So as many of you may know, this past weekend was Cupcake Meet 13: Cupcakin for CF Care. Alllll the way up in Oklahoma City. When Branden and I first heard about the new location, we KNEW that there needed to be a natsukashi road trip in store. New city, new state, new people, new styles, new friends!
My original plan was to drive my peanut up there. Given the history and turmoil that went hand in hand on my journey to attain the peanut, I thought it was only fitting to take the car back to where it originally came from. In just the couple of days journey it took for me to drive up to Oklahoma City and drive it back to Austin, a LOT happened. Both car-wise and non car-wise. To say the least, a couple chapters were added to “The Life of Thaison.”
I thought it’d be refreshing to take the peanut on the ~400 mile trip, but upon further evaluation…I decided maybe it wasn’t the best idea. The peanut, currently only has use of ONE out of its TWO gears. Yes, it has the amazing “Toyoglide” transmission — a LANDMARK of Japanese auto tuning.
This was Japan’s first automatic transmission with a torque converter and was developed in anticipation of the era of automatic vehicles. It consisted of a shift mechanism using planetary gears and a hydraulic control mechanism to control speed changes. Usually the vehicle drove in the second speed, and the driver shifted manually to the first speed depending on road conditions.
Mounted model: Masterline
Engine: R type
Torque converter type: Three-member single-stage two-phase type
Gear ratio: First speed (L: low range) 1.820
Second speed (D: drive range) 1.000
Reverse: 1.820
I figured everyone in the caravan wouldn’t have enjoyed a 400-mile trip at 50mph. So I opted out into taking my 86, which I was confident could make the trip (I’ve driven it to Houston and back to Austin a handful of times without any hiccups).
Welp, the 86 made the trip up there and back! Averaging about 17MPG 😦 Yes, terrible for a 1.6L four-banger. It even got a little work done in the Ramada hotel parking lot. And ALSO got it’s first (legitimate) car wash in a couple months. I forgot how much the paint shines with all the dirt removed.
One of my favorite questions at Cupcake Meet was, “You came from Austin? So did you trailer it up here?”
What a fantastic trip to OKC and back. It was hands down the best Cupcake Meet and maybe even the best meet of all time I’ve been to.
Stay tuned for more updates from our adventure!
broken hood especial
Natsukashi Garage 