Captain Azzurra's Bogan Adventures!

[AzzurrA]

What a weekend!

This story starts on Wednesday last week, when i put my R32 in for a wheel alignment. for a few weeks the car had felt very 'loose' and almost like it was bump-steering a lot more than normal.

I told the workshop to check everything over and make sure something wasn't loose.

I went to the movies while they did that and saw Casino Royale (Good movie BTW )

When i came back to the car 2 1/2 hours later, they told me that they haven't done a wheel alignment - there is no point - the rear rack ends and rear tie rod end balljoints are absolutely shagged - they are very busy and aren't able to source the parts for me, but if i can source the parts, then they can probably squeeze the car in to fit them for me.

So the hunt began!

I spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning exhausting many different avenues in an attempt to find these parts... finally found what i was after through Glenn @ Jap Only Auto Parts (shameless plug follows)

Jap Only Auto Parts

41 Kenway Drive, Underwood, QLD, 4119

(07) 3386 0226

Glenn had the parts delivered to him, and i picked them up first thing on Friday morning.... i then delivered the car and the parts to the workshop - they told me they should have the car finished by approx. 3pm that afternoon.

I got a call at 3pm when i was on my way to work saying they've been looking at the car for the last 2 hours, and they've found that they're not able to replace the tie rod end bushes without pulling the whole rear end out of the car - it is going to take them until early next week to do this....

This posed a problem for me as i was supposed to be driving to Hervey Bay on Saturday for a family xmas dinner on Saturday night.... and then driving back to Brisbane first thing on Sunday morning...

Being my Birthday on Friday, my father offered me his VT SS to drive up and back (never been allowed to drive the car before ).

After picking the VT up at lunchtime on Saturday, i headed up towards Hervey Bay... the drive was pretty un-eventful except for the 2 fine young ladies who liked the VT's exhaust note and tried to flirt with me while stopped at a set of lights....

The weather was a bit on the bleak side, with rain all the way north from about Beerburrum.

The only other distraction was seeing a silver Stagea parked in a rest area on the far side of Gympie.

I got to the outskirts of Tiaro (a little town about 20 minutes outside Maryborough on the Brisbane side) when i noticed there were a fair few branches laying on the side of the road, and leaves all over the place that looked like they'd been through a shredder.... I got to the main street of town itself, and there were more branches, and piles & piles of shredded leaves on the roadside....

I stopped outside Tiaro Meats (awesome butcher in town... another shameless plug) to get myself a nice steak, when i noticed that the footpath was covered in hail the size of golfballs. I left there and got another 500 metres up the road when i had to stop for about 20 minutes, as there were trees and branches all over the road... we had to wait for the police/tractors to clear them off - i drove through after the road was cleared, and counted probably 10 - 15 trees knocked/blown down.

I continued my journey through to Maryborough, where the streets were extremely wet.... I was warned by my dad when picking the car up that it gets fairly tail-happy on wet roads - i have no idea what he was talking about though, as it took a fair amount of provoking to get the rear to step out at all, and even then, it was very progressive and controlled.

The rest of the journey to Hervey Bay was uneventful.

Had my dinner and went to bed...

Left Hervey Bay at 5:30am this morning - drive was uneventful again, literally no traffic at all until i got back to around Maroochydore at 7am this morning...

Saw a red stagea in Gympie again... probably within around 1km of where i saw the other one.... they seem popular up there!

Got back to Brisbane at 8am, then got ready for work and headed in... am now sitting here at work...

[Einstein]

the life of the bogan is pretty simple

also sounds like nasty ass storms, lucky you dont live up there huh

[Col-GTSX]

WOW

My drives to Hervey Bay are boring, I do know that butcher you speak of tho...

However on Thursday i went to Warick and a saw a garbage truck hit a cow at about 90kph...

I was stuck on the side of the road for about 2 hours while the mess was cleaned up cause the garbage truck lost his load all over the highway...

Seing the dead cow in 3 main bits made me chuck btw... It was not pretty and the Police man laughed at me chucking...

[dangerous_daveo]

Jason...

Your title promised girls. There were no girls in that story.

[AzzurrA]

Jason...

Your title promised girls. There were no girls in that story.

You need to re-read the story then Dave!

The drive was pretty un-eventful except for the 2 fine young ladies who liked the VT's exhaust note and tried to flirt with me while stopped at a set of lights....

[dangerous_daveo]

Did you get their numbers?

[AzzurrA]

negative, ghostrider....

i didn't have an RX7 to dorift round and round their '33 GTR........ Tokyo Drift Stylez!

[Rhinorebel]

I like stories!!

But my head is still tender from breaking rule number 1........ Don't mix your drinks on an all-nighter!!

Started out on Smirnoff Blacks, then my new favourite, Red Bull and Southern Comfort, and then someone bought me a shot of something green and sweet!!

Made it to daylight again and slept at a mates house until 10am. Pizza for lunch and I am home and about to go to bed....... Goodnight!!

