What do you drive?

[DeanMk]

I drive a JKU but have a 67 GS400 for sunny sundays.

Stage 1?

 

[Cogs]

Wow @Mygrainman , you are one blessed dude! Gotta be a reason(s) you're still here. Apparently, your work on earth isn't done yet, (however I'm not so sure you'd want to hurry and finish that work!)

Enjoy that truck!

 

[nammac]

Alright... you asked for it.

Westbound on OR126 upper McKinsey river coming back from Sisters where I was teaching my 80yo uncle how to AR15 and Glock.
I was feeling a little puny to start the day, but evidently going over the pass triggered some massive pain spasms in my left lung that caused me to pull left and loose my focus for long enough to get pulled into the ditch.View attachment 787679
First driveway acted as a ramp and I completely cleared it... went back into the ditch hit and jumped a second driveway, then on the third , the angle of the incline caused me to hit a tree spin, flip take out a power box and land upside down on a big rock just a few hundred feet from the front door of the Upper McKinzey River Rural Fire Dept. I didn't see anything after the initial jump when the airbags went off... but It felt like I was in a giant cloths dryer for what seemed like forever..
View attachment 787681

Within seconds there was a Dr and two nurses outside the car asking me Questions about my condition, I was hanging upside down, temp blinded in my left eye from the airbags(I think)and it took sometime to get myself focused... about the time I undid the seatbelt button and fell onto the roof...Ford Sync emergency service called in and informed me I had been in an accident.
.. so there I am concussed confused, and half blind trying to talk to two different people and find my way out of my car... firemen banging and prying on all four doors trying to get me out...finally I found the door lock button hidden behind an airbag and a bunch of my junk...luckily the battery was still working and I was able to find the buttons and lay the front and passenger seats out of my way and get to the rear passenger side door, which was the only one still able to open...
They took me to a hospital in Eugene, where my very distraught wife and daughter soon joined me after the 3 hr drive from here in Kelso.
The Dr said I had a screwed up T4 vertebrae, and a bad concussion. Also my shoulder was tweaked from the seatbelt, and I had some cuts and crap... they gave me a shot of ketamine that made me feel like I was in an alternate reality where the color of sound smelled like Tuesday....
(Thanks for that experience doc)
Needless to say I was just along for the ride and didn't have the wherewithal to ask about the OG pain spasm that caused the crash..
And he somehow dr missed fluid building up around my lung (Very obvious in the MRI he took) or didn't feel like it was something he wanted worry about. He could have saved me a LOT of pain and hospital time with a little more diligence though.... but as soon as sound smelled normal and I could walk again...he sent me packing with a prescription for muscle relaxers and antibiotics.
I had to get my guns from OSP and had to wait till they opened in the AM, so we stayed in a hotel in Eugene that night to save another 6 hr trip...

best part of the story... I had several very Gucci pews, my ops core lid and nods, and some other cool gear in the car with me.
Oregon State Patrol were going Gaga over it all... when I went in the next day they had it all laid out across a big conference table and they were like kids in a toy store... all had huge smiles looking down the optics and testing triggers... I was bombarded with build advice, and info on how each one shot, etc... It was funny.
I had a thin blue line sticker on the Yakima rack so that may have helped.
They recovered most of my valuables from ground zero, but one of my cases that had all of my Silencerco Hybrid adapters broke open and scattered, and I lost my pistol booster, all the tools, thread reducers, end caps, and my 30cal anchor brake..and who knows what else... also lost some mags, ammo, medications, supplies from my emergency/get home car kit....
worst of all I lost my sanctuary
Crap... I just put 1500 worth new of tires on her less than a month prior.
I'm really gonna miss her! But I survived a very serious crash and walked to the ambulance.

I felt OK until I got home, and over the next two days that infection in my chest became critical. Fluid collapsed my left lung,pushed my heart into my right lung my O2 levels bottomed out.
I thought it was pain from tne seatbelt tweaking my bones and all that so I tuffed it out for a couple days in the worst pain I could ever imagine, finally I relented and called an ambulance... then spent the next 8 days in the hospital having and recovering from Major thoracic surgery to drain and scrape out all the crap around my lung.
still really sore on that left side, and my brain is still very foggy from the concussion at times...
Happy ending(so far)though!
I survived 2 very near death experiences in less than a week, and my wife is so greatfull I'm alive that she agreed that I deserved a new truck. Insisted even!
If I can survive that pain....the pain of scraping up the truck payment and eating top ramen for the next couple years should be a cake walk

Glad to hear you walked away as unscathed as you did, kudos to Ford's engineering that kept you from more serious harm or death. And a good lesson for those who are not disciplined enough to always click that seatbelt.

