09/03/08

This page contains information on one of my hobbies, which is to tinker with vehicles. As a general rule I prefer fast, high performance machines. I consider them toys, not really means of transportation; the latter being simply a good side effect. There is a description and gallery of my aging fleet (of which each member has a very specific purpose), maintenance tips, and pitfalls to avoid.

Most motor enthusiasts' lives have 2 phases: before and after driving a Ferrari. Sometimes I wish I had not moved from the first one into the second one, since that way, at least I would not know what I was missing. Alas, I drove one for about an hour, and life will never be the same. It was a used specimen that I was thinking about purchasing. Never happened... damned y2k stock market.

But I digress. There is also advise on how to avoid getting ripped off at the shop. The Mercedes-Benz dealer is notorious at this and for no good reason. There are descriptions of common procedures that may seem intimidating at first, but that are not really too difficult, like overhauling a diesel vacuum pump, synchronising the carburetors on an multi-carb engine, setting the valves on a double overhead cam Mercedes engine, changing your alternator brushes, and such.