The SCSCSC (TheStubbornCaliforniaSmallCarSocialClub)

In Conclusion

2010-12-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

I think it's pretty obvious by now that this blog is done. I'm still working on becoming a race car driver and I think the SCSCSC will return but a wrapping up needs to be done.

The car got chopped up and made into sculptures. One was put out to pasture at my parents home in east county San Diego and the others have been shown at the Los Angeles Municiple Art Gallery, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and the Laguna Art Museum.
Out to Pasture

Rocinante at the Laguna Art Museum

The Mastodon at Susanne Vielmetter's
Rocinante and Mastodon at the Los Angeles Municiple Art Gallery
Steve McQueen

The End of Chapter 1 - Part 1

2009-07-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

The End of Chapter 1 - Part 2

2009-07-07T09:37:00.001-07:00

Tool Box fetish

2009-05-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to enjoy the suburbs there are a lot of little surprises. Garage sales are a different breed in these parts, the taste level isn't quite there but people aren't trying to make money as much as get rid of stuff. When I hit the neighborhood garage sales last weekend I didn't expect to find much. Until I came across the guy selling all his old tools (I felt bad until I saw his giant MAC case of "new" tools). I could have and probably should have spent the kids college fund there but I just came away with this rolling toolchest and a creeper and a handful of tools and records.

It's kicked my inner gearhead in gear....I need to start working on a car....or maybe a redwood hot tub

The engine is fried - for real this time

2009-04-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Eric finished his examination of the engine. Actually he tracked down an RX7 person to confirm it and officially the engine is fried. Which is something I think we all knew but It's good to hear for real from an official type decision maker. Basically it would be cheaper to buy a new engine than to replace all the parts that need replacing.

So, now with the dreary economy and much of the team living a freelance lifestyle we're taking a little longer to regroup than originally planned. It's too late for Reno but Buttonwillow is still looking feasible. I've kind of been working on the car but not quite in the right direction to keep it running. Then again, I've got to get it out of my garage one way or another.

craigslist definitions - "classic"

2009-03-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

okay this is something that always bugs me on craigslist, the use of words that don't accurately describe the given vehicle. This week "classic."

these are cars whose owners describe them as classic....?

1981 Toyota Corolla

1983 Honda Civic wagon

1985 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham

1978 Chevy Silverado

1990 Jaguar xj6

2007 Cheverolet Silverado

1988 Range Rover

1993 Toyota Tacoma

1992 Explorer Sport

1998 Mustang V6

1972 Shasta Camper

next week "restored"

I haven't been good about updating lately.

2009-03-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

Basically, Eric's got the engine and is checking it out. I'm trying to ignore the awesomely weird cars that are winding up on craigslist due to the economic collapse. That and I need to get my taxes done.

Eric got the engine!

2009-03-03T11:00:00.001-08:00

I'll keep you posted!

The Motor's been sent to Eric!

2009-02-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

Eric's taken on the task of going through the motor. I wish him luck. And it isn't that expensive to ship a 12a engine to Seattle, especially if you divide it into three boxes.....now getting it back....hmmmm

TRAINING FILM - Grand Prix

2009-02-20T13:03:00.001-08:00

I've procrastinated on writing about this film for awhile now. Basically it's pretty much the same as LeMans but with a plot. You know, evilish Ferrari team, driver with a troubled past and something that might be described as a love interest. It also has Toshiro Mifune and some awesome camera work . The split screen stuff is pretty amazing and the split, split, split, split screen is even more awesome BUT Frankenheimer seems to completely forget about the technique halfway through the movie.
PARENTING TIP - My 6 year old loved this film. That's when I realized that "adult" films of the 60s are way better for kids than kid films of the 2000s. There really isn't any violence, foul language or nudity. People are courteous, dress really cool and there's no glaring product placement. We did have to fast forward through some of the lengthly relationship conversations but the movie kept him interested and he actually still talks about it. AND it was way better than Herbie fully Loaded.
TRAINING TIP - Like LeMans I learned that basically you only win if the other team crashes or has mechanical problems. In this case the main driver of the Ferrari team is killed and the Ferrari coach(?) pulls the entire team.

The Tulare Agfaire

2009-02-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

John's dad John sent me some images from the World AgExpo in Tulare. You know some substitute engines for the car. This was by far my favorite. Why 1) it's big and yellow 2) They painted it after they put the belt on (classy and officially triple yellow). 3) a couple plants on the pallet (extra super classy).

