Imaginary Car Strikes Again

Armed with the knowledge that my car is actually a Protegé, we mistakenly believed that this would solve all my problems with regard to ordering parts for my ’95 BG.

I knew it was too good to be true!

Steve dropped in to his favourite auto parts supplier and ordered a full set of Ultima shockies. Yes, they make them to fit a ’95 323 Protegé, they’re made in Australia, the distributor is local and they’d be available the next day, and they are considerably less expensive than other brands. I went in, paid for and picked them up on Friday. $500 for the full set – thanks Mr Rudd!



Next stop, the library. After applying for a whole new library card – apparently my previous one was too old to be reactivated, even though my details hadn’t changed (WTF?), I borrowed a repair manual that covers Ford Lasers from 1990-1994 and Mazda 323 Sedan and Astina (hatches) from 1989-1994. Now, I know I’ve got a ’95 323, but I figured that, as the repair manuals from ’95 onwards seemed to only cover BA and later models, I’d take my chances that my ’95 BG was pretty much the same as the ’94 BGs. So far, so good.

So, after reading the manual and explaining it all step-by-step to Steve, he removed my front shock absorber and spring. It really was as easy as the parts guy said it would be… until we took the new shock absorber out of the box and discovered that the diameter of the spring seat was not as large as my original, so my spring wouldn’t fit! It was clear to me that, although they were for a ’95 model, they were probably for the BA and not the BG. Here we go again...

Damn Mazda and their 18 month model crossover period! I’m seriously over this! If I ever find the person/s responsible for compiling after market parts databases and leaving out my year model, I will belt them over the head with my old struts!

Well, the first lot were going back to the shop! To be on the safe side, we also removed the rear shock on the same side, so that I could take my originals in to compare them. Just as well, since the brackets on the rear shock they’d given us weren’t the same as my originals, either! I was more than prepared, if all else failed, to go directly to the actual distributors at Albion, show them my originals and refuse to leave until I had the correct replacements!

These are supposed to be the same diameter!

That's more like it!

First thing Monday morning, Steve got onto Robert, the parts guy, who said he’d order some to fit a ’94 model and we’d see if they fit my ’95. A few hours later they’d arrived so I took the first lot back (along with my originals) to swap them for a second lot. I walk in, carrying the boxes and he looks at me and says “Ah, shock absorbers for a car that doesn’t exist” Yep, you said it mate!

Second time lucky, I hope. At least this second lot look exactly the same as my originals and my spring fits nicely into the spring seat! Promising start… now let’s see if they go back into my car properly!

Monday night, Steve’s Dad came over to give him a hand to fit the shocks to my car. It all seemed to go together smoothly, and after a test drive, Steve labelled it a job well done.

Finally, success!
Now I just need to get new tyres and a wheel alignment…

Easter Camping Trip

What a difference the weather can make to holiday plans. We were all set to head to Elanda Point on Lake Cootharaba... until we watched the news and saw that the upper Noosa River had flooded. A quick phone call confirmed our worst fears - the campsite was closed due to flood damage and we had less than a week to find another destination.

Naturally, on the Monday before Easter there are not a lot of vacancies left anywhere, but I phoned campsites on the northern side of Brisbane, and our friends who were going with us phoned campsites to the south. On a recommendation from some other friends, I finally got onto Island Reach campgrounds at Imbil. Their advice - "It'll be chockers, but since you're coming up on the Thursday morning you should still be able to have your pick of the spots." When I phoned back later to confirm, I spoke to the lady owner, who said she'd been telling everyone it was fully booked ! When I explained that in my earlier phone call one of the men had said we'd be ok, she said "Oh, it's alright love, we won't turn you away!" Geez, I hope not, since we can't get in anywhere else!

It was overcast when we left home Thursday morning and it drizzled on the way up the highway, but at least the rain held off until later that evening - thankfully, after we'd set up our campsite!
Just as well we didn't arrive any later than we did, since there weren't many large areas left when we got there. Plenty of spots for single tents, but not a lot for larger groups. We found a large, shady, flat area on the second terrace down - nicely placed about halfway between the creek and the amenities block. Plenty of room for our two family tents and our tarp. The area was probably only vacant due to the large concentrations of green ant nests (!), but the rain seemed to keep them subdued and there were only a handful of bites suffered during the course of the whole weekend.

