ISSUE N 1 HERE WE GO!
o.
TONY NIELSON NIGHT AT THE STAGES CRAFTY IN THE QLD EVO X GSR: FUN & PRACTICAL YEAR ‘ROUND
IRELAND: MAXIMUM ATTACK MARSHALS CLUB
ROSS COX IS R. SOUT IN QUEENSLAND IN 2013!
PLUS
YEAR OF THE SNAKE | COBRAS, VIPERS, & MORE! LUCKY 13 | EFFECTIVE NEW YEAR’S COMMITTMENTS DAILY DRIVER DOWN | BEING A BURDGEN ON THE WIFE & KIDS
STARTER
WHAT DID YOU DO ON SATURDAY? I MADE A FRIGGIN’ MAGAZINE. The plan for this weekend was to start putting the engine in my daily driver together and maybe, just maybe make a little headway on the first issue of Gearbox Magazine Magazine. Then my vehicle repair plans got rained out. (Which is ironic, considering I live in the middle of a desert.) My wife isn’t likely to be pleased about being stuck at home with a 3-month-old baby while I drive her still-smells-new Nissan Juke to work this week, but I like to think she’ll be impressed that I managed to build an entire magazine from scratch in that time. I hope you’ll be impressed too. I’m doing this for you, after all. You’ll probably find a typo or mistake or two, but I committed to publishing a more magazine-style version of GBXM content every month in 2013. It’s proving GEARBOX MAGAZINE IS: almost as hard as quitting smoking, which I did last • BRIAN DRIGGS, FOUNDER, EDITOR That’s it. A one-man show. One man who has a year. Maybe this is my big new year’s resolution. broken race car collecting dust in his garage, a broken truck in his driveway, a temporary filling WELCOME TO THE LEARNING CURVE in a failed root canal in his mouth, a full-time day This is my first foray into this realm of publishing. For job paying the bills since he makes no money at the first three months, I’m going to offer free, lifetime this (yet), and built 90% of this issue while singing subscriptions. I think that’s a pretty good idea. Now “The Wheels on the Bus Go ‘Round & ‘Round” & that I’ve got this proof of concept done, maybe I can other “Baby Einstein” hits to a 3-month old baby get the subscription sign-up form working on the sitting on the desk while mommy was out being a website, eh? wedding photographer on a rainy Saturday night. Thank you for reading Gearbox Magazine. I’d love a long term, reliable business partner. Go fast with class & press on regardless.
ABOUT GBXM | the mission
Stories of real people doing things with vehicles they actually own matter more than thinly veiled marketing-driven propaganda spun as helping sheep select their next consumer-grade appliances. We believe our shared passion for all things automotive unites us on a global scale, and that the things we have in common as gearheads empower us to get the most from our differences.
GEARBOX MAGAZINE. OF GEARHEADS. BY GEARHEADS. FOR GEARHEADS.
CONTENTS | what’s inside VOLUME I, ISSUE 01 - JANUARY 2013
THE EFFING COVER | TONY NIELSON This is the car the Mitsubishi service advisor buys for himself. At home carving corners on tarmac, gravel, & the open road. Fun & practical - and doesn’t need $$$ to be scary fast.
NIGHT AT THE STAGES | MAMC These Irish gearheads don’t DO rally. They ARE rally. Maximum Attack Marshals Club throws a party, raises some much needed cash, & tells us how it’s done.
CRAFTY IN QUEENSLAND | ROSS COX, R. SOUT
Our good friend Ross talks about placing in the championship despite a wonky engine, his current rebuild project, & a little bit about how his sponsorship hunt has paid off.
2013 | YEAR OF THE SNAKE According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2013 is the year of the snake. Here’s a look at the cars - and themes - we’ll be pursuing over the course of the year.
LUCKY 13 | MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK
This is the car the Mitsubishi service advisor buys for himself. At home carving corners on tarmac, gravel, & the open road. Fun & practical - and doesn’t need $$$ to be scary fast.
