We Should Have Been In Brisbane

We should have been in Brisbane this weekend for a phenomenal convention.  Knowing it would have been phenomenal is like knowing it will be warm when the sun shines - it can't help itself.

However, due to the vagaries of our motor transport the convention had to take a back seat - this time.  We've bought another car.  I'd like to say a 'new' car but I'm just grateful for one made in May 2000 instead of 1987 which is what we have been driving for the past 3 years.

Driving the old Honda Civic required a certain amount of knowledge of how the old girl liked things to be in order to progress down the road.  Like all us old girls sooner or later we may succumb to certain aids in order to keep propulsion happening - like zimmer frames, new knees, walking sticks, glucosamine, glasses et al.

The Honda had very bad dandruff - try sitting in it and going to scratch your head or put your hat on and you'd find yourself with nails full of roof lining as inevitably one managed to catch them in the deterioration.  There was a certain degree of emphysema too as the choke wasn't happy completely turned off and required a piece of tie wire behind it to stop it closing.  If the wire was missing the fuel stopped on corners and roundabouts, that was always entertaining if not downright dangerous.  The intermittent wipers didn't intermit without a bungey strap to hold the switch together.  Of course we've long forgotten the first problem we incurred and that was when the white tailed rats decided to eat the cover off the emission control system one night and as we couldn't get another one for love nor money we had to patch it up with gaffer tape and never try to get it serviced as the mechanics would probably refuse!  Fortunately we don't have white tailed rats (or at least I don't think so ... not in the 'burbs) where we live now.  I'm not going to miss pumping the accelerator twice while pulling the choke out in order to start it, even on a hot day - I'm revelling in just turning a key.

The worst thing has been the coolant leaking somewhere unreachable near the water pump ... oh and the vibration throughout which may be something to do with the automatic gearbox and/or the engine mounts which if we decided to replace them would have to be sourced from the USA as they are unavailable in Australia.  Then of course the well overdue timing belt would have to be replaced and .... it's just not worth it.

Back to the leak, during the last 2 weeks it has assumed a dominance in our lives that became unbearable with topping up and bleeding the system beside the road as well as in the garage at least twice a trip, even if we only went to the next suburb.  Last Wednesday was the culmination of all anxiety when the stress of it all put my blood pressure from normal to 158/95 and a pulse of 83 ...  I could bend down, turn round or get up from a seat without nearly passing out, not good, so that was crunch day.

 The Honda has given us good service and owes us nothing, we hope it goes to the wreckers tomorrow and we love our silver Hyundai Lantra.