#BDD Juneteenth @ US Air
Black Dudes Drift got together for the first annual Juneteenth drift event.
Simba was good enough to host us at a track I have wanted to drive forever. Homies from Arizona, Cali, Ohio, NC, and other places were going to meet up and drive a 2 day Club FR event. The list was long in the beginning but as always people flaked.
I was set to meet up with my good friend Ryan whose birthday track day allowed me to first test my 328i. Sadly it was smushed and would not be available for the trip. The track was probably best suited for that car and not my boat of an SC.
I had sold off my old aero but had not fitted the new aero yet and did not want to destroy it before getting the car painted. So I found some old spare aero and cobbled together a somewhat ok looking car for the trip. I had not driven the SC in almost a year. I didn’t even change the oil.
I loaded up and headed to meet up with Ryan.
About 2 hours to the boarder at 5am, and another 14 from there.
We were the last to arrive as we had to stop in Milwaukee to pick up our media guys.
We had a good sized house to ourselves not far off the lake.
After unloading we decided to go to the store and get groceries. Just about everyone took turns cooking. We did not eat out once during the weekend.
Friday night we cruised the town and went go karting.
The locals were super friendly and some even came out to the even the next day.
Saturday was day 1 of 2. We loaded up one truck with all our tools and spares instead of trailering everything to the track. The SC gave me a hard time starting and did not want to stay running. But eventually we all made it to the famous US Air.
I didn’t take any photos as we had our media guys shooting video and photos. Hopefully we can see that soon. The SC was losing power and blowing intercooler couplers all day. Joe had a slight wreck, Ryan had no ebrake and lost some aero,and Jamar lost power steering. It got to the point where I could not even break traction on the front course. I should have spent the night working on it but Saturday night we had another cookout. Good vibes, great conversation, laughs and food distracted me.
Sunday we loaded up for day 2. No matter what I tried the SC would not run. So I went in the truck to watch everyone and just talk with the local folks.
We loaded up for one more night at the house. I had to go buy a winch to get the car back on the trailer. Cooked our final meal and went to sleep. We gave our final daps and left early morning.
Ryan and I headed south.
I had purchased spares for the trip but received the wrong sizes. So I stopped and picked up some spares. Its a good thing too…
A local caught us speeding through Chicago.
When I finally made it home I discovered the fuel pump ECU had gone bad. Very annoyed that I didnt get to drive hard at the track for such a stupid reason. But I will be back.
Here’s a preview of the footage from our media guys.
Crossroad…
I let my pile of wreckage sit on the trailer for weeks. I wasn’t devastated but I was upset that I only had one event after finishing it to enjoy. I hadn’t even washed it. Speaking to the owner of Spirit he saw that I had entered way too early right in a dip that gripped the car up and shot me straight at the wall. He had stopped me earlier telling me that the car looked to be way too gripped up on the Kendas. It had so much grip the front was pushing despite them being RS-RR’s. He suggested going up in air pressure. I decided to drive around it since I had spent so much time working on the car that day. I just wanted to drive. Big mistake. The spot I hit I was told was hit a number of times by other drivers which is why folks are told not to manji the straight. I was entering but since it was so early and aggressive I might as well have been manjiing.
The car had served its purpose. I crashed it and not the SC which I had driven at the previous spirit events. Those K-Rails are what pushed me to find a car that I would not regret crashing.
Now I had a choice to make. I just spent a lot of time and energy making a cage for the car. I could buy a new shell and cut it out or try to fix the smashed shell. It was kind of special since it was an M sport. I loved the color combo, and I had zero desire to put that amount of work in again any time soon.
Some local friends suggested a guy who they had used for frame damage previously. So I contacted him and sent detailed photos for assessment. He was confident it could be fixed as long as the center of the car was straight. The roll cage made the odds pretty good that would be the case. He estimated no more than $2,500 for the job. I was 100% ok with that. So I took the car back to my homies shop to get it rolling. I collected some super cheap parts in case I was going to end up not following through and got the car rolling. New wheels, new front coils, new steering rack, knuckles.
The only devastating part of the damage was my equips. I have owned these wheels longer than any car. They were boofed. Original lips and barrels. It took months to find someone willing to attempt to fix them. Most people laughing at what I wanted to do.
I had a Juneteenth event up in Wisconsin (I will make a separate post about that) that I needed to get to immediately so I pulled the SC out and drove to Wisconsin to forget about the 28 for a while.
