The Learning Car

"jlmounce" (jlmounce) 12/10/2013 at 12:54 • Filed to: Mustang, Cobra, Track, Road Course, Modification, Suspension, V8, Toy

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For automobile enthusiasts and especially those bitten by the mod bug, there is always a defining automobile. The one that you took your time with and really set out a plan for. You may have had cool cars before, or it may have been your first car. If you had previous vehicles, they may have been alright, but somehow, not quite what you had wanted.

This is the story of my learning car.

My learning car, a 1999 Ford Mustang Cobra, was the first car I purchased for myself purely as a toy. Yes, I'd had two mustangs prior, but at the time they were also my daily use vehicles. This brings me to the first thing I learned about cars.

Daily use and fun can and often do go hand in hand. However, because of the necessity to be reliable and work in varying weather conditions, such vehicles tend to be a compromise. The previous cars, I was forced to keep my builds and plans in check so that I could still rely on my vehicle. Living in Northern Colorado, that also means contending with snow. So with those cars, I never did everything I wanted to them and certainly not in a manor that was thoroughly thought out and executed.

Enter the spring of 2005. I'd been driving around my 2003 Cobra for a year and a half. The girlfriend and I had just purchased a condo and I was ready to pop the question. As they sometimes do, things went south and I was left with an expensive car and now a mortgage on a single modest salary. Risking default, I sold the Cobra and purchased a used Toyota Tacoma on the cheap. It was a good truck that was solid around the edges, but had high mileage. No matter, it was steadfastly reliable.

Six month later at the onset of winter, I happened on an Electric Green 1999 Cobra sitting on a dealer lot in Ft. Collins CO. You don't see too many 1999 Cobra's around and Electric Green being the rarest of color, you certainly don't see those hanging around on a lot. Upon closer inspection I found that it was an ebony interior car instead of saddle, another bit of rarity. I gave it a thorough once over before I caught any attention from wondering salesmen. It had two tiny dings and one of the wheels had some road rash on it. From what I could see through the tinted windows, the interior looked to be in good shape.

Enter the salesman.

He was cordial enough, but as with many salesman I encounter, didn't know dick about autos or especially anything about the car I was looking at. He gave me the standard "it was driven by an old lady" comments about the car. I asked about the price and he offered up that they wanted $19.500 for it and that it had 42,000 on the odometer. Having sold my 2003 Cobra six months earlier for $23,000, pricing on this vehicle was a touch (sarcasm) high. When it comes to dealerships that price vehicles through the stratosphere just because they think they can swindle an onlooker, I don't give them the time of day. I thanked him for his time and let him know the pricing was not in order to even make an offer. I was on my way back to my vehicle when the sales manager greeted me and offered to negotiate on the price.

I had happened to be in the right place at the right time. It was the end of a poor sales month, with winter coming and they had a rear drive mustang on the lot that was going to stay there if it wasn't moved soon. I could go in to full detail, but I got the car for a fair price and significantly under budget. I drove the Cobra home and left my Tacoma at the dealership...I picked that up the next day with the help of a friend.

The car was all stock, had low miles and aside from the aforementioned ailments, in darn good condition. I had myself a blank canvas to work from. In vehicles before this, I would have immediately purchased an X-pipe and Cat-back for it and started modding. This car was different though. Because I hadn't purchased another expensive new car, I had a lot of budget to work with. I wanted this car to be different. To be special. Instead of spending all my money on modifications instantly, I decided I wanted to try some motorsport with this car. It wasn't a daily driver, so I could beat on it and break it without worry.

This car is how I got in to road racing and lapping events. After careful research and diligence, I went to the track with a bone stock car with nothing more than a brake pad change.

It was far and away the most fun I had ever had behind the wheel. It didn't matter that the car was stock. It didn't matter that it wasn't the newest and shiniest car there. What mattered was that I was using the car for a purpose that was about true enjoyment and not trying to keep up with what everybody else in the scene was doing. It got more enjoyable as my skill level quickly started to ramp up and I found myself passing cars I had no business passing on a road course in a crude Mustang.

This was a big lesson for me. Having fun with cars isn't necessarily about putting loud exhaust and flashy wheels on them. It's about using them and pushing yourself while you're behind the wheel. I continued to do lapping events with the car in this configuration. Getting better and better all the while. After a set of all season tires and several sets of brake pads (no rotors though) were gone, the mod bug finally bit.

