Test Drive

[CAP1]

Cap damnit!   Get a Shelby!  Contrary to popular belief even though I'm MOPAR I think the new Mustang and Camaro are great!

This stuff would not have happened if Lee Iaccoca hadn't designed the Mustang.

Best gett'em while they are available.  The Govt. is already stepping in as it did in the early 70s'  (I was there)

Muscle again sadly will not be produced.  Keep what ya have if you have muscle already!

Also gents I can get you a list of great vendors who will get you mods at fine prices.
You can deal over the NET, or by phone which I prefer to do.

i'm keeping my fairmont, although i feel i should sell it. mostly, 'cause i think it's unique, with a fuel injected 5 liter. and that lope at idle.........

[CAP1]

that's what radiator fluid is good for... call it a 'bird bath' 

 ya know? i want sooooo bad to be rid of the dam things. i had honestly thought of poisoning the water that those guys put out there for those annoying little birds.

 for some reason, my conscience keeps me from doing that though. canada geese......i got no problem shooting them, as mentioned in another thread, as i have a neighbor that'll clean n cook em, so it's no waste........can't do that with those leeeetle birdies though.

[Dichotomy]

see that c word thing is what we've got to work on getting rid of. 

They POOP on YOUR CAR....  and do so deliberately.  That's an act of aggression that needs a strong response.

I'll come up there and handle it for ya

[CAP1]

see that c word thing is what we've got to work on getting rid of. 

They POOP on YOUR CAR....  and do so deliberately.  That's an act of aggression that needs a strong response.

I'll come up there and handle it for ya

 wellll....if i were to come out of work, and find they pooped on my new stang............all bets are offf.

[Grayeagle]

Golfer: Damn fine lookin auto-mobile

Just hangin out in the woods


On car care: I useda think I knew how to wash a car, till I got a black one . LOL.

On the up side, it's an exercise program better than any Bowflex ..if you don't clean a black car every 2-3 days they really show the dust.
And you learn to *clean* them for a fact

Stuff I have learned to use:

2 big fluffy microfibre towels .. one for gettin the dirt off, the other for buffin.
A stack o small microfibre towels for rims, tires, ..keep them seperated.
2 big bottles of Meguire's detail spray .. the red for initial dust removal, the black for buffin.
Meguiar's ultimate polish for swirly removals, ultimate wax for ..well .. waxin.
Meguiar's Scratch 20 for the occasional scratch that shows up.
Invisible glass for ..well .. the glass.
Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Polish for the rims.
I have somethin I use to wipe down the tires also from Meguiar's .. cant locate it atm, may be out in the car
A stool to sit on while doin the wheels/tires.
Meguiar's natural shine wipes for the interior.

I try to clean the car up every 3 days or so .. been a week now tho, it's just been too damn hot outside and it's covered in dust  .. oohhh the humanity!

I useda use Adam's ..it really does work well .. but so does Meguiar's and I can get all I need at Wal Mart
Tip on washin yer microfibre .. dont toss em in the washin machine.
The softener the wife uses is like an oily film and impossible to get out.. even if 'bounce' isn't used for this one wash, the oily film is there.
It will streak badly and not wipe clean ever again.
Use lukewarm water in a clean sink or just hose em out when done.. works fine.

On windshield cleanin, tuff to beat newspaper ..the lead used in printing makes the glass shine up nicely and it's easy to stuff into hard to reach places and clean em out.
If it streaks, it's not clean yet. Squirt some more Invisible Glass on it and wipe it again

-Frank aka GE

[Shuffler]

Claybar about twice a year.

[Skuzzy]

I would also avoid using any of Meguiars Cleaner wax products.  Long term use will damage paints, especially those on urethane materials.

For black, Wolfgang products are probably the best there is and easy to use.  For hot weather it is a bit of a waste of time to use any type of carnuba wax as it will burn off in days leaving the paint exposed to the harsh elements.  A poly sealer is the best way to go and will last around 6 months, or so.

Meguiar makes some fine products.  The claybar is one of the best and the quick detailer is top notch.  The vinyl and rubber cleaner is also good.  The 'natural shine' for rubber is awesome.  Use it on the sidewalls of the tires as well.

For any dark color or clear coat, I would use Wolfgang's Paint Enhancer, Finishing Glaze, and Sealer products.  It gives a really deep look to the paint and shines as well as the finest carnuba wax products.

Every detailer has their favorites.

[Dichotomy]

Looks like I'm going to have to turn Squid loose with some microfibers and aforementioned products.  A solid work out won't hurt him 

[icepac]

Maintaining a finish is a completely different process than restoring one that has not been properly maintained.

Many people use the same process they use for restoring a finish to maintaining a finish which results in unneeded wear on the finish.

