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Yes, I'm talking about Toaster Pastry. He's had some interesting cars as well. I know of a split-window Vette, an STI, and this is him in a 510 wagon that he has since sold (I tried to buy it from him).
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Aug 14, 2020 18:46
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STR posted:IIRC he went through a nasty divorce and either had to sell it, or his ex wife got it. I think he actually got it driving and didnt lose or sell it with the divorce quote:Probably right, but I also remember him losing some weight and having a fairly smoking GF not long after that, so... That he did.
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Aug 15, 2020 03:38
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Whatever happened to IronBlock's Datsun?
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Aug 15, 2020 12:16
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OptimusRhyme posted:Whatever happened to IronBlock's Datsun? Ooh, that cursed roadster? I forgot all about that one.
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Aug 15, 2020 16:20
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:I think he actually got it driving and didnt lose or sell it with the divorce Last I remembered was poo poo hit the fan with him and the wife, and the car was "90%" done, but sitting in a Garage that was owned by the Ex-inlaws.
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Aug 15, 2020 18:12
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Longtime lurker here, never had a car worth posting about (but I picked up an Impreza last week and we'll see how that goes  ) I saw ultimateforce mentioned earlier and his threads where he had amazing welds but seemed to ignore everyone telling him to stop buying project cars and living off a diet of trail mix and diet mountain dew are still funny to me. Thanks for the posts, all.
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Aug 15, 2020 18:44
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Kurten posted:Some of the legit informative posters were guys like fleetwood (nice to see him mentioned!), phil, lobsterboy, djcommie, redscare and zg (when they weren't on IRC That was me, doesn't seem like that long ago that my name changed but I guess it was  Charles posted:Leica is now Applebees Appetizer (comedy name change?) It was during that thread in GBS for free random name changes so I said what the hell, and just never changed it back. Was thinking about it, maybe I should. Sockington posted:Still got em. Holy poo poo! Those were some good AI times right there lol  Good to see you back man!
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Aug 15, 2020 18:57
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Also one of my first AI posting memories was being super excited when I bought a mint 95M Miata at the time and misspelling "it's like a brand new car" (spelled bran instead of brand) and being ridiculed for it, then someone made a meme with the picture I posted of the car and my misspelled phrase and a bran muffin on top of the car
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Aug 15, 2020 19:08
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Rhyno posted:Hey dude, it's great to know you;re doing so well in life! Your write ups were one of the best parts of old AI and I adored that Crown Vic. Thanks! Looking back I can't believe that I had the time to research and write all of that stuff. These days I'm lucky if I can squeeze in a 30 minute TV show before bed because every day is a marathon. I don't expect to be able to do any of my own work on the Fleetwood, I'll need to pay somebody to do it because I just don't have the time.
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Aug 15, 2020 20:07
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:Holy Jesus, that plus the Caddy might be the perfect combo. Toss that ugly intake cover for something deserving of a max-luxe Cadillac (custom 3D printed/molded?) and then go win every car show and magazine contest on the planet. That's the idea!
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Aug 15, 2020 20:07
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You Am I posted:Welcome back Fleetwood. I used to love your write ups, especially being a non-USian and not knowing much about US domestic vehicles outside of Mustangs and Camaros Thanks man! I had a lot of fun researching and writing those.
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Aug 15, 2020 20:13
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STR posted:Fleetwood, glad to see you back... despite the interesting new avatar. Thanks for the heads up, I noticed that but didn't know what to do about it. I PM'd the admin
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Aug 15, 2020 20:21
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M-M-M-M-MULTI POST And if you wanna avoid giving taxman money lecia, show me a receipt from a donation to a charity of your choice and ask an admin to change it.
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Aug 15, 2020 21:06
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I loved the thread by that British guy that was welding all sorts of new steel on some old van and dropping a Lexus V-8 in it. That and all the cool stuff he'd just fab up for his kid and family. Too bad we never got to see the end of that. All this poo poo in this thread makes me think "that wasn't THAT long ago, right? Oh wait that was like 13 years ago"
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Aug 16, 2020 04:20
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That was/is kevbarlas. At a glance it looks like he's still posting once in a rare while on Reddit but nothing van-related.
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Aug 16, 2020 04:41
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IOwnCalculus posted:That was/is kevbarlas. At a glance it looks like he's still posting once in a rare while on Reddit but nothing van-related. I'm worried that something bad happened. He quit here and Youtube. He was such a good dude and had so much talent. I hope he's doing good.
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Aug 16, 2020 08:28
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Rhyno posted:I'm worried that something bad happened. He quit here and Youtube. He was such a good dude and had so much talent. I hope he's doing good. Indeed, but between doing rust wizardry and posting about it he must have spent an inordinate amount of time. Maybe he just got a family or something. Wasn’t there something about a house purchase towards the end of the saga?