Drawing on my experiences modifying my previous mustangs and the track experience as well, I drafted a plan on what I wanted to do. The car was nimble enough and had enough grip to be decent on a tight technical course. Even as high strung as that DOHC 4.6 motor was, I felt as if she was running out of breath on long straights. What space I would gain through a technical stretch would be swallowed up on the straights. I needed to improve my power to weight ratio, but without unbalancing the car. I went for a cold air intake from JLT Performance and a full length Bassani system with a catted x-pipe and cat-back. The additions bumped up peak power a bit, but also removed about 30 lbs of weight from the vehicle. The soundtrack with that all aluminum, high revving V8 was an added bonus!

I went back to the track and sure enough, the little bit of extra grunt and a bit less weight had helped improve the car were it was falling down. Lap times decreased marginally. Being able to hear the engine a bit better improved my personal performance as well.

Now it was time to tackle a suspension that was in need of a little TLC. One of the isolator rings had started to wear significantly under heat and stress of the road course. The bushings were aging and the factory shocks were giving up the ghost. I called up Maximum Motorsports and opened up my checkbook. One thing you'll hear from pretty much any major tuning house is to never change springs without changing your shocks or struts to match the new rates. Unfortunately for me, the shocks I wanted and needed were on back-order at the time. Knowing I was going to be replacing the shocks once they were off back-order, I went ahead with a spring install anyway. I replaced the rear isolators and completely removed them from the front of the vehicle.

I also picked up a pair of street wheels to add a bit of look to the car when it wasn't seeing track duty.

Before W/New Wheels:

After:

While I waited on those pesky shocks, I took part in a track rental with some buddies. Five cars and the entire 2.2 mile road course at PMI to ourselves! It was a blast! What wasn't a blast was the new suspension. The dynamics were awful! It was horribly underdamped and balance had shifted from neutral in stock form to wildly loose. My lap times around the same course had dropped by almost 2 seconds. I made the best of the day and it was back to the drawing board.

The biggest issue was the factory shocks. The springs I installed had simply too much rate in them for the factory dampers to even think about coping with. Once I got the new shocks installed (Bilstien HD's) ride and handling characteristics vastly improved. She was still prone to being overly loose however. With a bit more research and study of the mustang suspension, I found a few issues that may be at play. By lowering the vehicle about an inch and a half at all corners, I plunged the front roll center below ground. This was causing a bit of bump steer and the added tendency to roll was upsetting the chassis. I went to Steeda for their tall ball joint to correct the roll center, as well as full length sub-frame connectors to stiffen the chassis. Back on track, the car's manors were much improved. Turn in feel was back and the car no longer felt underdamped and lost it's tendency to wallow through corners. My lap times had dropped slightly from pre-suspension change madness. A good sign.

Those were the last physical changes I made to my Cobra. It's performance was about as good as it was going to get without spending a lot more money and making it unreliable and expensive to work on. I continued to track the vehicle and simply enjoy what it was and what it had become.

In all the time I enjoyed this vehicle, I performed all the maintenance and installed all of the parts. Instead of throwing parts at the vehicle, I took the time to develop a plan for what I wanted it to do. That diligence let me do things with the car that I hadn't been able to do with anything previous. Not only did I learn how to install, maintain and adjust a suspension system, but I also gleaned critical pieces of information to make the entire driving experience while modified a pleasure. She wasn't the fastest car around and certainly not the fastest around a road course, but she was fun, repeatable and reliable to the end.

That method was so rewarding, that every car I've owned and modified sense has undergone the same diligence to doing it right the first time. Although as I've gotten older I've tended to stray away from modifications, those ideals help with general maintenance and care of even a stock vehicle. In the end, the most important thing I learned with this car was to simply go out and enjoy them. Cars aren't made to sit in the garage and look pretty, or perpetually be down with new parts going on them. The true joy is getting behind the wheel.

In the spring of 2007 my journey with the bright green Cobra came to an end with the purchase of my first Corvette. It was a sad day watching the new owner drive off with my little green track machine. I'm even happy to say that I sold the car for nearly what I originally paid for it. To this day, I've never learned so much from a single vehicle, or had as much fun.

If you've made it this far in my novel, you deserve a cookie and I award you 5 internets. Thanks for reading!

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 13:04

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I want my cookie now.

Jokes aside, nice story. It's ironic that back when you had the faster vehicle, you couldn't do what you did with it.

CAR_IS_MI > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 13:06

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I think every car is a 'learning car'.

