Gear Heads

Today we got down and dirty. Greasy dirty. We were gear heads. The heap needed a bit of attention and when we woke up we heeded its call. First the brakes. It didn't have any well barely any. We drove her to a parking lot in town and rolled up our sleeves. This is when bringing grubby clothes would have paid off.

Where we parked turned out to be ideal, right near Owen's Brake Specialists. The owner was able to round up new pads and turn our rotors. With John's mechanical abilities and my prior pit crew experience, we had her re-shoed and running in no time. Diagnosing the horn was a bit trickier. It only clicked. We didn't feel that a clicking horn would be sufficient given what we had experienced of New Zealand drivers. Then there was the leaky rear light. Silicon rubber to the rescue. Next the exhaust fumes needed attention. They were being sucked in through the hatch. Eric, who was sitting in the back seat for the ride up here, was starting to look green. (Fargo loved his new color!)

Mission accomplished, we quit for the day at 2:00 and drove up for a walk to Whangarei Falls and A.H. Reed Park. Tomorrow we would tackle the vacuum leak in the carburetor.

P.S. I lied about my pit crew experience.

Brrroom! Brrroom!

The vacuum leak in the carburetor turned out to be a dried rubber hose, a much simpler fix than we had anticipated. Tuning and timing of the beast went smoothly and, with our automotive troubles behind us, we were ready to enjoy New Zealand. Now we are proud to call this $900(NZ) ($600 US) Filthy Yellow Heap our own.

Posterity

I will forever be remembered in Whangarei. I have graced the mens room door with my picture. The woman's room door at the hostel was decorated with a photo of Freddy Mercury from Queen, and Bob requested a similar one of the opposite sex. If you're ever in Whangarei, check it out. And say hi to Bob.