Draco-REX

Thanks for all the advice. A friend of mine used to work for an ambulance company and says 100K miles is not unreasonable for a decom'd ambulance. But I didn't ask him about the 10,000 hours yet. The rescue vehicle is pretty badass, but I like the Ambulance because there's a place to sleep in the back. If I travel to an event, I can shack out in the back instead of spending money on a hotel. There's even a fridge and a microwave in the back. Oh and yes, all the sirens and lights are still installed. The outdoor floods would be especially useful for two-night events. So what does everyone think a good price would be? I did notice that the driver's step is almost completely eaten by rust. They want $5K, but I'm thinking this isn't worth much more than $3K.

Gotta love how he used a BMW gweebo joint to join the engines.

Ok, I know very little about owning/maintaining a diesel or what to look for when buying a used one. But I'm looking into getting a tow vehicle to haul the WRX around, and I think I found the most epic tow vehicle ever. But I want to pick a few brains before I start looking at numbers. It's a 1991 Ford E350 Ambulance with a 7.3. In black. The dealership says it has only 93,000 miles, but the odometer doesn't have a 100K wheel. So it could have a lot more. It does have an hour clock which shows 10,000+ hours. I'm hoping someone with commercial vehicle experience can say if 10K hours is closer to 100K miles or 200K. Next question is, how is the 7.3? Reliable as hell, or an oil-soaked explosion waiting to happen? What should I look for? And what kind of mileage do you think I could expect when towing 5000lbs? Thanks for any advice.

I just realized that's the most wrong thing I've ever posted..

Sure they do. It's the muslim kids that get off the hook. Their right to bomb is protected in the name of cultural awareness.

Welcome to the cult. Your silly hat will arrive in 6 days.

Good advice. The transmissions hold up pretty well in the N/A subies. It's the WRX 5mt that tends to lose teeth when you add the power. Only other thing I can add is, if you don't want to do the work yourself, take it to ZB at SigmaTech (614-876-1007). He's the local go-to guy for Subarus, and he won't steer you wrong. And if you drop by in the next few weeks, you'll be able to check out his Supercharged GTI RallyCross build.

Apparently they need to have their wheel bearings replaced often.

We don't buy refined oil. We buy crude and refine it ourselves.

wow.. blatant product placement FTL. Not a bad song, though. I think they actually wrecked a Ferrari for that. Or at least the shell of one. A cheap stunt car wouldn't have the undercladding and diffuser.

Oontz Oontz Oontz. -Peanut Rave

There's this thing called the Internet. It's really cool. I'd look into it.

Technically "Democracy" requires quotes for the US also, since we're a Republic. As for Wikileaks, the guy running it is a punk that needs squashed. HOWEVER, as above, it's good that certain wrongs that benefit a few came to light. That needs to be done. But blabbing everything just for the lulz is wrong.

Torture. I know, "no shit, duh!" But the thought of being unable to defend myself while I'm being mutilated terrifies me. I could probably deal with the pain, but the situation would have me babbling my life story in 30 seconds flat. And believe it or not, traffic stops. The fact that the cop could ruin the rest of my life if he feels like it is pretty scary to me. I have no problems with cops in other settings. But when I get pulled over, my heartrate jumps 100%, my hands shake, and I have trouble putting together sentences. I must come over so sketchy to a traffic cop.

I like the HDR pictures that look like really clear photos. The ones with all the overblown colors and halos are annoying to me.

Kick ass! I think this will get me to finally upgrade my gaming rig. This had better not suck.

This has crossed my mind a couple times.. But I just have trouble accepting that the people who would make a strategy like this would accept a 100-year view. These people are concerned with their wallets *now*. Granted, I think this is how it's going to end up. The world will drain the middle east dry and then they'll come begging to us for oil and we'll gouge them for a change. But I think it'll be a matter of cause and effect, not some master plan. Though if this does come to pass in my lifetime, I'll be laughing my ass off as the middle east tries to do their usual BS and the rest of the world tells them to shut up and stay in their hole.

Much as I hate the whole "Government! Save us!" mentality going around, they really need to do something. Gas hitting $4/gal was pretty much what caused everything to explode a couple years ago. Petroleum products, gas and diesel especially, are involved in nearly EVERY step of manufacturing for everything out there. A dollar in gas ends up being $50 or more by the time a product makes it to market. We can only absorb so much before everything goes up and shit goes to hell again. And when are they going to get sick of being slaves to the middle east? I mean, really...

That's one raggedy looking pump. Would drink soda from a machine that looked like that?

LOLx2

Whether BP gas is generally bad or not, I won't fill up at one because I've heard more bad stories about their gas than anyone else's. Even if only a small percentage are true, it's still more than the rest. And as Zeit said above me, there are plenty of other choices out there. I know for my trips here to MA and back, I'm perfectly covered by Sunoco, Shell, Gulf, and Mobil. There's no need to hit up a BP. So I figure, why use gas that I don't have confidence in?

The reason they did this was so that you only had to get the tracks and cars you want. If you're only interested in formula ford, or whatever, you can just buy the cars you need and the tracks you want to race on. iRacing isn't like GT5 where you try to get all the tracks and cars. It's a hardcore sim. Their target audience is a bit more focused.

They have stopped making their force feedback wheel and either won't license anyone else, or are asking too much for the license. So there are no good wheels for the 360 any more. That's pretty much all the nails in the coffin. My wheel is acting up and I can't get a replacement for it now. So when it completely dies, I will pretty much have to write off my 360 for all driving games. The other thing is that it's looking pretty good that Forza 4 will be a Kinect title. To give you an idea of how bad that is, grip an imaginary steringwheel in front of you. Now hold your arms out like that with nothing to support them for an hour or two. Also, no return-to-center. It'll be like trying to race with the Power Glove. The future of racing games on the 360 is bleak for people who enjoy sims. Controller racing will still be here, but it lacks a lot of the finesse you get with a wheel and pedals. Speaking of sims, I need to sign up for iRacer and give it a try.

Some of the coolest custom car jobs start off with the owner saying "Screw resale." Go for it.

Sounds like a blast. I'm in.