Re: Oxygen Sensor Solutions

On May 27, 8:27 pm, "Spaceman" <space...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
<hhc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:6584828c-db8d-45b3-bfd6-2ebe6376a888@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That said, there are others, like me, who started out life as
described above, but who now enjoy keeping their aged clunkers on the
road at minimal annual expense.  When you grow older, there is no
challenge at all in purchasing a factory fresh car from a dealer
showroom.  Still, there is much greater satisfaction for a physicist
like me in keeping an old 25-year clunker on the road, and be able to
pass yearly safety and bi-annual emissions inspection here in
Massachusetts.

Hi Harry!
I am from Mass also.
Don't you love the Mass bologna about the check engine light can't
even have been triggered now if you want the emission passed?

I got a reject sticker on my 96 Camaro Z28 and because I had
made a few bucks as a self employed mechanic for 23 yrs I just
took it to my uncles car dealership since I am now very lazy.
Turned out to be an EGR valve and solonoid.
Under the older emission standards ,(no worry about check engine light)
It would have passed emissions easy.
:)

anyways,
what you say about college kids in US is 100% true,
They were the only customers I hardly ever saw during the
23 yrs.
(although I would get a call to help them out once in a while
on the side of the street with 2 tires on the sidewalk for a "lift".)
:)

--
James M Driscoll Jr
Spaceman

Jim, definitely do remember those "college kids" with the old cars
that they drove to school! :-)

My first was a 1946 Chevy with a straight-6 OHV engine that I had
purchased for $75. At the time I lived in New Jersey, and as you know
New Jersey has state operated inspections stations located throughout
the state. As kids, we dreaded that time of year when we had to visit
them, because they were more thoorough in their inspections (back in
1957) than Massachusetts is even today.

Usually, the college and highschool kids would purchase cars from what
were then called gas stations, each of which had a small service bay
with a lift. Generally the guys that worked in these little shops, or
owned them were very helpful and generous with the time and
services,,,nice guys! Then too it made good business sense, since they
knew that most of us would sooner or later own a new car, and they
would get to service it.

I drove that 1946 Chevy thoughout my first 3 years in college, feeding
it a quart of SAE 50 with each tankful of gas. By the time I got rid
of it, I had learned to fix everything...which turned out to be
priceless knowedge in later life. We all knew about junkyards, now
called used auto parts dealers, and other than Pep Boys and Sears,
junkyards are where we generally purchased our used replacement parts.
Even today, I visit junkyard near Chelmsford to purchase parts which
are no longer available new. Jack's in Billerica is my favorite these
days. If you wander around there long enough, you can even find
replacement parts for my 1986 Cimarron, particularly to find body
parts that you can remove yourself and pay $5 for, rather ordering
them from a restoration specialty place that will charge you $100 for
the identical item.

It is a strange and diversified crowd of people that you will find
wandering around Jacks on a Saturday morning. The place is so large,
that the customers there share information, and sometimes tools, with
each other, provided that you are not looking for the same item as are
they. It's a mix of kids, owners of recent model cars, owners of old
cars, and professional mechanics. As you know, the majority of cars
that you find there have been involved in wrecks, but signigicant
percentage of them contain salvagable parts available for about 5-
cents on the dollar. Mercedes and BMW owners searching for a tail-
light assembly mix elbows with hispanic kids searching for used but
functional alternator or fuel pump. There are no maps of Jacks, so we
ask each other directions. "Did you see any Cimarrons or Broncos?"
Some hispanic kid or BMW guy will usually answer and point you in the
right direction, and asked me if I have seen a car of the make and
model he is searching for...and will likely find at Jacks.

Now be warned, some of the things you will encounter there can be
rather ugly, and still contain bloodstains and personal items within
the passenger compartment. I do not take my wife with me when on a
search expedition at Jacks. Still, sometimes you see something that
strikes you as funny, such as a group of guys physically trying to
roll and old Bronco on its side so they can remove the transfer case
assembly. Jack ultimately coughed up a forklift to help turn it on its
side. You pay a little extra (maybe $5 for that assistance).

Still, perhaps I am naive, but I never realized that any real car
enthusiast exists that does no pride himself in his knowledge and
skill in repairing his prized vehicle, and trust his own work far
greater than he does that of the franchised dealer shops. Things may
be very different in Europe and the UK, but with my neighbor who
fancies Jaguars, no one touches his car except him, not even dealers
with white lab coated mechanics.

Jim, I hate to admit this, but I am one of those extremists who will
not purchase anything that I myself am not capable of repairing, be it
an automobile or a TV set. Also, I am not and have never been a car
enthusiast. What I drive is a machine that can be reliably trust to
transport me from one location to another, safely, and at minimal
expense. American made vehicles serve this purpose quite nicely,
however I do admire the BMW. Italian, French, and English cars are in
my mind and experience to be avoided. All of them. They value style
above function. (Sorry, I know that some will be offended by this, but
that is my take. Opions from others may differ.)

Were I to purchase an optimal performance machine, it would not roll
down the road on four wheels. The Gulfstream II or III aircraft with
a glass cockpit are my objects of beauty and respect, although I will
never own one. I have equal respect for the Cabo Rico cruising
sailboat, particularly the Cabo Rico 37, cutter rigged.

Harry C.













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