I'm officially sold.

Announcement from George C

2009-02-11T13:01:00.001-08:00

"I just want to suggest that everyone avoid ColdStone's new ice cream cupcake.

All sorts of gross.

ugh.

wish I could puke that thing up."

and as a haiku

new icecream cupcake

wish I could puke that thing up

ugh, all sorts of gross

Back from Utah

2009-02-11T11:18:00.001-08:00

I went to Logan Utah to do a panel discussion/artist's talk and drooled over all the houses with old cars, tractors and anything else you wanted strewn across the yard....sigh....

Well it snowed and luckily I didn't follow through on my idea of flying to Utah and driving a $500 car back.

youtube follow up - Santa Baby

2009-02-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

I spent a little time searching the internet for more about the "Santa Baby" scooter that was featured in my previous video post. I couldn't find much except a couple flicker images. All I can say is the level of detail for something so awesomely horrifying, is brilliant.

I heart youtube

2009-02-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

Youtube meets the needs of my short attention span. I started off by watching the tractor pull video above. John's dad John sent it to me and I have to say it shows one of the most effective ways of examining your pistons ever.

Then I got bored and started watching videos of people playing records and this is one of my all time favorites. *It's best if you play the tractor pull video and record video at the same time*

Who needs a turntable when you can pretend. I wish that I'd done this, the first 45 is my favorite. The same guy shot some great video of the Isle of Wight Scooter rally 2008 where aesthetics are job 5. I want Santa Baby at :22 seconds.

enjoy!

Album Covers

2009-02-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

So, Jalopnik recently did a gallery of 80 Auto-themed album covers and had some glaring omissions. And like any obsessive record nerd my first reaction was to look at my wall of album covers to see what they had missed. So here's my quick additions
El Trio Colombia "Invita a viajar" - really who doesn't think of this album when they're working on their car.
Hurst takes you to the '64 Nationals - A classic, so much better than the '63 or '65 Nationals and don't get me started about the '66 Nationals. AND it's got a dedication to a dedicated man on the back, the ""grand-daddy of drag racing"" (that's double quoted because they quoted it from someone) Dan "Big Daddy" Garlits.
SCRAMBLE, The Sounds of Motorcycles at Speed - Like everyone when I think dirtbikes I think New York and this album was recorded at the cross country motorcycle races at Andre's Farm in East Fishkill, New York. With tracks like "Honda 125" and "Zundapp 250" I don't know how Jalopnik missed this one. Unless there was some sort of 4 wheel bias.
Finally, one of my favorite albums of all times

Griff Borgeson Presents Hot Rod Heaven BAKERSFIELD SMOKERS - With tracks like side one's "4) A Chrysler stock has trouble with shifts, then a Chevvy (sic) dragster makes a good run. A badly behaved Buick with Dynaflow makes its run rather awkwardly." how could this one have been forgotten. Plus the absolutely brilliant drawing by Ed Robbins on the cover. I've loved this album enough to make a piece about it.

Are You Ready for Some Football!

2009-02-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Fun weekend! Paul and Eric came down to tear apart the car. We hadn't really done anything like this since college when we were tearing apart scooters and playing with gravity propelled vehicles. Sadly, we didn't "live on our bikes" and moved to where there were jobs and schools. So, it's been a 20+ year hiatus since our last project.

The good part about working with engineers - Eric immediately organized my tools but was sensitive enough to my needs to keep the flourescent recorder and wood glue on the tool box.
The bad part about working with engineers - Both Paul and Eric fell madly in love with the rotary engine.

In the end I got to play the role of the pessimist "maybe we should think about a different car?" Eric got to be the enthusiast "we can fix this car!" And Paul got to be the nihilist "it's going to be impossible no matter what so why not just stick with this one."

So, we'll see what happens. I'm going to attempt to send the engine to Eric to go through and he'll deliver the verdict.

Other Options - 1969 Bluebird School Bus

2009-01-27T14:43:00.000-08:00

Only $875 and it runs! This bad boy isn't far from my parents house in San Diego and I possibly could've been picked on and generally abused, while riding it as a child! Too bad there's certain weight "rules" or we could all race this at the same time.

