Scantlings

I find most sailors by their nature to be independent souls and self reliant . That type of character is usually characterized by the old adage ‘Jack of all trades but master of none.” I noticed that sailors were also the same people who showed up at the dock with the most eclectic sort of transportation. If you can’t fix it maybe you shouldn’t own it attitude comes to mind.
Old motorbikes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_R60/2
cars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_MGB,
Citroen CV2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_2CV .
For the last couple of years I have been enjoying a web page called Bring a Trailer http://bringatrailer.com/
that sends me my nostalgia fix every morning to read while drinking my coffee. The comments section after the postings is pretty entertaining. Like Scants there are some really knowledgeable people making some fun and constructive comments . My sailing mentor from the 70’s is coming up on his 80th year and still rides his old BMW R60 to the marina. I have owned a 1974 GTV for 33 years now. The town knows when spring comes round when they hear that 4 banger come roaring around the corner and down to the boat. So let’s see what graced your driveway and made its way to the boat.

Yup, wooden boat, wooden bike, wooden car, and as The Admiral says: Wooden Head !!

1965 Morgan (sister car pictured) that I've owned since '69 when I bought it with a blown motor. Loud, no heater, no radio, no windows, no top, mine has not windscreen, no muffler , just lots and lots of fun!

Oh No, now you have done it! Various transportation methods in our family past and present.

Here is something for Beau a friend sent me.
http://izismile.com/2010/08/06/how_morg ... _pics.html
I get worried about rust. Some people worry about termites .
Kim I will take a stab at the first car your rallying in and say it is a 84 Rabbit ? The second car looks like a Russian car ????? Close or no cigar

Rolled rabbit........son's car, I don't have electronic pictures of my various rally cars....

Love the rally cars Kim!

These are my rides:

My daily driver:





My summer toy:

Sons, 944? Sweet.

Son’s I blew a wad on an engine rebuild so I could keep up with a 944. The dude with the 944 consistently smacked me down.Well not any more. He sold it and I lost my nemesis . Music about now. TILL I SAW YOUR 944 PICTURE. ARRRRGH !

Here’s something you don’t see every day. I use to own this 1979 CHEVOTA and Outrigger 26 Newick trimaran. This is the weather I was leaving on my way to Florida from St Catharines,ON. Truck had a 350cu GM and a 4 speed. I told a buddy about the trip. He said “ Did you go alone?” I told him my wife came along. He commented "You still married?"

This is going to be a great thread. Yes, most cool toys! Pat

Good to see another Alfisti here Ed. I had a '77 Alfetta Sedan for years until the body rotted out. It was a great car though. Well balanced and sophisticated for a sedan with the transaxle and inboard mounted brakes. Close to 50/50 weight distribution as well. My cousin has a GTV of about your vintage which has been his daily driver since he bought it new. He drives it between the bay area and Puget Sound. It has 400,000 miles on it which must be some kind of world record for an Alfa.

I have owned a Datsun 1600 roadster, Trimph TR6, Triumph Spitfire, and a bunch of commuter cars. I Currently own a new Scion FR-S which is the best handling car I have ownd and my daily driver, an F-150 for towing the Cal 20, and my wife has a newer Subaru Forester which she and I both love.

Here is the FR-S, with the F-150 behind it.

kdh wrote:Sons, 944? Sweet.

Thanks Keith

In the U.S., we call that a 944 Turbo. Everywhere else, 951. The Turbo is a completely different beast than the N/A. Both are great handling cars, but the Turbo will get you to 60 in 6 seconds with most of that in the last 10 mph. The turbo lag is notorious, but it will spank you in 3rd gear. Mine is a 1988 and style-wise I'd put it up against any new car that you see on the street. IMO, Porsche is absolutely the most forward thinking car company out there. Consider that the 911 has not changed its basic shape since 1965! Sure, it's bloated but all the styling cues are still there.

The 944 NA is actually quite a bargain. There were enough built that you can still find them pretty cheap and in good condition. Despite the cramped quarters, they're fairly easy and inexpensive to work on. Lots of folks like to hammer them for not being a 'true' Porsche because the engines were built in the Audi factory. That is true, but these are not Audi motors. Totally separate assembly line with all the bits being Porsche parts.

The Turbo is a blast to drive. I'm hoping at some point our kids will stop bleeding us dry of cash and I'll be able to do a little restoration/upgrade with Vitesse Stage 2 or 3 and some suspension tweaks.

Joe, I like the Scion. If I didn't have such an aversion to Asian cars, I'd consider that one.

