WarpSpeed

Lets play spot the car.

Range rover front

Honda Brio rear.

Nissan juke/ fiesta van side.

Range Rover? I was more thinking Citroen, the scissor doors are interesting though, but don't like the idea of both opening regardless of whether or not you have a passenger. But Asia has had some tech for quite some time now, Japan is a leading automaker as is Korea with Hyundai and KIA both gaining market share in other parts of the world. Both KIA and Hyundai have cars now that I'd give heavy consideration to especially in light of their warranties.

Good to hear Clare, good luck with it, I bet it'll be nice to get out of your older Corolla and have something newer to drive.

Peter has just reminded me ... get a new radiator cap ... first ting to do.

If no water in the oil then it was a leak between cylinders the bubbles were created by escaping compression into the water jacket, the gasket is not likely to show anything, and in this case there may be water in the cylinder that is bad, but ultimately with an aluminum head you should have had the head decked to true it up, if that wasn't done sadly it may only be a temporary fix, due to a new gasket but eventually the compression will seek out the same low spot, force through the gasket and blow again.

Yes... basically never.

To confirm a head gasket leak ...into the cooling waterI fitted an upturned plastic water bottle into the radiator ... where the cap goes. The big end of the bottle was removed and partly filled with water.

Ran the engine and bubbles were seen raising up through the water in the plastic bottle.

You need to run the engine for a few minutes to ensure that the bubbles are not entained air.

Best to start with a cold engine. When I get back home later today I'll post a pic.

All true but a system that has been sealed and running for a while should not have ANY air to begin with unless it is bleeding into the system while it is not running when the water cools and creates a vacuum on the system.

Anti-freeze is a bit of an obsolete term these days. Engine Coolant is the modern term, and extends both the boiling point and freezing point as compared to water. It also has corrosion inhibitors that extend the life of the cooling system, keep it cleaner and more efficient.

If it's an old car that has only been topped up with water and not Coolant, then it will no doubt be full of sludge and will need flushing to determine if the need to constantly top-up is due to an actual leak and/or a blocked system that is causing some overheating and possible venting of the water via steam. Or it may be as simple as all this in combination with a buggered head gasket.

Since it's an old vehicle, I'd recommend the following:

1. Get the system power flushed

2. Replace the thermostat and radiator cap to the manufacturers recommendation

3. Replace any coolant pipes that obviously look as though they are not healthy - i.e signs of perishing or can easily be squeezed that indicates a breakdown of the material.

4. Fill with Coolant/water mixture at the manufacturers recommendation. Any future top ups should also be coolant/water at the same ratio.

5. Observe for leaks and/or usage of coolant. Leaks will be evident as a green liquid.

6. Observe the engine for possible internal leak of coolant to engine. Usually a faulty head gasket. If a white cream is evident at the oil filler cap, and/or white smoke is appearing from the exhaust and a white cream/sludge evident at the exhaust tailpipe, it may be a head gasket or could be a cracked head. Actually, look for this before you even have the system power flushed.

Good luck.

EDIT: Just had a thought. Dunno how old your car is but if it's a dinosaur (as in 60's 70's) it may be a leaking frost plug. They are prone to failure and corrode easily with a dirty cooling system, often getting a pinhole leak. Those were the days, the annual hacking out of the frost plugs to replace them every winter. I actually had one pop right out by itself one cold night, but I don't think I whacked it all the way in when I replaced it.

Also inhibits evaporation too..

I bet it is, so it automatically lubricates then?

Specific clean fluids sometimes covers a problem too I.E. oil is always suspect to me, I want to see it a bit worn, brake/clutch if it is a manual, not so much, want that clean which is very rare in Thailand. With all of the advice given so far, remember you're not buying a new car so be reasonable and prepared to spend some money on maintenance as long as it's mostly mechanically sound and a good foundation to begin with. Things like shocks, suspension bushings, CV joints, tie rod ends and the like are a given on an older car IMO and wouldn't keep me from buying it or expect the seller to make much of a discount on price either, those should be mostly factored into the asking price already. BTW what is the selling price if you don't mind my asking?

Lack of smoke is the biggest indicator of a good car, even if it has low compression it may be fine for quite some time but may also smoke if oil is bypassing the rings which is in itself a low compression indicator but more to the extreme. Yes, white or worse yet, bluish white smoke, run! Don't walk away. There is no real way to hide a smoking problem. BTW there has been some disagreement on RPM's and that question is not easily answered as there are a number of factors that control it, I.E. as some have said an automatic which in that case will drop down in idle once engaged in gear with the brake depressed or with the a/c etc. between 750 and 900 is proper range but stable in any case without large fluctuations while running.

