Top Pro-Caravan
Every now and then we see something that's completely spun out and we just can't possibly ignore it. This certainly qualifies as one such example! Michael Williams of Georgia, USA sent us an email claiming his vehicle to be "strange no matter where you're from", and we can only agree - it's a 1986 Dodge Caravan that gets tortured as a quarter mile bracket racer! "Nobody races one but me" he says, but he's managed to finish 3rd in points while bracket racing during 1998 at his local drag strip. Despite being labelled the slowest racecar on Earth, the Caravan can still roar off down the strip for a quickest ET so far of 19.18 seconds at 70.72mph...
The van is fiercely competitive, having won numerous rounds and being runner-up five times in the finals. But although he's doing it just for the fun of it, he WILL be the champ next year. Pulled around by a 2.6-litre Mitsubishi motor with an auto trans, the van features a 2½ -inch exhaust, open air filter, homemade 1-inch carb spacer, Accel Super Coil, 0.050 gapped plugs, a stripped thermostat and a manual valve body for the auto. And just to get the very most out of the big Dodge, the door panels, carpet, headliner and air-con have all been removed in the name of reduced weight.
But just for extra kicks, Michael found out that if your car is slower than 14 seconds over the quarter, you can take a passenger along for the journey... On its first passenger laden run the van lost with a 0.498 light - so on the second run, brother-in-law Eddie Pipkin was the new passenger. Eddie is the one on the right in the team photos (affectionately called "ballast"), and both he and Michael ended up passing through a full eight rounds until the final where the balloon unfortunately burst.
But Michael's quickly getting the hang of this bracket racing - and who will dare to be the next passenger, on their way into the exclusive winner's circle?
G-Force GS300
We received an email from Hayden Philbert in the US asking if we could include his car in our readers' section and being the nice folk we are... well here it is.
Hayden owns this cruisy looking Lexus GS300 turbo which is powered by the current model Toyota 3-litre turbo six. Not content with the standard performance, he's made the switch to a single Garret T04E turbocharger for big horsepower flows and an HKS external wastegate to bypass exhaust gasses from the turbine. The mouse-quiet exhaust note emitted by the showroom Lexus has been replaced with a much higher flowing (and much better sounding) GReddy cat-back system. A few extra pounds boost are pumped into the standard engine via the fitment of a Blitz dual SBC boost control system which is now built into the centre console.
With a fair amount of extra power on tap, the conservative stock rims had to be discarded to fit the new image. So a striking set of 18-inch Toyota Motorsport rims fitted with 245/40 and 275/35 tyres was bolted on to the front and rear respectively. TEIN adjustable coil-over suspension (imported from Japan) now sets the ride height lower to terra-firma and is sure to tip the ride-handling compromise more towards the handling end of the scale.
Hayden is certainly a lucky guy - when he's not driving his turbo fed Lexus he might have had the urge to take his other car - a Lexus SC400 - out for the day! See both of these cars at http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/1709/ (and you can also see his cute photogenic pooch!).
Lunchya-Lancia
Ben Cosby lives in the UK and owns this rare Lancia Delta Integrale Evolution 3. At the moment, the car is off getting completely stripped and resprayed yellow. And when we say "completely stripped" we're not kidding.
Powered by the Italian 2-litre twin-cam multi-valve four, the standard 210hp output has been stepped up to a meaty 300 even horses. A Garrett AirResearch T03 forces in a claimed 1.9 Bar boost (*^#!) and sucks in air through a K&N air filter. From there intake air passes through a gas-flowed and skimmed cylinder head containing a set of Group A rally cams and exits the rear of the car through the standard exhaust minus the original middle box. To cope with the 1.9 Bar, a set of bigger injectors controlled by a Superchip throw in enough fuel to keep the hi-po mill from destruction. Torque from the motor then gets channelled through a constant four-wheel-drive system to four 16-inch Compomotive split rim wheels, now wearing sticky Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres.
Weighing around 1260kg, the 300 horsepower was enough for Ben to bolt on a good set of whopper stoppers. These front AP Lockheed Pro 5000 4-pot calipers bite 330mm vented and drilled discs, while the back end score AP 2-pot calipers and 280mm grooved discs. Pagid Blues are the pad of choice all 'round. Featuring MacPherson struts at the front and a complex IRS, the car now sits 40mm lower to the pavement through the use of Jamex springs and Koni adjustable dampers.
Rally-inspired, this is one serious road car capable of 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 145mph (233km/h). And on paper, this seems enough to be able to keep hot on the heels of his mate Rob's R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec. Not a bad achievement for a 2-litre huh?
Celebrity CRX
Searching through our Best Sites Links we found a listing of "The Best Honda Site in the World" at http://www.vtec.net/
What we found was a wealth of information on all modern hi-po Hondas and some great links -especially this one to Doug MacMillan's New Zealand speed record holding CRX. On a 2-way average, the car managed 239.3km/h over a distance of 1 kilometre to clinch the national speed record in the 1600cc class.
Being a 1990 model SiR powered by the 1.6-litre DOHC V-TEC engine, this car is one of the most lethal normally-aspirated cars in its size. And because of this, the car has achieved this top-end speed with relatively minor engine work (plus aero aids). Mated to a stock exhaust manifold, a 2½ -inch exhaust system lets the 8000+ rpm engine breathe easier and a lightened flywheel lets the thing spin up quick - forget the grammar, it's real quick! To remove the speed limiter and raise the rev limit, a different chip was fixed into the ECU and some extra power was found in a revised intake system. The drivetrain gets a custom clutch and a Quaife limited slip diff under the nose. The result is 99.5 (can we call it 100?!) kilowatts (133hp) at the wheels at 8100rpm.
Suspension wise, the car uses Eibach springs and Koni adjustable dampers, Jackson Racing swaybars and a Jackson Racing front strut brace. For the speed record, a fibreglass composite under-tray was fitted beneath the belly for reduced aerodynamic drag. But not only does the car go fast in a straight line, it's damn quick and reliable around twisty racetracks. In 1996 it won the 1600cc class of the Mainland Endurance series and was the fastest FWD car!
Running 3-degrees neg camber on the rear and a different suspension package to the straight-line configuration, the car can be set up for terrific handling - especially with the 195/50 15 P-Zeros and Dunlop slicks! For those interested in the nitty-gritty details on the car and other Honda info, start at the previously mentioned site and work your way to Doug's Car. You'll learn a lot about everything Honda CRX related.
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