Rick, I agree about the styling of your car. Timeless. Much more so than the 911 in my view, but Porsche have been able to keep it reasonably modern looking. I have a 2005, one of the first "997" designs. Other than replacing the battery and the tires it's required no maintenance, and it's not a simple design. Mine has "carbo ceramic" brakes. An expensive option, but most importantly, no brake dust!

I've never enjoyed a car more. My nephews call it an "old man's car," and they're right, the kids like me that used to dream of owning one are my age. Old.

That's a sweet turbo car....

The car on the left is Yertle. My Subaru Legacy Station Wagon.



It looks like an innocent Subaru station wagon; one that might be owned by some hippies with a golden retriever in New Hampshire....

But...after installed a nice bar and plate intercooler....



.....A 200 cell single cat downpipe (the one with the sensors attached).....



....And a custom stage 2 tune by my friend who owns the car on the right, she now generates about 240hp at the wheel and about 350 ft/lb of torque at peak boost of about 20PSI, which tapers off to about 13psi at redline. Stock boost was about 11psi peak, tapering off to 9psi at redline and delivered 214hp at the wheel and 214 ft/lb of torque. 0-100km is sub 5" and 100km-200km acceleration time is now a bit more than 13".

These numbers are approximate as I've not dyno'd it and in any case an 5AT gives funny torque numbers, but they should be directionally correct according to the ECU logs. There still some more power on the table as I suspect the blow off valve leaks a bit over 18-19psi - my peak MAF number is about 258 grams per sec which is impossible with this set-up and which means we're running a little to rich at high RPMs. My next move is to replace the BOV with something that doesn't leak and so should be able to pick up a little more top end power.

Suspension and brakes are mostly stock, but I've replaced the swaybars and endlinks with much thicker ones to reduce body roll and understeer and replaced the suspension and transmission bushing to tighten up the ride and added more heat resistant brake pads. I didn't change the coilovers as I did not want to destroy the nice smooth ride. Next step is lighter wheels to reduce unsprung weight and maybe some bigger rotors.

I have to say...tuning cars is very, very addictive.

I don't drive my toy. I listen to it.
Don't let the plain black boxes fool you. It sounds very good.
I built the rack into the wall and there is a door on the backside of it so I can access all the connections without having to read upside down.
I could explain what each box does and note that there are two more black boxes tucked behind the turntable. The smaller black boxes are external power supplies, NAIM Hi-Cap and NAIM Flat-Cap models.
Music soothes the savage beast and is essential to my life.

Nice sleeper car Jamie. Great build out on a good platform. That ride must really howl. I get my boxer fix from these two boxers. The Pietenpol Aircamper was built in 1986 by a fella in California. It has quite the logbook. X-country to Boston area, then to Florida, Then to Oshkosh where it took best build in 1999. 100 hp on the nose vs the original design using a Ford Model A with 40 hp. The 2003 Beemer boxer was a new addition last fall. We live in wine country and the back roads are sedate and next to nobody on the roads. Both affordable rides that pack a bucketful of fun.

Jamie, cool mods to that Soobbie! That must be a blast to drive!

Keith, we have same taste in colors. Here's my old German beast. We put about 100k miles on it and Stacey still moans about my selling it. Believe me, no one wants to own one of these when they start to get near the end of their mechanical life! Still the best long-distance road car I've ever owned.

On the way to Jackson Hole from San Francisco, along the Carson Pass, average speed door-to-door 92.4 MPH. MPG = 8.2 !! Fun factor INFINITY

cap10ed wrote:

GLPA Pietenpol Aircamper.jpg

Nice sleeper car Jamie. Great build out on a good platform. That ride must really howl. I get my boxer fix from these two boxers. The Pietenpol Aircamper was built in 1986 by a fella in California. It has quite the logbook. X-country to Boston area, then to Florida, Then to Oshkosh where it took best build in 1999. 100 hp on the nose vs the original design using a Ford Model A with 40 hp. The 2003 Beemer boxer was a new addition last fall. We live in wine country and the back roads are sedate and next to nobody on the roads. Both affordable rides that pack a bucketful of fun.

That there is an impressive set of toys! Boxers, especially if they have unequal length headers, just sound so sweet.

Jamie wrote:That's a sweet turbo car....

The car on the left is Yertle. My Subaru Legacy Station Wagon.



It looks like an innocent Subaru station wagon; one that might be owned by some hippies with a golden retriever in New Hampshire....

But...after installed a nice bar and plate intercooler....



.....A 200 cell single cat downpipe (the one with the sensors attached).....