I have learned something new from each of the 15 vehicles I've owned in some way shape or form, and it all just continues to add into the knowledge base.

anothermiatafanboy > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 13:19

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Good read, I enjoyed it. I don't think ive had my learning vehicle yet. Woulda been fun to have that terminator out on the straights at the track, eh?

jlmounce > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 12/10/2013 at 13:22

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It is ironic how that works. At the time I was stuck in corporate hell working in a cubicle. I'd always been a car enthusiast, but for me it was always about having the best I could. So I had the Terminator. It was an epic car, but because of how much I spent on it, I could never do with it everything that I wanted to. Many people get stuck in the loop of keeping up with the best and brightest, to the detriment of their enjoyment. I've done that countless times with cars and is why I currently have a little GTI and I'm finishing my classic Firebird. I could have a new C7 in the garage, but that eats in to my play funds by quite a bit. With that savings, I can put money in to making my 'bird what I want. In the mean time I'll track the GTI and have some fun in it as well.

jlmounce > anothermiatafanboy 12/10/2013 at 13:24

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Indeed! The Terminator is pretty brutal in a straight line with traction. It's not awful around a corner. Between the 99 and the 03 you can definitely tell there's an iron block, supercharger laden engine up there though. Turn in on the 99 is so much faster and much more accurate.

Because the 99/01 cars are about 50/50 weight distribution, they rotate a lot better than the 03/04 cars.

Inflame333 > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 13:30

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Not a bad story and I totally agree. I tracked my bone stock e46 m3 and had a freaking blast.

jlmounce > Inflame333 12/10/2013 at 13:40

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Around the lapping community, guys that are first entering are always worried about being fast. I can't tell you how often I hear "I'll hit the track once I get my new exhaust installed." Or, "I'm getting bigger brakes and suspension next week, so I'll be out next month."

Most people don't realize that at first, a bone stock car is well ahead of your skill to take to the limit. Let alone a HP beast on sticky tires with massive brakes and a rock hard suspension.

Just get out and drive them! You learn faster and actually have fun doing it!

Stef Schrader > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 13:44

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That green is a FANTASTIC color.

I keep telling people that they don't need a super-modified car to go hoon on a track....and I tend to get some funny looks when I tell them that my usual "track vehicle" is the automatic Lancer I drive to work, haha. Normal stock suspensions tell you a lot more about weight transfer, anyway.

TheRallyStache > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:19

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I've had AWD manual cars for the past two years, but because of a financial situation had to buy a beater auto focus. I made it a learning car when I decided to teach myself left foot braking with it (since the third pedal was gone, my lefty was bored). Later on, after left foot braking became second nature, I taught myself lift off oversteer...

Making lemonade of lemons...

BeaterGT > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:25

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Moral of the story: Hoon the shit out of your car as soon as you buy it.

On a more serious note, great read and congrats on the Corvette. Now tell us about that on the track.

AutonomousMachines > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:25

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Thanks for the story! It was a great read. :)

tobythesandwich > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:27

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Psh. You don't know me.

I'm like the white Larry Byrd of racing.

PragmaticPanda > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:30

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Great read. I love the idea of upgrading suspension elements and light 'breathing' mods, with a larger rubber footprint-it makes 'normal' cars much more entertaining.

ICantStandNewJalopnik > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:32

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Fun article! Thanks for that. I am tracking for the first time next spring where I bought a Focus ST just for this. I've heard their brakes are really weak, and at Road America, even me as a rookie would probably burn them up. Just saying. Brembo GT kit will be on in a few months. Either way, it's my first "mod" car I've ever had. I can't wait to get it out there on the track!

Andrew Seifert > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:40

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Was the Corvette much of an improvement over the Mustang? What year and type did you have?

FromCanadaWithLove > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:45

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Scirocco tease

jlmounce > Andrew Seifert 12/10/2013 at 14:54

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Over the '99 Cobra, the Corvette was an improvement in almost every way. The C6 coupes were a bit hampered by their run flat tires though. On track, that type of tire isn't very predictable. With a proper set of tires though, wow. My 2007 C6 was several seconds faster bone stock then the Cobra ever was. But then, given the expense and purpose of that vehicle, it should have been!

DatASSun > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 14:55

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Man great read .. I'm setting out to prove you can build a daily driver / race car thats reliable and not too over whelming so keep a eye out for my Oppo story to come soon .

jlmounce > FromCanadaWithLove 12/10/2013 at 14:55

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I remember that car. I never saw him again on track, but if I recall it too was all stock. Pretty quick little bugger too!

jlmounce > DatASSun 12/10/2013 at 14:57

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Excellent! I look forward to the read! I actually kept that Cobra so near stock that it was stone reliable. With a set of good of tires for the winter months, it would have been fine to have it as a daily driver. Not having to do that really helped me keep up with it though.

