Roulette Runner [FINAL RESULTS]

Question about the negative/positive sliders: are they optional? Do we really have to use them?

I didnā€™t use any due to the lore of the car, so Iā€™m pretty sure theyā€™re optional

2 Likes

I had a few positive sliders, but didnā€™t use any negatives, and it looks like mineā€™s been accepted.

I think the only ones you may have to use are the ones that are stated for the 80ā€™s and 90ā€™s cars.

@szafirowy01 correction
Half a million miles, eh? Is this a Zavir or something? Wait thatā€™s just stating the obviousā€¦nevermindā€¦
Iā€™m frankly amazed its still here if it was used as a taxiā€¦ Cars in that job take a serious beating, at least here in the UK anyway.

@Leonardo9613 Yeeesss! Can I just reaffirm how much I love the Mk1 GT? Just looks so of its time, itā€™s absolutely gorgeous.

@titleguy1 Dammit Evan could you stop being so good at photoshop please? Thanks :wink:

6 Likes

cpufreak and Madrias are right about sliders - they are optional, except the specific required positives in the 80s and 90s.

Hobo Team

Crew

Hobo - Hobo 34 years old, amateur racer, runned away from home, was last seen in 2015 somewhere near Germany border with some bits and bolts of his old car Testisā€¦ He was working on the countryside as a gravedigger to pay the booze (Ginnnnnn). Crazy for cars and good-times, he worked some extra hours, and found an old 67 funeral vanā€¦ 450 bucks and there it was! His ā€œsupersonic sleeping bagā€ perfect for sleeping and cruising, with his hobo girlfriend and their hobo dog. Thatā€™s their way of living. No responsibilities, f@ck the systemā€¦ well sort of.

Hobo girl - Sheā€™s 34, love mechanics, and work in a small town repair garage, where she use to service local cars including the mortuary vans. She met Hobo in an small town and fell in love immediately. After buying the van they adopted a small dog found aside the roadā€¦

Hobo dog - He loves to bark at his own tail, and loves to tear apart all plastics and rubbers from other people cars.

The Car

1967 van, from an extinct manufacturer called KingVans, produced this model exclusively for ambulances and police cars. This one, was adapted for carrying coffins and for local service at the morgue going regularly from town to town. The odometer indicates only 98.947 km, but there are only 5 digits in itā€¦wich means that at 99.999 it goes back to zero again. Since the usual morgue driver passed recently and there are no records of it anywhere, they donā€™t actually know how many kmā€™s the van has. The paintwork is ok (recently painted) the chromed metal is rusty. Itā€™s powered by an L6 2.3L and 89hp from another manufacturer (Fuentes Motors), and adapted by KingVans for this model. All these vans (from 67 to 70) were known for having a slight overheat and braking problems. This van (when new) was fitted with some nice extras like: black fake leather 3 seats, power steering, head rests and lap-sash seatbelts and a 4 speed gearbox. The car was upholstered a few years ago. Apart from the oil, filters and brake change, nothing more was known about the van maintenanceā€¦so big surprises could be coming their way.


8 Likes

Team Riot Uncontrol

The Crew:

Hi! We are two brothers from Germany which came here to make our vacation a bit more interesting!

But first a bit more about us:

We both come from a farm so we now a bit about dirt driving and fixing stuff.

I am Paul JƤger , 26 year old and the driver. My task on the farm is to drive the machinery through the dirt.
On of my hobbies is dirt racing. So it was easy to decide who should drive our car.

My Co-Pilot and Partner in Crime( heheheh ) is Aaron. On the farm he maintains the machines and fixes them up. If it not to mayor. He will also handle everything technical because i am not really keen with my smartphone and other devices.

Now the car !

We got this 1980 Police Riot Van !
We spend around 430$ at the Police auction.
And it is a quite nice Van !
If you donā€™t look at the bullet holesā€¦
Or the 400k miles this car made.
And the ā€¦ lets say ā€œNatural Weight reductionā€ the ladder chassis has

But it runs fine ! Most of the time at least. At least these Police grade parts are bit more durable.

