Score:5, Offtopic

So, I got on salary at work, with a giant raise to do so...

And, I just signed for an apartment last night, and will be moving in on the 1st of October. It's 2.4 miles from work, and all along wide 35 MPH streets, whereas I'm currently living 40 miles from work. So, I can actually bike commute.

Speaking of that, I've been working on my bike... now it's got fenders, LOTS of rear lighting, a pannier (and I think I'm going to get another one,) and a new saddle.

In addition, the other day, I worked on a friend's 1965 Hillman Super Minx diesel. We made a bunch of progress, but didn't get it going.

Anyway, this is a rather interesting car. From what's been found, it's believed that only 100 of the diesel version of this car were produced. If that's not rare enough, only FIVE were believed to have made it to the US. And, TWO are believed to survive in the US. This is one of them, and my friend got it for DAMN cheap.

The thing is basically a normal Hillman Super Minx, except it's got a Perkins 4.99 diesel swapped in at the factory, in place of the normal Hillman gasoline engine. Take a look at the photo album I have of this car for more.

So, since the last Civic post, I've gotten a 1986 Golf diesel from oilhammer on TDIClub. The car needed a brake booster, master cylinder, steering rack, driveshafts, and an engine and transmission. Luckily, despite the frontal impact on the Jetta, only one driveshaft was damaged, and that was in moving the car, not in the wreck!

GMARK, Growler, and compu_85 helped out a lot... heck, GMARK even provided the site for the engine swap.

The engine swap went fairly well... just one note for future reference. Make sure you plug in the fuel cutoff solenoid wire before trying to start the thing.

Then, a brake line failed, so had to limp it to a brake shop.

Now, an engine mount's failed, but that, minor shifter issues, and getting the title transferred (waiting on the title to be notarized) are all that are in the way of getting this car on the road (and the failed engine mount and shifter issues won't prevent me from driving it for a short term until they're fixed). Which is good, seeing as the Civic's driveshafts are shot, and I don't have the experience to install new ones. And I don't have any other vehicles to drive.

Oh, and I'm going to see if I can institute Google AdSense on this blog. We'll see when Google approves the application...

I now have my driver's license.

IIRC, I got a -12 on the manueverability. -25 or better is a pass (and -0 is a perfect score).

Then, I went to the road test. Umm, tip here. Get familiar with the car you're using for the road test before actually taking it. Also, it helps to have actually remembered to set up an appointment beforehand. Got a -41.

So, yesterday, I took it again. I got a... wait for it... -0.

Well, I'm not as geeky as I thought I'd be...

Of course...



Aack, I'm a total loser! Pfft... ijits, they're wrong.

Well, I've rejoined civilization. My laptop has a power adaptor now, something it hasn't seen since Friday. (And a WiFi card, even )

Yeah, I left it behind.

Oh, well, at least I've got a shitty laptop with a fscked screen, so I have less incentive to use it