VW Sport Caravan GTI (part 6.5, chassis work continues)

Optimism can be a cruel thing to possess. I've never been some chipper, happy-go-lucky go-getter can-do maniac, but at the same time I've never been one to think I can't do (or learn) something better than before if I apply myself. Seeing the potential in what others do not. Maybe I'm crazy? Or maybe they're lazy, either way I'm sick of cleaning and painting old metal.



At any rate, so much of it has been done that it's pretty close to finished underneath. A rear beam was procured and sanded / painted and installed - along with all new bushings, bolts, nuts and polyurethane inserts. There was a natural tendency to just go all-out and press in some spherical bushings, but ultimately we did not for a few reasons. First is cost. It'd be a shame to start blowing out the budget on every trick suspension piece we can find when the car doesn't even run yet. Second is the reality that it'll take some set up and time to get the car (and ourselves) sorted behind the wheel, and quite honestly, they aren't going to be a help to us at this stage of our driving.



We did throw in some coilovers with ride and damper adjustment. Nothing fancy, single rebound adjust, but it should be enough to get us in the ballpark, if not to home plate the first lap out.



The problem with being so clean underneath and at the back end, is that I'm not compelled to be as thorough throughout the rest of the car. 



I know it'll all be worth it in the end, but for right now I'm wishing some Elves would come in and finish up all the tedious work so we can start having fun already!

_WRS

Cars and Coffee Hunt Valley, MD: Porsche 911

They've started up a Cars and Coffee here in the Baltimore area, and so far there have been some really pretty machines turning out. Weather has been crap the two times I've been (gray, cold, overcast) but tomorrow is looking to break the trend. I've been shooting a few pics, but I think from here on out I'll concentrate on a single car from each event which captures my eye.



Last Saturday is was the beautifully turned out 911. Long hood, wide fenders, fat tires and a carb'd flat-six. What's not to love?



With sunny skies promised for tomorrow there should be even more to see. There are a few nutters around here than run around in track-prepped GT3s with slicks, on the street. Rain tends to keep them away from the highways, but if it's clear and the weather holds, we could be in for a treat.



_WRS

Video Post: Trackside at Sebring 2012

Sebring preview 2012

Things have been a bit slow around here lately. Not much about motorsport, or anything else for that matter, but it's not for lack of attention on my part. I'm still very much invested in motorsport this year, more so than any other in fact, but ultimately I just don't have as much spare time to contribute anything of merit into the vast vacuum of noise that is the internet.

So this year we've already seen the 50th running of the Daytona 24, and while it was exciting and while it has heritage, it is really a dim candle in comparison to the 12 Hours of Sebring. Sebring is a tougher track. It's more challenging from both the driver and car perspective, and it's much better for spectators. You can get shockingly close at some points, and there is something for everyone when it comes to the circuit itself.

Like years past we're sending troops down south to Sebring, but rather unfortunately I will not be able to go. Duty calls, so I'll be at a track, just not one in central Florida. I'll be quite a few miles north at West Virginia's famed but certainly less-famous Summit Point for an Audi Club track day. Any other day of the year this would be preferable, but certainly not this weekend.

But I digress, it's going to be a heck of a race, despite Peugeot dropping out of the WEC at the last minute, and allowing Audi a factory-free run in Florida. There will be challengers to be sure, but Dyson, Rebellion and Muscle Milk are small change compared to a factory, despite their millions. Toyota won't be in action until Spa, so unless Audi makes a mockery of themselves - totally possible seeing what they did to themselves last year in the ILMC - it will be tough to beat the diesels.

I personally am an Audi fan (rather obviously looking at the header pic) but I'm more a fan of underdogs, so any petrol car taking the overall win will have made for a great race. Dyson has a brand new Lola, Muscle Milk has their HPD, and either of those taking the win would be the ideal result. An American team winning America's premier endurance event on its 60th birthday. Both Dyson and Pickett are pillars of the sportscar community over here and both deserve a Sebring win - and the ALMS needs to bring a little hardware home as well. I've been pretty silent about it up until now, but the boys in Braselton need to grow a pair and divorce themselves from the ACO if they expect to survive beyond the next year or so.

But I digress; that is something for another time.

In GT the battle is far from predictable and there are no real clear 'sure bets.' Ferrari is due, BMW is last year's hot ticket, Corvette is hungry and Porsche both consistent and sporting new hardware. So it's nearly anyone's game. It'll take luck along with a healthy dose of performance behind the wheel and in the pits. As always we'll be pulling for Team Falken Tire. From the top down, CEO to Bryan and Wolf, they are a class act, and it's great to see them continuing to run at the top level in the best championship in the world.

Josh and Kevin, accomplices in all our previous Sebring trips, will be driving south tomorrow to the sunshine state. So despite my own inability to attend they'll be there for pictures and report.

For more / picture credit: American Le Mans
Coverage: Radio LeMans

_WRS

VW Sport Caravan GTI (Part 6, chassis resto in progress )

It's been a busy past six months. Moving, getting back into the grind of a daily commute and taking on a much larger roll at work has meant very little spare time for much of anything. Whatever there is I've been trying to spend on the Caravan GTI, and little by little, it's getting there. A lot of the tedious and filthy dirty work involving undercoat and paint is 98% there, and so I think we're finally to a point where progress will really start to get to get rolling.



So what have we been up to? Follow and all will be revealed...

VW Sport Caravan GTI (part 5.99, almost there...)

One must be careful what one wishes for. The truth of restoring and rebuilding a car from the ground up while already working 40+ hours a week is tough. That said, we're finally feeling like we're getting somewhere on the Caravan GTI. Perhaps as soon as this weekend we'll be ready to share.




It's not going to be ground-breaking at first, but the parts are piling up hard and fast, and maybe, just maybe, we'll start to see some real progress, especially as the weather turns. It's never pleasant when the garage is the same temperature as the outside...

_WRS

Pic post (vintage): Old school (this is what it really looks like)

Josh did a little digging in the archives (for once) and scanned in this gem of his 1986 GTI and our buddy Damion's 1991 GTI at a Baltimore autocross back around 1993 / 1994. Autocrossers Inc used to hold these events on the parking lot where Raven's stadium now resides - a real shame as it was an easily accessible and growing event. Had they been allowed to continue I'm sure that the Baltimore VW landscape would be significantly different than it is today. I'll see if I can convince Josh to find and scan more, as there were some great cars that used to attend. Funny how different things were back then, and how far they've come. Whether that's for the best or worst I'll leave you to decide.

_WRS