V1 Rauq's Twincharged LSJ - #240 - GOBZILA

[Rauq]

• Install/wire headlights
• Install/wire taillights
• Install/wire mirrors
• Install button panel
• Install/wire/plumb heat exchanger (behind driver's seat)
• Plumb fuel tank vent
• Fix fuel rail leak
• Install/wire wideband
• Order/install catch can
• Order/install reservoirs for intercooler and coolant overflow systems
• Design/print/install heat exchanger air duct
• Design/print/install gauge pod for boost & AFR gauges
• Adjust shifter
• Reposition seats
• Wrap/install hood
• Wrap/install side panels
• Order/install wang
• Install firewall
• Install kick plate
• Trim battery hold-down

Will be trailering to an autocross tomorrow, this should be interesting considering all of my seat time in this car has been with @Mayor West in the passenger seat (which is to say, very little, and as little as possible).

 

[JBINTX]

Hope you will post some video.
have fun and expand the operating envelop slowly.
and when comfortable, push it hard!!!!.... . Those cones have more lives than a cat.

 

[Mayor West]

Will be trailering to an autocross tomorrow, this should be interesting considering all of my seat time in this car has been with @Mayor West in the passenger seat (which is to say, very little, and as little as possible).

big boi

Edit: But in all seriousness please make sure you double check all your important bolts, the last thing you want is to be riding and stop after a few miles and realizing you were millimeters away from death.

 

[Rttoys]

If you don’t spin out at least once, you ain’t doing it right.

 

[Rauq]

@Mayor West's concern almost had me wishing something would go horribly wrong, but alas, it didn't... going into the event, I figured I'd be doing well to have the car running at the end of the event, but I not only accomplished that, I was competitive in the event. Results aren't published yet but I was running times in the neighborhood of folks who usually rank at the tops of these events. There's a few things on the car that still need sorting, on the order of straightening out the steering wheel and installing a catch can, and a lot more than few things that need sorting in the realm of a driver mod, but I was stoked the car did so well.

I've never cared a lick about being competitive with other drivers in these events, only improving on my own, but I gotta say, going faster than the fast folks was fun. I dropped time between each run, and my final and fastest run still left a lot of room for improvement; I think cars typically go faster when they're pointing in the direction they're trying to travel, and I managed to run my fastest pass even with a good bit of sliding.

 

[Rttoys]

Cool. It is addictive. There’s a ton to do to get the car dialed in, then it will be small changes for fine tuning.

 

[Rauq]

You'll have to excuse my cameraman, the phone taking the video was doing some wonky stuff between cropping and zooming. The car never left the screen on the phone during recording...
Pass #1
Pass #4

 

[Rttoys]

Sure. Blame the phone.

cool. Looks like fun.

 

[Dale E]

First, good looking drives even with the sliding. You will improve as you learn your car and get more seat time. Changes along the way will get you going faster. Document your changes so you know what worked and what didn't to improve the car handling and your driving --I keep a note pad and reference it at events. If no one at your event pointed this out (your safety steward should have) when you have a passenger, have them cross their arms and hold the shoulder belts. Do not let them put their arms on the upper chassis rail to hold on -- not a dig - just a safety point.

Now, get some more seat time and ask questions of the others auto-crossing as to tweaks that have helped them improve!!

Have fun!!

Dale

 

[Rauq]

Results got posted, I placed 5th overall out of 40 cars. To give you a reference for how laid back these events are, our classes are:

• stock/not stock RWD
• stock/not stock AWD
• stock/not stock FWD
• not stock Miata
• Novice

We're not laid back in safety, though, and passengers who couldn't keep their hands in the car were not invited for further ride-alongs. The cars ahead of me were a F5 Cobra, turbo Miata, turbo 280ZX, and a heavily modded STI, which puts me in 3rd in not-stock RWD. I'm happy with that. I have zero interest in SCCA/NASA events so I'm going to work towards tire pressures and shock settings that work well for most situations (mountain bombing, autox, daily) and leave them there.

In other news, I got insurance on the car, and am trying to get a straight answer from the DMV on registration. Will report back when some positive progress is made.

 

[Corgithulhu]

Really cool how well you did! Definitely shows how quick these cars are and what a great platform it is.

How hard has registration been for you here? Sounds like there are hoops to jump through, even with as wild west as SC is with their DMV. That's one part I am not looking forward to. I saw MayorWest's post about how experience in December, and was hoping it would go the same since it was the same state.

 

[Rauq]

I've been talking to him in the background, unfortunately I can claim we're kinda like irl friends since I've seen him in his pj's. There's no conversation there without well-intentioned banter, but I digress...

