SLO Heartbreak

Again... these photos show two different engines -- Paul's case got punched out; Cory dropped a screw down one of his carb throats.

@%&#

Aw, man. That's rough. CB Panchitos, here we come.

Is Mrs. McCloskey about over this car yet?

Damn!  That just makes you want to cry.

Trust me........MANY of us have dropped something either down into the carbs or, in my case, down the oil filler.  $#!+ happens and it never turns out well.  

The good news (well, it's not THAT good but it's all I've got...) is that it's focused on one cylinder to minimize damage/cost, but Paul will have to ensure that the rod and it's crank bearing isn't damaged, too.

Paul's situation is more dire, but he might be able to salvage a lot to apply to a new build.

It's always something with these cars, isn't it?

I would head to SLO anyway - you and Paul could car-pool!  After all, it's about the people you'll meet!

Paul......By Chance....Were you adjusting those carburetors in a drag race or something ????  Exposed Bones cause slumped sholders !!!!.......Bruce

Tough break, Cory, for both of you. Like Gordon said, if you were both planning on going, go anyways. Al

Ouch!  

I third what ALB and Gordon said - come anyways - it's about meeting the peeps 

I was wondering whatever happened to that Cory guy, sorry to hear of your troubles.

Your engine got screwed, this is becoming a familiar story, that makes at least 3 of us without a functioning engine just in time for the SOC gathering.

My wife is still holding out hope for Whitecloud, me, I'm looking at used Boxsters, finally. My son suggested it 2 years ago when the first engine went south, I ignored his wisdom as only an eternal optimist can. For the $$ I have in Whitecloud, I could've had 2 really nice 987 (Gen. 2) Boxsters.

Ahh, but it's just $$$

Sorry guys

Will Hesch posted:

For the $$ I have in Whitecloud, I could've had 2 really nice 987 (Gen. 2) Boxsters.

Ahh, but it's just $$$

Any nitwit can buy a used Boxster. It takes someone super-cool to own, maintain, and operate a replica speedster. You are that man, Will. 

Yeah...What Stan said!

How many times have you seen Steve McQueen in a Boxster?

911 SC, yes, but a Boxster?  I don't think so.   

I mean, Really?

...you guys are funny, I just hope Cory and Paul are as hard-headed as I am.

@Cory McCloskey - DANG, Cory! Total bummer about your's & Paul's engine. I'm sure you'll get it all sorted out.

However, since you've already allotted yourself time for the SLO cruise, you should still come on out. There is always an empty right seat that you could occupy. Come on out and meet the knucklehead West Coast SOC crew and join the shenanigans!!!!  

Yeah.....Jim always needs someone to hang off the side of the car and work his GoPro cameras!

So Will, here's the thing.

I just went to my local Porsche dealer's web site, and here's how the first used Boxster is described:

Will, that ain't no car.

It sounds more like a time share condo in Puerto Vallarta.

I just don't see how someone who takes off for the weekend for sheets and giggles on a Vespa with the wife on the back is gonna be at home in some rolling condo with 14-Way Power Sport Seats with Memory Package.

Yeah, our cars are a royal pain in the butt, but so is life most of the time. We are frail and fallible. So are our cars.

You've had a very bad run of unhappy happenstance happen. I'm reminded of my first two years of happenstance. Things will almost certainly get better.

I spent two hours the other morning, when my wife had abandoned me for the day, driving a road up in the Sierras that wound through a national forest and ended almost in heaven. Yeah, I had to drive it. All by myself. Upshift, downshift, brake hard here, but not too much. Keep the revs up there to stay on the power band through the crest of the hill. No effing doppel kuppling, Will. I changed every lane unassisted, riding it out on seats unheated and unventilated.

You've come so far, Will. You've put in so many hours. You've worked out so many details that have made that car yours. Finish this. Don't let it finish you.

Your day will come.

Mitch Toll for president. 

Well said, Mitch.  I firmly believe that these cars intentionally test us early in the ownership experience to ensure that only the deserving become long-term owners.  Yeah, that's what I had to tell myself in the first year or so.

You are that man, Will!

