Mk 4 Escort Update
With most of the interior out though, Alvin and I were really able to see where all the rust was at in the chassis. Outside of the rust in the expected places, he spent some time fixing some badly done work made by the previous owner. The car has been through a lot through its time here and it's actually quite refreshing to see it being stripped down and refreshed.
Well, its a lot rustier than I thought it would be, but it can still be saved.
Since the last time I posted about The Escort, if you have been following us on Instagram, I've been live streaming the progress of the car. If you haven't seen it, that's okay, you can read it here. The car has been stripped, that took about a day, to get everything out safely. The car is 31 years old, many of the interior's parts have rotted or become excessively brittle, we really need to pay due attention to things.
Trash car will soon have it's time to shine.
With most of the interior out though, Alvin and I were really able to see where all the rust was at in the chassis. Outside of the rust in the expected places, he spent some time fixing some badly done work made by the previous owner. The car has been through a lot through its time here and it's actually quite refreshing to see it being stripped down and refreshed.
The project as it stands now.
“Yeah we can still save it, don’t worry.”
The windscreen and sunroof were removed as well, and I finally got some good news, the sunroof rack was not rusty, at least that bit was fine. The rest of the car though, I'd have to leave in his competent hands.
Let's start talking modifications though obviously, this is a bit more than just a full restoration of the machine, it's a build. Being that it's a build, the best time to delete, or reinforce usually is at the stage of bodywork. I have a few things in mind for the car, that gives me personal satisfaction, and a few things the car will need to prepare it for the new heart it will be receiving the coming weeks.
First of all, I am killing those rear triangle things Ford confidently adds to their 4 door models, I hate those things, toss them please, never let them see the light of day. With the rear side window delete and replaced with some sheet metal, it should help give the car a more modern feeling.
I'll be adding some structural mods that are functional as well, The rear shock towers will have a strut bar, and one will be added to the front of the car as well, in order to beef up the feel of the car. The rear strut bar will be a homemade job, so we will be doing some planning in order to make it work.
The interior of the car is clearly in arrears. I'll be doing some cosmetic changes to the door panels. The old door panels have really seen its share of life, so I will be replacing them with some aluminum cuts. I am not sure if this will save weight, but it would definitely look a lot cleaner when it's finished, it should have a nice carpet finish on it.
The final piece of the puzzle would be finding a new windscreen. The old one started to split with age, and it became opaque around the edges. I am starting to believe that finding a donor car would be correct action to take, but I will see what we can work with first. Surprisingly enough, seeing the entire car broken down is giving me a lot of motivation to get it up again.
Stay alert for more updates on the build as it continues. Until next time, happy motoring!
-Alex
The Phoenix
The lancer shell is pretty rusty but the EVO 3 shell though not perfect is in good shape. Every weekend he's been transferring parts he can use from the Lancer to the EVO, control arms, brake and fuel lines, drive shaft etc.
The 90's were an amazing time in the Japanese automotive industry, it is often referred to as JDM's golden era and with good reason.
In the 90's, it can be argued that cars such as the Honda NSX, the Toyota Supra, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, the Mitsubishi Galant VR4, the civic and Integra Type-R, the Mazda RX-7, the Nissan Skyline GTR and of course the Mitsubishi Evolution were in their stride. These offered a more hands-on approach to driving than their later iterations.
I got to spend some time with a friend of mine. He owns a project car. He's restoring a Mitsubishi Evolution 3. His name is Mark and although this isn't his first project car it's certainly one of the most interesting. Mark has been around cars a long time he learned all he knew about working on cars from his father and other "old heads" he hung around, after that it was easy to apply what he learned.