Other Options - Ice Cream truck

2009-01-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

George had mentioned a stereo that would play Ice Cream truck music but really if we were to switch cars we probably couldn't get anything together until Buttonwillow in August. And what do you need in the central valley in August? Ice Cream Truck! This ones a bit out of our price range but if we could sell the rims for $4000?....maybe.....or vans with V8 engines seem to be a dime a dozen, maybe a simple conversion?

Other Options-1967 Vanden Plas Austin Princess

2009-01-24T17:46:00.000-08:00

Well, since I'm avoiding the car. I started thinking of what we'd do if we went with something else. I came accross this on ebay. Definitely a way bigger headache than an RX7 but we'd have class. It runs , is in Santa Paula and the bidding is only at $300.

Avoiding the car - What's the deal with the Honda Ridgeline tailgate!?!

2009-01-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've been trying not to think too about the car. I've actually been trying to get some art done and avoiding the car has inspired my practice. I've also, been dealing with a little dose of credit card fraud.....fun. so...

What's the deal with the Honda Ridgeline Tailgate?

I've been kind of craving a truck lately. Although, I still find the 1991 Toyota Previa to be the most perfect vehicle ever but maybe when it hits 250,000 something might go wrong with it? So, I've been looking around.

I liked the idea of a Ridgeline. It's just ugly enough and it's a honda. BUT then I saw the tailgate! It's like 2" shorter than the sides of the truck. What in the heck? It looks like they ordered the wrong part. Supposedly it's because there's a blind spot behind you BUT couldn't they have figured it out earlier? What else did they miss and have to add at the last second? Just lower the sides two inches (they look goofily high). It messes with the lines of the whole vehicle. I wouldn't even expect something like this from an American truck, and it they did do it they would have the decency to at least put a plastic chrome bit on the corners so it would look like they did it on purpose.

So, based on that the ridgeline is off my list....sorry ridgeline

the car's back - Minor Threat

2009-01-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

I got the car back yesterday and can't say I'm thrilled to see it.

This morning, I needed some motivation. So I put on Minor Threat's complete discography cd to get me moving (actually, I played it on my ipod, but that's a different post). It did. This was the first CD I ever purchased way back in 1991(?). I was a teeny bit of a hold out when it comes to CDs and I can't say I will miss them. At the time, the complete discography made the conversion worth it, I had all the lps/eps but I was in grad school and as I've learned over and over again, playing vinyl while working in my studio is a horrible idea.

So, the team is still recovering from our collapse. People are coming together and sort of enthused but also need a little of a time out. I think some of us are going to tear apart this engine and look at it. There's an extremely slight chance we can get it running. Then again taking it apart is free.

party with me punker,

Surly Captain

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

Cliches I learned to believe in 2008

Use the right tool for the right job
If it aint broke don't fix it
Don't force it
Look before you leap
don't bring a spoon to a gun fight

We're Number #101!!!!

2008-12-31T15:48:00.000-08:00

Our brilliant strategy of visiting inlaws, celebrating a wife's birthday, leaving the country and driving people to the airport paid off! Out of 114 entries we placed 101 and even finished ahead of 4 teams that made it to the race. Sadly, after looking at the times and hours on the track, I think even if we had shown up we would've been lucky to place in the top 90.

Also, after reading this blog on cheating I realize that we could've pushed our cheating quite a bit more (and more creatively than the teams listed).

It's official - we haven't made it to the race!

2008-12-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

It's about fun - pep talk

2008-12-26T10:23:00.000-08:00

So, I spent last Sunday at my parents for a quick party/reunion. And wound up talking way to much about cars.

First, I got my dad's side of my mom's pep talk story. According to him, the first attempt at building a dune buggy failed. They didn't finish in time and wound up racing their Landcruiser but we'll save that story for later.

So, I had a really good discussion with Dan who's garage I worked at very briefly in high school. Basically, we concurred that the internet is brilliant and how could you work on a car without it. This made me feel much better about taking something apart and then running to the computer to see if it looks right.

I talked with Doo Dah and his dad a bit about how off-road racing had become ridiculously expensive. I wouldn't mind picking the LeMons brains on how to get a cheap off-road race together. We also discussed 12a engines. Although their experience was putting a turbo charged one in a dune buggy.

Finally, I talked to one of my parents friends who was worried about my racing interest. I explained to her that we were doing it for "fun" and that at our age you can't just invite friends over to your house to hang out in the garage. You need something that's disguised as "work" inorder to have "fun" and that's what this race was about.

