I don't know, but lately I got this absurd idea in my head that I'm going to buy a vintage Vespa and restore it.
It would probably be very impractical for me, actually, since it gets pretty cold/snowy where I live, too.
Also, I usually take the highway to school so it would be a longer ride on a scooter.

It's also going to be really fucking expensive. I could easily spend almost $2000 just to find one in decent shape, even if it's not drivable. Then 1000s more on replacing body/motor parts or possibly even swapping out the motor. Getting it painted would cost a crapload.
And I'd have to buy all the gear; riding a scooter is just as dangerous as riding a motorcycle. I'd have to get a helmet, riding jacket, boots, and gloves.
Also, I'd have to buy the oil for the two-stroke engine, so some of the savings from fuel efficiency is offset by that.

But no matter how much I try to talk myself out of it, I still want to do it. They're just so damned romantic.

Anyway, OP, I'm sure if you got a fancy new scooter with an electric starter and four-stroke motor you'd be fine.

I live in michigan and ride thru december, but i dont dare ride on days with ice and snow. its impossible unless youre going 10mph. I ride 99% of the time and dont have any issues, just get yourself a nice backpack and you wont have any problems the rest of the year. although i recomend motorcycles over scooters. engine size realy doesnt matter when it comes to motorcycles, its all about sohc v. dohc, 1, 2, or 4 cylinders. right now i ride a 650cc 4 cyl, and that was comfortable enough to ride with 2 people, and luggage 300 miles straight. i dont agree with them being expensive, scooters are cheap as crap and all the bikes ive owned ranged from 400$ to 1200$, all have needed nothing. plus insurance at the most will be 200$ a year. helmet is all you need in terms of gear. ive been in a few crashes, always somebody elses fault and walked away with no more then road rash and sore bones. plus with ballistic jackets its hot as balls in summer. if do ride all winter though i recomend fuel injection over a carbed bike. almost all 2 wheeled vehicles are 4 stroke now and have electric starts...

>>1105
>>scooters are cheap as crap
Well this is true, but I was speaking relatively as a poor college student whose parents bought his car.

>>almost all 2 wheeled vehicles are 4 stroke now and have electric starts...
I know, but I was just saying the OP wouldn't have a problem with any modern bike or scooter, in comparison to the anachronism I was talking about.

>>391

After 12 years of getting round to it, I finally did it.

Works great :)

Makes a biiig difference on long journeys. I can now get out of the car close to as fresh as I got in, and we're talking about mad heat, too.

50mm diameter flexible tubing is about right.

What I want to do is take a touch screen UMPC and mount it in the center of my steering wheel. Once mounted, I would run cables for the power, audio output (my stereo has aux an input) and install an external hard drive under the dash. I'd also like to install one of those 3g/Edge internet cards. Once all is said and done, I'll have a nice little entertainment system right in my car.

>>1072

Added one of those wooden bead car seat things, like you often see taxi drivers using. Now the pipe blows into it, and it diffuses the cold air nicely. I can now sit back and remain totally cool.
This is something everyone who drives a lot or lives in a hot place should do. It's great.

I'm just about finished with my top-end rebuild of the motor in my 2002. It runs awesome, but I cracked the old exhaust manifold when I was putting everything back together, so I need to bolt my new unit on. These cars are quite well built and engineered, but the manifolds were really poorly cast (and thus expensive, because everybody always fucks theirs up).

I'm glad I finished re-doing the motor. There's a LOT more pep, it's smoother, and it starts on the button. Next summer I'm going to refurbish the suspension. The guy before me put some nice poly bushings on, but they're in bad shape these days.

>>1064
>>1068
I think it looks awesome; I say go for it

Taking this old turd and bringing it back from the depths of hell.
Bad link pins? Check.
Cracked body around the left rear torsion tube? Check
Oil leaks? Check
25 year old wiring that was done by a drunk? Check.

the engine thats in it was blown *1776 running a delotoro*
Now it just beats around with a 1600 single port with high compression heads with chromoly valves/springs.
The goal? To make it slightly reliable.
Its a 56 btw.

Go to your local auto parts store, or get on amazon... whichever you choose and get yourself a Haynes manual for your vehicle. The reason I like Haynes better than Chilton's is because the Haynes manuals actually have photographs of the job you're doing rather than just drawings. That's how I learned cars.

>>1093
No offense, but if all you learned about cars came from a Haynes, there's a shitload that your missing. The thing I hated most about Chilton/Haynes manuals, was for stuff like transmission technical information it would say "Refer to qualified mechanic" or something like that.

The best thing you can do is by the Field Service (or service information) Manual for your car. The FSM is the same book the qualified mechanic refers to when he's doing a job, so it will make you just as knowledgeable/able to work on the car as anyone else. (provided you have tools)

FSM's are way more expensive then a Chilton/Haynes (the three book set for my '05 CTS-V cost $150), but in the cost of jobs that you would have had to "refer to qualified mechanic" they easily pay for themselves. They're the best way to learn about every nut, bolt and screw in your car.

>>1097

I neglected to mention in that post the fact that the Haynes manual was just the first step for me. After doing different jobs as the book prescribed, I became more confident and started doing jobs on the vehicle without the book. About a year or two later I got an FSM for my first car, and just started playing round with stuff under the hood out of sheer boredom and curiosity. Now, I can rebuild an engine (among other things).

Here's the old radiator... riddled with rust and other shit. Wasn't fun getting it out, but was satisfied to pull this huge cartridge like thing out of the engine bay.

I don't know if you can see the cracking, but I doubt you'll be able to miss the moisture there on the seam.

Here's the new radiator installed in my engine bay.

There is no such transmission that "cuts gas to the engine" while doing anything. If the engine is running, it's always using fuel, no matter what.

Unless you just enjoy shifting, leave it in gear. The difference in fuel consumption between being in gear and being in neutral are most likely so insignificant that you wouldn't notice anything.

the guy who lives across the street from me has a T-bird JUST like the on in your picture, except its black. I know he's been restoring it; I can here him start it sometimes, and it sounds great.

I would ask him about it, but I'm an anti-social douchebag.

>>1074

If the rust is minor I'd say around $2k, but I'm not very familiar with that segment of the market. What else can you tell us about the car?

Tires look newish. It's a hard top. All original, about 50k miles on the odo. Interior is white leather. AM/FM radio. Air conditioning, power windows, power seats. Glass is not cracked or scratched. Needs new windshield wipers. Dual exhaust. 25 gallon fuel tank. Engine is a 6.4 Liter V8 with a new Edelbrock Carb. 3 speed automatic. Any other details?