Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

[Bob Heine]

Like you Bob, I have a thing for polished tubing in an engine bay. When I built our 1940 Chev coupe as well as our 120" mid-engine sandrail I spent a lot of time and effort in relation to tubing. NOS lines, fuel lines, brake lines, etc. were all bent, polished and then used nice billet clamps to secure them to the frames.

As for tube benders, I use the same exact Ridgid benders. I have them in 3/16 through 1/2" and they are the best ones I have found to create nice smooth radius bends.

Mike, spending time at racing events and car shows leads to tubing envy, at least for me. The '72 Corvette has a bunch of braided lines and AN fittings, with more to come. I had fun plumbing the hydroboost and rack & pinion steering with a little cooler in the mix.

I'm pretty sure you are the one who convinced me to splurge on the Ridgid bender. Once the tubing is annealed, the bends are easy to do and come out better than I expected.

Just keep practicing, Bob! If those mandrills can bend tubing, so can you!

@Squankum, those guys bend tubing with their bare hands and flare the ends with their canines. I've heard they have nasty attitudes and make fun of us who need tools.

Bob, the newest Jay Leno's Garage car profile has some fancy engine bay plumbing and brightwork. I've cued it up. Also, at the 10:45 mark, a nautical communication device that's a hoot if you're not the one having to obey it.

Some $12,000 Italian car:

The Isotta Fraschini cars were works of art. One of the reasons I want to paint my '72 Corvette with SPI Universal clear over black basecoat is this 1924 model, which won the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2015 (using SPI Universal clear).

That $12,000 car would be $208,000 in today's dollars. A slightly newer model sold this month for $280,000 (https://www.classic.com/veh/1929-isotta-fraschini-tipo-8a-cabriolet-1402-1peek7p/)

Squakum, did you get a new haircut?

Yes, and a blow dry and groomed for lice, too!

That looks like an expensive haircut, not to mention that patriotic makeup job.

 

[hardtop5000]

G'day Bob -- greetings from Sydney. Last southern summer, when I was daytripping to Manly frequently, I undertook to record a video version of your old Sunday morning walking route. Since then, lockdowns, a biblically wet autumn and a freezing winter have kept me from visiting Manly. But I'll be back there soon and I'd like to fulfill that offer.

In the meantime, here's a report on the sad fate of your old work site. (If you can't read the article without a subscription, let me know and I'll send a copy.)

Property developer will raze thousands of trees despite local distress

Community groups are concerned about the impact of cutting down thousands of trees Mirvac will clear for 418 apartments at West Pennant Hills.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Bob Heine]

G'day Bob -- greetings from Sydney. Last southern summer, when I was daytripping to Manly frequently, I undertook to record a video version of your old Sunday morning walking route. Since then, lockdowns, a biblically wet autumn and a freezing winter have kept me from visiting Manly. But I'll be back there soon and I'd like to fulfill that offer.

In the meantime, here's a report on the sad fate of your old work site. (If you can't read the article without a subscription, let me know and I'll send a copy.)

Property developer will raze thousands of trees despite local distress

Community groups are concerned about the impact of cutting down thousands of trees Mirvac will clear for 418 apartments at West Pennant Hills.

www.smh.com.au

Justin, the walk between the office and car park at the West Pennant Hills IBM complex was a calming thing to start and end each day. The trees and shrubs made it feel like I was walking through a park. I can only imagine how much it changed in the 31 years since I worked there. I also remember some of the letters in The Manly Daily newspaper complaining about having to get approval to cut down a tree and then plant two to replace it. Probably why the dead tree behind our place was never cut down.

 

[Squankum]

It's not the same as video, but it's got a lot of other neat features. I call this pastime "google maps tourism." Go find a place on google maps, grab "the little yellow man" icon and drag it over the street you want to see, and if a google car has been there, that street will light up. Release mouse button (or what have you) and now you're getting google street car views of things. You can click off in the distance and proceed in that direction, or turn around, look left and right, etc.

Also, if you drag the little yellow man icon over a map and see blue dots, those are photos taken by individuals that they've uploaded to google maps, and they're often taken from scenic locations, or inside buildings, in parks, places a google car doesn't go. (Somebody has also carried a backpack cam on the trails of Pitcairn Island and around Stonehenge.)

Here's a screen grab of part of a 360 degree photo taken inside a tank museum in northeastern Australia:

 

[Squankum]

Here's a gal and her dog in a neighborhood way up on top of the mountain overlooking Acapulco, Mexico. You can go all sorts of places with Google street view!





