Gasoline Alley

**MAGA MAN** · 07-03-2019, 06:48 AM

Here's how a reflector bulb operates. The light source is positioned at the focal point of an ellipsoid reflector that reflects it to a projector lens. The projector is similar to a movie theater projector, to "project" the light far away. This lights up down-road much father than a reflector alone can achieve. The cutoff is an aluminum plate shaped precisely for low beam, and is swung out of the way by a solenoid for high beam.

**MAGA MAN** · 07-03-2019, 06:54 AM

Here is an HID projector lamp in its entirety. The reflector is in the rear and the glass projector lens pointing towards the viewer. The cutoff plate is between. Note that the top of the plate is not flat. one side if higher than the other, and this forces the light to be low directly ahead and at oncoming traffic, and allows the light to be slightly higher on the passenger side to illuminate signs on the shoulder.

**Mott the Hoople** · 07-03-2019, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Soul

This is what a xenon arc bulb looks like. There is no filament. The light source is an electric arc, or plasma, arcing between the two electrodes within a nobel (inert) gas contained inside the tiny glass bulb. Variations in light color are achieved by small amounts of impurities in the gas.

Xenon lamps are also environmentally friendly form of incandescent lamps with long life times, minimum heat generation, less energy consumption and no mercury. If you hate lighting your home with CFL's you might want to pay the higher cost for xenon lamps. In the long run they actually cost less due to longer life and lower energy cost.

**MAGA MAN** · 07-03-2019, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by Mott the Hoople

Xenon lamps are also environmentally friendly form of incandescent lamps with long life times, minimum heat generation, less energy consumption and no mercury. If you hate lighting your home with CFL's you might want to pay the higher cost for xenon lamps. In the long run they actually cost less due to longer life and lower energy cost.

An incandescent light bulb has a filament glowing inside a bulb containing some sort of gas to keep the filament from oxidizing or burning. Typically they are fairly simple and run on the line voltage.

These bulbs have no filament. The light is generated by the current jumping between the electrodes. An electronic ballast generates a high voltage to jump the gap and then varies the voltage to keep it stable. Since there is no filament the service life is much longer, and because the light source is plasma the intensity is so much higher. Thus the name, high intensity discharge, or HID.

Xenon bulbs can be incandescent (filament in xenon gas) or HID.

**RB 60** · 07-03-2019, 08:53 AM

I been to a few nice car shows this season too. I haven't taken any pics tho. One guy with a sweet '66 Fairlane wanted to swap for my Cobra. I told him his car and $25k. He said he'd think about it.
There are shows this evening, tomorrow (usually a big one) and Sat. We're supposed to have thunder showers every day through Sun. Grrr!

**RB 60** · 07-03-2019, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Soul

The 'Bird at a local Cruise-in.

You go to any shows? Have you won any awards with the 'Bird?

**Mott the Hoople** · 07-03-2019, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Soul

An incandescent light bulb has a filament glowing inside a bulb containing some sort of gas to keep the filament from oxidizing or burning. Typically they are fairly simple and run on the line voltage.

These bulbs have no filament. The light is generated by the current jumping between the electrodes. An electronic ballast generates a high voltage to jump the gap and then varies the voltage to keep it stable. Since there is no filament the service life is much longer, and because the light source is plasma the intensity is so much higher. Thus the name, high intensity discharge, or HID.

Xenon bulbs can be incandescent (filament in xenon gas) or HID.

I am very familiar with HID lamps. Used to use them all the time in Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy before it made obsolete by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy. The down side of HID lamps is that they do contain small quantities of mercury and thus are regulated for disposal as "Universal Waste". With the exception of Xenon HID lamps which do not use mercury.

**MAGA MAN** · 07-03-2019, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by RB 60

You go to any shows? Have you won any awards with the 'Bird?

Mostly cruise-ins for me. I did one s,all show, about 40 cars, and one 2nd place in the only category. First place was a Camaro that had been featured in magazines and spent the last 30 years in a museum until the current owner bought it. A big check trumps sweat every day, unfortunately.

**RB 60** · 07-03-2019, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Soul

Mostly cruise-ins for me. I did one s,all show, about 40 cars, and one 2nd place in the only category. First place was a Camaro that had been featured in magazines and spent the last 30 years in a museum until the current owner bought it. A big check trumps sweat every day, unfortunately.

I took two people's choice, two best Ford, a second and a third so far this year at shows. The cruise ins are fun too, and it doesn't cost anything to go. I've met some really cool people with some very nice cars over the last few years, and there's 5 or 6 of us who travel together to shows, we get a lot of attention on our way to shows. There's one tonight, I'm keeping an eye on the weather map, I don't want to get caught in the rain...again (last time I got caught in the rain we were an hour away and it poured all the way home, my friend and I got drenched till we got home!).

**MAGA MAN** · 07-03-2019, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by RB 60

I took two people's choice, two best Ford, a second and a third so far this year at shows. The cruise ins are fun too, and it doesn't cost anything to go. I've met some really cool people with some very nice cars over the last few years, and there's 5 or 6 of us who travel together to shows, we get a lot of attention on our way to shows. There's one tonight, I'm keeping an eye on the weather map, I don't want to get caught in the rain...again (last time I got caught in the rain we were an hour away and it poured all the way home, my friend and I got drenched till we got home!).

Luckily I have a roof on my classic.

