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I’m excited to announce the launch of Iconic Camping!

Recounting our childhood camping trips my friend Jeff and I decided to start looking for some of the gear that we remember our families using back then. As we hunted around we got the idea to start our own camping gear company specializing in these classically styled goods. And so Iconic Camping was born!

Iconic Camping is a full Optimus stove, Rome cookware and Benchmark maps reseller. We carry all of these manufactures “classic” equipment such as Pie Irons and Svea stoves in stock and can generally ship same day or are available for local pickup. We can also fulfill special orders for any of these manufactures other products.

So head on over to Iconic Camping and pick up a Pie Iron, sign up for our newsletter, check out our blog and follow us on Twitter!

Before the snow came, Tomi and I decided to take the Miata out on one last drive. We headed up the Alpine Loop from Alpine, Utah to Provo Canyon with a quick detour to Cascade Springs. It was a beautiful, crisp late October day. A perfect close to a great year of driving.

Eric demonstrates the benefits of being a Rally fan:

Eric: Hotel fire. Blizzard. Ten car pileup blocking all lanes. Drove the rental Malibu like fucking Tommi Mäkinen on a winter rally stage and made the gate during boarding.

Epic.

Back with another exciting installment of Auto Text! Eric and I discuss the Nissan Altima Coupe and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.

Eric: Why can’t the Altima Coupe be RWD with a 2.0T and a 6-speed? Why Stephen? Why?

Stephen: Because the world hates you. Besides, just get a Genesis Coupe.

Eric: But the Altima Coupe is so much sexier. Kind of an awkward ass, but I can forgive that.

Stephen: Yeah, I know. But do you love what’s on the inside? I mean, she may be a pretty face but does she make you smile? The Genesis Coupe may not have the looks, but she’ll keep you happy.

Eric: Ms. Altima could make me smile in SR trim with a V6. But at that point she really let herself go with the weight and that gold digging $32k sticker. The Genesis accepts me for who I am in 2.0 R-spec trim for $10k less and she makes me laugh and feel young again. Do you know what it’s like to laugh like that?

Stephen: To laugh like you’re young and free without a care in the world? Son, I drive a Miata. I know.

Eric: How I long for that unbridled passion. How could I even think of that money grubbing Altima when the sweet Genesis is at my beck and…
OMG Integra what are you doing home so soon? I.. I was just looking at this C&D Genesis article for Stephen… No, it’s got nothing to do with you! Honey, come back here!

Stephen: Eric, you’ve got to man up and tell Teggy that you’re growing apart. That you have adult needs that she can’t fulfill. You want to do power slides and lay down insane patches of rubber. You want 50/50 weight distribution. You want boost! She needs to know it’s not her, it’s you.

Eric: I know. I’ve tried but she gets so angry and yells at me. Deep down, I’m scared to leave her.

Stephen: Some times, Eric, bold action is the only way.

Eric: Some day. But not today. Shhh… She might hear us.

Stephen: I’ll pray for you.

Eric: Thanks.

Continuing our often slightly off color automotive texting, Eric and I discuss the Ferrari 458 Italia:

(Photo © 2010 richebets; used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

Stephen: Outside of our usual area of interest, but what are your thoughts on the 458 Italia (aside from being flaming hot)?

Eric: Makes me pretty hot in my pants. Prettier then the F430 and I didn’t think that was possible. Way hotter than the 360 Modena. Puns not intended.

Stephen: I think between the California and the Italia the Italia is far more attractive. And let’s face it, for folks like us who cares about the performance of a Ferrari. All we ever get out of them is eye candy. Just like freshman coeds. That’s not to say I wouldn’t flog a 599 GTB like the naughty exchange student she is.

Eric: Well put.

Car & Driver has launched an ambitious campaign to Save the Manuals! And since I am a proponent of the manual transmission and all it merits, I wholly endorse it.

My friend Eric and I are members of the automotive enthusiast fringe. The weirder, harder to find the better. This is an absolutely hilarious text message exchange we had the other day regarding one of my favorite websites, Bring a Trailer.
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Eric: Dude, what have u done? Bringatrailer.com is cocaine. I Keep telling myself I have it under control.

Me: Yes… Yes it is. That Cosworth gave me a redwood.

Eric: Oh yeah! and the 953 Rally! Boing! I can stop any time.. I can stop any time.

Me: Snooort.

