a bar and a bag...

For K's birthday I gave him the Frenzy Bar with the bag and windblock. I think it was one of the first accessories he picked out, so it's been on the wish list for a while. I added enough to our red envelope fund (also known as the Miata fund, but it's literally a red envelope that we put the fun money in!) and ordered it. He was so excited and now he will drive with the top down no matter how cold it is. As long as it's not raining, the top is down!

The beauty of this bar is that it replaces the existing bar. There are no other modifications you need to make. It was a quick install and we actually feel a little more stability in the car when driving it. The bag is attached with Velcro straps and is perfect for holding a car blanket, or those extra items that you just need close at hand.

The most impressive part is the windblock. I knew we would benefit from it, but the difference is amazing! Usually my hair is ALL over the place. Now I can feel the breeze on the top of my head but my hair pretty much stays where it belongs. And the sound from our stereo has improved as well. You will notice in the picture (below) that we have the screen strapped towards the back of the bar. We have since moved it to the front/inside of the bar, so it looks better from the back. This was a great investment in our toy. If you have a Miata you need this bar, and the accessories too. Trust me!

Warren at FrenzyBars.com has these for Miata and a few other options so please visit him and check it out. Tell him Midlife Miata sent you! We don't get anything for it but we truly love his products. So what is your favorite Miata accessory?

our first miata ride....

Our first Miata ride! We joined the Mt. Hood Miata Club in September, and a few weeks ago participated in our first ride that was hosted by the MG club. I love MG's, I was brought home from the hospital in a little light blue MG and they have always been near and dear to my heart. So that made this as my first ride a little more special!

We met at the rest stop on I5, just south of Wilsonville. Then we traveled south and west, taking the Wheatland Ferry ~ I love ferry rides! ~ and then traveled to the Orchard Heights Winery, where we celebrated with a brunch. There were about twenty five cars, from Miatas to MG, and a few other fun cars. It was great to meet other car enthusiasts, and although it was rather chilly, with a few drizzles, it was a fun drive!

After the brunch we browsed the tasting room and gift shop. We sampled two different Pinot Noirs, and a wonderfully delicious mulled wine. We walked around outside and enjoyed the view; the arbor above is a large structure, covered by 2 grape vines that have grown to cover the entire thing. It's really neat to look at.

We took another route home and enjoyed the scenery all the way. The wonderful thing about Oregon is that it doesn't take long to get away from it all, even if it's just for a few wonderful hours.

We can't wait until the next ride! And we can't wait for a sunny ride too! Our next event with the club is the November dinner meeting, where I am nominated for club treasurer, so it will be fun to see the election process. I will keep you posted!

catching up...

Wow, hard to believe it's been almost two months. Shortly after my last post I came down with a nasty cold that landed me in bed for the better part of a week, and then refused to go away. Between K and I we were sick for about a month and a half. Fortunately we were feeling better by the time a Miata ride came around so I will tell you about that in a few days.

We got a new antenna. As you can see we had the "casing" but no actual antenna, so once the new music was installed we had to have an antenna to go with it. I will tell you all about it and more in the coming weeks. Can't wait!

baby steps... but it's progress!

Okay, I promised sound, and it will come! Soon, I swear! Between the parts, and the labor, it's been quite an adventure, and in between living we are working as much as we can! So until this general overhaul is done I am holding back on posting, so that I can do the whole thing properly, and not have to stop and start.

In the meantime, we did get our boot from Vegas (Thanks Mike), and it's great, fits perfectly and K is a happy camper. He promptly put it on the car. Although the interior was all over our garage, and the rain had done a job (you know, that lovely "dirt shadow" look that it gets) on our little toy, it was fun to see it actually on. His next dream is the style bar, because in his words you can't have a boot without a style bar!

waiting for parts...

We are replacing some worn and missing parts on the gear shift, as well as replacing a torn shift boot. Unfortunately several of the parts for the shift as well as for the door panels had to be ordered. Since we have to wait for those we are waiting until this weekend to continue our current renovations. The only problem? They have forecasted rain, and our little toy is so much more fun and easier to work on with the top down. In the sun!

Ah well, it will be an adventure!

major renovations...

For our keyless entry we are installing the alarm system with remote entry, a lock actuator for the passenger door, a proximity alarm that will chirp if someone gets close, and the alarm will sound if the "inner barrier" is broken (with the top down).

The driver side door was already wired for keyless entry, but the passenger door had the components (actuator, etc.) removed at some point. We are wiring the trunk for remote entry as well, but that actuator will be installed later. We got a terrific deal on the alarm system, which fortunately made up the difference for what we ended up spending on an amp.

See you tomorrow with more on the installation!

working on the music...

This weekend K spent the majority of two days working on clean-up and install. Off came the door panels, which revealed lots of black sticky gunk. Fun! Out came the center console, and the stereo. Behind it was a huge mess of wires. Out came the seats, to reveal lots of junk, something we usually just don't see!

It took quite a while to clean up the excess of wires behind the stereo. but it's now looking much cleaner. We are installing the new speakers, since the existing set do not work well, and we are also putting in a keyless entry alarm system. See you tomorrow for the next phase of the installation!