patzky1

I was cleaning out the (my dad's) garage two days ago and found a few unfired .308 Win. rounds, some stashed "adult" reading, and a couple of cans of billy beer. Keep in mind, the man won't clean the garage unless he HAS to, so I get to do it when I want to do something big, like replacing my struts and wheel bearings. So, what is the weirdest stuff you have dug up?

Must be a common thing! I've also done that with a battery. My dad got fairly pissed when it happened, too, because he was also in the garage (with his back turned) and heard the zzzzapppp when i shorted the terminals while installing ol' sparky. This was just moments after he had told me to be careful. "Riiiiight. Yeah, thanks, Dad. I know what I'm doing." I jumped about a foot, got a whiff of ozone, and laughed for a bit when it happened. More surprising than anything. I digress, but has anyone else ever made an electromagnet out of a car battery, a resistor (big light bulb), house wiring, and an anvil? I used mine to pick up nails from a roofing project (yes, old iron nails). It also got stuck to the wheel of my truck until I unscrewed the bulb. Fun stuff. Pat

Yeah, I'm a senior at the U of I, studying aviation human factors.

Bluto, I noticed that you're from Kanakee. I'm from Odell, just about ten miles south of Dwight... Just saying that it's cool to see someone from the "backyard" also on this site. There used to be a couple of other people here from the central IL area like Peoria but they have not visited in the recent past. Of course, there are a few from Chi. Where are you studying? Pat

Haha, he does the macarena! He also falls down hilariously, smokes and farts. Man, some people... Pat

I'm Smokey of the Booze Junkies. Sounds like I should be hanging out at the biker bars more often! I'll have to get right on that.

WOW Thanks, daZda. I fee like an idiot since I went out and looked at the manifold and, sure enough, there was a small black mark on the white hooker header gasket where there was deterioration and a leak. New gasket, and viola! A word for the wise, you may consider actually getting good gaskets when you buy a set of headers if they come with the fiber ones. This gasket was only 2 years old and had already "worn out," something completely unexpected from my point. I'm sure glad that I didn't need to replace the lifters! Pat

I have a sbc with over 100,000 miles on it and it has started to develop a tick in the valve train whenever I accelerate, but not at idle. It seems to only do it under load and it appears to only be on one lifter by the frequency of it. So, I took off the rocker covers and did a running valve adjustment with 1/4 turn preload on the lifers. Still does exactly the same thing. A friend says to simply add more preload since the engine has hydralic lifters (it does), but I'm skeptical and don't want to break anything earlier than I have to. An additional tidbit of information would be that when I'm at highway speed (350 auto tranny) the enging shudders at regular intervals and is noticeable. This has all started only since I first started to hear the valvetrain noise. So, what do you think? Bad lifter? Is it possible that I have a sticking valve that is causing it? Worn off cam lobe? Any thoughts/suggestions greatly appreciated. Pat

Thanks, Jeremy. I'll do just that I agree that they kick out easily, and with like twice as much torque as before the swap I just don't wanna get myself in too deep in snowy weather. Pun intended. I feel that it wouldn't be too much of a problem to get re-used to the car in the snow. But, has anyone driven a V8 1st gen in moderate snow? That might be a more concise question to ask. Cheers, P

My z is my daily driver to and from the airport, which is like 8 miles away and outside of town. Does anyone else drive their Z in the winter? I'm asking this of the guys that will actally see snow/ice/whatever else nasty, not of you lucky ones in TX and CA. Before the V8 conversion I drove the z for part of one winter and it was fairly docile (if you overdo it the 50/50 balance takes over and all four weels tended to skid out at the same time), but now might be a different story. My main concern is doing a lot of accidental donuts and maybe ending up in the ditch if I'm not extremely careful. By the way, I AM a decent driver and never had any problems in any other car I have had. I have pretty new all season tires as well. So, what do you guys think? Pat

Patsky 1e I'm on al lot of the time that I'm not at work or stuying, etc... Feel free to add me! Pat

Uh, and why would you need 8 guages in addition to the adequate factory stuff? Pat

Snork, the floor temp light just lets you know if your cat is getting the car body around it too hot. The cat is a large heat sink for the exhaust (a big hunk of metal to get hot) and can become very hot. For example, that's why you should never park a hot FI car over dry grass.

That's pretty good. I wonder what kind of cars it would crush, probably just red ones. Surely Jesus with all his power could manage a better shell than an 80's Ford Econoline LOL Pat

My girlfriend's brother is an F14 pilot on the Roosevelt and he invited whoever wanted or was able to come to go to family day. So, his parents went over and had a blast... I couldn't go, stupid school, always getting in the way! Anyway, I'm sure the F18's are a lot more agile, but it's always cool to see the F14's do the afterburner takeoffs. Makes me feel inadequate in the 200hp Piper Arrow that I get to fly for training He also gets to fly in to the airshow "for training purposes" this weekend in St. Louis and that'll be cool. I'm gonna definetly go to that one. Anybody in the area should come by and say hi to him. He'll be the only guy with an active F14 I guarantee that!

MMMMMMMMM, 1200 hp alison engine... Actually, I don't think it's that common to see P-51's in airworthy condition anymore as they have by now gotten a significant amount of oxidation (aluminum rust) on the wing spars and it's just too expensive to fix. A good, well-maintained one will cost some serious bucks nowadays as a result, but including many other factors. However, I might just be talking outta my arse. Anyone gonna set me straight? Pat

He played at the High Dive when I saw him.

I remember him coming down here to Champaign two years ago. Good show as I recall, but during it he said "NO........I will not play your requests.........I will play my new stuff..........off my new CD (in his usual idiom)." After the show he was invited to somebody's dorm room in my building, great idea, a 300 lb schizophrenic man running around giving people headbuts in the halls! Quite a character. Pat

Hey Phantom and Aviatorx, how many hours would you guys say you have amassed so far? Oh, Mat73gnz, tell your buddy not to add power next time he balloons. Unless you're about to stall it will only make you float even more. Pat

Hey, I happen to be a pilot. Actually I'm a senior at the University of Illinois studying Aviation Human Factors and it's going quite well for me. I love it. Currently I hold a commercial pilot's certificate with an instrument rating and this semester I'm starting on a flight instruction rating. After that maybe a multi-engine rating to go along with an instrument instructor's rating. Man, though, everything costs money and money is tight. I really envy the GI bill guys sometimes because they barely have to pay anything at all! Go Terry, you ATC guys rock, albeit that you are still human, but we pilots are even MORE human sometimes. That might only make sense to those pilots among us I guess... Does it piss you guys off when we talk like Super Troopers? ex: Arnie Peanut Unic GPS direct to Frank Idaho Jimmy? (Guilty) LOL Pat Did I hear a "niner" in that phone number?

Ouch, what a dummy (the buyer). He was even a mechanic, too. Pat

I get a little plume of blue smoke on startup every time (higher mileage engine). I think that the valves are letting a little oil into the cylider(s) after the engine is shut down. Is there any way to stop this without tearing anything more than the valve covers off on my sbc? Maybe the little rubber caps can be replaced to solve it? I thought abot that stop-leak stuff, but all I hear is bad things. Thanks, Pat

Hey, I know where Metropolis, IL is! As a matter of fact, they have a huge superman statue in the middle of their town square. The whole village must be dorks. Pat

Oh yeah, mine's in New Zealand doing an internship . She won't be back until the end of August when we start our senior years. Pat

Just been wondering if anybody else who regularly comes here is an aviator? I know there are a few that are members (e.g. aviatorx). I'm currently working on my commercial at the University of Illinois along with the Human Factors curriculum. So? Pat