Sorry to hear about the lung. Suffered one of those many years ago, seems it took months to get full strength in the hand and fingers after that surgery. Prays for your continued recovery back to full strength and normal operations. Appearantly, Dad's got His finger upon you!

Blessings...

 

[BWH]

Stage 1?

Stage "beta" 67 was the year of buick's first ever full on muscle car, no stage!

 

[sobo]

Stage "beta" 67 was the year of buick's first ever full on muscle car, no stage!

It's a Buick! And here all this time I thought we were talking about a Suzuki 2-wheeler!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Those Buicks are no joke! Had a buddy with a 71 G.S. stage 1 that was unbeatable on the street, you ether had to really know what you were doing, or have half your engine sticking out of your hood to even have a chance against that Buick! That car could take a Hemi Cuda down, one of the very few that could!

 

[DeanMk]

Stage "beta" 67 was the year of buick's first ever full on muscle car, no stage!

You're absolutely right. I was thinking of a '69.
Sorry about that.
'67's are a sweet car, though.



Dean

 

[DeanMk]

Those Buicks are no joke! Had a buddy with a 71 G.S. stage 1 that was unbeatable on the street, you ether had to really know what you were doing, or have half your engine sticking out of your hood to even have a chance against that Buick! That car could take a Hemi Cuda down, one of the very few that could!

My favourite Buick story is working in the garage of a large, well-known, department store, back in the 80's and I get an oil change on a '72 Skylark.
I walk up to this thing and its a total grandma's car.
4 doors, auto trans, Pea green with matching scotch plaid interior.
About 15 years old at the time and it still had the new car smell!
I remembered another guy I'd worked for before and we did a tranny job on a '71 and he said it ripped his head off during the test drive.
I thought I'd do a little performance testing on my way back into the shop.
I eased it out of the parking slot and nailed the gas...
There was a stop sign next to the shop about 60-70 feet away from me.
...by the time I pulled my head out of the back seat, I had just enough time to jump on the brakes and stop before blowing the sign.
When I got it into the stall, I popped the hood and the air cleaner lid said 350 4-bbl.
...been a fan ever since.

Dean

 

[HaveGun]

Bench racing story time...

I had a `65 GTO in high school in the 80's that was pretty modified and was one of the fastest cars in the area. Honest 11-second car.

The factory 389 tri-power motor had been replaced with a 428 out of a `69 Catalina SJ. These motors were 390hp stock, and mine had a big cam, headers, ported and polished heads, Edelbrock Torker intake, Holley 850 double-pumper carb, and upgraded ignition.

No idea how much horsepower it had, but had to be north of 500 to get the numbers it did in the 1/4-mile.

That car was a beast! It had the M22 4spd transmission (also swapped in) with a Hurst V-Gate shifter. I would go out cruising with my buddies and my favorite trick was to put it in 1st gear, let the clutch out, and just let it idle down the street at about 900 rpm. With that big lopey cam and tons of torque, every time it opened the valves, the back tires would chirp. Scared the hell out of other guys that were trying to impress me by revving their engines and doing a burnout, trying to get me to race.

If the idling while chirping the tires trick didn't work, I would bring the revs up, hit the gas and cause the nose to come way up, then let off and let the front come down, bounce the suspension, and then when the front end was on the upswing, hit the gas again and lift the front tires off the ground a few inches. I rarely had anyone want to race me after that.

I remember one time, we were out at the 1/4-mile outside of town (street racing spot on a rural paved road) and a couple of guys were lined up and ready to go. I was sitting behind them and bored, since no one would race me anymore.

The two cars were unimpressive 15 or 16 second cars. A `69 Chevelle with a 350 and a `69 Plymouth Satellite Roadrunner clone with a 360.

They launched and took off down the straight agonizingly slow, so I pulled out and yelled to my buddy who had flagged them, "hey! Watch this!" (no beer to hold)

I took off after them and luckily the Roadrunner clone was ahead, so I pulled behind him, passed the Chevelle, the pulled into his lane, then passed the Plymouth and beat him by a couple of seconds to the finish line.

I was a street racing hero after that stunt.

Man, I miss that car...

 

[HaveGun]

And yes, I got caught being stupid on the street. A lot. I received 16 tickets and lost my license, twice, before I was 18. Everything from speeding (163 mph in a `69 Torino GT fastback) to excessive display of speed, where I hit 55 mph in a 25mph zone in 150' from the stoplight.