In a different part of the city, I've found an old blue Renault 12 sedan. I was looking for something else, but I've gone back a few years later and found that same street again. Mostly I just look at various Volkswagens.

More street dogs! I've once found one just sleeping in the street.

 

[Bob Heine]

In the meantime, here's a report on the sad fate of your old work site. (If you can't read the article without a subscription, let me know and I'll send a copy.)

Justin, thanks for the link and I was able to see the whole story without subscribing.

I mentioned the Manly Daily but forgot to add that the print version (1906 to 2020) was delivered by a friend's son (among others) to every house in Manly for free. The publisher gave the delivery people extra copies and he brought those to us every week. Real handy in the winter because our condo had no central heat or A/C but the lounge had a fireplace. I rolled the newspapers up tight and burned them in the fireplace instead of $$$$ firewood. We would splurge on firewood when we had visitors.

 

[Bob Heine]

It's not the same as video, but it's got a lot of other neat features. I call this pastime "google maps tourism." Go find a place on google maps, grab "the little yellow man" icon and drag it over the street you want to see, and if a google car has been there, that street will light up. Release mouse button (or what have you) and now you're getting google street car views of things. You can click off in the distance and proceed in that direction, or turn around, look left and right, etc.

Also, if you drag the little yellow man icon over a map and see blue dots, those are photos taken by individuals that they've uploaded to google maps, and they're often taken from scenic locations, or inside buildings, in parks, places a google car doesn't go. (Somebody has also carried a backpack cam on the trails of Pitcairn Island and around Stonehenge.)

Here's a screen grab of part of a 360 degree photo taken inside a tank museum in northeastern Australia:

Here's a gal and her dog in a neighborhood way up on top of the mountain overlooking Acapulco, Mexico. You can go all sorts of places with Google street view!





In a different part of the city, I've found an old blue Renault 12 sedan. I was looking for something else, but I've gone back a few years later and found that same street again. Mostly I just look at various Volkswagens.

More street dogs! I've once found one just sleeping in the street.

@Squankum, I've been doing a kind of Google Tourism for years. Found the Douglas, Arizona house my parents lived in when I was born, the first home they bought (two-story apartment building) in Flushing, New York, our first house in Wappingers Falls, New York and the condo we occupied in Manly, Australia. I just returned from a visit to the former IBM entrance in West Pennant Hills, Australia. The entrance looks normal but behind the street-side trees the land is being stripped bare.

When I worked there from 1989-91 it was pretty pastoral.

Google hasn't updated the satellite photo so this is what it looks like from above. The long building with the two white squares was the multi-story employee car park. It kept my personal vehicle and all the company leased vehicles clean of pollen and sap from the trees.

The more recent image of the site is probably from a drone. A different solution to keeping pollen and sap from falling on the vehicles.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I just checked my place on Boogle Maps and it's been updated for the first time in almost a decade. I know it was sometime in late April, cause the recycle pile is spread all over, and the trailer and car are missing. And a few miles down the road, there they are at the scrapyard.

 

[Squankum]

Speaking of google maps, here's a game based on it. They drop you off somewhere on earth in google street view mode, you can click up and down the streets to your heart's content, but eventually you have to make guess as to where on earth you are. Then they show you your guess vs. where it is, and the score is based on that distance in your five little journeys.

GeoGuessr - Let's explore the world!

GeoGuessr is a geography game which takes you on a journey around the world and challenges your ability to recognize your surroundings.

www.geoguessr.com

 

[Lyndon]

....Snip

I just returned from a visit to the former IBM entrance in West Pennant Hills, Australia. The entrance looks normal but behind the street-side trees the land is being stripped bare.

When I worked there from 1989-91 it was pretty pastoral.

Google hasn't updated the satellite photo so this is what it looks like from above. The long building with the two white squares was the multi-story employee car park. It kept my personal vehicle and all the company leased vehicles clean of pollen and sap from the trees.

The more recent image of the site is probably from a drone. A different solution to keeping pollen and sap from falling on the vehicles.

Bob

Yes - I'm still here....

I saw that picture of the entrance to the old IBM site and went "WOW - I've been there for something..."

Then I saw the address (55 Coonara Ave) in the photos further down and yes - most recently, until construction completed, that was the site office for the construction of the NorthConnex tunnel. I was there multiple times negotiating with the Project Director in relation to our company being forced to take live chickens through the tunnel and the possible increased mortality rate due to the tunnel bound gases. I was eventually, a few months before the tunnel opened, taken down into the tunnel and we stopped at multiple points and walked it to check ceiling clearances (12m, with extraction fans and warning barriers erected at 5.3m just in case), and the tunnel fan and fire systems (seriously impressive tech being used there, and now in all other tunnels being constructed around and under Sydney).

