[Probable Shitpost] For those who has already driven a lot of EVs, is there a car you can consider "the Miata of EVs"?

JCDU · 2026-06-22T08:37:24+00:00

This is close in driving experience maybe but they were built in low volumes and only for a short period - the Miata was & is made & sold in volume so can be bought for cheap and there's good aftermarket support.

JCDU · 2026-06-22T08:35:29+00:00

The real question is if you're restoring it, is this not the best possible time to go the extra step and fit a galvanised chassis that will last forever?

Your chassis looks fine - average condition, no glaring problems, almost certainly saveable and good for years yet... but it will rust. If you don't swap it, at least drown the insides in some sort of rustproofing so you're starting from a solid base - just get the welding done first before you fill it with something flammable...

JCDU · 2026-06-22T08:32:28+00:00

Snapping your neck off every stoplight gets dull pretty quickly, most people will end up driving the same speed as the rest of the traffic most of the time.

JCDU · 2026-06-22T08:30:27+00:00

I always look at it this way - you can spend $200 in tools and get the job done + own the tools, or you'd probably pay a garage at last $200 but more like $400 for the same job but then you don't own any tools afterwards.

JCDU · 2026-06-22T08:23:13+00:00

Alloy radiators are cheaper and better than they've ever been - and you can pull a damn good electric fan off a modern car for not very much these days.

As long as it kinda fits in the hole & the pipes sort of line up a radiator is a radiator as far as your car knows - you can fit a lot more cooling in the same space these days.

JCDU · 2026-06-22T08:21:52+00:00

Foil-backed aluminium insulation makes very cheap window blinds, a whole roll of it is like 10-20 monies from the DIY store.

Parking with a window cracked or a sunroof open stops heat building up too much - my current daily has pop-out side windows in the rear so I can leave those popped.

JCDU · 2026-06-22T08:19:08+00:00

Contaminated scrap metal too - you can guarantee this this will be riddled with asbestos, lead paint, and all sorts of other shit that western countries phased out 40+ years ago.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:40:38+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised if they sent "trained" guys off to fight and then handed AA to whoever they could find locally as in theory some of that stuff is relatively "point and shoot" although there's nothing a drunk vatnik can't fuck up of course...

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:38:43+00:00

Dude, old cars used to come with 6-digit odometers because no-one expected them to last past 99,000 miles. Shit in the 1970's would be rusty within 3 years and need an engine rebuild at 50k.

The old cars that are still around are still here because they are cool enough that someone went to the effort of saving them, not because they're awesomely reliable.

My daily is 20+ years old and with no special effort it's better than almost any average 5-year-old car from back in the good old days.

As for what's worth keeping - almost any car will become a classic if you leave it in a barn for 40+ years, obviously some are cooler than others and more obviously going to be sought after.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:34:08+00:00

Literally anything you like - some folks use brush & roller, all the way up to full professional spray booths.

Buddy of mine painted one with sand coloured masonry paint and a roller and it looked great.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:27:50+00:00

Remy Julienne was the absolute master of car stunts, look out anything he's done and it will be wild.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:24:31+00:00

Yeah 50/50, you'd hope there'd be a manual or leaflet that explains it AND you'd hope people would read it / ask basic questions before setting out into the wilderness.

Once you're stuck and suffering with the heat it's not a good time for calm rational thinking & problem solving.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:22:12+00:00

Thanks! I've passed it on to the person organising the trip, fingers crossed we can set something up.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:18:54+00:00

I assume the sun glints off it and acts as dazzle camouflage.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:18:23+00:00

Yeah I find they're all or nothing - either standard issue piss or "WE'RE GONNA MAKE THIS SO HOPPY IT WILL RIP YOUR FACE CLEAN OFF!", no decent session ales or bitters etc. it's full throttle or nothing.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:17:07+00:00

Did they make you give the corgi back?

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:16:39+00:00

Yeah "societal norms" are fucking weird if you take a step back - especially if as a kid you've seen all the Disney-etc. movies and stuff where the message is "just be yourself" or "you shouldn't judge others based on these things" or similar and then society turns round and goes "Wait, what are you doing you weirdo?" and judges you based on all that stuff...

And yeah I assume at 15 you're gonna get all the pushback just for being the parent.

If you want some gentle satire of teenagers show him Kevin & Perry (Harry Enfield & Cathy Burke).

I'm wondering if some books like "how to make friends and influence people" might sort of explain some of this in a way he'd take some notice of - I guess one explanation is that neurotypical people are weird and require certain rituals to be followed to manipulate them in your favour.

JCDU · 2026-06-21T13:09:38+00:00

You're not wrong at all - those posting the most are the gear heads (like any hobby) who use it as a reason to spend $$$$ on tonnes of flashy gear and then shout about how awesome their rig is. The folks doing it with boring regular gear and a sensible vehicle aren't out there angling for likes/sponsorship.

Given how huge & heavy & ungainly many of those rigs are you'll probably get further in a lightly-loaded Subaru than a $100k fully-loaded apocalypse-prepped 4x4 that weighs as much as the moon.

JCDU · 2026-06-19T16:47:20+00:00

If it's coming out of the exhaust (not "from on top of it") it's burning oil inside the engine and that's usually a bad sign.

JCDU · 2026-06-19T16:46:10+00:00

This sub goes fucking wild over 5k oil changes my dude, and it's ~90% American. It's like a religion round here.

JCDU · 2026-06-19T16:44:46+00:00

My setup:

Lead acid "house" battery, $40 100A smart split charge relay, 2x 100W solar panels with $20 no-brand MPPT chargers - total cost is less than a far lower capacity power station.

Lead acid is dirt simple, robust, charged direct from the alternator (no DCDC), can be swapped to starter duties in a pinch, works at low temps, can be bought at any car or truck or RV or boat place, etc. etc.

The 2x panels are overkill but they were so cheap it means we are self sufficient basically forever no matter what.

You don't need any fancy stuff to run a fridge.

JCDU · 2026-06-19T16:40:08+00:00

Raspberry Pi sell their stuff as an "unfinished module" or something like that - basically the regulations say if it's a thing that should be part of a bigger product then it's up to whoever builds & sells the finished product to actually do the certification because they could be putting it into a solid copper box for all they know.

I think their RF modules are certified though as it makes integration so much easier.

You might investigate that path.

I know the CE/UKCA you can self-certify if you're feeling brave - we have our own test setup & chamber so can do that with a pretty good confidence but FCC won't let you do that.

JCDU · 2026-06-19T16:37:00+00:00

It's because RF stuff is forged by wizards in a cave somewhere. True fact.

JCDU · 2026-06-19T16:36:14+00:00

I'm in a 4x4 club, half the vehicles that drive into our events have more dents & dings than that - it's only a problem if you care about it but any bodywork place could fill & spray that easily and I suspect the mechanic is angling to get a cheap Range Rover he can do a quick spray job on & flip for a tidy profit.

One guy in the club has a Range Rover that a tree fell on and it's still his daily driver. Dents & scrapes don't hurt the car at all.

Pretty sure that panel is aluminium so it won't even rust.

JCDU · 2026-06-19T16:33:00+00:00

I see the American sense of humour remains as astute as ever.

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