10 Apr 12 20:01, Mark Hofmann wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
      
      
    RW>> that bad, but CA was still the dream. We moved to San Diego in March   
    RW>> of 67...   
      
    MH> CA sure wouldn't be the dream these days..   
      
   I was a product of the 50s, when 'hot rod' fever got into my blood and   
   the place to be at the time was in California. That was true into the 70s   
   before California began to regulate engine emissions, retro-fitting old   
   cars with emission 'improvement' BS! There was a time when, if you knew   
   someone' - you could remove emission equipment and still pass the 'visual'   
   test. If need be, a clean exhaust car could pass the emission test in   
   place of yours...all of that was legislated out of existence and is   
   impossible these days. The only way out of testing these days, unless the   
   DMV caught onto it, is to register your vehicles in a non-emission testing   
   area. I did that for the last 5 years of my residency in CA.   
      
    MH> I was 23yo when I got married the first time and the price of our two   
    MH> cars added together was $600.  I carried a tool kit in the trunk of   
    MH> my car (and still do), since you never know when you are going to   
    MH> need to use them.   
      
    MH> I remember stopping on the side of the road on my way to work one day   
    MH> in the 80 Malibu.  It was missing a bit, so I pull over and pop the   
    MH> hood. Naturally it only did this when it was raining.   
      
   Plug wires.   
      
    MH> I'm standing in the rain messing with the spark plug wires and got a   
    MH> super high voltage zap - in the rain!   
      
    MH> Found the problem.  A bad spark plug wire - but discovered it the   
    MH> hard way.   
      
   When I was 16, I owned a 1940 Ford and worked @ a local dairy as a soda   
   jerk. Forget why, but after work one night in the dark, I opened the hood   
   of that car to see sparks flying from the wires to the head (ground). In   
   retrospect, I've often wondered how that engine even ran with those wires.   
      
    RW>> That never fails to amaze me...I used to keep a pair of coveralls in   
    RW>> the car for such occasions. Don't do that anymore with such reliable   
    RW>> transporation these days.   
      
    MH> Lately, I could have used some coveralls.  I had my wife holding an   
    MH> old bag we found on the side of the road - over my head so the "goop"   
    MH> wouldn't drop on my head or work cloths while I was trying to figure   
    MH> out what happened to the Durango.   
      
   8^) I also carry an umbrella in my Silverado.   
      
    RW>> Are the tanks aluminum or plastic?   
      
    MH> From what I can tell, the entire thing is aluminum.  The overflow   
    MH> tank is separate and is plastic.  The pipes into the radiator look to   
    MH> be plastic.   
      
   ATF lines = pipes? Or the hose from the overflow tank?   
      
    MH> Looking at the radiator, it seems it is aluminum.   
      
   That's good. Hopefully the internal ATF cooler line is aluminum too.   
      
    RW>>  MH> location, but with my Pep Boys club card it is only $19.99.   
    RW>>   
    RW>> Ahhh, so it works something like AAA then.   
    RW>>   
    RW>>  MH> That tow was about 20 miles or so.  Not bad for $19.99.  :)   
    RW>>   
    RW>> A very good price, actually.   
      
    MH> Being a Pep Boys club card holder is free.  They just want to track   
    MH> your vehicle service stuff online.  They send you discounts when you   
    MH> are a member, but unlike AAA - it is free.   
      
   When I was a AAA member, the freebies were at the AAA office. Free maps   
   and trip planning (probably not anymore these days), discounts at hotels   
   and motels, discount car rentals, etc...   
      
    MH> With the price of gas these days, it might be cheaper for me to call   
    MH> Pep Boys to tow me - to and from work - each day for $19.99.   
      
   LOL! After the first day of that, they'd tell you to take a bus or   
   commuter train...   
      
      
                   R\%/itt   
      
      
     ... Only those who will risk going too far can possibly   
     ... find out how far one can go ~ TS Eliot   
      
      
   --- Twit(t) Filter v2.1 (C) 2000-10   
    * Origin: Roiz Flying \A/ Service * South Texas * USA * (1:387/22)