New addition to the Atomic Hairball R&D Center --- Rotary content

A couple weekends ago, one of my bosses and I made a run from NW Ohio to Fredericksburg, VA to pick up the rx7 that I bought off the $2014 classifieds.

I will post some of the details of the trip a bit later. Some of the highlights Include driving a borrowed tow-rig on a 1,000+ mile road-trip, freezing rain at 4am on the PA turnpike when I was already zombified, and wild turkeys. Yep, turkeys.

But first, the car... This is how she looked when we got it loaded.

It came with a bunch of spares for $2000. I also came home with an unmounted 15-gallon ATL fuel-cell, cool-suit plumbing, and forced-air system for my helmet, separate from the deal on the car.

Plan is to upgrade to Improved-Touring spec, with a stop at the $2014 Challenge. Updates to come.

Wild turkeys?

Jealous, rotary is on my automotive bucket list

SnowMongoose wrote: Wild turkeys?

Unfortunately, something WAY more sinister... I'm talking about these.

Bastards delayed the start of my trip!!!

And for those keeping score at home, the brown pole-barn in the distance is the Atomic Hairball R&D Center.

Those things can be huge when you're when you're up close to them.

Dinner? Roadkill is ok so long as it's your own.

DoctorBlade wrote: Those things can be huge when you're when you're up close to them.

You are correct. I used to see these same birds last year during late summer/early fall wandering down the road past my shop. They were all a bit smaller then.

I will return to the turkeys momentarily, but first, back to the trip.

In order to go get this car, I needed a few things. First, I needed the weekend off of work, which my Shift-Supervisor would approve, with the stipulation that he got to go with me. Cool, I have a co-driver!!!

Then, I needed a trailer, as well as a truck to tow it with. The trailer was loaned to me by a friend at work, and the truck was borrowed from my friend, John Mills. John is the guy who did the "bolt-in" cage on Aussie's Challenge Mustang, and his name will appear regularly in this thread. He is not only a great guy, and great racer, he is also one Hell of an enabler!!!

So, the truck... 454 with a 5-speed manual. Yep, this should do the job.

After waking up at 7am Saturday, which due to being a 2nd-shifter for a long time, was a difficult thing to do, I drove 20 miles to get the truck. Once the truck was acquired, I had to go get the trailer, which is where the damn turkeys interjected themselves into my life. They were wandering aimlessly on the road I was on, so my plan was to just honk the horn, and they would be so scared that they would (slowly) run into the field. I also figured that if the horn didn't scare them away, I would just jump out of the truck and herd them off the road... Simple plan so what could go wrong???

Well, as soon as I played on the horn, the bastards ran TOWARDS the truck, and started pecking at the bumper!!!

Yeah, I'm not getting out to chase them away, and I'm not running any of them over... They know where I hang out to play with cars, and I don't need this type of tension...

Once I backed up, and then drove around the birds, I was able to make it to my buddy Repo's ace to hitch-up his trailer. Then it was a pretty uneventful trip to VA, despite the fact that Marylandians are completely moronic when it comes to driving.

Worst part of the trip down there, was the fact that the dually didn't have dual tanks. Fuel-stops were a common theme, on both legs of the trip. But by the time I got home, I didn't care. I bonded with, and grew to love this truck.

I will post more in a bit, but my phone is dying.

That car needs some front aero. Let us know what sort of spares came with the car that might be available for trade.

ITR/Spec7 . You can run it at Waterford Hills. They're looking for a few good men to flush out the grid for the class.

I loathe the PA turnpike. Loathe.

DeadSkunk wrote: ITR/Spec7 . You can run it at Waterford Hills. They're looking for a few good men to flush out the grid for the class.

Yeah, Waterford is probably going to be the main track that I run. As the car sits, I should also be able to run ITA, albeit not on a competitive level. I'm fine with that, as I just want to go play whenever my work-schedule allows. Mid-Ohio is also less than two hours away, so I have two pretty cool tracks available close-by to play on.

And Mazduece, yeah, the car would benefit from a turkey-catcher on the front... We'll talk.

When I returned to Ohio after picking up the car, my shop was completely surrounded by ice, so I threw enough cardboard sheets down across it to be able to unload the spare parts. I then took the car to my buddy John's shop a few mile away, and unloaded it there.

Some of the stuff included with the car were 9 American Racing wheels, and8 Diamond Racing wheels. Some have r-comps of varied use mounted. It also came with a couple driveshafts, spare exhaust, differential, and a couple totes of other miscellaneous stuff that I haven't had time to go through yet. Oh, also 3 doors, 3 fenders, and six hoods.

