blim Posted June 22, 2005 Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 LOL, Macmarauder, yesterday I talked to my Dad and he told me he'd keep his eyes open--asked me what Son was looking for--OF COURSE I said, "a little powerless 4 cylinder that he can't get in trouble with!!!!" Driving like he stole it was probably the cause of death in the first place, but no muscle cars for him, nuh-uh!! I'm such a mean mommy, aren't I? Knowing my Dad, he'll probably find nothing BUT muscle cars and take Son shopping on a day I'm not home, though......I shouldn't have told him anything....oh oh, now I'm worried Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macmarauder Posted June 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 then don't tell him that i know where these project cars are. 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 4291971 Chevy Camaro split bumper1970 Dodge Charger 426 Hemithey all probably get 4 - 6 MPG on a good day with stock parts and no modifications and a lead foot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blim Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 Oh, how I hope he doesn't read your post, Macmarauder!! Especially since he's going to a car show this weekend! Hubby cruised the car lots yesterday......and he found a truck he wants. I don't want another vehicle!! We don't have the room for 4 cars in the driveway, I don't want to pay insurance and registration on another vehicle, that's why when we sold my Saturn to Son, I decided that I didn't need a car "of my own". Hubby works third shift--if I have running to do, I can do it between 8am-9pm, and if I absolutely need a car after that, I can borrow one of the kid's cars! BAH!! And of course, its all my fault for hauling horsesh*t in hubby's trunk....but it was in double plastic bags and I lined the trunk with an old shower curtain--it didn't hurt his precious trunk one bit. And "cured" manure doesn't even smell....BAH!! I suppose this belongs in the rant thread....but, BAH, BAH, BAH!! Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tenmm Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 Oh, how I hope he doesn't read your post, Macmarauder!! Especially since he's going to a car show this weekend! Hubby cruised the car lots yesterday......and he found a truck he wants. I don't want another vehicle!! We don't have the room for 4 cars in the driveway, I don't want to pay insurance and registration on another vehicle, that's why when we sold my Saturn to Son, I decided that I didn't need a car "of my own". Hubby works third shift--if I have running to do, I can do it between 8am-9pm, and if I absolutely need a car after that, I can borrow one of the kid's cars! BAH!! And of course, its all my fault for hauling horsesh*t in hubby's trunk....but it was in double plastic bags and I lined the trunk with an old shower curtain--it didn't hurt his precious trunk one bit. And "cured" manure doesn't even smell....BAH!! I suppose this belongs in the rant thread....but, BAH, BAH, BAH!! Liz<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hummmm??Not sure what the deal is,but I can assure you that if it had been me I would have backed each and every cow up to the trunk so they could make a fresh deposit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macmarauder Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 OK i've been avoiding this for a long time now. i've tried to give tips that cost little to do and that you won't find just googling since you can do that on your own. well now i'm out of ides, and i know that over the years i've done more to my bronco but i just can't remember them. so anyways on to my last section of tips. these are the last ones and they cost absolutely nothing to do. they are totally free! DIRVE! DIRVE! DIRVE! when i was first scouring the net for gas mileage tricks years ago i discovered something new. how you drove your car can make a huge difference on your gas mileage. more importantly it's the combination of how your car is set up and your driving. have you ever wandered just how they get that super gas mileage of your brand new car that you just don't get. sure you get close but there's a trick to it. not every engine is the same. (please forgive my terminology, as with most of my knowledge i was taught by family or figured it out for myself so sometimes i don't call things by their proper name) what i mean is that they all have different power bands. the amount of power that they produce fluctuates from RMP to RPM. on a chart it looks like a curve that starts low, goes high, and then drops off at some point. now how wide the top part of the curve and at what RPMs differ greatly from engine to engine. for example in my bronco is the 86 351W HO so alot of the power is towards the lower RPMs. it can still rev pretty high and get alot of power but what you want to find is the sweet spot. especially with a manual trany since you have control over the shift points. the higher the RPM the more gas is used since it's combusting more often. the trick is to shift low but not too low. this you will have to feel out on your own. you remember earlier when i talked about adjusting your trany for