did your year beat this!!?

["christopher beilby" <thelastbestgenius@xxxx>]

Making new year's resolutions - here is something to maybe avoid - unplanned 
'miseries'!?

Sometimes us aussies are often thought pretty slow - here are a few tips for 
2004 that I wish I knew beforehand.

I list only three recent 'buggers from 2003!!!'

57 Chrysler 300C - do not use a battery tie down bolt fastened to the fender 
inner skirt that is the exact right length to fall over when loose and touch 
the main power wire into the voltage regulator mounted there - that is 
unless you like burning out, instant arc welding, the main power wire and 
all the harness taping right through into the cabin, including where it runs 
through the back of the ammeter --- bugger!! Replacing this is guaranteed 
to give you a few hours frustration and hanging upside down inside the car 
under the steering column.

XKE Jaguar - wow I am sure there are thousand of tragic stories out there, 
but here are two of mine in the last few weeks.
1. If the little electric switch in the radiator header tank (only the poms 
would think of such a name for it, and come on guys over there, tell me why 
it was called this - the "Otter" switch (are otters compatible with 
Jaguars??!!) ) fails to activate the electric fan DO NOT CONNECT THE TWO 
WIRES TO iT TOGETHER to bypass it.
Guess why - because now the electric fan with the funny fan blade that looks 
like it is off a WWI plane (called a 'ruler' blade), will now not only have 
a burnt armature, but also a cooked commie, and bucled/melted die cast end 
plates, but also cooked separator discs!!! Bugger!!!! Try finding someone 
who wants to fix that lot.
2. If your throttle is sticking, commonsense says it is somewhere along the 
many parts of the linkage from the accelerator - WRONG !!!
The car has a loose throttle butterfly in the centre carb that has waited 
from 1962 until now to move, the two little brass screws in it never fully 
tightened when they spread the split end in the screw apartwards. So a 
relaxing Christrmas party run turns into 'lets pull the carb and all 
necessary off watched by all the other bemused half drunk enjoying 
themselves others' and spoil a nice lunch beside the water. Would only a 
Jaguar wait 40 years to strike you??

1957 Thunderbird - this one is for those who like Fords as well as mopar. 
Who knows that Ford in 1957 fitted the famed 9 inch diff to it's T/bird. 
OK, so who else knows what is next - Ford still build the 9 inch diff, but 
guess what, - ONLY the '57 9 inch has a different larger pinion oil seal - 
try getting one easily over here, that after you have convinced the parts 
guy 'mine is different'!! That buggered a planned weekend in the bird - 
bugger!!


Lets here it from you guys - what were some of your 'frustrations, learning 
curves', for 2003, surely you can do way better than this - and ps, one 
thing I have done smart - in 1969 I was lucky enough to buy the 10 last AC 
Cobra built - at the time I had just started to repaint my dad's 100/6 
Austin Healey.
I am proud to say to this day it is still not finished - these were not a 
real brilliant car, nice touring on cool days, but able to be spun on a 
roundabout on cross ply tyres at around 20 mph. (and 'able to be spun' 
means it spins on you before you were aware it was going to do this to you).
I have saved mysely untold disappointment by not finishing this car, but hey 
300 owners, get them on the road, fun awaits, and we all could be dead a 
long time !!??? 34 years painting a car, beat that one if you wish/can?!

Happy new year from Australia and Aussie Christopher

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