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Quote from: serialnumber12 on June 15, 2016, 05:17:21 AM
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these stickers last forever.....4 years in winter all weather!!!!

Quote from: serialnumber12 on June 15, 2016, 05:21:34 AM

Quote from: serialnumber12 on June 15, 2016, 05:17:21 AM
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these stickers last forever.....4 years in winter all weather!!!!

Yep, and I've got one for my gig-mobile waiting, but I need to prep the surface so it'll stay. I'm thinking about affixing it to the back glass.

Fun turn this thread has taken... I like the stories - let's keep them going.

I remember those manual clutches.  Weird as a two-dollar bill.

Well, the new gig-mobile did a number on me this weekend. I was camping with friends/bandmates at a music festival this past weekend... a fantastic jam broke out that lasted until well past midnight.

Still wide awake, and just an hour away from *my* bed, I loaded up to head for home. No dice. This little red lightning bolt icon pops on, the engine idle is very rough, and the gas pedal does *nothing*. (see... before we had fly-by-wire cars, you could give the gas pedal a good stomp and cure most ills like this - not so with Electronic Throttle Control) So I figure to just deal with it in the morning, grab a blanket and pillow out of the back (having learned long ago - NEVER, EVER leave home without overnight contingency plans/provisions)  and sack-out in the passenger seat. The next morning, I ran through a couple reset checklists to no result. Finally, just when I'm about to call a wrecker, one more twist of the key and the engine fires up, the light goes out, and it runs like a scalded dog.  (?!?!)

So I headed home, cruise control set at 75 mph... it didn't so much as sputter once, even after I stopped for gas at my exit. Hasn't done it since.  (?!?!)

Some online research indicates the most likely culprit is the throttle body itself. Apparently this problem is common to the three models of Chrysler cars that use the same part. Aftermarket products it turns out, appear to be superior to the OEM part. Luckily, the part itself wasn't too expensive ($136 w/shipping) and it looks to be a pretty simple job to install.

Not too happy about this, but I guess it could be worse. Heck, it might be worse and I just haven't realized it yet. I'm gonna' wait a few more days before I put the coveted Alembic logo sticker on this one. 

Cave-mobile - 4wd 4Runner with a slight lift and a little armor for the under-belly.   2004 with ~240,000 and tons more to go (my '89 4runner was sold with 485,ooo miles 


Just enough room for everything.  If not enough room, rooftop carrier and hitch-hauler (or 5x8 trailer)


Stephen


PS - notice the rear badge     Christmas present from my son.  He has the Desert Dune '98 4runner

My Kia soul+ has the room for my amps and my basses, my Series 1 will fit in the back, it get's 30 mpg, great car, I own 2 Kia souls a 2013 and a 2015

We road tested - or at least load-tested - the Subaru Outback and Forester to make sure the upright bass would fit (lots of curious looks from other browsers in the Subaru dealer).  Fit in both. Fits in the older legacy also - the legacy is deceptively large, a smaller looking vehicle but the floor is comparatively lower so leaves enough room.  The thing I like most about the Legacy, apart from its agility compared to the Outback, is that low rear deck - much easier for my aging body to get the amp in and out of, less lifting.

They don't make a Legacy wagon anymore, but you can often find them used, they last so well the used ones are often in pretty good shape.

Updated - I put a new throttle body assembly on this morning and went for a strenuous test drive. Seems fine, so the Gig-mobile is getting a second chance this evening. I'm taking the Distillate along, so maybe that extra 10 lbs of awesome will bring good fortune. Fingers crossed...

**edit- the above procedure seems to have cured it... me and the Distillate arrived at the gig yesterday evening right on time, after an hour of crooked old country roads.

