MY STEREO!!!! SHE FREAKIN' LIVES!!!

cgipson1 · Mar 15, 2013

techniker said:
I have found that all car electrical is a mess. At least it's not british, reverse grounded (positive ground) or 24V! My buddy rebuilt an old MG that had all of four fuses for the entire car, what a mess.

I had a Spitfire like that... that I totally rewired. Whole new harness... that was no fun! lol! But it was a hoot to drive...

cgipson1 · Mar 15, 2013

techniker said:
My 4 cylinder Jeep Cherokee is at 187k now, no major problems. I replaced the entire suspension last year, steering box ripped off the frame (it's a known problem with the gearbox mount...), new brakes, alternator, radiator few years ago, there are a few leaks here and there but it still shifts so smoothly for its miles. I'm looking to get rid of it but it's been a very reliable and utilitarian for my uses.

lol! Cherokee was the last Jeep product I would have owned! Especially with the old AMC straight six in it! They were pretty bulletproof!

manaheim · Mar 15, 2013

cgipson1 said:
techniker said:

I have found that all car electrical is a mess. At least it's not british, reverse grounded (positive ground) or 24V! My buddy rebuilt an old MG that had all of four fuses for the entire car, what a mess.

Click to expand...

I had a Spitfire like that... that I totally rewired. Whole new harness... that was no fun! lol! But it was a hoot to drive...

You had a spitfire? I thought only girls had those. Well, and my friend Jer who loves them.

He currently has a 1965 one I think... it's in MINT condition. 24K original miles on the thing and had a really well-done ground up restoration several years back. It's SO weird to drive it. Its like driving a BRAND NEW car... only it's a spitfire. You get so used to all the old brits rattling and pinging all the time, but this thing feels pretty much just as new as any modern car. Very bizarre.

He also has a 1959 Triumph TR3A. SUCH A NICE CAR.

manaheim · Mar 15, 2013

mishele said:
How do you people go through soo many cars?! I've had 3 cars in 17 years...lol Two of those cars were used when I bought them. You people crazy.

I'd like to point out that half of those cars I listed were my wife's. Actually more than half since I've had my VW since 2004.

tirediron · Mar 15, 2013

manaheim said:
...All German car electrical systems tend to be a mess.

Ever worked on British stuff? There's a reason that anyone who has refers to Lucas as, "The Prince of Darkness!" Your German stuff is top-drawer in comparison!!! :lol:

manaheim · Mar 15, 2013

tirediron said:
manaheim said:

...All German car electrical systems tend to be a mess.

Click to expand...

Ever worked on British stuff? There's a reason that anyone who has refers to Lucas as, "The Prince of Darkness!" Your German stuff is top-drawer in comparison!!!

I used to own one of these:

So yeah, I'm familar.

I tell you the knobs on that thing were to die for though. And the struts? Hoo yeah. So firm! That baby really handled. And the headlights! oh my god... up... and down... up... and down.

What?

THE CAR, you sicko!

manaheim · Mar 15, 2013

Actually the headlights were a freakin' disaster.

First, they were zinc because they wanted them to be light enough to handle going up and down all the time, but hey... guess what... paint doesn't stick to zinc.

Second, the dip****s at triumph and lucas decided... "Hey, rather than have a motor that goes two ways and stops at an extreme point for each, let's have the motor only go ONE way, and we'll have this stupidly complicated series of rubber stoppers and relays so it'll 'bump' and trigger a relay stopping the motion."

Yeah... BRILLIANT design. I spent plenty of hours hand-cranking the right headlight up and down. My girlfriend was very patient.

Oh and then the stupid dual carbs which were constantly falling out of sync. Plenty of nights pulled over re-calibrating them while my girlfriend waited in the car. Did I mention she was patient?

God I loved that stupid piece of crap. Loved it loved it loved it.

manaheim · Mar 15, 2013

I actually inherited the car from my dad... really his big mistake was not picking up one of THESE...

Nothin' hotter than getting that top off, I tell you.

What?

Oh my god will you people PLEASE get your minds out of the gutter.

Awiserbud · Mar 15, 2013

manaheim said:
cgipson1 said:

techniker said:

I have found that all car electrical is a mess. At least it's not british, reverse grounded (positive ground) or 24V! My buddy rebuilt an old MG that had all of four fuses for the entire car, what a mess.

Click to expand...

I had a Spitfire like that... that I totally rewired. Whole new harness... that was no fun! lol! But it was a hoot to drive...

Click to expand...

You had a spitfire? I thought only girls had those. .

My Mother had one, and yes old British electrics were a bit hit or miss, but...at least if you had a clue about electrics you could fix them, back then most of the electrics were pretty basic,

manaheim · Mar 15, 2013

Awiserbud said:
manaheim said:

cgipson1 said:

I had a Spitfire like that... that I totally rewired. Whole new harness... that was no fun! lol! But it was a hoot to drive...

Click to expand...

You had a spitfire? I thought only girls had those. .

Click to expand...

My Mother had one, and yes old British electrics were a bit hit or miss, but...at least if you had a clue about electrics you could fix them, back then most of the electrics were pretty basic,

View attachment 38872

My friend who has had about 6 of them now says that everyone he meets says "Oh my mother/sister had one of those." It was evidently a car that really was attractive to women, though frankly I always thought they were awesome little things and I'm a guy. *shrug* Maybe I'm not that manly.

That's an awesome pic.