Backstory
“Seriously, by text? Who does that, let alone the freakin’ Sultan?”
“Yeah, by text. All it said was ‘You’re fired.’ I’d’ve thought it was a prank, but there’s no spoofing that phone number - simply ‘1’ - and if we’re honest…” Blinoor paused, drawing at length from a bottle of brandy, frowning sharply.
“Oh Blini, honey…” Farra embraced her, as she continued.
“…I’d been expecting it. I’dn’t’ve put up with my own attendance record, that’s for sure. And the techs I’d brought on board didn’t do me any favors, either. Apparently, the new guy just parties all day and can’t find cars; I heard he was told to round up a dozen of some kind of old exotic and came up with just four, one of them illegal. Well, I can’t say I trained him any better.” She took another swig, before looking her partner forlornly in the eyes.
Gazing warmly back, Farra reassured her, “It’ll be ok, whatever we do. I’m pulling pretty good royalties on the last album, and that’s before the first delivery of the Fruinian Edition goes on sale this week. And living out here, boring as it may be, is dirt cheap.”
“I know, dear… but you know how uncomfortable I am mooching off of you. I need to feel like I’m earning my keep. But where the hell am I going to find another gig like that? It took so long to find a way to get off this island… I moved here for you, but you know how crazy it drove me being out here. That job was supposed to be our stepping stone out, but now…” She finished the brandy, and sighing in frustration, staggered off the couch to look for more. Failing to find any in the vicinity, she began searching energetically, then frantically, before tripping over a box on the floor and collapsing beside it, doing her best to contain a panic attack as Farra quietly crouched beside her.
A minute of deep breaths later, still on the floor, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and declared in a determined voice, “I gotta get outta here. Of course not from you, Fari, but off the island. A change of scenery, something to alleviate the glorified cabin fever of being a 4-hour ferry ride from the nearest meaningful town, something to take my mind off the chaos, some fresh perspective, some fresh air…”
“You know, I remember very fondly how you used to regale me with stories of your roadtrips, and how psychically cleansing they were. When’s the last time you actually went on one?” Farra asked. Blinoor looked at her quizzically, some joy returning from the memories jogged.
Farra continued, “And truth be told, I’m feeling some cabin fever and wanderlust too. All the while you were in Basara or elsewhere on the mainland, I’ve been here, and recalling all your adventures… gives me a strong itch to experience something like that myself. With you, that is.”
They stared into each other’s eyes, each watching the other’s gears turning, wordlessly forming in their collective consciousness a thought - first nebulous, then increasing in clarity until reaching the point of being spoken aloud. “Let’s hit the road, Blini. I’ve got a few months before I even want to think about a new album, and look on the bright side - now your schedule is pretty free too. Let’s go on an epic roadtrip like you used to! Across the continent! I want to see Archana’s Sapphire Valley with you! To do the Hetvesian Castle Tour! To…”
Cutting her off, Blinoor’s 80-proof pessimism issued a challenge, “With what car? My Nashwar can hardly fit a suitcase, and your Skaði…?”
“How about we build one? My royalties will fund it, our labors and some outsourcing will materialize it, and the brains of the most talented mechanic I know…” Her eyes sparkled at Blinoor. “…Will plan it. It’ll give you something to do, something to earn your keep by. And then we use it.”
“Hm, ok, but build it on what?”
“You know that ranch property my aunt inherited from grandpa on the other side of the island? With all that junk on it? Well, last time I visited, I found a DCMW Sharriallat, apparently a 50s one, buried in the small barn. Aunt and family want the place cleared out to sell it, and they don’t give a damn about cars so I bet we could get it for a song. Of course, it’s going to need some work. Let’s go check it out!”
“Do horseshit fumes help preserve the paint, or why has it been stored with such… indignity?”
“Nobody knows. Grandpa had a few cars, a lot of friends, a lot of friends with cars, and did random odd favors for everyone. Storing a car for someone, forgetting about it, and both the owner and him expiring is the likeliest explanation. Anyway, my cousins were kind enough to dig it out, but they don’t know how to make it run or if it even will. That’s where you come in, Blini. Look it over, tell me what it needs. I’ll be in the house catching up with my aunt.”
Hung over, but with an interesting task to take her mind off of that and its cause, Blinoor got to work, and a half hour later walked up to lunch on the front porch with a report.
