Two Hot Dogs and a Finger

Ahhh... It is nice to be back posting on my blog again. I found a juicy little nugget while driving cross country for Thanksgiving. I thought it was devious enough to post.

This little gem was found at a Sheetz truck stop in Western Maryland. First of all, I think the cartoon chick may be a little too hot for ordering hot dogs. I'm not sure that would pass the PG13 test.

Second: What does she mean by giving the peace sign with her left hand? Is this an anti-war statement? Does she want you to order 2 hot dogs? Is there one finger left up on that hand for each button on her top?

Third: What the heck is going on with the right hand??? That bitch is flipping me off! Damn! the marketing works with me. I LOVE it when cartoon hotties flip me the finger, flaunt their cleavage and show their contempt for the war in Iraq at the same time. That definitely gets me all hot. I'm guessing it does for truckers too.

Oh well. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic. What do you think of the hand gestures that she's making. Is there something to be read from the way she's holding the hot dog?

You're all perverts. (That's a good thing).

Love,

Pete

The Wrong Lessons.

Hey folks.

 

Sorry for going political today, but I need to. 

 

President Bush was touring Vietnam yesterday and talked about the Vietnam War and compared it to the war in Iraq.  He commented that we need to learn the lessons of the Vietnam war and make sure that we don't pull out too soon. 

 

That isn't the lesson that we needed to learn from Vietnam.  There are many that we can learn from decades of war in Vietnam.

 

1)  Never underestimate a people's desire to fight against an invading force.  This was true on so many levels with Vietnam.  American policy makers and generals could not comprehend the casualties that the North Vietnamese were taking in the war.  America lost its will to fight with fewer than 60,000 dead or MIA.  Vietnamese deaths have been estimated as high as 1,000,000 and they were still putting up a fight.  In Iraq, for every insurgent that is killed, another steps into his/her place. 

2)  Learn about a people and their history BEFORE invading their country and you'll make better decisions.  Vietnam had a long history of imperialism, and a long history of fighting it.  Not understanding that lead to the problems listed in #1.  Iraq has had years of friction and violence between its Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish populations.  Invading the country, removing the government and disbanding the police and military is NOT going to make things better. 

3)  Tell the truth.  Public support on the home front dwindled during the Vietnam War in part because the folks back home stopped believing that they were being told the truth.  The media said one thing and the government said another.  What the government was saying didn't match up with what the people perceived as reality.  The Johnson and Nixon administrations railed against the press coverage of the war, but the information they were putting out didn't match with reality.  They lost credibility. That seems to be happening again with Iraq.  We invaded Iraq on bad information and from my point of view, almost EVERY word about the war that comes from the Bush administration does not ring true. 

4)  Treat the cause, not the symptom.  There are a lot of causes to the problems that we faced in Vietnam and are facing in Iraq.  Unfortunately the biggest cause is one that we can't treat.... entering the conflict on false pretences with bad information.  We never were able to overcome that in Vietnam.  The cause of that conflict was imperialism.  Fighting that war just made the root cause worse.  It isn't that different in Iraq.  The Bush administration said the cause of the problem was Saddam Hussein.  That obviously wasn't true.  He had no links to al-Qaeda.  He's out of the picture.  Things are much worse than they were before we invaded.  The country is, by many standards, in civil war.  We're in the middle of it.  We're the cause of it.  We don't appear to be able to do anything about it.  We've created a terrorism problem that may never go away.

 

Don't get me wrong.  I don't think that we need to cut and run.  Pulling out of Iraq now would be truly disastrous for everyone involved.  We do need a new strategy though.  Start telling the truth about the war.  Make sure that our troops have EVERYTHING they need to succeed.  Get back to winning hearts and minds through making life for every day Iraqis. better.  Just killing people isn't working because no matter how many people we kill, there will always be more who step up to fight.  We cannot win a war like that.  Handing off to the Iraqi military is not the solution either.  We need to address the cause.  There in lies the problem.  If we're the cause, how do we deal with it?  We can't pull out.  Chaos will rule. 

 

Do something good.  Win some hearts and minds.  Make their lives better in some way.  Keep on the high ground.  Don't murder and rape civilians.  Don't torture prisoners.  Don't insult Islam.  We need to find a way to be the good guy, even though we've invaded another country and are killing its people. 

