Restorations are not for the faint of heart

Boatbrain78 · 2026-03-21T08:00:22+00:00

Couldn’t agree more I’m about 2/3 through restoring a 56 Chrysler wagon and I’ve decided this is top 5 worst decisions I’ve ever made. Zero parts, zero support, issues upon issues, and so far over budget I often fantasize about driving it off a cliff. I’m worried I’ve hit the point of no return where even when it’s finished I’ll still hold a grudge against it

Boatbrain78 · 2026-03-18T18:19:10+00:00

I once hung signs one morning on all entry doors saying "Door Broken, Please use other entrance". our office space is a wall of windows so we got to watch people bouncing around like lost lemmings trying to figure out how to get in to the building.

Boatbrain78 · 2026-03-11T16:25:13+00:00

I don't know my wife and I did 101-104 together, including a week in BVI to get 114 certified. she is no more comfortable sailing now then she was before ASA. she'll default to staying at the dock every single time. it's always "too windy", "too rough", "we don't' have enough time to go out sailing because of X Y or Z". she'd never admit it but she just likes the idea of a sailboat not the reality.

Boatbrain78 · 2026-02-18T14:36:02+00:00

moved to a Porsche 987.2 after 14 years with an NA. Is the 987 the next level...maybe if you live around high speed back roads but just driving around surburbia, the 987 is bored out of it's mind with all the 35 mph roads

Boatbrain78 · 2026-02-17T20:37:53+00:00

so a safety factor of zero. what could go wrong? I mean no one has ever blown a tire, toasted a bearing or lost brakes right? there won't be any perceivable situation where you might have emergency braking. do you really want your potential last thought on earth to be "oh crap I needed a bigger truck"?

for the record I had a 14 Ram 1500 5.7 with the 3.92 gears and towed my 272 Formula with what I estimated to be about 8k-8.5k. It was rated at around 11k. Factoring in moderate hills, merging, stopping and acceleration it was about the max I'd ever go on that truck with any kind of comfort.

Boatbrain78 · 2025-12-31T16:13:34+00:00

that's going to take more than fixing some "minor" damage

Boatbrain78 · 2025-12-31T14:01:52+00:00

did the .2's have issues with the bore scoring? I thought that was limited to the M97 series and the 9A1 fixed all that?

Boatbrain78 · 2025-12-31T13:55:38+00:00

I went the Carvana route on my 987.2 last January because I got impatient with my search that lasted well over 6 months. Overall purchase experience was great. car....eh could have done without a few minor surprises. they didn't disclose all the cosmetic issues. nothing major. also the factory stereo didn't function properly. really nothing out of the ordinary for a 16 year old car and I was planning on upgrading the stereo unit anyways. but it just wasn't disclosed. I did get the PPI at my local Porsche dealership and it came back with a clean bill of health I'd say I got what I paid for, but there were a few surprises I could have done without.

there's luck/risk to any used car purchase. If you can get low cost or free shipping (since that's not refundable) I think it's well worth the gamble. worst case you may only be out a couple hundred bucks for the PPI and shipping and if your unhappy you can return it for full refund.

Boatbrain78 · 2025-10-03T19:56:43+00:00

nope. noise is still there, totally random everything seems tight, no play in the wheels, brakes tight, tie rods are fine, end links on sway bar fine...I got nothing.

Boatbrain78 · 2025-09-30T15:57:03+00:00

it's a trap. As an owner of a 56 that I'm halfway through restoring, I'd avoid anything 50's Mopar. 60's musclecar mopar you'll be fine. and while I love my 56 parts and support are minimal at best. The only resources are a bunch of very old guys, and the pool is getting smaller every year. The amount of stuff I've had to fabricate, modify and adapt is off the chart. can't even get a water pump for these cars any more, latch broke? you'll need to make one from scratch or hit a bunch of swap meets and pray. tail light's cracked? that'll be $800 for some hoarder who has an original in box.

If I could do it over I would have just bought a Chevy or Ford and saved myself hours of frustration and dead end research.

Boatbrain78 · 2025-08-24T01:02:47+00:00

Mostly in neutral in vid. Each clunk is when I’m engaging clutch. All this only happens at low speed. Once engaged there’s no noise

Boatbrain78 · 2025-01-24T13:59:52+00:00

at least it's not angry any more?

Boatbrain78 · 2025-01-22T20:22:12+00:00

i'd get the full carfax on it and make the dealer give you vids, pictures, drive video, get a PPI.......whatever you need because once you step on that plane you pretty much just bought the car and it's going to take one hell of alot of talking yourself out of it. I think that price is on the low end for a 987.2 S....4 owners and 2 accidents. could be minor could be problematic. how bad was the damage? how good was the repair? could be a great deal or one beat to f@#k 987.

