Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.

HotFox said:

Build a t3 to pipe adapter and put a pipe right through the hood!

Then you will be able to hear that engine rev. Maybe add a propane kit to throw some flames out of the pipe. That would be neat!

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While I appreciate the input...my answer has to be:

Uhhh No.

And it's a T4 flange for the record.

RangerJoe said:

I bet it won't be the only compressor he regrets leaving behind.

Joe

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That might be the case too Joe,....but I'll live with it. The trade off of 350-400 "Waaaaaahhhhh!!!" HP, for the "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh" peace of mind is the intended goal right now..
Whatever power it makes after all of this will reason enough to tinker.. I'd like to be able to put it in gear, and actually wind the engine through it's RPM band when I flat-foot it, instead of just stuffing the shifter in 2nd immediately because it's boiling the tires.
If I get to hear the cam cackling...(much different sound on a 120 degree I-6 vs a 90 degree V8) If the engine makes the similar raspy noise that comes when you put individual TB's/Carbs directly on each port,then this whole process will be more than worth it to me.

Well then. That went better than I expected.

I called the Lowes store where I got that little weanie compressor from. Told the mgr the deal. He told me that because I didn't have a receipt, the best he could do was give me a store credit. He asks me if I remember how much I paid for it. I guess 139.00- 129.00. I told him that I intended to replace the thing as an exchange just as soon as the process completes.

When I get there, the cust svc guy is expecting me. He takes the dead pup, looks at my license, and processes the gift card. He spins the receipt around and shows me the bottom line......You're getting $207.00 back on the card.

I quietly sign the dotted line.

I then go back to the tool crib,...and find that the Lowes branded, noisy assed, oil less 20 gallon upright is on sale
For 179.00.

Eggselent.

The box is about 3' tall, and 2' square. Weighs about 70-80 lbs,....I'm wondering if I can fit it in the back of the Mini.

The back seats are down, I open the Hatch, taking note of the guy directly behind me in a Ford pick up.
He's smiling like something is funny.

I heft the box up, slide it in the back. It almost goes in. I go around to the passenger side seat, and slide it forward, go back around give it a little push it goes the rest of the way in. I shut the hatch.
This prompts smiley guy to open his door, lean out..and in his best southern drawl...
" I'd have bet money that you'd never been able to get that big ol box in that tiny little car...."

Pffftt I'm the king of putting stuff in a car that doesn't look like it'll fit.

Bullitt347 said:

Big whoop. I can fit that box in the back of my Focus.

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Double Big whoop,..A Focus is like the Family Truckster compared to a Mini Cooper S coupe.

Sorry.........

No car stuff. That'll be tonight.

For this morning....

To add to my previous statement..
I've been talking to all of my "non-management" cohorts at work about my need to increase my income standard. In a dealership, there are only three paths to do that if you are faced with a dilemma similar to mine.

#1. Go into service, and become a service advisor. (When I was at Carmax, this is what I did.)
Job starts at 7am, goes to 6pm..... mon-fri,...most dealerships rotate a skeleton crew in on Saturday on a rotational basis...Brutal hours..55-60 weekly.On your feet all day,..and 20% of the customers are a real pain in the ass. Income potential at BMW in this position is 55-100k. Average is 70k.
#2. Sell cars. ( A genius does everything to sell a car minus the actual paperwork)
BMW calls them "Client Advisors". Because there are guys like me in the dealership, most of the client advisors can only talk about a feature...but wouldn't know how to work it to save their ass. Knowing all that I do, makes it a benefit for me in this path.
The income potential here is similar to service...55-100k, and again the average is somewhere in the 60-70k range. The downside is that it is retail...you are open on every holiday...You have a 40 hour week scheduled, but it's not uncommon to see guys here on their days off, and working a sale long after the dealership has officially closed,...So hours are also potentially long. could be 40...more than likely 45-50.
#3. Go into management.
6 figures....Easily a 60+ hour work week.....Requires years of experience working in one of the other two above examples...
What does the finger say?....

I was gonna talk with a manager of the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership down the street today at lunch...but after yesterday, (Where I got asked if I was nuts) am now considering selling BMWs instead of just talking about them. I have no idea whether or not there is a better opportunity down the street, but according to one guy who has been in the business a long time....
"Not a chance"
I originally said that I wanted 60k as a true income potential....That means w/o having to bust my ass to meet an unrealistic objective....It seems that it is doable here. Besides all of that, I have tenure here, and am at the 2 year mark. That means Two weeks accrued vacation time, past my 90 day insurance eligibility window,...and participating in a new 401k plan (again). It'd be stupid to start over anywhere, especially if all I could hope for was a similar income opportunity on a completely different brand that I know little about.

Now,.......If I can only convince the GM to give me a decent enough 90 day guarantee.....I'll be golden.

hoopty5.0 said:

I was half way through typing out something, but then I wondered why a 30 year old would be giving a 50 year old career advice, so I deleted it.

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Why,..you don't think a 60 year old would consider what you have to say?
The simple fact that you read it all puts you in a position to comment.

I know I'd be good at it...Selling cars isn't actually "selling" anything. We rarely have to deal with comparing our product to somebody else ( Audi, Mercedes) people that walk on the lot want the car...you just gotta put them through the motions of buying it.

Ironically, #1 is at the end of his service in the AF. He is at a similar crossroads. He is in a dead end job as a maintenance man for diesel generators...it's just about the bottom rung of the ladder when it comes to the other " high tech" branch of the armed forces.
I've been hounding him to cross train out of that job, or at least attend night classes at the CCOAF, but he is his father's son....Trying to get me to do anything I didn't want to do back then was a waste of time too.

He hasn't made it past E-4 despite taking the test for advancement to E-5 a couple of times....High School Was far too leanient on both of my kids....letting them take test over,...and literally giving the test answers away at the beginning of the week, requiring that they only had to copy that junk if they wanted to pass the test.

Not that way in the USAF I guess, huh #1?

So,...I'm getting him back in March...He starts school at UAB in April...enters the guard/reserve the same time,...and gets a regular night job in between.

He starts over in April,...I start over in February.

95BlueStallion said:

I typed an @madmike novel of an opinion, but retracted. Let me ask you something Mike. Are you comfortable earning what you do until you retire, or wanting to cushion your nest egg? Are the extra hours going to be worth it if you dont really "need" it?

I work to live, not the other way around. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

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For the record....

I said it earlier in my previous statement..we had 2-4k taken away from us in mid year when they changed the pay plan. They already increased the hours...(we used to leave at 6PM,...now we could be there till 8PM or later)

The money and the hours have changed...I'm trying to recover part of that.

Additionally,..The house payment with this new "South Fork" estate, has went up 400.00 over the previous home.And lastly 2 months spent recovering w/ no income is a tough spot to crawl back from.

I just want to breathe, to be able to do what I want to do financially w/o handing over everything to the bank.

Converting over to sales will be a huge pay raise...anywhere from $1-$2000.00 a month net.
So,...there wont necessarily be that many more hours,....and I certainly need the difference that it'll generate..The Monster needs it too.