Who here is new to the forum?

In reply to slowbird :

I agree. very underrated car. quick for what it is and they dont handle too bad, just heavy. i think they are cool and think it would be perfect for my wife. but in the end it is her decision. i just wanted her to get something different.

I'm a longtime lurker, subscriber (although I think it has lapsed), and Facebook page follower. I thought I had a forum persona, but apparently not, since when I finally had something to say, my usual login failed.

Anyway, I'm only here seeking knowledge (see my topic on cheap commuters). Although not being as active with car stuff as I once was, I still enjoy following Grassroots Motorsports topics.

I've been lurking for way too long, and decided to finally pop the cherry on a post that has nothing to do with cars.  Sounds about right.  By far my favorite thread is NOHOME's Molvo build, such amazing work and a damn cool project.

Got into cars when I bought a 2004 Speed Miata and started autocrossing a year or 2 later.  That was fun, then I went to Miatas@Hallett and I was hooked on track days.  Those crazy fools let me out on track without a rollbar, and then conveniently I won the raffle for a gift card to Bethania Garage which paid for most of my the longest-name-possible-for-a-rollbar.  I promptly stopped sweating my ass off for 4 minutes of seath time, bought a truck and after my 2nd uHault trailer rental almost ending it a missed trackday, bought a trailer.  Spent a bunch more money on the car and just had a blast.  Hallett to this day is my favorite track, the elevation changes and the course layout with tons of open grass just cannot be beat.  Road Atlanta being the only place where I ran out of gear.  Road America where I got eaten alive by the largest mosquitoes Iv'e ever seen.

It's been a fun journey so far, that now I mostly live out through the antics of this board.  You guys do some crazy and awesome things.

Such a pretty, young girl

Who only gets better with age

New to the forum. After thinking about track days and the possibility of running on various tracks and moving my skills up I have finally bought a track car.  My major issue is storage and work space right now.  The car is currently being shipped out of Utah. I am located in central Indiana if anyone else is and wants to meet up and talk cars.  I would even be interested in helping guys wrench when I can.  I'm currently considering some storage space for the race car or one of my nice weather toys to get space in the garage.  I had thought about using my 98 Corvette and did take it to the NCM track.  That experience and going to the ST Ocatane Academy by Ford and driving the Focus ST on track got me hooked on the full track and not auto cross in parking lots.  Both are fun, but going around a track as fast as I can is a thrill.  The car I got is a 2005 VW Jetta with thr 2.5.  Not a power monster but should still be fun I hope.  Exhaust, intake, upper and tune I hope to be close to 200 at the wheels but until I get to know it and have the extra money flow it will stay pretty stock or as is with exhaust and intake for now.  I hope to work on my entry braking points and master the shifting.

mr2s2000elise said:

TXratti said:

New here, glad to be here and not on Facebook!

I mainly compete nationally as a Stage Rally navigator, but work on my own cars in my spare time. My main project is a 1989 Merkur XR4Ti that has seen a (not so) slow transition to racecar, now with a back-half cage, coilovers up front, all new polyurethane bushings at every suspension point, and some light motor work (I've been focused on the chassis). Hoping to get it to a point where I can just drive it for a bit, been doing a lot of autocross, but looking to do more HDPE with a look towards some TT competition at some point. I'm sure I'll start a build thread with a bit more details on the XR, for now I'll just say hello.

Grassroots Motorsports is one of the few magazines I can pick up and read cover to cover, the content is great and interesting. Great value for money.

I love the merkur. Really want to own one with the dual wing

Love the Merk! I had an '89 XR4Ti as well as a Scorpio (wife's car). Had alot of fun with the XR, I was into them for a awhile, joined my fellow XR nuts for a trip to Carlisle one year. Lots of fun! 

Hey Everyone, 

Longtime lurker, magazine subscriber since 2015. I've been into cars long before being old enough to drive. I starting modifying cars not long after getting my first car (2008 Honda Fit). Went the 'stance' route with that, airbags, wide wheels and stretched tires. Somewhere along the way I picked up a 2002 Honda Insight to commute in and not put too many miles on the Fit. Fast forward to today, the hybrid battery is dead for a second time in the Insight (I'll admit, neglect on my part), so I'm going to K swap it and hopefully finally get involved in motorsports of some sort. I've always wanted to, but never really had what like I felt would be a good car to take.

-Mike

In reply to mike410 :

Hey Mike, welcome!

As someone who sold a Miata to buy a 1st gen Fit in order to start HPDE... I’d say you had the car all along; but I understand.  

I’m interested in the k-swap Insight, should be a good/interesting track car.  Make sure to start a build thread so we can all follow along!

