> I simply wouldn't feel comfortable using my Spitfire as my only source of
> transportation because that would mean I'd have to drive it a lot on the
> freeways -- and in Southern California (Laura G's pending disagreement
> notwithstanding) that WOULDN'T be my preference, considering the traffic and
> much LARGER vehicles out there.
I know people who drive larger and larger vehicles because they think that's
defensive driving-and some of these people have had more than one accident in
the time that I, in my itty bitty spitty have not had ANY accidents. I am a
confident-but cautious driver. And some of these people think that because
they're bigger than anyone else on the road, they needn't be cautious and have
an abundance of somewhat false confidence due to their size. I stay away from
these people. I give space, and have my "zone". The one time I got hit, here in
southern Cal was when a scam artist let her car roll back into mine at a stop
light on a bridge. And that could have happened no matter what size car I was
driving. Fortunately, being the Spitfire, the repair cost about 3k less than if
I'd been driving something newer.
I think that even though there are so many SUVs and trucks on the roads, people
are getting a bit more used to seeing smaller cars on the road-there are swarms
of BMW Z3s around here, hordes of Miatas and more and more of the newer 2
seaters-Hondas and Toyotas.
If I were going to be scared of these larger vehicles in my Spitfire, I's
probably be scared of them in larger (and less sturdily built) newer cars (like
my ex-Sentra! Than thing collapses like a house of cards if you tap it!)-and if
a driver is nervous and scared of traffic and the other vehicles on the
road-they're an accident waiting to happen.
Confidently, cautiously and defensively from the freeways of Southern
California,
Laura G.
>
> Still, I find myself tooling around locally in Mrs. Jones a lot more often
> than I originally envisioned.
>
> Interesting thread you've started here. It'll be interesting to see where
> it goes from here.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Jeff in San Diego
>
> '67 RHD Spitfire Mk3 aka "Mrs. Jones"
> '68 LHD Spitfire Mk3 frame-off resto project
> Jeff's Classic '67 Spitfire Mk3 site & Vintage Spitfire Webring
> http://www.ohms.com/spitfire/spitfire.shtml
> home of the NEW Totally Triumph Auction
> "By Triumph enthusiasts, for Triumph enthusiasts"
> http://www.ohms.com/cgi-bin/TRauction.cgi
> and..The Totally Triumph Garage forums -- moderated, focused, friendly!
> http://www.ohms.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi
> ...plus a few other surprises!
>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Graziano, Michael" <michael.graziano@csfb.com>
> To: <spitfires@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2001 10:55 AM
> Subject: RE: Magic Cure In A Bottle
>
>
> >
> > As much as I love my LBC, I still shake my head when I hear of people
> using
> > these cars as their only vehicle. I would be a nervous wreck any time I
> had
> > to go somewhere if this was my only car. THey aren't exactly the most
> > reliable cars on the planet....
> >
> > <grin>
> >
> > Mike
> > '78 Midget
> > '87 300ZX
> > '96 Probe
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ken Strayhorn [mailto:ken@dukecomm.duke.edu]
> > Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2001 1:28 PM
> > To: spitfires@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Re: Magic Cure In A Bottle
> >
> >
> >
> > Dave, on Stop Leak:
> >
> > > I used a similar product on my first car (many years ago), a 76 Honda
> > Civic.
> > > I was getting white smoke from the tail pipe, and the car was already
> > over
> > > 10 years old and has rusted through floors. I put in a bottle of
> > radiator
> > > stop leak and it stop the coolant from getting into the combustion
> > >chamber.
> > > That lasted for about 2 years till the timming belt broke. My little
> > Civic
> > > was a great little car, I still miss it :(.
> >
> >
> > Just the other day I was wondering: "It once seemed like every other car
> > was a Civic, and now you hardly see them at all. Wonder where they
> > all went?" They _were_ nice little cars.
> >
> > I used a bottle of Stop Leak on my '72 Spit once. Now that the gasps
> > from the gallery have subsided, I'll explain - I was in the middle
> > of nowhere headed north up through the rolling hills of the
> > central NC/VA borderlands when I got a wiff of the unmistakable
> > smell of hot coolant. Sure enough, when I checked there was a small
> > hairline crack where the top pipe joins the radiator. I limped
> > into a rural gas/bait/ammo store and the owner handed me a small
> > bottle of copper-colored liquid with a lable that proclaimed it
> > would "stop any leak in any car!"
> >
> > Now, I wondered if this would ruin anything, or - worse yet - plug
> > up the heater element, something which had happened when I used
> > a sealer on another car. I pondered my choices, which didn't
> > seem very promising on a Friday night in rural Virginia. That,
> > plus the fact that I was on the way to a hot date with a woman
> > who was teaching for a year in an underserved community, made
> > me dump the contents of the bottle in the radiator.
> >
> > Lo and behold, it worked. And it didn't plug up the heater
> > radiator, either. It kept the crack closed for the remainder
> > of the weekend and all the next week as well (the Spit was
> > my only transportation at the time) until I had time to
> > flush the system and take the radiator to a shop for a proper
> > soldering job.
> >
> > I've kept a bottle in my emergency kit ever since.
> >
> > Ken Strayhorn
> > Hillsborough NC
> >
> > This message is for the named person's use only. It may contain
> > confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information. No
> > confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistransmission.
> > If you receive this message in error, please immediately delete it and all
> > copies of it from your system, destroy any hard copies of it and notify
> the
> > sender. You must not, directly or indirectly, use, disclose, distribute,
> > print, or copy any part of this message if you are not the intended
> > recipient. CREDIT SUISSE GROUP and each of its subsidiaries each reserve
> > the right to monitor all e-mail communications through its networks. Any
> > views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except
> > where the message states otherwise and the sender is authorised to state
> > them to be the views of any such entity.
> > Unless otherwise stated, any pricing information given in this message is
> > indicative only, is subject to change and does not constitute an offer to
> > deal at any price quoted.
> > Any reference to the terms of executed transactions should be treated as
> > preliminary only and subject to our formal written confirmation.
>
Vita brevis est: rapide agite, vigore strigate!
|