Roulette Runner [FINAL RESULTS]

[Hshan]

#Team Viking

###The crew

Ivar Jastrzyn - 38 year old Polish-Danish engineer living in Poznań and designing engines for some Polish car company. Son of a famous designer Paweł Jastrzyn. Loves tinkering and can repair almost anything, be it mechanical or electrical, if only it is a part of a car. Doesn’t like “small talk”, very patient with cars, very impatient with people. Not a bad driver, but not the best either. He is on his month holiday in the US. Participation in this rally was mostly his idea.

James Tornquist - 33 year old American manager working at Zavir USA in Bridgeport, CT. Trips around USA are one of his passions - the other being playing a guitar. Surprisingly nice for a manager but often talks too much. Like, way too much. But he can drive pretty good and cook even better, and also can be a navigator, but only in emergency situations. Oh, and his grandparents came to the US from Norway, so he sort of counts as a Viking. He and Ivar know each other since 2009 when they met in Kraków during James’ trip around Central Europe. He inspired Ivar to participate in this rally.

Aina Vinter - 29 year old Swedish car interior designer working for Edler, but currently at Zavir USA on a cooperative ZETA project, where she met James. She got to know Ivar by their friends at Nordesign Studio, where she worked for a moment a few years ago. She loves camping, hiking tours and stupid cars. That’s why she decided to participate in this, having not much better to do during her short holiday, why she will be the team’s navigator and why she insisted on buying…

###The junk… car

1995 Zavir Squalo IV in a basic Veloce trim with a then-innovative 3.6 TCV engine (as seen here)…

…ruined by its 5 owners, 2 years of standing in the bushes and 586 134 miles on the roads. The two biggest surprises about this car were that it runs and it’s story is known. It was bought in New York as a company car, and it served as such for 4 years. Back then the car was in elegant metallic Dark Olive Green. Then a sales representative bought it with almost 200 000 miles on the odometer and still in perfect shape; he owned it for just 2 years, but driven another over 100 000 miles in it. During the next 7 years it served well as a family car. After that it was a taxi for 5 years and then… came the catastrophe. It was bought by some young idiot, tempted by a 3.6 turbocharged V6, RWD, premium interior and relatively low price. He obviously had no idea that the turbos were there only for economy, RWD was quite useless for fun with the car’s suspension tuning and power/weight ratio, most of the gadgets in the interior didn’t work after all these years and the attractive price didn’t came out of nowhere. After realising these things he decided to repaint the car in a bright retina-burning green, put some “cool” alloy rims on it, give it a bad look, rear wing and a bonnet scoop. Oh, and a bigger turbo with a bigger intercooler… Which eventually ruined the tired engine - even the legendary S42E isn’t indestructible. As he - quite obviously - didn’t have the money to repair it and couldn’t sell it, he abandoned it on his grandfather’s farm. After two years our team came there and bought this thing for just 500$. Condition just after they’ve bought the car:

• blown head gasket on the left bank
• oil leaks everywhere on the engine
• 3 of 6 cylinders running (only the right bank), but without turbocharging (unknown reason at first)
• active suspension not being active at all - stuck at the softest setting
• veeery loose steering
• very worn out brakes
• bent rims
• lots of dents on the body
• rear left power window not working, front left working sometimes, central lock not working, left taillight not working, A/C only heating, many gadgets not working properly or at all
• missing fog lamps and front badge
• incredibly faded paint
• dirty, shabby leather interior

Things done:

• engine rebuilt
• stock turbos fitted, but with the old aftermarket intercooler - it’s more effective
• steering fixed
• new brakes
• new wheels, with steel rims and hard tyres
• suspension electronics replaced with an aftermarket chip (way cheaper)
• rear wing removed
• front window mechanism cleaned (which fixed it), replaced wiring in the left side of the car (which solved the problems with the central lock and the taillight), cleaned and refilled A/C (now barely, but also cooling)
• thoroughly washed interior

Will this old and tired “premium beater” soldier on with our team of Vikings? Or will it give up and die in the middle of nowhere? Only time will tell

[DeusExMackia]

Half a million miles, eh? Is this a Lexus or something?

[Hshan]

This, my dear Deus, is what we call Zavir Quality
Edit: And for the first 18 years of it’s life the car was really cared for and kept in good condition (except some electric gadgets), only in the last 4 it wasn’t well maintained.

[Leonardo9613]

#Team Clockwork Orange

The main driver will be Damon Walker. A failed prospect racing driver, he spent most of his life chasing an objective, which folded when his money ran out. At 21 years old, he seems to be going through a late adolescence, deciding to rebel, go against the system and connect with nature - whatever that means. Having started studying economics, after 6 months working as an intern in a consulting group, he decided he had had enough.

