Chadwick and Frank dive into the nuances of car ownership that only true enthusiasts understand, highlighting the often-overlooked importance of timing belts and maintenance. They discuss common misconceptions among non-car people, like the significance of timing belts versus accessory belts, and the hidden costs of neglecting maintenance. The episode is filled with humor and relatable anecdotes, making it a fun exploration of what it means to be a car person in a world where many are blissfully unaware of the intricacies of vehicle care.
Ever been told that timing belts aren't that important and only take 15 mins to change? How about that tire age doesn't matter if it still has tread? Yeah, we certainly have. Tune in for a discussion that only car folks will understand...and not the normies.
"Talk about celebrating the tuner scene right fast and the furious and full swing. Modding and Eclipse GST is the way to go."
The tuner scene is a group of car fans who like to customize their cars to make them faster or look cooler. They often change parts like the engine or the body to improve performance or appearance.
The tuner scene refers to a subculture of car enthusiasts who modify their vehicles for improved performance, aesthetics, or both. This often includes upgrades to the engine, suspension, and bodywork to enhance speed and style.
"Modding and Eclipse GST is the way to go. Fucking cool game, man."
The Eclipse GST is a sporty car made by Mitsubishi that many people like to modify to make it faster. It's known for being fun to drive and not too expensive.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse GST is a performance-oriented variant of the Eclipse sports coupe, known for its turbocharged engine and tuning potential. It became popular in the tuner community for its balance of performance and affordability.
"Timing belts. Timing belts, holy shit, dude. How important is it? How do I say this?"
The timing belt is a rubber belt in your car's engine that helps keep everything moving in sync. If it breaks, it can cause serious engine damage.
A timing belt is a critical component in an internal combustion engine that synchronizes the rotation of the crankshaft and camshaft. It ensures that the engine's valves open and close at the proper times during each cylinder's intake and exhaust strokes.
"It's a big deal, but in an interference engine, you're talking like, oh, at least the valve train's getting fixed. I at least bent a valve..."
In an interference engine, if something goes wrong with the timing, the parts can hit each other, which can break them and cost a lot to fix.
An interference engine is a type of engine design where the pistons and valves occupy the same space in the cylinder. If the timing belt or chain fails, it can cause the pistons to collide with the open valves, leading to significant engine damage.
"...we're going to do your drive belts because that's a good time to do that, and on these cars, a lot of times your cam seals are probably due..."
Drive belts help run parts of the engine like the alternator and air conditioning. If they wear out, those parts might not work properly, so it's important to check and replace them when needed.
Drive belts are essential components in an engine that transfer power from the engine's crankshaft to various accessories like the alternator, power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor. They need to be checked regularly for wear and replaced as necessary to ensure proper engine function.
"...your cam seals are probably due. We'll probably do your cam seals while we're there..."
Cam seals keep oil from leaking out of the engine where the camshaft moves. If they break, oil can leak, which can cause engine problems, so they should be replaced when needed.
Cam seals are gaskets that seal the ends of the camshaft in an engine, preventing oil leaks. They are crucial for maintaining proper oil pressure and engine lubrication, and if they fail, it can lead to significant engine damage.
"...you went to go get an oil change, your annual tune up because you're doing your due diligence..."
An annual tune-up is when you check and fix things in your car to keep it running well. This can include changing spark plugs and checking fluids, helping to prevent bigger problems later.
An annual tune-up is a scheduled maintenance service that typically includes checking and replacing spark plugs, filters, and fluids, as well as inspecting various engine components to ensure optimal performance. It's crucial for maintaining vehicle reliability and efficiency.
"...the timing belt's fine, but the water pump fails because now it's 15 years..."
The water pump is a part of your car that helps keep the engine cool by moving coolant around. If it stops working, your engine could overheat.
The water pump is a vital component of the engine's cooling system, responsible for circulating coolant throughout the engine to maintain optimal operating temperatures. A failing water pump can lead to overheating and engine damage.
"It was that pathfinder. OK, yeah. 95, 96 pathfinder, last year, the first in pathfinder."
The Nissan Pathfinder is a type of SUV that is known for being tough and good for off-road driving. The models from 1995 and 1996 are the first versions of this vehicle.
The Nissan Pathfinder is a mid-size SUV that has been popular for its ruggedness and off-road capability. The 1995-1996 models are part of the first generation, known for their durability and versatility.
"Just like this shop is just like interference motor. Just like, yeah, that's fine."
An interference motor is a type of engine where the moving parts can hit each other if something goes wrong, like a broken timing belt. This can lead to serious damage to the engine.
An interference motor is an engine design where the pistons and valves occupy the same space in the cylinder at different times. If the timing belt or chain fails, the pistons can collide with the valves, causing significant engine damage.
"Same with the water pump. Same with the the tensioner and the spring that's on there."
A tensioner keeps the timing belt tight in the engine. If it doesn't work properly, the belt can become loose, leading to engine problems.
A tensioner is a component that maintains the proper tension on a timing belt or chain in an engine. It ensures that the belt or chain remains tight enough to function correctly and prevents slippage or failure.
"I think I think a lot of people assume a timing belt is no different than like a right, you know, serpentine belt for an accessory belt."
The serpentine belt is a long belt that connects different parts of the engine to help them work together, like the alternator and air conditioning. If it wears out, those parts might not work properly.
A serpentine belt is a long, winding belt that drives multiple peripheral devices in an engine, such as the alternator, power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor. It is called 'serpentine' because of its snake-like shape.
"But the same thing with tires 100 where it's like, there's like, oh, no, it's got they've got tons of tread on it. The tires are great."
Tires are the round rubber parts that help your car move and grip the road. It's important to check their condition to ensure safe driving.
Tires are the rubber components that provide traction and support for a vehicle. Their condition is crucial for safety, and factors like tread depth and age can significantly affect performance.
"So one of mine, and I won't say it, it's called the mystery of tire date codes. I have that on mind because it's like some riddle. Then like even severe car people, I have shocked them by saying, what's the date code on the tire?"
Tire date codes tell you when a tire was made. They help you know if a tire is too old to be safe, even if it looks fine on the outside.
Tire date codes are a series of numbers printed on the sidewall of tires that indicate when they were manufactured. This information is crucial for understanding the age of a tire, which can affect its performance and safety.
"And I'm like, do you see a DOT fall by like a four digit code? And they're like, yeah, yeah."
The DOT code is a number on tires that shows who made the tire and when it was made. It helps ensure that the tire meets safety standards.
The DOT code is a unique identifier assigned by the Department of Transportation to tires sold in the United States. It includes information about the tire's manufacturer, size, and production date, which is indicated by the last four digits of the code.
"...in a state here in California that doesn't have safety inspections. As long as your car is smog, perfect."
Safety inspections are tests that make sure your car is safe to drive. They check important parts like brakes and tires to see if they are working properly.
Safety inspections are checks performed on vehicles to ensure they meet safety standards. These inspections typically assess critical components like brakes, tires, and lights to ensure the vehicle is safe to operate on public roads.
"...As long as your car is smog, perfect. Who cares if your brake lines are rusted..."
A smog check is a test that checks how much pollution your car produces. In California, cars need to pass this test to be allowed on the road.
A smog check is an emissions test that ensures vehicles meet environmental standards for air quality. In California, vehicles must pass this test to be registered or renewed.
"...if your brake lines are rusted, your tires are racing slicks and you're all over the highway."
Brake lines are pipes that carry the fluid needed to make your brakes work. If they are rusty or damaged, your brakes might not work when you need them.
Brake lines are tubes that carry brake fluid from the master cylinder to the brake calipers. They are crucial for the braking system to function properly, and any rust or damage can lead to brake failure.
"Am I approaching the wear bars? Am I starting to see some dry rot between between the treads?"
