You in the Pittsburgh area? More info on autocross events?
You in the Pittsburgh area? More info on autocross events?
In reply to Scotty Con Queso :
Yep. There's lots of "kinda" close events, as in, an hour or two away from me. Pitt Race being the closest to the city. They have this "low key" series that they run but also the Steel Cities SCCA runs there: http://stcsolo.com/schedule/
Then there's also the Misery Bay region that runs up at Lake Erie Speedway: https://www.mbrscca.com/solo/schedule-and-results/ (I want to go to this one just because it utilizes part of the oval)
And there's one or two groups further east, this one comes to mind: http://ahr-scca.com/?page_id=8
I remember working on a few Contour's and Probe's during my time at Ford. They were an absolute nightmare in almost every aspect. The old saying of "10lbs of E36 M3 in a 5lbs bag" is the motto of those cars.
I hope you never have to change shifter cables on a V6/5speed combo car. It was the single worst job ive ever completed to date and that job list includes things like an engine replacement in a diesel truck. I left work that day of cable replacement with less skin on my fingers, hands and arms than napalm victims in Vietnam.
In reply to kevinatfms :
Welp, that doesn't make me feel any better about the loose-feeling shifter. I think it might be the shifter bushings, but I don't know if it could be the cables instead. Actually I have very little grasp on how shifters work. 
The Probe doesn't have cables.
Hmmm it appears you're right, it's not cables it's big steel rods with bushings on both ends, and the bushings wear out. I found some fancy aftermarket ones but I'm not sure I want to go that route. Will continue looking for other options.
Edit: I think I found the Mazda part numbers from a Youtube video and these are much cheaper and I don't care if they wear out in a few years.
| Product Description | Price | Quantity | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bush Part Number: GA2A-46-062 Remove |
$4.46 | $8.92 | |
 |
Bush Part Number: B001-46-062 Remove |
$3.98 | $7.96 | |
In reply to slowbird :
i found my box of 2nd gen PGT parts.
NEW from Mazda 19mm rear bar with brackets and bushings but no end links (OE from 2000 626 sedan)
Front Strut Camber Bolts aka Crash Bolts, used but not over-torqued
Rear Caliper Pins and Bushings
All of the above are free plus shipping. if you wanna throw a couple bucks on because you, me, or perhaps both of us are super cool, i'll take it. but it's not necessary. LMK if you want them.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
Sweet. I'll message you with shipping info.
it's alive...AAAALLLLLLIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVEEEEEE!
After wrangling with the Georgia salvage title and converting it into a PA salvage title (mistakes were made) and finally having it pass an enhanced inspection...the Space Probe is street legal at last! I picked it up this morning and drove it to work for the first time. Primary thoughts:
Below 3000 RPM - meh
Above 3000 RPM - this car is going to get me in a lot of trouble
I really need to replace the shifter bushings.
From this angle, you can barely tell that the bumper is a different color.
In reply to slowbird :
When the exhaust breaks at the last bend before the rear suspension, as they all do, you will be super-bonerized over how good the KL sounds with no muffler.
also, I still have the rear bar and other parts, but kinda forgot about getting a shipping quote. Early next week, I promise!
In reply to AngryCorvair :
Ooh, unmuffled KL. Maybe when that happens I'll kludge together a side-exit for it :D
You have the prettiest version of the Probe in reasonably good condition with the right powertrain combo. Even at this distance i too am super-bonerized in anticipation of many sexy acceleration noises.
I went for a cruise today and hit a bump so hard I think I bent something. I hate the roads around here.
This thing is so low I can't get the ramps under the front bumper. Gotta get jack stands.
Budget time! I think right now I have $394.38 remaining in the budget. That should be more than enough to put a bunch of cheesy stickers and LED lights all over it. I want this thing to look like a bad Fast & Furious extra.
Not a bunch to update, just been driving the car around and trying to get used to every little noise and vibration that it makes. I want to autocross it sometime in September.
I noticed that the markings on the gas gauge aren't at 1/4 and 3/4...more like 3/16ths and 13/16ths or something. Weird.
It also seems to have an issue with the sensor that makes it display inaccurately when it gets below half. Might have to be careful about passing up gas stations if I can't trust the needle.
Lastly, I went to PittRace today for an event called CarFest. I didn't autocross the Probe there, but I did do a karting session, and boy are my arms tired. Gonna have to get into shape if I want to do that again, but it was fun. Lots of cool stuff about the show, like a Boss Mustang meet and an Autozam AZ-1 on a dyno, but as I was leaving I got a real treat...I spotted another Probe in the parking lot! I couldn't pass up the photo op, so I pulled mine up next to it.
In reply to slowbird :
Gas gauge calibration is intentionally non-linear, to make you feel good that you got 200 miles out of the top half of the tank. Then you’re on E and the light comes on 120 miles later.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
I could believe that, but in my case, this thing goes from E to almost half and then back down to a quarter and then back to E, without necessarily correlating to the amount of hill/slope the car is on at any given time. Not quite as bad as the fuel gauge on my mom's Impala, but not very comforting.
