Right. At least Hondas are well made unlike Leyland's Minis—brilliant concept for the time but horrible ratshit build/construction (mind you, I loved driving th

Right. At least Hondas are well made unlike Leyland's Minis—brilliant concept for the time but horrible ratshit build/construction (mind you, I loved driving them especially the Cooper S (I've owned four including including a Mini van)). Trying to drive with a collapsed CV joint was nigh on impossible, even at very low speed the steering wheel trashed from side to side and I doubt very much whether the vehicle would have gone another dozen or two kilometres without shaking itself apart let alone the necessary two/three hundred kms to the nearest maintenance stop. When I talk about Leyland's horrible construction, the original CV joints (including the one that failed) I'll use as an illustration—they were of the nasty composite rubber type and certainly not suited for outback trekking in Oz. The first I knew of this was when it failed, I only found out there were two different types available (composite rubber and bearing) after I made contact with the Leyland agent in Darwin. I ordered the bearing type, which if I recall correctly, was nearly double the price. BTW, contacting Darwin was no mean feat, as that was in the days before anyone had satellite phones. Incidentally, another major setback was that the hydrolastic suspension also failed. Packing up the suspension with cast-off rubber shed from road-train tires [which littered the road] and trying to keep it from falling out is just another part of the story (little wonder I felt like upending the car and setting it alight). (I reckon that trip would have almost qualified me as a bush mechanic, it was probably the worst trip for mechanical failures but it certainly wasn't the last.) Re video: oh that damn red bulldust. Driving through it with, say, a Land Cruiser's large wheels is bad enough but it's a first-class pain with small Mini wheels. Moreover, I'm a keen photographer and keeping the bulldust out of my camera gear is a never-ending battle. Still, it's interesting. Now with all the recent rain I hope to see countryside in lush green and wildflowers as I've never seen it before.