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I strive to raise the act of driving junk to a new art form.I pray that people will continue to buy new cars to avoid maintenence woes (enforcing a warranty claim is a miserable a way to spend a day) and trade "em in with only 50 thousand miles on 'em so I can have a ride,buy only liability insurance, not worry about scratches and use the roof rack to haul lumber.

bloke wrote:
...so what can one obtain these days, in the way of "wheels" - keeping the budget within $175K?

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Get a Bentley Continental GT.

It has four seats!

And AWD for those gigs in the snow!

It can only go 198mph, and I bet the gas mileage is spectacular.

The dealer near me has about 3 on the lot.

You could get a very nice USED Ferrari Testarosa for a little under $160,000.










Ralph

This diesel pusher RV can be had for $178,000


__________________________________________
Joe Baker, who would rather have the gasoline puller version for a third as much.

bloke wrote:So, I just received some great spam...

"$175,000 mortgage for less than $860/mo"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
..so what can one obtain these days, in the way of "wheels" - keeping the budget within $175K?

According to John Deere you can get a nice model 8320 for $169,800 with its Command center option package (shipping and dealer prep extra). It will let you look down on those Hummers and comes with GPS package and ground track laser too


Not much for passenger room but built to handle those potholes in the streets better than a Bentley

I could go for one of these...

Ah... The good old days.

Joe Baker wrote:This diesel pusher RV can be had for $178,000


__________________________________________
Joe Baker, who would rather have the gasoline puller version for a third as much.

You can get one like this for a lot less even than that.



And if you want to pay even less, you can get one like mine, and if you bought the one at top, this is all you'd ever see of mine:



I won't show you the rest of mine. Let's just say that the back end, which I just grafted onto the rest last year, has better paint.

But it still has that hot-rod Olds 455 in it, and it's the ultimate puller, being front-wheel-drive.

Unlike any of the above (except for Joe's Caravan, of course), a GMC is a debt-free way to own a motorhome. You just have to be a little...handy.

Rick "who mid-life hot-rod sleeps four" Denney

Rick Denney wrote: And if you want to pay even less, you can get one like mine, and if you bought the one at top, this is all you'd ever see of mine:

I won't show you the rest of mine. Let's just say that the back end, which I just grafted onto the rest last year, has better paint.

Looking through the pics @ gmcmhphotos of the rearend surgery. How long did that take?

What's one like yours run?

I found a '73 for $15k...
http://usedmotorhome.com/Public_Details ... as&id=7961

ThomasDodd wrote:Looking through the pics @ gmcmhphotos of the rearend surgery. How long did that take?

What's one like yours run?

I found a '73 for $15k...
http://usedmotorhome.com/Public_Details ... as&id=7961

If you are really interested, contact me offline. I know of several places to look that each list a number of coaches for sale.

The rear-end project took me a little over a week for the big work, working 12-hour days. I took a month off from work last year, and this was one of the projects I took on. I then spent another week doing a bunch of little stuff associated with it. I am still chasing body leaks, though, and won't do the interior carpentry until those are all repaired.

Regarding what these really cost, I've developed a theory based on a lot of successful GMC ownerships of people I know. A good GMC coach costs $25-30K. You can buy them in "running" condition for as little as $5000, but you'll end up spending the rest making it reliable and decent-looking. I'm into mine for about $14K at the moment. I've redone the house electrical system, replaced the generator, replaced the fuel tanks, done a chunk of engine work (headers, new carb, new distributor, many new instruments), and replaced a lot of the air suspension (new bags, new shocks, new compressor, many new lines, etc.). The brakes and front ball joints had already been replaced. I've had to redo the plumbing drains (which involved dropping the black tank--a fun project), and now I'm redoing the leaky refrigerator vents.

By the time I've had it painted, replaced the wheels with Alcoas (the original 16.5" tires aren't as available as they used to be), finished the interior, rebuilt the engine and transmission, and redone the rear suspension pivots, I'll be into it for right around $30K.

That's about half the price of a chip-board box on a van chassis that will be worthless when it's half as old as a GMC. At least half the GMC production run of 13,000 is still in use.

You can also buy them completely rebuilt with all new stuff from engine to macerator, in like-new condition complete with a warranty. They run in the $65K range in that sort of condition, which is competitive with new motorhomes that don't drive or ride nearly as well and that has a much cheaper interior.

You are, of course, a perfect candidate for GMC ownership. One of the popular mods is to replace the Olds 455 with a Caddy 500 from one of the front-drive Eldos that used the same transmission. Right up your alley!

Rick "getting ready for a short trip next week, in fact" Denney

We've got a couple of guys out here in Oregon that call themselves the Blastolene. Here's one of their creations:



1800 cubes, 1000 hp, 1500 ft-lbs of torque. Takes 17 gallons of oil and gets about 2 mpg. Top speed is about 120 mph, but you could pull a house with foundation attached. Just the thing to haul a tuba around in. Jay Leno bought it, but maybe they could throw something together for you.

http://www.blastolene.com/index.htm

you know what I was thinking? Instead of professionals "on the hunt" for a gig living in an apartment and paying rent or a house and house payments, why not just buy one of these camper things and park in wal mart parking lots all the time..... it would provide a practice space, sleeping area, and transportation all in one. I am sure that if one needs such things as waste disposal, there are enough junky KOA campgrounds around the us to appease your desires in that respect.

So that crucial year (or more) when a would be pro is jetting all around the country to auditions could be spent in relative comfort in one of these for probably much less than the cost of rent and a bunch of plane tickets.

I am not saying that it would be preferrable however........

Hey... I hear that now, even "regular" (don't need no bran) folks can get the GM Employee Discount on...

Matthew Gilchrest wrote:

bloke wrote:
...so what can one obtain these days, in the way of "wheels" - keeping the budget within $175K?

[/img]

Get a Bentley Continental GT.

It has four seats!

And AWD for those gigs in the snow!

It can only go 198mph, and I bet the gas mileage is spectacular.

The dealer near me has about 3 on the lot.

Can someone tell me why cars of this "type" always have the same, uh, general look about them....that reminds me of anatomical things I don't have?
MA

MaryAnn wrote:Can someone tell me why cars of this "type" always have the same, uh, general look about them....that reminds me of anatomical things I don't have?
MA

That's so that women can have "Bentley Driver Envy"

adam0408 wrote:... why not just buy one of these camper things and park in wal mart parking lots all the time ... I am sure that if one needs such things as waste disposal, there are enough junky KOA campgrounds around the us to appease your desires in that respect.

You don't need a KOA, just a bridge over the Chicago River. (And a driver willing to take the fall for you.)