DatASSun > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 15:00

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yea I got to the end and though for a second ... "Wait he forgot to turbo his 4V "

I guess as Jalops / oppo's were all expecting something extreme .. I clicked the story and thought this is going to end with a 1000hp twin turbo cobra .. and it didn't, which I'm totally cool with !

raygone > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 15:04

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Great read! You're inspiring me to push forward with something I've been wanting to do to my 98 Spring Edition GT; track it. Of course that would require money and a track nearby (i live on an island :|). It's funny to see the faces of the people who tell me to put drag radials on it and rake the suspension when I tell them I'd rather track it. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but the 99 cobras had IRS, correct?

mtdrift > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 15:11

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One thing about this generation of Cobras - you never see them coming. They look like every other Mustang of the era, with only a few subtle hints betraying them. Especially if they've been de-badged in the rear.

Just yesterday, I pulled up behind one at a stop light and said to the wife: "That's a Cobra."

"How can you tell?" she said.

"Listen." I rolled down the windows (despite the -2 degree temps), and that was all we needed to know. The side badges, sills, and SVT wheels gave the rest away when we pulled alongside at the next light.

And, props to whoever was driving his Cobra in the snow in Montana. Like you implied, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Great write-up.

rigidjunkie > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 15:18

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People were amazed that my car was as un modded as it is when I went to the track this year. I guess people expect a WRX at a track day to have a built motor, but I found sway bar and end links made the car plenty fun. I had no trouble exceeding my comfort level and the car's abilities.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 15:21

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I autocrossed a 1994 Mustang GT with 3.73 gears, a set of adjustable Tokico shocks and struts, and some tires. That was a fun car to track! It was interesting feeling how the handling changed as the body rolled, taking mental notes on how certain changes would fix the problems.

Kerberos824 > TheRallyStache 12/10/2013 at 15:25

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I've often tried to tell people the same thing. The takeaway is that anything can be fun to drive, if you drive it, and push yourself with it. I had a 91 Integra LS. The boring one. And it was automatic. But I learned so much about driving in that thing. The other amazing thing about that car was the reliability. I went to school in NYC, parked it outside in the driveway for two and a half years, came back, hooked it up to some jumper cables, got the hair dryer out for the distributor cap (long story) and it started right up. Hysterically right up. Almost as if it was run a few days ago. I was shocked. Got in it, drove it up and down the road. Couldn't believe it.

jlmounce > raygone 12/10/2013 at 15:28

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If you can manage it, you definitely should! Open tracking is stupid amounts of legal fun!

Yes the 99 Cobra was the first Mustang to employ an IRS. Although much better than the converging 4 link found in the GT cars and Cobra's previous to it, the IRS was still a step up. If not compromised and a bit heavy.

It's actually a direct swap in to a GT if you're interested. As long as your not wheel to wheel racing and have rules to worry about, I'd make that swap on a GT in a heartbeat. The handling is much more predictable at the limit, without that characteristic snap over steer that the SN95 Mustangs suffer from.

tsmit > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 15:39

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really can't find a track around here that either, A: Doesn't charge an insane amount for a single day, or B: isn't SCAA in a super tiny parking lot that really isn't much fun for anyone except maybe an NA miata. :( though with how fragile my 335i (EXPENSIVE ASS SHIT LOVES TO BREAK ALL THE TIME) is and it's lack of an LSD, don't really think i got much of a track car anyways. My civic might be great for the scaa though, sadly its got a lot busted on it right now though :(

Fivepointohpwr > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 15:42

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Great write up! Always nice to read a well written article that keeps you interested.. something kinda hard to come by now-a-days. Especially cool to see that you bought the car from my hometown! Where do you reside?

Nedus > Kerberos824 12/10/2013 at 15:42

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That's badass. An early 90s Integra just got added to the list of cars to look for for a friend who needs a reliable older car.

jlmounce > tsmit 12/10/2013 at 15:44

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This is actually kind of what I'm advicating with the post. Because I shopped under budget with this 99 Cobra, I had a ton left over in my play account each month. That made it much easier to spend the money to do lapping events. At the time, back in 2005, It would cost me about $250.00 for a full weekend of lapping with NASA Rocky Mountain. That of course didn't include fuel and consumables. 2014 season a full weekend pricing is about $325 or so. It's expensive, but less so than getting tickets and jacking up insurance premiums.

