RE: Time For Tea? garage envy

RE: Time For Tea? garage envy

Author
Discussion

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Sunday 27th January 2013
quotequote all
Proper car and garage. What a cool guy. cool

Jack Olsen

46 posts

143 months

Sunday 27th January 2013
quotequote all
Thanks for the kind words about the clip, guys. I think Josh and the guys at Petrolicious did a great job on the video. At one level, I think it’s really great just to be able to see my car from the new perspective – I guess that’s the problem when you’re always the guy inside the thing.

There were three things that made me dread the reactions to the video when it came out. First is that I drive a 911, which in the US at least, is a car sometimes associated with guys who have a lot of money and very little else going for them. And car guys are often loyal to their own. Why would an STI guy say something nice about a 911? Second is the simple fact that car enthusiasts are pretty competitive by nature. There are millions of great project cars out there. I like mine a lot, but I can't say I see twenty more long hood 911s every time I go to the track. The third thing is, well, me. I'm not any kind of on-air personality, and (while I can write a respectable scene for a movie) I'm not particularly good at public speaking, or of even knowing where to look when the camera's pointed at me, or of not being nervous as hell when I know the red record light is flashing.

But the response has been really great, and really generous, and I appreciate that. I'm not even a fly on the windshield of an operation like Singer, and my garage would fit over and over into Magnus Walker's place. I've just got one car and a very limited budget for it.

But that's the thing, isn't it? I don't have anything to sell and I'm not trying to lead the enthusiast community anywhere. Everything I come up with for my car or my garage only has to work for me. So the lift is a great example of a bargain coming along (it cost US$455 – that’s 288 pounds?), and it fitting well to my purposes. The only car I do regular and major work on is the 911. My 911 has a flat belly pan with nothing serviceable on it. The lift has a flat top that I’ve tiled to match the floor. When I’m using it, I can access anything at all on the 911. When I’m not using it, it’s just more floor to walk on.

The garage is very – maybe even alarmingly – clean in the pictures. That’s not usually the case. When they had me take off a wheel and look at the brakes for the video, it was strange not to put on my coveralls. The place gets very messy. It’s a working shop.



But it goes back to clean very quickly, too. Because I finally was able to go through it and work out an organizational scheme for everything I keep in it. Part of that achievement was building a shed for all of the stuff that typically gets stored in a garage – as well as some of my tools. Things like my welders, my tubing benders, press brake, stuff like that.

It was a huge amount of work to get it to this point. But it really is self-sustaining now, which I’m very happy with (and still a little bit surprised by).

I would never hold up a pre-1974 911 as the perfect car for everyone. And even if a long hood 911 is exactly the car you love, then mine still might seem off-the-mark to you. It was important to me that I had a full interior. Everything – the seats, the door panels, the dash – is leather. That adds weight. Until about a year ago, it had the full air conditioning as well. I drive it around town, and as much as 8 hours to tracks, so I’ve tried to keep it comfortable. At the same time, I want it to be as fast as possible at the track, so I’m fine with bolting on the ugly aero when I’m there. Willow Springs is a very fast track (over 100 mph average speed in the course of a lap), and with 4th and 5th gear corners, aero matters.

It’s no Singer. Like the garage, my car was put together on a budget. That’s why the engine is left as the factory made it. I’ve known Rob at Singer for maybe a decade, now. I was always a fan of his original café racer. When he took that car to the next level – or maybe I should say the absolute best level – I was (and am) impressed. If I had crazy money, I might buy one.

But it still wouldn’t mean as much to me as this car, because this is a car that I got to make the decisions on. It’s something that was created according to my own guidelines (although make no mistake, many very smart people other than me are the reason it’s as quick around a track as it is – remember the name Tyson Schmidt, he’s the genius behind my suspension, and he’s going to go on to great things in the automotive world). But I guess that’s the biggest thing. This car is so important to me BECAUSE it was built to be my own version of the best 911 I could afford, not the best 911 for everyone. It’s not a huge thing, but for this car and this driver, that role I had in its creation and development is important.

And the thumbs-on-the-wheel driving style? It isn’t because I’m an ex-off-roader who is worried about breaking my thumbs. It’s something the instructor I had in my first-ever track day got me to do. He insisted we take out the cushions in our seats and keep our thumbs flat on the wheel – it’s to get as much feedback from the driving surface as you possibly can. Does it make a difference? Who knows. But for me, now, it’s a habit.

And finally, who was it who pointed out how often I say the word 'car?' Aside from it sounding super American, now whenever I look at the clip it sounds like I'm deliberately trying to use the word as often as possible. My wife now says it's a drinking game just waiting to happen.

Edited by Jack Olsen on Sunday 27th January 17:04

loudlashadjuster

5,083 posts

183 months

Sunday 27th January 2013
quotequote all
Jack

You're in danger of being the object of many a man-crush around here, what with all that 'being a thoroughly decent bloke' you keep doing!

Respect.

JayMan

115 posts

186 months

Sunday 27th January 2013
quotequote all
giggle said:
Arrrrrggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Thats what i remember most about that vid too.
If you have ever driven a 911 of that vintage with the clubsport steering wheel you would know why he drives like that.


RB5_245

72 posts

212 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
What a fantastic video, of a true pistonheader. Everything about this leaves me in awe of an unbelievable project. 10/10, and I'd prefer to vote 11 or more.

TobesH

550 posts

206 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Jack Olsen said:
Thanks for the kind words about the clip, guys. I think Josh and the guys at Petrolicious did a great job on the video. At one level, I think it’s really great just to be able to see my car from the new perspective – I guess that’s the problem when you’re always the guy inside the thing.

