Fitzy

Yeah, yeah - here - have another vote. We'll be converting these into beers when Kiwi & I come over there.

Yeah, yeah I get it. 'Wood' doesn't carry the same connotation here as in the US. If I was going to, ahem 'touch wood' I certainly wouldn't be broadcasting it here! I did however drag my knuckles across some timber so as to maintain my current run of luck. My birthday today, so got taken to Brisbane (1500km south of home) and we will fluff about here for a few days, eating & drinking too much. Surely, that's what birthdays are for?

Fun fact: PBR stands for Paton's Brake Replacements - we're talking Dark Ages here, prolly 60s & 70s. Good, solid dependable components. The rain stopped today. I test drove the ute and what a difference. Temp gauge shows about 1/3 and doesn't waver - it's never gotten anywhere neaar that in the past. I will add some engine flush to the oil and give it a long high speed run to get it thoroughly loosened up and then will change the oil & filter. Cold engines produce sludge because they can't burn off combustion byproducts. There could be years worth of crap in there. GT Mow runs like a train. All I did was blow out the air filter, wash the prefilter, clean & gapped the plugs and adjusted the air gap on the coil packs AND sanded the surface rust off their faces where they pass the magnet on the flywheel. I gotta admit, they were pretty rusty. I will adjust the valves and change the oil next time I get bored. Blew the dust off the GP and took it for a decent run, so it's happy too. A day of mechanical harmony. Should I be touching some wood?

Clearly the weather isn't the reliable phenomenon that we all once knew. I remember breaking the ice on puddles as a kid growing up in Melbourne. Try that now and all you'll get is a wet, sore foot. Greece & Italy are in flames - they're not used to it but that's an annual occurrence here. The government's reaction will be to exclude certain areas where you can drive your ICE vehicle - there will be 'electric only' zones. I believe that in certain European cities, diesel vehicles are now excluded from inner urban centres. Interesting times ahead. Hey Kiwi, when you plumb the dual master in, do they split the braking into 2 triangles like a factory system, so that in the event of failure, you'll always have 3 braked wheels, or do they split it fore & aft? Your comment makes me think that the fronts & rears become separate.

I also voted again. It's a bit unfair if everyone can just chuck a vote in multiple times. Oh well - good luck with it.

Bloody rain! This is supposed to be the dry part of the year in these parts - today the rain was almost biblical. As a result the GP keeps looking at me wondering when we're going to go somewhere. We're not - not in the rain, anyway. The GT Mow was playing up so I got it into the workshop, put some music on and gave it a birthday and adjusted a few things, a squirt of oil here, a little emery there and now it goes like a stock car. Happy wet days.

We have lots of 'suggestion signs' in Australia, like speed limits, keep left unless overtaking, school zone, stop & give way and so on. I'm no fuddy duddy and I like to drive briskly but if the damn sign says something, at least consider the implications of not doing what it says. Standards are dropping. No need for any skill to get your Australian driver's licence - I see people playing with their phones at red lights, music loud enough to vibrate the glass on surrounding cars, etc and then I see cars that have speared off into the bush, on their roof because nobody knows how to control a slide. Idiot government needs to mandate a nominal skill level before you are allowed to drive - like a defensive driving course. It'll never happen. Let's make sure the gays can get married and that your kids can change gender whenever they want instead. Stop the planet - I wanna get off! Mumble, grumble, bitch, moan....

That's good to hear but I have always driven in a manner that requires very little use of brakes - scanning the road ahead as far as you can see, maintaining a safe distance from the car in front and easing up to a red light or stopped traffic. Down a hill - keep it in a lower gear. I know we all know this but I have so many jerks right up my clacker who can't wait to get to the next red light. Brakes perform a negative function and should be considered that way. But...you're right - when you need brakes you want the best to be under your foot. I am looking forward to the upgrade.

I'll never get over the discovery of factory 'blocked' coolant passages when I tore my engine down. It must have made the engine run hot because someone had removed the thermostat altogether in an attempt to help it run cooler. Since the unblocking of those passages, an engine rebuild, a FlowKooler water pump, 7 blade clutch fan and rebuilt heavy duty crossflow radiator, car runs bang on 180 where it's supposed to be. Is it worth having someone professionally clean the coolant passages? I found LOTS of crud in mine.

Once again, nothing Pontiac related to talk about but I found something interesting today which may be of benefit to the wider audience. My Isuzu Rodeo pickup never seemed to get to proper operating temperature (according to the temp gauge.) I always suspected a dud thermostat but assumed that the gauge might be out - the vehicle is 32 years old after all. Curiosity got the better of me so I bought a new thermostat & gasket. Today I got around to actually doing the change out and when I withdrew the old thermostat I could see immediately that it looked 'wonky.' Upon closer inspection it is actually stuck open and is skewed in it's housing. Seems I was right after all. But of course, it's never plain sailing, is it? They sold me the wrong gasket. Fortunately I'm off to Cairns tomorrow to see my accountant so shall drop in and get the correct gasket whilst simultaneously shoving the incorrect parts up the salesperson's clacker. One job. See the pic - the arrows point to my workbench surface which is clearly visible through the opening. Now I wonder for how long has the car been running and never being at correct temp? Cold engines wear quickly. Fortunately, I've hardly driven it since purchase and the old owner died so I may have gotten away with it. I am looking forward to test driving it and seeing how she runs at proper temp. I guess the takeaway from this is if you suspect your car isn't getting warm enough, check the thermostat. They are a reliable little thing but nothing lasts forever. I have heard of people living in hot climates who simply remove the thermostat altogether - not a good idea. Not only does the thermostat allow your engine to warm up quickly, it also helps keep it cool by restricting the coolant flow allowing the coolant to pass through the radiator more slowly and thereby dissipating more heat.

