here's an upclose look at the cheap bullshit parts Hyundai built my Veloster cooling system with, that began leaking from bullshit cheap manufacturing process that was likely designed to fail after the warranty was over, so car owners were likely to get the dealerships to do repairs

the pipe nipple was soldered into the manifold part. That does not hold up for more than 103,000 miles and 10 years. The solder oxidized and failed between the nipple and the manifold (or whatever that part is called) and I think it was part of the heater bypass 

 

this failed at about the time the radiator cracked, and so did the upper radiator support bracket.  3 parts of the cooling system broke at the same time, at 10 years and 103000 miles.

just how bad did I hit a pot hole to break this bracket and crack the radiator? I do not know

completely out of no where, and with zero words to explain, I was sent two photos, and one is my 69 Super Bee when I drove it from Michigan to California in 1995. The other is sorta what it looked like when I bought it in 94

Above, Candy Apple red, which I paid for in 94, new Weld rims, new tires, new vinyl top, but I couldn't afford the back bumper replacement, and replacing the crummy exhaust, not after the engine rebuild, trans rebuild, rims, tires, and e brake cable (was cut off when I bought it). I replaced the bumper (some previous owner painted black) and the exhaust, the 2.76 gears, (with 3.23 posi) and the leaf springs with some out of a 69 Coronet Station Wagon (6 or 7 leaves per side, vs 5 that a 383 Bee came with. Super Stock were 5 and 6 on opposite sides, the wagon springs were STOUT!) new steering gear that was rebuilt, and front disc brakes I had rebuilt. Plus I added 906 heads. All in 5 years. That car was doing real good when I sold it in 2002, but it was rusting out, since it was from Michigan

So, there I was, on my way home after a days work, when Mark decided to become famous by hitting my back bumper with his tire as he sped across lanes from the parking lot to the turn lanes, across 3 lanes. Then he decided to deny it... until I told him it's on dash cam, my dash cam, and pointed to it.

 

the damage done

the truck that did it

compare the above and the below, that's how you can see the paint transferred to the above. 

and this is the driver who still won't admit it, he won't admit his tire rubbed my car as he cut around my car too close, to get across the lanes to the turn lanes on the far side of my car from the parking lot 

here you can see that I  snapped a photo as he got to the intersection on my left... and it shows my position in the center lane of the street. 

So, what did I do about it? Follow him, get to hear 30 minutes of bullshit denial, then he calls his insurance company, they told him the same thing I did, exchange info, and leave. Then he calls the cops to get them to show up, and they tell him the same thing I told him, cops don't show to minor bullshit, if there is no injury, they don't arrive on scene, exchange info, and leave. 

FINALLY he got the message, and though he insisted on getting my drivers license and insurance (what could he possibly need it for when he denies he hit my car with his tire? Lol) but fine, whatever, then he finally relented and showed me his license and insurance.

He didn't think to ask, how I could prove that there wasn't that tire mark on my car before today, but, I happened to just get my car from the dealership 2 days ago, and took photos of it. HA! 

So, One more time, I recommend to all of you, get a dash cam, one that records video and audio

oh, and get this, his insurance company has denied responsibility 

Looks like I may have found the car that hit my car... my next door neighbor, of course. The tape measure shows that the damage to my car, and the damage to their car, are both from about 14" off the ground to 25" off the ground

I think you might see how similar the height is

someone hit my car this weekend, no, they didn't leave a note

want to see just how close I came to my garage door crashing down on my car?

that's probably 1/16th of an inch, maybe 1/8th. 

That's part of the door hinge mechanism

Do you want to guess how much they wanted to charge me to dismount 2 wheels? And how I got that cut in half?

they wanted 30 per wheel

Not knowing that, I simply showed up at the right time, 20 minutes to closing, and only had 30 in cash, and they pretended they didn't want to get the cash register system /credit card machine working. 

