So not much new stuff on this car. It's cold, cold winter here and have been working on the wife's new vehicle (2005 Sequoia) which we cashed in the 4Runner for (for a third row, and better towing).
In the meantime, rallykar is spending 2 weeks indoors at the Washington DC Auto Show as part of the SCCA display :)
car show vandalism
I'm thinking of sneaking my car into the BMW display, which is a little ways down the hall from us, lol
^ Wow! That is very cool.
I love that you left the dirt on the wheels.
They wanted me to leave the whole car dirty, but since it snowed it washed all the mud splatter out and it was just dingy looking, so I had to wash it. So I settled with the wheels dirty :)
So I'm going to try and stop by after work tomorrow, may have to violate your car slightly.
Adam Kimmett already did, lol..posted on my FB page.
We stopped by yesterday as well. Got to meet Adam, nice guy. Your car looks even better in person!
Not much news since it's cold winter weather here in the last few weeks. But might as well do a super-quick update.
e30 spent 2 weeks at the Washington Auto Show and apparently got a good amount of attention (possibly because it was sitting next to a Boss 302 Mustang, but whatever)....
Carlos at Condor Speed Shop sent me a few new things to install.....solid UHMV bushings for the pedal box on the e30, and bushings for the shift bracket for the M42 that's going into the e21.
and cleaning up the other G240....which was very nasty...
--
So in some other news, I don't think I've mentioned it, but WDCR SCCA lost our rallycross venue at Summit Point Motorsports Park over the winter. Summit sold the land to the State Department training facility next door (which has apparently been in the works for a few years, but held up by budget issues). In any case, over the winter Adam (our chair) and some of the other guys have been in an all-out scramble to find some new sites.
Nothing much official that I've heard, but it sounds like there may be a couple promising venues out a bit farther west than Summit (longer drive for almost everyone except Pat...) that may include a very large mostly-gravel lot, and another one that is basically a giant defunct farm. So perhaps we won't be on the red clay this year (which would be a nice change), but guess we'll have to see how these work out. First event is scheduled for March 15th, so I assume Adam has one locked up for that event in any case.
It's really a shame, since Summit was a great place to run with 3 courses, right next to the road courses with exotic cars and racers going around all day, gas pumps, etc etc. Now we have to "rough it" lol....we've been spoiled.
So a bit of an update, though I haven't done any work on the car:'
The 2014 rallycross schedule has been announced for WDCR, with our first event in mid-March. Happy to say that I laid my whole year out and rallycross doesn't conflict with either of the 2 Chumpcar races I'm running this year, with my Vegas class reunion, or with 2 weddings I am going to out of town. So that's good.
Also they announced the new venue, which has its good and bad sides. It's in Frostburg, MD. The good: This place is HUGE. It's an old FEMA storage site, so it's about a 1/2-mile y 1/2 mile area of leveled land with gravel and dirt, where they used to park all the FEMA trailers. Also some grassy areas around. Since it's right next to a quarry and not near houses or town, we won't need a water truck since dust won't matter. The size is bigger than all three of Summit's courses COMBINED. I will miss the "out in the wild" feel of Summit with the tall grass and dirt. Now it's really more of a "gravelcross." But shoudl be fun, and room for some VERY long courses I'd guess.
Here's what it looks like from Google Earth. The little white lines are 150-foot-long greenhouses that Frostburg St. University uses, to give you a sense of scale
The bad is that it's 140 miles from here, so my drive to rallycross just got more than twice as far as it used to be for Summit. Not a big issue for me since I don't mind driving, but a number of other regulars at Summit sound like they will either run few events this year, or not run at all. In fact, Pat/Jason have their e30 up for sale since neither wants to deal with the drive (they tow-dolly it behind a Comanche, the car isn't street-legal). Spencer thinks he'll only make a couple events this year as well due to it being 4 hours for him now, and the ETA guys, who knows...
This also makes it nearly impossible to go home the night between the 2-day events, so I might have to round up some camping gear since I'm too cheap to stay in hotels for rally-x, lol....
For me, I made sure to up my AAA coverage for longer tows if something goes wrong. Summit was convenient with the shop on-site and no problem leaving the car if it breaks. Frostburg I won't be able to do that if something were to happen. I considered towing for the 2-day events so I could just crash out in the Sequoia (comfy...), but still don't have a trailer. Next year the plan will be to buy a trailer. Can't do it right now due to a lot of $$$ things I have to pay for this year, noted above.
