Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

tjc78 said:

We filled a 40 yd dumpster from the old house and I don’t ever want that to happen again.

It will, sadly. Only constant vigilance can prevent accumulation, especially when you have young children!

xwesx

qbrozen said:

tjc78 said:

explorerx4 said:

How are you going to open the garage door if you stack a couple of vehicles in there?

Yes, you would need a different type of door.

Actually, you can use the same door. When I had mine replaced a few months ago, I asked about that very thing. He said they could just extend the vertical tracks. It is more strain on the motor, of course. After discussions, I decided I didn't want to have to take down all my tire racks and lose that storage above the doors.

As long as the winding on the spring is adjusted appropriately, it shouldn't even change the motor demands that much.

xwesx

mjfloyd1 said:

I had the garage door company move my opener off to the side. They put a bracket on the same door and it frees up the space over the lift

Based on the photo, it looks like the door actually tracks horizontally at around the 8'/9' level, so it would interfere with a lift regardless of the opener location. In this case, the door needs to lift to the ceiling before it transitions to horizontal.

stickguy

corvette said:

I really like Hoovie's new Brougham. He kept mentioning the paint being bad, but it didn't look that bad in the photos. All I saw was some body work that needed to be repaired. I'm sure Maaco will make it look better.

It was weird how the Corvette looked silver outdoors and then either white or non-metallic light grey once it was in the Wizard's shop.

I just watched that too. I thought the same thing. fix the damage, put on new filler pieces, and let a pro do a full paint correction detail. Might not make it perfect, but I bet they could get it looking more than fine for a cheap 1987 land yacht.

corvette

My late great-uncle had several of those. I remember an early 1990s one with the door mounted seatbelts, and I know he bought a 1994 and then traded it for a 1996 when he found out they were ending production.

coldinohio

acura and honda fans may like the 2021 acura tlx review on Alexonauto

another more 'mature' reviewer some like is tom voelk driven on youtube

stickguy

I appreciate the "mature" reviewers. Basically people that use cars, like normal people. And don't obsess about behavior you really could only see on a track, in a car that would never be on one. Alex does a good job usually, and is easy to watch and listen to.

mjfloyd1

xwesx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

I had the garage door company move my opener off to the side. They put a bracket on the same door and it frees up the space over the lift

Based on the photo, it looks like the door actually tracks horizontally at around the 8'/9' level, so it would interfere with a lift regardless of the opener location. In this case, the door needs to lift to the ceiling before it transitions to horizontal.

I have a 9 foot garage door. I had the RS7 below and the 63 corvette above and the door works just fine without whacking the corvette with the lift at highest position

xwesx

mjfloyd1 said:

xwesx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

I had the garage door company move my opener off to the side. They put a bracket on the same door and it frees up the space over the lift

Based on the photo, it looks like the door actually tracks horizontally at around the 8'/9' level, so it would interfere with a lift regardless of the opener location. In this case, the door needs to lift to the ceiling before it transitions to horizontal.

I have a 9 foot garage door. I had the RS7 below and the 63 corvette above and the door works just fine without whacking the corvette with the lift at highest position

Dang; those are some seriously low-slung cars!

stickguy

9' doors is also a lot higher than normal.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

I really like Hoovie's new Brougham. He kept mentioning the paint being bad, but it didn't look that bad in the photos. All I saw was some body work that needed to be repaired. I'm sure Maaco will make it look better.

It was weird how the Corvette looked silver outdoors and then either white or non-metallic light grey once it was in the Wizard's shop.

My 84’ Corvette had the same issue with the Crossfire injection.

stickguy

I assume at this point there is a common resolution to that problem in the aftermarket. Just scrap the whole thing and put on a Holly system? Or maybe swap in a new engine or one from a later C4.

qbrozen

This is so fantastic.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-iveco-90-16/

Sandman6472

So won't you smile for the camera?
I know they're gonna love it
Peg.

Ya gotta just love Steely Dan!! Been a fan since 1972!!

stickguy

definitely going to be the only one on your block.

mjfloyd1

stickguy said:

9' doors is also a lot higher than normal.

It is what I asked for when we built the house...

Builder said normal was 8 foot

stickguy

nice practical car for the CO crowd. Lovely colors. But those rubber band tires on the big wheels gives me nightmares. Wonder if a -2 would clear the brakes?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rNQqk0nb/2008-bmw-335i-convertible

I kinda like these. But you would have to give it to me for free to get me to live with the motorized rat belts.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9lR71Px2/1991-ford-probe-gt

another CO car. I love this. Drop dead gorgeous and fantastic color combo.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/98Y76dG0/2008-jaguar-xk-coupe

corvette

qbrozen said:

This is so fantastic.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-iveco-90-16/

It's interesting... Definitely needs a backup camera. And, would have been far more practical in terms of living quarters if they had simply grafted a fiberglass RV onto the back instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

stickguy

mjfloyd1 said:

stickguy said:

9' doors is also a lot higher than normal.