Humble Beginnings
His first project was a 1991 Toyota Starlet Soleil it was automatic and had a 4efe engine. He converted it into a GT Turbo Starlet. He replaced all the body panels, interior trims, and lights with those of the GT Turbo model. The build was pretty extensive. Later he got an LSD manual gearbox, converted the car to manual, turbocharged the stock 4efe engine and ran it at 7psi of boost. From there Mark had to make a decision on what his next step was going to be with the car. Originally he was going to swap the engine with a fully built 5efe engine and add some boost but he then decided to do something different and take a 4agze from an ae101 Toyota Levin. This engine was supercharged and that was causing some problems while mounting the engine so the decision was made to turbocharge it with a td05 turbine.Supporting moods were then made so it could actually handle this power. For suspension, he used Buddy club coil overs, for brakes at the front bigger hubs were fitted then 10" slotted StopTech rotors, attached to those were 4 pot Wilwood calipers and at the rear stock GT Turbo calipers were used. I'm sure I missed some stuff but as you can see it was an ambitious build.His next project would be a bit more challenging. Due to his love for 90s cars he ended up restoring a Mitsubishi Evolution 3, one of the few in the island. The build hasn't been going on for very long but it's shaping up nicely.
The Phoenix
Mark has given the car the name The Phoenix and in order to raise it from the ashes, he has been using two rolling shells, a 1996 lancer GLX shell, and the EVO 3 shell. The lancer shell is pretty rusty but the EVO 3 shell though not perfect is in good shape. Every weekend he's been transferring parts he can use from the Lancer to the EVO, control arms, brake and fuel lines, drive shaft etc. When I got there he was in the process of removing the fuel tank and drive shaft.
Life as a donor car is hard.
Mark does the majority of the work on his project on his own, he's the type that believes if something needs to be done it's best to do it yourself, although, when he runs into trouble he'll be the first to admit he needs help or that he doesn't know what he's doing. It's all a learning experience after all and project cars tend to teach us a lot.
The goal for the car right now is to get it running but Mark does have big plans for it in the future. He wants to do a full build on the engine, fully forge it, bigger turbo etc. The end goal though is to get the car into the 6-second bracket on the 1/8 mile drag strip (we don't have a 1/4 mile strip here). This goal is very obtainable the stock 4G63T makes about 270bhp stock in a chassis weighing 1260 kgs or so, the same weight as my Subaru GC8 WRX, it'll be mighty quick.
This build really resonates with me as we both own 90s cars, rival cars of the same golden era. Also, the first cars we put a lot of work into were both Toyota Starlets. Watching this build I'm living vicariously through Mark and I hope he meets his goal of finishing the car this year.
Oringal Momo wheel
A good days work.
Building a car is all about passion, project cars test you in every way imaginable and they may not be for everyone but if you have the drive, there isn't a more rewarding experience.
We will be keeping you up to date with this build, until next time.
-Maurice
Let's never forget the process
Habits which make us successful at what we want to accomplish. So our habits if we keep them in check can bring us success. This requires discipline, attention to detail, mindfulness, and perseverance.
Habits, they make us who we really are. If they are good habits they can help us to be successful if they aren't good habits they may keep in the same place all the time or maybe even bring us down.
Success surely is a learned behavior, when we think of success, people usually associate it with habits. Habits which make us successful at what we want to accomplish. So our habits if we keep them in check can bring us success. This requires discipline, attention to detail, mindfulness, and perseverance.
How can this be related to Motorsport? A well working machine requires these same qualities if it is to work. I was given the opportunity to watch these habits in practice when I went to visit the Neil Corbin Racing Team, working on their rally car, preparing it for some development as the season this year got started.
Neil Corbin, the driver of this Toyota Starlet, has been rallying since 2003, with this same machine I might add. This car has been through a lot in its development. Neil started in the SOL Barbados Rally event. He basically jumped head first into the deep end of the pool. This being his first rally event, he pushed hard through the stages, but after an afternoon shower, he acquired his DNF from a tree spectating the event.
Warming the engine oll, so it flows out the engine when it's drained.
This didn't deter Neil though, and 15 years later, he's still here, his car has been through a ton of changes since then. He's built his reputation as a driver not to be reckoned with.
The idea goes around that if you think you are good at driving you'll do well in Rally, I mean it seems pretty obvious right? But that's not the case. Driving is only really one aspect of Rally, driving may even be the smallest aspect of a Rally. Neil has over the years along with his team developed habits which have made them successful in this grueling Motorsport. I was able to have a look behind the scenes at what some of these habits were. Today they were taking the engine out of the car so it could be worked on, he was going to make some changes, in an effort to get as much power and reliability out of it.
