Stormin'norman and Lexi

[stormin'norman]

That evening I received an upgrade from the Tall Winds accommodations along with a much needed feast at the Full Sail brewery and pub in Hood River. Thank you Trelease family!



And finally here's some video. Session 3 in the instructor group. I ended up bagging the last session of the day due to a leaking brake fluid reservoir. I'm starting to think that some shielding from the Racing Beat header might be a smart idea. The heat is starting to cook plastic and rubber items on that side of the bay.

[stormin'norman]

Helped coordinate a photoshoot for a friend's E92. I was just tagging along while Mitch did his serious photo work. Regardless had a blast taking pictures of this car and the owner showed us an abandoned 997.2 GT2RS. So strange and sad.


e92m3 by 3norman3, on Flickr

e92m31 by 3norman3, on Flickr

e92m32 by 3norman3, on Flickr

e92m33 by 3norman3, on Flickr

e92m34 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0227-7 by 3norman3, on Flickr

Abandoned GT2RS with about 500 miles of use and a broken front splitter.

DSC_0269-4 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0282-5 by 3norman3, on Flickr

Please tell me you're gonna try and find a way to rescue that Porsche!

People have left notes on the car before. I don't really know if there is anything anyone can do.


DSC_0189-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr

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Yes, he's been to The Ring, Spa and many other European circuits. The stickers are justified.

DSC_0212-4 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0215-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr

[stormin'norman]

Day recap and photos tomorrow. Busy day with tracking, instructing and then freak visit to the hospital to see a friend. I did edit one video from today.



As usual I prepped the car the night before an event. -_- Replacing grommets on a leaking brake fluid reservoir, popping in new exhaust gaskets and finishing things off with some fresh ATE 200. Thankfully I had some company as well.


Yesterday's event was also Lazarus' first skakedown. Everything went smoothly and the car turned out to be quite fast.

greddygalant was only left stranded on the way home with a dead alternator.


I can't decide if the Miata is any more fun now with the R888's. I know I'm loading up the suspension to the point of constant bumpstop contact on most of the turns and the 888's just don't let you play around as much as the Star Specs. It is nice to pass a few more cars in the instructor group with the new grip though. Talk of new suspension was in the works yesterday with the Eddie the owner of AR. I'll have to start lining things up as these Teins are not taking kindly to the new grip.






In other news, Eddie was out getting a feel for a new customer project. A widebody E36 s54 swap on Moton Triples. Car is currently quite sloppy and he was not happy. Looks and sounds ridiculous though.




Of course I had to include some NSX lovin.

[stormin'norman]

I wondered about your ride in the last couple of videos. It looked like it is very stiff now, but its the bumpstops? Interesting.

Rears in particular are bottoming out all the time. Not enough spring. Tired dampers. Too much tire.


IMG_5962 (ZF-7238-01724-1-001) by stormin'norman, on Flickr

Session 2. One of the more entertaining drives of the day.

Features: struggling to pass a lowly DC2. 2:00. Getting chased by Mark and Eddie in the E92 as seen above. 5: 30.

Save in T10 6:20. Getting loose in T6 12:20.


Likely old news for many but proof that the R888 must like bizarrely high pressures to work properly. This is the driver side front tire after Tuesday at PIR (stresses driver side of vehicle tires more). I started all 4 at 32 psi. To my untrained ass and hands the car felt "good" so I didn't play around much with pressure.

The result: Notice strange lip forming on the right side of the tire along the grooves.


Going to try starting cold at 36 or 37 next time (perhaps higher). Eddie clued me in with the following, "Its a function of the carcass flexing under side load when there isn't enough air pressure to keep it flat on the ground under load." Unfortunately I also run into the dilemma of not having adequate suspension to really run these tires. Changes will need to come soon. Updating safety equipment first. Schroth Profi-II 6 Hans coming soon along with a new Recaro.

PS something unexpected is about to happen.

[stormin'norman]

I couldn't help but investigate a really suspicious Craigslist ad. No photos and very little info on a 1997 BMW M3. I happened to see the ad the moment it popped up on Craigslist (just like the Integra) and this is what I found.