Now that the tunnel is open it (the ssite) is obviously being re-developed...

What a small world it is!

Lyndon

 

[Squankum]

Bob:

Being a Eurofoofoo by inclination, I never caught the chrome & polish bug. But I did pick up a liking for braided stainless covered hose on serious race cars.

Then I spent time racing with a car owner whose day job was in heavy industry, and he had a more pragmatic approach. High pressure hose to an oil cooler line can be black rubber, no need for stainless covering if it's routed so it doesn't chafe. Most sports car (and now stock car) types think of modern shiny products to protect a hose or wiring from heat; his first choice was fire sleeve.





And now that I've discovered the works of David Vizard, I've learned that not all that is shiny and silvery is chrome for mere cosmetic purposes. He figured out long ago in his Mini racing days that a polished intake manifold stays cooler and makes more power, and, of course, his competitors thought it was cosmetic chrome and ignored him.

Tip I learned myself in racing: that guy who's kicking your **** repeatedly? Don't be afraid to copy what he's doing!

 

[Bob Heine]

I just checked my place on Boogle Maps and it's been updated for the first time in almost a decade. I know it was sometime in late April, cause the recycle pile is spread all over, and the trailer and car are missing. And a few miles down the road, there they are at the scrapyard.

Kay, because we live downtown they seem to do a lot of driveby updates. Most recent was April 2022.

Speaking of google maps, here's a game based on it. They drop you off somewhere on earth in google street view mode, you can click up and down the streets to your heart's content, but eventually you have to make guess as to where on earth you are. Then they show you your guess vs. where it is, and the score is based on that distance in your five little journeys.

GeoGuessr - Let's explore the world!

GeoGuessr is a geography game which takes you on a journey around the world and challenges your ability to recognize your surroundings.

www.geoguessr.com

@Squankum, it seems Google wants us to spend all our time using their technology. Took me an hour and a half to finish the game.

Bob

Yes - I'm still here....

I saw that picture of the entrance to the old IBM site and went "WOW - I've been there for something..."

Then I saw the address (55 Coonara Ave) in the photos further down and yes - most recently, until construction completed, that was the site office for the construction of the NorthConnex tunnel. I was there multiple times negotiating with the Project Director in relation to our company being forced to take live chickens through the tunnel an the possible increased mortality rate due to the tunnel bound gases. I was eventually, a few months before the tunnel opened, taken down into the tunnel and we stopped at multiple points and walked it to check ceiling clearances (12m, with extraction fans and warning barriers erected at 5.3m just in case), and the tunnel fan and fire systems (seriously impressive tech being used there, and now in all other tunnels being constructed around and under Sydney).

Now that the tunnel is open it is obviously being re-developed...

What a small world it is!

Lyndon

Lyndon, in the world of small worlds we are dancing on the tip of the pin. I lived at the eastern edge of Sydney while you live in the western suburbs yet we worked at the same location. It would be hard to make this up!

Bob:

Being a Eurofoofoo by inclination, I never caught the chrome & polish bug. But I did pick up a liking for braided stainless covered hose on serious race cars.

Then I spent time racing with a car owner whose day job was in heavy industry, and he had a more pragmatic approach. High pressure hose to an oil cooler line can be black rubber, no need for stainless covering if it's routed so it doesn't chafe. Most sports car (and now stock car) types think of modern shiny products to protect a hose or wiring from heat; his first choice was fire sleeve.


And now that I've discovered the works of David Vizard, I've learned that not all that is shiny and silvery is chrome for mere cosmetic purposes. He figured out long ago in his Mini racing days that a polished intake manifold stays cooler and makes more power, and, of course, his competitors thought it was cosmetic chrome and ignored him.

Tip I learned myself in racing: that guy who's kicking your **** repeatedly? Don't be afraid to copy what he's doing!

I tried the Eurofoofoo thing with the Fiat X1/9 (at one point we had four). I loved those cars and bought a bunch of special tools and dropped the drivetrain like I was changing oil. When Fiat pulled out of the US market in 1983, parts for the Fiat became harder to find so I had to rely on companies like Bayless Racing Inc. Said goodby to the last one in 1996. For our 25th anniversary I bought two silver cars, a Eurospec 1979 BMW 733i for me and a 1986 Dodge 600 Turbo convertible for Liane. Everything on the BMW seemed to be precious and because it wasn't a US spec car, the BMW dealer acted like I was a criminal when I ordered parts. I probably should have just bought a US spec BMW and changed the bumpers (boy were they ugly).