 

I hope someone finds a way that we can win this war... or at least get out of it alive.  There are no easy answers.  Every action will have a high cost.  It burns me that we entered this war so casually.  War shouldn't be casual.

 

Sorry for ranting.

 

Pete

 

Canadian humor.

This month's T-Shirt Hell newsletter was AWESOME. :D

I drink in moderation.

My new favorite t-shirt.

I love you!

My friend Chris sent me this cartoon. I was deeply offended because I think I'm Danny the Donkey. I hate him for that. :D Now leave me alone. I'm going to find some creative new uses for the stick. :D

Pete

MkI VW Rabbit all wheel drive.

Oh man this thing is AWESOME!!!

I'll just let you look at the photo and the listing on e-bay.

All wheel drive VW Rabbit.

Pete

Something not car-related. ;) Museuming in DC.

Oy oy.

Laura and I had fun last weekend hitting a few museums and doing some stuff downtown. We went to the Sewall/Belmot House to start out with. It was and is the headquarters for the National Women's Party. We'd seen the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" and wondered how much of it was artistically licensed and what was based in reality. Interestingly enough, if you remove all the romantic intreague from the movie, the basic historical facts are pretty close to right. It was very cool to learn more about the women's sufferage movement and the people involved.

After a good lunch at Chipotle, we headed over to the new National Portrait Gallery. Wow what a great museum. This is my new favorite in the DC area. It is HUGE! The first floor is packed with stuff (and people) and there are 3 more floors above to explore. It is located in the old National Pattent Office building. The first floor has a neat section where they display portraits of different inventors next to a glass case containing their invention. Edison, Morse, Singer and others were included. It was definitely cool.

The other thing I liked about the museum is that it is organized by theme and they really do a good job of giving historical background to all of the portraits, the people depicted in them and the artist who created them. Part of the reason why it takes so long to go through the gallery is that there is a LOT of information on EVERY bit of art in the builing. We felt like we barely scraped the surface.

Definitely check these out. Google will find them for you.

Pete

Better yet... another Mini.

This one is a 1961 Morris Minor. The thing is in unbelievable shape and only has 42000 original miles. It is fully restored and has a new motor and a damn clean interior. I also like that you can buy the car from a guy who has Olympic Gold and Silver medals. I'll just shut up and post the photos and the link.


Here is the link to the listing. It makes for good reading.

1961 Morris Minor

Take care,

Pete

Mini. Something else to add to the mix. ;)

I was reading about someone who is putting Honda motors into classic minis. They freaking fly with the extra horsepower and revs. That got me thinking about a classic mini. Here's a great example on Ebay right now.

This is a fully restored 1.3Liter mini. This was the fast and cool one. It has been upgraded with the interior from a 1990s mini. I like the classc wheel and even the color. This little bugger is fast and cool. I'm a geek about right hand drive cars too. I'd have a lot of fun with this thing.

Here's the listing.

1976 Mini 1.3 upgraded to Cooper spec.

Pete

Craptastic photographer with really bad writing habits and a damn cool car.

Sorry about the title of this post. I often think that I'm pretty funny. I know deep in my heart that I'm not. ;)

Okay... the car on the block this evening is a 1969 BMW 2002 Turbo. This thing is freaking amazing and must be really wild to drive. The photos of the outside obviously don't do this car any good.

You wouldn't want the car to look too good in the ebay add. It might actually sell for a high price or something. The money he saved in having good photos posted will more than make up for any increase in the sale price that really good photos would bring. (Sorry. Mr. Sarcastic is on the loose again) ;)

The engine bay is amazing. There's no two ways about it. That is one freaking impressive car. I would LOVE to have this thing and drive the freaking snot out of it. :D

The cool thing is that as long as I made sure the air/fuel mixture was right, it would most likely give me years of "thank you sir may I have another" use.

I like what the guy did with the photo of the front end. It is very cool looking.

Here is the listing for the car.

Enjoy.

Pete

The project car that I WON'T be buying. ;)

This MkI Golf is absolutely amazing. The level of detail on this car is amazing. Absolutely everything is more beautiful and better functioning than it was in its original form.

The body work is flawless. The interior is just creamy. The motor and engine bay are both functional and beautiful to look at. I love the twin carbed, 1.8Liter, 16valve motor. The motor is quite a bit more refined than what VW originally intended.

Another thing I like is that the left hand drive is as exotic in England as the right hand drive ones are in the colonies. Very cool.

