On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 18:19:37 +0000, Al wrote: [snippage]
Haha! That reminds me of an old Land Rover (Series III? I think?) that I had years ago. The engine was pretty worn, and (in retrospect) likely had leaky stem seals. I knew I was a little bit low on oil after leaving a gas station, and pulled over to the side, to top up by 1/2 quart. Not realizing or thinking (?), I left the engine idling and poured in the 1/2 quart. Wow! Instant smoke machine!!! Better than any rock band or disco show I had ever seen. In seconds, it filled up the entire intersection at Peel & Sherbrooke in downtown Montreal with a thick cloud of white smoke. I was terrified, as there was a cop (with his back to me, fortunately) down the block. I was sure he would give me a ticket and/or send the car for some serious inspections at the government road worthiness test shop.
Those inspection guys seem to always find something, almost as if it was their crusade to get as many cars off the road as possible. Interestingly, one of those guys had a buddy with a scrapper business just up the road?!?
FWIW, it was a funky old Land Rover, but it was not dangerous. I was maintaining it reasonably, and driving carefully. Not a city car tho.
I learned a(nother) lesson.