It started with warming the oil up in the car so it would flow freely from the engine. Once that was flowing they set up the drain and let that flow as they did a bolt check on the car. Bolt checks on a rally car are the most important parts of maintenance. As the car vibrates on the stage, it basically shakes itself loose, so constant bolt checks ensure important mechanical parts stay together and the car makes it through.
At the heart of Neil's Starlet, sits a 20 valve 4A-GE engine. The versatility of this engine never ceases to impress me. Those huge ITB's and the straight 3” stainless steel exhaust give a hearty scream as he rises through the rev range.
The motor has been through a ton of work, all the internals are now forged and compression has been raised, the engine has been built by Peter Hinkson, here in Barbados, the yellow color stands as a visual code for the engine size and level of modification it has gone through so Peter can keep track of it. Porting and Polishing the engine has been the job of Kurt Ward, he fine tunes the built engine. Jason King maps the engine using Mega-squirt 3 engine management.
Ceramic Coated Piston
The Pistons are ceramic coated to survive the heat and demands needed from it, as it powers through the rally stages. This engine makes around 195 hp and it a screams, a lot!
Looking under the car, the 6 speed tractive sequential gearbox sits attached to the 4A-GE engine via an adapter plate, this one was fabricated in Ireland for this particular use. Over the years, the modifications to the car adds up. Its wheelbase has been extended to that of the AE86, and its rear axle is now a Winters Performance Spool axle rear axle. This behaves like a a welded differential helping the car with cornering making it more predictable in the corners on uneven surfaces.
Even small things like weight distribution has been given attention, allowing it to be as close to 50/50 distribution as possible. Stopping the car is the job is a set of twin piston 300 mm AP racing discs at the front and pair of single pistons at the rear. Reiger's suspension at the rear of the car, and Bilstein's at the front allow the car to be fine tuned for optimum stability.
Neil and Shaun make quite the team.
The process continued with the removal of the driveshaft so the gearbox could be disconnected from the engine, as well as the exhaust down-pipe. This gives clearance for the engine to be removed from the bay. They were taking things a bit easier as there wasn't a rally event in progress.
“Whats your dream car?”
“This, maybe you know, a Supra with 2 step or something would be nice, but I bought 3 of these so I think it’s a Starlet.”
Being able to watch Neil and Shaun work together on this car, really brought things into perspective for me. Onlookers tend to take the amount of work and development for a rally car for granted. Neil has worked on this car tirelessly over the years of his rally career and he hasn't given up.
It gives testimony that our habits have a direct effect on the outcome of our actions. For Neil, he has been successful in his career due to the good habits he has developed into a process. This process though unseen comes to light for a few split seconds while he's screaming past you at the rally stages. Lets never forget the process, amazing things always take a little time.
“Thanks to long-standing relationships with local businesses, they have helped me achieve my goals and without them, we couldn’t be racing. Companies like Nassco, H Jason Jones, Auto Solutions, Automotive Art, and Emtage Electric have supported me along the way and they deserve special recognition for supporting local motorsport!”
Thanks to the Corbin Racing Team, for this experience with them! Until next time, this is Alex, Happy Motoring!
Cutting Floor
It's rusty, it's old and it's mine!
The Mk 4 Escort was a little more thrown to the side, because of its front wheel drive nature. People believe it’s lost its charm because of this, but I’d disagree.
It's rusty, it’s old and it's mine! It's not every day we find our dream cars, but when we do, it's well worth the effort to polish the diamond and see what it's truly worth the effort. As car enthusiasts, we can all relate to the idea of not having one specific dream car. Usually, it's a case of having ideal cars in ideal situations or being like Jay Leno and owning them all. The worth of a car can be deeply rooted in its culture.
Who did it influence? Why was it important to car culture? These questions usually cannot be answered immediately, it takes time for the answers to be answered. Fortunately for me, this car is around 31 years old, so I'm sure any questions it has to answer, it has answered them, dropped the mic and walked out the room already.