Wear bars are small bumps in the grooves of a tire. When the tire wears down to the same level as these bumps, it's time to get new tires because they are too worn out to be safe.
Wear bars are raised sections in the tread of a tire that indicate when the tire has reached its minimum safe tread depth. When the tread wears down to the level of these bars, it's a sign that the tire needs to be replaced for safety reasons.
"Am I starting to see some dry rot between between the treads? Yeah, some of that early, early stuff."
Dry rot is when rubber, like that on tires, becomes old and cracked because it's been exposed to the sun and air for too long. This can make the tires unsafe to use.
Dry rot refers to the deterioration of rubber materials, like tires, due to age, exposure to sunlight, and environmental factors. It can cause cracking and loss of elasticity, which can compromise tire safety.
"But as far as age, like, I didn't dry rot like feathering, cupping. Like, I don't mind any of that."
Feathering is when the edges of a tire's tread wear down unevenly, making the tire noisy and less safe. It usually happens if the tires aren't aligned correctly.
Feathering is a tire wear pattern where the edges of the tread become uneven, often due to misalignment or improper inflation. This can lead to a noisy ride and reduced traction.
"But as far as age, like, I didn't dry rot like feathering, cupping. Like, I don't mind any of that."
Cupping is when a tire wears down in a way that creates bumps on the surface, making the ride feel rough. It usually happens because of problems with the car's suspension or balance.
Cupping is a type of tire wear characterized by high and low spots on the tread surface, often caused by suspension issues or improper tire balance. This can lead to a bumpy ride and increased noise.
"So to speak, there's one one nerddom that will definitely challenge it. Yeah, oil. I was thinking oil. Oil type viscosity, like brand, have they changed?"
Oil viscosity is how thick or thin engine oil is. It affects how well the oil can keep the engine parts moving smoothly. Different cars need different types of oil for the best performance.
Oil viscosity refers to the thickness or flow characteristics of engine oil, which affects how well it lubricates engine components. Different engines require specific viscosity ratings for optimal performance.
"...running 0W 20 on a 5W 30 car. But yeah, I say, yeah, tire people are right there."
5W-30 is another type of oil for cars. The numbers indicate how thick the oil is when it's cold and when the engine is hot. It's commonly used in many vehicles for good engine protection.
5W-30 is a motor oil with a viscosity rating of 5 in cold temperatures and 30 at operating temperature. This oil is versatile and suitable for a wide range of vehicles, providing good protection and performance.
"...running 0W 20 on a 5W 30 car. But yeah, I say, yeah, tire people are right there."
0W-20 is a kind of oil used in cars. The numbers tell you how thick the oil is when it's cold and when the engine is warm. It's often used to help cars use less fuel.
0W-20 is a type of motor oil with a viscosity rating of 0 in cold temperatures and 20 at operating temperature. It's designed for fuel efficiency and is commonly used in modern engines.
"It's an analog, too, is like the Fram oil filter. You put a Fram oil filter on your car. Do you just hate life?"
Fram makes oil filters that help keep your car's engine clean by filtering out dirt and debris from the oil. They are a popular choice among car owners.
Fram is a well-known manufacturer of oil filters and other automotive filtration products. They are recognized for their wide range of filters designed for various vehicles, including cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
"...if you've ever done like rear diff fluid on a vehicle that has original diff fluid in it from like 200,000 miles ago, that is a smell you will never forget."
Rear diff fluid helps the back wheels of a car turn smoothly. If it gets old, it can start to smell bad and not work well anymore.
Rear diff fluid is the lubricant used in the rear differential of a vehicle, which allows the wheels to rotate at different speeds while turning. Over time, this fluid can degrade and develop a strong odor, especially if it hasn't been changed for a long time.
"here, I think diff old diff or gear oil is like got to be the nastiest smell. It's pretty bad."
Gear oil is a special type of oil used to keep gears running smoothly. When it gets old, it can smell really bad.
Gear oil is a lubricant specifically designed for use in gearboxes and differentials. It has a distinct smell, especially when it becomes old or contaminated, which can be quite unpleasant.
"Old power steering fluid. Very similar to pretty nasty burning ATF."
Power steering fluid helps make it easier to turn the steering wheel in a car. When it gets old, it can smell bad.
Power steering fluid is a hydraulic fluid used in power steering systems to help drivers steer their vehicles with less effort. Like other fluids, it can develop a bad smell when old or burnt.
"...let's use that as an example. Cause there's no, there's, it's a completely innocent defendable product that is both good and not depreciating. Um, but no, so say Cybertruck, right?"
The Tesla Cybertruck is a new electric truck made by Tesla. It has a very unusual shape and is designed to be powerful and eco-friendly.
The Tesla Cybertruck is an all-electric pickup truck designed by Tesla, known for its unique angular design and advanced technology features. It aims to provide high performance and utility while being environmentally friendly.
"Yeah. Um, I, it really is kind of, it hurts my soul and outside of your, your Kia soul. Right."
The Kia Soul is a small car that looks a bit different because of its boxy shape. It’s popular for being roomy inside and fun to drive, especially for younger people.
The Kia Soul is a unique compact car known for its boxy shape and spacious interior. It has a youthful design and is often praised for its practicality and fun driving experience.
"Right. Um, that is not what the 2011, it was a sportage, but, um, it does like, I think a lot of people ..."
The Kia Sportage is a small SUV that is good for families and has a lot of space inside. It’s known for being affordable and having a long warranty, which is nice for buyers.
The Kia Sportage is a compact SUV that offers a blend of practicality, comfort, and modern features. It has gained popularity for its value and warranty coverage, making it a competitive option in the SUV market.
"..., I just want and got the entry level Volkswagen Tiguan because like I liked the touchscreen and it's go..."
The Volkswagen Tiguan is a small SUV that is great for families because it has a lot of space and nice features inside. It’s also fun to drive, which is a bonus.
The Volkswagen Tiguan is a compact SUV that combines practicality with a fun driving experience. It is known for its quality interior and advanced technology features, making it a popular choice among families.
"...to see how expensive I can like make the Mark IV Supra or whatever and like click all the, oh dude, just..."
The Toyota Supra is a fast sports car that people really love for its speed and cool design. The Mark IV model, made in the '90s, is especially popular because it can be made even faster with some upgrades.
The Toyota Supra is a high-performance sports car that has gained a legendary status among car enthusiasts, particularly the Mark IV generation produced from 1993 to 2002. Known for its powerful inline-six engine and tuning potential, the Supra is often discussed in the context of car modifications and racing culture.
"...ink for a 90 or I'm sorry, like a 2015 turn into Camry, it's probably pretty fucking spot on what the ma..."
The Toyota Camry is a popular family car that is known for being dependable and easy to drive. It’s a good choice if you want a car that lasts a long time and doesn’t need a lot of repairs.
The Toyota Camry is a midsize sedan known for its reliability, comfort, and fuel efficiency. It has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States for decades, making it a common choice for families and commuters.
"...you know, well, you know, the, you know, the, the Fiero was actually supposed to be the replacement for ..."
The Pontiac Fiero is a small sports car that was made in the '80s and is known for being different because of its engine placement. It’s a favorite among some car fans because it’s unique.
The Pontiac Fiero was a mid-engine sports car produced in the 1980s, notable for its unique design and innovative use of plastic body panels. Although it had a short production run, it remains a cult classic among car enthusiasts.
"... actually supposed to be the replacement for the Corvette. It was going to be their original super car and..."
The Chevrolet Corvette is a classic American sports car that is famous for being fast and stylish. It’s often talked about because it represents a lot of what people love about American cars.
The Chevrolet Corvette is an iconic American sports car that has been in production since 1953. Known for its powerful performance and distinctive design, the Corvette is often seen as a symbol of American automotive engineering and is frequently discussed in the context of sports car culture.