It is what I asked for when we built the house...

Builder said normal was 8 foot

mine are probably 8' if that is normal. Wasn't sure if it was 7 or 8'. Whatever it is, is fine by me. But for my next house, if I get to build it, they will be wider than the standard because I am really tired of barely being able to squeeze in without taking off a mirror.

what I really need it a 4 spot garage, with 2 double doors! Or if I get individual ones, make them a foot wider than standard.

explorerx4

I got 8 1/2 wide doors when we built the house, standard was 8 feet. 9 foot wide were just too much money.
When I ad my Expedition, it would fit in the garage without folding in the side view mirrors.

tjc78

My Uncle has a 58 Bonneville. He has moved a few times and each time has had the garage customized to ensure it fit with plenty of room.

In my garage when I get my land yacht of choice one day, I’ll have to get rid of the workbench and tools in front of the XC.

qbrozen

My coronet fits in front of my toolbox with about 2 feet breathing space. Just enough room for me to stand in between and work on it or access my tools. The middle bay has my workbench, tire machine, and stairs, so not as generous, but plenty roomy for her X2 or former LR2. Now the Fiat resides there and it looks like I could probably fit 2 of those. Ha. We actually joked that I could probably fit it and the mower in the 3rd bay in front of the fridge and freezer. We’ll see in the Spring when I can put the plow back in the shed.

kyfdx

Height of the door has no effect on whether you can use a lift, though.

It's the ceiling height. Plus, as @mjfloyd1 noted, his garage door opener is mounted on the side, so he can use the full inside height of his garage. No opener at the top to take up space.

corvette

I thought the point was, if the door opens horizontally at 8' or 9', you can't use a lift to "stack" and semi-permanently store two cars, since the door wouldn't have clearance to open.

kyfdx

corvette said:

I thought the point was, if the door opens horizontally at 8' or 9', you can't use a lift to "stack" and semi-permanently store two cars, since the door wouldn't have clearance to open.

You just run your tracks all the way to the ceiling. The door is in sections. It won't break horizontally, until the tracks do.

explorerx4

Point is, adding a stacker is not plug and play for most garages.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

Point is, adding a stacker is not plug and play for most garages.

No, it isn't. But, if you have the ceiling height, it's not much of a job.

Last winter, I replaced my 16" wide insulated door, all new tracks and a new opener, all for $2100 installed.

28firefighter

Our garage is actually rather tight on length because of how the stairs into the house were positioned and the fact that our HVAC is on one side. The longest vehicle we can fit is about 195" on one side and about 185 on the other.

We do have something like 12-15' ceilings in our garage - of course our opener is much lower than that. I figure when the opener finally gives up the ghost, I'll have it raised and moved so I can put a lift in.

breld

We were set on getting a lift installed at our last house - the ceiling height there was more than adequate to accommodate it. We’d like to do it at our current house, but I don’t think there’s nearly enough height in the garage unfortunately.

Oh well - we’ll have more available room in the driveway eventually. We have two kids cars, soon to be three, to deal with in the meantime.

breld

Just got back from Chicago visiting a college for my oldest son. When we got in Tuesday night, it was later in the evening so Hertz just had a sign saying to pick a car from the “President’s Circle.”

Hmm, some sedans, a nice Kia Sorrento...or a Jaguar XF. I’ll say by the end of our quick visit, the XF grew on me a little, but within miles of leaving the airport, I had some major regret at not taking the Kia. The XF is a pretty rough riding SUV, and it was not very rich on features as I imagine the Kia would have been. No blind spot monitoring, which I can totally deal with, except for some reason the rear windows and hatch were tinted so dark it was difficult to see out of. I reverted to the tried-and-true yet now forgotten art of adjusting and using the side view mirrors. 😀

Michaell

breld said:

Just got back from Chicago visiting a college for my oldest son. When we got in Tuesday night, it was later in the evening so Hertz just had a sign saying to pick a car from the “President’s Circle.”

Hmm, some sedans, a nice Kia Sorrento...or a Jaguar XF. I’ll say by the end of our quick visit, the XF grew on me a little, but within miles of leaving the airport, I had some major regret at not taking the Kia. The XF is a pretty rough riding SUV, and it was not very rich on features as I imagine the Kia would have been. No blind spot monitoring, which I can totally deal with, except for some reason the rear windows and hatch were tinted so dark it was difficult to see out of. I reverted to the tried-and-true yet now forgotten art of adjusting and using the side view mirrors. 😀

XF, or F-Pace?

XF is the sedan, F-Pace is the SUV.

stickguy

can always get a set of quick jacks. Gets the car off the ground, as long as you don't need to stand under it. Great for doing brakes, etc.

unless you are just looking for double decker storage, not access to work on the car!

28firefighter

No, I'd love to be able to keep the ZHP stacked on top for the winter and still park a car beneath it instead of outside.

