Autos!!! (and other vehicles)
So, we come to the final in my series of "expensive hobby" posts. This hobby is one that I have not yet been able to indulge in, due to being poor. However, very soon that will all change, and I expect by next summer to be thoroughly enjoying some new toys.
Type your cut contents here.
I don't know why, but since I was young I have been a speed demon, as most of you know. Since learning to drive, I have driven every car my family has owned at 100 miles per hour (or tried to). One of my minor regrets is never having the opportunity to drive the Montanabahn, but if social order disintegrates I may still get that opportunity. Like every speed junkie, I have a list of vehicles I want to get, but my list encompasses more than just race cars. This post shall expose that list to the world! (well, at least to the world that I care about)
The first car I intend to buy after starting my new job (wherever it may be) is a new(er) Jeep Cherokee. My current Jeep is very reliable, but she's pretty beat-up and very rusty underneath, totally unsuitable for lifting. Thus, my plan is to get a '96 Jeep Cherokee Country with 4WD, less than 130,000 miles, and NO RUST. A quick check of Autotrader reveals that this is actually quite doable, and should cost anywhere between $4000-$6000. Then I will buy a 4" lift kit (~$800) and 33" All-Terrain tires and rims ($1000-$1300). This will be the basis of my new offroad/all-weather truck, and I'll probably add aluminum undercarriage armor, off-road lights, new bumpers, a winch, gas-can holders, and tons of other off-road goodies over time. If I end up living in the mountains, this Jeep will also most likely be my winter daily driver.
Next, probably around the beginning of next spring, I will start looking for a '75-'78 Datsun 280Z. I have wanted this car ever since my freshman roommate showed me his. I'd like to get one from one of the desert states, as they have a reputation for picking up rust readily when driven in corrosive climates. You can find examples in fantastic, near-new condition on Ebay anywhere between $5000 and $8000. These things are excellent sports cars. With the stock 2.8 liter six-cylinder engine, in tuned condition, they can do 130mph, but the really nice thing is that you can drop a small-block Chevy V-8 in the engine compartment really easily, and those are 6-liter monsters! A V-8 Z will do 150-160 without too much more work. Plus, the car is just really fun to drive. So, hopefully I'll get one of these some time next spring.
My job this summer working at a motorcycle shop was pretty crappy - the work was boring and menial, the pay was only so-so, and my manager had a chip on his shoulder and treated me like shit. However, I did get to check out some pretty awesome bikes, and I've decided which one I want to start out with. I think that next summer I'm going to get a Suzuki SV-650. These things are beautiful. They're easy to learn to ride on, but they don't get boring fast like a 250 cc or a 500 would. They get great gas mileage (50+ mpg, according to all accounts). And, they can still move pretty quick, topping out at about 110-120 mph. During the summer, I'd love to use this bike as a daily rider. Brand-spankin'-new, they go for $5500. I'll probably go for the standard model, without the front fairing, as it has a more comfortable ride position and looks pretty wicked too!
After next summer, I probably won't get any vehicles for the next few years, except for maybe an old Volkswagen diesel Jetta for a high-mileage winter vehicle. But during that time I'll be saving my money, as well as rising in the engineering world, and in six years time, by the beginning of spring, 2013, I hope to have about $100,000 saved up for my most extreme car purchase. You see, there is one car that I have lusted after since I was about 12. One car that, more than any other, exemplified the concept of the extreme sports car. A true American super car, that even beat out the Corvette. A car that could go 195 miles an hour, STOCK.
The Dodge Viper.
With 500 horsepower, 525 foot-pounds of torque at the curb, and a engine displacement of over 500 cubic inches, everything about the performance of the Viper is massive. And yet, it is set to become even more so. Unlike most other high-performance sports cars, the Viper engine does not have a turbo, or variable valve timing, or any of the other engineering tricks that are used to gain additional horsepower. It puts out 500 horses just due to it's size. However, that's about to change. Dodge is skipping the 2007 model year, and starting with the 2008 Viper, the engine will have V.V.T. Supposedly, due to this change alone, the '08 Viper will put out over 650 horsepower, and nearly 700 ft-lbs of torque, using the same 8.3-liter engine. This will likely join the elite group of production cars that can top 200 mph in stock condition. There's really nothing more to say about it, except that currently a brand-new Viper will set you back a cool $80,000. God, I hope they still make them in 2013!
Well, that does it for land vehicles for the foreseeable future. As
zaldreon suggested, I do plan on taking flying lessons and getting my PPL, but it will be some time yet before I can afford my own plane. I would like to buy one, but when I do have that kind of money, I don't know what type of plane I would want. Currently my favorite is the Glasair II, but who knows what will be available 15 years down the road? Maybe I'll be able to get a small jet-powered plane, and tear up the sky at 500 mph! Many of you probably think that my love of speed will eventually be the death of me, and it may very well be. But rest assured, if I do go out like that, I'll be having fun right up to the end!
