And now the conclusion to how well a Caprice Wagon will autocross!

novaderrik wrote: those stock hubcap retainers are nice right up until you have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and realize that you don't have the key to take them off in the car..

You don't need a key for them. Its a regular bolt with retaining washer to keep the cap on.

Buddy of mine showed up at a rallycross in his Merc 600 SL.... when he went sideways he could take cones out with both ends of the car, at the same time. He was the hit of the day, there was talk of making a separate trophy or somesuch.

mad_machine wrote: just too cool. I wonder what hasn't be autoxed?

Reliant Robin.

N Sperlo wrote:

novaderrik wrote: those stock hubcap retainers are nice right up until you have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and realize that you don't have the key to take them off in the car..

You don't need a key for them. Its a regular bolt with retaining washer to keep the cap on.

Older GMs require a special tool for the hubcaps, which luckily, I have in my glovebox.

My sisters Olds had covers that fake lug nuts screwed on to the threaded lug nuts. So to change a tire, you had ten nuts to loosen.

Nice run! Wagons are great autox fun. Long wheelbase is easy and controllable when you hang it out, the weight distribution is near perfect.

Slap some springs, shocks, and sway bars on there and dominate. With those mods and some dinky r-comps I ran within 4 seconds of ftd....

familytruckster wrote: Nice run! Wagons are great autox fun. Long wheelbase is easy and controllable when you hang it out, the weight distribution is near perfect. Slap some springs, shocks, and sway bars on there and dominate. With those mods and some dinky r-comps I ran within 4 seconds of ftd....

Ah, but something tells me you have more power! Sway bars however are my next logical step. The shocks/springs are a few years old, so I am hesitant to replace them. Besides, I like the body roll.

A little more... Well, double the factory HP.. However, even with stock power they can get around OK. It's a lot of fun driving a V8 car as a momentum car.

Keep racing and posting vids. It never gets old watching wood panelling.

I still have body roll, that never goes away.

Pretty impressive for showing up in your living room, sofa and all!Well done.

looks good to me.

mad_machine wrote: just too cool. I wonder what hasn't be autoxed?

I've always wanted to autox a minivan (grew up driving several), but I don't think they'll let me due to the high cg

Nice touch lowering the rear window for a lower CoG... That must have been fun to watch!

familytruckster wrote: I still have body roll, that never goes away.

haha, I also lowered my rear window :)

Shameless update plug!

So this past weekend, I ran the wagon in its first and last autocross of the year with the guys in NEOSCCA. To say I had a blast would be an understatement. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos, as my friends are wonderfully flaky, but I do have the results which prove that I was indeed not last in either raw times or PAX, so that's a start! In fact, I was actually able to chase and beat some higher-classed cars; proof that these old pigs are capable!

It was a pretty good group of guys, and some nice cars to boot. Which reminds me, Bravenrace, your BMW looks pretty nice out on track. There were some timing issues, as you'll notice that a guy in a BMW 135i did in fact run a 40 second time, but it's because he shot through a few gates, as did the V6 Mustang with its 42 second run.

Results: http://neohio-scca.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-solo-4-back-up_fin.htm

PAX: http://neohio-scca.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-solo-4-back-up_pax.htm

So there you go. That's how you ruffle some feathers in a 140hp, 4100lbs car that people will tell you wallows, rolls, and can't handle.

I love how they mention the woodgrain under car color.

That's partially my doing. I can't have people thinking I drive a steelside wagon!

Did you notice that the Sentra outran the Z06 Corvette by a half second?

In reply to jstein77:

How do you figure that? The Vette ran 42.323 and the Sentra ran 42.750. Still impressive, but you know that has something to do with the driver, right? It was also a pretty tight course that didn't favor high horsepower/heavier vehicles.

You guys are making me want to autocross my C10 once I get it back on the road. Ridiculously inappropriate class, as I believe a pickup with an engine swap would currently be classed in SSM. But it'd be fun.

For a second there, I had a flashback to an old Starsky & Hutch episode while watching the YouTube video. Nice piece of driving. If any filmmaker needs a stunt driver for big and ponderous vehicles, you're the man.

Yeah, it was definitely a track setup where the small, nimble cars would have an advantage. The last gate before the finish was a real doozy for the wagon, as I had to almost tail brake to make it so that my rear end didn't take out any cones. The smaller cars just kind of whizzed on in.

familytruckster wrote: A little more... Well, double the factory HP.. However, even with stock power they can get around OK. It's a lot of fun driving a V8 car as a momentum car. Keep racing and posting vids. It never gets old watching wood panelling. I still have body roll, that never goes away.

Every time I see a thread like this I have to go digging back for 2005 CDC autocross photos of your car at Frederick. That day you beat my buddy in his Miata. He hasn't yet lived it down

I did manage to get the better of you in my own land-yacht (2000 Maxima) though!

Matt B wrote:

mad_machine wrote: just too cool. I wonder what hasn't be autoxed?

I've always wanted to autox a minivan (grew up driving several), but I don't think they'll let me due to the high cg

An Odyssey ran at a local AI event (AI is an SCCA club). And it finished with a better raw time than about a dozen cars there...

Must have been the red Honda badge.

Hoop, if you really want to blow peoples' minds....bring that beast out to a rallycross