We'd borrowed a pair of ocean kayaks from our friend Mick, and although it rained on and off throughout the weekend, we still had fun paddling them up and down Yabba Creek. Up around the bend to the left of the campsite, as far as the road and railway bridges, and to the right of the campsite, down as far as the weir.

While paddling down near the weir, we had seen people swimming and fishing on the other side, so one afternoon we decided to go for a walk to check it out. We climbed down some muddy steps, waded through a knee deep narrow creek (the guys carried the kids), followed a cow path up and over a hill, through a pasture and eventually came to the weir. There were a surprising number of people there - swimming and fishing. It was very picturesque... just a shame that it was still overcast and the surrounding rocks were still too wet to sit on. It'd make a fantastic picnic spot on a sunny day, with the sunlight sparkling off the rapids. Wayne had brought fishing rods for his kids and they were keen to try their luck, but the fish clearly weren't fussed on the bread we were using for bait. The kids still had a ball.

Sunday night we had a campfire and toasted marshmallows under a sky full of stars. This naturally fooled us into thinking that we'd actually get some sunshine to dry out our gear before we had to pack up to leave. How wrong we were! Late Sunday night it started to rain heavily and it just didn't stop. In fact it seemed to get progressively heavier the closer it came to the time we were going to leave. There were even a few flashes of lightning and ominous rumbles of thunder! The gullies became puddles for the kids to play in, the ground became squelchy with oozy mud and there was no chance of packing the tents up dry. Dripping wet and soaked to the skin, we gave up trying, and just jammed it all in the trailer, tied it down and left for the long drive home in holiday traffic.

Two days later and the tent is still spread out in our garage, the fly slung over the clothesline. At least all the washing is done and the wet towels smell fresh again!

We had a great time despite the weather, although I'm not sure the Perry family will be so keen to come camping with us again. Twice they've been camping with us - the first time, at Straddie, we got caught in a hail storm, and this time it rained all weekend. Oh well, if they can survive that, they can survive any camping situation, I reckon!

Hope everyone else had a great Easter - regardless of the weather!

Everything begins with E !

...E block, that is.
Ah yes, the place where I "belonged" throughout my senior years at high school. A place for the "outcasts" who didn't really fit in with the other usual groups - the nerds, the sporty types, the artists, the "popular" crowd... It hasn't changed much in all these years - pretty sure the seat used to be painted brown, and the bin did not have a fancy stand... but it did have a lid! (Where are the hygiene standards these days??) The basic school layout hasn't changed, although as the school population has grown, they've needed to add some new buildings and an indoor sports centre, and the landscaping seems to have been improved as well.


Saturday 4 April was a day full of school memories. It was the 50th Anniversary celebration for Wavell State High School. Students and teachers, past and present were there, including all but two of the past school Principals! The crowds were huge, although not so much for our year level. As pointed out by Nick Lawton, we came all excited to catch up with old school friends and discovered that the ones who came were just the "usual Facebook crew". It was a little bit disappointing, considering there were around 240 in our Grade 12 year. I know some have left the country or live too far away, and some were working or had family commitments and were unable to make it, but some were just plain "not interested", which is a shame. It was still good to catch up with the ones who could make it, though.

Kristen Bird, myself and Jodi Wormington (Jo Rossow, now that she's married) met up and went in search of other school mates.

Each year level throughout the years had a designated room and specified time to get together. As our year wasn't to meet in F10 until 1.30pm, a couple of people (Adrian Gibb and Derek Moo)missed out on the group photo as they'd had to leave earlier, or had not yet arrived (Glen Donaldson).

In this photo we have (L-R) Darren Mackay, Troy Scholz, Nathalie Dilanian, Nick Lawton, Shay Gordon-Brown, Keith Sullivan, myself, Sue Berrill, Jo Rossow (neé Wormington), Conrad Maul, Kristen Bird and Kirsty Burkett (neé O'Hare). All the group photos taken with my camera turned out blurry, so thanks to Sue for this particular photo.

We haven't changed much despite our careers and/or families - a few grey hairs, the odd wrinkle or two - but otherwise, still pretty much the same.

Wouldn't have missed it for the world!

