Verbose Beater-car Racing Chronicle

October 2011 Mayhem

2012-01-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Test day aerial photo with what I think is the MRolla on
the right. (Thanks to MurileeMartin.com for the photo.)

The October 2011 Infineon 24 Hours Of Lemons event was one of the craziest I’ve raced since Altamont days. 165 cars of questionable qualifications on track, more generous than usual flagging practices, and some intense competition combined for some spectacular action. The forums have be aflutter with debates regarding safety and sanity levels. Personally I was a bit surprised by some drivers failing to ease up for a dead Camaro mid track with cautions flags flying, resulting in a fairly catastrophic rear end collision.

Also, one of the most spectacular roll-overs I’ve seen at lemons, 5.5x rolls, also occurred.

Before the race. (Thanks to
MurileeMartin.com for the photo.)

We finished uninjured, but did suffer two notable collisions. I've been scrounging for some better pics of the damage we took at Infineon and found a couple shots over at www.murileemartin.com that have finally made this post possible. One was a pretty good t-bone from a CRX. We got this very apologetic email after the race:

After the race (Thanks
to CRX #3 for the bash.)

“I'm a rookie driver on a rookie team and I just wanted to apologize for making contact with you at Sears Point this past weekend. We had the blue CRX #3. I kept my nose clean the whole race and then with about 15 minutes to go I tried to make an inside pass on the DoubleSuck in turn 9a and our racing lines collided and I caught you in the side. Not sure what happened to you but I spun out because I had my wheels cranked to try to get off you. Took myself to the penalty box, got back out with 8 minutes to go and ran out of gas. It was our teams only contact of the entire weekend and probably my only risky move of the weekend (I mean, other than racing with 160 other crappy cars.) Anyway, again, my apologies. I hope it didn't mess you up too much.”

I enjoyed his forum post even more:

“Maybe it is because this was my first ever race. Maybe it was because we were in a pretty slow, bone stock, junkyard CRX and I wasn't trying to haul ass through a crowded field but I didn't mind the crowds. I was also trying my durndest to drive as best as I could, get out of the way, stay on a steady line as best as I could, keep an eye on my mirrors and be respectful as a new person . I was terrified I was going to mess someone else up more than anything (I think I only messed up once, right at the end. Sorry Doublesuck.) But as I got more seat time and tried to learn how to pass a little I found the challenge of passing cars and getting passed by cars without pooping myself (especially when the HardEze or MTGT or Punk car would go flying by me) to be a thrill. Since it is my only race it feels like what Lemons should be. Fast cars having to use skill to get through a bunch of slow cars, slow cars having the sense to watch out for those fast cars and still get some racing on. It was just so cool. And I'm a big chicken. Not a daredevil at all. Biggest worry wart on my team. Soft hands. Public radio employee. And I dug it all. Got fast time for my entire team of newbies. You all have been doing it longer and you may be right but from the perspective of this new guy, I was okay with everything the way it was this weekend.”

(Thanks to MurileeMartin.com for the photo.)

Also, former Volatile RAM teammate Mark Jr came by in the paddock offering beers of restitution. In his Piñata Porsche 928, he lost the rear end on the tracks tightest turn, got sideways, came back across the track, and clubbed our rear end chewing up the wheel. We were towed off, but after changing the wheel and pulling the fender back out we were able to finish the race. The hub was floppy by the end of the race and we've since replaced it.

Some find it frustrating, but I welcome the high intensity levels of a crowded field, and it's great that comraderie outweighs competition in this series.

Out With The Old. In With The Less Old.

2012-01-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

We've been wrestling a lot of engines lately. The Toyota 4AGE engine is the stock engine in all of our race cars, and many of our street cars. Since last summer we've accumulated three of the more desirable "small port" variety 4AGE.

The previous rear MRolla engine complete with automatic transmission. We used all of it's electronics on the new engine.

Here are the varieties of 4AGE engines found in USA market versions of Toyota Corolla GTS, MR2, FX16, and also in the Chevy Nova Twin Cam and Geo Prizm GSI (both rebadged Corollas).

Blue Top: 112 HP. 1984 - 1987.
Red Top: 120 HP. 1987 - 1989.
4AGZE Supercharged: 145 HP. 1988 - 1989.
Small Port: 130 HP. 1990 - 1992.

Through the rest of the century Toyota and Yamaha continued to refine the 4AGE with 20 valve and variable valve timed versions reaching over 160 HP, but no domestic cars offered these versions.

The 1990 Prizm GSI that sourced our first small port 4AGE.

Fuel for a day of chopping cars.

I found a cheap, thrashed Prizm GSI I figured would make a good engine donor for my FX16. The thing polluted my driveway for months.

In the mean time an acquainted MR2 enthusiast sold me another small port 4AGE he had replace with a 20 valve version in his street car. It was wired to plug and play into a blue top equipped car, and was a trusted clean and ready engine. It was an even better choice for my FX16.

Paul with the fresh pull.

Then at the October Infineon race, we killed the MRolla's original rear engine, and Paul's spare. We had a new home for the Prizm engine.

The remains of the Prizm.

New recruit Will and my friend Jared
at the junk yard.

Over the holidays I found another small port at the junk yard that seemed to be in good condition. I arranged an afternoon off work and we rallied to yank it before the gulls at the yard picked it too useless bits. This one will probably be a spare at the next race and then end up in who knows what car.

The new year has been very productive so far. Last week we helped initiate Paul's new shop. We yanked the dead rear engine from the MRolla. Today we finally got the Prizm engine installed and fired up in the MRolla.

This small port 4AGE now lives in the rear end of the MRolla. Fired up on our first try and sounds great.

Bad news. Another Prizm GSI driveway turd just showed up in the local classifieds. Maybe we don't need all the small port donors that come available in this town. Maybe we find homes for some engines first. Or maybe we drop a low-ball offer and see what happens.

Another already?

The DOT.MATRIX

2012-01-13T00:44:00.000-07:00

Behold: The DOT.MATRIX

I've never named a car. I've given a few cars titles, like the race cars here, but to me cars are inanimate devices that I don't talk to or presume hear when I call them by name. It seems a little childish to me, to have that sort of sentiment for an emotionless device. That doesn't mean I don't love cars and recognize their distinct characters. They are not pets, but favorite toys.

A reference to distinguish cars is both fun and useful though. I can't just say "my car" or even "my MR2" and expect people to know which of my cars I'm talking about.

I also think it's time to expand the scope of this blog beyond the race cars, to the street cars we frequently refer to anyway.

So I now dub my FX16 the "DOT.MATRIX". It's a partial reference to the Toyota Matrix, the successor to the FX, but more of a reference to a more primitive technological era when boxy small Japanese import cars and whining, slow printers were an exciting novelty.

So this is the reference page for the DOT.MATRIX:

1987 Toyota Corolla FX16.
It has a few GTS cosmetic bits.
It has over 230000 miles on the odometer, but no guarantee that the gauge is original.
It has a fairly happy blue top 4AGE. I suspect a slightly tuned rebuild, but don't know the history.
It cost me $160.

Plans for the DOT.MATRIX include:

Small port 4AGE swap.
Rustoleum rattle-can paint job.
Wheels.
Some type of headlight conversion.
Low budget stereo.
Bumper testicles?

BFE GP 2011 Long Version

2012-01-10T23:01:00.001-07:00

Look at the body roll! The stock Corolla springs are not enough.

Set the way back machine to Summer 2011. I'm finally getting around to posting more details about the BFE GP at High Plains Raceway outside of Denver.

The first thing to note is that I had none of my usual teammates with me. I ended up with a great team of volunteers from across the west. Ron De Bruin, Steve McDaniel, and Brandon Spears all operate teams in the Bay Area, and Brandon also operates a team in Texas where he lives. Zev was our Denver local who has had several of his German tuned cars published and is a regular the High Plains Raceway.

Pam and Ron, me, Steve, Zev, and Brandon.

John being evil. He busted us for floppy battery clamps.

Ron hams it up.

It was great to see former teammates Mark Jr and Sr fielding this 928 pinata.

Cheap pads went from brand new to this in less than 2 hours.

This was the second race for the MRolla and it developed a curious glitch. We were among the fastest cars for some fun interval and then the rear engine would die, always at the end of the fastest straight. Because the shared fuel pump was controlled by the rear engine, when it would die the front engine would sputter out seconds later and leave us stranded. We checked every imaginable cause and nothing resolved it. After cooling off in the paddock for a while it would finally start back up and we'd go back out for another riotous 45 minutes.

45 minutes must be up.

After analyzing the log we noticed this was occurring every 45 minutes. So we started doing pit stops every 40 minutes, to let the car rest briefly. We managed to avoid the issue for most of day 2, but towards the end of the race the interval was getting shorter.

Before the next race Paul and I wired the fuel pump to be independent of either engine, checked fuel pressure, and sorted out an ignition problem, and everything seemed fine at the next race, but we still are not positive what resolved this failure.

Packed up just in time.

They had to end racing early one day due to weather.

Live weather map. We were in the middle. Tornado danger in white.

Random driver soaping up.

The weather was extremely dramatic every evening. Denver had actually flash flooded the days before the race and we were under tornado warnings often.

As usual we all had a blast. The car was being flaky, but we all had good track time. The challenges were just another part of the fun. Thanks to a great team!

More MRolla

2012-01-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Another HUGE field at Infineon, 164 cars. FUN!

Infineon October 2011: Nutshell version is we blew two rear engines but kept racing on just the front to finish 106 of 164.

We rolled into California early enough to attend the Evil Genius Racing party on Thursday. Evil John was as interested to see dyno results for the MRolla as we were.

On the dyno at Evil Genius Racing.

Front - 97 HP @ 6500
86 ftlbs @ 5250
Rear - 82 HP @ 6300
71 ftlbs @ 5100
Combined : 179 HP & 157 ftlbs.

We also put it on scales:
2810 pounds.
52% front 48% rear.

Drivers were Paul, Judy, Sparky Pete of Killer Zombee fame, and yours truly.

Thanks to Judy Kiel for this photo.

We had a good test/tune day Friday. Dialed in our alignment. The double springs up front made a huge improvement in body roll.

Looking at some photos I think we need to review our tire and pressure decisions. Below is the MRolla rounding the tightest turn on the course on our usual set of 195/50 tires on 14x5.5" stock wheels.

Our friends the Black Flags bearing down. Thanks to Judy Kiel for this photo

Note that the tires look like they are about to rip right off the rims.

Tires look like they are barely hanging on.

Compare to the Snowspeeder's new 205/50 15x6.5" and 15x7" staggered set.

I heart these wheels. Thanks to Judy Kiel for this photo.

As usual, the MRolla was among the fast cars when it was running on both engines, but we (I) blew a head gasket in the rear. So we disconnected the axles and finished day one on the front engine, swapped the engine overnight, forgot to adapt plumbing for our electric water pump, overheated and trashed the second engine, raced most of day two on the front engine.

Wee hours of engine swap. Thanks to Judy Kiel for this photo.

Paul and I were at the track until 1:30 am doing the swap. The lack of sleep really fatigued us and the next day was exhausting. I literally couldn't keep my eyes open while I was watching the race and Paul ended up doing a good share of my driving.

