The Other Option

So originally the plan was to pull apart and rebuild my old engine....kinda like the 6 billion dollar man...only it's an engine. Anyway, that was the plan to start with. Then one day, while cruisin' on eBay I came across an engine. An SR20 engine. A worked SR20 engine. A worked FWD SR20 engine (out of a U13 as it turns out). Everything about this engine was what I wanted. Possibly even a bit more. Only problem was, it was a little out of my price range, and a hell of a long way away. But I watched it anyway. And it ended.....no bids. About a week later, cruisin' eBay again, there it is again, the same engine, only this time cheaper AND in my price range (still a long way away thoough!)... So began the most anxious 7 days of the project lol.

Day 7 came and the engine was mine. Only problem then was that the engine was located in Springwood NSW, and I reside in Brisbane. At this point in time though we (we being Brian, Jen and I) had already decided what to do with this hurdle. ROAD TRIP! After contacting the seller and Ok-ing the Saturday pick up, we decided to hit the road.

So, Saturday morning. 4:45 am. Everyone piles into the GTS, trailer connected and we head off to Springwood (Western Sydney).

Homeward-bound: one of our last coffee/dinner stops before home. We were somewhere outside Newscastle.

Everything went realatively well, except for the fact that we didn't exactly know where we were going. (As many of you may know, E-Bay gives a suburb, but not an address when you look at an item). Good thing I had an iPhone (with the ebay app! lol) As the engine ended late Friday night and we left early Saturday the seller didn't have a chance to contact us, so we were technically driving blind. Long story short, got in contact with the seller, got to his workshop, picked up the engine, came home. 5:15am Sunday morning. Over 24 hours of straight driving....good thing we took a large car. But the effort was worth it.

SR20, in its new home. The barn floor...

Edit (Jen): For me it was an agonizing journey filled with "Brendan! Are you awake! Hello? What's your favourite... colour? food?' Trying to keep our drivers awake and away from kangaroos. It was scary at times, such as the drive into Ballina when Brian was driving and I was chatting to him from the back seat, while Brendan slept in the front. We'd come accross some dense fog and the only indication of what was ahead were the tail lights of the trucks in front of us, it was safest to stay behind them because we couldn't see a thing on our own. This was around 12:30am, when tiredness was also becoming a critical factor.

Looking back, it was a pretty big gamble - trying to achieve 2000km in 24 hours, 2 drivers and only food stops. But we got there, and we got home... and then we slept for quite awhile!

PROPS TO JEN FOR NOT SLEEPING AT ALL THE ENTIRE TRIP!