The report says they were asking a bit over $7000 not including the brakes which they were selling off for another $1200 and the brakes were about the only thing salvageable and were brand new as he obviously never used them and the car was new anyways. Clear case of having more dollars then sense.

^ Ouch!! I hope you asked for lubricant first?

Saw that new Ferrari on Top Gear tonight, it's one of the few Ferrari's I'd like to own. Ferrari is not my favorite car, I'd just like to be able to own one, but until this one there isn't too many that tickle my vehicle G spot..

^ Curious to know, how did they verify the mileage?

Look at the wear on the brake peddle to better determine the Km's, if it's well worn, you can assume the mileage may not be accurate, if it is moderately worn maybe correct, if hardly worn might have changed the rubber and thus the mileage is likely way off. Of course these are general parameters. Idle should be around 900 rpm, if it goes up and down it likely has a vacuum leak somewhere? 300 rpm is way too low, verge of stalling. A car that age has plenty of possibilities of a vacuum leak as the hoses and gaskets get older, dry out and crack. What year? If you don't know if it's carbureted or FI maybe it can be researched or someone here knows? Lp or any other surprises we don't know about? The compression can be checked but probably not part of the problem in this case. What should be done is a vacuum line test by putting pressure on the system with the car off and checking for air leaking sounds or can also be done with the car running and the Thai's like to use a small piece of hose to check all the joints etc. by listening into the hose while moving it from joint to joint to listen for sucking noises, it is actually an effective test, it isolates the noise from the engine sounds quite well.

As mentioned sometimes spraying something like WD40 or similar around some suspect areas may cause an increase or decrease in the idle speed and give some indication of the location of an air leak. Look primarily around the areas where the most heat is likely to effect them like where they go into the Carb or FI on the back of the engine where it gets the hottest.

^ You forgot the multiple question marks... I glanced right over that post as I was not surprised honestly, sadly sounds like a lot of "racers" I've known over the years . Had to question the part about no coolant allowed by rule though..

And surrounded by motorcycles, I'd be freaking out. Here's one for sale you can buy cheaply, I think I remember it being green before they rearranged it's styling.. The one small piece on the rear that wasn't burned is still green.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1096511_lamborghini-huracn-wrecked-at-200-mph-posted-for-sale

When you wreck a car going nearly 200 mph, it's going to be in pretty rough shape. That's what happened to a Lamborghini Huracán you've seen grace these pages on multiple occasions. The driver was traveling on a Hungarian highway when he lost control of the car. His Huracán wound up in a ditch while he and his passenger wound up in the hospital. Now that Lamborghini has wound up in the classifieds.

I don't agree it looks like the Chevy much. The Isuzu lines are much more refined, and smoother. The Chevy is choppy in both front and back. I agree the overall chassis, footprint and exterior shape are the same, but actually I am surprised that it is not Chevy who came up with the better looking vehicle. I never expected to actually want to own an Isuzu before, but I think this one is a winner. It's still not where it needs to be in a truck-based SUV for me to buy one, but I'm hoping the new Everest or Fortuner will be. I'm looking for a much higher interior appointment scale than the Isuzu.

It's also interesting to watch the marketing angle of the MU-X. We typically think of Isuzu as the farmer or upcountry work truck, and in the new big marketing campaign they have the famous singer Gong (Thai crooner), and are portraying a more upscale urban image for the MU-X. It's gonna be a bit hard to change the image of Isuzu in places like Bangkok to make it the vehicle of choice to wheel down & valet park at the Shangri-La or Bed Bar for an evening out, but it's definitely a huge step up from the utilitarian MU-7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCD0BZ3-qlE

agree with what you wrote, i only saw it from afar and never really looked at both it and the chevy too close to spot the subtle styling differences. Just from an outsiders point of view, I saw quite a bit of the marketing run-up to the launch so perhaps I was expecting (wrongly) it to be significantly different than the chevy in overall appearance.

I don't see refined and smooth lines on the MUX though, it looks a lot more aggressive and edgy, the Chevy is the one with the smooth, almost female looking styling IMO probably targeted towards more women drivers in other markets who are most often the predominant SUV drivers.

Actually, multiple times.. We also agree most things regarding tinting, and there are a few other items as well.

I might have, slips my mind at the moment but I vaguely remember something about that, but he was only making skins with other models under chassis as I recall?