“We’re looking at a 1959 DCMW Sharriallat Superiority Twelve, all stock. I got it to fire up on fresh gas. Needs fluids, tuneup parts, and a gasket overhaul, possibly some internals overhaul. It won’t drive, and only runs with the clutch in; the gearbox sounds like a bag of bricks and works about as well. The rear end seems fine and is a limited-slip, too. Tires and suspension are of course shot. The interior is decimated by the mice, moths, mold, and many moons. The body has some minor damage from storage, and the paint - despite the horseshit - has turned to dark chalk. Not a trace of rust; the body panels on most first-generation Sharriallats were aluminum, with the spaceframe underneath galvanized.”
“So it needs a gearbox, paint, and interior materials? What else?”
“Depends. What are we doing with this thing again?”
Purpose
“First of all, we musn’t make the car significantly worse in any dimension, and if it’s worse in any way at all, it needs to more than make up for it elsewhere. A bit more tolerance is granted for Prestige, however, in part because the base car is so high and because much of that comes from the engine, which has reasons to stay but also reasons to be downgraded.”
“What do you mean?”
“Keeping that 65-year old carbureted V12 is an option, not a given. I’ve been in one before. It makes an absolutely glorious noise while revving through its mound of butter for a torque curve, putting out power that’s still respectable today. I do care somewhat about those things. Upfront, it’s significantly cheaper than alternatives, simply because it’s already here, installed, and running. I care about that, too. On the other hand, consumption is borderline unacceptable, and for a long-trip car, I care a lot. Worse, its reliability isn’t to modern standards. So… I’m ambivalent at best about keeping it vs. replacing with something more modern, could be persuaded either way.”
“How about a diesel?”
“Sure, if you know what to do with one. I don’t see that as inappropriate or sacrilege to the car’s spirit or any of that crap. Torque and economy are always welcome, just make sure NVH is ok. See rules 4a-4d.”
“What do we have to work with?”
“The car, of course…”
Hey__clone_me_first__-_DCMW_Sharriallat_Superiority_Twelve.car (5.0 MB)
“…and $40k soft limit, default techpool.”
“And what do we care about?”
Priorities
Comfort. Specifically, for long trips. A smooth, quiet engine, a well-tuned suspension, and most of all a high-grade, high-quality interior are just some of the factors. What is not a factor are torque and transmission choice. These will be removed from Comfort calculations.
Looks, inside and out. Whether it pays tribute to the original, is the original, or eschews it, the car has to have a sense of purpose and cohesion to its styling, inside and out. That said, we don’t want the extremes of either bone-stock or totally unrecognizable, but something in between.
The interior may be left as stock fixtures, modified, or ripped out and started anew. It may not be left at stock textures. While the .car has intact wood and upholstery, this is only for the purpose of demonstrating an example. Paint slots Body, Interior 1, Interior 2, Interior 3, Stitched Leather, Carpet, Wood, and Headliner must be substantially changed, to simulate the restoration. Of course, you may change other paint slots too, or redo the interior to take different materials.
Reliability. This would normally be a higher priority, but with a master mechanic on board - and with a sense of adventure, too - the odd hiccup can be dealt with, and makes for good stories later.
Fuel Economy. We’re covering some serious distances, occasionally with sparse fuel availability as well, and while we can sacrifice a little for the sake of performance and prestige, that budget runs out quickly. Anything worse than 20mpg US or 12L/100km will be discouraging; worse than 15/15 is a dealbreaker. 30/8 would be great, but the more/less, the better.
Off-road. We won’t be rock-crawling… or would we if we could? Ok, maybe not that extreme, but 4x4 would not be unwelcome here. Remember that later domestic-market Sharriallats had true 4x4 drivetrains as well as height-adjusting hydraulic suspensions. Reasonably competent 2wd is ok too, won’t incur points off as long as it won’t get stuck in a small puddle.
Sportiness, drivability. Blinoor will be doing most of the driving, is highly skilled, and takes occasional pleasure in making it sprint or dance. Farra, however, doesn’t mind a fast cruise but would rather not bounce side to side in corners, so we’re not looking for a sports car.
Prestige. Not so much bragging rights, but Farra and Blinoor both appreciate a multi-cylinder soundtrack (especially with ITB) and have some flexibility on economy, and more so on upfront costs, to pay for it.
Safety. As long as it’s not a total deathtrap, it’s fine. Newer than Advanced 70s is unrealistic.
Service Costs. We do our own work and have parts connections. While we won’t be happy replacing staggered semi-slicks every week because of wacky alignment specs, most other contributors to SVC are no big deal.
Upfront Cost. Saving money is always nice, but nothing should feel missing.
“And what other rules and constraints?”
Other rules and constraints
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- Before anything else, clone both the model and engine family using the lower-rightmost button.
- Before anything else, clone both the model and engine family using the lower-rightmost button.
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- Model year remains at 1959, trim year may be set freely.
