Saw the new 2012 Focus 5-door today. Quite sharp and aggressively styled.
(0)Archive for the 'car' Category
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So here’s the improved version of rally FX mudflaps. Used what I had from Derek, could be longer, but looks like it’ll help even more!
Derek had given me some leftover rubber diamond plate sheet material earlier in the week and the idea was to use it to make extended mudflaps for the rally FX. Friday evening before the next event, I decided to start on the project, should be an easy thing. I then remebered I had stashed in the floor of my closet, a set of Toyota pickup truck mudflaps. Wait, I’ve never had a Toyota pickup, you say. Yes, this set was scavenged from back in the day when we used to ride mountain bike, a lot. If my memory serves me right, this was even way back in the days when Tantalus was open and we rode it. We’re talking at least ten years ago. And if my memory through old geezer colored glasses hasn’t fogged it too much, I’m pretty sure this was the late afternoon ride with me and Dave where we explored down an undocumented trail and found an abandoned wrecked Toyta truck. This was the event that made the phrase “it’s easier to go down than up” famous with Dave and me. We kept riding until it got too narow and grown in, and then continued on foot. We had a good idea where we were, and eventually we got to a point where we knew where the Makiki Valley trail was. But now it was serious hiking, no bushwaking, with bikes. We decended the steep valley side, Dave occasionally having to cut vines loose with his pocket knife and passing the bikes between the two of us to get over rock drops, and finally dropped onto the valley trail, just as the sun was close to dipping below the valley top. Anyway, these flaps are the bounty from that adventure. Continue reading ‘Flap Neglect’
My Lassa Rally 1 tires came in our group order from rally-tire.com. Didn’t have a choice, this was the only 14″, but they look pretty burly and I think will do okay.
I missed out on an earlier order that had some mud oriented tires that I wanted to order, but maybe it’s just as well. I’ve seen under the conditions we race, those tires got chewed up real fast. The KRP surface is slick and muddy when wet down, but has lots of rock and coral in it. These made in Turkey tires are aimed toward gravel conditions and durability. And as “competition use only” tires, they have super stiff and thick sidewalls, I could lay one on its side and stand on it and it barely budged. This 175/65-R14 tire is considerably taller than any tire I’ve run on the FX so I was a little concerned with fitment. Test mounted them and looks like there are no clearance issues.
Time to test them this Saturday at the rally-x race! I wonder how much of a difference they will make, but heck the tread is more aggro than 90% of the tires on SUVs and 4×4 out there.
I
look like a freakin matador in that welding “cape” jacket I bought this past weekend. After I got home wednesday evening, I continued working on the floor patch. Did some more shaping (a.k.a pounding with hammer) of the metal, close enough to work. It’s no work of art, but it’ll do the job. Then broke out the welder and started on welding the patch onto the replacement floor pan. Started off ugly, and ended up cranking up the welder. As it got further into the night, I actually got better. A work in progress! Continue reading ‘Weld the Night Away’
I bumped into Clyde from Toyota parts a couple of weeks ago. He’s alive and mostly well, but hasn’t been at the counter because of a back injury.
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so I’m no kustom stay up all night (neighbors would really love that!) wonder fabricator, it’s taken me many days to finally get to this point with the floor pans that were sent to me. The rust we had to cut out unfortunately extended beyond the piece that was made for me, so I had to make that white patch piece out of computer case metal. Guess I shouldn’t feel too bad since this was done with a pair of aviation snips, cordless drill, Dremel, ball peen hammer, vice, c-clamps and a honking piece of angle iron as an anvil. Finally almost ready for welding!
Oh yeah, was browsing the new Lowes store when I spied this clamp in their small welding section. Wonders of wonders, this nice bar clamp is made in Germany, I had to buy it. I’d venture to say that the bars are forged?
Anyway, stay tuned to see how the floor shapes up, or not! Not sure if I’ll be able to weld it in during the week, weekday evenings I only have a couple hours before it gets too late to be banging around.
At the past Rally-X on March 19th, I had a couple issues. One was I pooped out my muffler on one of my early runs. No big deal, open pipe baby! Quite rude. Second issue was the car conked out on another run. 
Got pushed off course and quick look revealed AFM electrical connector had popped loose. It is missing a spring clip wire. Well, nothing some judicious use of duct tape won’t cure! The muffler was a clamp on deal, but two hangers broke/corroded loose and the last one was precariously bent. After the event was done, I McGuyvered a battery cable, bicycle spoke, and some safety wire to hang the muffler back on in an attempt to quiet it down for the drive home. It was still pretty loud. I took a peek and I could see a crack in the pipe, oh well, nothing I could do about that for now, so I drove home brapping all the way.
Funny how the GM-built Hummers with the fake CTIS wheels have the real valve stem opposite the side that the fake CTIS hose guard detail is.
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So I found myself driving the FX16 down the halls of the Hawaii Convention Center this wednesday. Kinda neat actually. The FX ended up being put into the SCCA booth at the show because it was one of the few RallyCross vehicles available. Everyone else would be at the actually rally event Saturday. 
Anyway, it’s pretty cool to have the FX which wouldn’t normally be considered a show car sharing floor space with some nice pretty cars. It’s actually a pretty good example of a rallycross car.
If anyone’s checking out the car show, come upstairs and check out the SCCA booth too!