What’s going on, eh? It’s been over a month since the last update here.
Prescott
Tomorrow morning, Mike Foster and I will be taking the grey car up the mountain to Prescott for the rally. Last year, we were met with fail, fail, and more fail. A roached tcase, a dysfunctional flatbed towtruck, and an electrically compromised rally car. Last weekend, I spent a few hours under 464, replacing all the driveline fluids with fresh, top-of-the-line, Redline products. Heavy Shockproof in the rear diff and tcase (it’s always hot here in Phoenix), and a blend of MTL/MT-90 in the transmission.
Of course, the transmission seems to be leaking from somewhere mysterious. It’s not leaking from the fill or drain plugs, or even from the passenger side axle seal. Probably driver side axle seal, but it will have to wait until the black car is back together. I refuse to have two Galants with no engines in them and spend a weekend out in the sun racing to get a transmission swap done before work on Monday.
MLR
If I haven’t mentioned it yet, I’m now a member of the Mitsubishi Lancer Register (MLR). Disclosure: I was given a membership by the founder so I might explore the community deeper after interviewing him for Gearbox Magazine. Considering I’m doing a Mitsubishi magazine (online), I am very impressed with the MLR’s Wastegate Chatter product. Hope I might one day be able to do something similar. If you’ve got an Evo, MLR is a great place to spend time.
The Autobahn
Vanessa and I spent the first two weeks of the month in Germany. I’ve spent the last two weeks back home wondering when we’ll get to go back. Ironic that I am vehemently against cell phone usage behind the wheel, yet felt compelled to compose a shot of the speedo as I was doing about 105mph in the slow lane outside of Würzburg. If you’ve never been, the appeal of the Autobahn is not the unlimited speeds (most of the Autobahn now has a 130kmh limit), but the fact that German drivers still know how to drive, unlike the self-absorbed moron operators we have in the States. Everyone uses their turn signal – everyone. And nobody – nobody – passes on the right. You might be thinking, “What do they do when someone is cruising in the left lane and won’t get over?”
On the Autobahn, nobody does that shit.