When I returned I got the news the passenger cell of the car was straight and that I should pick up the car and pull the engine and return it for the actual work.
When I went to pick up the car the vibe was 100% different. The frame guy was giving me everything he could to discourage me from fixing the car. I had explained to him before that I JUST finished building the cage and had no desire to build another or cut it out and put into another vehicle. I just had a son and I had less time than money. When I pressed him he confirmed it was still fixable but he was about to move to a new house, he had other projects, it was going to take a long time etc. but it was fixable. So I told him I would take the car home, pull the motor and bring it back. He informed me that he spent more time on the car than he was going to charge me, at least $400 worth.
When I went to load the car up he informed me that the engine block had broken when he attempted to pull the frame. The engine block is the hardest part of an entire car and the mounts were broken so this made zero sense. Underneath the car was a massive oil puddle. He pulled the dipstick and sure enough there was no oil in the car. I asked him how he knew it was the block and not the oil pan which is aluminum. He told me he saw it leaking from the block after a pull. Immediately I figured this was the reason for the 180 in his confidence in fixing the car. He reminded me that he had more hours into the car than he was charging me, at least $700 worth. I decided to get out of there before the figure went over $1000.
I paid him the $300 for the frame time and took the car home. Frustrated at my wasted time and money. As I backed the trailer into its space I saw the passenger side over fender had blown off. I determined in my mind I was scrapping the car at that very moment. That was the final straw. I was not ordering another kit from overseas especially now when covid had slowed delivery globally. But when I got out I saw something that was a sign to not give up…
I had driven 2 hours at 90mph and the tire and strap saved the entire car. It sat on the trailer untouched for another 4 or 5 months. I didn’t even move the over fender.
During this time I checked various outlets for cheap cars. 300ZX, E36, S14, anything to switch to. But prices had gotten out of control. I also was able to pick up my wheels after they were most expertly repaired by Ehrlich Wheels. I paid a pretty good amount but the wheels were saved. Thanks to those guys again and jog off to everyone that said it couldn’t be done. I intended on putting the wheels back on the M3 fresh from paint. But when I put the car on the ground I instantly and inexplicably hated it.
So I put the Sparcos back on and sold the wheels to a homie who will take good care of them. He has dope style and drives real fancy.
At this point I started searching for another frame shop. Of the ones that responded, none were willing to take on the job. Finally I found a shop less than 10 min from me on Google that looked promising. An old school body guy from Detroit. So I emailed photos and his response was “We have fixed worse.” So I took the car for him to assess. It was bad but he was confident they could fix it. He warned me it would not be cheap. But at $50 an hour I was hopeful. He said they would need to find another car to take a front clip off of as well as measurements. So I stopped by the local junkyard and found a junked vert. The body shop planned to send their guys to the yard to cut off the front end that weekend. Sunday night browsing marketplace I found a deal that was like the older days. A complete 97 328i in MANUAL. Blown headgasket, asking price very reasonable. I just so happened to be off work the next day. So I messaged the seller and arranged to go get the car. Monday morning I pulled the 99 off the trailer and into my garage in the rain. I had just pulled the engine out which made it slightly easier. The rain however did not.
So my son and I drove 2 hours north to the Richmond area. Ironically where I had crashed the 99. I didn’t even negotiate the price. Paid, and loaded up the car for the drive home.
The frame guy from earlier saw the IG photos of the new car and messaged me telling me he was glad I went the route of re-shelling as it would have been too much work and too expensive. about 5 or 6 months of silence, and this was the first time he messaged me. I informed him I bought the car to cut up to fix the silver one and he stopped responding.
This purchase was perfect. Every bracket, clip, body piece, pump, line, I had put into my shopping carts pre-emptively I deleted. Not only could I use the body parts, the transmission that had been damaged in the crash would be usable. The PS pump, AC pump had also taken damage and I would have all of that for the sum of the car. MAJOR BOOST. The only things I would need to purchase would be the headers I planned to upgrade to, stiffer motor mounts, and glass headlights. I would be able to sell off the rest of the parts that I would not use and scrap the rest for whatever I could get. I would also have a spare engine to build for boost if I so chose. But first, I put everything up for sale. Both cars as a package deal. This was my last out before I went head first into the project.
