Kognito's next project

[kognito]

My first attempt at a special "kit" type car kinda failed. In the late 80's I bought a Mustang II and a conversion kit to make it into a fake AC Cobra. Mechanically, the car came out good, but I tried to do some body work and the paint job by myself, and failed badly. Back then, I had time to play with car projects, but didn't have much extra money.

Later in life, I found I had more money to play with, but no time for fun projects. Today I find myself with plenty of time, and plenty of money, so now that the Volvo is gone, I want to play!

I might buy this 72 240Z w/280 tranny Don't know if anyone here has heard of a Scarab, (google it) but many 240Z's have been converted by pulling out the strait 6 and installing a Chevy small block V8 (suspension, brakes and sometimes wheel wells also get modified) A friend of mine back east and I had always talked about building one. (he was my best man at my wedding) And he finally went ahead and started building his own about 2 years ago. He has been sending pictures and updates, and is just about finished. His project started with a 240Z in bad shape, and he had to spend a lot of time and money making the car look good again. This Z I found about 10 miles away from my, and it has been very well taken care of.

On the other hand, I have also been thinking about buying a slightly used Jeep, and modifying it some to go onto the ORV trails here in the Northwest.

Tomorrow, I am going on a trail ride with Lupinsea, and should then have a better feel if this is something I want to try or not. Trail driving that I have done in NW NJ seems to be very tame compared to out here, but I had fun doing it in NJ and in the Pocono's

Either project will be some work, and fun to drive, but they will be totally different types of fun!

[3LOU5]

I vote for Jeepin'.

Nothing like wheeling, then sitting around a campfire in the great outdoors.

And the NE is nothing when compared to the PAC NW (I grew up in Camden County and did lots of skiing in the Poconos).

[SARAFIL]

A friend of mine is restoring/customizing a 71 240Z... they're pretty cool cars and I think you'd have lots of fun. He went the turbo route with an engine out of a later Z, but I'd bet the smallblock V8 could be fun too.

Jeep is a different animal but also very fun in its own way.

Decisions, decisions. can you do both?

[kognito]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

Decisions, decisions. can you do both?

Yeah, well . . .right now wife knows about neither plans, soooooo

I'm sure she would go for the Jeep idea. She used to have a slightly modifies Ford Bronco when she lived at the foothills of the rockies in Colorado. (before we met)

I will find out more today from Lupinsea if the 4 wheelin around here is just a testosterone sport, or if wifes come on the trails too.

Datsun will be a harder sell.

Also, we have talked about getting another RV in a few years (smaller class A or C like Lou's) Jeep would be very practical to tow behind the RV

[3LOU5]

Well ? How'd it go ??

Was lup's group a males-only club ?? Are you that much closer to getting yourself a Jeep ?

[kognito]

We were a group of 4 jeeps, but There were many others in the same park area.

I would think that Lup will post one of his detailed threads . . .one of the trails we tried was blocked by too much snow. The trip got cut a little short in the afternoon when one of the guys that was with us had a minor problem. His radiator exploded!!! (sure would like to meet the engineer that figured it was better to make radiators out of plastic!!) I think the problem was really with his cap, but the side of the radiator turned out to be the weakest link

Was interesting dragging his rig back down the mountain. Plus we had to stop and winch out some kid's Toy(ota) pickup so we could get down passed them.

Just spent about 2 hours trying to convince the wife that a 4x4 pickup + truck camper might not be the best way to see more of the PNW. (about 4 months ago, I convinced her that a pickup + camper was a better idea than getting a small class C) so I am doing some typical waffling!

[3LOU5]

Originally Posted by kognito

We were a group of 4 jeeps, but There were many others in the same park area.

I would think that Lup will post one of his detailed threads . . .one of the trails we tried was blocked by too much snow. The trip got cut a little short in the afternoon when one of the guys that was with us had a minor problem. His radiator exploded!!! (sure would like to meet the engineer that figured it was better to make radiators out of plastic!!) I think the problem was really with his cap, but the side of the radiator turned out to be the weakest link

Was interesting dragging his rig back down the mountain. Plus we had to stop and winch out some kid's Toy(ota) pickup so we could get down passed them.

Just spent about 2 hours trying to convince the wife that a 4x4 pickup + truck camper might not be the best way to see more of the PNW. (about 4 months ago, I convinced her that a pickup + camper was a better idea than getting a small class C) so I am doing some typical waffling!

Yeah, I see your dilemma.

If I were you, and you seem like a pretty big guy, I'd get a small Class A or C and tow a Jeep. Those truck campers seem incredibly rinky-dink, and I think you'd be miserable getting cooped up in there if it rains (and it does rain A LOT up there).

Check out Craigslist or http://www.johnsonrv.com/ for some ideas.

(My g/f and I are pretty short, so we'd most likely opt for that Lance....especially with a slide-out).

[3LOU5]

But then again, it's really nice having 4WD on some of those trails (especially if you are going to do some MAJOR boondocking), and I don't believe you can get a Class A or C in that configuration.

Geezus, you really DO have some major waffling to do !

[lupinsea]

You know. . . . A Jeep with a trailer can help you get parts for the Scarab project.

Just saying . . .







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