In reply to David S. Wallens :

My name is Mathew and I am a car lover. Love to join your community <3

First time back in many years so I figured I'd say hello. 

Mine is a typical story. I wasn't looking for a Mazda Miata when a friend said another friend was selling one cheap. I took it for a test drive and was hooked. Bought it and proceeded to autocross it regularly for the better part of 5 years with the odd road rally and 16 hour road trip thrown in for good measure. Went through a laundry list of bolt-on modifications. Made lots of new Miata and auto-x friends. Was my daily driver for many years. I took it to Costco and IKEA, Deals Gap and Watkins Glen. One time I removed the passenger seat and transported a Honda CB350 parts bike home in it. I bought and sold other cars but the Miata remained. 

Eventually I gave the Miata to my dad and it became a father/son project that we enjoy together. He once had an MGB that he adored and had owned longer than he had me. But one semester when I was away at college he had to sell it to pay bills and help fund my education. So the Miata was my way of saying thank you for his many sacrifices. He drove it for several years until we decided it needed a new engine as the original 1.6L motor was tired at 170k miles. We sourced a used replacement 1.8L motor from a newer Miata along with a newer gearbox from another car. While we were at it we decided to add TWM/Borla individual throttle bodies and Megasquirt MS3 standalone ECU. The project took much longer than anticipated with us living 350 miles apart but we made it work and eventually got it back on the road. 

Took my kid for his first ever ride on Father's Day 2017. 

It feels good with the new SuperMiata XIDA suspension and sticky Yokohama tires. I always forget how small and slow these cars are. Daily driving a 300hp turbocharged Alfa Romeo spoils you. But once I readjust I’m reminded how much fun they are on windy roads from 40 to 70 mph where they’re really in their element.

I am, as of yesterday.  I have been building cars and doing other welding and fabrication work for about twenty years now.  I was the welder-fabricator-X1/9 restoration lead at Midwest-Bayless for three years.  I developed their Acura K20 conversion kit and converted five cars in that time (four original builds and one rework of an earlier conversion to address NVH complaints from the previous fabricator's work.)  

In my own garage, I started in VWs and slowly switched to Audis.  My 1977 Audi Fox Quattro project is still in progress in the garage after a several-years' hiatus.  

gastungstenarc said:

I am, as of yesterday.  I have been building cars and doing other welding and fabrication work for about twenty years now.  I was the welder-fabricator-X1/9 restoration lead at Midwest-Bayless for three years.  I developed their Acura K20 conversion kit and converted five cars in that time (four original builds and one rework of an earlier conversion to address NVH complaints from the previous fabricator's work.)  

In my own garage, I started in VWs and slowly switched to Audis.  My 1977 Audi Fox Quattro project is still in progress in the garage after a several-years' hiatus.  

Some of that sounds familiar.

me too I'm pretty new, at least here. 

More a biker myself, YZ250 being my favorite. 

Hello everyone, I'm a newbie to the forum. I just purchased a 5 speed 2001 toyota corolla S to be my daily driver/ occasional autocross car. The car is really clean and sitting on coil overs and has a strut brace and is sitting on 16" rotas I believe. I know its a silly car to get excited about but I have always wanted an ae86 corolla and since that is out of my budget currently I figured this would be a good way to get back into the car community and have a nice fun reliable car to play around with (I know there isn't even a comparison between the two but hey I can dream right?). I have been a mechanic for over 15 years now and look forward to setting her up for light autocross and for the mountain roads up where I live. Anyways I look forward to talking shop with you guys and gals and I hope you like my new baby as much as I  do let me know what you think! 

I'm a member of more racing forums than I can remember.  Driving mostly my Honda NSX these days.

New member here - just signed up today.  I live in Virginia Beach, VA and drive a car just slightly bigger than most on here I'm guessing :)  It's a 1971 Olds 442 Convertible.  It's been work in progress for years but will be getting to the track soon for some autocross fun.  Here's a few pics:

Some details on the car - It's an original 1971 442 convertible 4 speed. Original 455 block is long gone.  It's got a Olds 468 now dyno'd at the motor at 528/563.  Magnum (close ratio 2.66) 6 speed with 4.11 rear.  Upgrades include roll bar, 18" wheels (18x8 front, 18x10 rear with 255/305s.  Tires are actually Nitto with glued on BFG RWL for the look.  AFX spindles 13" Baer rotors front and 12" in the rear.  4 wheel disks with Hydroboost, Lee 800 steering box,  FiTech Go EFI 8.  Lots of suspension upgrades front (tubular upper and lower control arms, sway bar, chassis brace) and rear (all upgraded control arms and sway bar) Verishock dbl adjustable shocks. Fiberglass hood, deck lid, fenders, front bumper, and custom front spoiler.  Here's a walk around video of the car in my driveway.  Sorry about the poor quality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slaGOuODRIk&list=UUDBRAXR-TNa1q51ZafLZ9jQ&index=5

71OLDS.....A vert with a stick and a 442 to boot .....ohhellyea!!!! 

