How did you end up here?

759NRNG said:

OHSCrifle said:

759NRNG said:

R63 AMG The Unicorn of my Destruction | Builds and Project Cars forum | (grassrootsmotorsports.com)R63 AMG The Unicorn of my Destruction | Builds and Project Cars forum | (grassrootsmotorsports.com) 

I've met Seth L .....actually lives not too far from me.

How's that guy doing? He seems to have gone to Michigan for the summer and never came back. 
 

I remember walking past a magazine rack in around 2004 and and seeing an interesting cover of Grassroots Motorsports. Bought several issues and somehow wandered over here and never left. 

Did a google map street view and the Cab over IH is still in the front yard...not sure of his actual whereabouts....was eat up with racing small motorcycles the last time he posted

I stay in touch with him somewhat regularly and can confirm he's still around doing stuff. He's been doing a podcast called Track Walking for the past couple years if you really want to keep up with his antics. Find it where your find podcast things.

I have been *here* since 2015 but I am almost 100% certain I had picked up the magazine a few times years prior to that (which by the way, I can NEVER find GRM on the shelf locally anymore). I had poor internet at the time so I never came to the forum until later. 

Corner working an autocross.  Brianna Corn and fellow forum member "M4ff3w" and I hit it off like we had been friends our entire lives.  The conversation revolved around how rotary engines work, Top Gear, and some magazine I'd never heard of.

Mrs. Hungary heard me talking about it and unknowingly the two of us took GRM up on their offer for one free magazine.  Both copies arrived.  It was a tire test feature, and Mrs. Hungary's car needed tires at the time.  It was cooler than heck at the time to be able to purchase some Falken tires that were just a fraction of a second slower than the almighty Bridgestones everyone was running at the time, for a fraction of the cost.

Plus there was no guesswork.  GRM's scientific method of data acquisition left nothing on the table.  Up and to that point, I had never been so certain of a tire purchase (it's the small things.  But this was very much at a point in my life where I was 1) just starting to get involved in motorsports, and 2) was learning everything I knew was wrong)

Afterwards I found the forum but was too scared to post for a good couple years.  Constant pressure from M4ff3w eventually got me to sign up when I bought a Lada 2105.

In the early summer of 2007 a friend from college told me about this thing called the $2007 Challenge and how well V8 RX-7s had done in the past. He had two non-running FC RX-7s and I had another friend with a garage and lots of tools. It changed my life. 
 

Years later in 2018 when I got my fun car I was looking for car fun options and nothing nameplate specific was working out so I ended up with a new screen name and quite religiously on the forum. I don't think I have ever ever read the mag itself. 

Signed up for the magazine at the 1996 (?) SCCA Runoffs at Mid-Ohio while there spectating.  Subscribed to Classic Motorsports when the Studdards took it over.   Been lurking ever since...

Gordon 

I also saw Andrew Nelson's Nova Challenge car in an issue of Hot Rod around 2004, which intrigued me. I showed it to my friends, and said "we should do this someday".

One friend attended the Challenge around 2008 with a college buddy, and loved it. He convinced me to go with him in 2009 with a car of his own. He bought a terrible faded red (now pink) $400 1991 Miata with a hard top, and we got it running, painted it in his garage, tossed on some ancient MSW mesh wheels from his uncle's abandoned gray market 323i that was languishing in the woods, and turbocharged it. We then bought a even-worse 1997 F150 with a V6 and no A/C which had major brake issues, and we cobbled the thing together enough to drag the Miata on a rented trailer from MA to FL. We placed 4th overall and had a blast.

I joined the forum on some downtime right there at the Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville. Been here ever since. 

I don't remember, it must have been something, somewhere...possibly the good old "Capri List" mailing list from way back.

Living in Europe, with family in California, I know I was looking for copies when we would visit but I think it took me 3-4 visits before I found one. Then a few years later I got a subscription as a Christmas gift. I think I entered the forum on a sick brake, staying home with a flu, and did a wrap-up of my Capri project.

Thing is, I have always lacked a "real" grassroots Magazine in Europe, one that also has decent techical level. That's what brought me to GRM. I ahve do admit though, nowadays I am on a digital subscription and I don't read enough...

I would absolutely love doing the Challenge someday but that means some careful planning and in reality, some kind of parking lot build. One day?

In reply to therealpinto :

We really do need to start a European challenge team of complete strangers from the continent.  Buy everything here, ship it there, and parking lot thrash our way into challenge history

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

You'd get a few bucks from we Yankees to help with shipping when that happens .  I guarantee it.

Back around 2007-2008, I got hooked up with Jensenman/Curmudgeon/Mike Smith through the SCR-SCCA Forum to run some stupid race called Lemons. He seemed to think I should spend some time on this forum as well. This place has been going downhill ever since. 

I bought my first "fun" car in 2018 (2010 GTI). In 2019 I started doing AutoX and track days. I got hooked, as I expected, on track days and started looking for better tires. I found the "Ultimate Track Tire Guide" and a bunch of tire tests through google searches. I liked what I saw and then found the forum. I like the variety of projects and subjects here. There's also a lot less drama than some of the other forums I've been a member of.

Google originally...people around here have a knack for solving weird issues with obscure cars. Then I saw the build threads, lurked for a while, and eventually joined the fun!

In reply to enginenerd :

Great handle. I tell my kids that I'm an enginerd for work. 

Back in the summer of 1995 I met Tim and Margie, they seemed like nice people so I figured I may as well stick around for the fun. 

Been here ever since. 

Katie Wilson said:

Back in the summer of 1995 I met Tim and Margie, they seemed like nice people so I figured I may as well stick around for the fun. 

Been here ever since. 

This made me chuckle

therealpinto said:

I would absolutely love doing the Challenge someday but that means some careful planning and in reality, some kind of parking lot build. One day?

There's usually a parking lot build and whenever there is, it's always hungry for work, check the $2000 Challenge section to see what's happening...

CAinCA said:

In reply to enginenerd :

Great handle. I tell my kids that I'm an enginerd for work. 

Used to design & test engines...now I guess I just nerd out about them!

How did I end up here?

I like things that make noise and go fast and I hate money?

brandonsmash said:

How did I end up here?

I like things that make noise and go fast and I hate money?

 

I'm gonna have to use the hate money thing lol.  Well done sir, you have interwebbed excellently today.

There was an old wardrobe way up in the attic...

I don't remember. . . .   I think I got the magazine first then went to the forum. Then I had an interesting conversation on the forum with Tim S. that resulted in us deciding that we needed to meet out behind the woodshed to settle our differences.  From that, I knew that this was the place for me. 

(Tim if you see this I still think I was right even though I don't remember what we were arguing about. . . )   ;-)