Things That Go Bump...

"Creak-clunk-clunk". That's the sound emanating from (I believe) my driver's side front strut tower whenever I turn the wheel. I'm pretty sure I need to replace the strut mounts and bearings. I've already got the parts to do it, I'm just not looking forward to another round of "suspension surgery". (And neither is my wife!) I guess while I'm at it, I should go ahead and replace the motor and transmission mounts to cut down on the wheel-hop I'm getting on autoX launches. Wheel-hop can be hazardous to the health of the differential on these cars. Fortuntately, that's a relatively easy job (compared to removing the front struts).

Autocross - 10/12/08

Last weekend I got to autocross. I also got to try out my new camera mount. The camera mount worked pretty well. Now I just need a better camera. Actually, I think the camera is fine, I just need to clean the lens to get rid of the weird color streaks when going into the sun. There is no sound on any of these videos. Well... there WAS sound, but it was all wind noise, so I muted it. Unfortunately, you can't hear me cursing when I hit cones, or when I spin out in class run #4, or when I DNF in Pax run #3. Maybe next time, I'll include some music in the videos.

Bad News: My nearly free race tires are pretty much done. They cost about $8 in beer. (sixpack... hey it was good beer)

Good News: The same guy I got them from has another set that he's going to let me have. These have more life left in them, so the cost has gone up to 2 sixpacks!

Class Run #1


Class Run #2


Class Run #3


Class Run #4


Pax Run #1


Pax Run #2


Pax Run #3
DNF!!! at 0:47 you can see I drive around the wrong side of a cone.


Pax Run #4

Grassroots Motorsports $2008 Challenge

While I was putting on my headlights, the Grassroots Motorsports $2008 Challenge was wrapping up. I've wanted to attend this event from the first time I heard about it. It pretty much epitomizes my philosophy of car modification... build the most badass car possible for the least amount of money possible.

This year I was SO close to making the trip. A guy in Colorado was bringing a car and he was going to swing by on his way to Gainesville. I had to back out at the last minute (well... about 3 weeks ago) due to work and budget constraints. Actually, it's a good thing I didn't get my hopes up too much, because that guy didn't make the trip after all. His job got busy and he ran out of time and couldn't finish his car. Actually, I just found out that he hitched a ride with another team. Glad he could make it!

One of these years, I'm going to make the trip, and maybe even compete.

I Can See Clearly Now...

By the look of my headlights, I've been doing to much underwater driving. Here's what they looked like before:


I got a pair of slightly used housings off the 'net. This was actually a pretty easy job. No blood. No cursing. (well, not much, anyway)


Maybe I can see at night now.