So lets catch up

Topic: So lets catch up (Read 10901 times) previous topic - next topic

So lets catch up

November 07, 2016, 04:39:15 AM

Well, I haven't been around much since probably 2008. Back then, this forum was bustling with new members and a majority of the anchor members were still around. I do recall that a lot of the senior members were getting frustrated with the younger demographic coming into the forums and essentially spamming, but that was just how it was.

So, in that 8 or so years, a lot has happened.

In probably 2009, I had some things happen that made me step back and look at my life. I was, living with my parents, and chained down with car projects. All of my money was going into my cars. I ended up parting out my 5.0 project car, gave away my TC, had a Shelby Charger that I sold, but I still had the Trans Am. Somewhere in 2010, I moved out of my parents house and into my apartment. I lived there for a total of 6 years.

While I lived there, I got a new job as a mechanic for UPS, which ended up being a significant pay raise. I was hired as an apprentice (primarily for cost savings on their part) which had a four year progression to journeymen. I got my CDL, met all of the requirements, and got promoted to journeymen earlier this year.

In the mean time, I picked up another Shelby Charger with the idea to have a fun daily driver while I let my Trans Am sit. It ended up becoming another project. I had tons of parts and broke tons of . I ended up flip/flopping which car was used as a daily depending on which broke. Eventually, the Trans Am broke, and the Shelby Charger broke more. At this point, my co-worker bought the Charger, and I bought my Scion FRS.

As of September of this year, I bought my first house.

As to what brought me back here: I've been contemplating another fox bird. I have a few years until I pull the trigger, but I'm trying to rebuild my knowledge and get back into the community. I have to get my Trans Am road worthy again, fix my fathers Mark 8 as he is giving it to me needing a lot of work, and probably get my Scion paid off before I make any moves.

So those are the big things that have gone on in the past 8ish years. What have I missed?

So lets catch up

Reply #1 – November 07, 2016, 08:42:18 AM

well,, you have a ton of threads to catch up on

I did notice you not being around and wondered then saw your postings here lately.

the white coug has sat for 10 years and now is fully chassis restored. i have a thread ongoing about it. you should check out our front core support replacement / mod we did, i am really proud of how it turned out and how we ended up improving its function in life. it will also have a folding rear seat mod & fuel pump access hatch in the trunk. we also did up subframe connectors in a different way than others. We went through every path water takes in the car and improved on area where water will puddel and corrected it. Right now the white coug has a body harness from the fuse box area sticking out about 18'' because i cut it off. the car was CFI 87 year with the basic digi speedo cluster, i am graftng in an 87year 5.0L harness which came from a full digi "star wars" cluster car. today i will be powering up the car using a power pack to verify all ckts function prior to moving forward with interior and engine stuff. we are going 331 mass air with this build. This one is going to my youngest son Chance.

prior to this i got my oldest son an 88bird and he moved out and is doing really great on his own, i am so proud! We did a 5lug swap for him recently which turned out great! we bought this car off a member called Privateer, Scott Branner who's a chopper instructor.

I got a ghia for the wife which she loves, its our next project to paint and go through to restore.

somethings just not right with your red bird missing in your sig though!
I betting you will find a nice bird soon.

if not, the walking dead episode had a silver 87/88 bird on the oct 30th .

I started my own company doing design engineering for mech , construction and electrical. I can tell you it is very hard work getting and keeping new work coming in but........ this past few months since june 6th has been the best summer i can ever recall in decades~!. I have time to do what i want when i want and how i want. I am here for my wife and in my own house for more consistent time in a row than i have ever since we were married 25ys ago. last sept i paid off the house which was my birthday prize to myself, costed me 15k but it was worth it. we bought this place in 97 and now in order to keep it i just gotta keep the taxes up to speed.

one good thing about me , i have calmed wayyyyyyyyyy down. something i have been hard pressed to do with my work schedule that fueled 90% of it. To be honest, i dont think i have posted or said anything political in these 8yrs youve been gone !

So lets catch up

Reply #2 – November 07, 2016, 02:18:59 PM

Great to see you hanging around here again, Shawn. It's been quiet without you.

So lets catch up

Reply #3 – November 07, 2016, 04:11:17 PM

jcassity: I've been working on catching up on some of the important threads. It blows my mind when I do a search, and find something I posted in only to see the date being 2006 and to remember posting.

I remember discussing with some other members how you all of a sudden had a personality shift. I've known you for years, and then randomly, your posts started looking like jumbled thoughts that never seemed to tie together. It looks like your thoughts have cleared and your head is back on track with your new company and schedule. Having time with the wife and kids certainly help too. I work nights and my girlfriend works normal human hours, so time together comes at a premium.

I'm glad to see that things have been going well. I vaguely remember you doing a ton of work to your house. I seem to remember pictures with a ton of wood paneling for some reason.