I joined in this community a few days ago. I hope this would be a great place to learn and contribute. Lots of expectation with curiosity. 

I'm the latest GM noob, it seems. 54-year old dad in SW Florida who (like many of not most dads I know) long ago set aside a love for cars to spend his money on toys, ballerina outfits, lacrosse equipment, sorority fees, etc. My past stable included an eclectic mix of autos: 1965 stepside C10 4x4, built 240z, 1969 'vette, older Nissan SE-R, etc. Driveway currently sports a hunting truck (2001 Jeep XJ), my daily (2001 Gen 3 Montero) and my wife's rig (2006 LX470).

I recently made the decision to embrace a cliché and buy a C5Z vette...then tabled that approach (for now) and pivoted toward an older NB Miata to mod as a weekend and occasional track/autox car. I'll be taking delivery of the car next week: a '99 model with 6-speed, Torsen and a JRSC M45 strapped to the little 1.8. I'm a shadetree hack with a knack for dropping tools and cutting the wrong wires -- but I'm gritty so the job tends to get done, one way or another. I'm here to listen, learn and hopefully contribute something of value on occasion. 

Hi all,

Alex here. I have a 1991 Toyota MR2 that I got for cheap. Came with the 2.2 NA engine, 5spd, and a rough body (no significant rust or damage, just.. old). I'm stuck in the middle of two choices right now for the vehicle.  The overall plan is V6 (2GR-FE) + E153 LSD transmission and a butt load of new parts, which I have scatter around the house already. But how I reassemble is the real question.

Choice One: The faster, less perfect route. Keep the body how it is (rough), put her back together with the 2GR and butt load of new parts. Live with a car that is ugly looking but an absolute blast to drive.

Choice Two: The slower, perfect..er route. Strip down to chassis, send out to get prepped and repainted, reassemble with all the new goodies. Live with a project that will probably take at the very least 2 years to finish (mostly limited by funds) maybe a lot more. 

I'm leaning towards choice one because I do care more about how the car performs than looks. This is not going to be a daily in any way. Long term I'd eventually strip it all down again and have the body refreshed, but I'd imagine I'd wait 4-5 years before doing that once I get her back together. Anyways, these are the things that keep me up at night. Oh, I also have a 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth with a bunch of stuff but it really isn't all that exciting. 

Hello.  New member from South Florida.  I bought a 2005 S2000 in 2010 and made my way through HPDE to be an instructor and regional TT champion.  9 years and 170 hours of track day / TT and the car still runs perfect.  Trying to decide to buy a W2W car and go SCCA with my new father in law or buy my dream car RX7 and stick to TT so i can keep it on the street.

Hey guys. Been wanting to get into stage rally almost as long as I can remember, and even more so since I went to the nasa rallysport event in linden tn. Figure there will never be a practical time to build a race car, so why not get started?

I'm as new as can be, I'm restoring a 78 dodge tradesman motorhome, I know you saying "WTH4???" just sentimental reasons w family, anyway I'm needing to know what transmissions will swap out for my shelled 727 a. The cost of a rebuild is 1200.00 and that's just too much at this time. The engine is the 360 and im having bo luck finding a 727 replacement, thanks for any and all info.

Long time lurker who finally hit the register button.

I have a 2010 GTI that I purchased new 10 years ago that's been good to me and has aged quite well.  Over the years I've upgraded pieces as they've worn out to keep the car feeling as tight as new.  Currently riding on Koni Sports and Eibach ProKit springs, Eibach swaybars, Audi TT front suspension bushings, fully refreshed shift assembly with short shift kit, and all upgraded drivetrain mounts.  The engine has been surprisingly reliable, but it's also completely stock; I might have broken a record for the length of time a car enthusiast has owned a turbo VW and not even bothered to tune it.

The car has been retired from daily driving and now exists for fun drives around the mountains and track events.

Guess I’m still considered a newby, last post was nearly a year ago. At that point I had bought a 1992 Miata.   Drove it a few months, runs and handles great. Discovered it needs a clutch and before I got around to doing that job I had to have a knee replaced, then a few months ago I had to have a new hip.  So the Miata has been sitting.  I’m working up the nerve to see if my hip will let me get in it and, more important, back out.  Hope to be back on the road soon