ironic turns in life

[larrybuck]

Have been excited having a young man do an diesel swap on my VW Quantum wagon. Bought as a dead gas 5cyl. w stick. for cheap. Stored for 4 yrs.

Got in gear, bought an '82 Audi 4000 diesel sedan w stick. Orig. Audi diesel had been replaced w 1,6 '81 diesel from rabbit. Young man had to do many custom things like radiator mounts, custom motor mounts. Running, driving nice, but he's scratching his head to complete correct diesel wiring into a gas car.
So I had him divert to welding shut the leaky sunroof, removing factory roof cargo rails......then totally by accident I find a factory VW Quantum wagon diesel stick clean, unrusty, ready to drive for $1,300. Of course I bought it 3 days before leaving on a cross country trip in my '87 CRX. This CRX has been my motor home for several past trips, so I know I could trust it, as I couldn't a 3 day old purchase though the sleeping room would have been much more comfortable.
Still haven't got to even a 200 mile mileage check w either of the other 2 HF "87 CRX's I have. No good for the trip, cause hot summertime with black interiors w no air is a no go for me. So my trusty white on blue DX saw me through as per usual w no issues. Gone 18 days from the Portland/Vancouver area to Wisconsin, then on to Watkins Glen NY, to watch my first and (only) to se #24 Jeff Gordon race. Then it was off to Boise to visit a lady friend ( who at 1st glance at the CRX said where is the rest of your car?, and likened it to an AMC Gremlin!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ouch!), then on through Yosemite to get to the historic races at Laguna Seca, (if you ever get the chance...go awesome!!!!) then enjoyed highway 1, and 101 going home. My DX never got below 50mpg although I was carrying a window type airconditioner, a folding rack with a big piece of plywood to be used as a table supporting the rear of the conditioner out the driver's window. until I hit very strong headwinds westbound in Wyo. w rain. Dipped to 44mpg during spirited driving on highway 1. 2 entries were just shy of 59 mpg.
Had a great time, now how to figure out where to park all these cars...definitely not the worst problem to have considering serious things like it seems all of eastern WA. is trying to burn in forest fires!!!

PS more ironics: this 2nd Quantum has no roof rack or sunroof to have issues, just all ready to go!http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/gr...smiley-003.gif

[larrybuck]

PPS.... at Laguna , in the pits..got to walk right up to 2 different of the original Ferrari GTO"s of which only 36 were ever made. 1 in classic red, the other white!

I had heard that some 10-15 years ago that the drummer for Pink Floyd bought one of these ('62-64) probably paid a measly 6 or 700,000. then. One of the 36 recently sold for 36-38 million!!!!!!!!!! Many, many other special cars there... older F1 cars with the most famous drivers names ever on them from decades past, also saw an Cisitalia 202, of which about 147 were hand built between '47, and '52. Mid August every year!!! GO!!!!

[freebeard]

So did I get this correctly: Five vehicles, all running, with less than 200 miles on four of them?

At least it's easier to shuffle them when they're runners.

[larrybuck]

Sorry to not be clear enough. I haven't taken either HF a respectable distance to gauge how superior the highway mpg might be over the DX. I was using 200 miles as an example as a minimum figure to find some real answers, and just haven't got to it mainly because of how warm it has been. Sorry for any confusion!

[freebeard]

No worries. My life has bee a struggle to get and keep a 2nd vehicle running at any one time. I was up to seven, now I'm down to two. The second one now is a rolling chassis that needs everything.

The titles, licenses and insurance on five would overwhelm me.

[larrybuck]

At this time I have minimum insurance at a max of 3 vehicles. If I want to rotate driving, I just call up Farmer's, a quick free changeover.

[Xist]

I have had so many car issues that used to want a back-up (computers, too!), although I have had a second car for too long.

The grass is greener, I guess...

[user removed]

LOL, since I joined in 2010 there are 22 vehicles in my garage and only 1 left.

regards
mech