Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Alert! Winter approaching

Since my last post, not a huge amount has happened on the car front. The only thing I've worked on since fixing the power drain issue is tending to the door jamb light. This was something that worked at the beginning, then stopped for some strange reason. The bulb was ok but it jsut wasn't getting power. I traced all the wiring and it turned out to be a connector behind the clock. The wire pin for the door light was not secured completely in the connector. After straightening the pin and getting a good connection, the light works again.



Stuff that needs to be done around the farm has cut into my drive time. Still, I've managed to get out a few times in the last 2 months. Here's a recap:



One of the big events this year was a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport at E@RTC. We had the center court again and it was an absolutely great day. The Grand Sport is the convertible version of the speed record setting Veyron. It arrived with two vintage Bugattis and they made a big show of arriving. Add an Enzo and a couple of new and old Rolls Royces and there was a lot of money sitting in the center court.



Another cool car showcased was the new Lamborghini Aventador. I'm not a big Lambo fan, but this one has received a lot of press here locally. You see, Lamborghini and the UW set up a research lab to develop and test the new cars. They're doing everything from R&D to crash testing. Pretty cool stuff. The car though? Eh, the jury's still out on that one. You could tell they're going for the whole "steath fighter" thing. Matt black, odd angles, things sticking out that really shouldn't be...

There's no mistaking it's a Lamborghini though.



Amoung other cool things was this 60's Mercedes 300SL Gullwing. I think the plates were from Colorado and from the looks of it, the car just arrived -- road grime and all. This was a great car, not only because it was a Gullwing, but because the owner actually drove the thing. It was unrestored and original. The only other one I've seen was a museum piece.



On a whimsical side, the local Fiat dealer brought out a fleet of new Fiat 500s. I got to sit in one and play with the controls. For such a small car, there was plenty of room inside. Ever since seeing one on Top Gear, I'd always though these were neat cars. If I'm ever in the market for such a thing, the Fiat 500 will be on my short list.



And finally, my humble little 308 nestled between two of the newest Ferrari supercars. It still amazes me how much bigger the newer cars are.



It's raining now and has been for the past week. There won't be many more driving days this year but I'm hoping to use them as I can. Maybe over the Winter I'll finally have a chance to rejet my carbs, install my keyless entry system, adjust my steering wheel and replace my suspension bushings.