Dirtbox Venom Texas build!

[itsid]

Oh sorry.. didn't thought about it still being cold outside where you are

My fault.

We had a nice sunny 17°C last thursday here (and 22°C where I was)
and today we had about 15°C
so about 60°-70° Fahrenheit
with just an occasional shower
it feels colder due to the wind though...

But in the end (and by my calendar) it's getting springy (LOL)
the cherries are already in bloom which is really odd to be honest, but they are.

I was just curious...

'sid

 

[exenos]

-15 here. Its been a freakishly long winter in North America ( not sure about else where). We still have over a foot of snow after a couple good rain falls. Although the end appears near though, +8° forecast for the weekend.

Did anything ever get done with that single seater you mentioned in one of the first posts?

 

[itsid]

Yeah.. NOW I know
geographically I share my latitude with Washi lake for example
(to find something in Ontario at ~51.4° N),
I thought your chances for a similar temperature are pretty good
(hours of sunshine per day and such)

Bad guessing at work... Again, sorry

'sid

 

[fowler]

Mean while it's still hot as hell
Hasn't rained here in 3 months

 

[OzFab]

Lucky you, it hasn't stopped for two weeks here; Monday we had 59mm in 6 hours...

Still warmish temps though, mid 20'sC which makes for my favourite kind of weather, sticky

 

[mysteryboy28]

a guy has been emailing me about building him a buggy for a couple of months now (dropped off the face of the planet for a while, then started again). first he said he saw my ad on "Panda", which i have no idea what that is, nor did i place an ad on there. i told him i was done building buggies, so he offered me more money. so i was like, sure why not, thinking that would help me get a welder and finish Billy and my landlord's buggies. so then the guy vanishes for a month or so, then resurfaces a couple of weeks ago offering me even MORE money, saying that he bought a jeep converted to a rock climber and hated it cuz it was slow and heavy and he wanted to get rid of it. so he said he'd send me some paypal money in a day or so. about a week goes by and he quits responding to my emails. i'm like WTF? so i emailed him earlier today and told him nevermind i don't want to build him a buggy, it was getting to be like chinese water torture wondering if he was gonna follow through or not.

part of me thinks it was Billy, pretending to be someone else, just so he could push me along and get a timetable or something. lol. but i made it clear to this guy that Billy and my landlord's buggies were getting done first.

i really do want to get them done. i need a new welder, some more parts (mostly for the drive system, bigger axle, bearings, different rear hubs and rims), and some good weather. i was using 1" axles for the rear, but found that a good hard sideways bump can bend those. so i'm aiming for 1 1/8", but finding quad hubs to match has been a challenge because they aren't measured like that, and ebay sellers don't like to get all technical (gotta be steel hubs too, last set i got was aluminum).

hoping that a new money making venture starts paying off in the next few weeks...

 

[itsid]

Panda:
http://www.pandahi.com/1011030202.html

'sid

 

[firemanjim]

Panda:
http://www.pandahi.com/1011030202.html

'sid

how do you say "busted" in Germany?.......

 

[itsid]

how do you say "busted" in Germany?.......

Oh.. hehe.. No that's not what I was trying to say...
I just linked the ad for Dave
it's from Nov. 2012

So I think he just forgot to have it removed.

'sid

 

[landuse]

how do you say "busted" in Germany?.......

Ertappt. LOL

 

[itsid]

Ertappt. LOL

Exactly!
since this is not translated
(translation would be "caught in the act" or something)
How do you know?
Sag jetzt nicht Du verstehst mich auch so ?

'sid

 

[landuse]

Exactly!
since this is not translated
(translation would be "caught in the act" or something)
How do you know?
Sag jetzt nicht Du verstehst mich auch so ?

'sid

Google Translate ist eine wunderbare Sache

 

[firemanjim]

mysteryboy28
Senior Member
*
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Lansing, MI
Posts: 1,528
Thanks: 73
Thanked 94 Times in 81 Posts

a guy has been emailing me about building him a buggy for a couple of months now (dropped off the face of the planet for a while, then started again). first he said he saw my ad on "Panda", which i have no idea what that is, nor did i place an ad on there.


