I received a notice in the mail saying that I owe 220$ to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles for the blue Civic. I thought that this situation was resolved, but I guess it isn't. This is becoming ridiculous! I phoned them and told them I was not the importer. They said that the form from Border Services said I was. I will have to phone them tomorrow to see what can be done. AARGHH!
I went running this evening and did my best 10k time since I started running again a couple of years ago: 46:46. This is still much slower than my lifetime best (15 years ago), but it felt good.
Cool cars spotted:
Ford GT
Maserati GT
BMW 635
Delorean
Acura TL Type S
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Smallest car ever
I enjoyed the latest episode of Top Gear. They tested a car from the 60's that is so small, you can actually lift the rear bumper off the ground and drag it around behind you. It's called a Peel and it gets 100 mpg. Incredible. I actually had a dream once about a tiny car I could bring into the office with me, like a bicycle... I can't believe it actually already existed.
I've been reading Ben Lovejoy's Nurburgring trip reports for the past couple of months. It's a very interesting read and it really makes me want to travel to the Ring and do some laps. Here is the link... not for those with A.D.D.: http://nurburgring.org.uk/trip_reports/trip18/
My street Civic is still at Pat Boyer's, as he convinced me that now was a good time to change the starter, since it doesn't work consistently. It's almost ready to become my daily driver... almost.
I saw photos of the new Honda Fit online... disappointing.
Random thought of the day:
Mazda Miatas are driven by people who enjoy life.
Cool cars spotted:
Viper SRT10
Aston Martin DB9
I've been reading Ben Lovejoy's Nurburgring trip reports for the past couple of months. It's a very interesting read and it really makes me want to travel to the Ring and do some laps. Here is the link... not for those with A.D.D.: http://nurburgring.org.uk/trip_reports/trip18/
My street Civic is still at Pat Boyer's, as he convinced me that now was a good time to change the starter, since it doesn't work consistently. It's almost ready to become my daily driver... almost.
I saw photos of the new Honda Fit online... disappointing.
Random thought of the day:
Mazda Miatas are driven by people who enjoy life.
Cool cars spotted:
Viper SRT10
Aston Martin DB9
Chrome-bumpered MGB
Black on black Saab Viggen 5-door
Black on black Saab Viggen 5-door
Maserati Quattroporte
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Fall Trac School
This weekend, we held the last Trac Racing school of the year at St-Eustache. As usual, there was a large variety of car types. In fact, the first three cars I saw when I arrived at the shop Saturday morning were a Civic, a Skyline and a 944... typical mix. The different types of cars and drivers is one of the things that make it fun to instruct at this school. The cars on hand included a 996 turbo, a couple of 944's, various Honda's and VW's, including an AWD turbo diesel Corrado (!), the Kia that competed in the Targa Newfoundland a few years ago, a new BMW 3-series, 2 Skylines, an AMG C55, an Audi S4, a Mazdaspeed 6 and various other sporting and not so sporting cars.
The instructors assigned to my team were Martin Patterson, Dude and Nigel Heron. Sebastien Rochon dropped by and gave us a hand as well. My students were a good bunch and we had no real problems with them. I believe they had a good time and learned a great deal. In the mock race at the end of the school, they pitted the 996 turbo against a very quick 92 Civic hatch and, although the Porsche took the Civic on the start, the Civic eventually caught it and pulled away. I timed one of the Civic's laps... 1:01.2. That is extremely fast for the conditions we had today. It just goes to show the potential of Civics on small tracks. This, of course, was no ordinary Civic. It was weight reduced to the max, not even close to street legal, and had 200 whp. Still, it was being driven hard and well and it was a pleasure to watch in action.
Sometimes, I think that the only thing I am jealous of when I look at people with a lot more money than me is the cars they can buy. I'm not even talking about the Porsches and Ferraris... I wish I could have more Hondas to play with! In fact, Martin Patterson mentioned that he might be selling his 1990 Civic Si... almost rust free with only a few tasteful modifications. I wish I had an extra couple of thousand dollars lying around, as well as a couple of secure parking spots.
I was lucky to be able to leave the school early on rainy Saturday to attend my friend William's wedding. I enjoyed a pleasant afternoon and evening with Alex at the wedding and reception.
I talked to Pat Boyer and he told me that he had found the faulty wire that was making the car run like crap before ceasing to function altogether. He also managed to fix the headlight. I should finally be able to make the car my daily driver this week, as I'll be able to pick it up in a couple of days. I might still need to change the starter as it doesn't work all the time.
