Is that a bit of an upgrade over stock or what? That’s a piece of 2″ box tube that’s 1/4″ thick. I spent about an hour getting both of them to sit perfectly on the bend and angle of the chassis. The subframe is tight to all four mounts and is square to the frame. No more play in the rear ‘C-clipped in’ frame bolts. No more cracked front mounts. Todd came over and welded everything up on Tuesday night. Harry ‘got bored’ and got the engine back in the car on Wednesday afternoon. It still took a whole night of finishing to get the car on the ground. New bumper, fluids, shifter cables, axles, brake bleed, etc.

I had some mad butterflies in my stomach before starting the car last night. “OMG there are 1000 things that I didn’t connect, tighten, or fix.” Once I had her on the highway I knew it was going to be all right. The car tracks straight - imagine that?!

I still have some stuff to finish up before the rally and I’m not sure how much of it I want to do before going to the X Games Super Special this Saturday. On the short list: New hood, hood pins, brakes & rotors, clean & vac, and groove tires. The car needs to be dunked at the local car wash and I need to get the muffler back on.

Without Harry’s awesome work and his garage to do it in - this would have been a chore. Todd and Mike did an awesome job with the front clip - seam welding and fabrication of the new mounts. I also want to thank the City of Costa Mesa: Your ‘code enforcement guy’ caught my car on jackstands only after 2 days! I personally aspire to drive around a CNG powered white Ford Taurus making sure nobody’s having fun. Seriously? How can I get THAT Job? No jackstands were harmed during the making of this post.

I hope that today is marked down in your history books. We are finally writing some fresh pages into the history of rally in the United States. Right now some of the fastest drivers in our sport are taking to the dirt 60 miles North of L.A. Included in the list - one Mr. Colin McRae. In one week, a hell of a lot more people will know why I spend thousands of dollars for five weekends a year.

I only occasionally post on the status of the sport here at rallynotes, so you know it’s special. I am a little scared that it won’t be a 100% representation of what rally is - but what on TV is REAL? I’m a little miffed that they included a paltry three 2WD entries - but when was the last time a 2WD won a national rally? I hope that some kids will realize that you don’t just walk out and plunk yourself down in a 300HP Scooby and call it good. I really hope that they will take their talent and start with a slower car and win a few regional classes before ordering the turbo. Get Mom’s beater out to a rallycross!

The news: (or the “Dude, I live under a rock…” update.)
EXPN - X Games info and updates
Live updates from stages on Rally America
Live stage times from Rally America
Watch ABC Saturday, August 5th - 3 p.m. - BMX Freestyle Park and Rally Car Racing

On Saturday, Christine and I are heading up to the Home Depot Center in the Dodge Rally Neon. I was able to score some free tickets from Irvine Subaru. If you’re heading up and you want to hang out - get a hold of me.