A few weeks ago I thought that there may not be a chance for us to make this one. First off I would like to thank Scott Beliveau and crew for putting on a great event! This was a true “full tulip” rally - with mileages, and tulips for every instruction. The flying checkpoints are the best way to go - no stopping 20 times, and having cars cluttering up the road.

I have to admit I was nervous. James had never done a TSD Rally before this weekend, and I had high expectations for him. When we checked in - Andrew started to go over the calculations and notes with James. This is where the drivers have no control. I looked like I was having a kid, pacing back and forth in the conference room. Sean suggested that we go do “car stuff” while the navies’ work.

Once on the road - James quickly showed the skills that he had learned in such a short time. Calculations, where to go, when to be there, how many miles to the next instruction. We got into a pace that carried us into the night. These events build driver / co-driver relationships. James has to be sure I’ll tell him when we get to a checkpoint, and I need to be sure that when he says “Left” it’s a left.


We got some video of the event, and a bunch of pictures. The pictures.

After hours of work,
the B motor is in, and running great. We did so much to the car in the last few days.
I want to give a HUGE “Thank You!” to Brent and Sam at Hatch Manufacturing.
We enjoyed the hospitality, and were able to have access to A LOT of tools not available to us in the Trunkmonkey Garage.
I have pics up, video to follow. I can’t promise anything “good” on the vids - just a couple of hackers
futZing around on a car.




Bring on the pictures! Off to get sleep… - Kris




B Engine is in. We drove it home.


Full Update: Now that I’ve had some sleep, I think I can finish this very long update of what we got done over the last few days.


Wednesday: James and I drove up to Hatch Manufacturing in Groton, VT. (802-584-3253). We got going around 7:00PM, and made it up there in good time. Right when we got there we dug into the job at hand. Pull the motor. Now one can say “engine transplant”. See how it rolls off the tongue - “engine transplant”. These two words do not begin to describe the pain in the ass swapping a motor is. When people say “… have to pull the motor…[sigh]” It is ALWAYS followed by a [sigh]. That [sigh] describes the pain of trying to get a bolt off the inside corner of a motor. A bolt you can’t see. Shit - all you can see is the dirt in your eye from being UNDER the car, and the socket wrench that’s about to (and does) hit you in the mouth. You struggle out from under the machine, have another look - and look at that! You’ve been pulling on the wrong thing for the last 20 minutes, THEN you find out you have 3 MORE of these “bolts from hell” to get out. That is why you sigh when you complete the sentence “…have to pull the motor…[SIGH]

Thursday: We got the motor out in the early morning hours. Power steering was renamed - “trick bullshit”. Fluid was everywhere, and would NOT stop leaking! It took us like an hour to drain it. The exhaust bolts also required way too much work. I should have torched them off. (Had I known how to use the torch) So I used a little air hammer, a little air grinder, and another hour of my life wasted…[sigh] We had a minor mishap with the right CV boot. It popped off when I was trying to get the axel out. I managed to save it from being filled with dirt by covering it in plastic. Later the sun came up, and birds started to chirp - that’s when we went to sleep. We camped in a trailer that’s at Brent’s place. When we got up around 9:30AM we started again. We had some time on our hands while Brent went to pick up the motor. We managed to finish the following: rear seat, harnesses, dashboard cover, air bag removal, lunch, caffeine, water.
The new motor arrives - time for the “bad news”. The power steering pump I was hoping for is shot on Engine B. The wiring harness, and a lot of the sensors are different. (the motor is a 98) The tranny has a hole in it. (Not that we were going to use it - but we knew this going in. Brent is confident he can weld it.) The intake manifold and throttle is full of sand. The alternator is caked in mud AND is a different “plug” then a 96 motor. The motor has 60K on it - not 30K on it (:|). The back of the engine has oil all over it - so I know it will need a head gasket at some point in the future 10K. The “good news” - We have a motor, and a lot of spare parts. We can use the harness off Engine A. We get a newer clutch. The oil pan on the 98 is “beefier” then the 96 - so I won’t have to go crazy with skidplates to protect it.

Prep work continues well into the night. I have the tranny ready to go as James gets the wire harness sorted. Around 2AM we call it quits, and spend one more day without the motor in the car.

Friday: Today is it - all or nothing. We sleep until 11AM. Exhausted we start again. Sam brewed up a pot of coffee that kick started me, and we got moving quickly. “Clip this to that.” “Hook that up over there.” “I need these bolts.” We moved quickly through the re-assembly. We went for oil, and oil filter at 4PM. Around 8PM the motor was in. We loosely hooked up the radiator so we wouldn’t run the water pump dry, and started the motor. Success!

It’s got a nasty exhaust leak (I broke the ceramic gasket off the header.) The clutch is a pain in the ass to “auto adjust” - but it’s running. It took us about 4 more hours to “finish up”. James wired the Daylighters, and I finished some small stuff, and cleaned up the shop. I backed her out, and took a quick spin up the road - no doubt waking the neighbors. (sorry). We let the engine run up to full temp, checked the oil, and coolant levels. James packed up the stuff we had in the trailer, and we headed home.

Summary: I didn’t get into too many technical details. As that’s not what this site is about. I think it went well, and I think I could do it better the next time. We learned a lot. We now know 100X more about this car then we did last week. When we’re on a stage road - we can spot problems, and devise solutions better then the guys that know nothing about the motor. The Neon is back on the road, and ready for the TSD! - Kris

We honor a hero. Possum Bourne. The rally world lost a hero yesterday. Peter Bourne (Nickname; Possum)
died at the age of 47 from brain injuries suffered in a car accident on April 18th. This accident was not while competing -

A great spokesman for our sport - Possum was the first rally hero I had. Early in 1999 when I discovered the Subaru Impreza, I came across several sites containing pictures of Bourne in action. They hosted an online chat with Possum where people could ask him questions. I never forgot a simple answer he gave to a complicated question about crowded stages, and spectators.
“Spectators are like trees - you just don’t want to hit’em.” This kind of quick wit, and his friendly demeanor, drew me to him. Possum was a hero to me, and many others in the rally community. He will be missed.

Peter ‘Possum’ Bourne 4-13-56 ~ 4-30-03