To-Do:
-Get Duct Tape for Holes
-Replace Glass with something
-Throw everything, more or less usefull we find at junkyards, in the back

8 Likes

###Team ā€œScience Guysā€

Nicholas Justinian. Age 23.
The Navigator, and Mechanic.
Nicholas, a 23 year old with an over the top personality. He is arrogant, and stubborn beyong measure. Believing his way is the best way, and the only way.
Heā€™s quite sarcastic, and rude.
That said, He has quite the mind for engineering, although the entirety of his experince has been pen and paper knowledge, rather than experince leanred from
working on cars in real life. Although he would argue heā€™s played Car Mechanic Simulator and taken enough courses to work on a car with no difficulties.
His first car was a MK3 Shromet Radiant, purchased by his father.

Agustus Biffle. -29.
The Driver.
An accomplished account, and a race driver simply for hobby. Agustus became friends with Nicholas due to their shared passion for Nascar and Rally.
Agustus can best be described as an American Kimi RƤikkƶnen. Brutally Honest in his few words. His reaction times leave a bit to be desired,
and he has nowhere near the engineering mind that Nicholas has, but he is calm, collected, focused under pressure, and can follow orders to the T.
His first car was a 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Steve Justinian. -19.
The helper.
Nicholasā€™ younger brother, Steve did not even graduate High School. He got his GED, much to the annoyance of his parents. He is a cheerful younger brother,
whom everybody seems to like. So, begrudgingly, his Older brother allowed him to accompany him. He is not a car expert by any means, or really a very big enthusiast.
He is more an enthusiast of camping and excitement.
His first car was a 2003 Jeep Wrangler.

###The Car.

A 1999 Nickel 4 Spec. Debuted at the companyā€™s debut of full production cars in 1993, The Nickel 4 spec was
dated when it debuted, hoping to appeal to classic luxury consumers as well as more modern ones.




It was a body on frame car, with rear wheel drive, and came with a 5.4 liter V8 developing 210 horsepower and 300 pound feet of torque. (Although Nicholas Belives it may have lost one or two since thenā€¦)
However,given the carā€™s smaller interior versus the competition of the Lincoln Town Car and Buick Roadmaster. This, and the preistablished
foothold these cars had in the luxury market that Shromet could never grab onto lead to itā€™s eventual discontinuation just
just a few years later.
As for this particular 4 Spec, it was purchased at city auction, as like the other body on frame American sedans of itā€™s time, was very
popular as a utility car. Itā€™s exact use is obviously classified information, but Nicholas believes it was used as a detectiveā€™s car,
given the odd color. It was a car that did not have many anxious buyers after it, and was purchased for only 384.87$.
Whatever itā€™s duty, itā€™s service life was spent almost entirely in the northeast reigon of the United States, where road salts and snow
run wild. The body has seen much better days, but the frame is held together well, so it managed to pass inspection. The car also needed many
new suspension components, as itā€™s service life was cut short after 178,406 miles, due to taking a jump too hard.
The team did all their repairs themselves, however, given their less than ideal experience, several corners were cut. The final car rides harsh,
but they firmly believe it can make the journey without faultsā€¦ If it doesnā€™t get stuck, that is.

10 Likes

Team ā€œThe Outridersā€

Marc Levinstein. Age 52
The Driver, The Navigator.
Marc Levinstein is currently employed with the Tatum Heights Police Department. He has a reputation on the force as an aggressive and quick driver. Most who have met him note that he has a calm, quiet demeanor, certainly not what youā€™d expect when you see him drive. Marc has a knack for navigation and will often study maps to determine the fastest route as well as taking note of any detours that may be necessary. His experience as a cop has honed his reflexes and kept his mind sharp. His first car was a 1983 Petoskey Rebel.

Blake Worden. Age 56
The Mechanic, The Backup Driver.

Blake Worden got a job working for the Tatum Heights DPS out of high school. It was there that he found his calling as a mechanic. He eventually transferred to the Motor Pool department and worked there for thirty two years until he retired one year ago. Despite his age Blake constantly kept up to date with the latest developments in automotive technology. While he has vast knowledge of modern vehicles, Blake often longs for the days when cars were less intricate and more simple on a mechanical level. He believes that there is only one correct way to design a car and all others are fundamentally flawed. In the later years of his career, he took up a hobby of racing cars. He joined up with Marc Levinstein from the PD for several amateur racing ventures. His first car was a 1961 Petoskey Cortino.