....And a custom stage 2 tune by my friend who owns the car on the right, she now generates about 240hp at the wheel and about 350 ft/lb of torque at peak boost of about 20PSI, which tapers off to about 13psi at redline. Stock boost was about 11psi peak, tapering off to 9psi at redline and delivered 214hp at the wheel and 214 ft/lb of torque. 0-100km is sub 5" and 100km-200km acceleration time is now a bit more than 13".

These numbers are approximate as I've not dyno'd it and in any case an 5AT gives funny torque numbers, but they should be directionally correct according to the ECU logs. There still some more power on the table as I suspect the blow off valve leaks a bit over 18-19psi - my peak MAF number is about 258 grams per sec which is impossible with this set-up and which means we're running a little to rich at high RPMs. My next move is to replace the BOV with something that doesn't leak and so should be able to pick up a little more top end power.

Suspension and brakes are mostly stock, but I've replaced the swaybars and endlinks with much thicker ones to reduce body roll and understeer and replaced the suspension and transmission bushing to tighten up the ride and added more heat resistant brake pads. I didn't change the coilovers as I did not want to destroy the nice smooth ride. Next step is lighter wheels to reduce unsprung weight and maybe some bigger rotors.

I have to say...tuning cars is very, very addictive.

Nice tune Jamie. I love sleeper cars like that. The FR-S (and BRZ) are super handling cars but could use 50 more horsepower IMO. I plan on adding a cold air intake and cat back exhaust (maybe headers). Bigger brakes are always nice but the stock ones work and feel great, at least on the street. I am not so sure about a turbo though. I like the throttle response and feel of NA engines, tutbo lag not so much.

cap10ed wrote:

GLPA Pietenpol Aircamper.jpg

Nice sleeper car Jamie. Great build out on a good platform. That ride must really howl. I get my boxer fix from these two boxers. The Pietenpol Aircamper was built in 1986 by a fella in California. It has quite the logbook. X-country to Boston area, then to Florida, Then to Oshkosh where it took best build in 1999. 100 hp on the nose vs the original design using a Ford Model A with 40 hp. The 2003 Beemer boxer was a new addition last fall. We live in wine country and the back roads are sedate and next to nobody on the roads. Both affordable rides that pack a bucketful of fun.

Cool plane Ed. Is that a Lycoming engine?

I love the sound of a radial engine, especially on a cold start.

JoeP wrote:

cap10ed wrote:

GLPA Pietenpol Aircamper.jpg

Nice sleeper car Jamie. Great build out on a good platform. That ride must really howl. I get my boxer fix from these two boxers. The Pietenpol Aircamper was built in 1986 by a fella in California. It has quite the logbook. X-country to Boston area, then to Florida, Then to Oshkosh where it took best build in 1999. 100 hp on the nose vs the original design using a Ford Model A with 40 hp. The 2003 Beemer boxer was a new addition last fall. We live in wine country and the back roads are sedate and next to nobody on the roads. Both affordable rides that pack a bucketful of fun.

Cool plane Ed. Is that a Lycoming engine?

I love the sound of a radial engine, especially on a cold start.

Joe that is a 0-200 Continental hanging out there. Rated at 100 hp. I hope to unload the plane this year and get back into gliders, This old girl cruises around 60 mph at 20 litres /hr give or take. Bernard Pietenpol the designer of the plane has quite the biography. Considered to be the father of home built aircraft in the USA. Pretty rudimentary equipment on C-GLPA. Thanks for the nice comment.

Beau:
I look at your "old" car and I see a shape that will never get old. Not an out of place line anywhere.

Bob, separate L/R phono stages behind the turntable?

Might be heresy in the hifi world, but I'm going to suggest adding an Apple airport express and a piece of software called "Airfoil" for your computer.

Ann asked me last night if, instead of Adele's bedtime story, we could all listen to the interview with and clarinet playing of Anat Cohen on the public radio show "Fresh Air." I was relishing the program but not the computer sound. I found the show on my browser and directed the sound to my hifi. We enjoyed the show without my thinking, "this sound sucks."

Keith:
Black box on left behind turntable is NAIM Flat-Cap power supply for the NAIM Superline phono stage. NAIM is big on external power supplies. They run about $1,500 each.

On your suggested addition:
I think if I were to upgrade my system now I would buy a "universal" cd player that decoded both HDCD and SACD discs. More and more I find classical cd's I want come in SACD layered with standard "red book" cd format. But if I were to look into such a player from NAIM I would probably be looking at $8,000. I'm afraid to ask. I have a very high end NAIM cd player now but it won't do SACD. There is always something and the manufacturers know that the audiophile is really an audiofool when it comes to spending money. There is a turntable made in Holland. They send a technician to your house to set it up for you. The cost the last time I looked was $100,000. Catridge not included. But, it won't fit on my rack.