I went for a job interview today... I don't think I was successful.

Good ol' Rockauto. It's like I put the credit card away and the parcel turns up almost immediately. One dual curcuit master cylinder. The brake specialist can't do the job 'til September, so I'll book it in this week. I'll get them to go over all the brakes just for absolute peace of mind.

It was April 2023. Someone should tell them that was 4 months ago. It's good to see that the money I pay in vehicle registrations, licence fees, GST and fuel excise isn't being squandered on crap.

I voted for the Prius with the fluffy dice hanging from the mirror. No, wait a minute - I voted for the Sunbird. Whew! I think I got away with that one.

We have roadworks on the treacherous mountain road that I have to use quite regularly. The illuminated info sign said that the works would be finished in April. Last night I had to stop in a queue 3 times whilst they are STILL fluffing about. Instead of getting their shit together and FIXING the road, they are installing dozens of cameras. Nice work, guys.

Once the dual curcuit master goes in, I'll be a lot happier piloting that thing down the mountain road that connects us to Cairns. I'm back to work tomorrow for my final fulltime swing. From now on, it's 2 or 3 days a week until they get sick of me. Can't wait - more GP time comin' up.

I'm not on FB either - I can't even get in to have a look. I'll have to use the missus' account. You'd think women would run out of chitchat, wouldn't you? When they're not sitting around gossiping, they're on FB - it was made for them.

I hate breaking promises and I did pledge to all that I would do it, but it's well used character has me by the goolies. Tragically committed to crappy paint.

Yes JustA, it got a few looks. To be honest I was poking about looking at the cars and could have missed the endless crowds of worshippers kneeling before the car, drinking in it's good looks and flamboyant flanks. You know, I waxed the paint the prior weekend and when I was walking toward it, it looked pretty damn good despite it's weatherbeaten finish when you're up close. All the money I had saved up for it's paint? I bought shares with it! Not such a tragic after all.

Less than 20k seems awfully cheap. Haven't you bought it yet?

Took the GP for a run to our sort of local Ford museum. Yeah, I know right? If I'm not extolling the virtues of driving a Prius in New Zealand then I'm showing you pics of Fords. I probably should be banished from the tribe. A 1963 Compact Fairlane. We made our own Fairlanes from 1967. XL Falcon ute. The famous 'grey Fergie.' These things just about built Australia. This is possibly the biggest tractor I've ever seen. Another XL falcon. Tank Fairlane. I always loved these things. This is a late 50s Ford Capri. Kiwi will know about these. Ford Zephyr. Ford Anglia. I always thought they looked weird. You want tractors? Okay then. This ancient monster has no tyres and the radiator 'hoses' are integral metal. Along with a crank handle, not much to go wrong!

Today, I drove the GP to a.........Ford museum. Yeah, okay. Put away the pitchforks, flaming torches and the rocks. It's the only car related thing up my way, so I thought I'd show them what GM came up with in 1965. See my GP thread for some pics. I have to say, I thought my car was the coolest thing in the carpark AND in the 'museum,' which is just a collection of sheds filled with partially restored Fords and lotsa tractors. Who doesn't love a tractor?

The car will need to have appropriate locating & retaining clips in the wheel well where the ones on the skirt will slot into. Then (on mine) there's a lever on the inside which you pull on and a hook at the top will engage with the wheelarch. Unless your skirts are like new, take the time to clean & lube the mechanism inside: makes life easier when you have to remove them.

I have more pictures of pnuematic breasts to post but I'm not gonna push it, so instead here are some shots I took from the pages of the PCAA (Pontiac Car Club Of Australia) magazine. As a requirement of my 'restricted use' club vehicle registration, I am a member of this club. Anyway, the 2023 'Pontiac Nationals' were held at a town called Young in New South Wales. I thought I'd post these to show our international audience just how seriously we take our Pontiacs down under. As you can see, Ye Olde Poncho is alive and well here.

Yep - you need beer goggles. You still won't see the lake but that's the point! GP gets out on the road about once a fortnight these days. Still runs fine...still got crappy paint... I officially gave notice at work the other day. My tentative LAST DAY of fulltime work will be August 1. I say tentative because I offered them 24 hours a week if they need me. 24 hours is 2 days up there: more than enough to live on for me. At least then I can chuck some gas in the GP and take it out more often. I'll let you know what happens.