DAILY DRIVER DOWN | OH, FFS. Some projects are difficult not because they’re hard, but because you have to basically rebuild the engine to replace that one $50 part. Yeah. My wife just loves driving me to work in the morning.
EVO X GSR: FUN & PRACTICAL YEAR ‘ROUND
TONY NIELSON
He needed a fun & practical car he could drive year-round which wasn’t going to require US$15-$20,000 in modifications to be truly fast; something equally at home carving corners on tarmac (autox), gravel (rallyx), and the open road. Working as a service advisor at Vern Eide Mitsubishi in Sioux Falls, SD, he didn’t have to look very far. A 2011 Lancer Evolution GSR fit the bill nicely. BY BRIAN DRIGGS | IMAGES BY TONY NIELSON
A few months back, I did a story on TrueEvo.com, giving you a look behind the curtain at what it takes for an online community to evolve. Tony was the guy who took all the pictures used in that story. His GSR caught my eye, so I thought I’d reach out for an interview.
A DAILY DRIVER WITH PERFORMANCE & HANDLING IN MIND I asked Tony what makes the Evo “fun and practical” and what a newcomer to the platform might realistically expect from one. “The Evo is a fun, yet practical, car due to the turbocharged engine, ease of modification, and the sedan body style. These cars are about as close you can come to a race car without sacrificing comfort and modern day conveniences,” he told me, “The driveability is amazing. It’s a pretty much point and shoot car. The handling, power, comfort, and just overall fit and finish of the car is on par with what you would expect from a much higher dollar vehicle.”
• Chicago, IL (twice) – MWE (MidWestEvos, now TrueEvo) Spring Bash and vacation. • Valentine, NE – Tubing down the Niobrara River • Normal, IL (twice) - Mitsubishi Owner Day, aka: Factory MOD • Rapid City, SD (8-10 times) – simple holidays and the 605racing.com fall and spring cruise • Omaha, Nebraska – the Ice Cream Cruise
Tony went on, “The evo is a very good road car. Not the best in fuel economy, but it all depends on ROAD TRIPPING how hard you push her. The last trip we took, we In the first 14 months he had the Evo, Tony put over got 27.2 mpg (11.5 km/l) on one leg at 60-65 mph 21,000 miles (33,800 kilometers) on it. That’s a bit (95-105kph), so decent mileage is attainable. You on the higher end, don’t you think? Tony told me just have to be patient. I honestly have had 0 issues road trips are really enjoyable in the Evo, so he had with the car and how it performs. I could not ask for no trouble taking it out on the open road and log- a better platform to modify and continue to have ging the miles. fun with.”
PHILOSOPHY & MOD CHOICES
“The stance, in my opinion, is fitting the widest wheel/tire combo under your car without stretching the tire and still having it lowered down as much as possible without rubbing constantly. I put an 18×10.5 inch wheel with a 285/30-18 tire for daily driving use. The race car comment is based on the suspension setup I have. It is a stiffer rate spring-and-damper combo that is comfortable for the street but can still be tracked. It is a little rough compared to stock, but to me that just adds to the road feel of the car.”
When asked how his build philosophy has impacted his performance goals and modification choices, Tony told me, “The vehicle still has warranty, so my choices of mods have been of the non-voiding type. I did some Stance SS+ coilovers and Varrstoen 3.3.1 wheels in a 18 x 10.5 with a +22 offset, and a set of General Exclaim 285/30-18 tires. I have also installed an Injen intake and upper intercooler pipe, but I will be switching those out very soon for a better design. My goals for next spring will be to tune the car, put on a full turbo-back exhaust and GOING FAST WITH CLASS. different sway bars.”
PRESSING ON REGARDLESS.
STANCEWORDS Tony mentioned “stance.” He also mentioned coming close “to a race car without sacrificing comfort.” I asked how his choice of suspension, wheels, offset, and tires comes into play? Don’t those mods contribute to a rougher ride?