Lane Anderson posted:

Well said, Mitch.  I firmly believe that these cars intentionally test us early in the ownership experience to ensure that only the deserving become long-term owners.  Yeah, that's what I had to tell myself in the first year or so.

Yup. My car is now so sure of itself that when I come home it's on the couch drinking my beer, watching my TV, and controlling the remote. And it farts.

rent a car, so what if its dependable and wont break down,, go and have a good time.

Lane Anderson posted:

Well said, Mitch.  I firmly believe that these cars intentionally test us early in the ownership experience to ensure that only the deserving become long-term owners.  Yeah, that's what I had to tell myself in the first year or so.

Very FUNNY...intentionally test us so that the "DESERVING" become long term owners?

Maybe only "IDIOTS"(like me) become long term owners: too stubborn to admit that we are fools to put up with such nonsense! Imagine that most of us believe we need to "SORT" things out....as if we should buy a car/new/old and expect anything from sheer CHAOS(LOL) to motors exploding in a few short days!!!

Imagine a SUBARU/PORSCHE dealer calmly explaining how one should expect "ALMOST ANYTHING" during a short/unknown TRIAL period to "SORT THINGS OUT"

I'm as guilty as anyone.....although, KNOCK ON WOOD, things have been calm as of late......

MusbJim posted:

@Cory McCloskey - DANG, Cory! Total bummer about your's & Paul's engine. I'm sure you'll get it all sorted out.

However, since you've already allotted yourself time for the SLO cruise, you should still come on out. There is always an empty right seat that you could occupy. Come on out and meet the knucklehead West Coast SOC crew and join the shenanigans!!!!  

I'm with these guys.  Come on out.  I've been assured that there will be no shortage of food for our dinner!  Plus, you can always stay with GERD!!!

...well...I guess I could get used to the 7 speed transaxle shifted by toggles on the steering wheel putting everything the 320 horsepower engine puts through it to the 19" wheels and tires...with the top down and icy-cold air blowing my hair back on a 100+ degree Atascadero summer day...in ultra-comfortable leather seats...heated in winter, same top down but with super-heat blowing my hair back...

...on the other hand...I'm spending money like I have a money-tree in the backyard on the next engine for Whitecloud...

Will Hesch posted:

...well...I guess I could get used to the 7 speed transaxle shifted by toggles on the steering wheel putting everything the 320 horsepower engine puts through it to the 19" wheels and tires...with the top down and icy-cold air blowing my hair back on a 100+ degree Atascadero summer day...in ultra-comfortable leather seats...heated in winter, same top down but with super-heat blowing my hair back...

...on the other hand...I'm spending money like I have a money-tree in the backyard on the next engine for Whitecloud...

It's the simple pleasure we get from our cars Will; no one gives you a thumbs up   in a Boxster.

ATTENTION ALL:

Boxer shorts YES!!!

Boxter car  NO!!!!

WILL HESCH  please report to Tebs on the hotel courtyard Friday night 530-7

That is all...

Tebs

Cory / Paul  

Wow what a bummer...  between you guys and Will's engine  upsetting to me to say the least.. You should have come any ways there are a few of us whom have empty passenger seats..

But It will get sorted..   If you need any assistance with Pat Downs feel free to call me or PM me....

He will definitely get you guys taken care of...

tebs

Teby S posted:

Cory / Paul  

Wow what a bummer...  between you guys and Will's engine  upsetting to me to say the least.. You should have come any ways there are a few of us whom have empty passenger seats..

But It will get sorted..   If you need any assistance with Pat Downs feel free to call me or PM me....

He will definitely get you guys taken care of...

tebs

Teby's gots Pat D's on da speed dial.....BOOOM........MIC DROP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will Hesch posted:

...well...I guess I could get used to the 7 speed transaxle shifted by toggles on the steering wheel putting everything the 320 horsepower engine puts through it to the 19" wheels and tires...with the top down and icy-cold air blowing my hair back on a 100+ degree Atascadero summer day...in ultra-comfortable leather seats...heated in winter, same top down but with super-heat blowing my hair back...

