Started off going over to Discount Tire for a tire flip & rotation. Scratched that, because they were understaffed & over whelmed. Monday morning I'll try again, a bit earlier me thinks. Plan B was clean Babs Skooby the clubster. Nice cool day for that, squeaky clean. The biggest & best-est job was putting Dave O's secret trim sauce on the grey faded trim. Looks like new again. Thanks for the recipe Dave.
And on a second note, you know how Minis and their owners are, neither can pass up an opportunity for a photo op...
What is the story behind the Qvale plate? A tribute to the man that did so much for for the import car industry on the west coast?
Yes, very much so. As I know its history, this car was imported by BMC of San Francisco owner Kjell Qvale, was his son Jeff's car for years and is one of the last Austin Cooper S Mk IIs to be built (January 23, 1970). This car has a very lengthy history out here and is very well known by the folks in the Classic Mini world. I am the sixth owner of this car and it has spent its entire life here in California. Mr. Qvale and Joe Huffaker struck an early relationship in the racing world, campaigning MGs and Jensen Healeys back in the day. Joe Huffaker Jr and Bruce Qvale (the other of the two Mr Q's sons) have been long time friends since they were quite young. When this car's power plant needed refreshing, Bruce called upon Joe Jr to do the work. I had the opportunity to speak with Joe Jr at Mid Ohio this past June and have a tentative date set to meet with him at his Sonoma Raceway shop after the Runoffs. I hope to be able to learn more specifics about the car and it's history at that time... I guess the plate is the least I can do to pay tribute to a legendary gentleman...
Track Graphics, Left to Right... Sears Point, Mid Ohio, Thunderhill, Buttonwillow, Laguna Seca It's great to have spent time at each location. It'd be even greater to return to Mid Ohio one day for some more Midwestern hospitality.
I parked my MINI outside so it can get rained on. (Wax test) Plus I have a friend bringing his 02 S over for a two day spa session in my garage today. Full detail on a silver MINI with a huge Black roof (No Sunroof) and it lives outside 24/7. Time to turn back the clock with some major paint correction, maybe wet sanding, buffing and sealant / wax. It will look 2002 new or better when I am done.
Had a 3.5 hour road trip to pick up some new to me snow tires and wheels I found on craigslist. 15" wheels with nearly new Blizzaks on them, from a 2006 Mini, were well worth the trip over towards Philly today.
Opened my transmission back up, replaced a solenoid on my newly rebuilt valve body, put it all back together, tested. Fixed that specific problem, but my tranny is still shot. Pretty sure I've both worn out the clutches and spun the K2 clutch sleeve in the housing. Will have to pull the engine and tear it down to fix all that. Oy vey. At least it's not my daily driver anymore.
Soo...can I just like send you my MINI for the winter, come back around early April to pick it up all clean and looking dapper. Thanks..I know the address. I can find it.
That is quite interesting, in a good way too. For some stupid reason I now have the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon thing stuck in my head cause I'm now only a few layers removed from Automotive Greatness.
Just finished up the 02 MINI S for the day. All I can say is WOW so far. She is sitting in my garage for the night with a nice layer of sealer on her. I will post pictures tomorrow when the sun comes up and I finish waxing and the rest of the odds and ends. I should have taken before pictures.:mad2: FYI I found a product that is much better than the old or new Sonex for wheels. It is lugnut and paint safe. Once you try it you will forget all about Sonex. Oh and it does not smell like your grandmother is over giving her friend a perm. :lol: Dodo Juice Ferrous Dueller Iron Remover, paint decontamination