You can connect with Tony over on TrueEvo.com
IRELAND: MAXIMUM ATTACK MARSHALS CLUB
NIGHT AT THE STAGES Grassroots, clubman level rally all over the world generally needs two things badly – exposure and money. Night at the Stages appeared to tick both boxes, as a social, fundraising event. Straight up, this event looked interesting; the sort of events I’d probably want to attend, personally, so a PM (private message) was sent through the forum to the organizer, Barry Boyle, asking for the interview. BY BRIAN DRIGGS | IMAGES BY MAMC & FRIENDS
above: Jason Black, Mickysham, Stefan Lazzus, Keith Sheridan aka Little Man, Sean McElroy, Mark Fisher, Dubstep, Andy Deery, & Paul Gallagher (Club VP)
I joined RallyForums.com in April of 2006. Since then, I’ve made zero posts. Yeah. You could say I’m a lurker. Forums are the best place to find tech and community, and I want to support forums and communities, but running this site takes so much time, I just can’t be active everywhere. Fortunately, RallyForums sends out a pretty regular email with links to interesting goings on in their community. That’s where I came across Night at the Stages in Letterkenny, Ireland.
BARRY BOYLE: DOWN BUT NOT OUT I always start my interviews with introductions: Who are you, where do you live, and what do you do for a living? Barry replied, telling me, “I live in Letterkenny, County Donegal, the heartland of Irish Rallying. By trade I am an electrician, but due to the recent financial crisis my work is non-existent, so I am currently in business with my wife in her florist shop – until she kicks me out.”
MAXIMUM ATTACK MARSHALS CLUB The event was originally designed to be a fundraiser for Barry’s marshals club, Maximum Attack Marshals Club (check them out on Facebook), but quickly took on a life of its own and blossomed into a kind of end of season rally party. That’s right. This event was organized by a group of guys who work the stages. Here’s what they’re all about.
it for attendees? What should people expect from this event?
“We held the event on a Saturday night. It started at 9pm, had everyone in and seated by 10, served up some finger food (wings, cocktail sausages, spicy wedges, sandwiches, and the like), then Mr. Alan ‘Plum’ Tyndall got into his interviewing chair. I had lined up some of the past, present and future stars from Irish rallying which went down incredibly “Maximum Attack Marshal Club was founded in well, and we had a raffle for some rally related spot early 2011. Originally named Tirconnell Marshals prizes, followed with live music and dancing. It went Club, which morphed into its current form in April on until 4am.” 2012, when the core group came together. To date, we’ve marshaled at various forest and tarmac rallies, hill-climb events, and night navigation rallies across the border in both the north and south of Ireland. We pride ourselves on being truly crossborder and cross-community.” “We attend both Motorsport Ireland and Motor Sports Association (UK) training events with our core group, are trained to Stage Commander level, and are proud to be card carrying members of the Motorsport Marshalling Partnership. Our travels have given us the chance to meet all the famous drivers and co-drivers who endorse the club and the job that we do. From those rallies, we have been asked to marshal further afield - Jim Clark, Isle of Man, Cork – to name but a few. In the future we hope to build on the excellent work of our marshals and take on bigger roles at rallies.”
WHY “NIGHT AT THE STAGES?”
PLUM? PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE STARS OF IRISH RALLYING? As much time as I spend virtually traveling the world for these interviews, there’s only so much one person can keep up with. I asked Barry to help me out. Who is Alan ‘Plum’ Tyndall and why was he in the interviewing chari? “He’s the long time presenter of the Irish TV show RPM [check out the RPM YouTube channel - bd]. He is the voice of Irish Motorsport. For as long as I can remember, whenever I heard his voice, there was a rally or a race on the TV.” “Past masters on the night were James Cullen, the last Donegal man to win the Donegal International and Rory Kennedy, co-pilot to the late Bertie Fisher. Current stars were Garry Jennings, fast becoming a legend on the stages here, and Mark Fisher, Bertie’s nephew, who competes in the British Rally Championship and the European Rally Championship, (previously the IRC). Future stars included Barry McGill, current club champion, and Connor Harvey, last year’s club champion. Both lads are supremely talented.”