Insurance was 100% as expected, I think that's been shown to be pretty consistent regardless of what state you're in. I called my insurance 3 separate times and got 3 separate answers, the last of which was there would be no problems insuring my Goblin just like the S2000 I had before it. The first two conversations were discouraging.

As for the DMV, they contradict themselves, Mayor West's experience, and their own paperwork. He and Kenny123 followed similar processes with wildly different results. I'm still confident I'll get through it all and will post updates. I'm sure I need to fill out Form 400 and pretty sure I need Form 4038. But the DMV told me I needed a property tax receipt to do a Form 400 which I'm confident is incorrect because the Form 400 says nothing about that while the registration process definitely does require a property tax receipt.

I think the most likely path forwards is to do a Form 4038 in addition to the normal Form 400, but I have to figure out how to get an "authorized agent of the SCDMV" to sign off on the 4038 if I can't technically drive it yet. I'd rather not have to borrow a trailer just to visit the DMV so we'll see.

 

[Corgithulhu]

I would imagine the DMV has someone who can come out to visit your car for that? Maybe they can give you a special permit to drive it to the office or something? And after looking at 4038, I'm surprised Mayor West didn't need to do it for his, since it looks like it's exactly designed to go along with 400 for kit cars.

 

[baustin]

I'm not sure the details for SC but when I needed paperwork started, the License and Theft Bureau in NC came to my driveway to look over things and fill out some forms using the laptop in his car, he even had a printer in the car to give me a copy to include when I went to DMV offices. No extra fee, just had to call during the 2 hour window they are in office per week to schedule the garage visit. No trailer or temp tag required since they knew I was just starting the paperwork to register and they first want to check on the origins of the parts.

 

[Corgithulhu]

Yeah my dad had an old pickup truck that he fully restored over the last few years. When he had it titled for the road in NC a couple years ago, an agent came to his driveway to inspect and give him plenty of grief over the factory's VIN stamped into the frame. I assume SC has a similar crack squad of agents.

 

[Mayor West]

You'll have to excuse my cameraman, the phone taking the video was doing some wonky stuff between cropping and zooming. The car never left the screen on the phone during recording...
Pass #1
Pass #4

Where'd all your traction go lol

 

[Rauq]

Where'd all your traction go lol

Was talking to some folks and they asked about driver aids. I said it'll have cruise control and that's about it... they asked about traction control and I said actually yeah it does have that, and pointed at my right foot. Still needs some calibration.

I would imagine the DMV has someone who can come out to visit your car for that? Maybe they can give you a special permit to drive it to the office or something? And after looking at 4038, I'm surprised Mayor West didn't need to do it for his, since it looks like it's exactly designed to go along with 400 for kit cars.

I've made the jokes to him but am also not trying to point out what other people have or haven't done to get theirs on the road. I imagine chances are slim but I'd hate to get someone's reg pulled and then have a guy like that visit me in person. I can't seem to shake him online, either...

But honestly "this path forward was recommended to me by someone else who had success" isn't even worth the breath. I'll just keep trying to adjust my tack and hope eventually I'll figure out what works. I've had a few DMV folks tell me the MCO acts like a title in SC so I'm tempted to drive to my closest DMV and pretend I don't know how the car got into the parking lot and see if they'll play dumb with me and give me a title. Or, I could start by calling the Greenville county tax assessor to see if I can pay property taxes on an MCO with an invoice. Will update in the morning.

 

[Rauq]

Step 1: Insurance
Step 2: Property tax from county office (despite initially being told otherwise, the MCO and invoice are good enough to get property tax paid)
tomorrow, Step 3: DMV agent inspection/signature on Form 4038 (only looking for the VIN tag I think?)

Will post updates, and a complete run-down once we get through this.

 

[Corgithulhu]

I just saw you mention this elsewhere, but I figure I might as well keep it to your build log: what service did you use to scrap the shell? I've only got the fuel tank and maybe one or two things I forgot to pull off, and then I'll be looking for a service to come take the shell to scrap it, probably next week/weekend.

 

[Rauq]

I took it to CRC Recycling in Duncan on a little utility trailer. Definitely not the sketchiest thing I've ever done but it was sure interesting. They didn't require anything except for a signature on a form they provide. I do believe that if you were working with a newer car (<12 years old) there's additional hurdles, but not a concern for us, fortunately.

On one hand I want to say you could probably post the shell on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for $50 to come haul it away but I wouldn't be surprised if you're inundated with morons wanting you to pay them or to give it away for free. I only got like $63 out of my shell, for reference.