The Car: 1997 Petoskey Enforcer


The Enforcer was a continuation of the standard Petoskey full size sedan. It was the last Petoskey car to feature body on frame construction. When it debuted in 1992, it was only slightly better than the Gran Romero which it replaced. However, in 1994, the 301 TriForce V8 was ready after a delay and the Enforcer really hit its stride. The 301 TriForce uses advanced valve lift technology to combine the benefits of increased performance with improved fuel efficiency. The Enforcer was a huge success as a fleet vehicle, particularly in Police and Taxi fleets. The 1997 is the start of the second generation which boasted a five speed automatic transmission and 16 inch wheels. This particular vehicle is a standard civilian version which boasts a better factory stereo and slightly more comfortable suspension. The sheer number of Enforcers made from 1992 to 2012 means that there is a wide market of parts both factory and aftermarket available. A number of Enforcers were used by the Tatum Heights Police Department so both Worden and Levinstein possess considerable experience with the car, both driving and repairing.

Additional: Blake and Marc have been working hard to track down some power loss issue. As of yet, they have been unsuccessful.

8 Likes

Love it all! Keep it coming!

13 out of 20 slots filled! Though if they keep coming at this rate, I might be convinced to add a few more slotsā€¦

6 Likes

Team ā€œCastle Greenskullā€

Driver:
Bill ā€œ80ā€™sā€ Grey (40 y.o) has a problem with letting go of the past. He stll listens to mainstream 80ā€™s music and wears flannel shirts. A BIG fan of Monty Python, and anything he can find on VHS tapes. His most prized possession is an original Sony Discmanā€¦unless you count his collection of AC/DC cassettes. Somebody sent him an email about this, so he took some time off from running his HR agency; heā€™s seen things like this on TV, and figured it looked entertaining. His wife hopes he makes it back.

Mechanic/2nd Driver:
ā€œToniā€ Thompson, canā€™t figure out how to use a GPS, but that cames from her advanced years (sheā€™s Billā€™s aunt). She spent the 90ā€™s in England, associating with a low-tier rally teamā€¦ and I mean the WHOLE team. Plenty of experience crashing carsā€¦ at the demolition derby from '83-'89.

Navigator:
Billā€™s GPSā€¦ aunt Toni wonā€™t touch the cursed thing, and
ā€œThe Wookieeā€, Billā€™s never actually asked what his name is, but Toni brought him back from New Zealand in 2010. Appears to be late 50ā€™s. He says he likes long drives through isolated forests. :confused: Cooks a mean ā€œrabbit stew, broā€.

The Car:
A 1986 Inne Grasshopper G728 7-seat Van, powered by a 2.8Lt 125Kw Inline 6 that was already shared by the Gravelle and Yuros. With a basic interior, it had significant appeal as a commuter vehicle, and was very popular with large families. The 1992 update introduced an 8th seat, resulting in the designation changing to 828.

Although 125Kw sounds like a lot of power for a people mover, it meant the Grasshopper had no trouble climbing steep hills, making it ideal for those who towed a lot. Considered quite drivable for itā€™s time, the automatic version was far from sporty, although a 4-speed manual was available. The biggest complaint was the large cabin air intake being mounted directly above the grille between the headlights, meaning at >80kmh, even closing the vents didnā€™t stop dust from entering.

Retailing at 13,250AMU (25%), they were more expensive than some of the competition, but ā€œworth every pennyā€.

Billā€™s neighbours bought it in 1990, and itā€™s been sitting in the back yard since 2012, when the head gasket went; they never felt the need to fix it. Itā€™s seen a few camping trips to the river, and has even been known to push small trees over.
With 750,000km on the odo, and no power steering belt, or alternator, it was fairly hard to sell. No roadworthy and with grass growing through the grille, he offered them $500, and they they agreed.
Cosmetically, the front grille and bumper were smashed at some point, now held together by racing tape and itā€™s missing the cabin intake vent trim. Other than that, it seemed alright.


Tweaks:-
Swapped the factory auto for a manual.
Fitted 4wd running gear from a sad off-roader found at the wrecker, resulting in a shorter diff ratio; included the aforementioned manual.
Replaced the stock 15" rims with a set of 16ā€™s.
Replaced exhaust system and increased rev limiter, netting 4Kw increase.
Ripped out the seats, replaced with 4 more comfortable ones, and gave the thing a good clean. It still stinks, but thatā€™s OK, Bill reckons the Wookiee smells worse.
Fitted a small gas fridge, cooker, and a fold-away table.
Now featuring some ā€œinterestinglyā€ located supplemental LED strips below the windscreen.

