Progress has been very slow. Clutch bleeding was going nowhere until I discovered a new method. Exhaust manifold had to be chopped at the flange and re-angled to clear the subframe.
Progress has been very slow. Clutch bleeding was going nowhere until I discovered a new method. Exhaust manifold had to be chopped at the flange and re-angled to clear the subframe.
FLAPS aluminumized coated exhaust FTW!
Also - isn't funny how clutch and brake bleeding can go so bad that you start to question your life choices?
Pretty pleased with how this came out! Looks pretty mean I'm kinda hoping it shoots some flames!
In reply to Scotty Con Queso :
Man, I was completely boggled. I had never encountered a situation where a good gravity bleed couldn't get it done. Searched on the Spyder FB page, and apparently the master cylinder is not "self bleeding". I had to rig up some air pressure into the reservoir to force fluid into some void the fluid couldn't find on its own. But seems good now.
Lof8 - Andy said:Pretty pleased with how this came out! Looks pretty mean I'm kinda hoping it shoots some flames!
Any idea how loud that is going to be?
In reply to dyintorace :
Lol. Not yet. But I imagine pretty obnoxious!
Fired her up today! Only took about 3 seconds of cranking! Huge milestone! The exhaust volume is fine at idle but up at 8-9k rpm, it's ear piercing! I felt like a jerk just driving around the neighborhood at 30 mph. I'm going to have to put the old cherry bomb/supertrapp tip combo back on, especially if I want to do any cruising around town, bummer. The 2zz torque isn't anything special but that variable valve stuff and extra rpms are pretty wild - sounded almost like a street bike ripping around! I'm not sure how usable that extreme upper end will be during autox, but I did used to spend a lot of time on the limiter at the top of 2nd in the 1zz. Should be a significant help in the drags.
She runs!!
Took the XJ to a north FL gambler event. Ended up going through some significantly deeper water/mud than I was comfortable with but she survived. A snorkel has been added to the list.
Signed up for a test/autocross at the Firm 10/2. Car feels really good! I'm confident it'll be quicker than years past! Poor man's Lotus lol
Last weekend was our Lemons race at the Corvette Museum track in Bowling Green, KY. What a cool track! It flows really well with a few blind corners and wild elevation changes. The car did pretty well. We lost 4th gear for most of Saturday and we determined it to be internal after disconnecting the shifter linkage. But somehow it returned later in the day! We replaced a wheel bearing Saturday night and it ran strong all day Sunday. I got close to 4 hours of seat time! We finished about 30th of 80 cars, so I call it a win!
we stayed at a sweet lil air bnb on a river. It was a nice little relaxing sanctuary to spend a few nights and eat some team dinners.
visited the museum. Did you know there was a rotary powered corvette concept?
the Jeep got a snorkel
we survived a close call with Hurricane Ian but the storm canceled this weekends Autox. So I'll be going into the $2k Challenge with no real testing in the 2zz kart :/ bummer. At least it should handle the same as it used to.
Final muffler iteration. I think it sounds pretty good and much more bearable than the straight pipe. $35 Flow"monster" ftw! This thing berkeleying RIPS! I'm getting excited!
Hmmmm
I searched high and low for the perfect Murphy bed for the new trailer but everything was too bulky, heavy, or expensive, or all 3. So I rigged up a storage solution of my own using a modified "bunkie board" and some straps.
Do you have Group D locked up for the Firm's Rallyx series? I am probably going but I think I need 2 or 3 more people to signup to mathematically have a shot at winning the season.
ojannen said:Do you have Group D locked up for the Firm's Rallyx series? I am probably going but I think I need 2 or 3 more people to signup to mathematically have a shot at winning the season.
Lol. I believe you're right. I think I'd have to finish pretty deep in a lineup to not get the win!
trailer is getting a wrap
Wrapped up the RWD class championship at the Firm last weekend. Also won the SXS class, but they didn't want to acknowledge that, Ha!
