Getting closer........

[Jim Nilsen]

Jim ---

Did you dial in the bellhousing to less than .005?

Yep, I spent a couple of days on it until it was within .0035 and the car shifts great and everything seems good in the trans.

The clutch is starting to slip when put under a load in higher gears but in 1st it will hook and go hard still. It felt different when it went back in after the engine change but it still felt good to me and my friend I have who drives when tuning. The vibration comes in at inconsistent times to be anything else except something in the rotating assembly of the clutch.Something may have happened to the disc plates or something else that has some weight to it but not much ? I would think I would have heard a bolt come loose in the bellhousing if it came out and it would drive right at all ? It could also be the flywheel ? it is an aluminum with bonded insert and has been down the long road and may have possibly given up a small section of itself under all of the stress of the new engine?

It will be a learning experience for me since I have never had the problem before but it should be simple I hope.

Thanks for checkin in. So far the Accel is still working good.

[Jim Nilsen]

Jim-

It's been about 8 years since we first spoke and I have to hand it to you. You built one hell of a car in your garage and you stuck to your guns while all sorts of new products were exploding onto the market. That's tough to do.
If ever there was a good car that deserved a new set of wheels and tires it is this bad boy. The wheel combo is sleeper for sure, but I think the visual look of the car is lost in those C4 wheels.

Congrats on running at the track; I hope to be there one day along side you.

Tyler

Thanks Tyler, it's hard to believe I have it done sometimes. You were so close with 50/50 and I thought you were going to get done before me. I thought I would have been done a long time before you and it helped me keep going trying to be done 1st. Look how long it's been and here we are getting our cars finished up. You still have some time to catch up,lol. I keep telling myself that the car won't be done until it has carpet and it looks like it will be a bit before I get it installed since it is kind of neat driving it like a bare bones racecar for awhile. The car will transform into a less racy looking interior to a more racy looking exterior. I am glad I started with the original plan of years ago to start out driving it. Working out all of the bugs before you are totally finished is a good thing as long as it is just cosmetic stuff. I have a splitter coming up as a project and have the material waiting to be scribed and cut or maybe get it waterjet cut if it is reasonable.

You are so right about the wheels. I get a lot of compliments about them and they really messed up my ability to see it with other wheels and not want them to be modern and something beyond my budget.I can't find what I want and what I can afford in the same package. I keep coming back to the ZR1 wheels like on the Red Witch because they fit the theme of the car and can be found cheap and are the right offsets. The tires are not up to the task for size or compound and will make a drastic difference in performance and looks. If you have any ideas on wheels with a 36mm to 38mm offset on 9.5 in. wheels for the front and 50mm offset on 11 in. that look great I am looking for them in 17 or 18 in. .

It will be a good day when we can be on the track at the same time. So get your car done soon !

[Jim Nilsen]

Jim I am totally bummed I didn't get a better look at your car when I saw you at Motorstate. I agree, you've done a terrific job with it.

Hey, you need a rear sway bar for your car? Tell you what, I have a Helwig Rear Sway bar for a first gen that has never seen the road, I have all the parts for it too; it's practically brand new. You send me the money for shipping and it's yours. Of course I'll have to find some kind of box to put it in. Let me know. (586)872-0135

Or better yet, grab Matt and get your asses over here for Woodward in August and you can take it back with you.

If we would have been thinking we could have gone for a ride. It was good to meet you talk in person. If you can get Matt to go I would love to do it just once with a guided tour.

I'll be calling you soon.

[Jim Nilsen]

Panels look good Jim! And nice pic in the Motorstate pic thread!

Thanks for the compliment and being at the Motorstate meeting you and everyone is the greatest times in my life. I dreamed about this for a long time before the time, effort and money all came together to make it happen and I felt lucky to be there.

Steve Rupp and the guys from Lanes did an awesome with all the pics and I am still smiling everytime I see that pic and realize it is my car at an auto x . The action and the pitch of the car couldn't be better for the shot and that takes a good photographer to hit the moment like that.