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Aug 16, 2020 08:35
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He had a family and built a super cool garage/shed to work out of. And the garage was built out of mostly reclaimed materials.
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Aug 16, 2020 08:49
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Hopefully he's doing ok, could simply be he ended up without the free time to work on project stuff.
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Aug 16, 2020 22:45
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I saw mention of an army dude in Maine. CommissarGribbs/SandbaggerSA maybe? I only showed up in like 2011, at least in AI. I had another account that I created in 04 but so far I've been unable to recover it, I lost access to the email it was tied to in like, 2008 or 2009. Anyone else remember some dude who restored a Divco milk truck? It wasn't Mooeycow was it? I can't remember. And yeah, the NEAI meetup at NoiseComplaint's I didn't even go to. I saw a bunch of drama brewing from afar and having hosted 2-3 myself (and attended like 3-4 at Tim's) and had issues with neighbor disturbance, property damage etc, decided to simply stay away that time. From all reports it was a wise choice. e: another old poster - opensourcepirate. Last thing I heard from him was a video he posted of him getting in a bike accident and completely obliterating his knee  and I haven't heard from kimbo305 in a while either, though I don't think we've actually met.
kastein fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Aug 17, 2020 |
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Aug 17, 2020 07:59
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kastein posted:Anyone else remember some dude who restored a Divco milk truck? It wasn't Mooeycow was it? I can't remember. Yeah that was moocow (sp?) - first he did a truck, then the Divco. That was super cool. Not sure if we saw the finished Divco. Edit, Divco was finished, proper spelling is Mooecow. Thread here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3104932&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=49 Sadly many of the linked pictures no longer work. bolind fucked around with this message at 08:05 on Aug 17, 2020 |
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Aug 17, 2020 08:02
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kastein posted:I saw mention of an army dude in Maine. CommissarGribbs/SandbaggerSA maybe? Kimbo is around. He posts in the bicycle threads in TGO fairly regularly.
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Aug 19, 2020 00:08
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kimbo posts a ton in the boston thread
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Aug 23, 2020 17:56
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16 years, still haven't contributed poo poo That said I love reading these old stories and reminiscing about old threads. The El Cavaliero was an adventure. Also lol the euphoria of hitting an apex in your pajamas guy.
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Aug 24, 2020 03:50
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1970 was the peak year for the muscle car era. After building up for years, everybody expected that these high powered cars were here to stay, but it would turn out that they wouldn't be around much longer. Due to rising insurance rates, gas costs, safety requirements, and emissions requirements, the muscle car era died a quick and abrupt death.  General Motors had the foresight to jump into the compact car market early on with the Chevy Vega. Being small, low priced and cheap to operate, a lot of car buyers jumped right into it. In an era of huge cars with V8's this new concept of a compact 4 cylinder car became popular. It became so popular in fact that the Vega was awarded Motor Trend's "Car of the Year". With front wheel drive still in a primitive stage of development the Vega was made as a RWD car with a unit-body design. It was styled partly after the Camaro, giving it sport appeal to the youth whose parents wouldn't buy them the real deal. The Vega had 4 bucket seats as standard equipment. It came with a 2.3L inline 4 cylinder engine, producing 72 horsepower (by today's standards of measurement). Needless to say, it wasn't too quick but the Vega GT came with a 2bbl carb instead of the standard 1 bbl giving it 85hp. While this isn't much power it was sufficient to move a 2200lb car at highway speeds. Standard equipment was a 3 speed manual transmission with floor shifter and 13x6 wheels. Options included a 4-speed manual transmission, 3-speed automatic transmission, power steering, and air conditioning. This may not sound like much, but remember that it was an economy model.  In 1975 the Vega became emissions compliant and got a power boost; a very strange combination for the time period. A beefier rear axle also became optional. Other options included power brakes, tilt steering, vinyl top, and a luggage rack. This base economy car could become pretty comfortable, and GM had to do everything that it could help the Vega's image, which was being tarnished by some problems the car was experiencing...  The 2.3L Four Cylinder engine had an aluminum block with silicon cylinder sleeves. It was an experimental idea that turned out to be quite bad. The cylinder walls were much softer than ordinary metal, so any small amount of engine deposits would quickly score them. The result was that if you missed even one oil change your car would begin to burn oil. The engine wasn't easily rebuildable either, so a lot of Vegas ended up being scrapped after very short lifetimes (less than 40,000 miles). Another major problem was the cooling system, which was largely inadequate resulting in a lot of overheating, which doesn't go well with an aluminum block. The end result was that the Vega, which seemed like a great deal brand new, turned out to be a disaster. Another major issue was rust. The combination of cheap steel and design flaws with regards to water drainage meant that most cars experienced serious rust issues within a year or two after purchase.  