The Challenge was a freakin blast! The Spyder did really well, but the "Vtec" was a little harder to optimize than I was hoping on the autox course. A couple of Challengers suggested smaller diameter tires, and that would certainly help. I finally got a 1st place autox plaque but it's a little bitter-sweet because it would be another 2nd place without this year's new classing. Nocones beat me by 1/2 second on narrow street tires! Wowzers! And he was driving! Nothing but respect for that! What an amazingly engineered and crafted machine!
the new power plant dropped a full second off the 1/4 mile time for a 14.6 @ 95. That made the drags more exciting than years passed. I was excited to see Chris and the PLB team get some runs in the haggard MR2! $500 ceremonial check to top off the weekend!
Did an SCCA Track Night at Sebring last night in the e36. Fun time, but it seems like people tend to go way too aggressive at these events. One guy at the drivers meeting was just appalled that putting 2 tires off means coming in the pits for a chat. Keep your car on track, pal, take it easy. At a previous track night at PBIR, I saw 2 cars end up in a wall independently. And last night, a 2zz swapped Spyder met its demise into a wall as well. Chill out dudes. The only winners are the guys bringing their car home in 1 piece.
PimpM3, looks a bit like your car. Do you still have yours? I hope you didn't sell it to this guy!
Man - looks like that MR-S took a pretty serious hit! :(
dyintorace said:Man - looks like that MR-S took a pretty serious hit! :(
sure does. This is why I'm never pushing 10/10 on a road course, whether its track day, Champ race, or even TT events. When you berkeley up at 10/10, the results are almost always expensive and painful.
Thats what I like most about autox and rallyx. For the most part, you can berkeley up and you haven't totaled a car.
Used my Challenge check to buy this heavy duty storage rack. Get this place organized a bit more!
My coworker drives a Boxster and was talking to me about a Lotus he saw and liked the other day, so on Friday, I drove the Spyder to work to show him a "poor man's Lotus." He loved it and at two different stop lights, I had people hop out of their cars, run up and ask me what I was driving. Lol! It turns heads on the street.
Lof8 - Andy said:Did an SCCA Track Night at Sebring last night in the e36. Fun time, but it seems like people tend to go way too aggressive at these events. One guy at the drivers meeting was just appalled that putting 2 tires off means coming in the pits for a chat. Keep your car on track, pal, take it easy. At a previous track night at PBIR, I saw 2 cars end up in a wall independently. And last night, a 2zz swapped Spyder met its demise into a wall as well. Chill out dudes. The only winners are the guys bringing their car home in 1 piece.
PimpM3, looks a bit like your car. Do you still have yours? I hope you didn't sell it to this guy!
Not mine. It went up north to Minnesota.
Hope he parts it out. That hardtop is super valuable.
Recent happenings. Brought the YXZ and a group of friends up to Durhamtown (now called Georgia Offroad Adventure Resort) in Union Point, GA. I've heard about this place for years and seen a bunch of youtube videos. It looked like a blast, and it was! It was a little smaller than I had expected, but the trails, and especially the race tracks were phenomenal. The "turbo track" was probably 2 miles long and very wide open. Lots of action at the top of 4th gear, about 80 mph or so. We camped out for 2 nights in the new trailer, cooked out a few meals and had a wonderful time!
Since selling the smaller enclosed trailer, I've realized I still have a need for a camping rig that is less than 22' long. My wife is not a big fan of sleeping on the ground or an air mattress, and I'd agree. So I'm working on converting this little Lowe's 4' x 6' into a transporter for a fold-over rooftop tent. Its fun welding practice and should be cool. I'm buying the big components used and trying to keep it as low budget as possible.
current state:
It will end up something like this. I hope to use it while traversing the ~1200 mile FAT (Florida Adventure Trail) put together by our own, Jon Birkmire!
You should make a trip to southern West Virginia and ride the Hatfield McCoy Trails. Unbelievable country and open space.
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