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timhortons
10-12-2010, 07:10 PM
I'm too much of a fanatic of cars to pass up on showing you some of my past vehicles. I miss them all, they've all been so different from each other, and special in some way, at least to me.

My first car ever was a 1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse.
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/839/mitsupassengersidecombo.jpg
It had a 1.8L engine, and was basically bargain-basement level trim. The only option I think it had was air-conditioning, and that was probably because it was originally in California. Other than that it had no power steering, a manual gearbox (the only proper way to drive is with a manual though), no rear defrost (i got used to not having a back window in winter), and half the speakers were blown. It also drank quite a bit of oil, some of it leaked out, some of it burnt. Being my first car, it was the one I did most of my stupid things in, well, somewhat. It was the car I was caught doing 100mph in for example. None the less I sold it after a year, only because I had the chance to get my second car...

2001 Ford Mustang GT
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/3900/mustangresized.jpg
Who could resist a muscle car? Anyone who doesn't like a V8 is insane. I try to love all engines, and naturally, V8's are some of my favorite engines. You have to be in the right mindset for an american V8 though. They're quite lazy, but they pack a lot of torque. It was very nice cruising along at 10+ the highway speed limit at 2500 rpm. I even loved the color of it too, but drunk people downtown often had a tendancy to confuse it with a taxi...

Unfortunately it was also the car I made my biggest mistake in.
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/4697/img4961small.jpg
Wet corner, tires past their prime, and I didn't want to back down, the back end gave up traction and flung me straight into a tree. Total loss, I rippled the frame all the way back to the rear quarter panel. Things that were bolted down landed in the passenger seat. I was also standing on the brake, which went the opposite way I was pressing, so it broke a bone or two in my foot.

That incident had some long lasting repercussions in other ways. So my third car wasn't so glamorous.
1991 Pontiac Grand Prix
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1516/pontiacside.jpg
Not much to say about this one, it was just a set of wheels that occasionally worked. It was a mixed blessing when a young woman drove into the side of it and it was written off. Luckily it was a nice "glancing" hit, which is good, because the speeds we were going were around 80kph(50mph) in that '91 there were no airbags or anything so it could have been much worse for me. The foot I broke a year earlier hurt again though!

I've also had two Honda Nighthawk motorcycles, one was a 1984 650cc, and more recently a 1983 750cc, they were a lot of fun, sold the first one because I was a little skiddish of traffic at the time, and sold my second one to do something crazy.

Crazy:
http://img602.imageshack.us/img602/755/img6657.jpg
I drove this for a couple of weeks as a learner, to get a Class 1, or CDL, kind of as a serious thing, but I thought it would be a lot of fun and would be nice to have. I dont discriminate when it comes to things with motors! If it has something with an engine and I havent driven it, then you bet I'm going to want to try it one day! You guys talk about torque, but really, that thing was *amazing* 700+ foot pounds is indescribable, lol. And, 18 gears, non-syncro! Trust me, it's harder than it sounds, because not only do you have to rev match perfectly, you have to *remember* to range change and split the gears, fun as hell if you love manuals though.

So I can drive a big rig, but that still doesn't mean I'll help you move, lol.

chuckthefuk
10-12-2010, 07:37 PM
wow..... thats some time line right there..

Glad your ok and staying away from American cars :-D

-Chuck

02_Legacy
10-12-2010, 07:49 PM
That is a nice set of cars/semi. I would like to drive a semi one of these days, I think it would be a great experience. I don't know if I would want to drive one for a living though. I mean I like my manual but I think I would go crazy if I had to shift 18 times everytime I stopped.

timhortons
10-12-2010, 07:59 PM
chuckthefuk: Haha, no doubt. My 93 eclipse was probably only pushing 80 rwhp, but I bet you it would have out cornered a mustang, not only because it was FWD rather than RWD, but it just felt so much better than the mustang, sophisticated so to speak. That mustang actually "hopped" around bumpy corners and that was on 35c(95f) days! Most of that is down to the "live rear axle" and hard suspension though. Yeah it'll be nice to be reacquainted with proper handling when my suby's up and runnin.

02_Legacy: Thanks. Since I've had my CDL I've been reconsidering trucking as a "serious" job/career, many reasons, one including the economy, the other the way the industry has gone, it lacks it's essence and has gone all union and bureaucratic, which in a lot of ways has done more harm than good, the big companies will send drivers out in bad equipment and pressure them to go over their hours illegally :( None the less, I'm still glad I have it. I'd agree that in town shifting would drive you bananas after a while, I think thats why fleets usually put in 9 to 13 speeds instead. 18 is *really* only useful for the real heavy loads. There's a trick to the 18 though, if you're light you can skip half the splits, so you end up with 12 shifts, lol, it's less than 18 though! Fleets have also been implementing automatic or semi-automatic transmissions, which is fine in dandy in most situations, although I've heard a lot of *bad* stories involving snow and mountains with those.

timhortons
10-12-2010, 08:28 PM
Just finished rummaging through my pile of pictures for my motorcycles... just because :P

This is my 1983 Honda Nighthawk 750, this was taken after my "modding". I replaced the exhaust, rebuilt the entire front brake assembly, painted it black, cleaned the hell out of it, replaced the valve cover seal, wired in an accessory plug. Minor changes really, but I started out wanting to keep it original, but the parts I did have to change I made sure that they blended into the theme I was after.
After:
http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/8979/img6647.jpg
Before:
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/7897/img6080n.jpg

This was my first bike, I had it even before my Eclipse, before I had "real road experience" -- I ended up not riding it much and selling it. Because it was 20 years old the noises it made intimidated me, and I wasn't ready for traffic either, so I sold it for my Eclipse, which taught me all about funny noises of cars and traffic! Heck, I remember once stopping for a nap on the highway in it, I went to leave and my lights wouldnt turn on, I was worried for a bit! Thankfully it just turned out to be condensation and away I went into the night. Anyways, here's my first bike:
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/1175/img3186c.jpg

That covers just about everything, lol :P