We did get smashed into by two other cars. I'll try to get some details and pics of the damage posted later. Also I'll post about some of what we learned bout our transmission system.

Overall we still had a ball and enjoyed all the challenges. Learned much about our car and we can't wait to make another run with the MRolla.

DOT.MATRIX

2012-01-10T00:59:00.004-07:00

Found a great deal on some Rota Slipstreams in 15x6.5". They're pristine. I feel a little guilty putting them on a junker like the FX or trashing them on the track. But what can I do. The price says these are for flogging.

Had some warm weather over the holidays and I got in a little work prepping the FX for paint.

My god, it looks better already!

More Blue 2

2011-11-29T15:58:00.005-07:00

For Thanksgiving I had planned to truck down to Southern Utah and do some mt biking. The weather forecast was perfect, clear, mid-sixties, and I've been itching to ride, but the new blue MR2 was demanding to be driven. I ended up in Zion National Park for the blue 2's 100,000 mile birthday. Here are a few pics from the trip:

New Blue Two

2011-11-21T12:13:00.019-07:00

You know it's a good weekend when it ends with this in your driveway.

Not many pics yet but I picked this MR2 up yesterday. 99600 miles. Rust free. Always garaged. Never wrecked or even lightly dented. Interior looks new. The experienced eye will notice the original decals are missing. The previous owner's spouse accidentally "waxed" it with buffing compound so it has a second coat of paint. Driving it from Pocatello Idaho to Salt Lake was a joy (except the few miles of ice over a pass near the state line). The ride is smooth, straight, and perfectly firm.

I bought it from the original owner who literally was trying to hide tears as I pulled away. He loved this car. Said it was "the only car I ever bought because I wanted it". His was the best example of what kind of relationship we can have with a car and I intend to honor that.

I’d been discussing purchase with the owner since I sold my 89 Supercharged to my brother over a year ago. He had it listed on MR2OC asking $4000, but he didn’t have a very effective ad or photos. I made him an offer then that he declined, but we stayed in touch. Last week he let me know he intended to trade it in new car purchase. He had previously tried to give it to his father who became unable to drive, and offered it to nieces and nephews who didn’t seem to understand the appeal of an MR2 in this era and region where an AWD turbo Subaru or Audi is so much more powerful and practical. Pocatello in November is not a good MR2 seller’s market. I offered all the cash I could put together on short notice, more than I should have been spending on a third street vehicle, but an outrageous low-ball at $1800. I expected him to decline again, but I think he sensed I’d appreciate and care for it so he accepted.

This is the nicest MR2 I’ve ever been in and my good fortune to own it is surreal. It’s the one I’ve been waiting for. I may cycle through some other track and project cars, but this is the MR2 I’ll own and drive until they make me quite driving.

MRolla Once More This Year

2011-09-25T23:17:00.007-06:00

Tragically, Paul's latest project car for Stick Figure Racing has been deemed too lemony for even the October 24 Hours Of Lemons at Infineon by Jay and Evil John. We're touched
that they care more about our safety than we do.

Thus we've rolled the MRolla into Paul's garage and started sorting out the issues that haunted it at Reno and Denver. Body roll and the mysterious fuel cut-off problem are getting attention. We also changed the way the automatic transmission in the rear is linked to the throttle. Initial driveway drag-strip tests indicate the MRolla now launches rather than accelerates.

We fabbed up some very fitting front springs, Corolla and MR2 coils combined.

In other news, I'm hooking Joe and the Snowspeeder up with these bitchin mags.

Finally, the State of Utah sent me a nasty-gram saying they were going to delete my FX16 from their computer system if I didn't complete inspection and registration this month, effectively flushing my original registration payment. With this motivation I did a little adjusting and tightening and it's now street-legal. Now I'm having a ball, zipping around in this thing, annoying neighbors, diminishing property values, and taking all my corners at tire-squeal speeds. The State of Utah now regrets bugging me to get this out of my yard and on the streets. Rattle-can paint job is in the near future.

BFE Was GREAT!

2011-07-12T09:51:00.003-06:00

I'll do a thorough write up, but just want quickly say BFE GP was a great race. We had a rather mystifying problem that would inexplicably kill the car every 45 minutes then start right up after 10-15 minutes of cooling. 45 minute of MRolla seat is a blast though. We only placed 40 out of 56, but had to be in the top 10 of having the most fun.

BFE GP is GO!

2011-06-30T20:31:00.003-06:00

I did recruit a team of drivers for the MRolla for Denver. I only have about a 9 days at home between races to prep and try to relax again. High Plains will probably be my last race this season and I'm looking forward to taking it easy afterwards, but I'm also excited to get the MRolla out for a more serious run at another great track. Hope my little truck makes the haul OK.

Northworst Summary

2011-06-30T20:04:00.004-06:00

I won't miss another 24HL at Oregon Raceway Park. The track is incredible. I can't really describe it as "better" than Infineon or any other decent track, but it has some essential features that no other track offers. The course takes full advantage of the natural contours and the result is 16 turns of banked bobsled and roller-coaster ride.

We finished 9 out of 37 in the Snowspeeder MR2. It's been a while since we made the top quarter. But who is counting? We just had a ball driving. I was our only black flag, with a humongous off-track right in front of the hot-pit. We lost a little more time with shift cable repairs.

I spent the preceding week mountain biking in the Hood River area. It was also epic. I'll make this an annual biking/racing vacation.

2011-06-27T23:54:00.005-06:00

Just a few quick pics from the Northworst race. Epic.

Paddock neighbors with the IOE winning Killer Bee MG and Petty Cash Jeep.

Me (Larry), Scott, Bow, Joe, Randal, and Enzo in front.

Sunset track walk.

Rogue transponder. All of my best laps were untimed. :-(

Bow working on the snapped shift cable. Sunday we fixed it twice and finished with it broken.

Mt Adams on the northwest horizon.

MRolla Recruiting For Denver

2011-06-04T14:45:00.002-06:00

I was going to store the MRolla until next season due to budget and
scheduling constraints, but screw that. I've decided to recruit a team
and get the MRolla to Denver in July. In case you live under a rock
the MRolla is the first twin engine Lemon and won Organizers Choice
last month at Reno.

The MRolla is already accepted to the BFE GP. All I need are at least
3 more drivers. My estimated cost $460 to $650 if we get 4 or 5
drivers. Arrive and drive will pay a little more than those that can
show up in Salt Lake to help with prep and transport a couple days in
advance.

What I want from drivers is fun, positive, helpful attitudes, and
ability to keep the car out of the penalty box. Otherwise you can
drive as fast or slow as you like. Fun in the face of chaos is what
Lemons is all about, and if you can run out a full tank of gas all the
better.

There is a short list of things to be done for MRolla to be race
ready, all just replacing parts Paul at Stick Figure had loaned from
his car. This should take me a day or less to return the car to it’s
previous Reno racing state. If I have more time and help before the
race, there is another short list of things (springs!) to make the car
easier to race and more competitive, though it is actually already
among the fast lemons.

If you’re interested in driving an epically nutty, surprisingly fast
car, on a twisty rolling course, drop me a line. If you know of other
interested drivers forward this to them.

Rough Footage

2011-05-20T14:22:00.006-06:00

Here's a clip of a few laps in the MRolla. Nothing too exciting, but you can get a sense of what driving it is like. Pretty normal except the sound of the rear engine with the automatic drowns out the front completely. So you see shifting does not seem to match the sound of the engine, so it was very important to keep an eye on the front tach.

Answer To Engine Syncing Questions

2011-05-17T15:30:00.010-06:00

Nearly unanimously the first question out of anyone after their eyes refocused when they heard about our double engine Corolla/MR2 project: “How will you synch the engines?” I heard this question so often, from the mechanical genius and inept alike, that I started to question whether the project was feasible. When I explained our theory, that synching would not be necessary since the systems would be completely independent like two coupled locomotives, they usually said “I guess that might work” with their mouth, and “you’re a batshit-crazy moron” with their facial expression.

A few would pursue the subject a little further and explain how if the engines were not synched they would contend with each other and drive the wheels at different speeds and chew up tires and put undue torque on drivetrain components and blah blah blah. As near as I could tell they expected our car to suffer the same problems manifest in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, with locked differentials front, rear, and center, doing 15’ radius turns on pavement.

My answer would be that any car has an endless array of forces operating for and against drive train: Going up hills, going down hills, head winds, tail winds cross winds, various load mass, collisions... Being welded to another car moving the same direction is just another external force on the first drive train. As far as one engine can tell, the combination of forward forces is no different than driving downhill.

My favorite is the people who speak with the authority of someone who just the other day was driving their own twin engine car and the axles snapped off on their way to work.

An endurance race proven example has been built and demonstrated. It works great. It ran hard all day. I personally flogged it. Not even an unexpected level of tire wear. If you want to build one that doesn't work just to prove us wrong, go nuts.

Answer To Transmissions Questions

2011-05-17T12:15:00.007-06:00

Transmissions: The automatic/manual combination worked even better than we hoped. There was no contention, no heavy clunk shifts in the automatic, no problems. It was as simple as put the rear in “D” and drive normally

We had originally planned to use an electronically controlled transmission and shift the automatic with an electronic dial mounted on top of the manual shifter. Short story is we found a fully mechanical automatic and went with it due to crunch time.

The only adjustment we could make on this transmission was a cable that links to the throttle cable, the “kick-down” that tells the transmission that you are romping on the gas pedal. Initial tests we left this alone and it shifted at pretty lackadaisically. All we had to do was clamp the kick-down cable out a couple centimeters (pictured below) and our automatic was suddenly a hill climber, shifting somewhere around 5-6k rpm.

I was worried that when we released the throttle pedal (which was linked to both engines’ throttle cables, pictured below) to shift the manual, the automatic would disengage and hunt for the correct gear once we hit the gas again. Not a problem. I suspect because it only senses axle rotation, it was always ready to push just where it left off as soon as our manual shift was complete and we got back on the throttle.

Functionally the auto/manual combo was GREAT! Once you put it in drive you just drove the manual normally. Any place on the track where there was a gear selection question, you were fine with the higher manual gear because the auto was still pushing at the higher RPM. This was very distinct on the hill and in the lower speed corners.

The only problem was minor. The rear “muffler” was extremely loud compared to the front. It drown out the sound of the manual transmission engine. We had to keep a careful eye on the front tachometer for manual shifting. Shifting by sound is pretty instinctive and this took a few laps to get used to. Paul wired in and RPM shift light, but it didn’t work right and it wasn’t a critical problem. Fortunately nobody botched shifting too bad because one engine would be more than happy to push the other way past redline.

At Last!

2011-05-17T01:18:00.002-06:00

What a pay off. The response to the MRolla at the Reno 24 Hours Of Lemons was fantastic. Everyone stopped by to compliment our whacky efforts.

On top of that, it ran far better than we dared hope. It was strong, fast, mostly reliable, a bit soft in the springs but the 4WD grip was great, and it was a blast to drive.

On top of that, we won Organizers Choice. $500! Sweet!

More details and photos to follow.

2011-05-10T12:25:00.006-06:00

V-RAM's compression before Buttonwillow 8-2009:

150, 165, 155, 180

V-RAM's current compression as the ass-half engine of the MRolla, 5-2011:

160, 145, 150, 163

One of those is probably in revers order, but either way I'm encouraged by the cylinder that improved at least 10 PSI from th 2009 measurement, and I'm confident the others will all soon start increasing too.

