when ya wanna go topless but can’t (a throwback)

Author: sean M Published: January 27, 2022 0 comments

so, a couple corrections here…

first off, copper was only a year or so old when i got her, so i don’t know where that three year thing came from…unless i just remember shit incorrectly, but i remember when she passed thinking i’d only had her for a year or two short of her life, so i went back eighteen months from when i got her and counted that as her birthday.

secondly, the first garage that put in the first replacement top motor (groovy automotive on 45th in austin) had never done one and found, somewhere on line, that you had to use ATF (automatic transmission fluid) in these, which is waaaaay too thick. when this one failed again in about eight to ten weeks i noticed a red fluid stain and puddling under one of the backseats where the fluid would seep out due to it just being too much. i put another one in myself, this time filling it with hydraulic jack fluid and that lasted another eight YEARS when i sold the car, and i can only assume beyond then.

09/10/2006: “oh fuck me, not again!!!”

for all those curious about the lifespan of a convertible top motor in my world, i now know the answer…

…about seven weeks.

give or take.

fuck me.

the cool thing about astrowhore is not only does it allow you, the reader, to keep up with my life without ever having to actually talk to me if you don’t wanna (and going off my phone usage and social calendar, most of you prefer just hitting the site) but it also allows me to remember exactly WHEN certain events occurred, since i talk about some of them on here.

for example, i couldn’t remember how old copper was when somebody asked me, but i know i got her summer of ’92 (thanks to the site) and i know she was around three then, putting her at around seven now (same age as buffi, give or take). i know what day i got my current car (april 23rd of this year) and i know that six weeks later the top motor went out.

i also remember what a pain it was to find a place to install the fucker once i got one off eBay – a used one that apparently had…oh…around EIGHT WEEKS left to live.

i know this because i found the entry referencing the day i got it fixed (july 15th) and counted…six weeks for the first fucker, eight weeks for the second. there a couple on eBay right now for $250 (the one i got was listed at $150, and i talked him down to $125 including shipping, but then had to pay another $115 to get it installed) and it only lived for eight weeks. i’m thinking if a new one is $350 or less, i’ll pay it just to get what i figure must be a year warranty or more (i might ask the garage how much it will cost if they get it versus going through a dealer) and then that will be my next big expenditure once i get out of the hole this weekend’s major expenditure set me in…

…but never mind that now.

on the up side, it’s only half broken – yesterday i went to put the top back before we went to austin, and it stopped 90% of the way back because the cd changer had slid forward and was blocking it. when i moved the changer, it wouldn’t go down anymore even though nothing was in the way – but it would go back up. once i got all clear, checked the motor for something leaning on it, etc, it still wouldn’t go down – but it will go up on it’s own…

so, i have to release the pressure and put it down by hand, but it will go up in full auto mode.

(kinda like parts of my anatomy – but never mind that now)

so, it’s only half broke – but needs some fixing. i’ll get the guys at the garage to check it out before i go and buy parts…but that will still have to wait around four weeks for me to save up money. fall’s a-comin’…i can’t be without topless driving once the weather cools off just enough, can i?

when ya wanna go topless but can’t (a throwback)

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