I can’t remember the last time I had a flat tire. Now I have 2 on as many vehicles. Both from carpenter nails, both in the same location (passenger, rear). Given that I haven’t used carpenter nails in a long time I am a little curious.
They probably won’t be able to patch the one, but I want new tires on the GX anyway, these Dynapro AT-M are trash.
Know what looks great though? My cruisers wheels and 33 inch tires on the GX
They technically fit but wouldn’t work without rubbing big time, but they sure look great!
Interesting other revelation - my drivers side turn light went out on the GX so I went to change it and I noticed this.
Looks like a large acid spill has been eating away at my body. Cool. Cool. I’ll pull the battery, clean it up and hit it with some rust converter, primer and paint. I think it was the old battery, but I can’t be sure. Looking at these pictures again...it might be the current battery.
Today I’m taking the Azera up to the lake for a quick weekend trip which works out because no one else is going, we aren’t going into town and we are technically residents. There are mice to kill I hear.
(this is what it looked like last year this time, Im hoping for at least a taste of this again.)
(yup, thats the fella)
I rebuilt the carb on a little 9.9 hp outboard yesterday that goes on a 14 foot aluminum fishing skiff. Hopefully it sucks less now. It will be interesting to see if I can get it in the Azera’s truck with everything else. It fits. It’s an enormous trunk though.
Speaking of the Azera, I’ve had it for 2 weeks now and I’ve got enough seat time to really have an opinion of it.
A full review is coming but have some thoughts.
The Infiniti Stereo is plenty loud and its okay quality (great bass quality, meh everywhere else), but there is NO good way to add an aux port or bluetooth...which sucks because the tape adapter is garbage.
The suspension isn’t very good. Its too soft and way underdamped, but also a little crashy. I think there are some bushes that are shot up front in the sway bar or control arms...or it just is a bad design. I got underneath and I couldn’t see anything concerning even a little. If I remember the suspension was always a little loud. At 104,000 miles the dampers are probably just shot. it’s not hard to bottom it, but I have been driving the unbottomable cruiser for years so maybe it’s just my driving style.
It’s pretty quick. Not fast, but pretty quick. The 3.8 has strong low torque and revs easy. The gearing is no fun, you could probably do 80 in 2nd gear so the fun is pretty much over by 3rd.
The manumatic is good. Its slow, but it’s obedient and holds gears from TC stall to redline. I have noticed something annoying where if I shift down to 2nd sometimes it will pop to 1st. Like my logitech force feedback pro shifter for GT.
Getting about 19.5 mpg city driving only. Will be interesting to see how it does on the open road.
The quality and workmanship is...worrying. There is a small gap between the timing cover and the valve cover that weaps oil (a common problem). The steering column rattles with bumps and you can feel it in the wheel. The sunroof has been disabled because if you open it, it wont close (A common problem). The rear sunshade gears are jammed (a common problem) so its disabled. The switch for the telescoping steering wheel is on its last legs. sometimes the tach needle clicks and sits at zero before returning to duty. The speedo bobbles around a little. the center console rattles badly unless I stuff something in there to fill the gap. It’s just a lot of little things that add up to remind me that in the early 2000's Hyundai was still finding its stride.
I may have said this before but you know what it reminds me of? 1990-2000 Cadillac. I drove plenty of STS, SLS, Deville, etc of that era, and this feels like that. Same fake wood trim pieces threatening to fall off, but don’t. Same wild torque steer, same “almost good” suspension. The leather even feels and smells the same.
I mean, it was free, and still in pretty great shape so I’m not complaining, but yeah.
Im tempted to fix all the little issues. But mostly tempted to not care and just drive it. sure wish it had an aux port though.
I talked to Dr. Balls again...no that’s not a euphemism, he’s the director for ER services at our flagship hospital...turns out he likes his cars. He has a Safari roof JKU with the 6.4 hemi conversion and Dynatrac 60 axles...he’s trying to sell it.
This is what the safari cab looks like. It’s excellent if you ask me.
He also has a supercharged 6.2 raptor. I thought that was interesting. we talked trails and fun places to camp. That was nice. I should start a little series about doctors rides, because I’m getting some wild stories when I press for info.
(not really what its called or the sign, but yeah)
Lastly, we are moving to condition yellow tomorrow, because life is not a sci-fi dystopia. What that means is all business are open, groups of 50, some familial visitations, and kids can play together with the note that all these must be accompanied by social distancing.