So, we had "fun", lot's of it. And we still would be having fun if it weren't for money, a blown engine and Christmas running head long into us. I have to say the damage of the holiday season was a bit more than I expected. But it was fun and prepping for Reno will be even more fun.

fun

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T14:53:00.000-08:00

Practice Lap

2008-12-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Just in case there's a Christmas Miracle I had a little practice run. We bombed down to San Diego and back this weekend for a family reunion (good, uplifting stories I will tell soon). The return trip involved pouring rain and poor visability and gave me a feel for driving 4 hours in horrible weather conditions. You can argue that a Subaru wagon is way more comfy than a LeMons car...but I had two screaming kids in the back so I'm guessing it's about the same.

Stick a fork in us - we're done?

2008-12-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

As Surly Captain I had the sad duty of pulling the plug on the RX7 today. Our endeavors to get a $500 car in running order are failing miserably.

On Sunday we broke down and decided to fudge the rules and send the car to Dennis' mechanic friend for a diagnosis. Turns out the engine was blown but there was a glimmer of hope when we found out he had an engine he'd be willing to part with but he wanted to check it out first (it had been sitting awhile). Well today we learned, it had been sitting where water could get in the intake and was shot.

With Christmas sucking up every second of our time we're realizing that finding another car, roll cage, tires probably won't happen.

On the plus side the team has taken the news rather well and is already plotting our assault on Reno

Saddest Captain

HAPPY WHITE WILLOW! -update

2008-12-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

I'm missing my friend Karen Reitzel's (Dennis' butter half) annual White Willow party tonight. I'm lame, and today was a bit too frustrating to drive forty minutes and risk the inevitable DUI or exhaustion collapse (update, I went to sleep at 10:30)

Here's a video of the car. It started right up! Happy moment! Smoked like crazy! Sad moment! Moved! Happy moment! Blew the oil filler cap off! sad moment!

more later

Pep Talk

2008-12-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

I talked to my mom today. She's really not one to give pep talks but in a round about way she did. She told me a bit about the car my dad (and friends) built for the 1972 Mexican 1000.

They decided to build, from scratch, an off road race car. It was a corvair (yes, corvair) powered four wheel drive dune buggy type thing. The team consisted of a judge, an engineer, a constuction worker and many others, all with mechanical abilities but none were real mechanics. They layed the car out in chalk on the garage floor. It took a bit longer than they thought to build and in the end they only had one afternoon to test it before the race. They entered the race and wound through the desert finally breaking down in Mulege 700 kilometers from the start.

So, all we have to do is get a 1979 Rx7 running and we'll always be less than a 2 miles from a pit stop. We can do it!

Paint Job

2008-12-11T14:59:00.001-08:00

This week in the Car

2008-12-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't tried to start the engine. It seems like it's there but it smokes* so much I'd just love to get it in the driveway before we start it again. I felt a bit ill after Sunday's smoke fest.

So, I've been working on the brakes. The front rotors and calipers are replaced. The bearings were in good shape so I repacked them. The rear wheel cylinders have been replaced. The rear drums and pads look really good. Now I'm just waiting for brake lines and it'll be done.

*smoke isn't a bad thing in this case. On rotorary engines you can pour transmission fluid through the carb to loosen the apex seal and everything else. BUT it smokes like crazy once you do and needs about 20 minutes of running to burn it all off.

SmokeySmokey-the video

2008-12-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

Smokey, Smokey, Smokey - it started

2008-12-07T19:02:00.001-08:00

At this point I hate rotary engines and carberators but I do love this car. AND with the help of a little transmission fluid and some coaxing it started!!!!

and spit out more smoke than I thought was possible.

Iron Butterfly - Me vs. Carburator

2008-12-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

Dusty Springfield wasn't cutting it in this battle with the Beast! I had to pull out Iron Butterfly. Light & Heavy; the best of Iron Butterfly to be precise. Also, as a native of San Diego, I have to mention that The Iron Butterfly is from San Diego.

Iron Butterfly was perfect for this "total carburator rebuild" chapter 3. Since this is the third time, I know my way around and need something to rock me through it. Iron Butterfly kept me moving while adding glimmers of humor (amazing lyrics, jammin' organ solos and backup singers singing in the third person). The keys is, you don't risk dropping anything while listening to the Iron Butterfly, it just doesn't rock that hard and isn't that funny.

the Shroud of Carburator
If there's anything that got me interested in mechanics, it was the little window on carburators.
Well, the final diagnosis is - I'm glad I did it. I found some lines that were totally gummed up and some things that should move freely that weren't moving at all.

lets hope it works

SUPPORT THE SCSCSC -BUY A SHIRT!

