We need a "You know what sux?" thread....

[Digger]

Garry, I'm real sorry to hear that. Prayers coming your way.

[EFI Guy]

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the prayers, good thoughts, and the offers.

I can't bring myself to the point of profiting from you guys doing the hard work though. If it gets to the point where I'm struggling to buy Ramen noodles I will definitely reconsider. I know how awesome this club is and how genuine the people in it are. Everyone likes to help each other out when needed. I'm just not sure that I need help quite yet. If / when it comes to that I will reach out for sure.

I do like the idea of doing another tech day. I think there is something like six of you guys that need harnesses done. If we could round them all up and knock them out at the same time it would be cool. Even if others just want to come and hang out or learn, I'm all for it. I had a great time doing it last time.

Thanks again!

[Jesus_man]

I can only echo what others have said. You and your wife will be in our prayers.

[ZOSO]

<rant on>

How can one expect to survive in this dumb ass state? Im trying to buy a house and make decent money. Have ZERO debt and cant qualify for even a pot to piss in. Might just have to start looking out of state.

<end >

[Jesus_man]

It's because you're a self-supporting, tax-paying, law-abiding citizen. If you were a welfare, druggie, mental health wreck, they'd find something for you!

[Gunnibronco]

Rob,

After being declined to refinance my own home, due to a single 'qualifying' factor, and watching my girlfriend's home (needing work and fairly run down for its age) in Denver, get 16 showings and multiple offers in the first 24 hours, I can't imagine what trying to buy a home is like up there./end run-on sentence

[Dukietown]

This is a terrible time to buy here. Especially if you don't have something to sell. Lots of realtor friends I've talked to all expect the market to bottom out in a year or so. Granted interest rates will rise before then but it might be best to rent for another year.

[ZOSO]

I have no choice but to move. Cheaper to buy than rent another house.

[sykanr0ng]

I've been turned down for credit because I had no debt too.

Seems to be easier if you are in debt up to your eyeballs.

[Rox Crusher]

The trick is to manage your credit score..............being totally debt free is great from an individual's perspective (best place to be really)..........but if you don't have a credit track record for them to rely on it screws them all up.

If you don't already, get a couple credit cards with good rates and high limits, but don't use them. This will demonstrate that you have access to credit but don't use it, which drives your credit score up dramatically.

i think gunnibronco hit the nail on the head in his other thread.........new credit rules are about to kick in making it even tougher to qualify if you aren't the average American treadmiller

[ZOSO]

Oh I have debt/credit. But that is just 1 truck payment left. Everything has been paid off in the last 6 months. My landlord is giving me first option to buy the house Im in now, but is asking 20k over market value which is 30k over my budget. So im in a lose lose situation. Going to start looking today.

[Digger]

Hang in there. We were in the same boat in 2007. Landlord wanted us out, said we could buy the house for some inflated price. We passed, got another rental, the housings market collapsed, we bought the new rental for 75% of the original value.

The market is insane right now and not sustainable.

[sykanr0ng]

Probably need to look North or East to find reasonable.

[landshark]

I am going through a re-finance right now, took a bit of work to get my ducks in a row.. but found this quick chart on what counts toward your credit score - this is specific to FICO score..

Screen Shot 2015-06-18 at 11.31.57 AM.png

[Gunnibronco]

For what its worth, after my denial, I spoke to a family friend who was a mortgage banker for many years. He said the best debt/income ratios were:

28% mortgage payment/monthly income
36% total monthly debt payments(based on minimum monthly payment)/monthly income

He also said running any credit card over 33% of its limit is bad, even if you pay it off every month.

[akaFrankCastle]

Denver.

[ZOSO]

I was explained that you cant have debt over 45% of your income. Then I found out what I have on my report for debt. One was my dads that has been mixed up between the two of us(same name im a JR), then the bank for my truck hasn't reported the balance in some time as it shows a couple grand on that loan but its 600 bucks left. So once all this gets straightened out in the next few weeks I should be a little better off. I also have a good credit score.

But in the end it all comes down to if you as a single or combined income don't make at least 100k a year, you cant find anything in the metro area.

[ZOSO]

yep just my luck.

[Justin]

Brake fluid or gl5?

[Kinder]

What the.....

[ZOSO]

Brake fluid or gl5?

GL5. Must have torn the seal when sliding in the axle.

[phyler]

When you go to start prep'ing to install your new 1" Body lift and you pull back the carpet (that you hadn't bothered to look under for 22 years) and see that the PO had put some sort of plate down cause the real floors were rusted through. In addition, the "replacement" floor has now rusted out as well.

I managed to get the drivers side out. Most of the floor is gone. I knew it was there so I'm not really upset, it's just fitting on Project Downward Spiral. In addition, the kick panel, door post and I'm pretty sure the Inner rocker are all toast.

Going to have to think about things a bit more now. I had hoped to get the drive-train to where I wanted before I tackled the body work but I don't think that is an option now. Sheet metal is cheap but I am not a body guy and I don't own a welder (yet). This where all those posts on CB where guys do amazing body work in just a few weeks really gets to me cause I don't have those skills (yes, it's a jealousy thing ).

[Justin]

Floorboards are a great way to learn to weld.

[Eck]

I learned on my floorboards.

[Viperwolf1]

I imagine mine must look about the same by now.

[sykanr0ng]

I dread the day when I pull up my carpet.

As much as I think diamond plate is overdone I've been thinking about making the floors out of it.

[ZOSO]

Im about to do the same thing. Carpet hasn't been pulled in 20 years. Got a 1in body lift to put in. I already know the floor has been patched a few times.

[phyler]

Glad to know I'm not alone. I know the floorboards are a great place to learn to weld, it just wasn't the way I had planned the priority list. I'll now be on the look out for a welder. My issue is I tend to "justify" going big. I mean, why spend $600 when for only $300 more, I can go from a X to a Y? Right? I'll be evaluating the Bronco fund in the next few days to determine what my budget is for a welder.

Zoso, if you get to do this before I do, let me know, I'd love to come watch/learn. I'm not afraid to dive into this project, I just need to get the tools and then know how the parts go together.

[Jesus_man]

Welders are a good place to splurge. I mean, I have gotten by with my Hobart 110v on gas, but I have friends who have big welders to do my big stuff. For body work, a 110v is perfectly fine.

[Justin]

I started with a Lincoln 140, and it was a great welder given it's 110v limitations. I'd strongly suggest starting with something that's 240v if you've got access to a 240v outlet. If you don't think you do, ask Kirk about the time he plugged in our dryer for my wife because I forgot to. The Hobart 210MVP is a stellar deal at $900 new. It's powerful enough to handle any project on a Bronco, runs on 110v or 220v (so you don't have to annoy your wife when you're doing small projects) and is made alongside Millers, possibly from many of the same parts.