Also it will be interesting to see what competition comes out. This is far enough north/west that we expect some attendance from Pittsburgh and Ohio regions......plus with all this room, it's going to be pretty ideal for Chris's new MR machine......which reportedly has about triple my horsepower....hmm. HOpe they lay out some tight courses, lol.
So, that's about it. More after the first event. There certainly the possibility that we will have multiple venues this year, but for now we'll see what this one has to offer. Kind of worried (about my gravel abilities and the distance), but also pretty excited about how much space there is, no water truck, and the future possibility of "snowcrosses" next winter :)
So even the first event is out there? Dang. Thought it wasn't till later this spring at least.
yup. but at least there's a test& tune the day before so we can all learn the new surface, check out the conditions, etc etc.....
That looks like an incredible site. I drive over three hours each way for (an admittedly good) site on 14 acres. That mustang looks like a good idea.
Looks like the new site is only about 4 hours from me. Maybe I will actually make it out for an event there this year. I just have to get my car back together first...
EvanB wrote: Looks like the new site is only about 4 hours from me. Maybe I will actually make it out for an event there this year. I just have to get my car back together first...
you'd better. I know that Chris wants to run against cars that have contended at nationals as a bellweather for his own prospects. I would like to as well, though I think Chris will be faster than me this season.
Next project will start this week: Lexan rear windows (just the back doors and quarter windows). I managed to score a reasonably cheap 36x36" piece off ebay (as luck would have it, the e30 rear window area, including the frame, is about 18"x36") and ordered 2 pairs of pop-out lexan vents from an aircraft supply place for $30 or so. So if the weather cooperates, that will be this weekend's project.
I'm taking a guess that doing these windows in 1/8" Lexan replacing the glass, vertical support, and cranks/tracks will net me about a 20-25lb weight loss up high in the back where I don't want it. I know there are other places to lose weight, but this is specifically meant to offset part of the weight of the rollbar, which is roughly in the same area of the car.
Other weight-reduction would cut into the street legality of the car (bumpers, lighting, etc). I may do the rear windshield at some point, but for the time being I prefer to keep the rear defrost for winter events, etc.
Another thing I plan to do is drop another 10lbs or so from each end of the car by replacing the piston-style bumper supports with some simple steel L-brackets, but that's down the road a ways.
In other news, with season membership signups for this season open for 4 days now, we have 21 season memberships already - which is pretty strong (I think last year we had around 25 or so). So I foresee full events all season again, though probably less people from the eastern DC/Baltimore areas and more from Pittsburgh/Western Maryland area.
Also 2 new e30s signed up for the full season - one is Alp Seyvan running initially in PR, who is a Fairfax County local that I've met and a newbie to rallycross. The other one is an 86 ETA but I don't know the owner (I don't think!) who also appears to be from the DC area.
More updates in a few days!
I'm the 86 eta. I haven't committed to the whole season yet, but it's very likely I'll be at every event I can make (been wanting to make it out for over a year now, long story). I'm a complete rallycross newbie, but have to run in MR because of the turbo.
I was actually kind of hoping we could try to arrange a meet sometime in the next few weeks for a little pre-inspection for any glaring safety or durability issues. I live near Columbia hts/U street and the car is in a garage very near here. I could of course come out to you in VA as well, but will need at least one more weekend before it's back running.
bluej wrote: I'm the 86 eta. I haven't committed to the whole season yet, but it's very likely I'll be at every event I can make (been wanting to make it out for over a year now, long story). I'm a complete rallycross newbie, but have to run in MR because of the turbo. I was actually kind of hoping we could try to arrange a meet sometime in the next few weeks for a little pre-inspection for any glaring safety or durability issues. I live near Columbia hts/U street and the car is in a garage very near here. I could of course come out to you in VA as well, but will need at least one more weekend before it's back running.
ah, good stuff!
Yeah, I'd certainly be willing to do that. I may be kind of busy this weekend with a few things (may be going to look at a "project trailer" for our chumpcar towing, plus family stuff) but if you're up and running the weekend after that and want to come out my way we could give it a look-over for sure. I'm just outside the beltway, so pretty close to DC anyhow.
Dammit, looks like this is gonna be a hell of a season in MR....between Chris and his 400hp monster, you with a turbo 6cyl, one returnee with a newly-built MR2, and whomever shows up from pittsburgh area. And nick will come back strong in the e28 no doubt....should be fun.
btw, I sent you a link on FB to our "team" page, so join up and meet the other donks on there, lol.
