Cars
Roli and I've spent the last couple of days working on the Pathfinder, putting it into order for Roland to take it down to Pt Macquarie etc over the next month. I felt that making it safe and reliable for the journey was probably a good thing. It's the first time since June 07 that I've spent anything on the car, which is a pretty good run.
I'm sort of torn as to whether I enjoy it or not. As a younger man I used to spend a lot of time working on vehicles - I've done basically everything except install a windscreen and rebuild a gearbox. Clutches, diffs, engine rebuilds, panel-beating, oil changes, brake rebuilds, carburettor rebuilds (not recommended), suspension; you name it I've probably done it at least once ...many times in some cases: I used to blow a lot of diffs doing burnouts. The engine rebuild was a high point; putting it back together and making it go, and go well enough to beat EFI cars with bigger engines.
In the end though, cars are expensive beasts and I really started to resent the amount of money I was spending on them. The time spent, initially a joy, became a burden. These days I nominally hate working on cars and I'd much rather throw it at a mechanic. Things like ignition systems stress me out.
However, when it's all done and finished, you've washed the grease and dirt off and the car is running so much better, there's a definite sense of satisfaction.
Oil and filters (air, fuel, oil) $100
New ignition leads and points $60
New windscreen wiper blades $10
2 x new headlights $150
New front shock absorbers $280
So, all up about $600.... That sounds like a lot, but spread over the last year and a half that's very cheap.
Oh, and the Pathfinder is running really well now. I'm in love with it again and I'm keeping it til the rego runs out in September. Looking forward to taking it back up to Rainbow for a thrash along the beach with Acca Dacca blaring. >;D
I'm sort of torn as to whether I enjoy it or not. As a younger man I used to spend a lot of time working on vehicles - I've done basically everything except install a windscreen and rebuild a gearbox. Clutches, diffs, engine rebuilds, panel-beating, oil changes, brake rebuilds, carburettor rebuilds (not recommended), suspension; you name it I've probably done it at least once ...many times in some cases: I used to blow a lot of diffs doing burnouts. The engine rebuild was a high point; putting it back together and making it go, and go well enough to beat EFI cars with bigger engines.
In the end though, cars are expensive beasts and I really started to resent the amount of money I was spending on them. The time spent, initially a joy, became a burden. These days I nominally hate working on cars and I'd much rather throw it at a mechanic. Things like ignition systems stress me out.
However, when it's all done and finished, you've washed the grease and dirt off and the car is running so much better, there's a definite sense of satisfaction.
Oil and filters (air, fuel, oil) $100
New ignition leads and points $60
New windscreen wiper blades $10
2 x new headlights $150
New front shock absorbers $280
So, all up about $600.... That sounds like a lot, but spread over the last year and a half that's very cheap.
Oh, and the Pathfinder is running really well now. I'm in love with it again and I'm keeping it til the rego runs out in September. Looking forward to taking it back up to Rainbow for a thrash along the beach with Acca Dacca blaring. >;D