Short of beef,

[opabinia]

rice will do, for the moment.


Harsh reality dawned upon me months ago. I can't afford a Car for Awesome yet, and I especially can't afford a place to keep said beast. There is a silver lining to this cloud: I have given myself an excuse to create a Car for Good that will hold my interest enough to tide me over.

1995 Honda Civic Coupes are a dime a dozen. They are considerably smaller than what I have driven in the past, which I'm not particularly excited about, but that comes with a bonus: light weight and the potential for easy agility.

There are scads of offensively stupid things one can do with a Civic, and that's why rice boys have a well-deserved bad name. However, there are also scores of subtle, non-flamboyant, effective off-the-shelf products to actually make these little things go. There are numerous drivetrain swap options, and even more forced-induction kits. There are more suspension upgrades than I care to list. There are enough wheel-and-tire possibilities to make at least nine more Fast/Furious sequels. There's enough to do.

It's hard to get power from a lawnmower motor, but it doesn't take too much to make a little car go. I figure if I can get 180hp and some torque, I'll be all set. I mean, they're skateboards.

The real thing will have to wait, but I don't have to be bored in the meantime.