Monday, December 12 2011 - I guess it's fair to say that this year got away from us a little bit there. We are still here of course but between work, kids, and the car there hasn't been too much spare time for the website.

Speaking of the car, for those of you who don't follow the forum the donk in the Calais finally cried enough. At the moment the mechanics have said a chewed lobe on the cam and I'm about to pull it down and take a look. All the information is on the forum.

Every cloud does have a silver lining though and it's prompted a rethink and a rebuild- it's finally time to build it the way I've always wanted to so I'm hoping we'll get more technical articles out of it. Learn by doing was something I wanted to practice more of over the last couple of years and now it's my only option (well, the option I've chosen anyway!). Cars are a lot more fun when you don't need to make sure everything is ready to get you to work on Monday!

It's also reminded me just how much fun it can be in the shed with some mates, scratching your heads and trying different things to solve problems. Sometimes we might forget it but cars are much better in a social setting so next time you've got work to do give some mates a call and tell them to bring the beers.

We do also have a few new things going on for the website- I have finally added the feature article for Mick's awesome VN Berlina wagon so check that out. It also leads us into the Car of the Year voting for 2011.

Usually we would do this around the site's anniversary but I thought I'd try something different this year and run it later in the year. With over 500 members I am hoping that a lot of you- even the non regulars- will jump on board and have a say. Once again the winning car will feature on our banner throughout the 2012 year and any of the four cars in the running are more than worthy and there is something for everyone- take a look here.

As we look a head to 2012 now is also a good time to have your say on exactly what you'd like to see us focus on over the next 12 months. I have created a thread so you can tell me what's broken, what needs changing or simply just what you'd like to see more of in 2012.

With Christmas and New Years just around the corner, SquaredArches would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday period. Be safe on the roads and take care.

Mick

Friday, July 1 2011 - It is hard to believe that we are already in the backhalf of the year. I guess part of that would explain why the site hasn't been updated much recently.

I can assure you I'm not dead and the site continues although at a much slower rate than I would hope.

In my absence though I have rediscovered how to actually enjoy myself in the shed, playing with my car. I always thought that the internet was a doubled edged sword. Sure, you can find all the information you could dream of, but you also spend a whole lot of time reading about things rather than getting out and giving it a crack.

I still have the Calais and I'm still slowly turning it into the car I want it to be. Going back to my last point, I recently got out in the shed and finally fitted the transmission cooler that had been lying around. It sounds like a mundane job, but getting a mate around to start unbolting stuff out of the engine bay to tidy it up, making brackets and generally stuffing around reminded me why I started this website in the first place. This stuff is actually fun. Sometimes we get caught up in what we are reading or looking at and forget that you can enjoy this hobby on a budget that does't stretch into the hundreds of thousands. It's all about having a go!

Speaking of which- my windows still aren't all that much fun to be around, but I'm hoping to have some VY switches delivered soon and I'll be sure to make an article about fitting those bad boys up. In the mean time, I have put together an article on the rear windows with the help of VNSVLE and MEANVN. Hopefully it will give people a bit of a starting point and help them avoid a lot of the problems I ran into. It might just save you some dollars if you can recondition your existing regulators.

That will do from me for now- hopefully my next update won't be six months away!! And for those wondering what happened to the Car of the Year voting this year, I am going to push it out to the end of the year. Rather than being voted on in April, it will be voted on in December when I have more time to push Luke for a graphic!

Cheers,

Mick

Friday, January 21 2011 - Another year! Believe it or not this year will mark the fifth anniversary of SquaredArches.com and in my opinion it's a massive achievement. I'm not going to speak too much about it now because as you've probably guessed you'll be hearing about it plenty in the coming months.

The beginning of the year is always massive for people like us- you know, the fine, upstanding members of society who enjoy modified cars. Summernats has been and gone and this month we have a new gallery bringing you the best VN and VPs that attended. It was a bit wet this year and there wasn't a whole lot of VNs on offer in the burnout comp so our YouTube channel suffered, but there is no such thing as a bad Summernats.

Along with the Team DVS efforts, there were also a couple of customs in the form of one chop top Calais that would be familiar to anyone who has made the trek before and one extensively modified wagon that is along the lines of a sedan delivery.

Also on offer was Motorvation in WA. A few of our members went out and I'll be working to bring you our first ever Motorvation gallery in my next update. IF you've been to any shows this year and come across any nice cars I'd love to hear from you. The more photos the better on display for everyone to see.

Just on the horizon is the Corowa Autofest where hopefully the weather will be kind this year as last year was let down by wet conditions.

This month we have a new leader on our Quick List with vnrockit's supercharged six surging forward with a time of 11.90 at 113mph. Its a seriously good time and going to take a whole lot of doing for someone to knock it off. We still have one more spot left to fill in the top five and keep sending through times because the list in the thread will continue to grow.

Keeping in line with the high performance theme, our new feature car is a monster of a burnout car with one hell of a redline. Or, that should be had a hell of a redline. A short time after putting the article together Lee informed me that the motor let go and a new stroker is planned. Check it out- including videos of it in action.

Until next month,

Mick

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