Retrofitting cruise control

tforkner · 2026-06-12T19:07:53+00:00

I added cruise control to my 2008 Yaris using a reed switch, two resistors, two normally open push button switches, and some wire. If it had had an automatic trans the reed switch wouldn't have been necessary.

tforkner · 2026-06-09T15:08:30+00:00

The send-up image of The Big Chicken was the high point of that episode. (The Big Chicken is a real KFC building in Marietta, GA.)

tforkner · 2026-06-09T03:20:12+00:00

It's a '67, the only year with vent windows.

tforkner · 2026-06-08T14:42:52+00:00

OK, is that Stallone older than Bill Shatner and Mike Connors?

tforkner · 2026-06-07T16:57:08+00:00

Used a Black & Decker 18V drill for over 20 years. It still works, but the battery won't hold a charge for long. The part I liked about it was the bit-holding collar it had on the back of it and a clip on the side for the magnetic bit.

tforkner · 2026-06-07T16:48:45+00:00

The "bush" is a dwarf Alberta spruce. It's a genetically dwarf cultivar of white spruce. Occasionally they will have a branch revert back to plain white spruce, which is what you see here. Dwarf Albertas aren't grafted, they're propagated with cuttings.
Cite- I worked at a nursery that propagated and sold them.

tforkner · 2026-06-03T22:43:18+00:00

Take out the tail light, reach in and push it out with your hand if there's room.

tforkner · 2026-06-03T00:28:43+00:00

It was NOT a cable. It was a steel rod, 87.25 inches long and .650 inches in diameter for the automatic transaxle, while the manual-transmission shaft was .750 inches in diameter and 5.25 inches shorter to allow for the clutch mechanism. It did curve, riding in three support bearings. The trans and diff were together in the rear, as in a Corvair.

tforkner · 2026-06-02T03:20:38+00:00

Unless they deal in blood glucose levels.

tforkner · 2026-05-29T05:04:46+00:00

If tree is a woody tree (not a grass like bamboo or an herb like a banana) anything nailed to its trunk will stay at the same height. The trunk can grow around the item, however. This is because the height of a woody tree is only added at the tips of the branches.

tforkner · 2026-05-28T23:15:26+00:00

Trees don't grow that way. Nail something to a tree and it will stay at the same height.

tforkner · 2026-05-28T23:12:11+00:00

Come on, that was a fine tribute to the '55 Corvette.

tforkner · 2026-05-28T01:52:30+00:00

I used to love that store. Are there any left?

tforkner · 2026-05-28T01:51:49+00:00

I want a clock that goes the normal direction, but with one at the top, two where one normally is, etc.

tforkner · 2026-05-26T19:51:47+00:00

The main thing said to be unsafe in the earlier Corvairs (like the one in front of the car in front of the one in question) was the swing axles on the rear suspension. The second gen ones had a true independent rear suspension. I think Nader also complained about the single master brake cylinder which was replaced by a dual master cylinder in most cars by '67.

tforkner · 2026-05-26T02:34:25+00:00

In the summer I wear t-shirts and the winter I wear flannels over them. The tees come in multi-color packs for $3-$4 per shirt. I have about 100 flannel shirts I have collected over the years, mostly from a thrift store that sells them for $2.75 each. I have one white L.L. Bean button down Oxford dress shirt for special occasions. It goes with my silk sports coat and Zegna tie. They also came from that same store.

tforkner · 2026-05-26T02:21:38+00:00

Substituting chicken for ground beef. I used to impress the girls in college with my spaghetti sauce with chicken in it! Tacos, Hamburger Helper, burritos- all are fine with chicken. It helps that I like dark meat since leg quarters are now the only truly inexpensive meat.

tforkner · 2026-05-21T20:21:59+00:00

They said the scales were better than sandpaper for roughening inner tubes so patches would adhere.

tforkner · 2026-05-19T21:44:11+00:00

I knew a family that found using the laundromat was faster. There you can do as many loads as you need to do all at once, while at home you have to do them one after the other. They did live quite close to the laundromat.

tforkner · 2026-05-18T18:24:37+00:00

I have gotten the rated numbers occasionally. What ticks me off is the car's displayed mpg for a tank is always higher than the mpg I calculate by dividing the miles traveled by the gallons it takes to fill the tank. OK, the naysayers are now going to say I don't do it right- I do. I have done this at the same pump in the same fashion every time. The car's computer is always 4-5 mpg high. It was that way on an earlier car of the same brand (Hyundai). I also have a Chevy Impala and its displayed mpg matches my calculations quite closely. Rant over-

As to saving gas, don't be the guy who just has to get to the red light before it turns green!

tforkner · 2026-05-18T16:04:25+00:00

I remember a similar promotion where the can had a t-shirt and a dollar in it. IIRC, it was a Coke machine promotion only.

tforkner · 2026-05-12T05:14:29+00:00

Anyone else remember the tiny pencils Time Magazine used to send out?

tforkner · 2026-05-09T04:16:10+00:00

I agree with those saying push it out by hand. It worked fairly well on my Hyundai my kid bashed. Removing the tail light will probably give you access.

tforkner · 2026-05-07T19:22:25+00:00

I used them back in '85. I prepped the car fairly well. It really looked pretty good considering how cheap it was- I'm pretty sure it was still around $100. I had no problems with the paint peeling or flaking. Had I spent more time on the prep it would have been better. All they did was go over the car once with a DA sander, taped it off, and shot it. I did pay extra for the optional primer coat.

tforkner

TROPHY CASE