Take one look at this photo and you can see why having a good roll cage is smart.  The driver of this jeep, 63 year old Alvin Baldwin, died in the rollover after being ejected.  The link to the original article no longer exists.  It occurred outside Virginia City.

Well, I learned something new today:  Drive Cycles …. 

A couple days ago my 1997 BMW 540i failed an emissions test (for the second year in a row).  Last year I had shown enough money spent on the engine to get a waiver.  This year, I was a little nervous because I didn't know whether they'd give me a second waiver or not.  (This vehicle is a blast to drive and a PIA to take care of or work on!!)

Well, I just got done speaking with the head of the Air Quality Testing for ADA County, my new friend Roger (I have to say that it's nice to be able to talk to the head of the department — that's one nice thing about living in a small populated state).  What happened was not that I failed, but that they couldn't read my car's computer.  The reason was that I have not completed a drive cycle since the last time I reset my car's computer codes (Any time I work on it, I reset the codes to see if I have fixed the problem).  I figured anytime I got into the car and drove it that the computer would be on and recording normally.  However, until a drive cycle is complete, none of my monitors (which are really groups of codes) are actually capable of being read.  So, Roger, who said he consulted with the EPA back in 1992, said he had a good deal of insight into what constituted a drive cycle.

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Have a dented header you want to fix?  While combing the internet for advice on making my headers work, I came across this interesting solution for fixing dented headers.  It involves water, a freezer, and some time.  Note: I have not tried this, so cannot speak for its effectiveness

Fixing a Dented Exhaust Header 

As a number of readers can attest, I've done a variety of craigslist deals (probably close to 40).  This time, I had a '73 CJ-5 radiator I wanted to sell, so naturally I listed it on Craiglist. A potential buyer contacted me and said he was very interested, but couldn't come look at the radiator until after I had left for Seattle.  So, I told him I would put the radiator outside and if he wanted it, to put the money into an envelope I pinned to the house.

Sure enough, two days later the radiator was gone and the money was inside the envelope. I was happier about the honesty than about the money 🙂

In fact, I've only had one deal where I didn't get all my money.  I swapped a dirty 350 Cadillac motor I really didn't want for some guages, competition coil and a few other parts.  The kids I swapped with was maybe 18 and didn't have a way to pickup the engine, so I said I'd charge him gas money to deliver it.  When I got there he said he didn't have the money yet, but would mail it.  Unfortunately, despite a couple reminders, I still haven't gotten the money. I plan to stop by his house next time I'm driving by (he's over an hour away) and remind him in person again.