Eric: Oh yes… (wipes blood from nostril) thats it right there

Me: Rusty pipe? Been awhile since you thought about buying a 30 year old 25k garage find?

Eric: Apparently. I usually fap to the stuff on hemmings site, but this stuff is more kink… I mean unique

Me: Its kinda like 8mm snuff films, I know. The stuff on Hemmings is so pedestrian and clean. You have to be really out there to like BaT.

Eric: Oh yeah. It makes me feel so dirty.. and I love it. I also love our seemless transition from drug to sex innuendo

Me: Sex, drugs and rusty cars baby!

I’m proud to announce that I have just launched a new website called Import Relics. Most who read this site are surely aware of my near clinical obsession with the automobile and in particular imports. Import Relics is where I intend to collect my photographs, musings and research regarding significant or interesting imports from our past.
Check out the first post on the original ricer, the Datsun 510.

I work on cars all the time and I enjoy it right up to the point when you are no longer doing it for fun, but rather out of need.

Today I noticed that my Samurai was having some issues starting, acting like it had a dying battery. That pissed me off because it’s got a new Optima Redtop and I had the alternator tested just a few weeks ago. So everything should be good.

I pulled into my parking spot at work and shut the engine off and I thought I would make sure it would start again. Nope. Needless to say I was pissed. Car wouldn’t start, I was already late for work (not that really mattered) and it was raining.

I popped the hood and took a quick look around, jiggled some wires and tried to start it again, but to no avail. Not much I could do at the moment so I locked everything down and headed into work.

First think I did when I got into work was call into the knowledge database (Dad) to see what he thought. He thought the same as I, no power equals either a dead battery or a short somewhere. Both were not exciting propositions, but I was hoping for the former just for ease.

As I sat at work contemplating the problem my thoughts turned to a problem I had had before I left for a trip to the Arizona Strip several weeks ago. There had been some corrosion on the back side of the weather pack coming off the batteries accessory wire. The first opportunity that I could take a break at work I headed out into the soaking parking lot and popped the hood on the Samurai again.

So there I am, hood up, rain pouring down in the middle of the parking lot and I’m rooting around the engine compartment for wires. I had several guys look at me oddly as they drove by, of course none of them stopping to offer help.

After the offending weather pack was located I found that the corrosion and eaten away at the wire heading into it. I pulled the tool box out and clipped the weather pack off and stripped the wire down. Then I reconnected everything for a quick fix and sure enough, it started right up. Sweet. I closed everything up and headed back into work still within my 15 minute break limit.

You may be asking why I would want to post such a tale up. I remember as a kid seeing people working on cars in parking lots all the time. My Dad and I have replaced a clutch in a hotel parking lot. You don’t see that anymore.

That is for several reasons, but paramount is that vehicles are too complex now, which I have complained about before, and the gear head lifestyle is dying as a result. Fathers and son’s no longer bond over working on cars. People never learn how to change a tire, let alone diagnosis wiring problems. It’s sad.

So I posted this little tale as an example of ‘When Men Were Men’ and not afraid to get their hands dirty and stand in the rain just to get their car back on the road. I feel privileged that I was blessed with a father who thought it was important enough to teach me that I can fix practically anything myself.

Having chosen to build my Samurai for expedition use one of the most pressing issues I had to deal with was that of storage space. The obvious solution to this dilemma was to get a roof rack. After looking at the available racks on the market for the Samurai I decided to have one custom built.

The man I turned to for this project was the venerable Carl Whitmore. I envisioned a very simple rack made out of 1″ DOM tubing. The only thing special that I wanted was a way to secure two Scepter cans. Carl’s imagination led him to build a much more exciting rack than I had hoped. With dimpled side braces and a raked front it reminds me of an updated Con-Ferr rack.

For mounting the rack we picked up some Kargo Master gutter mounts for Cherokee’s rather than trying to build custom gutter mounts for the Samurai. They are a little big, but I think that they look fine.

The most unique aspect of the whole rack is the Scepter can holder. It’s basically just a box, but with the dimpled bottom and the way that it mounts with the two hooks on the back and tabbed mounts on the front it is pretty clever.

I’m very pleased with it and can’t wait to use it on my trip to the Arizona Strip next week. If you want to check it out up close and personal it will be at the Expedition Utah booth during the TeraFlex show at Miller Motorsports Park this Saturday.

More pictures: