1997 Cadillac Seville STS

Random vehicle blog…………………tonight the wheel has selected…

                     1997 Cadillac Seville STS

OK, I know this looks a little "pimpish", but it really was a very nice car.  I actually liked these early STS when they came out, but my initial experience with one did not go particularly well because the car had some annoying problems (I'm sure I'll be blogging about that one when the Random Wheel chooses it).  This one, however, was in excellent condition.  I wasn't crazy about the fake convertible roof, but it certainly made it unique. 

This is me doing the 'Gangsta Lean' in the car.  Don't be a hater!

Nobody liked the roof - including me - but I was surprised to find that most people hated the color as well.  I liked it myself, and thought it gave the car a sort of sporty-elegance.

They finally got the interior right on this car I 1997….right before redesigning the entire car for 1998.  I hated the interior design and controls of the '96 I had owned previously, but for '97 Cadillac had redesigned the interior and it was a 100% improvement.

Treetop Crips in da hizzouse!

For those of you who aren't "bangers", you may not recognize the gang sign for the feared 'Treetop Crips' - We roll in style!  I didn't drive this car much, and sold it to a couple from Alabama who flew in and drove it home.  The older Seville STS is a great car for the money.  1997 Is the last year for this body and undoubtedly the best year of the series.  It took them 5+ years to get it right, but at least they stuck with it.  Someone should shoot the person responsible for putting the roof on this car though.

Mediterraneo Market & Cafe - A True European Dining Experience

Branelle and I try to have lunch together every day if we're both free.  I usually pick her up at her office and we head out.  You know how they say that a couple's strengths and weaknesses should complement one another?  Well, if there's one thing that Nel and I both suck at it's deciding where to eat!  We have no trouble deciding what to eat when we get somewhere, but selecting a place is not either of our strong suits.

Today I picked up Nel and we went through the same old song and dance:

"Where do you want to eat?"

"I don't know, what do you feel like?"

"I'm not picky, anything's fine with me."

"Well there's BBQ, or Mexican, or sandwiches…."

"You're just naming types of foods - that doesn't help at all!"

"Well, I don't feel like Chinese."

"Great, that narrows it down to about 2,000 restaurants in Clear Lake."

Anyway, you get the idea.  Today Nel finally suggested Mediterraneo Market & Café, a little place right across the street from NASA.  We eat there from time to time - Nel likes it more than I do but it's OK….usually.  Today we got a true European dining experience.

I like a lot of places in Europe, but I think most Americans who have only visited once or twice and only stay in the touristy places have a rather romanticized view of the continent to be honest.  It's kind of like visiting LA but staying at the Beverly Hills Hilton and never getting past Rodeo Drive:  You'd never realize that most of the city is a dirty, overcrowded, racial powder keg.

 

Dining in Europe can be especially annoying in some places.  The food might be great, but if you're expecting the same service or pace of your local Olive Garden, you're going to be in for a shock.  Today we got that "little taste of Europe" right here in our own back yard.  To be fair, the two Greek waitresses that I am used to seeing weren't there today.  We had a Russian lady who eventually brought our drinks and took our orders.  She wasn't particularly pleasant, but not rude (Euro).  Everything seemed normal until we realized that it was taking much longer than normal to get our food (Euro).  We weren't in a hurry, so no problem.  Unfortunately, when our food finally did arrive it wasn't what we ordered (Euro).  Nel always orders the same thing here, the Gyros Plate - basically lamb and beef with some weird sauce.  I panicked  when she took my order and asked for a Cheeseburger - not usually their best dish.  What Nel got was some grilled chicken breast and a salad and I actually got my cheeseburger…on a little plate with nothing else.  I had told her "no vegetables" and she took it to the extreme and left off the fries as well (Euro).  She bolted before we even had a chance to say a word (Euro) so we decided to just eat it and make the best of it.  Nel's chicken was actually really good (I tried a piece) but I didn't have anything on my burger.  I wanted to ask for some ketchup, but I waited and waited and the lady never came back (Euro).  Nel was done eating and I still hadn't started so I gave up and just ate it dry.  It was actually a very good burger…or would have been with ketchup anyway.  After eating food we didn't order (Euro) and running out of drinks long before we finished without even the slightest hint at a chance for a refill (Euro) we went up to the counter to pay. 

 

We're pretty easy going.  I don't ask much at a restaurant, but it would be nice to at least get to eat what you actually ordered and to not have to worry about saving soda so you don't run out.  Anyway, we might just remove Mediterraneo from our options list.  We've done it before to a fantastic little local restaurant called Italian Café because they constantly don't have the items on the menu that we like and then are rude about it every time, as if you should be lucky if they EVER have Tortellini in a Rose Cream Sauce.  After two consecutive visits where the Italian chick behind the counter snapped at me when I asked why they didn't have any Tortellini, we just wrote it off.  The two places have one thing in common:  They are both owned and run by Europeans.  It's probably just a coincidence.  There are plenty of other European owned and operated restaurants in the area (Frenchie's - Villa Capri - Angelo's to name a few) where the service is outstanding!

 
Oh well, if you want a truly authentic European experience right here in Texas, Mediterraneo Market & Café has plenty of seats available.

1999 BMW M3 Convertible

I'm going to take another night off but instead of just skipping I'll type out a quick RANDOM VEHICLE BLOG.  Maybe I'll mix it up in the future with some Random Golf Course Reviews or maybe a recap of some past home improvement projects, but for tonight it's going to be another vehicle.  Tonight's selection is…………….

                  1999 BMW M3 Convertible

This was an interesting car and an interesting story as well.  I've always liked BMWs to a degree.  The "Ultimate Driving Machine" catch phrase is appropriate.  They spend a lot of time in R&D making sure that you don't feel "detached" from the road.  They don't want the car to be too quiet or smooth.  Most automotive enthusiasts will sing the praises of the 3-Series as one of the greatest driver's cars ever, with the M3 being tops of the line.  I had always wanted one, so when this VERY low mileage convertible came across the block at the Texas Hobby Auction I snatched it up. 

 

The car only had about 18K miles on it and was so nice that I decided to go ahead and spend the money to make it perfect.  I had all the leather seats dyed, had a couple of dings repaired, replaced a cracked air vent, and purchased new floor and trunk mats.  It was only after I had done all this and owned the car for a few months that I noticed a tiny little sticker hidden in the door pillar indicating that the odometer had been replaced.

I showed the auction company my evidence and they were extremely cool about it.  My research indicated that the car probably had about twice the mileage that was shown - still low but not nearly worth what I had paid for it.  They took the car back and even reimbursed me for every penny I had spent on the car while I had it.  In reality they didn't have much of a choice since they are required by law to guarantee the title and mileage on cars, but they could certainly have been more difficult to deal with.  I've been a good customer with them over the years and I suppose they treated me as such.  This is still the only car I've ever had to return anywhere.

While I had it I enjoyed the car.  It was fairly quick, but to be honest I was expecting more.  I know you can do a lot to these M Power motors, but this one just felt like a torque-ier version of the base six to me.

One thing that wasn't disappointing at all was the convertible aspect of this car.  What  a great convertible!  The car felt as rigid with the top down as any car out there.  I had this thing at the right time of year too - fall.

The back seats were actually useful.  I love the way M-Series cars have subtle interior touches that set them apart, like the traditional M colors (light blue - dark blue - red) across all the seats.

Changing the battery.  Like most German cars the battery was located in the trunk.  It's actually an easy job and a much preferred location to under the rear seat.

   

1997 Chevrolet Tahoe LT

Random vehicle blog…………………tonight the wheel has selected…

                 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe LT

My new Tahoe parked in my parents backyard (?)

 In July of 1997, as I was preparing to return to Law School in Houston after finishing my Master's Degree at MSU, it became apparent that I would again need some kind of SUV to haul my greyhound Bear around in (and soon thereafter Romeo as well).  I decided it was going to be a new vehicle and started shopping.  I considered just about every SUV on the market, and even a Volvo Turbo Wagon.  In the end I decided on the Chevy Tahoe.  I ordered a 2-wheel drive LT with every option you could get at the time.

Bear and Romeo loved the truck!

I decided I wanted Cherry Ice Metallic with Tan interior.  The color looked great to me in the brochure and on the lot, but I have to admit that it got old pretty quick.  I prefer the Suburban, but the Tahoe's shorter length makes it more manageable for city driving.

It had a strong 350 motor and was pretty smooth and comfortable.  I drove this truck every day for about a year, and kept it for about 2 1/2 years.  I had very few problems with it, although it did get broken into twice.

It also proved to be a more than capable tow vehicle when called for.

Actually being used to tow Andrew's boat - a preview of things to come.

The dogs loved it and it came in handy for all sorts of other things.  I sold this one to my friend Andrew in early 2000.  He kind of wanted it and I wanted to get a new Suburban.  He still owns it to this day, using it primarily as his lake house vehicle I think.  The Tahoe was a great truck.  If I had it to do all over again I would have ordered a 4x4 and in black, but that aside I have no complaints.   In a way, I did do it all over again - Nel and I have a Tahoe now.  We got a white LTZ, and yes, it's a 4x4.

