Any other "Car Guys" planning for FIRE?

[427Vette]

Holy Cow! what are the dimensions of that building?

It’s 72X104 with 16’ sidewalls.... You can never build them to big.

 

[Car-Guy]

I am in the process of building new shop. I have several collector cars, a Motorhome, two Kubota tractors, a Bobcat skid loader, ATV’s etc. etc. Besides building the perfect shop I am building a new house as well. My cars and other equipment is what I plan to “do” in retirement.

It’s 72X104 with 16’ sidewalls.... You can never build them to big.

Dang, that shop is so big it looks like it got several inches of snow in the front and didn't get any on the backside... That's big <joke>

 

[kingkarmann]

Funny. Our good friends have a C7 Grand Sport convertible with the plate “OUR401K”.

The most exotic car we’ve ever owned was a 2001 Audi TT 225, not very exotic but it was a fun car…

I always thought the Audi TT was a modern representation of the Karmann Ghia. I have a soft spot for the TT's

 

[shwgeek]

Nice thread!

I have always been into cars. The first car I purchased after graduating was a E36 318i. Best fun I had with it was doing four wheel slides into the company parking lot every morning for work…. then it was all downhill from the day on. I guess the second part helped with the FIRE bit so it was all good.

Unfortunately I wrapped that one around a tree shortly after I got married. Then the kids came along and I didn’t buy an equally fun car while they were still young. I did get to develop an appreciation of the double wishbone front suspension and VTEC on our Honda Odyssey though. Thank goodness the minivan stage is over.

Right now my daily driver is a diesel BMW wagon. I am starting to get more into wretching on the car and enjoying how it creates a deeper connection to my ride. Definitely love the great amount of DIY resources online for the F30.

As a birthday present for myself I went to a Porsche experience event a couple years ago and had a blast. Been pinning to get back on the track since. Last year after I looked at my numbers again I decided I will not be able to spend down the amount that I have in this lifetime so I put a deposit down for a Cayman GTS 4.0. Received my allocation before Christmas and started looking into DIY mods for that car so I can make it feel my own.

I have not been able to get any of my cars to do a four wheel slide since my new dearly departed 318i. I suppose that’s a data point for how good tires have gotten?

 

[Ronstar]

It’s 72X104 with 16’ sidewalls.... You can never build them to big.

Very nice!

 

[leftcoastjayhawk]

Love the Karmann Ghias and the 240Z!
... Have sworn off anything with a carb and points, so I all have is memories and unrequited lust[emoji846]...

FlaGator, you might enjoy these. As pretty as carbs can look, I do enjoy the ease of starting a modern car without pulling on the choke lever or pumping the gas pedal and hoping the car will start on a cold morning...

Skinner's Union (SU) HIF carbs (Horizontal Integrated Float) mfg'd by Hitachi under license.

 

[aja8888]

FlaGator, you might enjoy these. As pretty as carbs can look, I do enjoy the ease of starting a modern car without pulling on the choke lever or pumping the gas pedal and hoping the car will start on a cold morning...

Skinner's Union (SU) HIF carbs (Horizontal Integrated Float) mfg'd by Hitachi under license.

Those SU's would have never worked on my 1967 MGB!

 

[leftcoastjayhawk]

More "old car guy" cartoons.

 

[FlaGator]

^^^^
[emoji23]

Fortunately automatics have gotten so much better as well. Even the CVT in the kid’s Kia Soul is tolerable.

 

[aja8888]

^^^^
[emoji23]

Fortunately automatics have gotten so much better as well. Even the CVT in the kid’s Kia Soul is tolerable.

The dual clutch manuals are the best! Two gear trains, two clutches and electronically shifted (not really true torque converter automatics)

 

[lakerunner]

The dual clutch manuals are the best! Two gear trains, two clutches and electronically shifted (not really true torque converter automatics)

I have this in my car and I love it.

 

[leftcoastjayhawk]

^^^^
[emoji23]

Fortunately automatics have gotten so much better as well. Even the CVT in the kid’s Kia Soul is tolerable.

I agree. I have a CVT in our 2009 Nissan Murano and love it, especially in the mountains. Smooth RPM changes as the grade changes. No more hunting for the best gear by a conventional automatic.

 

[trirod]

I consider myself a car guy but don’t have anything exotic at the moment. We’re a Saab family and currently have a 2009 9-3 wagon, 2007 9-5 wagon and 1992 900 convertible - all manual transmissions. It’s a lot of fun to daily drive a manual car - I used to have a Lotus Elise, which was awesome, but I only drove it in the summer and it wasn’t much good for a run to Lowe’s. So now at least I get driving pleasure year round by rowing my own gears in sport wagons.

I do all my own work on the cars - just finished replacing a rusty subframe, as well as an O2 sensor and a strut mount on the 9-3, and a fuel pump on the 9-5. Sometimes this gets old and I toy with just taking them to the local import shop, but I do get a kick out of fixing my own cars (when I do actually manage to fix them).

 

[FIREarly]

WFH

 

[FlaGator]

Speaking of carbs and points....

GM had the best system for adjusting timing and dwell with their front-mounted distributors. VeeBubs were easy too. Unfortunately, I was born into a Ford family....

I came of automotive age in the 70's after gas prices had shot up, but most everything still got 10-12 MPG. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me "if you stay out of the secondaries, the mileage isn't so bad", I would have never had to work

 

[Car-Guy]

I came of automotive age in the 70's after gas prices had shot up, but most everything still got 10-12 MPG.

That's about what I'm getting out of my new 2021 pickup on the highway. In the city, it's like 8 to 10. With a 33 gallon gas tank and a truck that requires premium gas, it makes for some interesting gas bills...

