Hobbies that fit with cars?

You say you have tools, correct?

Build an airplane. Even if you never intend to be a pilot or fly. There are full on kits or scratch build plans. Wood, metal, composites. It can be done, cheap, if you can scrounge.

I build ~Model Steam Engines~.

And race a ~Vintage Sprite~

If those don't suit you, build an "old time" motor bike (below) ~More Info~

1. Build a giant HO slot car setup in the garage and invite buddies and neighborhood kids over.

2. Go-karts. Build em yourself. Could be a fun way to fabricate something. Bonus points if you body the thing, think early front-engine F1/Indy car.

3. Build a plane. Seriously. Ultra-light kit plane will take you years to build, you'll learn awesome new skills, then you can learn to fly in the thing! They're a hoot.

This thread is useless without pictures of Maine coons on the couch !!!

I've rebuilt/restored a few vintage dirt bikes. They're simple, cheap and fun.

My other other hobby is electric rc planes. The electric stuff has advanced leaps and bounds in the past few years. Here's a link to a video I shot from one of my planes. The electric motors don't have the vibration issues that the nitro powered planes had.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORIOtQkjY4A

Women and bondage apparatus come to mind. I mean, if you are bored with racing cars, then women and explosives are all that's left.

Hookers and Blow.
That should help you spend down some spare cash.

the answer is:

Electric motorcycle.....

Challenging, fast , educational , and highly entertaining...

Sail boats are very close to motorsports, many ex racers retire to sailing, they are challenging, unlimited scope as to size, distance, direction and destination.

There is nothing like running downwind, with dolphins running alongside you, racing 50 or so other like minded crews, with a beer in hand......oh yeah racing and beer

wayslow wrote: My other other hobby is electric rc planes. The electric stuff has advanced leaps and bounds in the past few years. Here's a link to a video I shot from one of my planes. The electric motors don't have the vibration issues that the nitro powered planes had. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORIOtQkjY4A

This site has everything and more:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php

Remember building 1/72 scale plastic airplanes as a kid? They now have R/C that size. And reasonably priced, to boot. A company called Parkzone has top notch planes and helicopters from scale to indoor living room setups, ready to fly for about $120.00 or less. Do eeet!

I've been browsing sites for building cars to get better mileage and ones to build electric vehicles lately. I haven't gotten bored with regular cars yet, but I could see a diesel or electric powered drop tank in my future. Just an idea for when I, too have too much time and money.

aeronca65t wrote: If those don't suit you, build an "old time" motor bike (below) ~More Info~

Holy tar that is exactly what I want to do. I will dig up all the info I can and post anything that looks interesting.

Also attack of the Maine Coons.

The new one as a kitten.

As a adult I need to upload a few.

Slight threadjack-

So my wife like to bring home random animals. We at one point adopted this cat.... started out as a little scrawny bugger, and now weighs in anywhere from 25-30lbs. He's a medium hair, tuxedo furs. Dumber than a box of rocks, or lack of a better way to put it, a LOT like a dog. Hops in the shower occasionally, is deathly afraid of our ferrets (those were my idea) and begs for food constantly. Can hear me open the drawer the can opener is in, let alone retrieve said can opener. Could I possibly have a (part) Maine Coon on my hands? We've been trying to figure out what the hell he is for about the last 5 years, because there is NO WAY he's any sort of random summuda cat.

EDIT- if you're the artistic type, try paint work? I've been dabbling in vintage pinstriping as of late. Nothing serious, mostly working on my lines, and keeping a steady hand. Nothing pic worthy, for sure. BUT- it's automotive related, very cool (like vintage bikes) and a dying art. Very calming too, as it takes a lot of focus to lay a clean line. Cheap paint supplies can be had all over the internet.... not sure of non-sponsor rules, so I'll leave my preferred supplier out of it.

Tractors are fun, but they take up a lot of space, and finding parts can be difficult.

Motorcycles are great, you can have 3 with space to work on all 3, in the space storing one car takes. I'm still set on building a 3-wheeler. The best bit, since a 3-wheeler is a 'motorcycle' it only has to conform to the much more lenient motorcycle laws to get a plate.

mndsm wrote: Slight threadjack- So my wife like to bring home random animals. We at one point adopted this cat.... started out as a little scrawny bugger, and now weighs in anywhere from 25-30lbs. He's a medium hair, tuxedo furs. Dumber than a box of rocks, or lack of a better way to put it, a LOT like a dog. Hops in the shower occasionally, is deathly afraid of our ferrets (those were my idea) and begs for food constantly. Can hear me open the drawer the can opener is in, let alone retrieve said can opener. Could I possibly have a (part) Maine Coon on my hands? We've been trying to figure out what the hell he is for about the last 5 years, because there is NO WAY he's any sort of random summuda cat.

