This thread is more on topic than me starting a new oh boy/son of a... thread of my own. :D
Yesterday, my car got a heaping load of love from my track pals. As you may or may not know, I bought my car back in mid June as an inexpensive alternative to wrecking my daily driver as I get faster and drive solo at more and more track events. What I know only one other user here knows is that little more than a month later I got some grave news about my health and have started a fight with colon cancer... one I am bent upon winning.:finger:
My strength leaving me and my car halfway through a front suspension refresh (inner control arm balljoints... ow) I messaged my track friends to see if someone wasn't interested in taking the car off my hands and giving it a good home. I had boxes of fresh parts, most of the SpecE30 suspension, and big plans that had been pretty much shattered. Within hours of that first email, my boys had decided they weren't going to let me lose the car nor any time doing the build. They'd take over for me and make sure I could keep the car. I was in tears reading this and talking to some of the guys later that week.
It took about a month to get everyone's calendars to align and a tremendous donation of shop and lift use from Ed Fuhrman at Induktion Motorsports gave them a place to take the car. Lightning struck though and like an overly excited puppy, the car peed herself both fuel and coolant in a dramatic start to what turned out to be the best day of my last month as the cancer fight bell ding dinged.
The heater core is shot. The car sat for nearly two months with the front end on jackstands in my garage leaking -barely- a saucer-sized dry puddle of oil from a leaky oil control valve gasket. Without the time to study it, the fuel leak seemed to be coming from the top of the tank only under pressure; it did not leak once the motor was off nor did she leak again. I'd allowed her to idle for nearly half an hour because the original optional alarm seems to be killing the battery and I'd ideally wanted to drive into the bay instead of push her. C'est la Vie.
Up on the lift and my pals tore through the car. I'd originally did not want the Spec suspension kit to go on, but just the fresh parts so that the state inspection would pass. Few people were convinced the H&R race/Bilstein combo would even cause an inspector to flinch. After the fact, I have to say how remarkably compliant the ride is, even with a trunk full of three toolchests and a duffel full of airtools.
That passenger side front control arm inboard balljoint to subframe attachment was a bastard. We would up dropping the subframe to get it off only to be confounded by the balljoint stem not wanting to drop! A jog to the local NAPA netted me a beeeeefy new pickle fork that had that mother of in seconds. As things went back together, the boys looked in my parts boxes and found fresh Brembo rotors and Hawk pads and said, "Why not?"
In a little more than six pretty casual hours, a dozen guys transformed my budget track toy into most of what I will have on track next season. My most sincere thanks to James, Ed, Anand, Jeremy, Mike, Steve, Ian, David, Matthew, Jason, Steven, and Yun for their overwhelming support for me. I don't think you guys know just how much being able to keep this little green car is helping me get through this. :puppy: :bow:
Yesterday, my car got a heaping load of love from my track pals. As you may or may not know, I bought my car back in mid June as an inexpensive alternative to wrecking my daily driver as I get faster and drive solo at more and more track events. What I know only one other user here knows is that little more than a month later I got some grave news about my health and have started a fight with colon cancer... one I am bent upon winning.:finger:
My strength leaving me and my car halfway through a front suspension refresh (inner control arm balljoints... ow) I messaged my track friends to see if someone wasn't interested in taking the car off my hands and giving it a good home. I had boxes of fresh parts, most of the SpecE30 suspension, and big plans that had been pretty much shattered. Within hours of that first email, my boys had decided they weren't going to let me lose the car nor any time doing the build. They'd take over for me and make sure I could keep the car. I was in tears reading this and talking to some of the guys later that week.
It took about a month to get everyone's calendars to align and a tremendous donation of shop and lift use from Ed Fuhrman at Induktion Motorsports gave them a place to take the car. Lightning struck though and like an overly excited puppy, the car peed herself both fuel and coolant in a dramatic start to what turned out to be the best day of my last month as the cancer fight bell ding dinged.
The heater core is shot. The car sat for nearly two months with the front end on jackstands in my garage leaking -barely- a saucer-sized dry puddle of oil from a leaky oil control valve gasket. Without the time to study it, the fuel leak seemed to be coming from the top of the tank only under pressure; it did not leak once the motor was off nor did she leak again. I'd allowed her to idle for nearly half an hour because the original optional alarm seems to be killing the battery and I'd ideally wanted to drive into the bay instead of push her. C'est la Vie.
Up on the lift and my pals tore through the car. I'd originally did not want the Spec suspension kit to go on, but just the fresh parts so that the state inspection would pass. Few people were convinced the H&R race/Bilstein combo would even cause an inspector to flinch. After the fact, I have to say how remarkably compliant the ride is, even with a trunk full of three toolchests and a duffel full of airtools.
That passenger side front control arm inboard balljoint to subframe attachment was a bastard. We would up dropping the subframe to get it off only to be confounded by the balljoint stem not wanting to drop! A jog to the local NAPA netted me a beeeeefy new pickle fork that had that mother of in seconds. As things went back together, the boys looked in my parts boxes and found fresh Brembo rotors and Hawk pads and said, "Why not?"
In a little more than six pretty casual hours, a dozen guys transformed my budget track toy into most of what I will have on track next season. My most sincere thanks to James, Ed, Anand, Jeremy, Mike, Steve, Ian, David, Matthew, Jason, Steven, and Yun for their overwhelming support for me. I don't think you guys know just how much being able to keep this little green car is helping me get through this. :puppy: :bow:
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