23Racer

Just a shot of a new toy I am looking at buying. You have to love the new buying power of the Canadian dollar. It is WC Touring legal and if I complete the deal in the next 2 weeks I will have this toy in my garage. I have already approached Topeka and got all the latest VTS info and if everything works out I could be doing a race or 2 this year. It is still sorta a Mazda, LOL.

Don't worry, I am keeping the #23 RX7 as well. Too many toys, too little time.

Eric

RacerJason

iTrader: (5)

Ha ha... too funny, I've been talking to the Capaldi's the last two weeks also. Unfortunately they are out of the office this week. Great people to deal with. Please give me a call if you have a moment to make sure we aren't interested in the same thing, catch up, and I'll give you a little WC update as I was welcomed back at Petit.

P.S. I've stood in that exact same spot. BEST vantage point I've ever had for any racing at any track in North America. It's the last corner, Sunset Bend at Sebring. Having the Bentley's and other prototypes blow by within a foot of you is a real gut-check.

23Racer

The story -

Got in my truck and drove to Michigan to look at the car. It was a 3 hour and 15 minute drive. When I pulled in front of the shop I saw the car sitting there with a ton of boxes all around it. Dave and I walked up to the car and it was just as it finished its last World Challenge race in 2003. All the decals, fingermarks etc...

The car is incredibly well built. All the suspension is custom fabbed tube with new heim and uniball joints. New double adjustable custom valved Leda shocks with custom made rear bar. More suspension tuning parts than you can shake a stick at. It has 4 sets of Ford OEM doors, 4 sets of front and rear fascias, 3 lightened hatches, anew roof panel and new rear quarters, 5 ecus with different rpm and fuel/timing maps, new Wilwood Superlite brakes and a spare set of Coleman 12.75 rotors front and same for rear just non-vented. 2 pair of custom machined diff gears.

Now the cool stuff. The race motor has a custom fabbed aluminum oil pan with built in baffling and crank scrapers. It has another baffled stock pan with built in lexan windows that they used to determine oil movement with the car on the track. A complete spare set of lexan windows. The headers are custom made stainless tri merged system. Major $$$$$$ to replace. The seat is a Momo carbon fibre FIA race seat.

There is a ton of other stuff that comes with the car, but most of it would not mean much to most of you guys. The big issue with this car is that it has a ton of power, reports of over 280 wheel horse power and over 200 ft lbs of torque, but the car has a vary unfavourable weight bias. In its last race with a 10 gallon cell and the big splitter system, it had a 62% front weight bias with driver in, YIIKES!!!!!

Dave and I have to work hard on this new pig to move weight to the back to get the front tires to live for more than 6 laps. Basically the car is a very fast lawn dart, LOL. Present racing plans are to use the RX7 for OTC (if it comes off) and Regional racing and the Cougar in Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship races and if the car is fast enough a Speed World Challenge race or 2.

So now I own Ford products from almost every division. The Jaguar XJR, the Ford F250, the Ford Explorer, the Mazda RX7 and now the Mercury Cougar. Just need a Volvo and a Lincoln. Pictures of the Cougar will follow when I get the car home. Anybody want some new Ford Cougar doors???? LOL.

Eric

R.P.M.

iTrader: (3)

Nice Eric, so it's even better in person huh? Do you still want me to help you pick it up? Our new truck and trailer should be ready fo the end of next week.

23Racer

Please, please Joe. With all the spares I will need your 24 foot, your tow vehicle and my Explorer to bring everything home.

Eric

23Racer

I don't know how many of you will appreciate these shots, but I decided to show them so that we all can see the level of work that goes under a WC car.

I have tons of shots, but the car has been mostly sitting for over 4 years and it is in serious need of an Al Balinsky style clean up, LOL. After I get it back to Canada I will be taking it apart and polishing/cleaning/painting everything. Just need to figure out what the outside should look like.

Eric

23Racer

Fab work galore. Look closely and you can see the one off billet pulleys on the front of the motor. The water pump pulley has to at least 8 inches in diameter.

Sheeeeesh!!!!!

ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

Boy, I am jealous. At the rate I am going with my Fiat my 4 yrd old son will probably race it before me. Owned it for 17 yrs driven maybe 1000km.

Good luck for the coming season.

23Racer

Ha Ha, you say you are jealous now, but wait for the first time a car grenades its transaxle and Dave McLean and I have to replace it at night between races with a spare while laying down in the dirt at Mt Tremplant at the end of September with sleet in our faces and all the tools covered in frost.