In 1976 as a last ditch effort to save the Vega, which wasn't being looked upon favorably anymore, Chevrolet improved the engine and rear suspension. A 5-speed manual transmission became availible as well. None of this was enough though, and the Vega didn't carry over into 1978. Nobody really missed the Vega once it was gone, because GM had introduced a concurrent model which ended up replacing it: the Monza. With almost 2 million cars sold, GM still considered the Vega a success though. This was only based on short-term thinking though. The profits made on the Vega came a huge cost in terms of the reputation of the American auto makers to build quality compact cars. This would eventually lead to their near-demise, a few decades later.  It should also be mentioned that during the Vega's run (1971-1977), Pontiac was making a sister model called the Astre. It mirrored the Vega in every respect except for a few exterior visual changes. The only major difference was in 1977 when the Astre became equipped with a 2.5L engine. The Astre was also sold only in Canada until 1975. A special Astre SJ model was offered as a clone of the Vega GT. The Astre is a widely forgotten car, but it really doesn't deserve much more than a footnote, considering how close it really was to the Vega. The Astre ended up being replaced by the Sunbird.  We can't finish up a discussion about the Vega without talking about the most badass Vega of all time. In 1975 Cosworth took the Vega body and installed a 2.0L DOHC engine with electronic fuel injection. Running in stock trim the engine produced 120hp, but GM was able to beef up an experimental vesion which produced 270hp @ 8750 rpm. Let me emphasize the fact that this is 1975, and this engine was naturally aspirated. The Cosworth Vega also came equipped with a racing suspension setup, interior upgrades, and a special dash nameplate complete with production number. The car was priced at $6000, only $500 less than the base Corvette, so it didn't enjoy popularity in numbers but that only helps to make it a more rare car.  Production Numbers: -------------------------------- Chevy Vega (1971-1977): 1,962,649 Cosworth Vega (1975-1976): 3,507 U.S. Pontiac Astre: 147,773 By 1975 people were starting to get tired of the Vega. Chevy recognized this, and decided to depart from the disasterous Vega nameplate with the Monza.  Originally introduced as a 2+2 hatchback, the Monza carried a very modern look with four rectangular headlights. The Urethane front end was a sign of the experimentation that GM was trying in the 1970's to comply with crash safety standards. The Monza came with the same base 2.3L engine that the Vega had. Where the Monza really departed from that was with an optional 4.3L V8. Standard equipment was pretty much the same as the Vega, and it's really a wonder that the Monza and Vega were able to coexist for two years. In 1975 the Monza won MotorTrend's "Car of the Year".  Throughout the early 1970's GM had been attempting to build a Rotary engine. They finally managed to build a 3.4L 2-rotor engine, and had every intention of debuting it in the Monza when it was first released. Alas, GM was never able to get the engine to production and at the last minute a 5.0L V8 was used instead. The rotary would have weighed just over half as much as the V8, with far less moving parts, far less space requirements, and 20 more horsepower than the V8. GM's rotary engine was cheaper to manufacture than a V8, cheaper to assemble, could go 24,000 miles between oil changes, and was vibrationless. It could also reach 8,000 rpm. You're probably wondering why GM didn't end up using the Rotary engine. In the end it was poor fuel mileage. Had GM started on their project just 5 years earlier it would have come to fruition. Rising gas prices in 1973 put a permanant hold on the project.  In 1976 the Monza recieved brake upgrades, and a 5.0L V8 replaced the 4.3L. A new Cabriolet package added a faux-convertible roof (remember the NHTSA had effectively banned real convertibles). The Spyder package offered improved appearance, instrument panel, suspension, transmission, wheels, and spoilers. The Monza Spyder turned out to be quite a sharp looking car, and excellent at handling. Its main downfall was the 85hp 2.3L four cylinder. The Spyder could be had with a V8 though, and could reach 119mph with that engine.  Chevy brought out the Monza Mirage in 1977. It took the concept of the Spyder to a whole new level. The Mirage was made to look just like the racing Monzas in the IMSA Camel GT series. Wider fenders, spoilers, and air dams made it look like a Spyder on steroids. Unfortunately, the V8 was not standard on the Mirage package, although it was an option.  1978 brought the Monza 'S', which filled in the void left in the hatchback and wagon market when the Vega dissapeared. It actually used leftover body panels from the Vega as well. Other big news this year was the dissapearance of the troublesome Aluminum-Silicon 2.3L engine. Pontiac's 2.5L "Iron Duke", while no more powerful, was certainly a lot more reliable and became standard on all Monzas. Intermediate performance was handled by a Buick 3.2L V6. A GT appearance package also came out this year.  1980 marked the end of the road for the Monza. A mild body restyle, and the dissapearance of the V8 option were the milestones this year. The car market was evolving, struggling, and trying to stay alive. Because the Monza was based on a 1971 car underneath it all, it was time to retire. Soon GM would abandon RWD on all of its compact cars, and not much later GM would abandon RWD altogether. In 1982 GM introduced a follow-up to the Monza called the Cavalier, and the rest is history.  Chevy made 731,504 Monzas in all, and not many have survived today. Much like the Vega, and the other cars from that generation, they have rusted away. GM was not known for their build quality in the 1970's, which largely contributed to this.