Irish, do you or anyone you know need a new m42 thermostat housing? I ordered the wrong one a year ago and it has been sitting in a box taking up space.
Not me, I have about 6 of them sitting around I think, lol....I'll ask the one other M42 guy that runs with us though.
ok, what's say we do a bit of work here already.....
started the lexan rear window project. This involved stripping off all the rear door trim so I can get a flat mounting surface. I managed to get a 36x36" piece of Lexan off ebay for cheap, and some pop-out aircraft vents from a plane supply place.
I kind of consider this a test project to see how I like them, so this is just standard Lexan with no UV or anti-scratch coating. If it gets scuffed up (which it will, badly), that's ok. This is a 29-year old rallycross car, lol.
Vents pop in and work well, though one of them I sanded a bit too much on the inside of the cut hole (3 1/8" hole saw/drill press) so it's a bit loose. I ran a thin piece of electrical tape around it for the moment to make it tighter. That kind of thing is why I bought the cheap Lexan for the first version of these, haha...
cutting in half...
after the main profile cuts (by the way, I used a jigsaw with bi-metal blade at low speed. Worked great. Clean cuts and no melting or anything.
one vent hole cut, and the black edging painted on (VHT epoxy paint)
the "final" product before it goes on the car. I pre-drilled the holes, and I'm going to use rivets. Since Lexan does expand and contract a bit due to heat, I am using 1/4" holes in the lexan for 3/8" rivets to avoid any cracking/spidering around the rivet holes (and will use rivet washers). If I remake these next season, I'll weld in some tabs and use countersunk screws. Rivets are easier for the first version.
The window piece will sit in the outer slot at the bottom of the door (just inside the "lip") and the rest of it will be attached to the outside of the frame with the rivets and sealant. I think this will give it decent rigidity (for 1/8"). Guess we'll see, lol.
More when I install it, maybe sunday, and do the other one..
Got one installed today. Made a few little mistakes along the way with my drilling, but overall went pretty well and it's in there nicely, sits flush, etc..
Oh, and 12.5lbs weight reduction (per side). And keep in mind I had already converted to manual roll-up windows (which were 10-15bs or so lighter than the electric windows+wiring+switch)
Me on scale with the new window and hardware:
Me on scale with all the old hardware, windows, crank, etc.
Installed:
pop-out vents work great, though I suspect they may leak a little bit in heavy rain....as if I really care.
irish44j wrote: pop-out vents work great, though I suspect they may leak a little bit in heavy rain....as if I really care.
It might not work, but maybe a large thin o-ring stretched onto the vent would help?
Junkyard_Dog wrote:irish44j wrote: I like that idea! I just ordered some 3 1/8" x 1/8" silicone o-rings from McMaster, so will let you know how it turns out :) pop-out vents work great, though I suspect they may leak a little bit in heavy rain....as if I really care.It might not work, but maybe a large thin o-ring stretched onto the vent would help?
Last update before the season starts. A few minor things:
Also met Josh Sennett, who is running his 325e TURBO with us this season. The car was a GRM Challenge build, so it's a low-budget setup with a turbo and stock ETA engine. Should be interesting.
Also while down at the marina visiting the parents this weekend, dad had pulled the 200-gallon fuel tank out of the boat (it had developed a hole) to replace it with a new one. Nice heavy-gauge aluminum, and I had to bust out a sawzall and cut some good pieces out for future use (as yet unspecified).
always love working in dad's "garage"
wish that was my boat in the foreground. Sadly, mine is in the background....
Looks like about 40 cars are signed up for the first event, which is pretty good considering how far out it is from where we used to run. I know some guys gave it up this year due to distance (all our events last year had 60 cars) so we'll see how this goes. Hey, more runs for the rest of us now!
MR is shaping up to be pretty interesting this year. Signups so far include me, Chris in the monster Mustang, Russ in a 1st gen MR2, someone else in Russ's old Supra, Josh S. in the turbo ETA, Eric in the "regular" ETA (a PR car), a Benz 190, and a few other interesting cars.
PR as usual is a bunch of e30s and RX7s.
And someone is running an 83 Celica in SR, by himself.
Oddly, of the 40 cars signed up, only two are FWD. FWD just aren't very popular in this region....
So here we go, the 2014 Season begins!