Crunch Time

2011-05-09T23:10:00.004-06:00

No more exterior pics until after we reveal the theme at the race this week. We had the whole team painting Saturday and the MRolla is looking good. Paul it the Bondo-Meister and his work has really transformed this shanty into a car.

Yesterday we started blowing a 50 amp fuse that leads to almost everything every time we turned the MR2 key to acc/on. Exactly what the issue was will remain a mystery. After a several other troubleshooting steps, swapping the complete wiring harness was a very frustrating, time consuming fix. The time it took us to do that was supposed to be spent leisurely finishing a few other tasks before we load the trailer, but now we are seriously pressed for time.

Instru-mental

2011-05-05T00:13:00.002-06:00

Controls and gauges coming together.

Running Under It's Own Powers

2011-05-02T23:49:00.002-06:00

Running today under the simultaneous power of both engines for the first time. High fives! From a few 30 yard driveway dashes I can report that this will be a very confusing car to drive.

Less Than Two Weeks...

2011-05-01T23:52:00.004-06:00

We got the rear transmission installed and did some driveway test driving.

Got lights mounted. "New" wheels and tires.

Ignition switches.

Throttle cables.

Pressure And Progress

2011-04-26T22:50:00.004-06:00

The project has become very time consuming and tensions are elevating a bit with the race just a couple weeks out. I'm getting a bit stressed. There are some very rewarding moments as we make steps forward.

Today we rolled the MRolla out to try getting both engines started. Corolla end almost a go. No spark. Will double check the wiring repairs from the fire.

The MR2 end started pretty easily after we un-seized the starter. Did a compression test on it: 160, 145, 150, 155. Good enough for a fifth race since Altamont 2008. We've gotten our $250 worth from that MR2.

With the Corolla end not starting we couldn't test the fuel system while supplying both engines, one of our biggest technical concerns with this project.

My welding has gained Paul's approval and I welded most of the cage while Paul did the cutting and bending. Did I already post that? OK, I'm still proud.

We've got scoops on both sides of the rear end to draw air to the trunk mounted MR2 radiator.

It's looking less and less like one car as we attach multi-colored parts to it, but on the other hand the shape is coming together.

Tomorrow we go pull an automatic transmission from the junk yard. The transmission is our other big hurdle, but it looks like we can rig an electronic shift control for the rear auto. We'll see.

F X 1 6 G T S !

2011-04-17T18:29:00.006-06:00

Hideous isn't it? I love it.

Since selling my MR2 to my brother I've been in need of a new street car, and I've been obsessing over the Corolla FX16 even longer. My first car when I left the family hand-me-downs behind was an 87 FX16 GTS. It turns out these cars are much more difficult to find than MR2s.

Today I got a $500 runner. There are things a that $500 buys you in a car that $10000 doesn't: I don't care if my dog Lego get's hair in it. I can spray paint it. When I get water in the distributor by spraying the 5mm cake of oil and dust off the engine and kill it, I can reach through the hole where a speaker should be, press the clutch start button, and drive the car up my driveway using the starter motor.

Caged (4 Weeks To Fernley)

2011-04-17T18:05:00.003-06:00

Previously Paul had finished getting the floor welded, we fixed up the roof, brake and fuel lines placed, drivers door mounted, and somewhere in between we raced the Sear Pointless.

We got the cage built this weekend. (All but the knee bar.) I actually did most of the welding while Paul got the tubes cut and bent. Not only am I not embarrassed about the quality of my welds, I'd actually trust my life to them. The weather was great for a change. This time of year Salt Lake has schizophrenia rather than weather.

2011-03-30T23:51:00.000-06:00

Moved MRolla back to Paul's garage tonight.

Back from Pointless

2011-03-30T10:18:00.003-06:00

That was fun! Post and pics to follow.

Now back to the MRolla project. We have 7 weeks to accomplish this:

Comp test VRAM engine.
Get engine or automatic.
Finish welding frame.
Mount doors.
Fuel. (Tank, pump, lines)
Cage.
Seat.
Lights.
Suspension.
Link throttle cable.
Brakes.
Mount rear radiator.
Front alternator belt system.
Exhaust bulkhead.
Exhaust front.
Mount Seat and harness.
Get approval and install fuel cell?
Rear strut brace?
Electric water pumps?

Missing My Street Car

2011-03-22T18:43:00.007-06:00

Somehow my brother James convinced his wife that he should get an MR2. And somehow I decided to sell him my '89 Supercharged. It deserved to be kept nice. I don't like worrying about keeping cars nice. It went to a good home and now I'm free to start a new project that I can scratch and dent. But I miss it. Is it normal to check the classifieds 5 times a day for an AW11?

In other news, MRolla has been in storage while Paul has been prepping the stick figure car for Sear Pointless this weekend. I helped a bit and have some great photos, but they like to unveil at the track.

I'll be racing with Joe, Bow, and the Snowspeeder. I only have a couple more days before the race so I better go bitch at Joe more about the cage situation.

Lapses Of Judgement

2011-02-20T19:47:00.006-07:00

OK, here is time lapse footage of few phases of the MRolla project. First we have a the day we turned the Volatile-RAM MR2 into an 112 HP rickshaw (not dyno confirmed). Then we test fit with the already chopped Corolla.

Then we spend a bunch of frames per hour checking fit clearance problems.

Finally we squash our last clearance bugs and start welding.

So at the end of this video and the end of today, the cars (Paul pointed out we can stop calling it "cars" and start calling a "car") are welded at the frame and roof. Floors, firewall, and center tunnel are all mated ready to weld.

Choppy Too

2011-02-06T18:19:00.004-07:00

This weekend we chopped the MR2 and started aligning the 2 frames.

Saturday was more prep work but Sunday morning we went nuts with the Sawzall and grinders.

We discovered 87-89 MR2 brakes make an easy upgrade for the 88-92 Corolla GTS.

By late afternoon, even though there were more productive priorities to work on, we couldn't stop ourselves from lining up the donors to preview the MRolla. We have a ton of prep and planning before we can actually start welding, but the project is getting so exciting we have a lot of forward momentum.

Not Just A Figure Of Speech

2011-02-02T14:30:00.005-07:00

Reno will be a full 24 hour race. I usually have to explain "24 Hour Of Lemons" is more like 15 hours over a two days, but HQ just announced the May Reno-Fernley race will be 24 hours. In a row.

I think we're thrilled. It will be an epic challenge. Can hardly wait to spend 24 hours straight at a track with no paddock power or plumbing.

We need drivers. We are planning to enter Paul's Deathmobile for redundancy "just in case" the MRolla dies or just sucks to drive. That means we have 48 hours of seat time to fill. I'm full recruiter mode. If your mom has $400 bucks and fireproof long johns, I'll give her seat time.

I think we're going to need more than usual quantities of brake pads (especially), tires, fuel, and caffeinated beverages.

Lights. We also need lights. I'm thinking a set from a junked F-250 will bolt right up.

I wonder if the 24 format will draw more or fewer teams?

Stop Asking

2011-01-30T23:13:00.006-07:00

Almost everyone, including people who know everything and people who know nothing about cars, asks the same question when they hear about our dual (duel?) engine MRolla project: "How will you synchronize the engines?"

We're going to use the ground. Both engines will be attached to a drive train and wheels which will contact the Earth. The static friction at these contact points will not be overcome by the torque (lack thereof) of the engines. (The static friction will certainly be overcome at times by over-baking corners or driving into the weeds.) As the car moves the engines will go as fast as the Earth allows. Get it?

This weekend's progress was minor. Did a few more stripping tasks and got everything ready to haul the MR2 down next week to start cutting it.

Getting Choppy

2011-01-23T16:40:00.009-07:00

Saturday was another productive day at Paul's garage. With only a couple things left to strip the Corolla looked light on the springs.

Before....

...and after the ass drops.

By the afternoon we were down to the the front end and roof. Ready to roll in the MR2 and start cutting into it.

Ready to drive.

Strong Start

2011-01-17T09:06:00.009-07:00

The MRolla project is off to a great start. I half expected the engine to need a rebuild, or at least some major fuel system work. After 10 minutes to swap and distributor we had one of the nicest purring 4AGE engines we've dealt with. Compression tested at 158-160.

On to stripping ahead of schedule. There was much body damage, but the interior was in excellent condition and I expect some there will be some happy AE92 owners benifiting from our careful salvage.

All we have left before cutting is dropping the fuel tank and pulling the rear suspension.

I'm becoming more impressed with the AE92 GTS. I've noticed several improvements over the MR2 in the quality of interior materials and such. I half regret tearing into this one for the project, but I know it was a perfect donor with an exterior not worth restoring. It could never displace my enjoyment of the mid-rear configuration, but I have my eye out for a daily driver candidate.

MRolla Project Launch

2010-12-14T16:26:00.010-07:00

With much fanfare (none), Paul and I met for breakfast Saturday to discuss the issues we need to resolve to graft the front of an '89 Corolla GTS onto the V-RAM MR2, then we started taking measurements. Cutting should start soon. By the May Reno race we should have something exactlyish like this:

Here are a few of the bigger issues we are faced with:

Where to join the cars: Just behind the Corolla firewall, keeping the Corolla pedals and steering shaft.
Transmissions: Manual at one end and automatic at the other.
Throttle: One pedal linked to both engines. Simple.
Cooling: Put a radiator on the roof or over the rear for the rear engine.
Fuel: Separate tanks and pumps.
Brakes: System just needs to be spliced.
Exhaust: Exhaust from the front engine must be routed.

Previously And Currently

2010-09-23T09:36:00.005-06:00

BFE GP in Volatile RAM was GREAT!

August Thunderhill with the Snowspeeder was my most challenging and rewarding 24HL fiasco yet. A real ordeal that payed off.

I'll post details eventually but you can check the pics from both races here and here.

I'm submitting an entry for V-RAM December Buttonwillow, but I'll probably just drive with the Snowspeeder or the Deathmobile.

A couple months ago I bought a 89 Corolla GTS for our next car project. Paul and I have been planning to start planning the operation.

BFE GP is GO!

2010-06-18T13:15:00.005-06:00

We're paid. We have 3 drivers. We have a running car. We're going for it. Bill, me, and newcomer Ruben are going race this one with just what my little truck can haul.

Thanks to Paul and Bill we have the car running and we're now picking over the cooling system.

Sear Pointless 2010

2010-05-21T14:58:00.009-06:00

Joe: Ever the graduate of the Altamont School Of Bumper-car Driving.

My fave car at the race. Cannonball Bandit's Weinermobile FX16

Nice thing about blowing your engine is you get to spectate, lounge, hang out, goof off, etc.

Stick Figure's Deathmobile.

Quicky

2010-05-21T12:55:00.004-06:00

So, long time no update. Here's a summary of what's been up:

In March I raced Sears Point with Joe and Bow in the Snowspeeder. The track is my new favorite and after hours of "training" in Gran Turismo 4 I'd say the game nails it. Snowspeeder was running weak and we killed the engine day 2 placing 123 of 147. I was sick the whole trip. It was still a great time. Paul, Judy, Bill and a bunch of other stick-figure recruits were there with the Deathmobile MR2 (finished 89th).