Simply enough, Barry told me, “I need radios, first aid equipment, a bunch of training for the members, and some way to subsidise transport costs for the events that are not local. The fundraiser was a way to gather up me cash.” Night at the Stages is a This being the first time this event was held, Barry fund-raiser, then. That makes sense, but what’s in had no idea who or how many would turn out. He
even faced a little skepticism from people who thought he couldn’t pull it off or thought it wouldn’t be a good time. “I’m glad to say they were wrong on both counts,” he said. In the end, they had around 150 people attend – some of which weren’t even rallyists – and Barry was well pleased with that, as he’d only pitched the event to the rally community.
GRAND PRIZE SUCCESS
THIS IS RALLY. Grassroots, clubman level rally all over the world generally needs two things badly – exposure and money – but neither of those matter without people. Despite the odds and the naysayers, Barry and team rolled up their sleeves and rolled out the red
carpet for the Irish rally community. This merry band of marshals brought everyone together, put on one I asked Barry about the prizes given away at Night at hell of a show, and raised enough money to keep the Stages and whether or not the event achieved Maximum Attack Marshals Club operating like a its purpose – to raise money for MAMC. “All prizes well-oiled machine. on the night were aimed at rally men, from the smallest gallon of oil right up to the signed framed KEEP GOING FAST WITH CLASS, MAMC, AND rally shirts,” he told me. “On the night, we had the PRESS ON REGARDLESS. Harvest Stages entry as grand prize. It’s worth €495, but made us just over €800.” Sounds like a success any way you slice it! “And yes, next years event is already in the works,” says Barry. “When I started the club, it was simply to give something back to the sport that has given me so much over the last thirty years, but in the last twelve months it has become something more; something bigger than I ever imagined. It’s like we have been brought into the heart of the rally community here in Ireland, which brings our club motto to life, We don’t do rally. WE ARE RALLY.”
above: Darryl Cooke aka Dubstep, Andy Deery, Anthony Hughes aka Artoir, Garry Jennings, Michael McLaughlin aka Mickysham, Adam McVeigh and Barry Boyle below: Barry Boyle, Dubstep, Mickysham, Adam McVeigh, Andy Deery, Niall Hatchell and Artoir, w/ Prodrive/MINI team
ROSS COX IS R. SOUT IN QUEENSLAND IN 2013!
CRAFTY IN THE QLD
“After spending September 2011 to May 2012 refurbishing the VR4 rally car, I put the engine and gearbox into the car a fortnight before I was to race in the International Rally of Queensland and went to start it. No go, and after some swearing and stripping of a newly finished engine loom, I discovered the ignition pulse wire to the transistor in the ignition system was folded back in the loom. A busy three nights to find that one.” BY BRIAN DRIGGS | IMAGES BY ROSS COX & FRIENDS
Within a month of attending my first stage rally, I had bought a 1991 Galant VR4 to begin building into a rally car of my own. I made my way to GalantVR4. org, where I happened across Ross Cox. He lives down under in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and rally races a 1989 Galant VR4. Within the first six months of launching GBXM, I was interviewing Ross. A couple months later, I caught up with him after Benarkin. Ross and I have kept in touch on
and off over the years, even shipping the odd car part back and forth, but we haven’t done another follow up interview. That changed recently.
