The year in review

With 2010 looming around the corner, I look back at the things done in 2009.


I was pondering what my next step should be for the ol' Corolla. Should I fix it or just scrap it and start again. Since my lazy ass knew I didn't want to build another car, I did end up getting it fixed.

It still wears some battle scars. Just to remind me walls are bad. I did participate in a couple of open sessions to shake down the car and just to see how the car drives. Since the crash I haven't had any seat time. It felt good to drive the car after being down for a few months (both car and driver), but it didn't handle the way i liked since i got it fixed.


But I guess that was a sign of pretty much the whole year, the car has been plagued with issues. Either never running right or not even running at all. Since motivation was at an all time low, never made much effort in fixing.


It got so bad I had to borrow a Nissan. But when driving is your drug, you'll use anything. It's so good to drive.


But at the final event I participated for the year. I finally won one for the gipper. I also broke a tranny that day too. Gotta take the good with the bad I guess.


This year was also my milestone with my first Corolla. At 10 years of ownership it's still running strong. It's definitely been through alot and created alot of history on it's own. What a trip it has been. What other owner can say that.

Now let's look forward towards 2010.

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Music for the soul

It's not flight of the bumble bees but it sure does get the heart pumping.

Note: For those of you who run and are hung up on N/A engines should not view this video. As it may sway you towards the darkside.

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More tool especial

If you got a big american v8 with a big american air cleaner then you'll probably using or will be needing these. I haven't even used these yet, since the old carb import air cleaners were still accessible with a simple flat head. May i'll need to buy one. A big american sedan that is.

Image via Wikipedia

Like a 1963 Lincoln Continental one of my favorites.

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an interesting short.

Image via Wikipedia

Good friend johny mac posted up a video he and his team created. I thought it was a great short video. What was also cool is they used a nikon d5000 dslr. It goes to show that you don't need to crazy dope equipment to create magic. Kinda like drifting, don't need crazy amounts of power nor drift buttons, to pull off some magic.

For more info an johny (chasing his dream) mac and his crew visit their site www.flyingboyfilms.com

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Be green...

recycling old parts for other uses is much better than trying fill up the land fill. But it was my fultile attempts at reusing the HKS filter, that I destroyed at a past track event, I decided to use the filter elements for other uses. Yes it's still good in my book.


A filter for my scooter


Air compressor filter.

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In n Out

Image via Wikipedia

No it's not about food, there's other blogs for that. Wasting time like I usually do, there isn ews of former F1 champ Schumacher returning seems to be a done deal. Read that here


But with that comes the bad. I don't mean Tiger, you can watch TMZ for that. It is unfortunate that J F1 driver Sato has not been signed to drive for Lotus. It may have been the conspiracy of the white man, but where else is the asian guy supposed to go since there is not more Toyota or Honda. The sad news is posted up on here.

Inspired

Taka Aono 2009 Formula D video from Ross Fairfield on Vimeo.

A great video by Ross from Dead Pirate Productions, For all around great guy Taka Aono. If you don't know Taka Aono then you haven't been into drifting and Corollas long enough. So sit back relax and enjoy.

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All about the Stance?

I grab this pic from roadster drift blog.

Another baller suspension for the budget minded Corolla freak. I don't know very many people who run this suspension on other cars. So it's hard to find good first hand info. Without going through all the lies info that's the internet. Though their page does have a few regulars in the drift scene. I am drawn to them for some odd reason. Could it be black and bronze color? I hope I can get some for Christmas. Maybe campaign for next year.

For more info visit their website. Though it has not been updated with the Corolla info. Just call them.

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AE86 Tech #86-14: Light Fix

I'm sure most of you come across flickering dashlights at one point. At first you bang on the dash until it comes back on. After that gets annoying, the next route is to get a switch from the yard. But being it's the same 25 year old part, finding a good switch is a hit or miss.

Now let's get to the root of the problem and actually fix it. If you have access to a soldering you're on your way.

First pop open the switch and examine the solder joints.


A close up view shows the solder already cracked. Years of daily driving and track days will do this to solder.


All that's needed is a reheat of the solder and let it flow on to the terminal. That's it. While you're in there you should do the other ones.

Same thing can be done on the Logicon part on the 86-89 Mazda RX-7. Sorry don't have pictures of that one, but you get the idea.

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SKUSA SuperNats 13

Karting is considered one of the purest forms of motorsport. No wings, susupension, or team orders. Not too long ago I visited the SKUSA Super Nationals, held at the Rio Hotel and Casino parking lot in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is like the world series of karting, with 425 competitors from 25 countries. A bunch of talented drivers showing off their skills to hopefully one day step up into bigger and better things, even a couple of drivers from F1 and Indy showed up in their ranks.

Nelson Piquet Jr.

Michael Schumacher

Sebastian Buemi

With fields as large as 40 compeititors this made for some great racing in all classes. I haven't been this excited watching a race in a long time.

Even hachiroku invades karting.

If it wasn't for the F1 drivers attending this event, I probably wouldn't have attended thsi event. Definitely worth the money to watch alot of great racing. You'll probably see me here next year, hopefully driving ;) For more information on next years event click on their website.

Click here for more photos of the event.

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Trophy 2009

Another year another set of trophies. Going through the piles of crap that I never seem to let go. I created another set of trophies for the Annual Grip Day, which is happening this weekend 11/28-29. I wonder who's going to take home my pile of crap.





Here's a link to my previous work if you haven't alread seen it.

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In the presence of greatness.

Watching some of the best drivers in the world up close and personal is a wish for many motorsports fans. For the lucky few it's a dream come true. I have to say i'm one of the lucky ones. Wasting time on the net like I usually do, I came across a post on Cold Track Days that Michael Schumacher was going to be in Las Vegas to race at a kart event. It was hard for me to believe such celebrity such as him would be at a kart event. So I had to make the trek to Vegas and find out.



Since I can only be there for a day, I headed out early to catch the start of the event. After a few hours, low and behold the man himself. It's truely hard to believe i'm so close to this guy so I took full advantage of this photo opportunity.





Since he's retired from racing it's like I lost the chance to ever see him race. But today i'm one of the lucky ones. Watching him race was so awesome. I can only imagine how the drivers felt racing against him. I wish it was me dueling on the tarmac with him. Time to retire the corolla and get a kart.

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Destruction like no other.

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