The day Nate and the Bat Wrecht Melbourne

[boostedbatman]

As some of you may be aware Nateand myself have just returned from a little trip to Melbourne last weekend
Reason
Donor BG for the Bat
Cost of car ...........................$455
Cost of Bumper ......................$35
Cost of car bra ......................$40
Cost of wheekend ripping the crap out of a front end to drive three states....priceless
We flew down Friday night and spent the night in the 'Casa de Dan'
On Saturday Mike (primo) collected a new front ar for me and popped a trailer on his ute for us to transport a less than modified little BG
Merging with Nate dan and I at Brighton we all ogled the mess of what was to be the finest ride from Vic to Qld
With the previous owner standing the making blatant adament statements that this car wont drive us any where we aptly struggled to get him to dend his son fix the wiring he recently chopped
"You cant start it" we were told "It will catch fire in the engine bay!"
"START IT UP" I demanded
He was right
Smoke billowed from the engine bay as we shut the car off
hmm I thought about it and ripped the Power steering belt off
"start it now"
WOOHOO
It purred like a dream
I dont think MR Vic was very happy now knowing that we only paid $455 for his car :D
Time to get the trailer going
http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_001.jpg
We took the car to the Primo Motorsport Garage and dumped it in the middle of the culdesac
Nate Dan and I now began our transformation process
Off with the front bar and out with the radiator and aircon system
http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_004.jpg
Centre garnish was eased for an attempt to straighten it and we opted against that
It began to look like we would maybe win this war and Dan was beginning to get a bit excited at our accomplishments and began to jump around like a kid with the worlds sweetest lollipop
http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_003.jpg
we were lucky the bonnet needed the love touch also
Time now to bend the front end back out (http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/MVI_0145.AVI)
Now that looks a bit better
And I mean a bit
http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_007.jpg

[boostedbatman]

Now with Nates radiator fitted and new front bar on
Yes we did take a radiator on the plane :D
It was beginning to look like a BG againhttp://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_009.jpg
But along the way young Nate noticed the front left control arm was bent and the CV was jammed onto the sway bar and chassis railhttp://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_011.jpg
So we took it off for a further inspection and attempted to bash it into shape
Nope not going to happen
Enter one phonecall to Cosmic Rod
And I was whisked away in 929 goodness to add a new bolt hole to the bent item
Now were cooking
All back together and the original ball joint bolt wont fit so we substituted with another :o
AFtera quick Bat inspection the car was deemed not road worthy an we all gave it the approval our mothers would be horrified by http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_014.jpg http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_015.jpg
So we hit the road back to the catle of Dan
After a quick servo stop and a car not idling like a dream any more we discovered we werent using the positive battery terminal
Whoopsie
A quick jumpstart and some lovebug sponsorship and we we running againhttp://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_010.jpg
Heading back to Dans we had real steeering troubles and limped it home Now its midnight
Nate took it upon himself to do an alignment check and we were out by 50mm from front to raer of tyres
So he did a rally style realignment
Thanks Team Lada
And we were within 5mm once more

We packed our gear up with a few added parts I have recentlypurchased via Dan and we were ready to rumble through 3 states
But the sideskirts didn't fit
OMGhttp://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_013.jpg
Sorry Dan but you will have to hang onto these a bit longer (scuse the pun)

With hugs and kisses all now done we left the home of the last day and a bit and began the ascent up the Australian roads
Car...check
Parts...check
Race tape...check
Starts...check
So we are now off
Its 2:35am and we ahave 1700+km to go
We blew a kiss as we left and shed a tear
The adventure hadn't ended yet
100km into the drive we heard a bang under the front left wheel and were curious
Next tap of the brakes and the car YANKED left with much force
Ball joint bolt #1
Roadside repairs here we go
But no spare bolt for the job
Hello engine, how you doing
You wont need that bolt today
Task fixed and we were off again
100km
BANG

bolt #2
uh oh
fixed and another engine bolt stolen
driving again

We reached bland county
and now our money wasn't accessable
uh oh
starnded
Nate "mummy help"
money eventually transsferred to another account and afeter another hold up we were off once more
Bang
bolt
Bag
bolt
160km from home
Bang
Bolt GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Now were getting a bit tired
Eventually fixed after more servo runs on foot lookin for tools and possibly a padlock to hold the wheel together and we descended towards home

