Rain Delay

Well I put over 500+ miles on the car with NO problems......Now, however we have a rain delay so it's time for a few projects....First off is the exhaust system.... currently there are two cats in series with no muffler....So we will add a muffler and drop one cat.... not much room for anything but I have a guy that has done 4 of my cars and never says it can't be done. My new tip will be a 4 inch turn down....Also I am replacing the little plastic cup holder with a new lockable center counsel that will match the current leather. I will fabricate the counsel out of aluminum.....Also I have started cleaning up the motor and looming the wiring..... will wait for next winter to do the power coating on the motor. Nice to finally have a car to play with........

Mike:

An absolutely beautiful car, and I so love hearing that it is problem free.

Wow! What a terrific Summer is in store for YOU!

Now you can follow in Hoss' tire tracks!! Drive it to Carlisle!

Gordon

Mike struck me as a sensible guy when we met at Knotts in 2005. Let me tell you, feckless tuner/driver that I am, there is no feeling like the empty feeling you get a half hour down the road on a long drive like TN to CA....like what the HELL have I gotten myself into? Sure, it was a great journey, but egad, what a long time in the saddle!!!

Mike, if you decide you want to take a REALLY long drive to a great destination such as Carlisle, then go for it! Adventures make life interesting, even for an old Geezer like me.
Hoss

Ditto what Hoss said. What a head-clearing experience an extended road trip can be. You'll feel like the king of the world after the first few hundred miles -- as the confidence develops that maybe, just maybe, you did everything right.

And Cory didn't even have a top! Not to mention A/C or any other niceties. Join us, Mike, you'll remember it fondly for years.

Cory I don't think I ever want the top up. I took it down a couple of weeks ago and it is wonderful..... I see things that I only see on a motorcycle but with heat and wind protection........Tonight I went out and it was 53 degrees.... but with the heat it was comfortable at 60 miles per hour....... what a treat. My wife loves riding with top down action.... never would have bet on that one. The most important issue is egress... with the top down @ 6 ft 3 it's a piece of cake

That's the spirit, Michael.
There are a couple occasions where I've knowingly driven into freezing cold rain for a couple hours at a time, but I don't have an interior to worry about. Some of these folks have square-weave carpet, indoor-outdoor loop carpet, seats with padding on them and so forth -- but I have the uber-comfortable polymer seats and diamond-plate floorboards. The Hoopty is wash-and-wear.
It's perfectly understandable that you might, someday, have to put the top back up on your car. Nobody will fault you for that if there are at least three (correct me if I'm wrong, fellas) drops of rain on the windscreen.
Angela, Danny P, Leon and I -- and there are a precious few others -- are a little too Zen to go that route. We prefer to be "One" with everything.
Hell, that's how I order a pizza.

Mike, I noticed above that you were planning some modifications to the exhaust system and was wondering how often CA requires you to undergo the OBDII testing on a specialty car such as your turbo. Is this an annual thing?

Cory,

While you walk the talk of driving topless (the Hoopty, not you or me), you shouldn't lie to these folks ... you've been thinking about getting a top for it.

I, for the record, am against the idea.

But the rest of you should feel free to give Cory a hard time about him *thinking about* wussing out.

Charles..... Two things
1. I am keeping the original exhaust system which can be bolted on in 15 min.....
2. The new system will include the cat and a muffler with the o2 system in service

Mike, Your response has eased my concerns about codes on OBDII. Sometimes this pesky little requirement can get in the way of well intentioned modifications and upgrades. Sounds like a plan. Drive that sucker and enjoy!!

Hoss, the Feckless Tuner and official "Dead Ass Tubaru Driver" wrote: "there is no feeling like the empty feeling you get a half hour down the road on a long drive like TN to CA"

That's about when you queue up a collection of "ZZ Top" or "Alabama" (or "Queen" for you alternative rock folks), crank up the volume and stand on it 8>)

After Carlisle and after the "Mighty Power Stroke" diesel died and we finally got it repaired and back on the road, we rode along for the next several hours just waiting for the thing to die again (it never did).

Whew!

gn

I'd have come for you, Gordon. Have no fear.
And hey, you should know that Queen isn't "alternative rock" anymore. They're "Golden Oldies." Unless by "alternative" you mean something else entirely ...

Mike, Im jealous. I had the top down just once, when I recieved the car from Horseless. It was 18 degrees, but had to do it. Were expecting 6-10 inches this weekend, Oh well, I have been sleeping in it! Car sounds wonderful. Its is a great toy, but my top will stay down come March/April for sure. Good luck!

"Dead Ass Tubaru Driver" checking in. Actually, I spent most of my time on public radio stations. This way I could keep track of the stock market, get decent national news and great symphonies, which together with my chewing gum, kept me alert on the long days behind the wheel.

For the most part, the Red Man did what it was supposed to do. The little glitches I encountered have been recounted numerous times before. The short story is, I made it and back too.

Hoss, that hat knocks me over every single time I see it.

That's not really a hat, it's Hoss's fuel reserve tank. 10 extra gallons for those long hauls.

nacho nacho man..... i want to be... a nacho man!!

Hoss's head is actually shaped that way...Marge Simpson's brother

Hey Vince, shape this.

Lamborghini Murcielago.. ha ha ha I lied