 

[427Vette]

That's about what I'm getting out of my new 2021 pickup on the highway. In the city, it's like 8 to 10. With a 33 gallon gas tank and a truck that requires premium gas, it makes for some interesting gas bills...

This is where I sometimes wonder if we are really any better off with all of the new technology built into today’s vehicles. We used to have the simple points and condenser ignitions and could do a complete tune up for $25.00. Now we have individual coil packs, sensors and triggers all over the place and much of it is not diagnosable on your own and it cost a fortune to fix. Yet we still get 10-12 MPG like stated above.

I chuckled about the comment you made about the snow only on one side of my building. It is on a dead end road in a very rural area. One of the locals stopped by and said “this thing covers at least two area codes”.

 

[38Chevy454]

Speaking of carbs and points....

GM had the best system for adjusting timing and dwell with their front-mounted distributors. VeeBubs were easy too. Unfortunately, I was born into a Ford family....

I came of automotive age in the 70's after gas prices had shot up, but most everything still got 10-12 MPG. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me "if you stay out of the secondaries, the mileage isn't so bad", I would have never had to work

Talking points and distributors is getting into the cars I have and enjoy. Actually more GM V8 engines have the distributor in the rear. 67-up Buick, 63-up Cadillac, and the early 60's small Buick and Olds (the 215/300 family) have front distributors. The rest: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile (both series: 49-64 and 64-90), and the 53-66 Buick and 49-62 Cadillac are rear distributors.


I agree that the GM distributor caps with the little window you lift up and can reach in to adjust the points while the engine is running make it easier and ability to precisely set the dwell.


Ford V8 engines are almost all front distributor. Only real exception I can think of is the Y-block used 54-64. Mopar V8 engines are more rear than front as well.

 

[Car-Guy]

I agree that the GM distributor caps with the little window you lift up and can reach in to adjust the points while the engine is running make it easier and ability to precisely set the dwell.

Except when something wasn't quite right and it would shock the %$^&# of me... I had one old Chevy that was bad about it and I could never figure out why but it ran fine. (Replaced everything back there) Of course a little electrical tape helped with that.

 

[Car-Guy]

This is where I sometimes wonder if we are really any better off with all of the new technology built into today’s vehicles. We used to have the simple points and condenser ignitions and could do a complete tune up for $25.00. Now we have individual coil packs, sensors and triggers all over the place and much of it is not diagnosable on your own and it cost a fortune to fix. Yet we still get 10-12 MPG like stated above.

Yep, there are trade offs. Gone are the days when you just needed a hammer, pliers, screw driver and electrical tape to fix most problems. OTOH, now I can buy an extremely reliable 700hp vehicle right off the showroom floor with gadgets I couldn't even dream of 50 years ago.

This talk makes me recall a full size 66 Chevy I had with a 283 and no PS or PB that I could "almost" stand up inside the engine bay with my feet on the ground. I certainly sat on the inside fender more than once working on that engine. Heck, there was so much room that I could drop a 3/4" ratchet with an extension and socket attached and it would easily fall to the ground. Now, with new cars, if I drop a small screwdriver in an engine bay I may never find it again.

All things considered, I still love the older cars and technology but if I were forced to choose, I'll go with the newer stuff. (For the most part )

I chuckled about the comment you made about the snow only on one side of my building. It is on a dead end road in a very rural area. One of the locals stopped by and said “this thing covers at least two area codes”.

That's a big shop. I've added on to mine over the years and even with my storage buildings outside of the shop, I don't have that much floor space.

 

[427Vette]

Except when something wasn't quite right and it would shock the %$^&# of me... I had one old Chevy that was bad about it and I could never figure out why but it ran fine. (Replaced everything back there) Of course a little electrical tape helped with that.

That’s always a good time. I got a shock from an MSD ignition in my race car once. It is something I will never forget.

 

[Venturer]

In 1972 I bought a 1963 VW from my grandfather for $150. I was working 30 mi. away. That thing was great on gas but wouldn't pull a greasy string out of a cats a$$ going to work in the am there was one small hill that if I was running 60 at the bottom I would be down to 45 at the top with foot flat on floor. But that evening coming home I could have foot on floor and hit 75 down that same streak of road. I drove it all summer and into winter but it would freeze you in winter, the heater was almost non existent in those things, but it was all we could afford at that time.

 

[nafddur1]

I agree. I have a CVT in our 2009 Nissan Murano and love it, especially in the mountains. Smooth RPM changes as the grade changes. No more hunting for the best gear by a conventional automatic.

We loved our 04 Murano (the 2nd year of Muranos, and we had the sport version that was only offered for a very short time), and kept it for 17 years until giving it to our daughter last year. I had heard there were issues with Nissan CVT's - especially the early ones like we had - but ours worked flawlessly the entire time we had that car. On yeah, and I checked the fluid level once in a while, but NEVER changed it! We DID only have 134K miles on our Mo though, really not much for any Nissan.

 

[FlaGator]

Talking points and distributors is getting into the cars I have and enjoy. Actually more GM V8 engines have the distributor in the rear. 67-up Buick, 63-up Cadillac, and the early 60's small Buick and Olds (the 215/300 family) have front distributors. The rest: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile (both series: 49-64 and 64-90), and the 53-66 Buick and 49-62 Cadillac are rear distributors.


I agree that the GM distributor caps with the little window you lift up and can reach in to adjust the points while the engine is running make it easier and ability to precisely set the dwell.


Ford V8 engines are almost all front distributor. Only real exception I can think of is the Y-block used 54-64. Mopar V8 engines are more rear than front as well.

I stand corrected. Must have confused the little window with the location. Doesn't help that it's been over 40 years since I last did that kind of work

 

[Dtail]

I have this in my car and I love it.

Same here.