Well, when she showed up at Ted's apartment on that last night, she was wearing . . .
Oh, sorry, wrong forum.
Michael McKelvey posted:Please elaborate. I seem to remember an old thread.
Ted's been through this and didn't understand the time frame involved.
PS- If he'd just put the *&%#ing thing in the car and drive it all would be forgotten...
Hey Michael,
Gordon summed it up. The whole experience soured me on the 5 speed and my Speedster.
Deciding to get a 5 speed is really the first of many many steps. Make sure you know what youre getting into.
By Gordon, I mean AL. 
TRP posted:By Gordon, I mean AL.
I knew that...
Yeah, Al's the good twin.......
And besides...... I don't know diddly about 5-speeds.
Ok, that's really funny, Gordon! My brother is 3 years younger, and we look enough alike that people used to ask if we were twins. When we'd say yes I'd always add "but he's the evil one!" and the argument was on. I've come to the realization that I just may be the evil one, but I'm ok with that.
So there's another one out there- hmmmm.....
I just spent several hours (when I should have been working) re-reading the whole "make it rain" saga. I was disappointed that it ended before the 5 speed got installed.
So was Ted.
Michael McKelvey posted:I just spent several hours (when I should have been working) re-reading the whole "make it rain" saga. I was disappointed that it ended before the 5 speed got installed.
It's built and sitting on his garage floor taking up space. He's had it since May or June.
Wow, why wasn't it installed? If it wasn't swing axle I would offer to buy it.
Frankly, I lost all the steam on the entire project after and the ups and downs over 15 or 16 months. Part of the issue is that I've hardly driven the car in the past 21 months. I think I only put 2300 miles on the 2054 I picked up in December of 2015! My life sort of moved on to many other things in that time frame.
I've had MANY people offer to buy the trans. Unfortunately I'm into it for a good bit more than you can buy one from Rancho. I went with pretty much all new everything. I think we re-used the axles and the tubes. Everything else was new. I also paid to have one of the best builders I could find. I can't argue about the final product, it looks amazing.
I just urge everyone to make sure they know what they are getting into before they jump into a 5 speed. I think Anthony tried to warn me.
Ted, hard love advice coming here. Sell it and move on. Maybe you can get more than rancho because its no wait and ready to go in. Put the money into something else and call it a day.
Ted many on this forum have had the proverbial balloon busted by issues with their car... 
Ray, that should be one of the 10 Commandments of Speedster ownership. Thou's balloon will be popped at some point during ownership, especially if you blow too big (Pop!)
We have all been there.
This is (one of) the downside(s) with being a perfectionist.
The object of your obsession can become the subject of your frustration.
The issue is not so much the thing, as it's just being what it is-- in this case, a plastic facsimile of a quirky and unusual little sports car. The issue is that it in an effort to make the car something it's not (and this covers a range of projects), often we meet great obstacles.
We find success in some of our endeavors, and not in others. In the midst of trying to transform the car, we can often forget what was so intoxicating about it to start with. I've had seasons when I didn't want to look at my car, as it had become an emblem of my own fiscal irresponsibility and mechanical hubris. It seemed to taunt me in it's indolence, occupying prime real-estate in the garage, butt stuck up in the air, engine on the floor beside it (or worse, in some shop on the far side of the country), sucking up space and money, and seeming to offer exactly nothing in return.
I've been blessed to have had experiences in my car that can only be described as "transformative". Driving through the desert at night, lights switched off, under a canopy of stars, the only living human in 50 miles. Slicing through the Sierra Nevada forests, narrow-gauge railroads running above and below. Blowing down "The Rattler" with Leon Chupp and hitting every. last. apex. Gliding down the PCH, beautiful wife by my side, home more than 2000 miles (and a whole world) away. My daughter tooling away from her wedding reception, her newly minted husband at the wheel. My 5-year old granddaughter, sitting in the passenger seat, head thrown back and laughing like a hyena, grin ear-to-ear.
Perhaps I might have had these experiences in a Miata, or Corvette, or Boxster. But the fact that they (eventually) came in a car largely built on sweat and busted knuckles has made the experiences that much more sweet.
I can't sell that to anybody. It's either something you feel or something you don't. I think it's a lot like finding out that the perfect young thing you fell so hard for is a human being with quirks and flaws you couldn't see at first... and choosing to love her for the things you know will always be there, perfect and young or not. We work on the stuff we hope to make better, but sometimes just knowing somebody that well and being known by them is better than making it perfect. That's a hard sell for some people.