Over all, a satisfying weekend then.
The instructors assigned to my team were Martin Patterson, Dude and Nigel Heron. Sebastien Rochon dropped by and gave us a hand as well. My students were a good bunch and we had no real problems with them. I believe they had a good time and learned a great deal. In the mock race at the end of the school, they pitted the 996 turbo against a very quick 92 Civic hatch and, although the Porsche took the Civic on the start, the Civic eventually caught it and pulled away. I timed one of the Civic's laps... 1:01.2. That is extremely fast for the conditions we had today. It just goes to show the potential of Civics on small tracks. This, of course, was no ordinary Civic. It was weight reduced to the max, not even close to street legal, and had 200 whp. Still, it was being driven hard and well and it was a pleasure to watch in action.
Sometimes, I think that the only thing I am jealous of when I look at people with a lot more money than me is the cars they can buy. I'm not even talking about the Porsches and Ferraris... I wish I could have more Hondas to play with! In fact, Martin Patterson mentioned that he might be selling his 1990 Civic Si... almost rust free with only a few tasteful modifications. I wish I had an extra couple of thousand dollars lying around, as well as a couple of secure parking spots.
I was lucky to be able to leave the school early on rainy Saturday to attend my friend William's wedding. I enjoyed a pleasant afternoon and evening with Alex at the wedding and reception.
I talked to Pat Boyer and he told me that he had found the faulty wire that was making the car run like crap before ceasing to function altogether. He also managed to fix the headlight. I should finally be able to make the car my daily driver this week, as I'll be able to pick it up in a couple of days. I might still need to change the starter as it doesn't work all the time.
Over all, a satisfying weekend then.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Can anything else go wrong?
It seems that, when the blue Civic is involved, I always take a step back for every step forward. I picked the car up from the alignment shop (3rd try to align the car was finally successful) last night and, as I left the parking lot, the check engine light came on. The motor was hesitating and cutting at less than 3000 rpm. When I got home, I popped the hood and noticed the small intake snorkel had come off and was resting on a plug from the wiring harness. I put the snorkel back and "jiggled" the plug, and the engine stalled. There seems to be a problem with the wiring in that area. I checked the connector and it seemed fine, although I could no longer start the car at all. Time to call CAA for the second time in one week! The car was towed to Pat's garage, and I hope he can find whatever's wrong, as well as fix the headlight situation. One day this car will be my daily driver!
It's funny, because whenever I have a new car project, it causes me a lot of stress as I try to complete it. This is ironic, because when I don't have a project going, I always wish I had. I guess that all these small trials will be forgotten when the car is finally up and running.
Tomorrow, I'll be up early to instruct at another Trac school at St-Eustache. I look forward to it, because the students in this school are not attending as part of a corporate package deal, as was the case last week at Calabogie. In other words, the students tomorrow will have paid the school fee with their own money. The student body is made up of true enthusiasts, and enthusiastic students are a pleasure to teach. Last week I had a great team or instructors in my group, including Sam and Jean-Seb from Trac, Martin Patterson, Pascal St-Cyr and newcomer Marie-Laurence. I hope to have a similarly talented team tomorrow. I'll be leaving early tomorrow to head to my friend William's wedding, then spending all day Sunday at the track. Having a tolerant wife comes in handy when doing back-to-back schools like this!
It's funny, because whenever I have a new car project, it causes me a lot of stress as I try to complete it. This is ironic, because when I don't have a project going, I always wish I had. I guess that all these small trials will be forgotten when the car is finally up and running.
Tomorrow, I'll be up early to instruct at another Trac school at St-Eustache. I look forward to it, because the students in this school are not attending as part of a corporate package deal, as was the case last week at Calabogie. In other words, the students tomorrow will have paid the school fee with their own money. The student body is made up of true enthusiasts, and enthusiastic students are a pleasure to teach. Last week I had a great team or instructors in my group, including Sam and Jean-Seb from Trac, Martin Patterson, Pascal St-Cyr and newcomer Marie-Laurence. I hope to have a similarly talented team tomorrow. I'll be leaving early tomorrow to head to my friend William's wedding, then spending all day Sunday at the track. Having a tolerant wife comes in handy when doing back-to-back schools like this!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Slow week
I finally finished the speaker installation in the blue Civic this evening. Alex reminded me today that it was time to make the car ready to become the daily driver. I guess I kind of liked having two potential daily drivers, but there's really no point in my neighbourhood. So I've put the 13-inch winter wheels on so I can try once again to get the car aligned tomorrow. Then I can put it into service as a daily driver. I will still have to fix the faulty headlight and annoying rattling exhaust.
