Miata Mailing List: September 1998, Message #76

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    Hey all, I'm back in smoky Riverside after a weekend of great drives
and dirty fingernails with Aaron Tachibana.

    After a HOT 400 mile drive, I was seriously bummed that my Hard Dog
Hard Core roll bar had not reached Aaron's house.  After a quick chat
with UPS it seems that Hard Dog forgot to put his complete address on
the label.  So in an instant a quick 24 hour trip had turned into a long
weekend....there was no way I was going back the cauldron of Hell known
as Riverside without my bar, and Aaron intuitively knew this and offered
me the couch until my bar arrived...(Thanks again!!)

    Not one to get upset while surrounded by some of the finest roads in
the Bay Area,  I agreed to make the best of it, and joined Aaron and
Dennis Taylor, of DESA Racing, on a marvelous drive, through coastal
forests, and onto the foggy coast north of Santa Cruz.  With the
exception of a certain BMW that was trying to kill Aaron, the traffic
cooperated nicely.  We had a late breakfast at the famous Alice's
Restaurant while making our way towards the coast.  It's a great place
to just sit and watch the people.  Lot's of sport bikes, Harleys, and
vintage and exotic cars.... a Testarossa and a TR512 included.   For
those of you that have been on Mullholland Hwy., it's a lot like the
Rock but with much better parking! :-)

    Sunday I jacked up Satori and /finally/ installed my Team Flatspot
rear braces.  Very straightforward, and a big improvement.  Only mishap
was a slight laceration on my right index finger from being careless
with the drill bit. (DUH)  Dollar for dollar the best brace I've
installed.

    Finally Monday was here, so I started ripping my car apart while I
waited for the delivery truck.  Aaron's snap lock button puller helped
tremendously, however I still managed to bust a couple....no biggy, I'm
sure many a salvage yard is full of them.  Once the HDHC arrived, I read
the destructions....then promptly through them out.  Basically all you
have to do is cut 2 holes big enough to get the bar in....too big
doesn't matter because it's under the carpet.  The bar was the best fit
that Aaron had ever seen, with all 4 connection areas fitting nicely,
nothing more than 1/4" off.....well to make a long story short, an hour
and a half later I was done!  I then took Satori out for a drive and was
absolutely amazed at how solid the car now feels....dare I say it feels
like a car that /should/ cost $20,000 more.....yes, I do!!

      Not wanting to make the lonely drive home at night I woke up at 5
am this morning and headed home.  I was on the road, gassed up, by
5:15.  I then proceeded to cover 401.3 miles in 5 hrs 17 mins!!!  (Max.
speed limit in California is 70 mph)  Between Gilroy and Los Banos, I
noticed Satori was just solid as a rock, even while driving on truck
grooved lanes at 90 mph....Even if it didn't provide rollover
protection, it would be worth the money.  My 83500 mile 91 feels more
solid than any 99 I've driven.

    So don't be afraid, just do it......it doesn't take longer than a
brake job and you'll fall in love with your car all over again....



Jason and Satori
Riverside, Ca
Team FM
Team JR
Team Voodoo
Team HDHC
Team RE71 w/ 4/32" after 7k miles
Team Thanks Again Aaron!