What "spectacular" things has this magazine driven you to do?

My first issue of GRM had coverage of the $1500 Challenge event. Reading that motivated me to drag a left-for-dead Mustang out of the yard and into the shop for the $2001 Challenge, where we won the coveted "Most Spectacular Failure" trophy. It was a pretty spectacular weekend, so we decided to do it again, this time with a little more serious effort. Next came the yellow V8 z-car that worked her way up from 6th to 1st in the following years, which was pretty spectacular for a rust bucket. We got a bit burned out by that car and had to take a break from Challenge racing, which is still in effect, but I still read the mag regularly.

Most recently, I innocently read the 944 Buyer's Guide article several months ago and found it intriguing. Through my daily CL review, I stumbled on an ad for a "Porcshe" 944 with a broken timing belt. It was rougher in person than it was in the photos, but the seller was eager to get rid of it, and it was only 30 minutes away.

Fast forward about a month to today. With (8) new valves in place, I got to take it for a spirited drive for the first time. I have been lucky enough to get behind the wheel of a really long list of fun cars, but in a sweeping corner this machine is different than anything I have ever driven! It's just a 1983 model, so it is by no means "fast", but what a spectacular feel it has! It seems to settle into a corner like most cars settle into a straightaway. It's the anti-Mustang. I'm anxious to get some decent tires and brakes on it and push it further.

Thanks to GRM for continuing to fill my head with spectacular ideas. What have they done to you???

Erik

Beautiful car!

Bought my Porsche 924 after reading about all of the Challenge and Project car articles in the magazine.

5 years later, I've modified and rebuilt nearly every part on the car and I'm looking at actually driving it again this summer.

I've never tackled a project like this before and I've taught myself body work, including fiberglass repair, converted the car to EFI and EDIS ignition, etc.

Even though I know the end result won't be that fast (it is a rather tired 79 924 after all) It will be mine!

Isn't this enough?

Yeah, I suppose that counts.

For anyone who didn't see that 2002 in person, that car was an example of spectacular effort. Pictures did not do it justice. Erik

I bought a hair dressers car :

What has GRM done for me?

It's filled up A LOT of what might have been empty hours, kept me awake at night (and sometimes during the day...) with dreams of this or that car or car modification, been a topic of considerable conversation with friends and co-workers who may or may not be as car obsessive as I am.

I could go on, but basically, GRM has been MORE than worth every penny each issue costs. As I always say, "ANY magazine that makes you happy to read the ads...well, it's a standout in the field of car magazines.

It made me believe I could get a Mustang to handle; there is now an SN95 in my garage. Don't know if I'll get to the handling part this year but I'm having fun just getting back into the garage (more, my motorcycle already had me out there now and then).

Mine was the 318ti I drive daily. The Classic 900 was also influenced by people on this board.

If cars are bait, I swallowed the hook, line, and sinker whole

Then:

Back in about 2002, I read an article in Car and Driver about the $2001 Challenge. I was intrigued, so I went out and bought a GRM. At the time I had just bought a 90 Miata, and I liked sports cars, but that was the extent of my interest. I had never done any wrenching other than simple maintenance. With no fabrication skills, I decided to build a Challenge car. I did know that I needed help!

I introduced myself to a guy in the neighborhood, that I knew was into hot rods and asked him if he would be interested in helping me build a Challenge car. We had never even spoken to each other before that meeting, but he agreed to help me build the car as long as I covered the budget. Since that point cars have been my major recreational focus.

We built a V8 RX7 for the 2003 Challenge in his garage.

We then built a V8 Miata in my garage.

At that point with both of our wives tired of the fumes from welding, cutting and painting, we decided to rent a building to house our hobby. We found a 2500 sq ft out building and set up shop. We have since built 2 cars for the 2009 Challenge, a 99 Miata and a LT1`powered 944, and we are in the process of building 2 more cars that will hopefully be done for this year's Challenge.

pres589 wrote: It made me believe I could get a Mustang to handle; there is now an SN95 in my garage. Don't know if I'll get to the handling part this year but I'm having fun just getting back into the garage (more, my motorcycle already had me out there now and then).

