I got in the Banana this morning to run an errand and meet a friend for lunch. I started it up and immediately pulled out of the garage, as my mother-in-law is staying in the apartment above it and she complains that the engine makes it shake.

I went to drop the top (as it wasn’t raining) and the screen popped up the with the “close the trunk partition” error.

I hate it when I forget to close it because, as an “old”, getting into and out of the car gracefully can be a challenge. When I went to open the trunk it wouldn’t open.

Strange.

I thought it might be because the car was running, so I turned it off and tried again. No love. I finally used the key to open the trunk and found out that the partition was exactly where it should be.

I futzed around with it for a bit and then had to leave in order to meet my buddy. I did stop by Staples to drop off some Amazon returns and when I came back out I noticed the door was unlocked (I was certain I had pressed the lock button). I played around with it and it turns out that the locks weren’t working either.

After lunch I did some research and narrowed it down to a 25 cent 20A fuse or a $1000 vacuum pump.

The fuse for the pump is located under a panel in the storage box behind the passenger seat. My garage is pretty tight at the moment so I tried to “Cirque du Soleil” my way into the back but ended up giving up and I pulled the car out of the garage. You have to move two little tabs and then really pull to get the panel to come off, but then you’ll see the fuses.

One article suggested that the fuse in question was the fourth one from the left, and since that was the only 20A (yellow) fuse I pulled it out to test it. Visually it looked fine, but just to be sure I put a meter on it, which verified that it wasn’t the fuse.

(sigh)

Well, thinking I would just add this to my long list of things to fix when I take the car in this fall, I replaced the fuse and panel, and backed it into the garage. Just for kicks I tested the top again.

It worked just fine.

So here’s hoping that the fuse somehow jiggled loose, but I’m guessing the pump will eventually need to be replaced. Just hope the top is up when it finally dies.

Just a quick post that The Banana was delivered on 14 March 2005, making today its 18th birthday.

So I guess that means my car can vote.

I was driving home from a business meeting this evening when I nearly collided with a ladder that apparently had fallen off of a truck and on to the road.

I was impressed at how well the car handled and very thankful that I didn’t hit the darn thing.

It’s been awhile since I posted, but I’ve really been enjoying driving the Banana, and it even got featured on Bring A Trailer.

The only maintenance things I’ve done since getting it back at the end of September was to replace the rear accessory battery. Even keeping it on the CTek charger it would complain that convenience features were not available, but since replacing the battery (which had a 2015 date code) the car has been running great.

Okay, look, I know that high-end sports cars can require a lot of maintenance, but I can honestly say I was really disappointed when my mechanic sent me a list of things that need to be done to The Banana.

I’m not going to do all of them at once, but here are some things I have to do now.

• Front rotors and pads
• Engine Mount
• Front Thrust Arm Bearings
• Valve Cover Gaskets
• Transmission Oil Cooler Hose Seal Rings
• Windshield Wipers
• Reseal Rear Differential

That last one is a doozy, as it is mainly labor and requires removing the differential from the car. I’ve asked about Limited Slip Differential options as it should be almost no extra label to install it during this process.

(sigh)

Last week I received the notarized title back from the seller and today we were able to get The Banana registered in North Carolina.

Whew.

It will be a few weeks before the personalized plate arrives but I was able to really drive it for the first time today. I took it through the country “loop” I like and it handled well. The battery is complaining because it sat so long but all the malfunctions cleared by the time my ride was done. I had the same issue with The Shark when I got it, and I’m hoping it will be the same with this car.