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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  2576 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Today I got to stand in front of a 1937 Packard Twelve Touring Sedan that was converted to propane in 1939 . . .

That link looks awesome. I'll have to check it out when I get home from work.

I recently discovered that the blueprints for The Smith Flyer exist online. If you know a few machinists that want a really out there project, you could throw them in that direction.





lm  ·  2576 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's cool how similar that is to your standard go-kart nowadays--tiny engine on the back axle, single brake, simple steering mechanism. That's the kind of project you could do in a month's worth of weekends; if you're clever, you wouldn't even need a lathe. The most esoteric tool you'd need would be a welder, and for the welds you're doing, you could be just fine with a $50 craigslist buzzbox.

If I had a kiddo, that would be a fun project to do together!

user-inactivated  ·  2575 days ago  ·  link  ·  

People race go-karts around here, from 10 year olds up to men in their 50s. They take that shit seriously, from arguing Briggs and Stratton vs. Honda motors, whether to keep them stock, accusing others of modifying, etc. I remember once things got so crazy, they once entertained the thought of having each engine assigned a number and every weekend, before people would race, you would have to draw a number to see what engine you got. It was supposed to keep you from modifying the engine. After all, why put work into cheating if you can't garuntee you benefit?

lm  ·  2575 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I've always preferred racing against myself (lap times, etc.) for that reason, but I'm not that competitive of a person anyway.

user-inactivated  ·  2575 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ditto. I don't track the FR-S, since it's a DD, but I've spent countless hours on the Forza series for the X-Box.

lm  ·  2574 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Do you have any autocross up your way? It's pretty harmless as far as racing goes (only one car on the track at a time and the fastest you'll go is highway speeds, if that) but incredibly fun.

If nothing else, the couple of autox days I've done taught me that there's a lot about mid-engine driving that I don't know...

user-inactivated  ·  2574 days ago  ·  link  ·  

There's tons of autocrossing around here. If and when Dala and I get that 5th Gen El Camino, I might take that for a few runs.