Same here.

I had started on 2 $20XX cars since reading the articles, but never finished either and had too sell for different reasons. They were both T-birds. (I was taking ANY cheap car at the time.) One was a 88 Turbo Coupe that I stripped down and was in the process of adding a Garret T3/T4. I didnt finish on time, and a local fellow enthusiast bought it shortly after. The other was a free 96 Thunderbird LX that ran great, but looked like it got hit by a bus. The body work was wayyy more than I could handle on my budget and I sold the project for alot more than I had in it.

Like others, it's inspired me to work on a Challenge car.

That's me in the driver's seat, running that 58.004 lap.

Beyond that, GRM has constantly reminded me that I don't need to spend tons and tons of money to get out there and have fun. I wouldn't say I've bought a car specifically because of GRM - yet - but I've carried the GRM philosophy through most of my project and autocross cars.

Not specifically because of GRM, but I've also adopted the attitude that it's more important to me to have fun than win. Certainly I've done both on many occasions, but I'm not one to spend thousands on parts where I could spend hundreds instead for 90% of the benefit. It's all about having fun for me.

Got me autocrossing again after a 5+ year hiatus.

Hasn't REALLY influenced me on any car purchases. (You could count the Jeep, but that was because of the forum, not the mag, necessarily.)

I saw a bunch of cones in a parking lot with some cars running around em, and thought I would give it a whirl. This is LITERALLY the only run I had sun for- it was either raining or snowing or 20+mph winds the entire weekend, didn't get over 40 degrees. But it was fun. (really, this was my first autox. I had never gotten a chance to get out before.... signed up as soon as this one came along.)

Thanks to GRM, I have now both purchased, and sold, an engine, in exchange for beer.

Spectacular.

Used a dirt modifed nose to add aero to an E30...

Allowed "bigger" folk access to the driver seat (it's damn hard to climb thru a sedan window wearing a HANS):

...and just this weekend (after a bit of thinking and drinking) made a shifter out of an old flywheel spacer:

I own a Miata and a P71.

I'm feeling damned impressionable just now.

belteshazzar wrote: I own a Miata and a P71. I'm feeling damned impressionable just now.

Time to complete the tri-fecta. I just saw a $1200 E30 floating around on the for-sale board...

This magazine/forum has basically given me confidence to try more things than I would have before as far as engine swaps, grassroots fixes, etc.

... like putting a duramax in my 66 Bonneville, an LS1 in an S10, a Caddy 500 in my 67 LeMans. It has also given me tons of confidence in purchasing off-the-wall cars. When I see a weird, cool car on ebay for cheap, chance are someone here has a ton of knowledge about them and can inform me of whether or not its good.

belteshazzar wrote: I own a Miata and a P71. I'm feeling damned impressionable just now.

Time to complete the tri-fecta. I just saw a $1200 E30 floating around on the for-sale board...

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I owned an '88 SuperETA before I found GRM, and I've had three more e30's since.<img src="/media/img/icons/smilies/wink-18.png" class="smiley"

I feel so humbled! Haven't really done anything "spectacular" with my vehicles, in fact, over the last couple of years I've hardly picked up a wrench. I did send my wee MX3 out to have a KLZE installed, dunno if that qualifies, but I'm certainly happy with the results.

Cool on all the postings, you guys are inspirational

Raced Lemons, ChumpCar, HPDE's. I thought racing was for rich guys. Now it's for me.

I would say the most spectacular thing the magazine has driven me to do is drag one piece of junk across the country with another piece of junk nonstop from 2am to 10pm the next day after working on them since 9am the day before.

At that time, it seemed crazy.. but now...

To take an epic journey in a vehicle that was almost 30 years old. http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/o-brother-where-art-we/27302/page1/

This

And more recently, this

And in between 5 years of Epic BABE rally competition with an assortment of oddities which I wont clog up the "tubes" with at the moment