NA6CE 1992 Form vs Function Build and History

[theothersawyer]

Hutchinson was such a cool track! Hoping to do it again this year!

[— kung fu jesus —]

OMG! We're doing Hutchinson @ Savannah in December! *SQUEEEEE!*

[—tsingson—]

See what happens when you don't have Facebook...I miss all the nice things.

[—Martin—]

Jzilla is on instagram, too ;)

[—tsingson—]

No social media for this guy at all. I will just have to wait for my email from James.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Hutchinson's will be experienced drivers only, from what I've seen. IOW, no n00bz. It's not that it's exclusionary, but it's a tighter, closer track in terms of barriers and surface. Novice drivers can slow an event down in a few ways. That's not meant to be negative, though it puts a lot of stress on the organizers and the staff. That it is scheduled for December, is like getting an extended recess or playtime. Usually the season is over by November and then starts again in March, so it's neat to get an extra event like this at a destination spot.

[—tsingson—]

Sounds like fun but that is Juvy's birthday also. Wouldn't have been able to make it. Spring 2018, I will be there for sure.

[— kung fu jesus —]

It gives you time to make a plan and get ready, which is most important.

[—tsingson—]

My list is pads, rotors and lines. Lines aren't as much of a priority but if I can. Brake fluid flush and then a helmet.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Just food for thought, the events at AMP have helmet rentals available from Discovery Parts. I might put the cost of a new helmet towards new lines, beneficial for everyday and performance. Your 99/00 already has rubber lines approaching voting age.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Nothing much to report. I went on a short trip to the mountains with my wife. I was surprised she wanted to take the Miata, because we were going the Nantahala Forest to view the eclipse. It was beautiful and the crowds weren't that bad at all!

Here's the car during the last 1/2 hour, one shot taken about every 5-6 minutes. The last on is taken at totality. We enjoyed 2:30 of full totality.

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We also paddled the Ocoee River, the upper and middle sections including the whitewater section from the '96 Olympics, very cool, a LOT of fun!

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Two other boats in our group flipped over through this section.

Also got to drive the roads a lot. Had a great time, the weather was terrific!

On the 28 (Moonshiner Hwy, down near the river):

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And On the Dragon the day of the eclipse:

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Now it's time to focus on ending the HPDE season on a high note. I've been collecting items and should begin a few projects soon!

[— kung fu jesus —]

Gathered enough parts to start some aero mods. The goal here is to have complete spare assemblies to be able to swap them back and forth. Stock nicey-nice bumper for everyday, cut rear bumper for the track.

I wanted a cut bumper to alleviate drag and reduce lift at the track. There is plenty of info out there about the benefits. I was looking closely at my pics from Charlotte and I saw the gaps in the rear bumper on the sides where the air was trying to pull the bumper away from the car. I wasn't surprised, though a bit shocked by the amount of gap showing. There's a lot of force going on there.

I got a bumper skin and support locally for cheap. I tried looking for a clean mariner one, but none were coming up. At $85 for everything, I wanted to move forward.

I have read Jeremy's (artcentermiata) post about bumper cutting a few times and used it as a guide. I used quality electrical tape to lay out the line. It was on hand and makes curves really well. I also used 1" painters tape and a ruler to lay down a symmetrical guide. Once I was happy, I used my angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to make the major cuts, then cleaned them up with a dremel/cutting wheel combo.







Using a few files, a few sanding blocks, I flattened the cuts as best as I could. This is race quality, but I still have pride in my stuff. I scuffed the clearcoat on the bumper to create tooth for the paint. After cleaning and wiping the surface down with alcohol, I was ready to paint.



I stumbled upon a mention that Krylon "True Blue" is a damn close match to mariner blue, so I went to Wally Mart to get a pair of cans. Under $4/can for the "fusion" type paint. Upon returning, I showered just to get experience of Walmart off me. After a gentle cry under the shower head, I was ready.





It's a really close match! The bumper is curing in the sun as I write this, and off course I walked out to check on it and found this:



Goddammit. Ah well, racecar!

[— kung fu jesus —]

The paint matches better than this mixed light photo shows. Just showing the final work before assembling the cut support to it.




The spare support core came with the marker light wires and I added a spare set of marker lights. It can be difficult to revert the car back to stock after a long day at the track, so anything to make these aero mods subtle and effective, without catching the eye of an itchy lawman is an added benefit.

Swapping the bumpers should be as easy as 4-8 bolts, 4 screws, one electrical connector, swap. No need to remove the finish panel

[HarryB]

You got the racecar paint kit wrong Steven; bugs are supposed to go to the front bumper.

Cutting that huge parachute should have some considerable effects on track; would love to do a back to back session and log top speed at different track areas.

Oh, and the cut looks clean and tidy!

[— kung fu jesus —]

Ha! Georgia in the summer. I was more worried pine needles would drop on it.

I cut down and assembled the bumper supports:





I'll find some fasteners for the skin into the top plate and square everything up in the near future.

I think this with the next planned aero mod should be noticeable.