It has been quite some time since we originally started this race team and this blog (clearly) without any actual updates. Time for that to change. We will start by updating you of the story so far.
In April of 2021 we acquired a 1990 Toyota Celica STX with a 4A-GZE engine swap. Our original plans included fixing it up to compete in AutoCross and building it to the point of participating in the endurance racing series known as ChampCar.
We jumped right in working on just getting the car to start. After way too much troubleshooting and buying parts we thought were the problem, we realized the battery ground strap was bad. A $15 part... Hey, it was a learning process for all 3 of us. We did an oil change, re-attached the intercooler, and gave it a good wash. Once we had it running, we noticed 2 more problems.
1) The idle was really bad. It would shoot up to 3500RPM for a few seconds and drop to 1300RPM for a few seconds. Then it would shoot back up. We figured it was a vacuum leak somewhere. We would look for that later.
2) The car wouldn't move when we put it into gear. We could feel the transmission engaging, but it wouldn't spin the axles. We got the car lifted up and quickly realized that both front half-shaft axles were broken. After 1 failed attempt at ordering new ones and realizing we would have to get MR2 axles ($800-$1200 investment), we had a good long think about what we were going to do with the car.
We procrastinated, and eventually decided in April of 2023 to sell it. It was going to be too much financial investment to get the car just to a drivable order than what the team was willing to invest at the time. We put it on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, and pushed it out near a busy street with signs in the windows. After a few weeks, and constant phone calls from non-buyers, we found a group of guys who love the older import scene. We struck a deal and soon, we were watching a tow truck take away our failed experiment.
During that 10 month thinktank, 2 of the founding members (Tim and Chris) did an AutoCross event with the MKE SCCA Solo group at the Road America karting track. Tim has a long history of AX-ing, and this latest iteration was in his 2019 Honda Civic Type R.
This was Chris' first introduction to it. After that event, Chris decided he enjoyed himself so much, he was committed to running the entire 2023 season in his 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
End of Part 1
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