I started doing braided stainless lines when the factory fuel hoses on my Fiat X1/9 let go and turned the engine compartment into a barbecue pit. I was able to put out the fire with a beach towel (black vinyl seats get hot in the Florida sun) and repair the melted stuff on the cheap. Repainting the engine cover was the only real work.

I discovered the guys who were kicking my **** repeatedly were willing to spend a lot more money on their cars than I was. To many of them, destroying an engine each season was the cost of their trophy collection. Got most of mine at the thrift stores -- I should probably change the nameplates.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

We were at the last house 15 years. The last update was taken 3 years prior.

Out here in the sticks I doubt it will get updated much at all.

 

[kaymccampbell]

My street view hasn't been updated in well over a decade. Probably since its inception.

 

[Coolabah]

Justin, the walk between the office and car park at the West Pennant Hills IBM complex was a calming thing to start and end each day. The trees and shrubs made it feel like I was walking through a park. I can only imagine how much it changed in the 31 years since I worked there. I also remember some of the letters in The Manly Daily newspaper complaining about having to get approval to cut down a tree and then plant two to replace it. Probably why the dead tree behind our place was never cut down.

Crikey Bob, you were working just down the road from where I bought my family home around that time. You will surely remember that Coonara Ave did not meet Highs Rd back then ? A lot of properties were still 5 acres , traffic was minimal... far cry from today !
edit: and I used to run uphill on Coonara past IBM ... heartbreak hill indeed !!!

 

[Squankum]

My street view hasn't been updated in well over a decade. Probably since its inception.

That just means they're spying on you even harder!

(Peek out the blinds for FBI's "Google" car.)

Bob, I have played GeoGuessr with Ms. Squankum and she could easily take that long if I let her. As far as I'm concerned. there should be some kind of time limit for each location, like playing chess.

One memorable spot it dropped us off in was at the end of a dead end dirt road in the desert where a bridge used to cross a river, and it was about a 20 mile trip north up the road (lots of clicks!) to see some bigger road. It was the Rio Grande river and I think it was in Texas, if not AZ or NM.

 

[jbmatth]

So I had to check too, the last update to the satellite view of our house was about 4 years ago, no street view at all.

JB

 

[madison069]

FUnny, the overhead view of my place just updated in the last 8 days as per the timeline. But streetview is from when the house was for sell in 2016.

 

[Bob Heine]

We were at the last house 15 years. The last update was taken 3 years prior.

Out here in the sticks I doubt it will get updated much at all.

My street view hasn't been updated in well over a decade. Probably since its inception.

Uncle Willie and Kay, I suspect it has something to do with construction permits pulled. When the house across the street was torn down, the Google street view picked it up right away. A few months ago a house down the street was torn down and shortly after that happened, a new street view appeared. Someone purchased this house for $461K in 2019 and tore it down this year.

Crikey Bob, you were working just down the road from where I bought my family home around that time. You will surely remember that Coonara Ave did not meet Highs Rd back then ? A lot of properties were still 5 acres , traffic was minimal... far cry from today !
edit: and I used to run uphill on Coonara past IBM ... heartbreak hill indeed !!!

Greg, you must have shopped at the Castle Hill Mall. I remember a little shoe repair shop in there that would put new soles on your Nike or Adidas shoes. Considering a pair cost north of $100, that place was always busy.

I bought the car I drove for those two years from Castle Hill Toyota. A 1989 Toyota Camry Ultima 4-cylinder was $27K back then but a four-year-old Ford Falcon wagon 6-cylinder at another dealer was $25K so I opted for a car with a warranty for $2K more. Figured buying the tools needed to repair the Ford would end up costing close to that. Sold the Camry for $17K and IBM's $8.4K car allowance meant it cost me $1.6K. Somewhere in my 3.5" diskette collection there's a spreadsheet with the cost of every fuel fill-up and maintenance visit as well as mileage for the 49,000 kilometres we drove down under.

I did a drive-by today and they've widened the road a whole lot and the Toyota dealer is huge. I also think it was the only dealership in Castle Hill. Now it's surrounded by car dealers.

That just means they're spying on you even harder!

(Peek out the blinds for FBI's "Google" car.)

Bob, I have played GeoGuessr with Ms. Squankum and she could easily take that long if I let her. As far as I'm concerned. there should be some kind of time limit for each location, like playing chess.

One memorable spot it dropped us off in was at the end of a dead end dirt road in the desert where a bridge used to cross a river, and it was about a 20 mile trip north up the road (lots of clicks!) to see some bigger road. It was the Rio Grande river and I think it was in Texas, if not AZ or NM.