Eric: I don't think I'm the only thing keeping this place quiet. I do want to try to drum up some more activity. So how are all three of those Cougars doing?

So lets catch up

Reply #4 – November 07, 2016, 05:29:52 PM

all the cougs doing well.
I still type in jumbled thoughts,, or bullet points when i attempting tech talk.

i have a decent parts d when you land a bird again.

So lets catch up

Reply #5 – November 07, 2016, 05:57:20 PM

I haven't been posting much here lately either, though I do still regularly check in.

I sold my white '88 T-Bird back in 2010 because I became bored with it - it was never really the car I wanted, I'd settled for it (I really wanted a 4-eye Bird or 87-88 Cat) and I could never make myself happy with it, so it went away. I've been casually looking for a decent 4-eye Bird, but hope of ever finding a good one for a good price at a good distance is fading.

So I bought myself another 5.0 Ford, a 2015 Mustang GT. It cost a lot more than a Fox T-Bird, but man, what a car! 30-ish years of automotive evolution have definitely made a difference. Needless to say this car keeps me entertained. I will eventually get stupid with it and start modding, but right now I'm perfectly content with stock. Hell, I've only put 14,000 km on it (not quite 10,000 miles) in two summers.

On the personal front, I sold my house in the country and bought one in the suburban town that I grew up in. I loved the country place but the 70 mile commute over really py back roads was killing me. I have gone through a few jobs: I left the job at the used car place because there were rumours the owner was planning on selling the place. One Friday eveing my service manager called me and said he'd confirmed the rumour and that I should get my tools out of there ASAP. The following morning I went there with my truck and trailer and picked up my tool box. Two days later, on Monday morning, the signs on the building were taken down and replaced and a guy well known for being a hack was the new owner. Crisis averted.

I moved the tool box to a Honda dealership, where I worked and made a hell of a lot of money flat rating Hondas. I was happy there - the cars were easy to work on and the pay was good, but the owners of the place ceded control to a general manager who went to war with the service department - cutting flat rate times, expecting us to work weekends, etc. Things steadily deteriorated until I finally lost it at the general manager after I replaced an engine in a Civic that one of his drinking buddies had left the oil drain plug loose in, and he went into the computer system and changed my tech notes so he could put the engine through warranty. I ended up rage quitting, and went to a small independent shop working on European cars, where I'm still at. It's a bit less money but a lot less stress, plus it's only 4 miles from home (which explains the low mileage on the Mustang).

I was gifted a piece of property from a friend of the family, and this has become a big part of the Big Plan. Some of you saw it on Facebook: I got engaged to my partner of 17 years. We will be getting married in July 2017. It was a long time coming. We are planning on building a year-round cottage on the property. We had hoped to start construction this year but my partner was accepted into nursing school starting next September so we pushed the construction back a bit. Our plan is to build the cottage as cheaply as possible and to borrow no money to do it. I've been gathering materials: windows, wood, etc, and have been working the property to get everything ready. It will be 20X30, built on a concrete slab, with a barn style roof to give us an upstairs. I plan on doing all the work myself, everything from forming and pouring the slab to building the trusses. I'm hoping to have it roof tight by the end of next summer. The grand plan is to have this building finished and use it as a cottage for a decade or so, then sell the house I'm living in now, which will be paid off and hopefully worth a half million or so. We will then retire to the cottage and live the simple country life, debt free.

Like I said, I don't own a FoxBirdCat anymore, but I do still come around and check out the forums. Good to see some old names coming back...

So lets catch up

Reply #6 – November 07, 2016, 07:51:36 PM

Quote from: Tbird232ci;457714

Eric: I don't think I'm the only thing keeping this place quiet. I do want to try to drum up some more activity. So how are all three of those Cougars doing?

We're at the bottom of the bell curve, as far as interest in these cars, so it's really no shock that there's been little activity here in the last few years. You've missed a little but not so much drama. That's for Facebook.

The cars and the woman are all doing fine, thanks! Everything is steady as they go.

So lets catch up

Reply #7 – November 07, 2016, 07:58:16 PM

Sometimes I miss tom renzo.

So lets catch up

Reply #8 – November 07, 2016, 08:00:52 PM

Quote from: Haystack;457723

Sometimes I miss tom renzo.

That makes one of us, he was a shiznit from word go...

So lets catch up

Reply #9 – November 07, 2016, 08:37:50 PM

Quote from: Haystack;457723

Sometimes I miss tom renzo.

you went there LOL

So lets catch up

Reply #10 – November 07, 2016, 10:05:35 PM

Welcome back!

So lets catch up

Reply #11 – November 08, 2016, 05:17:59 AM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;457720

I haven't been posting much here lately either, though I do still regularly check in.