This is the Torino that had 3:00 to 1 gears and a 351W 4V that I rebuilt myself in auto shop. I had the front spoiler custom made so the front would stop lifting up at over 100 mph. State Trooper was just dumbfounded that I was going that fast. Lucky I didn't go to jail...

 

[sobo]

@HaveGun You're my phuq'n hero!

ETA: Goddamn, those are some phuq'n SWEET rides!
I had a '69 Catalina on which I swapped out the 2-bbl for a 6-pack, but I ended up blowing out all the lifters as I watched the gas gauge needle drop in real time!

 

[HaveGun]

Lats ticket I got was in 2008 or so. Was driving home from work at 8pm on the I-17 North of Phoenix. I was in my commuter vehicle, which was a 2005 Mustang with a V6. I had convinced my wife at the time that it would be a great commuter due to being a V6.

Well, being a hot rodder, I couldn't leave well enough alone and soon added aftermarket CAI, exhaust, and a custom computer tune. I had over 300hp and still got around 25 mpg.

That night, I was cruising along in the right lane in a 75 mph zone at about 78 mph when I saw a pair of headlights come up behind me pretty quickly.

A black 2007 Mustang GT with California plates blew by me.

I just had to make sure he wasn't an impaired driver, so I punched it and caught up with him. We were going 120+ when I decided he was fine and let off the gas. At the same time, we passed a county deputy hidden along the road.

He pulled us both over. He was PISSED.

The other driver ended up being a rich kid from ASU who's daddy had bought him a Mustang. We were both arrested, our vehicles towed, and hauled off to the Yavapai County jail.

After I explained to the officer what my intentions were, and explained my law enforcement credentials and background, he said he felt bad, but everything had already been called in and he had to proceed with booking me.

When I got to the jail, I was processed by a trainee, and I ended up giving him some pointers on how he was handling and processing me. His FTO thought it was hilarious.

My ex-wife came and picked me up at 1 am and was NOT happy. I thought it was hilarious.

I ended up going to court and got the charges pled down to exceeding 85 mph on a public highway, rather than the original charge of racing and reckless driving.

My ex-wife insisted I trade the Mustang in on a 4-door 4cyl sedan. I did.

This was my V6 Mustang...



And this is the car I replaced it with...



She divorced me a year later, lol...

 

[sobo]

What a step down in vehicles... but one helluva a step up in freedom!

 

[HaveGun]

What a step down in vehicles... but one helluva a step up in freedom!

Funny, since the divorce I have not owned a fast car. I went to a Ram pickup, then a Yukon, and now drive a 2019 4Runner. Been looking for a project car, but haven't found one in my price range.

When I drive through farm country to my FFL 15 miles away on a rural highway, I pass by a farmhouse that has a `69 Torino GT fastback sitting up by a barn. It looks complete but in need of a restoration.

I've never stopped and asked if it was for sale.

I'm sure the owner realizes that it's worth more than I can afford. Or it's a family heirloom that they won't let go of. Still, it makes me smile and sick to my stomach at the same time, every time I drive by it.

 

[Red98422]

Funny, since the divorce I have not owned a fast car. I went to a Ram pickup, then a Yukon, and now drive a 2019 4Runner. Been looking for a project car, but haven't found one in my price range.

When I drive through farm country to my FFL 15 miles away on a rural highway, I pass by a farmhouse that has a `69 Torino GT fastback sitting up by a barn. It looks complete but in need of a restoration.

I've never stopped and asked if it was for sale.

I'm sure the owner realizes that it's worth more than I can afford. Or it's a family heirloom that they won't let go of. Still, it makes me smile and sick to my stomach at the same time, every time I drive by it.

It's really sad, people have driven the prices so high on most of those that they are out of reach for most folk who would actually drive them...they're now investments.

it also means people think they're rotted floor project V6 elcamino is a $5500 car

I missed out on a project 1973 charger SE that the owner backed out on their part of the deal on me....I'm still mad over that even though it happened 12 years ago, I ended up cleaning up their side yards and landscaping the front and the next day when I went to tow the car they reneged on the deal

 

[Mygrainman]

What a step down in vehicles... but one helluva a step up in freedom!

Not a step down. Click Here
I dig fast sedans, ... here the last one I owned

(Not actual car, but mine was exact same) that Yamaha motor was the shizzz. Drove it until the second tranny went... motor had like 250k and was still going strong.
Funny how 1993 220 hp was a impressive.