There was a documentary on CBC about dog owners in Japan. I realize that dog lovers and car lovers have a lot in common. I guess it's the same with many involving hobbies.
Cool cars spotted:
E28 BMW M5
Old Mini Clubman
Porsche 924 S
There was a documentary on CBC about dog owners in Japan. I realize that dog lovers and car lovers have a lot in common. I guess it's the same with many involving hobbies.
 |
| I want one of these... this would be the perfect car for me |
E28 BMW M5
Old Mini Clubman
Porsche 924 S
Monday, October 22, 2007
Weekend at Calabogie
This weekend, I headed out to Calabogie to instruct at the Trac Racing School there. It was the first time we had held the school at a venue other then Autodrome St-Eustache. I had been to the track once before this year. The school would be made up of some of the track owners and a lot of the staff. There would be 20-25 students rather than the usual 40-50. There would be 10 instructors, including myself. Alex decided she would like to come along as the hotel room was furnished by Trac, so we made a little road-trip out of it. She didn't plan to actually come to the track, as I would be busy and she could get more work done at the Motel.
We met up with the gang at Trac to form a mini-convoy for the 300 km trip. I was driving the race car, Carl had his Type R, Steph had his A3 and Sam had the Trac Golf Gti. We left before rush hour and hit the highway. It was raining really hard by the time we were at the Ontario border. A short while after that, I noticed early signs of an electric problem, as my speedometer needle started to go haywire. Not good! I radioed Carl and told him that my alternator had died or I had lost the alternator belt and that I would try to make it to the next exit. Luckily, I did, as the next exit was 15 km away. I parked the car at a service center and looked under the hood. The belt was still there, so the alternator must have been fried. My car has been through about 8 alternators in the past 3 years, so I have come to recognize the symptoms.
I called CAA for a tow and they came within an hour. Alex and I hopped in to the tow truck for the 125 km trip back to St-Eustache. I called Carl, and he suggested I join them at Calabogie with my street car by leaving early Saturday morning. Alex wanted us to make the trip right away. We got to St-Eustache around 6:45 pm, I transferred all our gear and a set of race tires to the Mazda, changed my clothes as I had got soaked in the process, and headed off at 7:00. After a gas stop, we finally arrived at the motel at 10:00. Not too bad. Unfortunately, I would still not get to try the track with my race car.
There was a weird variety of cars at the school: 3 Corvette Z06's and a Porsche 911 GT3, a Hyundai Santa Fe, Chrysler Sebring, Ford Focus Wagon, a couple of Pontiac Grand Prix... a real mix of hardcore sports cars and not-even-sporty cars.
The school went pretty well. It was raining off and on Saturday, so I didn't bother to put the race tires on the Mazda. On Sunday, the weather was beautiful, so I swapped tires and went out for a few very pleasant laps with the car. Of course, I was being passed by almost everybody, but I still had fun. The car had no power, of course (82 hp to be exact), but the grip with 205-50-15 Hankook Z214's was phenomenal.
The day ended at 4:30 and we were home by 7:30. All in all, it was a fun weekend, although not as fun as if I'd had the Civic, but still good. Also, Steph offered to have the Civic repainted in the colour of my choice, as the car had served him so well this year, so that will be something to think about in the next couple of weeks.
We met up with the gang at Trac to form a mini-convoy for the 300 km trip. I was driving the race car, Carl had his Type R, Steph had his A3 and Sam had the Trac Golf Gti. We left before rush hour and hit the highway. It was raining really hard by the time we were at the Ontario border. A short while after that, I noticed early signs of an electric problem, as my speedometer needle started to go haywire. Not good! I radioed Carl and told him that my alternator had died or I had lost the alternator belt and that I would try to make it to the next exit. Luckily, I did, as the next exit was 15 km away. I parked the car at a service center and looked under the hood. The belt was still there, so the alternator must have been fried. My car has been through about 8 alternators in the past 3 years, so I have come to recognize the symptoms.
I called CAA for a tow and they came within an hour. Alex and I hopped in to the tow truck for the 125 km trip back to St-Eustache. I called Carl, and he suggested I join them at Calabogie with my street car by leaving early Saturday morning. Alex wanted us to make the trip right away. We got to St-Eustache around 6:45 pm, I transferred all our gear and a set of race tires to the Mazda, changed my clothes as I had got soaked in the process, and headed off at 7:00. After a gas stop, we finally arrived at the motel at 10:00. Not too bad. Unfortunately, I would still not get to try the track with my race car.