Zero bites. So I took that as a sign and dived into pulling the engine.
This brings things current. I dropped both cars off at the body shop. I’m praying this is a good and straight forward experience because God knows that I have had too many bad shop experiences.
I never meant to own this many BMW’s
SC300’s and E46 M3 prices have been going up as well as their parts. 1 and 2J’s are insane. I had been wanting to cage a car as well to drive a bit harder but did not want to destroy the SC or M. One of my best friends had a beater 318ti manual he was getting rid of so I decided to buy it from him and cage it. The plan was to do really cheap upgrades to get it trackable.
But then I saw a really cheap automatic 328i M sport convertible on FB. I’ve always wanted an E36 vert with a removable hard top, and I figured it would be easier to cage a convertible.
Both these cars sat for about a year. I had just finished the SC and I was not starting a project until the M3 was finally done. I also needed a break.
After the M3 went up to Baltimore to Tim at Industry Garage I started to drop both trans and pull the pedals.
I was able to use the front portion of the Ti driveshaft to mate up with the rear driveshaft in the 28. I purchased a cheap clutch and new TOB and got them into the 28. In my years of driving I’ve found that full faced disks work better. Plus this car was going to make lik 90 hp so I didn’t need anything too aggressive. I bought knock off Bride seats with sparkle backs to match the titan silber. Sold off the horrible knock off style whatevers and test fit my Equips using Ichiba adapters. I measured how much I would need to cover them up and purchased Click Tunning 50mm overs. I also got an ebay angle kit, E46 lower control, Ebay coilovers, rear lower control arms, arms and Condor offset bushings. It took two goes to weld up the differential. The first time the welds broke likely because I had not cleaned the diff out properly.
As soon as I bought the overs I started seeing complaints about Cliq Tuning messing up orders, taking too long to deliver, or items not showing up at all. Luckily mine came relatively quickly.
I used well nuts to mount the overs and bowed the rears about an extra 15mm.
Got blessed by a homie with titan silber M mirrors. I was just about to cop a set of ebay jawns but these came up just in time. They needed a little paint but I was gassed enough.
Took all the kids out to get new clothes. This shop used to be the truth but management changed and prices went up.
I was amazed at how much angle these little blocks gave. Clearancing BMW’s up front is a bit difficult but I was able to get everything clear. Or so I thought.
At this point I took the car for its first test drive. The alignment was so off and the was shaking like crazy. Turns out the front wheel bearings were completely gone. So I ordered new bearings and got to work on other things in the mean time.
This is where disaster struck. While I was waiting on the bearing to be delivered I had drained the diff to clean out any left over slag and put fresh oil in. Sprayed it out with break cleaner and had a bucket underneath to catch everything. One Sunday, about a week later I woke up early and went down to just do a few things before I went to the gym. I wanted to get the exhaust sorted and was grinding off one of the hangers. I watched in horror one spark take the perfect trajectory into the bucket underneath the diff. I held my breath for what felt 10 seconds waiting to see if the fluid would go up. Then I heard a POOF and flames started licking the bottom of the car. The bucket was plastic so I knew I had to get it from under the car before it melted. I was able to use my foot to get it to the drivers rear wheel and then the bucket melted spreading liquid fire all over the floor. The table on the left side of the garage had much flammable material below and on top. It all went up quickly while I was trapped under the car. The door also on the left side of the garage was blocked by the most concentrated part of the fire. That also happened to be the side where the garage door opener was. The garage filled with the thickest black smoke so quickly I could see nothing but a dim point of light where the bulb was. I couldn’t breathe and I could not see. I could not locate the extinguishers I had near the back of the car so I tried to get to the front of the garage to pull the emergency release and get out the garage door. My tool cart and welder were on the right side of the car so I had to climb over them holding my breath. I made it to the door and reached for the emergency cable. I could not find it. I was choking on the smoke and felt like I was going die. I pictured my body being found burned in the corner of the garage. The first time I really thought I was going to die. As I was about to give up my hand hit the chord and I pulled it and leaned on the garage door to push it up. It took me three tries to get the door up I was so deprived of oxygen. On the third try I fell out the door on my hands and knees as the door came tumbling down onto my back. I paused there gasping for air and spitting up mucus and soot. Then the aerosol cans started exploding. I ran to my car and grabbed an extinguisher. At the side door of the garage I pointed the extinguisher at the base of the fire. The can emptied quickly and I ran to get another. This time I opened the garage door and sprayed under the car which I thought was going to explode as the flames were right near the gas tank. The flames subsided and I looked at the sky seeing the longest blackest cloud that led back to my garage. I heard a neighbor on his patio yell “There’s still fire!” So I ran and got my last extinguisher and emptied it. At this point people were all on their patios watching. No one came to help but someone did offer to call the fire department…after the fire was out. The garage was a mess. Tools, spare parts, manuals, papers. All destroyed. Fire retardant everywhere, oil turned into a sticky mess. Walls blackened with soot. The inside of the car filled with fire retardant. I called a good friend of mine and he came to help me clean up.
