It’s been a while since I wrapped at ya.
Before I go full Anchower and get into the mess I’ve made out of what is probably a simple problem with my 2007 Mitsubishi Raider, I do want to announce my new clarity in the field of fly-by-wire automobiles engines.
I have a vehicle from every era of global auto manufacturing except for the 2020s, because I have not found anything too exciting in the field of automobile manufacturing since about 2007 or so. But I’m sure that I’ll eventually inherit some clunker of a 2026 Speedy Pistachio, nearly junk, and I’ll find a way to make her whole again, as yet another human woman sends me back to the embracing and loving arms of a motorized vehicle.
The 1970s vehicles were utter shite, for the most part, they had no direction other than an occasional Grand Slam Homerun vehicle that was designed and implemented in that era. I guess the AMC Pacer and Gremlin come to mind, as well as the AMC Javelin, of course the second-generation Camaro/Firebird line. The Cadillacs did really well because the power limitations of the 1970s didn’t really cut into the sheer enjoyment of driving a small living room down the road.
But in general, 1970s vehicles were responses to the changing global economy, where for the first time, the USA wasn’t necessarily at the center of every act of globally-scaled social justice. AMC and those others seemed to have some perhaps more creative engineers who were able to use the restrictions of the era to make some truly disruptive vehicles. I’ve owned about eight of these vehicles, at least three of which were Chevy Vegas. In a very good business deal, my old man bought about five beat up Chevy Vegas with blown engines, two of which he deposited on our front lawn. I believe his intention was something to the effect of “if he has one ounce of mechanics ability in him like my brother, he’ll get both of those Chevys running in a week.” And then he told me, “Ricky, do you know where the battery charger is?” “Yeah, Dad, it’s in the garage next to the table saw.” Back then, having a table saw in one’s garage was a big deal. They were expensive, heavy and without many of the safety features of modern table saws. Having a battery charger was less of a big deal, but they were sufficiently expensive in the 1970s that a suburban gentleman tended only to have one. Nowadays, many of us have two or three of them. I believe I have five of them, the oldest of which was the one next to his table saw. “Ricky, do you know where the cylinder reamers is?” His intention apparently was make sure I knew the location of all the major tools necessary to rebuild the blown aluminum-sleeved engines of a couple of Chevy Vegas. He had seen his older and deceased brother do the same thing when he was my age, only to a couple of General Motors jalopies. I presume that nowhere in his drunken plan was the simple math that his brother was in fact eighteen years old at the time of those vehicle rebuilds, and it was back in the era of no pollution controls, virtually no electronics and rather simple engine construction. So perhaps he found it unsurprising when he in fact found that his twelve year old son was not capable to rebuilding the engines on a couple of Chevy Vegas.
Yeah, I had a couple of that lot, but the only 1970s vehicle that I have right now is Paloma, my 1975 Fiat Spider, the one with the dual overhead cam rally engine. She was one of the other 1970s era vehicles that made my list. And while I couldn’t manage to keep the Camaro, the Vegas, some old police car that my mom gave me, it had the 454 in in, ran like a raped ape. Damn, I should have kept that car. I don’t even remember the make, but lawd almighty I can never forget that 454. Sweet Smoking May, when I goosed her into the pocket — she had a fairly wide powerband, but I found it — when I got her running right, that whole giant vehicle suddenly felt like a big ol’ street bike. Even the steering suddenly went from loose to responsive. But I also kept the 124, because Paloma was built from the breath of an angel. She still is today, the most beautiful vehicle I have ever driven. Fiat got a way with a lot of with that vehicle because of that rally engine and that visually intoxicating body. They used all kinds of cheap components because it didn’t really matter, the enthusiasts would find a way to keep them vital. But for a relative song, Fiat built and delivered a world-class rally vehicle for about what it cost G.M., Ford and Chrysler to deliver flocks of also-rans. Until the Italians showed themselves as Automotive Design and Engineering Heavyweights, Japan didn’t really have much direction with their industry, (with notable exception of globe-changing trucks built on the Fuji 488 2-stroke, 2-cylinder, 2-carb engines.)
But when Japan found that they could out-Italian the Italians, they then used that superpower to compete with the U.S. brands. People wonder today why Fiat has such a hard time competing in the U.S. Market unless it’s with their Chrysler brand. It’s not because the Italians don’t know how to design and engineer cars, but rather that every time they come up with a hit, the folks at Honda, Toyota and Nissan find a way to make an album out of that hit. (The Koreans seem to be influenced somewhat from Italy too, but they also seem to have a level of pride that won’t let them make outright copies. So the Korean designs are actually more like the Italian designs; they are filled with pride, bravado and confidence. I have rarely said “That is a beautiful car” to anyone in the last decade or two, but I saw a Kia sedan of some kind, that struck me as truly beautiful, and it spurred me to mention this to the driver, stopped in the middle of the street, while we waited for a drunk dude to wander around. The timing of such an event huh? We both stopped simultaneously to wait for the drunk guy, after me admiring the kinetic flow of his Kia both moving and stationary. I think it was a 2021, I’ll look up a photo of it for the head photo at some point.
