PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

@Taco critter

I've had my license for more than 12 years; I got it in May 2011, had my first at-fault accident EVER in August 2015, and got pulled over the for the very first time EVER in May 2017. I did some stupid shit when I was younger, but I never got caught.

 

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One of the primary topics of this thread is supposed to be Aspergers Syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders, so let's discuss that...

Only 50% of people with autism ever get a driver's license, and I am even rarer because I know how to drive a stick shift and none of my closest Aspie friends with driver's licenses can; I have one friend, who shall remain unnamed, who is a fucking terrible driver. He's not particularly dangerous, and I'll admit that I have my shortcomings, but my friend is both inattentive and in denial. He's had a few at-fault accidents, one in 2009 which resulted in his car having to be towed (but it was not totaled) and one in 2013 where he did total his vehicle. He's never lost his license, or gotten points that I am aware of, but I have flat out refused to ride in a vehicle driven by since an innocent on the 4th of July where he almost got me and my other friend seriously injured. It was pouring rain and we drove to the Walmart maybe two miles from my house to get fireworks. I had been drinking, as had my other friend, but he was stone cold sober. My friend made a left turn on a steady green light, which was perfect legal, but he just moseyed through the interection. An Infiniti sedan was going straight, and I damn near shit myself because I thought that it was going to T-bone us. My friend has a 2011 Nissna Altima; I was in the shotgun seat and my other friend John was in the right rear seat behind me. If that Infiniti had hit us, we would have both been in the hospital, if we didn't get killed. The Infiniti driver slammed on their brakes and laid on the horn, simultaneously as a I screamed at my friend to hit the gas. Like most aspies, my friend does not respond well to being screamed at, and he flipped out while at the same time failing to acknowledge that he'd almost totaled his car and two of his friends in the hospital.

One time in 2010 or 2011, before I had my license, I carpooled with my friend home from community college. We were in his mom's 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid, and he was backing out of a parking space. There was a late model Hyundai sedan parked next to us. My friend turned his front wheels to the right and backed out; I was in the the shotgun seat, and I didn't really feel an impact, but I saw the Hyundai move as the left corner of the Camry's front bumper made contact. I told him that he hit the car, and he flatly denied it; I made him stop the car so I get out and check for damage. Luckily, neither car was damaged, and we just left.

One time in 2010-2012, my friend was driving with me in the shotgun seat. There was a song on the radio he liked, and he honest to Christ started swerving right and left in tune with the song!

I said something along the lines of "What the fuck are you doing?!?!" and he stopped immediately.

One time in 2010-2011, I was riding in the '07 Camry again as a front seat passenger, and this is when we still lived in the Furlong townhouse; I unbuckled my seatbelt as he was pulling into my driveway, going maybe 2.5 MPH, and he flipped out at me for taking it off. When I get flipped out at, I tend to flip out even harder, and I screamed back at my friend. Needless to say, he never said a word to me ever again about unbuckling my seatbelt while his car was still moving.

Most recently in 2022, I witnessed my friend hit a parked Chevy Tahoe while pulling his Altima into a parking space; I had already parked the truck, I was standing in the parking lot watching him, and I knew he was going to hit the Tahoe before he did. The key to parking any vehicle properly without hitting something is to line it up properly. My friend neglected to do this and sideswiped this brand new Tahoe on the left rear corner with the front right corner of his car. I saw it happen and heard the impact, but my friend flat out denied it when I confronted him about it, even though there was a fresh scratch on the front bumper of his car. He said it had already been there, and even after I spotted trace amounts of dark red paint (his Altima is like a red wine color) on the black Tahoe, he denied it. There was no actual damage to the Tahoe, so I just let it go.

On the flipside, my best friend John who is also on the spectrum is now 36, and has never even been pulled over in the nearly 20 years he's had his license. He had one incredibly minor at-fault accident as a teenager where he rear-ended somebody at a stop sign or something, but didn't get a ticket. His insurance paid to fix both cars and he hasn't had an accident since.

 

My friends Mike and Colleen do the least driving out of my four closest Aspie friends; Colleen has a 2017 Kia Forte that had less than 24K miles when I saw the odometer last month, and I think she bought that used in like 2018...? Mike drives a 2017 Chevy Trax that he also bought used, and it had like 30K miles on it when he bought it in October 2019. It is now August 2023, and I think he has like 38K miles on it after owning it almost 4 years; Colleen got her license in either 2013 or 2014, and Mike was the last one in the group to becoming a licensed driver in 2019 at the age of 31. As far as I know, neither one of them has gotten a ticket or even been pulled over!

 

The Chevy probably isn't capable of much driving anyway haha

 

Shawn decided to try to use my 1/2" Ratchet as a hammer and broke it, he was lucky l was able to find a rebuild kit for $22 versus him having to replace it.

 

I think that Shawn is most like Larry or Curly...

 

My friend's Trax has had some fit and finish issues, but it's been mechanically solid; I do, however, know a guy on Facebook who'a head gasket went at 70K in his Trax. The car was paid off and in great condition otherwise, plus he works for a dealership and knows people, so he just dropped a new engine in it. Kinda reminds of your truck needing major engine work at 70K...

 

I’m guilty of doing the same thing.
But I haven’t broken one yet. I typically use the side of head.

My father on the other hand.
I don’t let him borrow my Milwaukee impacts any more. I bought him his own set.

Let’s just say he used my impact gun to hammer a fuel tank into position on his Tahoe. Now he can use his own set like a hammer.

 

Anyone see a pattern?

 

My Ex GF Son, he is a good kid but just has bad judgement sometimes.

 

Like continually buying shitboxes, two of which have had salvage titles...

 

Yep the Aztek and the Dakota, both of which l told him to pass on.

 

@PennSilverTaco His Hyundai has been a really good decision to buy, its a shame he has had 3 accidents with it though.

 

Haven’t you leaned by now you don’t know shit. Took me a few years to figure out other people know as much or more than me. The kid will come around. It’s part of growing up.

Let him make his own mistakes. It will be good for him.

 

It's funny you said that as I was totally against him buying this Silverado, my suggestion was to just grab an S10 or other small truck to use for a few years while he saved up money for a nicer Silverado in the future. He was really put off by my suggestion at the time but now he sees how much work this Silverado is, so the other day he came to me and said he has been thinking about picking up a small truck to drive for a few years, lol.

 

Most salvage yards will come to your house free of charge and pick up the vehicle. Just sign the title and they'll take it...

 

I did that with my Pontiac Montana. RIP

 

Those were actually damn good vans. What happened? I'm guessing either an expensive-to-fix mechanical failure or severe rust?

 

Anything made by GM with less than 6-cylinders is basically a turd?