And That Is A Good Thing!

It has been a long weekend and that is a good thing.

This afternoon I didn't get back to the rivets. And that's OK.

This evening I took several trips around the block in the turnip truck so that I could give everyone a ride. Some neighbors came over to look at the truck. I ended up giving them each a ride and then I took a truck load of kids for a round. I let the adults drive. They seem to enjoy it after getting over their initial concern that perhaps the truck is fragile! If it were fragile it would not have lasted since 1925.

Weekend Getaway

Ginger and I made a quick weekend getaway to Nashville Friday & Saturday. We stayed in a hotel near the Opryland Hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner there and took and indoor boat ride. The Opryland Hotel is an amazing place to visit.

Saturday we visited the Lane Motor Museum. Ginger found a few cars she wanted to bring home. Unfortunately we were not in the Tahoe so we didn't have room for them in the back. My favorites were the Fiats (especially the Topolino [think Italian Volkswagen Beetle]), the Austin Minis, the Morris Minis, the MGs. Here is a complete list of their cars. Take a look at the Honda S600 and S800 , and the Datsun 1200. (There is a Datsun 1200 in a junk yard near here.) These are definitely some cool convertibles.

Saturday after returning home I removed 22 rivets from the pieces of rusty metal. No small task. I believe there are another 28 to go. Maybe Sunday.

Saturday was 07/07/07 in case you missed. Were you feeling lucky?

The 4th

I started the 4th with an early more trip to Pitts Salvage yard in Athens. I had arranged to purchase the back half of the frame of a1972 Chevrolet Pickup LWB complete with all the suspension, brackets, and the 12 GM differential. I got a really good price on it too!

I borrowed Lott's trailer and Ginger's Tahoe. David M. rode shotgun. The entire trip took about 2.5 hours. Once home I unloaded the big piece of rusty metal and began planning how to disassemble it as quickly as possible. I am sure my neighbors love looking at it.

I did manage to get the differential, trailing arms, and coil springs separated from the frame and stowed safely in the shop.

I still need to remove 50+ rivets to get all the brackets I want removed from the frame and the frame disassembled. That will be no small task. In the past it has take about 10 minute per rivet. I will need to find a quicker method or this could take forever.

In the Presence of Greatness

We celebrated the 4th by attending a party at the White House. The kids enjoyed playing in the pool and the food was great. BBQ chicken, pork, and ribs. Mmmmm. And fresh corn from the garden.

Road Trip

I am heading north to Indianapolis today. The main event, the US GP, is not until Sunday. Tomorrow will be full day including F1 qualifying and several other racing events.

If your watching the race on Sunday, look for me in the drivers seat of the car sitting at pole.

Test Drive

Yesterday was indeed a success. I managed to get the Miata's oil changed. Something weird happened in the process.

For some reason, the oil changing guy sprayed brake cleaner under the hood in the approximate location of the oil filter. A few minutes later he sprayed some water in the same location. I would have suspected they simply washed the filter instead of replacing it, but the mark I put on the filter with a Sharpie was no longer there afterwards. For that reason I think they actually replaced the filter.

Yes, very odd.

I left work Friday about a half hour early to go drive the beamers at the Century BMW Ultimate Drive charity event. I didn't have much time so I only got to drive 3 cars.

1. BMW 328XI - All wheel drive. I drove this one first because when I first got in line the line was about 50 folks long. Because I had just arrived they offered it to me no waiting. I had wanted to drive a 335XI last year, when I drove the 335 but they didn't have one one the lot. The loop was 7.4 miles long. The sun roof was open. I improved the environment by dropping the front windows and turning off the radio. And I pressed the Sport button for the transmission. Zoom-a-zoom-a-zoom. This car was OK, but not for me. It has always been my impression that BMWs are geared fairly low with very responsive brakes. This car matched my previous impression.

2. BMW Z4 Coupe - I took this car next again because it was offered to me while I was still pretty far back in line. I would have preferred the convertible, but all the convertibles were in high demand. The Z4 Couple seemed like a tight fit for little ole me. I again drove with the radio off and the windows down. Unfortunately it had no sun roof. While merging onto I565 I was passed two lanes out by a guy in a 328. Later he told me he hit 135 during this sprint. This part of the loop was essentially an on ramp, about a quarter mile, and then an on ramp. During this drive I was very fortunate not to get hit by some crazy guy driving an older gray Century with a couple of dents in it. For some reason this guy started to swerve over in front of me before realizing I was there. He then swerved back into his lane and locked up his brakes momentarily. The guy behind him nearly rear ended the century. This all happened in a matter of a couple of seconds. All this time I was driving at a constant law abiding speed, sticking to lane 3 of 4. Honest.

Back in line again, I decided to wait for my choice of cars this time. The girl passing out the cars continued to remind us we had time for one more loop. A woman who had been driving all day, literally 7 hours, recommended I go for the 650 convertible. Brian had recommended this car also. I was ready, I was at the front of the line, and the car was driving into the parking lot. Pay dirt! Not so fast. At precisely this moment, a dude walked up that had pre-registered to drive this car. The pre-registered folks had priority. Doh!

They offered me a 750 at this point. I had been eyeing the 750 just because it was so big and I had not been in a car of this magnitude. But I decided to stick to my guns. I was waiting on the 650. And wait I did. At the front of the line. About 15 minutes later the 650 was back. It was mine this time.

3. 650 Convertible. Sweet. Topless, 2 doors, and four seats. This was a very drivable car. At this point Friday afternoons rush hour traffic was in full force.
At every light along the loop I got to sit through one more more light cycles. No worries though, I was stylin' in the big-ole-beamer with the top down and it was a very pleasant 70 F. Again the radio was off. I preferred the peace and quiet over top-forty commercials on the radio. When I returned to the dealer ship, I passed the car to the next guy, who was also the last guy to go out in a car that day. I really enjoyed driving this car.

Had I had the opportunity to drive one more car, I thing I would have gone with the 750 over the other convertibles.

After finishing up the drive, they sent me inside to grab a t-shirt and sign the SUV. They only had L sized shirts remaining. I took one anyway thinking I could give it to Ginger. I also signed the SUV. I looked for Mr. Miata's signature but I didn't find it.

And then I drove home in my shiney red Miata with white racing stripes.

I know you must be concerned that I left work early yesterday. Don't worry about it. I made up for it by putting in a full day today. And tomorrow.