Post: #26

(04-14-2017 09:00 AM)weambulance Wrote:  ...
I like my cars to perform; does the suspension even function on a car with the tire like 1.5 millimeters from the fender? Driving something like that around here, I would totally fuck the car in a week. Way too many unavoidable potholes.

I was doing the rounds at a multi-level car park a few years back and there was a guy heading out from the top floor with a Nissan 180sx similarly modified. Well, he couldn't get full wheel lock without scraping the wheel arches with the tyres, so every ramp was a three point turn. Five levels, two ramps per level, and I just happened to be walking down the levels on the far side.

By the time he got to the bottom I was walking out and he made a point of not even looking at me. Pretty embarrassing.

Post: #27

I know. They are electric but low tech and easy to fix

Edit: On a more serious note my first car was a 89 Dodge ram. Thing was a tank and lasted 20+ years.

Post: #28

?

Might be hard to source new tires, though.

Post: #29

I always thought it would be awesome to live out of a VW camper van and travel around the country and live where you decide to park. Definitely minimalist but considering their age probably not best for maintenance.

If I had one I would put an Ann Coulter for President bumper sticker on it and a MAGA hat on the dash to ensure I'm not confused for being a hippy.

Post: #30

(04-15-2017 07:49 AM)realologist Wrote:  Edit: On a more serious note my first car was a 89 Dodge ram. Thing was a tank and lasted 20+ years.

Having owned a couple pickups with eight foot beds, including one with a bigass diesel, it's hard not having one now.

I'll be looking for a pre-96 Dodge 3500 diesel from the southwest in the next year or two. Those things last forever if you keep them out of corrosive environments.

I'll just have to decide if I want a standard transmission... not sure. My only vehicle now is a standard and I like it, but it kinda sucks having to drive a standard all the time. In the past I always had at least one automatic vehicle. Sometimes I just want to forget about the clutch and let the vehicle do the work.

Thing is, I had a 1995 diesel F250 until last year and it was an awesome vehicle mechanically, but the various computerized powertrain controls caused a ton of problems. Terrible, terrible system design there. If one wire goes, you can toast your $4500 automatic transmission in an hour as the computer starts freaking out, hard shifting, dropping into neutral under load and slamming back into gear, etc. So do I want to take a chance on having problems like that again, or just stick to a standard transmission? Probably the latter. I guess I'll only be able to get road head on the highway.