DSC_0505-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0503-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

A single owner, female driven, Arctic Silver on Black with the wood trim luxury package. Car doesn't have a single door ding and only a handful of rock chips. Dealer maintained (will be looking into more of it's history this weekend) with a gentle 130k on the clock and clean title. New tires, brakes, radiator, alternator, battery and a host of other items she remembered off the top of her head. Dinan software and a remus catback exhaust. Religious synthetic oil changes every 3k miles. My biggest challenge was a few hours of cleaning up after a female owner inside the cabin.

Price was under market value to begin with and I haggled a good chunk more off.

[stormin'norman]

Still lots of cleaning to do but I'm LOVING this car. Full service history from Rasmussen should be available to me on Monday. Cleaning out the engine bay it seems apparent that as she mentioned the radiator was replaced along with the alternator, water hoses, fan and belts. Looking forward to finding out more in the service files. Also to note.. this feels like a rocket ship (which is sad because it's really not all that fast) but I guess that's what tracking a Miata does to you.


DSC_0593-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0590-4 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0588-4 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0586-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0002-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr

[stormin'norman]

keep the bimmer sell the acura imo. the e36 m3 is in bimmer limbo right now where it's cheap. It most likely won't stay that way for all that long.

I'm pretty torn on the situation. Part of me wants to keep as it is quite clean for an E36 the other part of me wants to look for a lower mileage example in a more interesting color. Anyways, I took photos just in case I decide to make a Craigslist ad tomorrow. This car is such a riot but man other toys are calling my name too.


DSC_0622-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0623-3 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0624-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0625-3 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0626-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0627-3 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0628-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0629-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0630-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

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DSC_0632-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0633-2 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0634-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0635-4 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0636-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0637-3 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0638-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0639-3 by 3norman3, on Flickr

[stormin'norman]

She's definitely not perfect but ~30 hours cleaning has helped things quite a bit.

DSC_0640 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0641 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0642-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0643-3 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0644 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0647-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0648-1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

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[stormin'norman]

I get to look after this for a bit. :0 It's so fun to drive..


porsche1 by 3norman3, on Flickr

Some cleanup.

DSC_0080-4 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0096-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr

[stormin'norman]

After finishing pt. 1 of the detail (wash, clay, Griots polish 3 and Griots best of show wax) I hastily strapped the Gopro into the car, jumped the old girl and tore off eager to explore the healthily massaged flat six and keenly looked after suspension.

I must have been a solid half hour into my drive before I realized there were no plates on the car O.o Even if the plates were on it the tags are two years expired. Screw it I decided to press on. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to flaunt the freshly pampered lady downtown where I purposefully rung the car out in 1st gear everywhere. Enjoying the glorious notes as buildings and cars bounced the tune in every which way, old men cranked their necks eying the 911 only to scowl at the sight of a "kid" behind the wheel and mothers shielded children from the offensive noises. It was perfect. The car was perfect. Tonight was perfect.


DSC_0099-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr

I clumsily tried to master some heel toe downshifts on the West Hills backroads using the awkwardly offset pedals that pivot off the floor in true motorsport fashion(will certainly take some adjustment to). However, the seating position was superb. I'm not great at communicating what I like when piloting a car. I just know when it feels right. Early 911's and NA Miatas seem to give the driver a great commanding presence over the car's boundaries yet keep you from feeling as if you are riding on the car.

As I kept my eye on the temp gauge and oil pressure I let the Porsche casually limber up for some exercise. A few more minutes of calm motoring and navigating the sometimes vague gearbox and we were warm enough to explore this $29k stroked engine rebuild. Laying into the right pedal hard in second and third gear rewarded me with a sudden burst of speed that especially came on strong past 4500 rpms. You could hear the six violently sucking in air as a few bursts of WOT were cautiously poked at by my nervous right foot. “Remember this isn’t your car. You can’t replace this. Not now. Not anytime soon,” I told myself.


DSC_0101-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr
As my fun in the West Hills came to an end I instantly gravitated towards 23rd Ave. A happening part of NW Portland where of course… one should take their Porsche.