@Squankum, I passed a Google car last week coming back from grocery shopping.

The places Google dropped me weren't obvious right away but a couple of blocks in any direction and I was pretty sure where I was. I was within a mile of all of them except the capitals Tokyo and Budapest (those were the only capitols I hadn't visited). The US stuff was a piece of cake.

So I had to check too, the last update to the satellite view of our house was about 4 years ago, no street view at all.

JB

JB, if you Google "survey stakes" or "house plans" I bet there will be a weird little car with cameras driving by in a week or two.

 

[Bob Heine]

FUnny, the overhead view of my place just updated in the last 8 days as per the timeline. But streetview is from when the house was for sell in 2016.

Cody, I think Google updates the satellite images on a more regular basis. The satellite image of the place we lived in Australia has a 2022 date on the satellite image but a 2020 date on the street view.

 

[Bob Heine]

I'm a pretty peaceful person and rarely feel the urge to kill. Liane, on the other hand, takes great joy in seeing iguanas killed and rewards Jasmine for every one she bags. On the other hand, Liane loves her plants and does everything she can to care for them. This week has brought her two sides out on full display.

We have a massive number of dragon fruit plants growing (overgrowing?) the fence in our side yard and the fruit started appearing a couple of weeks ago. There's too much for the two of us to eat but she likes giving them to friends so every one is precious to her. This week a couple of fruit had nice neat holes in them and she thought it was from squirrels or iguanas. I reminded her that Florida has lots of rats, including Norway, Roof and Wood and the Roof rat loves fruit and vegetables. Liane was upset when she found four dragon fruit with holes nibbled in them. We can understand a hungry animal eating things but nibbling a little on a lot of fruit is totally unacceptable. I consider the rat that ate this one as a candidate for parole but rats are not snitches.

Yesterday I hung four rat poison lollipops on the vines and this morning all four were gone. I checked the ground and there was no evidence any of the four had fallen off. I use wire coat hangers to make the poison holders and attach them with a hook end so the wire can be installed and removed easily. Looks like they really enjoyed the poison. They also nibbled on nine more dragon fruit. We're leaving those on the vines so they have something to wash down the lollipops.

I use Tomcat all-weather blox and start with a straight piece of coat hanger wire. A loop in one end to keep the blox from falling off and a second loop to keep it from sliding off the other way.

One more loop on the loose end so I can loop the wire and hook the end on itself.

Now we wait and for the next week or so keep Jasmine out of this section of the yard.

 

[scooterbum46]

Bob - I wouldn't depend on the dates.... checking the satellite view of my place shows 2022, but in the view is a car Nancy traded in in May of '21..

 

[Squankum]

Bob, does your yard have the American cute yard rat, the Eastern gray squirrel? I've found they love to eat green tomatoes. Or fox squirrels?

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob - I wouldn't depend on the dates.... checking the satellite view of my place shows 2022, but in the view is a car Nancy traded in in May of '21..

Gerry, I figure they aren't that accurate but there is often a difference between the sky and street photos. When I zoom to the switchover point I notice the vehicles in the satellite shots are not the ones in the street shots.

Bob, does your yard have the American cute yard rat, the Eastern gray squirrel? I've found they love to eat green tomatoes. Or fox squirrels?

@Squankum, we used to have a scrawny crowd of those cuties but after I drowned baby Bob Jr. and Jasmine caught at least one they have made themselves scarce. If squirrels are eating both the fruit and poison cubes, they will probably be even more scarce. We'll wait for the smell to figure out who's sampling the fruit. We used to feed cardinals (black oil sunflower seeds) until the squirrels came calling and turned it into a giant and somewhat expensive mess.

 

[madison069]

Cody, I think Google updates the satellite images on a more regular basis. The satellite image of the place we lived in Australia has a 2022 date on the satellite image but a 2020 date on the street view.

I believe that's the case too. I will say looking at the 1970 photo of my place would make you wonder if they could even make out the garage or shed back then.

 

[Bob Heine]

I believe that's the case too. I will say looking at the 1970 photo of my place would make you wonder if they could even make out the garage or shed back then.

Cody, a few years ago I was curious about the fate of the first house we lived in. We rented the small cottage, built before the Civil War, from Liane's parents. They bought it for $2,500 and fixed it up (added central heating plant) so Liane's grandmother could move from an apartment in the Bronx to a house just blocks from theirs. When Liane's grandmother passed 7 months after we married, I helped my in-laws fix the place up and eventually move in. Beyond the '59 Rambler there's a garage perfect for a Model T. The lot is narrow and deep (54'x200'). We moved out in 1966 and Liane's mother eventually sold the place for $25,000.

