"soto" (soto)
11/24/2013 at 12:50 • Filed to: None
2
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"soto" (soto)
11/24/2013 at 12:50 • Filed to: None | 2
| 2 |
Happy Sunday Folks!
As most of us are undoubtably watching the Formula 1 race at this moment (on NBC..strange) I thought you might like to read a little story about a man and his project car resurrection. Like Lazarus the car has risen from the dead, but not without a lot of hard work and learning along the way. The story comes to us from reddit, and I have been given permission to share his story here with you fine people. I will also give any information that he has given on the build and will ask him to come and possible answer any questions you may have, or you can go to reddit and ask him questions yourself !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
FOR THE FULL SET OF PICS AND DESCRIPTIONS GO !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
The following is in his words:
"Imagine walking nonchalantly through the parking lot, minding your own business, and entering the Volkswagen Ferrari. Now they are staring at you. But it's always better to just play it cool, ignore them, and just go about your day. The eyes persist. They demand to see this thing run. Very well, let them look.
You turn the key, but those 44 year old pistons are tired, and they do not want to start. The eyes are now even more interested than before. Perhaps they bring out the camera phone to record this hilarious event. You don't want to burn out the starter, so you release the key. But the damn starter continues to crank. You pull out the key entirely, but the cranking continues.
In a panic, you throw open the door, open the battery compartment and furiously rip the negative terminal off. Finally, the damn thing shuts up.
You then get back in the car, and pretend to text for 10 minutes while the eyes get bored and go away. You try again, hoping not to repeat the above.
When I was 17 I bought my first Honda Civic for like $300. They broke down, as those kinds of things do, and I would be desperate to get it working again. I learned painfully and slowly, but I was young, and I had time, and I started to get the hang of things.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I owned a lot of junky cars. I actually came to enjoy it when my car broke down. I had a project, and I loved to visit the scrapyard and do manly things. I knew almost nothing, but I talked to lots of mechanics, and I tried to absorb new information.
I failed lots. I wasted money. I fucked things up. But I must have caught on somewhere along the way. I guess I found out that my strategy of bumbling into things sometimes worked. So, I wasn't very afraid to take on this car. I was very wrong about how much work was really needed, but I just kept chugging, and I didn't freak out when things went badly.
I am deliberately avoiding improving the performance. The car is dangerous, frankly. Fiberglass body, no airbags, no metal frame, no steel mass engine in front to absorb the impact. Just a tank full of flammable gasoline between me and the car in front.
Better just go slow.
I'll try to post a video of the finished product soon.
Lots of people are asking how much this cost me. About $4000 total, and the better part of 2 summers, plus countless hours on top of that.
I realize that this picture collection makes me look way more competent than I really am. The truth is that I stumbled on nearly every step. I wasted tons of money and whole weeks doing things wrong. Some of it is still pretty wrong. This was a learning process more than anything. I had the luxury of time and a credit card. Still owe money on that.
Anyways I think what really got me through this was that I had an inaccurate scope of the problem. The car always seemed just over the next hill. Just one more wire. Just a little more work here. This will not take too long. Wrong wrong wrong. But you see, it kept me motivated. I kept plodding along, small steps at a time. That's the secret, ladies and gentlemen. Small steps. Keep the big picture in your head, but don't focus on the mountain of work in front of you."
I would like to thank aristotle_sux for letting me share his story with you. Hopefully he can join us here and let us know about more of his projects. Thanks!
Also, this is the link he provided for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
McMike
> soto
11/24/2013 at 13:15 |
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What is that, a Kelmark?
—edit—
Yes, Kelmark GT. Another 70's homemade kit car.
1337HPMustang
> soto
11/24/2013 at 14:56 |
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Unpopular/ sacrilegious opinion time. I like the look of these kit cars over the dino because they're way wider to fit an american v8. That's my cup of tea. I'd also take one with a v8 over a dino.