In reply to racerdave600 :
I’m not sure if my reasons are pure. In all probability I restore because that’s the only way I can afford to race.
But I sure see the attraction of racing someone else’s car that did all the dirty and difficult work.
I suppose I could blather on about the satisfaction and pride etc. Yawn! sorry, I was boring even myself there.
I'm pretty satisfied with my daily, so at the moment I'm looking at track and autocross cars. Pretty set on a naturally aspirated RWD platform for reliability and tire management on track days, but I'm open to whatever platform makes sense. Since the twins were born there isn't a lot of time for large projects and money is flying out of my pockets so I'd like to get a running car with a seat/harness/bar already installed so I can get somebody else's expensive safety equipment for pennies on the dollar. Trigger price is $6K, but a Lemons effort with some friends is probably going to put a dent in that or consume it altogether.
So in other words, nothing weird or exciting to this crowd. 
A lot of cars excite me in one way or another for various reasons. Some from a basic, practical POV, some are more emotional.
I don't have a strict trigger price, other than being generally opposed to debt right now, which would more or less limits my budget to about half of my liquidity accounts. That said, my lack of space and time has put a halt to any new purchases - damn painful when I saw someone put up a clean TR8 for sale for $6500 the other day.
I have a serious "want" for an RV right now and might even be willing to go into a fair amount of debt for the right one. Finding that right one that meets all of my requirements has been elusive as I'm not willing to spend so much money on something I will need to immediately modify.
NOHOME said:frenchyd said:In reply to NOHOME :
Why those cars?
Because in my case the hobby is transitioning from building stuff for myself to enabling others to get their dreams built. I do realize that I am on a Grassroots forum, and some people can build miracles for chump change, but people who come to me with unrealistic budgets for their fantasies and want me to participate, generally are not going to aid my beer fund. I call these the T Rex guys; impressive scope but their arms don't quite reach the wallets. People who know what it cost to build a nice car and who are committed to seeing it through are more fun to work with. I get more satisfaction from these projects and I see a higher finish rate.
As to the new cars around 35k? Cause that is what I can afford to drive for 10 years and amortize to zero residual value at the end. Also the price point at which I could afford to walk away from the un-insured wreck and not have dire financial consequences. Seems like the cheapest low-hassle way to stay mobile in an entertaining toaster. I am a RWD person and like the way a lightweight RWD car handles dynamically compared to a heavy car. Power has very little to do with the equation one way or the other since it only takes about 50 hp to cruise down the HWY at the speed limit.
So I'll just put this here...
In reply to Ian F :
i could site the often repeated mantra about RV’s
Something about the best two days of an RV owners life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it.
Having been an RV owner and salesman I can assure you of the truth of that statement. ( and I’m doing everything in my power to talk SWMBO Into renting one for our trip to California. )
Unless you live in a rural place where storage simply isn’t an issue After the first year of ownership usage drops off dramatically
Matt B said:I'm pretty satisfied with my daily, so at the moment I'm looking at track and autocross cars. Pretty set on a naturally aspirated RWD platform for reliability and tire management on track days, but I'm open to whatever platform makes sense. Since the twins were born there isn't a lot of time for large projects and money is flying out of my pockets so I'd like to get a running car with a seat/harness/bar already installed so I can get somebody else's expensive safety equipment for pennies on the dollar. Trigger price is $6K, but a Lemons effort with some friends is probably going to put a dent in that or consume it altogether.
So in other words, nothing weird or exciting to this crowd.
Having been in your shoes. (Racing habit and recent newborn ) I realize how the baby wants/needs keep chipping away at your budget.
My sole advantage was I already had a car so I could simply sit out a race or two to stay in budget
In reply to frenchyd :
Oh, those thoughts haven ot been lost on me as I try to figure out what I want. None will be perfect. It's just a matter of what compromises I'm willing to accept.
Hopefully, I can make my current van work. Then it can serve as an occasional daily driver as well as do RV stuff.
In reply to Ian F :Going to a race weekend or talking a vacation RV’s are the cats meow. A modern Diesel pusher can tow the race car trailer and give you real comfort. However the cost? Ouch!
You can get by with an older RV like a GMC Eleganza and still get semi decent mileage and reasonable comfort. At a much more modest price.
The Class C ( home on a 1 ton van). If modest enough size can still average 5-6 mpg pulling a trailer, maybe a mile or better more if a new enough one to have EFI.
Older motor Homes need at least the same amount of work that the race car does. Unless you update all the systems with modern materials etc. In which case you’re another $20,000 in materials into modernizing things. ( assuming you do all the work yourself ).
A class A is the same thing except worse fuel mileage. Plus some like Old Winnebagos May be a handful of nails away from coming apart.
This is my van:
1992, E-350, 7.3 diesel. My plan is to convert it into an RV. Essentially a Class B.
I searched a long time for a van like this - extended length, raised roof conversion. Being a diesel was really just a bonus. I would have bought it with a gas engine. Already set up for towing as the previous owner used it to tow his boat. Said it will get 20 MPG driven normally, which I can believe. Probably a fair bit less when towing.
