It’s a new year, and with that change in the date comes a renewed dedication to self-improvement. At least, for some people — I’m sure some of my resolutions are a lot of fun, but not exactly good for me. You all, however, had some great ideas for ways to make 2022 better than 2021. Here are some of the best.
My main automotive goal is to finish building my first rally car, and compete in a rally event in July, alongside the likes of Ken Block and Travis Pastrana (though in a much lower class). Behold, my Fiat 500 Abarth. Everything done solo up to this point, including designing and building a neat little switch module that fits in the radio DIN. but now it’s off at the roll cage builder.
“Oh, you wanna get some more seat time and practice? That’s cool. I’m gonna go compete against Block and Pastrana, just super casually, but your thing is neat too.” StalePhish is cooler than I will ever be, and I now must make peace with that.
Submitted by: StalePhish
Clear my driveway.
Neither of these are running. Bought the Mustang from my niece for $500. Brother-in-law gave me the truck. Ford made 1000 Explorer XLS with the 5 speed manual and then just stopped supporting the clutch & slave cylinder (inside trans bell). One SoCal company sells the clutch ($700) and slave cylinder ($400). I’ve convinced myself I was saving money by fixing it and avoiding a new car note. Front end parts, broken window regulators, 3rd rear hub bearing... The only thing running strong is the 4.0L V6 replaced by BIL in 2010. That will be going to my son’s 2005 Mustang.
New 2022 resolution: We can’t save everyone.
900turbo is on an anti-Ford warpath, cutting right through their own home and eliminating blue ovals from the collection with extreme prejudice. The novelty oversized grill, however, absolutely needs to stay — how else are you going to do Fast & Furious-style cookouts?
Submitted by: 900turbo
Mines going to be the most anti-Jalop post ever, but my girlfriend and I are looking to get rid of both of our cars and go down to a single electric car. I no longer go to an office, she only goes twice a week. We have a Blazer and a Silverado, both with 10k mile/year leases, and neither of us have surpassed half our allotted miles in the first year.
Hoping to trade both vehicles in when the Lyriq comes out, and park one of those in my driveway... unfortunately I didn’t get one of the first 1,500 reservations.
Au contraire, my friend. EVs are incredibly cool. Not only are they home to some incredibly interesting engineering, they’re also just fun to drive — even outside of the straight-line-monster performance versions. We won’t judge you around here for going electric.
Submitted by: Cam
I wasn’t going to have an automotive resolution, but now I need a car. I’ve decided to buy a Raptor and I resolve to find a base trim 6.2L truck from its last year of production, with under 75k miles. Since this will be a relatively short term vehicle, I need something that won’t depreciate much and a Raptor is just that.
Sometimes financial responsibility looks like spreadsheets, coupons, and good gas mileage. Other times, it looks like finding the slowest-depreciating cool car you can find — and getting the most interesting version you can. Raptor prices seem to have, at least for the time being, bottomed out. Shockingly, buying a decade-old performance truck might actually be a smart financial move.
Submitted by: NEBcruiser(My van should be taxicab yellow)
I would like to add an extra four wheels, maybe up to eight, if possible. I would like those 4-8 wheels to contain at least 8 cylinders and at least 500 HP. Adding something with a charge port would be nice as well.
I encourage suggestions on how to accomplish this; I can spend around $75k. I prefer manual transmissions and I require a minimum of two doors distributed across however many wheels your suggestion totals. The rest is up to you.
On today’s What Car Should Give Me Tacos Or Give Me Death Buy, they’re looking for a Camaro ZL1, an M5, or two decade-old V6 Camrys. The concept of a two-door, eight-cylinder, eight-wheel, 500 HP PHEV is an incredibly interesting one, though — if you find something that fits that bill, let me know.
Submitted by: Give Me Tacos or Give Me Death
-Get the 1970 Blazer running so I can sell it to finance the restoration of the 1972 Blazer.
-Change jobs into something 100% remote so I can sell my commuter car with no replacement to finance the restoration of the 1972 Blazer.
-Change jobs into something more lucrative so I can place a reservation for a Z06 or GT3 to be delivered in a couple years when all restoration expenses are done.
Lots of people use the beginning of a new year as a tipping point to make big career changes. Doing so explicitly to support the restoration of a Chevy Blazer, however, is a move so Jalop we have no choice but to salute. Good luck, v10omous, and godspeed.
Submitted by: V10omous
Covid uncertainty remains as the weighty hand hovering over my intentions ready to knock them askew:
• possibly adding a new motorzoom to the stable of bikes but the still existing potential of having income destabilized puts that possibility off into the distance;
• similarly, the intention of taking another track instructional course (which was pushed back from summers 2020 and 2021) might be deferred (again) due to costs and that whole risk of interrupted cash flow;
• lastly, after a season where I barely rode at all, I had high hopes of doing a couple of decent loop rides (one through Eastern Canada and the New England states, another around the Great Lakes) but if things are closed up and heavily restricted again, those will get tanked too.Happy new year?
Two wheels may be inarguably good, but they’re also inarguably more exposed than four. With no windows to keep the air out, and with COVID surging once again, a mask may offer more protection than a full-face helmet — at least, protection you’re more likely to need. Sometimes, a cage really does offer a sense of security.
Submitted by: wellgruntled
I have a 2 post lift sitting in the corner of my garage waiting for me to clear out enough space to install it.
My goal this year is to clear out that space and install that lift.
The list is longer than that, but that’s gotta be one of the first automotive-adjacent tasks I complete.
Long have I dreamed of having a garage with a lift. It seems like the kind of project that makes a very real and noticeable impact on every car-related project you do after — everything’s easier, less time-consuming, less frustrating. Installing one in a home garage is a perfect new year’s resolution, since it’ll make a difference all year long.
Submitted by: smalleyxb122
My daughter turns sixteen this year, so she will be getting my safe, sensible car (Volvo S60) and I finally get to buy a fun car again! One with three pedals! It has been soooo long since my left foot has had to do anything while driving, I cannot wait!
Also related is signing my daughter up for an advanced teen driving class. One of these where they actually teach kids how to handle things like skids. Unfortunately, I just now saw that the driving school I was planning on using has closed (Driveway Austin). If anyone knows a good course in Texas, preferable central Texas, I’d like to hear about it.
Good on you for wanting your daughter to learn advanced car safety. Back in my day (approximately 2012) we didn’t have any of those fancy driver training schools — I learned skid control driving the family home from my grandmother’s house in a blizzard. Learning that in a controlled environment sounds like an improvement.
Submitted by: MaximilianMeen
Mine is to learn everything about my new-ish Holley Sniper EFI. When I built a new mill for my Fairlane this summer, I decided to go EFI for the first time. The computer controls the fuel and the timing, so I’ve had to learn a whole new way of tuning my car.
Last weekend I spent some time building custom timing and AFR curves on my PC and it already runs 100% better. I have to do a lot more studying to learn all the ins and outs of fine tuning the system. So far, the more I know, the less scary and more fun it gets!
Electronic fuel injection is, to me, the single greatest advancement in cars since the internal combustion engine. Carburetors have long had some sort of vendetta against me, likely due to how I mistreated the poor single carb on my childhood ATV. Since then, I’ve never gotten a carbed engine to run right. I’d say I’m diametrically opposed to FriscoFairlane, but it seems they’ve got a leg up — an actual, functional knowledge of both methods of fueling an engine.
Submitted by: FriscoFairlane