MackTheFinger

I have no doubt that's true. If you get a new one every couple of years almost any vehicle is okay. For the rest of us talking to professional mechanics and people who run commercial vehicles will tell you what's worth having and what isn't. A friend of mine had a commercial delivery business running 20 or so vans daily and he regularly got 400-500k out of 4.3 Astros before he replaced them. Those vans ran 8+ hours every day without being shut off. He had some transmission problems that I recall and had a couple of motors that lost the #2 rod bearings but that was about it for that kinda stuff. Brakes, water pumps, alternators, etc are normal wear items and I'm sure he replaced plenty of those. He shut that business down about 15 years ago but I'm sure he'd tell anyone what great vehicles those Astro vans are.

My wife takes her Accord to the dealer for oil changes and stuff 'cause they're free. The cabin air filter ain't. They tried to jam her $50+ to replace that. You gotta watch out for the upsell. I buy fuel for my motorcycles at a local airport and keep a jug or two around the house. I don't make many motorcycle road trips anymore so it works out fairly well. Cars/vans/pickups get whatever. I've put hundreds and hundreds of thousands of miles on various vehicles over the years and have yet to have a fuel related issue on anything that's used regularly and maintained properly. Anything that sets around or only gets driven 20 minutes at a crack is going to have problems of every kind. The last half dozen vehicles I've personally used have all gone well over 200k miles with no mechanical issues whatever; the exception being a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan that was hands down the worst piece of junk I ever had. I put 125k on it in 18 months, about average for me. It was in the shop a half dozen times. The transmission was bad when the van was replaced. I've driven at least 500k since then without a single mechanical issue.

Whatever the owner wants to do is the right thing to do.

That all sounds good but you blew it by being in a cage.. Yeah, I'm jealous...but it would've still been more enjoyable on a motorcycle.. everything is!! ?

<The snapped cam was the plymouth rejecting the heartbeat of America> Mr. Moderator, please remember that I don't consider myself the arbiter of anything. Life's a learning experience. Once you firmly make up your mind on any matter as subjective and nonsensical as automobile preferences, the appurtenances thereto and connected with; you've decided to stop learning. So in light of all that nonsense I'll submit.......... An alternative possibility might be that the 305 couldn't face being in a Plymouth and took it's own life.. ? Rock on HotRoddaJay!!!

Everyone in the trades heard the joke about the difference between carpenters and termites. Termites know what they're turning that piece of wood into. ?

Oh, yeah; a large overhang is definitely nice for the shade!! I'm familiar with NE Oklahoma and the wind is harsh there. Seems like I heard it was because Kansas sucks and Texas blows.. I don't know who said that, maybe someone from Arkansas or Louisiana?? ?

Ah, can't see the finish but the color looks okay, or is it colour? ?

I'm working on a paint by number self portrait. ?

Completely agree on the posts rotting and leaks around the screws. In the last few years I've seen a lot of houses roofed with pole barn metal directly over the old asphalt shingles. Usually but not always after having girting nailed down over the asphalt. I would guarantee that's a leak waiting to happen. Construction techniques vary a lot according to region. We don't have much freezing down here so it's rare to see an insulated slab, even on slab on grade houses. IMO insulating at least a couple of feet around the edges would be a good idea. We don't have ice dam problems so there are virtually no buildings using water shield membrane on the roofs. Other than that I agree with your techniques although it's rare to see a building with 24" overhang. Pole barns are built with no overhang and houses are generally 16" here, sometimes as little as 12". I've only run into a few houses framed with 2x6 on 2' OC outer walls but that's changed over the years, too; along with that "California" corner framing people have started using. That still looks weird to me but I can see how it would help with insulation.

That color isn't bad.. Hey, it's your car; build it the way you like it. You don't have to ask for permission. One things certain, you probably won't see another 1950 Plymouth on the street!!

Nice bike!! I've owned a bunch of Brit bikes and still have a few. Those Tigers are fun to ride.

Looks like fun.. I really like cars in primer. Lots of them get ruined with paint. Would like to see more pics, especially of the radiused rear wheelwells.

