Progress updates...

[JThw8]

Actually motoring may be a bad term since I still havent driven the danged thing. But I thought I would pop in with an update lest everyone think I am just letting this Scorp sit and waste away, fear not.

In the last 20 days since her arrival I have had to replace calipers, pads, and rotors on the rear (Thanks Bruce) I managed to get the timing belt and tensioner done (the job just doesnt get more enjoyable no matter how often you do it) only to find out the radiator was toast when I went to bleed the system. Good used radiator installed today. Running well. Also installed a CSC header and exhaust, welded up the floors and have begun fitting the racing seats (cheap Sparco knock offs) and 5 point harnesses.

Still need to complete a tune up, remove the smog junk, and finish the interior before next sunday for the first race. Hoping to be done before then so I can drag it down to Bruces for the event on the 3rd.

Once the first race is out of the way, I will go back to redoing the interior (just getting the seats in for now) and prepping for paint. Still undecided on the color, but it will be unusual...that Im sure of. Second race is April 25th, will be a rush to have body and paint done before that, if not, then I have a 2 month break between races to finish it. Keeping it to CSP standars for the time being.

Something needs to be done with the suspension....if anyone knows of cheap alternatives for the Scorpion susupensions Id love to hear them. Give as much detail as you can as I am suspension illiterate :)

[Warren Horby]

Good to hear things are going along.
Buy the book " How to Make Your Car Handle" by HP Books.
This should be your new Bible.
With the springs you have, cut them down for now and sort the car first.
Then introduce small changes one at a time. It should take you all summer to sort the car but then next year look out. You will be fast off of the mark. Remember the one simple thing, KISS. In Grasroots they had an article on expensive VS OEM suspensions a few months ago. ( interesting) The article basically boiled down to, money doesen't always buy you speed and the FTD. They found that the expensive suspension didn't really gain you any thing and to use what you have to it's full potential first before venturing into the exotic stuff. This month they have an article on big tires and rims. That was interesting as well. If you want to chat about suspensions pm me and we can talk.

Cheers

[Will]

I've heard there are some Bilstiens that can be fitted, but don't know the details. Koni's are very hard to find- no longer produced. They are supposedly rebuildable, but then there have been those that were not.
Coil over kits, etc- available from Grond Effects. The stock struts are supposedly rebuildable, and possibly the valving can be changed, but I have no idea how- even after reading Bernie Benz's "How to Rebuild Beta Struts for Idiots" article!
The esteemed Mr. Norton of integrale fame agreed to show me how to do it if I travelled down there, apparently he has an array of suitable seals.
The ultimate solution IMO is the LEDA struts Chad sells, at $1600 they should come with a complimentary divorce lawyer. She gets the house- you get the garage!
Wheels and rims: For autocross, I doubt there is anything better and cheaper than the stockers. Going to 14" or 15" rims will slow down an unwarmed 1800 pitifully. Add to that, additional weight. If I had to step up, I'd go with the Beta 14" wheels (cheap). The 15" ROH's on my car are way too big and heavy for the pathetic stock 1800 setup IMO.
Only if the autocrosses I was running were of the wide-open variety, i.e. tailored to vettes, big sedans, and the like, would I consider going up to 14's to beat the 3rd gear changeup. It's easier to just wind the hell out of the 1800 in most cases (personal opinion- and I don't autocross a whole lot).
You'll likely be disappointed with how slow the car is at first, then when you accept the fact that the M3's are ALWAYS going to be 6-8 seconds ahead of you, you can get focused on consistancy.
I personally run the first lap wild, which I know will be my slowest time, and then try for four percent per run improvement after that.
We have monster autocross courses up here that the BMWCCA sets up, with run times in the ~60's. You might think about coming up during your "break" in S-Jersey races.
(Lots of personal opinion above- bound to be dissenters. And YES, I know you can get 13" Kaisers, I figure they are outside the immediate budget.)
-Will

[JThw8]

You both make points which are consistent with my current thinking. I dont intend to do anything radical with the car right away. This year will at best be a shake down year to work the rest of the bugs and demons out of the car. I will most likely try cutting the springs a bit, I have had good success with it before but Im always a little wary of it.

Wheel choice, at least the first race or 2 will definitely be on the stock rims. I have a set of 14" MSWs from a previous car which I may try to fit, they are reasonably light (not keiser light though) but the tires on them are ancient. If the stockers didnt have great tires on them I would put some autocross rubber on them and run the 14s on the street but I hate to waste good tires and buy 2 sets, but I may just run the 13s till they die this season and do it anyway. BTW, for a cheaper alternative to Keiser (which I may entertain later) Real makes some aluminum wheels which are about 2 lbs heavier but much stronger, alot of the Formula Vee guys have been switching to them from the fragile Keisers, and they usually run about $100 per wheel, not too shabby.

I will look for that book, everything I know about susupensions has come from the old timers who taught me to autocross in the first place, and although they did some great things, they could never really explain the whys and hows, they just knew it worked so they did it.

I have no dillusions of this car EVER being competitive in CSP, and I want to keep it for street use so I dont see myself modifying it beyond that. I will work out all the bugs this year, and over the winter maybe go for more (anyone got a spare 2 litre running around?) As long as Im having fun with it, thats all that matters. Who knows, maybe I will finish off one of my VWs over the summer and sell it to finance an X1/9 race project and keep the Scorpion for the street....thank god my wife doesnt read this.