Me too. I'd get wheels with thicker spokes and lose the wing though.

I taught mine how to drive a stick.

Indeed. My Dad was diagnosed about five years ago. The difference between then and now is amazing. Much of it is powered by a trend for people to live a gluten-free lifestyle. That's fine because it does power better labelling and more products. However, it may also cause waiters and cooks not not be as strict with cross-contamination. It is a challenge for sure but there are many worse things.

It has been a sad last few weeks for me. I'm in the process of being diagnosed with celiac disease which means I cannot have any food or drink containing gluten (wheat, barley, and many other grains). Once I cut out gluten, there are no long-term health effects. I can live without bread. I can deal with all the hidden ingredients. I cannot not have beer.

There is good news though -- there are several sorghum-based brews that very closely resemble beer. The problem with most of them is they are shooting for the Miller Lite crowd and not the Arrogant Bastard kind of beer I enjoy. There are also a number of excellent home brew recepies. I hope to brew my first batch this weekend. Thank goodness for hops. Oh, and wine. Wine is darn tasty stuff.

I used to dream about putting that 216 into an X1/9. There used to be a junkyard near Moscow, ID with a few Rover V8s and there was the X1/9 just sitting in Pullman, WA collecting leaves. If I could go back in time 12 years with $12k...

Soooo, cheap. I mean, the engines are all over the junkyards! Swaps are as easy as undoing a few bolts and hoses, somehow bolting the new engine in the old chassis (use a lot of all-thread and washers to make this even easier), and figuring out a way to power the drive wheels. Cooling might be important because you would hardly ever put a smaller engine in than the car was designed to hold.

Don't you guys know I come to Hooniverse to escape my kids asking to go on my shoulders? I nearly turned around to check if one of them was behind me.

This sounds like a northern version of a Harold and Kumar movie. I would like to hear about it.

Does anybody have a good explanation for the step-side design? I have always seen it as removing otherwise good bed space. The only advantage is if you need to clamber into the bed without getting muddy or something.

Studs do significant damage the road in dry and wet conditions. They may reduce traction in those same conditions for both the car with the studs and, by virtue of the damage they do, all the other traffic. Plus, they are noisy as hell. (Here is an article about it :http://training.ce.washington.edu/wsdot/modules/09_pavement_evaluation/studded_tires.htm) When driving on ice, there is nothing better. I stick with "studless" Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires these days. They include walnut shells which always makes me chuckle. The grip in snow is fantastic.