I'm missing a lot of local cruise-ins this summer because two weeks ago I transferred the car up to my place in the mountains. I have enjoyed it there though. Last week my wife and I took two of our lady friends on a joy ride and ended up at a local brewery. I have a few dozen "car songs" on a USB drive that we were listening to. They made me play the Beach Boys "Fun fun fun..." at least twice.

**RB 60** · 07-03-2019, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Soul

Luckily I have a roof on my classic.

I'm missing a lot of local cruise-ins this summer because two weeks ago I transferred the car up to my place in the mountains. I have enjoyed it there though. Last week my wife and I took two of our lady friends on a joy ride and ended up at a local brewery. I have a few dozen "car songs" on a USB drive that we were listening to. They made me play the Beach Boys "Fun fun fun..." at least twice.

I don't have a roof, radio or a back seat, hell, I don't even have a glove box. I do have air conditioning, but it only blows outside temp. Sometimes it even blows my hat off

**MAGA MAN** · 07-03-2019, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by RB 60

I don't have a roof, radio or a back seat, hell, I don't even have a glove box. I do have air conditioning, but it only blows outside temp. Sometimes it even blows my hat off

Yours is an entirely different type of vehicle. Mine's an old luxury car, big and heavy. It was made on the same assembly line as the Lincoln Continental. Still though, not smooth and quiet enough for my Princess except for short jaunts. Over dinner tonight I asked her if she wanted me to drive it to New York in September where we will be spending a few days with the car's previous owner and she didn't hesitate to reject the idea. "Why ride in an old TBird when I could ride in a new Porsche?"

Oh well at least I got her to admit that she likes my new car in spite of me blowing my budget on it.

**MAGA MAN** · 07-03-2019, 06:31 PM

I bought this on a whim 5 years ago for $2200 with the intention for a quick flip. It started right up, low miles but the clutch was messed up. Once I got into it I found out the front spring towers were rusted out so it was a big job to replace those: getting it rigged up on a frame machine, taking out the engine for access, drilling out the spot welds then welding new fabricated brackets in (at $700 for the pair).

While the engine was out I took the opportunity to break it into its major parts, clean it, check for wear and clearances then install all new gaskets and seals (the engine kit was only $50.) Hear of "numbers matching"?. This is numbers exact. The serial number of the engine is the same as the VIN on the car.

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**RB 60** · 07-04-2019, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Soul

Yours is an entirely different type of vehicle. Mine's an old luxury car, big and heavy. It was made on the same assembly line as the Lincoln Continental. Still though, not smooth and quiet enough for my Princess except for short jaunts. Over dinner tonight I asked her if she wanted me to drive it to New York in September where we will be spending a few days with the car's previous owner and she didn't hesitate to reject the idea. "Why ride in an old TBird when I could ride in a new Porsche?"

Oh well at least I got her to admit that she likes my new car in spite of me blowing my budget on it.

Yeah, it surely is. My GF doesn't like it because she has too much trouble getting out of it. She had a back operation, a right knee operation and a bone taken out of her right foot and says she's just not coordinated enough to comfortably get out, plus then there's the hot sidepipes. She wasn't too impressed when I spent that much money on a car, I told her I didn't buy it for her (probably not the wisest thing!), but seeing how much fun I have driving it and going to car shows, she's not too pissed at me anymore. Funny thing is, I had a very nice '87 Lincoln LSC before I bought the Cobra, major difference in comfort there!
Although it's very dependable and extremely well built, much more than an hour or two driving it gets a bit uncomfortable because the foot box is so small, the sidepipes are loud and hurt the ears after about a half hour and the seat is like sitting on a piece of plywood (it actually is a piece of plywood with about a 1/2 inch of foam wrapped in leather). I did tons of research before I "pulled the trigger" and bought it so I knew what I was getting...an obnoxious small car with far more HP than it should have, but it looks cool as hell and gets a shitload of attention. Believe it or not, my friend's Porsche GT3-RS is just as difficult to get in and out of as my Cobra, but it does have a roof and AC.
Bottom line is many women don't appreciate an old car like us old car guys do. Like they say, the difference between men and boys is the price of our toys

**MAGA MAN** · 07-04-2019, 05:26 AM

Originally Posted by RB 60

Yeah, it surely is. My GF doesn't like it because she has too much trouble getting out of it. She had a back operation, a right knee operation and a bone taken out of her right foot and says she's just not coordinated enough to comfortably get out, plus then there's the hot sidepipes. She wasn't too impressed when I spent that much money on a car, I told her I didn't buy it for her (probably not the wisest thing!), but seeing how much fun I have driving it and going to car shows, she's not too pissed at me anymore. Funny thing is, I had a very nice '87 Lincoln LSC before I bought the Cobra, major difference in comfort there!
Although it's very dependable and extremely well built, much more than an hour or two driving it gets a bit uncomfortable because the foot box is so small, the sidepipes are loud and hurt the ears after about a half hour and the seat is like sitting on a piece of plywood (it actually is a piece of plywood with about a 1/2 inch of foam wrapped in leather). I did tons of research before I "pulled the trigger" and bought it so I knew what I was getting...an obnoxious small car with far more HP than it should have, but it looks cool as hell and gets a shitload of attention. Believe it or not, my friend's Porsche GT3-RS is just as difficult to get in and out of as my Cobra, but it does have a roof and AC.
Bottom line is many women don't appreciate an old car like us old car guys do. Like they say, the difference between men and boys is the price of our toys

The whole reason that I shy away from kit cars is because of the interiors. Most of them have a piece of plywood covered in vinyl for the dash. Then there's the windows and roof seals- those are all very difficult to get right.