"... Salicas, this is a nineteen ninety seven Toyota Celica. And if it has the 16 valve, it's a GT because t..."
The Toyota Celica is a sporty little car that people liked for its speed and cool looks. It was made for many years, and the models from the '90s are especially loved.
The Toyota Celica was a compact sports car produced from 1970 to 2005, known for its sporty design and performance. It has a strong following among enthusiasts, particularly for its models from the 1990s.
"...E, which was like a stroked version of the little Corolla motor. Yeah, and I guess it was a valve."
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people choose because it’s reliable and doesn’t cost a lot to drive. It’s a great option for anyone looking for a simple, everyday vehicle.
The Toyota Corolla is one of the best-selling cars in history, known for its reliability, affordability, and fuel efficiency. It appeals to a wide range of drivers, making it a staple in the compact car segment.
"...r four, which is what you do when you time these tracker and side kick motors and just make sure I'm good...."
The Chevrolet Tracker is a small SUV that can handle different types of roads, making it useful for both city driving and adventures. It’s compact, so it’s easy to park and drive around.
The Chevrolet Tracker is a compact SUV that was produced in various forms from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. It is known for its small size and off-road capability, making it a versatile choice for urban and rural drivers alike.
"...lts on like very like Subaru boxer engines, Ford Taurus shows, Mitsubishi turbos, like all kinds of weird..."
The Ford Taurus is a big car that many people used to drive because it’s comfortable and has a lot of room inside. It was really popular for a long time and is often talked about in car history.
The Ford Taurus is a full-size sedan that was popular in the U.S. for many years, known for its spacious interior and comfortable ride. It played a significant role in shaping the modern sedan market during the 1980s and 1990s.
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In a world with entirely too many shows about cars, this is another Pointless Automotive
Podcast.
Recording in progress, beep, bop, boop.
You have connected to the Internet.
Enjoy your stay.
Hey, guys.
Guys, welcome back to another Pointless Automotive Podcast with your ever-vigilant and ever-pointless
host, Chadwick and Frank.
Frank, how does the evening find you, my friend?
It finds me okay, decidedly mid.
Bare to middling.
Yeah.
No.
I'm here.
I gear, get used to it.
I guess.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
No.
No.
Things are looking up.
How about you, my friend?
I like your sweater.
Looks like it's thin.
It's a little hoodie.
It's a little hoodie.
Chevrolet.
Yeah.
A little thin hoodie.
Pull over.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
Things are good, man.
Before we jump into this masterpiece of an episode, I do want to give a shout out to
my background video retro car-related video game.
What do we got today?
Tell me this one doesn't hit home.
The original Need for Speed Underground for the PS2.
God.
What an era of, like, car-dumb.
Talk about celebrating the tuner scene right fast and the furious and full swing.
Modding and Eclipse GST is the way to go.
Fucking cool game, man.
And like I said, I'm going through this renaissance of playing vintage video games,
especially, and I love, I've always loved, like, car games, really my kind of gateway
into the car scene.
It's a classic.
It's a good game, dude.
Need for Speed Underground.
You got little John and the East Side Boys at the title menu.
I mean, what else do you want, dude?
What else can I offer you?
That's all you need.
Yeah.
So good.
Fantastic.
So good.
Great game.
But yeah, today, what are we talking about?
Well, I think it's funny that we take a lot of stuff for granted, Frank.
When we talk.
I always do.
Yeah.
Gee.
Yeah.
I make a point, too.
Especially human emotions for me.
But yeah.
Yeah, put it in those.
Yeah.
I'm a robot.
I don't know what empathy is.
So from the episode I want to talk about is because we do mention stuff.
And I think as car people and definitely our listeners, this extends to you, I'm sure
you can relate.
When you're talking about car stuff and a non-car individual, maybe not someone is deep
in the weeds and cars as you are, listens in.
You can see that glazed over look.
The what the fuck?
I don't understand 10% of, I understand maybe 10% uptake of what you just said.
I want to do an episode called only car folks will know, and it's going to be those little
things, those little nuggets of wisdom that you have if you're a car person.
And this will be a fun one if you're listening along to leave some comments like, what did
we miss?
What are some things that you think car folks know and the normies, can we call them normies?
Can we do?
Is that a protected group?
I don't think it is.
I think we could.
I don't think we should attack the normies or, but they deserved it.
We'll leave that up to the listener's discussion, but let's take a look at it.
Frank, I would want to fire the first shot here because this is one that really rattles
my cage, if you will.
Oh boy.
Would it be in your bonnet?
Yeah, because there's maintenance, like car maintenance.
Everybody knows they should get oil changes.
Do they?
Not always.
Definitely not in the interval they should.
Right?
But most people in their common care of their vehicle will take an oil change, get it done.
Timing belts.
Timing belts, holy shit, dude.
How important is it?
How do I say this?
How important a timing belt is?
It's probably the number one most important maintenance item on a car.
I think I can safely say that with the exception of non-interference engines, but at the same
time, if you're timing belt snaps on your non-interference engine, you're a brick.
You're not moving.
It's a big deal, but in an interference engine, you're talking like, oh, at least the valve
train's getting fixed.
I at least bent a valve, I at least had some piston valve intercourse that's inappropriate
for TV.
Definitely smashing.
Yeah.
You're breaking.
You're spending some money, and you're also still a brick on the side of the road, and
you think your car just shut off for whatever reason, and you're going to go, oh, my alternator
died.
Nope.
It's going to crank.
Nothing's going to happen.
There's no compression.
It just spins.
Yep.
Oh, yeah.
Been there.
The importance of a timing belt, and the other thing is the cost and time associated to
most timing belt jobs is you'll get someone that said, hey, timing belts do, but hey,
I already bought you the $60 Gates timing belt.
You can just, there you go.
Just slap it on there.
I heard it takes 15 minutes.
Well, what's tough is, so hard to agree to all of this, and what's tricky is, you go
to a shop, let's say you go to your typical independent, median level of competency shop,
and they go to you, hey, your shipbox has 105,000 miles on it.
Your timing belts do.
With that, we do your water pump, and we do a full service.
So we're going to do plugs.
Right?
We're going to do plugs.
We're going to look.
We're going to do, we're going to have a bunch of stuff off there, so we're going to do your
drive belts because that's a good time to do that, and on these cars, a lot of times
too, your cam seals are probably due.
We'll probably do your cam seals while we're there.
And all of a sudden, you went to go get an oil change, your annual tune up because you're
doing your due diligence.
It's a good car, not car person, but a good car owner.
Yep.
Yep.
And they're like, okay, yeah, that's going to be, that extra service is going to be like
$1,800 or $2,100.
And you're like, excuse me, huh?
Right.
This is a, whatever, this is my 11-year-old car with 105,100 miles on it.
And I can't do that.
And then the shop goes, yeah, no, I get it.
You know what?
Maybe just do it next time, but you're really kind of right up against it.
And now that's in the back of this person's head.
And guess what?
They never do it, or they kick the can down the road.
They kick the can down the road, they kick the can down the road.
Maybe they sell the car.
And they get to 124,000 miles and they sell it.
And then it just never gets done.
And maybe the timing belt's fine, but the water pump fails because now it's 15 years
old.
Yep.
And so, or those cam seals are gone and now they're blowing their collective loads onto
the timing set that is aging at the same time.
So, it's frustrating because it's expensive, it's not required up that you don't do this
on your new car, you do this on your decidedly used car.
And that's just for the first one, let alone when the second belt's got to come around.
Yep.
And now you're at 200,000 miles, or 180 or whatever the interval is, now you're sure
shit not spending that money, right?
Or you would, I would, but you know, average car owner person doesn't.
And so, it gets tricky.
It's really tough.
I get why people don't do it or don't want to do it or kick the can down the road.
