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[pumpkinrancho]

Sometimes its a time versus money thing. I can and have done tons of auto repairs. Was even ASE certified in 4 areas. Brakes, steering and suspension, electronics and parts. Now I repair elevators, lifts, wheelchair and wheelchair vans. I currently have three project cars and one truck/streetrod. I consider myself a car guy, however I usually have someone more specialized work on the new camaro. There is quite a difference between putting a cam in a 283 and putting one in an ls3. To each his own. Since I must continue the trend and piss off some people, yes I ordered a ZL1 this week. Any one need a deal on a 2010 with 8k miles? If I change the ZL1 I will do the simple bolt on stuff and have Brian or Clint to the hard stuff. I dont think it will need much. I know long read.

On a different note Stormy lived up to his name tonight and we got pounded coming back from the Golden Supercruise. We did have a great time. I will post some photos tomorrow or Monday. Good seeing everyone. Seems like there were 10 camaros. Most popular color was Green Who knew?

[wontsellit]

Ace1USMC to say you are stupefied because not many will roll up their sleeves and dive into this engine sounds funny!
You should see some of the people that are applying for Maint Tech positions now a days.I wouldn't let some of them touch a coffee maker much less a LS3. Fixing things is a dying profession. Probably the part that has me holding back isn't the mechanical aspect of the car but all the darn electronics.
Back in the day when I had my 67 Camaro and 69 Chevelle you could make a change and tweak a screw and off you went. Now I throw on a CAI,20 minute job and it's $ 300 at the local tuner.....total BS.

[AquaRSSS]

Originally Posted by wontsellit

I'll stop complaining about my neighbors dogs.

That's the one thing I've been glad to avoid. Hate my neighbor's YIP dogs...I get to listen to them again in two weeks. Maybe I should take an RPG with me and solve that little problem.

"Say hello to my little friend!"

[AquaRSSS]

Originally Posted by pumpkinrancho

Sometimes its a time versus money thing. I can and have done tons of auto repairs. Was even ASE certified in 4 areas. Brakes, steering and suspension, electronics and parts. Now I repair elevators, lifts, wheelchair and wheelchair vans. I currently have three project cars and one truck/streetrod. I consider myself a car guy, however I usually have someone more specialized work on the new camaro. There is quite a difference between putting a cam in a 283 and putting one in an ls3. To each his own. Since I must continue the trend and piss off some people, yes I ordered a ZL1 this week. Any one need a deal on a 2010 with 8k miles? If I change the ZL1 I will do the simple bolt on stuff and have Brian or Clint to the hard stuff. I dont think it will need much. I know long read.

On a different note Stormy lived up to his name tonight and we got pounded coming back from the Golden Supercruise. We did have a great time. I will post some photos tomorrow or Monday. Good seeing everyone. Seems like there were 10 camaros. Most popular color was Green Who knew?

Sometimes it is a time vs money thing for sure. I certainly could dig into my wife's VW and fix that, but I have a good buddy who is Porsche, VW, Audi certified and it'd take him 1\5 the time to fix it while I'd be looking at books etc to try and figure it out. Pay him $300 and have the day to go cruising or save the money and cuss for an entire day and throw wrenches. It's all in the math.
The LS3 is such a simple beast though, it's really easy to mess with. Hats off to GM for that. Trannies and hydraulics blow chunks, but the motor and the room in the engine bay is solid!
One of the toughest jobs I ever tackled on one my one cars, was a 93 Twin turbo Z. First question after popping the hood is..where the F are the two turbos at? Are you kidding me? After 3 engine pulls, it's a 45 minute job now. Just gotta dig in and do it....I don't recommend that one to anyone though.

I think we can all get along. We won't need to have a Sharks vs. Jets division within the club. ( Look up THAT reference!!!!) It's good to have guys like Clint and RMCR's staff to do stuff that we don't want to or have time to do either. I personally will be strapped for time to get my clutch and tranny done, so I might have to outsource that, although I'd rather do it myself so I know it's done right. Then again, these guys at the shops prob do a better job than I would sometimes because they've done it over and over and know the pitfalls and problems which I will face as I do it the first time. No one wants to screw up their ride and lose money...and face!
For major stuff like that you need a lift, and I'm guessing I'm one of a few here that don't have a car shop but have a lift at their house... It's the coolest thing since ice cream!

.and yes, "Walhan" always has the cool response. Pretty good for a Vette owner. We need to talk you into buying a 63 split-window vette sitting on a C5 chassis with an Ls2 or 3 in it.

[AquaRSSS]

Originally Posted by wontsellit

Ace1USMC to say you are stupefied because not many will roll up their sleeves and dive into this engine sounds funny!
You should see some of the people that are applying for Maint Tech positions now a days.I wouldn't let some of them touch a coffee maker much less a LS3. Fixing things is a dying profession. Probably the part that has me holding back isn't the mechanical aspect of the car but all the darn electronics.
Back in the day when I had my 67 Camaro and 69 Chevelle you could make a change and tweak a screw and off you went. Now I throw on a CAI,20 minute job and it's $ 300 at the local tuner.....total BS.