SETBACKS “On the Wednesday before the event, I delivered the car to the dyno and received a call about 4 hours later; the bloke informed me the compression was 155/72/155/155 and he would be unable to
rollers. How did the R. Sout rally team fare? Ross told me, “We won P6 class [4WD cars built prior to January 1991] and finished 4th outright in the Queensland Championship. Admittedly there were only four cars in P6 this year, but consistent finishes in the championship were the telling point. I had no breakdowns OR offs sufficient to stop us finishing. Apart from general maintenance, the car performed flawlessly all year. An alternator failure in the penultimate multi-club rally was the only problem, and that happened on the liaison back to the service park after the event finished.” On top of that, newbie co-driver, Ian Swinbourne, was on-point with the notes, keeping them on time (and netting Swinbourne a 3rd place finish in the championship).
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
When I get back in touch with folks I’ve interviewed over the years, I like to ask where they’ve been and tune the car. He set the ignition map for me and where they’re going, but it’s also important to find I decided I would run the car as it was, as there out where they are right now. We all face setbacks was no real indication of excess oil loss/use and from time to time. It’s important we see how we’re the temp stayed stable. That engine ran faultlessly not alone in dealing with them. So where is Ross at all year, only starting to consume a little oil in the these days? second-to-last rally of the season. I put new oil and “The Minister for Finance and Recreation [wink] has a new filter into the car before Gallangowan 2012, lots of house jobs lined up for me during the sumhoping it would finish. We finished 14th outright, but mer. I will need to be a little crafty to spend time the smoke was appearing from the exhaust as the with the (VR4) mistress. I have the VR4 in the shed event went on.” waiting engine and gearbox rebuilds. Manley rods and pistons, nitrided crank, freshen up the head, ACHIEVEMENTS and maybe re-tune for no restrictor in the turbo.” The old saying goes, “In order to finish first, you Them Ozzie boys are lucky in that regulations have must first finish.” Fortunately, it sounds like Ross’s been changed. They no longer have to run the Galant held out for the duration. I know plenty of 34mm inlet restrictor on their turbochargers. He’s folks who won’t fart along in traffic with compres- also fitting an RS close ratio gearbox with a Torsension numbers like Ross had that fateful day on the Quaife front LSD. Should be fun to drive.
A LOOK AHEAD (SPONSORSHIP) “After such a fine year in 2012, Ian and I are aiming for a class win in 2013 and another Top 10 finish in the championship. It will be more of a challenge in 2013, as there quite a few cars being finished off for next season.” Fortunately, R. Sout has managed to nail down some solid sponsors for the 2013 season. Since sponsors can be hard to come by and I’m curious about how teams handle their business partners, I asked Ross for more details.
“Wholesale Building Solutions, from a country business centre type town called Gympie (pronounced “Gimpee”), at the Northern End of the Sunshine Coast. As they are reasonably new, the Principal, Karra Corbet, is looking for exposure to the population of the South-East corner of Queensland. The International Rally of Queensland (IRoQ) is held about 20kms (12mi) away from Gympie in the Imbil area. As 30-50,000 people watch the event over four days and the cars will transit back and forth on the highways, we could see it may be an attractive option. IRoQ also has VIP viewing areas to which Wholesale Building Solutions can send top customers and staff for a closeup, catered look at forest rallying,” Ross told me. VIP ride days are also incorporated into the IRoQ experience, and he coordinates other ride days throughout the year. Beyond that, two other Queensland Rally Championship events are held in the forests within 100km (60mi) of Gympie, meaning Ross and Ian will be getting Wholesale Building Solutions name in front of a lot of people, but they aren’t stopping with a couple stickers at a race or two. This is a serious partnership. “The company is involved in other social events in Gympie on a monthly basis
and we will have the car there, washed and cleaned up for static display to all who are in attendance,” Ross tells me. “The car will be liveried almost exclusively with Wholesale Building Solutions name and details, we will wear embroidered shirts at events, and have our rally pit area signed and bannered, too.” Sponsorship is all about relationships. The R. Sout team has been listening to potential sponsors in order to tailor a program to their unique needs. That’s how they’ve also received a cash sponsorship to go towards that rebuilt engine and gearbox, and earned some special attention from MCA Suspension at Landsborough on the Sunshine Coast, which should make the VR4 less of a handful over rough patches of road.