In regards to the 335i, I see many of them out at the track and they do fairly well. Even without a LSD. Again, for the vast majority of people, most stock cars can perform far beyond their ability to push them. It took me about half a season of lapping events to get to the point with my bone stock Cobra to where it was starting to limit me as a driver. When that happens, adding more powerful brakes, bigger rubber etc. starts to push you again.

jlmounce > Fivepointohpwr 12/10/2013 at 15:45

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I'm in Greeley myself. I purchased the car from Lithia Hyundai.

raygone > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:01

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There are actually quite a lot of AutoCross events in Connecticut and Massachusetts that I may try and make it to in the spring. I've got to look into tracks around NE too, I know there are a few around. I have actually been looking into the IRS swap for a while, and there are even ways to cram it into a 79-93 Fox (Which I've been trying to convince a friend of mine to do, he has a '93). I think though I may go Panhard Rod/Watts Link depending on my financial situation in the spring, but I do know a lot of Maximum Motorsports parts are going to end up on my car. Just curious, what tire sizes are you running? If i had to guess i'd say 265-285 in the rear and 245-255 in the front?

jlmounce > raygone 12/10/2013 at 16:09

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For the track I ran the stock wheels in the stock sized tires, 245-45-17. The car didn't make insane amounts of power, so with a good tire on it, she performed fine. By not running super wide R compound tires, I was able to get away with running lower end brake pads. That meant that I saved money on pads. By virtue of not running an insane pad I also lengthened the amount of time I could get out of a set of rotors.

By not competing in time trials where you're looking for every 10th, I was able to go out and have fun driving at 7-8/10ths and not have to worry about burning through pads and rotors each event. I usually ran the factory size blank rotors at the corners ($20.00 each from NAPA at the time) and I had good success with the carbotech XP10 pads. Had I added grip I'd have needed more pad which tends to eat rotors faster.

Kerberos824 > Nedus 12/10/2013 at 16:10

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It's definitely a great and reliable car. Awesome mileage too. And in manual trim can be a downright blast.

bmgreenberg88 > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:15

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Loved this! Great write-up!
I currently have my first "learning car" and... yes its a Miata... but not because Miata is the answer to every car related question. It was well within my budget for a second car ($6200) and is tons of fun. Now I really need to take the second step and track the thing. Unfortunately in Northern, IN finding a good road course that doesn't require me to sell my soul to use it for a day is near impossible. Anyways again, great article!

raygone > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:19

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Alright, I may consider downsizing my tires then when I'm due for new ones. The previous owner stuck 255s up front and 285s out rear on the stock Spring Edition 17s... Yeah I don't know either. That's a valid point about AutoX actually, I figure I'd just go to them on non track days, but now that you mention that I may not want to go to them as frequently as I thought. But boy was I way off with your tire sizes haha, your rear offset threw me off.

jlmounce > bmgreenberg88 12/10/2013 at 16:23

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Great started car for sure! My father in law has a 93 and I'm trying to get him out to the track with it!

You should look in to a sanctioning body like SCCA or NASA. They usually have work for play deals that makes it easier. I know here in NASA Rocky Mountain for every day of corner work you do, you not only get fed for free but you can put that work towards free track time. I lot of guys here will do an entire weekend but work the corners one day to help pay for racing the next.

jlmounce > raygone 12/10/2013 at 16:25

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For my street wheels I did run a 10.5" wheel in the back with 315 section width rubber. 9" wheels up front with 275 section width rubber. That combination on the track with a pretty stockish car created a lot of push because of the plus sizing in the rear. Plus tires were stupid expensive for those wheels. As a result I never ran them for lapping.

raygone > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:33

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Ah okay, that makes more sense then, I love the way your street wheel/tire combo looks. I wouldn't think about doing laps with my tires on my wheels as it is now, they're so stretched it's not even funny. I'd rather get matching (or less stretched tires) for these wheels before I did any sort of track days. Previous owner put Nitto Nt555s on these wheels and I don't even want to think about how much it'll be for four fresh tires come spring.

jlmounce > raygone 12/10/2013 at 16:42

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Yeah for lapping that car with a stock or near stock suspension, you'll want to go with a matching set of tires. 245/45/17 are the stock size and will be the least expensive option tire for tire. However if you want a but more grip, you could go up to a 255 section width tire and not worry about separating a bead.

At least on the SN95 chassis mustangs if you start adding grip in the rear you start to get a decent bit of push. You'd need to compensate by increasing wheel rate at the front with the addition of a stiffer sway bar, or taking rate out of the rear by reducing stiffness there. Obviously adding the bar in the front is much easier considering there's not much aftermarket support for lower than factory spring and sta-bar rates.

I never changed the bars on my car however. The suspension with the upgraded springs was stiff enough as it is. I was worried that adding a bar would add too much rate to the front and start skidding the tire.