There were three things that made me dread the reactions to the video when it came out. First is that I drive a 911, which in the US at least, is a car sometimes associated with guys who have a lot of money and very little else going for them. And car guys are often loyal to their own. Why would an STI guy say something nice about a 911? Second is the simple fact that car enthusiasts are pretty competitive by nature. There are millions of great project cars out there. I like mine a lot, but I can't say I see twenty more long hood 911s every time I go to the track. The third thing is, well, me. I'm not any kind of on-air personality, and (while I can write a respectable scene for a movie) I'm not particularly good at public speaking, or of even knowing where to look when the camera's pointed at me, or of not being nervous as hell when I know the red record light is flashing.

But the response has been really great, and really generous, and I appreciate that. I'm not even a fly on the windshield of an operation like Singer, and my garage would fit over and over into Magnus Walker's place. I've just got one car and a very limited budget for it.

But that's the thing, isn't it? I don't have anything to sell and I'm not trying to lead the enthusiast community anywhere. Everything I come up with for my car or my garage only has to work for me. So the lift is a great example of a bargain coming along (it cost US$455 – that’s 288 pounds?), and it fitting well to my purposes. The only car I do regular and major work on is the 911. My 911 has a flat belly pan with nothing serviceable on it. The lift has a flat top that I’ve tiled to match the floor. When I’m using it, I can access anything at all on the 911. When I’m not using it, it’s just more floor to walk on.

The garage is very – maybe even alarmingly – clean in the pictures. That’s not usually the case. When they had me take off a wheel and look at the brakes for the video, it was strange not to put on my coveralls. The place gets very messy. It’s a working shop.



But it goes back to clean very quickly, too. Because I finally was able to go through it and work out an organizational scheme for everything I keep in it. Part of that achievement was building a shed for all of the stuff that typically gets stored in a garage – as well as some of my tools. Things like my welders, my tubing benders, press brake, stuff like that.

It was a huge amount of work to get it to this point. But it really is self-sustaining now, which I’m very happy with (and still a little bit surprised by).

I would never hold up a pre-1974 911 as the perfect car for everyone. And even if a long hood 911 is exactly the car you love, then mine still might seem off-the-mark to you. It was important to me that I had a full interior. Everything – the seats, the door panels, the dash – is leather. That adds weight. Until about a year ago, it had the full air conditioning as well. I drive it around town, and as much as 8 hours to tracks, so I’ve tried to keep it comfortable. At the same time, I want it to be as fast as possible at the track, so I’m fine with bolting on the ugly aero when I’m there. Willow Springs is a very fast track (over 100 mph average speed in the course of a lap), and with 4th and 5th gear corners, aero matters.

It’s no Singer. Like the garage, my car was put together on a budget. That’s why the engine is left as the factory made it. I’ve known Rob at Singer for maybe a decade, now. I was always a fan of his original café racer. When he took that car to the next level – or maybe I should say the absolute best level – I was (and am) impressed. If I had crazy money, I might buy one.

But it still wouldn’t mean as much to me as this car, because this is a car that I got to make the decisions on. It’s something that was created according to my own guidelines (although make no mistake, many very smart people other than me are the reason it’s as quick around a track as it is – remember the name Tyson Schmidt, he’s the genius behind my suspension, and he’s going to go on to great things in the automotive world). But I guess that’s the biggest thing. This car is so important to me BECAUSE it was built to be my own version of the best 911 I could afford, not the best 911 for everyone. It’s not a huge thing, but for this car and this driver, that role I had in its creation and development is important.

And the thumbs-on-the-wheel driving style? It isn’t because I’m an ex-off-roader who is worried about breaking my thumbs. It’s something the instructor I had in my first-ever track day got me to do. He insisted we take out the cushions in our seats and keep our thumbs flat on the wheel – it’s to get as much feedback from the driving surface as you possibly can. Does it make a difference? Who knows. But for me, now, it’s a habit.

And finally, who was it who pointed out how often I say the word 'car?' Aside from it sounding super American, now whenever I look at the clip it sounds like I'm deliberately trying to use the word as often as possible. My wife now says it's a drinking game just waiting to happen.

Edited by Jack Olsen on Sunday 27th January 17:04
Nice one Jack, good man. Quite inspirational biggrin

M666 EVO

1,124 posts

161 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Great vid, respect to him

But it's called a garidge, not a garaaj! :-)

garypotter

1,483 posts

149 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Thanks Jack, top car and a top bloke, please keep us update dwith your car and keep enjoying your car.

KMB

254 posts

222 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Great video and always good to see a true Pistonheader's car abode. Thank you!

Citrus7

1,670 posts

180 months

Monday 28th January 2013
quotequote all
Inspiring video and person !

Bob_Defly

3,645 posts

230 months

Tuesday 29th January 2013
quotequote all
Jack Olsen said:
But that's the thing, isn't it? I don't have anything to sell and I'm not trying to lead the enthusiast community anywhere. Everything I come up with for my car or my garage only has to work for me. So the lift is a great example of a bargain coming along (it cost US$455 – that’s 288 pounds?), and it fitting well to my purposes. The only car I do regular and major work on is the 911. My 911 has a flat belly pan with nothing serviceable on it. The lift has a flat top that I’ve tiled to match the floor. When I’m using it, I can access anything at all on the 911. When I’m not using it, it’s just more floor to walk on.


Edited by Jack Olsen on Sunday 27th January 17:04
Hi Jack,

I've been looking at installing some sort of in-floor lift, but brands like Bendpak are closer to $2K.

http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/specialty-lifts/m...

Where on earth did you find a decent lift so cheap?