Clearly, the suspension and gearbox are a little iffy, and theres a slight warp in the front brakes.

6 Likes

#Team ā€˜Cunning Stuntsā€™


look up spoonerism and youā€™ll get the jokeā€¦


###Team:
-Stephie Smith: A 32 year old stuntwoman from California. Moved to Somerset 7 years ago for a more quiet life. Travels often to the US for her job as a stuntwoman. Married Lawrence in 2010.
-Lawrence Smith: Also a stuntman, Lawrence is 33 years old and is from Liverpool. Met Stephie in the UK after she moved to Somerset in 2010 and have been married ever since.
-Alex Mitchell: Lawrenceā€™s brother in law and Stephieā€™s younger brother. Aged 21, Alex came up with the team name, and is the team mechanic since heā€™s the only one with an engineering degree at Harvard. Lives in New York, but came along for the ride.

###The Car: 1997 EADC Vole GTi


While not an MBS Vole MkIII RT (Homologous Special), the EADC Vole GTi (nicknamed the ā€˜Lucky Ladyā€™) is good enough.
Bought new in 1997 for Ā£16,640, this 20 year old car is now worth about Ā£500 (evaluation from webuyanycar.com). This car used to be owned by Lawrence, who used it for 10 years and then left it in a shed to rot for the last 10 years. The car has done over, 475,720 miles in the last 20 years.
The 1.8L Kookaburra engine has the stock turbo, but the stock air intercooler has been replaced with a new aftermarket water intercooler, meaning the GTi makes as much power as it did 10 years ago. The GTi has also been fitted with new steel rims and new hard tyres for improved offroad performace. An aftermarket lip kit as also been added, along with new springs.

Problems with the car:
Rust build up on the chassis
Fuel lines needs replacing
The interior needs ā€˜someā€™ TLC (basically needs replacing)
Radio and other electronics broken
Many dents
Paint flaking off

9 Likes

Ummm, how did you get 30 years? Arenā€™t we still in 2017? Or is it a car from 1987?

3 Likes

No Im just an idiot who cant countā€¦nor can i englishā€¦let me change it

3 Likes

17/20 entries confirmed! (edit: changed from 15 to 17 entries)

So, a bit more information about the event here.

It takes place over 2 days, 500 miles, and 24 legs (11 day 1, 13 day 2). There are sections on both days that are hard, with day 2 having two overland sections (NO ROADS AT ALL) that are particularly difficult. The land CAN be traversed by low-ish riding 2WD vehicles, but how many pieces the cars will out in will depend on the assigned Trail Experience of the team.

Also, after each leg, your team will make a quick mechanical assessment, and their next legā€™s ā€œspeedā€ will be determined by that outcome. In RP terms, your mechanic may express concerns to the driver, and tell them to back off. Or everything may be fine, and focus is on accuracy.

For each leg, I will post a brief blurb about the section, its average and maximum grade, general road conditions, and weather conditions. I will also go down the list of entrants and give a couple leg stats, as follows:

LAE - Leg accuracy estimate - how confident your team is that youā€™re close to a ā€œ0ā€ on that leg (remember, team that is closest to 0 for the entire event wins at the end)
MRL - Morale modifier. This can be a negative number (your people might be getting concerned or frustrated or fatigued), neutral, or positive (having a good time, feeling confident, overcoming a big obstacle)
Notes - Any notes I have about your particular team and their circumstances on that leg. You MAY see a picture of your car here with a big red ā€œXā€ on it. You donā€™t want to see thisā€¦ this means your car has suffered a critical failure. Time to call the tow truck and scrape the carcass off the road.

I will also, after this rundown, do a short RP of my own team. Assuming they are able to continue on.

