Where Amazons hide.

Today is Saturday and yes, I am going to Pasar Road. But first thing first. My Dad needs to start his car and get it ready for inspection. However, the car is in a very bad shape since it has not been driven for the past two years or so. Heck, it hasn't even logged more than 50KM for the past five years. The problem was that the car was smooth when it was idling but when you rev it or try to make it move, it chokes, and stutters, with the occasional pop.


And so, we took it to the petrol station to fill it up with RON95 since there was no more RON92.
But on the way back to the house, the car took a very long time to climb the hill. And so, my Dad
needs to take it to the workshop. Unfortunately, this workshop does not do house calls unlike the other mechanic who has now virtually disappeared of the face of the Earth (no joke). And so, we have to drive it there and since its still literally driveable, we do not need to call AAM. But before we start the journey, I cleaned the distributor and spark plug contact points. Now, not only is the revving better, I can now see the fire coming out of the exhaust after every explosion. Ha ha ha.

But halfway through Pantai Hill, it was almost impossible to move the car further. Since I was following behind with my Bengmobile with the hazard lights on, I am the wingman. Anyway, we stopped the car and I continued cleaning the distributor. This car is so simple that within one look, I know where the distributor is, unlike my Bengmobile which I have to guess.

Ook. There is a lot of dirt at the spark plugs and so, I used WD40 to get rid of all the gunk. And after all four plugs were cleaned, the effect was slightly better but in reality, the situation only gave the car slightly more oomph. I do not want to touch the distributor again nor open up the cables since it is dangerous to stop at that corner with so many cars speeding round the corners. I was also thinking about doing the sparkplug gap there and then too but because we don't have the gauge, it could be disastrous.

Finally, we continue with the journey and my Dad still drove the car. There is a very logical reason in this. He drove the Volvo more than me and my last real driving was a decade ago when I started out work before I got my Bangmobile. And so, its better for him to drive the car. Moreover, not many others in my family would or could drive my Bengmobile.

On the way, we passed by another car which broke down. All the while, were we driving quite slowly with cars speeding past us, even on the emergency lane.

Finally, we reached PJ Old Town, the place where the mechanic is based in. Near the traffic lights, the car had some problem and we missed our chance, but I get to piss of a lot of drivers as the two lanes become one due to double parking.

Finally, we reached the mehanic. You would know because there are a lot of other cars parked in everywhere. These are the Volve 122 Amazons.

While my Dad was chatting with the mechanic, I saw a lot of sparkplugs lying about. Maybe I can get some to use as reference for the car's sparkplugs.

Nah, they're all different.

This 122 caught my eye, not because of the nice paint job and the white walled tires. Look carefully and you can see why its so different.

Don't get it? OK, here is another shot. Look carefully. Look very very carefully.

Yes, its a two door version and IMHO, very rare. I like the window design where the back passenger cannot do anything except open the side windows this way. When I was young we used to have a FIAT 147 and if I am not mistaken, it opens this way too.

I didn't know Puspakom have holo stickers too. Ha ha ha ha!

The interior of the car has been done up quite nicely. The original black has been replaced with cream leather. Even the doors have been given a wooden treatment.

I suspect its one of those printed stickers thing but I cannot elaborate more since I do not know much about this technology. However, one thing I felt was spoilt was when the owner used a black screw there.

Even the dash was nicely done. Personally, I feel that the owner should have used either cream or something of a lighter shade.

All was fine and well until I noticed the RPM meter. I mean,30,000? For an Amazon? Wow. But in actual fact, it might not be true. Still, this gives me an idea as I am very tempted to put such meter in Dad's car.

The owner also had the engine chromed, which is very nice. Now, only if he can follow up with coloured hoses and cables.

After tracing around, I think the RPM Meter can be DIY since I suspect on of the wires goes direct to the distributor with the other end going to the fuses. Too bad I do not have a cable tracer anymore. Maybe I should save up and buy my very own cable tracer.

Oho! So this is the fuel pipe! And what a nice little fuel filter there! I think its one of those motorbike ones and can be used since The Amazon is not fuel injected so the pressure is quite low.

Anyway, back to the car. Our mechanic's son has totally opened the distributor cap and found some insect making a nest it there.

Once he pulled out the connector, we saw the contact is quite worn. Oh, yeah, the cotton fluff is made by this insect. Unfortunately, its an empty shell. How it got there is a mystery since the distributor is very tightly sealed.

Anyway, it was time to leave the car in there while we packed lunch and headed home. After I dropped Dad off, it was time to return to my errands and I am three hours late....