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Posting Mad :)
stephen_gusterson - 3/7/12 at 03:35 PM

Found this site again in a google search.

Find it hard to believe that once upon a time I was berated for "posting too much" with my 6,000 posts, as top poster.




There seems to be plenty more saddos now


Nice to see you all again

ATB

steve

bob - 3/7/12 at 03:42 PM

Hello steve

Nice to see you pop up, hope you are keeping well.

loggyboy - 3/7/12 at 03:46 PM

Deja vu
http://locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=107682

jollygreengiant - 3/7/12 at 03:47 PM

Hello again Steve, too. I was wonderingthe other day where you were, how you doing etc. I presume life and family ok.

JGG/Clive

stephen_gusterson - 3/7/12 at 04:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
Deja vu
http://locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=107682



Nice to know you care enough to search, and that was 3 years ago.... - and im well down the 2nd page of posts by user.

Its also good to see so many people from the time I used this site a lot, and thanks all for saying hello again

How to say, in a few words whats happened in last few years - will likely fail but....

The car project came a cropper I think for the following reasons :

1. Moved job, 100 miles a day commuting take its time, as did / does the job
2. My custom version of a locost was a bit much to chew (morgan lookake) and I ran out of time money and enthusiasm, esp as I had a long term private design project paying well in the evenings. Work on the car or get £35 an hour. Hard one.
3. Sidetracked into doing up a KH250 motorbike, which I still have.
4. Decided to go the 'girlie' open top route, and bought a MX5 MK1, which I still have. My main car is an Alfa Mito 155hp chipped to 186hp
5. I have a small business with my wife that also take up a lot of spare time. Mostly trades on ebay
6. And likely more distractions


So, after not working on the car for 4+ years, I had it collected and scrapped. That was several grand and countless hours spent. At least I had some good experience and learnt along the way. Biggest lesson was I should have bought a kit, and kept it simple to fit the time I had.

Family life is still good, im now 53 (argh) and my kids are 24 and 26. Both have good degrees but either no job or job nowt to do with degree.

Perhaps one day the MX5 will expire or crash, and I can have a 2nd go at doing a straghtforward locost!

Was at Goodwood last Sunday.

Will be at Silverstone GP all weekend

Planning to do Indy 500 as part of a USA holiday next year.

so, not too bad, apart from the wasted money and effort on the car!



ATB

Steve


[Edited on 3/7/12 by stephen_gusterson]

Jon Ison - 3/7/12 at 04:03 PM

Now there's a name from the past...... Welcome home.

stephen_gusterson - 3/7/12 at 04:08 PM

Thanks Jon

I should try and visit a bit more often than 3 years - might even be able to remember some useful experiences from nearly building a car

atb

steve

nick205 - 3/7/12 at 04:25 PM

How weird is that....I was thinking about you just the other day and wondering whatever happened to you???

You were the king of posts back in the day

Did you ever finish your scratch built?

stephen_gusterson - 3/7/12 at 04:34 PM

Yep, and you now have 1000 more than me

I guess when you have a boring job (a that time) posting at work helps you through the day.

Sadly, I didnt finish my scratch build, but got close - see above

ATB

steve

Alan B - 3/7/12 at 05:08 PM

Hey Steve...nice to see you around again....

Mr G - 3/7/12 at 05:22 PM

Simon - 3/7/12 at 05:57 PM

Blimey Steve - I did a search for you on here recently only to find you hadn't visited in a while. I'd also noticed your website address is now available

Good to see you on here again and shame about the project; still now you're back you can start another

ATB

Simon

Marcus - 3/7/12 at 07:13 PM

Ah, Mr Gusterwotsit, welcome back!!
There's a lot of us still here

nick205 - 3/7/12 at 07:51 PM

quote:
Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
Yep, and you now have 1000 more than me



...in nearly 10 years

stephen_gusterson - 5/7/12 at 10:43 PM

Great to hear from all the old guys, thanks for remembering me

I will try not to stay away for too long again.

Bob gave me a poke 3-4 years back, but it didnt kick me into action re positng then. I found one of my posts in a completly random google search this time.

Yeah, I gave up the website address a couple years back, a little before the car. When it had my bio as being 44 and im now 53, it needed a bit of updating!!!! I had changed, the car hadnt much.

