Hirstのブログ一覧

My BF5P is still awaiting repair. I forgot to order a new radiator fan switch, so I had to wait a few days for it to arrive. The weather is cold, so I'm staying indoors.

I got a small cabinet for my 1:43 model cars. I'm not a serious collector, so most of my model cars are cheap or used. The only expensive one is the Ebbro 1:43 Accord. There's also a Mega Drive, I can't remember how I got that!

I'd like to fill all the empty spaces some day.

Over the last few weeks, I've been driving my BF5P 323-Familia. I noticed my battery was running out of power quickly, although the "Charge" light didn't come on. My electrical systems were operating more slowly, so the wipers and power windows would take a long time and my headlights were weak. I was taking my battery off to charge it manually in my house, haha.

I looked at the V-belts and the one for the alternator and water pump was loose and in poor condition with a lot of cracks. I went to buy a new one, but the shop didn't have one on the shelf so they had to order one to arrive later.

I was going to fit it on Saturday, but the car didn't want to wait. On Thursday night I was driving and the belt snapped. The "Charge" light came on, but I could also hear it snap under the bonnet and smell the burning rubber. I was nearly home, so I just took it home before it could run out of power or the engine overheating (no water pump!). I opened the bonnet and I could only find a small piece of the old belt, you can see that the rubber is hard and cracked.

It's very cheap and easy to fit a new one, but I wanted to replace a few other parts so I've taken it to my friend's garage.



Earlier that week I also fitted some chrome wheel trim rings. I still need to paint the wheels though. I'd like summer to arrive soon, so I can start working on my cars more.

Here's another old photo, I think this is from 2009. I can't find my old memory card with the full size photo, so the picture quality is quite bad. A national club for old Toyota cars organised an event but they allowed people with other Japanese cars to attend too. Most of the Toyotas were on the other side of the field, but I can't find those photos. I remember there was a lot of Celicas.

At the time I was driving the Galant every day. The show was quite far from me, I had to drive about 200km to attend. But the owner of the white C32 Laurel was from the Netherlands, so he had to drive further than me and take a car ferry. I'd like to visit a show there sometime, but I never seem to have enough time.

Here's an old photo from 2007 or 2008, a few of my old car friends got together.

At the time, I was driving the Charmant with Work Equip wheels, though I went back to the original wheels after that. They're fitted to my Galant Σ now.

I'm currently writing an article for a car magazine.

Although I'm not a real journalist, I have written a few articles for magazines and newspapers before. It's been a long time since I wrote anything though. It's taking a while to remember how I do it. Luckily I have a lot of time to send the article.

At the moment, I'm just writing down all the data so I can think about how to write it. I really like to make sure all the information is accurate, so I have to do a lot of research! With this model, there's a lot of minor differences between the worldwide specifications. I have to check a lot of old data to be sure I'm correct.

I guess it is old-fashioned to write my notes on paper, but it's easier for me. I prefer to type the article into the computer though.

Nobody can read my bad handwriting, haha!