WarpSpeed

Long term ownership is now demonstrating that the batteries are at a distinct disadvantage in high heat environments losing as much as 25% of their operating period.

The battery has a built in cooling system (and heating for cold environments).

Has nothing to do with the noted premature power drain brought on by excessive atmospheric heat, that is only to prevent overheating or cold weather discharge and has no effect on the batteries operating life distance in those climates. My comment was based on already long term ownership of these cars in higher heat environments and is not up for dispute IT IS happening. Now I go on walk about for the sake of my sanity and stress reduction out of my life that posting here has gotten lately.

Long term ownership is now demonstrating that the batteries are at a distinct disadvantage in high heat environments losing as much as 25% of their operating period.

DELETED

Honda, Mazda, Dallara, Reynard? One dimension thinking, none of those are stock based oval cars but your one dimensional thinking doesn't work for you, none of them are in the oval track racing I'm speaking of.

The real deal............With Ford 427ci (7 litre)) grunt....

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Ford grunt?!?!?!?!

Surely you mean Ford unreliability and poor after sales service?

we shipped my wife's 1996 Ford Thunderbird (V8 / 220hp) in 2004 to Germany when we left Florida. since then the car is driven daily by the daughter of a friend to work. mileage now 124,000 (~200,000km!), maintenance and repairs: 3 sets of tires, 2 batteries, windshield wipers, waterpump and front struts.

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It's in your living room??

Excuse T.A. hes a Brit. This is not join up writin so he may follow. Mr Shelby took the A.C. Ace on a Little Row Boat all the way to America. There he put in a Big V8 and found it went faster. Theres a Suprise...!.. He Called it Cobra cause Yanks cant remember big words,like Westminster n stuff. .

Exactly.......Not so sure about the Westminster comment though .... Cobra just sounds like something that can bite you in a nano second and is very nasty which is exactly what the Cobra car is/was, not somewhere where you might be drinking afternoon tea with your pinky finger in the air . Ironically even that part of it was not native to the states, no native Cobras here!!

All the info in my link...The Cobra was a British hand made car with American engines in it's final guise .

Same as the GT40, my favourite car...

Waits for DELETED and the other Yanks to wake up.

Yeah, so your point is? DELETED See the post above yours? Been awake for some time prior to your post. Besides still an American car company that paid for and approved the project and it's engineering and provided the power, it would have never happened without them and if it could have, why didn't it? No one disputes the fact that Europe was more into sports cars then the US manufacturers at the time in regards to races like LeMans that gap has closed considerably though, but it stands to reason as a manufacturer determined to win as Ford was you go where the experience is at the time, but when they put their best foot forward against the best in Europe, they succeeded. Where do you think most of the cars that run in oval track racing in Europe come from? And their technology? That's correct, it'd be from here along with drag racing as well..

All the above good starting points.. The idle does sound a little low with A/C running, maybe the A/C idle sensor is failing? Or vacuum leak which is very likely on an older car, check for cracked and stiff lines and joints, even sometimes just begin stiff around the joint can cause poor sealing while running and air intrusion into the intake system, also check the intake tube very carefully for cracks.

^ I think that's what he means, it is the original that led to the Cobra iteration.

The steering gear looks a older than a Vigo or Tuna. Maybe they swapped it or use an earlier Hilux chassis?

Drum brakes, a live axle with a V8 power and a light body should be interesting.

Heheh, well you don't expect much of a cottage industry car when it comes to driving dynamics

I'd consider spending this money just for the sheer beauty of it

But I'd need to source more original looking wheels, and it looks to me like it needs way more rubber..

Yes, stance and windshield is definitely not right, the windshield is almost standing up right and flat not rounded and laying back enough, the tires are not close to filling up the wheel wells, the offset is not right, they need to be bigger and probably spacers added too with an offset change.

Also possibly needs a new screen filter, if it gets too clogged it may not allow enough fluid to travel through and that prevents up shifting due to low pressure sensing. I'd begin with that, if it is any of those things unlikely the previous shop had anything to do with the new problem, but also the axles do attach to the transaxle so anything is possible while they were working, though I'm not privy to what they could have damaged while doing that job on a Honda autobox of that age.

Actually it just came to me that I recently had an older Prelude and it had an external shifting solenoid on the front of the transaxle that was throwing a CEL and 1st to 2nd shift was iffy at best. It turned out that one side of it wasn't working properly and that was the lower gears, the other side was the upper gears obviously the lower gears are used more in most shifting, but anyway that is a very good possibility and easy to diagnose and cheap to repair if able to locate a new one, but I doubt if they damaged it doing the CV's as they are no where near each other, though I guess at some point it's possible they may have unknowingly knocked or damaged a plug loose or something since the plugs get really brittle on cars that age.

^Most often find them located in the drivers seat though...

