Pixel Perfect

I've been working on getting the Midget up and running, but more on that later. I'm just happy one of my cars are on the road. I think as long as that's the case, I'll be happy.

I had washed the Mini last Friday because a man from the insurance company stopped by to take a looksee. They're currently coming up with a value for the car and needed to take photos. I hope they come up with a reasonable figure.

Anyway, I snapped some photos myself and ended up making this wallpaper for my desktop. Though the car is in excellent condition, I ended up doing a good deal of Photoshopping.

Enjoy!

EDIT: The quality seems to have been comprimised quite a bit during the upload. Please view the image here.

May the Sunrise Bring Hope Where it Once Was Forgotten

I think I've fixed one of my problems. I was looking around in the forums last night and came across a poster who said he and his friends just go to a bike shop when they need to replace a throttle cable. I went to one this morning with my old cable and they looked at me like I had four eyes. I also hit up a foreign car parts store that was caddy corner to the bike shop that I never new existed. He was at a loss as well.

So I shifted my efforts to the Midget. As I was trying to get it started, the mailman (who owns a Reliant and other road legal three-wheelers) stopped and gave me a hand for a while. What a super nice guy. Unfortunately, we weren't successful. But I mentioned about the throttle cable, and he, too, suggested a bike shop. He recommended Bike Line on Schoenersville. Now these guys were much nicer and more willing to help me. I ended up walking out with a wire and sheath for 7 bucks. A cap goes on each side of the cable which holds it in place at the firewall and at the carb bracket. So I had to remove those from the old one. Crimping them on didn't work (the caps were cracking) so they're held on with electrical tape right now. I took it for a short spin and it seems to be working pretty good.

I'm still going to order a new throttle cable and keep it on hand in case I ever need it. And maybe I can treat myself to a new shifter knob. Both items are real cheap but I'll see what it turns out to with the S&H.

Also, I never mentioned that I received my wheel caps from the seller and the registration from the notary. I'll fit on  the caps and remove my stupid temporary registration from the window this afternoon.

Mo Problems

Well, I was off to a good start with the Mini. But last weekend I noticed a pretty bad fuel leak coming from the carburetor area. I tracked it down to the tube that carries the fuel from the float bowl of the carburetor to the carburetor itself (it's part of the jet assembly.) There was a decent size slice in it. I removed the carburetor and ordered up a new part. After a painful 5 days, I finally received it today. I was able to get the new  assembly on and started putting the carb back on piece by piece. However, I noticed the throttle cable was in pretty bad shape. I cleaned it up the best I could by trimming some of the loose braids. I got everything else hooked up and fired it up. It seemed to be running okay. But after depressing the accelerator pedal, it didn't want to return completely on its own. The RPMs never returned back to a normal idle unless I manually adjusted the cable/linkage.

So the next thing I need to do is order a new cable. Luckily, this item is cheap. And it's only 1 wrench out of 5 wrenches in my manual's difficulty rating, so I think I can handle it okay.

This wouldn't be so bad on its own. But this morning when I was starting out to work, the Midget started to backfire pretty bad out the exhaust. And it was running rough. This is very disheartening as I just spent a boatload of money getting it fixed up (valve job, tune-up, new water pump, new air cleaners, smog equipment removal, and some other things). My Dad has kept me hopeful by suggesting it may just be water in the gas (it sat for a long time and is close to empty) or possibly a vacuum leak somewhere. But I don't know. As of now, both cars are out of commission and it's supposed to be a very nice weekend.

Although I certainly don't regret buying either car, I'm beginning to reconsider things. If it isn't an easy fix, I may have to put the Midget on the back burner for a bit. I've thought about getting something cheap that I wouldn't mind driving when both cars are off the road, but three vehicles would be CRAZY, right?. I've been toying with the idea of getting a cheap scooter, but then I'd have three "impractical" (I absolutely hate that word) vehicles. My smart fortwo will also arrive at the dealership any day now. But I'll probably go through with orphaning it as planned.