 

[DeanMk]

When I drive through farm country to my FFL 15 miles away on a rural highway, I pass by a farmhouse that has a `69 Torino GT fastback sitting up by a barn. It looks complete but in need of a restoration.

I've never stopped and asked if it was for sale.

I'm sure the owner realizes that it's worth more than I can afford. Or it's a family heirloom that they won't let go of. Still, it makes me smile and sick to my stomach at the same time, every time I drive by it.

...could also be a case of an old timer getting one over on all the local hot rodders.
I remember riding the school bus past a farm that was down the road from my parents place and sitting out in a field was a '41 Hudson pick-up truck.
Every kid around must've asked him if the truck was for sale.
The answer was always "NOPE!" and some said they could hear him snickering as he went back into the house.
Same story with a guy who proudly displays an early 60's Buick Invicta station wagon out in the middle of his field....and then there was the guy who had the old motor scooter sitting out in front of his house. That was in the mid 1980's, when those things were really the bee's knees.
....so, could be that Torino is sitting out to torment you, on purpose.
Takes all kinds.

Dean

 

[Ura-Ki]

I don't have the cool stories you guys have. But, back when I bought my Challenger, muscle cars were dirt cheap and everywhere! I had pick of the litter back then, A 71 Nova SS, a 69 Camaro SS, more Chevelles then I care to remember, and Big blocks coming out of every corner, take your pick! I decided I was a Mopar guy, and I wanted a 1964 Plymouth Fury big block car, or a 66 Charger Big Block. Spent all school year and summer looking, but didn't find a one. Two blocks from home was this horrible looking Challenger with it's Crager Coke Bottles and flat tires sitting under a tarp in the drive way. I had walked past it hundreds of times and only ever thought of it as an old busted up muscle car never knowing what a absolute gem it was. One day I saw the old man who lived there outside and decided to ask about the car, and he told me the whole story of how it came to be, and why it was sitting there, and that yes, he would sell it if I wanted it! We agreed on the price and he would help me load all the spare parts he had gathered and move the car to my home.
What I had bought turned out to be a super rare package delete car. The local Dodge dealer was famous for special ordering high performance cars and beating the factory's package rules. Turns out my car was ordered as a base model and outfitted with all the Drag Pack and R/T goodies, but was only really a base model, however, as a big block car, the factory had to make it offically an R/T to get the books to add up for the bosses! My car arrived at the dealer with the 360 Hp 440 with 4 speed hurst pistol grip shifter, Holly 835 4 Bbl carb, HD radiator, Hd front suspension and brakes, and stiffer bushings. It has the famous dana 60 rear with 3.93 gears and full locker with the scat pack drag shocks and springs, and bars and it was factory narrowed 4 inches each side. It has the factory drag pack side exhaust, and one of the super rare factory screw ups, the T/A rear valance with no exhaust cut outs, which makes my car super rare! It is also a stripe delete and vinal top delete car, and no performance hood! It was also ordered forest green metallic with the full black interior with the SE trim and center console! Lastly, the stock wheels wouldn't work, and the Rally's were not wide enough, so they fitted it with the Police Interceptor Wheels (15X8 fronts and 15X10 rears) and hubcap's from one of the pickups, it looks amazing like that! It actually only cost $360 more then the standard R/T, but because it was never listed on paper, the insurance companies didn't know what it was, and the buyers would be saving a metric ton in premiums!
Stock, she would rip through the Quarter in just a hair over 11 seconds @ 122 mph, with actual slicks, drag tuning and the front bars loosened up, she could break into the 10s pretty easy, and hit 130+ in the 1/4! She is fast, real fast. That big 440 will out rev all other big blocks, and while it never had the torque of some, it would out pull most. In fact, the only ones that could beat it was the Buick 455 stage 1, the light weight Hemi Cuda, or the 69 Vette 454! There were a few that came close, like the Super Cobra Jet Mustang and Thunderbolts, but very few! There were rumored to be a couple of factory light weight Hemi race cars roaming around the streets the Dodge dealers sons would creep around and get races, and then when the poor schlub lost, they would tell him all about the dealerships abilities to get you a winning car, and thus drive sales! Seemed to have worked, they were well known for selling these special order hotrods!
Back when I got this old beat up Muscle car, no body wanted them, no body cared, they were too expensive to drive, to expensive to insure and too expensive to maintain! They were loud, obnoxious, smelled like fuel, oil, and burning rubber, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

 

[westcoastal]

how tough was that yakima box wowsers

 

[HB of CJ]

I have NEVER gotten a speeding ticket!