My brother cleaning it out. I'm guessing he borrowed it for something - maybe hauling mulch.

 

1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4

Random vehicle blog…………………tonight the wheel has selected…

             1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4

These things were legendary when they first came out.  The VR-4 was a twin turbocharged road racer with some really cool features.  It was all-wheel-drive for starters, which was rare for a sports car at the time.  Also, the front and rear spoilers would raise and lower with the speed of the car to increase down force.

 

The interior of this car was in good shape (although I'm not sure how I felt about the burgundy color), but sadly that's about all that was.  The car was a mechanical nightmare and had some serious issues.  I never really got to drive it hard because it just wouldn't run properly.  It had about 130K miles on it when I bought it so I got it really cheap - I think it was somewhere around $4,000 - and I sold it just as cheap.  I was disappointed in not getting to try out a unique and legendary Japanese sports car anywhere near its potential.  These pictures actually make it look better than it really was.

Before & After - Guest Shower

Of the 4 bathrooms in our home, the last one I wanted to deal with was the upstairs guest bath.  We almost never have any guests so it just doesn't get used much, and it was actually in pretty good shape.  We had already painted the walls and all the cabinets inside and out, and replaced the toilet, pulls, light fixtures  and hardware.  We figured that some time down the road we would get a granite counter top and replace the sink and faucet, and ultimately redo the shower.  A very strange issue moved the upstairs shower from 4th to 1st on the priority list.

BEFORE - Not cool, but clean and functional...or so we thought.

 

Branelle does not use the shower in our master bath.  It's a small, elevated death trap.  She instead uses another shower that is actually connected to our master suite through my walk-in closet.  Both are very dated - our house was built in 1980, and while it's been very nicely maintained, it hasn't really been updated other than what we've done to it.  A few months ago, a horrible smell started emanating from the shower Nel uses.  It was quickly apparent that some kind of creature had gotten into the wall or ceiling and died.  Since we couldn't find out exactly where is was, we decided that this would be a good time to redo that bathroom since I was probably going to have to tear into the walls anyway.  Nel started using the shower upstairs while I planned my demolition.  Unfortunately a new problem surfaced when the upstairs shower was used - a leak!  We noticed water stains on the ceiling below the shower she was using so we made the unpopular decision to attack the upstairs shower first.

 

It wasn't in particularly bad shape, so my first effort was to try to re-caulk and re-seal everything.  Nel tested it and it seemed to make no difference.  The shower had no access to the pipes or wall, so the only option was to rip it out and start over.  Unfortunately, one of the good things about older custom houses can also be one of the bad things - they're extremely well built!  I was expecting cement board behind the tile, what I found was actual cement.   

Mid-demo.  Notice the haze of cement dust?  It's awful!

It took some time and a lot of effort but I managed to demo the entire shower down to the pipes and studs.  The water damage was obvious, but not as bad as it could have been.  There were really only a few studs I needed to address and that was a fairly easy task.

Water damage.  It could have been worse.

The rebuild was a different story.  I had estimated what steps would be involved in redoing the shower before I started and made a list on my dry erase board in the office:

·         Remove door

·         Tear out tile

·         check for leaks

·         Replace drywall

·         Buy pan and hardware

·         Install pan and hardware

·         Tile shower

·         Grout and seal shower

·         Install new door (or reuse old door)

Seemed pretty simple.  The first step was actually pretty simple - the door came out rather easily.  It all went downhill after that.  Branelle was out of town on business for almost two weeks so I figured it was a good time to do the work.  Additionally, we were actually having guests come to stay with us in about three weeks time, so even more motivation.  When I started busting out the old tile, I realized quickly that it was going to put up more of a fight than I had anticipated.  The tile was adhered to a cement board which was attached to a concrete over mesh surface which was attached to the studs.  It was a nightmare, and the dust about killed me, but I eventually got it out.

The water damage had to be addressed.  I was afraid I would have to replace some studs on an outside wall - a difficult and expensive proposition - but I ultimately decided after consulting with my brother that I could just add studs to the rotted ones and everything would be fine.  This was actually a fairly easy step.  I simply cut 2x4s into support beams and mounted them where needed.  My next step - checking for leaks - wasn't really an issue.  It was clear from the location of the damage that the leaking had come from the tile itself, not from any pipes.  Check!

New support studs.  Seems like a simple fix, but all you really need is a solid surface to mount cement board.

