Ramblings at Random

By Dean Sprague

My oldest son Jason had just gotten a new job, which meant he had an unscheduled week, between the old one and the new one. You may remember he is the proud owner of a 1980 10” wheeled classic Mini Cooper. The cute little 998cc Austin “A” series engine runs rather well but a mere 40 HP is just not enough tomatoes for him. He has always wanted to put a Honda V- Tech drive drain in a Mini. I think he is looking for performance somewhere in the neighborhood of a Tomahawk Cruise Missile. There is a company called Mini-Tec. These folks have been converting anemic Minis to thunder boxes since 2003. FYI, they have just expanded their line to include offering Honda V6 conversation kits for the Mazda Miata folks as well if they need to double their horsepower but don’t want to go the insane GM LS3 route.

My son calls me on a Saturday and says his last day at his old job is Monday at noon. He could be ready by 12:15 and we could ride our motorcycles down to Royston, GA, home of Mini-Tec. He suggested we could make the 3hour trip (on back roads); get a motel before dark and Tuesday morning run down and check out these Honda conversations. I told him I would think about it and of course immediately started packing. No one should ever pass on a road trip with your children. The time you spend traveling together is far more valuable than any destination even though I must admit a trip to Mini-Tec sounded extremely enticing all by itself.

I am not sure when it happened but somewhere between the hospital delivery, changing diapers, endless trips to school plays, parties, recitals, games, college graduations and all the stuff in-between my children grew from dependents to best friends. The transition was so subtle I really can’t put my finger on the day it happened. One day I woke up and they were getting married and building their own lives. Years ago when Jason (my oldest) and I first started taking these motorcycle trips I felt I was taking care of him but somehow the rolls are reversing. Now he leads most of the time, arranges the motels and plans the routes. I usually still get to think of cool places to go but then he generally takes over. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all good stuff.

We decided to meet in Lincolnton, NC to save time since he is living in Huntersville (to the East) now and I am still in Hickory (up north) so Lincolnton it was a cross point if you are heading Southwest. We decided to go to Georgia on back roads instead of I-85. The weather was a little cool but the ride was beautiful. It was late fall but still provided some waning but very colorful mountain foliage plus the bonus of a promised 2day window of dry weather. This was the first trip on my new Moto Guzzi GT8V sport touring motorcycle. I sold my Triumph Bonneville. I did this after significant deliberation. It was a great bike but the old Triumph seemed to be getting more uncomfortable on these long treks in the saddle. Maybe I am just getting older and tenderer but the Guzzi did make a notable difference. Of course, we didn’t quite make it before dark as planned (too many back roads) but shortly after we checked into our hotel. Then we immediately began looking for a Mexican restaurant. We found the only one in town not far away. You see eating Mexican on the road is our long time ritual. I am not sure why but the trip would be incomplete without it.

We learned that morning comes early when you stay up half the night talking about British cars and restorations mostly of the Mini variety. Coffee was the first objective so we quickly found the local’s breakfast hangout, the Roystonian Diner. It was great, everyone waived to us as we came in and a couple of elderly residents even came over to talk and ask why we were there. We ordered a full breakfast (including pancakes) for under $5.00 and it was delicious. Aren’t small towns great!

We found that Mini-Tec was literally just around the corner. We pulled in the side of the building and found several Mini and Miata body shells lying about. This must be the right place. We opened an unmarked door to be greeted by a very large black Lab. Beau was his name and we were immediately best friends. B J the owner was very nice and informative. He spent over an hour and a half with us explaining options and requirements. They had a complete car there powered by a 215 HP Honda Integra V Tech R that would give Jason’s Mini a 530% increase in power! They also have another Mini getting a Honda all wheel drive V6 conversion. This is in lieu of a back seat. It will have over 300 plus HP and weight in at under 1600 pounds. Wow! Before I knew it I was thinking about getting a classic Mini so I could bolt in those steroids from Mini-Tec. Then I could scare myself to death trying to drive it sanely. Oh wait, I already have a project (Volvo P1800) and if my wife heard about another one I might have to sleep in it. This might require starting with a Mini-van for the extra sleeping room rather than a Mini-sedan or maybe abandoning the idea altogether. I think it might be better if I just live precariously thru Jason’s project. Maybe, when finished he will let me drive it once in a while.

BJ worked up an itemized list of everything needed to “fix” Jason’s Mini. They negotiated a bit, we said our good buys then we threw our legs over our machines, fired them up and headed back to North Carolina. The weather was getting warmer so we decided to take a “big loop” home. That means more back roads adventure. On our way out of town a local policeman in an unmarked car even waived and smiled at us. Amazing, I love small towns! We took SC11 (Cherokee Hwy) up to SR25 into North Carolina then up to Hendersonville for a late lunch. The ride was breathtaking but getting a little cool. Jason found a place called The Moose Diner. The affordable home cooked portions were large enough to feed a small army. While we ate Jason talked about nothing but the details of Honda powered Minis, his in particular. I think we are actually going to do this. “We” being the operative word. Looks like I may get another project by default. What fun! After lunch and layering up for the increasing cold we headed up scenic US64 thru Bat Cave, Chimney Rock and Lake Lure down to Rutherfordton/Forest City on to US74 to Shelby then to SR150 back to Lincolnton where we separated but not before talking about another trip. May there always be another one. These little “mini” get away road trips are great (play of words fully intended). If you ever get a chance to take one don’t pass it up. I remember what my Father always said; “you will only regret the things you don’t do, never the things you do because at worst it’s just learning by experience”. So never miss an opportunity to seek adventure and always bring a friend (off spring or otherwise). You never know when or if it will ever come around again.