Ask a Shiter

[NorfolkNWeigh]

As a 50 year old man ,I'm glad other 50-60 year old men spend lots of time train spotting,going on golf weekends etc.

That means there's lots of bored ,neglected wives around who just love showing off gym toned ,surgically enhanced pampered bodies............

[Squire_Dawson]

Can anyone tell me what this aspirational crap is? A naturally aspirated petrol engine, for instance?

[Junkman]

Can anyone tell me what this aspirational crap is? A naturally aspirated petrol engine, for instance?

 

Naturally aspirated means it must suck in the air itself, like you do.

As opposed to forced induction, which means it's supercharged, or turbocharged, or you given artificial respiration.

[catsinthewelder]

I saw 50 - 60 year old men trainspotting the other day. I like cars, etc., draw the line at going too far into 'sad hobbying'. If I end up doing that, I'm throwing myself on the track.

 

 

Oi  I resemble that comment.  I did a bit of trainspotting as a teenager on the really flimsy excuse that I was being called a trainspotter for being interested in models of trains so decided to try it as that would show them.

 

It didn't but it did get me out of the house and watching trains is no worse than watching TV in my book.  I think the media like to portray any hobbies that don't involve spending lots of money as 'sad' and conforming to what people who read the Sun think isn't really my cup of tea.

 

 

Why do men always end up having those typically really shit, sad hobbies (like trainspotting, model aeroplane making, etc), while women do not?

 

Ms C is in the Richard III society, enjoys knitting and gave a historical lecture this week,  calling things 'sad' is more or less banned around our house.

[M'coli]

I saw 50 - 60 year old men trainspotting the other day. I like cars, etc., draw the line at going too far into 'sad hobbying'. If I end up doing that, I'm throwing myself on the track.

Why do men always end up having those typically really shit, sad hobbies (like trainspotting, model aeroplane making, etc), while women do not?

It gets them out of the house and away from the wife's hobbies, which is namely homemaking/the house.  Women however do not see this as a hobby but "far too important" to be a hobby, "unlike that ridiculous stuff you do".

[rml2345]

Train spotting, bus spotting, plane spotting, car spotting, model building, model collecting, model railways, welding an old Talbot back together... The list of so called 'Sad' hobbies is pretty much endless but there's no harm in them really. We've all got different interests and little communities form around different hobbies so there's often a social aspect to them as well.

Beats sitting through Eastenders anyway.

[mercrocker]

I am with the trainspotters.   Any activity that does not involve watching the TV or going to B&Q should be in the national curriculum and subject to EU grants...

[face]

Thinking of lobbing an induction kit (I know) on the Puma.

 

Car is a 1.4. Do I need to go for a Puma specific item, or will a same-engined Fiesta job also be OK?

 

There seems to be a greater range if you look for Fiesta rather than Puma.

[Station]

Train spotting, bus spotting, plane spotting, car spotting, model building, model collecting, model railways, welding an old Talbot back together... The list of so called 'Sad' hobbies is pretty much endless but there's no harm in them really. We've all got different interests and little communities form around different hobbies so there's often a social aspect to them as well.

Beats sitting through Eastenders anyway.

 

Hoi, I was quoting, hence the ' '' ', I personally have nothing against them, I was just wondering why it is inevitable that men get into these things?

[rml2345]

I wasn't getting at you Station, sorry if it came across that way. I've no idea why it seems to be men that get interested in these sorts of things but I'd guess it starts with a childhood fascination. Mine comes from helping my dad with whichever crock he had and sort of spiralled from there.

[trigger]

Talking of strange hobbies I was watching some program about hoarding last night, this farmer chap had over 30000 newspapers and other literature and was planning to upload it all to the internet.

 

It dawned on me that I've been doing the same thing with car magazines and i'm turning into a hoarder. I really should be selling them off and freeing up my garage space but it's not easy.

[cort16]

I recon if I wasn't married I'd have bought an industrial unit and built a log cabin or something inside the unit to live in just filling the rest with shitey old cars.

[mat_the_cat]

I'd do something similar, except I'd live in a campervan in the unit/barn. Cheaper than building something, and you can bugger off somewhere at a moment's notice. For some reason Lana doesn't see the appeal of this...

[mercrocker]

^^Lottery Dream - Field. Barn. Shite.  32ft period 50s caravan.   Push caravan in field in summer, live with bees and buttercups.  Push caravan back in barn in winter, play with shite.   Mrs R. says she will still be there if she can haz own barn. 

[KruJoe]

As "flange-to-flange" is a thing now, a flange-to-flange exhaust related question. I'm blowing from my flange-to-flange joint, what material (pref from my junk pile) should I craft myself a gasket from?

[phil_lihp]

I'd do something similar, except I'd live in a campervan in the unit/barn. Cheaper than building something, and you can bugger off somewhere at a moment's notice. For some reason Lana doesn't see the appeal of this...

 

I did start to consider the industrial unit option a few months ago, it has a lot of plus points when you think about it but there are laws to prevent it unfortunately.

[barefoot]

As "flange-to-flange" is a thing now, a flange-to-flange exhaust related question. I'm blowing from my flange-to-flange joint, what material (pref from my junk pile) should I craft myself a gasket from?

Spunk

[Leyland Lawrence]

The attached photo is of an old Saab. Do you think the safety cage that Volvo and Saab incorporated into their design has been cut to form the apeture?

[mat_the_cat]

As "flange-to-flange" is a thing now, a flange-to-flange exhaust related question. I'm blowing from my flange-to-flange joint, what material (pref from my junk pile) should I craft myself a gasket from?

 

Not in your scrap pile, but would this do?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Metal-Heatproof-Gasket-Material-Sheet-for-Exhausts-on-Engines-Cars-Boats-Bikes-/151244677242

[Bobthebeard]

Doubtless a stupid question, but do LPG systems really need 'servicing'?

Have had one on the Honda Accord now for around 40,000 miles ish. So far no issues at all. The installer did a fine job, but is REALLY hard to pin down to arrange a date/time for a service of the system. Always busy fitting new systems. He is around an hours drive away so making an appointment would be handy, but is difficult. Hence it hasn't been serviced. What is likely to go wrong?

Ta!

[mat_the_cat]

Clogged filter(s), evident by lack of power when at full chat - or switching back to petrol with a low pressure alarm, depending on the system. Assuming you have a recentish sequential system, the fuel trims can drift over time, but this might be shown up as a roughness when switching fuels, until the fuelling is sorted out again. A 'proper' service would involve looking at the fuel map and making sure it's still spot on, but all you may get is a change of filters and a quick visual once over...

[Bobthebeard]

Clogged filter(s), evident by lack of power when at full chat - or switching back to petrol with a low pressure alarm, depending on the system. Assuming you have a recentish sequential system, the fuel trims can drift over time, but this might be shown up as a roughness when switching fuels, until the fuelling is sorted out again. A 'proper' service would involve looking at the fuel map and making sure it's still spot on, but all you may get is a change of filters and a quick visual once over...

Only issue so far seems to be fuel trim drifting, as in EML comes on now and then, but goes off eventually. Have a OBD scanner which only throws up fuel trim codes... If filters are blocked will it cause a problem?

[mat_the_cat]

If a partially blocked filter is enough to cause a pressure drop (but not enough to trigger a switch to petrol) the gas injector time should increase so you still get the same amount of gas in. But you *may* run out of time within each engine cycle, in which case it'd run lean. If the EML only comes on when you boot it I'd be thinking along these lines, but if it's at times of lower demand it's probably just drift. The lambda sensor feedback will correct for that up to a limit (not at WOT though), but throw a light and a code when that limit is reached.

 

Would you be prepared to change filters yourself? Depending on the gas system the software may be freely available, so it could be something you can at least check at home, even if you don't tweak anything.

[Pete-M]

What were the last cars to be sold in this country designed with imperial measurements not metric?.

 

Obvs when you fix it with imperial tools not your usual metrics.

Range Rover Classics went from imperial to metric quite late on. Late 70s at the earliest.

 

Mk1 Escorts (British built) changed in the early 70s.

 

Most Yank stuff since about the 80s seems to be metric. Chrysler 300s are metric, as are Jeeps from around the Cherokee onwards.

 

Some Range Rover Classics have a sticker on the slam panel saying "metric fittings are used" or something similar.

[Taff]

There is a chap on here who restores vacuum cleaners and one who collects vintage safety razors.

I wouldn't do either but then I suspect they have little interest abandoned buildings, as I and three others on here do.

 

Ultimately, if someone isn't harming someone else I don't care what they do and won't judge them.

 

make that four

 

as for my stupid question, my 1959 Galaxie needs a new battery. It is a 5 litre v8 petrol with a slushbox, and the tray it sits in is massive, any suggestions in battery speak as to what I should ask for? is it measured in amp hours, cranking hours, what?

[mat_the_cat]

Make that 5 re the abandoned buildings!

 

Anything with a Rover V8 will use imperial bolts on the engine at least - does that count?

[KruJoe]

Small dents which need filling before re-painting... should I bother taking 'em down to bare metal before filling, or can I just rough up the (unbroken) paint a bit?

[saucedoctor]

make that four

 

as for my stupid question, my 1959 Galaxie needs a new battery. It is a 5 litre v8 petrol with a slushbox, and the tray it sits in is massive, any suggestions in battery speak as to what I should ask for? is it measured in amp hours, cranking hours, what?

It's gonna be a monster - 800 Cold Cranking Amps at least. A mate of mine had a Camaro, years ago, and it had a tractor battery in it. 1000 CCA.

 

Here's what all those numbers on the top of a battery mean

[Sloth in a bowl]

The attached photo is of an old Saab. Do you think the safety cage that Volvo and Saab incorporated into their design has been cut to form the apeture?

 

 

Volvo used to do sunroofs as a standard item so if it was a Volvo I would say not, however with a Saab, I don't know.

[robinmasters]

I saw 50 - 60 year old men trainspotting the other day. I like cars, etc., draw the line at going too far into 'sad hobbying'. If I end up doing that, I'm throwing myself on the track.

Why do men always end up having those typically really shit, sad hobbies (like trainspotting, model aeroplane making, etc), while women do not?

 

Mild asperger' s syndrome. Men are more prone to autism than women, so our hobbies generally revolve around collecting things, or facts about things. 

 

Anyway, I don't see how obsessing over the private lives of celebrities, or reading magazines about dresses, are any less shit and sad than trainspotting.