Why are previous owners the way they are?
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The previous owner of my Trans Am cut out the parking brake system for some reason and threw out some impossible to find but entirely necessary brake caliper brackets. The only source I can find right now short of buying a parts car is a website selling reproductions for $85 + $20 shipping for these tiny 2in long brackets. If I had a fab shop and tools I could make them in an hour.
They're the brackets that hold that spring in place. I dont have a spring either but that can't be as difficult to find right? The PO was a redneck named Missy who painted the car purple in her backyard and sold the car to me to buy a 4th gen V6 camaro with t-tops because she couldnt afford gas for the 2nd gens V8 but still....
1981 Pontiac Trans Am
1993 Chevy Corvette
2019 GMC Canyon -
@bandit said in Why are previous owners the way they are?:
The previous owner of my Trans Am cut out the parking brake system for some reason and threw out some impossible to find but entirely necessary brake caliper brackets....
...The PO was a redneck named Missy who painted the car purple in her backyard and sold the car to me to buy a 4th gen V6 camaro with t-tops because she couldnt afford gas for the 2nd gens V8 but still....
Story checks out.
2018 Terrain Denali
2012 Cruze LT
1987 245 DL "Jankvagn" -
@bandit said in Why are previous owners the way they are?:
The PO was a redneck named Missy who painted the car purple in her backyard and sold the car to me to buy a 4th gen V6 camaro with t-tops because she couldnt afford gas for the 2nd gens V8 but still....
This whole sentence makes me sad for humanity.
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Would it be compatible with a different vehicle that could easily be found in a junk yard? If you could go yoink the parts your self out of a yard, I doubt the total cost would be $5.
But I have also heard of worse excuses for a brembo big brake conversion....
'84 Mustang GT Convertible 5 speed
'21 Challenger R/T 6 Speed -
@bandit Are we at the point where a 3D printer is as important to have in your toolbox for working on old cars as a 3 ft pipe, a set of extraction sockets, and a nearby Harbor Freight? All are useful for battling the side effects of the common redneck previous owner.
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@nermal can we 3d print metal affordably at home?
16 Miata, 84 f250 IDI, Locost
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@sony1492 we are getting closer every day. Someone has a 3D iron printer thats around $10k
2018 Terrain Denali
2012 Cruze LT
1987 245 DL "Jankvagn" -
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My only guess would be that the parking brake was sticking, and removing the bracket (and immediately chucking it in the trash) was the quick "fix" that Missy's boyfriend Randy came up with.
Semi-related: We bought our house from an old guy named Ralph who actually helped build it. Whenever I find something done in a half-assed or bizarre way, I mutter "fuckin' Ralph." It's become sort of a running joke between my wife and me: "Honey, I found another fuckin Ralph..."
When I'm thinking up a clever way to fix something, it's actually in the back of my head, "Do I want to be thought of as THAT previous owner?"
"The previous owner did that; it's been like that since I bought it."
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@cobrajoe Only compatible vehicle is a 1979 Cadillac Seville, a car so unpopular I cant even think about what it looks like!
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@nermal said in Why are previous owners the way they are?:
@bandit Are we at the point where a 3D printer is as important to have in your toolbox for working on old cars as a 3 ft pipe, a set of extraction sockets, and a nearby Harbor Freight? All are useful for battling the side effects of the common redneck previous owner.
I've been holding out for SLS machines to come down to where they're only obscenely expensive compared to a mill as opposed to unimaginably expensive.
That way, since I convinced myself I needed a mill and got one, I could also get an SLS, right?I mean, the rationale on the mill is pretty similar - I intend to be in weird cars for a very long time, and sometimes that's going to mean making things.
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@mark-tucker said in Why are previous owners the way they are?:
My only guess would be that the parking brake was sticking, and removing the bracket (and immediately chucking it in the trash) was the quick "fix" that Missy's boyfriend Randy came up with.
Semi-related: We bought our house from an old guy named Ralph who actually helped build it. Whenever I find something done in a half-assed or bizarre way, I mutter "fuckin' Ralph." It's become sort of a running joke between my wife and me: "Honey, I found another fuckin Ralph..."
