Topic: What did you do to your non-motorcycle vehicle today?

[Stev-o]

I waited just a tad bit too long to finally have a look at the front brakes on my 2010 F150.

Been there!   Looks like the rotors are toast.   You ever buy from Rock Auto, they have good options...

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,2010,f-150,4.6l+v8,1444704,brake+&+wheel+hub,brake+pad,1684

[Kelly E]

I've used Rock Auto several times with great results. One time I bought a brand new Lucas brake master cylinder for my MGB/GT that cost nearly $300 retail for $7.99. I've also bought a stack of Felpro engine gaskets for my hotrod truck for dirt cheap.
They don't always have what you need but I've always been happy with the pricing. They buy liquidated stock and sell it for cheap prices.

[Bankerdanny]

Wired in a new horn on my Lincoln. Lack of a horn caused me to fail my annual Uber inspection. The Lincoln doesn't have a relay like the one in literally hundreds of millions of cars around the world. It is built into the board under the fuse box in the engine compartment. I ended up adding a conventional relay and tying into the steering wheel ground so that the horn works like it always has when you press on the center of the wheel. What it doesn't do is allow the horn to beep to confirm that it is locked or sound the horn from the panic button on the remote, but I can live with that.

[Bailgang]

I waited just a tad bit too long to finally have a look at the front brakes on my 2010 F150.

Been there!   Looks like the rotors are toast.   You ever buy from Rock Auto, they have good options...

I've dealt with Rock Auto with good results in fact I would've paid double if I went to my local auto parts store instead, those rotors aren't cheap and geez are they heavy. It's all good now, I'm just getting ready to change the spark plugs in it for the first time and not looking forward to it because of all the horror stories I've heard about changing spark plugs on these Ford V-8's. It just turned 100k miles so I thinks it's about time to change them.

[Terry in Australia]

Picked up my new (to me) Ford Falcon Ute on Saturday from my home town 200 miles away. It's been in the shop since the end of February, with electrical issues. All fixed now, and I enjoyed the drive home on Sunday, it's much comfier for a tall person like me, and it's on "Dedicated Gas" (propane) which sells for around half the price of petrol. It had half a tankful when I picked it up, so I filled it right up (took 40 litres) and after the 200 mile drive the fuel gauge said "225 miles to empty". The 6 cylinder 4 litre engine is probably thirstier than the 2.4 lite 4 cylinder Mitsubishi, but the fuel for the Ford is so cheap it's still way cheaper to run. 

Need to sort a couple of minor things before I put it in for a Roadworthy Certificate inspection to transfer the registration into my name. I don't think it'll need much, it came with both the stock steel wheels and alloys, and both have good tyres on them, but I need to polish the headlights, adjust the handbrake and replace the wiper blades, then check the brake discs/pads before I take it over to the shop. Got a work mate coming over later today to hopefully buy the Mitsubishi, it's a great little truck, but I don't need, or have the room, for 2 trucks.

Falcon ute Sunday 12 May 2024 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Falcon ute Sunday 12 May 2024 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Falcon ute 13 May 2024 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[grcamna2]

Nice vehicle Terry;who owned and drove it before you purchased it ?

[Stev-o]

Nice vehicle Terry;who owned and drove it before you purchased it ?

Yeah, nice vehicle Terry.  You're selling the other white truck??

[CycleRanger]

I wish they'd sell those in the US.

[lash]

That is a really cool looking truck! I’d certainly look at buying one if they were sold here in Canada..

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I wanted one of these when I bought the Mitsubishi but couldn’t find one in as nice condition, most had fallen into the hands of 18 year olds who drive like they’re playing Grand Theft Auto, so finding a nice clean lower mileage example was impossible.

This one was owned by an 84 year old who had bought it 4 years ago from the original owner. He loved it, but when it developed an electrical issue (ECU wouldn’t read chip in ignition key, so truck wouldn’t start) he couldn’t get it repaired locally (lives in the bush) so advertised it for a “Sofa King low price”, and I figured that even if it cost me a couple of grand to get fixed (which was a good guess, the bill was $1992) it was still cheap, for a truck in that condition.

The interior is as clean as it is outside, it’s obviously been parked in a garage all its life, and it drives like a new one. I’ve two previously, they were work cars, and had very few vices. I sold the Mitsubishi yesterday, Rob rode over on his Royal Enfield, took it for a test drive, loved it, so transferred the dough into my account and we loaded the bike into the truck and he drove it home. Win/win!

[Kelly E]

My buddy has an 80' Chevrolet El Camino out behind my shop with a 4.3L V6 and a 3sp manual transmission and floor shifter stock. I want to put a 375/400hp small block and a 5sp in it. Then install a Detroit Speed and Engineering suspension kit front and rear.

[Terry in Australia]

Nice, my Ford has a 4 litre (250 CI) 6 in it, but there was a 5 litre Windsor V8 option too. Mine was the last of that model, the next one had the “Barra” 6, and the all aluminium 5.4 litre V8. If I decide to keep this one for the rest of my life I might install the 5.4, or the turbo version of the Barra 6, they can make incredible BHP with only minor engine/ECU mods.

No need of course, the stock propane powered engines last forever as they run much cleaner than petrol powered engines, with hardly any carbon deposits. Mine is 22 years old, so in 2027 I can put it on a “Classic” club plate, like I do with my older bikes.