I started the car in may 2000, using a ford granada E reg (when did you last see one of those) as a donor. Lots of furious work for 2-3 years, a lot in the final year, then about 2005, when I got redundant and moved jobs, run out of time. Car sat in a rented garage costing me £30 a month (£35 by the end) , and that all added up. I just thought its never gonna get finished and at £400 a year storage, something had to give, and it was the car. The scrap guy apparently showed interest in it, perhaps he sold it on. I wasnt there to see it go, it was sometihing i didnt want to see... tho my son tok a photo of it on the truck. At least I didnt have to cut it into bits, which in the darkest coldest winters I could see myself doing! I didnt want to sell it as i though it was so deviant from a locost, i would get too many tyre kickers.

Still, learnt a lot along the way. And of course had great fun on here, i guess also too much time on here didnt help - its much more comfy in front of a PC than in a single garage cramped to heck freezing in january. If I did it again, it would have to be a simpler project, and not in a friggin single garage! I go on hols sometimes and rent villas in Florida, what I could have done in a 20ft plus square garage!

Also showing the passage of time is that phelpsa was 13 I think when I used this board a lot, I guess hes 21 or so now, and still a fairly regular profile looking at his history.

Im risking sounding like someones grandma

ATB

Steve



PS

Forgot to ask..... couple of questions


now sierras are about as rare as the mk2 escort was when 'the book' first came out, whats peoples preferences for donors? My Mk1 MX5 looks just the ticket, 115hp, rear wheel drive, even wishbones all round....


Second question :

A couple years ago I noticed 'the book' had been re-published, written by a Chris Gibbs - I was suprised - the Chris Gibbs ex this forum?

Which is the 3rd question - what happened to get him kicked out - if thats not like skeletons in the family closet.... I always liked Chris's humour

[Edited on 5/7/12 by stephen_gusterson]

James - 5/7/12 at 11:22 PM

quote:
Originally posted by stephen_gusterson


Forgot to ask..... couple of questions


now sierras are about as rare as the mk2 escort was when 'the book' first came out, whats peoples preferences for donors? My Mk1 MX5 looks just the ticket, 115hp, rear wheel drive, even wishbones all round....


Second question :

A couple years ago I noticed 'the book' had been re-published, written by a Chris Gibbs - I was suprised - the Chris Gibbs ex this forum?

Which is the 3rd question - what happened to get him kicked out - if thats not like skeletons in the family closet.... I always liked Chris's humour

[Edited on 5/7/12 by stephen_gusterson]



How funny, I was googling for some info on here a week or 2 ago and came across one of your posts Steve- was wondering how you were and what became of your car. Didn't expect it to be finished (how could you- without coming on here! ) but disappointed to here's it's no more!

1) Mixture of MX5s, Sierra based built from parts and the odd Beemer thrown in I would say! The 3rd Edition book chassis has plans/mods for MX5 donor available online.

2) Yes, *that* Chris Gibbs. I'm not sure of the exact details (and am probably wrong) but it was written by him with chassis/build work done (I think!) by Martin Keenan.

3) Hmmmm, definately skeletons. In brief: one of those periodical forum blow ups that happen really. As far as I can remember he made a small joke about some new structures to the forum and ended up having a massive row with ChrisW (LB owner) about it. A great shame as I always felt Chris Gibbs had a lot to offer the forum.
There was a 3rd Edition (Roadster) forum running by then owned by Haynes which Chris Gibbs moderated so he just stuck with that and some LB members moved over there with him.
All a great shame really over something pretty small!
I heard recently he'd had some serious health problems so all the best to him, I hope we see him here again soon!

Nice to hear from you Gusty!

James

stephen_gusterson - 10/7/12 at 12:08 PM

Thanks for the update

Something pretty similar happened on the old "TOL" (the other list) yahoo groups for the locost early 2000's - it blew up one day and the group basically died and most moved over to here.

I think Chris had health probs some way back, and I think it was related to his car falling on him and causing crush injuries.

I do remeber ChrisW owns the forum too...

Shame in a way that MX5 had become a popular donor as it will deplete the cars still out there. Still, might make my 1990 (im 2nd owner) 44K genuine miles G reg worth a fortune if its going to be more rare. Used to have a crappy Mk1 cortina in the 1970s, and a hillman imp, both of which were £100 then, and over £3000 now. Quite a while to wait for return on investmenrt tho!

ATB

steve

[Edited on 10/7/12 by stephen_gusterson]