Bullitt

I am amazed. I just watched the movie Bullitt for the first time tonight. I thought it was a most amazing movie. Some movies are okay; but they are basically bearable junk. This is one of those movies that are just outstanding because of, not only, the way they are seen on the screen but also they way they are viewed inside yourself. Being a car guy I love the way the cars are so obvious..and yet there is a romantic underlayer that plays with the emotion. A classical good versus evil story line, cutting edge 1968 filming technics, an incredible cast and remarkably good dialogue for movies of the period.

I'll stop there since I can't describe it very well other than to say: Go watch it now.

New parts...

well, my recent phone conversation with my mother left me rather down about how quickly my upcoming trip to AZ is! It finally struck me how fast im gona have to work to get the bimmer ready for duty. Luckily my new front apron came today so maybe I can have the front end fixed up by next week some time? That leaves the suspension, and recently assumed water pump, not to mention an oil change and general cleaning. Plus removal of the flasher that seems to be using my reverse lamps as brake lamps. :(

So I ordered a water pump off eBay when I got home...$50 plus a bunch of coolant. Right now I am researching using E30 parts on the steering rack (they are not only cheaper but also a more robust build thanks to BMW not putting polyurethane dampers in the ball joints on E30s) but that will still cost me upwards of $180 plus ANOTHER alignment. so something like $300. UNLESS i decide to get a new steering rack as well which will run an additional $150 for the rack and probably $50 worth of PS fluid and headaches getting it to work correctly.

and the biggest question of it all: can I do it in 3-4 weeks? I honestly don't know. right now the freakin Jeep is still in the garage. I can move it but it would be nice to have THAT done so i can use it while the BMW is appart.

I'm getting rather worked up just writing this...doing the work will shorten my life considerably! LOL
having fun in cyber-autoworld,
Gabe :)

Rally: Canceled. Party: On.

Well as the snow continues here in lovely northern WI, my back hurts from so much shoveling and the rally for this saturday has been postponed.

I spent approximately 2 hours this morning shoveling a maybe 100 foot driveway. by the end I could have been doing it in a T-shirt and there was a small snow bank in my hair. ah so much fun!....NOT

And Scott's Kewenaw TSD is postponed until the 17th...likely due to a lot of people not wanting to brave the elements. I was about to leave when Joe called me to let me know...good timing I guess. Sadly I won't be able to visit Mum this weekend, which i was kind of looking forward to.

There has also been some disturbances in the Arrowhead SCC group lately concerning the season point standings/apointments. They put this Dave Courtwright guy in like 3rd place even though he DNF'd the first rally of the season...rather rediculous. Brian and Joe seem rather up in arms with Tim (the MAN) and I voiced a little concern on the forum as well since I think it is TOTAL bullshit. *shrug* unfortunately I like Tim and everybody and I think they will take it rather personally. which sucks because it makes drama.

anyway thats all for now from up north in snow country Wisco,
-gabe :)

So a celebrity died this week...

and I honeslty didn't think much of it. I felt the pangs of death at a younger age but no sentiments over somebody I never met and do not envy very much. I frequently scoff at celebrity figures and they way they act or operate. I think they are so far removed from reality in their own little bubbles that there is no coorelation between them and "normal" people such as myself.
I came across this blog post and it seems to about sum up my feelings on the subject:
"Mirathon: ANS dead at 39"
The one person in this whole bit the really, authentically, and wholeheartedly deserve good prayers and best luck is her daughter. I am the son of divorced parents and that was dificult enough...I can't even comprehend what the future holds in store for that girl; But I wish her the best and hope she can perhaps salvage some sort of reality better than her parents (whoever they end up being).
so best wishes to you, Dannielynn, for leading a life more stable than that of your parents.
-G

Blah,..

admittedly despite my cheerful, hopeful, and optimistic last post things have slowed considerably on the Jeep projekt. Last night i did nothing in the garage...I watched The Transporter (with commentary) instead.

Tonight I wrenched for about 1-1.5 hours before deciding I was gettign freakin cold fast. thanks Wind. :( On the upside the venison cheesburgers I made were very tasty. Peter stopped by and had one on his way through and also thought they were alright.

Other than that nothing much is happening aorund these parts. I want to go down and visit my brother in MI...

-G

Jeep Update

Good News! (for me!) the cherokee engine now resides in the comanche shell! after much persuasion the tranny crossmember came off the body to allow the transfer case to fit and the motor mounts lined right up.

So about 3.5 hours of work went a long way tonight. I began work on the Novak Adapters Sk2X Tcase shift but when I discovered I didn't have the correct alan wrench I decided now would be a good time to quit.

Tomorrow is time to finnish up the shifter, reconnect all electricals, and reinstall all structural bits and pieces that hold everything in. WooHoo

-G :)

Red Bull isn't as bad as it used to be...

Well...after discovering the disaster zone which is my BMW this weekend, work on the Jeep projects has increased many-fold. The short of the Bimmer story is that after the -30F temps of this weekend when I did not drive my car anywhere, the entire coolant system appears to be frozen solid and possibly have wreaked more extensive damage than just the radiator holes increasing...more on that at a later date when I have the Bimmer in a less windy garage than my driveway.

About the Red Bull-
After sunday nights Jager-bombing there was still a case of RedBull left over. So I took it home for later use. When Monday rolled around and I needed to work on the Jeeps I thought "hey, I could use a little ambition" TA-DA: RedBull.

I recall days past when RedBull was the new and cool thing to drink and I thought it tasted horrible. Now these many years later I have grown to rather enjoy the taste. With so many highly caffinated, rediculously named, self labeled energy drinks on the market it is nice to be able to enjoy the Original. (...which would be coffee of course, or that drink in the black can with the jaguar on it that always boasted abou the guarana, which sounds like guano to me) Oh the humorous fun!

On the Jeep note- the replacement engine is out of the cherokee and nearly ready to be put back into a Comanche. A couple more bits and pieces from NAPA and an exhaust once its all bolted in and it should be golden....for at least once off-road excursion. Total budget spent to date- way to much...somewhere approaching the $800 range I believe.

-G :)