I hate to say this but I did get an extra remote for my SEAT while there and it was about that cost also had to make sure whether or not the key is chipped as well? Here I just got a copy for my VW GTI for about 150b online on Ebay and then had it cut for another 1000b comparable cost and programmed it myself via a video on YouTube.

Well that's what this guy is doing, it's in the video on the link. The suspension parts I saw in quick clips were brand new, nothing salvaged or second hand, maybe used an original to make the new unit but that's almost as much work and cost as an original Ferrari part not to mention having to have a donor car for dis-assembly and inspection in which case they could copy all the specs but it says he did it all by books and other sources..

Must be something in the water in NZ

First John Britten, and now these guys. Amazing work !

It is and would be with plans and specs but to do so from just pictures and books? That's also an incredible amount of research and checking, I wonder too where they are getting the new suspension pieces and such? If there's a manufacturer doing replacement parts or if they order straight from Ferrari? I don't get the sense that they are also machining all of those pieces but the report didn't cover that in depth? They aren't doing it with any sort of Japanese engines either, it's even original Ferrari, awesome..

^ Yes I mentioned that the bottom pic was Jaguar monocoques.

This guy builds replica Ferrari's from scratch without even blue prints, he uses books and other sources for his specs, they are stunning hand built repro's out of a chicken coup.

As well as others... Jaguar D-Type and XKSS replica

There's a video on the link I couldn't post that shows the process of this Ferrari being built over 4 years.

https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/watch-this-new-zealander-build-a-perfect-ferrari-250-gto-replica-out-of-his-chicken-shed-153957117.html

^^ You're really obsessed aren't you? Sad thing not to have any life isn't it?

Erm neither, SCCA World Challenge pro series albeit replicas they're quite accurate and representative, go to the link it's a forum, there are plenty of other real pics many of which actually date back to the DOT tire series just a few years ago before slicks.

Your aware forza motorsport 4 is a console game yeah ??

IIRC it only comes on xbox 360..

No, I had no idea ... Are you aware all of those are very realistic reproductions of ACTUAL racing cars & teams that compete and that's why I posted them? WITH a LINK to see more on the site they came from only real ones? They gave the best profile to present the tire/rim sizes, please people try to keep up will you? You're looking really silly thinking I had no clue what I was posting by even commenting .

Yes I'm aware its a consol game, I have a360 & Forza 3, 4, & 5

I thought you were a Forza fan hence the pictures... No worries.

Ok well not sure if you saw what happened but the posts got deleted including the pics but as usual some "other" posters tried to latch onto the fact that I used those pics as an example being reproductions, so at times it's difficult to know when someone is making an actual inquiry for conversation or just being a troll and taking pokes like SC for example. He stalks me at every opportunity and though I seldom (read never) quote his posts as he's insignificant, he seems determined to be an antagonist EVERY time he quotes one of my posts, seems he has little life in terms of entertainment, poor fella.

Hey guys. My OP was asking about 15 vs 16 inch tires!

Yes it was and I tried to defend your choice of stepping up and give some real life examples of why it isn't just an ego thing but adds style and that's where it got all skewed as usual. I hope my examples help you make your decision. And though it kills me to say so I'm man enough to do it, but I agree with T/A as I did exactly what you did with my SEAT and it did not adversely effect my ride except for a little better handling but I prefer a firm, responsive ride anyways I also run them a bit higher pressures too.

"Yes it was and I tried to defend your choice of stepping up and give some real life examples of why it isn't just an ego thing but adds style and that's where it got all skewed as usual. I hope my examples help you make your decision."

Doubtful, very, very doubtful.

No one asked your opinion on my point of view, what is your opinion on the OP? Instead of trolling once again, have anything of value to offer. funny how you echoed my point of view and yet criticize mine .

Am considering a return with a serious sponsor to run a program in Asia and one of my biggest drawbacks is the incredible selection of nicely priced new and used cars I'll be leaving behind. It weighs heavily on my mind the choices are so extreme.

Hey guys. My OP was asking about 15 vs 16 inch tires!

Yes it was and I tried to defend your choice of stepping up and give some real life examples of why it isn't just an ego thing but adds style and that's where it got all skewed as usual. I hope my examples help you make your decision. And though it kills me to say so I'm man enough to do it, but I agree with T/A as I did exactly what you did with my SEAT and it did not adversely effect my ride except for a little better handling but I prefer a firm, responsive ride anyways I also run them a bit higher pressures too.