In reply to slowbird :
Yeah, that’s not normal.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
I figured as much. Not sure if I can find a replacement sending unit, or want to pay for one. I could just find a nice red can to keep in the back in case I run out.
Last weekend, I pulled some more stereo junk out of the car, including a satellite radio antenna and a Kenwood box under the dash that controlled said antenna. I also found out where they were pulling power from to go back to the subwoofer...the wire that I'd previously not been able to figure out where it went? Well, it turns out that the other end of it was wedged into one of the fuse slots, with the fuse jammed in on top of it to hold it in. 
(Is that safe? It doesn't *seem* safe.)
Today I decided I was going to get the throttle body out and clean it, because I've been getting an EGR code and that's what the internet said would fix it. So, easy enough, right? Just pull off the plastic tube and then the throttle body.
Well...the plastic tube from hell decided it didn't want to come off.
I decided to pull the top of the airbox off, so that I could at least get that end of the tube free, and then I could pull on it some more.
Then this happened.
Berk.
I resisted the urge to cry, scream or buy the cheapest warm air intake eBay has to offer, and instead bought the cheapest replacement plastic tube that eBay has to offer for about 14 bucks. It probably won't fit at all and then I'll be stupid enough to buy the blinged out blue and chrome warm air intake.
Also, that hose just below the cracked intake tube? I have no idea why it's just hanging out unconnected to anything. Hopefully it's not important. Berk.
14 dollar hose arrived! It's a soft, pliable rubber-plastic that I can only assume the original used to be like before it aged and got hard. It's probably not OEM quality but it fits! The only downside is I lost a bolt that holds a bracket onto the airbox in the "removing the entire airbox" fiasco and so now it has duct tape holding it in place temporarily.
I also had my first "free stuff on Craigslist" experience, and it went well! I found a month-old listing for free Ford Probe parts that were going to be thrown away if nobody wanted them. To my surprise, they were not thrown away yet, and when I went to pick them up, I had a nice chat with the woman who used to own a Probe but then upgraded to an S2000. She said her best 1/4 run was 14.9 but she had a KLZE swap, so I guess I'd better be prepared for 16s in my car, lol.
I got a steering wheel, which I might swap in because my car has a MX-6 wheel for some reason. I got a center dash bezel, which is nice because apparently they break a lot and so mine will break someday. I got side skirts, which is nice because apparently they break a lot and so mine will break someday. Best of all, though, I got free tail lights, which I can put on the car for the Challenge, and free up a bit of budget! And then after the Challenge I'll put my current ones back on because I like them better.
I need to do some math, but I would *like* to get some 17" Mustang GT wheels/tires for this thing, just because "lol it was gonna replace the Mustang what if I put Mustang wheels on it" but only if they're this type.
In reply to slowbird :
I have a set of those I will let go cheap. I'm in Tallahassee FL..
In reply to 06HHR :
I'm interested...would you be willing to hold them until Challenge time? That would be my best bet at picking them up.
In reply to slowbird :
Not a problem, they're just sitting in one of my storage sheds. Tires on them hold air but are junk. pm me at darryl dot floyd at the googles mail dot com . I have all of the center caps.
Update: attended autocross yesterday to shake the car down. Car seems to be decently easy to drive, found a driving position where I can just barely fit the helmet in and still reach the wheel. Lacking grip from the all-seasons. Shifting gears quickly still my nemesis...hoping for a course design that minimizes need to shift. Autocross track yesterday had a 360 loop turn, this was the hardest part to get through for sure in a FWD car, I think I was in the ABS and when trying to accelerate I kept hitting the brakes instead of gas in this section. I am not very good at knowing how close to the cones I am or which ones I'm hitting. Need onboard cameras to assist with driver improvement. Also still mildly concerned about motor mounts being worn out and not up to the task.
Other than that, I think it's just a matter of scrounging up the pennies needed to pay the Challenge entry fee and hotel costs and gasoline costs and food costs. *gulp*
The seat has been rocking back and forth a bit under acceleration and braking, and I sort of assumed something was broken down there. Well I finally got off my lazy butt (pun intended) to look at it, and, well...
That motherberkeleying bolt was loose! The others weren't super tight either, except for the back right. Some motherberkeleyer tried to sabotage me, or maybe a previous owner swapped the seats at some point. (It would make sense if they're MX-6 seats, because the steering wheel is also from a MX-6.)
Anyway, I unbolted the seat just enough to see if I could easily remove the cover for a foamectomy, decide I can't, and bolt the seat back down tight.
Also wow that berkeleying carpet needs cleaned.
Then I checked the mailbox...what's this? A mysterious object appears...
Hmmm.
What would this thing look like with a big dumb wing? Like this!
Unfortunately this isn't a big dumb wing, it's a tiny dumb wing. Why did I buy it? Because I'm garbage and I have poor taste. Also, it was roughly a dollar.
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