The obvious solution was to slap another red car in there. Who wouldn't? The particular red car that I've purchased to fill the right hand bay of my shed is none other than the ex-Old Man Southern '72 H230 Datsun 260C/Nissan Cedric if you're JayDeeEmm inclined. 95000 original miles, very solid original condition if not a bit patchy paint wise. Massive bonus of a very clean, original interior - possibly one of the most important features in an old car for me.
Bloody hell, I hear you exclaim, but that car is all the way down in Invercargill! How on earth are you going to get it up here?! The answer - roadtrip! You see, some time ago during a beer fuelled conversation forum member "sheepers" and I made a pact of sorts that yeah, we're going to go for a hoon around the South Island in his glorious 1UZ powered RA28 Celica to visit not often visited folk, drink some beers/cider and generally not go to work. Essentially, everything tied in neatly to pick up a car from the bottom of the earth, and bring it back ever so slightly more towards the centre. Of the earth.
And so begins, the chronicles of El Cedrico.
Anyway - on with some photos I suppose?
Poised for departure with the Celica, outside it's old home in Invercargill.
IMG_1619 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
IMG_1622 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
Stopping next to Lake Wakatipu, to enjoy some breathtaking scenery and take advantage of a photo op
IMG_1623 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
IMG_1628 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
Parked outside a historic building in Arrowtown... I heard the girls inside talking about it when I jumped back in... "that's so awesome... what is it?" "I think it's some kind of Datsun...?" so yeah this is a great start.
IMG_1637 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
Up on the Crown Range Road... awesome climb to some absolutely fantastic panoramas of the surrounding areas.
IMG_1656 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
Further up the Crown Range Road, those twisties in the distance were the more tame ones...
IMG_1665 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
Me not drinking Speights. Outside the famous Cardrona Hotel! Note crafty camera angle to alleviate the obvious Mexican stance the car was exhibiting throughout the journey due to a boot chock with the stock steel wheels and other parts.
IMG_1670 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
More scenery... mountains, snow, bridges and rivers. Just out of Fox Glacier Township. Those of you who have been viewing attentively will notice that the hubcaps are missing, and beneath them is a set of 14x7 low offset Bogan Uglies. Reason - one hubcap flung itself off the right rear rim with reckless abandon as I was negotiating a bend alongside Lake Hawea. That hubcap ended up pitching itself off the cliff, and into the lake. Rats.
IMG_1737 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
Just proof that the car actually has a rear, as well as a front. This was shot just out of Hokitika, after an officer of the law kindly stopped me on the roadside and informed me that I was travelling at 103km/h in an 80km/h area. After claiming ignorance of the local area, I was let off the fine. He was still grumpy nonetheless.
IMG_1753 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
Family shot, in the campground where Alex (yoeddynz) is based in Nelson. The Viva is way, way too cool for school.
IMG_1802 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
And finally... queueing to board the ferry in Picton. At this point, the fuel pump was playing up and the car was dying intermittently. Massive thanks to KK for organising a replacement electric pump when I got to Wellington!
IMG_1838 by SnoozinRichy, on Flickr
That's me for now. Car's safely tucked away in the shed, awaiting a good clean ready for the run this coming weekend. Then, we'll get into doing some work on it.
Initial plans involve new hubcaps, new tyres for the stock steels with some thin whites, and getting all the patchy or roughish bits tidy and factory straight.
Due to the fuel pump issue... this is now all sorted however.