Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 7:39 am Post subject: Any Trumpet Players Also Car People?
Have been a car guy from my first car - '72 Barracuda in the late 70s. But just like trumpet playing, buying, collecting....it's a slippery slope to spending big money.[/img]
One trend you notice today with classic cars, is how almost all of them have been painted in the boldest, 'brashest' color scheme for purpose of impressing others, rather than understated. Unusual wheel updates that are meant for slammed, or 'low riders'.
Otoh, a one-off rare camaro can be done well, but the price creeps higher while it's touted and sold on behalf of a higher end Sotheby's auction, though it's just a tribute car, not original.
Joined: 06 Feb 2002 Posts: 2335 Location: Santa Cruz County, CA
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 6:24 pm Post subject:
I was a "car guy," back when I was young, and penniless, and couldn't afford much. When I was 30 I had a nice 1965 Volvo 1800S. When I was 35 I bought my first house. When I was 39 I realized I couldn't afford to maintain both a house and the Volvo.
But my wife had observed how much money the Volvo absorbed, to not much effect. The plus side is that she encouraged my adapting the "classic car" bug to the "classic horn" bug, because it was so much cheaper.
Yes, since 2000 I've driven a Chevy Metro LSI hatchback (with the mighty 1.3-liter four-banger and a 5-speed manual, until it wore out with 250,000 miles on the odometer) and since then a Fiat 500 (base model, but again with a 5-speed manual), but the list of horns (and custom mouthpieces) I've bought, with no spousal objection, since I sold the Volvo... well, I'm more than happy to accept the trade-off. _________________ J. Notso Nieuwguyski
One thing done less often, is the ability to take a few hundred $$ and achieve very much. A pile of electronic stuff is needed today for a modern car to run at all. A porsche guy will often throw $15 - $20G into an upgrade, which is alright but not exactly what hotrodding is about. Some guys with great skill are still out there, thankfully.
Joined: 12 Nov 2001 Posts: 204 Location: Tulsa, OK
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:42 am Post subject:
I have owned and enjoyed: Lotus Europa 1969, 4 Toyota Mr 2's (all 1986), Toyota Mr 2 Turbo (1991), and a Porsche 944 (1988). Each of them were fun and unique. Even after the Porsche imploded in 2015 (timing belt broke) the doors still shut tight like they were brand new !
Joined: 03 Jun 2003 Posts: 1605 Location: Clarksville, Tn
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:00 am Post subject:
I consider myself a car guy, but I haven't owned what people would consider a cool car. My first car was a '62 Biscayne. Ugly. 235- 6. A tank. But I didn't have money and if I wanted to drive instead of walking I had to learn to fix it myself.
My wife's first car was a 66 Fairlane 4 door. It's been a really good vehicle. I still drive it. It is in great mechanical shape but I am in the process of trying to make it more comfortable and prettier. It has a 289 and a 3 speed automatic.
I had a couple of Daytonas. Bought one new in '84. The wifey wrecked it and we bought a used '88 in '92. Both were 5 speed overdrives. They were exceptionally nimble. Quick but not fast off the line. I never really found out how fast they would go. I had the speedometer pegged before I hit overdrive. _________________ Music is a fire in your belly, fighting to get out. You'd better put a horn in the way before someone gets hurt.
Joined: 09 Aug 2019 Posts: 404 Location: SE Louisiana
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:39 am Post subject:
Had a couple 60 T-bird (sold), 73 Dodge Challenger 440 (lost in Hurricane Katerina), currently own a 71 Roadrunner 383.
rothman - I like the post on “Vanishing Point” it’s one of my favorites. I remember seeing that movie at a drive-in as the B movie.
Ron _________________ Martin Committee #2 1954
Leblanc “Al Hirt” Model 1966
Olds Custom Crafted Ultra Sonic 1974
Edwards Gen II 2014
I'm not really a car guy, but I lucked into the 1998 Z3 shown in my avatar. $5000 - the brother-in-law price. It makes a great 3rd car after my 2013 Hyundai Sonata (love it!) and my wife's Honda CRV.
Had a couple 60 T-bird (sold), 73 Dodge Challenger 440 (lost in Hurricane Katerina), currently own a 71 Roadrunner 383.
Strange...for a car that was more crude than beautiful, it carried the film and stood out as well as any Ferrari. On your 73, guessing too far gone to be restored.. Sucks.
Last edited by rothman on Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:09 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 09 Aug 2019 Posts: 404 Location: SE Louisiana
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:37 pm Post subject:
rothman - the 73 Challenger was under salt water for about two weeks and family had the top priority. I can just imagine how bad the seams on the unibody ended up. I surrendered it to the insurance company, but saw it for sale on eBay about a year later. At least the seller noted it was flooded. It still sold for a decent price and came with another engine and a tons of new parts. My guess the seller was going to restore it and found out how much work was needed.
