FWAHC Newsletter

September 2000

PAGE 4

Marty had me listening and poking my fingers under the dash, into the vents, into the glove compartment, etc. For miles and miles and miles we could not find the rattle. Once we thought the problem was fixed as we left a gas station, but NOOOO...as soon as we congratulated ourselves it started again. Turned out that the mounting brackets had broken on a front disc backing plate - and now I know why Marty had packed so much stuff - like mechanic's wire!

Marty drove pretty fast through the Rockies. The Mini's engine and drivetrain had only 2000 miles on them, so it was time to "break them in". Lots of curves to try out the handling. We took I-70 instead of I-80 so that we could stop at Grand Junction, Vail, and other beautiful places along the way. After we got home, we were pretty freaked out when Marty found that the entire front subframe and steering rack had only been loosely (finger tight) bolted in place! We thought back on that high-speed drive through the mountains....

The Perfect Storm

Somewhere in Colorado it started to rain. This was considered a good thing because Mini's have no air conditioning and for the most part we were baking in the sun with the windows open. Besides, this was an opportunity to check for leaks, something common to Minis. I passed my hands along the seams of the door and happily said that there was no water coming in. Marty said, if it's going to leak it's going to leak farther down. So, reaching down and lifting up a floor mat I found myself sitting above SEVERAL INCHES of water! Maps, feet, purse, books...everything suddenly floating under me. Yup, the Mini appears to be leaking from somewhere. Fortunately - or maybe not - it turns out that the outside air inlets are right behind the

front wheels and are supposed to have ductwork attached - but don't. So they were wide open and right there behind the wheel's spray.

Home Sweet Home

Between the credit card problems, the rattles and the water, we decided it best to play it safe and get home. One of the nicest things about owning and driving a Mini is that it makes people laugh. Every time we stopped people would gather around, point, and generally enjoy this teeny tiny car. Most people were seeing one for the first time and would cautiously approach while scratching their heads in wonder.... What the hell is that? And now back home in Nebraska, I have underwear and socks instead of wrenches and bolts and no worries about being abandoned in strange places. Just have to keep dinner warm and looking edible 3 hours after dinnertime. As you might guess, I haven't seen much of Marty since our return. He just keeps mumbling about things like welding sheet metal and porting a stage 4 head (or something like that).

Money From God

A little boy who wanted $100 very badly prayed and prayed for two weeks, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write a letter to God requesting the $100. When the postal authorities received the letter to "God, USA," they decided to send it to President Clinton. The president was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5 bill. Mr. Clinton thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.

The little boy was delighted with the $5, and immediately sat down to write a thank you note to God which read, "Dear God, Thank you for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington D.C., and as usual, they deducted $95!"

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