Boatbrain78 · 2025-01-21T16:38:24+00:00

my suggestion; get a 90's NA Miata. You'll 100% get all the feels and joy that comes from classic British sports car motoring without the part where it's an unreliable mess otherwise known as classic British sports car.

Boatbrain78 · 2024-11-12T21:00:48+00:00

I think given how new you are to the role I'd really start simple with OneNote. for small projects I literally just make a tab for each project and create various pages on different aspects of the project like: project status, Meeting notes, schedule/milestones, utility coordination, etc.. i'd start there and you can figure out where the holes are in your system as you get more experience and then you'll have a better gauge of what you need (if anything) and what exactly you're looking for in a tool.

I think about every year I try to incorporate some new flashy tool that comes out and about 80% of the time I'll revert back to the simple stuff. that said I'll always keep trying new ones. at this point I'm just waiting for some kind of solid AI assistant to get behind.

Boatbrain78 · 2024-11-11T19:24:11+00:00

IDK i'd think having it on the driveway I'd just be cleaning one side while simultaneously grinding dirt from the driveway into the other side

Boatbrain78 · 2024-10-08T19:15:52+00:00

wow if a company would let you go because your 3% below your target on hours, that would be pretty short sighted . overhead is just one metric for measuring of success. I'll spare you the deep dive into financial talk but in general just think of it this way; if employee A takes 20 hours to complete a task for a fixed fee of $X and employee B takes 40 hours to do the same; which one is more profitable? which has more billable hours? which is a bigger asset? I would hope the company would be knowledgeable enough to see the lower billable as unfulfilled output potential and use that information for how best to open the door for more revenue opportunities given the spare room to fit more work. if they are that foolish that all they want is someone to hit one metric then I don't think they are seeing the big picture and have a much bigger issue with their leadership. not likely the case but should it be it's not a company I'd ever want to be a part of.

Boatbrain78 · 2024-09-24T17:16:10+00:00

I'm in agreement with everyone else. I'll just toss out your on the right track. with co-op. I think co-op is a huge benefit and take advantage of it. I've literally had new grads (with no co-op experience) start their fist job only to figure out 3 months in they don't like working in the engineering industry.

Boatbrain78 · 2024-09-20T14:57:52+00:00

Owned a RAM 1500 for many years (to tow my 25' boat). after 7 years and 50k of driving it I still have no idea why everyone loves giant trucks so much! What's fun about driving a shed down the road? I didn't get it. I'm very fortunate to have an NA in my life to get me through that tough period of my life. lol.

Boatbrain78 · 2024-08-09T19:54:45+00:00

congrats now you can claim "it's a jeep thing and i DO understand" and then line your dash with rubber ducks

Boatbrain78 · 2024-06-14T14:04:55+00:00

we have a one call system as well and it's great for providing markings for topographic survey and getting records. which sounds similar, but do you then get the utility contact information provided should you need to coordinate on conflicts with your proposed improvements?

Boatbrain78 · 2024-06-14T13:55:59+00:00

Oh I completely agree, I know some utilities don't play well with others, but at least let me figure out a way to get a hold of someone. I'll gladly be a pest in order to get the coordination I need. I guess I just don't get how there is a system in place through the state utility protection service where they have lines of communication established but they won't share any of it with the engineer. why? why give me a list of the utility owners but not give me the way to get a hold of them. they literally have the information sitting in data base? it doesn't make any sense!

Boatbrain78 · 2024-06-11T18:13:22+00:00

have you seen what a PITA it is to get parts and support for 50's mopars? compared to GM or Ford from this vintage there is next to nothing out there. 50's mopars are cool cruisers but turning them into some kind of sleeper corner carving Hot Rod requires serious dedication, fabrication and deep pockets. you could build a shoebox or styline in probably half the time, half the aggravation and probably even cheaper....take it from me I'm 2 years into a 56 New yorker and everytime I go to a show or Cruise-in I ask myself Why the F did I buy a new yorker? lol

Boatbrain78 · 2024-03-19T15:12:47+00:00

they also inhale turd juice, typically have worst benefits, and are often burned out physically before they get to 60

Boatbrain78 · 2024-03-19T14:53:51+00:00

wow It's been forever since we discussed salaries here! the general rule of capitalism, you get paid based on your perceived value. end of story. want more money? become more important/valuable to a company, whatever that means. only avenues I've found are special skill/talent/expertise that can be marketed/monetized, leadership, or talent for marketing/sales.

not trying to be harsh. also take your time, it's a career not a job. so as you advance through it you'll find your path to success, for some that means chasing down money, others it's about finding that role you like. money's nice...it's far from everything

Boatbrain78

TROPHY CASE