Possible. Maine coons have been introduced to the wild stock a number of times. When a MC tom gets out he typically gets to call the shots in a neighborhood just due to his size. So the kittens end up getting a little bigger.

Dumb as a box of rock. Check MC Likes water Check MC Tux means he could be a Wedgie= Norwegian forest cat.

Main difference is the wedgies have two coats the MC have three. A Wedgie is always going to be a little bit smaller then a Maine Coon and they don't trill as much.

If he is a true tuxedo he cannot be a full MC, there are very specific color combination's that are acceptable. But F1 totally.

The biggest thing for me is the noise that MC/Wedgies make. The are these huge monster cats and they squeak like kittens. They also purr three times as loud as a normal cat and grin and snort when they do it.

I had a cat and cat allergies since I was a kid. My Maine Coon mix somehow didn't set me off unless I used him as a pillow. Every other cat in the world had my eyes watering and sneezing instantly.

It's sad that I won't ever be able to have a non-genetically engineered cat again.

I was watching an episode of Gearz, and Stacey had a vintage bike with an early Flathead in it. Pretty cool.

wearymicrobe said: but the wife is deathly alegric to wood.

HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Bummer

How about veneers? It looks pretty simple and cheap to do wood veneer work and everything looks bitchin covered in burl walnut. I want to do it myself, I already have a vacuum pump, all I need is the bags, some chemicals, and wood. I was really surprised how cheap the material is like 10-20$ and you get a couple square feet of some bitchin wood veneer.

San Diego is a bitchin area, went to school at UCSD. The only issue was there weren't really great motorcycle roads very close.

Another idea is the wear the flashiest SF Giants hat you can find and go to all the bars where young people hang out and see what type of insults will be thrown at you. I thought I was going to get into it a couple times, over a stupid hat! I guess watching drunks at the beach has been culled though.

If you want to do something with your hands, and want to help others, go to city and police auctions and buy old bicycles. You can get them in lots for dirt cheap. Fix them up and donate them to charities for needy kids.

DIY foundry? Not too expensive (a used ceramic kiln capable of 2300 F can be found for $200). Doesn't require a lot of storage space. Infinite possibilites for what to make. Aluminum is pretty easy to work with. Still auto/tool/tech related. Technically challenging, requires some skill and craftsmanship.

PHeller wrote: I had a cat and cat allergies since I was a kid. My Maine Coon mix somehow didn't set me off unless I used him as a pillow. Every other cat in the world had my eyes watering and sneezing instantly. It's sad that I won't ever be able to have a non-genetically engineered cat again.

Thats actually pretty common thing with Maine Coons, not all of them. But with the big fluff balls in the house I can still have allergic friends over to watch football and they never have any trouble with them even in their laps.

Turkish Angora's also are pretty good and Siberian forests as well.

As for the foundry that would work out pretty good as I have access to a few bridgeports through the office to mill stuff to spec.

Pretty fixated on those bikes right now. Now if there was a steam bike that would be even better.

How about metal polishing as a car related hobby? I've dabbled with this a little bit; it's fairly time intensive, but also satisfying in a zen sort of way. There are few stock aluminum parts in an engine bay that can't be turned bling by grinding off the flashing, unused bosses, casting #s, etc, and then being put under the polishing buff to a mirror finish. When it comes to dressing out an engine bay, bling is the thing. First project I attempted was the OEM intake manifold on my DOHC Neon. When I was done, several neon-savvy people commented that they'd never seen that particular aftermarket manifold! Also various mounting brackets are made of cast aluminum, and respond to the treatment as well.

The process is not not so dificult as it is time intensive, often requiring a steady hand and judicious use of restraint. Sandblasting is often needed to start, then sanding discs, 3M pads, various die grinder tips, etc., followed by the final polish with cotton buffs and compounds.

Considering the labor involved, I doubt there is a whole lot of money to be made doing this, although I know one guy who did it as a hobby, then branched out into polishing chandeliers, fixtures, door hardware, etc for homeowners restoring old homes. He assured me the hardest part of the job was disassembling and reassembling the fixtures, and he makes a good living off of yuppies and old ladies fixing up antiques.

He refers to them as his "blue-haired Martha Stewart retirement fund" .

I spend most of my free time with cars in one way or another, but I do have a few other hobbies that I really enjoy!

Motorcycles, Fishing/Hunting, Collecting and shooting firearms, Keeping reptiles and amphibians, Downhill and freeride mountain biking until I seriously injured my back, now the doctor says its a no-no!

None of these go particularly well with cars as a hobby, if any thing most of them lend themselves better to trucks! Any one of them is an enjoyable way to spend time, at least for me!