I traveled to New York in the summer of 2008 to inter my mother's ashes in the family cemetery and stopped by the West Babylon home. I tried to take a picture but couldn't see the house. Google had a photo of the house, showing the overgrown property. Apparently little had changed in 46 years and even the unused chimney was still there (original heating system was potbelly stove). The house was listed for $137,000 but the real estate market soon collapsed.

Today, Google shows the house being renovated in 2021...

...with numerous changes, including the loss of the chimney, half the front porch is enclosed and the back door entrance is gone. In addition to the hit on Google, the real estate sits have the renovated house listed. Apparently the house is under contract for $615,000.

EDIT: While we lived in the house, one of my small upgrades was to add two strips of concrete to cure the quagmire beside the house. I did a terrible job but made it deep and solid without any steel reinforcement. Since 1966, someone filled the space between my strips with more concrete.

 

[madison069]

Wonder what Liane's Parent would think of their little home being worth $615,000 in the future.

It's strange to look at the past homes that the family had lived in. Some of the ones I grew up in has been leveled and turned into dirt lots.

2 years ago I asked the wife to lets look into buying some cheap homes that I could fix up some and then rent them out. She wasn't for it at the time and so the plan never took off. Now she's wanting me to get a side hustle and asking me about buying more rentals or even a laundry mat as I once suggested in the past. I told her that ship has sailed for the time being due to the economy and the prices of the places now. One of the home I was wanting to buy was selling for $57,000 3 years ago. Now it's listed for $230,000 and the place is land locked!

I'm currently under contract to sell my dad's place. Due to being a mobile home and the lady(Dad's girlfriend I guess you'll call her who also owned half of the place) that was living in it wasn't taking care of the mobile home, has made the mobile home worth nothing really. It was disgusting when I was finally able to get her to move out and she left me with the trash to clean up. All I could think of was what dad would of said about the condition of the place. He was always on top of the cleaning and making sure she help keep the place clean.

So I'm basically selling just the land which is 8.8 acres outside of the city. I looked back to when Dad first bought the place for $10,000 only 10 years ago and then did the work of clearing it and putting the mobile home there. Then had 3 sheds of different size put on the property. fenced in the back yard and so on. It's being sold for much more now, and if it wasn't for the destruction I feel like the place would of sold for even more.

Even though, I think back to him always telling me," Cost of land is always gonna go up, and if you can buy land cheap it's smart to buy it quickly!"

 

[Bob Heine]

I think back to him always telling me," Cost of land is always gonna go up, and if you can buy land cheap it's smart to buy it quickly!"

Cody, I remember similar advice: "Invest in real estate, it always goes up!" We bought a lot in Wellington, Florida back in 1979 for $9,000. Seven years later, in 1986, we sold it for $18,000. Sounds like we made a profit but after closing costs it was closer to $15,000 and deducting what we paid in property tax and utility 'access' fees we broke even.

Had we invested $5,000 in the Microsoft IPO (Initial Public Offering) on 3/13/1986, it would be worth $17,726,849.28 and this year's dividends would be $169,989.12. I didn't do that and it turns out I won't win the lottery either because I don't buy tickets.

The 1978 Corvette Indy Pace car was another item we failed to invest in. People were paying $5,000 more than the $13,653.21 base price and expected the car to appreciate like the 1963 coupes had done. On May 22, 2017 the first 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car replica publicly available, VIN 0003, sold for $57,500. The last 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car replica produced, VIN 6502, sold for $110,000. Let's see, $37,306 brought $167,500 total for a profit of $130,194. Adjusted for inflation, that $37,306 was really a $140,252.25 investment. I suspect storing that car for 39 years cost more than the $27,247.75. Another 'I didn't do that.'

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Don't ever ask me for real-estate advice. I bought the last place shortly before the market crashed. I signed the contract with the mine for 5x what I paid for it a few years ago. Since the county was getting upset at all the empty houses, the mine asked us to extend the contract, and offered 20% more. We accepted. Then the market went stupid, and I could not have bought the place for what it was worth. I literally had offers for more than the mine paid, but it wasn't mine to sell. Dangit.

 

[Bob Heine]

Don't ever ask me for real-estate advice. I bought the last place shortly before the market crashed. I signed the contract with the mine for 5x what I paid for it a few years ago. Since the county was getting upset at all the empty houses, the mine asked us to extend the contract, and offered 20% more. We accepted. Then the market went stupid, and I could not have bought the place for what it was worth. I literally had offers for more than the mine paid, but it wasn't mine to sell. Dangit.

