photoBlog

See more at the movies
Did I mention I race rally cars? Red Rocket Rally

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Coral Princess
by ccons @ 13:31:02 - [perma-link]
Waiting to depart for Vancouver

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Another trip to the U-Pull-It
by brian @ 16:41:12 - [perma-link]
I found almost everything I went looking for today. I got an airbox
out of a 1986 Celica that bolted right into stock mounting holes on
the rally car. Its neat how so many different Toyota parts transfer
so easily between the different models. The car didn't run well with
the Celica's larger-bored air-flow meter, but the one from my FX-16
mounted right to the box. I connected it to the intake with some
combination of the hoses and elbows I grabbed from the Celica, a
Camry, and another FX-16 that was in the yard. It could be better,
but it works for now. Its a shame it didn't run with the Celica "HF"
AFM, because the hose for it routed pretty much perfectly. I should
be able to make it work if I Megasquirt the motor after Oregon Trail.
In any case, the filter is inside the box now, so it shouldn't suck up
quite as much dirt as the old cone air filter that was in there. Most
importantly, it should make the scrutineers happier; everyone of them
has commented on how they didn't like how the old air intake was just
sort of sitting in there totally exposed and loose.
I also got the steering column switches off a Corolla. My wiper stalk
got broken off when we rolled over. The "new" one doesn't have cruise
control, but the rest of the cruise control had already been removed
from the car. It also doesn't have intermittent wipers, but
everything else works as it should. I didn't use the intermittent
much anyway. On the rally car the wipers are pretty much either off
or high speed.
Two more things checked off the list. Lots more to go. 9 days until
Oregon Trail Rally!

Sunday, May 4, 2008
How Weird Steet Faire
by ccons @ 15:52:08 - [perma-link]
Jen really misses SF. :)

Third Place!
by brian @ 21:09:22 - [perma-link]
Today was my first rallycross on the Hotbits suspension. To say it is
a huge improvement over the busted stock junk I was running before
would be the understatement of the year. I know it felt good at
Olympus, but that was on smooth dirt roads. This was the chance I've
had to compare it to the old stuff. Now the suspension takes the
bumps instead of the car. It works like its supposed to work. The
car pretty much goes where I expect it to go. Mostly.
On the first run this afternoon, the car stopped running. It just
died. The course workers helped me push it out of the way so the
racing could continue, but I couldn't start it again. I figured I was
out of gas, but that wasn't quite right. After a couple of trips
across the field, once with a gas can, and another to get tools, Josh
and I found a blown fuse that was cutting power to the fuel pump. We
think one of the clipped wires under the hood shorted to the body and
blew the fuse. After installing a new fuse, the car fired up and I
got back into the grid with a DNF on the first pass. After that I
drove 3 clean runs just fast enough to take 3rd place in the M2 class.
We have just under 2 weeks to get the car ready for Oregon Trail (May
16-18). There's still a lot to do!

Thursday, May 1, 2008
Repairs almost complete
by brian @ 17:08:53 - [perma-link]
We rolled the car at the Olympus Rally, damaging the front edge of the
roof. Last week I got it roughly back into shape and had a new
windshield installed. Yesterday and today I tried to smooth out the
top with some body filler. While I was filling it in, I decided to
try to even the roof up with the aluminum sunroof patch panel, so it
looked like one big smooth roof. Unfortunately I didn't get quite
enough filler to go all the way around, so the back edge isn't
smooth. I'll get some more filler and work it in tomorrow.
I got to the point where every further pass with the glaze is filling
one crack but making a new one, so I decided to hit it with the primer
and see how it looks. It still needs work. I'll sand down the primer
and give it one more glaze coat when I do the back edge. Then I'll
paint it saturday so its ready for rallycross on Sunday.

Sunday, April 27, 2008
Party in GG Park
by ccons @ 15:35:14 - [perma-link]
Jenny-pants misses SF so much... :)

Monday, April 21, 2008
Olympus Rally 2008
by brian @ 12:42:56 - [perma-link]
Josh and I raced in the Olympus Rally this past weekend. We had the
new Hotbits suspension on the car, and it made a world of difference.
The car drove predictably and consistently. The roads were fast and
smooth. We were doing really well until we rolled on the 8th stage.
The E-Crew rolled us back over,
Josh popped the spark plugs to clear the oil out of the cylinders, and
the car fired back up. If we'd had our wits about us we should have
finished the next stage and completed the first day rally, but the
roll shook us up a bit. We drove directly back to service and took a
DNF.
It sucks, but the damage isn't too bad. If we'd had a spare
windshield we might have been back in it the second day. The driver's
window got smashed when we rolled the car back over, but we have
window nets. I'll replace the side windows with lexan. Maybe the
tailgate, too The windshield is the only one that has to stay glass.
Tomorrow I'll get this broken windshield out, beat the roof back into
shape so a new one will fit. And I'll order two so something like
this doesn't end our day again. I just need to figure out how to
store and transport a spare windshield.
Oregon Trail rally is May 16-18.
ps - never set tire pressures when the tires are hot. i'll learn it
eventually.

Friday, April 18, 2008
White people like...
by ccons @ 22:02:15 - [perma-link]
Sundance Cinemas: Kabuki Theatre

Friday, March 28, 2008
Its snowing!
by brian @ 08:30:27 - [perma-link]
Hooray for spring!