...on the other hand...I'm spending money like I have a money-tree in the backyard on the next engine for Whitecloud...

Someday I'm going to write a book about building my house. I got a text from my stainless steel guy last night. He'd spent 16 hrs trying to work a wrinkle out of a sink he's welding into a stainless top. The wrinkle is still there, and he wanted to know what to do.

Given the fact that I had now spent (another) $1000 on a SINK, I'm pretty sure I'll be working past my 70th birthday to pay for all of this.

Yes, you can get more for less just buying what everybody else does. Where's the fun in that?

Stan, I'm just saying that the Madness can become...that!

This 3rd time I'm using the highest quality parts that money can buy, Panchito heads, CB cam with their lightweight lifters. I purchased a magnesium CB Supercase which reportedly runs cooler than my aluminum bubbletop, I know for a fact it will be 18 lbs lighter. I have a new Setrab remote cooler and a Setrab re-usable aluminum filter so I can examine the oil/engine condition as often as I deem necessary.

But...and I'm hedging my bets here...if this one goes south, which I seriously doubt it will, but... if it does...I'm going in another direction, to continue down this road would not be prudent (nor can I afford it any longer!).

Lane said that only the "deserving" are allowed satisfaction in this plastic car realm.

I'm not sure what that means. I thought that for $30K I deserved a car that would at least make it the 200 miles home from the factory...wrong! It had 3 oil spills on the way home and 2 weeks later blew the upright cooler (which blew the poorly constructed engine) due to a stuck pressure relief valve.

After careful research (obviously not careful enough) I chose a builder who for $5K supplied me with a new engine that lasted 1400 km.

I'm now spending another undetermined amount for the 3rd go-around.

Is that deserving enough to be part of this club?

Sorry Cory, for the thread-drift, I just needed to vent.

Will, my post was meant to be in jest as well as commiseration with your problems.  A lot of us have had multiple significant issues in our first couple of years, and many cars are sold due to them.  I'm sorry if my intentions didn't come across.

Will Hesch posted:

Stan, I'm just saying that the Madness can become...that!

This 3rd time I'm using the highest quality parts that money can buy, Panchito heads, CB cam with their lightweight lifters. I purchased a magnesium CB Supercase which reportedly runs cooler than my aluminum bubbletop, I know for a fact it will be 18 lbs lighter. I have a new Setrab remote cooler and a Setrab re-usable aluminum filter so I can examine the oil/engine condition as often as I deem necessary.

But...and I'm hedging my bets here...if this one goes south, which I seriously doubt it will, but... if it does...I'm going in another direction, to continue down this road would not be prudent (nor can I afford it any longer!).

Lane said that only the "deserving" are allowed satisfaction in this plastic car realm.

I'm not sure what that means. I thought that for $30K I deserved a car that would at least make it the 200 miles home from the factory...wrong! It had 3 oil spills on the way home and 2 weeks later blew the upright cooler (which blew the poorly constructed engine) due to a stuck pressure relief valve.

After careful research (obviously not careful enough) I chose a builder who for $5K supplied me with a new engine that lasted 1400 km.

I'm now spending another undetermined amount for the 3rd go-around.

Is that deserving enough to be part of this club?

Sorry Cory, for the thread-drift, I just needed to vent.

 

Your faith in the process deserves KUDOS and CODDLING.....you have, indeed, hit a rough patch. I echo the "deserving" question as I'm not sure what he means either but you have been thru the WRINGER! 

Hopefully this 3rd run at the infamous "SORTING" pursuit will reap some fruit.....and some fun miles cruising pavement. My fingers are crossed....

Lane, I'm sorry that you became my whipping-boy, I'm thin-skinned these days when it comes to these cars and I apologize for taking your post wrong.

No worries, Will.  I had several points during my first year when I had to ask myself if I had made the right choice.  This too shall pass, but it isn't always fun.

For those confused by my failed attempt at humor, the "deserving" judgement was in the eyes of the car, and at times I wasn't certain that I lived up to my car's measure.

I totally understand, Will. I followed a similar trajectory with Type 1 engines.

