I've gotten old. Perspectives change. I was an autocross and road racing fool in my youth. 1987-1996, most weekends. Nationals, trailering to events far away, the inevitable late Sunday night arrivals back home. Lots of SEDIV events where I met Tim, JG and many others and it was still Auto-X Magazine. My life revolved around cars, motorsports and the SCCA. Life happened, kids came and now on their own. I haven't driven in anger since Covid. A boat and a business revolving around classic cars means lots of weekend car shows, so it always seems like there is a conflict with every event. My helmet aged out. I have a couple of cars that could autocross, but we never found the time.
At 55, this may not be my last hurrah, but I feel like my hurrahs are becoming way more limited. I saw a post for a car and I don't know what triggered me. A whisper said "you need this." I mulled for about three days before I reached out. Two months later, it's in my shop.
I bought MrJoshua's ex-Challenge car
Goals for the project:
Autocross 3 times per year (setting a realistic goal)
Open track day at the FIRM - my wife has never done more than autocross and wants to try in a controlled environment
Challenge 2024 - will be my first as a competitor
First assessment: The clutch slave is dead. I've never had a VW. Of course my relationship with VW starts off right when I discover the slave is inside the bellhousing of the 02M 6 speed trans, so major disassembly right off the bat. Other than that, it appears to be a pretty sound starting point. I'll have to de-musty the interior as the Lexan rear window and sunroof plug both leak a little and the car has been sitting outside. I also spent $10 at the car wash blasting a lot of Florida gunk off of it. It looks much better and shinier now.
I started to make a list, and it was a bit overwhelming. The car needs.... well, everything.... Mostly checking to learn it and get comfortable driving it hard, and optimizing, and cleaning. But basically, everything....
And away we go! It's good to be back.