What car did I find? I found a Ford Escort Mk4 Ghia. If you are an avid reader of this blog, you would've noticed my tendency to hold a special place for Euro Cars, especially old ones. I actually really like regular cars. This car is about as average as they get, the car originally came with a 1.6 carbureted engine, probably didn't even make 100 hp, it was a mass mover.
Taking families to vacations, taking parents to their jobs and dropping children off at school. Why then do we then, associate Escorts with hype, and speed, and racing?
“This the front wheel drive one? Right? I remember they were cool, then they went front wheel drive.”
This is where the Escort becomes special, due to the quantity of them, they were likely canidates for modification. Suddenly they were blasting through rally stages, nosing around circuits and burning up the streets at night Escorts were the car to have here in Barbados back in its heyday. In fact, most sleeper platforms were Escorts. It was quite common for an Escort to be sporting a larger engine either from a Sierra or Granada.
I’ll be honest, when I started hunting for a project car, I really did not expect this car to cross my path. I remember growing up, I saw a few of them on the road, zipping around. They always caught my eye but when I was older they were no longer around. I did always want to own one, but I thought it would have been highly unlikely.
I found this car, being parted out at a yard, and I was fortunate as well, as it just arrived there and not much interest was shown in it. Perhaps the lack of Escorts on the island also accounted for this, but it was really nice to find a running car for really cheap.
Is this Car my dream car? It may be one them. Many persons have fallen in love with the Mk 1 or Mk 2 Escorts. When persons speak about Escorts, they refer to those 2 models specifically. The Mk 4 Escort was a little more thrown to the side, because of its front wheel drive nature. People believe it’s lost its charm because of this but I’d disagree.
This new project car is actually the perfect platform to build a really fun sleeper. With the introduction of the Mk 3 and Mk 4 Escort came the RS Turbo, although the car it was front wheel drive, its 1.6 CVH engine, spat out a decent 133 hp with the T3 Garrett slapped on it. These engines were capable of a lot more though, and have been modified to produce around 600 + hp in recent times, that's a lot for a 4 cylinder 8 valve engine!
I won’t be making crazy numbers like that though, but it should be pretty quick off the line. I’ll be going more in depth in the near future with this car, keeping you guys aware of the ongoing project. I’ve got plenty of work to do getting it ready to drive, but I’m looking forward to stepping into this “project car” life.
Stay tuned for further updates! Until next time, this Alex, Happy Motoring!
Welcome to the Barbados Auto Racing League
Today, BARL has years of events and activities different disciplines of racing under its belt, but where did it all start from? I had the chance to finally dig deeper into this racing league's history with the help of Stefan Hinds, the chairman of the league.
What are the ingredients for great racing? It usually starts with a bunch of friends who love cars. When we look at racing leagues, they share similar humble beginnings. The Barbados Auto Racing League, or BARL as we will refer to it from now on, is no exception to this.
BARL's Track Attack track-day event was the perfect place to meet and catch up with it's members. This event was actually a very important as it marks a turning point for the league in terms of its activity. Seeing old and new members coming out to have a fun time and knock off some rust that maybe would've built up over the years was an awesome experience. Some of the members haven't even driven on the now redesigned Bushy Park Raceway.
Today, BARL has years of events and activities different disciplines of racing under its belt, but where did it all start from? I had the chance to finally dig deeper into this racing league's history with the help of Stefan Hinds, the chairman of the league.
Stefan Hinds
When was BARL Formed?
- BARL was formed during 1996 by John “Tiny” Harrison, Tiny recognized the need to bring some structure to the Sunday afternoon Bushy Park race offs between the weekend warrior races i.e.Grass Roots Racers are the core of BARL’s membership. Tiny basically put his reputation at risk supporting this group of “Renegades” as we were often dubbed.
What Set BARL apart from other racing leagues?
- Sunday afternoon at Bushy Park was the most primitive form of Motorsport on the Island and most enjoyed by local fans, no other form of Motor sport generated the Hype, Energy, Enthusiasm and Passion as this Grass Roots Racing.
Who were the founding members of barl?
