Something I adore about our community is that everyone is an expert in something. We have engineers of all sorts of disciplines here, aviators, boaters, bikers, lawyers, and all points between. At exactly the right moment, someone’s expertise becomes uniquely relevant.
Yesterday, Jason wrote about the cool cars of the show Pluribus. Nlpnt got deliciously nerdy:
I have to point out that Corolla is not a ’75. It’s a 1978 model with a one year only grille, less fussy with plastichrome detail and with a more squared-off framing than the earlier style but less so than the other one year only grille the ’79s got. All that applied only to 1600cc TE31 sedans and TE32 wagons – the 1200cc KE31 had a flatter hood and simpler grille, also in early and late versions, and the Sport Coupe and Liftback had yet another face
Also, you can spot a stock ’75 a mile off because it had the style of chrome and black full metal wheel covers most earlier ’70s Japanese cars had, or chrome dog dishes on black steelies on base 2-doors, before going to the styled steel wheel painted light argent as seen here starting in ’76.
Then, you have the pedant who corrects the other pedant. Eric Gonzalez:
This guy Corollas.
You’re very right, but also not quite. All your data is based off 3rd gen US version Corollas. In reality in the rest of the world the grilles and other details varied a lot and don’t fully match what you got in the US, but the show happens mostly in the US, so your clarification is valid.
-Source: Owner of a global market 3rd gen Corolla.
You readers rock!
Jason wrote a Cold Start about a Vauxhall 14 brochure, and it’s refreshingly positive, like the car’s a glass that’s half-full. Twobox Designgineer:
I like that rather than a “sunroof,” it’s a “Sunshine Roof.” It sounds so positive. But… isn’t this a British car?
Finally, we’ll land on my story about my CrossCabriolet road trip next week. I asked you for recommendations for places to visit. Will Packer made me laugh:
There is also a big hole in the ground south of Flagstaff, which was made by space aliens throwing a medium-sized rock at us.
The amazing thing is how close it came to the visitor’s center!
I highly recommend a visit to the Meteor Crater if you’re ever passing through Arizona. You won’t regret it.
Have a great evening, everyone!
(Top graphic: Toyota)
The rejects have found their safe space.
I just found a box of rocks from meteor crater and vicinity last night that must have been from a cross country trip in 1963 to the NY World’s Fair.
My grandfather had a book called Roadside Geology, that was a guide to interesting grade cuts on highways all over the US.
Probably Permian rocks. He would build up expectations of seeing where dinosaurs had walked, and after e few hours of driving we would get out of the car, and look at rocks.
By the time we were driving past actual cool Cambrian rocks in western NY my grandmother had had enough of the whole thing and we just drove by.
The crater is cool. I was a bit concerned about when the next one was coming.
Boats boats boats!
*That* is a 1200cc KE31 in the topshot, a late model.
I get the vibe we’re a group of people who get a lot of exasperated sighs in our direction.
This is a place where “ummm akshually” is celebrated.
Some colleagues have started rolling their eyes whenever I start talking about structural design and manufacturing at work.
I honestly believe I’m turning into an insufferable pedant, and yet, I need to bitch about this because the company is bleeding money for lack of listening to me.
Yes yes! I’m a former Tesla engineer. On here whenever I “ackshually” the details of an EV article, people seem to encourage me. Appreciate it!
We like to learn. I’m outside of the world of automotive, but have used some weird auto stuff to solve problems. I solved a valve problem for a nuclear power plant because of reading up on Ford SVT using a process called extrudehoning.
I have ONE story of auto. I worked on a test lab that did testing in the 90s on EV connectors. There was a learning curve where it doesn’t surprise me that EVs were ready for primetime for another 10 years. I wasn’t directly involved, but I remember we had daily shipments of Halon for the test program.
I have used Extrudehone on some medical device products and it is a unique process that almost no one knows exists – except for people porting headers on hot rods. Their marketing really sucks because their lack of market recognition has been going on for at least 30 years. They now also have some very interesting deburring processes that use thermal processing or some electric discharge process that I do not understand that likewise no one knows about. It is kinda a shame because the extrudehone process works really well and the fixturing isn’t too expensive or difficult.
It’s explosive deburring. You put a piece in a chamber that you fill with an explosive mixture of something like natural gas and oxygen. Put a spark in the chamber and any tiny bits like burrs or flashing will vaporize. The idea is that you don’t generate enough heat to damage the part only the burrs and flashing.
I was told GM has done that almost 100 years. But based on the Corvair heads I’ve worked with, they weren’t using it on Aluminum back then. Although, the jugs (cast iron) didn’t have any flashing that I remember, so maybe they had used the process on them.
From what I can tell, Extrudehone is getting a bit of traction in the medical world, by polishing the inside of piping and tubing. Seems like Food processing could REALLY benefit from it, any bump or burr is a place that bacteria can flourish.
As a civil-structural engineer for a manufacturer, I feel this.
Technically is the best kind of correct.
“You are technically correct, the best kind of correct.”
So among the Autopians we have not one but two (at least!) people who geek over Corollas at approximately the same intensity as Torch does over VWs.
Are auto enthusiast websites really just a sort of group therapy? Hi, my name is Elhigh and I’m an autoholic…
Hi Elhigh!
Hi Elhigh! I’m Sentient Food named Manwich!
Hi. My name if Ford Timelord and its been 29 days since I ranted about the awesomeness of 1980’s cars (and specifically Toyota Tercel 4wd Wagons) to someone.
Hi Ford Timelord, I’m Hoser68.
It’s been 38 seconds since I mentioned Corvairs, and 3 days since I made a joke about flaming Fieros. Crap, change that to 0 seconds.
It has been 30 years since I owned a half-designed wrong engine placement GM product.
Tell it to someone who cares!
…like ME. Tercels are the cockroach of the automobile world, tough and adaptable. I’ve spent some time in the Tercel Wagon and if I had the money and garage space, I’d probably have at least one.
I presumed you had spent time in a Tercel Wagon with the EL in your name from low gear on the Tercel wagon gearknob.
Group therapy is for quitters. I ain’t no quitter!
puff, puff, pass…
Can I interest you in the gospel of the Vitara/Escudo/Tracker/Sunrunner/Xl7/Proceed Levante/Sidekick/Santana/Wangling Xl874rf8d78*fdW2?
The hardtop is the XJ Done Right, and the convertible is the Wrangler Done Right 😛
Praise be to Nobuteru “Monster” Tajima.
Preach on, o brother of the Samurai/Jimny/SJ30/Sierra/Drover/Gypsy/SJ410/SJ430/Potohar/Santana/Katana/Caribian!
Shhh, keep it quiet! We’re a religion with high rust-attrition rates, and an ever-decreasing number of potential members
And that’s not even the most pedantic version of me!
…technically.
Well now I’m curious. What else you got?
I would show you, but you wouldn’t understand
Is it a Jeep thing?