“When did this happen?” He asked? “Right before I called you I said.”
His face turned shocked. “You should be dead! How are you so calm?”
I looked around and remembered that feeling of thinking I was going to die. Even now writing this I get shivers just thinking about it.
I was 2 weeks away from my wedding. How tragic that would have been. In the following week I had 2 more brushes with death. A head on collision in my truck with no seat belt on, and the front brakes on my motorcycle locking on in the middle of the highway. I should not be here but I am. The car should not have survived but it did. So I named it Chaka Kahn.
Its at this point I really started to love this car. After my wedding and honeymoon I pulled it out the garage and cleaned it up. I started searching for a hardtop and soon realized not only are they hard to find, but they are significantly more expensive than the car itself.
So I ordered a red top and started to swap it out. The old top was leaking and full of mold from sitting under a tarp under a tree.
This is where I got serious about driving the car. Before this it was a casual, get it done when I get it done project. Its not an M3 but I had always loved the look of the E36 M above all other M3’s. Years ago when I had bought my E46 M on my 20 somethingesth birthday I had actually been on the hunt for a Techno violet M3 with a LTW wing. Getting the top on and the car cleaned up really got me gassed. So I ordered roll cage material and a rep LTW wing.
I do not like gutted cars so I stripped the least amount out that I could and started on the roll cage. A friend of mine had a private drift day for his birthday so I made that my deadline.
I had been overly ambitious with my skill set so as far as I got was the rear section. I was not completely comfortable with drifting a vert without the front section but it was better than nothing. I actually did not sleep the night before the event. My wife came out to the garage and I asked her what time it was. She was leaving for work and it was 6 am. I was completely shocked because I genuinely thought it was around midnight. I had been concentrating so hard the time flew by. I loaded up and stopped to get some breakfast. That’s when the fatigue set in. This was not the first time I had driven the car at speed but the first time drifting it aside from the roundabout near my home. The car was insanely snappy. Faster and more torquey than I ever expected. The auto diff ratio helped with gearing and 3rd gear was pretty comfortable. I immediately sensed some things that needed changed. After about 10 laps I parked and just relaxed being tired from working all night.
I made some alignment adjustments and a homie of mine asked me to come up to a spirit.jp event.
My friend failed to tell me that the event was a competition. All my drift spares were sized for my SC so I fell into the Master class which was 245 and larger tires. This track was much faster than the last and boy was the car sketchy. I still had no e-brake and no front cage. A course worker remarked that it looked like a handful. I did not do great in the competition but did get more used to the car as the day went on. By the end of the day I realized why the car was so twitchy. The biggest reason was the front wheels were grinding on the front LCA’s and cut a channel in the arms. The other major reason was the rear springs. The car was slightly lower in the front making the rear too light. Those two factors made it want to always over rotate. I also could not find gears. In a rush to get on the track I bent up the stock selector rod to work. But it was just good enough to to get it on the road. The trans mounts were blown letting the trans move around meaning gears were in a different position each shift and turn.
I finished up the cage and ordered some springs from a friend of mine who has a massive stash of E36 out in Portland. It was a good opportunity to reconnect and squash some misunderstandings from back in the day.
I added more clearance to the fenders and quarters. Fixed some cracks in the overs, painted the wings and overs, made a pedestal for the hydro, and routed and bled the brakes with new fluid. New double sheer selector rod, new front lip since I boofed the last one on a cone. New trans mounts, new front wheels, and grippy tires. My goal was to win at least one round of the comp series after such a poor showing. (LOL)
Pulling the car out after the cage was very special. I spent a low sum of money compared to most the cars I had done previously, but I was very happy and proud with how this came out. The low price tag definitely had something to do with it.