- The original committee consisted of Tiny, Coochies, Mohamed Bhana, Neil Corbin, Geoffrey Ullyett, Freddie Mapp Escort Specialist, later joined by Stuart Snaggs, Jeff Bovelle and Sluggy a driver.
Where did you guys meet formally?
- Club meetings were initially held at Muffler Center in White Park Road, the business owned by
Stuart.
What did course maintenance involve?
- Track clearing was the responsibility of the committee and a few dedicated drivers, some of the early racers were, Stanley Watkins, Nigel “Teets” Goodman, Snow Cone Man, Bingy, PA, Bull Cow, Doc Mohamad and Geoffrey Ullyett to name a few of the diverse group of drivers in BARL’s pool, Watkins would drive his tractor and swipe to the track and along with the volunteers we attempted to clean the infield as much as possible, but it was basically a lottery when car went off track as you could hit a tree, to stone boulders to abandoned cars, eventually as the club grew Ms.Wendy Williams took on the role of track maintenance and we owe her a great deal of gratitude for her part in the club’s development.
How did you manage your first events?
- The small committee did a herculean job to pull off the early race meets, with very limited hands, there were at times three cars being timed by one person, lifetime member “Country” was the unofficial Race Director, he was responsible for the grid positions of the cars based solely on his judgement/experience of the specific cars, and was also the starter. There were no radios only flags in the beginning but then as we grew Radios were lend by Structural Systems and Gales Hatchery, Fire extinguishers were loaned by a small local supply company who would only charge for any discharged units, with no electricity it was a task keeping the Marshalls and committee refreshed during the day.
Accomplishments & PLans for the future?
- The main groups were groups were 1 and 2, and as we grew and the membership expanded, groups 3 and 4 were formed, BARL was the host country for the Barbados Leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship until 2013 with the redevelopment of the circuit, BARL has not raced at the redeveloped facility, with its last race meet being June 2013 BARL has since 2013 entered into a MOU with the Bondurant School of High Performance Racing to host a school for the region and has set the groundwork for USA/Caribbean Racing Series, BARL hopes to get back to racing and continuing these projects when its get its access agreement issues resolved with the BMF.
Thanks Stefan, for the break down about what the league is all about, and the struggles you guys went through to what you so far been able to accomplish. Me, personally am a huge fan of bringing motorsport to a stage where persons with a passion and love for it are able to compete and have fun, the basis of it being competitive. It gives the opportunity for drivers to move up through the ranks, and develop their racing careers.
Danny Croney
Danny Croney is a great example of this. How someone can really move up the ranks from amateur to professional champion at the top of their class. We will be covering this in more detail in the near future, so stay tuned!
Until then, Happy Motoring! - Alex
Check out the gallery below!
Wrap God
Car wrapping is growing in popularity worldwide, and with companies like Autoderm we have access to this exclusive club. We covered a matte black Civic which rolled out of his shop a few months ago. You can check it out here! Daniel the owner of Autoderm is always trying new things, to push his boundaries and create one of a kind cars.
There's nothing like owning your own car. The feeling of freedom and responsibility are overwhelming, as well as the urge to customize it and make it unique. Some people tend to take it too far but we found a car that has found that great balance. Hugh and his 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer called "Saber". Hugh is one of the members of a car group here in Barbados called the Street Predatorz.
Street Predatorz is a prolific and growing group in Barbados. They are a Mitsubishi owners club, majorly made up of 2008 Lancers, but few earlier models are trickling into the group. They are car enthusiasts driven by the desire to modify their cars whether it's looks or performance or both.
Joining the group means you are ready to start working on your car and take positive steps in order to make your dream a reality. Each car in the group has a name taken from the Apex predators in the animal kingdom, hence the name Saber after the saber tooth tiger.
Hugh's car is beautifully wrapped.
Car wrapping is growing in popularity worldwide, and with companies like Autoderm we have access to this exclusive club. We covered a matte black Civic which rolled out of his shop a few months ago. You can check it out here! Daniel the owner of Autoderm is always trying new things, to push his boundaries and create one of a kind cars.