shifting smother, well you can use a training course on smooth driving. come on we all do it. the biggest loss of gas is the jerky fluctuations of stop and go traffic. so instead of racing to that next red light just try this. instead only use 1/2 or less of the pedal to start moving and leave it there. your going for smooth not fast. then when you get to the speed you want look at your RPM gauge if you have one. if your close to shifting on and auto trany then just go a little bit faster or slower if needs be, so that your car can go to the next gear, then slow down a little. another one is those fast stops you do. if you've got a manual trany then shift it into neutral and coast instead of leaving it in gear and hitting the brake so quick. if you've got an auto trany then try to stop slower by starting earlier. the trany still has to down shift trough the gears so no stopping on the brakes cause then that make the engine have to do extra work. UH OH it just started thundering. gota go, i will be back later.on a side note if your trying to get better performance do the exact opposite of everything i said. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 $2.29.9 today... And it's gonna be higher for the 4th. $53 to fill my tank, drove 368 miles on 22.4 gals of gas. But I sure do like the git-em-up and go in that ole 4.2L. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macmarauder Posted June 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 so that's about 16.4 MPG. that's not bad, which vehicle is that again. i'll trade you my bronco for that, but i'll put it back to stock. it was originally only rated for 8-10 MPG NEW. it's a good thing that i decided to keep it for a long long time, cause i put alot of time and money into it to get it to the MPG today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 It's a GMC safari, 4.2L V-6... And that's all city driving. No traffic jams or stop and go for miles of stop lights, but the longest trip on a highway(65-75mph) is about 4 miles to get across town. Heh heh, and of course I have that proverbial "lead foot" I just can't help exercising the power curve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tenmm Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Gased up yesterday $2.21.I get around 17-18mpg with my work rig(4x4 pickup) and about 22 with the car(I too have a heavy foot)68 mec cougar 302 with a 4speed first and last car I ever got a ticket for doing over 100mph on the freeway.I rebuilt the motor right after I got it even thou there was nothing wrong with it(it would not go fast enough stock )Ater a new cam,carb,headers with cherrybomb mufflers and a few other modification the milage went down relative to the higher speed factor(pass anything but a gas pump)Still love those sequential turn signals Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blim Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Hey Car Experts!!Another Question (this one has me stumped) Daughter had "a mishap" at the gas station---how do you get the smell of gasoline out of cotton pants?? I rinsed them and washed them twice with Tide. They're hanging on the line, but they still smell of gas. She apparently drenched them. Help!!!$2.15 gallon todayThanks,Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tenmm Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 Dawn.Use your favorite scent.Dawn is good at removing oil and oil based products.I used it when I did a lot of auto transmission work,got the oil out of my then very long hair. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blim Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 Dawn!! Yea! I have an almost full bottle! (when you have kids who sneak the dog their plates to lick off, its the only thing that easily removes that "doggie slime") I didn't even think of gas being oil based, duh. Thanks, Tenmm! Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 I use the heck out of "Shout" Keep a spray bottle of it right by the dirty clothes hamper. Rule is to spray stains and grease before you toss in. If a spot gets missed and washed in, Shout the next wash gets it out, even greasy food stains on polyester. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macmarauder Posted June 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 GAS PRICE STORIES OF TERROR!!!!!!$12.56 a Gal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tenmm Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 GAS PRICE STORIES OF TERROR!!!!!!$12.56 a Gal.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Years ago when gas was 30 cents or less a gallon like many then it was hard to imagine gas getting to $1 a gallon.Now I see where that price could happen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 *GACKKKKK* Are we gonna become a country of rollerskates like the UK??? There you get charged an extra bunch of $$$$ if you drive something over 1.4L Hell, we have motorcycles bigger than that here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macmarauder Posted June 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 one of the nicest advantages to living in america is the abundant space compared to other countries, like Japan for example. so many people crammed in to so many of those cities. with such freedom for using our vehicles and it just hurts for things like this. the gas crunch of the 70s was just too scary for us, cars are such a part of our daily lives to even imagine not even having enough gas for everyone is just too scary for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nerelda Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Prices are about $2.13 - $2.30 a gallon in MD right now.....unless I've woken up to another raise in the price!