Well, I'm seriously bummed. We had about 1" diameter hail this afternoon. The big stuff only came down for a couple of minutes, but it was enough to dent every horizontal panel on the car. The aluminum hood is the worst, as you would expect. Car was pristine, too

Anyone have advice on this? If I remember right, my insurance won't pay for paintless repair.

Greg

 

Wow. That's a nightmare. PDR shops can do some amazing work. Good luck, man.

 

Haha - I like the way my shift **** is now. Feels heavy and solid and while I agree it could've been a bit taller I'm not complaining. I like it.

Mike - we should meet up again sometime. BTW - respond to PM!

 

What a shame, hopefully your insurance will cover the PDR, if that's the best option

 

We definitely should Kevin! Hmm I didnt get any PM Kev!

 

If he's making another road-trip to Ithica, I'll meet you guys there. Although I think his wife has graduated, so probably no point in going to Cornell in the summer.

Unless... here's an idea. How about spending a day winery hopping the area? Bring the wives (friend or GF), and make a day of it between Seneca and Conesus Lakes. The three of us can swap cars between stops. I'm very familiar with the wineries on those two lakes. The wife and I usually make a couple trips a year, bringing home two or three cases by the time we're done.

 

Wife isn't done until August since she has some stuff to do after graduation.

I will actually be up in a few weeks since it is Cornell's graduation although wouldn't to be in town during that time. Ha.

Either way, that sounds like a great idea...Mike you up for that sometime?

 

Well gents, I'm going to miss you all for a week. Tomorrow I am escaping my S. Florida hell for a sorely needed vacation to N.C. I haven't had a real vacation in about three years so staying in the mountains should be a treat. I'm not sure of what all my "ball and chain" has planned out but I do know the Biltmore is on the itinerary for this weekend. Side note: anybody have a LOGICAL reason my wife would tell me to pack my wet suit for this vacation to the mountains? Rapids? She's being secretive.

 

Rafting in white water rapids would make sense! Other than that not too sure...maybe to keep warm? Haha.

 

Some things to consider:

Weekends are obviously more busy than weekdays. Similarly, Summer is obviously more busy than Winter. If you winery hop on a weekday in the dead of winter, it's extremely peaceful, and you get 100% attention.

The larger the group, the longer the stops. It just works out that way.

Most wineries open between 9:00 and 10:00 on a Saturday, so if you get started around 10:00 AM, you can hit up at least three to four places before lunch, and maybe 4 or 5 places after lunch, depending on how long you loiter.

On average, you can expect to visit between 4 and 8 wineries in a single outing... unless you make it a mission, and race from place to place until the sun goes down. But that's no fun, IMO.

Wine tasting can get you just as drunk as downing a bottle. Be forewarned.

There are certainly places to eat in Ithica and some of the neighboring towns. And a number of wineries have restaurants. The Ginny Lee Restaurant at Wagner Winery is nice. And the Red Newt Bistro has an amazing gourmet menu. http://rednewt.com/ww2/bistro

Another alternative to wrapping the day around lunch, would be to start at Noon, and end up at dinner. For example, you'd be hard pressed to do worse than dinner at Belhurst Castle at the top of Seneca Lake. In fact, that idea has some merit. You four could stay the night at Belhurst, and take the pressure off of the schedule and the road-trip. https://www.belhurst.com/

 

Yeah I am up for that definitely, the question now is when ?!

 

Q300 was leaning up against my garage when I got home

Put all 4 corners up on ramps after i mowed. Got 2 coats of spray paint on the mufflers. Tomorrow's agenda:

1) go to lowes and get another can of high temp spray paint and put a 3rd coat on the cans
2) remove exhaust
3) drain transmission fluid
4) install shifter springs
5) fill transmission fluid
6) install exhaust
7) install cobb post maf silicone intake tubes

I hope to start by 9. My wife asked me how I was going to wrench on my car that early without drinking a beer

After being solo dad to a 3 year old and 6 month for the last 5 days I think I've earned a few cold ones. Even if its 9 am

 

Lego, Sounds like a full but rewarding day ahead, look forward to your pics and review!

 

well I definitely wanna see pictures of the mufflers painted how they look ( if visible at all) since I have a Q300 as well.

 

Looks like things have changed a lot since my Maxima got hailed 17 years ago. Apparently PDR is considered pretty normal for hail damage now days. Same insurance company will cover PDR now, as long as it's appropriate based on some guidelines (which I agree with). So I'll find the best PDR shop in the area and make an appointment. Still a little bummed but getting over it ...

Greg