Uncle Willie, sounds like we stayed at the same motel but sadly not the Holiday Inn Express.

 

[Squankum]

I tried the Eurofoofoo thing with the Fiat X1/9 (at one point we had four).

I discovered the guys who were kicking my **** repeatedly were willing to spend a lot more money on their cars than I was.

Were you competing with a "Steve" from Alabama?

 

[madison069]

I never really considered cars to be valuable/investment. But when it comes to land I can see certain situations where land can be investment. Just all depends on what the market is wanting and how will the land be used in the future. Kind of like stock market, as I watch my earning disappear with the recent year disaster of a market. Just have to pick and choose and hope it was the right choice.

 

[driftpin]

I just got caught-up with your pages, I'm usually looking at it, so it's never too-long to be caught-up. The rat problem, do you sit outside at dusk and watch the rats run on the power lines and phone lines? We have trees growing into the lines, and that seems to be a lure for them to live in the lush foliage, and to use the power/phone lines like the L.I. Expressway.

Here's a pic of a 5.7 liter SBC I sold to a guy in Homestead FL yesterday. He has a '88 Corvette with a blown-up engine courtesy of a son who abused the car (imagine that, a young person abuses a Corvette!). The engine I had bought for a project car, but we've decided to go with a Generation IV 6 liter GM crate engine instead, so the 350 SBC became 'surplus.' It had an Edelbrock Performer dual-plane manifold and an Holley 600 cfm 4-bbl carburetor on it, in the last car it was used for. You see it has the compact serpentine belt.

The 'cherry-picker' got another use. I got caught in yesterday's storms, so I was thoroughly soaked by the time I loaded the engine. I still have a 327 1968 4-bbl SBC to sell, a Tonawanda NY casting for the block and intake manifold. I think it would look good in a first-generation Camaro, or an early-to-mid-1960's Chevy II.

 

[Bob Heine]

Were you competing with a "Steve" from Alabama?

@Squankum, I don't recall competing with Steve but that could be my inability to remember people's names.

I never really considered cars to be valuable/investment. But when it comes to land I can see certain situations where land can be investment. Just all depends on what the market is wanting and how will the land be used in the future. Kind of like stock market, as I watch my earning disappear with the recent year disaster of a market. Just have to pick and choose and hope it was the right choice.

Cody, I like investments that pay dividends or interest. Most of my retirement investments are in bond mutual funds so they deposit money in my account every month. Yesterday was one of those days when the market reminds us it's a **** shoot.

I just got caught-up with your pages, I'm usually looking at it, so it's never too-long to be caught-up. The rat problem, do you sit outside at dusk and watch the rats run on the power lines and phone lines? We have trees growing into the lines, and that seems to be a lure for them to live in the lush foliage, and to use the power/phone lines like the L.I. Expressway.

Here's a pic of a 5.7 liter SBC I sold to a guy in Homestead FL yesterday. He has a '88 Corvette with a blown-up engine courtesy of a son who abused the car (imagine that, a young person abuses a Corvette!). The engine I had bought for a project car, but we've decided to go with a Generation IV 6 liter GM crate engine instead, so the 350 SBC became 'surplus.' It had an Edelbrock Performer dual-plane manifold and an Edelbrock 4-bbl carburetor on it, in the last car it was used for.

The 'cherry-picker' got another use. I got caught in yesterday's storms, so I was thoroughly soaked by the time I loaded the engine. I still have a 327 1968 4-bbl SBC to sell, a Tonawanda NY casting for the block and intake manifold. I think it would look good in a first-generation Camaro, or an early-to-mid-1960's Chevy II.

Philip, I've never seen rats on the phone or power lines but I see squirrels up there all the time. Of course, Florida squirrels have a scrawny tail compared to their northern cousins so maybe I've mistakenly assumed the rats were squirrels (the power and phone lines are about 90 feet from the back of the house).

That engine is a 1987 or newer L98 small block. The heads are painted so I can't tell if they are iron or aluminum. I believe only the Corvettes came with the aluminum heads. Not many good things to say about the L98 engines so your decision to move it on and go with a Gen IV is a good one.

I think the last time I used a cherry picker was in the early '80s when we rebuilt the 454 in the Corvette. I think it was also the last time Liane got dirty from something other than soil. I didn't want to pay to have the A/C re-charged so the compressor stayed connected to the system while we had the engine out.

