Made a list of everything needed to get done on the car prior to its first "event"...did I mention it's going to be competing in a trial of speed this coming weekend? August 1rst. Uh...4 days from now. Yep. And driving over an hour to get there. And then, hopefully, back home.
This morning I crossed a big item off the TO DO check list:
The wheels were off the 122 we campaigned in LeMons during 2008-2010. 14" wagon wheels. The tires on them were 10 years old and hard as rocks, though they still held air. The new tires, please note, are a _slightly_ different tread style.
volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) :
_Then_ we'll see about a
Hot Rod Amazon.
the other kind of HRA!
The exhaust had an annoyingly loud tick to it, so I checked into that last night. It was, not pretty. The downpipe had a major crack right at the manifold. Attempts to unbolt the downpipe resulted in broken fasteners and increasing frustration. Things escalated after that...
The muffler was pretty crusty too.
And fell off.
Along with the pipe running to it.
And thus, I ended up basically rebuilding the entire exhaust. I had this muffler kicking around a box I'd gotten from somewhere:
I do not have a tubing bender. I did, however, have several randomly-sized bits of pipe. And an angle grinder.
It's all on the car now, working on getting some clamps made up and hangers hung. Should be ready for a test today. The carburetors are back on the engine, too, along with another manifold from my spares stash. Keep your digits crossed there's no other major issues....racing in less than 3 days!
Trying to follow along. Can't quite figure which chapter you are working from?
Following. Best of luck.
In reply to NOHOME :
The one where he breaks everything 6 years ago, lets it sit in a field and get rustier and dirtier, and then drags it out hoping he can fix all its problems in 2 weeks and dominate.
Going back in time a week or so; my son and I tinker on "Blue Bird" for a morning and eventually...
And as of yesterday...
Gotta love that SU induction sound!
In reply to buzzboy :
Yeah, it sounds way sweeter in real life than through my Blackberry's microphone.
Torqued all the lug nuts last night and started packing up for the race this weekend. For those curious, there's an SCCA rallycross at the Harrisburg Farm Show complex up in PA tomorrow morning. Spectators are not really allowed, but they told me there's an access road along the north side of the field where folks can park and watch the whole field at a distance.
Made a few test laps of the backyard on the new snow tires and they worked great. Heading out tomorrow morning at 6AM!
Great Day for the race!
In reply to volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) :
if only there was a local exhaust guy :P
Dude them old firestones are fantastic in the snow (which doesnt exactly apply here).
Have fun!
My class:
The results are interesting. I did come in last in class, though not by much- 12.6 seconds over the course of 5 runs. The competition was a Miata built and driven by a guy who does spec-Miatas (though I believe was a rookie at Rallycross) and a big old E39 wallow-boat driven by a seasoned rallycrosser. 31/40 overall, so not dead last.
And you didn't spin a bearing or generally develop rod knock, making the Volvo significantly faster than one of the Subarus out there. Quite the accomplishment, that thing was cool as hell.
Hey, it was great meeting you and seeing the car out there this weekend. You looked like you were having a lot of fun with it. I was working grid while you were running, and ran our turbo Miata in MR. Tyler (red Jeep) took pictures and got some cool shots of the Volvo: https://powers2440photos.smugmug.com/Susquehanna-Rallycross-8120
That looks like it was a blast! I need to drive a 122 in anger one of these days.
In reply to buzzboy :
In reply to Katya4me :
Great meeting you, too. You all were driving clean and fast in that Miata, from what I could tell from my corners. I don't think I "plus one'd" either of you all day. Had a lot of fun, and thank you for sharing those pictures!
Some of the DC locals who went were loving on the Amazon on FB. Bryan is a good dude, glad you got to run with him. I didn't know he had an e39!
In reply to bluej (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, we were chatting most of the time in between runs. Good times. I think the E39 was a loaner car...he sure drove it like it wasn't his!
IIRC it was a 200,000+ mile beater with rust holes and missing trim, the amount of which had increased by the end of the day.
Very happy for you. Glad to see you had such fun with a fairly limited outlay of $$ and labor. This might have been the recipe to renew your inspiration on the other Volvo. Good luck.
volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to bluej (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, we were chatting most of the time in between runs. Good times. I think the E39 was a loaner car...he sure drove it like it wasn't his!
IIRC it was a 200,000+ mile beater with rust holes and missing trim, the amount of which had increased by the end of the day.
The BMW belongs to Keith Pizio who was running it in MR.
We've hooned Ted's e39 touring on dirt a few times. Stock ride height and all that wheelbase makes it a stable platform. Not sure about quick direction changes though.
In reply to moxnix :
I was watching the E39 while I was corner working. It was well driven, but seemed like it bottomed out a lot. I cringed watching it carom off several larger bumps.
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