Two weeks ago, I drove my car to Asheville from Smallville, Nowhere. The week before we left, I installed a new "comfy" seat for Mrs. Galat. I changed the oil, adjusted the valves, adjusted the front wheel-bearings, greased the beam, checked the brakes, tightened every nut and bolt on the car, packed my spares and tools. The morning we were supposed to leave, I loaded the car, locked the doors to the house, situated Jeanie in the car, aired up the tires... and turned around because the car was only hitting on 3 cylinders. I spent the next 10 hours removing and cleaning jets, replacing the carbs, checking every single component in my (ridiculous) ignition system, reinstalling the original carbs-- and finally getting it fixed by cleaning the idle jet on the effected cylinder for the 15th time. I left greasy and grumpy at 7:00 PM. I quite nearly didn't go at all. I was not pleased with my car, my shop, my own ability, or whatever idiot thought carbs were "real" and injection was not.
The car was not flawless. I dried out a throttle bearing in the carb, and the throttle was sticking the entire week. My sync was not 100% perfect (as it had been for 2 stinking years). My idler bearings (on the serpentine set-up) decided to lock up. My gearing, so fine for 99% of what I do, was not-quite-right on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
But that car provided me with one of the most enjoyable weeks in memory. I might have enjoyed it in some other conveyance, but probably nowhere near as much as in the car that made me work for it. The fact that I did, and was still there, riding that machine for everything it had in it, made it better than "perfect". It was excellent.
That's enough for me.
Stan, you have a way with words, and obviously, with these little money pits we call cars.
I'm so glad you shared your best experiences, I hope to build a resume of such memories with Kathy in Whitecloud, especially the night driving in the desert. We once drive overnight from SLO, CA to Santa Fe, NM in her '58 cabriolet, it was a night to remember, and we often do, with fondness.
I think it would be cool to have an East/West meet in Santa Fe or somewhere in the middle of the nation, then we can all meet and share experiences, drive, drink (only after driving) and get to know each other face to face.
would be cool...
Well put! I just got a new Alfa Romeo that I love and was thinking about selling The Speedster. Maybe not so fast.
Wow, Stan, you can create some amazing images with your words! That long weekend was one of the finest I’ve had in a long while as well.
Ted, I went through a period in my first year of ownership where I seriously questioned if this was the right car for me. Here I am 11 years later still having memorable weekends with the car. I would urge you to go ahead and spend some time getting the new transmission installed and re-establishing your bond with the car. You can make it a family affair if you want to, or your “me time” escape, but the memories that you create will be well worth the effort. Ask me how I know.
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Hear, hear is an expression used as a short, repeated form of hear him. It represents a listener's agreement with the point being made by a speaker. ... The phrase hear him, hear him! was used in Parliament from late in the 17th century, and was reduced to hear! or hear, hear! by the late 18th century.
After reading Stan's comments I don't feel quite so bad about only driving my Speedster two times this year. I have been thinking about my insurance cost per mile.
I think her right name is Miss Galat Stan
Will Hesch posted:
I think it would be cool to have an East/West meet in Santa Fe or somewhere in the middle of the nation, then we can all meet and share experiences, drive, drink (only after driving) and get to know each other face to face.
would be cool...
I'd be up for that. I'd love to get together.
Drive 'em.
Yeah Stan, I don't know what it is about these cars, either.
I do know that no one will ever write what you just wrote about their Corolla.
The strange thing is that the Corolla would be voted a better car by every living engineer on the planet, by every focus group, by every state or federal regulatory agency ever created, and by anyone who has ever been employed by or is related to anyone who has ever been employed by Consumer Reports.
Face it. There's something fundamentally wrong with you, Stan.
And with me.
And with just about everyone who hangs out on this forum.
WHATCHEW TALKIN BOUT !!! Rhonda is running so perfect that I'm taking her out on Sat and Sun mornings for some 50 mile runs.....I just can't get enough road time as i would like without catching flack from my Wife So i get up at 5 am and do my runs, and am back by 8:30 am to cook us a great breakfast when she gets up !! This week end I'll be at the Glendale "cars n coffee on Sat morning and Sun. at the Pomona Swap meet.....Life is Good !!!.....I love the concept of an East/West get-to-gether as well.........Saludos...........Aircooled Bruce.......
Will Hesch posted:Stan, you have a way with words, and obviously, with these little money pits we call cars.
I'm so glad you shared your best experiences, I hope to build a resume of such memories with Kathy in Whitecloud, especially the night driving in the desert. We once drive overnight from SLO, CA to Santa Fe, NM in her '58 cabriolet, it was a night to remember, and we often do, with fondness.