2008-12-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

The Stubborn California Small Car Social Club needs your support! Buy a shirt for $20 and support our attempt to have a running car in the 24 Hours of LeMons Arse-freeze-apalooza! I haven't had a chance to figure out how to link this to Paypal ....yet. For now just email me and I'll put your order through.

Sean Duffy

Surly Captain

The shirts feature the SCSCSC checkered flago logo on the front and the SCSCSC motto on the back. They are available in standard unisex adult and child sizes.

(Yes, we've corrected the dates on the back).

T-shirts are hand-crafted by expert child laborers in the T-shirt mines of Valencia within inches of the finest racing machine ever made. You will treasure your shirt for ages....or until the next race.

argh -weekend update

2008-12-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

this pretty much sums up how we spent the weekend. At least now we know it's the carburator.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T15:43:00.000-08:00

Glimmer of hope

2008-11-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a long weekend and the car's been hinting at starting but.....ugh....I'll post about it later. I'm going to watch Grand Prix.

TRAINING FILM - Le Mans -what the heck!?

2008-11-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

I had this poster up in my room when I was a kid and that was probably the last time I saw the film. So I netflixed it so I could do some video training. All I can say is "Le Mans - what the heck?"
Le Mans VS Caillou - If you haven't watched PBS Kids you might find it a bit disturbing. Mainly because there is virtually no conflict. I remember watching Caillou with Jack and waiting for something horrible to happen and it never does. Caillou lies...he corrects himself and apologizes, Caillou borrows a toy....he gives it back, Caillou makes his sister cry...she stops. Anything tense that might happen get's resolved quickly and in the most peaceful manner.

Just like Le Mans. The other team's winning....they get a flat. Steve McQueen's asked by a reporter what he thinks of his rival....McQueen says he's "one of the greatest drivers in the world." McQueen replaces a driver who's just about to retire....the driver gives him some advice and wishes him luck. The widow of the driver McQueen possibly killed winds up in his trailer....they drink tea and talk.

It is amazing how untense this movie is...
Le Mans VS On Any Sunday - Bruce Brown's "On Any Sunday" came out in 1971 and is possibly the greatest motorcycle racing documentary ever. Le Man's came out in 1971 and is basically a documentary but doesn't quite go all the way. The crowd footage from Lemans and On Any Sunday are almost interchangable - Kid's with their fingers in their ears, old people, wacky hippies, groovy girls, drivers brooding then occasionally smiling. The big difference is LeMan's trie to have a plot and doesn't have a wacky narrator and goofy music....it really could've used a wacky narrator and goofy music.

TRAINING PART

- What I learned from Le Mans

1. Crashes only end two ways* - a) minor damage and a short stop in the pits b) massive fireball

*that is, unless you're Steve McQueen - in that case your car is a gnarled mess but you're fine.

2. You win because the other team gets a flat or has a bad starter.

3. This is an important one - When not driving just wander around. Go to your trailer or a carnival or have a snack. Just make sure that even though you're in the middle of a race and you're the most famous racer in the world, you're compleatly out of touch with your team and the race.

London Calling - the week in working on the car

2008-11-20T13:40:00.001-08:00

The Happiest Belt - In order to remove the smog pump I needed to replace the belt it used with a lawn mower belt. To do this usually requires a lot of wedging, shoving and pinching. Unless you're me this week. Then you drape the belt over the pulleys and forget about it. Later you work on the starter and the pulley catches the belt and you're done!
Custom Ignition - We have two electrical engineers on our team (this means you Paul and Eric). So, who wires up the ignition....me. Who can complain about getting shocked....no one.
Custom Block off Plates - So to remove the smog stuff I made some snazzy aluminum block of plates and used extra washers to hold them on.

Green Disclaimer - I've been removing all the smog equipment and was feeling a bit guilty. Until I realized what the 1979 equipment did. It basically added air to the exhaust so it would come out cleaner. Well, not really "cleaner", it has the same amount of pollutants, just with a higher air to exhaust ratio. Now I don't feel so bad.
Vacuum Hose Clean Up - It may not look like it but nine tenths of the vacuum tubes have been removed. I owe a huge thanks to a site that gave a how two on this operation, but they're not getting it until this thing starts.

