My mailbox demon seems to have some difficulty with the british cars list; so
if you'v received this already, consider yourself lucky that you get to read
my rantings for a second time. ;)
ckr
Well, here's ballocks to whomever said the new electronics are 'bulletproof'
and 'will last nearly forever'.
Not even going into the troubles I've had with herself's 93 Dodge, I took my
85 Ford Ranger to the local inspection station yesterday to have her yearly
certification done. Passed with flying colours, etc, when the fella says to
me, Oh, by the way, next year the Northern Virginia Smog Police are coming to
a city near you. All cars in this area will have to have a smog test. We're
doing a free one now with the equipment just to let folks know what they're
up against. Care to have a go? Sure, says I.
It failed. Pretty badly.
So, the mechanic and I go over the truck for the next hour, trying to find
the cause. Air pump working, EGR valve in place and clean, all the nice
little EPA bits happy and healthy. After a fruitless hour, he scratches his
head and then says, Oh! You've got one of those Ford Idle Speed Control boxes
on your truck ... they control the mixture, you know. Puts in a few little
electronic gizmos and bingo, there's the problem. Flatline. The box has gone
dodgy, and it's pouring fuel into my carb at a furious rate. No wonder the
truck gets bloody awful gas mileage.
So, I went to check on the price of this little gizmo. Ready for this?
$411.26. Now, it occurs to me that this expensive box does the same job as
the mixture adjustment screw on my Webers, and since I'm not the American
Federal Government, nor someone who can afford to visit the redlight district
on a regular basis, I'm not going to pay $411.26 for a screw.
Within a day, I've located two nicely built 1963 Ford pickups. Anyone want
to buy an 85 Ranger? I'll sell it at $412 below blue book.
Corey
75 MGB 'Rags'
No Electronic Screws, Please
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