OT: Re: Ubuntu

[Rick Bowers]

At 7/15/2007 02:31 PM, you wrote:
>On Sun, Jul 15, 2007, Rick Bowers wrote:
> >At 7/14/2007 11:16 PM, you wrote:
> >>On Saturday 14 July 2007 09:58:41 pm Bob Hemus wrote:
>...
> >> > Could be.  My dad gave me a 1936 Willys coupe when I was 14 and I had to
> >> > get it to run.  That was back in 1950.  Haven't had a car since except a
> >> > VW camper my wife and I bought in 1967, brand new. and a 1969 Nissan
> >> > Patrol we bought new.  Everything since has had electronic ignition and
> >> > or fuel injection.  By the way, I rebuilt an AFB carburetor back in
> >> > 1963, and it worked.
>...
> >>Anyways... You date me by a few years... My first car was a 63 VW 
> Bug. I was
> >>only 15,  but it didn't stop me. Like you, I had to make it run... by the
> >>time I was 18, it was making so much horsepower, I had to feather the gas
> >>peddle lest I pop a gear while racing the local "bad guy" in s a cosworth
> >>Vega... :')
>
>My first car was a '41 Pontiac that my grandmother gave me when I
>was 12, but I never got to drive it legally.  My first car that I
>could drive was a '50 Ford with overdrive and 4.11 rear which I
>drag raced once at Aquasco speedway, winning M stock.
>
>The first major engine work I did on anything but flathead fords
>was to do a valve job on my father's Aston MartinDB-2 Vantage
>drop-head after it jumped time bending 12 valves.  It was a bit
>of a jump from flathead Fords to double overhead cam English
>exotica (it's amazing how the Brits could design oil leaks and
>electrical systems that unreliable).
>
>I've only had a couple of sports cars that I drove on the street,
>a Morgan Plus 4 and an Allard Palm Beach roadster, neither of
>which did anything to improve my opinion of British car design.
>This opinion hasn't been improved as a friend had to send his new
>Morgan Aero 8 back to the factory in England shortly after he got
>it this year to have them repair major manufacturing defects.
>
>One of my favorite sleepers was my 1967 Rambler American with 290
>V-8 and 4-speed.  I blew the doors off a 327 'Vette as soon as it
>was past the break-in interval.
>
>More fun though was when I was instructing at a BMW club school
>at Seattle International Raceway, and was turning faster lap
>times than a BMW M-5, an RX-7, and an M-3 -- in my 1990 Subaru
>Legacy wagon.
>
>..
> >Okay, now you've got my attention.
> >
> >I had one of them there Cosworth Vegas.  1975 #445. It was a great
> >car. But it was designed to run road races, not the 1/4 mile. So it
> >was pretty slow off the line. Once it got up to about 4,500 RPM it
> >came alive. I used to beat 'vettes and Camaros and such in longer
> >runs. They always too me off the line and thought they had me 'til I
> >came up from behind and dusted them.
>
>I never drove a Cosworth Vega, but did have to weld up a cracked
>exhaust header on one at Summit Point (fortunately I had rod that
>would deal with stainless steel).  One of the worst experiences I
>ever had on a race track was driving a Vega GT, showroom stock C,
>in a 6-hour race at Nelson Ledges.  It handled like a pig, and
>was slow to boot.
>
>Bill

The Vega GT was a piece of crap.  For that matter, MOST Vegas were 
crap. The Cosworth had much better suspension, different interior, 
and a Formula I motor; 4 cylinders, 16 valves, dual overhead cam and 
Bendix fuel injection. It alternated on two of four cylinders under 
lower RPMs. At 4,500 RPM it ran on all four. It redlined at 7,500 
RPM. Not your average Vega. Actually, I think all it shared with a 
Vega was it's body style.

I miss that car. I didn't drive it for a lot of years and one day 
when I returned from a business trip my wife announced  "I sold your 
old car". Thanks!

~Rick
>--
>INTERNET:   bill at celestial.com  Bill Campbell; Celestial Software LLC
>URL: http://www.celestial.com/  PO Box 820; 6641 E. Mercer Way
>FAX:            (206) 232-9186  Mercer Island, WA 98040-0820; (206) 236-1676
>
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