Matt looks crap to me.....BUT, one must do what one wants to do....

Live and let live and all that...

I've always assumed that any farang who has a black car is new to the tropics.

They heat up much more rapidly than lighter colours. Matte black even more so.

Bung the AC on and it's cool in a few seconds. My beautiful black car spends most of its life parked under our house in the shade.

I always assume people who think black cars get noticeably hotter than any other car has never owned one.

Yep, like they can really tell the difference between 110 degrees and 120? Hot is damn hot, no matter what, that's why A/C. Though I'll admit I'm adverse to owning a dark colored car without a sun roof, when I first get in I open that to vent and with the A/C cools down almost immediately, the really ironic thing is Thailand has far more covered parking lots then here in Florida with the same amount of sun, I really wish they had more covered lots, they could build them with solar panels on the top and get a really good benefit out of the space as well as convenience for their customers, they'd more then pay for themselves that way..

Best way to find out is to rent one or both and take a drive...

Ewe!! Sticky steering wheel?? What have you been doing in your car? I'm not even speculating what the problem may be? ..

^ For some that's not a problem, why is it such problem for you that it's not a problem for him? I don't get it? I'm with ya 100% Clare but I do most of work so it could get a bit frustrating and time consuming in your position at times..

It's not a problem for me, but I can't see how he can be lauding the benefits of an old car when he is constantly posting the problems he has with it.

So even a new car has no maintenance issues, doesn't need to go to dealerships for expensive, time consuming, dealer only service or need new tires, warrantee repairs etc. etc.? He has several cars now so he's handling them as it comes up, I don't see how it's a whole lot more maintenance and is far less cost over all since he has little cash lay out initially, no payments and once he catches up a little on past lack of maintenance like he's doing, he'll have some mostly trouble free driving for a while without having lost 1/3 rd of his cars value once he drove it off the lot.

^ For some that's not a problem, why is it such problem for you that it's not a problem for him? I don't get it? I'm with ya 100% Clare but I do most of work so it could get a bit frustrating and time consuming in your position at times..

Warpee ... do you seriously believe all these CQ stories ... Fables to me and many others .... still it's an interest for some.

Actually my wife owns a 20 year old car ... she has had it from new ... doesn't have his problems though... a Mazda Lantis, a nice car in it's day. But it has been a money pit in the past. She just doesn't want to part with it.

Well let's put it this way, if they're stories, it's damn creative and he's a genius and sorry Clare, nothing personal, but I just don't give him THAT much credit for his creativity, or his vehicle knowledge..

Mat Black Benz near me, just looks as if it has been in the sun to long and the shines gone dull, cant see anything nice about it...also a 4x4 Vigo totally mat black..... likewise the CRV in mat orange looks hideous....

what is a part wrap hiding? I know 2 cars that have wraps on bonnet the other on the boot lid, both are hiding bad repair jobs after an accident..

of course it is up to the owner and what he things looks good... to me people that put great wide wheels on well past the body or replace the 15" to 20" look just as daft, or lowered that they have to more or less stop to go over a loose stone in the road. both cars and pickups

Could also be preventing too much sun fading for the few years preserving the clear coat.

Some bikers love to ride a "dirt bike." Nothing wrong with that. My dog likes to eat bones, I don't......

And there's another problem I would consider:

The more light the object absorbs the more heat absorbed since light is energy. If you consider it a color, black absorbs the most heat. A black object absorbs all wavelengths of light and reflects none.

Objects that are white, on the other hand, reflect all wavelengths of light and therefore absorb the least heat.

Vanilla is also white in color, funny that.. While I love vanilla some of the time, it gets old and boooooringgggg...

If done very well on a high end sports car the matt finishes can look good.

On anything else these matt finishes just show that the owner is a dash tasteless and desperate.... kind of like putting a racing spoiler and diffuser on a toyota vios !

This is just my opinion... wouldn't it be boring if we were all driving the same car, same colour...

Yeah there's enough of that in Thailand already, white Honda or Toyota.....

I think it has more to do with the age of the posters. Most of them must be misty eyed for their Model T or Standard 8 in gloss black. Flat colours, not just black but green and orange can look great on the right type of car. Usually high end sports models, not the cheapo Eco cars usually discussed here.. Open your minds to something new..

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Yeah, let's not be confused here, there is quite a difference between matt/flat wraps and paint first of all, all of the above pics are matt/flat wraps. Secondly there is also a difference between a well done wrap or paint versus "rat rod style" which is really done sometimes with a spray can etc, and is MEANT to capture that old "throw it together with anything you have laying around" style and though it's not my style, I can appreciate that sometimes it has a bit of an artsy look to them, but not always some/many times it just looks junk, because mostly it is.

