One of my friends, Dan, loves to tinker with cars. A lot of my friends do, actually, but Dan always has something on the go. He generally sticks to Mazdas, but he’s also got a fantastic Volkswagen Beetle that he’s kitted out in true ‘ratrod’ spec, and we all love it.

His birthday was earlier this month – the day after mine, in fact – and we thought it would be great to buy some junker off the ‘net, deliver it to his house, and enjoy his reaction.

Tony had come across this unloved first-generation 1977 Honda Civic five-door for $200, and we decided it was the perfect choice; it was no Mazda, but it was old – ideal for Dan – and it was cheap – ideal for us.

More photos through the link.

The day began simple enough, with Joel dropping his $1.80 packet of donuts on the ground before any of us had even had a bite. Top work.

Joel and I arrived first, and within 10 minutes, the rest of the guys – and Tony, with Dan’s new Civic – had arrived.

And here she is: 1200cc engine, two-speed Hondamatic transmission, black-taped speed stripes, a tank of premium and brand-new door cards.

Glorious.

I’m told that PBS radio station sticker was placed there to cover the holes left after someone stole the badge that was there. Now we’re concerned that if we remove the sticker, the car might collapse in a heap.

Lichen adds character.

The temptation to paint the horn buttons red and write ‘NOS’ on them was difficult to overcome, but we managed.

Star gives a speed boost and allows you to drive through other motorists, flipping them on their head and causing them to lose all their coins.

Those brand-new door cards I mentioned? Still wrapped in plastic. Getting visions of my grandfather’s couch…

Ryan applied a racing number to the roof. I asked about the relevance of the number 4: “well it’s got no round bits. Easy to tape…”

Above: the highlight of the day begins as Tony rolls up to the home of Dan, who suspects nothing.

And now; the video of the handover.

Above: Here’s the brilliant bit; Dan and this little Honda both rolled off the assembly line in the same month, of the same year.

It’s all smiles on the outside, but you just know that on the inside, there’s only “Oh, god.” But don’t worry mate, we even got you a repair manual.

For the wrong engine…

But wait, what’s this? The first modification, and all within 30 minutes of taking ownership!

Dan had found some roofracks on the side of the road a few weeks earlier, and he figured he’d see if they’d fit the Civic.

Perfect.

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I paid my first visit to Melbourne’s new gamin’ and drinkin’ venue, Mana Bar, with some friends a few weeks ago. Afterwards, we popped down to The Alchemist for a slightly classier cap to the evening.

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Had some friends over for lunch, yesterday. It turns out I was more interested in photographing the progress of our ‘Bacon Explosion’ concoction than the people surrounding it.

I did manage to snap some shots of our spontaneous visit to the Albert Park Driving Range in Melbourne, though. You can see those, and more horrifying greasiness, after the jump.

The preparation.

Oh gawd, this is going to be good.

Ready for the oven. Now we wait…

Below; an hour, eight slices of tasty cheese and a punnet of tomato and garlic pasta sauce later, the Explosion was ready to demolish our insides.

I couldn’t get through my second helping, but be assured it was delicious. I suspect I won’t be eating meat for another six months, though.

After a round of virtual golf on my Android tab, we decided to hit the driving range. I’d never been, and I had no idea how quickly I’d get bored of the 100 balls I paid for. I gave up about 30 balls into it, and started snapping shots of everyone else, instead!

And that’s that.

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Will you just look at this, ain’t she a beauty? This is my ‘new’ 1996 Trek 470 Fast Track.

It was a fairly basic rig when it hit the market 15 years ago, and it’s nothing special today either – but compared to my generally beloved Shogun ‘Extreme’ (oh save me), it feels like I’m riding on Goku’s Flying Nimbus.

I picked it up this week for a few hundred bucks – about what they sell for anywhere in good condition, these days – and this one is certainly in good condition.

A friend of mine grabbed it from a second-hand store, looking very much the worse for wear. Unfortunately for him, it was only after a few long weeks of restoration that he realised he was a little too tall for this Trek.

His loss is my gain. His efforts saw every nut, bolt, crank and cog patiently cleaned, while the chain and every cable made way for brand-new replacements. The seat and handlebars benefited from beautiful new brown vinyl wraps, too.

It’s a vastly different riding experience for me: gone is the Shogun’s suspension-everywhere arrangement that I’ve become so used to (despite it being utterly inappropriate for road riding), as are the fatter road tyres.