As a result of this Car culture benefits from these new upstart services, and with car groups competing with each other to make neck breaking rides on the streets Daniels innovative spirit goes hand in hand.
This is exactly what Hugh did. He had a goal to make a one of a kind car in the island and oh boy did he make something that's off the wall and innovative, it's actually very nostalgic of our younger days playing need for speed underground. Teaming up with Autoderm they drafted the design and Daniel went to work, applying his skill overnight and finishing with this spectacular vehicle.
This is Saber, it's a one of a kind piece of self expression.
Hugh's car started as a blank canvas. He's added a long list of modifications to the car, here's the list :
- Full Wrap
- Megan Exhaust
- DC air intake and piping
- Custom Body Kit
- Custom lights
- Tein Sport Racing lowering Springs.
The car is a work in progress as are all cars, I don't think you ever say you're finished building a vehicle. Small bits like changing the door handle colours still have to be ironed out but so far it's really amazing.
What I really love about this car is how it shows a clear distinction to the approach of car modification in the island. We shot this car in old Bridgetown, the traditional side of things, but this car is everything but traditional with the custom wrap, it's stance and cosmetic modifications. Times are changing here on the streets of our small island, and it's looking like a change in the right direction when it comes to car modification.
We want to say a huge thank you to Hugh, Big C and the Street Predators for letting us get up close and personal with these awesome rides.
-Maurice and Alex
Cutting ROom FLoor
Not Giving Up
Fortitude, endurance, patience are all things that come out of it. I saw a lot of these qualities shining from drivers on the track during the event.
Disappointment hits us in all forms.
In our personal lives, sometimes expectations aren't reached, or maybe things don't really work out the way we want them to. We can all relate to this. When disappointment hits though, we all look for ways to handle it, how to push through and still achieve what we wanted in the first place.
It’s funny how well racing can be paralleled with life. Drivers may start with a plan, but this doesn't always mean they achieve the result they were looking for. It’s the same with our lives. Racing is always associated with winning, podium finishes, and celebration. What happens when those expectations are not met?
Many times though, those who didn’t win the race go unnoticed. This does not at all mean they didn’t put in the work to win, it could just be blind-chance, things out of their control which caused the failure.The deciding factor though, when facing disappointment, is choosing whether to continue going or to give up.
At Bushy Park Raceway, not one driver chose to give up driving after calamity. In fact, this may have spurred on motivation to try even harder to achieve their goal.You see, disappointment is a double-edged sword because despite making us sad at present, it really shows ourselves and others what we are really made of. It enables us to build the qualities of a winner within ourselves
Fortitude, endurance, and patience are all things that come out of it. I saw a lot of these qualities shining from drivers on the track during the event.
It's hard sometimes to see past the horror of your car dying on you on the track, the same way it's hard to see past our disappointment at the present point in time. What we can learn though, is that just like a car, we can always rebuild or build things differently in life, patch it up and try again.
It really can be a struggle though, fighting past it, and even when you have fought it off, continuing to go on can also be tough, but the only way we can enter into that winner’s circle, is by harnessing from within ourselves those qualities we used to fight disappointment.
The next time you face disappointment, think about this,
“The only way we know we are trying to achieve our goals is through disappointment, because it prevents us from settling.”
Keeping that in mind may keep you on your feet when hard times hit.I know this blog was a little different, but I hope you enjoyed the read.
Until next time, this is Alex, Happy Motoring!
Some old Fashioned JDM love
what Ivan has here is a different type of Subaru, it's like looking at the yearbook photo of a friend you realized reinvented himself with a ton of self-help books. Sure, he's really successful, but he's not that same guy you had good times with, he isn't your friend anymore. Ivan knew Subaru before they reinvented themselves, and this is his yearbook photo.
On one the hottest Sunday's I have experienced this summer, the Retro and Classic Car Club held a small meet. It was really worth braving the tropical heat because I finally met up with Ivan, I really wanted to give this car a feature.