Any of those 4x114.3?

In reply to beans:

Honestly, I never bothered to ask the seller, or to measure them myself... I'm assuming they're 4x110.

If they DO happen to be gsl-se pattern, I will gladly overcharge you for a few of them!!!

Hopefully, the weather this Sunday will cooperate, so I can drive the car from my buddy's shop to the AHR&D Center.

In the meantime, we were able to get the car fired, and running on its own. It was last raced in 2012, so the Miata battery in it was beyond dead, and the fuel left in the tank was old. There was also a loose connection at the starter, and a couple of grounds that were less-than-optimal.

Once it fired, it took a good amount of ether to clear its throat, but then would hold a steady idle, and rev freely on its own.

I had forgotten how much I missed the sound of a rotary... The only thing I've owned recently that sounds remotely similar is my 2-stroke margarita blender.

Let's see, two hours to Mid Ohio... John Mills... NW Ohio... Are you in one of the "F" towns? Findlay, Fremont, Fostoria?

I moved out of Toledo back in '96. I think John was still running his Opel Manta or had just moved on to a tube frame Miata or something. I owned a couple of RX-7's with Jim Susko of G-Force Engineering fame.

edit: checked your profile, BG!

I'm working on a deal right now to pick up an '84 built to EP/GT specs. Vintage eligible in GTU, thinking of a 13B P-Port! I'll be following your thread to help dust off that section of my brain

jgrewe wrote: Let's see, two hours to Mid Ohio... John Mills... NW Ohio... Are you in one of the "F" towns? Findlay, Fremont, Fostoria? I moved out of Toledo back in '96. I think John was still running his Opel Manta or had just moved on to a tube frame Miata or something. I owned a couple of RX-7's with Jim Susko of G-Force Engineering fame. I'm working on a deal right now to pick up an '84 built to EP/GT specs. Vintage eligible in GTU, thinking of a 13B P-Port! I'll be following your thread to help dust off that section of my brain

I'm in Bowling Green. I guess Jim is still kicking around in Findlay, but I haven't talked to him for awhile.

Mills is currently finishing his new shop in Fostoria, where he will be building chassis and cages. He's also working on a TA-2 deal, after finally getting his National License back a couple years ago after his TBI at Mid-Ohio in '08.

In wish I was closer to you so I could snag one of those hoods to use a a mold for my upcoming attempt at making a fiberglass copy. My hood is kind of yucky.

In reply to grafmiata:

Not sure if they'd be large enough in diameter, anyway. They all look like 13's, I need at least 15" up front for brake clearance.

Since you're in BG, let me know if you ever need a hand- I'm just up the road. I work at the Lowe's in Perrysburg, too. It'd be neat to see that thing at an autocross, too! Our schedule is up on www.nworscca.com

mazdeuce wrote: In wish I was closer to you so I could snag one of those hoods to use a a mold for my upcoming attempt at making a fiberglass copy. My hood is kind of yucky.

I could cut one of them into little pieces and ship it to you...

beans wrote: In reply to grafmiata: Not sure if they'd be large enough in diameter, anyway. They all look like 13's, I need at least 15" up front for brake clearance. Since you're in BG, let me know if you ever need a hand- I'm just up the road. I work at the Lowe's in Perrysburg, too. It'd be neat to see that thing at an autocross, too! Our schedule is up on www.nworscca.com

Yeah, they're all 13's. I'm hoping to hit a couple NWOR events this season, either in the rx7, or the Atomic Hairball.

My shop is actually just outside of Wayne, about a mile off of 199. I'll be out there playing with cars most Sunday afternoons.

grafmiata wrote: After waking up at 7am Saturday, which due to being a 2nd-shifter for a long time, was a difficult thing to do, I drove 20 miles to get the truck. Once the truck was acquired, I had to go get the trailer, which is where the damn turkeys interjected themselves into my life. They were wandering aimlessly on the road I was on, so my plan was to just honk the horn, and they would be so scared that they would (slowly) run into the field. I also figured that if the horn didn't scare them away, I would just jump out of the truck and herd them off the road... Simple plan so what could go wrong??? Well, as soon as I played on the horn, the bastards ran TOWARDS the truck, and started pecking at the bumper!!!

Watch out, those turkeys can be killers...

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/400357/turkey-time

Nice score, by the way!

Anywho, she runs!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmNIfxalq6E&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hoping to drive it a few miles to my shop on Sunday, and then I can start playing with it. I need to move a couple other cars around to make room, but that should be no problem.

Jim Susko retired, I tried to get a suspension for that X-1/9 but he said he isn't doing it anymore.