Once I post a leg, Iā€™d like participants to join in and add their own RP blurbs. I will give 24-48 hours after I post a legā€™s results before I post the next leg, giving a little time for this. Also, between Day 1 Leg 11 and Day 2 Leg 1, I will take a few additional days, so that the players can RP the overnight camp (interact with each other, flesh out the stories of the day)

@8bs ā€¦ I presume this answers your questions in PM? :slight_smile:

8 Likes

TEAM DSDR

Driver:
Darkshine5
Age:
33
Country of Origin:
Australia
Occupation:
Owner and head designer DSD
Racing Experience:
4 time winner Willowbanks Street race Nights
3rd place Overall Qld Super Street Championship
150 logged hours Qld Raceway
250+ hrs logged Willowbanks Raceway
23rd Overall 12hr Bathurst
15th Place overall Mt Cootha sprints
2nd Place overall Wondia Sprints
Rally Experience:
Zero

Mechanic and Navigator:
Noble Romeo (pronounced Roh Meer Roh)
Age:
48
Country of Origin:
France
Occupation:
Ceo DSDR, team leader Darkshines Designs Racing, Head mechanic DSDR drag team.
Racing Experience:
23rd Overall 12hr Bathurst
Qld Amateur Rally Champion
300+hrs logged Australia Amateur Rally Navigator
team leader of DSDR Racing

Advertisement of vehicle

Official Statement from DS5

We at DSD are proud to compete in the Roulette Runner. We would have liked to presented a DSD vehicle but we simply could not find one for the correct price.
What we did however find was a 1985 Licorne Elk 6. The previous teenage owner has ravaged this vehicle but we believe we can salvage something from the chassis and engine. There is soo much rust that we have decided to use ALOT of bog to ā€œpatchā€ the holes and re-paint the car in whatever color was the cheapest we could find (spray can white) we had to leave the god awful bonnet as a replacement was over budget.
Luckily the Chassis was corrosion res steel and everything looks in order underneath, the lift kit is a professional job and bar a few bushes nothing needs attention.
New solid disc brakes from a random junkyard motorhome were fitted as the originals were so far gone that driving was not possible.
The cutout front bumper had no rigidity left so we used duct tape to hopefully strengthen it a little so its not so floppy.
What was left of the interior was ripped out and two brand new seats with racing harnesses and working gauges were fitted alongside a basic rollcage for safety.
An interesting issue we had was the power steering in this vehicle has been completely removed and customized for manual steering by a previous owner at some time and again the replacement of this was far outside of DSDā€™s budget, However the largest part of the budget were the big chunky 10" wide tyres fitted to the aftermarket 16" wheels.

We torn the engine down to find the factory forged pistons had been replaced with hypereutectic units that had a large 0.40 dish and the camshaft has had a regrind at some stage. The overheating issues was a simple fix the required a new water pump that rotated the correct way. The cheap homemade exhaust was removed from the cast manifold back and replaced with a stainless steel straight thru system with a modern cat converter. For more power we fitted an 8psi pulley to the factory roots supercharger to complement the air to air inter-cooler that had been fitted by the previous owner, with some minor ignition and Rpm tuning the 4.7L supercharged 6 is making 170hp and 415Nm.

It will be an adventure thatā€™s for sure. below is the finished vehicle.

Ongoing Issues:
Oil leak from front differential
Hideous Bonnet
Corrugated iron tray bed (so we can sleep in it if we need toā€¦an so that our gear doesnā€™t fall through the holes in the tray)
smell of vomit/sexā€¦(you all know THAT smell)
Only passenger wiper works
fiberglass fender flares deteriorating
right front low beam not working
Supercharger belt tensioner loose resulting in shredded belts every 100kmā€™s or so
Occasional vacuum leak to brake booster resulting in no brakes (sheā€™ll be right)
NO STEREO (I have to listen to Romeoā€™s outlook on the world all day every fecking day)


ROLE PLAY events

Pre-event the day before


Pre-event Day 1


Day one events


9 Likes

Team ā€˜Unfixed, Unfazed, Unbrokenā€™ ā‹…ā‹…ā‹…į¶ įµ’Ź³ į¶°įµ’Ź·

Three Aussie mates from Sydney who watched enough Top Gear, RoadKill and Mighty Car Mods to know this was the event for them.

Sam Paschke - 34-year-old actually a New South Welshman, he works in Sydney as a software engineer and glad to get a break from the hellish commute into the city. He owns a 2014 Kimura Auriga SXi which rides supremely well over the rough Sydney roads. His keen interest in automotive programs and gaming prowess on GT4 and Forza has earned him the position as the main driver.