This month I raced Thunderhill in the Deathmobile with Paul's team. 39th of 108, and instead of the usual half the cars falling apart day 1, this had to be the most competitive 24HL I've seen. So We're proud of that 39! The car ran flawlessly and we all had a blast. We threw an Animal House theme toga party.

I'm accepted to the July Colorado race and we should have V-RAM resurrected by then, but we're short a couple drivers and I don't know if just me and Bill can pull the race off. Crossing fingers.

We're in the shopping phase of what we hope will be the whooptiest franken-beater to grace the tarmac at a 24HL. Keeping it under wraps for now but will reveal before we race it. Targeting December Buttonwillow.

MRolla!

2010-01-25T15:03:00.009-07:00

The MRolla is a joint project with Paul from Stick Figure Racing and myself.

The MRolla is the front end of a 1989 AE92 Corolla GTS welded to the rear of a 1987 MR2 (formerly Volatile RAM), joined at the front firewall and rear roof pillars.

Races:

24HL Reno-Fernley 5-2011, finished 56 of 72. Winner: Organizers Choice.
24HL High Plains Raceway 7-2011, placed 40 of 56. Pushed past checker by tow truck.
24HL Infineon 10-2011, finished 106 of 164. Rear engine blew head gasket day one. Day two was on front engine only.

MRolla Links:

That Ruled.

2009-11-24T15:20:00.012-07:00

(Look here for all my photos from 24 Hours of Lemons, Thunderhill, 2009.)

I had my best race yet and Snowspeeder ran like a champ for most of the race. The trip from Salt Lake was smooth sailing and got to enjoy the company of both Joe's Snowspeeder team and thh Knights Of The Round Track. This was among my favorite racing events.

Rain poured as we set up Friday, but skys cleared in the afternoon and we had great weather for the rest of the weekend.

During the race I accomplished my goal to keep the car on track and out of the penalty box. I probably deserved a couple flags for two wheels off and passing under yellow, but the workers either missed them or were too busy with more serious infractions. I felt great about my relaxed, defensive driving, and even managed to hold our team's fastest lap until Randal got his next turn.

Joe's car was pulling strong and the suspension felt perfect.

Mid-Sunday though, problems started. First we burned through our front brake pads and wrecked a caliper. Paul had a whole front hub/brake assembly for us and we were back out in minutes. Then Joe came in with a shaky wheel that turned out to be a rear axle snapped at the hub. The wheel was only held on by the brake caliper holding the rotor. I'm sure this was cracked back at an Altamont race and finally gave completely. Another spare from Paul again had us back on the track in minutes. Then we started overheating. We saw a lot of air under the cap and it looked like there must be a decent leak. We borrowed Eyesore Racing's weed-sprayer coolant injector and hooked it up the way we did in V-RAM at Buttonwillow, but this didn't help as much this time. Unfortunately by the time we recovered from our final overheat, the checker flag was flying and we were not allowed back on course to cross it. Dang!

Oh yeah, the officials noticed mid Saturday our transponder was not working. Shit. It would have been nice to have all of our lap data and to know how we actually placed. With a few hours of our most consistent driving unaccounted, we finished 78th or something. We'll try to figure how many laps to add and make a corrected guess at our actual finishing position.

We didn't get to pit by Team Eyesore this race, but we did have Snowspeeder, Knights, Killer Bee, and Free Range right in a row. It was also great to have the Nerd Herd MR2 and the Cannonball Bandits Corolla FX16 on the other side of us. As always all the teams I met were great.

A couple notable entries at this race: Team Diplomatic Immunity with a V12 Mercedes. They ruffled a lot of feathers with such a blatant cheater that was valued at $130000 when newish, but it was so over-the top I had to applaud them from bringing such a wrong car. They weren't very competitive so no harm done, and the organizers exercised the claiming clause to discourage anyone from trying to pull a stunt like that again.

Also there was another motorcycle powered econo-box (like the Geo Metro-Gnome project) and my fave at this race: A dinky Honda Z600 powered by a Magna V65 engine.

A GREAT race overall. Among the best.

T-Hill This Week!

2009-11-18T08:53:00.004-07:00

We ended up not prepping V-Ram for Thunder Hill. I was lacking motivation after spending so much of my summer prepping for the buttonwillow race, and not feeling like enough of the team was serious about the present task. So covered the car, bought a new mountian bike and spent the my fall riding and camping.

I'll be racing with Joe/Snowspeeder, and some of the other drivers will be driving with Paul and the Knights Of The Round Track. We'll see if there is enough interest support 2 local MR2 teams next season, but if not I'm happy to keep driving with my bro or Paul.

We're ready to roll out of town Thursday and everyone is excited for the race. 24HL has admited 160 teams (up from the usually 90-100) and will be running the full course. Thunder Hill is already a favorite course and certainly the nicest facility I have raced. EXCITED!

New Buttonwillow Tech

2009-09-15T15:06:00.005-06:00

A few people have asked for pics of our air scoop and on-board cooling system re-filler. Here are close-ups.

Fabbed this scoop from a cardboard box and attached it with sheet metal screws and washers, packaging tape, and a those two steel rods that originally supported the front wheel fender. It worked great and survived at least 4 off-road excursions.

When our overheating issue returned at the beginning of day one we considered our options. We decided to suffer through the day refilling the cooling system as needed implement a fix in the evening. After watching Paul do a 7 hour head gasket job only to still have overheating issues, we decided to it would be better to find a more effective way to refill and bleed the cooling system than tear the engine open.

I'd seen Team Eyesore's weed sprayer with a pressure fitting on their cooling system and suggested we copy them. Randal took it a step further and mounted the bottle in the cab so we could refill on the track. The pressure bottle feeds through a ball valve and into the heater circuit on the engine. We would pump the bottle a few times on the front straight and if we thought the engine was getting warm, we opened the valve for a few seconds. Not really a solution, but certainly an effective temporary fix. We didn't overheat again during the race!

If you want more details or images contact me.

All my photos from the race are HERE (including several shot by Judy Kiel). Joe's are HERE.

Back At It

2009-09-14T10:46:00.005-06:00

We've been accepted to Thunder Hill. I've had a nice vacation from so much as thinking about cars and now I'm ready to wrench.

Met with teammates and potentials for brunch Saturday to plan. Our big issue is still the overheating problem, likely a head gasket. Combined with some mediocre compression, it is time to get serious about rebuilding or replacing our engine. There are some good arguments for either solution. There is an interesting thread about a 1ZZ engine swap underway on MR2OC forums. I love the idea of a lighter, modern, reliable engine with a mild HP increase, but our engine is a known evil and we'll likely just rebuild.

The team for this race is taking shape. Mark Jr is back for more. Tim, a friend of Mark's who has even less experience with cars than me, has been lending a hand and is in. I met Bill down the street working on his Corolla FX. He spent a lot of time helping me prep for Buttonwillow and is trying to arrange to drive or crew with us. There are a few others thinking about it.

Buttonwillow Summary

2009-08-20T10:55:00.007-06:00

How was Buttonwillow? Great! More details to follow but in a nutshell:

Joe and Randal left the Snowspeeder home for this race and drove V-RAM with me. We were also joined by Dan Barnes, a friend of the Eyesores who we met at Thunderhill last winter.

Overheating was not resolved. The new water pump helped but we were still getting air in the cooling system. Saturday Randal rigged a weed killer spray bottle to our cooling system (little idea we borrowed from Eyesore) and strapped it into the cab. We could pump water into the system while driving down the front straight. It worked GREAT and we didn't overheat once on day two.

We stayed up until 1AM replacing our pogo-sticks with new struts. They were an immense improvement.

I rigged a cardboard radiator scoop that was surprisingly durable.

We melted our ignition coil Sunday afternoon leaving Joe dead on the track right in front of the observation tower.

(That's all I have time for now. Pics and more details to follow.)

Honk If You're Horny

2009-08-09T08:56:00.005-06:00

After last week's rather destructive 'test' I borrowed Paul's welder and fabricated a rough but effective radiator mount.

We were at the junk yard for an ignition switch connector and I decide it was past time for a loud horn. We found two resonating pairs. I expected the conch shells from an 80's Saab to be loudest, but the pucks form a giant Mercedes literally rattle the whole car.

Three steps forward, ten steps back.

2009-08-05T14:03:00.006-06:00

I had hoped for a successful test last weekend resulting in confirmation that the car is ready to roll. Instead we finished with more problems than we started with.

A subtle buzzing noise was agreed to be nothing to worry about. So I took it out for a spin.

First I drove into some giant ruts.

This bent the radiator mount and a fan shroud. Miraculously the radiator itself was unharmed, until we punctured it with a screwdriver while we tried to fix the shroud.

While assessing the damage I notice the subtle buzz was now quite distinct and smoke was coming from the timing belt cover. We had scored a FAIL on our timing belt job reassembly and part of the tension mechanism had fallen ad wedged between the lower cover and the belt.

FUHHHHHHHG!

Fear And Loathing

2009-07-31T09:43:00.004-06:00

Buttonwillow scares me.

It's going to be miserably hot.

It's going to suck hauling my car there solo from Salt Lake over passes and through the desert with my little truck.

It's stressful to have an out of state team relying on me to have the car prepped after the overheat problems we've had.

I hear the track is the most technical in the 24HL series. I felt good about my skills at THill, there was no room for skills at AMP, and Reno I felt like I had my ass handed to me.

Despite all of this I'm pretty excited for this, my most adventurous race. Mark Jr and I got the water pump and timing belt done. First attempt the engine barely started and response was horrible. We noticed we were off one tooth on the exhaust cam. Second attempt she fire up immediately and sounded great for about 15 seconds before we slipped the timing belt. Too loose. Third time was a charm and the engine sounded FAB!

We then did a compression test. After all the overheating we've punished V-RAM with I expected to have valve/head problems. It made 150, 165, 155, and 180 psi. Not bad at all for a $250 car that has been flogged! I may be hesitant about this race, but V-RAM is chomping at the bit.

Reno Footage And Pics

2009-06-05T16:32:00.005-06:00

I posted a few pics in the blog but I have a bunch more here.

Someone got some nice footage of V-RAM over-cooking a corner on top of the course.

Reno Fernley Race

2009-05-27T09:11:00.013-06:00

We left Salt lake about 5:30 am. The drive was a breeze.

I never get used to the comedy, creativity and chaos found in the paddock. Being new to 24HL, my team was overwhelmed.

We got through tech and BS inspections without a hitch, set up our pit, and once the track was closed to cars we walked the course.

Joe's team had a great start. The starting flag dropped with them in second place. The moved up to #1 and held it for 25 laps. After that they started to see some of the weird ignition problems they had seen at previous races.

Like Thunder Hill last winter, our pit neighbors were Eyesore and Free Range. I was with my own team Volatile RAM and Joe was there with the Snowspeeder. Also Paul's car and team Knights Of The Round Track were there. Unfortunately Paul's car fried some bearing test day and didn't get to race.

Mark Jr started the race for us. He reminded me of me at my first race with his enthusiasm, and spinning out of control off the track. [sniff] I'm so proud.