But don't do it.
Yeah, it's the labor that gets people, they don't understand what has to, just to access
the timing belt a lot of times, you're usually pulling like a radiator, a clutch fan, fan
out of there.
All the drive belts come out, all your accessories got to get pushed aside, timing cover.
It can be a real pain in the butt.
And if it's a, you know, transverse engine, yeah, motor mount, and then your wedge, you're
doing shit in the wheel well, it's the labor's what gets you on these jobs.
And then on top of that, the pain, and if you haven't done this, you haven't done enough
time about water pump jobs to get on there and notice the water pump O-ring is the wrong
size or something like that.
You get it all buttoned up, which is all the labor, the hardest part.
And then you start your car and it's pissing out of the new water pump, right?
Like it's like, God, like it's a job.
And I think a lot of people don't understand the importance.
Like what is a timing belt even do?
What's the function of that belt?
Isn't it just the same as your AC belt?
You'll lose AC.
I'm like, you'll lose something if your belt goes because it does.
Yeah, it keeps your head and block in time.
That's like the whole point of a timing belt.
So I think for me, that's a big like distinction.
Once a person understands that and there's still people that swear they know cars and
they still talk nonchalantly about an aging timing belt.
There's shops that will.
I've talked to shops that go, God, I remember what car was.
Some car I was helping and just trying to figure, oh, you know what it was?
It was that pathfinder.
OK, yeah.
95, 96 pathfinder, last year, the first in pathfinder.
And I couldn't determine if the timing belt had ever been done on it.
Because I had 70, whatever, was 78,000 miles on the truck.
But for time.
But, you know, 30 year old truck.
And so I call I talked to the shop that last worked on it and I'm like, oh, you know,
just was checking or like, well, you know, only had 78,000 miles on it.
So, yeah, we don't have record of we haven't done the the belt.
I was like, oh, yeah, no, it's definitely OK by miles, but it's like way over on mileage
or on years. Yep.
And you're like, oh, well, I mean, we just we don't recommend by age.
We only recommend by miles.
I'm like, OK, cool.
Why haven't I say?
Got to go.
Just like this shop is just like interference motor.
Just like, yeah, that's fine.
It's it's it hasn't done the mileage.
It's a 30 year old piece of rubber with metal embedded in it.
Yep.
And I'm comfortable with letting that ride.
Same with the water pump.
Same with the the tensioner and the spring that's on there.
And yeah, and it's just I it's not even just not car people,
like there are shops that are shocking.
We don't care about that.
We only care about this.
It's like, OK, and all those components you just mentioned,
water pump, timing about tensioner, any one of those fails, you're bricked
and you're in a lot of money, like you said, interference engine.
Oh, boy.
Would you? Yeah, you're not bricked up, though.
You're just no unless you're into that if you're into that kind of pain
and suffering angle of it.
Hey, whatever floats your boat, man, no kink shaming on the podcast.
That's what I got to say.
I think I think a lot of people assume a timing belt is no different than
like a right, you know, serpentine belt for an accessory belt.
But God, dude, what what a big impact that job is.
You know what's completely right on there and not to make this be the maintenance hour?
But the same thing with tires
100 where it's like, there's like, oh, no, it's got they've got tons of tread on it.
The tires are great.
Yeah. And you look and you're like 24 years old.
You know, they predate codes.
A petless elegance has never left me stranded.
Yeah, it has. Well, those are fresh.
Those are those are from like 2023 on the sprint turbo behind me.
But no, the and I don't even care.
I would much rather have three year old land spiders
or or machos, the great vintage, then, you know, 24 year old, you know,
all of sport twos, of course, of course.
But yeah, like, but what you said, it's like people don't give a shit.
Like, hey, they got tires.
They don't know about my tires.
They have so much tread on them, dude.
So one of mine, and I won't say it, it's called the mystery of tire date codes.
I have that on mind because it's like some riddle.
Then like even severe car people, I have shocked them by saying,
what's the date code on the tire?
And they're like, I don't I don't see it printed date.
And I'm like, do you see a DOT fall by like a four digit code?
And they're like, yeah, yeah.
I'm like, well, the first two are the week of the year,
like what number week it is.
And then the last two of the year and they're like, holy crap,
that just blew my mind because yeah, because there's plenty of new tires sold.
And I'm not trying to rip on you for your focus.
But like sometimes people sell tires that are brand new,
but have been sitting on a shelf for like four or five years, right?
So date codes are kind of important.
Like you said, the tires, but also tires in general.
I am a big quality tire guy because it's the only part of the car.
You should touch the ground, right?
It does all your braking, all your steering, all your acceleration.
Is your tires at the end of the day?
So, dude, the fact that we don't your tires, we're in a state here in California
that doesn't have safety inspections.
As long as your car is smog, perfect.
Who cares if your brake lines are rusted, your tires are racing slicks
and you're all over the highway.
We don't care about that safety.
We can't monetize that.
But tires, dude, you nailed it, dude, the importance.
Right, yeah.
And yes, I'm a stickler for tires.
You know, if the tires are five years old,
I start to, I don't reflexively replace them, but I keep an eye on them, right?
Right.
Like, are they wearing weird?
Are they overdue to be rotated?
Let me rotate them and see if I can get another season out of them.
Am I approaching the wear bars?
Am I starting to see some dry rot between between the treads?
Yeah, some of that early, early stuff.
And then I just replace them.
I don't.
It's it's so easy.
And that's the thing.
Like, I think back to when I was significantly younger, say 25.
I mean, I knew about tires.
I knew, like brands like, oh, I want these tires and like nerd shit.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Looking through the sport compact car or whatever.
Right.
You can see if you can go home at yes, 100s or whatever.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But as far as age, like, I didn't dry rot like feathering, cupping.
Like, I don't mind any of that.
No idea.
And so is quick, quick sidebar.
Is tire nerddom the most nerdy nerddom within a horror nerddom?
So to speak, there's one one nerddom that will definitely challenge it.
Yeah, oil.
I was thinking oil.
Oil type viscosity, like brand, have they changed?
Let me tell you about mobile ones, rich history of products.
Does it have the Euro specification?
Yeah, that they're right there.
I would say neck and neck.
Those two, those two circles of fucking pain.
And there are people that probably have never changed their own oil.
But it's like, you go to Bob, is the oil guy?
Yeah, I've seen people executed on that that forum over over what they say
about oil viscosity, right?
Yeah, they like 30 single weight board them instead of water board them.
That's just how it goes.
Soon they for they fortune and they track them down and find out where they look
at this motherfucker running 0W 20 on a 5W 30 car.
But yeah, I say, yeah, tire people are right there.
Yeah, oil people, tire people.
Yeah, yeah, God bless them.
I just there's got to there's got to be some weird, even deeper level of car
nerdery that we just aren't exposed to for whatever reason.
We haven't gone that far down the rabbit hole of like people that can like
they can like view a piece of like stamped plastic from an interior
and just based upon like the faux leather grain pattern in it.
They can be like, oh, that's a that's an 88 to 91 GM product.
And that came from like the Smyrna, Tennessee plant.
And so therefore, yeah, like some really like like, I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know what I don't know.
But there's definitely something that's even way crazier.
It's it's an analog, too, is like the the Fram oil filter.
You put a Fram oil filter on your car.
Do you just hate life?
Yeah, you want your car to fucking combust because you're a piece of shit car owner.
It's like, remember the hate you would get and then you like whatever, man.
It's a fucking it's a filter, bro.
Oh, yeah, put that win.
Put that, you know, the Wix dog, a Wix XP.
Right.
But it's by pure later filter.
Is that pure later work for you, big dog?
Yeah, pure allow, pure later.
No, it's just hilarious, right?
You put a Fram on there.
You might as well just not run a filter son.
Yeah, and it's free.