THANKS, ROSS!
NOW 2013 HAS A THEME
YEAR OF THE SNAKE In 2010, I interviewed the owner of a different Mitsubishi Evolution every month. I’m going to try doing something similar in 2013, only even moreso. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2013 is the year of the snake. These digital pages stand to slither with all manner of Cobras, Super Snakes, and Vipers. BY BRIAN DRIGGS | IMAGE (I WISH I KNEW)
This is going to be such a challenge for this currently one-man operation after work (between bottles and dirty diapers), don’t be surprised to see a Mercury Monterey in here because Stallone drove one in the movie Cobra. I don’t know these circles as well as I do my Mitsubishi family, so it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds. (I’m counting on you for tips and ledes!)
TRAITS OF THE SNAKE This doesn’t mean I’ll just be talking to people with Fords and Dodges next year. Far from it! The snake is a state of mind. I’m always after some new questions to ask people, so these look good. Here’s a couple examples to give you a better idea what I’m talking about. INTELLIGENCE – lessons learned GRACEFULLNESS – cool under pressure MATERIALISM – The things we own end up owning us. So why do we own some of the things we own? CALMNESS – find your “happy place”
MANAGING WORKLOADS – finding balance BOREDOM – keeping things exciting CREATIVITY – solving new problems DILIGENCE – finishing what we start I’m going to be asking people a lot of the same questions I always have – the idea, here, is to show you what you have in common with others in the hopes you start to see our combined strength when we work together as gearheads united – but I’m also going to try keeping a theme over the course of the year. The traits of the snake scratch the surface of issues we all face as gearheads; applying past experience to current projects, managing our tempers and workloads, preventing project burnout, and creatively advancing our platforms.
SNAKES ARE NOTORIOUSLY COLD-BLOODED I’m off to a slow start, but the snakes are coming very soon. Might just have to double up next issue. Already have a Cobra-powered Panther, Viper, Mustang Cobra, & Cobra kit car in the works.
ASK YOURSELF ONE QUESTION
LUCKY 13
Resolutions. Broken so quickly, with so little resolve behind them, the word is almost meaningless. In fact, this age old tradition upon the arrival of a new year, once viewed as an opportunity to double-down and make that big, meaningful change in life, is now reduced to cheap punchlines and a reminder of how little we truly value the limited time we have to really live. BY BRIAN DRIGGS | IMAGE WARNER BROS.
I’m just as guilty as everyone else! In my 35 years on this planet, I’ve only kept one resolution – to quit smoking – which I did last year. Sure, I cheated now and again, smoking a total of 8 cigarettes in 2012, but compared to the over 9,000 I smoked in 2011, I’m calling it a success.
us toward our dreams. You don’t need some giant, corporate holiday to give you permission to change your life. You can do it right now. And it’s as simple as asking yourself one question you can’t forget.
For 2013, I thought I’d resolve to quit drinking sodas – diet or otherwise. As I sit here typing this up offthe-cuff on the 3rd of January, I’ve already averaged two sodas per day for every day of the year. This isn’t to say I’m going to give up, though. It’s not an all-or-nothing affair. I don’t have to wait another year to realize the benefits of cutting caustic, chemicalladen beverages from my diet.
That’s it. That’s the question. And the more you ask it, the more powerful it gets. Here, I’ll even give you a personal example. You know what I really want for my life? I want this little magazine project to evolve into something I can do full time, so I can spend my days talking to other gearheads, visiting them all over the world, all while building and playing with my own cars back at home with my daughter, who I hope grows up to be a gearhead too.
ASK YOURSELF ONE QUESTION I saw something kinda remarkable on Facebook this morning. (Seriously. Don’t laugh.) A guy I went to high school with, and with whom I’ve had no contact beyond the generic “friend request,” pointed out that every single moment in our lives – including right now, as you’re reading these words – is an opportunity for us to take actions which steer
Is this getting me closer to what I want?
