$2019 Gastropods - come join us.

Do we need to have a "Gastropods Find" thread, to post up Craigslist/Copart/IAAI finds... you know, for motivation/inspiration?

In reply to sleepyhead :

You could start one...

(Almost any Challenge legal car could be a Gpod)

SVreX said:

In reply to Cooter :

I think people sweat this too much sometimes. 

No one is gonna question your numbers if they make sense. 

If your purchase price was a once-in-a-lifetime deal, they might. You’ll need a couple receipts, or FMV documentation. 

 

I doubt I will find another one for sale under $2k in my lifetime, seeing as it wasn't sold here new. 

And I talked him down quite a bit from his asking price. 

The only comps I can find were when the PO was selling it last year for $6700

Unless you build a top finishing drag car the likelyhood of someone actually reviewing your budget is minimal. 

Current list of fastest things semi commonly available around $2000 C4 corvette, z28 camaro/firebird lt1, g35, mustang GT, any others? 

I would be inclined to believe that, if not for the post-Challenge wailing and knashing of teeth that went on in the Concours thread from mid pack Challengers. 

I dislike drama. I especially abhor being in the middle of it, if I can help it. I had a difficult time believing the asking price for the Alto Works, but that didn't prevent me from lowballing him once we were face to face. I didn't buy this Kei car for the Challenge, but it would fit the class nicely, IMO. And to put it together under $2k will be a Challenge in itself. I can't afford to leave anything on the table.  

In reply to Cooter :

The concourse complaining is generally from people who don’t read the rules or present well. They hear concourse and think show car. 

Andy Neuman said:

In reply to Cooter :

The concourse complaining is generally from people who don’t read the rules or present well. They hear concourse and think show car. 

And they do it every year.  Don’t sweat it, the event is laid back.  Post challenge grievance threads are usually populated by an upset challenger that didn’t grasp the concept - it’s damn hard to do so without attending and experiencing it - and a bunch of never went never will go armchair builders.  

I’d like to see you make it Cooter,  I haven’t seen you for a few years and our visit was too abbreviated and snowy/cold

I read the whole thread. 

It was incredibly silly. Some people wanted to place higher because they were judged. Others wanted to place higher because they "took the twelve"  

They all felt wronged. And no one could convince them otherwise. 

The big takeaway is don’t take it too seriously or you’re going to make yourself sick.  I did this in 2016.  I made myself physically ill.  I was one of those that felt wronged after the judging, until i got a hold of myself and realized how the game is played, and that I wasn’t playing by the same rules they were judging me on.  I now know what I’m supposed to do, i just need to better myself at doing that.  

Don’t let that silly thread drive you away.  I’m willing to help anyone who asks (within my ability) to understand the concours.  I have a solid grasp of it now and I present better every year.  My goal last year was do better but most of all have fun, and i finished higher than I ever have both because i made my car better but also I made myself better. 

I have certain challenge goals for myself, none is an overall win.  If i do that one year I do it, if not big deal.  Mine are:

-Have Fun

-Magazine Cover Car

-Drag top 3(i’ve come in 4th 2 times)

-Have more fun

-Hang out with my friends

-Stop buying crap from Jeremy

-Eat good food

-Build what I want to build

I can see myself playing in this group in a couple years, I’ve been busting butt on hardcore top contending challenge builds for 4 years and the start from a blank slate thrashing is getting old.  

I have no illusions of podium. Or even placing highly. 

I'm mostly looking for a goal that I can reach for with my 16 year old daughter. And a chance to meet some of the car-nutty folks who I have met and e-met here. 

But like I said, it will be a challenge just to get a JDM only vehicle with a bad rod bearing up and running for $2k, all in.  I think it can be done, but I don't want to cause drama if I place higher than another mid-pack or lower Challenger just because they think my car should have cost more. 

We all saw the Craigslist ad 

nobody questioned my $600 Z car that came with fiberglass fenders, roll bar, and turbocharged v8.  

Part of the challenge is being right place/right time to get that insane deal

In reply to Cooter :

If you can get that thing running under budget you'll be "the Belle of the Ball" if you make it to the Challenge. You wouldn't be the first Challenger to show up with a very well bought car. Ignore the whiny threads, they happen every year. Show up and bring beer.

In reply to Cooter :

I haven’t been to the Challenge.  But what I expect is exactly what you described- a chance to hang out with like minded car goofs and have fun with the cars we bring down.  I’ll watch others try to be at the pointy end of the finishers, but honestly that’s not something I’m cut out for.

If you win something with your car, it would be because you deserved it.  And I would applaud that.

So I’m thinking Gastropods = no drama.

Andy Neuman said:

Unless you build a top finishing drag car the likelyhood of someone actually reviewing your budget is minimal. 

 

Current list of fastest things semi commonly available around $2000 C4 corvette, z28 camaro/firebird lt1, g35, mustang GT, any others? 

How could you forget the Q45 plus nitrous?

Oh man I'm so in. This makes the challenge a lot easier for me. 

I always felt if you didn't feel that you were judged fairly in concourse voting that you didn't leave a high enough quality bottle of beverage in the vehicle for the judges to find. 

In reply to captdownshift :

We offered bourbon this year and were turned down . We did get one point for serving a Dr. Pepper.

Cooter said:

I read the whole thread. 

 

It was incredibly silly. Some people wanted to place higher because they were judged. Others wanted to place higher because they "took the twelve"  

They all felt wronged. And no one could convince them otherwise. 

Convincing them otherwise was never the goal. 

Giving YOU the info you need to understand how to approach it appropriately was my goal. 

Ignore the drama. 

In reply to SVreX (well, and everyone else, but it seemed like too much work to reply to every name during my lunch break):

Thank you all. My mind has been put at ease about all of this.  No guarantees that I will be able to make it, but I am truly encouraged by this. I truly would like a chance to meet (or re-meet) you all.  For the record, I offered $950, and he countered at $1100. I was too embarrassed to try to whittle him down any further after he knocked $500 off his price. 

Now to see how cheap I can get bearings, mic the crank to see if I can save it, and resize 3 rods. (He didn't number the rod caps when he took them off, but the odds are almost in my favor there)

If that doesn't pan out, maybe I'll throw together a turbo K instead. 

In reply to Cooter :

Can you match the wear pattern on the bearing halves to put the right rods and caps together, or did he pull the bearings from the caps?

brb...

In reply to Cooter :

Just build something and come do the challenge with an open mind. You will have a blast participating. No one is going to look down on you regardless of what you build. You will be welcomed with open arms and it will be a very worthwhile experience. Building a gastropod car the first year of entering will relieve a lot of the crazy pressure people put on themselves.

That goes for you, too Paranoid Android!

In reply to DeadSkunk :

All bearings were pulled .

So... how does the Concurs work? It is like LeMons judging, where bribes are expected and encouraged, but the build quality matters too?

I started a gastropod dump thread in the challenge classifieds, there's a CAM candidate or two in it as well.  Everything posted in the thread is below budget and if not running, would be fixable for well below budget.