He convinced his high school friend, Patrick Rourke, who everyone called Packie. Born in Scotland, he is in his last year of mechanical engineering, however, his mechanical capacities were severely limited. He did know a lot of concepts and understood how an internal combustion engine worked inside out, however, couldn’t hold a spanner for his life. Maybe his theoretical knowledge will be helpful, if not he’ll help push the car and put some banging tunes in the 8-track.

In order to actually finish the rally, the pair decided to ask an older friend of theirs. Pete Davies, 41 years old, had worked for nearly two decades as a mechanic at the dealership of a budget mainstream Italian car company with an unpronounceable name. He said he would love to give it a go, because those basic cars are pretty much the same underneath, aren’t they.

###The car

Introduced in 1974, the Mk1 Baltazar Quark helped the firm mantain its share of the market, by being more modern than its ancient EP1 city car and smaller and cheaper than the new Quasar. As such, it was offered with a range of engines, with the 850 cc engine directly related to the one used by the EP1 since 1947 and a brand new family of modern inline 4 engines, with 8-valves and SOHC, offered in 3 different sizes, 1250, 1650 and 1700. For the 1979 model year, the car got a facelift and the engines were subtly tweaked. Due to the introduction of catalytic converters as an option on some markets, the engines were changed to 1400 and 1700 cc capacities.
The car shown here is a facelifted 1979 Quark 1700GT. It produces a whopping 100 hp, enough to take this 844 kg car to 100 km/h in just 8.9 seconds and onto a top speed of 175 km/h. Inside the car has 5 seats, lined with a mix of cloth and velour and a basic 8-track radio. Sculpted 14 inch wheels and a host of subtle tweaks to the outside mark this as the sporty car of the range.

This particular car was bought for just $450. Aparrently, it was the family since 1987 and treasured for nearly 30 years by a caring owner, but after his death the family had decided to sell it on.
However, this does seem like bullshit salesman speak. Sure, there is very little rust, with mild bubbling of the paint around the arches - actually quite impressive for a 40 year old car with no kind of galvanization on its panels. But the tyres aren’t the original high performance (for the era) models, instead being fitted now with some long lasting, hard-wearing tyres originally used on the base level car, and the exhaust system seems have been modified, with one of the mufflers removed and no catalytic converter in sight, hard to tell if it was removed or if it didn’t come with one from the factory to begin with, as it was an optional extra at the time. At least the wheels are standard, and the engine runs smoothly and with no worrying noises from the electronic injection.

[Deskyx]

I would join but this mod restriction is kinda annoying.

[titleguy1]

#Team Yokai
Crew Bios

Ram (@ramthecowy) - Hi, I’m Ram, a young Norwegian with quite a passion for cars and metal. I love amateur racing and hackjob construction - as you’d expect I go racing in the youth rallies in Finland as well as in folk racing in Sweden with my trusty collection of old beater Saabs - since 16 actually. There’s no car I hate, from JDM to classic American muscle what makes me love it is the attitude of people around it.

Evan (@titleguy1) - Hey, my name’s Evan, and I’m 16 from New York. You might know me for my graphic artwork, but to be honest I’m not too familiar around working with cars. I can identify parts and their functions but I’m not great at actually piecing the cars together. I do, however, really enjoy all and every type of car. As a New Yorker I might not seem like the friendliest person at first but I assure you I’m not a total dickhead. At home I’m either playing games or drawing but I’m very excited to participate in this competition.

We’d known each other through an online forum before, so we were very excited to meet up together.

#The car
(Written by Evan)
The car we purchased was a 1990 Kimura Arctos SX4i 3.5 with 2 owners and 275,000 miles on the clock. Ram and I love a good sleeper and drift vans are fun too. Here’s some background info.

The Arctos hits both points of our criterion; first, an AWD option was available and is fitted to our car. The Arctos also has an easily modifiable and rather potent 3.5L FB635 V6 engine shared with other Kimura’s of the era. This produced, when new, around 195 HP and over 200 lb-ft. The Arctos we were looking at even had a rather rare manual transmission of which only around 6,000 were produced. However, because of the strange appearance of the Kimura, it didn’t have especially strong numbers; thus, the replacement was more conventional.

