Re: Oral Traditions & Apocrypha

[Scott Fisher <sefisher@domain.elided>]

Steve An wrote:
> 
> Nice story, but I bet his gauge is at best inaccurate. 

My misinterpretation, perhaps -- I thought he was talking about where
the redline was painted on the gauge face, which shouldn't wear out. 
Fade, yes -- when my speedo needle comes off the peg, for example, the
spot under it is significantly "blacker" than the rest of the face.  25
years of parking with the top down, no doubt.

So on my short jaunt out to the dentist earlier, I noted the painted
"redline" on my '74 Spider's tach.  It's marked with a section of thin,
concentric red arcs, beginning at 5700 RPM.  

(Also, just in case anybody wants to stickle, I don't *always* hold the
car in gear to 6500 RPM -- that's only when I'm coming up to freeway
speed quickly, not when I'm puttering around town, of course.  And the
2L with Spica putters so *nicely*...)

> I am always grateful that my gauges work at all, if they are somewhat in
> the vincinity of being roughly correct, I am OK with it.

Exactly!  In fact, I recently had my trip odometer stop working -- after
I (perhaps foolishly) reset it to zeroes.  I've probably dislodged
something that had worn and was working till some damn fool driver poked
it with the reset lever.

> I have gotten off some speeding tickets pleading my case with the officers
> about my widly inaccurate speedo.

BTDT, too -- had an MGB once that wasn't so much *inaccurate* as
bouncy.  I could go at a dead-stable speed (as measured by tach, ear and
foot -- same RPM, same gear, no throttle movement), and the speedo
needle would bounce through a range of 10-15 mph on either side of the
presumed actual speed.  One officer who stopped me admitted later that
he really just wanted to chat about the car... got stopped once in the
red GT Junior for much the same thing.  I've noticed that quite a few
police officers are car guys (at least the ones I've chatted with have
always been guys, not to say there aren't car *gals* on the force too)
- -- always worth being nice to 'em first, you may find out they're more
interested in the car than in the ticket.

Just don't brag about all the times you've beaten the factory-posted top
speed. :-)

- --Scott

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