Daniel McGowen - 32-year-old a wild Queenslander who now lives and works in NSW. His daily a nice 2012 Saminda C3 but he mostly just drives that to the station and trains into the city where he works as an Insurance manager. As far as his concerned JDM is the only way they should have done this event. Maesima isnā€™t what youā€™d call his favourite brand which why he was ā€˜givenā€™ the position as team navigator so as to keep him as far away as possible from wheel lest he destroy the car out of spite.

Mitchell Phillipps - 44-year-old Victorian Heā€™s the oldest and most experienced although his old a hobby mechanic. He now lives in NSW and works as a Maintenance officer but commutes in his current run about a 1983 Erin Merna which the others jokingly suggested as the entry for the event as its a bit of a rust bucket, Mitch is a bit of wheeler-dealer and has a habit of finding acquiring old bombs for next to nothing and then fixing and selling them at a profit. Heā€™s basically a walking car yard and wrecker in one. His keen eyes spotted our entry. Speaking of whichā€¦

The Car


The team has already started to get to work on the CV joints.

The car is a **1994 Maesima NV-993**, the pre-facelift model in mid-range Australian GLE trim. The NV-993 was the predecessor to the NV-997 and then Avellca model. It was very typical of Maesima of the time, while the NRZ-996 and NR/Exestis sports entries adopted swooping lines of many 90's vehicles. The sedans kept a fairly sleek yet still distinctively saloon profile influenced from the top of the line NL-992 full-size luxury model.

While the basic chassis was rather good as most of Maesima sedans from the late 1980s onwards with a double wishbone setup front and rear. The rest leaves a lot to be desired, this one is fitted with a sluggish NA 2.2L version of the MCG-engine family Maesimaā€™s first DOHC engine dating back to 1988. Interestingly a 2.2L Turbocharged version powered the first Maesima Prova ST-R! So if weā€™re lucky maybe we can make some adjustments to get a bit more kick out of it.

While sadly this model isnā€™t post-facelift (1995-1997) but nor is it the woeful base model which was only exported to countries that it managed to pass the emissions standards. Australia was one of the few developed countries to be inflicted with the 1.8L GL model. This venerable engine dates back to 1965 as part of the MCO-engine family.

But for all the criticism of the NV-993 and itā€™s poor engines, cheap plastics inside and out. It was nonetheless fairly solid and for those that wanted a nice sedan without the premium price of its competitors, the NV-993 was well received. Today it still offers extremely good value as many tend to overlook Maesimaā€™s from this period save for the performance models like the NRZ-996s which are getting harder to find in clean unmolested condition. But for those that dare the NV-993 offers good honest transport what more could you ask for? At least weā€™re hoping itā€™s sturdy reputation holds for this event.

This particular example is an Australian export model, registered SKF 358 in NSW. It rolled off of the production line in Namju, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Anikatia on April 4th, 1994, and has since done close to 221,000 kms. While we have found the original owners manual and some service records itā€™s not complete so we donā€™t know how many owners it has had.

But it seems to have had a hard life. The greenish silver greyish paint is a little faded and sunburnt with the clear cost coming off in parts, itā€™s not been kept in a garage and has been subject to harsh Australian sun. The body appears to have suffered the usual scrapes and dents. It must have lived near the beaches as it has a few spots of rust but nothing too bad.

The interior upholstery hasnā€™t faired much better the cloth seats arenā€™t looking so good so we bought some covers to hide the worse of it. The cheap hard plastics of the dash have mostly held up. The cigarette lighter is missing along with some of the radio knots and the air condition isnā€™t working. This model also got cruise controlā€¦but itā€™s not working either.

Now as we said the engine isnā€™t the most powerful thing from the factory and years have not been kind. It needs a new clutch thrust bearing to be fitted as it is a bit noisy, CV joints are clicking and probably need to be changed too. The quality of coolants, oil suggests itā€™s overdue for a service too. Thankfully it has a timing chain so we shouldnā€™t have to do anything too major there.

Hopefully, this should see our team through this rally! We bought the thing for $500 after seeing and negotiating it down from the advertised gumtree price of $650. Besides those CVs, clutch thrust bearing and the steering wheel doesnā€™t seem to be put on straight. The car drives fairly nicely just needs a proper service and with any luck should be good to go!

