Sean is planning on attending Great North Woods in the end of October. He’s got a gigundo list of things to buy / fix / finish. He found out about a racing shop down in Marlboro, MA. that had Sparco suits in stock, plus they could order other
stuff he needed to finish the car.

Saturday morning Christine and I met Andrew, Sabrina, Sean, and John down off 495. The Race Depot is a cool shop. Greg helped me try on race suits – while Andrew bought an assortment of Nomex gear. Sean and Andrew had already
been fitted, and had their Sparco Sprint 5 suits ordered. Greg suggested that I sit in the suit to see if it pulled anywhere, and I asked if I could go sit in the Corbeau’s. I like the Sprint 5, but I also like the two tone Fashion 5.

Are you a race car driver or what?!

What else am I up to? Now that I have corporate sponsorship. In the next few months will start to ramp up the final pieces of the car. I took about 2 hours last week, and made a list of everything I needed to do
to the car. (I’ll be putting it on the site soon) We flushed the radiator again last weekend, and tightened some seat bolts on Saturday.

Sunday, Christine and I traveled up to Maine to see my parents, take in some sights, and rip up some pavement!
Cumberland Motor Club has an event at the Augusta Civic Center a couple times a year, and they always run a smooth event. This weekend was no exception.

Street Mod. Street Modified. I’m not sure what that term is supposed to mean. To the SCCA it means “catch all”. Say you slam a turbo charged B16 into your 1800Lb. Civic hatch. You trailer up your SAAB Viggen track car. How about a production rally car? Yes boys and girls – all in SM. I look at it this way – I can show up with gravel tires / suspension to a rallycross in the Neon (the P is for Production) and run in the “Stock 2WD” class. It’s going to be hella tough to win that class in an ordinary “Stock” car. Did I just say hella?

Video! Yes! We got some in car video of all 4 runs. I chose my fastest run (run 4) to post. I made a small mistake and slowed before the slalom, because I wasn’t listening to my navie. Christine had a great time riding
along, and I’m sure will be out there soon, tearing up the cones.
Click here to download cmc_augusta.wmv 6MB

So, how did I do? Well a 54.9 was a respectable time on the course. I fell in 4th (out of 7) in SM. Had I been able to run in GS – I would have won the class. I won’t complain about SM when I show up with coil-overs and slicks next time. Next time! muhaha. >:) Click here to see the results in PDF.

We headed into the woods on Thursday. Set up camp, and took in the sights, sounds, and smell that is a Pro Rally. Friday morning we went right to SS3 and caught a ride up to the famous bridge crossing. We were the first ones there, and decided to make use of this by getting the best / most creative spot. The SCCA had yellow tape up, and had the area marked pretty good. It was raining, and we were looking for a good place to setup a tarp. Taking a look at the bridge down by the river – James suggested; “Why not right here?” “Across the river?!” “Yeah. We can set up the chairs, and put the tarp across.” “… Sure – What the hell!” We setup our home for SS3.


Pictures from Maine Forest!

Saturday was fun – we got to the stage early. There was a delay because some zoomtard flipped his WRX on the way to SS7. It caught fire, details are still sketchy. It became a big fish story too! We left SS7, and packed up the tent. Then headed for the finish in Oquossoc. The town was completely overrun with rally. We probably tripled the summer population of the town. Once the top finishers came in, we were off again back towards Rumford. We met up with Andrew, John, Sean, Kelly, Dan, and Steve. We were all dying to swap stories. Sean and company helped report, and take pictures for rally-america.com. Andrew and John worked crew for Doug Havir and CPD Racing.

James and I headed out late on Saturday night. It was fun, we had a good time and I hope to see the next one from the drivers seat.



Flying across the bridge! SS3

If there is one thing that I have no shortage of, it’s broken stuff. Chaos, entropy, and Mr. Murphy. Proving once again that everything that is created can be destroyed.

The Dent: About a month ago – James and I went down “Woodhill Hooksett Rd. in Bow, NH”. I want to warn all that read this – never to attempt to cross that little section of country in anything other then a jacked up Jeep. We managed to get the car over a series of washed out boulders. Not without some sweat, and a nice new dent in the right rear bottom door sill. About an hour with the dent puller, and several layers of Bondo later = No more dent!