The Arctos in question was bought in New Brunswik, New Jersey but it was a difficult purchase a multitude of reasons; for starters, the alternator and battery were shot. The ECU was also screwed as well when we saw the water damage done. The trunk latches also didn’t function. Thankfully, the car wasn’t too rusty since Kimura had at the least decent rust protection back in the day. The paintwork was dirty but it’d probably look decent with a wash. A few nicks and dents don’t completely diminish the look of the Arctos. However, the drab interior screams “90’s Japanese shitbox,” even if the interior itself isn’t too dirty. The exhaust system was also in shambles; we’d go on to fix that later. Altogether, Ram and I walked away $390 poorer.

Here’s a picture of the Arctos, in it’s glorious 90’s Pacific Coast Aqua.

Here’s a list of what we are aware of that needs to be done. Anything that was already done is checked off… More problems may arise. Post will be updated with more details over time.

• Fix the ECU.
• Replace Alternator and Battery.
• Fix the exhaust system.
  The exhaust was taken from the cat back and replaced with a full straight pipe. The car sounds especially fruity now.
• Repair trunk latches.
• Give the car a good clean inside and out.

[VicVictory]

YESS! Someone used the not-Silhouette body!

[8bs]

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

[cpufreak101]

I didn’t use any due to the lore of the car, so I’m pretty sure they’re optional

[Madrias]

I had a few positive sliders, but didn’t use any negatives, and it looks like mine’s been accepted.

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

[DeusExMackia]

@szafirowy01 correction
Half a million miles, eh? Is this a Zavir or something? Wait that’s just stating the obvious…nevermind…
I’m frankly amazed its still here if it was used as a taxi… 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, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

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

[VicVictory]

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

[8bs]

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 Testis… 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 van… 450 bucks and there it was! His “supersonic sleeping bag” perfect for sleeping and cruising, with his hobo girlfriend and their hobo dog. That’s their way of living. No responsibilities, f@ck the system… well sort of.

Hobo girl - She’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 road…

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 it…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 don’t actually know how many km’s the van has. The paintwork is ok (recently painted) the chromed metal is rusty. It’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 maintenance…so big surprises could be coming their way.

[Mikonp7]

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 Jäger , 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 don’t look at the bullet holes…
Or the 400k miles this car made.
And the … lets say “Natural Weight reduction” 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

[DoctorNarfy]

###Team “Science Guys”

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.
He’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 he’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 Räikkönen. 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.
Nicholas’ 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 company’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 then…)
However,given the car’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 it’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 it’s time, was very
popular as a utility car. It’s exact use is obviously classified information, but Nicholas believes it was used as a detective’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 it’s duty, it’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 it’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 faults… If it doesn’t get stuck, that is.

[BobLoblaw]

Team “The Outriders”

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 you’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.

[VicVictory]

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 slots…

[stm316]

Team “Castle Greenskull”

Driver:
Bill “80’s” Grey (40 y.o) has a problem with letting go of the past. He stll listens to mainstream 80’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 Discman…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; he’s seen things like this on TV, and figured it looked entertaining. His wife hopes he makes it back.

Mechanic/2nd Driver:
“Toni” Thompson, can’t figure out how to use a GPS, but that cames from her advanced years (she’s Bill’s aunt). She spent the 90’s in England, associating with a low-tier rally team… and I mean the WHOLE team. Plenty of experience crashing cars… at the demolition derby from '83-'89.

Navigator:
Bill’s GPS… aunt Toni won’t touch the cursed thing, and
“The Wookiee”, Bill’s never actually asked what his name is, but Toni brought him back from New Zealand in 2010. Appears to be late 50’s. He says he likes long drives through isolated forests. Cooks a mean “rabbit stew, bro”.

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 it’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 didn’t stop dust from entering.

Retailing at 13,250AMU (25%), they were more expensive than some of the competition, but “worth every penny”.

Bill’s neighbours bought it in 1990, and it’s been sitting in the back yard since 2012, when the head gasket went; they never felt the need to fix it. It’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 it’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 16’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 that’s OK, Bill reckons the Wookiee smells worse.
Fitted a small gas fridge, cooker, and a fold-away table.
Now featuring some “interestingly” 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.

[Dorifto_Dorito]

#Team ‘Cunning Stunts’

---

_{look up spoonerism and you’ll get the joke…}

---

###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: Lawrence’s brother in law and Stephie’s younger brother. Aged 21, Alex came up with the team name, and is the team mechanic since he’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 ‘Lucky Lady’) is good enough.
Bought new in 1997 for £16,640, this 20 year old car is now worth about £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 ‘some’ TLC (basically needs replacing)
Radio and other electronics broken
Many dents
Paint flaking off

[Hshan]

Ummm, how did you get 30 years? Aren’t we still in 2017? Or is it a car from 1987?