Last week I dropped by my buddy’s auto shop class at West Seattle High. I did a feature article on Jonathan and his class last year, but this year I mostly wanted to talk about his awesome ’66 Corvair, which is nearing completion. I snapped a bunch of pics (they didn’t turn out so hot–sorry) and got Jonathan to build a ride page. The car is being built with autocross in mind, and a lot of time and energy has gone into this one-of-a-kind build. My description couldn’t possibly do the car justice, so go to page 1 of his ride page to see my pics, and then be sure to read the full stats on page 2. And there are a bunch of other pics from around the shop on page 3–three of the kids were in the middle of engine swaps. Jonathan was especially proud of his new $35,000 Hunter drive-on lift with the alignment system. Definitely a pretty sweet setup.

I have been regularly autocrossing since 1992 (yeah, I’m that old) but had never received any formal training. My entire technique was developed by trial and error. This past weekend, however, I was a student at the Evolution Driving School. This school crisscrosses the country, and the staff is made up of former and reigning national champions. I was impressed to hear that many current national champs regularly go back for mid-season tune-ups.

While autocross seems pretty basic at first (go fast and avoid the cones) there are nuances that separate a first-class run from a mid-pack finish. I guess that’s true for any sport. We did a few lessons that drove home a major point: look ahead. The sooner you see a gate, apex or pointer cone, the faster you’ll get through there.

By the way, for those who haven’t been thrilled with the shape of the latest WRX, gotta say that the car performed very well. A severe lack of negative camber caused me to tear up one Nitto race tire, but I can’t wait for our next event.

When I first built up my Miata about seven years ago, the goal was to just make a neat street car—a little more power thanks to the usual bolt-ons plus a Flyin’ Miata/Link ECU, Koni suspension, Kaaz limited-slip and the like. The car didn’t fit into any real autocross class, but that wasn’t the point. Well, between recent rule changes at the SCCA and some equipment changes on my behalf, the car is now legal for their C Street Prepared autocross class. That means the car now has a real autocross home, and it got a little exercise this weekend.

So how’d it go? It didn’t win (second out of three), but let’s just say that I may have a new autocross partner—and I have already started talking to Emilio at 949Racing about some optimum wheels. It’s a slippery slope, isn’t it?

By any standards, the Corvette is an extremely competent race car. But you wouldn’t know that by watching this autocross footage. While both drivers piloting ‘Vettes deliver pretty poor performances, the dude behind the wheel of the Impala SS—basically a glorified taxi cab—really tears up the track. This just goes to show that great car can’t make up for sub-par driving skills. Enjoy.