Random Happy Horseshit

@RonP - 91 octane; however, there are additives for those that need the octane. The Vette also has associate load with 2nd key in dash. 4 loads: all adjusted at chassis dyno. Vette will get 15-20 mi/gal when de-tuned and running 2k rpm at 75mph. Running a TKO 5 speed with rear end geared appropriately. The low end torque is strong enough to adjust the rear end gearing. Also, tranny is the wide ratio TKO.

Wide ratio implies a shorter first gear. With that power to weight, why?

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@RonP - wide ratio gives me a lower 5th gear ratio (less rpm). The ratio range is increased and the top end is more affected. My design was to keep the 75 mph at about 2kish… The motor has incredible low end torque so I could decrease the rear end ratio. The close ratio 5th gear is 0.82. The WR gives me lower rpm in 5th, yet the low gears are very close. Also, the ragtop is gone because I need the cavity for extended wheel well. Rear tires are Michelin 325/30-19. I have them adding a GTS custom flares to gain 1.5in with per side; however, you can’t tell. The weight I designed for will be 3,000lbs; so, don’t need a ton of low end torque…:relieved:

The Transmission

A few decent, though not overly expensive tools: The 8-Cup Bonavita maker, their electric kettle, and a Capresso burr grinder. Note the addition of the Milty Zerostat, used to zap the plastic hopper in the grinder, otherwise it’s grounds all over the place. BTW - always freshly ground, every time, unless you need some for traveling without gear : )

Having just moved to a land where water boils around 203 degrees F, and having been without the semi-automatic maker for a couple of weeks, I’ve gotten back into full-pots’ worth pourovers. The first one I did with the maker tasted iffy. Not sure if it is not able to do its thing at altitude, it usually makes good coffee. Or maybe I’m just spoiled by doing pour overs again and the control, quality and finesse of the brew, as well as nostalgia for the days when we first discovered making coffee with Melittas and Chemexes (late 60’s as I recall).

Some folks hate the fact that the Bonavita Maker’s stainless pot MUST be preheated, or it sucks a bunch of therms out of your brew.

As Elk rec’s. - the Technivorm is awesome - and also not for everybody. if you want/need to wake up in the morning with your coffee waiting for you, the Cuisinart makers are good. It’s about being able to get the water up to proper temp before dispensing it, and keeping it relatively even throughout. Cheaper makers just ramp up through a broad range and indiscriminately dispense it from not-hot-enough, to scalding. Unlike some teas, coffee water should not be at 212 degrees F.

N.B. - “cup” size varies with country and manufacturer - pretty sure it’s 5oz. In Technivorm-land, I think the Bonavita are 6oz., etc.

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The new version of the Bonavita pot is much better. I’m sure you can order just a replacement pot.

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Do you know what torque the engine produces on 91 octane?

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@badbeef - haven’t seen a Zerostat since owning my Oracle 30 years ago… Thanks for the reminder… :v:Man those were drama filled days… My VPI LP cleaner… Hats off… I am humbled and a ton more enlightened by your coffe knowledge. Elk too…

@RonP - yes, exactly… have the rpm/torque curve… 860ftlbs… not you Dads Vette… ZR1 hydraulic double clutch… 3,000 lb Vette, BOOHA! Why do you think I designed it with associative ECU load? A Dodge DEMON has a ton of HP weighing 4500lbs… My Vette has greater HP and 1/3 the weight…:wink:

My guess is that first gear will wind up faster than my brain could signal a shift. I’d really have to practice!
I once had a 396 Chevelle, blueprinted. balanced. Never dyno’d but it got 3300 lbs thru the quarter in mid 12’s with slicks.
The M21 first gear was 2:20 and I really had to be ready; it couldn’t have been more than a couple seconds.
I miss those days of lopey idle, solid lifters, thin wall tube headers, 13:1 compression—what a sound.

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The Technivorm is indeed awesome. The coffee it makes truly is better. But it is expensive and does not hold your hand.