Is this – writing another article for GBXM – getting me closer to what I want? Yes. Other sites might churn out dozens of stories every day in an effort to keep you coming back for more (because they make their money based on the number of times they put advertising in front of you), but I’m in this to get you thinking about how you’re much, much more than just that guy or gal who “plays with cars”
you can come up with the idea, you can make it happen. Asking that one simple question is the easy part. Doing the work is the hard part. The more we ask ourselves that question, the more tension we create inside our heads to roll up our sleeves and just get it over with – whatever it is that’s standing between us and those dreams. Commit to achieving something epic for yourself this year. You can do it. I quit smoking last year. That’s big shoes for me to fill, but I’m going to fill ‘em. I’m going to get my at the office. Damnit, you’re part of a truly worldwide Pajero, Rocinante the Fun Cooker, back together community which transcends geo-political borders. and running better than it ever has. I’m going to take You’re self-sufficient, well-connected, and empow- it camping and see just what those fancy, “Aussie ered through your experiences. Am I writing another Crawler Gears” I bought with a truck attached to review of some generic, commuter appliance or the them can really do. I’m going to get 195, my Galant latest industry news you can find on 100 websites VR4 rally/race car, back together and out to a race in less than 10 seconds? No. I’m trying to help you track or two. And I’m going to get this magazine snap out of the consumer mindset and realize the looking like a real magazine, printed if at all possistuff that matters TO YOU. ble, before the year is done. Is this getting me closer to what I want? You tell me. Someday MY Galnt will cross muddy rivers...
Then tell me what you want to do this year. You feel lucky? Well, do ya? (PS: We’ve got our own little, subscribers-only forum. Have you registered, yet? We could help each other finally get shit done this year, you know.)
And if my Pajero looks anything like this when I’m done…? [inspiration courtesy: Greg & West County Explorers Club]
Which is why I’m sitting in here typing this up on a sunny afternoon off work, while my daily driver sits in the driveway with a partially torn-down engine under the hood, still waiting on me to relocate the front differential, remove the oil pan, and get the front case off so I can replace that oil pump what jammed up and started popping oil filters all over my driveway. This is getting me closer to what I want to do – serve my fellow automotive enthusiasts for a living.
COMMITMENTS > RESOLUTIONS > DREAMS At the risk of sounding like some kind of poof, you are worth it. Don’t let yourself fall into the resolutions trap. Every unrealized dream is a travesty. If
I SEE IN GEARHEADS THE STRONGEST AND SMARTEST MEN & WOMEN WHO HAVE EVER LIVED. I SEE ALL THIS POTENTIAL, AND I SEE IT SQUANDERED. GODDAMMIT, AN ENTIRE GENERATION SUCKING UP MARKETING-DRIVEN SPIN, RECORDING MINDLESS TELEVISION PROGRAMS, SLAVES WITH WHITE COLLARS. ADVERTISING HAS US CHASING CARS AND CLOTHES, WORKING JOBS WE HATE SO WE CAN BUY SHIT WE DON’T NEED. WE’RE THE MIDDLE CHILDREN OF HISTORY, MAN; NO PURPOSE OR PLACE. WE HAVE NO GREAT WAR, NO GREAT DEPRESSION. OUR GREAT WAR IS A SPIRITUAL WAR. OUR GREAT DEPRESSION IS OUR LIVES. WE’VE ALL BEEN RAISED BY TELEVISION TO BELIEVE THAT ONE DAY WE’D ALL BE MILLIONAIRES AND MOVIE GODS AND ROCK STARS. BUT WE WON’T; AND WE’RE SLOWLY LEARNING THAT FACT. AND WE’RE VERY, VERY PISSED OFF. THE FIRST RULE OF GEARHEADS UNITED IS - YOU TALK ABOUT GEARHEADS UNITED.