They got 30 cash, tax free, I got the rims and rubber separated for 1/2 price. 

the first 3 cars I owned, all rusty and mostly painted rattle can gray. 1992-94

 72 318 Barracuda I made a 340, 71 Challenger 340 and 727, 72 Demon 340 and 904. 

I think I paid 400 for the Barracuda, 1200 for the Demon, and 3k for the Challenger. I loved those slotted mags. I got the back ones from a guy who bought them for his 68 Road Runner, and they won't fit on that 68 Road Runner unless you change something about the back and he wanted to keep his car stock except for the wheels. 

I got this for about 15 bucks of lawnmowing money when I was about 12. That engine only worked long enough to convince me I was buying a running cart. Then nothing.

 

 Step dad was not interested in helping that engine run either... so, after a couple years of that being a lawn ornament for junk, it went to the junk yard

Did I ever tell you about my 1969 Super Bee?

I found a classifieds listing in 1994 for two Super Bees, a 68 that didn't run, and a 69 that did. 

I called, and told the seller to drive it over, and if it made it the 60 miles, I'd buy it. 

It arrived... and not knowing cars as well then as I do know, I was easily convinced that after that drive it needed to run while parked for a couple minutes to cool down by keeping the water pump circulating the coolant. Yeah, that's a lie, and you probably knew it.

The first of many problems were that easily found, to be self evident to a more experienced car guy... 

the seller didn't want the car to turn off while he was there, as it wouldn't turn back on (I discovered the moment he was gone) because he'd put a dead battery in the car so he wouldn't lose one that worked. A 35 dollar issue in 1994. 

That was the first problem, rapidly followed by the discovery that there was no response to the ignition key, as a button had been installed under the dash to make the starter turn over, which was instantly followed by the discovery that the neutral safety switch wire was cut, and the car would start in any gear, which was instantly followed by the discovery that the gear shifter (automatic in the steering column) didn't stick in Park... it often slipped to Reverse. 

So, solving one problem instantly made the next appear in a bad way. I believe that's an application of Puddler's Law or Finagle's Law.

But let me back up... the sale details, were that I pay 2600 cash, and get a receipt for 100 dollars, so he'd have a lot of beer money, and I'd pay less registration fee. Solid plan.

After purchasing, I then had time to look it over, and found, there were no two matched tires, or rims. there were 4 garbage tires with no tread, and of 4 different brands, with 4 odd ball unique rims. 

This seller had unloaded all the junk he had onto this Super Bee to make the most money for his trash (and dead battery) that he emptied out of his garage. 

The radiator over flow was a Tide bottle, the radiator was held in place with clothes line, not bolts. The PCV hose had been replaced with garden hose. The passenger side floor rust was closed off by a stop sign. The back bumper was held on by stove bolts, not proper carriage bolts. Two rims had only 4 lug nuts.

I just remembered that I want to find a new home for a pair of these... now, I wonder if there is anyone who would even want to buy them...

The other one is under some stuff in the garage, this one was looking the part of a factory original spare (well, close enough, I've only had the car to one or two shows in 20 years, and a half dozen cruise nights, likely no one ever looked in the trunk and appreciated the original looking spare)

Do you think asking 400 for the pair seems right? New remakes are about 400 each, a set of 4 of these (without rims) on ebay are 625. Plus shipping

I went out and played with my old car today, (jfcoac those drum brakes are useless) to get the "before upgrade" info

it turns out that with a full tank of gas, it weighs 4200 pounds

in this photo you can see 4 splotches of white paint where I hauled it down from 60 mph, it was surprisingly consistant, as the 3 marks on the far right oh the photo show that on the last two stops it was inches different. 

I used 60 mph as the speed for the brake test based on what I remembered from the Edmunds.com care reviews, and a 2018 Charger, for a similar car example, stopped in 102 feet. https://www.edmunds.com/dodge/charger/2018/review/ and weights 4060 pounds curb weight, also very similar

So, I measured these distances, and since 3 of the 4 tests were nearly identical, I'll ignore the one, and let you know that at best, this 69 Dodge R/T stops in 220 feet, when carefully only using brakes, in neutral, without letting the tires lock up. 