Last floor I poured was 30x50 ft. I hired a guy to help me but I'd have been better off without him. I don't expect everyone to know how to run a power trowel but good help working in the trade should know how to screed and bullfloat concrete and the difference between a mag float and a darby. This guy didn't know anything. Thankfully it was a cool day and the concrete didn't get away from us. I have a cousin who does concrete professionally but he won't let me pay him so he's out. I'll either do this next one all by myself or pay someone to do it all and TRY not to be too critical.

I like it!!

That's a fine looking automobile. My sister's car came with F70-14 tires and wire spoke hubcaps. The chrome mags look good on this car but my personal preference is the stock hubcaps. Not that anyone asked.. I bought a running, driving '67 SS396/Turbo400 Chevelle from an employee in 1978 for $350. The 396 was out of the car and it had a 283 in it when I bought it. I got the 396 with it, though. It was black with a red interior and had a big dent in the passenger side right behind the door. The guy I bought it from had another wrecked Chevelle that I cut the quarter out of and welded back in the one I bought, repainted the car and flamed it after a year or so. I replaced the 283/Turbo 400 combo with a 327/M22 Muncie combo and eventually sold the car with the original motor and transmission around 1990. I still have the 283, the 327, and the Muncie. It was a fun car. Lots of good memories..

I have two pole barns and have had leaks around screws in both of them. My shop building is concrete block with a shingle roof and it hasn't leaked since I built it in the early '90s. I filled the walls in the block building with Zonolite except for where we poured concrete piers in the walls every 4 feet but there's still enough thermal transfer that it's cold in the winter. Insulating pole barns is easier but if you frame it out the way I'd prefer you end up with a building inside a building and there's no point in that. My next one will be built with 2x6 studs on 2' centers, insulated and plywood sheathed inside and out with an asphalt shingle roof. I might wimp out and have someone else pour the floor but that's according to how much time I have in the spring.

Ford blue, too; or plastic tarp blue..don't know which... ?

Built correctly a block building will last almost forever. The downside to block, brick, or tilt-up concrete buildings is insulation. It's not as big a factor for you as it is for those of us who live in colder areas. I'm going to build another building here next year and can't decide whether to build it out of block or stick build. I don't really like pole barns.

Nice car!! My sister bought a '67 396 SS 4 speed convertible brand-spanking new. At the time I had a '65 Mustang with a 289 4-speed. She wanted to drive my Mustang one day and a couple of hours later called and asked "How in the heck do you get this car into reverse?" She didn't know that reverse was in a different location on a Ford top-loader than on a GM Muncie. ? I have really fond memories of my dear departed sister and her Chevelle. Blasting along the freeway in New Orleans listening to Sgt. Pepper and flying through one-horse Mississippi towns after midnight at 100+ MPH, howling at the moon with my half-psychotic BIL behind the wheel.. There'd sometimes be a red light in the rear view but by then we were so far ahead they couldn't catch up! Those were the good old days!!

After 4 decades in masonry construction guess what I noticed first? Nice work on the lathe, though!! ?

My condolences to Don's friends and family. I was impressed by his photographic catalog and his willingness to share his knowledge.

Nice pic!! It's a small world.. My younger brother lives not far from you. Looking at a map he's on the west side of Bde Maka Ska, between the lake and a park or golf course or something. He moved there from Seattle when he retired a few years ago and I haven't been up to visit. He really seems to like Minnesota. My only visit there was to Eden Prairie for a couple of weeks back in the '80's. I need to get up there next year.

Can't recall exactly which but some of those early minivans had Mitsubishi V-6's. A pretty good motor with quite a bit of power and easy to swap out. A pretty good vehicle overall. OTOH I had a 2008 Grand Caravan that was a total piece of junk, brakes and CV joints before 50k, barely 125k on the transmission. It went away in 2010. Yes, I drive a LOT!!

A 2010 Road King for $6.5k is about right, some go for a little more but most go for less than that. The entire later model motorcycle market is terrible unless you just want to buy something to ride. IMO if that's a nice car and it's something you can just take off down the road in it wouldn't be a bad trade.