Mechanical tube benders need to be mounted securely to the floor for operation. Typically, a hammer drill and concrete anchors are used to secure the mount to the floor. This time, though, with the JD2 bender being converted to hydraulic, I am free to mount the bender in a mobile configuration...
I have a bit more work to do before starting the roll cage on the exo car build. One of those tasks is converting my 15-plus-year-old mechanical tube bender to hydraulics. To risk sounding like a broken record, my workspace is small and not tube-bender-friendly. I can save space by converting the...
Racing doesn’t just happen on the track; much preparation goes into each event. But if you can’t stay cool in the racecar, no amount of physical or mental prep will salvage your results. Overheating in the racecar can lead to poor performance and results, unnecessary incidents, DNFs...
The old adage goes something like this: You can build your car fast, cheap, and reliable. Now, pick two. This principle seems to hold true with racecars and most things in life. But occasionally, a product comes along that seems to laugh in the face of this principle. I actually got excited when I...
The roll cage is a pivotal moment in the exo car build, and I am taking a super small step back to ensure the cage is executed properly. After all, it has been 10 years since I fabricated, installed, and welded a roll cage. Although I am still confident in my abilities, a few decisions and other...
May has been a busy month. Formula Drift, NOLA Motorsports Park, and then Nashville Superspeedway. Nashville would turn out to be an interesting conclusion to the month with wild weather and a few unusual experiences.
In the previous Failure Points segment, I discussed a recent front wheel bearing failure on the Super Touring 6 Miata. This failure was abrupt, and there was no indication of issues before the session. And as promised, here are the steps to replace the front wheel bearings on the Miata. A...
The harsh environment of the racetrack pushes a car right to its limit and beyond. As such, racecar failures are bound to happen in many different ways. Failure Points is a new series that dissects these moments and what to do when things go wrong. This time it is the front wheel bearing of the...
The 1991 Mazda Miata from which I am building the exo car has led a rough life. This was especially evident when I finished the chassis cleaning in part 5; quite a bit of surface rust was exposed. Usually, I would wait to address the rust during the fabrication process while fitting the roll cage...
Didn’t I mention this may get a little confusing? In part 4, I cleaned up the chassis, removing any remnants attached to the car, cleaning up the cuts, and grinding a few miscellaneous brackets off. Now, I am physically cleaning the chassis to prepare for the final prep and welding. Taking...
NOLA Motorsports Park is one of my favorite tracks that no one knows about. It’s long, rough, scrappy, and flat, built in the swamp south of New Orleans proper in Westwego, Louisianna. Perhaps it’s a little too far for most, located in a racetrack desert. Or maybe the variable weather...
An actual drifting event on Driftopia. Shocking I know. For a little background, I started this site based on a love for drifting and motorsport just as drifting started to emerge in the United States. Building several s13’s to compete in local competitions when I was still in college. But...