I have little urge to work underneath a car - though I suppose with a lift I might be more inclined...

fintail

That reminds me, 2 weeks from today I have a Hertz rental at Seatac. "Luxury" booking and I am PC, hoping for something interesting - I've read Hertz is putting new cars in the fleet again, with apparently some decent content (BMW, Jag). Using some points before they expire, as a real vacation isn't likely anytime soon.

breld

Michaell said:

breld said:

Just got back from Chicago visiting a college for my oldest son. When we got in Tuesday night, it was later in the evening so Hertz just had a sign saying to pick a car from the “President’s Circle.”

Hmm, some sedans, a nice Kia Sorrento...or a Jaguar XF. I’ll say by the end of our quick visit, the XF grew on me a little, but within miles of leaving the airport, I had some major regret at not taking the Kia. The XF is a pretty rough riding SUV, and it was not very rich on features as I imagine the Kia would have been. No blind spot monitoring, which I can totally deal with, except for some reason the rear windows and hatch were tinted so dark it was difficult to see out of. I reverted to the tried-and-true yet now forgotten art of adjusting and using the side view mirrors. 😀

XF, or F-Pace?

XF is the sedan, F-Pace is the SUV.

Oh you're right - it was an F-Pace.

explorerx4

@breld,
Chicago winters can be tough but a great place to be in good weather.

corvette

Chicago is one of my favorite places. The Art Institute is amazing.

Sandman6472

Our son and his wife live there, we were there for a few days for the wedding but really need to go back and spend some quality time there. When there in 2017, there was a lot of rain when the first cold front came through and they closed the boat rides off de to flooding. We were bummed as that was the one thing we really wanted to do but was a no go. Really sucked as we had to drive home before they resumed service.
Tjc78, think the '58 Pontiac Bonneville is my favorite vehicle from that time with the Cadillac Biarritz drop top a close second. And of course, the '57 Chevy BelAir. GM was really kicking [non-permissible content removed] during those years and basically every division had some really classic rides. But if I had to pick one to own now, the '58 Bonneville would have to be it!

Sandman6472

Starting to pick up at work a bit and was asked to work on the 24th and 31st since I'm n/s both days. Since I've got the 25th and the 1st off, said sure and said if they needed a body for the 25th, I'd be available since it's not our holiday. My first responder daughter is already working that day so another co-worker can spend the day with her family. Just another day for us where we usually order Chinese food and go to a movie.

explorerx4

Last time I went to Chicago, we went to a wedding at the Planetarium.

tjc78

@Sandman6472
I know the 58 is over the top for some, but it’s a gorgeous car. My Uncle’s car is a multiple trophy winner.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I assume at this point there is a common resolution to that problem in the aftermarket. Just scrap the whole thing and put on a Holly system? Or maybe swap in a new engine or one from a later C4.

One article I read said the Crossfire was actually a superior injection system but it was strangled by 1984 pollution controls. Properly aspirated it was alleged it could produce more horsepower that it’s successors. I’ve never seen that done though.

explorerx4

I found this interesting tidbit went posting an article on another thread.

Bring a Trailer is also owned by Road & Track's parent company, Hearst Autos.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

This is so fantastic.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-iveco-90-16/

Perfect for a camping trip during the zombie apocalypse.

Sandman6472

They got married at the zoo area in Lincoln Park and had the reception inside a glass building there. Was very nice actually but it was around October 15th and the first cold front came in that early evening. It was windy and cold and the ladies in our family had on light dresses and were freezing! Luckily I had a sports coat which my wife promptly took off me and wrapped our middle girl in to warm her up. I must admit, that wind was intense and it was cold. Remember getting in our room and turning on the heat. I guess around that time of year it can be pretty iffy with the weather so they gambles...and lost! But it was still a great wedding!!

au1994

explorerx4 said:

I found this interesting tidbit went posting an article on another thread.

Bring a Trailer is also owned by Road & Track's parent company, Hearst Autos.

That’s a fairly recent acquisition. Happened this past summer I believe.

stickguy

I saw the same thing, and was surprised to learn it.

stickguy

speaking of the rabbit hole, they have a car up that I have always loved (one of those teenage things) and if I was idly rich and collecting toys, would get one. Or would consider it as my spare. But price is, well, a lot more than they used to be! And this isn't even the GT. Oh, and this one is a non starter, being a slushbox. That flathood mystique must be important.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-volvo-flat-hood-242-group-a-homologation-turbo/

Here is a GT. Slower of course without the turbo, but still cool.

https://bringatrailer.com/2015/09/23/1979-volvo-242-gt/

the real plan is a 242 turbo from the 80s, with some nice resto mod stuff from the IPD catalog.

corvette

I'm clueless about lifts. Why does the Wizard (and I think I've seen others do it, as well) constantly hold onto and/or press down on what I think is the safety lock while lifting a vehicle? I thought they were supposed to be automatic during lifting.

stickguy

I thought you had to keep the switch pressed, like a dead man's switch, for safety. But I don't pay that close attention to that part in the videos.