The Oil Filter Skidplate: Having escaped lightly from “The Dent”. Last week – we again went on a trip to recce’ roads. One wrong turn, a missed Y junction, and before I could say “Is this the right road?” BAMF – We had a smokey oil fire! I do remember hitting a loose rock in the road. I don’t remember stopping the car, getting out of the harness, jumping out of the car, and popping the hood. The next thing I know I’m standing in front of the Neon with a fire extinguisher in my hand. A fire extinguisher that was handed to me by James. Who was also out of the car in the same blink.

The fire put itself out. No need to pull the pin. James and I had a moment to relax, and chuckle about the successful “Safety Drill”. The oil filter got punted. It was spraying a mist of oil directly onto the catalytic converter. We attempted a repair, and when holding back 80psi of oil became futile – we walked.

We got a ride back home from Andrew (around 2AM). We hit the 24HR WalMart in Concord for some new oil / filter(s). Oil change in the dark… In the woods… 4:30AM. Fun’eh

Coolant and Compression: Coolant is supposed to be green. That Mountain Dew green that tells you it’s working. The coolant in the Neon was brown. Like a coffee with cream brown. I can now tell for certain that the 1/2 a quart of oil I lost in the last few months did not hit the ground, nor was it combusted.

I got a hold of a compression tester, and pulled the plugs. James cranked the motor, as I watched in amazement of how this stupid little Dodge motor works. 1st cylinder; 180psi. Okay that’s really good! I’m preparing myself for the 120psi or 70psi in the last three. 180 again… hmm 182 & 179 for the last two. WTF! For those who don’t know – Usually with a blown head gasket, you see a 20% difference in cylinder pressure. If you see the pressure drop you may have a bent valve or bad piston rings. Add some oil to the cylinder, re-test, and if still leaking – you know it’s the valves and not the rings. I had no leaks, and solid pressure across the boards at 180psi. I still need a head gasket, and it will continue to degrade – but right now the motor is running just fine. Just fine with oil seeping into the coolant through the head gasket at 90psi.

Speaking of Coolant: I spent the other day down at Casa’de Trunkmonkey. Drained the coolant. Flushed. Filled. Found a small crack in tank of radiator. Drained. I grabbed some flux, solder, propane, and matches. Soldering closed it up. I may need to touch it up again. It stopped the – drip, drip, drip. We’ll see.


So, Today – we’re going back to the garage. I’m going to check on the solder, and the coolant coffee. The Bondo is nice and hard now. Planning on the final paint for the rear of the car. We’re going to paint the dent, and go over the white again. Plus we’re going to match the Impreza’s design with a white trunk, and rear quarter panels. Should look sweet when finished.

Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman fatally injured at Oregon Trail Rally. I am in a complete state of shock.
Early today I was keeping an eye on the updates from Oregon. “Stage Closed, report back for a drivers meeting.”?? This was followed by a long period of silence. That silence was broken by some horrible news.
It appears that Mark Lovell, and co-driver Roger Freeman were just a short bit into one of the first stages, when they hit a tree killing both driver & co-driver. No specific crash details have been released – but the Oregon State Police did a full accident investigation.

Having met Mark several times – We’ve lost some true friends. Roger has been co-driver for the last couple of rallies, and has driven with Mark many times before that. I can still recall the rush he gave our group when
he drifted a long sweeper at STPR for well over 200 yards, and at well over 90 MPH.

This is such an unfortunate event. This is why safety is always a number one concern. But in motorsports – you have to accept that motorsports are dangerous. Rally is a risk. Just like driving on I95 is a risk. One that has to be humbly calculated. Would we rather retreat from this danger – or take the chance of life – and explore our humanity, and the bounds of not only our machines, but ourselves. James and I decided to go for a drive, and toasted to Mark and Roger on one of our favorite dirt roads.

