Update on the '65 'Spectre'
I've come to the conclusion that the Spectre is an honest-to-goodness PITA, a lot of the time. Like all high performance cars, it has a temperament that is quite unique unto itself.The past three days saw plenty of downs. First, its throttle response moved down to almost 'non-existent' levels, which, we discovered was due to loose grips connecting the ECU to the transmission, and because of a faulty immobilizer switch which killed some of the current en route to the starter. When we got this fixed, we jacked the beast up (both rear wheels) and decided to test the gear shifting. Flooring the throttle to the 6800 rpm mark made the wheels rotate ferociously, and the transmission snick through all notches like a champion. And...when we got close to the redline (6800 rpm) in OD gear...which would probably equate to about 200km/hr...the propeller shaft snapped like it was made of cardboard. Scary stuff...but shukar hai, it took place while the beast was actually static. A new propeller shaft soon replaced the old one.
Now, happy that I'd finally addressed all the problems...I decided I'd give it a good, old-fashioned rubber-burning run on the GT road (just after midnight), whilst driving it alone. The vehicle clocked 177 km/hr on the handy GPS on my iPhone, before my trembling knees finally gave way, and I returned back home. Luckily, when I was about a couple of kilometres away from my house, and was doing a very sedate 50 km/hr, the left rear tyre happened to explode on me...bursting at 4 points. 
I suppose some good DID come out of all of this. The Spectre now has a new shaft, perfect grips connecting the ECU to the essential elements of the drive-train, AND will be getting some brand new tyres (I'm choosing Michelin 235/60/16 front and rear). It's also been tried and tested at high speed and high acceleration...and whilst it is STILL absolutely terrifying to drive...it's perfectly stable, all said and done.
Another welcome addition was revitalising the air conditioning, which now works like a blast chiller, thank God.
Fate also provided the opportunity for small tete-a-tete with Suhaib Kiani Sb...who happened to pass by at the time we were parking the Spectre for the magic to be worked on the interior. MUCH discussion ensued about the 6 second characteristics of the 1UZ! 
The Spectre is going to be getting an absolutely stunning interior makeover in crimson and black. Something that will look striking, opulent, and totally in character with the "over the top" nature of the beast. I can't wait to see how it turns out, Insha Allah!
A couple of pictures...on Police Station Road, while the beast was getting some TLC for its A/C.
