Fred W B
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 02:07 PM |
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The locost mentality
This is a thread from Grassroots Motorsport, edited down a bit. For most of the situations, you could say "locost" as well as
"grassroots". I related to most of it.
Grassroots being a state of mind. I thought it might be fun to come up with illustrations of the mentality. Sure, you could try to come up with a
definition, such as "The grassroots mentality is all about trying to get the most of what you want for your money when it comes to cars, by
using creativity, hard work, or just plain taking advantage of good bargains." But I thought examples might be more fun. Here's a few.
The Grassroots mindset is...
...seriously considering buying a Porsche on a $10,000 budget.
...soldering your ECU together on the kitchen table.
...deciding not to try keeping up with the Joneses because you can't find out what lap times they're posting anyway.
...knowning the autocross class for all vehicles you own that you could legally enter, including the pickup truck. (Extra points if the truck's
class is E/Mod.)
...using the accelerator pump from a 30 year old quadrajet to "improve" your new performance carb.......
...building any competition car without the benefit of a garage...(bonus points if north of the Mason-Dixon!)
...Giving yourself whiplash when passing any old car sitting in a field. Especially if it is some one-off import.
...Looking at said car in a field and wondering if a 302/T5 combo would fit.
...Risking a charging bull to actually MEASURE if said 302/T5 combo will work. Bonus points for being shot at as a trespasser.
...noticing that after half your rusty exhaust system fell off you had quite a bit more top end power
...pulling parts off rare cars that you dont even own while at the junkyard.
...scouring ads for rust-free 20 year old cars. And then buying them.
...buying a 35 year old car thats been sitting 20 years...for your daily driver...two months before a 2500 mile road trip.
...If you consider "Engineer to Win" a page turner
...convert a FWD into a RWD and keep the budget under $2007
...drive from cleveland to atlanta to pick up the ever elusive 78-81 camaro IROC air dam because the guy doesnt want to ship it
...When you buy a car not because what it is, but because "what it can be"
... a bookshelf full of old Summit, Jegs and Harbor Freight catalogs mixed in with old tech articles, Auto Traders and the Dilbert Anthology.
...learning how to build a small foundry out of a Freon bottle and learning how to cast aluminum to make your own bell-housing and other parts.
...Modifying a completely inappropriate car for autocross or rallying "because it would be fun and/or different"
...Arguing with a peer for more than 20 minutes over the performance benefits of shopping at a junkyard. Extra points if you win the argument.
...One of the reasons you apply for a certain job is because of the parts/servces discount you can get for your car
...You can find performance parts at Home Depot/Lowes
...You keep a list of the locations of every derelict "interesting" car within a 30-mile radius of your house, "just in
case"
...if you've replaced your snapped throttle cable with ski-rope as an emergency road side repair...and it worked so well you forgot it was there
for two weeks
...You have autoparts stores phone numbers stored in your phone...(bonus points for the owners home number)
...The origin of the parts on your car span more countries/years than Marco Polo's exploring.
...Giving-away a 2nd-gen rx7 GXL because you didn't have the money to do anything with it...Then feeling personally responsible for the Hell it
delivered to four other people before you lost track of it... With the sinking feeling that someday it will return to you.
...You've ever picked up parts in a pit area and said "I can't belive they were throwing this away". We left Daytona supplied
for half the season.
...Continuing to store parts for cars you haven't owned for 10 years (bonus points to finding new uses for those parts, thus justifying the
insanity).
...Having the TRW master spring catalog so you know the rates, and sizes of every spring in the local wrecking yard.
...Using the Federal mogul engine catalogs to find unusual, and creative interchanges (or to peice together your 750cc/3cyl. race car motor)
...People you meet at the junkyard ask if you work there.
...creative uses of products from the home depot plumbing and roofing department.
...Storing project cars at friend's houses.... because you ran out of room
...Your wife knows more about tires then your average tire salesman
...Calling your 1986 944 your "new" car.
...Intentionally seeking out a crappy example of a car, so that you can increase your level of satisfaction by "saving" it.
...Your 1/4 mile drag car project is a 17 year old minivan
...You start a business so you can buy new parts at good prices
...You bought your project at auction, and spent twice the purchase price on a new fuel system alone
...You scour the classifieds and auctions for "possible turbo" cars
...You know which VIN digit corresponds to whether said car is turbo/supercharged or not
...You have a Shelby, but it's not a Ford
...You make your own headers because what's out in the aftermarket "isn't what I'm looking for" or "could be a lot
better design wise"
...you have 3 cars sitting around waiting to be fixed..
...you ONLY revert to taking something to the shop after having spent over a week trying to fix it yourself.
...you look at the prices of parts and decide you can make one yourself cheaper.
...welding something on is a simple mod
...you keep a cylinder count and take pride in it
...you know what a locost is and want to build one
...When a guy in the supermarket parking lot asks you "what kind of car is that?" and you combine the names of two or more cars to come up
with what kind of car it really is.
...when the engine displacement in cc's is twice what you spent on the car in dollars.