Glistening in the heat, sits Ivan's Subaru, this by no means is a performance car. The face of Subaru in the 90's was forged through its WRC success. The main platform was the GC8, where they really squeezed as much as they could out of it, distilling the "WRC" feeling to the masses. GC8's came in limited runs, like the 4 door WRX and STI, then the 2 door Type R, the 2 door P1, and the legendary 22B Sti.
But what Ivan has here is a different type of Subaru, it's like looking at the yearbook photo of a friend you realized reinvented himself with a ton of self-help books. Sure, he's really successful, but he's not that same guy you had good times with, he isn't your friend anymore. Ivan knew Subaru before they reinvented themselves, and this is his yearbook photo.
This car is one of the fortunate classics who lacks a tumultuous past. Ivan stumbled on this when he in a garage. The car was sitting in the back and it really wasn't for sale at the time but he made an offer and the owner passed the mantle on to him. It was 7 years old at the time he bought it, with about 25,000 km on the dial.
Some Subaru innovation
He's done a really bang on job keeping the car together over the years, making sure it's cleaned and free from wear from the super hot sun. Subaru really tried different things on the inside of the car to set them aside from other manufacturers, the open door light on the dash I thought was pretty nifty.
““Love. It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.”
Imagine being able to bottle that feeling Ivan has when he talks about his car. I'm sure it would loads of enthusiasts would buy into that venture.
Now we know where crowed engine bays started from.
The engine is a pretty simple layout. The standard Subaru 1.8L Boxer with a carburetor, which makes 70 bhp and 82 lb/ft of torque. At this period Subaru was not interested in making high performing car. They were making reliable cars. and this shines through with this machine, it has never once broken down on Ivan. Imagine that!
“This is not a rally car! the handbrake locks the front wheels!”
Ivan has owned a few Subaru's since this one, he's owned two GC8s and a 2007 Legacy. Those were great cars in his opinion, but they were not enough to pull him away from this GLF. The character that this car has, is something that would probably never be made again. Owning that yearbook photo now is tantamount to owning a piece of automotive history. We hope he continues to own it for years to come.
Until next time, Happy Motoring! - Alex.
For the love of HONDA
Recently we had the pleasure of meeting Duane Skeete. He and his father are building a hatchback EG Honda Civic. This Honda is Duane's third or fourth Honda I believe, so he knows his way around the platform. The car isn't done yet but we can already tell, It's going to be clean...and quick.
Hondas are great cars.
However, as we all know they sometimes receive a lot of hate in the car community. Honda owners are stereotyped to be young kids who rice their cars and install tasteless exhaust mods (huge fart cannons on the exhaust)
When in the hands of the right person however, great things can happen.
Recently we had the pleasure of meeting Duane Skeete. He and his father are building a Hatchback EG Honda Civic. This Honda is Duane's ninth Honda I believe, so he knows his way around the platform. The car isn't done yet but we can already tell, it's going to be clean...and quick.
Duane and his father have been building this car for the past 3 years or so, you would never know they aren't even mechanics.
Pops
Their attention to detail on this build is amazing, everything is immaculate, this is mostly because of Duane's father, he believes in keeping his work shop tidy and cleaning and maintaining his tools well.
“A tidy man = A tidy car.”
The shell is currently empty for the most part but the engine is mounted. A Honda B18c motor rests under the hood. Pulled straight from a Type-R these naturally aspirated motors make close to 200bhp, in this tiny, light, 2door hatch the power to weight ratios are going to be a bit crazy.
B series
This car is Duane"s first engine swap, but you'd swear he's a veteran. He gets the majority of his information online. That's the beauty of hondas, there's so much information available about them and aftermarket part support as well. It's a good platform to start on if you want to modify or build a car. Unlike my subaru, the engine bay is a nightmare if you don't know what you're looking for.
Over the years Duane has amassed quite the number of parts for the car.
Brace for the incoming parts list.