Jorgey > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:43

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Great read. I just bought my 2nd car, an 09.5 G8 GT, and I'm pumped to take it to the track. Everyone tells me to just slap exhaust and a supercharger to take it to the drag strip, but for me fun is in the turns. I'm just planning on doing a tune from a local guy, and maybe a cai. Other than that I'm happy with it being stock, because it's also my DD.

WarShrike > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:44

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Nice writeup Jlmounce!

I still have my "Learning car." I've had it for 11 years now. It's a 2000 Firebird with 160,000 miles on the clock now.

Bone stock, 8 years ago.

I managed to hold off on the modding bug for 4 years of ownership until it was paid off (I live by the mantra of "Don't mod something that isn't yours."), it's gone downhill ever since. Started with a better air lid from Whisper Performance. Paid $50 and traded my stock intake for it as a guy was parting out some of his stuff before he sold it off. The induction sound and gurgle from the V6 had me hooked.

Did swaybars after that, then I went with stainless longtubes and full exhaust. The first time I really turned any wrenches on my car. Never had been taught how to do it by my dad who runs a restomod shop. He didn't want me to try and make it into a trade, and go to school instead.

Bought a cam, found the internals were sludged pretty badly and turned into a full rebuild/mod while it was apart at 120,000 miles.

Went ahead and had the heads and intake ported, cleaned the block at the machine shop and began reassembly with a friend look over my shoulder who was an ASE certified mechanic and built GM V6's on the side.

So fresh!

Had some issues with part fitment (adjustable roller rockers needed taller valve covers, who knew!?).

I installed the engine/trans myself without any other assistance on a cold day, I think it was maybe 30 out that day in the garage.

It didn't stay this way for long. I got tired of the automatic, the local drag strips were all but dead so the 3800 stall was useless for street duty except for hazing the 275s through 2nd.

I swapped a T-56 in using a bellhousing to block adapter from an Australian company named Mal-Wood. I bought a used GTO T-56 that needed reverse rebuilt and go to chopping away at the car! In that time, I also updated the suspension and rebuilt the rear end. I have Strano performance springs and swaybars front and rear with Koni yellows. The car is amazing on the street now.

On the ground!

I daily drive this car, even in the cold/windblown icy weather the Texas Panhandle gets around this time of year.

Yes, that license plate says "NOTAV8."

What in the world is this?

I'm in the process of building a parts pile for a 600whp turbo build but will be DD'd at around 400whp. It is still a year out, but there's a lot of cool stuff I'll be running on the car with things I've learned from watching/reading through other turbo projects. I've had the end goal of turbocharging this V6 almost from the start but never had the right opportunities or experience to do it right! It's not with an end goal of beating up on V8's or them durned Imports. It's just me learning the ropes, having fun turning a wrench or two on a car I know like the back of my hand and getting the seal of approval on the work by my Dad.

Still needs paint after all is said and done. The Texas sun hasn't been kind to the clear coat.

jlmounce > WarShrike 12/10/2013 at 16:47

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Awesome! This is truly excellent! I also like that you kept it a V6 when I'm sure the temptation was there to do the V8 swap!

tsmit > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:48

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Yeah thing is i'm too worried about something breaking on my 335i to really track it, my other cars i had over the years i'd no trouble bringing to the track but this damn bmw is made of glass and the simplest damn thing costs an arm and a leg to fix. If shit would stop breaking on it would have had tons of money to play with it, but it's cost about half what i paid for the stupid car just to get repairs/maintenance done. Like for example transmission fluid flush = $800 at an indy mechanic.

Really i'd take my mostly bondo civic EG out but it needs new master brake cylinder, new piping, new sensors, and new clutch, also would love a tach lol. though non scaa track says are about $600 sooo its damn expensive ><

WarShrike > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 16:51

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There was plenty of temptation and peer pressure.

I just enjoy modding the V6. First "race" car I remember was a Buick Grand National on the lift at my dad's shop as a kid. It was his friends GN and they'd take it out on the weekend making quick cash with their "POS V6" on unsuspecting guys with big cube motors.

jlmounce > tsmit 12/10/2013 at 16:51

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Yeah you definitely don't want to break something you rely on for your transportation. Definitely look in to a sanctioning body though. They are generally much cheaper than just taking part in open lapping events put on by the tracks themselves. Around here in Colorado, NASA RM charges between 300-350 for an entire weekend. That's eight 20 minute sessions. They then also provide free food and beer Saturday nights.