I still have the Fiat. It’s not an easy vehicle on which to work, because they jammed a lot of engineering into a small engine bay. But it’s manageable. And my ’90s era truck, it does have the diagnostic engine code computer, but the throttle is controlled by a cable, and the engine can mostly operate independently from the suite of sensors. Not completely, but close. It actually has a level of technology similar to the 1970s era Fiat Spider, they were about twenty years ahead of the U.S. industry with that design. But, once I get to my 2007, it then has the “fly by wire” design, as does the 2012 Nissan and the 2013 Mazda. On all of those vehicles, the throttle and most every other unit of engine operation is controlled by the engine’s computer. The throttle body has a small electric motor that opens the throttle by an amount governed by the computer, which measures my pressure on the throttle pedal. In the older vehicles, a wire opens that throttle. So what I will find with that 2007, after having spent weeks troubleshooting the computers, the robot throttle body, the gas-exchange and pressue sensors on that engine, it may simply be that my battery shit the bed, and I didn’t realize it because it had enough power to run the starter motor, but not enough power to not spike below 11.75 volts for a moment, at which time the computer’s 5.5 volt power-servo control circuit says “what the fuck is happening here?”
Yeah, it might be something that simple. Or it might be a single engine control wire that has grounded out against the frame somewhere. The point of all this is that if we expect to keep these older vehicles on the road, we will need to understand the underlying design. And as half-decent, non-professional mechanics (with notable exceptions among us), we can’t expect to find some holy grail of automotive repair hidden in the Scotty Kilmers of the world. There is profoundly little difference between any of these vehicles. If someone pimps Ford over G.M., or Nissan over Chrysler, or Simca over Renault, it’s most likely because someone has paid them to do that, or they see viewership benefits in doing that.
So yeah, it’s been a long time since I wrapped at ya …
The point of this post is to spread the word about Cure Ease, they make beef liver powders from Argentine cattle, or at least they used to, they don’t seem to have it on their site anymore. They may have been outbid by one of the one of the bigger companies, I had to get my last order from Now. But here is a link for the Cure Ease company, https://www.curease.com/shop
I just put that there because I like the product, I haven’t been paid to promote it, it’s just a customer testimonial.
For all I know, the other organ meat products may have similar nutritional benefits as the liver, or perhaps even greater, they also sell Thymus, Adrenal, Heart and Kidney powders. I think they are all dehydrated below 120 degrees.
These are human supplements, and I was told by my dad that they helped him feel better in his last years, but I use them for my elderly dog. I have mixed about a teaspoon of the raw liver powder in my dog’s dry dog food and added water, an average of three times a week for the last couple of years. To my knowledge of my dog, it has greatly added to her health, and she is about 18 years old, a heeler-bluetick mix. When she gets sick, which has only happened twice so far, I give her no food for 24 hours other than some of this beef liver broth, several times per day to both help her manager her hunger and also medicate her.
The idea behind Argentine beef organs is the concern that cattle livers from the USA may not be super-healthy for elderly dogs and sick humans because of possible soil contamination from pesticides, herbicides, GMOs and prions. Argentina has held a highly protective position of their natural resources, so it seems that Argentine raw beef organs measure noteably “cleaner” for contaminants that the animal may have acquired from the soil like pesticides, herbicides, GMOs and prions. I fully encourage the purchase and consumption of these Argentine products. However, I believe there is one Mexican State, I believe it’s Guadalahara, which is allowed to import beef into the United States with some caveats, because like Argentina, the use of pesticides, herbicides and GMOs is not common in this area, unlike many prime grazing areas in the USA. So if Guadalahara begins to offer raw deydrated cow organs, those would likely also be good for humans an animals, to receive the benefits of organ meat but with less concern of bio-accumulation of toxins present in pesticides, herbicides and GMOs.
This entire ridiculous post was simply to suggest you give your elderly dog some raw deydrated organ meat powder from a a place that isn’t contaminated with chemicals or biological residue from the GMO War. This is just a public service, the company has given me no money or samples. But if anyone wants to send any samples to me, please send them here:
Ricky Ukon
c/o Eternal Digital Gym
1019 8th Street, Ste. 106
Golden, CO 80401.
Thank you!