Car Shopping, Breakfast with Friends, and British Cars Improved

Cars have become quite a theme here. I hadn't planned on automobiles taking up so many of my posts. But when I recount how I've spent my time of late, I must inevitably mention the many hours and days spent on and around cars.

This Saturday I accompanied Rich on his search for a suitable replacement for the Chrysler 300M that is now a pale shade of smooshed. He test drove four new station wagons: The Saab 93, Mazda 6, Audi A3, and the Volvo V50. The Mazda offers the most car for the money. The Audi was far and away the most fun to drive. Rich has a tough choice ahead of him.

Later that evening Sirs rLog and zLog realized that I hadn't seen the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Movie. I was then forced to watch a handful of their favorite MST3K Movie scenes. I now know the meaning of phrases like "Breach hull-all die. Even had it underlined" and "that would mean something if our hands were made of metal". I also now know what an interocitor is. Now if only I knew what is is.

Abhay had alerted me that he was going to be in town for the weekend; and he requested that I marshall the troops for an excursion. So Abhay, Bob, Rich, surprise guest Kevin, and I enjoyed a leisurely Sunday breakfast at Le Boulanger. It's always nice to see old friends.

Afterward, Bob and Rich helped me to remove the old temperature sender from the MG and install a new one. I am happy to report that I now have a working temperature gauge. In fact all my gauges work now (the fuel gauge isn't very accurate, but that's immaterial). O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Subsequently we went to work on Bob's aging automobile. Despite a new wiring harness that Bob made himself, the Met is still haunted by a few Lucas demons (some of whom may have lost their smoke). After attempting to resolve a few electrical issues, we topped off the oil and got the engine cranking to see if oil was making it's way into the engine head. Unfortunately the oil pump doesn't appear to be working. Bob then inflated the old tires; and somewhat surprisingly, they held air. We called it a day on the Met after bleeding the front brakes.

We concluded our day with a pleasant barbecue, complete with cookies and a dose of Pikmin thrown in for good measure.