Monday Musings 53

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““There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”

– Isaac Asimov, 1980

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For the second consecutive weekend we had no showings of our house, which has now been on the market for a month. The lack of showings is in stark contrast to the many showings we had in the first two weeks.

Our realtor sent us data indicating that interest, as measured by the number of showings, seems to have fallen quite dramatically in our segment of the local real estate market. I guess he sent the data so we would know it’s not just our house that has seemingly dropped off the radar of potential home buyers.

The best realtor in the world will have a difficult time selling a house in a “bad” market and an inept realtor can easily sell a house in a “good” one. When I began to explore the idea of selling my first house, which I had not lived in for nine years, I called the wonderful person who had managed the property as a rental during that time and she told me that the market was exploding. (I had no idea what was going on in that market as I was living 1,400 miles away.) Even though her company would lose the rental commission, she showed me the comps in my area. The house had appreciated in value by 35%-40% in the last year.

I decided to sell; the house sold in three days and for more than the asking price. I have never had such good luck in selling any other house.

Not to be too morbid, but this house may very well be the last one I sell. I have never dealt well with being in limbo. When I (and in this case, we) decide to do something, I want to do it, not wait to do it. However, our experience is yet another example of the truth that we don’t have total control over what happens in our lives.

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This Hemmings article addresses adding EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) to classic cars, something about which I have written many times in this blog. The piece begins:

“Gearheads, like much of society, can be slow to embrace change. In the automotive world, advances in technology often mean considerable improvements in performance, and nearly every gearhead can agree that’s an admirable pursuit. But still we resist.“

Here is another interesting passage:

“…But even with design improvements that allowed the carburetor to function in a wide range of conditions, it still remained (as many would refer to it) a calibrated fuel leak.“

“That may be a slap in the face to those who still maintain carburetors as a viable fuel delivery device. But anybody who has experienced the nuances of flooding, an irregular idle, vapor lock, mediocre fuel mileage, or any of the myriad maladies inherent to the carburetor, has to question that thinking.“

 

If I am ever in a position to buy a car like the one pictured below, I will certainly have EFI installed. It would be my car and my money. Why some people think they have the right to tell other people how to spend their money is beyond me.

 

 

From a Hemmings ad a picture of a 1965 Buick Riviera. What a magnificent car; the addition of EFI will not diminish its magnificence.

 

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Published by rulesoflogic

Empiricism over ideology!

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9 thoughts on “Monday Musings 53”

  1. Anyone who has ever fiddled with a Stromberg knows that of which you speak. I eschew tradition in that regard as well. To a purist, I understand I am speaking heresy. >grin<

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  2. I think some of the lack of showings for your home might be bank related. I read an article last week that JP Morgan started cutting back on residential mortgages, and most banks followed suit. The banks went from wanting a FICO of 650 and 5% down to a 700 FICO and 20% down. They were also cutting way back on commercial real estate loans and home equity loans. It’s anticipated that there will be upwards of 8 million foreclosures in the next few months, and no real market for those properties, and the banks are hesitant to take on more risk.

    I know properties in rural areas (at least in MY rural area) are still in a decent market position. But I think most of the purchases in my area are folks that sold an existing property, had a good profit on it, and took a small mortgage (at most) to buy.

    Hope the interest in your property picks up soon, and you can make your move.

    I decided last Thursday that some “wind therapy” was needed. Friday morning I loaded some clothes into the tour pack of my Harley and hit the road. Stayed on back roads as much as possible, did maybe 100 miles on interstates out of 1000 miles, and headed out with no particular destination. It was interesting to see the contrast from state to state, and even town to town, to how this pandemic is being dealt with. A lot of my gas stops there were signs posted that if you didn’t have exact change for your purchase,due to a coin shortage, you had to use a card. Restaurants varied from one town to the next, from the same chain, whether the dining room was open or closed. Hotels had plenty of rooms available, as it seems many family’s are renting RV’s for their family vacation. It was a much needed break for me in what has become a monotonous routine of late. As our work is starting to pick back up, finally, it will likely be a while before I can do this again.

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    1. Many thanks for offering a possible explanation and for the good wishes.

      As we will be a cash buyer of our new home, we might have to hope for the same here.

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  3. We will continue to pray about the sale of your home and for your eventual move to our environs. To each his own way of belief.

    The addition of EFI to any car is an improvement, which is why I have EFI for my truck project. By the time you add EFI to your future Riviera, there will be more improvements to the aftermarket systems to make the installation less of a chore. I know the best shop to use in Phoenix to do the installation for you. With respect to DDMcGs reference to Strombergs, I have a model 97 in a crate in the garage for the eventual roadster project to go on the Ford flathead V8 that sits on the engine stand. I will probabably buy two of the newly made Stromberg 84s now on the market for that engine so as to not over carburate the flathead.

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  4. Re: EFI

    While I’m in favor of using it, there are times where I wouldn’t. For instance, I certainly wouldn’t put it on a Duesenberg, or a period hot rod as Phillip plans. On old hot rods it’s as much the “look” as the performance. I love the look of ” three dueces” or “dual quads” out where God and everyone can see them.

    Now if you want to add an old style Hillborn injection system with 12″ stacks poking thru the hood instead of carbs, I could be persuaded.:-)

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    1. Thanks for chiming in, sir.

      Yes, on a priceless Duesenberg or Delahaye I would not touch the intake system or anything else. Very few cars reach that level of rarity or significance.

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