My next step was to purchase and install a pan and hardware.  I decided that I certainly wasn't going to use a preformed shower pan like I had just removed, but was going to do a tiled floor instead.  After doing some research, it was clear to me that doing a shower pan yourself is not a good idea so I called my plumber and he agreed to head over the next day.  It would be a two day process for him to float the floor and then install a liner after it had dried the next day.  The only thing he asked was that I have the new shower faucet and have a sill or step built before he got there.  No problem on the faucet - I headed to Home Depot and picked up a brushed nickel Moen unit.  The new step turned out to be another story.  It sounds like an easy enough job - just stack a couple 2x4s on top of each other and bolt them to the floor.  Unfortunately, I didn't have an even surface to start with.  I had to rig up a base with a 'slight' angle towards the shower and then mount everything to that.  It wasn't easy, but I pieced something together and the plumber came the next morning.

A new step.  I even used my own brand of wood. :-)

He did his thing over the next two days and I ended up with a very nice pan with a new drain installed and new pipes and faucet ready for cement board and tile.

Day 1 - A floated floor underneath the liner with a new drain installed.

George checking out the new liner.  We left it filled with water over night to test it.

I took advantage of the overnight water test to re-insulate the walls and ceiling.

Cement board - or drywall for that matter - is something that you can really do yourself if you want to, but it's kind of an art form, and on a shower with lots of small angles and having to use the much heavier cement board instead of drywall I decided to let the pros handle it.  I called a guy and he sent a crew over the next day to cement board and also float a concrete base for tile on the floor over the liner that the plumber had set.  

Cement board in and a floated floor with just the right amount of slope.

It all went pretty well, but it was taking time and I didn't have as much as I would have liked.  Nel and I had found a stone tile that we were OK with before she went out of town and bought every piece of it that Home Depot had, calculating that it was just enough to finish the shower. It was a clearance item (I was trying to be cheap) and had been discontinued.   Just in case, we bought a glass accent tile for the ceiling.  When the tiling started, I realized rather quickly that I would need some edge pieces with a bull nose for the step and shower edges.  I found 7 pieces (probably needed about 30) at my local Home Depot.  I planned to check out every Home Depot in southeast Houston on a Saturday morning looking for more, and I did.  No luck.  Not ideal, but not the end of the world.

Tile going in without any real drama.

Tiling is pretty easy.  It's kind of just putting a puzzle together, but sometimes you have to cut the puzzle pieces to fit.  A good wet saw cuts tile like butter though and everything went pretty well.  In a couple of days I had a completely tiled shower, but I still needed to mount the faucet trim pieces, put in a door, and seal everything up.

What's missing from this picture?  We've tiled and installed the hardware and we've even managed to texture and paint, but no door.

  

Nel got back in town on Monday the 5th, but we were both leaving town again on Thursday the 8th.  We decided to look for a door in the few days we had and were disappointed to discover that the in-stock doors at all the home stores are kind of cheap looking and the nicer glass ones that you order take weeks to arrive.  We didn't have weeks.  Our company was arriving on the 16th.  We were going to go with the best 'cheap' unit we could find in-stock but I asked Nel to run by HD and take a look at it on the 6th before I bought it.  She informed me that they had a nice glass Kohler unit that looked like it might fit that someone had ordered and returned.  I was playing golf, but skeptically agreed to meet her up there to look at it when I finished.  She turned out to be correct - it looked like it would fit and it was even discounted a little since it was a custom order so we bought it.

 

We left town for a long weekend, but returned on the 12th, giving me about 4 days to get the shower door in.  We also had to texture and paint the wall around the shower.  It's not hard, but it's a step that takes a day or so because you have to let everything dry before you can paint.  I started becoming skeptical that the door was actually going to fit and also skeptical that I could put it in properly and with perfect balance.  I decided to call a pro.  A friend of my brother's has a glass shop so I gave him a call on Tuesday and he agreed to do it the next day.  He said he would call me back to confirm that evening but I never heard from him.  I called him Wednesday morning and he said he would be on a job in my area and would try to bring a crew by later that day to put it in but I never heard from him again.  I called him on Thursday morning and he didn't answer.  I gave up on him and called a glass company out of the phone book.  They said they could have a crew over Friday morning and I agreed.  Nel and I were becoming less and less convinced that our "custom" door was going to fit so we decided to run to HD Thursday night and buy the off-the-shelf door that I knew would fit just in case so the guys would have something to install the next morning when they showed up if our custom door didn't. 

AFTER - My trade show model showing off the finished product.

 

The guys from Delta Glass showed up on time and actually installed our custom Kohler door with no issues.  We have a functional shower for our guests, and with a couple hours to spare (we started weeks ago).  I returned the other door (never even took it out of the truck) and declared the project complete!

My helper in the shower...and my wife too.  George was pretty involved in this project (too much at times) but Nel skipped town for the majority of this one.