London Calling has wound up on the ipod more than I thought possible. I can't quite explain it but it's definitely music for working on cars.

Owned By an Aircraft Mechanic- pt 4

2008-11-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

We found this lovely Delta Airlines swizzle stick while tearing out the carpet.

Screwdriver Party!!!

2008-11-18T15:12:00.001-08:00

When Jack was 3 he used to play "screwdriver party." It involved taking all the screwdrivers out of my rolling tool box and puting them all over the garage and the house (if he was lucky).

I never throw away screwdrivers and because of that I have I wide assortment of broken, bent, rusty and glue covered models. I don't throw them away because I know I'll use them at some point. As in the case of the Mazda's carburator.
I needed to put the throttle back on. Of all my screwdrivers there was only one that had a long enough shaft to reach the tiny philips screw but a short enough handle not to hit the fire wall. Screwdriver party!

In other news the motor created exhaust today!!!! more on that soon....

Dusty in Memphis

2008-11-16T15:52:00.001-08:00

With the fires and everything I spent Saturday working on the car all by myself. I decided to focus on putting the carburator back together. The problem is, that in our fit to yank the engine out we didn't really pay attention to what went where. And I hate carburators. Luckily I put on Dusty in Memphis.
The advantage of working alone is you can listen to whatever you want. And sure I could feel sad a discouraged by the carburator but I really couldn't feel as sad as Dusty. Plus the album is slow and soothing enough that you really don't feel bad taking things apart and putting them back together three or four times.
Punker Solution - I couldn't find that teeny cotter pin, luckily I did find that rusty safety pin.
Another advantage of working alone....you can work wherever you want.

Cars of the Harris Fire - Part 4 (other)

2008-11-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Car work has been slowed today by the closure of the 5 and 210 freeways. The latest Sylmar fire has allowed the crew to stay home and enjoy their Saturday.

So, here's my last installment of the Cars of the Harris Fire.
Tonka
E Z GO
TEE BIRD

A morning at the Pick-a-part

2008-11-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

Dennis and I met up at 10am this morning at one of Sun Valley's beautiful pick-a-parts. Niether of us had been for years and along with being stunned by the landfill mountain that had formed behind it, we were stunned by the prices! $50 for a radiator? $20 for tires? Who knew?

It wouldn't have been an issue if we hadn't found a 1978 RX7 that was in surprisingly good shape. We got a muffler, water neck and a spare radiator. I don't know if we'll use the radiator but this one seemed to be in great shape....so it's good to have as a back up.

Things I forgot about Sun Valley Pick-a-parts

1. Wear long pants

2. Wear a hat

3. It's smelly

4. Bring a rag

5. Bring a hammer

6. It's smelly
A tip - when removing an intake manifold make sure you remove all the bolts before trying to "pop it loose" with a crow bar.
The brakes were actually worse than the ones on our car and the only other RX7 in the lot had no brakes at all.

inspiration - Brown Rainbow pt 2

2008-11-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

I'd love to go with a movie paint job. Netflix just sent me LeMans, Grand Prix and Winning. The I come across more these awesome brown rainbow paint schemes. Actually these are more in the orange rainbow palete. The first two are Mazdas and the last is a sweet Mustang II that was decaying across from our Mazda at the storage lot (very surprisingly, it wasn't in the $500 range).

Cars of the Harris Fire - Part 3 (not cars)

2008-11-12T09:13:00.000-08:00

This is my Fuji Rabbit 90 that I had partially restored and then stored/dumped in my parents barn.
and, along with some other bike, is my first bicycle, a Schwin Sting Ray.

The Track

2008-11-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

So, I'm getting excited about the race. I checked out the Thunderhill Raceway website and they have some nice video of the track. I think all the drivers should watch it and memorize it. Make sure to look for places to pull off the road when a wheel falls off.

Cars of the Harris Fire - Part 2

2008-11-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

The roll cage is in!

2008-11-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a Sunday. Rhonda, Dennis, George and I took on the roll cage. Gutting the car was easy. Getting the roll cage together was more of a challenge than we thought. After employing everything we had including child labor we realized that the generic looking brackets were actually for specific places. So we took it out assembled it in the driveway marked everything and then took it apart and put it together in the car. It turned out great! we have something that looks like a race car!!!