- ASR sway bar kit for the rear which includes a chassis reinforcement plate, sway bar and rose joint end links
- Top fuel carbon intake
- Momo race steering wheel
- K Sport coilover
- K Sport lower control arms - Voodoo line
- Skunk 2 front and rear camber adjustable arms
- Blox Mini Race muffler and 2.5" mandrel bent pipe
- NRG weighted shifter
- B&M short shifter
- Hasport engine mounts
- Energy suspension complete bushing kit
- New genuine Honda Si front lips and fog lights and varies clips, bolts, etc
- Fully rebuilt GSR front and rear brakes
- Hondaata s300 ECU
- All the bolts in the engine bay were replaced as well because they were all rusted
Duane admitted the list is long. Almost everything has been replaced, even all the door and trunk strips, windshield rubbers, seals around the tail lights and new tail lights. He has a lot more planned for the car, like a full aftermarket exhaust but such is the nature of project cars.
When we first got there to photograph the car Duane and his father were already working on it, they try to every weekend. The plan for today was to install the shifter, bleed the brakes and do some work on the engine loom.
We were impressed when we saw them fidgeting with the loom but we were assured there are wiring diagrams online and it only looks hard. Beautiful how cars can bring people together.
Duane said the car should be running in a month or so. We have high hopes for this build and we'll up date you guys as it goes along.
Till next time.
-Maurice
There's a Honda Buried Somewhere
Charles doesn't just own a cool Honda, motorsport has been in his blood for a very long time, he started navigating in Rally at an early age of 16.
I absolutely love hearing a good story from someone much older and experienced than I am, especially if it's about driving or building a car from a period before I was around to know it. This little Honda somehow survived a death at the hands of neglect and now it's alive as proof that some patience, ingenuity and passion can go a long way. Along with some help from friends who are mechanical engineers.
Meet Charles, I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Classic Car Show in July, he really loves his S800. He had a long history of the car to share from when he found it to when it was finished, and the process he had to go through to get everything working at tip top shape. Rumour has it there's another Honda S800 Coupe buried somewhere on the island now because of this build, it sacrificed itself so that the other one could be finished.
Charles came across an advertisement in the local newspaper back in 1990. The previous owner owned both an S800 Coupe, and the Cabriolet, but the Coupe was too badly rusted to be salvaged. This Cabriolet on the other hand was plagued with some engine trouble. It sat for a long time, and eventually the owner sold it. When Charles got the car, he was able to use the coupe for spare parts and build on the cabriolet. Albert, a friend of Charles who is a mechanical engineer, took up the work on the engine of the car getting it running again.
With engine work out of the way, it was time to order the parts that the car needed, and he found a dealer in Sherwood Forest, England to send him all the original parts for car. The entire restoration of the car took around 2 to 3 years to finish.
“Robin Hood drove a Honda.”
What makes the S800 so special though? At the time Honda produced these cars their speciality was motorbikes. This led to the cars being an interesting mix of motorbike and car. The engine used is a 791 cc, twin overhead light alloy engine. It makes 70hp to the rear wheels, and in a car that only weighs about 771 kg.
This car's weight and power and size matched up directly with some other European sports cars of the time, cars like the Triumph Spitfire and the Austin-Healey Sprite. It has one thing they can't compete with though and that's the sound of the engine. Hearing those cams rev up to 10,000 rpm is ethereal.
The car currently has its own garage at home, where it spends a fair amount of its time. Charles isn't the type to allow his car to sit in its garage and gather dust though, he built it because he loves it and he believes it deserves to be driven. He takes it for a spin at least once a week, on a Sunday, making sure he can have clear road where he can hear this engine sing.
I wholeheartedly believe in this as well. In modern times, we have come to know Honda for producing cars that are pretty well rounded, even their sport cars hardly skip out on creature comforts which make for a comfortable driving experience. Owning a piece of automotive history like this, reminds us where things come from. Honda's ability to break into new markets really has been amazing over the years, taking their mechanical know how, from motorbikes, into cars and improving on them, even having a few super cars under their belt.
“Oh yeah, the sound is very nice. ”
Check out the video down below.
Charles doesn't just own a cool Honda, motorsport has been in his blood for a very long time, he started navigating in rally at an early age of 16. It's really always a pleasure a meet someone that has a love of cars that has stayed strong over the years, and I hope he is able to continue to cherish his machine for many more years to come !
Alex - Until next time, happy motoring!