Now that the coupe looked brand new, it was time to make the drive match the looks. Step #1: shift pins. I knew I was completely out of my mechanical depth with that particular project even with Vinci's awesome DIY. I contacted another local coupe owner, Alex (the up and coming "Randy Forbes" of Colorado :-)). I knew he had done the shift pin service at least once before, and he also happened to still have the drift tools.

A couple days later, Colby returned with his detailing/polishing gear. We were fortunate to catch a break in the rain to give it a good wash both outside and in the engine bay. When I attempted to remove the stoneguards from the rear fenders, they started to disintegrate. They had bonded to the paint and could only be removed in pieces. So, public service announcement, remove and wash your stoneguards with ever wash.

It was dark, but the first things I noticed were the blacked out kidney grilles and rear fender stone guards. There were also new-ish silver lug bolts. Squinting through the tinted driver side window, I spot aluminum ///M logo pedals along with the factory ///M floor mats. Oh yeah, and window tint including the top 3rd of the windshield. Windshield tint may be worth it in Florida, but it would not survive long at my house.

Maintaining this website, I obviously come across a lot of coupes. Most of the time I can just admire them from afar, but this time things worked out differently. For quite some time Rick Medeiros on the east coast, Mark Rand on the west coast, and I, here in Colorado, have thrown around the idea of buying a coupe with potential, helping said coupe realize it's potential, then finding a deserving owner to take it from there and enjoy it.

I can honestly say my dad has had more influence on my life than any other single person. A high school scholarship essay I wrote attesting to this even made it’s way into the appendix of a parenting book, so it feels good to have a little positive influence in return. I’m pleased to introduce the newest member of the Coupe Cartel, my father, Randy Martin.