Did I mention I love turbos?

It's true, despite my ramblings about Tracers. I love turbos. I have some talk about the Mustang SVO ahead and my drooling over a Volvo 850R. The Tracer is fun in itself because it's basic and uncomplicated, but when everything comes together on a turbo car it's pure bliss. It's a peformance car working undercover, so when you really mash it it's like the car was all along taking a sunday stroll and now it's coming to life and breaking out the full-steam sprint.

Enter the 1984 Mustang SVO. I had it long before the Tracer but it often takes a back burner when major changes have to be made to it and so it just sits at my parents' house a lot. A lot of the work was already done when I got the car but I've made many improvements and repairs to clean up some of the work that was done and make it better.



The wheels were my choice, I bolted the lower wing back on, and I switched to single turbo with a header and exhaust of my own design. The car is also running the Megasquirt Engine Management taken from another nonoperational car of mine.







Click any of the pictures to see my albums.

The Mustang is up for sale with a laundry list of modifications, but it is very hard to sell such an intensive project that is unfinished. My intention lately is to get rid of it in favor of something still fast, fun and turbocharged, yet luxurious, quiet, and visually appealing. Thus, the Volvo 850R with a 240 hp turbocharged 5-cylinder engine, sport suspension, beautiful OEM wheels, and many creature comforts. The main drawback is its front-wheel-drive layout and standard automatic transmission (no manual available in the 850R or T5 models). Though a manual can be swapped in from other models. I'm seriously considering getting one and we'll see if I can tolerate the automatic transmission. The whole point of course is to stop having so many projects and to just enjoy having a nice car. Well enough with that long paragraph, let's have some pictures!

The 850R was offered in both estate (wagon) form:


and in sedan form (the yellow is especially rare):


I hope that in a few weeks or months I'll be posting up pictures of my own!

(Pro-Tip: The Mustang has a Volvo cylinder head. More info here: SVO CarDomain Page)

The Tracernator

I should've updated on the Tracer a long time ago. I had to put on a new head as the one that overheated was so bad it melted the aluminum between two cylinders and around the valve seats, exposing the seats themselves. That particular piston was also a little melted yet the cylinder walls got away with only some slight scoring (which could've been there already).



I've never seen an engine that smelled so awful inside as this one did after burning up the oil. I worked all night with Aaron to get this head swapped out, as they were recoating our lot the next day and it needed to be moved. Fortunately the towing guy (NOT Valley, I can tell you that right now) was nice enough to move it to a different lot for free anyway, so I finished it there. I scratched my head for another day as to why it would only run on 2 cylinders and went through all kinds of tests and checks thinking I did something wrong or the block was messed up somehow but I knew it couldn't be. I kicked myself when I realized I put the plug wires on the distributor in the wrong order. *sigh* Ah well, it happens to the best of us. Switched that around and it ran amazingly well considering what it had been through.



The Tracer certainly isn't what I had planned to get when I picked it up, as it's not in very good shape. The leaks, rust, and trashed interior all make it a beater, but there's no denying how tough the Escort/Tracer/Protege platform is. I even took it on track at Summit Point in lieu of the SVO and other than finding that the radiator was the weak point in the cooling system it did quite well with no mechanical problems. I definitely didn't fit in with the type of cars that were on track that weekend though and really learned what a challenge open track driving is.





I'll be back soon with more updating.

I blew up the Tracer

So I just got this 92 Tracer LTS. It's a Tracer, yes. But, the LTS has the 1.8L Mazda BP which equals more fun. And fun it was all the way to Hickory, NC to a graduation, rolling at 70+ MPH with cruise control and 4/70 air condition (ask later if you don't know). On the way back, however, was a different story. Everything was going smoothly about 40 miles out of Hickory on I-77 when I felt some stumbling of the engine and looked down to see a pegged temperature gauge and check engine light. I shut the car down and moved to the side of the road, but alas it was too late. Boiled oil and likely blown headgasket. Let's hope the headgasket is all it needs.

$357, 120 miles, and some 4 hours later I'm finally home, a mere 5 hours late. Missed a graduation party and have no car to boot. Oh well, try to fix this engine and if it comes down to it maybe it'll be a good excuse to swap in a GTX (turbo) engine (or a KL? Hmmm....). Thanks to All-American Towing from Troutman, NC. They're good guys and $357 is still a reasonable cost for that kind of distance. Once you've been sitting on the side of the interstate for a couple hours in the heat it seems like a fair price to pay to get loaded up and on your way... *sigh*

It's kind of humbling in a way and it also reminds me that cars will break, even stock cars, and when you least expect it, so don't get careless. (Note to self: Start a towing business.)

I'm Back

Wow, it's been a while, eh? I dug this thing up, added a couple friends' blogs to watch and I guess I should give an update. A lot has happened obviously and it might be hard to organize thoughts from the last 2-3 years. I'm now a Junior at Virginia Tech, yes it's taking a long time but I'm back on track pretty well and getting into interesting stuff as I pursue an Electrical Engineering degree. To make a long story short, I failed my spring 2006 semester, was suspended a semester while I worked an intern job, and then quite turned things around upon returning. Of course the semester I was gone, fall 2006, Morva went on a rampage, and the next semester when I returned saw Virginia Tech take a place in infamy (April 16th, 2007). And certainly you've heard what happened recently, this Spring 2009 semester started off quite tragically as well. I don't need to go over those things at all though, you can find out all about them elsewhere. Just know what a trip it has been.

I also lost two friends last month, one to suicide and one unknown. I write this so that some may come across it in passing when I direct them here, so much easier than bringing it up in person. Only thing else I can say about that is never take for granted those you know, you will miss them when they're gone.