It's been a great summer for the Roadster. She has picked up a few new rock chips, but despite her battle scars she has always attracted very friendly interest at nearly every stop. We had folks from all over taking pictures, telling their own Roadster stories, and even sitting in the car to get their picture taken, with captions like "Look at the car I rented for my vacation trip!", or "Hi honey, I met this guy on my vacation and...". Many were non- english speaking tourists, but the universal attraction easily broke down any language barriers as we spoke the language of Roadster love and human connection. Many many smiles were shared which warmed our hearts so very much.
The addition of the Bilstein shocks has been great, and the car has not let us down once, though she is not without need for repair. I plan to rebuild the entire front suspension over the winter, and I have brand new tires ready to go on when that's done. She wanders a bit now with the worn out idler box, and the tires were cupped enough that they couldn't balance completely out, so I look forward to a smoother, more controlled ride next year. I still have not installed the Isky cam as I need to get the right lash pads for it (L-series) or jetted the carbs for the Racer Brown cam it's running now, but she has not left me wanting for more power more than once or twice (a couple of close passes that reminded me that things can change quickly!), so it's been a safe, fast and exciting time for both me and my co-pilot wife.
And to my wife... what a great co-pilot she is. The Roadster is not an easy car to travel in, especially when ones back is subject to the aches and pains that come from car accidents. Getting in and out of the Roadster, with the comp belts and cramped quarters, requires effort, as does contorting ones body while getting us food and drink or blankets stuffed behind the seats... well, can't say enough... she never complains and is always eager to hit the road. She groans and laments the slow cars in the twisty corners as much as I do. Together, I've learned to slow down some and not blast past the turn outs and places to explore, and she's gotten better at letting me know what she wants to see and to give me enough time to haul the beast down. Now we have a favorite spot that leads to a wonderful "rock on the river" spot for a picnic, and favorite roads to blast just because we can. We discovered so many neat places this year, truly a summer of Roadster love, and a renewed love between us.
Hope you all have enjoyed this season as much as we Have! Next year will be even better, and we look forward to revisiting out favorite spots while discovering new ones Too! See you down the road!
. Mike