It's funny because at the same time, like I'm not going to buy a Fram filter.
No, but like it's like one of the most used oil filters in the entire world.
Anybody who takes their place to a quick loop will be lucky if they get a Fram filter.
They're going to get an even lower grade filter, but that's right there with it, man.
So I did have something that's kind of fun.
That's not maintenance.
Well, it's kind of maintenance is automotive fluids.
Now, oh, if you're not doing your own fluid changes, you might not know this,
but if you're a car person and you've ever done like rear diff fluid on a vehicle
that has original diff fluid in it from like 200,000 miles ago,
that is a smell you will never forget.
It's just for some reason, it's just it's hard to place.
It's just not good.
It's trauma inducing.
Yeah, it's got that it's like sharp and metallic and burnt and yeah, definitely
acreage. It's just it's a weird smell.
And I think if I was going to pick like out of all the all the fluids on the table
here, I think diff old diff or gear oil is like got to be the nastiest smell.
It's pretty bad.
Yeah.
If we're only talking fluids, so like burning, yes, clutch doesn't count.
Old power steering fluid.
Very similar to pretty nasty burning ATF.
Oh, doesn't smell great.
If you've ever had had an ATF leak like directly under exhaust,
it's got like this weird kind of sweet burning smell lines tend to do that.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's pretty bad.
And yeah, in the world of like Bucarque,
like what is like the worst in the automotive fluid?
Don't think power steering and diff is that for me.
I mean, it's got to be diff.
I mean, gear oil just stink oil is so bad.
So bad.
Um, I will say I hate the smell of like unexpected coolant smell.
Oh, it's one of the worst things to smell when you're driving.
You're like, oh, what the hell is that?
Oh, God.
And you're like, it's on the floorboard.
Okay.
No, not in here.
Okay.
Am I seeing anything?
Stop at this light.
Am I seeing it?
Like it's it's red alert, right?
You're looking at your temp gauge immediately.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's an unmistakable spot.
And then like if you even catch a faint whiff of anything sweet,
you're like, God, damn, it's back.
It's back, you know, like, wait, maybe I'm just,
maybe I'm just still burning it off because let me slow play.
And just like, you're just like staring at your temp gauge.
Like it's so distinct, dude.
Yeah, go up, did it move by a hair?
I don't know.
Um, yeah, fuel is also concerning when it's not just when you're
filling up at the pump.
If you're driving and you smell fuel, like that's another one
that kind of gets me a little, little, uh, little on edge.
Yeah.
It's like it's stuttering and you smell fuel to go.
God, get off.
Yeah, just want to bring up a stinky fluids.
I think that's stinky.
It's a good call.
Fluids.
Yeah, it's always good and appropriate to discuss stinky fluids.
Um, not maintenance related really at all.
Hmm.
Um, back to normies.
I think people, and I think they think they know, but non car
people, I don't think really, here's the thing though, car
people follow fall for this too.
And that is the trap that is paying interest on a depreciating
asset.
So that is, you know, buying the new whatever.
Yeah.
Right.
Cybertruck.
Let's use that as an example.
Cause there's no, there's, it's a completely innocent defendable
product that is both good and not depreciating.
Um, but no, so say Cybertruck, right?
Um, you take out a loan to buy the electric, uh, trapezoidal
pickup truck, which will never depreciate.
No.
Well, let's say it depreciates like it does, which is, uh,
yeah, but then also paying what are in, I don't know what an
interest rate on a new car is right now on a, just a regular
car, not like, it's not, it's not good.
Well, let's say 4.9.
I don't know.
Maybe call it that.
Right.
Just for, for conversation.
Your job is here at 9% annually on something that's losing.
Yeah.
What's, what's the Cybertruck losing the first year?
20% at least, at least in a single calendar year.
And it's like, good night.
Like I, I don't, I, I, I don't understand.
I will never understand.
I've bought in one new car once my entire life.
And that was not for me.
That was for my wife.
Cause she wanted a new car and it was a $25,000 Kia in 2011.
So like at, and I think I got 0.9% APR.
Hmm.
So like I just, I, it, it really genuinely hurts my brain for
someone who is not a car person and therefore not bought into the, this is
the hottest newest and maybe they are bought into the hottest newest.
This is true.
But more for, for reasons that are not actually car related.
Um,
I, I don't, I, I, I'm having a hard time putting into this in the words is how,
like, how confusing this is to me that's just like, Oh, I will casually just
ignite $20,000 in a single calendar year and have to pay interest for the
privilege to do so.
Yeah.
Um, I, it really is kind of, it hurts my soul and outside of your, your Kia soul.
Right.
Um, that is not what the 2011, it was a sportage, but, um, it does like, I think
a lot of people do it because it's like, Oh, you buy a new car because it's
going to be reliable and therefore won't cost me as much money.
And it's going to have a warranty.
Therefore it won't cost me as much money.
But then if you just look at just the depreciation and interest part of it,
even if that bears out, right?
Even if you have a 10 year warranty and it's perfectly reliable and it gets you
to work on time every single day, right?
And it's great.
Like just the amount, just in the interest and depreciation over a decade or
whatever the average lifetime that somebody keeps a car like that.
It's absolutely soul crushing.
Like just buy, buy something that's five years old and, and at roughly the same
interest rate, I don't know.
I don't know.
Or just don't even take a loan out because now it's, it's one, it's 40% of
what the new one costs.
I don't know.
Yeah.
There would be no debt if we all lived within our means, right?
But like, like you said, I think it's folks like equating new to like reliable.
I won't be taking into the shop.
Go check any, any dealership right now and check out how old those cars are
getting some pretty serious maintenance items taken care of that they shouldn't
be doing already.
But on top of that, I think it's the clout chasers.
It's the keeping up with the Joneses.
I got to have, I got to have the latest version of Apple CarPlay.
I don't care what the medium is that delivers that service to me.
You know, it's that, it's that kind of stuff, man.
I think, I think that's what it is to have the latest and greatest, especially
if there's a redesign you got, if you bought the last year of the outgoing
model, you are fucked.
You're totally fucked, bro.
But I'm with you.
Like I like to think that it is, it's like, oh, like it is like people that are
like, they want the newest and flexing and stuff.
But I know, I know there's a huge percentage of people that are like, oh,
I just want and got the entry level Volkswagen Tiguan because like I liked
the touchscreen and it's got a warranty and you're just supposed to buy a new
car.
This is how it's done because buying a used car is scary.
And I don't like CarMax and I don't like buy here, pay here guys.
Sure.
And so, and also when I went to the, looked at the used car at the cars at
the Chevy dealership, they actually, yeah, 10 extra thousand dollars, but they
got me two better points if I use GM financial.
And so, you know, yeah, it's an 84 month loan instead of a 60 month loan.
But my payments are only $80 more a month.
So I'm going to do it.
And it's so costly in the end that it's just really frustrating to just
watch you be like, oh, you bought the new Forester.
It's got stuff and it's how much?
Yeah.
Like, I don't know.
It's so it's, it's, it's, I don't know.
It's bad.
It's not good.
Okay, you're nailing it.
And then, you know, buying and selling cars, we do, we do a lot of it.
I think it's fair to say outside of dealers, we buy and sell more cars than
the, the average population.
Yeah.
And I mean, they're ship boxes.
Right.
And it's more of a curse, right?
Every once in a while, we'll get something decent, decently negative.
Um, but one of my favorite things is, and I don't ever, and I know you don't,
we don't ever consult KBB for the valuation of what we're selling or what
we're buying, because especially enthusiast vehicles, that is out the window,
right?
Like absolutely, there's zero value has no, it does not pertain to what we're
doing, but tell me you don't get this.
I've had people, especially when I do, especially marketplace, Facebook
marketplace, when I'm selling a vehicle on there, which is always an interesting
scenario, I get the, uh, well, screen grab.
