No really.
Ok not really.
So, yes, let me introduce you to, Cefiroluls, a 1994 A31 Nissan Cefiro SE. For the Bots and Google Directors that care about the destiny of the Cynos. Well, it's Hyperlinked as the "other" blog for a reason. It'll continue.
And what it continues to do is to unwork. So. Yeah. It means I stay at my desk. Writing these boredom-fuelled blog posts. Continuously. When not actually much is happening. Therefore, I decided, Ah-ha! Spend a lot of money, and I can continue doing not much. But, within the comfort of NOT being at my desk. WIN! So, the search started for a 2nd vehicle, and I was initially dumbstruck by one of my "trying to recapture the 80's" classification of vehicles I desire, a Nissan Laurel. Not any Laurel either, a 1988 version; boxy, 80's, drab, awesome.
I essentially love anything from the 80's. Apart from AIDS. And Shoulder pads. Apart from on Don Johnson, he could rock them. And the Laurel is quintessentially 80's. That is seriously as deep as the motive for my appreciation of the Laurel, it doesn't actually have any defining characteristics. Yet it still made it on my list of cars I would like to buy, and hence will do research on. Anyway, most of the searches turned out 'Tardmission (Auto's) Laurels, until I spotted a rather, well, unsubtle one, that was apparently a Banzai Magazine project car. And it was manual. And it had Independent Rear Suspension. What what, a suitably rare variant of a box? WANT.
But it was sold. Prick. However, another was found, on eBay. And. Holy Something Holy. 36,000mi from NEW?!! WANT MOAR! z0mg. It ACTUALLY is...the same colour...as my newly painted bedroom. It's a sign. I am retarded but, it's still a sign! Cue frenzied phone call, guy won't budge on my extremely limited budget. Blast. Then I start obsessing about said vehicle, and start stalking the seller, leading to a termination in communication. BLAST! So in the midst of all this, the search goes on, looking for cars in the pre-1990's vintage, and for cheap. All the while keeping this information secluded from key figures.
I crumbled in the face of one said figure though, stating how I wanted to purchase the Laurel. To which he e-vomited. Unfortunately people aren't blessed with the rich and colourful taste I was imbued with, but nevertheless, once Harry stopped laughing, he sent me a link from Driftworks for a car. Way out of budget, but it looked stunning. And it was a car I had intentions of researching, especially for use in Saudi Arabia, as they are plentiful there (albeit in a slightly altered form), and usually cheap. The car, just seemed right. And it wasn't the Cefiro.
Ok, it was.
Alas, I had no money. Yet the enabler insisted I borrowed an inordinate amount of capitol from him to pay for it. He basically forced it upon me, manhandled it upon me. RAVAGED it upon me. Etc. Anyway, went to see the vehicle, fell in love, yada yada yada, buyer wanted to do some ridiculous scheme to procure another Cefiro, bla bla bla, made me wait, I cried. Then I picked it up, and I'm a contented little girl.
So, what is its purpose? Well, it's a stand-in, a second car, a means of transport. Hold on, I already said this, it's my getaway from my desk car! Keep up! GAWD. Yet, you know well enough that this vehicle will not be left unabused by me. The other blog is plenty testament to this. However, in the interest of sanity of mind and safety of my knee caps in lieu of any potential debt collectors, I will leave a reasonable amount of time to pass before any major plans. However, I am a fan of tradition, in this sense meaning keeping a vehicle within its engine family. And the Cefiro came with an RB20DET in some guises; a twin-camshaft turbocharged variant of my Anaemic RB20E. That is all to be said. That and the Cefiro shares a lot of chassis structures/components with the R32 Skyline/C33 Laurel etc. Now that is all. For now.
Well, that, and, I do intend on freshening up the car a little bit anyway. It's an amazingly low mileage example, apparently only having 37,000mi run under its wheels since its inception. I have my doubts, but alas, I don't care. What few negatives exist are quite trivial; molten demister grilles, broken grille clips, mouldy boot mat, and so on. These will all be easy to rectify. So, not. Bothered. Well, I am, but. MEH.
What is the barge like to drive? Well. A barge. It literally requires a body of water in which to navigate in. However, travelling on water has the benefit of modicum of comfort. Even with about 0.1mm of suspension travel on some rather hard coilovers. Obviously the tall tyres did their part to help take the edge off of the road imperfections, but it is a distinct difference to the other cars I have regularly driven in the UK. Not that it is hard to improve over the mobile anal probe Cynos, and the Kia Cee'd. Marketed. Not engineered. Saying that though, at an internet quoted 1290kg, the Cefiro is certainly not a swine of a car, and the lowered ride height certainly serve to make the car feel athletic on its feet. Well, until the tyres rub on the arches. At every bump. Especially on the driver's side. A minor annoyance, but the car just looks too well at it's current ride-height. Despite it not being able to crest over the driveway. Don't hate it cause its beautiful! Hate me. It sustains me ^_^
Another quirk has made its self known, quite surprisingly as well. For what I thought would be a mild Differential, the standard issue VLSD is rather vicious! On tight corners the vehicle just lurches, locks a wheel and generally misbehaves. Annoying, as I don't want to entertain such yobbery, and, the dearth of low-end Torque wouldn't really achieve much. Meh. I'll cope. Other than this less than cohesive account of the driving experience, reasoning of being and whatnot, I actually did something to it as well. Which I won't type here, as it Google won't let me.
And then, I valeted the car! Yeah, stfu, I even valeted the Cynos occasionally, but you tell me the point of cleaning the interior of an interiorless car. PRECISELY. Being a car of such sparse mileage, the interior was already exquisitely clean, especially the rear, other than the usual dust/debris, but the seats and carpets were generally spotless. I feel dirty. And I absurdly find myself wanting to treat this car in a comprehensively different manner to the Cynos. A manner I wish I would've had the initiative to treat the Paseo to. Complete, and religious maintenance and systematic approach to changes and processes. Obviously it is all in vain, I won't follow any of it, but as long as I pretend I will, then it will count. As such I have already drafted lists to document a maintenance schedule, the requisite expenditure list (this time incorporating running costs. Yes, I'm going to write down the fuel costs and mileages. See what I mean about getting away from my desk?) and so forth. And whilst the bodywork isn't as immaculate as was intimated, I do want to at least make a substantially miniscule effort towards the preservation of the exterior aesthetics. And to this end, I will force Bill to clean the car for me, in return for looking pretty for him. He will oblige.
So there you go, the journey of Cefiroluls has commenced. Introduced by this rather haphazard and non-linear train of thought. O_o.
And yes, I aim to redo the pictures at my new favourite location ever, hopefully ith a tripod. I don't mean me either, giggidy. Also, here's a bug, on the web (HAH!) ^_^
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