Cars of the Harris Fire - Part 1

2008-11-09T17:20:00.000-08:00

It's been a year since the Harris fire swept around my parents house in east county San Diego. Here's part one of the Cars of the Harris Fire.
The hinges on this mercedes must've been made of aluminum, the doors fell away in a really nice symmetrical way.

More on the car

2008-11-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

George, Dennis and I spent Sunday putting the engine back in the car. Maybe not so much "putting", maybe more cramming, jiggling and stuffing. Even with so much room and such a small engine, it still took forever.

Well, now it's in and as you can hopefully see it turns. So it's pretty much all uphill from here.

The Landcruiser is back

2008-11-05T14:03:00.001-08:00

and waiting for it's place in the garage. It looked much happier at the Miami Art Museum.

The engine is in and it moves

2008-11-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

Not "moves" as in "runs" but moves as in it rotates like it should....too tired to say anything else.....I'll update with video soon.

Spray Paint Therapy

2008-10-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

I needed to get away from the finicky engine and clean out my spray paint shelf. I went with the half full cans of orange, "real orange" and an "apple red."

Happy engine & rooftop carburator

2008-10-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

The engine is coming along and seeming happy. I think I've done everything right. I've been able to reuse the gaskets except for two o-rings that didn't seem like the right size to begin with and an exhaust gasket that got crushed. It's been weird not dealing with valve covers etc....I kind of like this rotary engine thingy

Kragen is still giving me %10 off so I'll be picking up a $30 rebuilt water pump tomorrow, thermostat and belt. It looks like I need a water neck. There do seem to be some cooling issues with this car.....luckily we're racing in December.

oh and then there's the roof top of carburator......

What I've been up to

2008-10-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I've torn apart the engine. All the water channels were filled with rust so it's a good thing I took a look. The engine actually looks amazingly good all things considered. The gaskets look brand new, the apex seals are good, nothing cracked and everything looks okay - except for the tar around the rotors. It looks like the engine was rebuilt at some point before it was put into dry dock and it also looks like they poured oil or some other viscous fluid in the plug holes in order to "store" it and over 8 years that oil turned to solid resiny goo. Oh and there's some mysterious shavings that I'm going to ignore. So, I'm putting it back together and we'll keep our finger crossed. Oh and we'll need a

-water pump

-thermostat

-spark plugs

-belts

-the clutch looks ooookay..... well, we can't afford to replace it - so we might accidently bring a spare with us.

oh crap...we're in the race

2008-10-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

but the engine is out

For those of you reading this who aren't actually on the team - we're entered in the 24 Hours of Lemons "arse-freeze-apalooze" and 24 hour endurance race that requires you spend $500 or less on your car.

Back up plan - The Soccer Bomb

2008-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Not that I'm doubting a certain RX7 in any way but

if worse comes to worse - I've heard that Liisa, Paul, Rhonda, Eric, George and Dennis have a "friend" who might let his 91 Toyota Previa go for $500. It only have 245,000 miles on it and one accident.

We've Submitted!

2008-10-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well it's official, we've submitted our "application" to race in the 2008 24 hours of LeMons Arse-Freeze-Apalooza. Here's how our submission wound up.

Why should you accept The Southern Californian Small Car Social Club?

Well, really, we're not qualified to repair a car, much less race one, but we do have mad licensing from a gamut of authorities. Does this make us cooler than other groups? Well, yes, yes it does.

Sean Duffy – dad/artist
Food Handler’s Permit (expired), Picture Framer’s of America Certified, Donkey Basketball License, in 1970 met Steve McQueen , James Garner and Ms Hurst Shifter.

Rhonda Rodgers – rebel/loner
FCC radio operators licensce , FAA certified flight instructor’s licences, has connections at McMaster Carr, State of Texas EMT license (expired), is rad

Dennis Nishi - Cornpaw
High School Literary Editor (deposed).NORBA (North American Off Road Biking Association) race license (expired), Owns a torque wrench, Hunter's safety license (expired) Saltwater fishing license (expired), horse mounted samurai in a major motion picture movie

Eric Tseo – enthusiast
Infant CPR certified. NAUI junior scuba certification (expired), Webelos scout in good standing, optical guitar pickup (inventor), virtual reality head tracker(inventor), and the 5 wheel bicycle(co-inventor), Member of the Blackberry Crash Testers Adventure Racing Team,
Top Secret Clearance (innactive)

Paul Alioshin – R&D and D&D
Top Secret Clearence (denied)

Liisa Pine – welder/clown suit owner
First place, Westlake Cheerleaders 1974, Up With People cast "A", 1983-1984, Red Cross CPR and First Aid certification (expired), Forklift certification (expired), SRL fabricator and machine operator since 1992, United States Parachute Association "A" license, American Welding Society Certified Welding Inspector.

