Driving to Drive

"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5) 08/18/2017 at 21:30 • Filed to: None

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I can remember the last time I sweated while driving a car.

I was probably 16 or 17, a junior in high school, driving an ‘88 Chevy Camaro IROC. Dark red, 5.0 TPI, t-tops, 5 speed, power nothing, no AC. I was driving through Scituate and forgot it was the Arts and Crafts Festival, so traffic was pretty slow moving and it was about 90 out. But I wasn’t in the business of caring about that, because I was driving my car, it was beautiful out, and life was good even though I was sweating.

Which brings us to today. I’m 32 with a wife and kid and another car that I’m sweating while driving...it’s only about 80 but it feels like its twenty feet thick outside. It is disgustingly humid, the Miata’s AC doesn’t work, and who the hell cares because I need to drive this car NOW.

Today was the first day since I got it that I hadn’t driven it, so once my kid fell asleep I tried to go run some errands except there weren’t any to run. My wife said “I know you just want to go drive, so go drive”, so I went and drove. Didn’t even go far, I just felt like I ought to drive it, you know?

Tomorrow I’ll be out in the driveway bright and early pulling the steering wheel so I can yank the ignition lock out of it...the one key that I got with the car broke off inside the lock. I had two locksmiths take a look at it, the second guy said he can get it out if I take the cylinder out. On the plus side, Mazda was able to cut me a key from the VIN. Ford keeps key codes for around 8 years, but I guess Mazda keeps them forever.

I’ll also be installing this here:

Thats a pretty worn (but pretty cheap) Nardi Personal Grinta, 340mm. Its smaller, fatter, and in better shape than the stock wheel and should improve my knee room situation. I do need to dye the stitching black though, I don’t have any other red in the car so that would stick out.

Anybody else have any good weekend projects coming up?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 08/22/2017 at 10:42

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I think you should repeat the red stitching elsewhere rather than remove it from the wheel! Could be the shifter and e-brake boots or the door cards. Or the seats. No sense in removing it though, its a black car so red goes fine with that.

Anyways, I love driving my Miata for no reason other than to drive. I dont do this often enough just because the roads around home suck. Sure I can enjoy the car just going to the grocery store with the few turns I need to get there. But I would drive so much more if I lived near Deal’s Gap or out in some mountains (like I will be soon!)

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 08/22/2017 at 10:57

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See, I guess the thing about it now is that I just bought that red Miata with black interior, so I think that steering wheel is going to go in the ‘91 and I’ll find something else for the ‘93, haha. My hang up on putting it in the black car is that I’ve got tan interior, and I’m not big on tan with red.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 08/22/2017 at 10:58

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I like my tan on red, I thought it was going to be weird but the contrast is kinda cool