...you shop for real estate based on the local "junk car" and "eyesore" ordinances.
...When someone asks, "So, how many cars do you own?", you have to think awhile and use both hands to count them up, get confused adding
up all the fractions, and finally you give up and say "It depends on how you define car."
... your daily driver and your project car are one and the same.
... your car was made by a company that no longer exists.
... your performance car used to be someone's family car.
... a two-barrel carb IS the performance option for your engine.
... you keep service manuals from years before and after your car, because you like the photos.
...At a yard sale/flea market, you buy repair manuals for cars that you "might buy one day".
...You buy a car for $X, Invest 4*$X, & can still sell it at fair market value & make a profit.
...You get a 2nd job to keep Her fron complaining about how much $ you spend on you 'toys'.
...Broken parts become trophies.
...Your friends start conversations with you by saying "I saw this car for sale & thought you..."
...a car has never left your possesion in the same condition that it came into your possesion. ei., broken, wrecked, modified...
...You have every issue of ever car magazine you've ever purchased because of the valuable information you may need one day
...Nut, bolts, & washers are never trash but must be kept for future need.
...You drive to Rhode Island to buy a windshield for a 35+ year old car that isn't registered and doesn't run, because this guy has
new-old-stock windshields, and someday, that car will be on the road again, and might need a new windsheild. (Bonus points for being allowing to store
it in your closet "for safe-keeping"
...you own 3 times the number of cars as there are drivers in your household
...You take pride in being faster than cars cars costing more than the square of the purchase price of your car.
...beating cars where the owners paid more for their tires than I have in my car.
...When looking for a "new" car you get pissed at Autotrader.com because they won't let you search for anything pre-1981.
...You continue to have your wife drive a nearly 200,000 mile car while building a 3rd garage bay to keep your toys/projects/tools in. The
wife's car sits outside year round, while the project cars must be inside to 'preserve' them.
...Having the TRW master spring catalog so you know the rates, and sizes of every spring in the local wrecking yard.
...the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear a car described as "used only on weekends" is not a car driven by a little old
lady.
...a transmission jack seems like a sound investment.
...when you cannot sell a car you seriously consider building a locost out of it....
...being hired for a job because at the interveiw you talk intelligently about lancia delta integrale's/rally/race cars and your british boss is
as crazy as you...........
...you buy cars because someone gave you an engine...extra points if the car requires modifying to fit the engine.
...you have considered making a rally car out of your DD (my DD is a Crown Vic)
...People ask you if you have a part for a car you don't even own, and you do.
...If your parts car cost more than your race car.
...If you've ever picked up a parts car and driven it home. Extra points if it was over 200 miles .
...If you've ever gotten rid of 2 or more vehicles as a "package" to make space.... Extra points if you've replaced them with
2 or more vehicles BEFORE the first two were even gone.
...If you've ever hung car parts from the ceiling...Extra points if it was a whole car.
...If you've ever pulled a motor using a hoist tied over a tree branch.
...ever driven a rusty, old british car home on questionable tires after borrowing a minivan battery and a gallon of lawnmower gas from the previous
owner.
...a REAL hybrid engine is a rebuilt engine from 2 (or more) different engines, and wasn't built with emissions as a top priority.
...You build a 12x12 shed just to get all the spare parts out of the garage so you can have some room to work and you still have push the car outside
to be able to walk around it.
...You gave up trying to clean your fingernails and just cut them to the quick and wash one of the dogs.
...Everytime you come across an example of your favorite acr, you buy/take it just because they don't make them anymore and you might need
something off it.
...if you're 'fun' car is a hopped up old economy car that's older than you are....Bonus points if it's a daily driver!
...if you've done a complete motor/tranny/rear swap under the watchful eyes of the damned condo bastards!
...if you've got speed parts (or any parts for that matter) in your living room.
...if you have a long commute, and you LIKE IT.
...you randomly refer to pulling engines as basic maintenance
...you casually use "toss a 5.0" or any other variance of some sort of engine swap w/ out batting an eye... all while not owning a garage
or shed of any sort
...you use one of the "parked" cars as your tool shed... MIG welder? yup, hydraulic jacks? yup, jack stands? yup...
...you gauge your tire's need of air by it's wear patterns (hmm it's not worn inside... if i put about 40psi into it it should wear
down the middle)
...you justify spending $100 on a tool to in the end save $30 at the shop (motorcycle needed a chain $270 at thes hop... $240 in parts and the chain
tool) ... and your wife sees the logic (anyone in the area need a new chain on their bike?)
...you "get out of cars" for a while to concentrate on family stuff and manage to get into motorcycles...
...you know more about a car you've never owned then the mechanic at the shop
...It's being at a party, someone asks what my hobbies are, and I tell them riding dirt bikes and building race cars. Then they ask what it is,
I give them the thumbnail RX7 engine in a Triumph Spitfire... and see the look in their eyes that says 'I never heard of those'.
... saving the unknown age gear dope from the tranny and axles because the color isn't that bad and it still has that EP additive funk. Must
still be good, right?
