Gentlemen,
While we may have legitimate concerns based on our OWN bad choices, why
shouldn't Joey have the same choices we did? Personally I believe that
anyone who puts his own time and elbow grease into a car will make far
more mature choices than someone who is handed some lump that he has no
respect for. Coming onto a mailing list like this and asking for advice
shows more maturity than I had at that age: heck I already knew it all by
then! I applaud the advice of making sure it will stop and turn before
spending money on improving 1/4 mile times, and if was my kid that would
be a given. I don't find our "short wheelbase, V8 cars" inherently
dangerous. In my experience, an old convertible "feels" like it is going
twice as fast as any modern car at a given speed, so I'm much less likely
to get crazy.
My advice on this would be 1) make sure it is safe to drive. 2) do a
series of short projects with some driving time in between. I took my car
so far apart it took two years and every penny I had to get it back
together. I HATED the car for at least a year because it took all my money
and caused me nothing but grief (try moving a 100% disassembled car.
Twice.). Couldn't sell the damn thing since it was in little pieces. 3)
Once you've experienced how cool your little convertible is as it sits and
you're still looking for fast, cheap, and "Wow" factor, don't be scared of
nitrous. Do be prepared to replace the head gaskets if you hit it at the
wrong time. Warning: this is a royal pain with the motor in the car. 100
hp shot is plenty on a 260, 150 hp was more than my 150,000 mile 260's
head gaskets liked. 4) Have fun!
Michael
sosnaenergyconsulting <sosnaenergyconsulting@cox.net>
Sent by: owner-tigers@Autox.Team.Net
12/23/2004 06:34 AM
Please respond to
sosnaenergyconsulting <sosnaenergyconsulting@cox.net>
To
mjsutter@cox.net
cc
tigers@Autox.Team.Net
Subject
Re: On the Subject of "Joey"
Mike:
VERY well put, and it describes my teenage years nearly exactly and my
concerns for this project better than I could have said it.
Best Regards
David Sosna
>
>My advise: Cars are extremely dangerous pieces of machinery, especially
old
>sports cars with bad brakes, hard tires and V-8s. As a 16-18 year-old
kid, I
>made many mistakes with motor vehicles. Many of those mistakes involved
>functioning motors and non-functioning support systems such as brakes,
>steering and suspension. Hopefully this kid Joey has a higher level of
>maturity than I did at his age. In typical teenage fashion, I displayed
plain
>old disregard for the rules of the road, and other peoples property. I
wrecked
>every car my parents let me drive, then I wrecked the ones they wouldn't
let
>me drive, then I wrecked my own.
>
> All cars can be lethal in inexperienced or experienced hands, V-8s with
short
>wheelbases especially. To make sure this story ends happily, he should
keep it
>stock, make sure that its safe to operate, and learn to slide it with the
164
>H.P. lump before adding the nitrous bottle. If he does not respect this
car,
>it will bite him squarely on the ass, and it will hurt.
>
>Sorry for raining on the parade.
>
>MS
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