Mark Z drove our second leg and our over-heating problem from V-RAM's first race last year returned and plagued us the remainder of the race. It took us out of competition, but with the pressure off we could just relax and have fun.

We all managed to take few black flags. The Judges were very generous to us though and usually just sent us to switch drivers and

Eyesore finished first place overall. I attribute their success to a brilliantly innovative car, fantastic driving skill, an organized pit routine, and me letting them sit in my chair. With all their track effort they are also have a great time. This race it was Elvis costumes and a pink Caddy theme for the Franken-Miata.

Toward the end of day two I was t-boned by the Let It Ride CRX in the apex of the first uphill turn. I saw them in the penalty box after that but didn't see them on the track again. I wonder what happened to them.

Mark Jr and I decided to stay in Reno for a night before heading back. On the way there I spotted a bunch of kids jumping jumping in the river off the freeway and had to pull over. Next Fernley race I'll definitely be going for a dip again. We hung out with a few of the Eyesores, decided Salt Lake strip-bars aren't all that bad, and slept in before the drive home. Success.

Oh My!

2009-05-21T00:38:00.001-06:00

Bonneville or Area 51?

2009-05-17T01:35:00.006-06:00

I went to Bonneville Salt Flats with Paul and the whole Knights Of The Round Track team. A surreal place. Once you move away from the staging area there you are surrounded by white in every direction and distant mountains floating above a perpetual mirage.

Me and Paul drag-raced. Their car pulled ahead off the line but I could keep up. When we hit 90 MPH Paul veered off to head back, but I pushed ahead to see where V-RAM maxed out. It took some time to make 100. At about 102, things got strange. The car felt floaty. The horizon started to misbehave. I had the wheel pointed straight ahead, but the distant peak I was aiming for was sneaking of to the right so casually that I almost didn't notice. I had entered a wet region and was hydroplaning. No braking. No steering. Car spinning. 102 MPH last time I checked. Larry shitting. I didn't try to correct and just hoped I didn't hit a dry patch and flip. Salt sprayed my face whenever the car was sideways. The trunk opened and slammed shut as rotation passed backwards. The car finally stopped and I took a moment to get my bearings. The landmark peak was behind me now. I drove and the staging area slowly emerged ahead of me.

I had made a few calls to find out what the conditions were and got 'they may dry out by Saturday'. They seemed dry enough, but I must have sprayed 70 pounds of salt off the car tonight. Next year we'll give Bonneville Speedway a few more weeks to dry.

Powder Coat

2009-05-14T23:34:00.005-06:00

April is making the car whacky and cool.

Dusty desert roads are mayby not so good for the car. At least all the spilled and leaked fluid stains are hidden now.

(2 Weeks Until Reno) Success!

2009-05-10T19:12:00.009-06:00

(Here's a link to more photos from today.)

First, my little '98 Tacoma handily pulls the trailer and car.

Second, somewhere between the Energy "Solutions" nuclear waste facility and the Air Force bombing range, we found a great location to test uninsured, unlicensed, un-street-legal, unattractive cars. It was so out-there that four totally nude people didn't expect Mark Jr to drive by in his jeep, honking and waving. When he returned from scouting and told us about it, I knew we had achieved sufficient boonieness.

Third, the car ran like a champ. It looks like we've resolved our overheating issues. Mark Sr took it above 100. Mark Jr made sure it could handle a spin-out into sage brush, and also made sure it had enough mud on it. The only issue that bugs me now is that sometime when I removed the dash and climate controls I disconnected the fuel gauge. Hmmm.

It was an effective test, but next weekend, (last one before the race) I want to talk Paul into a bit of wheel to wheel at the real-deal Bonneville Speedway.

Course Configuration

2009-05-01T16:57:00.006-06:00

I'm very excited.

Yes. Very.

Very very EXCITED.

The course layout for the Reno race has been published.

For the sake of comparison, here is the course and configurations of races to scale.

First is Altamont. (RIP, counter-clockwise)

Cute, isn't it? It actaully was the craziest 24HL course I'm aware of. They crammed about 100 cars into that little kidney, same amount as the bigger courses, and told the course workers that unless cars were exploding, not to flag anyone. I will miss the chaos of Altamont, but then again, I won't.

Next is Thunderhill as raced December 08. (Counter-clockwise) As you can see the course is much bigger. Not nearly the bumper-car rally that Altamont was. Very fun. Very fast.

I sort-off had to unlearn everything I picked up at the Altamont school of driving. Lots of black flags. Lots of yellow flags. The course allowed a few capable cars to hit 100 mph. The course was beautiful and a blast.

Three short weeks from now we should be racing the following twisty layout at Reno-Fernley. (Counter-clockwise)

This may just look like a femmie blue line on a brown map, but let me assure you it is a actually about 14 hours of shit-eating, white-knuckle grins. WAHOOO! Look at all those turns, and much more distance that Thunder Hill. I can't wait!

You can check these locations out on Google Maps, and the full size images I made are here.

Out With The Old

2009-04-30T22:48:00.002-06:00

Problem Solved

2009-04-29T13:17:00.003-06:00

My new trailer.

Ups and downs.

2009-04-28T10:41:00.004-06:00

My friend and professional graphic designer April has volunteered to give our car a new paint job. I've given her complete creative freedom within the race specifications and I'm excited to see what she does.

I now have a team of Marks. Welcome to Mark Zimmerer(erer), our fourth driver and third Mark.

We are trailerless again. The first loaner arrangement reneged upon realization that our race falls on Memorial Day weekend. Our second loaner trailer was an unregistered farm hauler with no brakes. Now I'm shopping for something I definitely don't want hogging driveway space. Maybe I'll let my dad 'borrow' it and just leave it at his place between races.

We're 3+ weeks with a few major issues to overcome. We still need to fix the cooling system, install the kill switch, and find a test location. We did finally get the hub and bearing reassembled. I pulled the dash and heater, and did some cutting of doors, hood, trunk, and my finger. Utah weather in April is less than cooperative for working in the driveway. Time to get serious about a new garage.

What's wrong with this picture?

2009-03-30T22:43:00.004-06:00

We thought we could just replace bearings on our shot hub. We thought wrong. Not only is the race pitted, but the hub shaft itself has been worn down a millimeter. Going to need a hub, rotors, pads, and I'm going to look carefully at the axle.

I'm having fun junk shopping. I keep finding stuff for my 89 street car though and not VRAM. The local online MR2 guys have been helping locate cars.

In other news I think we're now a team of three. The Marks have paid their fees but Brent has gone quiet.

Shot Hub

2009-03-17T21:44:00.006-06:00

I had noticed a lot of play in the rear passenger wheel. Mark Jr and I pulled the brake off tonight and found a minor disaster: Bearing races shot and the brake pad worn at about a 10 degree angle. Andy and Paul had struggled to get this hub assembled solidly last year and I now question if it was already damaged and ever possible. I'm glad the wheel didn't fall of at Altamont, but anyway it shouldn't be too tough to repair. Paul let me check fit with an '85 hub assembly he had handy. The hub itself may fit but the housing does not mate to the suspension. Time for parts shopping.

Accepted to Reno!

2009-03-16T13:47:00.005-06:00

We received our official acceptance notice today. WOO! Now we can start really getting excited.

A bummer is that we are no longer allowed to prefix our car number with zero, so we have to give up '04'. I managed to get '0' before anyone else which is cool because we'll be at the top of any list, like the Jalopnik Uber-gallery, that is sequential by number. I don't know though, we may still try to get in sequence with Joe.

Now we can get busy pouring money down the racing hole!

10 Weeks To Reno

2009-03-16T08:39:00.003-06:00

We finally rallied and had a work day on the car with Brent and Mark jr. Besides spilling about seven beers, here's what we did:

Painted the roll-cage.
Filled/bled the cooling system.
Installed the original tail lights.
Discovered our brakes are mush.
Confirmed our rear passenger wheel is floppy.

The big break we had this week was securing a loaner transport trailer from a friend of Mark sr. That is a huge relief!

11 weeks to Reno

2009-03-04T10:00:00.004-07:00

Thunderhill is already a faint memory, though only a couple months ago. Racing has been far from my mind and the enthusiasm needs to rekindle. Footage from the season opener in Texas and visiting Paul's garage has cleared my head a bit. I suppose the when faced with the burden organizing a team the work aspect can overshadow the fun aspect of racing. I know it will all be worth it again.

I'm working on getting the new team organized so we can prep for Reno. The biggest issues we need to tackle to V-RAM to the race at the end of May are:

Car transport.
Cooling system.
Rear passenger hub is floppy.
Install kill switch.

Other than that there is a long list of minor issues I'm confident we will resolve easily.

24HL, Thunderhill '08

2008-12-30T16:19:00.020-07:00

Things of course melted down into a frenzy of activity during which there was no longer time to photograph or blog anything. But here area few observations and ideas regarding the 24 Hours Of Lemons 12-08 Thunderhill event:

Getting to the race early is great. The Snowspeeder was well prepped, giving us time to relax, meet other teams, take photos, check out cars, run some test laps, etc. Don't underestimate how much this improves the entire experience of a 24HL.

If the track has good facilities, camp. This is economical and looks fun. So far I'm finding track town motels cost about 200% what similar accommodations in similar hick-towns. If you book early you can take the edge off. Teams were grilling, drinking, hanging out, playing Gran Turismo... I think it would have been a blast to camp at the track.

We had great pit neighbors. Free Range Racing, another MR2 team on one side, and Eyesore, 24HL veterans known for great cars, competition, and themes, were on our other side. Being able to rub elbows, swap tools, and share snacks with both of these teams raised the experience another bar.

There were 5 first gen MR2s in this race:

12th place, Lil' Smokey and the Bandit, 77.
16th place, Nerd Herd, 08 (with a spiff 20 valve JDM 4age motor).
17th place, us in the Snowspeeder, 03.
19th place, Pole Position, 3.
70th, place, our pals with Free Range, 80.

People are figuring out what great cars these are. Funnest on the track I'm sure.

Our race went well, but black flags were our weak spot. We only had one mechanical issue, a minor cooling problem that was resolved during a penalty. The only thing that kept us from a top-10 finish was our 4 black flags. Randal and Joe were both very clean this race but each managed to attract one flag. I had 2 flags with a little contact jockeying for position day 1 and I spun right off the track on day 2 after a tire chnage. We pulled a great fuel/driver change under a course-wide stop and we were able to keep the car rolling nearly constantly for most of day 2. Our fueling system is very effective. The car was fast and reliable. We didn't have any major repairs. Everything was pretty much dialed. I expect Joe and Randal will be a top 5 car at Reno in May.

Chart of our position by number of laps. The gaps were black flag penalties. Brown was Randal, red was me then Randal but couldn't tell when the driver change took place, green is Joe, and purple is me.

As always, the race was extremely entertaining to spectate. I witnessed a car veer of course then come back across the front straight on 2 wheels and hit the wall, the Faster Farms Chicken car flip completely over coming to rest back on all fours, a 944 Porsche over-cook a chicane spin off course at about 90 MPH, I missed the flames but saw the driver scramble out of a smoking VW Scirocco that had caught fire, and countless other exciting events.

