>> > For those in the know (or in the care), here's a video I shot this
>> > morning after changing out the break-in oil. The inner springs for
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> years and was tuned for about 100 less HP/TQ. So there's still some
> left to be done.
But there's no mistake that it's a big block. ;)
> Doing well - keeping busy. I've kinda let the car stuff sit since I
> broke the Buick two years ago.
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> that $8K, so I'm without a payment. It would be hard to buy something
> new and start making payments again.
I hear that. I'm almost in the same boat...
> Outside of cars, I'm taking as much advantage of work-related training
> and travel as possible. I've been back to Quantico a couple times in
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> Paris and we're looking forward to taking more of those trips. It's
> all just money though, right???
Yup. Until kids come along... ;)
> So what's up with you Joe?
>
> Steve E.
> 72 Skylark Custom455
Actually lots of stuff. Working from home most of the time now due to
gas prices and my boss' understanding. 90 mile round trip per day @
13mpg just doesn't cut it, so I get to telecommute. The other side of
that coin is that I'm putting in 50-60 hour weeks on a fairly regular
basis, which leaves no time for extracurricular activities.
My son's graduating high school this year and heading right into college
majoring in Aerospace Engineering. He eventually wants to work for
NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, etc. - you get the picture. Kudos to him
for doing lots better than his daddy ever did. ;)
The LX is still going strong with around 156k miles - my son's using it
as his daily driver. Unfortunately he's banged it up a bit, but it's
come out ok in the long run. It's now on its second front clip, but
it's still running great.
I'm still tooling around in the Torquemonster (Dakota 5.9) @ 11mpg
around town and 15mpg highway, but I don't get out that much due to
work. Needless to say it's fun when I do go out. Even though it's only
a 360, it's got that "big block feel" with the 3.92 rear.
Sounds like you guys are doing well. It's great that you get to travel
so much and see what else is out there. So any plans for little ones
yet? ;)
Sorry to hear about the Ranger. $8k's a lot to have to get to no
payments, but at least you're there. I'm at that point as well - no
payments, but I'm going to have to make a decision soon. I'm
considering giving my son the Dakota in his 2nd year (1st year he's in
the dorm), which will leave me with the Mustang again. At that point it
won't really be dependable as a daily driver, so it'll either become a
restomod or I'll sell it to an appreciative soul. Either way, it's
going to cost me, so I'm starting to think about options.
So, all in all, never a dull moment... ;)
Joe
Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies
Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC
A Guy Named Steve - 17 Apr 2007 02:54 GMT
> Actually lots of stuff. Working from home most of the time now due to
> gas prices and my boss' understanding. 90 mile round trip per day @
> 13mpg just doesn't cut it, so I get to telecommute. The other side of
> that coin is that I'm putting in 50-60 hour weeks on a fairly regular
> basis, which leaves no time for extracurricular activities.
I'm fortunate that I'm able to work 4/10's. So I get Wednesday off to
take care of stuff and not have to commute that extra day. Plus,
working for the county, I have a bus pass that gets me to and from
work for free. If I were to drive, my cost would be $8/parking and ~
$6/gas (2 gallons @ $3) = $14/day. Plus, I don't have to deal with
driving in the traffic out here. I hate the days when I have to drive
anymore.
> My son's graduating high school this year and heading right into college
> majoring in Aerospace Engineering. He eventually wants to work for
> NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, etc. - you get the picture. Kudos to him
> for doing lots better than his daddy ever did. ;)
Definitely good for him. Next thing you know he'll be working up in
this area in Boeing's monster of a building in Everett...
> The LX is still going strong with around 156k miles - my son's using it
> as his daily driver. Unfortunately he's banged it up a bit, but it's
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> work. Needless to say it's fun when I do go out. Even though it's only
> a 360, it's got that "big block feel" with the 3.92 rear.
It's tough to replace them when you don't owe anything. It's much
easier to go from $300/mo to $400/mo than from $0 to $400!
I'd love one of those new V6 Rav4's since we don't have a vehicle that
we can take people in for more than a few miles. Plus they run high
14's and get gas mileage in the low-mid 20's! Hard to beat that for
an all-around family car!
> Sounds like you guys are doing well. It's great that you get to travel
> so much and see what else is out there. So any plans for little ones
> yet? ;)
Pretty much our plan is that neither of us are ready yet. My wife is
pretty deep in her work and has been moving up in a firm that she
really enjoys working at. And I'm not in a hurry right now either.
It would have been nice had we met 10 years earlier and be where we
are today, but that's not the way it worked out. We're trying to take
advantage of travel until we won't be able to for a while, even though
we're not sure when that'll be. It took us 7 years for a trip to
Europe (that's took about a year to save for and pay off). Most of
the other travel has been work-related. My wife takes her first work-
related trip the week after I get back from WV. She'll be going to
San Antonio for 5 days.
> Sorry to hear about the Ranger. $8k's a lot to have to get to no
> payments, but at least you're there. I'm at that point as well - no
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> restomod or I'll sell it to an appreciative soul. Either way, it's
> going to cost me, so I'm starting to think about options.
It's tough. We're watching our neighbors across the street go through
this. They have three daughters. One has been driving about a year.
The second is about due within the next year, and the third is
probably less than 5 years away. The boyfriends are already starting
to show up at the house now. It'll be interesting to see how they
deal with the car situation, especially as the second starts driving
just before the first heads off to college. I guess I don't have to
think about that for myself for a while, thankfully.
Steve E.
72 Skylark Custom455
> > > For those in the know (or in the care), here's a video I shot this
> > > morning after changing out the break-in oil. The inner springs for
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> > > Steve E.
> > > 72 Skylark Custom455
So, where are the time slips?
Where are you going in Italy? I love it there. Was in Sorrento in a hotel,
herd the unmistakable rumble of a big V8, it was a 60's Cobra!! What a
shock:) Was the only good sound I heard from a car. Most sound like 50cc
Mopeds. Got to love the APE 50 trucks.
http://www.italyfromtheinside.com/2005/11/ape-italian-truck.html
Al
A Guy Named Steve - 17 Apr 2007 02:41 GMT
> innews:1176588586.696129.267300@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
>
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>
> Al
The car is a long ways from the strip. It needs an entire fuel
system, including a new tank. It also needs everything behind the
motor replaced too.
I did have a slip with the motor when it broke. With a smaller cam in
an original long block, it went 13.51 @ 106 mph, running through the
traps in 2nd gear. That was with the original 2.56 open rear. The
slip looks like this:
60' 2.309
330' 5.953
1/8 8.882 @ 84.01
1000' 11.39
1/4 13.512 @ 106.13 mph
You can see how slow it was out of the hole. I'm hoping that I can
have everything complete towards the end of this season so I can make
the BOP races and maybe a couple before that.
Our plan for Italy will be some time in Rome and surrounding area,
some time in Tuscany and surrounding area, and some time in Venice
including visiting islands. It's rather loose at this point as we
haven't made any reservations.
Steve E.
72 Skylark Custom455