Addiction

[Cobra]

So I know i'm not the only one but the more i tinker with my van the more i want to drive it and the more i drive it the more i want to mod it. This isn't just limited to my van though just vehicles in general almost every time i get in someones car i think to myself "hmmm what can i do to this to make it better, run fast, drive smoother" I want to tear them apart learn more about them, rebuild them and tune them but i don't have a garage so that limits my activities (something i should probably be thankful for) and i really don't know much about suspension and i know absolutely nothing about tuning to the point where it hurts to think about lol I crave a garage so bad it makes my skin crawl and even now i just want to go driving so badly my heart is racing even though i have no place to go.

anyways point of this rant? is i know i have a problem what do people who have similar problems do to suppress it...? a cure might come with age or maturity but i don't think so. Just felt like venting plus i thought this might start an interesting topic

[MountainManJoe]

I hear ya, Cobra. I need a carport/workshop badly.

[1Gary]

I got to say,I looked every day in craigslist for a place to rent for 4yrs.The right price,door size and location all played a role in my search.I wasted over a yrs rent on a place that was too far away and too small just because of it's 9' tall door.That brings me to this current pole barn.It takes time to set it up to a solid work place and $$$$.This pole barn has two really great work benches and tons of shelfs.I'm in the middle of hanging up and wiring lights over the benches and on the walls.The thing is when you consider buying a decent air compressor,salamander heater,sand blast cabinet,drill press,etc-that leads to even used purchases on craigslist thousands of dollars.I have a nearly new cherry picker,two engine stands,and four 6 ton jackstands and a floor jack.I am buying this stuff solely for the 4 major projects I have to do.Once done,selling it all off.Well short of the tool box/tools.

So I am saying guys to find a place,I suggest you do the same thing.Make it part of your normal daily routine to look at craiglists for a rental garage and wait to find what you need.Don't make the same mistake I did grabbing the first deal you see.

Corba-you know with all you have gotten done without a garage,you shouldn't feel all that bad.Heck-from what I know,Lifted built his SPB in his driveway.Bill's open carport is famous for all the work he has done.

[Cobra]

I won't rent a garage since it's financially unwise, lifted and lockdoc have space something i don't have lol I still have work planned for this summer however that i can do in my driveway

[blacknome]

Maybe I am the exception but the older I get the less I like to mod the vehicles ( esp the DD's ). The wrenching I do to them is based moreso on nessessity and financial reason ( based on the fact that I have most of the tools and some of the skill to perform my own repairs ). When I was younger I would relish the enjoyment I used to get from taking something and repairing it or modifying it to perform better ( and it didn't even have to be my car ! ). When I was younger I would actually enjoy spending a warm saturday afternoon laying on my back in the driveway swapping out balljoints, or changing rear axle seals ( really anything mechanical ). Friends would stop by, someone would run for some burgers or coffee and it was a social thing I guess. Now it seems I rush thru to get it done as quickly as I can because there are so many other pressing things to do. I have not done a single MOD to the van and only a CAI and U-bend delete to the wifes car in the 5 years I have owned each as they are both DD's. I can only imagine that the routine maintenence to keep them going would be done by a shop if I had the abundance of extra cash to pay someone.

However my monte is exempt because I bought it with the full intention to modify and upgrade ( due to the lack of a better hobby ). I think I enjoy working on the Monte because it is pleasure use only and I can take it apart and leave it that way as long as I want which takes the pressure off and allows working on it to be a little more enjoyable; it's still not like it was many years ago but what is ?? So far in the last 3 years the full interior has been out for cleaning and replacement. I have swapped some of the suspension, upgraded to 4 wheel disk brakes with larger rotors and calipers, new motor, rebuilt trans and rear-end has been swapped for upgraded unit. This summer will be a full audio overhaul. But even thinking about this has my shoulder and lower back aching from laying on that driveway.

Maybe I should be like Jay Leno. Just pay someone full time to upgrade them the way I want them then drive the wheels off !!