Nothing like digging up a 10 Year Old Thread!    I bought my first new(er) car since 1990!  The saleskid asked if I'd done business with them before....I said yea....36 years ago!  (the kid wasn't that old)  It's a 2025 Ford Escape Platinum with 17K on the clock.  I chose this because last December when I drove to LA to pick up Goliath, I rented one of these.  It was pretty much a 2,200 mile round trip and my back and lower legs enjoyed it thoroughly.  Also easy to get in and out of without banging my head.  My (portly) torso is longer than my legs so most mid-size cars are a problem for me.  Anyway, Goliath (doubleneck) in an Anvil case, amps, misc. gadgets, luggage all fit nicely.  IF there is another Gathering, I should be able to fit all 7 Alembics in there for the journey.  Alas, I wouldn't be able to fit my "Wall Of Sound" in there too.  Still need my full-size cargo van for that.

If you look at my inventory, only 2 of the seven have conventional cases!

I've been putting this off for 3 years.  Went online Wednesday for online inventory search....found 8 locally.  Went in and test drove one yesterday and bought it, drove it home.  Its' the equivalent of ripping off a band aid real fast.  This online stuff is a God send!  Salesman interaction time is next to nothing.....a plus.  I don't do trade-ins and seldom take loans.  Heck, the finance guy said "with your credit score you can pay later!?!"  Yup, I'm going back today to give him a check.  And yeah, I only deal with Dealers.  Too many "scammers" nowdays with a "great deal" in their driveway.  It's like buying an Alembic on Craigslist.

I drove my 2017 Macan Turbo to gigs for a while.  That stopped when some drunk asshat backed into it one night (at the bar I was playing at).  Hit and run.  Nice.  I can fit a Mesa 2x15, two basses, rack, pedalboard, and all the other necessary accessories in the back with the seats down.  No problem.  We still have the Macan, it's my wife's daily driver, I no longer use it for gigs.  For that, I've bought a 2013 Toyota Tacoma that was someone's fleet vehicle in Alberta, Canada; got it cheap due to high miles and a rough exterior appearance.  I bought it after the Macan got hit about 3 years ago.  Mine has the full 6' bed and a canopy.  Everything stays dry and there is plenty of room for all my gear, regardless of which gig it is.  My only complaint is that it's a 4-cyclinder automatic and gutless AF.  I measure 0-60 speeds in that thing with a sundial and an abacus.

FWIW, you can fit a Mesa Subway 1x15 in the "backseat" of a 911, a bass (in gig bag) in the passenger seat, and depending on your amp head/pedalboard situation, in the front trunk or backseat.  I've done a few gigs out of necessity like that.  My wife can't drive a manual transmission (911 is a 6-speed manual) and she needed a car and the truck was being worked on so...

I've done a few gigs using my Porsche 968 Cabriolet when my SUV wasn't available, (like a couple of weeks ago when it took me two days to install new headlight units.  I had to drop the front bumper just to get at them.  Great design ... not).  Squeezing all my gear into the Porsche is kind of like playing a giant game of Tetris!

Bill, tgo

Well, my first pro sound gig, I once did the transport with me (5'11"), him (same), a young lady (probably 5'4"), a D-28, a mandolin, and a case & a half of imported beer (on the way home).
In a Triumph Spitfire.
With the top up.

Peter

I forgot all about this thread! 🤣 How the time does fly.

So the car I bought as a subject of the thread really never lived up to what I hoped. I kept it for I guess 8 years. I hit a deer on the way to work one cold morning and tore up the front. The deer laughed and ran away. I fixed it enough to drive home and more-or-less parked it until I had time and inclination to fix it. Time went by, and they were just killin' me at work. I didn't have enough brain power to fix cars after fixing water treatment plants all day, so it never got done. One of my trainees who was very auto-mechanical was visiting one day and showed some interest in it, so I gave it to him. He fixed it up and drives it as a second vehicle. I was just glad to see it go while there was still something worth fixing.

The little green 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander I said was approaching 200K upthread... well, it just passed 250K. I bought a 2019 Outlander to take on trips and what few gigs come my way.... any further than to Roanoke and back, but my old car still gets driven regularly.

Quote from: keith_h on June 01, 2016, 07:55:55 AMHow about this? From the look of things you'd still have room for a small amp.

Yep, i got mine into my smart car too. Sold both.