[grcamna2]

Nice, my Ford has a 4 litre (250 CI) 6 in it, but there was a 5 litre Windsor V8 option too. Mine was the last of that model, the next one had the “Barra” 6, and the all aluminium 5.4 litre V8. If I decide to keep this one for the rest of my life I might install the 5.4, or the turbo version of the Barra 6, they can make incredible BHP with only minor engine/ECU mods.

No need of course, the stock propane powered engines last forever as they run much cleaner than petrol powered engines, with hardly any carbon deposits. Mine is 22 years old, so in 2027 I can put it on a “Classic” club plate, like I do with my older bikes.

Very nice Terry 
Was Rob a better fit in the small Mitsubishi truck cab ?

[Kelly E]

Nice, my Ford has a 4 litre (250 CI) 6 in it, but there was a 5 litre Windsor V8 option too. Mine was the last of that model, the next one had the “Barra” 6, and the all aluminium 5.4 litre V8. If I decide to keep this one for the rest of my life I might install the 5.4, or the turbo version of the Barra 6, they can make incredible BHP with only minor engine/ECU mods.

No need of course, the stock propane powered engines last forever as they run much cleaner than petrol powered engines, with hardly any carbon deposits. Mine is 22 years old, so in 2027 I can put it on a “Classic” club plate, like I do with my older bikes.

I've disassembled a propane powered big block Chevy that had 200k miles on it. It's the cleanest motor I ever tore down.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, back in the 80’s they started converting taxi’s to LPG and I remember talking to an old cabby about it. He told me that he owned a couple of cabs and when he was running them on Petrol he changed the oil and filters every 10,000 miles, or about once a month. After he converted them to gas he dropped the oil and it was still like new. He sent a sample off to a lab for testing and they said that the viscosity was almost identical to fresh oil, so he slowly increased the oil change intervals to 50,000 miles, and the cab he was driving had done 400,000 miles without any issues.

Both of my work utes were on dedicated gas, and from memory the minor service intervals were at around twice the mileage of petrol powered variants. Now that most cabs in Melbourne are EV or at least hybrids the amount of gas stations with LPG pumps are not as common, so I need to make sure I keep mine topped up, although the auto club techs carry a 9Kg gas bottle in their trucks in case guys like me run out in the middle of nowhere.

[Kelly E]

Install a "reserve tank" in case you can't find a source. Or would it cost too much for certification?

[Terry in Australia]

I haven’t looked underneath yet but apparently there’s 2 tanks fitted already so probably not enough room for another one, and I’ve thought about carrying a 9Kg (20 pound) bottle in the back with an adapter just in case, but it can get pretty hot here and I’m not sure if it’ll be safe to do so? Mine will do around 400 miles on a full tank, so hopefully I won’t have any problems on longer road trips finding a gas station that sells LPG.

[Kelly E]

Carry your spare tank with 15lbs of gas in it instead of full up if you are unsure of a fill-up on the way.

[spotty]

when LPG first became a thing you'd see 4wd's with the tank mounted on the roof....don't see that much anymore

[Johnie]

Replaced my valve cover gaskets on my 70 SS396 today.

[Terry in Australia]

when LPG first became a thing you'd see 4wd's with the tank mounted on the roof....don't see that much anymore

Yep, the first LPG taxis had 2 x 45 Kg (100 pound) bottles mounted on the roof racks. I was riding my CB750 to work one morning when I witnessed the aftermath of a crash where a taxi was T boned by a tram. The taxi exploded, and the ancient wooden tram was burning brightly. I think that moving the tanks underneath was an awfully good idea…..

[spotty]

when LPG first became a thing you'd see 4wd's with the tank mounted on the roof....don't see that much anymore

Yep, the first LPG taxis had 2 x 45 Kg (100 pound) bottles mounted on the roof racks. I was riding my CB750 to work one morning when I witnessed the aftermath of a crash where a taxi was T boned by a tram. The taxi exploded, and the ancient wooden tram was burning brightly. I think that moving the tanks underneath was an awfully good idea…..

i saw a tram take out an armaguard van ( armoured money moving van ) one day, the tram lifted the van off its wheels, made my day

[Terry in Australia]

I’m in love with my truck. On the way home I noticed that after 316 miles since I filled up on Saturday in my home town, my fuel gauge was down to 1/4 of a tank, so stopped at the 7/11 near my place. LPG was 87.9 cents per litre and petrol (gasoline) was $2.19 per litre.

The old Ford took 65 litres to fill, which cost $57.13. Gasoline was $2.19 per litre, so had I filled it up with gasoline it would have cost $142.93, so I saved $85.80, which just happens to be just $2 shy of 12 bottles of Ginger Joe, my favourite other addiction, including delivery to my place. Wow, now I can afford to drink twice as much as before! Woohoo!

[Trevor from Warragul]

they run much cleaner than petrol powered engines, with hardly any carbon deposits

We have a 2010 dual fuel VE Commodore. The biggest advantage with LPG for that model is no sludging, which is a HUGE problem with the (petrol only) Alloytec V6 engine.

[dave500]

late 80s i owned an international truck with the 345 ci v8 international motor,was gas only with a weirdo gas only carby,one big gas tank,i fitted a fork lift bottle as well,i tested the range of the fork bottle and got 60 kays out of it!