I sold my white '88 T-Bird back in 2010 because I became bored with it - it was never really the car I wanted, I'd settled for it (I really wanted a 4-eye Bird or 87-88 Cat) and I could never make myself happy with it, so it went away. I've been casually looking for a decent 4-eye Bird, but hope of ever finding a good one for a good price at a good distance is fading.

So I bought myself another 5.0 Ford, a 2015 Mustang GT. It cost a lot more than a Fox T-Bird, but man, what a car! 30-ish years of automotive evolution have definitely made a difference. Needless to say this car keeps me entertained. I will eventually get stupid with it and start modding, but right now I'm perfectly content with stock. Hell, I've only put 14,000 km on it (not quite 10,000 miles) in two summers.

On the personal front, I sold my house in the country and bought one in the suburban town that I grew up in. I loved the country place but the 70 mile commute over really py back roads was killing me. I have gone through a few jobs: I left the job at the used car place because there were rumours the owner was planning on selling the place. One Friday eveing my service manager called me and said he'd confirmed the rumour and that I should get my tools out of there ASAP. The following morning I went there with my truck and trailer and picked up my tool box. Two days later, on Monday morning, the signs on the building were taken down and replaced and a guy well known for being a hack was the new owner. Crisis averted.

I moved the tool box to a Honda dealership, where I worked and made a hell of a lot of money flat rating Hondas. I was happy there - the cars were easy to work on and the pay was good, but the owners of the place ceded control to a general manager who went to war with the service department - cutting flat rate times, expecting us to work weekends, etc. Things steadily deteriorated until I finally lost it at the general manager after I replaced an engine in a Civic that one of his drinking buddies had left the oil drain plug loose in, and he went into the computer system and changed my tech notes so he could put the engine through warranty. I ended up rage quitting, and went to a small independent shop working on European cars, where I'm still at. It's a bit less money but a lot less stress, plus it's only 4 miles from home (which explains the low mileage on the Mustang).

I was gifted a piece of property from a friend of the family, and this has become a big part of the Big Plan. Some of you saw it on Facebook: I got engaged to my partner of 17 years. We will be getting married in July 2017. It was a long time coming. We are planning on building a year-round cottage on the property. We had hoped to start construction this year but my partner was accepted into nursing school starting next September so we pushed the construction back a bit. Our plan is to build the cottage as cheaply as possible and to borrow no money to do it. I've been gathering materials: windows, wood, etc, and have been working the property to get everything ready. It will be 20X30, built on a concrete slab, with a barn style roof to give us an upstairs. I plan on doing all the work myself, everything from forming and pouring the slab to building the trusses. I'm hoping to have it roof tight by the end of next summer. The grand plan is to have this building finished and use it as a cottage for a decade or so, then sell the house I'm living in now, which will be paid off and hopefully worth a half million or so. We will then retire to the cottage and live the simple country life, debt free.

Like I said, I don't own a FoxBirdCat anymore, but I do still come around and check out the forums. Good to see some old names coming back...

Sounds like you've come a long way man. Last I remember, you had gotten yourself back into shape, alleviated some back issues and started wrenching again. That in itself was a big step.

One things I've learned as I've gotten older, is that the money doesn't always matter. Working and living in an environment that is healthy for you is worth more than any dollar amount. The money can relieve some stress, but sometimes it's not worth the stress. I'm glad to see you're in a shop that is low stress. I've been around long enough to see that most shops where you make big money typically brings a ton of BS with it.

Congrats on the engagement. I've known you a long time, but I don't really recall you saying much about having anybody in your life. You're good at the smoke and mirrors. The cottage also sounds awesome. I would love to do something similar, but the way the east coast is, there won't be much land to build anything on by the time I can retire. So if you sell your house for half a million, will that be about 7 dollars USD?

So lets catch up

Reply #12 – November 08, 2016, 05:18:54 AM

Quote from: Haystack;457723

Sometimes I miss tom renzo.

You can find him on other forums. He was on a F-body forum I'm on. I just wish I could remember which one.

So lets catch up

Reply #13 – November 08, 2016, 03:56:17 PM

You certainly have time, as stated no indicators of these cars skyrocketing in value anytime soon LOL.

I'd like to know why I come across so many more modified Cougars than TBirds. I've *seen* three black 88 XR7's in the Northeast we'll say in the last 3-4 years. Two of which I bought.
There is a black GT40'd T5'd 4-eye Tbird on the southern NY state craigslist. I was impressed by that. I wonder what the landscape will look like on the showfields in 10-20 years.

So lets catch up

Reply #14 – November 08, 2016, 05:58:15 PM

Quote from: ZondaC12;457736

I wonder what the landscape will look like on the showfields in 10-20 years.

For me probably dark, likely be looking at dirt side of turf...