Uhh, NO,..... He said he never heard of it, never placed an ad.... BUT yet it IS his number and info..... maybe he just forgot he placed the ad, or someone did it for him....

This guy needs to finish Billy's buggy AND another, before he can start on the "new" one but wants the deposit so he can finish the 2 previous buggies, leaving him more in a deficit at building the one he wants to collect the deposit for.... ok, so where do I send my money? I want to buy into a wishy-washy hopeless pipe dream.....
Seriously, he keeps saying his welder is busted. So go buy a cheap stick or might welder and finish the job. O, it's the money...... How in the h€|| did he expect to build buggies, or a business for that matter, with no money? No money for the what ifs or poop happens situations...... Get real... NOTHING ever goes perfect for the common folk, what made him think this was a great business plan?
ok I'm done.....

 

[Poboy kartman]

mysteryboy28
Senior Member
*
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Lansing, MI
Posts: 1,528
Thanks: 73
Thanked 94 Times in 81 Posts

a guy has been emailing me about building him a buggy for a couple of months now (dropped off the face of the planet for a while, then started again). first he said he saw my ad on "Panda", which i have no idea what that is, nor did i place an ad on there.


Uhh, NO,..... He said he never heard of it, never placed an ad.... BUT yet it IS his number and info..... maybe he just forgot he placed the ad, or someone did it for him....

This guy needs to finish Billy's buggy AND another, before he can start on the "new" one but wants the deposit so he can finish the 2 previous buggies, leaving him more in a deficit at building the one he wants to collect the deposit for.... ok, so where do I send my money? I want to buy into a wishy-washy hopeless pipe dream.....
Seriously, he keeps saying his welder is busted. So go buy a cheap stick or might welder and finish the job. O, it's the money...... How in the h€|| did he expect to build buggies, or a business for that matter, with no money? No money for the what ifs or poop happens situations...... Get real... NOTHING ever goes perfect for the common folk, what made him think this was a great business plan?
ok I'm done.....

Ya know. ....I have to agree. When you take on a job and get down money- that money should be used to complete that project. And that there are always going to be unexpected problems that cause delays- but this does seem to border on ridiculous.

I've had my share of shoestring endeavors and financial problems but I detect a lackluster effort here. Where there is a will there's a way.......

It would be one thing if we were caught in this kind of weather- but it's a bit like us saying in the middle of August. ..."man- I want to get this done- but it's just too hot right now. ......

JMHO- But I think he is not willing to make the personal sacrifice necessary to run your own business.

 

[itsid]

Fair point Jim,
but I cannot remember all the ads I placed two years ago,
and I really think the same goes for Dave here.
So I wouldn't want to turn that against him

The emails with the other guy.. I don't know.

i told him i was done building buggies, so he offered me more money. so i was like, sure why not, thinking that would help me get a welder and finish Billy and my landlord's buggies.

That somehow makes sense...
Say a buggy costs $4000 to build, $5000 is what Dave asks for (earning 1k per buggy)
he's short of maybe 2k to finish the two buggies in his shop (incl the new welder and tools).
If the guy offered 6 or 6.5k.. it might work;
he wouldn't earn a dollar, but he could have the buggies off his chest.
I haven't read the mails, I don't know how much he needs to get the two buggies done or how much he was offered, I can only assume.
And no that isn't a failsafe plan, it's rather dangerous...
if it fails, he's in deeper troubles than before.

But if he's finicky about the deposits he might get out of this.
Don't spend money on anything except buggy building until all are done.
(don't pay any bills with it, don't buy a new washing machine, nor food.. until all buggies are delivered to the customers)
It's a small chance, but I agree that it might be worth thinking about it.

