February 2005 Archives
02.19.2005
When I completed the Acura engine swap, I wanted to start the car to make sure it ran ok. The exhaust manifold was on at the time, but not the exhaust. Little did I know that I frigged up some wiring and one of the fuel injectors was stuck open. My oldest son, ten 5 or 6, shouted, "FIRE!!!!" and ran for the house. After extinguishing the fire, I did what any man would do, I started it up again to see if it would happen. Of course it did. So, the bright red color and the incident led to the name pretty easily!
Many thanks to Wes Grammer for his article on swapping in the Acura engine and support
throughout the process and Pete Mathewson(fellow CRX builder) for
moral support and humor! :-)
- 1987 Acura Integra 1.6L DOHC engine, Integra gearbox intstalled,
Integra rear suspension and front disc brakes. Many thanks to
Grassroots
Motorsports magazine for an excellent article on how to carry
out the suspension swap!
- Autopower
roll cage
- Alfa-Pro
rally computer
- Battery relocated to right rear of loadspace using Moroso battery
box
- Kuhmo rally tires
- Ground
Control coil-over kit in the rear with 300lb springs and Tockico
Illuminas at all corners. We have fitted 27mm. torsion bars from
OPM
Motorsports for increased stiffness and ride height.
- Lexan rear window
- Roof vents from the local trailer supply store
- Sparco Sprint seats with RCI 5-point harnesses
- 1/4"Aluminum skid plates under the engine
- Energy
Suspension bushings for the suspension
- Perma-Cool
remote oil filter kit and oil cooler. With the skid plate fitted,
It made sense to have the oil filter someplace where we could
change it along with a cooler. It also added two ports so we could
hook up our oil temp and pressure sensors.
- Tilton
brake proportioning valve with Performance
Friction pads up front.
- Phantom
Grip LSD-please note that we NO LONGER run these in our cars.
- ATL
fuel cell
- Rally Mudflaps and Hella driving lights and map light from Susquehanna
MotorSports.
- The car was lightened as much as it could be. The dash
remains, but all interior trim and soundproofing has been removed.
We did not remove the undercoating from the car.
02.07.2005
Maine based performance rally team Last Ditch Racing brought home second place overall and first place in Open Class in the Ontario Provincial Rally Championship portion of the 40th edition of the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki Quebec. The team placed seventh overall, and fourth in the Open Class in the national event.
The one day event saw driver John Cassidy and co-driver Dave Getchell cover 233 km of special stages and 435 km of total distance over the 13 hour event. The event challenged the competitors with one of the longest stages in North American rallying at 50.40 km. "To drive a stage that long is exciting," said Cassidy. "It speaks to the way rallies used to be and really tests our ability to maintain focus over a long period of time. It's a challenge Dave and I enjoyed."
The one day event saw driver John Cassidy and co-driver Dave Getchell cover 233 km of special stages and 435 km of total distance over the 13 hour event. The event challenged the competitors with one of the longest stages in North American rallying at 50.40 km. "To drive a stage that long is exciting," said Cassidy. "It speaks to the way rallies used to be and really tests our ability to maintain focus over a long period of time. It's a challenge Dave and I enjoyed."
Continue reading LDR Takes Second in OPRC at Perce Neige 2005!.