Here's what KBB says your vehicle's worth.
And I'm like, well, holy shit, I've been living a lie my entire life.
Right.
Like it just, it's the fact that everyone outside of like, like car nerds knows
that KBB is not applicable for the kind of cars we traffic in.
Um, have you ever had that, that kind of like questioning when you're in a car
and like someone straight comes at you with a screen grab?
Well, why is yours?
Like, well, first off, you gave me like the, like fair condition trade in value.
Of course you did.
Secondly, um, you know, that's for a, whatever, uh, a 3000 GT base.
This is a VR cell or whatever.
Um, yeah, or it's just like it doesn't, just does not compute.
And I just, I'll just like reply law and then block and then wall block gone.
But yeah, that's definitely, or I mean, when I used to do the insurance
stuff, that's, that's what it was like, oh, you know, the car, the total loss.
It's like, well, high KBB private party or whatever is, is this.
And it's like, okay, like, but yours has no paint on it.
Um, and that was a higher trim.
That's the GTS.
Yours is a, an ST, I don't know.
Yep.
Um, there's a lot that kind of goes like, honestly though, does anyone use
KBB at all for anything anymore?
Is it even like generally a thing?
I think like shitty use car dealers probably just cause they're doing volume.
Look at that.
Just like, if it's something they don't knocked off their head.
Um, I know, I know when I, when I bought, when I go to look at a car and in the ad,
one of the photos is the KBB screen grab.
I love that because the car is in excellent condition.
And it's like, you look and I'm like, that's, that's not your car or like, right?
The year's wrong.
Like you say they always put in the right trim, like the special, most expensive
double the price of the base bottle trim.
You said it has a sunroof and a moonroof.
Yeah.
It's like, this is the all wheel drive, but also rear wheel drive version.
Um, sure buddy, um, automatic manual, you can change it on the fly.
Was I the only degenerate who as a kid in like the late 90s would like go out
like KBB.com and be like, I'm going to see how expensive I can like make the
Mark IV Supra or whatever and like click all the, oh dude, just dig around.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, on the, on the valuation tool.
Yeah.
But yeah, but it's just no one fits it right.
It's, it's just exactly that.
It's a valuation tool, but like people like that live and die by it.
Just, it makes me laugh, dude.
It's like, does it not run these parts partner?
Yeah, all of that said, um, KBB, if you would like to, um, if you would
like to sponsor this year podcast, um, actually just join our Patreon, Mr.
Um, I think it's actually like, Mr.
KBB, it's like Robert's, well, no, not, not Robert Kelly.
That's, that's our Kelly.
No, it's not our Kelly.
Um, but whatever, maybe, um, uh, maybe this is our Kelly.
Maybe also follow, follow us here, Mr.
Kelly.
Yeah.
Um, no, but you know what though, to be fair, and we'll, we'll say
something nice about KBB is like, I think for a 90 or I'm sorry, like a 2015
turn into Camry, it's probably pretty fucking spot on what the market value
is for that car, right?
It's probably a good, a good baseline.
Yeah.
So we'll say that and then we'll slowly walk away, uh, walk away.
Um, can I, I want to throw one more out there as far as, you know, only
real car guys and gals or nine bar non-binary superheroes will know.
Float it out there, my friend.
That is, you ever go, you ever go to like, uh, like a party or a
family gathering or something?
Don't believe in social events.
Well, this is, yeah, next question, but you go to one of these things and
then it's like, you're known as like the car guy of the family or whatever.
Yeah.
And then, you know, like the, the, the cousin or the uncle or whatever wants
to then talk cars with you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And it's like, you're like, I'd rather not like, but you can't say that
because they're going to, like they're going to be like, you're so deep into
the car world nerddom that like whatever they're going to bring to the
table is like potentially wrong.
Sure.
Always wrong.
And like, and, and, or just like so baseline, like elementary into the
world of car worlds stuff where it's like, it's like draining to have those
conversations and you also don't want to call them out when they are wrong
about it or whatever.
You can't.
Societal norms.
It's like, you know, well, you know, the, you know, the, the Fiero was actually
supposed to be the replacement for the Corvette.
It was going to be their original super car and, but then, you know, whatever.
It's not, it's like that shit, right?
Like they come at you and they go, well, did you know that it's actually better
to get the naturally aspirated?
They won't say naturally aspirated.
They say without a supercharger because superchargers rob horsepower.
And I would, yeah, I went with the automatic because it's less time to shift.
This is a superior vehicle.
And you're like, okay, yep, I definitely want the not supercharged automatic.
You're right.
Good call.
I'm going to change my, I'm going to change my opinion right now.
Um, it's, it's like you said, it's the unqualified, uh, expert opinion.
Or like, but it's just like perpetuating.
Like just like bad myths or.
Yeah.
Like, you know, I, I, you know, when I was in high school, I got one of those
like tornado, uh, intake, uh, spiralizer or whatever.
And I put her down and I got, I got like, I swear to God, I got like 40
miles of gallon out of my, uh, whatever, my, my gray damn.
Um, and it's just like, it just, oh, yeah.
Oh, twisted the frame, twisted the frame every time I launched into green light.
Yeah.
You know, I always get the mid grade because, you know, the, it's really
actually the same as the premium gas.
But they just, uh, if, you know, it's just like, if you're in the know,
you get that one, they can't legally sell premium here in California, but
they want to take your money.
So it's really the mid grade.
And they just mark it up and, uh, and then, yeah.
Yeah.
Your spot, your spot, I did.
That's just having, like having car conversations.
With people that just aren't on your, not on your level, but like not even like,
like cast, like Indian cast system levels below you.
You know what I mean?
Well, there's unofficial cast levels here in the state.
So show, so show economically, right?
Let's be honest.
And let's be honest.
They're official.
They're not official.
Yeah.
They're, I'm sorry.
They're unofficially recognized cast levels.
Um, yeah.
I'm with you on that one, dude, but yeah, but you might gotta be nice
cause we're good people.
So you're like, yeah, no, that's a, that's a great point about that.
Yeah.
It's a scam when they're talking about tread depth.
I could take a knife and deep in the tread.
So fuck big tire energy around these parts.
Um, yeah, I only drive Linglongs.
They're, they're, they're the same compound and everything is Michelin.
I've driven so many Linglongs.
Yeah.
Um, uh, well, I do have one last one I want to throw out there and it's,
it's kind of like a, it's kind of like a serious personal thing.
Collecting project cars is the easy part.
Guys, this might look like a fantasy.
This might look like a fantasy lifestyle, but no taking home broken
cars is so easy.
It's so, oh, they just want to give you the car at certain points and you
take it home and you're like your dreams, your aspirations.
Yeah, you envision this car you're driving around.
It's been restored.
It's been awesome.
It's like this miraculous grave to reality.
The car is back in its prime.
No, dude, what you're, what you're missing up with is like the, there's
a couple of things, finding time as an adult or branch on your cars.
Number one, number two, physical infrastructure to store these
project cars, another big challenge.
Third thing, the cost and actually being able to get rid of that car.
Cause you can't really unload that car unless you fix what's wrong with it.
And you have time and you have space working against that.
And when you actually get it done, which a true project car is never finished.
We all know that.
Yeah.
So the collecting part, easy.
Like that's it.
That's the easy part.
You know what the absolute easiest part though?
Giving up on it.
No, is what you and I, yeah, just like sinking into the madness.
Yes, that is the easiest part.
When Yoda fucking turns over and he just fucking, his robe flattens
and he's like, becomes ass vapor.
That's the easy part.
I wish I could do that sometimes mid project car.
No crushing feelings I have.
Exactly.
Existential dread.
The sweet release of death, I feel.
More than a coil has been shed.
The size shuffle off of.