GEARHEADS UNITED
INSPIRATION
ROCINANTE THE NOT-SO-FUNCOOKER
DAILY DRIVER DOWN
In 2010, I interviewed the owner of a different Mitsubishi Evolution every month. I’m going to try doing something similar in 2013, only even moreso. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2013 is the year of the snake. These digital pages stand to slither with all manner of Cobras, Super Snakes, and Vipers. BY BRIAN DRIGGS
I apologize for the scarcity of new stories lately. GBXM is back to being a solo venture (ahem – serious partnership inquiries welcome), my new day job is a 24/7/365 business, so I’ve had to step up and cover some oddball shifts – including a couple 12-hour, overnight shifts – and, to top it all off, Rocinante (pronounced: RO-see-non-tay), my 1989 Mitsubishi Pajero daily driver, recently jammed-up its oil pump, making it undriveable.
VEHICLE OPERATORS ARE NOT DRIVERS It seems like any mouth-breather with $20 can get
a license these days. Which is why I’ve decided it makes more sense to put my car money into a race car. The problem with driving a nice, new car is that some clueless asshat will be texting or fiddling with his iPod or trying to impress the person in the passenger seat or just plain not paying any attention when he or she slams into that nice, new car. So you invest in a nice car for the race track, where pretty much everyone knows how to drive. The nice thing about daily driving a beat-ass, $2000 vehicle is that you don’t have to worry about making it pretty after a minor wreck. More often than not,
you can get a salvage title, drop $200 on junk yard parts and spray paint, and put the balance of that $2000 insurance check into the race car. Of course, the bad thing about daily driving a beat-ass, $2000 vehicle is that you do have to worry about the ticking time bomb of previous owner maintenance shortcomings inconveniencing the shit out of you.
THE MOST INVOLVED OIL PUMP REPLACEMENT Oil pump replacement is generally on the more involved end of the maintenance spectrum; you’ve probably got a timing belt and such to remove to gain access to it, but this is the first time I’ve found the oil pump practically required a full rebuild. I mean, at this point, I might as well throw new rings and bearings in it, ya know?
manifold gasket in an attempt to quiet things down. Apparently, I missed a gaping crack in the #4 runner, but that’s not all! Upon crawling back under the truck with the impact gun to spin the nuts loose on the manifold-to-downpipe connection, I discovered 2/3 of them weren’t even there! Wow. Just. Wow.
Here’s what the engine bay in my daily driver looks like right now.
And where do you put all the filthy bits you remove from your engine bay? In the back, of course. A lot of this is hopefully going to the shop for a good solvent bath and/or media blast this week. Yay.
I’VE JUST BEEN A LITTLE BUSY, YA KNOW?
I’m not giving up on GBXM. Far from it. In fact, I’m On the G54B in my Pajero, the oil pump is located still working on a lot of awesome stories from all behind the timing and balance shaft chains, behind over the world on the back end. I’m really stoked the front case, which is wedged between the head about the stuff coming this month and this year. and oil pan. So the head had to come off. Fine. I If you’ve ever had to get your daily driver back had to pull it to replace the $5 plug leaking from together the night before you need it to get to work, the back of the head that was 1″ from the firewall, you understand where I am these days. Add a new making replacement otherwise impossible anyway. baby at home and you can imagine how ridiculous I finally figured out how to lift the head off over the it gets having to load up mommy and baby to drive timing chain (tip: the cam gear is a 2-piece affair), daddy to work and then come back and pick him but that only revealed more filth and grime and stuff up later. needing removed. Like the AC compressor, alternator, power steering pump, and brackets for each. Of course, then I couldn’t fully scrape the oily sludge off the block without getting 3ft of 1/2″ extensions out, crawling under the truck, and and snaking them over the transfer case, past the transmission bellhousing, to get the starter bolts loose enough to remove from the engine bay. A few weeks back, I replaced the exhaust
copyright 2013, gbxm|united, all rights reserved