Okay, First, for a bit of humor (as well as an insight into my line of reasoning) I'll start off with the entry I made in my blog a few nights ago:




Wife and kids are asleep, so no video blog tonight...


I've been thinking a lot about a girl that played a big part in my life in California. She was with me for what seemed like an eternity, and yet our time together was far too short. When she came to me with a problem, I tried to fix it, fix her. Only when it became apparent that I lacked the means to fix her did I truly lose her...


Baby, I miss you.

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What? Not where you thought I was going?!

Anyway. I've been really missing my fun old car lately. I've also been trying to decided what she really meant to me. As I continue to search for some sort of project to occupy my free time, the trike project, for example, I keep coming back to the gnawing feeling that I'm missing something. That the trike is the wrong direction to go. I know I need another hot rod toy, but the husband and father in me keeps telling me whatever I pick needs to keep at least a shred of practicality.

So, was she practical? Well, in a manner of speaking. I mean, she got me from point A to point B quite well for several years. She wasn't the fastest thing on the block but she was loud enough to make a lot of people think she was.She had no AC, but she had a damn fine heater. She got crappy mileage but she made two trips to OK and back without (much of) a fight.

So what was it? Why did I love her so much? Why do I miss her so much?

Part of it is that my current car is just too damn, well, practical. I'm sick of driving a boring late 90s Malibu. It wasn't as bad when I had my Cop Caprice, I mean, at least it had some balls (they were tiny, but they were there). This 'Bu just sucks. I mean, it runs well, gets good mileage. But its ugly (I bought it wrecked and have never bothered to fix the cosmetics), its boring, it has no balls, and it bores the snot out of me...

Oh, it gets worse... we're now looking to replace it with........ a Mini-van!!!! Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!

So please bear with me as I swing from project to project trying to find something that gives me that shred of practicality while allowing me to have something fun and stupid again. I'm pretty well convinced the trike isn't it (dammit, that thing was going to be frakin' awesome!!!). I've got a couple other ideas to think on, but I'll leave them for another blog.

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Okay, so that's where I'm at. Yes, the Malibu is hopefully going bye bye soon, but yes, we're looking at mini-vans as the replacement.

I really, really, want another fun vehicle, and the project of building it. The two projects that sit before me are the two I've talked about here recently - The Sportcycle reverse-trike - and the v8 Monster Miata. They both have their places in my heart.

I see the Sportcycle as a way to recapture some of that motorcycle excitement without giving my wife a stroke (she hasn't said "no" but I know she really doesn't want me to get a motorcycle, I figured this might have been a decent compromise). It would be a balls-to-the-wall machine, fast as sin, but no other real redeeming qualities. While no doubt it would be helli-fun, its lacking even a hint of practicality. (In fact, the only practical thing I can think of would be it should get decent mileage...)

Then there's the Monster Miata. I see this as a way for me to recapture that v8 I miss so much about my Camaro and Caprice without going through the headache of finding and restoring a classic vehicle. There's nothing quite like that V8 rumble... Its a convertible so I'd still get the wind in my hair (even more since I won't need a helmet) its got 2 seats, A/C and Power Steering, and there's a HUGE aftermarket for these things, from body kits to suspension upgrades to removable hard tops. Its not a classic, so I won't get much heat from the purest for hacking it up or not restoring it to showroom condition (although, just a few days lurking around a prominent Miata forum has shown me that there are purists out there with some real contempt for the Monster crowd).

I've seen a few Miatas around here for at decent prices, but still a bit out of my range. I'm thinking about calling around to all the local towing yards to see if they have any ugly but all-there Miatas that I could get for a song. I'm seriously considering jumping head first into a Miata project, knowing I can't afford to do the whole thing right away. I figure if I could find a bad-motor donor I'd buy it and the Monster Miata's assembly manual and just start in on the tear down. even if I can't move forward beyond that for a while, it'd be a fun project for my older boys and I to tackle (at 9 and 11 they're a little too young for the heavier work, but I bet they'd have a blast helping me tear a car apart! )

All that said, the Miata seems like a great solution to the practicality problem with one exception - $$$ the almighty dollar. Crunching the numbers in my head, the Miata would come in a few thousand over the trike. Is it worth it to spend that much more money on, what will amount to little more to a toy, either way?


Anyone have any wisdom they'd like to share?

I like the idea of the cycle, but the liscensing/insurance laws always seem to get in the way...The Miata has some amazing conversion kits and you can do anything from a full blown conversion to basic body skirts. I think you will get more wife acceptance with the Miata since she will be able to ride with you.

I miss my bikes quite a bit.
Even though New England is famous for it's biker hospitality, I decided to lay off the DonorCycle pool until my kids were grown.

Have you thought of a kit car? Could be a lot of fun and its a good project for kids and adults. Time consuming but a lot of basics for the kids to learn and help with. Quite frankly, I cant really think of anything more cool for a kid to say than " Yeah My dad and I built that car."

Actually, in the end it was a combination of the WAF and my own need ot have something with at least a shred of practicality that made the decision on this one.



Well, the Monster Miata will be a kit car, in a manner of speaking. I hope my boys will get as much of a kick out of installing a 5.0 Ford into a tiny little car as I will.

I'm currently looking at 2 different Miatas locally and I've got feelers out for a straight-body/bad-motor Miata through a friend's salvager relative. I'll let y'all know more when I know more...

Well, I can't say as to not understanding the desire for a "fun" car.

My wife calls the car my "mistress" but in the end, I can fit most of the family into it for a trip... So it retains some practicality. The minivan is to pack the whole family into, if need be.

With the V8, that Miata is going to be a monster. She won't handle quite as well as it could with the stock motor, but she'll get up and roar.