- Model year remains at 1959, trim year may be set freely.
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- ATS unrestricted, but doing things that could’ve been done in engineering will be poorly regarded.
- ATS unrestricted, but doing things that could’ve been done in engineering will be poorly regarded.
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- Quality and other sliders unrestricted unless otherwise specified.
- Quality and other sliders unrestricted unless otherwise specified.
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- You may keep the stock engine, modify it, or replace it. If kept stock or modified, family year remains at 1956 and variant year is free. If replaced, both may be set freely. The stock engine has already been converted to run 91 RON unleaded. Modified stock or replacement petrol engines shall also run 91 or 95 (5% fuel cost penalty). Replacement engines may instead be diesel, subject to the following…
Diesel-specific rules 4a-4d:
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4a. Architecture must be 2-valve. Block and head(s) cast iron. Bore/stroke ratios expected to be somewhat more undersquare (smaller bore, longer stoke) than IRL. Compression ratio expected to be lower than IRL, in the 12-16 range.
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4b. Bottom end must be forged heavy or cast heavy, balance mass 100, quality -15.
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4c. Cam profile zero. VVT, VVL prohibited.
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4d. Diesel fuel is simulated by Compressed Gas, LNG 150 RON. Fuel map zero, timing fully retarded. Fuel system options:
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- Regardless of fuel type, emissions must pass in Dalluha for the engine family year. Catalytic converters not required as such.
- Regardless of fuel type, emissions must pass in Dalluha for the engine family year. Catalytic converters not required as such.
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- Race headers ok, other race parts are forbidden. DCOE and semi-slicks are not race parts.
- Race headers ok, other race parts are forbidden. DCOE and semi-slicks are not race parts.
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- Tires may end in 0 (will be interpreted as ending in 5, plus pressure, caster, or other tweaks that aren’t in the game).
- Tires may end in 0 (will be interpreted as ending in 5, plus pressure, caster, or other tweaks that aren’t in the game).
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- Every quality point spent on Architecture, Fuel System, or Exhaust reduces baseline engine loudness by 0.75.
- Every quality point spent on Architecture, Fuel System, or Exhaust reduces baseline engine loudness by 0.75.
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- Comfort stat will be recalculated with Torque and Gearbox removed, and reduced engine noise factored in. Sportiness will be recalculated to remove Gearbox modifier.
- Comfort stat will be recalculated with Torque and Gearbox removed, and reduced engine noise factored in. Sportiness will be recalculated to remove Gearbox modifier.
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- Mechanical realism expectations: 2/5; loose correspondence to reality. Quad-turbo V16 ok, just maybe not a 1.5L with a magnesium block and eight eco carbs feeding a CVT… sideways.
- Mechanical realism expectations: 2/5; loose correspondence to reality. Quad-turbo V16 ok, just maybe not a 1.5L with a magnesium block and eight eco carbs feeding a CVT… sideways.
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- Stylistic realism expectations: 2/5. If it looks like a functional, street-legal car, even if custom/one-off, it passes.
- Stylistic realism expectations: 2/5. If it looks like a functional, street-legal car, even if custom/one-off, it passes.
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- Forbidden chassis/body changes: chassis type, chassis material (but panel material ok), body family, ATS wheelbase except minor tweaks, suspension type except to solid axle.
- Forbidden chassis/body changes: chassis type, chassis material (but panel material ok), body family, ATS wheelbase except minor tweaks, suspension type except to solid axle.
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- Major change costs:
** $2000 morphs APILLAR, BPillar, L Fender
** $1000 all other morphs, each, price capped at four (IOW, $4k buys you all-you-can-eatmodify morphs except the three above, while $10k buys unlimited morphs)
** $1000 switch body to 44_eu_fastback_hyper_3door_L_cpp with same morphs
** $10000 switch body to any other 44 Bug 3.0 with any morphs
** $1000 convertible using negatape
** $2000 panel material
** $3000 major bodywork with fixtures
** $1000 moderate bodywork with fixtures
** $1000 engine swap without EFI
** $1500 engine swap with EFI
** $500 EFI on existing engine
** $1000 driven front wheels, unless solid axle conversion.
** $500 solid axle swap, each. Front includes driveline.
- Major change costs:
Submissions
- Entries open 13 May, close 27 May (time zone flexible).
- Naming convention: car Model and engine Family shall be “ARM30 - (your forum name and anything else you want)”. Trim and variant unrestricted.
- Submitting: DM me your .car and post an advert publically
- Resubmitting: everyone gets at least one with no questions asked. Subsequent ones are case-by-case. I tend to be lenient with these.