I had my homie weld up the arms and spaced out the new front wheels to keep away from them. new wheels are 18×8.5 +12 as opposed to 18×10.5-3.
This is where tragedy struck again…
The second round was trouble from the onset. The second turn my radiator exploded. I found a rd at a local shop and picked it up and set to install it. But it turned out to be the wrong rad. So I found another about 30 min from the track. By the time practice was over and qualifying started I had just finished. I didn’t even get time to bleed the coolant. I went out on the wrong tires for qualifying and was still buzzing from anxiousness of trying to hit the deadline. Then the retainer for the shifter broke. I had to hold the shifter up through the lap to keep it from hitting the driveshaft. Somehow I qualified but missed my run while trying to fix the shifter. I missed all of competition. many times my wife told me to just relax. I said myself that I was going to just put the car on the trailer but I pressed on wanting to make the free run after the competition to practice for the next round. I got the shifter rigged, swapped to my Kenda’s and went out for practice. The car felt great and I was able to push harder and harder. I was getting excited about how the car was driving.
But then on the last run….I pushed too hard.
I had a ride along and that was my main concern. I was happy both of us were ok. The worst part was the equips on the back getting destroyed. All the overs stayed in one piece shockingly.
Photo Dump…
Flikr recently pulled a photobucket and killed there terabyte of free storage so most of the photo’s are not working.
So here is a random photo dump.
Maybe one day I will fix the links but probably not.
SC 2019 Graphics
SC 2019
So there is much to catch up on, but for now here are the 2019 revamp images before the graphics go on the car.
And an image of what the graphics should look like if I don’t mess up.
Time to update…
Man, a lot has happened in summer 2017. I was blessed enough to go to two F1 races.
The first in Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where Hamilton broke Senna’s pole record and was presented with a race worn helmet by the family.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35128251642/in/dateposted/
Link to blog here:
https://fantasticvoyagesunlimited.com/2017/11/01/canadian-f1-gran-prix-2017/
Then Mexico where Hamilton secured the 2017 WDC.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/24295304308/in/album-72157688581498464/
Blog here:
Car wise, things have changed.
I traded my 18/19 staggered Equips for an 1996 240sx with a VQ35 and CD09 from a 350Z already in it.
It’s not wired up yet and needs lots of time and money that I don’t have at the moment.
It was a dumb idea but whatever.
The interior is in pretty decent shape. The dash has no cracks.
The body however has dents, and clear coat peeling everywhere. No real rust though.
It is FILTHY.
It’s a pile but I am happy to have another S14. These things are getting rare for real and the prices are stupid. So even if I have to sit on this thing for years before I finish it I will unless I can get a 95 or 97.
Engine looks in decent shape. Sitting outside in the weather has made this thing filthy though. Plus the tubs have been cut out.
Z calipers all the way around. Not fully bolted in or plumbed.
The pile of mess that came with it.
The few purchases I have made for it so far.
I finally got around to extending the LS400 lip for the Q45 and painting and installing the sideskirts. I also painted the grey trim on the car body color.
I have put in quite a bit of time and effort into this thing. Not a lot of money but sweat and frustration.
That was a major process but it MAJORLY improved the look of the car.
It’s crazy how just a tiny bit of aero can drastically change the look of a car.
No later than a week after I finished all this was the car sold. I was going to put the full VSSD set on the car and restore the paint. Sad to see it go.
I had been trying for two years to sell this car to replace it with a truck. All it needed was some aero. and paint.
The night I sold it. I had to drive to my friends Scott’s house to pick up some S14 wheels. Scott lives almost an hour from me. By the time I got home and swapped everything over it was almost 2 am before the new owner drove away.
While I miss that car it had to go to get something more practical. A mini van.
After doing stuff like this with my Lexus (wiring broke in Q45) I needed something to tow with and to carry tires to get mounted.
No trailer yet, but that is coming soon.
I did a little bit of driving. I think I’ve done 4 events this year. No grip or bike days this year unfortunately.
Man Zol out front in his IS300 at Piedmont
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35029686112/in/dateposted/
Piedmont is HELL on cars. The first entry is like 30% grade and you hit it straight on.
Then you can catch a little air at the 3rd turn and fully compress your passenger side suspension.
As a result my body work is taking a beating.
Local hero Chris Cotrupi leaving me for dead.
