I might get air-conditioning in my car today. I haven't had any yet this year.
It wasn't that much of a problem. It's a Lexus: it's got a good filter on the outside air intake, the fan blows a lot of air and interior turbulence isn't too bad with the windows down. Air conditioning didn't used to be standard on cars and most of the cars I have owned didn't have it.*
But with the recent extreme heat and high humidity, that hasn't been enough. I was going to take it in a couple of weeks ago, but got busy at work. This week, though, it had to happen. The garage we've been using does walk-ins for AC recharges. I went over yesterday and they were booked up, but promised to look at it today, probably this afternoon.
So Tam and I will drop off my car this morning and I'll get a ride to work. If a recharge is all it needs, I may have it back as soon as tomorrow.
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* At least one of the cars that did probably should not have. In the late 1970s, I owned a 1970 Toyota Corona, a tiny four-door sedan with wheelbase, engine and transmission (etc.) based on the MGB, unbeknownst to me at the time. Toyota changed the engine block to aluminum and tidied up a few things like the quirky carbs and Heath Robinson emission control plumbing, but they're siblings. It was a nice little car, but a previous owner had installed a Sear aftermarket air conditioner and that was asking a lot of the 1800 cc four-cylinder engine. You had to practice power management: get the car up to at least 45 mph in fourth gear before you turned the AC on, and shut it off before downshifting. Otherwise you weren't going to have much fun. The car had nearly succumbed to body rust and been sneakily fiberglassed before I bought it, and finished rusting while I owned it, but I still miss it. Handled with care, it was a treat to drive.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
2 comments:
Good luck. Hope they get it working. Our Excessive Heat Watch in SW OH for tomorrow has just been upgraded to a Warning.
I Intend to spend most of my day in the basement. (which, TBH, since that is where my computer and ham sack are, is pretty much my plan for most days).
Try a MK4 (1998-2002) TDI Diesel Jetta. Funny to drive, gutsy torque, thank you Mr. Diesel, fantastic fuel mileage (45MPG if you flog it, 50-65 if you take it easy) and the AC is standard. Simple as a hammer, the most complex thing being the keybfob and door locking. Mine has 305K on the clock and still pulls like a train. Search on Craigslist for one near you with these search args: fuel: diesel, make and model: volkswagen, transmission: manual, max model year: 2002, min model year: 1999, postal code: [yours], mi: 200. One warning: Diesel are emphatically zero clearance engines so the timing belt MUST be replaced every 100K and that costs $1000 or so. Make sure to figure that in when buying one. This is the famed (but dirty) ALH engine
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