[Jim Nilsen]

Things are back on track so to speak. The clutch vibration has been fixed and the new Zoom pressure plate and disc are working good. The car runs back up to 6400 rpm with no problems now and I hope it stays that way for a long time, it has a kevlar disc so we will see if it holds up?

Now I can get back to the interior and the other items I have been wanting to do. I keep eyeing the material I have to do my splitter and move my front spoiler back some kind of like the Red Devil but different. I have had the concept of how I want to do it for a couple of years and have changed it in subtle ways in my mind. I think it will be different than anything else and will be very functional. The car feels very good at higher speeds from what I discovered at Gingerman.If it feels as good at over 100 mph as it did at 90 mph all will be good. I will be looking at a brake upgrade as soon as I get new wheels and tires and have the room for them.

There have been a few car shows I have attended and the response has been reall good from the people who know what a trackday car is, others just like it and a few have no clue as most of you know.

Now I have to break in the new clutch for 700 miles according to the instructions that came with the kevlar disc. It will be hard to restrain myself from full on hard blast but that's the way it is.

I wanted to go to a trackday at Blackhawk Farms today but didn't have the new clutch in until 5pm . Now I have to wait again for all the fun.

I am thinking of driving to the Car Craft Nationals in Minnesota but am not sure about it? Are any of you going? I would like to share a room and have someone to drive along with in case of problems.

I am also trying to setup a photoshoot to submit to PHR and hope it can be done in time to submit it. I have Hooters girl to model and a professional photogragher that is interested in doing cars instead of weddings and wants the exposure so we will see how it goes ?

[Jim Nilsen]

Here is a pic of the night at Hooters !

[Chevrolaine]

Damn, I had no idea that was your car. I was pulling into the sub shop in Belvidere just as you were pulling out at the unofficial cruise night a couple of weeks ago.

Bad a$$ sounding car!

I asked someone whose car and they said no idea. lol

[bigshotsho93]

Here is a pic of the night at Hooters !

there ya go! i was out of town on vacation otherwise i would have been there too. il be calling you this week.

[John Wright]

Here is a pic of the night at Hooters !

Nice hood props!

[Jim Nilsen]

Damn, I had no idea that was your car. I was pulling into the sub shop in Belvidere just as you were pulling out at the unofficial cruise night a couple of weeks ago.

Bad a$$ sounding car!

I asked someone whose car and they said no idea. lol

Glad you got to at least hear it !
I guess I should have stayed a little longer. For an unofficial cruise it wasn't too bad. More people showed up late it sounds like. I am thinking of going to Coop's BBQ on wednesday this week instead of going to McDonalds to see who shows up.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

[Bryce]

I have been working on the closeout panel and have it pretty well done for now. I will have to modify it a bit for the final hinges when I get there but for now here it is.

Next on the list is pulling the clutch out and getting to the problem it is having, what ever it is. I am interested in if it will be the weights on the pressure plate causing the vibration or if it is something else ?

Looks good Jim, I like the aluminum panels!

[Chevrolaine]

Glad you got to at least hear it !
I guess I should have stayed a little longer. For an unofficial cruise it wasn't too bad. More people showed up late it sounds like. I am thinking of going to Coop's BBQ on wednesday this week instead of going to McDonalds to see who shows up.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

FYI Sycamore Cruise Night is this Saturday, Show Sunday. We always go to the cruise on Saturday night. Good time...couple hundred cars easy.

[Jim Nilsen]

Isn't summer wonderfull !!!

The weather is going to be perfect tomorrow and I now have a Canon Rebel T1i camera I borrowed from a good friend and I am going to do another photoshoot in the morning, the other camera just wasn't cutting it. I did find some other places and think they will be better. The model is happy to be doing it and really wants to try to get in the top 50.

The car tune is coming along with small changes now, some that make it a lot better and others that don't but it keeps getting better overall.

