Wapsi Square Forum

Just Old Al wrote:Actually, I usually end up coing into Canada on I-81 from New York State, then picking up the 401 and running that down to Kingston, as you say. Straight shot there on local roads (Hwy. 38) up to 7 in Sharbot Lake and then East to Silver Lake from there. When you're traveling with antique hardware speed is not an essential, and the run up the local roads is much nicer than barrelling down 7 and getting into Ottawa's traffic.

Indeed, I'm sure it's a much nicer drive.

Just Old Al wrote:Admittedly I'm not a fan of the 401,

Then again, I've never known anyone who was...

There was a time when I would drive a school bus for a church on Sundays, then drive campers up to a summer camp for the week. I had other duties on site, once we were there. We would drive back to Toronto on Fridays, and I would inevitably end up driving the bus on the 401, in Toronto, (all 16 lanes of it - not that I took up all the lanes, of course), during rush hour... Nobody would let you change lane with the bus, regardless of how long you left your blinkers on, until you started drifting slowly into the lane you wanted to reach, and a driver "woke up" and "realized" it might be a good idea to slow down and let you change lane...

Fun times... fun times...

Just Old Al wrote:but it's not a bad drive if you stay to the reight and avoid the mad Quebecois.

Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment...

Just Old Al wrote:

lake_wrangler wrote:Well... Nobody's perfect, I guess...

With my colesterol levels I shouldn't be eating any of them...so you have to pick your battles. Trust me, I am not in any way above a proper poutine.

Just make sure it is, indeed, a proper poutine... (See below.)

Just Old Al wrote:I remember being in Quebec playing tourist and just being too damn tired to go find something decent to eat - and stopping at "Poule Frites A La Kentucky" for a quick to-go box. Disappointingly it was no more palatable than at home...one can hope.

The chicken is "meh"/OK (used to love it, though. So much so, that it was our default go-to food for all birthdays, when I was growing up, but I've grown out of it, I guess...) But their poutine is not right. The fries are not the right kind: you need fresh, thick, just cut potatoes, pre-soaked before frying, with a golden brown exterior, and a "meaty", tender inside, and you need proper brown gravy, not their oddly-spiced one. Diners usually have better poutine. And if you are looking for chain restaurants with good poutine, for consistent results all across the board, they are, in no particular order, "La Belle Province", "Valentine", "Lafleur". There are others, of course, but those are the ones that come to mind... New York Fries, in Ontario, does come close in quality.

Just Old Al wrote:One thing on the purchase list is a case of Tim Hortons' coffee - I can;t get it here anymore as the nearest outlet to me closed up.

Love it or hate it, Tim Horton's coffee is indeed ubiquitous, in Canada...

Safe travels!

I dunno. The coffee's a bit overrated, but those TimBits were pretty good.

Well, what do I know; the closest I ever got to Canada was a 4th of July trip from SF to Portland.

British Columbia was just one more state away, but the baby was really young and I couldn't interest the then-wife in dipping our toes in a foreign country, even if it was just Vancouver...

TazManiac wrote:Well, what do I know; the closest I ever got to Canada was a 4th of July trip from SF to Portland.

British Columbia was just one more state away, but the baby was really young and I couldn't interest the then-wife in dipping our toes in a foreign country, even if it was just Vancouver...

One advantage we have up here in the Northeast is proximity. The trip I'm detailing is likely 12 hours start to finish and that's at a highway speed of 55 MPH and a small gas tank (frequent stops). Were I having to do multiple days of travel to get where I'm going...yeah, not so much.

Lake's likely 8 or 9 hours from me depending on border stupidities.

Same thing even in the US. New York is ~ 3 -4 hours, Philadelphia 4-5, DC likely 10-12. All easily doable in a day.

It's all kinda condensed out here. Y'ever get out east, Taz, look me up.

Alan

jwhouk wrote:I dunno. The coffee's a bit overrated, but those TimBits were pretty good.

Their coffee itself is not bad - the stores don;t always prepare it right, I'll admit. Definitely like their roast.

TimBits? Those damn things should be listed as a controlled substance - they're addictive.

Al, it sounds like a great trip!

Celebrate! Celebrate! It's a miracle of international cuisine!

http://www.gocomics.com/thenewadventure ... 2017/07/01

Dave wrote:Celebrate! Celebrate! It's a miracle of international cuisine!

http://www.gocomics.com/thenewadventure ... 2017/07/01

Poutin' 'bout poutine?

Old thread and it reminds me of this '69 Land Rover series 2 sitting on buddy's garage. I was helping him install the new shocks and smittybilt bumper on his Wrangler project when he showed it to me. Unfinished project by his uncle so we may take a look at it further soon.

