Angry Hamster EVO II: Holy Crap, I Drove it
(and now I'm deaf)
by Dave Coleman
EVERY INSTINCT STARTS TELLING ME TO UPSHIFT AS THE DIN PASSES THE FAMILIAR DON’T-PUSH-YOUR-LUCK FREQUENCY OF 8000 RPM, BUT HAVING JUST DONE THAT IN PIT LANE, IT'S OBVIOUS NOTHING MEANINGFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN AT SUCH LOW REVS. WITH AN ANGRY MOB OF LIKE-MINDED HALFWITS QUICKLY APPROACHING THE PART OF MY CAR THAT SHOULD BE A REAR BUMPER (BUT IS ACTUALLY A GAS TANK), I HAVE LITTLE CHOICE BUT TO PUT THE HAMMER DOWN AND EXPLORE THE UPPER FREQUENCY RANGES OF MY AUDITORY HELL IN AN EFFORT TO SEAMLESSLY BLEND WITH THE CHAOS.
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Project Frankenmiata: Failure is ALWAYS an Option
Wanna see what happens when an engine eats a screw? Wanna know how to fix a head gasket with JB weld? Wanna know what a Mexican Dodge Stratus and a U.S. Subaru WRX have in common? Ever wondered if an engine with a thrown rod can still be driven? Start reading.
From LeMons to Le Mans - Eyesore Racing's Victory Tour
Part 1: Le Mans Night Practice
If there's ever any chance we'll be able to just show up without reservations and dine on the Mulsanne (unlikely), Thursday practice is our best bet. I find a guide suggesting a bad Chinese restaurant that was actually in Steve McQueen's plotless masterpiece Le Mans (back before it was a Chinese restaurant), and giving long-form old-man-on-the-back-porch-style verbal directions. With no printer and no functioning smartphone, I take a picture of the directions on the laptop screen so I can read them off the back of my camera and announce that I'm headed to the track. Bitter Dan, Jay and Kyle are dumb enough to join me, while the lady-folk and Ryan stay back to eat, relax, and pretend they aren't missing anything.
Wrench Tips #30: Finding Oil Leaks Using Fluorescent Goo
Finding the origin of an oil leak can be a pain in the ass. By the time you even notice you have a leak, the stuff has spread itself all over the engine leaving little hint as to where it came from. If you could turn back the clock and watch the stuff leak out, it would be easy, but how?
Project Frankenmiata: Salvaging The Chassis
Like every good story (assuming Star Wars is every good story), this one started in the middle, ran through to what seemed like a pretty satisfying end, disappeared for a while, and is now starting back up at the beginning. Confused? That's how we like it.
Well over a year ago I put this little "coming soon" lie up next to this story in the Frankenmiata geek hub. And then I pretty much forgot about it. You can thank the persistent nagging of our fine reader 8695Beaters for getting me off my ass to finally explain where this car came from.
Project Miatabusa Part 12: Why You Can't Make Aluminum Exhausts... And Why I Did It Anyway
From exhaust port to tailpipe, project Miatabusa's exhaust system fabrication has stretched well over a year and has followed a circular evolution from brilliant hack job, to exotic race tech, and back to brilliant hack job. From custom-fabricated race header, to a lightweight aluminum tail section, to scavenged RX-8 silencers and hangers made from an S13 power steering cooler, the exhaust system is as awesomely eclectic as project Miatabusa itself.
Wrench Tips #28: Quality German Hose Clamps for CHEAP
Project Miatabusa Part 11:
Shorai Lithium Iron Battery (and Lots of Plumbing)
Shorai doesn't technically make any automotive batteries, but they have a full line of motorcycle batteries. I can't think of any reason why a motorcycle battery won't work in a car, and certainly not one powered by a motorcycle engine and charged by a motorcycle alternator. Shorai's direct replacement battery for the Hayabusa (theoretically all we would need to start a Hayabusa engine) weighs only 1.7 pounds!
Wrench Tips #27: Restoring Plastic is (Sometimes) Easy!
Wrench Tips #26: Back Purge Your Welds The Cheap Way
Back purging is simply using a second bottle of inert gas to flood the inside of the tube and flush out the oxygen from the backside of your weld. Here are some back purging tricks that let you use less of your expensive shielding gas.
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