[Shuffler]

Maintaining a finish is a completely different process than restoring one that has not been properly maintained.

Many people use the same process they use for restoring a finish to maintaining a finish which results in unneeded wear on the finish.

This is very true.

[Skuzzy]

Maintaining a finish is a completely different process than restoring one that has not been properly maintained.

Many people use the same process they use for restoring a finish to maintaining a finish which results in unneeded wear on the finish.

Absolutely true.  With that, the Wolfgang products and process I talked about are not for restoring paint.  It is strictly for maintaining paint in good shape.

I have a completely different regimen and product for restoration purposes.

[morfiend]

 I agree with you Skuzzy,using a poly sealer is the way to go!


  A few years back I had the pleasure to work on a hudson hornet,during storage it developed "blanket" marks in the paint and the owner asked if I could "fix" it. I used mostly 3M products and spent several hours hand rubbing the metalic green hornet,I wouldnt dare use a machine for fear of destroying the finish.

   When it was done I put a polysealer,once a year type,that dealers charge big bucks for!  The hudson owner was very pleased with the results,if wasnt perfect,I would have removed too much paint to "fix" it but was only visible under indoor lighting.  The paint was factory and he just didnt want to have it sprayed.

  Best part was I got to drive the hornet,what a beast!



   

[CAP1]

I agree with you Skuzzy,using a poly sealer is the way to go!


  A few years back I had the pleasure to work on a hudson hornet,during storage it developed "blanket" marks in the paint and the owner asked if I could "fix" it. I used mostly 3M products and spent several hours hand rubbing the metalic green hornet,I wouldnt dare use a machine for fear of destroying the finish.

   When it was done I put a polysealer,once a year type,that dealers charge big bucks for!  The hudson owner was very pleased with the results,if wasnt perfect,I would have removed too much paint to "fix" it but was only visible under indoor lighting.  The paint was factory and he just didnt want to have it sprayed.

  Best part was I got to drive the hornet,what a beast!



   

ya know? there;s TWO hudsons parked over on east linden ave.....they're just parked there. they look complete, but in need of restoration.

[CAP1]

car is ordered. i kept it simple.....after going between about a half dozen dealers. there was one in va, that worked their arses off, trying to help me, but the cars they had weren't just what i wanted.

 there were 3 local dealers that contacted me after i submitted some info from edmunds.com. i chose miller, because, although they all sent me a sort of "auto response" email, as i did it late at night, they were the only ones that 1) found what i wanted, not what they had on their lot, 2) sent me what appeared to be a personal email concerning the car i wanted.
 the other 2 dealers tried showing me what they had, which wasn't close to what i wanted('cept it was still a mustang). miller had one that was exactly what i sent info looking for....unfortunatley, it got sold before we got my financing approved. sooooo........i'm now ordering. the good side, is that mine will be the very first "non-ford" arse in the drivers seat. 

changed my mind back to black(can't go wrong with black......and you know the other saying   ), with black leather interior, comfort group(for the heated seats), and the brembo brake package.
 i didn't put any extras on her in the "looks" catagory, as these cars look kick-arse just as they are. also, with this brake package, come(in all obviousness) much larger rotors......14" front rotors, with 4 piston(i think) calipers, 19" wheels(18" are standard) with 255/40 19's, different suspension tune. just to buy the calipers would cost me as much as the entire package. and of course, i got the 3.73 limited slip diff......can't have a GT without that.
 when i get ready, it'll be stupidly easy to change her looks, with all the stuff out there.

 something i thought was pretty cool(and dicho, and golfer may be interested in this), was that i asked if the sync system comes with its own manual. the sales manager said he thought it does. he also informed me that they(miller ford) hold seminars once a month just for this system. i thought that was pretty cool, and would bet other dealers do it too.

 so now, i get to start that agonizing wait, wondering when my car's gonna get here.

[CAP1]

i almost forgot.......i got to see a "fail" while i was there.


 there was this couple sitting at one of the tables in the showroom, who had apparently already test driven what they wanted. they were looking at a super duty. basically a $50k truck.

 every so often their voices would go up then they'd start talking normally again. i think they thought they had a done deal, as one of the sales managers had the keys to the truck they were trading in. it was an 04 f250 diesel, with 156k miles. not many really for the engine...but the rest of the truck.....
 anyway, it appears that the sticking point, was that they wanted the dealer to come down to $40k for their truck, and give them $16k for the trade in.

 voices went up again, and dood walked out, shouting how he'd never come back, blablabla...........

 the sales manager came over to me and apologized for having to hear/see that when they left. i asked him if i could get another discount on the stang for it. he said no.    so i said....it's ok, i needed a laugh, and mr toughguy just gave it to me. then i mumbled something to the effect of thanking god i'm not that much of a jackwagon anymore.