When I'm thinking up a clever way to fix something, it's actually in the back of my head, "Do I want to be thought of as THAT previous owner?"That's hilarious. Missy's boyfriend was named Don, he left one of his R&B CD's in the glovebox with his name written in sharpie on it lol
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@snuze said in Why are previous owners the way they are?:
@bandit said in Why are previous owners the way they are?:
The previous owner of my Trans Am cut out the parking brake system for some reason and threw out some impossible to find but entirely necessary brake caliper brackets....
...The PO was a redneck named Missy who painted the car purple in her backyard and sold the car to me to buy a 4th gen V6 camaro with t-tops because she couldnt afford gas for the 2nd gens V8 but still....
Story checks out.
I cleaned out so many Marlboro boxes and bullet casings when I first got the car...
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@sony1492 After doing some quick shopping, I think we are currently at the point where you realistically need a friend that has one in order for it to be affordable. However, much like how the cost of the plastic ones has dropped significantly over the past few years, I think the metal ones will do the same in time.
So, not there yet, but it's something to look forward to.
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@nermal someone else mentioned about 10k, that's within the realm of other industrial equipment a shop would have. I think if they got as low as 5k it would seem like a reasonable investment for any custom shop along with their tube benders etc
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@snuze 3D printer for iron coming in around $10k bodes well for the future. Imagine a future where you could have decent printed parts in mild steel, aluminum, and plastics with equipment costs of a couple thousand dollars. I almost wouldn't want a mill anymore.
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Looks pretty easy to fab out of steel
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@just-a-scratch Agree, to a point. Additive manufacturing is definitely going to up the game, but it doesn't completely replace the need for subtractive manufacturing, especially for simple things. For example, turning down round parts on a lathe will generally always be faster and easier than printing them. Also, 3D print resolution isn't often great, so I imagine traditional machining will still be necessary to finish surfaces. I think frankly 3D metal printing is just going to be another arrow in the quiver, but it will be a very powerful arrow.
2018 Terrain Denali
2012 Cruze LT
1987 245 DL "Jankvagn" -
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@snuze Yup. Printers are almost a replacement for machining, but not quite. A great many things can be printed, but there seem some real limitations to the method. I'm not aware of a printer that can match the accuracy of a good mill or lathe with decent tooling. And for accuracy and surface finish, precision grinders are really hard to beat. If you consider the material limitations of a printer and compare to machining operations, well sometimes you just need the properties of Hastelloy and the printer won't do it.
For the home gamer though, a printer does a whole lot of what would be needed. The few things you can't do on a printer are probably best left to the professionals. It won't quite stop me from wanting the pro tools though. Close, but not quite.
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@bandit said in Why are previous owners the way they are?:
The previous owner of my Trans Am cut out the parking brake system for some reason and threw out some impossible to find but entirely necessary brake caliper brackets. The only source I can find right now short of buying a parts car is a website selling reproductions for $85 + $20 shipping for these tiny 2in long brackets. If I had a fab shop and tools I could make them in an hour.
They're the brackets that hold that spring in place. I dont have a spring either but that can't be as difficult to find right? The PO was a redneck named Missy who painted the car purple in her backyard and sold the car to me to buy a 4th gen V6 camaro with t-tops because she couldnt afford gas for the 2nd gens V8 but still....
Florida?
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@just-a-scratch I 100% agree. I'm still trying to finish up some things in my garage (need electrical inspection, hook up my air compressor, and then hang some cabinets). But once all that's done, I'm going to start looking for a mill-lathe combo machine. I don't need anything fancy or with a huge throw, but I think it would be good to have to make small parts and whatnot.
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@dogisbadob Kentucky, so basically the same thing
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Time to channel your inner Project Binky, and try fabricating one?
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@bandit Aargh, that's so frustrating. I can understand cutting a seized parking brake cable in a pinch, but there are ways of disabling a parking brake without ruining it for the next owner!
Reminds me of the time I was helping my sister do ball-joints on her Explorer, and found that somebody had gutted the parking brakes. No shoes, no hardware, nothing. Of course, being an automatic, she had never tried to use them, but still...