My Imaginary Car

I need new tyres for the Mazdabator. The ones I currently have are incredibly noisy due to being scalloped. Yes, you can hear them over the stereo (which is saying something, considering the volume I have it at). Of course, before I get new tyres I have to replace all four shock absorbers because they are all badly worn, and the rear shockies are leaking. Mr Rudd has kindly offered to pay for new shockies and tyres (Thanks, Kev!) - all I have to do is buy them.

Herein lies the problem. It seems there is a persistent theory amongst suppliers of after market vehicle parts that my car simply does not exist. It is a theory that appears to be supported by my extensive research on the internet.

Let me explain. When we first bought my car I wanted to order a dashmat and some weather shields. Now, according to the compliance plate on the firewall of my car, I have a Mazda 323K, BG model, paint colour 11R (Sparkle Green), built in September 1995. You'd think that would be sufficient information, wouldn't you? I don't know what the "K" stands for in 323K, but I've found absolutely no information about this anywhere, so this just adds to the mystery.

Well, off I went to Supercheap, Autobarn, etc, etc to try to order a dashmat. I wasn't expecting to find one in stock since my car is more than 10 years old, but I did think I'd be able to order one. Apparently not. After checking various catalogues it seemed like the manufacturers stopped making dashmats to fit BGs in 1994 and the only ones they made for 1995 were to fit the Astina (hatchback version of the 323, which has a completely different interior) and Protege (the top-of-the-range version of my car) models. I ended up getting one through GrandPrix Mazda at a higher price... when it arrived it turned out to be for a 1994 model (!) but at least it fits! Same deal with the weather shields, however Stoneshield (who actually manufacture them) assured me the ones for the Protege would fit because it is the same body shape, so the doors would be the same.

Now all the info I can find says that the Protege had a 1.8 lt engine (and maybe had electric windows, being the "flash" model), so clearly mine is a standard 323 because it only has the 1.6 lt engine. Then again, apparently Mazda had something like a dozen different models available globally, all with slight variations, so who knows for sure?

Back to the shockies. Pedders want $424 for the front pair and $424 for the rear pair, plus an extra $300 in labour to fit them. Um... no thanks! There must be a better price out there! So we ring around. Repco sell Monroe shocks and Autobarn sell some American brand I'd never heard of... but not to fit my car! You guessed it - the same old story! It doesn't exist.

Conversation goes something like this: "Hi, I'm after a price on shockies for my Mazda 323" "What model and year is that for?" "It's a 1995 BG model" (pause, while they search for the details in their parts catalogue...) "Was that for an Astina?" "No, just the 323" "Not a Protege?" "No" "Well, the BG model wasn't manufactured after 1994, are you sure it isn't a BA?" "It says BG on the compliance plate" "Well, if it's 1995 it can't be. Are you sure it isn't a 94 model?" "I'm sure, never mind"

In desperation I go to GrandPrix Mazda and do my best "dumb blonde / female driver" impersonation. Well, not really, but I'm positive that's what they think. I hover between the Parts and Service counters. "Hi, I'm not quite sure if this is a parts or a service query... I want to know exactly what model I'm driving." (Condescending looks.) "I know it says it's a 323K BG, built in Sep 95, but if I give you my VIN can you please double check that, because I'm having a hard time locating parts for it" The same guy who ordered my dashmat looks up and says "You again, what's wrong this time?" "Well Paul, apparently my car still doesn't exist" He chuckles. I'm so glad to have brightened his day. Really I am.

Turns out that the BG was produced from 1991 through to May 1996, so all these after market parts databases are wrong! He says I should tell them that Paul from GrandPrix says they are "boofheads" if they want to argue. I can, and do have, a BG. Knowing I'm right doesn't help with ordering parts, though. Paul says to tell them I've got a 95 Protege. "But it's only a 1.6 and I thought Protege's all had the 1.8 ?" Apparently not all of them. "It doesn't actually say Protege anywhere on it..." He can sell me a Protege badge for $3, if I'd like. No, that's ok.

Hmmm. I'm still not entirely convinced my car is not a figment of my imagination, but at least it will now (hopefully) be easier to order parts. I still don't know what the K means...


ps. Have found a better price - Ultima shocks, Aussie made, $250 for front pair, $250 for rear pair... and the plan is to replace them ourselves to save labour costs. Have the right tools (including a set of spring compressors)... just need a workshop manual!