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Laid back; chilled out.

Monday, August 16, 2010

173K LATER

The one and only CloudVillain requested it, so here it is. [I'm sure Rusty would appreciate this one.] And I'm sure Nik, the lucky bastard who gets to drive a Subie and a B13 [SE-R over here], would approve of this so here it is: updated photos of my beloved, much touted Lancer.

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Here's proof that the
Slo-zee is at around 173K miles. Surprisingly, it's still got the factory clutch, though its days are numbered. But like I said, I don't abuse the car, though I did, quite a bit, when the car was new.


And remember that temperature control knob I might've mentioned? Well, here it is. Oh, it looks fine, you say? Keep scrolling. Now you see it...


...now you don't. And in case you're wondering how I keep warm in the winter, I have to take the dash out, reach into the tangle of wires and roll this one wheel back or forth till I achieve the desired temperature. Another day in paradise.


And yeah, the driver's side floormat has seen better days. Funny, but all the other mats are pristine. But then again, few people ride with me. I wonder why.


The beloved lightweight OZ wheels are more than worse for wear. I can't get them clean; might have to paint them or something.


The plastic housing for the headlamps is getting all yellowy & cloudy. I saw this one commercial where I could use some paste to buff the discoloration out, but I haven't looked into it.


Here are some poorly camouflaged rust spots. As you can probably guess, not too much effort went into it.


Yup, the paint on the right C-pillar is fading fast. Uh, whatever.


Even the freakin' muffler/silencer is all rusted. Hope it passes inspection which is due - damnit! - next month. Hope it doesn't have a hole in it.
Pardon my reflection in a couple of pics, BTW.


Then, there's this horrid creaking in the suspension. I need new bushings and tie-rod ends. Again, whatever.

But enough about the bad stuff; here are a few of the fun:

Still have this sticker. Every other day in the rearview mirror, I see someone snickering and pointing at it.


The race seat has held up well so far. Took some getting used to, I must admit, but my derrière is finally used to it.


The Kenwood's still going strong. Despite the occasional hiccup, which only needs a stab at the reset button to resolve, it's performed flawlessly.


The subwoofers too are still going. Despite their different sizes, they're the same power rating. Puts out a curious blend of bass - tight & deep, just like I like it. [Don't read too much into that]

And yes, I need to reposition them. The.. ummm, sudden changes in direction seem to have pried them apart.


Easily one of the best modifications I've made - the aluminum short-shifter. Pure bliss.


Overall, the inside doesn't look too bad, I guess. But trust me, it rides a lot worse than it looks. Still, it works, and that's all I really care about.


And this, of course is the outside.


Well, there you have it. Hope this was at least remotely entertaining.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It really was entertaining. It's amazing how great it looks despite the mileage! What a great car we've got there.
Much respect to you, mitsu!!

3CB said...

I came, I saw ... and I wondered if I'll love my X6 this much ... even if he's Red ;-)

|d®| said...

>Anon: Uh, WE? Whodis?

>3CB: X6? As in BMW X6? YOU HAVE AN X6?!

3CB said...

... I will ...

http://threeceebee.com/2010/07/dont-touch-my-car/

Anonymous said...

whodis??? Baby! :)

MisterNV a.k.a Cloudvillian a.k.a I'm Not A Blogger said...

Kudos Dee. Slo-zee is looking good...everything considered. [173Ks and all].
Oookay, I'ma mosey on outta here before Rusty starts getting jealous..
Peace!

NiKolaS said...

Dude, that right there is, in .ke at least a brand new car, well sort of. thanks for the mention mate, oh Estella is a beast, i have for the past couple of days struggled to drive her slowly, building some discipline keeping her revs under 1500, it is quite a task i must add since that engine revs to the red-line with very little prodding.
This reminds me of Mona, she has so far hit 230K about 190k of those under my er.. care, if we use the term loosely, perhaps i should just do a post on the little lasses.

|d®| said...

>NV: Truth be told, I never realized what basic transportation Slo-Z is till the Mazda came thru. Slo is a cleaver, the Zoom-Zoom a scapel.

>Nikolas: You're right about that - it's relatively new; my dad's 1970 Datsun pickup comes to mind. Thing even had drum brakes in the front!