Okay.
Oh, so much.
Yeah, I heard this.
These are bad impressions.
I saw this joke that Yoda's, it's like he ate something really good
and he can't wait to fucking tell you about it.
That's, that's how you do it, Yoda.
This long John Silver's gives me a few days it does.
Sorry.
Hush puppies.
Hush puppies.
But no, I'm not, not, not actually just like giving into the sweet release of death.
Yeah.
But giving like what we do a lot, which is just like send each other links.
Like just still like be like drowning in ship boxes and then finding more and be
like, bro, this is a good deal.
Not me, but you should buy this is you, bro.
Yeah.
God damn, it's in your favorite color and everything or whatever.
Yeah, it's remotely close to you, but not really.
And we have, we have those cars that are like, no matter what, you know, it's like
the, it's like the Millie Jovovich docks at my front door.
I have that claws and, you know, any relationship, right?
Like I have to leave.
I have to go now.
And it's, we have that car list, right?
Like that car shows up.
We're buying it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like yours is Mila Jovovich might just, I don't know the rock.
No, I don't know.
Obviously you can smell what the rock is cooking my friend.
Exactly.
Your ass.
No, it just reminded me.
I don't remember.
I don't remember what like online publication, but somebody wrote an article that
would to the effect of every straight man would sleep with the rock if given the opportunity.
Really?
Yeah.
And I don't know.
I don't know, man.
I don't know.
I don't, I don't know.
This was an older article.
Perhaps the rock was more inviting and gentleness in his youth.
But yeah, no, there are still some certain cars out there that like if they're close
enough and rare enough and cheap enough and they're on the, the, the, the Mila Jovovich
list, then, then yeah, then, then perhaps, perhaps we got to buy them.
God bless.
Um, but yeah, that's, that's that.
I do want to move us right along to the quiz game show, but definitely this is a cool topic.
I think this is fun.
And I know our listeners are probably like naming a bunch of things we forgot.
So if you guys want to leave some comments down below or reach out to us,
I thought of, I thought of one, another level of nerddom, like spark plug nerddom.
We're talking about like heat ranges and colder, running colder or hotter plugs.
How you set your gap, dude, like how you set your gap, you bang it on the concrete.
What kind of savage are I totally do that by the way to close cap?
Just so you know, and I got it down to a science, right?
Like I use my gap to a little too far.
That's just the right amount.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's basically a snap on torque wrench the way I do it.
Yes.
But yeah, no, as you were saying until I ruined your point.
Yeah.
If you've got other thoughts on other stuff, just let us know.
Yeah, it's a cool topic.
Hit us up in the comments or on Instagram or Grindr or whatever.
Let us know.
And we're here to find out what y'alls have in mind that we left off the table
because I promise we left some real like, only car guys know.
Right, right.
Yeah, let us know for sure.
So now it's time for our little aptly named automotive print ad quiz game show.
Today, Frank will be the victim, I believe.
Or no, I'm the victim.
Oh, I'm not ready.
I'm pulling this up for this interview.
Oh, God, oh, God.
He's going to dig up some kind of bullshit car that they only made five of in Canada.
And he's going to pretend like he's still here, but we'll let that slide that one time.
Frank, you know who you are.
So he's going to read a print ad from the eighties, nineties, mid 2000s.
He's going to omit or try to omit anything that clearly gives the vehicle away.
And if you know anything about these print ads and publications at this time,
it's all bullshit.
So it's like, that's the fun of the challenge, right?
Like to parse through the factual information and then the complete bullshittery.
It's super fun.
I'll have 10 minutes, three guesses every time I fail.
I can ask for help.
Frank is notoriously very frugal with doling out extra information.
So I'm going to struggle a bit.
A lot of ums, a lot of ahs, a lot of you guys are yelling.
You guys will be Don Stratus.
This is 1998.
Mitsubishi motor.
So he's going to obviously stop me on this one, but you guys will be yelling at
your wind screens or your TV screens or your cell screens or into a bag.
Yeah, into a please perhaps the void.
So we roll that beautiful bean footage.
Oh, OK, so this is a one page ad.
So the top it's true.
The top, I don't know, call it two thirds is the the vehicle in question.
We're looking at the passenger side front quarter shot.
The headlights are on.
It's like kind of in motion, but not really in motion.
It's like vaguely in motion.
And then above it, it says, forget about slipping by unnoticed.
Vivacious curves, a shimmering body and flowing metallic lines with such with such
striking good looks, the blank has turned quite a lot of heads recently.
Of course, you'd expect people to pay close attention to this car.
But with a two point two liter, 130 horsepower, twin cam, 16 valve engine,
they had better look fast because they won't have long to stare.
Take the aggressive aerodynamic shape of a lift back or a coupe with an available
rear spoiler and optional power moonroof.
Or you can even get it in a sleek convertible model.
Either way, this is one car that's definitely going to get you noticed.
Call 100 blank or visit our website, www.blank.com for a brochure or full line
CD ROM plus the location of your nearest dealer.
Buckle up, do for those who you love.
There is an asterisk on the 16 valve engine.
And I'll tell you that it gets a submodel.
It's on a submodel only.
I'll tell you that as a hint later if you need it.
OK. Yeah.
That's it. That's yeah.
OK, so two point two liter jumps out immediately to me today.
What was the horsepower again?
One thirty one thirty.
So I hear two point two.
I go GM and then you said a three digit number and I said not GM.
Decidedly so.
Interesting. Also, lift back or convertible only.
I said lift back coupe or a convertible is also.
But OK, hold on.
Let me let me go back.
It says specifically.
Aerodynamic shape of a lift back or coupe.
OK, OK, with an available rear spoiler optional.
You can even get it in a sleek convertible model.
So yeah, three.
This is kind of a sporty car.
There's no sedan mention, no wagon mention.
I kind of feel like I know because I know this motor and if it's a two.
Two and you said to overhead cams only on a certain model.
So it's a car with a lesser motor.
It said two point two hundred and thirty horsepower, twin cam, 16 valve engine.
So specifically 16 valve engine has the asterisks.
Got it, the 16 valve.
Yep, I'm going to shoot my shot because I know this one.
I think I do.
OK, I think I know this one and.
The two twos, what gives it away?
I'll be honest, there's not a lot of two twos out there.
This is let's see if I get the year.
This is a.
Ninety try to think of my.
Salicas, this is a nineteen ninety seven Toyota Celica.
And if it has the 16 valve, it's a GT because they didn't have a GTS at this time.
Final answer.
Yeah, that's basically what it's.
It's technically it's a ninety six.
OK, same same car, same generation.
Basically, it's a carryover from ninety six to ninety seven.
And yes, let me send you a link so you can you can Google this bad boy.
Love these.
We never got the GTS, which is the weirdest thing, right?
Yeah, I don't know if they did a GTS in this generation globally.
They know they did a different.
Yeah, I know they have like the S the SS two.
Yep, which was the three liter, the three S G E.
Good for, I think, a hundred and maybe two hundred horsepower, one ninety or two
hundred twin.
That would have been killer.
That would have been so much fun.
Yeah, we didn't.
So we got the GT and then the ST had the not 16 valve motor, correct?
It was only GT or ST on that on this generation.
ST was a one eight.
It was the seven A F E, which was like a stroked version of the little Corolla motor.
Yeah, and I guess it was a valve.
Let me get you a better link because the one I tried to paste had a character
limit issue. I think the real shame is, of course,
we did not get a GT four of this, which we all love the ST 205.
I love how these look, man.
Like, you know, there's there's often a time I do find a nice clean manual.
They all have two hundred thousand plus miles.
Yeah, but I would love.
I still think I would love to get a nice clean manual unmodified example.
I think I would really enjoy that car.
Yeah, no, they're cool.
They I've driven a few.