 

[driftpin]

Bob, I have a few of those screw-links such as you're using on the 454 lift. I buy the Reese ones, they're rated at 5,000 lbs. for towing, I'd never lift something with them anywhere close to that. HFT sells something similar, but they're rated about 1/4 of the Reese opening links.

Yes, they're cast-iron heads, the SBC 5.7 L/350 cu. in.

Did Liane have to stay in the garage with the AC compressor? That would be heavy after a few minutes.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob, I have a few of those screw-links such as you're using on the 454 lift. I buy the Reese ones, they're rated at 5,000 lbs. for towing, I'd never lift something with them anywhere close to that. HFT sells something similar, but they're rated about 1/4 of the Reese opening links.

Yes, they're cast-iron heads, the SBC 5.7 L/350 cu. in.

Did Liane have to stay in the garage with the AC compressor? That would be heavy after a few minutes.

Philip, I use those screw links all the time. Not sure of the weight capacity of the one in the photo but the lift and setup was borrowed from a friend who was a big-block Corvette enthusiast and heavy equipment mechanic. The big block and TH400 we were lifting weighs 600-700 pounds so I think we were safe. I buy those screw links from rigging sites so I know they will be safe.

I think Liane was at her limit but she was a trooper. The one in danger was me -- taking a photo while she held the compressor was only safe because it was tethered. A flying compressor can do a lot of damage.

 

[Squankum]

I used to use those links when removing the transaxle from my GTI! Mind you, a VW 020 5 speed weighs about 72 lbs., which the telegraph office informs me is less than just the torque-vectoring differential on a Lexus sport coupe nowadays.

(Of course, a true autox fiend, rules permitting, wants a magnesium-cased, 4 speed transmission from a 70's Rabbit, for something in the 60 lb. range.)

 

[Squankum]

@Squankum, I don't recall competing with Steve but that could be my inability to remember people's names.

You know, that guy with the car! Two-piece wheels, UltraFlo muffler, sunglasses, baseball cap, yea heigh.

(I always was puzzled meeting some of these people at winter awards banquets, dressed up, no T-shirt, no sunglasses, no baseball cap.)

Steve's a fairly memorable guy, even if it's just by how many seconds he beats you.

My motto is that autox does not break your car, but if it has any weak points, if something was built wrong, it will find them. We're not blowing engines left and right. I can think of one rod-through-block incident -- and that was somebody known for his driving prowess, borrowing somebody's car and making a Wrong Downshift. I can think of a wild young fellow whose GTI's alternator sawed through the upper radiator hose and make for a coolant leak all over the course -- but his motor mounts were sloppy floppy because it was an old car and then a young maniac got it and abused it like a mad man.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Steve sounds interesting

 

[Bob Heine]

You know, that guy with the car! Two-piece wheels, UltraFlo muffler, sunglasses, baseball cap, yea heigh.

(I always was puzzled meeting some of these people at winter awards banquets, dressed up, no T-shirt, no sunglasses, no baseball cap.)

Steve's a fairly memorable guy, even if it's just by how many seconds he beats you.

My motto is that autox does not break your car, but if it has any weak points, if something was built wrong, it will find them. We're not blowing engines left and right. I can think of one rod-through-block incident -- and that was somebody known for his driving prowess, borrowing somebody's car and making a Wrong Downshift. I can think of a wild young fellow whose GTI's alternator sawed through the upper radiator hose and make for a coolant leak all over the course -- but his motor mounts were sloppy floppy because it was an old car and then a young maniac got it and abused it like a mad man.

@Squankum, I didn't get his name but he brought a turbo Mini Cooper with 7-inch slicks on 6"x10" Minilights all four corners. I didn't get a picture but it looked a lot like this one. On a tight autocross course he was untouchable. He hung the rear end out half-way through a turn and barely turned the wheel, keeping the boost up and pulling the car straight out.

My poor man's imitation Fiat X1/9 had 235/50-13 tires on the rear and 215/50-13 tires up front on 2" widened steel wheels. The pair of Weber 40 Dual DCNF carburetors, headers and a cam bumped the horsepower up from the original 74 but I'm certain that Mini was putting out twice that.

Steve sounds interesting

Uncle Willie, my brain has moments of confusing connections I don't understand. When @Squankum mentioned David Vizard, it rang a bell but not the right one. Then he mentioned Steve and it was ding, ding, ding and I remembered Steve Vizard. In 1990, shortly after we moved to Australia, Tonight Live started airing on the Seven Network, hosted by Steve Vizard. It was a takeoff on the late night shows in the US but more raunchy and more irreverent.

Tonight Live with Steve Vizard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org