Only if you were wanting a ‘Project Car from Hell’ candidate! Structural rust = RUN AWAY!!! It looks like every bolt on this rig is one wrench twist away from the head snapping off and I don’t like my tap set that much. Also, where are the sweet 16in three-spokes that are supposed to come with the car? I remember…

“Sometimes life really IS a slippery slope.”

Hey! Don’t make fun of those idiots! That’s my job security you’re talking about (day job: research engineer for jet engine noise control)!

Going back in the past, NASA worked on a mothership design to transport the Space Shuttle called the VIRTUS. It looked a lot like the Stratolaunch concept and was based on two B-52 fuselages. There were some wind tunnel tests at NASA Langley in the 14x22ft Wind Tunnel, but it turned out to be cheaper to go with a…

The YB-49 was a jet-powered version of the XB/YB-35 which had embedded radial engines and rear-mounted pusher props. My aircraft performance professor was an engineer at Pratt back in those days. He told us a story about them doing ground tests of the engine/driveshaft/prop assembly. The driveshaft for those was…

Because of the Reynolds’ numbers achievable in the NTF (highest in the world), the models have to be constructed to exacting detail and polished to produce results that will match a real version in flight. Each model can cost over $1M.

If it is like other NTF models, it’s made of a high-nickel content stainless steel called ‘Vascomax’. Vascomax is very ductile which keeps the model from getting brittle when the tunnel runs in cryo mode (-250degF).

This model is being tested at the National Transonic Facility at NASA Langley. They are using a semi-span mount so they only have to build one half of the design and it allows the model to be a larger scale.

Cars.com shows that there is only one for sale in the entire US. There are more Bugatti Veyrons listed for sale than this people-mover Merc!

The designer of the YF-23 was on my Master’s thesis committee: Robert Sandusky. He also designed the fantastic, but ultimately unsuccessful, F-20 Tigershark. The -23 is a pretty plane but doesn’t hold a candle to this:

Show up for the BMWCCA Oktoberfest next month at NJMP to get in some track time. We don’t care what you bring as long as it’s cool and the Skyline qualifies. You can run Thunderbolt one day and do the autocross the next. They have a special class for non-BMW’s so if you can beat out my friend in his WRX, you’ll get a…

I really should be replacing the cabin fan controller on my ‘02 Saab 9-5 Aero. I’ve had the part for months but don’t relish the NINE HOURS it’s going to take to install it.

There was another Saab that could do this without the trays: the original 9000. In those cars, water would get inside the parking brake cable housing and freeze preventing you from releasing the rear brakes. Throw in some snow and you were making more doughnuts than the staff at Krispy Kreme.

I think you’re confusing ‘well dialed with your inner peace’ with ‘high as hell from the giant bowl we just smoked’.

The seat wear concerns me more. I’d guess the driver was one big dude.

I had the same reaction as everyone else at first, but this is a piece of wood trim and is finished to look that way.

I have a dadbod and your advice is a good starting point, but if you really want to get things going, I suggest reading:

Being 6’ 5” with long arms, my go-to move is to grab the other guy’s kart and pull him back so I can pass. It’s a slingshot move without the drafting. Used it to beat my dad at a kart track in Myrtle Beach. Ahh, memories!

Do mean Muroc (as in Muroc dry lake) or are you really referencing an old A-Team episode?

First of all, nice photo! Now, on to the discussion.