Come to think of it I have a gizmo plugged into my wife's computer, in the office behind the hi-fi rack, that is plugged into my pre-amp so I can play downloaded music. I never use it. My buddy Jeff set it up for me. Sometimes when Jeff comes up he uses it for something he wants me to hear. Most of the time we just play vinyl and bask in oldfartdom.

You wanna talk timeless design? Horsepower? Feast your eyes on "Dallas"? See below.

i) Business trip to Seattle, but what do the funders care if they fly me back to Boston, or, to, say, Dallas...
ii) bought sight unseen, off the Dallas Craigslist for $600
iii) hey, what's the route from Dallas to Rhode Island? Wow, straight through Memphis. Can you spell GRACELAND!!
iv) 3.5 days, 1700 miles, small problem with a leaking front main seal (eventually $7 to fix once back in RI)
v) 1985 Toyota Tercel T4WD wagon with real shift on the fly 4WD, not AWD. A whopping 62 HP. But, before you laugh, perhaps you should Google "Tercel Marseille" for a hint at what a cult car this is. Wait, I'll do it for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oovaps6bcOA

Can't remember if this is the vid with the Tercel with a snorkel on it or not.....

vi) Friday night, at 7 PM, just before the peak of the blizzard here (and before the Guv issued a ban on driving...), Scout and I jumped in the Tercel to take a quick trip to the boathouse just to check on things. The deepest snow we went through was 10". Just shift it into 4WD and then, if necessary, into the extra-low gear only available when in 4WD. Works every time.

All told, "Priceless."

Here's 2 pics. OK, perhaps "Feast" as used above is a bit rich.... We went to the dog park today but the plows had blocked the entrance so I x-country skied in while Scout just romped in the snow. Other photo shows the Auray Punt dinghy on the Tercel. No, I didn't realize I was color coordinating when I painted the dinghy. No, I don't have a Caddy that color or golf pants to match....

Anomaly that is a soon to be classic boat buggy car.Kind of car you take to the the Hilton toss the keys at the bell hop and say “Don’t scratch the paint ! “ LOL. I think Top Gear would have some fun with that car. The truck I have for boat use is laced with spilled epoxy, seats covered with bottom paint, roof dents from strapping material on top and small craft like kayaks. Truck is a 2003 Honda Pilot with 340,000 KM and climbing. 4 wheel drive is sweet at the boat ramp. The V6 is working hard towing #4500 trailer and boat.

This is the current toy, but it is really a bit of a tool. Besides getting me to work on a regular basis, it has hauled bricks, trees, pots, groceries, camping gear, and boat parts. Unfortunately, with 230K on the clock, she is in need of a bit of freshening and is currently at risk of being replaced with a domestic old man's car. Pat

Cherie320 wrote:This is the current toy, but it is really a bit of a tool. Besides getting me to work on a regular basis, it has hauled bricks, trees, pots, groceries, camping gear, and boat parts. Unfortunately, with 230K on the clock, she is in need of a bit of freshening and is currently at risk of being replaced with a domestic old man's car. Pat

Pat were did you get those wheels? They look like they came off the Bullit car.

Yeah, they look like American Racing.

Ah the good old 1985 Golf GL that I bought off craigslist for $400.
I had to replace a few bits to make the car suited to my use, first I added DMS 50mm inverted struts with lots of travel. Then I added an ex-works VW Motorsports gearbox with really nasty plat diff. It was the unattainable good stuff from Gemini. Top Speed was 108 MPH at some 8,750 RPM - very short gearing got you to that top speed in a real hurry. Speaking of RPM, I found a F2 or F2000 VW motor, 2L 13:1 compression (104 octane required), cross flow head, over sized valves, 312 deg duration cams, forged pistons, fancy rods, cranks, lifters and so on. Fueled by Mukni 44's flowing to some sort of header I tracked down in Sweden for the exhaust. Power was not all that good until 4000 RPM - then it got real exciting between 5500 and 7000 RPM. The car did not idle below 1500 RPM as the cam was too radical. The clutch was a 4 puck Kevlar thing with custom heavy duty pressure plate (after I exploded a standard racing one). All the brakes received carbon Kevlar pads that did not work till warm. All the rubber bushings replaced by spherical bearings, all the struts tied into the cage. I kept braking halfshfts,CV,s & hubs till I had some really big custom things built. The car made a lot of power for a 2L non turbo thing. The last few years I typically won 2wd as long as I did not DNF by braking something. I never managed to win a stage overall, but did get many 2nd overall stage times beating all but one Open Class Subaru or Evo thing. Who needs turbos and AWD?