by "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
Published 11/11/2017 at 12:00
by "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
Published 11/11/2017 at 12:00
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STARS: 14
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DAY 10 - Phoenix, AZ to Woodland Hills, CA
From one coast to another, I have finally made it across the entire country. On this final day of travel, I drove about 6 hours from Phoenix, AZ, over the final set of mountains, and into the Los Angeles basin. Of course as soon as I got onto the 210 freeway and headed West, traffic began to mount as the time piled up to my destination. I got gas for 3.55 a gallon and trudged on to my final stop. I of course had to get some In N out immediately upon arrival and then unload the car for a victory lap. I headed down to Malibu to do some driving and take pictures around the sunset. I also crossed mile 4000 and added my third quart of oil for the trip. Something to fix soon haha. All that matters is the little miata made it!
After a glorious sunset cruise, I took back to Mulholland Highway for a nice post sunset ride as it became dark in the canyons. Of course this just added to the challenge and excitement. After about 45 minutes of hard driving, I made it home to my apartment in time to get some flowers and edible cookie dough for my girlfriend whenever she would finally get home from a hard day of work.
And of course since we moved in like a month and a half ago, everything is set up and ready to live! No exhaustive moving process this weekend. Just relaxation, washing the cars, and enjoying the California sunshine together at last.
It’s nice to finally be home and not be on the road driving. Of course I’m already getting excited about all of the canyon driving ahead in my Miata. But it will need some work soon once I pick up the Subaru. That deal is happening Friday. Then I can start working on the oil leak, the brakes that scream after hard driving, and the rear shocks that are now toast. Minimal damage for 4000 miles of hard driving though. I’ll have to do a summary post at some point especially since I’m sure I left out many parts of the trip where there was just too much going on to document.
With that, I end my cross country road trip! I had so much fun and saw so much. There was much adventure and it was great spending each day without any real boundary. I didn’t book anything until the night before so each day was flexible to go wherever I wanted. My extra day in Arkansas was completely unplanned and I loved it. I arrived a day earlier than expected and never felt rushed once. But you couldn’t pay me to make the trip again lol. It’s a once in a lifetime experience that I’m glad to have and would recommend to anyone!
"AfromanGTO" (afromangto)
11/11/2017 at 12:12, STARS: 1
Awesome trip buddy!
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
11/11/2017 at 12:17, STARS: 2
Welcome to the west coast!
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/11/2017 at 12:28, STARS: 2
Still processing that this is real life. It seemed so far away when I was planning the trip but now I’m finally here. Every time I’ve come out here has been a vacation. Now it’s like I’m just on vacation every day! Except for that pesky work thing I have to start on Monday.
"Elumerere" (elumerere)
11/11/2017 at 12:32, STARS: 2
I was just about to say “Welcome to LA!”
Also, you’ll get jaded fast by the sheer amount of amazing cars being driven daily out here.
Oh, and make sure to check out Rt 33 out of Ojai. It’s one of the best there is.
"TylerJ" (TylerJ)
11/11/2017 at 12:53, STARS: 0
I looked around in your post history and couldn’t find it, but is that an OEM front bumper?
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/11/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 0
I’ve done that road in a rental Camaro! It was a blast. I was so sea sick from wrangling that land yacht around the turns. Gotta convince my girlfriend that another Santa Barbara trip is in order and a detour there is so worth it! If not, I’ll just go by myself lol. It sure will be fun in a Miata.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/11/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 1
Yeah, it’s the Mazdaspeed oem bumper. I found it in shit condition and finally got the body work done so that it would fit right and take paint properly. Once I get it painted, that should look real nice. That’s also why I have the mazdaspeed Headlights and I’m looking for a trunk lid with the spoiler. I like my fake mazdaspeed that will never get a turbo lol.
"TylerJ" (TylerJ)
11/11/2017 at 13:04, STARS: 0
How hard was it to convert to from the original bumper and headlamps? Did they bolt right up or do they use different bulbs? Does the “new” bumper use the same mounting points?
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/11/2017 at 13:33, STARS: 0
The bumper and headlights mount exactly the same and fit fine as long as the panels are straight and the lights not broken lol. The only annoying part for the lights is that they are from an ‘05 which switched to H7 low beam bulbs for some God forsaken reason. But the’ 04 ones use the same 9006/9005 bulbs and look the same. They are hard to find in any condition though in general. And like these, they are rough generally. I’m working to restore them though.
Do note that it’s only the same for any NB2. The 99-00 NB1 need some adapters and the headlights and bumper must both be changed to use the Nb2 stuff. It makes a bigger improvement to those for sure though.
"Elumerere" (elumerere)
11/11/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 0
Oh, it’ll be perfect for the Miata. I’ve done it in my 996 a bunch of times, all in 3rd gear, up the rev-range.
Plus, once you hit 166 (?) you can dive into the dystopian landscape of Maricopa and Taft. Quite a visual. Plus there’s a few little roads off 33 that are just beyond fantastic. And empty.
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
11/11/2017 at 14:24, STARS: 1
Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I enjoyed following along as you traveled, while simultaneously looking at my vacation planner for 2018 trying to figure out how to fit in a road trip.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/11/2017 at 16:25, STARS: 1
Wish I could have taken more photos. Some of the best views were just randomly throughout the drive where if I had a dash cam or helmet cam, it would just be amazing to share that. But I guess that’s why everybody needs to do the drive for themselves! Just make sure to avoid the interstates, those were boring.
"His Stigness" (HisStigness)
11/11/2017 at 19:15, STARS: 0
I’ve got a good bodyshop recommendation in Ventura. And it’s not just “I’ve been there once” type of thing, I have a lot shit fall on my cars.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
11/11/2017 at 21:13, STARS: 4
The guy arrives after a cross country drive in a Miata, and the first thing he does is go for a drive. That’s pretty jalop.
Glad both of you made it safely, and thanks for sharing the journey.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
11/11/2017 at 23:07, STARS: 1
Thanks for sharing this - looks like it was a great trip! Sort of jealous, though I’d rather not end up in California :)
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/12/2017 at 04:48, STARS: 1
Haha I know right? I was kind of laughing at the idea but I just couldn’t turn down the opportunity. But the rest of the weekend has been chilling. It’s weird not putting gas in the car twice a day.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/12/2017 at 05:09, STARS: 1
Good, too many people here already lol. This would be a far better place if there were less people. I’m all about the mountains though and there’s less people there at least.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/12/2017 at 05:10, STARS: 0
Yeah I definitely need someone to do paint. And I’m trying to find some place to do it affordably. I’ve got all the body work done and am trying to not just go to maaco
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
11/12/2017 at 11:37, STARS: 1
It’s a tough balance, for sure. I’ve been on some great drives in my Miata, but stopping to take 20 pictures for an Oppo post would have ruined the experience.
If I was able to do a cross country trip as a vacation, I’d likely do fun roads on the way out, interstates on the way back if I was short on time. At the very least I’d have to take a different route back.
"His Stigness" (HisStigness)
11/13/2017 at 04:08, STARS: 0
Well, I’m afraid unless you know someone out here you’re not going to get a great paint job unless you pay a decent amount for it.
And while I’d trust a friend to give me a discount on body work, paint work is a different story. I’d want someone putting in every last ounce of effort on the paint because even the smallest screw-up can fuck it up.
If I were you, though, I’d try and just do the paintwork myself. I’m going to try clear coat work, but I’m going to try it on test panels first. I know color work would be a hell of a lot harder.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
11/14/2017 at 10:03, STARS: 1
Fantastic. Thanks for sharing it all!