Assuming we don't do anything stupid at our test day on Tuesday at Ocala, we plan on bringing the Berzerkeley to the $2008 Challenge for some exhibition fun. Yesterday I built a firewall for it and test fitted the nose again. Per was over here today and messed with it some. With some wider wheels and a bit more offset, the handling is greatly improved. When it gets to 10,000 rpm, all hell breaks loose and it is scary-fun.
Remember, anyone is welcome to come to G-ville raceway and check out the Kumho $2008 Challenge. If you ever wondered what the cars were really like in person or wanted to meet any and all of the staff, come on down!
Will probably have the Tiger on hand too, as I leave right after the Challenge for a rally in Kentucky.
Sweet! Hope I can make it down there to see it!
On a side note, are there any open test days/ groups that run test days aside from the GRM private tests at Ocala GP?
We'll see how it goes at Ocala, but I am not sure we are ready to drag race it yet. Safety is one of the few things more important than clown smashing.
As for renting Ocala, there number is in an ad in the magazine and in most of our source boxes when we do stories there. Call them and ask them.
As for the E30 M3, it is pretty much done and put back together. Not sure I can get that many cars to G-ville though.
Please post a video I really really want to see this. I dont think the clown car will go through the auto-x to well, looks like to much like show not so much go.
This is what I shot when we were test driving it the other day. We're still having trouble with the video camera.
Tim, there is NOTHING more important than clown bashing! 
Glad to see it's running and moving.
By the pained look on Pers face and the comfortable look on the younger Mr. Suddards position makes me think that the kids are going to revolt against the clown ;)
I love the crossed up arms while the front wheels are going straight; looks like a great handling "turd". Is it just me or does the "turd" look like it's pregnant with a Per? Bring it on 
Tommy Suddard wrote:
The second photo is Tom.
Yes we know. John Brown referred to the younger Mr Suddard which would be you.
The chassis looks like a cut-down funny car. Should you guys actually survive the sorting process, the car will be crazy fun to watch as well as drive. I'm looking forward to its first competition.
Per Schroeder
Technical Editor/Advertising Director
9/23/08 4:42 a.m.
Tom would be Tom Heath, our production editor.
fastclown wrote:
I love the crossed up arms while the front wheels are going straight; looks like a great handling "turd". Is it just me or does the "turd" look like it's pregnant with a Per? Bring it on
just another reason why i hate clowns. quotation marks don't make it less insulting to call someone else's labor of love a piece of E36 M3. even smack has a line.
see, since i used an emoticon, you have to not be offended. haha, you still suck.
there's another emoticon. so you stilll have to not be offended.
Quotation marks are for the abbreviation of the Turderkely, hence "turd". Just another reason why I hate morons I hope I used my emoticon properly so as to not offend you, 
fastclown wrote:
Quotation marks are for the abbreviation of the Turderkely, hence "turd". Just another reason why I hate morons I hope I used my emoticon properly so as to not offend you,
i think i hear alanis morrisette singing
it's like calling someone a moron
while trying to sound smart
explaining how you used the wrong punctuation
while being an shiny happy person.
try an apostrophe next time. i'm sure it'll work, even in a clown's 'hood.
Do you think we can get alanis morrisette to drive the turd'? Wouldn't it be REM singing shiny happy people?
So how did the test day go?
aargh! i've been foiled by the board filter, and pwnd by a clown. this is quite possibly the worst day of my life.
I think this is the first time I've seen a suspension member used as a shoulder harness mounting point.
DILYSI Dave wrote:
I think this is the first time I've seen a suspension member used as a shoulder harness mounting point.
i think the ARB is inside the tube....
You may be right. So now it's the swaybar mount that is used. That's better.
Dave's right, that's the Sway Bar inside the tube.
Tom Heath
Production Editor
9/23/08 8:28 p.m.
fastclown wrote:
Do you think we can get alanis morrisette to drive the turd'? Wouldn't it be REM singing shiny happy people?
So how did the test day go?
I'm the Tom that isn't Tommy. I'm the tattooed clown stalker on the editorial staff. I typically stay out of the the message board traffic (looking for misspelled words keeps me busy, you know.) but have finally taken the berkeleying clown's bait.
The Berzerkeley will make it to the challenge, even though it's still in the development cycle. Today's test session was alright, the car did dozens of laps of the Ocala Gran Prix circuit without any sort of failure. There's still lots of bodywork to do, and we'll see what sort of last-minute suspension tuning wizardry we can come up with. There are hurdles that we are still working through, but what can I say? It's hard to be innovative.
If we were scared to try something new or didn't know how to use a multimeter or a soldering iron we could have followed some tired old formula. Maybe making a tube chassis with a big motor driving the rear wheels and then draping a Berkeley body on top of it as an afterthought. We could have gone with something really simple, too, like a carburetor-fed engine we were already familiar with and a speaker dressed up as a NAWZ bottle. I guess we like a challenge.
Tom, the one that isn't Tommy, I concede, I didn't know you guys knew how to use a multimeter or a soldering iron. In fact to think that you guys were able to use all of the original fuel and ignition system instead of creating your own just shows that you're not scared to try something new. I have to admit that it would have been a lot easier to build Minissan as a tube frame car and drop a Mini shell on top but I didn't want to copy the turds' (thanks Angry') innovative design, plus it was built under the Challenge rules regarding tube frames 
I look forward to seeing the turd' run/walk/crawl and I hope you'll be hosting a multimeter or a soldering iron class sometime during the weekend so the rest of us can maybe build a car like that one day. I'm personally tired of the same old formula, design/cut/weld/grind design/cut/weld/grind design/cut/weld/grind design/cut/weld/grind design/cut/weld/grind. Is a multimeter or a soldering iron expensive?
Big Box Store Poof 
