This past weekend was a weekend that I will remember for a very long time. And hopefully there will be plenty of upcoming weekends throughout the year that will replicate that statement. Before we get into the events that took place this weekend, lets back up a few days prior to the weekend.
The 1G had been running amazing. No part failures allowed me to work on other things as well as clean up the car. First, I made fog light hole shutters. I used some of our aluminum sheet metal and then carbon fiber wrapped them. Once they were cut, I riveted them on. They turned out pretty well. I also drilled some more holes in the bumper to allow air to get into the external oil cooler.
I also worked on the front of the car some more. I modded my side marker lights to work (the mounting point where it is screwed in place was broke). So, they are in and made a huge improvement on the appearance of the car. Once I get them on, I worked on the gap between the front bumper and headlights. My front bumper sags a lot because I am not running a front bumper support. So, there is nothing to hold up the bumper where it should be. I added some spacers between the top/center mounting bolts of the bumper and the piece the bumper bolts to ear the hood latch area. Now, the bumper sits up higher, though it is still not perfect. The other gap I need to focus on soon is between the front bumper and the hood. My hood does not shut all the way because the underside of the hood is hitting my bulky top radiator mount. I need to cut/grind the hood so it will clear the mount.
Okay, now into the weekend. Friday, I took Ivy into town to get a car wash. While I pulled into the car wash, a green Honda Civic was pulling into the bay next to me. We both washed our cars and then another Civic (black) pulled in. I thought, “Well this must be my lucky day”. Once we both washed our cars, the green Civic pulled ahead and parked next to the black Civic. I pulled ahead and parked on the side by myself, hoping that if I waited long enough, I could follow them out and end up on the highway.
The kids in the Civic, about 5 guys, walked over to me as I was checking my oil. They were astonished once they seen my engine bay. They were pretty cool kids, believe it or not. I asked if they’d want to race. The kid in the green Civic said he would, even though he knew he would lose. So, up on the highway we went and Poison Ivy smoked him.
The next day, Dad and I bowled in a bowling tournament. We bowled in the second of 8 sessions. First place takes home $2,000. By the end of our session, I was leading in Single’s. So, we should also be leading in doubles. In a few weeks, we will find out who won. During the tournament, the kids with the Honda’s from the night before told me there was a car meet in town at the K-Mart plaza. So, I had my Dad drop me off and had a friend take me to get my car while Dad went to Lowe’s to get some stuff. When I got dropped off without my car, there was a white Evo 8/9 there, An STi, Honda’s, and a few other cars.
I went home and jumped in the 1G. As I was heading back down my road and planning on turning left to go towards town, the white Evo drove in front of me heading away from town. So, I turned right instead. I quickly got on his ass, easily notifying that I wanted to race. Once the passing lane opened up, I pulled out and easily beat him. I turned around and headed towards the meet.
Once I got there, the crowd shifted towards Ivy. Again, people were nearly drooling once I popped the hood. Again, I met several cool guys. One of them told me that Watkins Glenn, a 45 minute drive from me, lets you race your car on the track for $25. I have always wanted to go road racing, so that may open up more opportunities for myself and my DSM’s.
Saturday night, I went up to my Dad’s garage where my dirt race car was. Racing season is right around the corner. All I really have to do in order to get the car ready is put the new motor in. I went up and prepped the engine, it is now ready to go in. I will be going up there later today to drop it in.
Sunday, I made the hour and a half drive down to Tunkhannock PA to hang out with Kurt and help him get some stuff done on his 1G. Ben Kiah, then brang his green 2G GST down and hung out for awhile as well. I got sunburnt to shit, but the 3 of us had a great day.
Poison Ivy has been running really really well. I am not liking this half radiator and I haven’t for awhile. I am always paranoid about it and it seems to run hot when climbing hills or sitting at a stop for too long. Instead of investing in a better fan setup or shroud, I think I will just switch to a full radiator soon. But the car has been running flawlessly. I am up to 20PSI on the E316G and I have dialed in the injectors about perfectly. This is going to be our year!
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