By Karan Singh

StreetFire.net

Finding your Fiat a bit underpowered? Do as these guys did and put a Kawasaki motor in it!

Kawasaki ZX-12R Motorlu Fiat 500

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

If you’re familiar with the specs of the Isetta microcar—three wheels, anemic two-stroke engine, nonexistent crash protection—you might not think it’d be the best choice for autocross. And guess what? You’d be totally correct! From this clip, I can’t tell whether this is a BMW model or one of numerous other versions made in Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, or Britain. But what anyone with functioning eyeballs can see is that it goes up on two wheels while navigating one of the turns, and that it’s completely hilarious. Hopefully the little commuter didn’t sustain any damage during the ordeal.

By Matt Wellumson

Neuwerks

It is not often that you will see cars zipping around an amusement park lot at full throttle without there being some kind of scene. But that is exactly what happened at a recent MAC (Minnesota Autosports Club) event at Valley Fair in Minnesota. MAC held their opening round of their MOWOG ( which stands for “Morris-Wolesley Garages”–don’t ask) autocross series at this venue. The facility is great for such events, as this amusement park has acres of parking spots, which were empty due to the park not yet being open for the season.

Continue reading and more photos after the jump!

Continue reading "Amusement Park: Bring Your Own Ride" »

By David Wallens

Grassroots Motorsports

I hear this a lot from people: Oh, I’m an excellent driver. Care to see how you can do against the clock? I’ve been autocrossing for more than 15 years, and it’s a great way to relieve some stress and also push a car to the limit in a safe, controlled environment. It’s also a good, healthy social scene plus a great introduction to other performance events, like track days and road racing. Want to give it a shot? Check with your local SCCA Region or other sports car club.

By David Belau

dartslantsix

I’m a man and I own a 1998 Plymouth Neon. Guess what? I love it! My Neon has served my family faithfully for five years now. We’re up to 134,xxx miles now with only a few minor problems. It gets between 36-40 miles to the gallon on the highway and has power to spare. Why am I taking the time to write about the Neon? Well, my second child is on the way and we’ve been looking at minivans to replace the Neon. I guess I’m waxing sentimental.

I bought my Neon for $4,000 with 79,000 miles on the clock to replace my 1990 Dodge Daytona with 260,000 miles (yeah, it was worn out).  It’s a 1998 model Plymouth Neon Expresso, gloriously wrapped in Deep Amethyst paint. The DOHC engine pumps out 150 hp through the 5-speed stick shift. My Neon came with almost every option possible, except power windows/locks and a sun roof. It even had a sweet aftermarket stereo system already installed. Here’s a picture of it as I was installing its new wheels.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "An Ode to the Neon" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

Last week I talked about all the little details that make this thing go and stop. If you’ve been waiting to see if all this nonsense actually performs, this is your week. I’ll show you the good, the bad and the ugly.

Before I get into this week’s post, a couple people have asked what the weight difference is between this set up and the live axle. I gained about 100 lbs, but I also upgraded from a wimpy 7.25 rear end to a stronger 8.8 Ford. If I redesigned the structure, I think I could lighten it up by at least 25 lbs.

My family has a long history of going to car shows. One in particular I have always enjoyed more than the rest. It’s a Father’s Day show at the Yreka, CA fairgrounds put on by the Siskiyou Cruisers. It’s in the shade, under the trees. Everyone drives down early in the morning and has breakfast. In short, it’s a great time. I had a goal to finish the car about a week before the show-to work out any bugs. (Murphy loves me for some reason.) I met that goal. Continue reading…

Continue reading "1966 Dart GT IRS Project Journal Part 5" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

Last week I bored you with a math lesson and preached about proper suspension geometry. I also showed pictures of my sexy control arms. You can’t have one without the other, unfortunately. This week, I’m going to talk about all the little things that make this whole system work. Continue reading…

Continue reading "1966 Dart GT IRS Project Journal Part 4" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

About three years ago, I got this crazy idea to try and outfit my 1966 Dodge Dart with an independent rear suspension (IRS). I had been looking at a sales brochure for one of the new Chargers and it showed the IRS in those cars. It was contained in its own subframe, so it couldn’t possibly be hard to just take that and swap it into my Dart, right? Continue reading…

Continue reading "1966 Dodge Dart IRS Project Journal" »

During its second autocross run at Miller Motorsports Park, the rally’s only Hummer broke a front differential mount, which then rotated up and punctured the oil filter, causing the mess you see here. Apparently, this wouldn’t have been a flat-bed situation if the mount could have been rotated back, but all attempts to dislodge it failed, and the Beast is currently waiting to see Mr. Goodwrench. I actually got some video of the fatal run, and I’ll get it posted ASAP. Stay tuned!

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I have been regularly autocrossing since 1992, and my wife has joined me  a few times but always as a spectator. When I mentioned that I was going to one this past weekend, she said that she’d like to come–but not as a spectator. She seemed to have a great time and even came in first in her class. (Okay, so she was the only one in the Novice Race tire class.)

On the way home we enjoyed the sweet taste of success–or, more accurately, the sweet taste of coolant. The car made it home just fine, but we spent that evening shopping for a radiator. On the plus side, I think I now have a new autocrossing partner.