Mine is a ratcheting tie-down. .

The CMC looks very similar to the one from my Comanche - Auto zone had them for $30. Might be worth a look.

A few years ago, we decided to put a little money into my wife's Civic to make sure it was all up to snuff. Took it to a mechanic that came highly reviewed on the internet for a tune-up. The "tune-up" bill came to SIXTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS! My favorite part was the five quarts of oil he charged me for on a car that only takes four. He said that was just a default in the program, and gave me an extra quart, but i was suspicious.

Turns out I was right to be suspicious. There was a long list of things he "fixed", but the icing on the cake was the rear brakes. I had asked him to replace the pads, and he did, but the brakes were VERY soft afterward. I told him to put it back up on the lift and fix it, since it felt like there was air in the lines. He "adjusted" the brakes and sent me on my way

I drove it home (carefully) and asked my wife if she ever remembered the brakes feeling like that. She didn't, so we drove it back (carefully) and insisted that he bleed the brakes. He promised us they didn't need it, and that he noticed the ichthus fish on the back of our car. "Don't worry, I'm a Christian too, and I wouldn't rip you off, he said.

As it turns out, his son, the other mechanic, had, in fact, opened the brake lines, and then went home sick without bleeding them. As you can imagine, I was livid.

We decided to just cut our losses and never go back, but that got me started on doing my own work. I saw how much he had charged for very simple things, and said "well shoot, even I could do that!"

Courtesy Embed

I can't speak for all of G+, but the ex-Jalop community and additions to it are pretty awesome. Lots of interaction, lots of varied interests, and less butthurt than the internet at large.

That's just the flux capacitor... fluxing.

I'm putting the word out - my Volvo is for sale.


http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/4687430784.html

Now why, you may ask, am I selling such a pile of junk fine automobile? The answer is large, brown, and rumbly.



I picked up this Aspen instead! I had wanted to build a V8olvo, but life has other priorities, and I didn't want to let it sit and waste away. The Aspen came with a 318/auto, fat meats on the back, and a reasonably decent amount of rumble. See video for example.

[youtube 7QAtbTKS1Pw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QAtbTKS1Pw youtube]

If you or anyone you know needs a 242 to fix up for a DD, or to run in the hunk o' junk racing series of your choice, contact me through that CL ad and say you found it on Hooniverse!

Say... I'd forgotten that you are a 242 owner. Suggestions for non-silly wheels in non-silly sizes? The 14" steelies that came on my 242 will be fine for winter wheels, but performance tire selection is so limited in 14" that I'd like to step up to 15's or 16's.

I've racked my brain, and can't come up with a name from H2G2 that would pass muster. My kid, whatever he's called, will know the Ultimate Answer from the time he comes home. The Ultimate Question, I fear, will prove much more elusive.

So, we're expecting a little boy in November. MrsHowser has given me pretty much free rein on nursery decor, so this is what I've come up with.





The Gulf nursery!