Cars
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Monkey Time at Kosamphi Forest Park
A few weeks ago we decided to go out for a drive. It was time to take Max for his first visit to the monkey park in the nearby town of Kosum Phisai, so we put his car seat in the trusty old Kujira and were on our way. We took the Kujira instead of the Cefiro because: Monkeys are little bastards that scratch up cars for fun Max sleeps really well in the Crown with its worn suspension and lulling vibration It’s a proper cruising car!! Max spots some fellow monkeys! To a normal person, this might just look like a bunch of monkeys sitting in a row, but…
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Sunday Drive
Last Sunday we took a family drive around the outskirts of town and ended up at some sluice gates we always see from the highway. They are adjacent to the parking lot of what may still be a popular outdoor live house called Amazon Park. The sky was perfect and Max fell asleep as I coaxed our trusty sedan over muddy back roads usually used only by gravel trucks and water buffalo.
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Oh My Rice
I just happened to be looking at Thai used car sites for some missing pieces to the Crown, and I happened upon one of the riciest piece of riceriffic gohan I’ve ever seen (can you say bad aero kit?). It’s apparently a Crown one year older than mine, which puts it in an earlier series. You’d never be able to tell, though, except maybe from the rear – there’s hardly anything original left on the whole car: There’s actually a few good things about this car. First of all, the 1JZ(?) stuffed in the engine bay looks hawt. Second, although I didn’t include it, there’s also a photo on the…
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Rain no come
We did everything in our powers to make the rain come today: Washed both cars, watered the garden and lawn, and even washed the old motorbike. It never came, though. Usually just washing one car this time of year is enough to make it rain on the spot. We stop trying to keep the cars clean during this 2 or 3 month period, because it’s impossible to keep it that way for more than a day, usually. Oh well, Max had fun all day and is sleeping now.
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The Kuj is back
Total damage: 9,400 Baht (about $300 US) An unwelcome expense but much much better than losing my car. Plus the aircon compressor was replaced and a new fan installed so the cooler works better than even some new cars I’ve been in. And the compressor is now tuned to the engine so it no longer stalls when the RPM suddenly dips like it did before.
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Close call (the Kuj, the Kuj, the Kuj is on fire)
Just as I left for work in the Kuj today, not even half a kilometer from my house and still inside our neighborhood, the air conditioner (under dash box unit) cut out and black smoke started pouring out from the dash. I stopped the car and cut the engine, but smoke continued to pour out and I could hear either the sound of something shorting out or the sound of plastic burning from the cable bundles under the steering column that are encapsulated by the dash. Then, through the hole where the original ignition was mounted (it’s now on the steering column like a modern car), I saw flames. All…
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Spark Plug Art
After having the baby, I ran out of money to complete my list of thing to do with the Kujira Crown. Since I reverted to stock tires I alleviated bottoming out problems and can hence wait on any suspension upgrades. She needs to be stripped and repainted, though, before the rust gets too bad. I don’t think of it as overly humid here (compared to Japan or even Bangkok), but paint started flaking off as I used the Kuj every day and rust started appearing in those places as well as under the paint in some spots. Additional victims to the humidity were my plugs. Behold: I can’t even believe…
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A Day of Rarities
Nam and I ran a bunch of errands today and saw three very rare things: At the body shop: A Kujira Crown almost just like mine, but in much better condition (original everything: 4 cylinder engine, chrome trim [sob], automatic shifter on steering column indicating the car’s original purpose as a taxi in Japan [moving the shifter from the center allowed another passenger to sit there], etc.) restoration-wise. I say almost because I think mine was the deluxe version with a straight six 2600cc engine and optional (front seat only, non-retractable) seat belts. In particular, this old timer had Crown badges and some other details I had never seen before,…
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Kings get bored.
The Death Of D1 – The Rise And Fall My bootleg drifting vids will one day be worth millions (of Zimbabwe dollars?).
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Sporting Goods Knockoff Fever: Mitzuka & Balldings
Is this the highest form of flattery for Mizuno and Rawlings? “Balldings” is officially the best knockoff name, ever. Better than a genuine BOLEX watch, better than PenesamiG, better than MICKEY MUSOE. What was that last one, you ask? The person wearing this thought it was wholly unremarkable.