Fianlly at midnight Sunday/Monday we made it
OMG
we have to be at work in 4 hrs



What an exhausting weekend filled with laughs and lots of dodgy car repairs
The BG (when controlarm and ball joint behaved) handled like no stocker we have ever driven before, it was awesome
The gearbox is fantastic and we loved the ratios
Took to our lead feet like it wanted more
and the safety cams along the way got the finger as a non registered car sped through

I dont recommend others do this at home but we did and its over
We did have the right permits to drive it through 3 states
ANd please dont drive this far with the needle pushing the numbers we did

Thanks go out to Mike and Rod for their assistance
Dan youre the best
Thanks for everything
Nate and I ahd the most intrigueing weekend and really enjoyed ourselves
Thanks for all the driving around and we cant wait to see you again

Weekend closed

The big winners of the weekend were the car bra and race tape that hid our sins and held the car together fo the duration
Thanks again all
we will return

Now I just ahve to build the car to register so stay tuned
For a Big surprise
Bat out :cool:

[Ripper323]

Thats a classic guys! I bet the guy was spewing after you started it again and it didn't smoke. Looks pretty banged up, what did he hit?

[twilightprotege]

blah.

try melbourne to bris by yourself ;) hehe

[BigBoyLemonade]

What a story! thats crazy! love to hear that ****!

[LordWorm]

I always knew you were a little nuts Bat. hahaha

good work, can't wait to see it roll at jambo in september =)

[CityEnd]

haah great story guys, something you can tell you grandkids one day :)

[AstinaBoiV6]

mn u guys have all the adventures :(

[Rupewrecht]

Haha nice story! It was lotsa fun. :)

I hadn't thought of the traffic camera/no plates thing LMAO

[Cincinnatus]

I move we make Batman Poet Loriet of AstinaGt, do i have any seconds?

[CHiMPY]

[IMG]http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_003.jpg[IMG]

Didn't your mother ever teach you people that a car is not a trampoline ;)

[Cosmo Dude]

Didn't your mother ever teach you people that a car is not a trampoline ;)
That was one of the minor engineering feets.
I almost took the drill back to the car, I was afraid of what Nate would've done with it :o
It was an interesting evening, good to catch-up with Nate and meet the Batman. Keep up the good work.

[Rupewrecht]

You should have seen the bonnet before i jumped on it!

It was Petes idea anyway

<end buck passing> ;)

[Ian]

Roffles that radiator nate used is the one that came out of my car is it not?

Did it still have the bonus feature fried moth attached?

[Rupewrecht]

Nah, it was his one - he didn't trust your old one ;)

[boostedbatman]

Yeah the weekend was an absolute classic
On the way home a few people asked if we'd been rallying as the front end was proof enough
When we started it the second time with no smoke
He wasn't really impressed and said sternly "well you got a bargain for $455"
To which I quickly replied
"I know, I wouldn't have flown down otherwise"
hahahahahahahahahaha
Its a pity we didn't have a piccie of the race tape radiator hose that Rod and Nate built
But thanks Dan for donating your own to the cause

[Rupewrecht]

There is, i'll dig it out.

[boostedbatman]

Sweet I still cant believe it didn't leak from Mikes place to yours
It looked like the ghetto version

[Ian]

I wouldnt trust my old one either. It was dodgier then James Hardie!


Then again... So is this!

[Rupewrecht]

Sweet I still cant believe it didn't leak from Mikes place to yours
It looked like the ghetto version

It did - there was a puddle at the servo!

[project.r.racing]

Tards!!!

[pr1mo]

theres a radiator still sitting next to my letterbox.

