Coffee While Awesome

"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
05/05/2019 at 18:02 • Filed to: Exocet, driving while awesome, dwa, Cars and Coffee

I took the Exocet down to Davenport, CA this morning for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! cars and coffee. TLDR: great event, froze my ass off on the way down, and hit a fricken deer with the Exocet . Pictures at the bottom if you don’t want to read.

I made the decision yesterday to try and go. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I realized yesterday morning that the Exocet had a dead battery. I accidentally let the ignition on when I rolled it in the other day (was on to keep the steering from locking). I tried charging it on my normal charger but no dice. It didn’t detect the battery. So pulled out my AGM/LiOn specific charger - still no dice. I put it in Recovery mode and just waited. It flashed for 6 hours.

In the meantime, I pulled the hood off to check the coolant and oil. I added a little oil (seemed a tiny bit down) and tossed in a little Marvel Mystery Oil since I’ll do an oil change soon. I also removed the stupid windshield wiper that just floats in the wind, added another wire to hold the exhaust better to limit rattle, and made a new shift boot (which came out crappy so no pictures).

Just before I headed to bed, the charger stopped with the error light flashing. I figured it was dead, but just in case, put it in charge mode one last time. BAM! Detected and charging but starting at 0%.

I just left it and set my alarm for 5:50am (ugh) and figured that if it didn’t start at 5:50am, that I would just go back to bed instead of taking a shower and going in a different car.

Well, it did start so I was off. I put on 3 layers - tshirt, sweater, and then a thick NASA jacket that work had given me as a “goodbye, sorry we axed you” present. I figured with that, jeans, and my gloves, I could handle the 50 degree weather fine.

Or not. It was frigid. 80mph in 50 degrees with wind coming off the pacific ocean was brutal. Coming down highway 1 was torture. The ride was about 1hr 50 minutes (before my stop for gas) and there was sweet delicious hot coffee as a reward when I got there, so that thought kept me going.

I pulled in about 10 minutes early and there were already a LOT of cars. I grabbed one of the last actual spaces. When I went to stand up, my knees were nearly frozen solid. Weirdest feeling ever. I limped into the cafe and got some of the most relieving coffee I’ve ever had.

The event itself was great. DWA’s followers are good people. Everyone I chatted with was super nice. There are a few elitist folks but you can pick them out a mile away. Even then, the Exocet has a way of melting some of that away. It’s too weird and too intriguing to be judgy about.

The drive back was better in terms of temperature, but was it’s own nightmare. I decided to go a route that I hadn’t been before and the road was thrashed. Don’t bother ever driving Felton Empire Rd. It’s so degraded that you can’t go over 10mph.

Then fate tried to take the Exocet away. I came around a corner (not too fast, maybe 35mph) and a deer ran out in front of me. I locked up the brakes a little (still getting used to the car) and deer’s foot hit in the driver’s side tire. Didn’t touch a single piece of bodywork and the deer was leeping along just fine - probably wondering WTF kind of car that was.

I drove through Big Basin state park, which was gorgeous but full of traffic and finally stopped off at Alice’s Restaurant to put a little gas in. It was insanely crowded with millions of dollars parked in the lot as always. A quick glace spotted an F430, Aventador, Cobra, and several racey 911s before I was descended upon by people wanting to talk about the car while I pumped gas.

All in all, a great day, but exhausting. So many things I want to do on the Exocet now. Exhaust is a must. Fenders need to go away. Polycarb windshield - yes. But first - I’m going to go sleep. Getting up early is rarely worth it.

I didn’t really get enough pictures, but that’s okay. There were a lot more cars than I got photos for. Also, loved the Nissan Figaro and Escort Cosy.

DISCUSSION (19)

Maxima Speed > Nick Has an Exocet
05/05/2019 at 19:02

Awesome pics of some amazing cars. Hat Blue Porsche is beautiful. Have any more pics of that BMW? I love the design of that one. What year? I’m guessing 3 series right?

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Nick Has an Exocet
05/05/2019 at 19:03

oh wow.. that first pic... and some of the others... they somehow look like die casts

how did you do that?

its awesome

Nick Has an Exocet > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
05/05/2019 at 19:15

Thanks! I have a Xiaomi Mi8, which has a portrait mode - but you can trick it into taking pictures of non-people. Plus I had HDR enabled.

Nick Has an Exocet > Maxima Speed
05/05/2019 at 19:17

It was actually a 2002. Probably one of the most badass 2002's I’d ever seen. Unfortunately, totally forgot to get more pictures than that.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Nick Has an Exocet
05/05/2019 at 19:21

cheers :)

i need to learn how to take those kind of pics

maybe a real camera is in my future

but for now i guess i’ll bumble about with my phone cam till i figure out the basics at least

diplodicus forgot his password > Nick Has an Exocet
05/05/2019 at 20:32

What engine is in it? Looks like an m20 intake manifold but the intake is on the wrong side of the manifold. Definitely not a late m30 manifold and the early m30 manifolds we’re straighter. Looks like an m30 afm though. But the distributor also appears to not be mounted to the camshaft like the m20 /m30

Just Jeepin' > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
05/05/2019 at 20:36

If you get really ambitious, the traditional way to mess with focus and do crazy things is to use a large-format film camera and play with tilt-shift.

https://photographyconcentrate.com/tilt-shift-introduction/

The basic idea is that instead of having the lens and film plane parallel, you change the angle of the film plane. Canon and Nikon have over the years introduced specialty lenses for 35mm cameras that, since the film plane itself isn’t something you can modify, will change the angle of the lens.

And lots of people these days keep it simple and just use software to emulate it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt–shift_photography

Nick Has an Exocet > diplodicus forgot his password
05/05/2019 at 20:44

You’ve got me! No idea. I was hoping to chat with the owner but didn't find him.

diplodicus forgot his password > Nick Has an Exocet
05/05/2019 at 21:14

Its an early Euro m20b23 https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/226726-m20-block-mount-distributor/

Edit: with a modified manifold to put the afm on the passenger side.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Just Jeepin'
05/05/2019 at 23:34

neat

thank you

arl > Nick Has an Exocet
05/06/2019 at 06:57

Yea, great shots. Mine always come out looking like potato pics, no matter how awesome the camera/phone is. Sigh.
Sorry to hear out the deer.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nick Has an Exocet
05/06/2019 at 10:28

Ugh, that sucks man. We were bombing around NW Arkansas this past weekend and luckily didn’t have any run-ins with deer (saw plenty) or kill any puppies.

One very large turtle was not so lucky.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Nick Has an Exocet
05/06/2019 at 13:17

Damn almost went to that too. Next time

Nick Has an Exocet > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/06/2019 at 13:35

Kinja'd!!!

CaptDale - is secretly British > Nick Has an Exocet
05/06/2019 at 13:36

Yeah I want to check out an Exocet lol

Nick Has an Exocet > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/06/2019 at 15:33

I’m not really working since the layoff, so just HMU on Facebook Messenger and arrange something one of these days, haha. Always happy to take you for a ride (provided you fit in the weirdly small seat ).

CaptDale - is secretly British > Nick Has an Exocet
05/06/2019 at 17:02

Well I have fit in multiple Miatas with high side bucket seats. So if those are about the same size I should. And awesome I will. Probably won’t be able to come up for a little while anyway.

Nick Has an Exocet > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/06/2019 at 17:10

Cool - just let me know!

CaptDale - is secretly British > Nick Has an Exocet
05/06/2019 at 17:43

I will!