At some point we’re collectively going to have to move away from the right seat instruction model. It works great for autocross, but the risk-reward trade off doesn’t scale up well to the track (and especially not when 300+ horse power is norm and not the exception). I imagine enough of these incidents will eventually…

That is basically my plan. They can just dig a bigger hole and put the car in the ground, too. No need to take me out of what’s left of the racecar.

I think that pink and blue scheme is much more windows 3.1 time frame.

I love it when you use the term cooling module. I wish more folks used it.

I used to own a 2002 F-250 in this color combination (although mine was an extended cab, 2wd and had a cab height shell on the back). It was glorious.

While the four to six weeks expectation isn’t unreasonable to plan on, they’re actually moving faster than that right now. I renewed my passport last month in Texas and got my new passport book and card in two weeks without paying for expedited processing or overnight mailing. In a marvel of efficiency, I did get…

Alternative fact:

The new F-150 has a single, intentionally simply to remove plug for the backup camera wiring. The whole thing is supposed to be simple to remove for owners. They even come with a cover for the wiring socket in the glove box to protect it after the tailgate is stolen removed. Although the tailgate locks with the doors,…

You could also call it the General Sherman and paint some flames on it.

I bought a new F-150 last year specifically because it had an aluminum body and a small displacement, twin-turbo charged V-6.

Torch, did you tap into the parking light wire as a power lead or signal wire for those fog lights? If you did the former, those fog lights may pull a lot more current through the parking light circuit than it is designed to handle. This is too happy a car to have something sad like an electrical fire happen. A better…

I immediately thought of your car when I saw the article. I’m glad you commented.

That should’ve been read as “I showed him my car in his mirrors coming into nearly every corner on the track for long enough that he started driving by his mirrors, then he blew a braking point and spun off the track.” :)

I got to race in the snow during my first SCCA road racing weekend at the now defunct Second Creek Raceway outside of Denver in late March 2004. The school was on Friday, and I got waived on the second school requirement and was cleared to race the double regional the following Saturday and Sunday. Practice and…

Riveted ball joints are common. Why on earth did you drill out the rivets? Pro tip: take a cut off wheel to the tops of the rivets and then an air chisel with a narrow bit to drive out the rest of the rivet. The ball joint will be removed from the control arm in not more than a few minutes per joint.

This is fantastic, and it beats my best cone story. I’ve never been hit by a cone, but I have been stopped by one our on course.

Indeed. They are not good for tall folks. Add in a couple of inches of body armor and sapi plates making you sit further forward in the seat, and my 5"7 self almost had my knees in the dash of the passenger seat.

That giant hump running down the center is actually the drivetrain, which is tucked up for increased ground clearance. They actually have an amazingly small amount of space inside. In actual use, the forward part of that giant console is taken up with a couple of radios and a blue force tracker, and the rear part of…

“that name’s been opening doors for Marco Andretti all these years...”

Torque went up to 525ft/lbs by the end of the 7.3 era in 2002, primarily through improvements to the turbo and going to split-shot injectors.