Issues
Some surface rust
Clutch thrust bearing
CV joints
Paint fade, clear coat damage
A/C not working
Cruise control not working
Worn tyres

11 Likes

Now this ought to be fucking awesome! :grinning:

5 Likes

#Team Electric Space Wizards

##The Members:

Lynn Morgan : 22 year old, from Los Angeles, and well known for having a car shopping habit, she went through 5 project cars just in the last 2 years, while dailying a 1992 Erin Scarlet S . She always works on her own cars, but doesnā€™t trust her own skill enough in case of more serious, extensive repairs during a rally, so thatā€™s where the power of friendship comes into play! She likes autocrossing, and roadtrips, so this rally was a great chance to have some good fun, as the teamā€™s main driver.

Aiden Taylor: 21 year old, and Lynnā€™s closest childhood friend. Heā€™s currently working as an apprentice mechanic for a local shop, as he always had a liking for tinkering and tearing down stuff, even as a kid. His car shows that very well, as itā€™s a 1988 Seishido Antares 4.3, with air suspension. No one knows how many times heā€™s had to fix it. Heā€™s not quite a race driver, as heā€™s actually afraid of driving quickly, and would just cruise across the rally.

Connor Ashworth: 24 year old, came into the US from Britain for something university related apparently. He became good friends with Aiden after bringing his 2013 Saminda C1 in for repair, curiously enough. Decided to join team ESP just for the experience. Heā€™ll be the teamā€™s main navigator, as he can actually read physical maps decently.

Joseph Taylor: 18 year old, Aidenā€™s younger brother. He spends half of his free time watching car-related videos on YouTube, or playing Forza, and has quite the obsession with JDM. He was the one who stickerbombed the rear view mirror. He doesnā€™t own a car of his own yet. Joined the team for the same reason Connor did. Oh, and the fact heā€™s Aidenā€™s brother, yeah.

##The Car:

http://imgur.com/VNb6nvR

Why is this happening? Lynn found something on craigslist, and bought it, as usual. A 1990 Seishido Grandcab 3.0BX 4WD, for $460. Itā€™s a reliable, all purpose truck, that can handle pretty much anything you throw at it. Whereā€™s the catch? It has 240000 miles or so, and the engine, a GZ30SE unit, can only push out a measly 158hp, despite being the best engine availableā€¦
When Lynn went to check it, it was in pretty bad shape. Its glorious Mystic Opal Metallic paint had chips and scratches all over, the front right fender had a big, white patch on it, which was later revealed to be a sloppy Bondo repair attempt. Hoping to find something in better shape, she opened the bonnet, only to be greeted by a filthy engine bay, caked in dirt, leaves and with a telltale smell of leaking fluids.
Worried about the less visible signs of damage, Lynn decided to give a call to her childhood friend, Aiden. As an apprentice mechanic, heā€™s pretty good at identifying problems within neglected cars, and heā€™s willing to do so for free.
So, Aiden determined the Grandcab was mostly mechanically sound, except for a few issues common within cars of its age, and $460 was thrown down the drain. The seller mentioned something before they left, a $500 dollar car rally. Lynn is known for this kind of stuff, so she instantly decided the Grandcab would be used in it. Since itā€™s a crew cab, it can fit 2 more people, right? Yeah thatā€™s how Connor and Joseph got invited, to help with navigation and the likes, never mind their actual ability in doing so. Theyā€™re friends, so thatā€™s what matters, right? And so Team Electric Space Wizards was born! The name was decided by putting down 20 names on a piece of paper and throwing a d20.

##Problems that we havenā€™t fixed yet (that we managed to find out)

The paint is very damaged, and looks quite bad. Clearcoat is ruined, scratches everywhere.

The old tape deck doesnā€™t work, sadly. But we still have AM/FM radio!

The transmission doesnā€™t really like shifting into 4th gear, and occasionally makes spine chilling grinding noises.

The clutch is a bit worn out, as some slippage is noticeable.

The passenger side window hand crank is broken.

The backup lights donā€™t work, probably a blown fuse.

##And the ones we did fixā€¦

Replaced the Battery.

Brake fluid was leaking, so we installed new brake lines, flushed and refilled the fluid.

Front brake discs were completely wore down, so we changed them for brand new parts.

Handbrake cable had snapped, got replaced.

We JDM stickerbombed the rear view mirror. Why was that a fixed problem? The lack of proper stickers was irritating.

Put a steering wheel cover on, worn out fake leather covered in years old human slime isnā€™t very appealing.

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