Whut is you doin’ baby?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35716885621/in/dateposted/
Lip and overs are in need of attention. I plan on going to 19’s and my Vertex front is painted and ready to go on.
But at that point I don’t want to drive the SC at this track anymore to destroy it.
So I plan to have the S14 running for local events.
So I am waiting for a few things before I freshen up the Lexus. I want to keep driving while I finish the S14. I might just use the M3 for grip days or focus on bike days.
I realized SC’s look best on 19’s but do not have wheel clearance for decent sized tires. When I do go to 19’s I will have to run rubber bands OR raise the car.
You know what I’m here for.
Following Scotty too hotty at the end of a train. We all over the place.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35716878441/in/dateposted/
Found some 19″ Equips in my storage.
Visited Asheville to see the eclipse.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35911637274/in/dateposted/
Then played in the dirt.
Next up trailer and “restoring” the M3 to go to VIR for a few track days.
2017…
For 2017 I am thinking of going to 19’s on the SC.
I also purchased a Contour for the few events I do.
Fixed some things on the Q45 to get it ready to sell.
Moto…
I bought another moto. 06 with 3,008 miles. Fresh.
Also picked up new gloves. The goal is to do some track days on this thing at VIR.
End 2016…
This event I almost didn’t make. I had a conflict of interest between the Mexican GP and drifting. I really didn’t want to drive without transporting my car via trailer anymore because it takes so much energy to do and the anxiety of breaking and being stranded are so old. I had not procured a truck yet so I was on the fence. I had just fixed some issues though and wanted to try them out. I had found my PS issue, a line to the factory cooler was kinked restricting flow and causing a stupid wine. I had added a cooler, removed the factory lines and added new fluid. But on the other hand my downpipe was so crushed the car felt like it had 150 hp. So I decided to go and do two hours then jet home for the race.
It was hotter than expected and I was exhausted from lack of sleep. The runs I got were decent though, nothing broke and I made it back in time to catch the green flag. A good day.
Limited media of course since I only drove the early part of the day.
Adjustments…
I can’t find the photos but when I got home I started looking for new ways to correct camber aside from the crappy drift works uppers. I contacted Figs but they weren’t super helpful and dragged their feet on giving me an answer. So I hit up Megan and they were extremely helpful. Installing the arms was a pain mainly getting the old ones out. They clearly had not been removed since the car was built. I ended up having to cut them out and buying new hardware from Lexus. It took about a week to do. I finished just in time for the second event of the summer. I had also installed new Megan fronts to replace my old TC Sportlines. I measuring tape aligned the car and went back to the track. The car felt much better. I was still having issues with my PS despite the new lines and fluid. But a vast improvement.
Also tried to go get some tires mounted and it didn’t work because the Infiniti got a flat.
Much more forward grip.
Articulation.
Pointing out where to avoid if you don’t want your oil pan or suspension broken.
Many more runs this time.
Taking the punk line. Those tractor tires are scarier than a K-Rail.
D-Days…
I moved on the exact date of a drift event at Piedmont so I had to wait a month to catch the next one. Unfortunately it started off as a rainy an dreary day, pretty rare in this area. But towards the end it dried up and the course got a bit faster. The course however is very rough and not low car friendly. I got a few ok runs in before I broke my axle and pulled the threads out of my upper control arm.
With no friends in the area to carry tires for me I had to get creative since the SC does not have great cargo space.
There wasn’t much media and after finally rigging my car to drive home I was beat. It started to rain again and I was driving home on one axle with a welded diff and a heavily loaded car. The lightening that came was super impressive and the thunder felt like it was going to cave my chest in.
Relocation…
I recently left the north east and moved back to the dirty souf. I did some research before I left and found there was a place of drift not far from me. Also a track I have always watned to drive, VIR, is fairly close as well as the Blue Ridge parkway and some other interesting spots.
But before that a quick catch up. I stripped the rest of the old chassis and had the car towed off. A huge load off my shoulders.
One last rompe at Richmans
One day while cleaning out the garage I dropped a tie rod on the back glass of the SC so I had to take it to get replaced. Expensive and hard to find.
I put everything up for sale with the plans to let go of whatever sold first. Hoping the Q45 would go first so I could get a truck for a daily, however the Bike sold first. I was sad but not really.
As a going away gift I got to see a RWB creation and ran into an old classmate of mine.
