Thank little baby Jesus for conference calls. Managed to answer most of these through a single call.
How old were you when you first discovered your passion for vehicles?
I've always been a mechanical person, taking things apart to see how they function and (sometimes) reassembling them. Some of my earliest memories are with my grandpa on his land in East Texas and Farmer's Branch riding and working on tractors before my family moved East from LA and then riding on heavy equipment that my dad's road construction company owned. Growing up, my dad was always one to handle as much of his own auto work as he had and made time for, so if I wasn't at school, mowing the seemingly massive lawn or handling other chores, I was likely in the garage handing my dad tools or holding the flashlight as I learned and the rolls gradually shifted to him staying upright and clean while I got dirty and contorted my arms to fit in spaces they were never intended to (thanks 4.0L rear main seal). I don't share the same passion for autos as a lot of the members around here do in that they always need to be working on, upgrading or buying a new vehicle to be content, I have just always enjoyed the mechanical aspects of all vehicles/boats/motorcycles and learning more about how different equipment operates.
Would you ever lower a truck?
Yes. I was very close to lowering my Tundra when I first purchased it as its intended purpose was a tow rig for my Tacoma. Unfortunately, I made the decision to scrap my Tacoma plans, sell it and the mass of parts I had accumulated, and never touched the suspension on my Tundra (current Tundra plans and parts in my garage will lead to finally touching the suspension). I also plan to own a 50's-60's IH, Ford or Chevy truck at some point in my life which will involve short suspension and fat tires.
What's your preferred jam while hoonage ensues?
I used to subscribe to one of those CD clearing house type places in high school, the one where you buy one and get 5 free type of deals. One of the CDs I bought around 2000 or so was called Going South. It was a compilation record with some random hot chick on the cover in a cowboy hat and a barely there red t-shirt. That turned out to be one of my favorite CDs ever and many of my late high school and college shenanigans involved that CD as my soundtrack. It has tracks from Lynrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Doobie Brothers, Mountain, the Allman Brothers and several other 70's southern rock bands.
What's your typical Whataburger order?
I don't eat nearly as much Whataburger as I'd like to anymore but I'm a fan of the chop house cheddar on Texas toast or a #1 with japs. An HBCS every now and then hits the spot as well.
How do you like your steak cooked?
Not much of a steak fan, but never past medium rare and I prefer the cast iron on stove top to oven method. These days, if I'm eating a piece of meat, it most likely came off my smoker though.
If you were to build a sleeper with a typical budget, what vehicle would you use and what power plant would you use?
I'm a wagon fan. If I'm going to build a sleeper, it's going to be a '55-'57 or '62-'64 Chevy Bel Air wagon with an SBC or an LS motor or the aforementioned early model truck.
What state would you reside in if you weren't able to live in Texas?
I'm a fan of the PNW. Washington, Idaho and Oregon would be on my short list. If we could start over in California with a more intelligent population, I'd consider Northern CA as well.
I just got back from a week in the Columbia River Valley and could easily see myself there.
Most f'ed up car/driving story of your life?
I sometimes travel for my job and for a period of about 18 months I was making a daily drive to Waco from Austin and back, seeing many wrecks along the way. Other than being about 5 minutes ahead of the bridge collapse in Salado earlier this year, the worst wreck I witnessed was on the way back to Austin one evening when I was immediately behind an older mid-sized car that lost the battle between an 18 wheeler and concrete construction barricades.
As many of you know, it seems like 95% of I-35 is constantly under construction, especially between Waco and Jarrell. Just South of Waco, there are many areas with concrete barricades on one or both sides of the highway to separate traffic from construction. Where this occurred, there were barricades on the left side of the fast lane with no shoulder. The truck driver either dozed off or was attempting to switch lanes for no apparent reason without signaling when the car was between the trailer's front and rear axles, sandwiching the car between the box trailer and the barricades until the car slowed down enough that the rear of the trailer was pulled up and over the front of the car.
The truck driver then realized what was happening (or woke up), pulled the truck over to the right shoulder and the car driver was alert enough to pull her car over as well. Having witnessed all of this, I hit the flashers, pulled over, blocked the right lane with my car and ran to the car to find a panicked young mother, a 6-8 year old girl in the passenger seat balling and a wailing baby in the back seat covered in shattered glass. There was an obvious fuel odor and I had thoughts of a story my brother told me about watching a guy die in a truck fire on the back roads of the oil patch. After dialing 911 and putting the phone on speaker, I was able to pull the baby out through the rear window and left it and my phone with another by standard on the access road to go back and pry the door open to get the mother out and then pull the daughter out through her window with another guy that had stopped. Luckily everyone was physically OK with only mild cuts and bruises and no fire ever started, but the scene of that trailer driving over the front of that car is definitely stuck in my head for life.
Favorite/least favorite beer?
I don't drink much these days (usually) but I often have a few Real Ale Devil's Backbone in the fridge for when I feel like a beer and enjoy most craft brews. I don't have a least favorite beer but after this past week when I opened a Shandy on accident, Shandy style beers are now my least favorite beer. Even compared to the 48 pack of Kirkland's Signature Light Beer (Costco beer) that I heavily assisted in killing.
Drink of choice?
Tequila. Usually in a high ball, sometimes with a splash of tonic.
What do you want your next vehicle to be?
Assuming we are talking about a DD or weekender, a 996TT is the current soup du jour. Sometimes it a Jeep LJ. Sometimes its a new Tundra or an F150. In all likelihood, it will be another new car for the rib.
How many JCI chili cheese dogs can you eat in one sitting?
No clue. The only reason to set foot in Houston is for an Aggie football game.
Which car do you want to shove off a cliff?
I was pretty close, on several occasions, with my '88 Jeep Wagoneer. All sorts of fun mechanical and electrical problems that liked to expose themselves on long trips, like my spring/summer/winter drive from TAMU back to NC.
In your opinion, what is the absolute worst modification that can be done to a vehicle?
I try not to criticize others for what they like to do with their own money or makes them happy, but "stancing" looks pretty darn stupid to me.
3 favorite car related activities?
1. Hanging out with friends/family on a tailgate just about anywhere.
2. Helping someone work on their car or improving personal vehicles.
3. 4 wheeling/rock crawling (even though I've been out of the sport for several years, it's still fun as heck to watch).
Preferred city for getting crunk?
College Station. Partially because I'm cheap and there's nothing like paying for the entire night with what's usually a single bar tab in Austin and mainly because I'm a nostalgic mofo and love CS.
Origin of user name?
Aggie = duh
taco = Toyota fan boy that used to own a Tacoma
Current hometown?
Austin
Original hometown?
Lake Charles
Occupation?
Construction manager
Without considering cost, if you could give your kids any vehicle when they turn 16, what would you start them in?
Since I don't have children and don't suffer from the over-protective-parent-OMG-thats-a-death-trap syndrome yet, I'll say a 5 speed YJ/TJ or an early generation Tacoma. Or a poop brown second generation Camry like my brother's first car if I feel the need to embarrass them.
Extra questions:
How many of those running obstacle course things have you done now?
Not many. Since rediscovering fitness after a long sabbatical last year, I've done the Spartan sprint, super and registered for the Dallas beast on Halloween and ran the Battlefrog a few weeks back. I've got a few road runs and several trail runs under my belt as well. I just do them as goal posts to mark my improvements in overall health though they are becoming slightly addictive and I plan to keep up with the Spartan and Battlefrog when they hit Austin twice a year.
What's your favorite color of Labrador Retriever?
The only one that's not official and pisses off the locals:
Deal with it.
What vehicle do you want to buy right now?