^ For some that's not a problem, why is it such problem for you that it's not a problem for him? I don't get it? I'm with ya 100% Clare but I do most of work so it could get a bit frustrating and time consuming in your position at times..

You're starting to sound like someone else now.

This apparently isn't a rusty car as you're suggesting, it's a car with some small areas of rust on the door edges, there's a difference. Have you never heard of rust forming following chips in a car's paint not being treated? It doesn't take a flood.

You mean someone with a higher education about cars and dealers then you?

You seem to think I was referring to you, don't flatter yourself so much, you're not the only person on this forum. I'm not going to be drawn into a discussion about whose education was the best.

No of course you weren't, especially when I was the only one in this thread that brought up the flooding AND your original post I responded to was directed at IMHO saying that he was starting to sound like "someONE else now" ..But don't delude yourself about my being at all flattered..

The car that the OP was referring to clearly has had that exposure.

Now you're catching on, it takes a while but you do manage to catch up..

The rest of your post is well................................................Not worthy...

If you're driving here by yourself, don't rely on the "normal" behaviour you would expect in western countries. Waiting at red lights, junctions, set the turn indicator etc. Once you acknowledge that, driving here is fine except Bangkok due to traffic

Bangkok is fine because of the traffic: it prevents suicidal drivers getting up to their usual breakneck speed for much of the time.

A couple of other things I might add to my previous comment are:

- Thai drivers often look no further ahead than the vehicle in front

-They seem totally unable to anticipate a changing situation. A good illustration is m/c riders turning into a side road. Of course they never give way to pedestrians already crossing the road but always choose to pass in front of them rather than behind.

Agree with this, haven't been following this thread it's all familiar and redundant but has anyone mentioned driving scooters traveling against the flow of traffic mostly on the sidewalks or one way roads?

I've never seen a 4yo car with rust, that wasn't drowned at some time in it's life.

You're starting to sound like someone else now.

This apparently isn't a rusty car as you're suggesting, it's a car with some small areas of rust on the door edges, there's a difference. Have you never heard of rust forming following chips in a car's paint not being treated? It doesn't take a flood.

You mean someone with a higher education about cars and dealers then you? Yes I agree as well, there is EVERY reason to be cautious and not get yourself into that trouble, I was in those floods and there was thousands of cars flooded even the ones they got out on floats and the like still got flooded to some extent. People come on here for advice and points of view they hadn't considered and sometimes contrary to what you believe and you go off and attack them and their advice as being nonsense when you sound more clueless and more a special spy of some sort holding up the Thai flag no matter what as if there's NOTHING to be weary of when there is plenty to be weary of including you and your advice.

He had never specified nor shown any pictures regarding the rust spots, but at any rate as IMHO said the likelihood of any rust (even on door edges) is highly unlikely if the car hasn't been wet, I have 2 cars along with hundreds of others over time that are much older, in a very similar climate to Thailand and Phuket specifically, with oceans on all sides, lakes in the middle and masses of seasonal rain and both cars have been here their entire life and neither of them have ANY rust, not even small spots on the door edges. I rightfully cautioned the OP and from there it's up to him to make his decision, and presumably that's why he asked the question, so stuff it!

Argue these pics, taken by me personally and there is thousands more like these that are still in the market there and being tossed around between dealers and owners, I was buying cars at the time and found many of them, even my 2 young boys got so good at finding them they'd point out signs of flooding, there was one car that was bought and resold at least 5 times in a short period on Taladrod that I noticed from day one had been flooded.

.. This car was partially underwater before it was removed and for several days, look at the algae line almost mid door that doesn't happen quickly it takes days of immersion to grow and there were thousands just like it, people who waited but just enough damage not OTT so the car was trashed, these cars are just NOW hitting the market after years of their owners not being able to get out from under them and or just now beginning to show real problems due to the flood damage, unless it goes completely under water damage doesn't occur over night, in these cases it happens slowly over years..

These were taken from my car as I was towed out on the back of slide on before the waters got too high, the water came up another couple of feet shortly after this, all of the bushes in the background went under including the one's on the wall, just a few more yards up the road the water was over the pickups hood (or bonnet) just to the bottom of the tow truck bed and even that truck can be considered flooded even though it's still running it was in waist deep water many times back and forth obviously getting water in all of it's parts that's the military base BTW and then only boats were used a day or 2 later.

There is plenty more where these came from, so in spite of your snide remarks there is still very good reason to be weary and cautious. And NO sensible reason for a 4 year old car to have ANY rusting.. OP do what you will people like this poster have nothing to lose for being wrong, neither do I but you do, but my advice is based on years of real experience and not just some idiocy others spew. Take it or leave it..

The few that got out then had no place to park them including us and they just towed them randomly, which was nonsense since the highways in most of these areas were also closed so little to no traffic and the drivers also knew and respected that and traffic flowed just fine..