Aloha! No place to go fast here, but my 92 SYB is DEMANDING MORE
#1
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Seriously, Hawaii is awesome in SO many ways... except no place to actually drive fast. But we've got some great coastal roads, an occasional autocross, and even the now-and-then rally cross!
OK - so I'm a surgeon. I work on cars because I grew up POOR - and working on cars was a must for the first 40 years of my life. Now I'm 20 in a 50 year-old body - I get to do it more for fun (and if I bust something, I can more or less buy it off the shelf, be back on the street in a few days, and I don't get sued!) I have a love affair with the 92 SYB, and yes, i know the old saw - why build a 1.6 when you can build a 1.8? But I'm also a fan of doing it inexpensively (notice I did not say CHEAP), and since this is my first turbo project, I want to enjoy the process of learning. I don't have to have the fastest car on the course. I don't need everyone for fourteen blocks to hear my BOV. I don't expect to whip the occasional Lotus (my next dream car, by the way - an Exige). I'm not made of cash and don't wish to thoughtlessly throw boat-loads of money in a vain attempt to go a quarter of mile 1/10th of a second faster. That said, I have "intellectual curiosity." I'm not above being schooled when I'm wrong. I enjoy reading. I'm not intimidated by MegaSquirt's high learning curve. I've finally reached the point where I realize that a LOT of what gets posted on-line is opinion. Some of it is actually true, too. It takes a lot of reading, some experience, and a strong poo-filter to determine which part that really is. I've also realized that I'm a decent backyard mechanic. I trust myself more than most repair shops. I'd rather buy a good tool than pay a shop to do a job. (Except on the car that I have to drive on Monday morning! That one better start and run EVERY TIME).
My other cars?
A 2001 Isuzu Vehicross - contemplating a diesel swap
a 1968 400 4-speed Firebird
a 1971 LS1-transplanted auto Firebird
daily driver is a 2003 Mini Cooper S (but that's like 2x a week - I like to rotate cars - and watches!)
a 96 1.9 liter 4-cylinder and a 98 2.8 liter 6-cylinder BMW Z3
Also toying around with a 2001 Boxster S
I've got a Sterling kit car project (going on an 88 Fiero with a 3800SC powerplant)
And a Manta GT that is frame-only at the moment - but a Porsche G50-50 transaxle and a TPI small block on a custom frame with C4 suspension
(I have some other projects - but that's enough, no?)
I told my girlfriend that I wouldn't make her a sports widow, visit tittie bars (well, at least not without her), gamble, drink, or smoke - but she couldn't tell me how many cars I could have (I should also include motorcycles (5), a sailboat (1), ultralights (2), and a home-built Quickie airplane in there...)
Oh yes - and I don't own any cats - but I love them. Sauteed, with garlic.... yummmm ....
LOL - no seriously, I grew up on a farm. What farm DOESN'T have a bunch of mousers? Cats are cool in my book. And i do feed the feral ones (Hawaii has a LOT of feral cats, as a matter of fact...)
OK - so I'm a surgeon. I work on cars because I grew up POOR - and working on cars was a must for the first 40 years of my life. Now I'm 20 in a 50 year-old body - I get to do it more for fun (and if I bust something, I can more or less buy it off the shelf, be back on the street in a few days, and I don't get sued!) I have a love affair with the 92 SYB, and yes, i know the old saw - why build a 1.6 when you can build a 1.8? But I'm also a fan of doing it inexpensively (notice I did not say CHEAP), and since this is my first turbo project, I want to enjoy the process of learning. I don't have to have the fastest car on the course. I don't need everyone for fourteen blocks to hear my BOV. I don't expect to whip the occasional Lotus (my next dream car, by the way - an Exige). I'm not made of cash and don't wish to thoughtlessly throw boat-loads of money in a vain attempt to go a quarter of mile 1/10th of a second faster. That said, I have "intellectual curiosity." I'm not above being schooled when I'm wrong. I enjoy reading. I'm not intimidated by MegaSquirt's high learning curve. I've finally reached the point where I realize that a LOT of what gets posted on-line is opinion. Some of it is actually true, too. It takes a lot of reading, some experience, and a strong poo-filter to determine which part that really is. I've also realized that I'm a decent backyard mechanic. I trust myself more than most repair shops. I'd rather buy a good tool than pay a shop to do a job. (Except on the car that I have to drive on Monday morning! That one better start and run EVERY TIME).
My other cars?
A 2001 Isuzu Vehicross - contemplating a diesel swap
a 1968 400 4-speed Firebird
a 1971 LS1-transplanted auto Firebird
daily driver is a 2003 Mini Cooper S (but that's like 2x a week - I like to rotate cars - and watches!)
a 96 1.9 liter 4-cylinder and a 98 2.8 liter 6-cylinder BMW Z3
Also toying around with a 2001 Boxster S
I've got a Sterling kit car project (going on an 88 Fiero with a 3800SC powerplant)
And a Manta GT that is frame-only at the moment - but a Porsche G50-50 transaxle and a TPI small block on a custom frame with C4 suspension
(I have some other projects - but that's enough, no?)
I told my girlfriend that I wouldn't make her a sports widow, visit tittie bars (well, at least not without her), gamble, drink, or smoke - but she couldn't tell me how many cars I could have (I should also include motorcycles (5), a sailboat (1), ultralights (2), and a home-built Quickie airplane in there...)
Oh yes - and I don't own any cats - but I love them. Sauteed, with garlic.... yummmm ....
LOL - no seriously, I grew up on a farm. What farm DOESN'T have a bunch of mousers? Cats are cool in my book. And i do feed the feral ones (Hawaii has a LOT of feral cats, as a matter of fact...)
Last edited by kuehjo; 04-25-2017 at 10:11 PM.