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Bad, meet worse...
So, it's been a nuts day. Painter arrived first thing to deal with the damage from a leak we had a while back. However, unlike we'd been told, he wasn't going to just touch up the damaged area over the kitchen table, he was going to paint the entire ceiling of the kitchen and lounge area. So much moving of crap had to take place in a very short space of time. That knocked me around a fair bit.
Then I had to take my car down to the mechanic's for roadworthy looksee and a major service. And brain-damaged cripple-old-man had to walk an hour to get home. Think that didn't take a toll?
And I've just had a call from the mechanic... He doesn't think the car can possibly pass ACT standards to get a roadworthy. We were warned about this before we moved up here - ACT regs on cars are exceptionally strict, way harder than the regs in the various states - so even with tonnes of work done to it, it may be impossible to get it to pass a roadworthy here. The mechanic suggested I try to keep it registered in Victoria, that way I bypass the problem.
Of course, it causes other issues, and opens a can of worms if I have an accident.
I love my old car, as anyone who has read my 100 Days Post on The Belwood would know. I've been driving it... well, bits of it... on and off... for twenty years. It is a large part of my identity, my past - droving, my dad, etc.
At the same time it's just a car.
So, do we throw money at it and hope to get it to a point where the ACT would let me have it registered here? If so, how much do we spend before it's a case of diminishing returns? And what if we spend the money and it still won't pass muster? Do we simply leave it registered in Victoria? With all the potential for problems down the track? Do we get rid of it (could possibly get between $1500 and $2500 for it, depending on buyer) and purchase another car? I could look for a similar one, but unless I find one already in the ACT, and roadworthy, I'm likely to strike the same problem. We would only ever be likely to buy a second hand car of any type, old or new, and even with a roadworthy and a check-out you don't know what you're going to get. So do we buy a new car that may be reliable, would likely be more environmentally friendly, but also may not be any of these things?
I love my car, I get happy just walking out and seeing the damned thing on the street. I love that it's been driven by people who I love, admire, and who are important to me. I enjoy driving it, even if it's just down the road.
The biggest problem is, my car, rough though it is, works. It can run when it's low on oil, it's still not too hard to get parts for, and it can be fixed by any mechanic around, without the need for a computer or specialised parts. Plus, it's a tough old thing, it's literally done thousands of kilometres on dirt tracks and corrugated roads. It's been through potholes that drove my head down through my pelvis. Other cars hit it and they get dented.
It makes me feel, in some small way, like I'm still out and about droving with my dad.
But it's still just a car.
There's a point where I have to be practical, and this may well be it.
Then I had to take my car down to the mechanic's for roadworthy looksee and a major service. And brain-damaged cripple-old-man had to walk an hour to get home. Think that didn't take a toll?
And I've just had a call from the mechanic... He doesn't think the car can possibly pass ACT standards to get a roadworthy. We were warned about this before we moved up here - ACT regs on cars are exceptionally strict, way harder than the regs in the various states - so even with tonnes of work done to it, it may be impossible to get it to pass a roadworthy here. The mechanic suggested I try to keep it registered in Victoria, that way I bypass the problem.
Of course, it causes other issues, and opens a can of worms if I have an accident.
I love my old car, as anyone who has read my 100 Days Post on The Belwood would know. I've been driving it... well, bits of it... on and off... for twenty years. It is a large part of my identity, my past - droving, my dad, etc.
At the same time it's just a car.
So, do we throw money at it and hope to get it to a point where the ACT would let me have it registered here? If so, how much do we spend before it's a case of diminishing returns? And what if we spend the money and it still won't pass muster? Do we simply leave it registered in Victoria? With all the potential for problems down the track? Do we get rid of it (could possibly get between $1500 and $2500 for it, depending on buyer) and purchase another car? I could look for a similar one, but unless I find one already in the ACT, and roadworthy, I'm likely to strike the same problem. We would only ever be likely to buy a second hand car of any type, old or new, and even with a roadworthy and a check-out you don't know what you're going to get. So do we buy a new car that may be reliable, would likely be more environmentally friendly, but also may not be any of these things?
I love my car, I get happy just walking out and seeing the damned thing on the street. I love that it's been driven by people who I love, admire, and who are important to me. I enjoy driving it, even if it's just down the road.
The biggest problem is, my car, rough though it is, works. It can run when it's low on oil, it's still not too hard to get parts for, and it can be fixed by any mechanic around, without the need for a computer or specialised parts. Plus, it's a tough old thing, it's literally done thousands of kilometres on dirt tracks and corrugated roads. It's been through potholes that drove my head down through my pelvis. Other cars hit it and they get dented.
It makes me feel, in some small way, like I'm still out and about droving with my dad.
But it's still just a car.
There's a point where I have to be practical, and this may well be it.
no subject
They tried to make a law out here where if there had been any modifications done to a car's suspension it would be considered unroadworthy and not allowed to be driven. It doesn't matter if it was a safety upgrade. The big problem I face is exhaust emissions. My Camaro is highly modified. The thing is when it's hooked up to the emissions tester it does fine. But that doesn't matter. It will fail because it doesn't have this, or that, or whatever. I am required to have a smog pump and those are expensive little buggars.
no subject
Regarding the engine, I'd be happy with any good engine in there. Hell, if they had decent electric engines that could do 600 miles a day, I throw one of those in. I'm not a purist :)
no subject
Out here I have two of my cars registered under a different type of license. My 1929 Dodge is a Street Rod, which is exempt from a lot of safety and emissions regulations, and the Camaro is a classic which means no emissions.