Driving Museum "Cruise In" - Saturday, June 5, 2021 -- part 4

Not the most attractive design but this car was better than new...

Incredibly nicely restored/improved interior.

I'm sure it's way nicer than the way it left the factory.

Nice door handle design.

This car followed the 100, which didn't have any...

Also added the external fuel filler (versus the 100, which you had to open the trunk to fuel...).

The reflectors were "fixed" by integrating them into the body.  Perhaps the only nicer part of the 3000 versus the 100, visually speaking...

The gauge layout and the chrome trim is nice.

Also like the steering wheel.  Don't know what the lever in the center of the steering wheel does (choke or spark advance control?).  I have one of these horn button/levers hanging in the garage...

The transmission location and shift lever layout is unfortunate.

It looks like you have to lean forward quite a bit every time you shift...

 

Wednesday, June 2, 2021 -- Manhattan Beach Pier

Another overcast day, which is actually nice for riding.

It cleared up later in the early afternoon.

Weekdays are nice.  Not too many people, more quiet & relaxed...

 

Driving Museum "Cruise In" - Saturday, June 5, 2021 -- part 3

The museum has a small gift shop and a diner. (to the right in this picture)

Both were open.

The reflectors on the top of the rear fenders look unfortunately added on.  Otherwise, the body on this car is extremely clean and sculptural.

This car looks even better with the bumpers removed (as seen on some of the racing versions).

The fold-down windshield on this car is one of the best design features of all time on any car! (another is the slide-down tailgate/slide up glass of the early 70s GM station wagons)

No external door handles.

Reach in and slide the lever at the rear to get in.

Pull on the strap inside the door to get out.

There being no side windows, the door inner space can be used for storage.

 

Bike shoe laces keeper...

The new bike shoes come with built in shoe lace keepers.

The loose shoe laces are tucked under an elastic band on the tonge of the shoe.

This is after tucking the laces under the keeper.

I put the laces under the keeper from the front of the shoe towards the back.

This way the laces are not flopping around and will keep them from getting caught in the bike chain/gears.

 

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 -- Manhattan Beach Pier & Marina Del Rey Bridge

Overcast day.  Cool but not windy (high 60s; around 20 C).

They've been working on the area around the Marina Del Rey bicycle bridge for a long time (at least a couple of years?).

They must be getting somewhat close to finishing parts of the project.

They used this public parking lot as a staging area for heavy equipment.  But, now it's been repaved and they're doing the striping...

About 180 degrees panorama

This bridge is the bicycle path link between the Ballona Creek bike trail and the ocean front bike trail.

Go across it on every ride...

They've had the chain link fencing and the concrete road blocks in place for several years.

Such a long project...

Maybe they'll reopen the parking for the public soon?

 

Bay Cities Deli -- Santa Monica -- Bread

Got some freshly baked bread, a corned beef sandwich, sausage with marinara sauce & some chicken salad (ordered online, except for the bread).

Stopped to get gas for the MGB on the way back at Costco.

Gas was about $4/gal!

Most regular gas stations are charging nearly $4.50/gal.

Getting towards the gas prices in Japan & Europe...

 

Porch

CM had a friend coming over in the late afternoon for a chat on the porch.

Cleaned the front porch area, bench and chair.

Had to use a liquid cleaner and paper towels on the furniture to get all the dirt/dust off so that it will be nice and clean for sitting on...

The bench is Teak.  I'm not sure what the chair is made of but it may also be Teak.  I'd like to get a small similar looking wood side table to put between the two for setting down a drink or a plate on...

 

2017 Audi A3 Sedan -- Battery Replacement

A female friend's Audi A3 would not start.

AAA told her that the battery was bad and a replacement battery would be $340 (through AAA).  The person was nice and told her that if she could buy one on her own, it would probably be less.

I don't even want to guess what it would cost if she took it to a dealer...

This all happened while she was visiting her mom at the local senior housing a couple of blocks away so it was convenient to jump start the car and bring it to the house.

First tried charging the battery.

Before charging, the battery tested bad...

It seemed to take a charge and the battery tester that I have indicated that it was good after the charging.  But after a couple of starts, it wouldn't start again.

Checking the battery again with the electronic battery tester, it tested bad again.

There's an insulation "blanket" around the battery.

A long time ago, I worked on an issue where the charging system/battery was insufficient for the worst case real world condition.

Part of the countermeasure for the issue, besides an upgraded alternator, was a blanket around the battery to reduce the heat load on the battery under extended idling conditions.

There's some sort of a sensor on the B- terminal.

Had to disconnect the harness to be able to get the cable out of the way for battery removal.

Removed factory battery.

680 CCA rated.

Size is H6.

After removing the battery, noticed that both ends of the battery were deformed and bulging out.

Not a good sign...

The battery retainer is this bracket on one end.

The other end of the battery tucks under a protrusion molded into the battery tray.

Very simple & just one 13 mm head bolt to remove.

Plastic battery tray.

There are three different locations where the bracket can be installed for different length batteries.

For the H6 size, the full size of the battery tray is occupied so the hold down bolt goes in the very bottom nut insert.

Got the battery from the local Pep Boys.

Champion brand but I think all lead-acid batteries are made by two or three companies and labeled with different brands.

This is an AGM (spill-proof) battery and is rated at 760 CCA and 120 A reserve capacity.

The battery was on sale (15% off) so the battery was about $212.

There were cheaper priced options but decided to go with the best one that they had.  (short of buying an Odyssey or Optima, this is probably the best of the rest, at least from a local auto parts store)

Battery is made in Mexico.

The hold down works perfectly with the new battery.

There's a factory cover over the B+ terminal that had a couple of plastic pins that engage in holes built into the replacement battery.

Just like the factory battery.

There's two handles built into the battery top cover, also just like the factory battery.

It's nice when everything works well on a non-factory replacement part.

Hopefully, the battery will last at least 5 years...