[Nate]

woah what a weekend!

twas a heap of fun... thanks pete for the oppertunity and thanks to the melb guys (Rupe, cosmo, mike) that helped us out! it was good meeting up with you all again!!

i was a bit worried we werent going to make it home, and hiting the train tracks at 140 was interesting to say the least, as was the fog! i figured if we came across anything at the speed limit we would be just as stuffed as if we hit it going fast ... so fast it was :p

and twiggster, try doing it after being awake for 20 hours before starting the drive :p ;)

[twilightprotege]

:p~~~

[illusivedreams]

Reading this made my day:)

Good job boys ,nice to see you made it :rolleyes:

Consider opening a workshop of your own ?

Again congrats

[Mad Mat]

http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_015.jpg

hey that looks a lot like this picture

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y218/IanNathan1987/DSCN4313.jpg

NATE................. :eek: :p

hey i cant beleave that u when through 3 states and did not see one copper. lmfao :D nice work boys. was the car a manual or an auto? because i was that car on ebay i think a will ago. lol. amd that bumber. hhhhhhhmmmmmmm hey lol

i love that work with the 53 on the side guys. and the buggy. nice work rube.

well it was nice to see u guys had a good time. keep us updated with the work on the car nate (boostedbatmoble). love to see what u do with it and love to see what i can do with mine to but urs being the ginnie pig. :p

[boostedbatman]

We did see more than one cop, most just gave us the nod as we sped past them going the other way
We did attract interest from the blue whilst we were stranded in Bland District
By the way
The Bug
I want one, it was a fun little car

[CHiMPY]

I want one, it was a fun little car

Get at least 1 car on the road first ;)

[Rupewrecht]

Haha i thought you were taking the piss when you said that about the Bug.

I'll swap you for a BG ;)

oh, and here's the hose.
http://astinagt.com/gallery/albums/AGT_Cruises/2006/VIC_20060527/20060527_016.jpg

There's a hose clamp under there somewhere...and a second (larger) hose!

[boostedbatman]

He he that hose still makes me laugh

[CHiMPY]

How much of it was hose under that tape?

[boostedbatman]

One hose was slid over another and clamped on then taped as there was a hole the size of a 50c piece in the bottom hose from the cars previous impact.
Then it was race taped to hide the multitude of sins :D

[Cosmo Dude]

The larger hose was a Series II Rx-7 ;)
Bat and I were almost rammed by a cop near mikes place in the 929 thunder coupé :(
If I'd known you were going to use the race tape for graphics I would've given you the blue roll :p

[Rupewrecht]

NOOOOOOOOOO

if i knew you had blue as well, the BG would have got herbie stripes!

[pr1mo]

haha u cant get in the way of the police down my way mate. someone was shot in the local primary school carpark the other week probarbly dropping their kids off. the whole town thinks frankston CIB did the job but noone is game to come forward. i could pretty much move to dili and it would be the same.

[Cosmo Dude]

haha u cant get in the way of the police down my way mate. someone was shot in the local primary school carpark the other week probarbly dropping their kids off. the whole town thinks frankston CIB did the job but noone is game to come forward. i could pretty much move to dili and it would be the same.
Happy I don't live near you. Balarto gardens rarely sees the cops (and when you do you have to stand in there way to flag the retarded slack jawed dullards down).

[boostedbatman]

NOOOOOOOOOO

if i knew you had blue as well, the BG would have got herbie stripes!
Man now I feel ripped off :(
Yeah the stupid cops were on their wayto the liquor store :D

[pr1mo]

Happy I don't live near you. Balarto gardens rarely sees the cops (and when you do you have to stand in there way to flag the retarded slack jawed dullards down).

lol i was joking....geez :P

[Cosmo Dude]

lol i was joking....geez :P
I wasn't...
I had to stand in the middle of Gamble Rd in front of a police car to get them to stop. All of that and the stupid bitches would not do their job.

[pr1mo]

haha what went down in tha hood?

[Red Frog]

OMG guys! i don't think i've laughed so hard in disbelief for a loooong time! :D lol
so nate, where is all this footage on vid? sell it to mtv and u'd make a fortune! lol
are u SERIOUS about the radiator on the plane??
and i love the action photo of rupe on the bonnet.
can't believe the cops didn't pull u over.
pure classic. ur not bush mechanics, but the clever, dodgy mechanics :D