Da Groj

Nice to see positive news for team teal

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Oil changed before the 1/30 autocross. Little bit of very fine metal showing in the oil.

Flogged it hard for 18 runs at the Dog Track (8 runs for Ben, 8 for me, and 2 for Philip). The engine isn't making any unusual noise at all, lifter tick from Jan 16 is gone. No sign of the oil light coming on, either. So, as long as we haven't already done significant bearing damage... the engine may be okay for a while. We're gonna run this one until it complains.

Tires are up to 126 runs. Maybe a couple events left in them. We're pondering fender flares...

(The 185 tires that are on the car now are the widest that can fit on the car without flares)

Loren wrote: We're pondering fender flares...

Do it!

Flare her to the max

Another event, and 8 more runs on the Festiva. Seems pretty happy. Getting closer to needing tires.

Coming soon to a FASTiva near you:

I like how the front fender is teal.

I like how they used to put the antenna into the A pillar. Is that what you mean

Carracer wrote:I like how the front fender is teal.

omg rofl

I wouldn't be too sure those flares are just mock-ups...on the FASTiva, that might be the finished product!

If I'd had the foresight to make them out of plastic...

Loren wrote:If I'd had the foresight to make them out of plastic...

Too high-tech. I have some heavier cardboard you can use.

The surgery begins this week. The plan is to mostly reuse existing sheet metal. For the front, we'll be cutting across the top just under the body line, and down the back edge. Then bending the whole fender out, leaving the front attached. Filling the top gap with sheet metal, and some sheet metal stays along the back edge to keep things in place. The rear fenders will essentially be the same, but with the open edge being in the front rather than the back.

In the mock-up photo, the rear fender is the look we're going for. The front was cut slightly differently, and I didn't like the look as much. (flat top vs beveled top)

If anyone wants to be present for any of this silly Frankenstein work, let me know. I'll be drawing some cut lines this weekend, and start the cutting sometime this week. Joe Brannon has graciously volunteered to handle welding duties. (should just be some light tack-welding) After that, a little adhesive/sealant to cover the gaps, a little paint... good to go!

It's going to be tough to color match sun-faded teal.

I definitely want to see this car get it's widebody treatment.

BigBlue wrote:It's going to be tough to color match sun-faded teal.

"Match" means different things to different people. If you haven't noticed, our philosophy with this car has very much been "close enough"!

At least it looks a lot nicer than the Tesla 3.0 does.

Moving right along. I've got a photo gallery going to keep a record of the process:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/42626344@ ... 271183314/

Trying to get a lot of the preliminary cutting done while leaving it "whole" so we can autocross it on the 9th. Will try to get with Joe the weekend after that to do final cutting and start welding things together.

So far things are looking good. 2" flares are going to work great to cover the 205's and leave enough room for 225's should we ever get REALLY crazy.

Strut clearance is good in the front, and mostly good in the rear. We're going to need to do something with the rear spring perch to get some clearance there.

After spending way too much time thinking and research different rear spring options, I finally ended up... buying a $54 eBay coilover kit.

They claim the spring rate to be 250#, which is more than I wanted, but easy enough to change later if we need to. My estimate of what's on the rear of the car now is about 170#, which really isn't very stiff... but, the "girder" we have for a beam axle is providing us with an estimated 900# of roll resistance. So, we don't need stiff springs... and softer MIGHT help smooth things out a little. (not betting on it)

Anyway, 5 minutes with an angle grinder and a quick installation of this coilover kit will solve our rear tire clearance issue with the rear spring perch.

One step closer.

Aaaand, the trigger has been pulled. We're committed now. 205/50-15 Federal RS-R tires are on order!

If all goes well, we'll be rockin' this setup at the first May event... maaaaaybe at the April Classic event.