Bugs Palace!

Well, for the first time since 2003, I am once again  a pickup-man. Dad and I made the flight down to Adel Georgia to get my new truck. Flight was pretty quick and painless, as was the (long ass) drive home.

Details : 2000 Chevrolet Silverado, Extended Cab (4 door), Short box, 4.8L V8, 5speed manual, in pewter. Love it. Truck made the 1100 mile trip home without so much as a hiccup. A couple small nit-picky things need to be fixed up, but nothing major. Border crossing was alot easier then I had anticipated. About 20minutes on each side of the border (US and Canada Customs), and I was on my way.  All thats left is to wait for a form in the mail, and have a safety inspection done. Then she’s 100% legal.

Truck Page is HERE.

Only tough part about buying the truck was leaving my lovely wife, baby and two dogs behind for a couple days. Missed you guys!

Lastly, I have to send a HUGE thank you out to Andrew (Heliox). Without his step by step instructions, this may not have been possible. It sure as hell wouldn’t have been as easy. 

My shopping list started out somewhat broad, as I have considered alot of different options. Some very different vehicles, such as Ford Mustangs, Dodge Chargers, Subaru WRX’s, Chevrolet Camaros, Honda Civic SiR’s, VW Corrados, another Mini CooperS, and Ford F150 Crew Cabs are just some of the cars that have been strongly considered and dismissed for one reason or another (price, not available in manual trans, older then i want, not enough space for family etc). In the end, I was left with a few which are more ‘me’. What does that leave on the maybe list? Well, a couple different options are left. Here they are, each with the requirements that must be met.

1.) 1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra

• Extended Cab/ Short box (3 or 4 door, and not a stepside)
• 5 Speed manual transmission, 2wd
• 4.3L V6 or 4.8L V8 (prefer the 4.8, but not essential)

2.) 2002-2003 Dodge Ram

• Quad Cab / Short box
• 5 Speed manual transmission, 2wd
• 4.7L V8

3.) 2002-2004 Volkswagen GTi

• 1.8T or VR6 Engine
• 5 (or 6) Speed manual transmission
• moonroof required

After looking extensively, I couldn’t find GTI in my price range that hasnt been beaten all to hell, and Dodges are more Grants thing 😉

In the end, I finally found my unicorn. A 2000 Chevrolet Silverado, Extended Cab 4 door , Short Bed, LS model with a 4.8l v8 (85K miles), 5 speed manual. As some of you may know, extended cab with a 5 speed is more then a little rare, ESPECIALLY with the v8 (hence the nick name unicorn).

The truck is located in Adel Georgia (2 hours from Jacksonville Florida). Dad and I will be flying down, and driving it home (17hr road trip). I can’t wait! The old diesel will continue it’s daily driver duty till likely May, at which point, the truck will become the daily hauler. During the period of rest (Jan-May) the truck will be treated to some additions and upgrades 🙂

As for the Beetle: Paul has finished up the touch ups, wet sanding, and buffing. I haven’t seen it yet, but Alex says it looks incredible. Looking forward to stopping by soon! Also, I dropped the engine off with Dion early this week. Hes going to be doing a full rebuild for me. She’s already disassmbled and ready for cleaning and inspection. So far, I’m looking for new heads 🙁

Another year, another Christmas marathon completed.  This year was Christmas Eve: Dinner at Shannon’s moms house, followed by finger foods and snacks at the Shoups (Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Linda’s) .  Christmas day started early, back at the Shoups for presents with my Moms side of the family. Then, off to Shannon’s Mom’s place for presents, followed by her Dads place for presents and dinner. Once dinner was done, it was back to the Shoups for a night cap and more general mayhem. But wait theres more! Boxing day, we went to Shannon’s Aunt Barb/Uncle Randy’s place for dinner, and then one last trip to the Shoups to finish off the marathon.

Being Abigails first Christmas, we had a wonderful time, just being with family and friends. She made the rounds to pretty much everyones arms, and spread smiles everywhere she went.  As an added bonus, her Uncle Jordon and Aunt Stacie were in this year for the holidays from B.C., and finally got to meet our angel. I think they approved.

The theme this year was “spoiled”. Shannon and I apparently don’t comprehend the meaning of budget. I felt bad, knowing that I had essentially doubled the soft limit the we had put on each other, not even counting the stockings. (She got an iPod Touch, speaker docking system, and some other cool goodies.). The bad feeling I had went away when I opend my present from her. An Epiphone Les Paul Stanadard, in translucent blue. This guitar is effing sweet. On top of our gifts to each other, both of our families spoiled us rotten as per usual. I’ve given up trying to set limits with them 🙂 On behalf of Shannon and Abby,  Thanks EVERYONE for the gifts.  And also, thank to the wonderful hosts of our Christmas marathon.  Everyones home was like they always are during the holidays.. Perfect.

Special thanks to my beautiful wife. I hope my playing doesn’t drive you tooooo crazy this year. I will try and keep it down somewhat.