My basic criteria is it needs to provide a place to Sleep. A place to Sh!t. A place to Shower. And secure Storage for my bikes. That last one is the one that makes me build my own. Most of my bikes cost more than I paid for this van, so they get inside storage.
I also have a length restriction. This van is about as long as I can fit in my driveway.
I have an E250 Ford Coachman Camper Van. I use it to tow my Datsun to vintage races and track days. I also use it to two the my Formula 500 to autocross and we use it for day trips to Lake Mead or the mountains. Mine only has the 5.8 gas motor. On really steep grades when towing the Datsun, 1600lb car on 700lb single axle trailer, the speed drops down to 25-30 mph. The van get 12 mpg solo and 10 mpg towing. RV registration is cheap and insurance is all of $100 a year. I have on occasion used it to get to work, like the morning I hopped in the Subaru and the battery was flat.
Before the van we had a 24ft class C, it was great once you got where you are going but driving it in heavy traffic wasn't great. The van has just enough to space to change sit and eat lunch and carry what you need. You have to be a a bit more clever when you pack stuff. The van also fits better in the driveway (we have an RV slab on the side of the house). It is also nicer when I drag the trailer to Lowes Home Depot for big items.
Now as for budget; back in 1991 my wife and I made 38K combined, we had a mortgage and all the other young couple expenses. I would run used race tires and only enter Saturday at our local SCCA double regional events. I did 4 races plus around 9-10 autocrosses with the Datsun. In 94 our son was born and by then our income had soared to a head 60K.
Our income is now double what it was in 1994. In 98 we bought a house that cost nearly double the first but thanks to low rates the payment is only $150 more. In 2010 my wife bought her first new car ever (she went crazy and spent 23K) and in 2014 I too went crazy and spent 17K on a 2011 Outback. I've since gone crazy on the race budget, both the Formula 500 and the Datsun get one set of sticker tires every year. My budget would be more lavish but our son's college takes a chunk out it. I do one or two vintage race plus three or four track days with the Datsun. As an instructor at track days I get a free entry. I also do 6-8 autocrosses with the Formula 500. My spending for all this works out to $200 a month. As Frenchyd as pointed out there are ways to do this on the cheap.
Frenchyd to answer the question you asked earlier in this thread; I know about night carrier landings because I worked with some combat pilots. One showed me pictures of his F4 with a chunk of North Vietnamese ordinance wedged in the tail, the other was a SVNAF pilot who flew Sky Raiders and both of them said carrier pilots were nuts!
As for appreciating your service; I grew up in Hawaii (near Kaneohe Marine Base) and our church took in Vietnamese orphans all of whom were so grateful to be given a chance for a better life. When you meet a 16yr old double amputee whose just happy to be alive, you quickly learn what matters in the world. I also worked with a woman family whose family barely got out (her father was a South Vietnamese officer) and at my current job the person who assists me has a similar story. Her father was assigned to assist an American unit in Saigon. Her parents and 9 siblings got out the day before Saigon fell, when the family was able to talk to relatives still in Vietnam they found out that secret police types came looking for the family 3 days after they left. Had they not gotten out they would all have likely been murdered. If you say anything bad about U.S soldiers she'll be in you face giving you an earful. Her family is eternally grateful for the Americans whom sacrificed their lives. Whenever I hear anyone who lashes out at people who served in Vietnam I tell them the stories of these two woman and their families. My apologies to everyone for being off topic but it's important people know what a difference the people who served in Vietnam made in the lives of so many South Vietnamese people.
If there was one lesson learned from Vietnam by the average American public with regards to more recent conflicts, it was to not blame our soldiers for the sins of our politicians.
In reply to Tom1200 :
Thank you Tom. We did coastal interdiction. In other words the Junks and Sam Pam’s hauling supplies from the North to the south came under our eyes. If we detected something we’d fly over low and slow motioning to toss it overboard. We’d make sure they saw our gestures because failure would cause us to call for back up ( our plane had no offensive weapons).
Sometimes that back up was a river boat and sometimes an aircraft. When an aircraft was called in the boat would be sunk. Likely killing everyone. Yes women and children. I later found out the reason they wouldn’t toss the guns etc overboard is because the North would hold one of their children hostage if the delivery wasn’t made that child would be inducted into th NVA likely as a carrier on the Ho Che Ming trail where there was a life expectancy measured in weeks.
That burden I’ve carried my whole life.
When I returned following my second tour. I flew into San Francisco airport wearing my uniform. Walking through the airport the protesters were out in force. One, a very attractive girl spat on me. Six months in the monastery the Navy was back then made me politely ask why and we sat down to talk.
She explained why and I explained that I was protecting our men. I understood and accepted her values and I believe she began to understand why we did it. We both left a little wiser.
In reply to Ian F :
Amen!!!!
War is Hell and the cost is so massive that no nation can afford it.
Yet sometimes it must be fought.
However it was Mark Twain who said any nation that has to go halfway around the world to wager war cannot be called a peace loving nation
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