[Cobra]

I have a pile of parts waiting to be installed because i don't dare try to rush through the job (i don't have the skills or the tools to make quick work of it) since it is my DD i can't leave it in pieces while i figure out how to do or hunt down the parts i need that'll change this summer though. I hear what your saying about the social event even with my limited space it happens here occasionally for routine stuff and i enjoy it. i haven't hit the i'm sore just thinking about it age (all though those ball joints left me aching for days lol) but i will eventually

[1Gary]

Cobra-I totally agree with you about renting a place.Where I rent my house,the driveway option wasn't there.I got screwed by a "friend" that told me with the "Ole Yellar" project we could do all the work there together.That was after a purchase of the now shop 1985 van and a donor V8 Astro.Now I own a "Ole Yellar" 1989.That is not accounting for two trailers needing to be remodel and a RV.Heck-I have in round numbers $3,000 grand in the three vans alone.The 1985,1989,and donor.That includes the purchase prices and towing costs to get them back home.

So I have broken a big rule of my own.The older members can tell you how I insisted I could build a van in such away that it could be done below resale.I have long ago passed that figure.

Years ago when I rented a house that had a shop,for me anyways,I found the quality of the work I was able to do inside a garage vs on a driveway,the work inside was a lot better.I'm not sure way it works that way,but for me it does.

I have had to settle for the fact the rent is tons cheaper than paying someone else to do the work.It is suicide to pay the rent on the shop and then sub out a job that I can do.

Bottom line-these projects being done is the front door of a business that I need to reopen to add income to my retirement.So the shop rental is a business expense.

[Moreforles]

So I know i'm not the only one but the more i tinker with my van the more i want to drive it and the more i drive it the more i want to mod it. This isn't just limited to my van though just vehicles in general almost every time i get in someones car i think to myself "hmmm what can i do to this to make it better, run fast, drive smoother" I want to tear them apart learn more about them, rebuild them and tune them.

anyways point of this rant? is i know i have a problem what do people who have similar problems do to suppress it...? a cure might come with age or maturity but i don't think so. Just felt like venting plus i thought this might start an interesting topic

I have the same problem, but not restricted to astros or vehicles in general, always seem to see some way to make things better, or at least think/wonder.... "why didn't they do it this way or add this or that...???"

everything from carpet cleaning equipment, RVs, utility companies.... ect..

[Moreforles]

and I have the same problem, with working out doors... I did move a over a year ago and the rental property did have an older 2 car garage, but it rained harder inside than it did outside.... floor was/is busted in up it places, support posts in the middle, not much room to work inside, so ended up storing van and rv parts and tools where it wasn't leaking and doing repairs outside. I got rid a 2 astro's and one safari last year, just because I really didn't have the time, money, skill or tools nessesary to do the work I invisioned on them.... consentrated on Carpet Cleaning business, and modifying/repairing RV in anticipation of move to NC.... which still hasn't taken place, but still planning on moving... should have some information on move in the next few weeks....

[Cobra]

now that you mention it i have been doing a strange amount of modification to my house, mainly electrical work. i'm not sure if i'm doing it because i have to, i want to or it's just keeping me entertained never even thought about before. Always seems to be something that needs to be or should be done

[MountainManJoe]

I call it mechanical therapy.

[doyoulikeithere]

I hate all this west coast rain when I'm Jonesin Man!!
I need to go lay under my van and do some more kinky sheet to it.
C'mon, Springtime!!!! Thank God for indoor winter bud.

[MountainManJoe]

Whatever you do with your van in the privacy of your home is your business, DYLIH, just watch out for the hot exhaust!

[doyoulikeithere]

So much rain.... and unfortunately she's out under the stars, not in the privacy of my home.
At least I got out there today and cut a new hole in the floor for the shifter without freezing to death.
I'm gonna weld in the original hole and cut a new one for the transfer case lever too.
Glad its warming up, even if it feels like Noah might just sail past!
I have stuff I kinda need to do before its driving, but I like warm dry ground to do it.

[1Gary]

Well Mike,I hope the weather breaks for you soon.I know there are a number of guys who will be following your build thread.