Or having the car snap spin over the hump going into 8 at 210 kmh, in the rain at Mosport.

Or having to drive a 2 hour shift at night , at Mosport, in the rain on sticker tires and NO HEADLIGHTS with other cars going at least 50 kmh faster than you smoking past.

Or running your first Pro race with the fuel tank over flow filling the interior of the car with an inch of gasoline, throwing up in your helmet, having the team owner yelling at you over the radio to go faster and the crowning glory of getting tagged in the rear end going into Turn 1 at Mosport and taking down 6 feet of the inside concrete wall.

Or having your tow vehicle vapour lock 6 times coming home from Shannonville on Thanksgiving Monday and ending up having to rebuild the fuel system on the side of the 407.

Or having a front tire go down at 300 kmh under braking for turn 8 at Portland and hitting the apex kerbing and doing a couple of Dukes of Hazzard bounces with over 3 feet of air under the car.

Or having a rear control arm break under braking going into turn 1 at Portland while leading the race at 7:32 of an 8 Hour Race and doing tank slappers while getting to see both walls as the car fishtails from side to side.

Or coming down to get the start at Montreal for a support race during the GP weekend and having all 6 cars in the front row get into a massive accident that covers the track in dust and smoke and you can't lift because the car behind you is pushing on your bumper so you have to keep your foot flat on the floor and weave through the smoke barely missing wrecked cars and front wheel/hub assemblies.

Or running night practice at Thunderhill and coming down the front straight for the first time at over 300 kmh and realizing that the cars headlights are stuck on low beam and you have no idea where the first turn is and you can only see 10 feet in front of the car!!!!

At these moments and many many others I am jealous of most of you guys sitting and spectating, or in the comfort of your beautiful street cars or zipping by me with the A/C and stereo on.

Its all a matter of perspective. Come out and crew for a weekend and you will see it is not a ton of fun. Oh yeah, all of the above are real life things that have happened to me. Just part of the joys of racing Many moments of tedium, discomfort, and terror followed by a brief few moments of pure exhilaration or satisfaction. I guess sorta like being a heroin addict, LOL.

Eric

Neo

iTrader: (4)

Congrats 23Racer.

There are times we are very envious of you, other times not so much (see above!)

You only live once!

85rotarypower

Wow, thats a nice car. My sister had a 99 Cougar V6 5 speed and overall they are very nice cars, handle well and quite quick even in stock form. But from my experience with them they are very nose heavy. Good luck with the car and hopefully it treats you well.

23Racer

If she still has the Cougar, can I have her gearbox????

From what I understand, this car eats boxes like peanuts. I will have to be super gentle and NO burnouts. Hopefully the box will last more than 2 races, LOL.

Wish I could put a good TII box in there to make it last for a while with 300+ hp.

Eric

RacerJason

iTrader: (5)

Eric,

I learned alot from the forums over at contour.org (same engine, transaxle you are using) and there are suppliers for aftermarket axles, BAT reinforced trannies, and various performance rebuilders and suppliers in North America, etc. Check it out, I am RacerJason on the board of course.

R.P.M.

iTrader: (3)

Send the gearbox to Houseman, I talked to him the other day

20B-3Rotor

just put the Xtrac in there


Our houseman only lasted 1 race

23Racer

I am not too concerned about the axles as the car is coming with a set of new custom GKN halfshafts and a spare long shaft. I am also not too concerned about the Quaife as according to the Capaldi's it blew torsens like popcorn, but never blew the Quaife. It also reduced the torque steer as well.

My concern is the box, though Craig Capaldi told me to treat it like glass and we should be okay. It has some higher spec euro gear cluster in it now. I am looking at building up a second box using the Quaife synchro gear cluster. About 1500 euros (under $2,000 Cdn) for the cluster and the gear spread is much better.

I am just concerned about case rigidity.

Eric

R.P.M.

iTrader: (3)

Dang, that sucks. What did you have done to it? and what broke? I was considering sending a couple gearsets to get cryo treated. The stock case rigidity would also worry me.

blue 88

i'm going down to sarnia near the end of next week so if you need or want i can put the car on the flat bed if that saves you anything instead of dragging such a big trailer down there


Jeff

kmrumedy

Hi Eric,

Tried to send you a PM but I can't because I am new. I am looking at buying Craig's car. Would like some help if you don't mind. I don't have the experience and would really like you input. My friend is going to send you the PM I was trying to send. Can you possibly send me your email address to jadams@nts-corp.com or PM me?

Thanks.
John