Below you'll find the listing for the car:

MkI Swallowtail.

Take care,

Pete

Bunnies!!!

Okay. My project car posts lately have been mostly non-vw cars. I thought I'd get back to my roots again with this little one.

I've wanted an A1 GTI for as long as I can remember. The first one I ever drove was amazing to me. They're light, they handle quite well, they're pretty fast. This is the car that started the sport compact car craze back in the mid 1970s.

This particular car would almost be a shame for me to buy since my goal would be to strip the interior and go crazy with it. I would say that I'm sure I could ebay all the interior stuff for a lot of money and that would help finance the project.
Below is the link to the listing.

1983 VW Rabbit GTI

Enjoy.

Pete

2002 Reasons to love this car...

You've seen me post some BMW 2002s on the blog lately. This one is SUPER cool and completely out of my range. I'll post it up because it is just too perfect to ignore.

This car is an almost flawless BMW 2002 Tii. The Tii version of the 2002 got fuel injection and a few other performance bisquits. It also had a really cool dash clock that looked great, but really didn't keep very accurate time... at least not after 30 years or so.

I'll just let you look at a few photos of the car and the listing on Ebay. The "Buy It Now" price is $20k. We'll see if it is worth that.

I'd consider it if I had the $20k laying around.

HERE's the listing.

Pete

Rice Rice Baby!!!

Oy oy.

I had another good ad for an AE86 show up today. My guess is that there's something fundamentally wrongwith this car that is making this guy sell it 3 weeks after he bought it. Since my plan would be to strip the whole dang thing down, I guess I'd probably find the problem and hopefully be able to fix it. :D

This is actually an SR5 that has been converted to a GT-S. They put a GT-S rear axle on it that has disc brakes and an LSD. They also put in a GT-S motor and gauge cluster. There are plenty of things about the add that make it suspicious. First, the title isn't in the name of the guy who is selling it. Also he lists that the gauge cluster is from a different car, but lists the mileage as what registers on the gauge cluster. Hmmmmm.

That said, I'm interested. Maybe not interested enough to actualy try and buy it. I'm interested enough to post it on my blog. :D

HERE's the listing.

Pete

Hachi Roku: Toyota Corolla GT-S AE86

I love this car. If the planets all align, I'll have something like this as my next project car. This is an awesome example of a Hachi Roku (Japanese for 86). This Corolla was made from 1985-7 and was pretty much the last of the front engine/rear wheel drive compact cars in the US. The Nissan 240sx was around until 1998, but it is a much larger and heavier car.

The appeal of the GT-S is that it is a quite light car (2100 pounds) and can be much lighter. With careful modifications, it can get down below 1800 pounds.

The motor in the GT-S is a dual overhead cam, 16 valve, 1.6 liter, fuel injected motor. It has a high redline and puts out about 130hp and 104 lb/ft torque. While that is enough to power an 1800 pound car pretty well, a lot of folks opt for the 20 valve, high compression motor from Japan that puts out 160hp and 120 lb/ft torque. Definitely a good upgrade. Horsepower mods can be made from there.

The AE-86 is in high demand among drifters. Though they don't handle as well as some newer cars, they've got a lot of heritage to them. That bumps the price up a bit. Even so, they can be found for under $2000 for one in rough, but complete shape. The one pictured here is for sale for $6200. It whould definitely get that price.

Thanks for reading,

Pete

Hachi Roku: Corolla GT-S AE86

Here's the most likely candidate for my new car. I love these things. I'm sure I'll offend Hachi Roku (Japanese for 86) owners when I say that I think they're kinda funny looking. That's their appeal to me. :D

These things are pretty much the last of the front engine/ rear wheel drive compact cars sold in America. The example that you see to the left has been modified a bit, but it is a great example of the car I love and would like to buy.

These things handled pretty darn well when you consider that the rear suspension and drive system was a relatively simple and heavy live axle not entirely unlike those found on American muscle cars. The thing that really makes these things extraordinary is their weight, or lack thereof. In stock form, they weigh about 2100 pounds. Strip out the interior and anything that you really don't need, install a racing seat and roll cage and replace the heavy stock wheels with something truly light weight and you can have a race car that weighs between 1700 and 1800 pounds.