BigAsn > Nedus 12/10/2013 at 17:30

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Got a 90' Integra RS in the family since it was new. Still one of my favorite cars to drive, and if you can find one, I highly suggest the 4 door. Reliable, easy and cheap to fix, handles well, wide open windshield view, and sits super low. I also think it's one of the best looking sedans Honda ever made.

*Not mine pictured, but a good example.

ZimZam93 > WarShrike 12/10/2013 at 17:45

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I thought this was your car Warshrike! I didnt see your name at the top of the comment and I started reading through and though "wow ive see this exact story before" Firebird nation represent haha

Singhjr96 > TheRallyStache 12/10/2013 at 18:07

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OHHH how I want to get an integera so bad. And hell, even a minivan can be fun to drive. You just have to know how to throw that thing into a corner without tipping over.

Andrew Seifert > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 18:19

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I've been a big Corvette enthusiast, and run-flat versus inflatable is a huge debate over at Corvette Forums. Trade-offs with both. Hopefully in a few years I'll be able to afford a C6 Vette. Seems like alot of the 07-08 Z51s with higher miles are starting to drop into the mid $20K range which makes it really enticing.

jlmounce > Andrew Seifert 12/10/2013 at 18:34

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What I found with the run flats is that on track and at the limit they wren't predictable. Sometimes they would hold and other times the sidewall would roll over on itself. It created this weird whipping effect mid corner and on corner exit. Grip levels with the tires used were always adequate, but you never really knew what the tire was doing. Not ideal when you're driving at the limit and trying to keep the car pointed straight.

Having the run flats for the street is fine. They're convenient. I'd stray away from running them on the track if possible.

In regards to the C6, I think you could probably get an 05-07 1LT LS2 car with moderate miles for about $18000 at this point.

Nedus > BigAsn 12/10/2013 at 20:16

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It's tough to find one that hasn't been heavily modified around here in SoCal. The person who needs a car doesn't care much for anything in a car but price, reliability and MPG.

I'm more of a classic American iron guy myself so I dont know much of imports. Is there a particular Honda that uses the same engine or would have the same reliability?

raygone > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 20:17

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Yeah 255s all around was where I was going to go, I think. Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely keep this in mind once I start setting up my car, and I really appreciate it. I assume the Cobras have a bit stiffer suspension vs the GTs as well, correct? As much as I hate to admit, I'm low on knowledge of how our cars behave, other than very basic things.

BigAsn > Nedus 12/10/2013 at 20:24

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The newer Integras used the same engine also (B18). Just about any Honda is fairly reliable and will get you good MPG in stock form. As commuter cars you really can't go wrong. Just watch out for any that's been modded (as with any car), cause you never whether it's been abused, and follow the same rules you'd apply to buying any used car.

jlmounce > raygone 12/10/2013 at 20:28

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Slightly, but for a 99/01 the suspensions are pretty similar except for that irs. The gt is also lighter though, so it doesn't need as much spring rate.

raygone > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 21:12

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Alright, that makes sense. In a way I suppose you could say that the 99/01 Cobras, other than for better handling from the IRS, also demanded a higher spring rate due to the added weight? I'm looking forward, actually, to researching how to set a car up for track use (though also street).

jlmounce > raygone 12/10/2013 at 21:16

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Let's put it this way. If you stepped into new edge cobra from your gt you probably wouldn't notice much difference in ride. What little bit of extra rate there is, is pretty minimal. The biggest thing you'd notice is the added cornering stability over rough surfaces due to the irs.

J. Drew Silvers > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 22:52

3

My dad saved and bought this as his first car when he was in high school. Mom and dad went on their first date in this car and later married in it in 1978. It rotted in a barn until the year 2000 when I was 15 and pulled it out. This 1966 289 Mustang became my first car and every paycheck I made working retail from ages 15-17 went into it. I still have my Mustang and its in my garage right now, undergoing a complete restoration again after being the car that taught me to respect what automobiles are and how to work on them. The difference is that this time, when I'm done, I'll be throwing the keys back to my dad.

andyisme > jlmounce 12/10/2013 at 23:47

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I started on a Grand National. Hadn't worked on a car before, so I just dug into it. Was going to get something simpler, but figured what was the point in learning on something simple?

Nedus > BigAsn 12/11/2013 at 00:23

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That's what makes this search tough. Some mods look innocuous but you don't know what else they've done.

BigAsn > Nedus 12/11/2013 at 01:21

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I generally like to think that if the owner keeps up to date service records, he/she has probably taken care of the car well and does routine maintenance... which you'd know cause there's a log of it. Personally, I prefer the car be bone stock if I'm buying used. The less interested the owner seemed in customizing the car the better. If the owner seems to know a lot about cars and how to do maintenance, even better.