Oh yeah. So I had ended up taking my grandfather's van to work this morning after the backfiring fiasco, and it stalled 3-4 times en route. It wouldn't have been so bad if it started right up afterwards, but it didn't. I'm sure I pissed off a lot of people this morning. No honks though.

The good wouldn't be as good without the bad though. Right?

Mini Photos

Enjoy some photos I took this weekend.

My Mini is Mine

On Monday, the same day I got the Midget towed to the shop, I was given the go ahead to pick up my Mini. I guess that's just my life balancing itself out.

My gracious brother, who was battling a cold, offered to take me down and pick it up. I've been driving it all week and I absolutely love it. The color, the interior, the jaw-dropping handling. Everything. We had some fantastic weather on Wednesday, so I made sure to take a lunch break during work for a cruise with the windows down. Even after a few days, I find myself shaking when I drive it. I don't know if it's the pure elation I experience when driving it or if it's just me being nervous. I'm pretty sure it's the former.

I'm still amazed at just how well this car is designed. The creator (Alec Issigonis) did an unbelievable job maximizing the passenger space while keeping such a small footprint on the macadam. Also, the visibility from the inside out is awesome. I never realized it from pictures, but I do now as I drive it. The seams between the windshield, side, and rear windows are so thin that the whole plane of visibility is nearly unobstructed. I don't think I have to comment on the fantastic handling for which the Mini is most known. And sure, it lacks some of the conveniences and the reliability of modern day cars. But when it's this fun to drive, who cares?

I do, however, have one concern that I'm going to address to the seller this weekend. I'm planning on taking some nice photos this weekend to send to him as well.

In the meantime, here are some shots I snapped throughout the week. Enjoy.

The Keys to Happiness

One thing I'm going to have to sort out is the key situation for this Mini. I try to have a very minimalist approach to everything in my life, including the number of items in my pocket and, therefore, the number of keys on my key ring. And this car comes with a ridiculous number of keys. There's a key for the ignition, the doors, the gas cap, the boot lid, and a special key with which to raise the antenna. Right off the bat, I don't plan on locking the gas cap or lowering the antenna on a regular basis. So I can do without those. I'm thinking I can keep the key to the boot inside the car somewhere. So that will only leave me with two: the doors and the ignition. And that's what I carry around for the Midget. And the two keys probably take up about the same amount of space as one of those huge modern day car keys, so I think I'll be in good shape.

I'm glad I have THAT all figured out. Now where's my car?

Love at First Drive

I went to visit my Mini this afternoon. I took it for a test drive, during at which time it started to smoke from under the bonnet. We got it back to the seller's shop and he believes it's a leaking bypass hose. Hopefully that's all it is.

The plan for this week is as follows: I'll forward my insurance card to the seller, and he's going to see if he can register the car and get it inspected on my behalf. He's also going to finish some loose ends which include addressing the newly discovered overheating issue, fixing a small oil leak, adhering some pinstripes and the bonnet emblem, affixing the MINI lettering on the boot, finishing the dash, and popping a small dent at the right rear quarter. So basically a lot of small, quick jobs. He told me everything will be done this week so I can pick it up on Saturday.

The pedals don't have covers on them yet, and my tractionless Converse shoes were slippin' n slidin' all over the clutch pedal. So with that going on and the smoke emitting from the bonnet, I wish I could've enjoyed my test drive a bit more. Getting into third gear was a bit different as well. Nonetheless, it was quite a thrill driving my Mini for the very first time. Even at 6' 2" I was quite comfortable inside the thing...which boasted much more room than my Midget. The smaller engine was also apparent during the lap (noted mostly when driving uphill).

Although the Moonraker Blue finish wouldn't have been my first color choice, I like that it's unique and I think it does exude a certain bit of class. And after going through this whole ordeal, I'll just be happy if I can pick up the car on Saturday with everything working and completed. While standing there in the shop, with the car overheating and seeing this laundry list of yet-to-dos, I realized how insignificant the color is at this point. Let's just get her home.