So as I may have mentioned, 'Phira is a definite work in progress. Her previous owner maintained her but just barely. When I got her the O-ring on her cam angle sensor was completely deteriorated and hard as a rock, she had several seeping seals on the front of her engine, a radiator that was on its last leg, a leaky top, toasted suspension bushings (and with double wishbone all around, that's a lot of bushings), old rubber hoses, etc. She was basically a 16-year-old car that had been moderately maintained. The downside to that was I was getting her right when stuff was about to start wearing out. The upside is that once I finish her I'll have a great, shiny little sportscar for the total investment of a Honda Civic LX plus a little which, lets be honest, is the total cost of that car anyway since you can't just leave it for stock. My old FA1, "Gracie," ended up with an extra $5-6k invested in her after all.
So anyway...I'm heading to work Sunday morning and she bogs a little pulling out of the driveway. I don't notice it since she does this occasionally when she's starting cold and doesn't like the temperature outside (too hot/cold). I'm about five minutes out of work when the steady CEL i've been seeing for a while starts flashing. The engine's working okay and I don't hear any funny sounds so I continue to work, park and look it up. Of course the forums say I probably should not have done that since I've likely killed my cat but I'm pretty sure it was already dead to begin with so I'm cool with that.
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'Phira being loaded onto a AAA flatbed. You can see her peeling clearcoat best from this angle. |
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'Phira likes being tied down, but don't tell anyone |
She's now sitting at Motorsports For Miatas in Jefferson waiting for the work to begin. I'm really not looking forward to this bill. Maybe I should take paypal donations, haha. (I am BTW. Use roadsterland@yahoo.com)