DoA77o7 > jlmounce 12/11/2013 at 10:31

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I still have my first 05 GT, slight power adders nothing major. But now I am fighting the dreaded front suspension clunk. I have upgraded the whole front suspensions and it always comeback all that is left is the endlinks. Ford said they were good but now the ripped and theirs no grease of course i took the sway bar off and it still did it, on top of needing new control arms. I pray the endlinks fix it the noise drives me crazy I hate driving it. I guess the moral is when you live in south Louisiana and the roads are this bad nothing last no matter how low the miles are.

Fivepointohpwr > jlmounce 12/11/2013 at 10:48

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Awh, very cool! Always nice to know that there are some local jalops!

Inflame333 > jlmounce 12/11/2013 at 11:13

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Very true, though there were a few things I changed before I did my first track day.

1) New DOT4 brake fluid. Newbs always cook their brakes/boil their fluid. I have tons of auto-x and rally-x experience, but I never did a track day so I didn't want to risk it - Though I did 4 track days, all with OEM brakes, an old friend cooked his s2k brakes first few laps out.

2) Make sure suspension and bushings are updated. Don't want to do a track day on blown struts.

3) Make sure my tires are up to par! A good set of tires will last longer than a crappy set.

Other than that, a CG lock for your seatbelts so you don't fly around, and go have fun!

jlmounce > Inflame333 12/11/2013 at 11:45

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Good points all around. My first track day I had a pad and fluid swap was all. The pads I used were the carbotech bobcats which is a performance street pad. They worked okay as a novice. The couldn't cut it after that though.

The rest of the items you talk about are generally part of the tech inspection required to enter track days, so I didn't specifically include those items. Here in Colorado, to lap with NASA RM requires a comprehensive inspection that looks over the suspension, bushings, wheel bearings, tires, fluid levels etc.

For the seat belt, the trick I always employ is to take the seat as far back on it's track as possible, lock the belt against the tensioner, then move the seat in to position. The belt will remain locked against you and provide a bit more support.

Inflame333 > jlmounce 12/11/2013 at 11:49

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Ah, over here they just kick the tire, check for leaks and that's all! Some groups tell you to inspect your own car.

I've done the seat back and forth trick, but the seatbelts in the M3 + the leather seats just didn't hold in me. I had to get the CG lock.

I've since sold the E46, I'm prepping an E36m now. Going the whole 9 yards! Should make for some fun this next season.

jlmounce > Inflame333 12/11/2013 at 11:56

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It's pretty crazy how different bodies and regions treat this stuff. NASA is incredibly strict and focuses primarily on safety. As a result, when they are hosting events, insurance costs are much less which has the net result of making the whole thing a lot cheaper for everybody involved. The only time I've shown up to the track and didn't have to have a tech inspection done prior was when I did that track rental with some buddies.

Otherwise, you've got to make an appointment with one of several performance shops around the state that perform tech inspections for NASA RM. Usually it's free, but tips are encouraged obviously. The cars go up on a lift and the car is literally inspected bumper to bumper. They sign-off on your helmet, check your log books etc. If you show up to the track without having completed tech, you can get teched there, but you WILL lose track time for it.

It may seem like a pain, but to save several hundred over a weekend, it's worth it. The guys here saying track days are $600 or worse have it pretty bad. If I choose to do a half or full day or corner work, I can do a track day for about $60.00. Otherwise it's about $300.00 for an entire weekend.

Homer Berkowitz > jlmounce 12/11/2013 at 13:10

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Great read! I have an E. Green 99 Cobra and I'll never sell it. They are beautiful cars! You lucked out with the black interior though! They only made 188 E. Green / Black 99 Cobras, compared to 223 with the Parchment interior.

Having installed a Procharger about a decade ago, its time for me to focus on the suspension. I'd like to start with subframe connectors, springs, shocks, and some parts to beef up the IRS.

jlmounce > Homer Berkowitz 12/11/2013 at 13:13

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Do full length sub-frame connectors and do them NOW! They were the single best piece I ever put on any of my mustangs. The ride becomes much better, cornering is more surefooted and they really reduce the amount of rattles in the car.

Ninja-GUY > jlmounce 12/11/2013 at 14:27

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1, where is my cookie,

2, how did you swing the mustang with the Tacoma and the mortgage and all the other junk? Was there just enough time to balance the checkbook?

3, somethingsomethingterminator

Yuri Correa > jlmounce 12/11/2013 at 20:34

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The leaning car?

WarShrike > ZimZam93 12/14/2013 at 23:49

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Haha yeah, I get around lol!