On the plus side, also gone is a bucketload of weight – from the bike beneath me, not from me – and so I’m finding it much easier to go for a blast through town and return home without being too exhausted.

Of course, that means I’ll have to go for much longer rides to get the same cardio value out of my rides… but longer rides can only ever be a good thing.

To get myself used to the different riding position and dynamics, along with the fact I can no longer ride as crazily as I did on the Shogun (bunny hopping every gutter like a maniac), I’ve set myself the challenge of riding to as many of my destinations as possible from now until April 22.

I’ll have to drive sometimes – my job requires a lot of driving (it is very literally unavoidable!) – but for the most part, it’ll be the bike everywhere, or at worst, a train ride here and there.

Let’s see how I go…

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PS: Here’s a few shots my friend took with his iPhone, during the restoration process.

Winter is on its way back into the Melbourne lifestyle, but a few pleasant days remain and I made the most of Saturday’s warmth by having a few friends over for a barbeque.

I also bought myself a ‘new’ bicycle, which you can just make out in the background of the below photo (after the split). It’s a 1996 Trek 470 Fast Track, and I bought it off a friend who picked it up for a song and restored it over the course of a few weeks.

I’ll take some nice photos of the bike when I get a chance this week, but for now, some barbeque shots. I really do love this camera o’ mine.

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What’s the collective noun for ninja? Is it ninjas, or does it remain ninja? Perhaps it’s ninjai…

I caught up with some car-loving friends for lunch today, with the main focus (see what I did there) being the Ford Focus RS that I picked up for work this week.

A front-wheel-drive monster, It’s a ridiculous car, in that unique way where ridiculous is deemed to be good. I was hoping for the white one, mind you, or even the dark metallic blue, but the green will do.

It’s packing 220kW and 440Nm of torque in its turbocharged 2.5 litre five-cylinder engine, which, for the sake of reference, is 32kW and 110Nm more than the Australian-delivered all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf R – my current fave.

Not entirely rare in Europe, where it was designed and built, there’s nonetheless only 315 of these in Australia, so it’s a nice thing to be one of the few that will ever drive it.

Well, nice if you’re into cars. I’m not thick enough to think that anyone would would give a damn…

Sitting alongside my brother’s S13, which in its day was a power in its own right. Still a riotous ride, especially with the mods it’s packing.

Dan’s Beetle is a beauty. It’s seen better days, but its beat-up state is a big part of its charm, really.

And, of course, the obligatory food shots;

Now, back to work.

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Despite the threat of continued storms all across the state, we jumped in the car with friends Kev and Aly today to check out the Red Hill Farmers’ Market down on the Mornington Peninsula.

Afterwards, on the way home, we detoured through Mornington to see what’s what.

Aly, Friedy and Kev start looking around. We arrived a little late and the market was set to close within the hour, so we quickly got about trying the delights and seeing the sights.

Pies, pies, delicious pies.

I bought this one. Strawberry and vanilla. Haven’t tried it yet – it’s not breakfast time…

We bought one of those orange contrieau puddings there on the left, along with a cinnamon and rhubarb pudding. Can confirm so far that the cinnamon and rhubarb pudding is delicious, soft and moist.

Closing time came too soon, so it was off to Mornington we went.

The homes of Mornington’s wealthy.

This pier is being upgraded, so they’re in the process of dismantling the old one.

A passing Bentley Continental GT. I was pleased that my camera snapped this so clearly, as he was moving quite quick.

And that’s that. Now I’m back at home, ready for another Saturday evening loaded with work.

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Yikes. I picked up the lady from a friend of her’s tonight, and we went straight for a late dinner at Tom Phat (check out my Tom Phat breakfast post from 2010). Moments after we took off, the rain began crashing down. Get a load of this.

Friedy does her best to avoid the water. I’m the one wearing sneakers and socks, damn it.

Now, none of this is a fraction of what the folks up in Queensland, New South Wales and northern Victoria have dealt with over the past month, and I’m certainly not making light of that.

Summer in Melbourne. Good times.

Sadly, I got no shots of my meal – too damn dark in Tom Phat – but I can happily report that the satay hokkien noodles with chicken and pumpkin is properly good.

I spent Christmas in Tasmania. Now, more than a month later, some photos.

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Long time, no post. This summer is too damn hot, I tell you. I can barely be bothered carrying my camera around with me. What a terrible attitude.

Here’s a few shots from recent weeks. No real theme here.

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