[dangerous_daveo]

I like stories!!

But my head is still tender from breaking rule number 1........ Don't mix your drinks on an all-nighter!!

Started out on Smirnoff Blacks, then my new favourite, Red Bull and Southern Comfort, and then someone bought me a shot of something green and sweet!!

Made it to daylight again and slept at a mates house until 10am. Pizza for lunch and I am home and about to go to bed....... Goodnight!!

Dave, by your age I would have though you would have worked out how to mix drinks and still get thru the nite.

And Jason, all you needed to do was pull out the old "its my birthday and its not the only thing that makes nice noises" line and you would have been there!

[Einstein]

WOW

My drives to Hervey Bay are boring, I do know that butcher you speak of tho...

However on Thursday i went to Warick and a saw a garbage truck hit a cow at about 90kph...

I was stuck on the side of the road for about 2 hours while the mess was cleaned up cause the garbage truck lost his load all over the highway...

Seing the dead cow in 3 main bits made me chuck btw... It was not pretty and the Police man laughed at me chucking...

i would have laughed at you too

i used to help my dad butcher cows as a kiddie, pretty graphic stuff

[Rhinorebel]

So..... Col...... how do you go at BBQ's when the cow is in thousands of pieces?? You must HURL!!!!

(I would have laughed a bit too, sorry)

[Silver_R34_GT-T]

hahaha,

[Col-GTSX]

i would have laughed at you too

i used to help my dad butcher cows as a kiddie, pretty graphic stuff

Laugh it up...

I have been to the slaughter house and didnt have a problem...

So..... Col...... how do you go at BBQ's when the cow is in thousands of pieces?? You must HURL!!!!

(I would have laughed a bit too, sorry)

Yeah im good with it all, its just the cows head was partly still in the front head light of the truck and there was brains and stuff all over the place... It was really discusting, I am happy to say I was not the only one to spew and i was feeling sick already...

Ill give you a more graphic description at dinner tuesday night...

[Rhinorebel]

Excellent!!!!

And I will tell stories that may make you hurl again!!

[Einstein]

Excellent!!!!

And I will tell stories that may make you hurl again!!

i'll bring the camera

[R33S2]

Seeing as we are talking non skyline road adventures I thought I would add my own.

My adventure in brisbane traffic started when I decided to ride my bike to work, seeing as I am having problems with my Etoll transponder for the bike I decided to go via the SthE FWY instead of the Logan MWY.

So I get on at nujooloo rd following this chick on another bike, she was fat and I mean it was like a teenager hanging off each side lol, anyway I got over the hill before springwood and the traffic was stopped, I zigged and zagged and got off at underwood rd, where she passed me stil on the MWY, Logan rd was pretty good and I got back on the SEFWY and into the T2 lane where I see her in the distance, so much for my detour Ha.

I was going great until a bit past Mt gravat where it was stopped again, I do the lane and shoulder ride/squeeze and passed a silver32 and a purple33GTR with SCC sticker! plus countless, countless other cars, while puttering along the shoulder I ran over something so I stopped and it was one of those flexy screwdrivers, a small bonus woohoo.

I Finally get to the Riverside Xpway where 2 lanes are blocked, and I am thinking 'come on people no need to gawk just move along and OMG look at that a 1tonner refrigerated on its side!!!'.

I had not been this way to Ashmore from here and got a bit lost between riverside and Milton rd, finally I got to Milton rd where guess what??? the trafiic was stopped yet again courtesy of some looseunit or storm bring down a power pole, milton rd is exicting to do the lane squeeze on (not) and I might add the ride to work from here went quite good phew, I got to work on time somehow.

[Revhead]

Sounds like you need a narrower bike Terry. Like a sportsbike

But yeah, Milton Rd and the Riverside "Express"way are very ghey. How farken long is it going to take them to finish the roadworks there? And is it completely necessary to slow traffic to 40km/h over 1 km from the actual work? Is it necessary to slow traffic to 40km/h at all when the road work is happening on the other side of a cement divider, or not at all?

[The Dan]

I'd like to know, Jason, which workshop told you that crap about removing half the back of the car?

The rack ends and tie rod ends are easily changed without too much drama.

If you've never done them before, though, they can look difficult. Rest assured they are quite easy to do.

[AzzurrA]

hrm..... odd...

i had a look at them (on a subframe that was out of a car) and i can see what they're saying...

the tie rod ends (ball joints) are pressed into the steering arm which is part of the hub... from what i could see, you would have to at least remove the rear hub and use a hydraulic press to push the old ball joints out and the new ones in

[The Dan]

Are you talking about the ball joints or the tie rod ends?

The ball joint is part of the lower control arm. The tie rod end screws onto the rack end and is used to adjust steering geometry.

doesn't really matter which one either as the lower control arm only takes 15 mins to remove...then you just gotta press out/in the ball joint. And the rack ends/tie rod ends only take about 15-30 mins each including setting them up again.