Postcards From Myself

First of all I am back, so now the updates should be on a bit more regular basis. I had planned on blogging most every day while on vacation, but it just didn’t turn out that way. I got caught up in relaxing and enjoying the family. And driving and shopping and freezing and eating and taking pictures and generally doing everything else except for blogging. Oh well.

Second, I just upgraded the back-end of this site to Wordpress 2.5 this evening. I ran a through a bunch of scenarios on a test site and found no glitches with the way I am operating or my plug-ins. After that I upgraded here on the live site and it all seems to have gone very smoothly. I am having a few hangs with the auto-updating of plug-ins, but other than that I see no errors. That being said, usually it is you folks out there who catch my errors and problems not me. So if you see anything funky, please let me know.

And finally, let me apologize to all of those people on the road that I wanted to kill. I am sorry that you can’t drive without talking on your cell phone. I am also sorry that when you took Driver’s Ed that they didn’t teach you what the gas pedal or turn signals are for. Finally, I am sorry that you cannot buy a real exhaust for your car so that you don’t sound like a poorly tuned lawn mower going down the street. I am sure there are lots more, but that is about all I can come up with for the moment because my medication is kicking in . . .

Just a quick post to point out one of the places we went today - the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

If you would like to see some pictures just hit the image above or click here. This is simply a fun museum filled with unique or rare cars of mostly European heritage. There are a few Japanese and American machines, but not many. Additionally there are a good number of motorcycles, an airplane or two, and one very large military transport. Even my non-automotive wife and daughter found it at least somewhat interesting. If you are ever in the area, I would highly recommend a visit. With very affordable ticket prices, in fact kids under 18 are free, it would be hard to go wrong.

We also visited the Opry Mills Mall which is right next door to the big Opryland Hotel. Really just a big mall, but it has a Rain Forest Cafe, huge Bass Pro Shop, and lots of other touristy places. Yup, a big mall. Tomorrow we will be touring downtown Nashville and may I will get to visit the Apple Store! Crass commercialism, but I love Apple Stores, and we don’t have one in Charleston yet. At least it has stopped snowing here.

I have a site for those muddle masses among us who are British car fans. It is JustBritish and I have been running it for a few years now. Why I am mentioning it now is that I have just finished the first thrust of a major redesign. If you are so inclined, and I hope you are, I would be most grateful if you would visit the site and let me know what you think.

I have been a British car fan since I was a young boy. I think the very first car I ever fell in love with was an MG TC. To me it was more than a car, it was a that most hackneyed of expressions, a rolling sculpture. I built at least two models of TCs during the young summers when I kept repeatedly breaking my leg. Later on, after finally getting a license and a job with enough money to warrant a car, my first car was a 1971 MG B GT. I always loved the look of the hardtop GTs a bit more than the convertible Bs.

Due to only having enough money to buy the car but not to have it worked on when it needed help, I learned to work on my own cars. This was something totally out of the norm for me or most of my family. But I loved it. I ended up working for a foreign car parts shop, learning more than I can ever imagine from the owner who became a life long friend, and starting down that long road to car fanaticism. Along the way I started the British Car Club of Charleston (still in existence 25 years later), met some of the most amazing people, owned more old British relics than I had years on my body, and found a wife who would put up with all this!

But, back to the site. I have been working on this site with forums and events and classifieds and such for many years. Recently though I have decided that I need to really do something with it. And so … the site redesign. I have started by making the main site a blog. I have a few more things to do there, but once complete I will move on to refining, and hopefully speeding up, the forums. And then from there who knows!

So, if you can spare a moment, please stop by. And if you are “one of us”, please sign up for the news feed, leave a note, and become a regular. Most of the cars are small, but there is always room for one more.

With the economy going the way it is, we all want to get the most mileage out of our cars, hopefully keep the cars a bit longer and have fewer repair bills. There are a number of easy things you can do to help with that, and in additional they will also keep you and your passengers safe. What I am recommending here is basic maintenance stuff. Unfortunately, like backing up your computer, most people don’t do it - especially as the car gets older and loses its luster. But, truth be told, that is when it really needs it even more. Also, all of these are something you can do yourself and save some money.

