Since I dont have a professional camera crew when working on my car my posts lack cool action shots :-p

After being a bum for a couple weeks, (see my hatred of cold weather) Datsun is back under construction. The rear control arms are rebuilt and ready to be bolted on w/some nice eibach springs and koni's to go with them. The front struts are cut and just need some finishing grinding to be done. The cutting was quite interesting when the grinding wheel broke off my air tool and flew into my shoulder and ripped my shirt. Hit me 5 inches from my face. I am slowly getting the feeling Datsun doesn't like me much. Hopefully tomorrow I can drop the struts off to be welded so I can put the GC's on. Very shortly the car will be on 4 wheels for the first time since I bought it back in September :-) I will try to get pics this weekend when everything goes back on the beast. I can't wait for my drive-happy pleasures!

The first FCSCC points event took place last weekend, and it took this long to bother to write an update for it. I'm sure many of you are disappointed in the GFab Press Room, but hey, we have other crap to worry about like HOW THERE'S A NON-RUNNING DATSUN THAT HASN'T UPDATED YET.

So, three members of the G-Fab unit partook in the second to last NVCC event for FCSCC for the 2k7 AX season. I could abbreviate more, I'm sure, but WTF. FWIW and AFAIK, IMHO there's no better way to communicate over the internets. However, Quag, Chris, and I brought RWD mayhem to the sandy terrain known as NVCC. Chris did his thing in the Miata, with Quag co-driving. Run after run the racing line started to wear in, but lo-and-behold, Chris couldn't beat a measly 280hp AWD STi with his little roadster. He did pretty much obliterate his class, though, while Quag tentatively tried to keep up. Did a good job at getting sideways, but alas you can't accelerate forward while sliding....

I myself had the 240 on street tires, with my Autocross suspension still on the car. Had I had time earlier I might've swapped to something that could've kept a tire on the ground, but off-roading plus stiff springs = floating car. Then again, loss of traction can be fun....

It did lead to a somewhat large amount of cones killed... on straight-a-ways no less.

Next event coming is NNJ down at e-town, brown clown. Panda gets back on r-compound, and Paul will be there with his shifter kart on the ground. It's bound to be a fun round of racing.... umm.... oooww..nnnndddd?

-PJ
(This update brought to you by the number: March. And the letter: 29)

So, we were talking about how miserably slow we actually were last weekend, compared to classes such as Super Stock and A-Stock and pretty much H-Stock. If PAX mattered we'd probably be crying right now. It kind of reminds me of a desktop that Quag put on my computer at work:

Which was eventually replaced with:

If that's the case, I totally crap insanity.
-PJ

"Whutchaywlll doooin'?"
"What?"
"Whutchyawwwll dooin?"
"Oh... nothing. Just hangin out."
"Ahhm Ruwssell Smeyith."
"Nice to meet you."

5 year old kids with Southern drawls are incredibly adorable. I can feel masculine saying that knowing he'll probably grow up to be the football quarterback and marry his highschool sweetheart and retire as a NASCAR driver. His life will be sponsored by every American beer known to man. I'm already proud to have shaken his hand.

So, I drove like an idiot, and wasted my first run on both days (the second day almost spinning twice). Oh well, live and learn. Chris won so I at least know it's not the car, completely. We still have too much body roll, although Chris Travis' higher inertial value probably aided to that in this picture:

Chris Franson was happy with his win. So happy, in fact, that when I made him carry all of our stuff back by hand, he still had that stupid "damn it's about time I accomplished that... gee I wonder if chicks dig Tour winners?" look.

No, Chris... the answer is "no".

So, the next event is a Philly one on the 17th of March, followed by a FCSCC event at NVCC. So many events, so much to add to the car.

-PJ
11:19am somewhere in VA

Well, not quite a 1-2 finish, but I'll take it.

We're on the way back north now and have finally crossed into mobile internet territory but just got onto I-95 in the Savanna, GA area.

The rain held off until 4th heat, when we were working, but long after we were done running. By then, I had already won my first national tour, though PJ unfortunately stayed in 5th. We'll be working on coaching his mental approach for subsequent events.

The weather was actually quite pleasant in the morning, partly sunny and probably around 60 degrees; good enough weather that we were neither at an immediate disadvantage to the AWD Audi nor did we need to use our rain (snow) tires. The course was essentially Saturday's course run in reverse with some changes but it remained very transition-heavy and speed maintenance based, with the exception of the 180 degree turnaround at the end. My first run was not terrible (aside from running a cone over) though I was too fast into the turnaround which meant I got way out of the boost and it was therefore a costly mistake. My second run was much better and a bit faster; enough to put me back into the lead. That was a good thing because I coned the third run real early then blew into the turnaround too fast which led me to DNF rather than risk flatspotting the front tires. So I stood on my 2nd run and waited around nervously for the competitors to crush my times. Somehow that didn't happen. The Audi driver coned his fast run which otherwise would have been enough to beat me, and the Civic which had power and steering problems on Saturday ended up not finishing all its runs, and I had won. Not a bad day for a car which had no working engine just a couple of weeks ago. Overall, our pace was not nearly what it should have been; I beat BS by only 0.007 seconds.

Next the car is going to need some suspension attention now that the drivetrain is healthy. It has a bit too much body roll, causing it to pick up an inside rear in mid-speed corners, and the formerly adjustable left front shock at least needs attention, if not replacement of all 4 shocks.

Nonetheless, a fun trip so far. PJ tells me he will actually get on and write a post when he happens to be neither driving nor calling. I've just handed him Red Bull #2 of the evening, so surely he won't be sleeping for a while yet.

Final results here.

-Chris