George Cook – ninja/not a ninja
US Adventure racing association licence (expired), Advanced PADI Scuba Diving License, Ninpo Taijutsu Blackbelt (Rusty) - A gibbon once stole his hat.

So, if during the race you need to know how to handle a sandwich, fly a plane, give cpr to a baby, pearl dive or climb a fence with a rifle –We are the team for you!

inspiration - movie paint jobs

2008-10-16T10:14:00.001-07:00

I've been into copies of copies for a while now and think the way to go for a paint job might be to just copy a movie race car. You've got Steve McQueen's Gulf Porsche from Le Mans. It's an amazing paint job but from looking over the Lemons site it seems pretty common.

So, what about James Garner's car from Grand Prix. Classic, simple lines and we've already got a white car.

Maybe, Paul Newman's from The Winners. I haven't seen the movie but that is an awesome paint job.

Or the Thorndyke Special from The Love Bug. It couldn't hurt to be a bit villainous.

something to think about

The First Meeting

2008-10-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the first meeting of the SCSCSC and it went pretty well. Dennis, Rhonda and George showed up at the Duffy estate and we put in a good day of wrenching. We got the clutch working and took the hood and a door off and worked a bit on our application. Oh and the engine is still frozen... but we did have pizza.....so really, it was all good.

Owned By an Aircraft Mechanic- pts 1-3

2008-10-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Out here on the edge of the Antelope Valley, the old hub of the aircraft industry, you often see "previously owned by an aircraft mechanic" or "engineer" or some kind of technician in a $500 car add. It's never "previously owned by a meth lab technician" or "deranged survivalist" which would be more likely.

So when the seller for the RX7 proclaimed it was "owned by an aircraft mechanic" I took it with a grain of salt. Sure the car seemed clean and tidy but I wasn't convinced until I found.

1. Stack of various aircraft oriented business cards, FAA hotline numbers and shipping weight charts (but really doesn't everyone have one of those)

2. The Xanadu - I nearly threw it away thinking it was just a broken hockey stick. But it's actually a handcrafted rear hatch holder with a custom rubber tip.....nice.

3. The tidy pile of fast food wrappers. In the glove box under everything was a McDonalds bag filled with neatly folded other bags and wrappers, some still glowing with grease after 8 years in the desert....super nice.

inspiration - Brown Rainbow

2008-10-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

After a bad car day there's nothing better than thinking about a paint job. I was leaning toward a 60s look but then started thinking of the awesomeness of the 70s and 80s rally car. AND THEN came accross the Mazda brown rainbow.....perfect.

Bad first day

2008-10-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

Since getting the car over the weekend I haven't really had a chance to work on it. Saturday I was bitten by a black widow and I've been a bit groggy and achy. And that made me clean out the car as best as possible, no more spiders! Monday was an art day and Yesterday I had to go to UCR to give a talk. So today was the first workin' day.

So, I started by going to Kragen picking up a battery and hose. The older guy at the counter was quizzing me about the car and wound up giving me %10 off. I usually find Kragen a bit madening, but they are right around the corner and hey %10.

So I get the battery in add some oil and water. I put the key in the ignition and it just floats around. It won't move and doesn't seem to fit although the same key works on every other part of the car. So I oil it, fiddle with it, beat on it and finally take a drill to it and finally it turns to the start position. The motor turns a couple times and then stops....it seems locked up. I need time out.

On the plus side

-One headlight popped up

-the door buzzer works

-Kragen is not so bad

Minus

-the engine won't turn over

sad captain

Comfortize Thyself!

2008-10-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

It has been done.
On Sunday October 5th I made an extremely low offer of $300 on a 1979 (or maybe 80) Mazda RX7 and it was excepted!

We just need to get it running and safe by December 26th. How hard could that be? It's only been sitting for eight years. And the guy who runs the storage lot it was abandoned at was pretty sure it came in under its own power. Easy

So far it needs

a battery

radiator hoses

tires

brake pads

-Surly Captain