There was a weird variety of cars at the school: 3 Corvette Z06's and a Porsche 911 GT3, a Hyundai Santa Fe, Chrysler Sebring, Ford Focus Wagon, a couple of Pontiac Grand Prix... a real mix of hardcore sports cars and not-even-sporty cars.
The school went pretty well. It was raining off and on Saturday, so I didn't bother to put the race tires on the Mazda. On Sunday, the weather was beautiful, so I swapped tires and went out for a few very pleasant laps with the car. Of course, I was being passed by almost everybody, but I still had fun. The car had no power, of course (82 hp to be exact), but the grip with 205-50-15 Hankook Z214's was phenomenal.
The day ended at 4:30 and we were home by 7:30. All in all, it was a fun weekend, although not as fun as if I'd had the Civic, but still good. Also, Steph offered to have the Civic repainted in the colour of my choice, as the car had served him so well this year, so that will be something to think about in the next couple of weeks.
 |
| The 323 on race tires |
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The season is ending
It's getting cold outside. This morning on the walk to work, my hand got too cold to hold the book I was reading. I was happy to see a woman driving an MX5 with the top down... that's hardcore. I hate it when I see people driving with the top up when it's 17 degrees out. This morning it was 4 degrees, so, MX5 driver, I salute you.
I had a crazy idea on the walk to work this morning. Alex told me that she was going to Toronto with her girlfriends on the weekend of November 11th. This got me thinking that I should find something fun to do for myself. I then had the brilliant idea to attend the November EMRA Lime Rock race as I did in 2003 (see that story here: http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=666394 ) if it happened to fall on that weekend. I would make it a one-day trip, just as I had in 2003. Anyway, when I got to work, I checked the date, and the race is 2 weeks earlier than it would have needed to be. I guess the race season really is over.
I got a call from Carl and we'll be heading out to Calabogie in a convoy on Friday afternoon so we can have an instructors' briefing at the hotel Friday evening. Apparently, there are 20 or so students. I hope it doesn't rain, as I have no usable rain tires for the race car. So far the forecast says cloudy Saturday, rainy Sunday. I wish I had taken track notes when I was last there, as I've already forgotten most of what I've learned of the track. Hopefully it will be one of those cases where it all comes back to me when I'm out there.
My Mom was trying to be helpful with the blue Civic project and went to a scrapyard to find the connector I need for the headlight. Unfortunately for her, she got a speeding ticket for doing 56 in a 30 zone. She called me while the officer was writing her up. This is only the second speeding ticket she had ever got in her life. The other was on the same street in the early 80's when she was driving my Dad's '76 Jaguar XJ6L. Ironically, she now has more demerit points than I do (2 to 0)! Still, I feel bad. She will check to see if the speed limit was indicated to see if we can contest it.
Cool cars spotted:
Ferrari 360 Modena
Porsche 996 turbo
Audi RS4
I had a crazy idea on the walk to work this morning. Alex told me that she was going to Toronto with her girlfriends on the weekend of November 11th. This got me thinking that I should find something fun to do for myself. I then had the brilliant idea to attend the November EMRA Lime Rock race as I did in 2003 (see that story here: http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=666394 ) if it happened to fall on that weekend. I would make it a one-day trip, just as I had in 2003. Anyway, when I got to work, I checked the date, and the race is 2 weeks earlier than it would have needed to be. I guess the race season really is over.
I got a call from Carl and we'll be heading out to Calabogie in a convoy on Friday afternoon so we can have an instructors' briefing at the hotel Friday evening. Apparently, there are 20 or so students. I hope it doesn't rain, as I have no usable rain tires for the race car. So far the forecast says cloudy Saturday, rainy Sunday. I wish I had taken track notes when I was last there, as I've already forgotten most of what I've learned of the track. Hopefully it will be one of those cases where it all comes back to me when I'm out there.
My Mom was trying to be helpful with the blue Civic project and went to a scrapyard to find the connector I need for the headlight. Unfortunately for her, she got a speeding ticket for doing 56 in a 30 zone. She called me while the officer was writing her up. This is only the second speeding ticket she had ever got in her life. The other was on the same street in the early 80's when she was driving my Dad's '76 Jaguar XJ6L. Ironically, she now has more demerit points than I do (2 to 0)! Still, I feel bad. She will check to see if the speed limit was indicated to see if we can contest it.
Cool cars spotted:
Ferrari 360 Modena
Porsche 996 turbo
Audi RS4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)