240sx: the build pt. II

I'm slowly making progress on the 240.  I think the most frustrating part of any build is waiting. First you have to wait until you find the right part. Once you buy the part, you have to wait until the part arrives. Back ordered parts are the most frustrating! I have coilovers and rear upper control arms that have been back ordered since January 28th and a kouki type x front end that has been on back order in Japan since January 18th.

the first thing i had to do was get that nasty body kit off the car.  My goal for this project is a clean oem look, but i still want the car to look purpose built. it will have the full 180sx type x body moldings and markings. Most of those parts are still in Japan, hopefully to be shipped out soon.

The front bumper came in! of course none of the brackets came in, but I made to with what i had and fitted it up with zip ties.  looks good, but will look so much cleaner with the oem brackets and bumper extensions.



If you know me, then you know I can't drive a car at stock ride height.  this is about the stance that I'm going for.  This set up though is not what I'll be using for the drift season.  Once I receive the coilovers, I'll be able to get it a little bit lower and dial in the camber to fit the wheels under the fenders.

The seat is in and mounted. It's a simple fiberglass shell that will hold me in. I mounted it using a buddy club seat mount.

Wheels came in finally. Now I'm really starting to get excited about this project. These are 17x9 5zigen fn01-rc hot version wheels with a 20mm offset. Probably the most popular wheel for the s13 chassis. Can't wait to get tires on them and get them on the car.

I couldn't just let the wheels sit there. i had to get tires mounted and see what they look like on the car.  The tires mounted here are 235/45/17.  I want to stretch a 215/45/17 on the wheels, but haven't found those tires yet. This picture give a pretty good idea of what they will look like.  Still waiting on suspension to tuck those wheels under the fenders though.

Here's the latest picture.  I have the fenders and front bumper off in anticipation for the delivery of the parts from japan. hopefully the coilovers will show up this week and I can get the suspension and wheels set up.

Chi-town Adventure

Last week my brother called me to say that he was buying a car and wanted me to help him pick it up.  Being that the car was a 2000 black civic si, that intrigued me even more. Later I learned that we weren't picking the car up from reynoldsburg, or pataskala, or even newark. We were going to Chicago. Now I'm in.

My seat for the flight wasn't bad. It was about a 50 minute flight from Columbus to O'Hare.  It's different flying in the middle of the week. I feel like my Chuck Taylor's and Ferrari jacket weren't business formal enough.

Walking through O'Hare is a lot different than walking through Port Columbus.  The style and artwork is completely different, not to mention the size of the place. But, off to pick up the car we go.

Just some of the amazing architecture that Chicago has to offer. The city is amazing just to drive through. It's a mix of old and new.  Every block you travel there is something more. I could have taken a hundred more photos of the architecture alone.

Two of my favorite pictures of the whole trip. I was in awe of the monorail system that was right above our heads.

Here's the monorail passing over as we were parking the car. The city was surprisingly easy to navigate as we were in search of North Wells Street and the famous Lou Malnati's.

Opened in 1971, Lou Malnati's has to have the best deep dish pizza in Chicago. I admit we didn't eat any other pizza on the trip, but we didn't have to.  It was so delicious.

Soldgier Field. Enougth said. Home of so much NFL history. I wanted to go in, but I think I will wait to come back to go to a game when this place is rocking. I love how the new stadium seem to be growing out the old, its great.

One last look before we make the trek. What a great city, so much to see. It makes me want to go back and I'm actually already planning the next trip.

These pictures don't do these giants justice, but we found these in northern Indiana along I65.  They are planted for as far as you can see to the East and to the West. Definatley some machines i'll be looking to learn more about, i'd just like to know how much they produce.

The six hour drive wasn't the best part of the trip, but still part of the adventure.  Chicago is such a cool city, I want to go back already...well, when it's warm at least.  Lot's of history, food, culture, and more.

Senate Bill 5...

That's right, this blog is just not about motorsports! It is also a well known political hot spot.  The last few days, I have noticed a good amount of people posting about Senate Bill 5, and so I wanted to educate myself on the issue and provide my thoughts.

Senate Bill 5 is a bill introduced by Ohio senator Shannon Jones. the following link is the article written by Senator Jones: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110218/EDIT02/102190352)

In this article, Sen. Jones explains that Ohio is facing an 8 billion dollar deficit as well as declining tax revenues.  Her solution is to reduce the collective bargaining power of k-12 educators and to abolish any bargaining power from higher education employees as well as other public employees.

There are some ideas in Sen. Jones' article that are clear and valid points.  The current bill hasn't been changed since 1983.  There have been so many changes to our state, economy, world, etc. in the last twenty-eight years that I cannot fathom a bargaining agreement to not have any revisions or changes in that time.

Sen. Jones writes in her article, "I believe that government needs to start living within its means and operating by the same standards of efficiency, accountability and performance as private sector companies. Anything less will lead to greater failure and deeper unemployment."

I agree with this statement; to a point.  I believe that the government does need to live within its means, but not at the cost of the our public employees. Especially not our educators! If our educators do not have a say in what kind of working conditions they have, what kind of health care they, receive, and other benefits, then what kind of education are these employees going to give our children?  when I have children I will want their educators to work in the most productive environments, they should have health care that they need not to worry about, and they should receive benefits that allow them to have a full retirement. I want this for my children's educators because I believe it will give my children the best chance for a great education experience. In conclusion, I believe that public employees should be granted bargaining power.

The problem with bargaining power is that with power comes responsibility.  In a perfect world, there would be no need for unions, because employees would be paid fairly and receive adequate benefits. America has already shown that it cannot treat its employees fairly enough to survive without unions so we know that is not an option. At the same time, the automotive industry has shown us just how much unions can hurt as well.  The automotive unions argued year after year for automatic pay raises for its employees.  These outrageous salaries coupled with poor financial choices by the automotive manufacturers caused the demise of the American automotive industry.  So in conclusion, I believe that these bargaining powers should be regulated and held responsibly.

I want to reduce Ohio's growing deficit as much as the next person, but I believe that Sen. Jones is looking for swift action and immediate results. I'd rather have our senators and representatives work harder to find other means of budget cutting as well as revenue increases. lets not punish our public workers for poor government choices. 

240sx: the build

There it is! Beautiful isn't it? Well, I guess it is in the eyes of the beholder.  This is how the 240 looked when I drove it home last September.  This is my fifth s13 chassis car, so I am pretty familiar with all the little quirks and bugs to be worked out. The most intriguing part of this car being I have had so many before it, is the fact that at this point in my life I will actually be able to drive it at the drift events that it is being built for.  I am building to the car to drive to grassroots drifting events in Ohio and the surrounding states. The car is under the knife right now, but I'll keep you updated with pictures and posts. hopefully more of the posts on this build are about driving the events than building the car.

Garagista, the first post...

What is Garagista?  In the early days of Formula One racing, Enzo Ferrari ruled the series.  When the younger less experienced British and German teams were making their start, Ferrari looked down on these teams labeling them "Garagisti" or "Garage Teams".  These Garagisti would eventually learn to compete and eventually surpass the great Ferrari team. 

So this is my blog, collection of thoughts, memoir, or whatever you call it. My goal is that you will learn a little more about me, but also that I learn a little more about my self.

-doug