Is it worth it?

I'm stuck between wanting to cruise or race. I love the feel of a fast car but at what point is cruising a fast car not worth it? I yanked the slicks off the Mustang so we could drive it around town a little. It's still too radical for a long haul but I figured cruising a few blocks around town wouldn't be bad. Today I took it out and was having fun untill the regulator went south. It was pouring gas all over the engine. I had to get the car home by turning the 140 GPH pump on and off to keep the gas from blowing all over the place and killing the engine. Same thing with my Firebird on the way to Somerset a few years back. Holley Regulators suck! I guess I'm getting old because I'm leaning towards gas milage and streetablity. Watching racing fuel pour down the back of the engine block today left me with a sour feeling about how racing and cruising the same car don't mix.

thats one thing about a 6spd fuel injected car i like ... you can have something kinda fast and yet still get good gas mileage

either way how about you race the mustang and cruise the firebird?

Sounds to me like that your attempting to justify owning multiple vehicles in your own mind. In my household we have two licensed drivers and five vehicles, it is ok. The insurance company doesn't mind at all.

On a more serious note, I agree with Crucial, own multiple vehicles to suit your needs, wants, and desires. If you have the time to cruise and race do them both!

I have too many cars as it is. That's not the issue. I guess I want my cake and eat it too. I like cars that will turn your belly inside out when the go pedal is hit. It's just hard to have that feeling and be dependable too. It's not a big deal I was just more ticked off than anything. The regulator was put on last summer when the Stang was having fuel issues. I bought the pump and reg as a kit. It doesn't have 50 miles on it yet and went bad. It seems that every time I have the Mustang running like it should something else happens to it. I guess that is the problems everyone deals with but blowing 100 bucks on a regulator that will hold up is not going to happen for a while. Every dime I get my hands on is going into the house right now.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but what about going turbo?
Pretty streetable, good power!!! Just a thought!!

Yea Steve... what happened to the twin turbo bird setup???

Next build will be a twin turbo set up. Just have to get my eggs in a row $$$$$

RebStew wrote: I guess I'm getting old because I'm leaning towards gas milage and streetablity.

What good is a street car that isn't streetable? Huge camshafts and/or high compression among other things will make your life miserable with a street car. If all you want to do is go down the street to the Whippy Dip and back on Friday night and nothing else, then knock yourself out. But, if you want something that you can take to Somerset without making yourself crazy, you have to make concessions. As far as gas mileage goes, it is pretty much the same deal. If I have to fill up 2 or 3 times just to get TO Somerset, I'm probably not going. Once again, it defeats the purpose.I have been kicking around ideas for my upcoming street car build and I'm about 99.9% sure that I am going with a turbocharged straight 6. Mainly because I refuse to be normal but I think that I can make some decent HP numbers and still pull down some acceptable mileage. The thing that triggered this thinking is that I hear a lot of people complain about the price of racing gas(6.99 a gal last year). I get 3 passes out of a gallon in my Pinto so it doesn't really bother me. So, why not try that way of thinking with a street car?

Very good points.

It's tough to go "old style" and have a car equally suited to the strip and the street. The reason I prefer the newer fuel injected PCM controlled stuff with 6-speeds is you can run them at the track and have some fun and you can put them on the streeet around town and get 12-15 mpg and then hit the Interstate and get 24 MPG+ all on pump gas. You can spend a few bucks and with 30 minutes to 1 hour of work time you can transform the suspension from a pretty darn good handling car to a pretty darn good setup for the strip.

They aren't old steel & don't have the classic look, but they are fine multipurpose cars that can be driven every day. Lots of them can be had for well under $10K. Even so, I wonder if it's worth it all of the time.

It's a pain sometimes but it's worth it I guess. Just need to step back from time to time. What else we gonna do? Play checkers at the local barber shop. I'm bald for God sake. How would that look hanging out in a barber shop all day!

we could paint a checker board on the roof of a car lol wouldnt burn too much gas just getin too the shop

I building a street gasser, it probably won't get driven much but when it is......