It’s the season of giving to your loved ones, but no one said those loved ones had to be human. Cars require love and attention as well, and sometimes getting them a much-needed part or devoting some garage time will bring joy to both rider and steed.
What will you gift your car next?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s a telltale sign of a bad driver?“.
This question really brought out the digital pitchforks, and with good reason. It’s scary sharing the streets with simpletons, especially when you’re driving an old Japanese car for which parts are very difficult to find.
You can typically spot the automotively ignorant from their erratic movements on the road. BuWicked says it’s the pulling out dangerously into traffic, especially with existing body damage. For LiouxLioux it’s the opposite, coming to a stop before merging onto highway. Then there’s the opposite of that (if something can have two opposites) from Jacob B, when someone slams on the brakes before they get to the exit ramp.
For Jonathan P. and kaidophantom, it’s the weaving through traffic at high speed. On the other hand, according to Taylor C. and LiouxLioux, trying to be too good a samaritan and prioritizing niceness over traffic flow can cause more problems than it solves. For ynori, it’s braking at the last second and nearly slamming into the car in front, a habit that is typically identifiable with certain makes and models in Australia. crank_case put it best by identifying an overall lack of smoothness.
Turn signals were another big identifier. mangocast and Michael Jue pointed out those who don’t use turn signals, while Negishi no Keibajo called out those who left their blinkers on.
For many it wasn’t so much the behavior but the type of car. BlitzPig had a whole list of models to avoid. So did Land Ark, adding that temporary tags required extra vigilance. Franxou and JJ pinpointed the lifted truck as a common culprit of bad driving, and for Lee L it was the Nissan Altima.
For many it wasn’t the type of car but certain signifiers on the vehicle. streetspirit noted that curb rash is a giveaway, for Jim Klein it’s empty alcohol containers, and for six seven it’s being able to see driver in the side mirror from behind. JJ and エーイダン, got into some very Canada-specific identifiers that we’ll be sure to look out for if we ever travel north of the border.
We were of course tempted to give the win to TheJWT, who said the lack of a JNC sticker is the biggest prognosticator, but that would be pandering. In the end, the winner this week was Kyuusha Corner, whose rant gave us a good laugh:
Number one is if they don’t park parallel, and somewhat evenly, between the lines. There’s no bigger sign that they care less about driving in even the most basic and considerate of ways, than having no shame or pride in their ability to pilot a vehicle. If you can’t park properly, you shouldn’t be behind the wheel. A distant second would be people who leave 1 or more car lengths of space between them and the signal / car they are stopped behind.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Same as I’d like to give the people in my life, more time and attention ooh and a new set of wheels!
Vehicle: 1989 Toyota Crown station wagon
Engine: 1GGZE 2.0L inline 6cyl Supercharged Twin Cam 24V
Current status: Daily driver
Maybe, just maybe, it’ll receive the stockpile of parts on the garage bench I’ve been collecting over the last few months (supercharger drive belt, both tie rod ends, a wheel alignment). Oh, and I also need to fix the tailgate lock. And that reminds me… I’ve noticed a bit of coolant residue around the gasket between the back of the water pump and the outlet pipe – I need to order a new gasket.
Between looking after the kids over the school holidays, never-ending uni assignments, the broken pool pump (parts just arrived for that today), and then going back to work in the new year, I dare say the Crown will be receiving some late Christmas presents this year.
Either way, I love this car and can’t wait to wrench on it again soon.
P.S. Thanks for positively contributing to the global car community, JNC. May you have many, many prosperous years ahead. We love you.
Nice to see another S130 Crown owner here! Best of luck on the upgrades
My ’90 MS137 will get some regular maintenance and quality of life improvements over the winter. The next big gift it’ll recieve is getting its wheels – some period correct 17″ Desmond Koenigs – refinished and rebarreled.
Absolutely awesome car!
Great to see the S130 Crown enthusiasts in here!
For the Daily: Coils and NGK Plugs pre-gapped to proper specs for the Ford Focus ST aka SToic.
For the Weekend Car: I just got him a Cool Breeze Are Scoop and a dual passenger side cup holder for the Miata NB2 aka Dug.
For the Project: Another year to add to the years of neglect for the ’86 MR2 aka The Jiggy.
The st165 is getting some CEIKA coilovers. I’m not super excited but since it’s not possible to buy OEM or OEM equivalent, there’s not much choice. Fingers crossed it doesn’t ride like complete garbage.
Christmas will be good this year for Samus Aran (my Persimmon Red 1976 Datsun 280Z):
1. As many drives as I can sneak in before MDOT applies copious amounts of road salt and chemicals on the road upon the first utterance of the words “snow,” “freezing rain,” and/or “ice” in the Maryland/DC/VA weather forecast.
2. A welder and associated welding gear (helmets, gloves, sheet metal, etc.) to perform some much need rust repair on the floor boards. I also will be teaching my 11-year old how to weld as part of this project.
3. A new alternator to replace the elderly existing alternator, which can no longer deliver full voltage under load (headlights, radio).
4. New coolant gasket between the engine block and thermostat housing to eliminate a pesky leak due to a hastily installed gasket.
5. Completed install of the CD player/radio/MP3 stereo and speakers (after #2 and #3 are completed).
Items 2-5 will probably be done between late December to March, while overzealous MD snow prevention measures are in full effect.
Either a Kaminari Aerodynamics bodykit or a set of new tires.
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Parts? Garage time? Let me tell you about the car taking up both halves of the garage, shamelessly sucking up piles of parts and loads of garage time (basically every extra dollar and every free minute of my time).
The shameless hussy is the Red Roof Inn Mazda RX7 IMSA GTU car bought last spring, thanks to a JNC link to Facebook Marketplace, to a car raced a few times by Gene Hackman. A shell and piles of parts. A (relatively) leisurely 3 year planned restoration has been compressed into a year, because of some Japanese race car themed events scheduled for 2026. The car is due to be done by the end of next March, in time for late spring testing.
That means dozens of boxes of parts, sourced far and wide. Everything is custom on the car, outside of the roof and taillight assemblies, which are the only stock RX7 parts anywhere on the thing. Next up to be ordered are a set of plastic windows and a honking 51 IDA Weber. In the meantime, things need to be made. A wiring loom. Floor panels. Radiator and oil cooler ducting. Brake lines. A set of out of production/out of stock Mazda comp dry sump oil pickup tubes that go in the bottom of the engine (a machine shop will need to be engaged to make those happen).
Actually, I have never had more fun building a car. It involves finding all the pictures I can of how things were done on IMSA GT cars back when, and replicating what I see. Learning how vintage competition Mazdas went together, and making it happen again, all these decades later. And when has a competition car ever NOT been built to a deadline? I expect next March to be a real thrash, for all the details and finishing work.
In the meantime, working on competition licenses and driving schools for refreshers and sign-offs. Getting the towing rig back up to snuff. Basically putting off my retirement for a few more years to pay for it all. So far, I wouldn’t trade this for anything. My family knows what to get me for Christmas. Just add their names to whatever boxes arrive at the house, from some obscure vendor, shipping me weird parts.
Wow. This deserves a follow-up article for sure!
Gift? In this economy!? XD
I will give it the best gift of all, the gift of time.
I already got it what is needed for a front suspension refresh, but nothing gets done until I spend time with it, kind of like my loved ones 😛