Running Report, Vol I.

It's been hot all day, and I was really looking forward to heading south tonight to visit with some friends. There's been a slow leak in one of the front tires on my Focus SVT recently, and I've been putting off doing much about it because work has been taking up all my time. Well, that situation has come to a bit of a head tonight. I'm not sure whether the leak is being caused by the slight amount of cord showing on the inside, or by the rather large nail sticking out of the tire, but between them they have conspired to cancel my trip south.

I knew the front tires were going to need attention soon, but I was hoping that they would last through the next couple weeks because by then some other financial matters would be cleared up and I could go ahead and give the car the attention it deserved. In retrospect, I should have taken a morning off work and had the front aligned because without the cord showing I could probably still have gotten away with a plug for the next few thousand miles...

If all of this sounds beneath an SVT owner, all I can tell you is that I agree. It's just been a rough couple months, and I haven't had time to do more than oil changes and washing. So at this point the Focus is up for a timing belt, water pump (it isn't bad, but it's good to do it while you're changing the belt), dampers, and tires & alignment. It's not a small list, and I'm not sure how much I'm willing to commit to the job at this point. I love the car, but it's taking up a fair amount of finances that could go to other projects, and as it stands it's more of an expensive commuter car than the canyon-carver I bought three years ago. Still, a lot of that list would need doing before I could really sell the car anyway, and by the time it's done, I'll probably end up wanting to keep it. Stay tuned.