It's a very, very strange hobby. There are no shortage of people making a living servicing "the community".  But after spending nearly $10,000 on an engine that had significant problems with a builder with a very good reputation, and after having a guy destroy a $1000 set of heads trying to twin-plug them, I became convinced that there are only two or three people who I'd trust to do anything at all. There may be good guys nobody's ever heard of in local shops here and there, but there are far more pretenders (at best) out there, and thieves and charlatans are the general rule in the ACVW world. I wish it were not so, but it is.

It's ridiculously easy to end up doing your homework, planning like you are invading Normandy or going to the moon, laying out long money... and still end up with an overpriced boat-anchor. As a point of fact, NOT ending up in that state is no small feat. 

It's a pretty ridiculous state of affairs for what is, in essence, a glorified lawnmower engine. It shouldn't be this hard, but unfortunately it is.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Lane Anderson posted:

Will, my post was meant to be in jest as well as commiseration with your problems.  

Lane - you have to be careful with humor around here. I have pissed everyone off at one time or another!

Will - I think what was being said is this is your trial period. Seems like we all have one or two. If you make it through this and don't sell your car then you are deserving of it and all the problems that come after!!!

I'm bummed you're not joining us. Next year.

Will Hesch posted:

Stan, I'm just saying that the Madness can become...that!

... I purchased a magnesium CB Supercase which reportedly runs cooler than my aluminum bubbletop, I know for a fact it will be 18 lbs lighter....

NOW you're on the right path!

Will Hesch posted:

...I'm now spending another undetermined amount for the 3rd go-around.

Is that deserving enough to be part of this club?... 

All kidding aside, you've more than earned your spot (maybe we should call it a "seat"?).

Even the best of these cars can make you think once in a while as to 'what I could have bought for the same amount of money'.  However, if you want a vehicle that is unique and gives lots of grins (yours and other's), then you need one of these.

I could not and would not have persevered as much as you guys have.  I've drifted away from these cars for various reasons, but I've always come back. 

But, I think most of us have never experienced what you have guys have gone through. 

Will Hesch posted:

Stan, I'm just saying that the Madness can become...that!

This 3rd time I'm using the highest quality parts that money can buy, Panchito heads, CB cam with their lightweight lifters. I purchased a magnesium CB Supercase which reportedly runs cooler than my aluminum bubbletop, I know for a fact it will be 18 lbs lighter. I have a new Setrab remote cooler and a Setrab re-usable aluminum filter so I can examine the oil/engine condition as often as I deem necessary.

But...and I'm hedging my bets here...if this one goes south, which I seriously doubt it will, but... if it does...I'm going in another direction, to continue down this road would not be prudent (nor can I afford it any longer!).

Lane said that only the "deserving" are allowed satisfaction in this plastic car realm.

I'm not sure what that means. I thought that for $30K I deserved a car that would at least make it the 200 miles home from the factory...wrong! It had 3 oil spills on the way home and 2 weeks later blew the upright cooler (which blew the poorly constructed engine) due to a stuck pressure relief valve.

After careful research (obviously not careful enough) I chose a builder who for $5K supplied me with a new engine that lasted 1400 km.

I'm now spending another undetermined amount for the 3rd go-around.

Is that deserving enough to be part of this club?

Sorry Cory, for the thread-drift, I just needed to vent.

 

If this one goes south, which I highly doubt, I wouldn't blame you for moving in another direction either. I truly feel bad for everyone who has problems both big and little with their cars. I 'm loving the hobby and would like to see it go on forever because I love the cars so much. I also like the people I've met along the way, both online and in person, and I'd miss that.  I can say for certain I wouldn't have the finances right now to persevere as much as you have.  

If the troubles continue maybe a Speedster with a Suby. 

Rusty S posted:

Lane Anderson posted:

Will, my post was meant to be in jest as well as commiseration with your problems.  

Lane - you have to be careful with humor around here. I have pissed everyone off at one time or another!

Will - I think what was being said is this is your trial period. Seems like we all have one or two. If you make it through this and don't sell your car then you are deserving of it and all the problems that come after!!!

HEY RUSTY!!!  Go screw yourself!!  Just sayin'!  LOL