can you spot my dad?

So just a couple days ago, my dad asked me to drive him to the shop to pick up my brother’s car…  So of course, since I was driving the 86, it was only obvious that I would’ve taken my dad in that car.  I honestly don’t think he’s ridden in that car more than ONE time since I’ve owned it.  He drove it back from Houston when I first bought it and MAYBE rode in it one time after that.

Before I picked him up, I asked myself, I wonder what he’s going to say about it.  I mean, I’m only 8 kg/mm springs on the front, 6kg/mm springs in the rear, oversized sway bars, solid heim joints in the rear, 18ish/30 clicks hard, and fully slammed on the rear/2″ of suspension travel on the front coils.  How harsh could the ride be?  My frame is only 2″ from the pavement…

Here’s more or less how our conversation went.

Dad: *gets into car*

Me: “Put on your seatbelt”  (my dad has a bad tendency to forget to put his seatbelt on) *starts driving*

Me: “Dad, put your seatbelt on…”

Dad: “What’s that sound?”

Me: “Oh…that’s my wheels rubbing on the fender.  My wheels are too wide…”

Dad: No response…

Dad: “Why is it so bumpy??  You should probably fix that.”

Me: “It handle better when it’s this stiff dad.  It’s so nice when I’m out on the track…”

Dad: *pauses* well, you should probably fix that so you can drive like a regular person and not bounce around.

Me: “Yeah, I think i’m going to raise it some.”

Dad: “What’s that noise?” *looks towards rear of car*

Me: “Oh…that’s my transmission.  It’s old, it makes noises.”

Dad: No response…

We get to the shop and I pull into the driveway and start making my way through the parking lot.

Me: *SLAMS ON BRAKES*

Me: “I can’t go to the back of the lot.  My car won’t make it over that speedbump.”

Dad: “You can’t go over speedbumps?  How do you drive on a normal day??”

Me: “Nah, those are speedbumps are an illegal size.  They’re wayyyy taller than the legal limit.  Other speedbumps I can usually make it over.”  (but seriously, they were like four inches tall…absolutely ridiculous)

Dad: *laughs & gets out of the car* “Go back to work…”

I think many of us car enthusiasts can understand where I’m coming from.  Especially if you’re car is slammed on stiff suspension.  I could safely say that most parents (who don’t understand our ridiculous car styling choices) would have the same reaction.

But I’m definitely thankful that my dad is (somewhat) supportive of my auto-related endeavors.  I say somewhat because I don’t think he’s ever told me to sell my car/tried to get my to stop modding it.  Instead he just asks, “What’s wrong with it now?”  or “What are those parts for”  or “What is that engine for?”  He used to own a car that was ghetto as heck, so he knows how it goes.

Next time my dad goes for a ride with me, I’m going to redline through all the gears and see what his reaction is.

Here’s the car at it current state: