9/1/06

I always find it interesting when I go back into the archive and the first entry of a month refers back to something I had said just the day before but since it was in a previous month it seems to be a non sequitur. Today will be no exception. I was outbid on both of those swamp coolers. See? That makes sense to us now but it might not when I go back in a year or two. But I digress already. I was outbid but I found another window unit I like even better. Instead of being made of metal, it is ABS plastic! The weight savings won’t be for the usual performance reason though. The lighter unit should, in theory, be easier on the window of the vehicle. At least that is how the seller is marketing it. I'm convinced. I'll know around 1245 this afternoon if I won it. I also did another silly thing. I re-bid on an Offenhauser four-barrel manifold for Mr. Wiggly. Yeah, I fell for “auction fever” and justified it with the reasoning that if I get it for what I bid, it will be about half what they cost new. It appears to be NIB (new in box for those who don’t know) although the box appears to have gotten wet in the past. Speaking of those who don’t know, you can tell someone who learned their car stuff from the movie “The Fake and the Fatuous” because the abbreviation for “New Old Stock” means nitrous oxide to them. I was showing some kid an item I was bidding on and he said, “Aw dude! You gonna put nawss on it? Yeah!” It was in fact some old Datsun manifold or emblem or something. I suppressed a laugh and said, “Yep, sure am.” I tried to watch those gay-assed dumb movies but want to hurl a brick at the TV every time. I can manage about five minutes and then they will say or do something so totally, well, gay-assed is the only thing I can think of. Now, I will admit that the greatest car movie, nay the greatest MOVIE, of all time, “The Road Warrior,” did have some technical fauxs pas, but they were minor. The F&F franchise was nothing but technical screw-ups. Damn, now I want to watch “The Road Warrior” again. Right now! I need to buy another copy of that to keep here at the office for just such an emergency. It is so great I would buy another copy rather than burn one! I know I have mentioned it before, but I'm going to say it again, “The Road Warrior” is the only movie I have ever seen that I want to watch again as soon as the end credits roll! Oh man, I may hove to cut out of here at lunch and go home to get it! I saw in a preview for that latest NASCAR movie where the main character asks another something like, “What film won the Oscar for ‘Greatest Movie Ever’?” If the answer wasn’t “The Road Warrior” then… well, they were wrong. That’s it; I'm going home right now to get my copy of “The Road Warrior” so I can watch it a few times this afternoon. Ok, I didn’t actually go home. I had to go hold someone’s hand in the Viewing Gallery. I'm back now. As I was walking to the Viewing Gallery I was thinking about, “The Road Warrior” duh. I was thinking how I'd really like to have a Falcon XB like Mel drove in that and “Mad Max.” There is a dude in California who imports them, but I can’t a) justify or 2) afford one. Then my thoughts turned to the closest thing I have to a vehicle of that style. Barbecue Bob! Great, just what I needed, motivation to start daydreaming about that project again. By the way, I found a dude on e-Bay who sells remanufactured Predator carburetors for less than $300.00! I was searching for a 390 cfm four-barrel for Mr. Wiggly and found this guy. I think that if I win the Offenhauser manifold for Mr. Wiggly, I'll plan to use the Edelbrock four-barrel there and buy one of those Predators for Barbecue Bob. Why? I think the Predator might be too big for the 225 cubic inch Slant Six, but a 305 could handle it. Besides, I've said all along that I don’t want a V8 with tons of torque and an oversized carburetor will help “soggy up” the bottom end. The Edelbrock might be a tad on the large side for Mr. Wiggly but it has that “demand butterfly” thingy that restricts airflow to the secondary barrels down to what the engine can use. I think it’ll be fine. Well, I'm about out of things to say. I think I'll call this one complete and sign off. Have a day. In fact, have three. Talk to y’all Tuesday.