Other Hobbies / Interests

[SwedeSport]

that thing is monstrous!

[SwedeSport]

In an effort to finish this in time for Xmas, I completed a few more steps.

The resin took forever to harden and stop stinking, but it should be ok. I sanded the hardened shell, and coated it with patching placster. I built it up thick on the cliffs in the center, and will carve rocks into the wall. I pounced the wet plaster with a dust brush to give it a coarse texture. After it dried I sanded the roadway smooth, as well as the lawn areas. Painted the thing with enamel to seal the plaster.

Next up is to paint the rocks gray and the rest of the layout with green enamel. I'll sprinkle train set grass flakes onto the smooth surface, and a coarser underbrush material into the other areas.

[DougM]

My latest venture. I rented half of a duplex in 1994, then bought the duplex four years later for $100K. I live in one side and rent out the other - with refinancing in 2002, I only have 4 more years to pay it off. The people I bought the property from also owned two identical duplexes right next door and around the corner - think "L" shape. Ever since 1998 they bugged me to buy the other two, but with the housing market being inflated, the prices were between $100k-$125k for each. With prices that high, you collect rent and pay bills, with not much left over as a cushion. The woman died a few months ago and the family had them on the market. They started at $98k and lowered the price as much as $69k for each. They again offered them to me a month ago for $65k each or $120k for both. I turned them down once again. That evening I was plugging numbers into mortgage calculators and realized there was potential monthly profit of $1300 after mortgage, taxes, and insurance payments. All units are rented out currently, so I could just take over. My brother does home loans, so I contacted him. He said I needed 20% down to even have a chance of getting a loan for rental property, so I needed to come up with $24k or it was a no go. I noticed I had $22k in an old 401k plan that was doing nothing for me, so I contacted the agent and found out I could cash it out for $17,600. Friends advised me to offer lower, so I contacted the family and offered $100k for both properties and they accepted, so I only needed a $20k down payment. The loans are being processed as I type, and I should be closing in another week or two. I'll be financing $80k for both properties - rental income of $2350/month and 30 year loan payments of ~$800 month with taxes and insurance. I could pay them off early if that's what I decide to do. Turn key profit of $1500/month, which basically will double my income overnight. If work needs to be done and I can't do it, then I could afford to pay someone - all a tax write off. I can still profit in a month if I have two vacancies.

I live in the unit on the far left, and bought the vacant lot to the left of mine last year. The new purchases will buy the duplex to the right and the one around the corner - solid brick construction, well-maintained, new furnaces and central air, both got new roofs a few weeks ago. The swimming pool was filled in about three years ago, so no headaches there. Five rental units all in a bunch with monthly income of ~$3000. Maybe I can think about retirement.

[SwedeSport]

I thought about flipping houses/rental investment, until a friend had tennants who stopped paying. Took him over a year of court battles to kick them out, and in the meantime the tennants did 50k in damage to the property.

He fixed the place, and dumped it.

[DougM]

My one rental for the past 14 years has been pretty decent - I've collected $90k in rents with only a two month vacancy in 2005. I guess living next door helps, and the new ones aren't that far away. All I can do is try, because doing what I'm currently doing is not getting me ahead in life. If I decide to hire a property manager or a lawyer to do evictions, it's all a tax write off, and if you're on top of things, courts only take 2-3 months to get out non-paying tenants. Damage is a whole nother issue that goes along with rentals. Real estate is still a better investment than any stock.

[Edward]

The other things I live for. (bottom pic being the most important)

[SwedeSport]

I must have looked at 8-10 914's over the years. I probably would have owned one if I had found one that was not either in boxes, or rusted to death. There was one a block away from me as a kid. It was red, and had a widebody and slant nose conversion done to it. Super wide gold BBS wheels on it.

Not that I would know how to play it, but what kind of axe is that?

[Luke]

Not that I would know how to play it, but what kind of axe is that?

A left handed one...

[SwedeSport]

Is that like Jimmy's ? Sorta looks like a Strat. But his was actually just a right handed unit strung upside down. I believe Jimmy's was a 64.

I have a couple of knockaround guitars that I actually found in the garbage and was able to get fixed up. One is currently in playable condition, and the other needs a few parts. One is a 75% scale Ibanez battery/ plug in type. It has a speaker in the back. I would imagine it was a beginner unit to get kids into playing guitar.

The one with the Grim Reaper painted on it was in the trash behind an apartment. I found it and a nice Shakespeare baitcasting fishing rig. I think I just happened by at the right time, Ie., pissed off girlfriend dumps boyfriend and tosses all of his belongings in the trash. I had it cleaned and restrung, and it plays nicely.

The others I found later and had the same intentions to fix up and maybe learn to play, but never really got too far with that. The others 2 are a little rough and missing some of the tuning knob bits.