I keep trying to post some of the pics but they are too big still to send. I may take a couple with the old camera so you can see the model. She's worth the wait.

Stay tuned for more.

[Jim Nilsen]

Here is a pic of the model from Hooters.

[Jim Nilsen]

I just got back from the post office and my pics for the PHR photo contest are in the mail before the deadline. It was hard to pick 5 of the best pics out of the several hundred I took. I learned a lot as I went along. I got to borrow a friends Canon Rebel 500 D to shoot the last bunch of pics, it is an awesome camera and I wish it was mine.

The funniest moment of the whole photoshooting was when a guy with piercings everywhere and just dirty old blue jeans and a tank top pulled up in a van as I was shooting the car and girl in her bikini and came up to me and told me

" I think I can fit right in here"

I was at a loss for words !

I think he wanted me to take pics of him with my car as if he was going to make it a bad boy pic or something? The only thing I thought to say was that'
" I think the girl is much prettier "

I have to say that shooting a hot girl in a bikini in a public place sure does get some attention.lol. Most people really liked the car and enjoyed the moments. It was a lot of fun and I have to thank Stephanie for knowing how to pose and looking so hot.

I keep hoping that I have a chance to get in the top 50? We will see? The pics looked as good a I see in most pages of a magazine submitted by readers and the couple of friends who saw them thought they were really good. I don't think I stand a chance to win but you never know till you try? I wish I could have sent in 10 pics because there were several more that had good qualities over the others, but I had to pic just 5. I sent 3 with the girl and 2 without.

I am still working on making them small enough to post. Maybe it is time to sign up at photobucket?

I had a good time Friday afternoon going out and tuning some more. I finally got rid of of the pop in high gear at low rpm, it was just a bit lean and the timing was about 5 degrees to low. I am thinking my in town mileage will go up some from 12-13 to maybe 15mpg, we will see? The other engine got 15 mpg in town so it should be possible. Wide open throttle is really good and it pulls hard all the way to 6400rpm and a bit more if you go there.

I was hoping to go to the Byron Dragway today but it is lightly raining right now, it may stop soon and maybe they will open it up? I am hoping to get a pass down the track to get a time slip and a video.

Wish me luck ! I'm gonna need it.

[Bow Tie 67]

Nice pic Jim, did she ride with you to the photo shoot? Dressed like that?

[Jim Nilsen]

Nice pic Jim, did she ride with you to the photo shoot? Dressed like that?

She drove her own car and changed in it which was an interesting few moments each time. She had a white dress that was real hot too!! I couldn't have found a model with as good of an attitude as she has if I would have tried.

I still have to give her a ride in the car soon when she has the time, she was on a tight schedule between school and work each time.

We have to get together soon and have a beer!

[Jim Nilsen]

It finally cleared up and I was able to make 9 runs before I decided to call it a day.

For it being my 1st time at a dragstrip I found out how to sleep at the lights for 1.647 LOL. my best reaction time was .555. The best 60 ft. time was 1.892.
My top spd for the day was 104.56 and it took shifting into 4th to get there, I kept running 14.00+ at 100mph if I stayed in 3rd and hit the rev limiter.

My best time was 13.458 and it was a good clean run for the most part.

If the video camera worked I should have a clip of the best run.

The car handled perfect and always stayed straight along with never getting hot. I did have a problem with traction off the line to start with and finally got the hang of the launch.

For what it cost to do it was a lot of fun and worth the time to finally get some real world numbers to work from. I think I can get down to the 12 sec area with some better tires and a more aggresive launch. I am really happy with how it all worked out and I drove home with no problems to speak of.

I will be posting up the video on youtube later tonight or tomorrow.

[NOT A TA]

Roadcourse, PT events, cruises, hot girls, dragstrip.... You're having a great summer!!!!!

[David Pozzi]

Jim, I was thinking - It was so many years ago you and I "met" in this forum. I'm so glad you are out enjoying your Cormaro! A big pat on the back from Mary and I!
David