It’s been quite a while since I’ve last updated this blog. Life happened during that time, which contributed to the delay, but a few car-related things also occurred, including a vacation to the Rolex 24, work on Diamond, and a new member of the fleet.
Trip to the Rolex 24
Rolex 24
My husband and I recently took a trip to Florida to spend time with a group of friends and attend the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. While the weather was cold and cloudy at first, the sun eventually came out and warmed things up in time for the weekend. We didn’t stay at the track for the night portion of the race since it got down into the 30s — only a brave few in our group did — so it was more like the 12ish Hours of Daytona for us.
We did, however, get four-day tickets for the race weekend. We purchased souvenirs and scoped out viewing spots around the track on Thursday; walked onto the track to check out the anxiety-inducing (at least for me) banking at the start-finish line during the grid walk on Friday; and settled in by turn one in upper levels of the grandstands, where you can pretty much view the entire track and watch the action on a large screen, on Saturday and Sunday. It was a great trip overall with lots of laughs, and I can’t wait until the next racing trip with our friends, wherever that may be.
Diamond Got a Makeover
Diamond, 1967 Plymouth VIP at shop for bodywork
Diamond, my 1967 Plymouth VIP engagement ring, finally went into the body shop to get some much needed work done. The body shop, Sadler Collision and Restoration, replaced the rusted bits, including the quarter panels and a trunk pan I bought from Murray Park; sprayed on Diamond’s original dark blue paint (which turns out has more green in it than I remember); and finished her off in a nice eggshell satin clear coat since I didn’t want a glossy finish. She still has to go back to the body shop for some chassis work — the portion of the stubframe near where the torsion bars connect is rusting out — but she’s almost done. She will get new torsion bars from Firm Feel installed then, too.
Other than that, Diamond’s gotten new engine mounts as the engine shifted forward and the cooling fan was hitting the radiator shroud, as well as a new transmission mount, radiator (because the solder around the transmission cooler line was failing and causing a nice transmission fluid leak), power steering gearbox and a rebuilt steering column coupler. I also need to get the upholstery on the backseat fixed as the top seams ripped apart at some point, and I have a set of 15-inch Chrysler police wheels to refurbish and put on her. Hopefully she can make an appearance at the local cars and coffee next month — after I realign the rear bumper, which is crooked — before she goes back into the shop for that chassis work. She’s almost going to be a brand new car by the end of it all.
I Bought a Truck
Olivia, 1979 Dodge D-150 Utiline
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted a Dodge stepside pickup truck and dreamt of having a Li’l Red Express or a Warlock. So, while cruising Facebook Marketplace during one weekend back in August 2023, I came across a patina’d 1979 Dodge D-150 Utiline in Virginia. I showed it to my husband, who was sitting next to me on the couch at the time, and also sent the listing to my best friend, who responded saying that she and her husband could go check it out for me. And so they did — that afternoon. Once I got the report on the truck’s condition, I told my husband I was buying it, reserved a one-way car rental for the following Saturday, drove out, met my best friend and her husband, and picked up the truck. After spending the night at their house, I got an early start and drove it seven or so hours home during a really nice heat wave.
Since then, Olivia (named after the main character in Fringe, one of my favorite TV shows) has gotten a new flywheel, throwout bearing, oil pan, oil pump, and window seals. I also put a new rear bumper on her, but I eventually decided I didn’t like how it looked and took it off.
Olivia’s still a little bit of a work in progress. I have plans to finish adding some trim onto her (on the rear window, for example), replace the door locks since the driver’s one doesn’t work, refinish the rusty exhaust manifolds, and craft a new shifter boot as the old one and its rubber replacement tore.
Serenity Keeps Doing Her Thing
Serenity, 2013 Subaru BRZ
My 2013 Subaru BRZ daily driver, Serenity, hasn’t had any major issues. I changed her transmission and differential fluids several months ago, and she got a multiyear ceramic coating back in 2023. Besides a piece of trim that is coming loose on the center console for some reason, she’s been pretty trouble-free and reliable.
So, what’s next? Well, besides getting some more work done on these four-wheeled children of mine, I’m not sure. There are a couple of car purchases that I’d like to do, perhaps by next winter (such as a new daily for doing truck things and for when there’s snow on the ground), but we will have to see if the right deal comes along. In the meantime, stay tuned for the automotive shenaniganry I have planned for this year. I hope to have updates every couple of weeks or so — I promise this time.