So first off, we’re at a new venue this year in Frostburg, MD, which is about a 3-hour hike (or more) for most of us (about twice as far as Summit). The venue is a 500 (IIRC) acre area that was once a strip mine up in the mountains, and then was a storage lot for FEMA trailers. So it’s huge, quite flat, and all gravel and some small shrubbery. And it’s gravel with a fine black substate….so some areas compact good and get hard, and other areas just keep sinking into pits of gravel deep enough to catch some cars once they get rutted up by the mod-AWD guys.
Second off, MR class looks a bit different this year. Roberto is gone. Chris Nonack returns, but now with a beastly 400-hp foxbody Mustang on big tires (a former E-Mod autocross car, so it’s light too!). Nick is back too with his e28 refreshed. Josh Sennet is a newcomer (but known to GRM’ers) with his GRM challenge e30 ETA…with a TURBO. Kyle Salerno took over Russ’s Supra from last year (Russ has a 1st gen MR2 that couldn’t make this event). Eric Helgesen is getting to know his dad’s ETA, and we have a few other cars in MR.
PR has Chris Helgesen and Stephen returning in the beat-up ETA, and Shawn and Katie in the beat-up RX7. Also we have a newcomer, Alp, in his 325i e30 (now with my old rally tires on it).
So….first weekend was a test&tune and then event. Saturday’s test let us familiarize with the new venue. The gravel and substrate is MUCH different for most of us from Summit’s grass and red clay, and required a new driving style (and attention to traction, big time). But I like it. The gravel surface suits me much better than the clay did, I think (though when it gets deep the RWD cars with low power can really get stuck…)
Saturday it was cold and 40mph winds (the hills around the venue are lined with wind turbines, if that tells you anything). So we tested and tuned No major issues for any of us as Chris learned the new car and threw rocks at everyone around (400hp + no mudflaps = better not be behind him anywhere within 100’). Only issue was with Alp, our new e30. He didn’t get one of his wheels torqued down well, and it rattled loose and eventually off on a test run, while breaking three studs and stripping another. Luckily the new venue has 2 auto parts stores AND a harbor freight within 3 miles so he got some repair stuff and got it back on the road for the competition day.
Sunday the courses were set up pretty well I think. A lot of kinks and slaloms as they tried to keep most of it on the harder-packed material, but some areas did get really deep and rutted. I came out of the gate strong and by lunch had built a 20ish second lead on the class. Chris was running fast but coning a lot. Nick was running strong as well, and Josh S. in the turboETA was surprisingly fast, and we was running on worn-out all-season tires. If he gets rally tires we’re gonna have a tough time holding him off. Eric is getting faster in the ETA as well, and Kyle is driving Russ’s old Supra doubly hard, and very fast.
In the afternoon I laid down a couple good runs (though Chris and Nick were holding pretty even with me), but with a few runs left I basically honed a bit. I’m rarely in a position to drive with a bit more….uh….entertainment value, since my style is more precise and less power. But with a 25-second lead I ran a few runs putting the car sideways at every opportunitly. Hopefully the photographer (AJ) got some good shots
So in the end, I pulled off a win by about 25 seconds or so. Not sure how the final standings will shake out, but here’s more or less what it looked like near the end:
Me Nick (25 seconds back, his last 2 runs he drove my car since he had a problem) Chris (about 45 seconds back from me) Josh S and Kyle were both only a second or two off of Chris last I saw, so not sure how that shook out Eric is getting faster in the car. Am I forgetting someone…..?
So…..that’s a good start to the season for me and the car feels good. I’m going to be doing a lot of checkin things in the next few weeks,……this new venue is HARD on the cars. In addition to Alp’s wheel-off…..the ETA boys put two cracks in their front shock tower (get that welder out) and kept knocking their fuel pump relay loose (killing the car). Nick managed to have a coolant hose rub up on the alternator and cut a hole in itself too.
So….some pics. I’m sure AJ will have better ones but I like to share some of my crappy ones
Chris and me
doh
Nice morning….but cold
More pics when I get some time….
So here's a video of one of the courses (this is from the test&tune, but we used the same course today for competition in the morning). You can see how huge this venue is, as we're only using about 1/4 of the usable area here. I was pegging the limiter in 2nd on a few occasions (and that's 7000rpms with a 3.91 rear, so somewhere around 65mph)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLoIoUm_840&feature=youtu.be
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