Being curious, I then tested my commuter, a 2015 Hyundai Veloster Rally, as it's as close to the best modern tires, disc brakes, suspension, and soft compound tires with ABS made I suppose, oh, sure, anything 5 times more expensive might stop 10 feet shorter, Corvettes, Porsches, etc, but, for a 25k priced car, I think it does quite well. It stopped in 90 feet. 

These tests aren't the most scientifically conducted, I used a speed limit sign as the marker to start putting on the brakes, and opened the door and reached down with a can of underground utility marker spray paint to mark where it stopped... but these are decently done to see what the brakes can do in a panic stop situation, and I hope you test yours too... or if you're in a car club, get the whole gang together and use this testing to see who needs to adjust, upgrade, etc their tires or brakes 

the little tiny electric car in my rear view? I think I scared it from getting to close to my big block 100 octane 2" dual exhaust musclecar. It stopped way way back behind me at the stop light

 - narrated in Sir David Attenborough voice.

"Here we see a young Chevy Bolt, fresh from the factory, carefully and somewhat shyly traversing the asphalt wilderness of civilization. In front of him there is a big oldtimer, heavy in muscles and lacquer, he roared briefly in the novice's direction to let him know that he should keep his distance. 

Young Bolt prudently slows down so as not to provoke the older ruler of distances, not wanting to get within the range of the exhaust of a larger road predator."

thank you Shas! This is awesome!

all I did was give a "hi there" rev to a Corvette across the intersection. 

He revved back. Mine was louder than his, of course. Smokier too. Those valve guides are worn out and leak oil into the combustion chambers

Turtlewax chrome polish.. 40 years old (the bottle has a 1983 copywrite date...) still really damn good

as always before is 1st, and after is the 2nd image

I think its a noticeable improvement

In the above, I think it's easy to see what side I polished a little... 

but if that wasn't clear, I think this before and after will be. I hadn't cleaned the front bumper in years

here's the cost of a dealership replacement engine, shortblock, to the factory - because they have to build it, and not get a crate engine from inventory. Seems that event though the warranty is 10 years, the factory did not stock engines for warranty replacement

 

10,800... and that is nearly twice what the blue book is on the car, my commuter, a 2015 Veloster. 

the bottom section is an optional 1000 dollar kit of parts that they'd like to upsell me on, to make the reinstall go smoother for the techs, who then could throw away all the small stuff, and not have to keep track of it, and install all new stuff. 

I'm going to go through the itemized list of what is in the kit, but I can tell you, that spark plugs, and hose clamps, are in there. Fuck no I'm not paying for new hose clamps, and the spark plugs were just replaced 30,000 miles ago, so no, not paying for new ones of those, AGAIN, and since it's going to take time I don't have just now to see what else there is, I'll update this when I do

this is what 700 miles of oil loss looks like on my car's engine... 1.6 quarts lost in 700 miles of normal use, a round trip from San Diego to Vegas and back, for the CES convention

 and for the past 10000 miles, I've had to get the dealership to measure how much oil my 2015 Hyundai Veloster is losing, because it's under warranty, BUT, the dealerships do not diagnose and repair engine oil excessive consumption. They do a series of tests to measure and document the amount of oil the engine is losing, leaking, or burning. Since they haven't found a leak in 2 years, it must be getting burnt up.

But that is not something that gets diagnosed and fixed. 

Instead, the engine is replaced if after all the time, tests, and effort can not figure out what the cause is of the excessive oil consumption. 

so, I've had to waste time at the dealership every 1000 miles, to wait while they figure out how much oil it's burnt up lately. 

this upcoming one will be the 6th test it has proven to use up more than 1 quart, PER 1000 miles driven

and this is the survey they email to customers.... 

well, last time I was there, last Thursday morning because on getting my car back from the 7 weeks after I had proven that no magic had yet occurred, to reduce the amount of oil my car was burning up - as the trip to SEMA finished off another 1000 miles, and due to the trip, I had driven 1254 miles, and it used 1.72 quarts of oil... but I digress. The dealership overfilled the oil, and starting a test to measure how much is used, with more than it is designed to be filled with, changes the outcome of the test. 