Thursday, March 27, 2008
Hay!
by brian @ 17:21:48 - [perma-link]
Flash and the rain have conspired to makemy backyard a muddy mess. Today I picked up a bale of straw (apparently hay has seeds, straw doesn't) and spread it out where the grass wasn't growing. I don't know if it will help the grass, but it certainly cuts down on muddy pawprints.

previous

XML

Saturday, May 10, 2008
	Coral Princess by ccons @ 13:31:02 - [perma-link] Waiting to depart for Vancouver

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
	Another trip to the U-Pull-It by brian @ 16:41:12 - [perma-link] I found almost everything I went looking for today. I got an airbox out of a 1986 Celica that bolted right into stock mounting holes on the rally car. Its neat how so many different Toyota parts transfer so easily between the different models. The car didn't run well with the Celica's larger-bored air-flow meter, but the one from my FX-16 mounted right to the box. I connected it to the intake with some combination of the hoses and elbows I grabbed from the Celica, a Camry, and another FX-16 that was in the yard. It could be better, but it works for now. Its a shame it didn't run with the Celica "HF" AFM, because the hose for it routed pretty much perfectly. I should be able to make it work if I Megasquirt the motor after Oregon Trail. In any case, the filter is inside the box now, so it shouldn't suck up quite as much dirt as the old cone air filter that was in there. Most importantly, it should make the scrutineers happier; everyone of them has commented on how they didn't like how the old air intake was just sort of sitting in there totally exposed and loose. I also got the steering column switches off a Corolla. My wiper stalk got broken off when we rolled over. The "new" one doesn't have cruise control, but the rest of the cruise control had already been removed from the car. It also doesn't have intermittent wipers, but everything else works as it should. I didn't use the intermittent much anyway. On the rally car the wipers are pretty much either off or high speed. Two more things checked off the list. Lots more to go. 9 days until Oregon Trail Rally!


Sunday, May 4, 2008
	How Weird Steet Faire by ccons @ 15:52:08 - [perma-link] Jen really misses SF. :)
	Third Place! by brian @ 21:09:22 - [perma-link] Today was my first rallycross on the Hotbits suspension. To say it is a huge improvement over the busted stock junk I was running before would be the understatement of the year. I know it felt good at Olympus, but that was on smooth dirt roads. This was the chance I've had to compare it to the old stuff. Now the suspension takes the bumps instead of the car. It works like its supposed to work. The car pretty much goes where I expect it to go. Mostly. On the first run this afternoon, the car stopped running. It just died. The course workers helped me push it out of the way so the racing could continue, but I couldn't start it again. I figured I was out of gas, but that wasn't quite right. After a couple of trips across the field, once with a gas can, and another to get tools, Josh and I found a blown fuse that was cutting power to the fuel pump. We think one of the clipped wires under the hood shorted to the body and blew the fuse. After installing a new fuse, the car fired up and I got back into the grid with a DNF on the first pass. After that I drove 3 clean runs just fast enough to take 3rd place in the M2 class. We have just under 2 weeks to get the car ready for Oregon Trail (May 16-18). There's still a lot to do!


Thursday, May 1, 2008
	Repairs almost complete by brian @ 17:08:53 - [perma-link] We rolled the car at the Olympus Rally, damaging the front edge of the roof. Last week I got it roughly back into shape and had a new windshield installed. Yesterday and today I tried to smooth out the top with some body filler. While I was filling it in, I decided to try to even the roof up with the aluminum sunroof patch panel, so it looked like one big smooth roof. Unfortunately I didn't get quite enough filler to go all the way around, so the back edge isn't smooth. I'll get some more filler and work it in tomorrow. I got to the point where every further pass with the glaze is filling one crack but making a new one, so I decided to hit it with the primer and see how it looks. It still needs work. I'll sand down the primer and give it one more glaze coat when I do the back edge. Then I'll paint it saturday so its ready for rallycross on Sunday.


Sunday, April 27, 2008
	Party in GG Park by ccons @ 15:35:14 - [perma-link] Jenny-pants misses SF so much... :)

Monday, April 21, 2008
	Olympus Rally 2008 by brian @ 12:42:56 - [perma-link] Josh and I raced in the Olympus Rally this past weekend. We had the new Hotbits suspension on the car, and it made a world of difference. The car drove predictably and consistently. The roads were fast and smooth. We were doing really well until we rolled on the 8th stage. The E-Crew rolled us back over, Josh popped the spark plugs to clear the oil out of the cylinders, and the car fired back up. If we'd had our wits about us we should have finished the next stage and completed the first day rally, but the roll shook us up a bit. We drove directly back to service and took a DNF. It sucks, but the damage isn't too bad. If we'd had a spare windshield we might have been back in it the second day. The driver's window got smashed when we rolled the car back over, but we have window nets. I'll replace the side windows with lexan. Maybe the tailgate, too The windshield is the only one that has to stay glass. Tomorrow I'll get this broken windshield out, beat the roof back into shape so a new one will fit. And I'll order two so something like this doesn't end our day again. I just need to figure out how to store and transport a spare windshield. Oregon Trail rally is May 16-18. ps - never set tire pressures when the tires are hot. i'll learn it eventually.


Friday, April 18, 2008
	White people like... by ccons @ 22:02:15 - [perma-link] Sundance Cinemas: Kabuki Theatre

Friday, March 28, 2008
	Its snowing! by brian @ 08:30:27 - [perma-link] Hooray for spring!

Thursday, March 27, 2008
	Hay! by brian @ 17:21:48 - [perma-link] Flash and the rain have conspired to makemy backyard a muddy mess. Today I picked up a bale of straw (apparently hay has seeds, straw doesn't) and spread it out where the grass wasn't growing. I don't know if it will help the grass, but it certainly cuts down on muddy pawprints.
previous