It's funny.
All the all the decently low mileage ones I've driven have all been convertibles.
Hmm, kind of some like hurt, clapped.
Two hundred and fifty thousand mile ones.
Yeah.
But yeah, no, they're no, it's good.
It's good. It's a good looking car.
It's a very good age really well and reliable as all hell.
Yeah, if you if you want that area like, oh, that generation Camry.
It's the most reliable car ever.
Same motor, same transmission, just like a sportier body.
So yeah, if you can't if you can't visualize this one,
this is the one with the four distinct headlights in the front guys.
It's just really good.
I do not hate the prior model that came with the ST 185.
Yeah, those are really good to pop up headlights was kind of a plus.
But I always thought this car looked the way they did the body proportions just
looked so much bigger than the previous generation Celica, but it wasn't a big car.
And I think they've aged really well.
I think they look great.
Yeah, let me see what is it in the exciting color, at least.
Yeah, it's in like that like purpley purpley blue color.
Let me see. Oh, damn, you cannot find a sharp looking car.
They're all silver, by the way.
See, if back to last week when I said if I had base OC and levels of money,
I would I would have just like a hot.
One of these just front wheel drive.
Yeah, three SGE beams motor in there.
Could you throw like a 2ZZ in there, too, would be kind of fun?
You could.
I mean, that three SGE beams motor is very, very good.
Right. I was speaking more of like a mild real life affordable build.
I think it's probably more honestly, it might be more affordable because you just
you just get like a front cut from a Japanese car shipped over and you
transmission subframe everything.
I just think that 2ZZ would be kind of fun because then it would be like the
follow following generation of Celica.
Right. You could probably do that.
That is a high revvy little power plant.
Yeah. Slap a supercharger on it.
Yeah, I love these, man.
I would totally get a GT, probably not a vert.
The verts look a little interesting to me, but they're like cow shaky.
Yeah, it's a 90s convertible.
So I want to get a 90s convertible.
I would not get a Celica.
I would get one other or something else.
What made it so easy for me was the displacement.
Can you name any other 2.2s that are even worth a shit?
Because I went to GM's like
Cavalier Corsica line, which was 92 horsepower and nothing to write home.
It was an iron block.
Each H 22.
Good. Yep. That's a good one.
That's probably going to be at the.
Yeah, I can't think of turbo dodge.
That's the other one.
Yeah. Right.
That's probably it. Yeah.
We weren't there for sure with this.
We weren't there.
So, you know, the hundred and hundred and thirty horsepower to the five S F E.
Good ad, dude. Can't believe we haven't done that.
Yeah, no, we had we had not done that generation yet.
So that was that was and honestly, the biggest I almost bleeped it out.
But just the term lift back
is a Toyota specific.
You know, primarily with the Celica, but other other stuff too.
So like a Supra.
Yeah, Celica, Supra's
even the you can get a first gen
Camry as a lift back where it's a four door with a hatch, but it's like,
it's not super hatchy, so they called it a lift back instead of a hatch back
because required lift, presumably.
Normally, we do PCP.
I have absolutely nothing to bring to the table this week as far as doing PCP.
I don't know if you do.
I do have something.
It's not exciting.
And I've started the process is the geotracker.
So we're all buttoned up to the EGR stuff.
I still have this weird vibration at idle and it feels like it's off power,
which is really weird.
So I'm thinking non-interference motor.
I'm thinking the timing belt might have slipped a half tooth when I put it back
together, because if you ever have an engine that's off by a little bit, like,
and this is obviously I'm not talking about interference engine.
So I'm talking like old school kind of non-interference, simple engines.
It will never idle right like the engine will shake a lot because it's it's out
of time, barely, barely out of time, right?
I'm going to go through the whole OCD thing of tearing off the front of that motor
again, just to make sure because I'm going to do it.
First, I'll check ignition timing to make sure like idle and everything's good.
But then just to rule it out, I got to look because if I start doing all the whole
sensor thing and all this tracking bullshit diagnostics, I need to look and make sure
all my marks are still good because they're like notorious for being tricky
to time these motors.
So I just want to make sure I'm good.
It runs well, but it does have a very weird shake that isn't motor mount.
It isn't it isn't like misfire.
It's like technically it's kind of a small misfire, which is causing, you know,
the time I think the timings off of the engine.
So I started like pulling out the radiator and all that stuff to get to it.
I just need time.
It's just a big job, these things for timing.
I just want to peek at it.
I want to line it up top dead center on cylinder four, which is what you do
when you time these tracker and side kick motors and just make sure I'm good.
Just because that's the only thing I haven't found yet.
And if it's like and I've already done some diagnostic around the truck.
So just to confirm, you know, how you got to put that thought out of your head.
Right. Sometimes, right?
It's good.
It's it's better than like throwing a shitload of parts at it to find out that
like, oh, that, yeah.
Thinking of like speaking of car guy things that non car guys do and bad
mechanics, bad mechanics will throw sensors at it.
The ECU is bad, you know, the PCM is bad or whatever.
And then you're like, oh, no, the timing was just a tooth off, man.
I just fixed it in five minutes, you know, not the five minutes to uncover it,
but five minutes to do the actual job.
Yep. There we go.
Yeah.
Yeah. So like for me, that's another big thing.
I think that's a big step up being like a mechanic, especially is like doing
the right diagnostics, you know, yeah.
And just taking a break and being like, OK, what was just done on this car?
Right. And just being like, I mean, there are coincidences in the world
of like working on cars, but they're pretty rare.
Right. And so being able to be like, OK, like this happened and this happened.
And I fixed those things, I think.
Right. And I now I have another symptom like, OK.
They're going to be somehow tied to one of those initial things,
whether it's the repair or whatever.
Like you have to go back to that point.
Like, OK, like let me let me double back over my steps, but a lot of people don't do that.
And you know what, dude?
I've done dozens of timing belts on like very like Subaru boxer engines,
Ford Taurus shows, Mitsubishi turbos, like all kinds of weird stuff.
You could still like something can happen.
Like my escort GT is a perfect example.
I did the time to a water pump job and a piece of the rubber trim
that goes around the timing cover went between the crank and the belt
and caused it to jump half a tooth after I did the job.
And I didn't notice I started it.
And I was like, whoa, because it did the vibration thing again.
It wasn't running right.
I'm like, I know I timed it and I looked and it was off by a whole tooth
because that piece of rubber was still wedged.
It doesn't take much.
But like once I just want to rule it out, man, I just want to.
And it's unfortunate a lot of time to rule it out.
But once I do rule it out and the marks are all good again out of my head,
I got to figure out what's wrong.
So I still have that issue with the truck, which is a damn shame.
But, you know, you're messing around with these pre-OBD two vehicles.
These are the kind of things you got to just you got to figure it out, man.
It's OBD, you know, I'm an ODB.
That's right. Yeah. Yeah.
Don't don't OD, though.
Don't don't do it.
No. And thank you today for OD'ing on us.
Five minutes and listening along.
We absolutely appreciate it.
And I'm going to I will I will speak for Chadwick here.
Thank you for tuning in.
Do it again next week.
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So that's it.
If you want to stalk me, just me, do so here.
But if you want to do that outside of that, I'm the photographer's garage at places.
I take pictures of cars. How about you, Chadwick?
Yeah, no, auto obscure garage, mostly on YouTube.
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Well, I think they're interesting anyway.
Check me out there. But again, thanks for checking us out.
We love having you guys here.
And we'll see you in like a week. Maybe give or take.
Give or take. Fair enough.
All of us might be might perish between now and then.
I don't I can't guarantee that we won't all meteor strike
or Godzilla versus Mothra.
I don't know. I don't know how fortunate we would be.
Back to your death.
OK, get out of here.
Jake, I love you. I will.
Take care, guys. Peace.
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