I've got a new project and I need a blog for it and I saw this thing kicking around in the corner. So, without further ado, please say hello to the newest member of the household.
Yes, this is now officially a car blog. And that is a 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT (a.k.a. a Dodge Stealth). The VR-4 edition, of course. The one with 300+ horsepower and all wheel drive and all wheel steering. Its name is Harbinger and the Boyfriend won't tell me why. Apparently I haven't watched enough Battlestar Galactica.
...and no air conditioning and almost 100,000 miles and very cracked leather seats and a 45 lb weight in the trunk masquerading as a subwoofer.
I have always wanted one of these cars, and always for the most questionable of reasons. It started when I was about 16 or 17. I remember the exact moment. I hadn't been driving long. I was cruising down the left lane of 202 South back home, returning from the KoP Mall (I told you I remembered the exact moment). I was in my Taurus (also a '91, as it happens) and because I was a) new at driving and b) in the left lane and c) in a car so slow and underpowered I would play heavy metal to get it up hills (it seemed to help. I don't know why) I was checking my rearview mirror a lot. A LOT. And there was no one behind me, which was just fine.
And then, the next mirror check half a second later revealed an inky shadow made out of solid black metal. It was low and dangerous and it had come out of nowhere. So I pulled over to let it past and on the back it said "Stealth" and I decided there and then that it was the most fitting name for a car I'd ever seen. And I really really wanted one.
Fast-forward to a couple years ago when I developed a Gran Turismo habit. For the unfamiliar, it's a video game. You race cars around tracks. With the money you win racing, you can buy better cars. And it turns out that in that game, the 3000GT is a really good buy. It's cheap, it's powerful, and the AWD means it corners like nothing else out there. I spent a lot of fake money and very real time upgrading everything about my virtual 3000GT - suspension, flywheel, tires, turbo, etc. And I won a lot of races.
The thing is, I never really got into real cars. I like them. I like driving them. The Boyfriend has a very nice sports car and I love taking it out. But I haven't owned a car since I moved to San Francisco 7 years ago. And even when I did own them, I never worked on them. I never had the time. But I've always wanted to be someone who is into cars and has owned a bunch and does her own work on them and so on.
In a household with barely a two car garage and no shop space, these are dangerous thoughts so I kept them to myself. But then the BF said something about replacing his car. I asked him what he wanted, and this happened:
BF: "Well, I've always wanted to be someone who knows about cars. I want to know why I like my car and I want to know what it's like to have owned a bunch of cars and work on them and maybe track them. And the only way to do that is to start buying old cars and working on them."
Those of you who know me will recall that I am an opportunist in the extreme, and I got opportunity served up on a silver platter with that comment.
So, long story short, we spent a couple weeks on Craigslist and found this thing. We brought it home about 10 days ago and thus began our odyssey into Working On Cars.
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