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@RonP - there is nothing old school about this Vette. The electronic adaptive suspension uses a 3D acellerometer w/ reservoir per shock and a control loop (fluid) is 6ms w/ sensor 1ms. It has speed, brake, and throttle position sensor for input to the control electronics. Three modes completely customizable per mode. The dual CTSV fuel pumps I designed w/ electronics to adjust duty cycle so at idle you adjust DC for sound. The 7in LCD is Holly digital dash with every engine parameter programmable. Not you Dad’s Vette.

My Deuce is totally old school with dual quad Dart block and TBS blower. 383 stroker. I own two completely different hot rods for that reason. Old school is a blast. Vette is an engineering exercise.

That is the Vette’s Tremec TKO600 WR tranny on my garage floor.

I just added mufflers past the bumper on the Deuce. I don’t take that car out before 10:00AM. It also lopes with the blower searching for the proper F/A ratio. I will be going Fitech 1200HP adder (EFI) on the Deuce when the Vette is done. I have all the parts.

I am old enough to remember setting points…:v:

Great! A loonngg way from when hi tech was recurving your dual point distributor.

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So: Some of the outdoor stuff - forgive my grill not looking like Steven Raichlen’s - I don’t have a sponsor replacing parts every time they get used ; )

Standard issue Weber 3-burner, left outdoors and uncovered year-round. I’m not fussy.

The bracket that came on it - you can order fancy ones; the 50rmp motor, I kept the motor mount plate that slides on the bracket from the rotisserie motor, and you can see one of the two-pronged bits that interlock with an X-shaped rubber spider between - though I’ve lost mine in the move. Just ordered some new ones from RK. I also just went to the hardware store and got some new bolts with lock washers, as the nuts tend to work their way off otherwise:

With the drum on/load door open so you can see the internal vanes:

Other essentials - A box fan and a baker’s sieve. You need to prop them up on bricks or rocks for air flow from below. A finished batch the other day.

Sweet Maria’s descriptions sometimes put wine descriptions to shame. These are relatively tame. “City”, “Full City” and FC+ are roast levels. This would be at least FC+:

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@badbeef - Really cool pics; thanks for sharing… :slight_smile:
The pics really do it justice…

Pretty cool.

A colleague when I was in the working world would buy green fair traded beans from somewhere in South America and use a hot-air popcorn popper to roast them. Of course, each run would only yield enough beans for a prep or two in a Bodum coffee press, but it was dirt simple, relatively fast and pretty tasty.

I say “relatively” because if you really wanted that cup of brew, it was more fiddly of a process than it sounds like.

That was how I got the bug. I really didn’t want to spend $650 for a decent tabletop roaster that only holds a half pound, and that trashes the kitchen with smoke and chaff, just to see if I liked it. I read about the fact that you could go to Target, buy a (then) $15 hot-air popper, buy some beans, and see if it’s for you. It’s very hard to control, but works, as you say - for small amounts. But it was enough for me to know the process was for me.

My 4lb drum, built by RK hisself back when he was “just this guy” in NC (as I recall), was $225 at the time, and will likely outlast me.

OK. That is serious stuff. I just have a Gene coffee roaster which only roasts about 150gms at a time. It does mean that you are always forced to enjoy a fresh roast. After 3 years I have just had to replace the heater on it. I like a medium roast (255C for a little over 15 mins). Favourite beans are Old Brown Java and Guatemalan Huehuetenango for 60% of my roasts. To my shame I do not have a ceramic burr grinder. I am waiting for the old blade model to break and the confounded thing seems indestructible.

Well, just went on Sweet Maria’s, and they’ve made a liar out of me - there is a Yemeni coffee available, but it’s not necessarily one of the top ones. Also, my favorite blend of theirs, Moka Kadir, which, when available is in part Yemeni beans, is back. The cupping scores and profiles aren’t stellar, but will advise.

You gearheads may appreciate this, as I’ve been advised that my Front WD vehicle will not cut it here (thankfully it’s a turbo, so is not suffering any ill effects of altitude vs. Illinois).

I saw this vintage Ford Bronco parked next to me in the Target parking lot the other day. Sorry that I didn’t shoot the interior, which was crazy clean, and nice brown leather.

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My Dad had a 68 Bronco. It was great around South Lake Tahoe in the 70s when I was a kid. - Tahoma specifically, just North of Emerald Bay.