DSC_0102-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0100-7 by 3norman3, on Flickr
Making sure to produce as much unnecessary volume as possible I worked my way through the outdoor restaurants, lines of people, shoppers, people watchers and bicyclists. Intersections kept me nervously busy trying to keep the car idling. Knowing she wouldn’t start without the jumper box, were I to kill the sometimes rough idling Porsche, I ensured the rpm’s stayed busy in true vintage sports car fashion


DSC_0103-7 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0104-4 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0105-7 by 3norman3, on Flickr

DSC_0107-8 by 3norman3, on Flickr

At last I had reached my turn off of 23rd in between The Matador Steakhouse and Pastini. As usual diners were casually enjoying a peaceful meal along the walk begging for a quick pin of the throttle. I had reached my usual spot a quiet abandoned warehouse with plenty of decaying parking lot to maneuver about in.


DSC_0108-6 by 3norman3, on Flickr

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[stormin'norman]

While the E36 M3 is the most affordable M to own.. damn is this thing a money pit. Parts aside (I've already ordered a bunch of maintenance and replacement items) but my short commute used to consume only about $15 of regular in the Integra a week. I'm now comfortably putting in $45 in premium every week. Part of it has certainly involved running extra errands to AR after work to get parts on order but this thing is starting to feel expensive.

On top of that I desperately need to get back on track as I'm losing interest in the Miata. Quickly. Sadly I can't make BMW club next Monday but I'm hoping a trip to ORP in early September may motivate me to feel otherwise about the Mazda.

[stormin'norman]

I've been a bit pre-occupied with the M these past two weeks taking care of some fluids, gaskets and replacing the plastic water pump and tstat housing. But I will be headed to Oregon Raceway Park next weekend to play with Lexi which should be an absolute blast. I think a track day is exactly what I need to remind myself that the Miata is worth keeping. Anyways some off topic photos


DSC_0175-5 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

DSC_0181-7 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

DSC_0188-8 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

DSC_0186-8 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

DSC_0196-5 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

DSC_0197-7 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

DSC_0199-6 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

DSC_0203-6 by stormin'norman, on Flickr

Also worth noting for anyone with leather is I tried a leather restoration and dye kit for the M3. Very pleased with the results so far. Here's the passenger seat which wasn't in terrible shape but definitely improved.


I still have hopes of getting new suspension for the Miata but that's being pushed further and further back.

[stormin'norman]

2 pages of no lexi. She needs a new pick me up.

Not entirely forgotten! Starting to dust the cob webs off and get her ready for some tracking this weekend. Changing out some fluids and looking things over. Excited to head to ORP for what's looking to be a very quiet Porsche club weekend.



Despite my neglect of Lexi the car survived another track day with only so much as a clunky shifter issue (need to pull out the Mazdacomp bushing and see what's going on). This winter I think the car deserves a lot of cleaning and refreshing throughout the car. It's great to have something so reliable that you can just change the fluids out, make sure pad life is sufficient and go have fun. As much as I long for something faster I don't know how satisfied I'd be without this car.

Anyways couple quick photos and video to come.

I decided to opt out of going to Grass Valley the night before this time merely due to being too busy. Getting up at 3 am for the trek over is brutal but very rewarding.

Such a neat part of the state.


I was excited to see that I had been assigned to instruct a friend of mine so we made the journey over together and camped out all day along with his dad's E92.





I knew Luke had quite the background in karting and I had attended one autocross with him before but I was not prepared for how quickly he picked up ORP (not an easy track by any means) and how precisely he listened to my suggestions and was able to immediately make corrections the next lap. He's going to be extremely fast and that's exciting.

The day went extremely well as I unsuccessfully played with psi in the R888's, tried T1 CW in 4th gear instead of 3rd to avoid sustained 7-7500 rpm moments (yikes), kept pushing myself to carry more speed down into the North Bowl and rode along with Luke in his lightly modified but surprisingly enjoyable 1990 NA.

Video to come.

[iRoadster]

How much did you get the E36 for? That thing looks flawless.

[stormin'norman]

How much did you get the E36 for? That thing looks flawless.

I've seen NA Miatas with hardtops go for more. :O