Ron _________________ Martin Committee #2 1954
Leblanc “Al Hirt” Model 1966
Olds Custom Crafted Ultra Sonic 1974
Edwards Gen II 2014
'80 Corvette with a ZZ4 350 crate motor, Weiand 142 supercharger, 700R4 overdrive automatic trans. Originally was looking for a manual 4 speed since my Dad's '65 had a 4 speed but after test-driving a few C3's discovered the C3 cockpit is less roomy than the C2 and there's a bit more of me than there was then so I'm good with the automatic.
Projects on deck are a '66 Fairlane Squire station wagon and an '89 Toyota Cressida for which I acquired the turbocharged version of the engine that came in it originally. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C
Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo
Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 4:34 am Post subject: Re: Any Trumpet Players Also Car People?
Shark01 wrote:
Have been a car guy from my first car - '72 Barracuda in the late 70s. But just like trumpet playing, buying, collecting....it's a slippery slope to spending big money.[/img]
Car guy or not a car guy? Well, living at the far side of the pond I began my car life with a used Mini 850 - soon to be replaced with an Austin Cooper; after 5000 km I had to replace the pistons, honing the block - 5 litres of oil per 1000 km.....So a new Cooper - oh what a fun car! Testing how fast I could enter a roundabout (I was 25..)I entered in 90 km/h leaving in 80...only thing happened the car widened the arc about 2 meters...
Then I bought a MGB, -65 soon to be replaced with a -67, overdrive left side of steering wheel, on the dashboard. I enjoyed this car a lot, drove 3 times to the mediterranean sea (from Sweden). Abarth exhaustpipe, wooden steeringwheel. Those were the times...But to cite Road and Track - 70: the steering effort is enough to wear down Steve Reeves; suspension might be a nice add on....Next car (because I "became with child") was a Rover 2000TC. A very comfortable car but I could never make it run smoothly, backfiring...and at 60000km the rear axle just died, sounding like a shipyard in the process. I was upset, was told by the dealer this only had happened to 3 cars...Me: of how many sold? Dealer: 13!!!!So next car - A used Mercedes 250SE - what a car - 145m/h on the third.....But fuel thirsty, at the time of the first oil crisis, 1973 I replaced it with an Audi 100LS.....And then my long Mercedes life began; used 115 model, 2 of them; the first one I bought at 50000km, and drove another 250000! Camshaft, and rear axle, and rusting, made me a specialist in Plastic padding; next one I bought at 100000 km - did a thorough rust mending overhaul, drove another 200000km! So an Audi 100 5 cyl. became my worst nightmare...confounded contraption, I replaced rear brakes 10 times, everything that could fail did so.....a truly expensive car.
And then, now it´s 2004 - the car I´ve sought for but didn´t know existed....my fantastic Subaru Legacy 2,5i......No problems whatsoever!;Many times down to the Alps. 7 years ago I replaced it with a Forester - 13 CVT - still loving it.
So I began with British Contraptions, learned a lot how to deal with eerie squeaks and what not, to be replaced with a long period (1975-1992) with Mercedes which taught me how to deal with corrosion - the last Mercedes I practically stripped bare, replaced entire brake system, suspension, cylinder head (valve trains honed) camshaft you name it...I sanded the entire undercarridge, as well as the inside then treating it with anti corrosives, new compartment fan....oh my what a fight...When that same fan died may years later something broke in me too......never a used car again...
Car guy.................once I was!
But something became evident in the process: you need stamina to endure used cars.....and that very same stamina has helped my play the trumpet/cornet, never giving up! Always trying to reach the far away end of the rainbow! Did I find a pot of gold? Nope, sometimes even beeing forced to mend the pot with plastic padding, but the journey is the goal
(famous last words....?()! _________________ Cornets:
Getzen Custom Series Schilke 143D3/ DW Ultra 1,5 C
Getzen 300 series
Yamaha YCRD2330II
Yamaha YCR6330II
Getzen Eterna Eb
Trumpets:
Yamaha 6335 RC Schilke 14B
King Super 20 Symphony DB (1970)
Selmer Eb/D trumpet (1974)
Last edited by Seymor B Fudd on Fri Jul 24, 2020 1:06 am; edited 3 times in total
One trend you notice today with classic cars, is how almost all of them have been painted in the boldest, 'brashest' color scheme for purpose of impressing others, rather than understated. Unusual wheel updates that are meant for slammed, or 'low riders'.
Otoh, a one-off rare camaro can be done well, but the price creeps higher while it's touted and sold on behalf of a higher end Sotheby's auction, though it's just a tribute car, not original.
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