Jay Laifman wrote:
>I just saw someone saying that they were keeping
>the gas tank low because they were going to stop
>driving the car for the winter. I think it was Larry.
Yup; that was me. Actually, I drained out about 5 gallons in October
that had been in the car since January or possibly earlier. I didn't want to
return it to the GQ, nor did I know a safe way of disposing of it. It turns
out, I needed fuel for our lawn tractor, so I filled our gas can in the shed
and used it up during the leaf-collection season (still going on, actually).
It ran fine. Now, a Briggs & Stratton might not be as picky about what it
burns, or perhaps I just got lucky.
Anyhow, if gas does start to go bad after 30 days, even our street
cars are suffering, as we're only topping those up monthly (both our
commutes are about 3 miles), and for that matter, how long has the stuff
been sitting at the station -- or elsewhere -- anyway, even assuming they're
turning their inventory quickly?
Dick Barker wrote:
>The aluminum "bubble" fits only the Alpine 1 and
>2. The Series 3, IV, V and all Tigers had a steel
>hardtop with side windows. The 2 top styles are not
>interchangeable.
I'm curious; why not? Forward of the fins, it's the same body; and
the windshield frame is the same, right? The big difference I would see
involves the rounded side windows on the S I & II Alpines. So, using an
early hardtop means changing the side windows, therefore the soft-top (&
frame?) too. Possible, but I'd gather not worth it to save a few pounds. OK,
what am I missing?
BTW, I mentioned -- a few years back -- that I've seen one Tiger
with an early, 3-window soft top. If anyone has experience fitting one, or
being unable to fit one, I'd like to know. At the rate I'm going, I could
get _years_ out of the top I now have, but it's claustrophobic as h*ll and
perhaps I wouldn't mind putting it up occasionally and getting out in cooler
weather if I could see out.
Duncan Charlton wrote:
>Anybody running the Spax adjustable shocks?
I am, but I only have a few miles on the car since my suspension
rebuild. Anyway, I've changed so much on the car at one time that I really
cannot say what contribution the Spax make. The car feels much more solid
now, follows road undulations very closely, it almost 'bobs' over dips in
the pavement. Right now the shocks are set at the 7th of 14 'clicks' of
adjustment and changing the settings, especially on the front, doesn't
appear to be the sort of thing I'd want to do between runs at an autocross
-- a small screwdriver needs to be poked between the coils of the spring
while the front wheels are at full lock. I considered turning the shocks 180
degrees, aiming the adjustment screw inward like I did on the rear, but that
made them _tougher_ to reach.
One side effect of firming up the car has been the emergence of a
few rattles. The worst are from the "folding" roll bar, especially at the
pivot bolts at the bottom of the L&R uprights, where they attach to the
brackets on the car merely by crossbolts with _lots_ of play. Some bushings
and/or shims are in order if I'm to conquer my paranoia ("Omigosh! Is that a
spring shackle coming loose I hear?").
Lawrence R. Wright, Purchasing Analyst
U S Office Products, Mid-Atlantic District
Formerly Andrews Office Products
larry.wright@usop.com
Ph. 301.386.7923 Fx. 301.386.5333
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