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A Younger Man's Sport


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I know and appreciate that there are many here who are my senior.  Well... a few, anyway.  But next summer I'll be joining the Elder Statesman ranks.  Heck,  I've been considered an "Old Fart" so long that won't be much of an event for me.

 

But about this "Younger Man's Sport" thing:

 

When I'm not in my truck, I tool about in a Miata.  An '02 Special Edition.  I call her "Zelda," after a dear old friend who's no longer with us.  She has all sorts of fancy-doodle "special" stuff that was a big deal when she was new; still pretty cool stuff, in my estimation.  But, like me, she's getting kinda long in the tooth.  Well maintained (better than ME!), she runs strong, and is still somewhat nimble.

 

So anyway, for Father's Day, Sassparilla Kid gave his old man a set of brand-new Bilstein replacement struts for the li'l roadster!  Yippee~!!  But it was too damned hot to work on 'er last week; over the weekend we had a low-nineties "cold snap" and I got 'er done.  Rears on Friday night and front on Sunday. 

 

And this is where I finally came to the realization that crawling around under low-slung sports cars is definitely a "younger man's sport."  My GAWD but I woke up sore and stiff!  I've always been my own mechanic; shux, when the engine in my '69 bug blew back in '71, I rebuilt it in my frat house bedroom.  But I'm here to tell ya... us fat old farts just ain't built for these kinda activities.  It HURTS!

 

Oh well - younger man's sport or not, I'll keep doin' it.  ^_^

 

One note about the car:  While slidin' about underneath that thing, I had plenty of opportunity to study it's design and construction.  There's not a whole lot of solid structure; rather, the li'l car's light weight and rigidity is achieved by very clever stamping, forming, folding and welding of relatively light stock.  So while I'm studyin' her construction, it occurred to me that "Miata" must be Japanese for "Origami!"  :lol:

 

By the way ~ the Bilsteins are wonderful.  She's more nimble than ever!!   :wub:

 

 

                             124201784_ZeldaandRod2.JPG.2e877cc9152e6e6990791a00234909fd.JPG

 

 

 

 

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Hardpan, I had a 2005 Miata. I bought an automatic with “Overdrive”. When I purchased it I had a bum knee. I sold it 2013. :(

 

The automatic was slower off the start but it made up for itself in the long run. 
Every time I see a nice Miata I miss mine so much. What a fantastic and fun piece of engineering. It drove like it was on rails. 

You have a nice looking roadster there. I say stock up on Ibuprofen and keep on keepin’ on. ;)

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Classy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a Mustang nut myownself. However, I don't bend like I used to, getting in and out of'em just don't work any more. I'm a semi-retired motorhead, too. Oil changes, and air filters are about the extent of my mechanical efforts now. It seems to take longer to do the oil changes than I remember it should take. Ground just seems sooooo much further away now, plus it takes a while to get back up to vertical as well. Just keeping two Kia Souls going now...........:rolleyes::blink::blush:

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10 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

I know and appreciate that there are many here who are my senior.  Well... a few, anyway.  But next summer I'll be joining the Elder Statesman ranks.  Heck,  I've been considered an "Old Fart" so long that won't be much of an event for me.

 

But about this "Younger Man's Sport" thing:

 

When I'm not in my truck, I tool about in a Miata.  An '02 Special Edition.  I call her "Zelda," after a dear old friend who's no longer with us.  She has all sorts of fancy-doodle "special" stuff that was a big deal when she was new; still pretty cool stuff, in my estimation.  But, like me, she's getting kinda long in the tooth.  Well maintained (better than ME!), she runs strong, and is still somewhat nimble.

 

So anyway, for Father's Day, Sassparilla Kid gave his old man a set of brand-new Bilstein replacement struts for the li'l roadster!  Yippee~!!  But it was too damned hot to work on 'er last week; over the weekend we had a low-nineties "cold snap" and I got 'er done.  Rears on Friday night and front on Sunday. 

 

And this is where I finally came to the realization that crawling around under low-slung sports cars is definitely a "younger man's sport."  My GAWD but I woke up sore and stiff!  I've always been my own mechanic; shux, when the engine in my '69 bug blew back in '71, I rebuilt it in my frat house bedroom.  But I'm here to tell ya... us fat old farts just ain't built for these kinda activities.  It HURTS!

 

Oh well - younger man's sport or not, I'll keep doin' it.  ^_^

 

One note about the car:  While slidin' about underneath that thing, I had plenty of opportunity to study it's design and construction.  There's not a whole lot of solid structure; rather, the li'l car's light weight and rigidity is achieved by very clever stamping, forming, folding and welding of relatively light stock.  So while I'm studyin' her construction, it occurred to me that "Miata" must be Japanese for "Origami!"  :lol:

 

By the way ~ the Bilsteins are wonderful.  She's more nimble than ever!!   :wub:

 

 

                             124201784_ZeldaandRod2.JPG.2e877cc9152e6e6990791a00234909fd.JPG

 

 

 

 

You said sliding under it....What is the next wooper you want to tell us.....