I think it would be cool to have an East/West meet in Santa Fe or somewhere in the middle of the nation, then we can all meet and share experiences, drive, drink (only after driving) and get to know each other face to face.
would be cool...
Here's the middle, LAT. 39°50' LONG. -98°35' and by the looks of it we could all stay at Jack Crosby's house then cruise on down to Lebanon and increase the population by a third. The last census had the town population at 364.
Hmmm... Having 50 or so of us dropping in on Jack unannounced would be kinda cool. I'm sure Alice would be up for it. 
Sacto Mitch posted:
Face it. There's something fundamentally wrong with you, Stan.
Busted.
And that, folks, is thead drift.
Sorry, Michael...
No need to apologize. It was just an observation.
MikelB posted:Will Hesch posted:Stan, you have a way with words, and obviously, with these little money pits we call cars.
I'm so glad you shared your best experiences, I hope to build a resume of such memories with Kathy in Whitecloud, especially the night driving in the desert. We once drive overnight from SLO, CA to Santa Fe, NM in her '58 cabriolet, it was a night to remember, and we often do, with fondness.
I think it would be cool to have an East/West meet in Santa Fe or somewhere in the middle of the nation, then we can all meet and share experiences, drive, drink (only after driving) and get to know each other face to face.
would be cool...
Here's the middle, LAT. 39°50' LONG. -98°35' and by the looks of it we could all stay at Jack Crosby's house then cruise on down to Lebanon and increase the population by a third. The last census had the town population at 364.
Adrian, Texas....or Tucumcari, NM or Amarillo, Tx ?
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Where is the fiberglass bull, with the free steak (if you can eat all 72 oz, which I guarantee I could)?
David Stroud, world traveler. The things he seen and done. The rest of us can only imagine.
Stan Galat posted:Where is the fiberglass bull, with the free steak (if you can eat all 72 oz, which I guarantee I could)?
Amarillo, Tx......best steak I ever tasted but mine was well under 72oz.
I almost always stop if there's a fiberglass steer out front. The choice of ornamentation tells you just about everything you need to know about a dining establishment.
550 Phil posted:David Stroud, world traveler. The things he seen and done. The rest of us can only imagine.
We've been pretty lucky, Phil. Three ( well four ) pics come to mind. First was taken at Buffalo Bill's grave site overlooking Denver, Co. Sept 2010. Bought the Speedster in Boise, Idaho for $6,500 and drove it home to Ottawa, Canada with a bone stock 1600 VW motor, no plates on car, just a travel permit under the seat.
Second was taken 6 months later in Oatman, AZ with a new mega power 1915.
Third was taken on that same trip by some guy travelling on a bike from Texas. He caught up with us near the Grand Canyon, exchanged info and sent it to us. I'm lucky to have a Wife that enjoys this. Fourth was Key West a while back.
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"Second was taken 6 months later in Oatman, AZ with a new mega power 1915."
Love that quote ... MEGA Power
Stan Galat posted:I almost always stop if there's a fiberglass steer out front. The choice of ornamentation tells you just about everything you need to know about a dining establishment.
When you're on the road for 23 days and have about 1/2 hour to stop for lunch, I don't piss around checking out the local reviews for best eats. The food and service was great.
A few years ago there was an attempt to have an SOC East Meets West gathering. Dusty Johnson (of Pleasant Valley Saddlery) organized such a gathering to occur in Colorado. Not quite mid-ground nationwide, but there ya go.
There were maybe five SOCers in attendance, a couple of us from SoCal, a couple from New Mexico and a couple locally in Colorado.
Pic: One of our stopovers on our way to Colorado we spent the night in Moab, Utah. While there we went on a sunset cruise through Arches National Park.
Pic: At Dusty Johnson's crib in Loveland, Colorado, he's supervising Musbjim washing the car.
Pic: Cruising through the spectacular scenery of the Colorado Rockies, I guess a 5-speed would have lessened the shifts I had to do between gears. However, our trusty 1835cc with dual Kadrons performed flawlessly.
@Michael McKelvey Michael, it sounds like you may be jonesing for a 5-speed. I think whatever 5-speed mfg you choose, I'm sure it will be a perfect compliment to all the thoughtful & masterful fabrication you've done on your car.
@TRP Ted, when you eventually get that 5-speed installed, all your trials & tribulations will fade away with each mile of highway that you shred in your bad-ass Speedster.
There, I think I've incorporated most every drift in this thread! 
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