Tarmac & Gravel 2009
Posted by DR1665 | Filed under [195] Gravel, [464] Tarmac
2008 has been a busy year.
195 was prepped for the Ridgecrest Rally School only to be totaled out due to a no-talent asshat in a hurry to get his $5 pizzas home. Then I picked up my first Volvo, which reliably got me where I needed to go for most of the year. The year finished quickly, with the brick going to my father-in-law, my beloved “Daisy” going to a stranger on Craigslist, and 464 finding a new home in my driveway. 2009 is already set to begin with a sprint, but what lies ahead for the Galants in general?
195/2000
While 195 has come a long way from being a lumpy victim of someone else’s poor judgment behind the wheel, there is still a ways to go before I will feel confident that my rally marketing vehicle (RMV) has officially returned. Dave Hymers and I have been talking about organizing Arizona rally enthusiasts for more than a year, now, and it looks like we’re going to finally take action in the first quarter of 2009, so I’ll be needing a solid car for off-pavement shenanigans. This will serve as my motivation for the initial sprint of repairs to complete 195.
Beyond getting 195 officially back on the road, I’m hoping to make more progress towards the eventual conversion to full stage rally car status. Financially, I don’t think it’s going to be possible to complete the rally car before the end of the year, but that’s why I’ve taken to calling 195 my “RMV.” More details on the RMV project will be coming soon, but I’ll give you a hint: What looks like a rally car, and drives like a rally car, but isn’t technically legal for rally competition? Such is the RMV idea.
464/1000
I’m pretty sure I haven’t even owned this Galant two months yet, but in addition to some maintenance items and a tune up in January, plans for this car aren’t as drastic. Before it starts getting hot again in Arizona (sometime in mid-April), I’m going to want to address the lack of air conditioning in the car. I spent the hottest months of 2008 driving a Swedish toaster over to and from work with neither a radio nor air conditioning and it’s not something I want to repeat. Especially not with black, leather seats! Fortunately, I’ve got all the AC components I’ll need between the two cars (the accident damaged the AC system in 195, so it’s coming out). It will be interesting installing everything into 464, charging the system, and being able to feel cold air coming out of the vents in one of my cars for once; plus, I’ve never done AC work before.
Other projects on the horizon for 464 include replacing the janky moonroof that stopped working the day after I got it home, getting the cruise control working again, replacing tired, old speakers, and tinting the windows. I’ll snag the working moonroof out of 195 since rally cars can’t have them. (This two-of-the-same-car thing is really making sense!) I was also lucky that there were a handful of cruise control parts in the trunk of 464 when I took delivery. Speakers and tint? Easy peasy!
2009 looks promising!
If the rally car isn’t a rally car, it will surely be a rally marketing vehicle and I’ll be able to drive it whenever and wherever I like. There will be times to take it out and play with it again, with like minded people who also know the joy of opposite lock throttle steering. Meanwhile, the Kensington Grey 464 will become even nicer to drive and remind me, daily, that it’s okay to play rough with 195, because I’ve also got that shining example of just how brilliant these cars are.
Raise your glass to 2008. It’s been great, but it’s getting late, and with all this exciting business ahead of us, who can wait? (Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)
Tags: Add new tag, RAZ, RMV, [195] Gravel, [464] Tarmac