The stock motor of the GT-S is a 1.6 liter, 16valve motor making around 130 hp and 104 lb/ft torque. The japanese motor which some swap in makes around 160 hp and 120 lb/ft torque. It uses a 20 valve setup and a higher compression ratio that accounts for the greater horsepower.

Drifters LOVE these things. These were some of the original drift cars in Japan. They're not the easiest cars to drift, but the sense of history makes them in pretty high demand.

I'll be keeping an eye on these this winter.

Pete

Very Tempting 318is

This one definitely cought my eye.

I'm drawn to the 318is because it is light weight, fairly modern and has a great suspension. All the bimmer guys tell me I should go for the 325 because the straight 6 motor has more power. I've always been an underdog kinda guy. I like the better balance and lighter weight of the E30 318is. That's just me. I'm a freak that way.

This car in particular is of interest to me because it is bascally stock and it has a blown head. That means I get to do a project on it and I get it at a very good price. I'm sure that there's a ton of work to do to the car. I can see what looks like rust stains on the carpet. Who knows what I'll find when I pull the interior to check the inside of the floor pans. That is part of the mystery of a project.

The time isn't right for me and this car. If I'd seen this ad at the end of February, I'd click that "buy it now" button in a second. I just don't have room, time or money at the moment. I can still enjoy looking though. :D

Pete

An Awesome Project 2002

This car is an awesome example of a motorsports 2002. It has a ton of the work already done. The fenders are flared. It has the motorsports spoiler. The interior is mostly gone. It has little or no rust. It has the battery in the trunk and an upgraded fuel pump, filter and FPR.

The motor is the only part that really needs work. It has a ton of stuff that needs help. It is the perfect project. :D

The car is even local. :D

You can find the link to the auction below:

1972 BMW 2002

1986 Toyota Trueno AE86 Hachi Roku (AKA Corolla GT-S)

I hate to say it but I love these cars. They're ugly as hell and really quirky. They're pretty much the last of the front-engine, rear drive small cars that made it to America. They've got a huge following in the drift community. There are some guys autocrossing and doing SCCA or NASA racing with them too. Since I'm looking to do motorsports stuff with it, it is a good candidate.

Don't think that I dislike the car because I think it is ugly. I LOVE ugly cars. This thing is really ugly in my eyes and I think that's a good thing. It is just damn cool.


The other appeal to it is that the car is very light. In stock form, it weighs in at about 2100 pounds. Strip out the interior and put in some racing seats and these things can weigh as little as 1800 pounds. If I really go crazy and replace the dash with fiberglass, it can get even less weight. Use a light weight battery and add a good roll cage and you've still got a track-ready car that is between 1700 and 1800 pounds.

The motor on these were pretty cool too. It is a high compression, 16 valve motor that revs really high. With minimal mods, they can get up around 150hp at the wheels with 110 lb/ft torque. While that doesn't sound like much compared to the Corrado or GTI, just keep in mind that it is about 1000 pounds lighter than the Corrado and 1400 pounds lighter than the GTI.

The rear suspension is pretty simple. It isn't a fancy multi-link system. It is an old style, live axle with trailing arms. Even with the simple rear end, they still handle pretty well.

I'm seriously tempted by this car. They're getting rare, but you can still find decent examples for between $2000 and 4000.

The one in this auction isn't really to my taste. It is the hatchback that I LOVE, but I really don't like the wing very much. I'd prefer to have one with few or no mods so I could do the work myself. That motor looks like it has been seriously worked, and I like that the guy did the full polyurithane bushing kit. Very cool.

HERE is the listing on Ebay for this car.

Love,

Pete

When car guys dream....

Okay. Continuing on the car theme...

My project car thang has led to some interesting Ebay searches. Most recently I came up with this hit....

Here's what the car is supposed to look like.

It is a 1967 Toyota Sports 800 Yotahachi. There were only 48 of them made with right hand drive and only some of those were ever shipped to the United States. This car is SUPER rare and a really amazing little sports car.

As with many project cars, they're a litle bit of a "work in progress. You noticed above that I used the term "supposed to" when referring to the car's looks. Well this is how it looks now:

It definitely needs some love. Even so, you can really get a feel for the shape of the car and the potential that is there.

More photos. :D










Yeah. It needs some serious love. I'm not sure you'll ever find the lens covers for the headlights. I can't imagine that many of them are floating around.



It does look like most of the other parts are there though.

You can see the listing below.

1967 Toyota S800

Pete