...looking at cars broken down on the side of the road as possible project cars
...having tools worth more than your car working on parts that cost more than your car and then drinking the beer that you paid for your car.
...Paying for your race car with bottle return slips (Michigan residents get $.10 per can )
...Figuring out that you can use a 10 rib fan belt as an engine hoist sling strap as long as you are quick enough.
...Paying $300.00 for a good ported and polished head only to find out the the mutt bottom end you just assembled is loose enough to NOT compress the
Plasti-Gauge at all...
...using an old extension cord as engine hoist
..building a 60x40 foot building with two floors to store all your stuff in one place, and having to put more of it in the old horse barn and hay
loft, then buying a shipping container to store some more stuff in it, then filling up the garage with more stuff, and then start measuring out the
woods behind the barn to build another building... you know, for the rest of the stuff...
...being able to buy a complete car, and bring it home without the wife realizing it was a complete car. the conversation goes like this: "I
thought we agreed no more cars." "Its not a car, its an engine and trans..." (3 days later) "What's that?"
"its just some spare parts... hood, doors, bumpers..." (4 days later) "Where'd you get that?" "What do you
mean? its the car i bought last week...don't you remember?"
...Growing up with a 5 car garage, with a grease pit, then moving to a house with a 5 stall horse barn, two car garage, and having to put up a 40x60
ft. garage to store all the toys in, and NEVER... Not even ONCE EVER parking your daily driven cars in a garage.
...Putting all your workshop tools, including the lathe, milling machine, english wheel, bender, shrinker, and 3 workbenches on wheels so you can move
the ones you aren't using out of the way easier.
...Having a father that has a better machine shop, metal fab workshop than the local vocational school... and he's not a machinist by trade.
...Getting a toolbox for christmas fully stocked with real tools (Including a torque wrench) when you are 4 years old. I still have the toolbox, and
all the tools...including the torque wrench.
... When you tell people where you live, you tell them to look for the house with the __________ (fill in type of car, bike, in my case, airplane) in
the driveway...
...Thinking all your friends are weird cause their parents don't have a parts room in their garage.
...Filling your garage to the rafters with $247.52 worth of all variety of car junk, while your wife's $25,000 daily driver sits in the
driveway.
...Having a spouse who doesn't mind the hobby because you buy cars for less than you'd at a sports bar.
...If you buy the best tools you can afford, and some of the best parts you can afford for the CHEAPEST car you could find!!!
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Fred W B
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 02:08 PM |
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Some of my own experiences I would add.
You have the locost mentality if you ....
... offer or agree to remodel a kitchen just so you can get the old cabinets for the garage.
... do a national kart racing series, and the kart+trailer contents are worth more than your street car / tow vehicle.
... carry a tape measure in your street car so you can measure up any useful looking parts or material you come across.
...let a friend drive your car at a trackday...and admit later that he did a better lap time than you.
...get tipped off by the guy who works in the tool section of the local DIY superstore when prices on stock clearance items are about to be
reduced.
Cheers
Fred W B
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StevieB
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 02:47 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Fred W B
... offer or agree to remodel a kitchen just so you can get the old cabinets for the garage.
Guilty! 
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Catpuss
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 02:57 PM |
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quote:
...seriously considering buying a Porsche on a $10,000 budget.
I think it my case was £600 + the cost of the exhaust. Someone beat me to it.
quote:
... a bookshelf full of old Summit, Jegs and Harbor Freight catalogs mixed in with old tech articles, Auto Traders and the Dilbert
Anthology.
...a book rack by the toilet......
[Edited on 5/10/06 by Catpuss]
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SALAD
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 04:17 PM |
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Had a good laugh at them, I'm surprised at how many apply!! 
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marcjagman
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 04:33 PM |
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Sounds like me especially storing parts for cars I've not owned for 10 years.
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DIY Si
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 06:30 PM |
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The missus wasn't happy at the fact that at least 70% apply to me!
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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peterriley2
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 07:41 PM |
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thats great- bet most people on here could say it sounds just like them- i didnt know how many peoples brains work like mine...
Joel
If you dont respect yourself, dont expect respect from anyone else
Live your dreams, dont dream your life
Women only want you for one thing- everything!
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 08:14 PM |
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...At a yard sale/flea market, you buy repair manuals for cars that you "might buy one day".
I have 450 haynes and OE manuals stored in the boot of a 1976 Fiat 128 which is never going to see the light of day again - sad bastard!!
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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wilkingj
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 08:14 PM |
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OH GOD!!!!!
Thank you for posting that. I thought I was Unique and completely MAD. Now I realise, that I am as sane as the rest of you on the forum.
Phew!.. What a relief.
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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Hellfire
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| posted on 5/10/06 at 09:24 PM |
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No sorry, none of those apply to me. There are a couple that are vaguely close though 
Phil
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DarrenW
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| posted on 6/10/06 at 10:54 AM |
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...... if you offer to decorate the Kitchen, hall, stairwell, landing etc to save getting a decorator in so you can have the cash instead to buy a
digidash!!
That is a great list, scary but great.
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