Conall Dempsey

A Critical Component

While I was working on my car this weekend I was making a few small adjustments to the door panels. As I opened and closed the passenger door a few times to ensure that the window still fit snugly inside the convertible top, this little piece fell from the door onto the driveway.

Corvette Spare Part

I have no idea what this part is or where it came from.

It’s about one inch by one inch, made of metal, and the center hole is threaded. My best guess is that it’s meant to hold another part in place.

So here I am, stuck with a spare piece that fell off my car. I have to assume it was meant for something, and probably ought to be put back on the car, but I can not find out where it belongs. The good news is that I was able to drive the car about sixty miles without this part, and the car has not self-destructed…yet.

Even looking closely through a book of diagrams from this make and model Corvette did not turn up any promising leads.

Corvette Part Diagram

So, any classic Corvette experts out there who can help me out? This little piece fell out of my 1975 Stingray convertible and I’d much appreciate any help towards putting it back where it belongs.

Now I am wondering what other pieces could fall off my car without affecting the driving experience.

Add comment August 2, 2010

Seeing through fog

I have always been impressed by the lenses which automatically change from clear to shaded when they are exposed to bright light. It’s a pretty cool technology that allows people who regularly wear glasses to wear sunglasses without carrying a second set of prescription eye-wear.

The other day I was riding around in a car with the air-conditioning running strong. When I stepped out of the car, the temperature difference between the lenses of my sunglasses and the outdoor temperature was enough to cause the lenses to fog up.

The fog did not last long, but it got me to wondering, does anyone make glasses which are not subject to this plight? I suspect it would be nice for anyone who lives in a warm climate and frequently goes from air-conditioned areas out into the heat.

Add comment July 27, 2010

Light, A Bathroom Essential

In a land where it is common for electrical power to fail several times a day, it is understandable that a flashlight may be added to the list of bathroom essentials.

Add comment July 15, 2010

The Hands-Off Human Touch

There seems to be a disconnect between the desire to provide “Journalism with a human touch” and the sale of the periodicals via vending machine!

Once the man on the left moved I was able to see this sign:

These vending machines don’t even work.

When a prospective customer idled in front of the machine for a few seconds, an attendant would scurry over from his seat to ask if they wanted to make a purchase. Then the attendant would unlock the machine, open the door, allow the customer to peruse more closely, and transact the sale if it transpired.

Effectively the vending machine was a shelf, nothing more. It did light up the magazines, but at the cost of extra floor space, electricity and complexity of purchase. It seems an imbalanced trade-off.

Of course, we do not know the full story.

Perhaps there was not a shelf to be had, in which case the vending machines might have been the best option, by virtue of being the only option. Not good, but perhaps good enough.

1 comment July 2, 2010