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Aug 24, 2020 05:43
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No mention of the Vert a Pac though? I love that
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Aug 24, 2020 06:10
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Mostly lurked AI for the past 12 years or so, but wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the help answering questions about basic auto maintenence, and also all the wonderful photos and stories. Great to see Sockington and Fleetwood75 making some posts! I've also always enjoyed Lloyd's old Volvos, and whenever someone is working on a Scout or other IH truck. Does Trouser Chili still have his? It's too bad Mooecow's (and likely so many other) great project photos are lost. Vintage stuff like his thread back when, and Lobsterboy's now, are just really neat to see. Another poster I remember here that gone that I don't think anyone mentioned was JuanChai (Rupert) who posted a lot of great photos from around Hong Kong. I kept following his flickr, and nowadays he posts with a friend/colleague on Instagram as https://www.instagram.com/black.cygnus/ Mostly just cool cars driving on what looks like a mountain road on the outskirts of Hong Kong, but the variety of cars they see is really only matched by this forum.
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Aug 24, 2020 06:22
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I just remembered the sad sad tale of that failson who bought a totally clapped 300zx and wanted everyone to fix his poo poo for him, though that wasn't truly "olden days", it was what, like 5 years ago at least now?
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Aug 24, 2020 06:25
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Please don’t ever stop posting again.
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Aug 24, 2020 06:41
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kastein posted:I just remembered the sad sad tale of that failson who bought a totally clapped 300zx and wanted everyone to fix his poo poo for him, though that wasn't truly "olden days", it was what, like 5 years ago at least now? Sperglord Firecock, he still has the red text he earned from that thread. He’s apparently dispensing protest advice in C-SPAM these days.
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Aug 24, 2020 08:10
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Midjack posted:Sperglord Firecock, he still has the red text he earned from that thread. He’s apparently dispensing protest advice in C-SPAM these days. oh no e: pleasantly surprised, actually, upon post-stalking him there kastein fucked around with this message at 10:35 on Aug 24, 2020 |
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Aug 24, 2020 10:32
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What happened to that guy who tasted his piss?
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Aug 24, 2020 10:55
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Rhyno posted:What happened to that guy who tasted his piss? Ugh I hate the fact I'm gonna say we need more detail of which pissdrinker because there's been more than one.
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Aug 24, 2020 11:04
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Ha. poo poo. Super Cro Aggro maybe?
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Aug 24, 2020 11:12
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Krakkles posted:Please don’t ever stop posting again. Rhyno posted:Ha. poo poo. Super Cro Aggro maybe? I'm 99% sure your right. He's a local and came to several NE:AI meetups. Not a bad guy, just smokes a lot of blunts and was a union electrician.
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Aug 24, 2020 13:27
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Yeah but he tasted his pee
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Aug 24, 2020 13:45
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Super Aggro Crag? Oh yeah and pajama pants 300ZX dude literally had people offering to come to his house and help him fix poo poo, and still managed to gently caress things up.
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Aug 24, 2020 15:10
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bennyfactor posted:Mostly lurked AI for the past 12 years or so, but wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the help answering questions about basic auto maintenence, and also all the wonderful photos and stories. Great to see Sockington and Fleetwood75 making some posts! I've also always enjoyed Lloyd's old Volvos, and whenever someone is working on a Scout or other IH truck. Does Trouser Chili still have his? I only own International parts at this time. I'm back into 90's Hondas for the time being. IH stuff has seen such a surge in interest it's all got too expensive to go bang against trees anymore.
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Aug 24, 2020 15:43
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kastein posted:oh no Lol I bought that title for him I can't believe he still has it, he must really like it
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Aug 24, 2020 15:58
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Charles posted:No mention of the Vert a Pac though? I love that I had never heard of it. So cool, below is a link for anybody else who wants to read about it: https://www.railwayage.com/mechanical/freight-cars/a-look-back-in-time-the-gm-southern-pacific-vert-a-pac/
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Aug 25, 2020 00:55
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