Not on my watch, Hurricane Matthew!

10 October, 2016

If a storm was heading our way, there would certainly be a few measures you’d take to prepare for the worst. You’d make sure all the doors and windows were securely shut and the pets were inside. You’d ensure the outdoor furniture wasn’t going to blow away and you’d put the car in the garage.

But what if you don’t have a garage? And what if your car is an E30 M3?

Well, in that case, you’d better throw the pets back outside and open the doors, cause you need the space to get that bad boy indoors, stat!

So that’s just what Instagrammer @jalilsup did.

As Florida was battered by Hurricane Matthew, the BMW owner took his preparedness to the next level by bringing his beloved M3 into his living room for a night to save his Bavarian beauty from the elements.

We tip our hat to @jalilsup for having his priorities straight.

#hurricanematthew #breakfast #afterthestorm

A photo posted by Randy (@jalilsup) on

A second dose of Dash

When the car arrived in Wellington in December 2018 it was duly taken along for entry certification. Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ) found some wrongly wired lamps and switches — not too bad — but, much more significantly, some poor welding repairs. As the structural problems were probed more thoroughly, we realized the previous owner’s restoration would not do and we needed an upgrade. Dash had made it into the country but it would take some time and money before he would be free to explore any of New Zealand’s scenic highways.
We took the car to our new home in Johnsonville in the northern suburbs of Wellington and I pored over the car in detail to figure out what was next. There were lots of new parts on the car and a very perky reconditioned drivetrain but the chassis needed serious work.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.