The Manic Mechanic

Ah, the life of a gearhead. I sure loves it.

On Saturday, I headed up with a buddy of mine to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the huge annual Spring car show/swap meet. It's been a couple years since I have been able to make it, since at this time I am usually in North Carolina with hundreds of Mini Cooper owners tearing up the Tail of the Dragon and other twisty, picturesque roads in and around the Smoky Mountains. This is the first time that the timing of the two events was such that I can partake in both. I headed out before the crack of dawn, picked up my bearish straight friend John, and I immersed myself in the smells of gasoline and exhaust fumes, the sounds of engines, the taste of unhealthy fairgrounds food, and all things car related. I took along my tiny Pentax digital camera and shot dozens upon dozens of pictures of classic, unusual and unique cars and bikes. These did not turn out as I hoped, since apparently I was shooting most of them through a smudged lens. The aforementioned greasy food and my sweaty pocket conspired against satisfactory photographic endeavors.

Many of you will also be happy to know there was no shortage of hot gearheads and burly bubbas. Lots of them.

I picked up quite a few specialized tools and kits, a 'clean-kit' for my blast cabinet, a billet aluminum grille for the Silverado, a huge assortment of stainless steel hardware for various uses, electrical ditties and few more odds and ends. At one time I was saddled with a backpack filled with almost 50 pounds of our goodies that I trotted for a couple miles before unloading into the truck and going back for more. We spent more time there than either of us initially expected, which was okay, but it also kept me from coming home until it was too late to start work in the garage.

Which brings me to today. I had some goodies and parts to fit to the MINI before heading down to the Dragon. I figured I could get most if not all of it done during the weekend. I got off to a sluggish start, with cold, dreary weather and lingering tiredness from the day before. In fact, a nap suddenly happened and I did not get out to start the car flog until about noon. And I got rather involved:



New silicone coolant lines, new Denso iridium plugs replacing the beat Berus that had worked themselves loose, new belt, new coolant, oil change, lots of adjusting, tuning, detailing, inspections, and so on. But, the weather eventually shooed me in before I could finish, so hopefully I will be able to get finished tomorrow after work. I want to be able to drive the car to work and back on Tuesday, since I leave for the Dragon on Wednesday morning. Yeah, anyone who is a car nut like me knows that in order to have a decent trip with lots of fellow car nuts one has to have everything in pieces until the last minute.

I had a great time down in NC/TN with the MINIs, dragons and good friends, as did Jeff (who sadly didnt win the Chili Cookoff, but instead won the 50/50 Raffle). Little Bear was a hit, he could not have been a better dog. The mods to the car made ripping up the road a razor-sharp, pleasing experience. I'll try to update this a bit later after I process some bad (though expected) news.

Mom's cancer has returned. With a vengeance.

Been both hectic and full of apprehension here at the Manic Mechanic Orbiting Garage Headquarters the last few days. Yesterday I took Mom to GBMC in Balty for her cataract and glaucoma surgery at an ungawdly hour of 5am. Today's followup indicated that all went according to plan, and mom is already starting to notice a difference. As time goes on and things stabilize, the same procedures will be repeated on her other eye (for obvious reasons, the procedure is done on one eye at a time). The people at GBMC seem very competent and accomodating, which is both refreshing and assuring. I'll even put up with waking up with the chickens again.

The weather here has been gorgeous the last couple days. T-shirt and jeans, work-on-cars-for-fun-and-profit sort of thing. It does wonders for my mental well-being. I'm tired of hibernating and cold. Kinda pissed that some of my go-fast goodies did not arrive yet, I was hoping to do some suspension tweaking on the MINI and tearing up some roads. This Wedneday, MINI of Towson is having their 4th "MINI Night", a big, free event where they throw open the service bay for how-to's, chats with factory peeps, new products and free grub. This is so unlike any typical dealer events. Makes the 'new car feelgood vibe' continue for quite a while, with a big bonus of meeting and getting back together with fellow motoring enthusiasts and comparing notes.

I cant believe that I havent received any more questions for "March - Question Month". Either I answer everyone's deepest (or silliest) questions in my various entries here, or people couldn't care less. G'head, let 'em fly. I should get my ass in gear and hit some of you with some inquisitions of my own.

Rather than moping around the house halfheartedly cacking up my lungs, I mustered the energy to take the MINI all the way up to the Towson dealership for some warranty work that it needed. I had a little laundry list of mostly minor and cosmetic issues as well as two minor recalls involving emissions control devices. I have to say that of any dealership or other dealings regarding warranty work, Towson is the most efficient and accomodating. I also got a rather nice loaner car:



Too bad the weather today was teh sux0rz compared to yesterday, or I woulda been top-down wind-in-the-face-fur all the way home. It's not like I would have caught a cold or anything, since, well, I already have one apparently.