They are knockoffs of brand name guitars, but perfect for a beginner. The neck and headstocks look like a Fender design. In fact I had created a graphic for the Reaper one that was a parody of the Fender logo, but since I got it dumpster diving, It said "Finder"

My buddy has a Strat worth 15-20k. Apparently they are one of the most desirable guitars aside from a Martin.

I found the Fender amp in the trash too, and I was able to get it working. It is a bit screechy and noisy, but I think some contact cleaner could help that.

[hutch]

Is that like Jimmy's ? Sorta looks like a Strat. But his was actually just a right handed unit strung upside down. I believe Jimmy's was a 64.

If we're talking Hendrix then I believe his was like a 68 or 69 because of the funky headstock that changed when CBS bought Fender in 1965. Like any rare instruments Fenders can certainly command a pretty big premium, the Holy Grails of early electric guitars like the Strat, Telecaster, and the Gibson Les Paul (among others of course) can easily fetch tens of thousands of dollars even if they're beat up, as long as they are original with matching numbers. My guitar teacher when I was in high school told me a story of having a '59 Gibson Les Paul, same one Jimmy Page used and worth like $50k these days, and he laid it up against a wall only to watch it fall over and crack the neck. He said he's never cried more in his life

I'll have to take some pictures of my guitar collection some day, I rarely play much these days but they are worth relatively so little that I don't want to sell them until I absolutely have to.

[SwedeSport]

I can't recall who actually said it,

"All the money I ever needed to buy that Ferarri I dreamed of owning as a kid, was in the form of the baseball card collection that my mom threw in the trash in 1979"

[Edward]

Yup, that is a lefty 91 US Strat. I have been playing for close to twenty years. When I first started, I thought playing left handed was cooler A decision I would later regret. Southpaw guitars are limited in selection and cost more.

Those are some cool guitars to find. The Reaper guitar looks like a Dean ML copy body with a Fender replacement neck. Maybe an Ibanez? The only guitar I ever found in the trash belonged there, though my dad did find an early 60s Gibson ES 125 with a seperated neck. While its not worth much, it was still a cool find.

914s are a blast to drive and are still cheap unless you want an original 914/6 or GT with clean examples commanding $40,000 and up Unfortunately the tin worm seams to live in almost all of them. Repairing a rusty 99/900 is almost a walk in the park compaired to what lies beneath the hell hole on a 914. Rain water washes battery acid into the longitudinals (frame) and rust the cars from the inside out. Porsche/VW/ Karmann thought it was a good idea to fill some of the cavities with expanding foam causing more rust. Many end up rusting in half. Mine is halfway there, but I am determined to fix it as it has sentimental value to me.

The yellow 914 was actually the first car I drove when I got my license. Back then, It was red, rusty, and cheap, but I loved it. After a few months of fun, it swallowed a valve. Sadly, I lost it to back storage fees four years later. Fast forward six years. I was scanning Craigslist and came upon an ad for a yellow 73 914. The first thing I noticed were the ATS wheels, which were what I had on mine. Then I saw my ugly red seats! The year and color were wrong, but then the license plate looked familiar. I still had the title after all these years, and sure enough, the plates were mine! It turns out the storage company never put a lien on the car. The guy who bought the car had died, and the son was getting rid of everything. I ended up paying what I originaly owed on the storage.

The car is now full of fiberglass and there is yellow everywhere I have a long road ahead to undo what the other guy did. For what ever reason, the engine tin and gauges/ switches where painted in Swedish flag colors

Example of what can happen if left alone.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php? ... &hl=jersey

[SwedeSport]

Made some more progress on my nephews Xmas present. Carved the plaster with some sandpaper and screwdrivers and knives. Tried to make them look somewhat like rocks. Painted them with some light gray primer. I mixed some darker gray acrylic and brushed it onto the rocks. I then used a paper towel to remove most of tge darker gray, leaving it mostly in tge crevices. I brushed on some black and did the same. I used a dry paint brush to pounce the darker areas to look like soft shadows.

I used a brown enamel to paint the landscape. First I did just certain areas and applied course turf for a train layout. I did the same for the lawn areas and applied a finer manicured lawn turf. I broadcast some green flocking over the layout. Using a dry brush to pounce it into the enamel and spread it evenly.

Ill give it some time to dry thoroughly before I screw the track down. Maybe I will add a few trees too.

[DrewP]

Jason, that looks soooo kickass!

Edward, I definitely did not know that about the 914's.

Do you want me to keep an eye out for a rust-free-ish CA 914 shell for you too?

[Edward]

Edward, I definitely did not know that about the 914's.

Do you want me to keep an eye out for a rust-free-ish CA 914 shell for you too?

Yeah, a lot of buyers get screwed when they think they bought a rust free car. Some say there is no such thing as a rust free 914. In reality, there are plenty of clean examples out there, its just hard to judge a car without really inspecting the "Hell Hole" area.

If you do come across a clean tub, let me know. There are a lot of 914 nuts looking for good shells, especially on the East Coast. I already have a 95% rust free tub in storage, but I don't want to give up on the yellow car yet.