That does it for the series! Now you know how I plan to spend most of my excess money, at least for the next few years. It's been pretty fun, thinking about what I want to get, if given the opportunity. Hopefully I will get the opportunity for most of this, someday!
Type your cut contents here.
I don't know why, but since I was young I have been a speed demon, as most of you know. Since learning to drive, I have driven every car my family has owned at 100 miles per hour (or tried to). One of my minor regrets is never having the opportunity to drive the Montanabahn, but if social order disintegrates I may still get that opportunity. Like every speed junkie, I have a list of vehicles I want to get, but my list encompasses more than just race cars. This post shall expose that list to the world! (well, at least to the world that I care about)
The first car I intend to buy after starting my new job (wherever it may be) is a new(er) Jeep Cherokee. My current Jeep is very reliable, but she's pretty beat-up and very rusty underneath, totally unsuitable for lifting. Thus, my plan is to get a '96 Jeep Cherokee Country with 4WD, less than 130,000 miles, and NO RUST. A quick check of Autotrader reveals that this is actually quite doable, and should cost anywhere between $4000-$6000. Then I will buy a 4" lift kit (~$800) and 33" All-Terrain tires and rims ($1000-$1300). This will be the basis of my new offroad/all-weather truck, and I'll probably add aluminum undercarriage armor, off-road lights, new bumpers, a winch, gas-can holders, and tons of other off-road goodies over time. If I end up living in the mountains, this Jeep will also most likely be my winter daily driver.
Next, probably around the beginning of next spring, I will start looking for a '75-'78 Datsun 280Z. I have wanted this car ever since my freshman roommate showed me his. I'd like to get one from one of the desert states, as they have a reputation for picking up rust readily when driven in corrosive climates. You can find examples in fantastic, near-new condition on Ebay anywhere between $5000 and $8000. These things are excellent sports cars. With the stock 2.8 liter six-cylinder engine, in tuned condition, they can do 130mph, but the really nice thing is that you can drop a small-block Chevy V-8 in the engine compartment really easily, and those are 6-liter monsters! A V-8 Z will do 150-160 without too much more work. Plus, the car is just really fun to drive. So, hopefully I'll get one of these some time next spring.
My job this summer working at a motorcycle shop was pretty crappy - the work was boring and menial, the pay was only so-so, and my manager had a chip on his shoulder and treated me like shit. However, I did get to check out some pretty awesome bikes, and I've decided which one I want to start out with. I think that next summer I'm going to get a Suzuki SV-650. These things are beautiful. They're easy to learn to ride on, but they don't get boring fast like a 250 cc or a 500 would. They get great gas mileage (50+ mpg, according to all accounts). And, they can still move pretty quick, topping out at about 110-120 mph. During the summer, I'd love to use this bike as a daily rider. Brand-spankin'-new, they go for $5500. I'll probably go for the standard model, without the front fairing, as it has a more comfortable ride position and looks pretty wicked too!
After next summer, I probably won't get any vehicles for the next few years, except for maybe an old Volkswagen diesel Jetta for a high-mileage winter vehicle. But during that time I'll be saving my money, as well as rising in the engineering world, and in six years time, by the beginning of spring, 2013, I hope to have about $100,000 saved up for my most extreme car purchase. You see, there is one car that I have lusted after since I was about 12. One car that, more than any other, exemplified the concept of the extreme sports car. A true American super car, that even beat out the Corvette. A car that could go 195 miles an hour, STOCK.
The Dodge Viper.
With 500 horsepower, 525 foot-pounds of torque at the curb, and a engine displacement of over 500 cubic inches, everything about the performance of the Viper is massive. And yet, it is set to become even more so. Unlike most other high-performance sports cars, the Viper engine does not have a turbo, or variable valve timing, or any of the other engineering tricks that are used to gain additional horsepower. It puts out 500 horses just due to it's size. However, that's about to change. Dodge is skipping the 2007 model year, and starting with the 2008 Viper, the engine will have V.V.T. Supposedly, due to this change alone, the '08 Viper will put out over 650 horsepower, and nearly 700 ft-lbs of torque, using the same 8.3-liter engine. This will likely join the elite group of production cars that can top 200 mph in stock condition. There's really nothing more to say about it, except that currently a brand-new Viper will set you back a cool $80,000. God, I hope they still make them in 2013!
Well, that does it for land vehicles for the foreseeable future. As
zaldreon suggested, I do plan on taking flying lessons and getting my PPL, but it will be some time yet before I can afford my own plane. I would like to buy one, but when I do have that kind of money, I don't know what type of plane I would want. Currently my favorite is the Glasair II, but who knows what will be available 15 years down the road? Maybe I'll be able to get a small jet-powered plane, and tear up the sky at 500 mph! Many of you probably think that my love of speed will eventually be the death of me, and it may very well be. But rest assured, if I do go out like that, I'll be having fun right up to the end!
That does it for the series! Now you know how I plan to spend most of my excess money, at least for the next few years. It's been pretty fun, thinking about what I want to get, if given the opportunity. Hopefully I will get the opportunity for most of this, someday!