I can’t find the picture but Damien Bagley hooked it up on shipping. The SC and M3 went on his trailer and I towed the Q45 down behind the Moving truck and the Virago was inside.
I had a week off before work so I went out to a few meets to get a feel for the area. A photographer caught some images of the SC.
I wandered around and did a few of the M3.
And some of the Q.
Attended a Food Truck Festival/ Car show in Greensboro.
Dori…
Thanks Jeri. So much cussing but this song goes hard.
And this commercial just got me. Someone emailed it to me recently and it had me thinking about Nico, and the fact we were planning to go to Final Bout with the guys.
Freedom…
I was determined to do a Club Loose event this year. It had been 2 years since I had been on that track and it presented some challenges I wanted to surmount in the SC, namely the first entry. I had never done the course with a working ebrake and most of the time I had no power steering.
This time I had both so I was looking forward to the challenge. The car is heavy and not well suited to a track like this but I was satisfied by the end of the day. Next time will be even better.
Richman
This day was also our friend Jonny’s birthday. So we put together and got him a cake. If you look close at the picture below you can see us tearing into it. He was super surprised and really happy. That made the day!
Then we went and got Pizza and drove home.
Just Being Stupid…
Every car I had built up to this point was restrained. I did the safe road on them and while they looked good I wanted to go hard this time. So the over fenders, hood vent, red interior were all part of the plan. But I wanted to top it off with something I didn’t see on any other SC. A GT wing coupled with a low slung spoiler. I had no idea if it would work but I just did what I felt.
Test fitting the Bomex spoiler on the wingless trunk I wrapped Gold for extra nuts factor.
I measured and cut the bomex to fit around the GT wing and then painted it with some rainbow flake.
The gas flap broke off so I pulled one off my old shell and wrapped it to match the trunk. Kind of cool!
The homey David Lu caught me at work parked all alone.
White Castle…
After the oval event I was kind of drained. After about 4 years of trying to get the SC together and finally having a “successful” outing I just wanted to relax and not stress about getting into the garage. I didn’t even wash the car. I parked it in the garage and focused on getting back in shape and riding my motorcycle. Around this time my friend Nico passed away a week after my grandfather. Going to his funeral let me realize how many people have become important to me just through this hobby. I took some time out one weekend to go to visit Rich Whiteman aka Richman at his new house. It’s so huge I named it White Castle. The plan was to take a few shots of our cars together but it was stuck at the dyno. Tony from Freedom Motorsports came through and we just sat and talked all day. A good time. No work, no stress, just chill.
Kato saying “Bruh, What Are Thoooosee???”
Action…
I got an invite for a stylish car day at a private track. So after getting the car pretty I had to address the biggest issue on the SC. The power steering and the angle. Richman had cut up and welded my knuckles for me but I had not yet installed them.
Off with the front.
New rack.
Old out.
I wanted to get these coated but I didn’t even have time to paint them.
New knucks in.
As I was putting my AN fittings into the new rack I had a complete brain fart and used an impact gun.
Completely sheared apart the fitting. I was frantically calling places to see if they had any fittings for me to use. Then I remembered I had recommended my friend Punch to use the same lines that I had for his Cressida. but they turned out to be too short. I called Punch and he was going to take a lunch break and would meet me at his apartment and give me the brand new kit. I tried to pay him for it but he wouldn’t take any money. A great friend! I hustled back and got everything buttoned up. Thanks to Brent for driving me out to Punch’s. I would have missed the track otherwise. I didn’t take before or after pix of the angle but I noticed a big difference. I also ditched the rack spacer which for some reason blows the seals.
I took the SC out to “The Oval”, a private track near Penn State about 3 hours away. This was the first real test of the car since I redid the brakes and suspension. On the highway the car was smooth aside from some rubbing and sideskirt to road contact. My brother followed me out and my homie Punch met up with me at the track a few min. after we got there.
I love how low the car is and that it tucks rim under compression. Sadly the car has so little grip I may have to remove some camber.
Alex is an excellent driver. Hans Lessig takes some great shots too!
Some cheesy footage.
Overall the car felt good. I was happy with the angle. We could have gone a bit more aggressive but it was a vast improvement. The rack was smooth and I didn’t have to muscle the car as much. But I needed to get rid of some camber for more grip. The car had not a lot of forward bit mid drift.
#joyofpoo 
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