Ha-ha...I totally get this!! Reminds me of going to the Honda dealer with my wife's S2000 and telling the "mechanic" on site what the problem was and how it should be repaired ( it's under warranty, so I couldn't do it) and he was stupefied. It was an obvious solution cause you could hear it, but until he plugged his little computer in the port and it told him that there was a problem, he couldn't tell if there was a problem. Kind of like my Camaro's third gear grind. As long as the engine is above idle and the car is moving it grinds,,,every time...every single time. No exceptions. Take it to dealer...no grind. Obviously the guy never got it into third while taking it to his bay, so the problem doesn't exist. The diagnostic computer wouldn't tell him, so no problem. The days of automotive troubleshooting without a computer are over...... If the exhaust manifold is hanging off the cylinder head, do you really need to find out what the code is so you can look it up in your book and find the steps to fix it? Trust me, that's how it is at the dealerships nowadays. I have heard good things about the Larmarie guys though, so apparently that Wyoming-out-in-the-sticks common sense mentality still exists up there.

[Blue70SS]

Originally Posted by AquaRSSS

For all those of you who did not know ( It was news to me and I stumbled across this accidentally), the Golden Cruise people put on a Driving Cruise every Third Saturday of each month.
In other words, a bunch of the cruisers get together and instead of hanging in Golden, they head to Estes Park, Boulder or do Colfax or something. Since I will be out of town for some of the Golden cruises, this would be a cool "second chance" to cruise.

Figured I'd pass it along.

http://www.goldensupercruise.com/cruise_news.htm


Ok, time to stop hogging the site.

good info.... didn't know that

[Blue70SS]

Originally Posted by AquaRSSS

Sometimes it is a time vs money thing for sure. I certainly could dig into my wife's VW and fix that, but I have a good buddy who is Porsche, VW, Audi certified and it'd take him 1\5 the time to fix it while I'd be looking at books etc to try and figure it out. Pay him $300 and have the day to go cruising or save the money and cuss for an entire day and throw wrenches. It's all in the math.
The LS3 is such a simple beast though, it's really easy to mess with. Hats off to GM for that. Trannies and hydraulics blow chunks, but the motor and the room in the engine bay is solid!
One of the toughest jobs I ever tackled on one my one cars, was a 93 Twin turbo Z. First question after popping the hood is..where the F are the two turbos at? Are you kidding me? After 3 engine pulls, it's a 45 minute job now. Just gotta dig in and do it....I don't recommend that one to anyone though.

I think we can all get along. We won't need to have a Sharks vs. Jets division within the club. ( Look up THAT reference!!!!) It's good to have guys like Clint and RMCR's staff to do stuff that we don't want to or have time to do either. I personally will be strapped for time to get my clutch and tranny done, so I might have to outsource that, although I'd rather do it myself so I know it's done right. Then again, these guys at the shops prob do a better job than I would sometimes because they've done it over and over and know the pitfalls and problems which I will face as I do it the first time. No one wants to screw up their ride and lose money...and face!
For major stuff like that you need a lift, and I'm guessing I'm one of a few here that don't have a car shop but have a lift at their house... It's the coolest thing since ice cream!

.and yes, "Walhan" always has the cool response. Pretty good for a Vette owner. We need to talk you into buying a 63 split-window vette sitting on a C5 chassis with an Ls2 or 3 in it.

Time versus money hits the nail on the head. Opportunity costs IMO is the biggest factor as to what I want to do, versus what I should do. I could literally pay 10x the cost in opportunity cost, not to mention priceless lost family time that I already miss out day to day alot. Also, how soon do you want to enjoy it? After growing up with numerous gearheads and having to keep up my older brothers reputation..... things just followed. Had already rebuilt 2 engines at 16 with my dad and brother before I tackled my 70 Camaro... except machine work obviously. Getting just the right cross hatch in the cylinders before assembling the bottom end - litterally working through the night with flood lights getting the car where I wanted it. Back then changing the clutch was sooo much easier - just pull out the Muncie rockcrusher on your belly, pull the bell housing, and you're there (on jack stands). Tuning your car didn't mean pulling out a computer. Lightwieght springs on the distributor for better advance timing, timing lights, jetting your Holley carb, etc. Now Those were the good old days! Today you'd be foolish to do it without a lift or attempt tuning yourself. Tearing into transmission gears and rear end set ups.... I drew the line there, something to be said for experience versus ambition.

Most cars at the time in Albuquerque were all out engine, or all out show - few did both. I liked both
I've tackled alot of big jobs over the years, but usually came down to money and how much I'd save - so did most myself then.
I'll never forget doing a Friday night burnout where we used to all cruise and making a huge cloud of blue smoke - 1st thought was what the hell did I forget, I ring or something? Turned out my high volume oil pump was squirting oil directly into the pcv valve on the Mickey Thompson valve covers..... I was so relieved - just took a shield and all was good. I left it up to my little brother to burn holes in his piston with nitrous . Then there was the time he was push starting his '67 (I think) Black convertable Vette with the 427 Rat motor.... throttle stuck and ran him over twisting his leg 360. Had one of those super human feats where a lady picked the car off him and lots of plastic surgery. Now he's a pilot..... obviously needed more "go fast".

