It was a hot Sunday, not one for standing around engine bays on concrete driveways, so Bert and I slid under the rear of Marie's Beep-beep.  It wasn't really comfortable, but it got us away from helping anyone else, for a while.

Michele sat on the grass and watched paint dry, and Leon kept going for drives.  Ken, and his son Chris, brought along both the Accord and an early Prelude, and made us stand in the sun on the roadway, looking in engine bays.  Francine brought along something rather large and swapped (large) chrome bits. Yep, the action for the day was firstly to refit the Beep-beep's fuel tank, it having recently developed a leak and needing a repair (more cost effective than replacing with a second hand tank.)  Bert found that this task was much easier with someone else to help hold it and guide it than wrestling it in on his own.  This was my opportunity to let my City cool down before I took the intercooler off (I always do this.  It's an important ritual in City Turbo II life).  Michele was busy sanding and micro-spray painting the damaged portion on her left rear wheel arch, and then watching it dry.

To make the waiting for the paint to dry more interesting, as Leon had now arrived and was demonstrating his ability to reach the unreachable bolts and screw the unscrewable screw, Michele and I stole the Jackaroo and made a dash for the local Supercheap to find some new loudspeakers to replace her recently free floating coned old ones.  This was also an excuse to cool down in the airconditioned shops.  Michele refused my entreaties to use this as an opportunity to add a couple of twelves in the rear hatch, hang two-ways from the C pillars and tweeters on the A pillars.  But the new twin cone four inchers certainly sound a lot better than the older paper bits.

We returned to find a confused Francine (no different really) and no Leon.  Francine was involved in the continuing saga of replacing the rear bumper on her Statesman (yep, NOT the Kingswood), something which she had tried to do at at least one other service day.  There's only so much that you can do in one day on a Statesman (like walk around it.).  It was refitted with the aid of Bert's air tools and bits of his airhose cut into six equal little bits. Leon came along with news of a really wild CRX in the next street (but he'd subdued it and left it only excited and not wild) and a replacement fan motor for my City.  This was during an ample repast of barbequed foods of many types, and lots of other things too, wonderfully catered by Marie, and barbequed by Bert, to the especially appreciative audience of their two Rotties, who know a good bone and sausage when they see one.

Ken arrived trailing Chris and bonnets were opened and opinions opined.  Bonnets were closed, test drives were taken, and we never saw Chris again!  I got confused by the diagnoses and contented myself with refitting the intercooler and putting my computer into Leon's van (see, we do do more than just cars.) I do know that at the end of the day, we didn't see everyone who said that they were coming along, but Michele's car's paint is better, her stereo can be played louder (but not ready for the Summer Nats Sound Off), Marie's Civic doesn't leak petrol, Francine's chrome bits look better, my car stays cooler in traffic, the dogs are well fed and the Jackaroo's turn indicators don't self cancel.  There was more than that, but suffice to say, you'll have to ask; Bert is only too willing to show you his home video of his home, Leon did his usual excellent job of  waving his tools in the right places and generally being indispensable.

Thankyou to everyone who came along and helped and made it another enjoyable day in the life of the Association.

© 2002 Honda Car Owners' Association of QLD