Ah, England.....

[omgdave]

Gentlemen and ladies,

Having read this and other groups, I have to say that I am very envious of your situation in England (regarding cars). What with over twice the population of my home state of California and about one third the area, you have some truly amazing options for running your cars. You have Track Days and by the hour rental of AIRFIELDS??? How cool is THAT! 5-10,000 feet of flat, level, open ground to drive how you wish? Over here, weasely folking basteder lawyers (oxymoron?) would be salivating at the chance to sue everyone, from the landowner, car manufacturer, all the way up to and including the person suctioning out the Port-o-Potty (Port-o-Loo?) at the first hang nail.

Then your choice of cars.... TVR's, VX's, Noble's, Lotus, Cosworth THIS, Cosworth THAT.... NO catalytic converters, steerable, self-leveling headlights, AND, AND, (sniveling sounds) running larger, higher horsepower Chevy engines in your Ultima's just because you want to, than I will be able to, even after jumping through hoops.

Well, back to the Kitchen remodel.
Now, the framing, sub-floor, wiring, new 'frige, stove and DishDrawer would have got me to Stage 10 ..... sigh.

Best,

Dave



>>> Edited by omgdave on Tuesday 16th March 23:54

[eliot]

Swings and roundabouts my dear Sir, Yank engine parts are silly money over here.

TH350 (autobox) from a breakers in UK, ~£250 ($400) for a knackered 2nd hand one. In the US, what - $50? (for a good 2nd hand one)

ELiot.

[steve_D]

eliot said:

....... In the US, what - $50? (for a good 2nd hand one) ELiot.

And that's with a whole pile to choose from and in a scrappy just down the road from where you live.
Steve

[gtrclive]

I like the Breakers yards in the US where as long as you can carry it over a painted line by the exit, it's yours for $100. Now thats sounds good. Oh yes and Petrol at a £1 a gallon, and not having to state taxes (VAT) if order bits out your state. The grass is greener etc....

[ultimasimon]

gtrclive said:

I like the Breakers yards in the US where as long as you can carry it over a painted line by the exit, it's yours for $100. Now thats sounds good. Oh yes and Petrol at a £1 a gallon, and not having to state taxes (VAT) if order bits out your state. The grass is greener etc....

Ah but there are a lucky few that get their petrol from a breakers yard free of charge - week in week out, 30 gallons a week Now that has to be the only thing keeping me here in Blighty at the moment.

[gtrclive]

So how mcuh is that going for now then ?????

[omgdave]

eliot said:

Swings and roundabouts my dear Sir, Yank engine parts are silly money over here. TH350 (autobox) from a breakers in UK, ~£250 ($400) for a knackered 2nd hand one. In the US, what - $50? (for a good 2nd hand one) ELiot.

Been gone a few days, but I agree- "what goes around, comes around". In the early 1970's when I was driving an MG A (in poor shape), the local dealer's Parts Dept. Mgr. was named Cecil. He was from Jamaica (or Bermuda), and whenever I would come through the door, he would say, " What you be needin' today, Mr. T'ree Weeks?". Turns out I was not the only one with that name.

You are correct, I can buy 100's of those trannys for $50-$100 all day long, from 5 dismantler's within 15 miles of my house. But can I get any parts for a TR 6 within 100 miles?

Simon, aren't you worried about the quality of the gas salvaged from the cars?

Best,

Dave

[steve_D]

omgdave said:

......Simon, aren't you worried about the quality of the gas salvaged from the cars? Dave

It's not in there long enough to worry about.


A friend of mine runs his Land Rover Discovery on oil from the local fish & chip shop. He is actually paid 37 Pence a litre to take it away. A little aroma therapy oil added goes some way to hide the smell.

Steve

[V6GTO]

ultimasimon said:

gtrclive said: I like the Breakers yards in the US where as long as you can carry it over a painted line by the exit, it's yours for $100. Now thats sounds good. Oh yes and Petrol at a £1 a gallon, and not having to state taxes (VAT) if order bits out your state. The grass is greener etc.... Ah but there are a lucky few that get their petrol from a breakers yard free of charge - week in week out, 30 gallons a week Now that has to be the only thing keeping me here in Blighty at the moment.

Well there aint nothing to keep me here, what with the swinging tax and a scamera on every corner, I've made the decision and I'm off to Spain at the end of the summer for good, and I'm taking my Noble with me. Martin.

[fluxen]

omgdave said:

Gentlemen and ladies, Having read this and other groups, I have to say that I am very envious of your situation in England (regarding cars). What with over twice the population of my home state of California and about one third the area, you have some truly amazing options for running your cars. You have Track Days and by the hour rental of AIRFIELDS??? How cool is THAT! >>> Edited by omgdave on Tuesday 16th March 23:54

It's pretty cool...but ah...we have that too, Dave:

www.speedventures.net

Want to drive Sears Point with me next month?

[davefiddes]

steve_D said:

A friend of mine runs his Land Rover Discovery on oil from the local fish & chip shop. He is actually paid 37 Pence a litre to take it away. A little aroma therapy oil added goes some way to hide the smell.

Heh heh. Love it. Wish some of the SUVs round here would do it. It would make the cycle ride into work a bit more pleasant...

I must admit I quite fancy figuring out how to convert the Ultima to run on bioethanol at some point. Perhaps in a year or two the whole tax situation will be sorted out and it might be possible to buy the stuff reasonably. I think that big Chevys can be made to run on it fairly easily. Might need to run bigger injectors and possibly bigger fuel lines but it could be fun...an Eco Ultima!

[omgdave]

fluxen said:

omgdave said: Gentlemen and ladies, Having read this and other groups, I have to say that I am very envious of your situation in England (regarding cars). What with over twice the population of my home state of California and about one third the area, you have some truly amazing options for running your cars. You have Track Days and by the hour rental of AIRFIELDS??? How cool is THAT! >>> Edited by omgdave on Tuesday 16th March 23:54 It's pretty cool...but ah...we have that too, Dave: <a href="http://www.speedventures.net">www.speedventures.net</a> Want to drive Sears Point with me next month?

That Depends(tm),

Mighty interesting, but I don't have anything drivable at the moment- RX-7 has 70,000 miles and needs a re-build, besides I think I would look pretty funny running my Crew Cab Frontier, supercharged or not
Besides the cost, I can't think of anything holding me back.
// yesdear,won'tbeamoment,dear//

Oh, and a kitchen and bath to be remodeled. So if your are OFFERING me a ride, I would of course be MORE than willing to go and report back here on PH, to give an unbiased rewiew of your operation

Best,

Dave




>> Edited by omgdave on Saturday 20th March 00:56