Well, just like that the season has ended her in Michigan. We got our first show showers on Monday and I removed insurance off of the car to put it into storage for the winter. It's always a bummer when this time of year rolls in, but it makes me appreciate the car that much more in the spring.
My third daughter ended up being born a bit over two weeks early and my wife graciously allowed me to drive the car to Wisconsin for Final Bout III. I had a great time and thankfully the car did not miss a beat on the trip.
Last month my wife and I drove the car to Northern Michigan for a quick weekend getaway to see the fall colors. The weather took an unfortunate turn and it was very cold and rainy, but we still had a good time. I was reminded once again that my car does not have heat, which is very annoying on the few drives we take together in the late fall. We also had some unfortunate issues with water getting into the car. I thought I had sealed the floor up well from my previously installed roll cage, but there must still be other areas where water is getting in. I also dealt with both front wheel bearings going bad on the trip- one before we left that I replaced the night before we departed, and the second on the way home. Both of those have now been replaced.
I also installed a pair of GoodRide Garage fender braces on the front before the trip. Pretty cool piece!
I was pretty bummed on the car after arriving home as it was probably the filthiest it has ever been. But after taking a few days off, I was able to gain the motivation to remove and dry the carpet, wash the interior and exterior, and replace the faulty wheel bearing. Unfortunately, I also discovered that the rust along the windshield has gotten worse and needs to be addressed during the off season.
Part of me wanted to start from scratch and try to find a cleaner chassis- or even purchase an imported 180SX. At this point though I have probably come too far with this car to do either of those things.
For now, the plan for this winter is simple- restoration before further modification. My hope is to replace a number OEM trim pieces and weather stripping, have the rust on the roof repaired and the windshield replaced, and seal all of the holes in the floor. I will likely then coat the interior with Lizard Skin to prevent heat and noise from entering the cabin like they do now.
I also decided to convert back to OEM brake hard lines and reinstall my HVAC system. A friend was parting out an S13 at his shop locally and allowed me to come out and remove the items myself so that I could document how to reinstall them.
Life is crazy as always, but I am hoping to make some progress on the car soon. My goal is to accomplish things in waves to not tear the car down too much this winter. I want to be sure it is ready to go as soon as the weather breaks this spring- which is not something I always do a great job at. We'll see how this goes!