Recent content by Merlin

can't think of any recent manufacturers - IIRC, they were popular in the 70's because only one antenna was used to try to cover all the bands and they were sort of low-profile so they wouldn't get stolen. not really sure how well they worked, though. if you have room for a am/fm radio and a...

finally dropped below $4/gallon for 87 Octane in HI. Paid $3.98/gallon for 87 octane yesterday.

took a look at a Raptor recently, and compared it to the F-350 and chevy 3500HD dually crew cabs (my other choices). i don't have the exact specs, but i'd heard and read that the raptor was just about as wide as a dually due to wider track, and they weren't kidding. parked side by side, the...

IIRC, trucks TV (on spike tv) did a comparison test between the two, and found that the Ram Runner was capable off-road with a plush, long-travel suspension but was really squirrely on the road, with lots of body roll, and plowed and wallowed through the turns. i think they also commented that...

you could also mount the X Cape bezel cap on the maglite to further "weaponize" it. for closer contact, we have small, handheld CREE lights with bezels in the door pockets or glove boxes. if you sharpen the bezels further and then repaint them black, you really can't tell the difference...

yup. 5D cell maglite mounted under the seat in most of our vehicles. used it to work on cars at night, but also can be used as a hammer, if you take out the batteries we used it as an extension on a tire iron to break loose a stubborn lug nut, and it's long enough to bang on a stubborn starter...

we have a Borla universal muffler on a cat back we fabbed up at my friend's shop one afternoon. we've had a borla on a v6 3rd gen, and it lasted forever (sold the T4R years ago, and it's still on the road, still w/ the Borla). Liked it so much, we put on on the wife's van one day for giggles...

i'd read that the Raptor is just about as wide as a dually, with the wider track and all. i don't think the Tundra is that wide - having to thread a Raptor through the pickup line(s) at my son's school or out through the narrow side roads just would be too nerve-wracking on a daily basis. i...

That's pretty cool, that he got to fly up there and choose what kinds of options and packages that we'll get - they are generally a pretty good mix, although we were told that they like to include some of the pricier, high-end stuff because they know that: a) we don't have a choice, it's...

i think servco actually gets packages from the factory just for them that may not be available on the mainland. i think they have their own packages available on vehicles, including special "anniversary" editions of certain models (i think the camry had a anniversary edition with packaging not...

Sorry - don't have pix to post, and not sure how to post 'em. simple setup for me - SS3900GHP to a 102" whip. still haven't gotten around to getting my ham ticket so i can get on 2m, but hoping to get back to studying for it over the summer. i think i'll just use a HH 2m for the vehicle so i...

yeah, i was looking at asking my students to make something with some decently thick-walled square tubing, gusseted, etc... that way they don't have to worry about bending anything, they can just cut it, weld it, and then i can hercu-line it.

yikes - that looks pretty solid. that would probably do all kinds of bad things to anyone that rear-ended you at anything over a crawl. i was thinking of making something similar for my wife's T4R since she got bumped in parking lots a couple of times (hit and run). my friend's metal shop...

we had a 98 T4R 2WD, transmission was replaced once, rear end was replaced once and was still not quite right (still was making strange noises), and it was throwing several different trouble codes on the reader. after dumping almost 5k in parts alone into it in one year, my wife and i decided...

+1 for wet okoles