We had 2 entertaining penalties from black flags. Randal got the "Bob Ross penalty". He got to wear an Afro wig and paint a landscape on the hood of the car. After spinning off course I earned a three-legged hike the entire length of the paddock and back with another deviant driver, made worse with the fact I was past due to urinate.

There was an incredibly cheap dyno service at the track and Joe got the Snowspeeder in just before close for one pull. After all the work on the engine we had high expectations, but the results were a only 93 horses. Randal tweaked the valves a bit more and we ran without really know the final effects, but what it comes down to is that the car has more than enough power to go spinning off the track if you're not careful.

The Thunderhill course is a blast. After only two previous races on the Altamont (RIP) bumper-car ring, T-Hill's vast stretches of wide, fast, curves, plus the stomach-lift as you dip out of turn 5 were fairly daunting. Test day and the first part of my first leg of driving I was pretty conservative. After about ten laps under a yellow flag though, I finally loosened up and let the MR2 do it's thing. The whole first half of the track is very MR2 friendly. It sticks to the big smooth sweepers and could usually inch past heavier cars there, and on the tight elevated turn 5 we could usually just go in hot and out brake everyone on which ever side they weren't. I had a grin-cramps when I turned the car back over to Randal.

This is the first time I wasn't too tired and busy at 24HL to goof off a bit Saturday PM. We had a few beers while we cleaned up, then bumped into the Eyesore team at pizza.

My leg is sore. Joe's brakes could use a tune and I guess I was really romping down hard on the pedal. My lower right leg is very sore and painful when I put pressure on my right big toe.

This was my favorite race so far. Great people, track, and event!

Here are my photos of the trip and event.

Here is the race summary on Jalopnik.

A Big Day

2008-12-26T21:20:00.011-07:00

Not much time for a thurough post. Here are a few pics though:

Started early but it was a good thing we did. We needed all the track time we could get and were working well after dark in the pits prepping for tomorrow.

We had planned for very bad driving conditions, but after the first pass from Ashland Oregon, it was smooth sailing to Willows California. Further north conditions were much worse and one team from Washington rolled their rig en route. Everyone was OK, but they are out a truck, trailer, race car, and obviously won't be joining the fun. :-(

Gorgeous day!

They had a test day so we were able to put some much needed break-in on Joe's newly machined engine.

Elevation makes turn 5 very tricky. Very fun. Apex is at the top of a hill and you can't see beyond it.

Joe playing with his new 'size matters' lens.

Our buddies from Portland, Free Range Racing, had much more difficult trip, but had time for a bit of Gran Tourismo at the end of the day.

Pucker up.

2008-12-25T19:07:00.005-07:00

Randall has the Snowspeeder ready for the track and loaded into his trailer. He and Joe are both off for some forced-family-fun for X-mas. I declined the invite from the girlfriend-in-law's family celebration to catch up on channel surfing and balancing my bank accounts. Holiday dinner was leftover road-chow of crackers and cheeze-wiz.

While I was enroute from Utah I hear Joe and Randall sneaked the Snowspeeder out to some back-road to try to get some break-in on the engine. On the way home they had a nice chat with the sheriff. Randall BS'd them out of a ticket or impound. Would have been grumpy after paying a share and dragging my ass out here to find the car was confiscated.

This weather has everyone spooked about transporting the car tomorrow. Our buddies in Portland, Free Range Racing, report that they are so snowed in that they couldn't get their trailer out of their neghborhood and had to scrounge another truck. Another team from that area has bailed from the race. Currently it's snowing again and passes could be closed tomorrow.

Here's my holiday wish list:

-We get to the track at all.

-We get there in time to race the entire race.

-We get there in time to break-in and tune the engine.

-The engine and car last the duration of the race.

-Top 10 finish?

We plan to leave at 4 AM.

I want to thank Jay Lamm for scheduling the Thunderhill race for 2009 in November.

As nutty as a third testicle.

2008-12-25T12:41:00.008-07:00

[Northern California, X-mas Eve]

(As posted to the 24HL mailing list)

As if 24HL is not crazy enough in concept alone, I have to say the fiasco surrounding this '08 Arse-freeze is more than extra-silly. This should have occurred to me before waking up from a nap shivering in my truck at 1 something AM Christmas Eve at a rest stop in BFE Nevada as I try to sneak through a break in the storms between Salt Lake and Ashland Oregon to hook up with my brother's team.

Maybe it's the holiday spirit, or maybe because I'm still a bit drunk this afternoon after a night at a non-Utah strip-club, or maybe it's the much improved weather forecast for Willows CA, but reading about the travel hardships and spousal wrath everyone is enduring just to share a weekend driving around and around with a bunch of other cold unshaven men has me feeling a little gay.

I love you guys. Merry X-mas.

Deficit

2008-12-11T00:52:00.004-07:00

Ever bit off more than you can chew? Every race I think it will be easier, its not. There is a sinking feeling at a certain point in the car prep where the math involving money, time, skill and relationship capital seems only to pencil out to massive deficits.

Jay Lamm is a bastard.

We got motor back from the machine shop yesterday... about a week late. Randal and I put in about 7 hours in yesterday and another 7 or 8 today. The motor is in the car but I'd say we still have about 5 hrs worth of work hooking up the myriad of shit before we can fire it.

I keep finding more stuff we need to do or buy. I keep remembering stuff we need to do buy "before the next work session" promptly upon entering the "next work session" I haven't done a lick of Christmas shopping. I think I've barely said 200 words to my girlfriend in the last 72 hrs. I'm thinking this is not the ideal time to tell her I'll be doing three races next year.

do / buy:

Mirrors
Overflow bottle / cap / dohickie
Gear oil
Harness
struts
weld lid on the car
finish installing the motor
log 200 miles on the car to find problems
christmas shop

Stick Figure Racing

2008-12-05T12:16:00.002-07:00

Bender has his new team blog up: Stick Figure Racing.

MR2 Methodology

2008-11-05T11:23:00.016-07:00

I've run a first generation MR2 in 3 lemons races now and managed to not win every single time!

Here is what I've learned:

The MR2 very likely one of the best handling cars in history. It will certainly handle better than all but a few of your competitors on the track. You will be amazed and what you can do with it by the end of the race. Need to jam on the brakes mid corner? Just do it, you'll probabally be ok. Need to take the outside line and hold it at speed? No problem. Need sneek in to a 4' gap between the 67' buick and the inside of the track, no worries just stick stick your fender against their rear quarter panel... which brings me to-

Durability:

The MR2, while very small is actually built like a tank. the radiator is set back in the car about 2'. It's mid mounted engine is forward of rear bumper about 2.5 feet. The fuel tank is in the very center of the car. Everything is pretty well protected from impact, so let your bumper car urges free to the extent you are unafraid of getting black flagged. During the oct 07 Altamont race, often referred to as a demolition derby by lemons veterans, hitting people was pretty much my SOP when passing. (In accordance with the stricter contact rules, I've repented of my contact sins since the Oct 07 Altamont race) Tie rods up front are vulnerable to impact so try to avoid driving over course marking tires and use caution when passing from grass to asphalt. Cut away wheel wells and add some structure to protect your front wheels, as part of your car prep.

Driving:

Give yourself 2-3 hours to learn the capabilities of the car. At the start of our rookie race we all thought our car was slow... in fact its was one of the best cars on the track, we just didn't know how to drive it yet. As you drive ask yourself "should that '67 buick be able to pass me on a corner?" This will help you figure out if you are driving the car to its limits. After owning and driver several MR2's I thought I new how to drive. I didn't.

To pass large, high power/high torque cars: hang with them till you approach a corner, pass them as they brake for the corner.. inside is preferable but outside will probably work.

To pass lightweight front wheel drive cars: Choose medium sweeper, drift around them on the outside as these cars almost always hug the apex and generally can't drift.

To pass a medium weight rear wheel drive car (BMW): good luck.. be

persistent and little lucky.

Cage:

I strongly recommend cutting away the entire sunroof "hatch" it will give you more head room in the car. If I were going to do my cage over again today I'd cut holes in the roof of the car and form the top of the cage above the roof.. more head room, I'm 6'2.

Performance:

Don't worry too much about power, go for reliability. Winning won't be so much about speed ( the MR2 is fast enough) as keeping the car on the track as much as possible. If you have good compression and your engine is reliable, don't bother to open it up. If you need a head gasket, go ahead and try to find some cam timing gears while your at it. A performance header won't give you more power unless you change a bunch of other stuff in the motor also.... sum of parts kind of thing. the stock header is fine up to pry160+ hp. Just be sure to cut off the stock exaust just before the cat and put cheap, high flow, muffler to meet sound requirements.

Pit Procedures:

Keep the car on the track. Keep the car on the track. Keep the car on the track. All the performance mods you can dream up are outweighed by having good pit procedures. If fueling takes you 20 minutes (which is easily possible @ t-hill) shaving 10 seconds off you lap times doesn't really matter.

Suspension:

Suspension is going to be one of the best performance mods on the track. Anti-sway in back I don't think came on these cars except in 1985 and on the supercharged versions. The mounting points are there so buy, steal or fabricate one. We get better handling when we increased the stiffness of our rear sway bar by bending and welding an additional bar to it. Our struts are shot. We haven't taken the time to properly cheat some new ones on to the car or find some better ones in the junk yard. We desprately need to.

TIRES:

Buy good tires and wheels! Have a full set of backups if you can.

TEST:

Go to a track day somewhere and try to run your car for 3-6 hrs as continuously as possible. Try to sniff out a problem before race

day.

COOLING:

Read & execute proper coolant changing procedures and adhere to them when draining/refilling your anti-freeze/water. The car has a great cooling system but it will overheat if you have air in it. I recommend bringing a spare ignition coil. I had one develop a heat related intermittent problem which cost us about 1hr 20min tracking it down and fixing it.

Track record:

07 Altamont: worst postion: about 80th best postion: 14th place finished:18th place Bent steering rod (driver error), suspect clutch behavior, over hot inginition(toward the end).. all told pry about 2 hrs off the track poking proding and fixing shit.

07 Thunder Hill: Worst Postion 55th Best postion (4 hours later) 3rd place, finished: 13th Broken steering rod (driver error), over hot ignition, horrible fueling stops.. About 1.5 hrs off the track wrenching.

08 Altamont: Started 38th place ran to 10th place in 10 laps. spun a rod bearing=end of race. DOH!!

Off Again

2008-10-13T21:30:00.003-06:00

Nevermind. After looking at the calendar are realizing the December race probably means transporting the car from Salt Lake on Xmas day, my new team understandably had to decline.

Joe and I are both chomping at the bit and trying to figure out how to get at least one of our cars to Thunder Hill and racing together.

I'm excited to see the Kiel brother's new lemon. It will be fun to have another MK1 MR2 on the track.

2008-10-13T16:09:00.004-06:00

Good to hear V-ram is at it again, Andy and I won't be racing this winter (Money)
but we will be back at it in the spring. We put a new/used motor in our car and it's officially
road worthy. It will be interesting to see how well an automatic does Vs a Stick.
Our Team name will be "Knights of the round track" hope to be competing along side you guys in the spring. We will post pics of our toy as we get closer to racing, Good Luck! Bender

Back at it. (12 weeks until race.)

2008-10-09T10:46:00.006-06:00

Time to dust of the Beater-Car Blog and start tracking progress toward the 2008 Arse-Freeze.