Ripping into cars isn't for everyone, some just want to enjoy a great car - and that's perfectly good. I for one don't like to drop off my Camaro, then come back and pick it up. The one exception being LPE, but limited to just what I needed - plus flew out there. That's part of why I love going to Laramie - can work with Brian, help tweek things, pretty much whatever I can do that's easier on a lift.

And then sometimes doing things yourself means no shortcuts will be taken or simply is just fun doing the work yourself. It's always a good idea to at least understand why one option is better or fits your needs better, rather than totally resting on someone elses opinion. Homework and research goes a long way.

Again, it's not for everyone - nothing wrong with that.


Then there's Rob's build that noooobody could duplicate

[Blue70SS]

Originally Posted by pumpkinrancho

Sometimes its a time versus money thing. I can and have done tons of auto repairs. Was even ASE certified in 4 areas. Brakes, steering and suspension, electronics and parts. Now I repair elevators, lifts, wheelchair and wheelchair vans. I currently have three project cars and one truck/streetrod. I consider myself a car guy, however I usually have someone more specialized work on the new camaro. There is quite a difference between putting a cam in a 283 and putting one in an ls3. To each his own. Since I must continue the trend and piss off some people, yes I ordered a ZL1 this week. Any one need a deal on a 2010 with 8k miles? If I change the ZL1 I will do the simple bolt on stuff and have Brian or Clint to the hard stuff. I dont think it will need much. I know long read.

On a different note Stormy lived up to his name tonight and we got pounded coming back from the Golden Supercruise. We did have a great time. I will post some photos tomorrow or Monday. Good seeing everyone. Seems like there were 10 camaros. Most popular color was Green Who knew?

So what's the ETA on the ZL1?

[walhan_qtr]

Originally Posted by Blue70SS

So what's the ETA on the ZL1?

since he just ordered it, it will be probably end of 2013. but I might be wrong.

[walhan_qtr]

Originally Posted by AquaRSSS

.and yes, "Walhan" always has the cool response. Pretty good for a Vette owner. We need to talk you into buying a 63 split-window vette sitting on a C5 chassis with an Ls2 or 3 in it.

LOL thanks. I am here to make friends. not to fight with anyone. everyone have the right to express their opinion the way they see it. and everyone has different opinions.

[Ace1USMC]

Originally Posted by Ace1USMC

Personally, I have ZERO respect for a guy that just hands his car to another dude and says "make it fast" and writes out a check - and THEN talks like he actually knows something about cars, or making cars fast.

I guess a lotta people just skimmed over this key sentence above from my posting. The thing that I have zero respect for are the guys that do just hand over cash to someone AND THEN talk like they know something about cars. There's plenty of people that I've met that pay someone to hop up their car - there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. But if you are one of those guys - then maybe you aren't the person that should be talking like you actually know something or have "experience" to offer a real gearhead. It's not any different than people that buy foreign cars, and then have the audacity to complain about the economy or utter the word "recession".

Sam

[Hulk]

Gear head here....a couple shots of my latest project in mock up...632cid alcohol injected 3 disk crower glide clutch ect. I just have to build my new shop so I can move my mill and lathe so I can stat machining the motor plates and put it together. Cam and more for the camaro in due time.....

[pumpkinrancho]

Originally Posted by Blue70SS

So what's the ETA on the ZL1?

They are building the rest of the 2012 orders first. Tyrells got #497 so there in the first third of the allocation i hope mid august

[JMAN311]

Originally Posted by Ace1USMC

I guess a lotta people just skimmed over this key sentence above from my posting. The thing that I have zero respect for are the guys that do just hand over cash to someone AND THEN talk like they know something about cars. There's plenty of people that I've met that pay someone to hop up their car - there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. But if you are one of those guys - then maybe you aren't the person that should be talking like you actually know something or have "experience" to offer a real gearhead. It's not any different than people that buy foreign cars, and then have the audacity to complain about the economy or utter the word "recession".

Sam

So I must be some kind of hybrid or something. I pay to get my cars modded now, but I'm no stranger to getting my hands dirty and knowing how it all works.

The newer cars I've had, unless it's basic stuff will go to a shop that specializes in performance modifications and tuning. I have the means now to be able to pay someone with better knowledge to do it faster than I can and get better results. I'd rather be able to spend time in the evenings with my family than trying to cram a set of headers into a car.

This doesn't mean that I don't know how everything works though. I rebuilt the engine and transmission of my first car (a 1976 MG) with my dad at his buddies shop when I was a freshman in high school. It was a great experience and helped me learn a ton about all the inner workings. It was also the best bonding my dad and I ever did. In that shop there was a 1969 Camaro that was maroon with black stripes. Everytime I would see that car I knew that someday I would eventually have to have one like it. When the Camaro was coming back for 2010 I knew this was my way to get that '69 Camaro with all the newer technology and reliability of today's cars.

The Camaro in that shop paved the way for my love of American muscle cars. I'm 33 yrs old now, and I've spent the last 18 years since I was a freshman learning more and more about everything to do with these types of cars and I consider myself a gearhead even if I don't turn the wrench myself these days.