the franken-rex rolls!

quick update: after 18 months, V2 of the frankenrex hit the track. we're not 100% race ready, but the car is SOLID. the upgrade to 15x8 rims w/205 tires was incredible... i held my own in a 300hwp+ race group w/only 100whp.

best interaction ever:

me in race group 2: if you're gonna let me pass, pls go neutral throttle as i only have 100hp in the crx

other person: no way, you have more than that.

me (after he comes to inspect the car): want to see the dyno sheet? d15b2, enduro!

and finally, this is literally my favorite pic ever: i'm cresting T3A @ sears point, which is completely blind. i see a massive cloud of dust the second i apex, and i frantically wave to warn the drivers behind me.

HPDE photographer? right there.



yanno, a typical monday morning... just casually three-wheeling through the apex of T3A @ sears point whilst waving to warn the cars behind me that someone just spun. achievement unlocked! XD

ah, bringing down real estate values wherever we go... XD

TL;DR: we did a race in the rain at sonoma... and completed it w/o balling up the car! i wasn't there (had the 'rona on my bday vacay lol), but the rest of the team did it!

we got the roof panel installed and painted the car:




team at the track (dreadlocks are a wig, #becauseberkeleyteam):


speaking of berkeley, we decided have an open "car yoga" session after the first day of racing. it was epic. also #wheelchaircamcozMMAkillsyou


the goal was to finish a race w/no damage. mission complete!





oh yeah, our team captain was practicing MMA and had his knee taken out the day before the race...



but all thing considered the car got back on the trailer at the end of the weekend!



here's some in-car footage from one of our new teammates. he has a small amount of crapcan enduro experience under his belt, and is taking a super safe and reliable line on a wet track:


overall, i have to say the frankenrex is back. next up: rear sways + mini-me head? XD

first weekend since early december in berkeley where it didn't rain, so we fabbed and installed a water temp sensor for a large idiot light on the dash. this was spliced in to the heater core bypass loop.

there was much discussion over whether we should hard-wire a ground, so we just strapped some safety wire around the steel bung, confirmed continuity and stopped arguing about it.

next up? an actual light.

just did another track day @ sonoma... shared the car across 3 drivers: session, exit, swap driver, send out, lather rinse repeat. 4 hours alone of track time, then another combined hour of driving to/from the track. 3/4 of a tank of gas.

how were we so efficient!?!?! lots and lots of rain!

pics here: Gorilla Tornado Photography

i had a fun spin in T5... took it a bit to quick as it was drying out, and knew it going in. the rear end snapped out, i spun 180, then back another 180 in the direction i came from and ended up facing the right direction! XD

car is great, but even in the rain 100hp was still not enough to keep me ahead of the 500hp+ cars. it was close tho, and one of the 'vette bros found us in the pits and mentioned how hard it was to catch up to us.

and a candid shot of me finally enjoying a rain-free moment: Gorilla Tornado Photography

been busy w/life the past few months, but we're simultaneously autocrossing the CRAP out of the car, and getting it prepped for the next race... we'll be running it w/five drivers over memorial day weekend. four of us are VERY experienced enduro racers. and our rookie is this ex-grad student (now phd in computer science) i've known for about 6 years from work... he randomly started talking to me about IMSA and racing, and i immediately invited him to the team. he is a for-serious DIYer, "crafty", mechanically minded and didn't even hesitate to say yes. since then, i've instructed him a couple of times, and feel very comfortable w/having him race with us.

literally couldn't have asked for a better person to join the team... we're super lucky!

anyways, picture time...

after well over 100 hours of angry driving, we finally had to replace the front pads (raybestos ST-43s) and rotors (centric blanks from rockauto). everything is bone-stock si.



rear discs and pads have barely any wear... and we run cheap, OEM rear pads instead of pricy ones.

100 hours. we logged it!

replacing the front lower ball joint:


all ready for an autocross:


our rookie at sears point:



since we're also expecting that thunderhill raceway will be akin to the surface of the sun the weekend of the race (memorial day weekend), and we hate buying pre-built solutions, today was the beginnings of the DIY coolsuit cooler install.

we're using this as our guide:

i had another old aluminum server-room rack shelf (same type as we used for our switch panel), which somehow, magically, and completely unexpectedly was the SAME DIMENSIONS OF OUR 30qt COOLER.

this was literally, the easiest, zero-fab job i've ever had w/o a kit we even re-used the existing sub harness bolt hole to minimize drilling lol:


check. that. out.


and yes. the cooler is as orange as the car is.

the tie-down is currently attached the the passenger harness eye-bolts, but we will be installing new ones closer to and centered w/the cooler.



the pump is mounted to the cooler via a small bolt in the bottom of the pickup screen, and we'll drill moar holes for wiring/tubes when those parts arrive. we'll just need to run 2 wires from the panel to a connector so we can remove it when not in use.

the final thing we plan on doing is drilling in a big-ass drain port, and run some PVC w/a valve so we can quickly dump arm water through a hole in the floorboard during pit stops.

we'll either use frozen soda bottles filled w/water, or block ice if we can find it. more pics to come soon!

ale5six1 said:

Great thread! thanks for all the important info/advice and glad you were able to rebuild the car and enjoying it again after that wreck. Cheers!!

Click to expand...

thanks! it's been a process, but we've got a great team and my buddy and i keep things motivated.

we're all loaded up and ready for the race this weekend! DIY coolshirt cooler works like a charm, and i'll report back (with hopefully) good news about the race. plan A is to finish with no black flags.