New guy from Alabama

[Lon]

Yet another new guy. I'm on the other Astro site with the same user name. I dont have my van yet but hopefully I'll have it soon. It is a freebie 95 cargo, the motor trans and rear end are shot. I'm lookng to buy a running but wrecked cargo for the drivetrain or put a V-8 in my van. I repair copiers for a living so what ever van I end up with will do double duty for hauling copier stuff and as my family van and parts chaser for my other projects. My other trucks can be seen at my photobucket site. I have no other hobbies just old trucks and cars.

photbucket site
http://s102.photobucket.com/albums/m103/motorhead_77/

[SafariRob]

I have no other hobbies just old trucks and cars.

Lon, are there any other hobbies?
Sorry, couldn't resist, lol.
Welcome aboard and I look forward to reading about your Astro project.

[crash]

welcome Lon..

Love your garage .. i need one like that

i also really like that sierra you've got! can't wait to see what you have planned for the van

Rob

[Lon]

Thanks guys. My wife seems to think I need another obession. The car magazines and toys are taking over the house.

Crash the garage is 960 sqare feet and my house is 990 sqare feet. Everybody needs a garage almost the size of thier house.

My plans for the van are to drive the wheels off of it. I love GM trucks and vans because of the parts interchangability. If I keep the body rust free and not wreck it I can continue to drive it forever. Keeping one (in my case 5) more trucks out of the junk yard. I have to get the seat mounts from a passenger van for the middle seat and some seat belt anchor points. I also plan on adding a window behind the drivers door. The van looks rough the paint is coming off and it has my employer's signage on it. But it is straight mine for hauling it off.

[SafariRob]

"Crash the garage is 960 sqare feet and my house is 990 sqare feet. Everybody needs a garage almost the size of thier house. "

I think that's close to the right ratio--it would be better of course if the garage was the larger of the two, though.

I think if I had it all to do over again, I'd have a huge pole barn garage with an attached apartment. Naturally the garage would be heated, so I could pratically live in it. Which is what I'd probably end up doing.
Somehow, I don't think my wife would go along with my idea of heaven.

[Lon]

I live next door to a guy who rebuilds street sweepers, if you have seen my photobucket page you'll see some street sweepers in the back ground. He has a good sized modular home and a permanent shop behind that. My folks are always telling me that only rednecks build shops the size of their house. At least my house is site built on a slab. And being called redneck is my biggest pet peeve about living in Alabama. Where else could I build a shop the size of my house and build anything with wheels and have it registered and liscenced for for street use, all I have to have is proof of insurance and a VIN number.

I may add on to my shop. I want to add two parking stalls in front and leave the roll up door in place. That way I can park my F-100 and Sierra inside and not have grinder dust and sparks landing on them.

[BLAZER]

Welcome and nice collection of trucks there, well ,except for that blue oval thingy j/k I have had two 95 vehicles and I recommend you find a drivetrain from about the same year unless you decide for a V8 swap. The 95 was a crossover year so it's kind of in a league of it's own on some aspects. I got lucky and found a V8 out of a 95 truck os I may have an easy swap since the same years. My wife just doesn't get teh big garage thing...maybe it's cause I would have even more projects!

[Lon]

Trust me my wife doesnt really like the big garage thing either. She is a landscape designer and would rather have the space to put in a plant sanctuary. I have told that before anything gets built onto the garage she gets a sunporch where our patio is now. My wife let me build the garage because I got the money for it from an insurance settlement. She figures that getting in a wreck with a school bus and breaking everything from the waste down and spending 9 months in recovery I deserve a little gift to my self. She also cant stand that she drives a custom truck and that I'm always hounding her to keep it clean. The maroon S-10 is hers and righ now it is our only means of reliable transportation. So I'm very motivated to getting a van very soon. Between my job where I drive 150 to 200 miles a day and dropping her and my daughter off we leave at 7 in the morning and we get back by 9 that night.

[crash]

Crash the garage is 960 sqare feet and my house is 990 sqare feet. Everybody needs a garage almost the size of thier house

amen!

my fiance and i have been looking at places each time we find one with the garage as large or larger than the house, I say perfect!, she says ill never see you except for meals and to get your laundry done. so what's the problem? LOL

If I keep the body rust free

man.. you should have NO problem with that down there!! my next vehicle no matter what it is will be coming from Alabama, Georgia, Texas or Florida. I'm sick of seeing more rust on the undercarrage of brand spanking new 2006/07 vehicle sitting at a dealership up here than when you guys from down south post pictures showing something from the underside on 10 - 15yr old ones

[peter]

Ditto on that, Crash. Downright gut-wrenching!
Welcome, Lon. Dunno that this site needed yet another Alabamian, but what the hey....LOLOLOLOL

[Lon]

We get rusty cars here Alabama also. I replaced the floor pans in a buddy's Nova, and the rust went up into the door jambs. I looked at a Nash Metropolitin yesterday that Fred Flintstone could drive. And the dash board was pitted from sitting with no glass in it.

Thanks for the welcome Peter, I read your entire posting on putting a big block in a Safari. You are near heroe status for that one. Steve Magnante (former Hot Rod tech editor) put a Caddy engine in a Chevette so he is ahead of you.

There is nothing wrong with us Alabamians. Its the ones you got to pipe sun light to that you got to worry about.

[peter]

There is nothing wrong with us Alabamians. Its the ones you got to pipe sun light to that you got to worry about.[/quote]


LOLOLOLOL. 1-0 for Lon

[astrogurl]

Welcome! Glad to have you on board!