1. Check Your Tire Pressure. Don’t just check the tire pressure when you see a tire going soft. Check all of them once a month. Under inflated tires will make a car use more gas and either pull or just driver badly. Over inflated tires also make the car handle poorly and have less grip on the road. And both under and over inflation will cause the tires to wear more quickly. You will save money and be safer if the tires are inflated correctly. And while you are down on tire level, inspect your treads to make sure your tires aren’t like me - going bald.
2. Air Filter - Check it and replace the air filter at least every year. If you put a lot of miles on the car or drive a lot of dirty or dusty roads then you will need to do it more often. Although part of regular scheduled maintenance, this is something most people put off or forget. A clogged air filter can make your car run rich and drop your gas mileage. It also just makes it hard for the engine to breath and so lowers performance. (Note: some air filters are meant to be cleaned, not replaced.)
3. Radiator Flush - It is a good idea to completely flush the cooling system in most cars every year and replace with the correct mixture of water and anti-freeze. Even in summer you need to run anti-freeze. In addition to keeping your coolant from freezing, it also raises the boiling point of water so that it can carry more heat away from your engine without boiling. (Note: This is the only tip here that may be a bit tricky with some cars, so do a little research on the Net before jumping in.)
4. Check Your Lights - Headlights, tail lights, brake lights, and turn signals. Have someone walk around while you test all the different lights and their functions. This could save you from being hit in traffic and could also save you a costly ticket from your local highway patrol.
5. Check Your Oil - Checking the oil on most cars is a very, very simple thing to do. Catching a system that is running low can also save you thousands of dollars. When a car runs out of oil, it turns in to a brick. But do not over fill the system either or you could damage seals and cause both leaks and damage to other systems. And, of course, keep up with your regularly scheduled oil and filter changes.
6. Check Your Brake Fluid - While checking your oil, also take a look at the brake fluid (and clutch fluid if your car has it). Usually people don’t know they are running low on brake fluid until, hopefully, a light comes on or, in the worst case, the brakes simply fail to work.
7. Check Your Fuses - You should always carry at least one spare fuse of every type your car uses. It is certainly no fun being stuck somewhere with no lights or wipers for the lack of a fifty cent part. Also, if you car is getting older, it is a good idea to take each fuse out every year or so and visually inspect it. This will not only help you to spot trouble before it happens, but the act of taking it out and putting it back in will clean the connectors of the fuse and fuse box. And what if you keep blowing the same fuse? Yes, you have a problem and need to have a professional track it down.
8. Change Your Windshield Wipers - This should be done at least once a year. When you put the new ones on (or have the guy at AutoZone do it for free) you will be surprised how much more clearly and therefor safely you can see out the window. For added visibility coat the windshield every few months with Rain-X or an equivalent product. These products cause water to bead up and literally run off.
9. Inspect The Rubber - This means that every month or two you should take a look at the belts and hoses in your engine compartment. You aren’t doing anything special, just looking for cracking or signs of wear. If you spot anything, either replace the item or have it replaced. If you have a question on whether it should be replaced or not, the guy at the local auto-parts store can take a look. Why him and not a mechanic? Because he doesn’t care if you replace it or not. Some mechanics may have vested interest in your replacing those items.
10. Keep A Log - Some people do this religiously and put every single fill-up, oil change, and bug-splat in there. Others just keep major services and such. You should at least keep track of there major service and repair items, but your really should track the fuel consumption at least a few times a year. What you are looking for is not so much the actual mileage itself, but drastic changes in the mileage. I had a car that once consistently getting about 23 miles per gallon and then all of a sudden dropped to about 20. That let me know something was going on. It turned out that gotten something in the air filter that was clogging things up. If I hadn’t been keeping track I wouldn’t have know, would have wasted money, and could eventually have had major problems.

Well, there you go. Nothing major there, but if you do these things your are sure to help you car last longer and provide better service. Note that nothing here should take the place of or change the recommendations put for in your owner’s manual for service intervals and tune-ups. These are simply things to do between these times to keep you running more smoothly and off the side of the road.

Happy motoring!

After going through the holiday season trying to chauffeur too many people around in my great old 1975 BMW 2002, I came to the realization that it really was time for me to get something a little newer and more practical. So, what did I buy? A nice new Toyota or Nissan? No! A sporty new MINI or Mazda Miata? No way! A dirt cheap Hyundai or Suzuki? Absolutely not!

Being the totally sensible and level headed person that I am, I bought another old BMW! Hey, but this one is more than ten years newer than the 2002. This one is a nice shiny (OK it will be when I rub it down this weekend) 1987 BMW 325e. This is a six cylinder car in a four cylinder car’s body. Basically. It is a 5-speed and, like any good “bargain” will require me to install a radio in it. Luckily I have just such a Pioneer AM/FM CD unit sitting around that I never got to installing in the 2002.

So, other than ten years of youth thereby placing at younger than my office-mates instead of older, what does this car have that Roxy, the 2002, doesn’t? Well, for starters it has air-conditioning and heat that works. Also door locks that actually lock and unlock. Oh, and then there is the 5th gear. That actually isn’t something that I worried too much about, but when I am on the 10 or so mile run to and from work it should come in handy. That along with the “eta” engine, which was supposedly an economy version, should help me raise my gas mileage from about 21 mpg to hopefully about 27 mpg. Not a huge difference, but hopefully at least worth one or two stops at the bagel shop per week.

So anyway, that is what is going on with me and will be going on for a while. Of course the car needs some work, and I will start getting to that this weekend. First off is just a good cleaning and polishing. Then of course I will need to deal with Roxy. Unfortunately just due to space and time I will have to sell her. But before I do that I need to clean her up and take care of a few odds and ends. And hey, if you are in the market for an old BMW, just let me know!