Our team from the May race has disbanded. Jerry had only ever planned to race once and the Kiel brothers now have their own lemon they are prepping. It's another mk1 MR2 and I know with their mechanical ability it will be a serious contender.

I've rallied a new team. My neighbor Brent and his buddy Mark have been pretty enthusiastic about the project all along. Along with Mark Senior, we have a new team. Welcome aboard guys. Our first meeting is tonight

We've got some residual task from the previos race and several new requirements for Thunder Hill. So lots of work and 12 weeks to do it. October is here and snow has already frosted the peaks above Salt Lake. Working in my driveway is going to be cold and dark in a few more weeks.

Video And Photos From The Race

2008-05-14T23:13:00.006-06:00

I'm starting to get settled after the trip and I'm getting images and footage online.

All my photos from the race are online here.

My video footage is here.

There should be a more and better footage coming from Joe, his friends, Paul, and Judy's cameras.

Life, Death, And Racing.

2008-05-13T17:11:00.006-06:00

Someone died on the track this weekend. Reports are that Court Summerfield fell unconscious at the wheel for unrelated health reasons and slammed the wall head-on. This weekend's death cast a sober mood on the rest of the race and gave us all something to consider.

As soon as you get on the track among all the machinery, power, and Newtonian physics, you become quite aware of mortal frailty. Not strapped into a steel cage, a human body wouldn't survive even briefly exposed to the forces of racing. It seems crazy to some. I really do consider the risk of death or even minor injury to be very low at these races. All the necessary steps have been taken to assure safety.

I raced the first time to fulfill a dream. I continue racing for the same reasons anyone pursues any passion: Because I love it. I love the thrill, the accomplishment, the comradeship...

You've heard it often but I'll say in my words: A life cut short is of course tragic, but every one of us goes some day and we better have done something worth celebrating. Life without passion isn't living.

I celebrate the life of Court Summerfield. A life lived.

Before / Aftermath

2008-05-13T12:40:00.008-06:00

For now, some before before (as purchased), before (prepped), and after (raced) pics that tell a tale:

Day 1 Of Altamont

2008-05-10T23:45:00.008-06:00

OK, I need to be in bed, but here's a quick summary and photos of day one.

Team V-RAM is having a ball, but we've been baffled by an over-heating problem we now think may have resolved with a new radiator cap. [duh]

The Snowspeeder was one of the fastest cars on the track for about 2 laps but, they had some wrong bearings on their rods after their rebuild and they are out of the race with and engine disassembled in their tool trailer. Bummer.

The race is hilarious. Here's my pick for best in show.

Our car looks great with a bunch of fresh bashes on it. One team kept rear-ending us and gets my vote for the crusher... I forget the number. Mercury Sable though.

The Day Before The Race

2008-05-09T21:46:00.006-06:00

We're here. Car is dropped at the track. Done with dinner. The whole Salt Lake crew is drained and ready call it a night. I'm going the hang out with Oregon guys.

The trip was mostly fine. The big events were a May snow storm over one of the eastern Nevada passes, and the first In-N-Out Burger I've had since last October.

Oh yeah, Joe delivered my '89 Supercharged MR2 I bought. No pics yet, but I'm excited about it. Going to pop the tops now and go hang out.

2 Days... Ready Ready To Roll.

2008-05-08T23:15:00.003-06:00

Car is decalled and loaded. We roll at 5 AM tomorrow. I'm almost done packing.

Required Reading for the Snowspeeder Pilots Association Team!!

2008-05-07T08:53:00.004-06:00

First: We better freaking win.

And finally: We better freaking win.

Driver rotation:

Joe

Randal

Or…

Randal

Joe

I can’t seem to remember which.. I figure we’ll toss a coin sometime before the race.

Keep the car on the track till the first yellow after 1.5 hours or until the motor starts cutting out due to lack of fuel.

If the car gets hurt: Randal will fix it.

Remember our strategy: If they don’t get out your way, dive to inside, grab the apex and hit them when they come across. This will result in a perfect "pit maneuver" or bounce them off the track. Trust the diminutive size of the car to create an aura of innocents, thus avoiding black flags.

Hitting barricades is ok as long as you knocked someone else off the track in the process.

-Your fearless leader

Mc JOE!

As Your Team Capitain, I Adivise You To BLAH BLAH BLAH.

2008-05-06T23:56:00.004-06:00

[This is the email I sent out to the team regarding the upcoming race.]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to lie awake at night anticipating the race. I'm sure that won't make it any easier to get up and hit the road at 5 AM Friday. If anyone wants to drop stuff off for loading Thursday night, feel free.

Weather is looking great for the trip and race.

Remember our priorities:
1- Safe and fun.
2- Everyone gets a turn.
3- Finish the race.
4- Compete.

At the track:

Altamont is in the middle of a giant windmill farm, so be ready for windy, dusty. weather. I wore a mask most of day 2 last year. I also wore ear plugs spectating and driving.

You'll want a comfortable chair.

Photographing the track from the pit side of the track is hindered by the chain link fence and RVs parked right against the fence. Theres a small set of bleachers that help get a view above the fence. Photographing from the grand stands may be better. (Let's try to get
footage when the flag drops.)

Rotation:

Driver order will be:
Larry
Andy
Jerry
Pauly

This order is partly because Jerry will be using my shoes (and any other equipment of mine that fits), so he'll needs to race opposite me to give more time to gear up.

We need to keep a clip board to track wipe-outs (think 'video highlight reel') and the times of driver changes. We can download all the data of lap times after the race, but a stop-watch could be useful to gage lap times.

For the first rotation, drivers should hit the pit on the first yellow flag after 45 minutes, or in 60 minutes if there is no yellow. First rotation should be pretty conservative driving. learn the lines. keep the car intact for the next driver.

After the first rotation, try to stay out as long as fuel allows. Of course feel free to pit any time you think it's best for the car, or if you want to end your turn early. Fatigue and mental state have a real affect on your driving. If you feel that your driving sucks, come
in and take a break.

In the pits:

We need at least 2 crew always on deck (in the pit or watching the track) watching for the car to come into pit. One of us can wander off for whatever reason, but get back to the stand or pit ASAP.

During pit stops, one crew start fueling immediately. Next driver mark their start time on the clip board. Drivers assist each other with driver exchange. Driver report any mechanical issues. One crew inspect tires and car, pry out fenders as necessary.

After the car leaves the pit, prep for the next refueling. Put tools away. Next driver gear up. Previous driver take a brake, (hit the toilet, eat/drink), then get back where you can watch the car.

If we get radios (and can hear them), they should be used minimally; to call a driver in, or if someone is clocking laps we can call out a driver's new fastest lap time. ie: "Paul, that was your fastest lap. 59 seconds". If we don't get radios, drivers will need to watch the
clock.

Everyone bring a bag or box where you can keep your gear. Don't let stuff get disorganized.

Let's help the Snowspeeder guys as much as possible. We'll be relying on them for power, welder, tools, and secure storage. They could use a had with fuel and such.

On the track:

Keep an eye on the temperature. Normal is just below half, maybe higher under racing conditions. We should have a fan switch installed before the race. Verify that it is on as soon as you get in the car.

Keep an eye on fuel.

When you go out for the first time, stay wide for a couple laps. Don't let the closeness of the cars freak you out. Once you are comfortable, find a good car to follow. Try to mimic their line.

Remember to yield the apex to cars that are ahead.

Everyone is bound to hit the dirt at some point. Don't make a habit of it. One spin-out costs more than several laps of slow driving.

Don't take risks near barricades. Hitting a barricades is not acceptable by the race officials and less so by the team. If you hit one, come in and switch drivers immediately.

Note the 'lousy driving' section of the official rules. (http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/rules/) They are stern and affect the whole team.

Watch for flags. If suddenly cars become easy to pass, you probably didn't notice a yellow flag. If you realize you have passed under yellow, let the car(s) back in front of you.

The course is dynamic. Oil spills and displaced barricades change the course often.

Don't take anything personally on the track. All opponents are you friends when you are off the track. (You never know who you'll need parts/tools from.)

Paint Done.

2008-05-06T23:02:00.007-06:00

The car prep diet seems to be working. I skipped dinner again and finished paint. I'll get some better photos in the daylight but for now here are the different panels.

On the hood is a giant alien from Space Invaders.

From Pacman are red ghosts on the doors,

Pacman wheel caps,

and the face of an fleeing ghost on the rear.

4 Days Before Race. What The Hell Is In The Driveway?

2008-05-06T07:11:00.001-06:00

I'm not having dreams yet, but I'm falling asleep and waking up with racing in my brain.

5 Days Before Race. More Real Paint.

2008-05-05T23:30:00.001-06:00

Up past my bedtime working on paint. About 9 pm when I thought some dinner may be a good idea, I decided to allow my inner OCD child, who would sneak out of bed to build with Legos in the middle of the night, to take over the hood project. Out came the work lights.

Weather forecast says I have one more day to paint. Thursday I should have our vinyl graphics to finish the car. Then we need to pick up the trailer and load the car after work, then pack. We leave at 5 AM Friday. We really want to get to Altamont in time to drop the car Friday night.

I'm going to bed.

...Right after I pull the mask of the hood.

6 Days Before Race. More Virtual Paint.

2008-05-04T23:42:00.001-06:00

After one last trip to the junk yard for a bushing, I started masking graphics today then decided I needed to refine the graphics plan. Here's the virtual paint job I came up with.

Test Rally! [7 Days Before The Race]

2008-05-03T17:50:00.003-06:00

It was sort of expensive to rent a trailer and pay to use someone's private property, but worth it for us to finally give VRAM a real shake-down. We suffered one minor cooling issue and one set of loose lugs. It was a blast!

Here's a short video of Jerry coming into a corner off a straight.

Houston, We have a motor.

2008-05-01T23:45:00.001-06:00

After multiple trials and tribulations Randal the Zen Master Race Car Mechanic sorted through our on-going valve issues and emerged victorious.
Ordered Safety gear. Needed:

fire proof undies ~$100
Baclava ~$80 - required for open face helmets (not mentioned on the web site but required according to the yellow tech sheet)
Shoes ~$80

Total: ~$260

I noticed that next year open faced helmets won't be allowed... New helmet for next year:

~$200

Decided to buy the cheapo lemons safety gear package offered by organizer. $430 shipped.

Need to finish cage.
Need to put the passenger door back on.
Need to get tires.
Need to install CB
Need to improve fire extinguisher mounting
Need to install a rear view mirror
Need to tweak shift linkage ( no lightspeed?)
Need to get a high speed fuel can.
Need to add 5th strap to harness.
Need to install shelf in tool trailer.
Mass airflow hack.
Install paintball gun.

Rough Draft

2008-04-30T19:25:00.001-06:00

I gave our car gimp paint job today.

13 Days Before The Race

2008-04-27T23:53:00.001-06:00

What a beautiful day. Paul came over with a spiff new compression tester that told us our engine is in good shape. He painted the wheels while I cleaned the engine.

After he left I finished painting. I ran out of paint with just a small part of the front bumper remaining and had to go back to the store for a fifth can of industrial Rustoleum. The car looks great in black. Very industrial. Here are a couple before/after shots against the day we purchased the car.

