Bugs Palace!

Well, they officially wrote the Silverado off. I didn’t get 100% of the value, but damned close. Close enough that I am happy. Spent the next week or so searching around and trying to decide exactly what I want. I knew I didn’t want another truck right now. After much hunting around, I finally decided to go back to a car that I love but never seem to  be able to hold onto long term. I decided to get a 2006 MINI Cooper S Rallye Edition. Black on black, manual with a sunroof.

The car is in good shape, 150K on it, with only a couple pre-existing modifications. It came with H&R springs, lower control arms and a catback exhaust. Sits nice but not slammed, and sounds great without any drone. I’ve already ordered the first round of upgrades : cold air intake, and a rear sway bar. Once they are on, and the stereo is installed, I will re-evaluate what to do next. Pretty sure the short list will be an upgraded supercharger pulley, and possibly some other bracing to improve the already amazing handling.

Kids are enjoying their summer off. Abby-Joey-Daddy days for the most part have been riddled with car shopping, but we have been trying to have fun when we can.  Hopefully the second half of the summer will be filled with more fun activities like the park, maybe Wonderland and other day trips.

Work has been quiet yet busy all at once. No one around, but the wiring job I have this summer is time consuming and very tedious. Every wiring closet needs to be stripped back to the chassis and re-wired. So far I have gotten 10 of 14 done. One more week and I should have them all sorted out. Then it’s on to finishing off all outstanding work orders, followed by last minute re-assembly of the schools to get ready for September. God it sucks even saying that.

Bike has been getting decent amount of riding done. Not as much as I would have hoped as I’ve needed to cage it most the time to carry switches and wiring from location to location, but I’m quickly coming up on the 10K mark. Goal is to hit 15K before the end of the season. While I’m at it, I need to seriously look at doing my M2 exit test before it expires.

This Automotive update brought to you buy State Farm Insurance. ….Sigh…..

My last post I mentioned how “parts were on order and the truck should be back by the weekend”.  Well not exactly. I posted the previous item around 12am on Tuesday June 30th. Little did I know 7 hours later, I would be getting a phone call from the alignment shop saying the truck has been stolen from their locked compound. Super.  So off to Caledonia I went. I met with police and filed a report fully expecting never to see my truck again.

That evening, I got a call from the OPP saying that they have FOUND MY TRUCK! Wheels, tailgate, stereo have been stolen and some damage has been done to the truck. Sounds promising, but it’s not. Due to the holiday I wasn’t able to go see the truck until Thursday afternoon. When I finally got to the tow yard I see the old girl has been smacked around on pretty much every single panel. The only way to repair this will be a complete paint and body job, replacing and repairing a good portion of the sheet metal. And that’s just the exterior that I can see.

I spent the 2 days gathering each and every scrap of paper/receipt I could find and forwarded it on to my case worker. Now I just have to sit and wait to find out if they are actually going to write the truck off as I suspect, or try to repair it.

Given the fact that the truck was dragged from the field laying on the suspension (no wheels/tires) I really hope it’s a write off. And if it is a write off, how much of the money will I get back? The pile of cash I poured into this truck getting it exactly where I want it that wasn’t small. Hopefully the settlement will reflect that.

I am beyond frustrated. Fingers cross that the insurance company does what they are supposed to, and actually cover me for the money that I am out and not put up a fight over nickels and dimes.

To be continued…..

Quick Happy 5th birthday to my little man Joey!! Such a funny, loving little bugger. Love him to pieces. While I’m at it, happy 1st birthday to Holden! Silly little beefcake 🙂

School is officially out! Kids are out for the summer, and loving it so far. My summer hours don’t officially kick in until Friday, so they have had a couple extra days at my moms, but they aren’t complaining. They love it there. Especially when their Grandma, Aunts and Uncles take them swimming.

Vehicle updates: Jeep is officially 3 years old this week. So young, with sooo many kms. 95,000 as of last check. Here’s hoping its good for another 500,000 or so 🙂

Thruxton is sitting at 8500km. I’ve already put on 2500km this year. Been nice to actually get lots or riding done. Hopefully the season stays warm and dry late into the year. I’d really like to get 10K added to it this year. Time for an oil change and to book my M2 exit test.

Silverado has been lowered !!! The job wasn’t terrible, but only able to work on it a couple hours here and there. Once it was finally done I took it in for an alignment. And it’s still there. First shop couldn’t get it on their hoist — too low. Second shop found seized adjusters which require removing the upper control arms to repair. Removing the arms will destroy the ball joints. Sooooo new DJM arms have been ordered and will be in this week. With any luck the truck will be straightened out and back in my driveway by the weekend.