 

Texas Lizard

 

Or selfy stick and camera.....

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Fiat 124 Spider:

Quote

The new Fiat 124 Spider is even produced in Japan at a Mazda facility. The Fiat 124 Spider has a slightly lower price point, and sometimes Fiat offers more substantial incentives. ... The Mazda Miata MX-5 is purpose built for performance, but lacks in some of the luxury and comforts that are expected in a modern vehicle.

 

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5 minutes ago, Texas Lizard said:

You said sliding under it....What is the next wooper you want to tell us.....

 

Texas Lizard

 

Or selfy stick and camera.....

Had a car show here a few years back and I was offered a ride in a '60 MGA like one I used to own.

 

At 75 years old I couldn't even get into it.  Imagine trying to put on a pair of four sizes too small wet buckskin britches on a cool morning.....or trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.  Just wasn't going to happen.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Had a car show here a few years back and I was offered a ride in a '60 MGA like one I used to own.

 

At 75 years old I couldn't even get into it.  Imagine trying to put on a pair of four sizes too small wet buckskin britches on a cool morning.....or trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.  Just wasn't going to happen.

 

 

Can see your point there...But things can happen...Had a friend who drove a Porsche 911...Used leg braces to walk to the front to get his wheelchair...Was doing that one day and a young lady was impressed...Then she notice another wheelchair coming on shotgun side...She was surprised...He told there was one more wheelchair inside also...In there wrapped around that wheelchair was our basketball coach...Ed Owens, 6 foot 11 inches...

 

Texas Lizard

 

There is hope to fit...Then again for you or me...Maybe not....

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11 minutes ago, Texas Lizard said:

Can see your point there...But things can happen...Had a friend who drove a Porsche 911...Used leg braces to walk to the front to get his wheelchair...Was doing that one day and a young lady was impressed...Then she notice another wheelchair coming on shotgun side...She was surprised...He told there was one more wheelchair inside also...In there wrapped around that wheelchair was our basketball coach...Ed Owens, 6 foot 11 inches...

 

Texas Lizard

 

There is hope to fit...Then again for you or me...Maybe not....

We shoe horned five frat brothers into a BMW Isetta one time.  Went to the drive in and got out to order...and couldn't get more than four back in.

 

I was 5'11" and weighed about 224 lbs. back then.  I'm a hair over 5'9'' now and weigh 212 lbs.

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3 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

We shoe horned five frat brothers into a BMW Isetta one time.  Went to the drive in and got out to order...and couldn't get more than four back in.

 

I was 5'11" and weighed about 224 lbs. back then.  I'm a hair over 5'9'' now and weigh 212 lbs.

Did they strap you to the hood to get you home??

 

Texas Lizard

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4 minutes ago, Texas Lizard said:

Did they strap you to the hood to get you home??

 

Texas Lizard

Nope.  A girlfriend's sister took me back to the frat house, picked up one of my brothers, and they went swimming together.  the other guys ran out of gas and walked back.  Didn't get the Isetta started until the next morning.

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3 hours ago, Chief Rick said:

 

Is the Fiat 124 Spider a rebadged Miata?

 

 

Chief, there's a bit more to it than just a "re-badging," but essentially, yes has Miata bones.

 

The MX-5 Miata ND has a smooth, strong, normally aspirated 2.0 litre 4-cylinder engine.  The FIAT has a 1.4 litre turbocharged engine that generates 11 more horses and 36 foot-lbs more than the Miata.  The FIAT has different suspension, and a throaty-sounding Abarth exhaust system.  Different cosmetics, too.  But close enough that folks call it the "Fiata."  ^_^

 

For several years I drove a '74 FIAT Sport Spider ~ absolutely loved it.  For those who used to malign FIATs, I can attest to it being as reliable* as any other car on the road back then, and with nothing mechanically mysterious about working on 'em.  Pretty straightforward, in fact.

 

*Electric fuel pumps were a issue; I'd get about 20 - 30 thousand miles out of a pump.  I used to carry a spare on board, and actually did a swap one morning on the Bay Bridge during commute hours.  It took me less that eight minutes; quicker than hiking to one of the emergency phones (pre-cell phone days).

 

 

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6 hours ago, Texas Lizard said:

You said sliding under it....What is the next wooper you want to tell us.....

 

Texas Lizard

 

Or selfy stick and camera.....

 

:lol:

 

Well... with 4 1/2" ground clearance, it is a bit of a challenge.

 

But with a low-profile floor jack, stands, and a bag o' hockey pucks, it's do-able.  Hockey pucks go between the jack (and jack stands) and car body "jacking points."  Gotta be careful, though - reeeal easy to crush the stamped and hollow frame rails.  Like I noted earlier, there just ain't nothin' solid under there.  I've actually cut slots in hockey pucks to fit over the seams where the floor pan panels are folded and welded.  Hence my observation that "Miata" must be Japanese for "Origami!"  ^_^

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