Mark Lovell & Roger Freeman ~ Rest In Peace 7/12/2003

Having been cooped up in the house all week, worrying about the job market. I decided to get the hell out of the house this weekend. James has acquired a tow vehicle for the team. It’s an 88 Jeep – Straight 6. It’s been passed around the Subaru family, and now it has a new home. He is painstakingly “restoring” it to a condition that we can use. Tracking down rust with only a battery powered drill, and a sanding block. He has made a great deal of progress on the right side.


So Friday we were driving through Bedford, NH – suddenly James hollered to pull over and turn into a driveway. One of James’ family friends; Bob, was pulling in with his 1954 AC ACE Cobra (The same car Carol Shelby dropped a V8 into, and called the Shelby Cobra.) What a car! I wish I grabbed my camera sooner – as it was quickly covered up in the garage. Bob called us down into the lower floor where he was getting his pre-war AC ready for show on Saturday. He suggested that we come check it out – as the were going to have cars all up and down Elm Street. James and I looked puzzled at each other. I have never heard of this car show – and they block off Elm Street to do it?! Sure – we’ll be there!


Saturday morning I checked out the event on the web, and found out that any car can enter the event with a small donation. When we arrived we found just that – every type of car. From a 1990 Monte Carlo to an old Gremlin. Street racers, bikes, show cars, street cars. We picked out a few diamonds in the rough. A real (not a replica) 1967 GT500 with Mr. Shelby’s signature on the dash. Simply an awesome looking restoration. A 1954 E Type Jaguar. A ton of TR6’s, etc. They did in fact close off all of Elm Street. I’m keeping this event in mind for next year – a great place to show off sponsors, and answer the newbie rally questions – “What is that?!”


Later that afternoon. We went to work outside on the cars. I finally got my tach installed, and hooked up to the right signal wire. (grey wire – blue stripe off the ECU/PCM) It’s ghetto big – but it does the job. “Hey that’s the smallest ‘large’ tach they make.” The rev limiter is at a blistering power dropping 6500RPM’s. I’ve been shifting the car by ear at 6000 (where it runs out of steam) So I will continue to do so. I got the name stickers on the car too – they look great, and James is probably still weirded out by having his name on a car.


That night we headed down to Worcester, MA. for a Dodge Neon SRT-4 Meet. Even though it was raining we still got a good turnout of 5 SRT-4’s, a WRX, and us. Considering the car has only been out for a few months, and the Neon board is no where as busy as the Subaru boards. We had dinner, shot the shit, scared people downtown, and graciously left after the 2nd lap of revving blow off valves. ^_^;


Sunday: Sean, Andrew, James and I went to an autocross in the NHIS lot. Andrew was testing out his new transmission. I was getting a feel for the car now that the cage is in. The car is now neutral. With more LFB (Left Foot Braking) practice, I know I can get that car to do some amazing sideways maneuvers without pulling the handbrake, or plowing off the course. Also got to see my first WRX STi at an autocross – what a beast. Big thanks to James again for running back home, and grabbing the video gear. I will at some point get video up. I’m a few behind. The motor swap video is useless – except for the comic relief. The TSD Rally video just needs to be posted somewhere.


So, I’m in much better spirits. I have some job prospects. The universe is going to cut me a break, and we’re going rallying this November! – Kris





Click here for pictures!

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

Sean, Andrew, and I went up to VT to pickup Sean’s newly finished car
and to arrange delivery of the Neon. If all goes well, I should be tearing apart the motor this Sunday in the Trunkmonkey
garage. James and I are already talking about how possible it will be to get her running for the
May 17th TSD “Big Lap”. I have access to a shortblock, and other parts –
so we’ll see how close we can cut it. What it comes down to is we really only have one weekend to fix it. I should get
used to this compressed time table – as I have a feeling that most repairs to this vehicle will be this rushed.

Oh, yeah – and while I’m thinking about it – I also need to put the interior back in; Wire the KC Daylighters; Harnesses;
Basic saftey equipment (for TSD); Hood pins; Rollcage padding; Re-register Neon; I’ll have a week to wrap up the little stuff – heh.



So we got sweet pics of the final fitting with Sean’s car here:
Trunkmonkey Gallery It turned out to be a long ass night – as we left VT around 3:00AM Tuesday morning.




Seats are in – rollcage is done – ready for transport.