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We camped in the hill country 2 weeks before this trip and when our friends were planning a trip, we had to join. Camping in central Texas around January-April is perfect, to enjoy the outdoors. The Texas heat isn’t beating down on you. The chilly night is perfect for the campfire to warm you up as you sip on whiskey.

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My friends and drove from Houston. I met up with them later in the morning in Llano, Tx. We planed for an overnight stay at Sulphur Spring, Tx. This camp site has 5 sites, and nice views of the Texas hill country with the Colorado River in the background.

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When we arrived, we were bummed to find out that only one camp area was available to the public. Unfortunately, the recent rains washed out the trail leading to other campsites. The owner wouldn’t let us go to the other sites, and that is understandable. If one of us got stuck or if a another vehicle followed us and got stuck, it wouldn’t be fun.  There is no tow, or recovery after the 1st campsite.

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We made the most of the situation, and camped in secluded area further from the other campers. The spot was big enough to accommodate all of the rigs. The trail to the campsite was pretty easy, and splashed around in a few mud puddles.

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Last weekend, it snowed here, and I was thinking how nice that must have been. But a nice clear day is also hard to beat.

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Lambo was too excited around the campsite, and took him for a walk. Lambo explored around, and marked his territories. After a bit of walking, he calmed down and was good bear for the rest of the day. My wife and I continued on to check out the trail that was blocked off to vehicles.

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Kinda wish the rest of the trail was open becuase the views got better. Another reason to come back.

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We walked about 1 mile into the trail, but I was told it about 5 miles long. The trail looked like some part would be tough for 2wd vehicles. More of the adventure.

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We walked back to camp, just as the sun was starting the set. Lambo, chilling in his cover, because no one wants a dirty dog in the sleeping in the sleeping bag.

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My snowpeak grill putting in the work gilling up fish, and toasting bread. Mike was cooking some vetnamiese dishes. We always eat good when we camp with Mike.

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As the sun started to disappear, you could start to feel the cold coming in. I looked at the forecast prior to the trip, and expected lows of 33F in the hill country.

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I’ve been always a whisky guy and I think it the best liquor for camping. You can drink it neat, or on the rocks. Plus you don’t need chill whiskey before you drink it. Have you drank beer when it warm?

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Whiskey and campfire kept me warm.

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I prefer to camp with friends, a bit more, then camping solo. The solitude is nice, but with friends it makes it feel like you’re not too alone.

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Ever-since we got the Roofnest, we have been camping almost once a month. I think Im getting my moneys worth.

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We recently bought a 0F sleeping bag, and its thick! The size sleeping bag can comfortably fit 2 people and a dog inside. We bought this bag becuase the other 50F sleeping bag wasn’t rated for the cold very well. The 0F bag kept us nice and warm. I only had my thermals and had a great night sleep.

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We woke up to warmth of the sun’s rays and flow of the Colorado river. This one my favorite parts about camping. No sense of time, you know to wake with the sun rises, and sleep when the sun goes down.

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Lambo enjoying the morning, and his new camping scarf from our friends at Sewmuchswag. https://www.etsy.com/shop/sewmuchwag. Thanks Cathy and Branden!

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After a big brunch, it was time to head back to the city and jobs so we can do it all over again!

Thanks for reading!

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Racing, and attending track at events, isn’t cheap. Instructing helps cut cost, but I don’t do it often. I work overtime, and on my free time, it’s making stickers, or working on my car. There are times where you take time for yourself, and relax. My wife, and I schedules aligned which gave us a couple days off together. Perfect timing to go out together.

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Growing up in Austin, I was close to the Texas hill country. I have driven the country roads and even explored some parts of the Texas overlanding route in the Land Cruiser 3 years ago. But never camped.

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January weather in the hill country is chilly during the night. During the day it gets to a pleasant 65F and down to 30F at night. My wife and I are not into the cold, but Lambo loves this kind of weather. Texas hill country is vast, with pleasant views, but majority of it is private land. You have to ask permission from the land owners if it is okay to camp.

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I used this app called HipCamp to find a camping spot. The app is like AirBnb, spots ranging from glamping, RV sites, down to bare bones primitive camping. They very in prices depending how well equipped you want your camping spot and location. We did primitive camping, because it’s most secluded from the crowds, nicer views, and cheaper then the other options.

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Taking the main roads from Houston to the camping spot was about 4 hrs. We took the back country dirt roads, which added an 1hr to the drive. We didn’t mind. The views less traveled is often the better view. Drove through limestone hills, passed small river crossings, and the occasional livestock along the side of the trail. It rained couple days ago, and some parts of the trail was muddy. The Land Cruiser went though it with ease. The main thing when taking the back roads, is not crossing though private property. Their are signs littered all around, marking private property. So make sure you read the posted signs, and stay on the main dirt road.

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We continued to drive though the dirt road and saw the marked entrance to the campsite. We continued on and the eventually lead to the fire pit marking the campsite. We reached our camping spot, with couple of hours daylight left.

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We set up camp, and I started the campfire. We kept dinner simple with instant noodles, which was perfect for the cold night. As temperatures continued to drop, the campfire and whiskey kept us warm.

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Eventually the fire started to die down, and was time to sleep. Away from the warmth of the campfire, we noticed how cold it got. I recently got a nice wool blanket from work, and what a perfect time to test it out. The cold was soo cold that it wasn’t enough. Learning from past experiences, we came prepared. Ultimately we had 3 layers of blankets and wore our jacket. Lambo cuddled next to us, providing extra warmth.

