BillyT

Freightrain,I believe the Avalanche was voted the ugliest vehicle of the millennium,so what can you expect! At some point hopefully after we are all gone infants will drop out of the womb clutching a smart phone! They already have them when they swim the Rio Grande!

41 always amuses me to watch people period! But on the subject of protecting the stupid,how about the vehicles that apply the brakes when it "sees" a potential hazard and steers you back into your lane when you are too distracted,impaired,or incompetent to keep a car in its lane! And the "parking assist" feature (available on a new 12 second camaro) lol😁 Did you see the shirt the British mechanic wears on Wheeler Dealers? Says " don't argue with stupid"! Love it! The problem is these devices are govt mandated on new vehicles after a certain year,so you pay more to have them,and it's several more devices to go wrong! And they already are! I'd like a device that causes a phone to explode when you use it when driving or texting😁

The word "Truck" is a misnomer when applied to that yuppiefied car with a bed! Ever notice that the media always uses the word Truck when there is an accident involving a pickup!? The growing anti truck sentiment in America guarantees that when the word truck is used (especially when the pickup is at fault) the readers or listeners will pay more attention to the broadcast! Some of you who run Kentucky will remember when that drunken asshole in the Toyota pickup caused the crash that burned all those kids to death in the school bus,The state put up a memorial sign calling it a "truck bus" crash The actual truckers of America protested until they changed the sign to read "pickup bus crash" good for them!

My first new cab and chassis was a Chevy C30 1970 had a "new process " 4speed the shifter forks bent when it had16k on it! Was a wrecker locked in gear while lowering a car in the scrap yard! The scrap yard owner lent me his raggedy looking but good running fifties five ton "cornbinder" wrecker to tow home my "new" Chevy,very embarrassing! Had no idea where the tranny originated.

Goog, I just googled (no pun intended)😁 mother earth news waste oil heater and they did an article on WOH Dec 31 2009 I know you can order back issues which would be cheaper than the plans, but the plans are very complete! There are several videos showing the completed plans, one person heated a 20 by 20 garage, everyone seemed happy with the heater! Looks like a vertical pipe like a culvert pipe and a gravity fed oil feed into the top which drips into a pan where the fire occurs.seems pretty simple but you'd have to be really careful about safety the one fellow said he got 800degrees out of his heater! I'm a welder,and you can braze at 800 degrees! Good luck!

I used to subscribe to "Mother Earth News" in the 80s I'm pretty sure they had a set of plans for a waste oil burner the magazine still exists in newsstands maybe you could grab one and look in the back for a list of their plans don't think they're too expensive! Also in addition to insurance regulations I'd check zoning (quietly) I suspect the smell might give you away Goog!

Hurst scrambler,thanks for the heads up on the displacement on the Ambassador! I only used it for a local commute so it could have been either engine,wouldn't have noticed the power difference!

OD,her being Canadian she should be used to the cold eh?😁

OD,looks like they're still using that Diamond Reo? Are they hauling containers of scrap metal with it? I hate to see it neglected cosmetically like that! I just enlarged the photo, and I realize what Brocky means by "tipper truck" It turns a dry van into a dump! That Giant was one of the last Diamond Reos made! Note the new style door handles on the white cab,which used the older doors originally with the handles by the window! Also the custom fabricated front bumper with the hitch. I've dropped trailers with sugar cane in the port of New Orleans and they backed a tipper tractor under it to dump it! That tipper had a pantograph looking linkage down in the frame at first glance looked like an ordinary tractor! The paper mills have a dump platform that you drop the trailer on, if you deliver bales of scrap paper. The most fascinating unloading situation I've ever seen is at Frito Lay in Binghamton Ny,where you park the whole rig on a dump platform with loads of potatoes they tie it down, and they tilt the whole rig to dump it! No end to innovation in our ever disappearing manufacturing sector! Sorry had to get that little dig in!

Always loved Hendricksons, that one with the fiberglass front end looks like late 80s didn't know they made them that new! I prefer the appearance of the older steel units!

I've never worked on a duramax, but as the others say generally speaking when a diesel isn't running right,and you don't have a code in,you replace the filters,Youve done the air,so do the fuel next! The air filter was dusty so there is a real good chance the fuel filters are too! If the trucks mileage is a lot lower than the mileage where the manufacturer recommends fuel filters be replaced,you could try a good injector cleaner Lucas and Howes are good products.assuming the truck isn't running so poorly you're afraid of breaking down! If the filters are vertical spin on they have to primed,diesel fuel atf,or additive works. I believe all vehicles gas or diesel should have an additive at least every other fill up!Good luck Joshua!

The 57 autocar is really cool,has the wig wag low air warning which was the the last thing a lot of old drivers ever saw! As I those days many trucks didn't have maxis! And the 681C guide headlights that street Rodders covet and the guide baby spot!

41, I've always liked Marlins, you never see one but the styling is unique with the creased belt line ! My 64 Ambassador was a two door hardtop in near new condition! Was a v8 probably a 304 automatic,with buckets and a console. Was hit in the front,but you couldn't see the damage til you were on top of it! Was kinked like a giant bent it over his knee! Was nine yrs old so probably totaled! Definitely the most comfortable car I've owned except for the 51 roadmaster. Twenty five bucks! I grew up 8 miles from Yenko Chevrolet, before they did their infamous camaros and chevelles! Wasn't aware they did corvairs,but why not! The corvair was the closest thing to a European sports car made in America! Once they responded to Ralph Naders evisceration by installing the "camber compensator" the thing really handled! My business partner and co driver drag raced a 65 110hp bone stock Corvair! Was a split second off the national record! You couldn't see the car for the trophies! Do you remember Donna Mae Mimms and her corvettes? She was the first women to win a Scca race. The pink Lady,her corvettes were bought at and prepared by Yenko! My first real job was at a hearing aid factory ,and Donna Mae was the owners Secretary. At some point she went to work at Yenko probably in racing development !