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hmmm, Nerelda. Maybe an alternate universe?? Yeah Mac, I remember the 70's crunch. That's when the Japanese shoe boxes got real popular. Then the big three jumped on the wagon. But notice the slow but sure climb back up to cars with utility? Even the imports are now offering nice large family sedans with real horsepower. I'll admit the gas milage is much better with the bigger engines.. But most of that is because they are made of plastic and tinfoil now... How much did that old Lincoln weigh? My '74 Chevelle was over 4000 pounds.After removing the emmisions pump, adding dual exhaust w/turbo mufflers, tossing the two barrel for a nice Holly 4bbl, and adding an electric fuel pump the small block 400ci got nearly 18 mpg on the highway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jsbowen Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Prices are about $2.13 - $2.30 a gallon in MD right now.....unless I've woken up to another raise in the price!!!<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I woke up to another raise. $2.35 per gallon in WV. That's $2.55 for premium. Its killing me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macmarauder Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 that's another thing that we forget about. those pour people that have to buy the higher octane gas for their cars. like jaguars and mercedes and such. some vehicles are designed to work only with 90 octane gas and such. my bronco can get away with 85 octane but i usually buy 87 for it when i can. that must suck for those people. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jsbowen Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 that's another thing that we forget about. those pour people that have to buy the higher octane gas for their cars. like jaguars and mercedes and such. some vehicles are designed to work only with 90 octane gas and such. my bronco can get away with 85 octane but i usually buy 87 for it when i can. that must suck for those people.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I drive a salvaged Land Rover (nothing to be jealous of ), but it requires 91 octane. It's bleeding me dry. Oh, how I long for the days of my Neon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robroy Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Glad I have an accord and an old mustang lx. Both run fine with 87 octane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blim Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Hi All!Bozodog, I remember the 70's "gas crisis", too, it was when I started driving!! Still makes me angry that it was "supposably faked" (30 years later and we haven't run out yet!).....On one hand, it makes me wonder if this is a reoccurance, but on the other hand, I suppose there is only so much oil in the ground--and I wonder about making all those "underground voids" from pumping the stuff out...Took Son out for a looksie at cars today and hoping for opinions!! Haven't test driven them yet. All are automatic and 4 door models.1997 Cavalier, 166,000 miles, carfax guarantee, roll up windows (I like that) $25001995 Cavalier, 83,000 miles $29951997 Lumina V6 116,000 miles "under $2000" (just arrived, will have new brakes, an oil change and lot owner said ran real good)1998 Olds Alero, 100, 000+ miles (didn't write it down) $2900, but salesman offered to "sharpen his pencil" on price.1999 Saturn 132,000 miles $2995--had front end damage repaired, (used car lot/body shop combination place) but a "clean title", which meant the accident damage was "less than the value of the car" (but you folks know that, don't you? )Whaddya think?? Son has a little over $3000 saved and I'm sure I can talk down the price on any of these cars.**Oooh, I forgot, the Daughter's smelly pant crisis is solved--hanging them on the clothesline did the trick, but remembering the Dawn and shout remedies for next time, thanks!!!Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tenmm Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 1995 Cavalier, 83,000 miles $2995Walk in with $2200 cash and tell them that is best offer,if they say no,say nothing do nothing but get up and head for the door.DO NOT LOOK BACK I voted for this one because the milage is in line with the age of the car,IMHO the others are HIGH milage and should be avoided.Two rules I start out with.1. American made regardless of age 85,000 or less.2. japan made 100,000 or less regardless of age.I think AAA says 12,000 miles per year average now days Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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