14 Days Before The Race

2008-04-26T21:00:00.002-06:00

The car hasn't left my driveway since the day we brought it home back in Feb, until today. This morning I wanted to back the car in to make access easier. I backed it onto the street to turn it around, and as I shifted from reverse to first gear and brought my hand back to the wheel, I looked down my street and felt compelled to drive. I sat and struggled with this urge for a moment, then pulled forward a few yards, and deliberately looked away from the street, and maneuvered backwards into my driveway. Getting the car impounded 2 weeks before the race, after all the work the team has put in, would suck in the worst way.

We're winding down on prep tasks. Today's tasks:

Swapped CV joints
Goofed around with the battery
Replaced antifreeze with water
Started painting

We're all getting excited about the race. The engine is sounding good. Our last fees have been paid. We've got all our safety gear, ...oh. Except my gloves.

19 Days Before The Race

2008-04-21T22:02:00.001-06:00

While I was off camping this weekend, the other guys were on task:

Padded cage.
Lowered car 1.5 inches with coil clamps.
Moved extinguisher within reach of a strapped in driver, with human arms, who may or may not be on fire.
Finished yanking the parking brakes.
Radiator and fans flushed, repaired, and secured without all the bailing wire.
Rear stabilizer bar installed.
Started prepping a tool box for the race.

Our test day has been postponed until next week. I want to start painting this week.

23 Days Before Race

2008-04-17T19:21:00.002-06:00

Paul finished the roll-cage, harness, and seat today.

A couple of us are taking a weekend off from car prep, but we plan to haul the car to a track for some testing next week.

Videos

2008-04-16T10:32:00.001-06:00

I've been checking out Google's video service. I think I like it better than YouTube because:

You can download videos to iPod, and more importantly, to Playstation Portable.
Larger size.
Better image quality.

Here's a clip of firing up our car after doing a bunch of engine work.

Should it sound like a tractor?

Here's a clip of a Joe's car, the Snowspeeder, doing a couple laps at Altamont October 2007 24HL.

Many Almost Done Tasks

2008-04-14T20:51:00.001-06:00

26 days before the race.

I mailed my taxes today, one day before the deadline. Not bad. If we can have everything done on the car one day before the race I'll be happy. For someone who loathes stress, I sure do procrastinate.

The weekend was productive again. Friday I drove 15 miles in about 50 minutes to get tires down in the suburbia end of the valley. Who knew rush-hour starts at 4:30? Got the tires. They cost more than the car even though my neighbor's brother hooked us up with a prime deal.

Saturday AM we converged on the Pick-N-Pull (that place is a rip-off!) where I had found an '85 MR2. We yanked odds and ends that we need or expect to need after plowing a tire-barricade.

Back at the ranch Paul was bending and welding. He came back today and has the cage done except 2 welds. Seat needs to be bolted in first. Harness tabs are done. He's also got a good start on mounting our beefy rear stabilizer bar.

The rest of us were on other tasks:

Replaced bent control link.
Flushed coolant.
Charged battery.
Replaced ignition coil.
Installed O2 sensor.
Mostly yanked parking brake system.
Almost fixed hood latch.
Ate sandwiches.
Looked busy.

My big concerns now are paint and decor, and testing. Paint is just more work and time. Testing I'm stumped on. This thing will get impounded so fast if we take it on the street, unregistered, uninsured, unemissioned, unmuffled, and very conspicuous. We're renting a trailer for the race but don't have an easy way to haul the car out to the local track. I'd like to know the car has power before we race. I'm stumped.

After working on the car this weekend I had my first night where it was hard to fall asleep because I was getting excited about racing. I've since lapsed back to the race being some distant, vague experience I know will be fun hypothetically. Even my memory of the 10-2007 race is dreamy and insignificant.

Working on cars is filthy. It's so foreign after 15 years of jockying computers for a living. I get a little grimy working on my bikes and I've done a bit of wrenching on boats and trucks back in my blue collar days. But I'm loving it. I love the comradeship and watching the transformation.

Getting there is 1/10th the fun.

2008-04-13T18:30:00.001-06:00

The race.

T-Minus 2 months… Plenty of time. Really. No worries.

T-Minus 5 weeks.

Haul car to shop.

Send out email to all race team members asking them to cough up their entry fees… I'm feeling a bit tight on cash since I just paid $975 in entry fees and $600 for total rule violating camshafts and pulleys. We believe we have burnt valves from the last race and know we have a shifting problem.

T-Minus 2 weeks. 3rd driver is starting to flake. He tells Randal that he will do it but if we could find someone else we would be helping him out.

"Hey Randal, Joe again. Is the car out of the shop yet? If you want to work on it this weekend together we need to pick it up from the shop this week. I'm leaving town for Christmas next week, K? Also what up with your buddy? Is he in our out… I'm sure we can get someone else if we get on it CALL ME" click.

The organizers, in a continuing demonstration of masochism have scheduled this race 6 days after Christmas.

T-Minus 7 days. I leave on a roughly 800 mile drive to Utah with GF and Child. That's Beth and Avery respectively. I proceed to call Randal with growing frequency and urgency every day for the next 5 days. Lots of messages left. No communication. Is the car out of the shop? Do we have our 3rd driver? I don't know.

Finally I end my Christmas Vacation half a day early and begin the 800 mile drive back toward my race car and non-communicative racing partner. As we approach Reno my phone lights up with a txt message from Randal… hurt back, dumped by GF, injured over Christmas and has been hallucinating on pain killers for about 4 days. But he wants to go racing. GAME ON. With Randal in your corner most things are possible.

All doubt about weather we will make it to the race is washed away.

We stop at one of the worst hotels in Reno for long night of pretending to sleep. I'm ready to hit the road @ 6:30AM. Its Wednesday AM I'm roughly 300 miles from home. We cut the long way through California due poor road conditions in south eastern Oregon. Roads are beautiful until hit the mountains in near the state line, which are under white out conditions. Sternly worded, flashing signs advise us that if we don't have 4 wheel drive or chains we will NOT be allow over the pass. California DOT has traffic closed down to one lane and they are asking every driver of a vehicle without chains on it if they have four wheel drive. I'm thinking we screwed. They have to know that a Honda Odyssey is not 4 wheel drive. The man asks and Beth calmly leans over from the passenger seat and lies her beautiful face off. The rest of our trip to Medford is uneventful. I arrive in the same city as my race car Thursday afternoon still no verbal contact with Randal.

T-Minus 28 Hours: 8 AM Friday. Dial Randal. Voicemail. Drive to his house. He looks like shit. Thin. Kind of pale. Disjointed. The car is not out of the shop. Valves have not been ordered. We are not getting direct answers about the status of the transmission.

I begin to doubt.

I print a list of phone numbers to junk yards. I print a craigslist add for a 80's corolla with a 4age motor in it.

T-Minus 23 hours: I drive to the shop.

The transmission is not in the car. They got it back from their transmission shop this morning and installed it only to find a loose output shaft as they started hooking up the half shafts. Head is still on the car. Head parts have not been ordered yet. They are not available in town for any price.

We. Are. Screwed.

Shop owner questions me further about our burnt valve symptoms and advises me to stand by for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes of tinkering he tells me we don't have burnt valves and don't need any head work. He found a distributor/plug/wire problem that matches our symptoms.

His transmission shop will drop everything and re-fix the "fixed" transmission.

We're un-screwed.

Randal arrives with his truck looking more human. We transport Mr. Grouchy 5 speed across town to the transmission shop. Owner advises us to call him in an hour. We go buy lights, drain pan, windshield wipers and a set of tires. Transmission shop calls: An output shaft bearing race had fallen out in transit and is easily repairable as soon it can be retrieved from his wife's car. Apparently our "fixed" transmission was transported to the shop in his wife's Chevy sedan.

We go get lunch. Randal is fading. He drops me at the auto shop and heads home to pack. I get my car, retrieve Mr. Grouchy head home to pack after dropping the cursed transmission off at the shop.

T-minus 19 hours: Head to Randal's to help sort out the trailer. At 6:30 PM the shop calls to tell us our car is back together and running. 7:45 pm we are rolling out of town. Randal mentions an upset stomach and look a bit pale… nothing new. 70 miles later Randal stops at a gas station and asks me to get him something to munch on. When I get back in the truck he is shaking. He informs me that I'll be driving. At this point I realize how sick he is. Did I mention we were driving through a bizzard? I get him a cup of soup, water, airborn, alkesetzer cold meds and ease his gianormaous truck with 2 axle, 20 foot trailer into the storm. Within 10 miles Randal calmly advise me pull the truck over, NOW. I slow the 13 thousand pounds worth of truck, trailer, tools and race car as quickly as possible on the snow covered road. As we approach 15mph Randal executes a beautiful rolling vomit out his open passenger side door. The rest of our journey to Willows is uneventful. We arrive around 1 AM.

33 Days Before Race

2008-04-07T22:52:00.001-06:00

Paul came and worked today after the storm. It looks like he completed the passenger side of the cage with only the driver's side remaining.

I took some more photos after work because I want to show Joe the cage, bent control arm, and leaky transmission.

While I was uploading I noticed that we are at 33 days in our count down to Altamont. Then I went through the photo album and added "XX days before race" captions to the first of each day's photos.

2008-04-07T09:00:00.001-06:00

Despite forecasts the weather didn't crap on us and we made more progress this weekend:

More roll-cage progress.
Battery moved to frunk.
Air intake done.
Checked wheel bearings, brakes, and replaced front pads.
Changed plugs and wires.
Fixed driver door hinge.
Finished cutting out fenders.
Changed oil.

Some new issues:

Radiator is full of sludge.
Spark plug cover doesn't seal and is collecting water

Put the car on blocks and left it up blocking my whole driveway since I want to take the wheels to buy tires this week. We really need a compression test done. Maybe a temp registration will allow us to get this wedgie out for a test drive before the race. We had another wet snow storm this morning. Only four weekends left to work on the car.

Another Weeks Progress

2008-03-31T15:19:00.001-06:00

Most of last week's progress was made on Saturday.

More roll cage progress.
Removed the alarm system's engine kill and got the car started again.
Got the intake removed.
Cut away front fenders.
Removed more plastic.
Started moving the battery to the frunk (front trunk).

In my mind if the car runs and passes tech, we are in the race and are going to have a blast. Anything else we can do to improve the car is gravy. So it was a relief to hear the engine running again. When we bought the car the exhaust was disconnected and we couldn't really hear the engine. Now it sounds nice and smooth. Sunday was rainy and this morning there was a blanket of fresh snow to shovel off the car. Weather looks spotty this weed so hopefully we get to get more done between storms.

Progress

2008-03-23T11:08:00.001-06:00

We did much this weekend:

Hosed down the car for the first time.
Glass, plastic, trim removed.
Exhaust is in.
Got two sponsors.
Roll cage main hoop and mount braces built.
Bought a racing seat.
Made a huge mess in my driveway and yard.

New problems:

We yanked the remains a factory and an after market alarm system. Evidently one of them had a kill system an now the car won't start.
Loose bearings leaking fluid out of the transmission (? I'm not sure of the parts on a mid engine car).
Wire to O2 sensor is severed and we don't know where it goes.
Seat mounting problems since I'm such a tall goon.