E Deere!, maybe they have a " parking assist" accessory for your B, I've already suggested an air operated "compound shifter" controlled by computer along with a computerized clutch (to avoid the difficulty of having to remember the proper rpm to shift at!) Perhaps a "lane drift" accessory so you can text on your new "Mack branded smartphone" and not worry about staying in your lane😁

The Craftsman Houses,which were a kit that you could build yourself or have built,were a basic economical "starter home" Today the originals are "high dollar" in Tampa Bay! There a couple of new Craftsman clones in my neighborhood,I always liked the way they look,but they cost as much as any new middle class home today! As a couple members mentioned you could buy almost anything at Sears even a little Automobile! Almost like a crosley,for those of you old enough to remember those!

I've driven past the big Holstein,but forget where it is? Almost as cool as the big orange moose off 90/94 in Wisconsin, used to eat at that restaurant! The Kentucky club sign resembles the old mail pouch barn signs! FYI the same guy used to drive all over the country and paint those signs for Mail Pouch in Wheeling W va!

Interesting how the ED pickup had the boxy bed unlike the DT,Plymouth,Ford,dodge,Chevy, and other pickups of the thirties and forties with the flared lip! Mack practicality maybe more usable cargo area?

The last time I was doing one of my little surveys I noticed that Bosch had bought Black and Decker and a couple other well known brands possibly Dremel and they are ALL made in China and Mexico! I know most of you members are welders,well Hoberts Welding machines and Lincoln's are American made but Lincoln's torches and regulators are made in Poland! Hobart torches and regulators are made in China! They resemble Victor and use Victor tips and accessories! Lincoln seems to have bought Harris as their cartons say lincoln Harris! So there goes the cadillac and Mercedes of cutting and welding equipment to China and Poland!

MY wife retired from Sears after 25 years we watched its incremental demise for years! Their first mistake seemed to be their abandonment of their core customer base which was very loyal! This was of course the older customer ( middle age and older) They tried to sell clothing and other lines to younger people and failed miserably ! And of course they merged with arguably the worst managed "big box" store in existence The legendary K Mart! Lol They have actually lasted longer than would have seemed possible! They did all the usual things a company in its "death throes" does, cut commissions on salespeople, which lowered morale, hence performance, went to the minimum number of employees,which pissed off the customers! Amazingly,the local store had a few competent employees but they seem to have left. The last time I was in the tool dept every power tool was Chinese made,with the exception of the hand tools! A couple of years ago they tried to get the managers to clean the bathrooms! My wife and the others didn't actually "refuse" to do this,that could get you fired! They just didn't do it! After a couple weeks Sears brought back the crew of " green card workers" That had previously cleaned the bathrooms! Lol!

Of course POS right to work Ryan opposes any measures against companies offspring, he probably talked Milwaukee power tools into going to China! How dare they call their tools Milwaukee,should call them Beijing!lol did I spell that right?

S.O.B,! My wife's 2012 Corolla was built in Canada and Its powertrain was built in America! While Of course I'd prefer it was built in America, I felt this was a decent compromise!as both countries use UMW workers,Canada is more oriented to organized labor than we are! They turned down deregulation,which destroyed the trucking industry in America! Mexico is a corrupt country where Wal Mart. Admitted to paying bribes to get their stores built! Canada has been our ally for decades,many of them died in ww11! Seems like what little we gained with Carrier and Ford is offset by cars and other products built in Mexico! GM sent its Delco battery plant from Ontario to Mexico decades ago! Ill bet the folks at the Oakville Ontario Ford truck plant are holding their breath! I was always treated well there!

The whole issue makes my head hurt! On the subject of automotive production,Buick has built its compact luxury suv in China since 2014 where it has done well,130000units sold! This year it is being sold in America! I have read two road tests both rate it poorly!The bottom line is to my knowledge it is the first American branded vehicle built in China!! Sold here! We as Americans face a situation where you cannot buy a power tool,except a couple under 50.00 made here,including high end tools like Milwaukee and Rockwell,Or quality German or Japanese tools like Bosch and Makita not made in China! Virtually all electronics and small household items are assumed to be made in China! The multimillion dollar cranes to update Tampa Bay harbor( to accommodate bigger Chinese container ships) were made in China! The only relatively high dollar products not made in China are cars! You can buy a reliable,economical car built here from Japan,Germany and I think Sweden,and of course the big three American makers! WHO would buy a poorly rated, overpriced car built by exploited workers in a polluted country with all kinds of human rights violations?where is the outrage?! Admittedly in the seventies thru early nineties the Japanese were building more reliable cars than we were! The big three finally woke up and US built cars are as good as any! The car in question is the Buick Envision,and if we buy any significant number of them I guarantee they'll all eventually be built there! GM has proven they have no respect for the American consumer or they wouldn't even TRY to sell a car here made in China!

Heavy Gunner,good point! Forest fires are natures way of thinning out the undergrowth that actually prevents TOO MANY forest fires! Sounds like a contradiction but it isn't! Responsible logging actually prevents forest fires! The softwood used mainly for paper,cardboard, and similar products grows quickly a foot or more a year! The problem as always is greed! Even this quick growing wood can be overharvested! Valuable hardwoods like oak and maple used for quality furniture grow more slowly and should be harvested carefully! As much as ! Deplore govt controls many big timber outfits would decimate the forests without them because of the profit associated with hardwood sales! The California redwood and similar trees that take a thousand years to reach full growth shouldn't be harvested at all.

Wonder if OD ever got a sprinkler system for his shed?