I've had my share of shoestring endeavors and financial problems but I detect a lackluster effort here. Where there is a will there's a way...

I agree! but you need to SEE the way out and most of all, you need to make sure it's not the way deeper in
I was sitting in a pitchblack hole waiting for that light,
I know it can be tricky to see sometimes.

It's pointless to discuss how good or bad the initial idea was, it's history,
we all made our bad choices, some more expensive than others..
it's how you try to fix your errors that makes the difference.

From my side I wish you the best of luck Dave!
A well paid job, and enough spare time to finish the two buggies.

'sid

 

[Poboy kartman]

Let's put it this way. .....you being in the same situation as Dave is 'sid, I'm sure the German pawn shops would be overstocked with old watches.

I don't get the same feeling from Dave.....and I'm a half step away from pointing out why........

 

[itsid]

Let's put it this way. .....you being in the same situation as Dave is 'sid, I'm sure the German pawn shops would be overstocked with old watches.

I don't get the same feeling from Dave.....and I'm a half step away from pointing out why........

Yes, something like that would happen.. IF.
hopefully that'll never be necessary

I can't tell if Dave is trying or trying hard enough, I don't know him...
But I assume he does; or at least he will... as soon as the weather allows it.
He said spring, and I keep my fingers crossed (for Billy) that it will be spring when the buggy is finished (THIS spring!).

So yeah... we'll see.

'sid

 

[mysteryboy28]

Yeah guys, this whole situation sucks. My profit margin was horribly low, for the sole sake of trying to generate interest and being able to eventually bump my prices up and turn this into a viable business. But with a wife and 4 kids and more overhead than I could afford it all backfired and turned to poop. I am VERY eager to get billys buggy done and delivered, but at the same time I'm not going to make my situation any WORSE because of a dream gone bad. As it is we had to give up our house and shack up with my mom for the time being. The garage is still at my disposal till the 2 buggies are done (landlord doesn't plan to rent the place for awhile, and has been very understanding).

So, billys buggy is at the top of my priority list, after taking care of the family and not getting threatened with divorce. Lol.

And I NEVER placed an ad on Panda. That's kinda creepy that it ended up on there... some kind of auto web bot thing maybe? I do not have a Panda account, and had never heard of it before. Very weird!

 

[Poboy kartman]

Well- let me put it this way......I've been pretty much ignoring this thread- even though it gets under my skin a bit.

Reason being- Like I said. ....I've had my share. .....but always came back.

Try some REAL problems. ....like Cancer. Like waking up and finding out $5000.00 of the tools you use to make a few dollars more than it takes to live on are GONE! Like working your butt off for 2 weeks and getting stiffed on your pay- when you can least afford it.

How about having to part with a prized possession- so that you can finish a job- to lose money and then go to the client and shake their hands, smile, and say: "Thanks so much for your business- it's been a real pleasure working for you! "?

How about wasting 1/2 a day with people who want a bid but are just talk?

This is reality- my reality. ...So no- I can't get on Mysteryboy's side of this....Sorry- but that's just the way it is. .....

There are enough red flags on this I see to make Mother Russia proud.

I'll just disclose one ......"broken welder"..... Give me an effin break.....REALLY????????? No...I mean REALLY???????

Broken HOW? "the tip keeps falling off".....UMMMMMM....Yeah.....That would set me back about 5 mins.....clamp it in a vise.....hacksaw a slot in it....fitty cent hose hose clamp.....back to work. .......

Gimme a break.....

Point being- entrepreneurs must be problem solvers....but more importantly, I just don't think he really puts this on his priority list where it should be. ......

Rant over.....

 

[Poboy kartman]

Well.....ummmmmmm.......errrrrr.....

There's a reason my application for a concealed carry permit in Texas has been denied 10 times.....they're afraid I might shoot my mouth off accidentally. .......

My appologies M-boy.....It appears you posted as I was typing. . ....I'm not exactly retracting at this point. ....but wouldn't have posted some of what I did had I read your post first.....