I don't feel like you are hijacking. Congratulations on the purchase. This thread was the first thread that drew me into the GRM forum a few years ago and I am glad to see it keep evolving. Looking forward to watching the journey continue, and welcome to the forum!
It seems that around here, once a thread is started around a vehicle, the thread belongs to the vehicle, not the owner. So please do carry on.
In reply to ToriB :
Hijack away! If you need any access for admin rights to the thread I can give you my login info. (Edit: Now that I think about it I don't think there are any admin rights. I created this thread but beyond that I don't think I have any special rights to it. Anyone can post to it or setup a subscription to be notified when others post to it.)
Glad you found the winch problem. It was annoying not having it work to load the car. It still probably needs a new battery. And that ignition box should have been relocated long ago. I was just too lazy! :-)
And just to help you along Tori: Here are the quick change gears for courses that I mention. Of course your mileage may vary:
Philo: 5.55
Ascutney: 5.04
Burke: 4.25 (4.69 is too short. I thought of buying a 4.47 set which I think will be perfect.)
Okemo: 4.25
Washington: 4.69
I'll also privately send you a link do some other useful docs I have and spreadsheet that will show you speeds for different rear end gears.
Glad to see it live on!
Welcome V "Tori" B......will be following along fer sure!!!! How would you rate all y'alls wrenching skills?
I have followed this thread from the time I joined the forum. Never felt the need to post because Kevin seemed to be fully competent to build a safe car. Many of us on this forum will be willing to teach/help (if nearby) so post your questions. It looks like you won't be the first with a grinder on that seat brace in the photo! Fear not the large photos, many of us post large.
TurnerX19 said:It looks like you won't be the first with a grinder on that seat brace in the photo!
Absolutely, Most of it is probably from me cutting out the old seat bar when I bought the car. At the time I think I went overboard trying to make the old mount disappear. That was something I later learned was a mistake. Better to just leave the very small stub. It's easier and you don't weaken the tube trying to grind off every last trace. Some of it may also have been the guy before me. If Tori has to weld to that exact area I suggest some gussets to distribute the load since the tubing wall might be a bit thin in that area.
I'm sure this won't be the first bit of badness Tori will uncover. :-) How long is the statute of limitations for crimes against a race car?
In fact in this general area I would encourage her to redo the lap belt mounts as double shear mounts. She may have to change them anyway because the seat position is going to change. I'm confident the mounts in the car are strong enough and I tested them multiple times in hard hits but double shear seat belt tab mounts are cheap and just better.
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!
@759NRNG: I know how to hold a wrench and I'm not afraid to use it, and while I prefer to do things myself and build experience and confidence, I'm not afraid to ask for help when I'm in over my head. Kevin and I have a mutual friend who hill climbs with a similar modified and lives under a mile away from me; I'll be leaning on him quite a bit at least at first.
@Kevin: Thanks again! With regard to the lap belts, I hadn't gotten that far yet, but in the likely case of having to move the lap belt tabs I'll take your advise and order up some double sheer tabs.
Good to see this is continuing. Like 759NRNG this is one of the threads that pulled me into the GRM online world.
Congrats Kevin for stepping back on your own terms. This has been an enjoyable thread to subscribe (to). Thanks.
Congrats Tori for picking up a Kevin's car to work on, to run and to learn. Hope you keep us informed of events and car development.
OHSCrifle said:Congrats Kevin for stepping back on your own terms. This has been an enjoyable thread to subscribe (to). Thanks.
Congrats Tori for picking up a Kevin's car to work on, to run and to learn. Hope you keep us informed of events and car development.
I was happy to go out on top as the King of the Hill. I did make a vow to myself years ago that I wouldn't be one of those guys who can't let go and goes to the grave with a race car rusting away somewhere.
Even worse, some people get hung up on trying to sell the car for too much. I have much more money in the car and trailer than what I sold it for. (Duh!) Actually I don't even want to do the math to see how much more! But those are sunk costs, just part of the price of racing over the years.
Driver's go to the grave years after they stopped racing with their car still rusting away in the garage. Worse sometimes the family still won't sell it for a reasonable price because they remember how much their loved one was asking for it. It's just sad.
ToriB said:
1. Don't wreck the car
2. ...
3. Don't wreck the car
4. ...
5. Don't wreck the car
6. ...
It will be interesting to see if you have the same problem I had. I found it really hard to keep the "Don't wreck it" or "Take it easy" thoughts in my mind once I left the the starting line. It was like a switch was flipped and I forgot everything else except trying to make the car go fast. Probably why I ended up off the course on my roof at my first event. 
It did get better over the years and I was more in control of my speed after several years of driving. But it was always a struggle. The times when I was the happiest driving was when I could decide at the start of the run that I was just going to ignore that little voice that was telling me to slow down. There was just so much freedom in going for it, and not worrying about the possible consequences.
I'm not really planning on posting here much now that I sold the racecar. I'm hoping Tori keeps the thread going. But today I heard "It's my life" by Bon Jovi playing. It immediately made me think of the previous post and my happy place when I could just forget about the danger and live! I was picturing these lyrics playing as I am sitting on the start line waiting for the green light:
It's my life
It's now or never
But I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
At our rules meeting this year I was talking to Drew (Young) and I was explaining that the times I was happiest in the car was when I had to make a banzi run. One where there was no holding back and before I left the line I had already decided I was taking every chance. So I knew for example that the throttle would be all the way to the firewall when I got to turn 10 at Okemo. It was so freeing to do this. I hardly had to make any decisions and I could mostly just push the fear away and mute that little voice in the back of my head that was always trying to keep me alive.
Drew said that it probably says something about me that I was happiest when I could choose to ignore the danger and just go for it. He didn't say what it said about me!
In reply to KevinGale :
Oh boy can I relate to this....
I think it means you need to add some Kenny loggins to your play list!!
In reply to KevinGale :
Please don't be a stranger here. You have experiences that are a privilege to be party to by your postings. Thank you for bringing us along for the ride!
jfryjfry said:I think it means you need to add some Kenny loggins to your play list!!
Lol, I suppose that Danger Zone is pretty appropriate.
TRoglodyte said:In reply to KevinGale :
Please don't be a stranger here. You have experiences that are a privilege to be party to by your postings. Thank you for bringing us along for the ride!
Not planning on being a stranger but neither am I going to hijack the original purpose by documenting what non racing things I am doing.
KevinGale said:
Not planning on being a stranger but neither am I going to hijack the original purpose by documenting what non racing things I am doing. I will start new threads for the latest stuff I'm doing.
Fixed.
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