The night sky was clear showing a starry night. Nadine and I reflected on our experiences in the past and plan on how to reach our goals this year.//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

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The next day, the warm rays of the sun woke us up. The thing I also like about camping, besides the views, is it puts you in a circadian rhythm. You sleep when the sun goes down, and wake up when the sun rises. So refreshing and relaxing, and not having to look at the watch to wake up.

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People ask us often, how to do you use the bathroom? We have a portable toilet seat where you put a plastic bag to do your business. Then add kitty litter to the waste, and tie it up. All in the privacy of the green avocado tent. I rather to do that, then do my business in a public restroom, or port-a-potty.

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After doing the morning bathroom business it was time to pack up. Since we are in the hill country, it would be a shame if we didn’t get BBQ. We headed to Coopers Old Time BBQ in Llano, Tx. They open at 11am, but there was already a line when arrived at 11. The employees saw Lambo, and gave him some BBQ. He is soo food driven. Once you give him food, he will be your best friend. The BBQ was very good, haven’t had Texas BBQ for sometime now. I did miss it. We got extra, because we visited my parents before heading back to Houston.

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It was a short overnight camping trip but a much needed one. I track a lot and miss time from my wife and Lambo. I haven’t seen my parents for months even though we live 3 hours away. You have to balance that out, and spend time with your loved ones.

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If y’all have been following me on my journey, the AE86 has been a project that honestly took way longer to finish and more money I thought I would put in. Tackling a project car is very hard, and nothing ever really goes your way. Expect the worse and hope for the best.

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I got this AE86 on Feb 2018. It had a full interior, AC, and full GTS swap. Back then, AE86 where not that expensive. I sold my M3 after tracking it for 3 years, The M3 was a great car, but it expensive to maintain if you track once or twice a month. The miata was just too common, and I wanted to be different. You dont see many AE86 at circuits, and consumables are very cheap compared to the M3.

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The project AE86 sure had its lows. From 2018-till the end of 2019 it was tough. I stripped all the interior and only kept the dash. Then I replaced the suspension, wheel bearings, replaced the fluids, and new brake pads and rotors. I redid the interior harness, and bought TE37 just for the track. Did a lot of preventive maintenance, and some cooling upgrades. All the bolt on stuff was pretty much done by Jan 2019.

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But the motor was the major issue. The car came with a small port 4age 16v with a ITBS and Megasquirt ECU. The motor would turn on for a brief moment and then die. The wiring on the car wasn’t that great and the Megasquirt ECU was outdated. Nothing was working right. My friends and I couldn’t figure out why it was doing that. I just started replacing parts left and right without really diagnosing the issue.

Then I hit up RNR Autosport in Malaysia. The guys at RNR Autosport made a custom engine harness that was paired to the LINK ecu, and all the parts for the to set it for coil on plug conversion. Took about 2 months and was worth the wait. So with a new engine harness, and ECU the car started, but wasnt running right. Kept backfiring, and would smoke like steam locomotive.

I just thought it just needed a tune, and it will be fine. Well, I was completely wrong. Some time has passed at this point. I got the car Feb 2018 and now I got to run on Jun 2019. I’m over 1 yr into this project.

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At the shop, we did a compression and leak down test. And my compassion was bad, below 100psi on 2/4 cylinders. I was bummed out. All that money put into the car to finally get it running. Then to find out, the motor is bad. Epic fail.

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I’ve sunk too much into it, that I couldn’t give up. Or I could just sell it for cheap and cut my loses. Luckily Harris had a 4age 16V big port motor for sale, and sold it to me for cheap. Learning my lesson about the past motor, I went and did a compression test. The motor was running when it was taken off the car but it sat in the garage for awhile. The compression test wasn’t that good.  I had big differences between the cylinders.

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The joys of having old cars. At this point point, I think almost every 4age needs a rebuild. Since the motor is out, and not wanting to repeat the same mistakes, I took apart the motor and ruibilt it. Not having any engine building experience what so ever. Just had YouTube, and the OEM Toyota repair manual.

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I took the dissembled motor to Scroggins Machine Shop where they cleaned it, and checked to make sure all the parts are useable. I ended up putting new rings, head studs, and bearings. Then resealed the motor with OEM Toyota gaskets.

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AT this time, it was August 2019. I have fresh motor that I rebuilt. I was nervous that I might have missed a step or make a noob mistake on the reassembly process. I ended up just letting the car sit on jack stands, for awhile. My motivation was at all time low. I put the car up for sale in its disassembled state.

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Around Oct 2019, I put a reservation for a new Tesla Model 3. The AE86 wasn’t selling for the price I would let it go for. I realized I need to get the 86 running, so I can move it and put the Tesla in the garage. The Land Cruiser, at the time, still fits my garage, and was planning to move the 86 outside. So one October weekend, I mated the tranny to motor. Then I placed it in the engine bay all by myself. It was a buttery smooth process.

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The next day, I wired it all up and moment of truth, she started right up!!! No hesitation, backfires, or smoking!

I screamed for joy, and was best feeling in the world. I got my motivation back to finish the car! By December 2019 the car was street tuned by Brad. She finally running on her own power. The motor break in process went smooth. I just had some minor leaks that I fixed up.

Then January 2020, I went on my first track day with the AE86 and never looked back. I had growing pains, but it was all minor and not heavy on the wallet. Been tacking for 5 years and 1yr of that is in the AE86. This car has taught me a lot as a driver, and learned about the mechanics of this car. I do admit its fairly easy to work on with no need for special tools. She runs and drives good, and thats all I really care about. Looking forward to 2021. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see y’all at the track!