PopsicleMud

We're going to make it!

My pictures (28 of them, anyway) are posted here: http://picasaweb.google.com/popsiclemud/2007XmasTreeRun Here's my picture of everyone. Click it to see a bigger version.

My old Blazer had a crossover pipe that ran hot coolant past the carb, and when it got blocked, I had an icing problem. Airplanes have carb heaters, too. I wonder if you could make your own version of that by re-routing the return line from the heater core past the carb, maybe with a copper coil or two near the carb to transfer some heat to it. Just a (probably lame) idea.

Yesterday was a Bratload of fun. Fun snow, fun cars, and most of all, fun people, many of whom contributed to everyone's entertainment with impromptu hillclimbs, donuts, rally turns, snowboarding (and wipeouts), or simply by serving as everyone's favorite snowball target. Great pictures, Ed! I had a busy afternoon and evening after we got back, so I haven't had a chance to download my pictures yet, but I should get them online today after work.

Of course after my last post, I saw a page with a news story about two crashes with three fatalities within a couple of days earlier this year, so they're already over the average. It just goes to show that the law of averages doesn't protect you. You could be next no matter what the averages say.

I just saw a page (this one) that said there has been an average of 2 deaths on the Dragon per year for the last ten years. That's not to say you don't need to be careful. It doesn't mention how many serious injuries there are.

I can vouch for that! I got to ride with him on a couple of his AutoX runs at Subiefest 2 in Portland. I posted some videos of his wagon in action on YouTube. For comparison, the video labeled "Crazy Wagon" is another silver wagon with out the cool suspension.

When I tried to head toward Alki from West Marginal, the cops had it totally blocked off, so I headed up the hill, saw another XT and followed it onto the West Seattle Bridge. I ended up on the downtown waterfront. Believe it or not, it was much more sane there! I spent $3 to park by the Pike Place Market. It was easy to get in, easy to get out, and there was lots of room to watch the fireworks and take pictures from a pier. Now we just have to figure out when would be a good time for a bunch of Subaru nuts to meet down there!

I'm probably still going down there to take pictures of the fireworks. I'll just park and walk. I still think it would be fun to have an impromptu meet down there on some regular Sunday.

That bad, huh? I've been down there for the fireworks before and had to walk, but I've always gotten there just before the show. I didn't realize it got packed that early. Oh well. Nevermind.

Here's a last minute idea for some 4th of July fun: I'm going to watch the Elliott Bay fireworks from West Seattle. Anyone want to bring their Subarus and join me? Here's a map to where I'll be: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&hl=en&msa=0&z=19&msid=105754584210052957450.000434775059cb2396a93 It's going to be crowded, so I'm going to try to get there by 8:00 at the latest. The fireworks start at 10:00 I'll be driving my Xt6, and I'm going to post this at USMB, XT6.net, NASIOC. Feel free to re-post it at any Subaru groups, etc. I don't expect a huge turnout, given the last minute notice, but having a few people show up would still be fun. Edited to add: So much for posting it to NASIOC. I finally figured out where to post it over there, then it wouldn't let me post because I don't have enough "legitimate replies" on their board.

My fiancé and I were in Freemont yesterday at about 7:00 and I saw a Brat in traffic going the other way. I pointed it out to her, then noticed it had pugs on it, so I knew it had to be a real Subaru person driving it. Sure enough, when the driver looked our way and saw our XT6, he did a double take. So was that someone on USMB?

Amen to that.My '92 Loyale got stolen and totaled in November. The insurance company offered me something like $1900, and their supporting documentation showed several "comparable" cars from dealerships. I told them that I didn't think it was enough and started looking on craigslist. At the time, there were about half a dozen other Loyales for sale in my area. I printed them all up (made .pdf files to e-mail them, actually) and sent them in. For the one or two cars that were in terrible shape, I made a case for not using them as examples, and gave them an average value for the better ones. I also listed all the improvements I had made to the car that would improve reliability and safety, including timing belts, clutch, wheel bearings, front axles, improved lighting, radiator, Pugeot wheels and performance all weather tires, etc. and pointed out that I would really need to get one in good shape in order to compare to the reliability of the car I had lost. The final settlement was for $3100 plus tax and license. Moral of the story? Don't take the first offer. Do your research. Make a good case why your car was better than the average in terms of reliability and safety. Be willing to wait them out.

Those are actually in better shape than the stock speakers in the front of my XT6.

heh... When I read the title of this thread, I interpreted "spare tire cover" to mean "hood." I'm stuck in an old-school mindset.