloat.
Cranklin

(edit: 6/28 a Honda spied on Chicago's I-294 with fakefakefake ventilation grills)

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BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:08 am

Curtp07 wrote:
Sun Jun 23, 2019 8:49 pm
Love the squareback! How do you keep them running when they’re not so much? Battery tenders/ethanol free fuel?
a) inflate tires to 40 psi
b) disconnect batteries
c) fill tanks to tippity top

That is it ... plus peppermint mouse repellent.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by bradleygt » Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:37 am

so you ran out of room in your signature? the lincoln and the merc are not listed-any others out there?
an ounce of prevention is waaay more than a pound of cure

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Happyfolk » Mon Jun 24, 2019 7:45 am

That's a '62 Continental right? I can see the JFK motorcade car in it!
79 CA FI Westy
Mexico Beige
"Sandy"

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Curtp07 » Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:42 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:08 am
Curtp07 wrote:
Sun Jun 23, 2019 8:49 pm
Love the squareback! How do you keep them running when they’re not so much? Battery tenders/ethanol free fuel?
a) inflate tires to 40 psi
b) disconnect batteries
c) fill tanks to tippity top

That is it ... plus peppermint mouse repellent.
Colin
Pure simplicity. Amazing as always!

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by vwlover77 » Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:24 am

Around 20 years ago, my family had the opportunity to spend a few days on board my in-laws' boat as they traversed the New York State Canal system on their way from Sandusky, Ohio to Fort Lauderdale. We joined them near Utica and disembarked in the Schenectady area. It was a beautiful, relaxing trip, made more interesting by the dozen or so locks we passed through on the way. I couldn't help but notice the contrast and consider the history in the areas where the canal and I-90 are within sight of each other. I distinctly remember sitting out on the bow of the boat, the low hum of the Cummins turbo-diesels as the background music to our 10 mph progress, watching the high-speed traffic, responding to horn honks with a wave, and wondering at what we lost when we decided that speed in sealed isolation was the ultimate goal......
Don

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"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:09 am

Kit Whistler wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 4:55 pm
Safety and Security are vastly overrated....
but maybe that’s just my jaded, over-civilized, Pretentious Millennial Privilege talking.

Are we free to embark on a journey of risky, groundbreaking design if our highest cultural values are Safety and Comfort? I don’t think so.

Maybe we need a revolution...a rebellion from Safety and Security and Comfort, so that we’re free to live in insecurity and discomfort.
Cuz everyone knows how wonderful the sun is after you expose yourself to weeks of rain....or at least, they should.
😉
-kit

For those who have dragged mangled family members from horrific crashes, safety resonates with urgency. Then the second tier of those exposed to the aftermath clamor for change to reduce the carnage. I am all for that. I saw a photograph of a child's mouth after it dented a metal dashboard in an early 60's car in Ralph Nader's "Unsafe At Any Speed" that never left me. There are simple effective steps that we can take in the realm of automotive safety. But, when to quit? Why jack up the speed limits to 80 mph on our crumbling interstates but also demand that a passenger cabin withstand a 40 mph small offset crash? Why do we invest deeply in accident avoidance technology, yet be so lax with alcohol and electronic distractions?

I hope we do rebel against the sort of comfort-seeking that dulls us to death.

The good news, Kit, is that driving is still actually incredibly risky behavior. You *do* have a great say in if you will arrive at your destination ... stay tuned! August 17th 11:00AM Road Survival Tips!
Colin :bounce:
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by vwlover77 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:00 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:09 am
For those who have dragged mangled family members from horrific crashes, safety resonates with urgency. Then the second tier of those exposed to the aftermath clamor for change to reduce the carnage. I am all for that. I saw a photograph of a child's mouth after it dented a metal dashboard in an early 60's car in Ralph Nader's "Unsafe At Any Speed" that never left me. There are simple effective steps that we can take in the realm of automotive safety. But, when to quit? Why jack up the speed limits to 80 mph on our crumbling interstates but also demand that a passenger cabin withstand a 40 mph small offset crash? Why do we invest deeply in accident avoidance technology, yet be so lax with alcohol and electronic distractions?

I hope we do rebel against the sort of comfort-seeking that dulls us to death.

The good news, Kit, is that driving is still actually incredibly risky behavior. You *do* have a great say in if you will arrive at your destination ... stay tuned! August 17th 11:00AM Road Survival Tips!
Colin :bounce:
Very well said (as always).
Don

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78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Visits The Old Lions ...

Post by Curtp07 » Wed Jul 10, 2019 9:34 am

We just drove our electric Bolt from Boston to NYC. Doing the speed limit (65 and in places 55) is downright DANGEROUS. As we are in tune with our electric car and every KWh we use, we drive moderately. People in oil burners drive as fast as possible, for their wallets are disconnected from the reality of what they’re spending in gas to drive like a-holes. Not so in the electric car. Go 90 and your range suffers badly...Drive responsibly and Boston to NYC is nonstop on pocket change.

Hopefully electric cars will bring people more in tune with how much money is wasted driving above the limit, and accelerating like crazy to the next red light...for now pulling up to the pump and dropping $50 and racing off in your huge hunk of metal is too ingrained.....

Oh well.

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