So I had to go back and get the oil drained to precisely "Full" and no more, no less. That is how you start a test of liquid measurement loss, you must know exactly how much you start with. So last Thursday morning I was 1st customer of the day, so it would take the least amount of time, as the tech/mechanics would have no workload yet.

And it took them 90 minutes until I lost my patience and had to ask what was taking so long. 

That was the 1st indication to the service manager that his repeat customer that has an oil loss problem, was waiting 3 times longer for an oil change (drain to proper level) than is normal (20 minutes)

Now if you look at that survey again:

was my Service Experience Truly Exceptional? Not unless they consider 4 times the normal amount of time exceptionally strange. 

I believe it was retaliation, vindictive behavior, for being a pain in the ass. I could be wrong, but, over filling the oil on an oil test, and then making them fix that? Might be pissing off the people at the dealership. 

What causes me to think so cynically? I worked at a car dealership for 5 years. 

Lemme vent a moment, and advise you all to not trust dealerships until after you've checked their work

 what you see above, is either an innocent mistake by a professional dealership mechanic, who can't help but overfill my engine oil when I am on the 6th 1000 mile excessive oil consumption test, OR the stacking of the deck to prevent the accurate test result which will prove that for a 6th time that my car's engine is STILL in violation of the warranty 

now, I am so frustrated and mad that I am getting the run around, and results have already been faked on one test, and now this? 

It happens to be one quart from bottom L marking, to top F marking, AND by my estimation based on that distance, this is 1/3rd to 1/2 a quart overfull, which coincidentally, is possibly enough to cause the 1000 mile excessive oil consumption test, which, works against my proving the consistent and consecutive excessive oil loss that an engine under warranty is not allowed. 

faking the test result would (again, it's been faked once as a pass) call into question the valid claim I have to a repair that prevents oil being used at a ridiculous rate, 1.5 quarts per thousand miles, which is more oil disappearing per typical/normal oil change rate of once per 5 thousand miles, as that would be 7.5 quarts. 

See how bad this engine's oil problem is? It's unable to get from one oil change to the next without burning/losing/leaking more oil than the engine holds. 

for xmas I got myself hookers, and it's probably the first time, and likely the only time, there will ever be Hookers in the back seat of an Elantra.

after 3 consecutive tests, that proved my 68k mile 2015 Hyundai engine was losing more than 1 qt of oil per 1000 miles, the dealership (!) suddenly found that it magically was fixed, just in time to prevent my engine replacement under warranty. So I used the past 2k miles to see if it was fixed, it's not.

upper right shows the mileage WAS 72832 when they found it magically (after at least 3 tests at the dealership) didn't lose more than .43 quarts in the lower left

 

Here is the mileage exactly 2003 miles AFTER that miracle fix (where they could point to NO thing they'd done that could account for reducing the loss of one quart of oil per 1000 miles

and here is the oil container showing that I've had to add 3 quarts in that 2003 miles, to keep that Hyundai engine topped off. 

That's proof to me, and anyone that doesn't have to get a paycheck from Hyundai, that my engine is STILL losing over the minimum legal amount to qualify as "excessive" oil consumption per Hyundai policy. 

So, why post this? Because now that I've proven that I've been cheated out of the warranty replacement engine, the dealership tells me that in order to prove that it's still in violation of the allowable amount of oil consumption per warranty replacement I have to go through the 4 dealership visits again... and that means at least 2 times where I have to leave the car there at my expense for a rental car, and that was about 200 dollars. (For the cheapest rental car)

Time to consult with Hyundai warranty dept honchos on this.