Rizomer wrote:Old thread and it reminds me of this '69 Land Rover series 2 sitting on buddy's garage. I was helping him install the new shocks and smittybilt bumper on his Wrangler project when he showed it to me. Unfinished project by his uncle so we may take a look at it further soon.

Others here will tell you this was the exact wrong thing to say...

Been driving and repairing/rebuilding Brit cars fr over a quarter-century - starting with a 1964 LR Series IIA 109. Hit me in messages and we can discuss if you wish.

Aw heyall. NOW you've done it.

GlytchMeister wrote:Aw heyall. NOW you've done it.

Glytch, you channeling Sarge?

Warrl wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote:Aw heyall. NOW you've done it.

Glytch, you channeling Sarge?

Not really. I'm kind of an accent chameleon (attributes gained from learning how to be socially invisible when moving from school to school, anywhere between Chicago and Tennessee) and some accents just convey a certain tone better than others.

I can also flip to a fairly acceptable Italian, Scottish, posh English, or cockney accent, especially if I have time to practice and quick-reset my muscle memory. Not good enough to fool a native but good enough to fool a majority of Americans. Can't do German, Latino, or anything Asian, including Russian.

Oh and I can't do the Cockney rhyming slang either.

So... well... I guess in channeling him but I'm not? *shrugs*

Just Old Al wrote:

Rizomer wrote:Old thread and it reminds me of this '69 Land Rover series 2 sitting on buddy's garage. I was helping him install the new shocks and smittybilt bumper on his Wrangler project when he showed it to me. Unfinished project by his uncle so we may take a look at it further soon.

Others here will tell you this was the exact wrong thing to say...

Been driving and repairing/rebuilding Brit cars fr over a quarter-century - starting with a 1964 LR Series IIA 109. Hit me in messages and we can discuss if you wish.

Thank you Al, I will.

OK Al, here's one for ya: Just what were they smoking at the Lucas factory when multiple consecutive years of electrical wiring systems over multiple product lines decided all to go Poof? Did the Grommet Grinch decide to wear out and short everything in sight or what?

A friend was so happy to have a new MGB/GT freshly imported and off the truck from the dealer that it went straight away to the shop for a full wiring harness replacement. Not inspect and repair, REPLACE. With Zero owner miles.

At least with the old 1950s sludge pump automatics you got 25,000 honest miles out of them before they all ate through that seal and crapped out by 30K.

Atomic wrote:OK Al, here's one for ya: Just what were they smoking at the Lucas factory when multiple consecutive years of electrical wiring systems over multiple product lines decided all to go Poof? Did the Grommet Grinch decide to wear out and short everything in sight or what?

SImple enough, actually.

There were several problems, depending on what era you're discussing. The very early cloth-covered stuff was a magnet to small rodents - think nesting material. Then you were left with a wiring harness that was essentialy all black with cloth shards hanging from it. They also tended toward a lack of ground returns, and wires that were JUST heavy enough to carry the load and no more.

This is the time when Lucar connectors also came into being. Personally, I love the damn things, BUT if they're not lubricated as they're assembled then they stick - with predictable results as they're not weathertight.

Later harnesses (70s onward) had the charming problem of disintegrating under UV and ozone. Exposed wires would stiffen and the insulation literally disintegrate leaving a bare wire hanging n space.

Now personally I like Lucas components - they're actually rebuildable and repairable as opposed to disposable. For example, the brake light switch on my 1954 LR had stopped functioning at all. I cleaned the contacts (with a glass beader) and the outside as well, masked the connections and resprayed it. Still works beautifully.

Oh lord, that explains a lot. People who didn't bother to consider weatherproofing stuff that's out in the weather 24/7.

I know Britain was still in WWII recovery mode up into the early 60s, but the brain trust really spent a lot of time stepping on it's own feet. If you ever want to boggle your mind with penny wise/pound foolish events, consider the Bristol Brabazon and the Saunders-Roe Princess!

Atomic wrote:If you ever want to boggle your mind with penny wise/pound foolish events, consider the Bristol Brabazon and the Saunders-Roe Princess!

Having read both articles, IMHO they failed for opposing reasons: the Brabazon was a little too far ahead of its time, and the Princess was anchored a little too far in the past.

Warrl wrote:

Atomic wrote:If you ever want to boggle your mind with penny wise/pound foolish events, consider the Bristol Brabazon and the Saunders-Roe Princess!

Having read both articles, IMHO they failed for opposing reasons: the Brabazon was a little too far ahead of its time, and the Princess was anchored a little too far in the past.

And they both became government money pits.