Hillclimb and Campout Ride Pics.

It took me a while and the video was shitty, so I pulled some stills. 

Honda Ruckus is not a motorcycle.

When I was 15 I got a 1980 Puch Newport Moped. Before that I had other mopeds but none were street legal. My buddy Adam had a Tomos Targa Lx. Here are some pics. Not ours, but representation of the models.

 Shortly thereafter we both punched them out to 70cc and tuned them the best we could at the time. I even adapted my modded puch engine to a general 5 star frame. All we needed was a dial up modem and 50cc.nl supplied most of the parts for us. By the time we worked up the balls to ride all the way from west freehold to Six Flags our mopeds easily did 55-60 mph. Mopeds in NJ have to have pedals. If you don't have a regular drivers license you need a moped license. They cant exceed 49cc and 25mph. You can only operate a moped on a two lane road, no highways. 

We would occasionally cross 33 to get to the mall but that was the extent of it. This is an example of the route we took. Its 90% accurate but back then most of the area near 33 were fields and not houses.

We did this every day. Rain, Sleet, or Snow. We never got hit, crashed, or arrested. (Well Adam almost did but that's a different story.) Registering a moped was a pain in the ass. There were so many rules, and the DMV didn't have a clue half the time and neither did the cops.

AND THIS IS WHERE WE GET TO THE RUCKUS.

As far as I can tell, the Ruckus is a scooter with a moped engine. However it is registered as a motorcycle. Therefore it has no governing limitations on where and how it is operated. 

So this happend: Kid DIES on I287 on a motor scooter

It really pisses me off that NJ government has their heads so far up their asses that they don't understand how to fix this. Amend the Moped law to include scooters under 80cc and increase the speed limit to 35-40. Still no highways. Lets be honest, no one does 25 anymore and its way safer to stay inline with traffic than ride on the side and have crazy motherfuckers fly past you. We felt much safer doing 40-50 mph than 25 with cars flying past us. It's literally THAT simple.

Corvair Interior (part one)

Last night I stayed up late and repaired these warped cardboard trim pieces. The actual carpet in the car is going to be a very dark blue 80/20 loop, but I wanted to accent it with grey since my seats are gray. Next stop, Home Depot. 

I clamped these pieces in some ply wood after soaking them in adhesive. It worked, they straightened right out.

Yes, thats some high tech, heavy duty, duct tape.

How cool is the reflection from the sun?

Here Come The Robots!

It's missing the "JESUS CHRIST!",

I love this tune!

Whats in your trunk?

This is awesome, but must make a mess between lubrication and metal shavings.

Then you have the second best invention in the world... 

Corvair Floors

God. Damn. I sit here in bed, with my legs on fire. Why? You might ask... Weld Burn. I sat in this car for 5 hours today welding floors in. Its not beautiful, and I had to improvise quite a bit. The next step will be to get it in the air and weld up any seams that I couldn't get from above. Its solid. There's actually something holding the seat now. Good enough for a stanced driver.

Corvair Gasoline Heater

The original forced air heater has a few draw backs. One of which I experienced first hand. The whole vehicle was a true work of engineering. However, like all other things, there were a few oversights. In the past there have been studies about carbon monoxide entering the cab because of failed exhaust packing. I can neither confirm or deny that, although my original 1961 packings arent leaking. What I have personally noticed, is that even the slightest oil leak, residue even, will cause quite a stank, and sometimes visible smoke, inside the cab. I know there is no reason to have any type of oil leak, but realistically, sometimes you just can't tend to a leak immediately. Frankly, burning oil gives me a migraine. The third thing that bothers me, are the lower engine covers that are required to use the engine as a heat source. Generally, I like to be able to see my cylinders and I am also thinking about running some headers and not the factory log manifolds. Also, since I live in a high traffic area, the extra cooling from leaving the covers off would drastically improve reliability. I've been keeping an eye out for an original GM gasoline fired heater. There was one on ebay for a while for $400, the working condition was unknown. Then, there was one for $100 that was sniped within hours of being listed. The other day, I found one that slipped through the cracks. $142 shipped to my door. Condition is unknown, but it looks really good. I don't think its coming with the controls, but I'm least worried about that.

Best Star Wars story never told.

Squirrel Launcher!

Funny (2)

Swing Star!

I just thought these were cool!