imported_Marcus
Jul 13th, 2003, 05:21:42 PM
About 2.5 years ago in fact, i promised I would do this. I would post pics here of the Galant VR-4, finished and in action. Heh, 2.5 years is a while, but there was a lot to do building one of these things. Yesterday, it raced. So, here they are and some others, plus commentary
You know how good it feels to actually finish something of that complexity and difficulty? Man, I am happy to burst.
------
Despite the fact I'm now carrying a stuffed finger or two from bashing a rollcage, yesterday was genuinely a great day for me. It saw the debut of ther VR-4 as a race car, not just as a project. It proved better than I could have ever expected. It was also the oddest handling car I have ever driven, it didnt slide or turn as 2wd front or rear drives. It sort of drifted rather than slid. Very odd feel.
Pictures we got. Lots of pictures. Here are some. We have video as well which is eyeopening and shows what we mean by drifting.
But before I post pics, consider this - my other car there on the day was a Holden Barina, a 1.3 litre shitbox, with about 40 hp, no handling etc. The vr-4 is a 270 hp purpose built 4wd turbo monster. You think the Barina stood no chance, right......?
read on
<img src=http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/1.jpg>
Thar Ari lurks. Ready to go
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/2.jpg
and again. Ready to race
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/3.jpg
Ahhh, now this thing is ridiculous. A tiny Toyota Starlet, with a 1.3 litre motor, that's turbo'ed. Does 16.2 on the quarter mile with huge amounts of wheelspin. Amazing little thing.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/4.jpg
My brothers car. RX-2, pushing 250 hp. Wild axle breaker. This does 13 sec quarters and would nearly beat the VR-4 in a drag race on tarmac. With home built carbon fibre intake system and EFI.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/5.jpg
The rollerskate. A 40 hp Holden Barina. It's my runaround car, a shitbox we decided to enter with, just for a giggle. Little did we realise what would transpire through the day and finally earn this car some respect, fleeting as it was
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/24.jpg
Waiting to pounce
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/25.jpg
Pulsar SSS, quit e neat car and quite well driven by my brother's g/f
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/26.jpg
RX-2 again. The lights work, even if they look odd.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/27.jpg
Helen being chauffeured.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/30.jpg
There it is again. By now, we were suddenly aware this thig can go through flag tests much quicker than we had thought possible. It doesnt wheelspin (no power to), is narrow so it squeezes though narrow places, and handbrakes incredibly well. It's not good enough to fling about to have fun, so you can only try to go fast.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/31.jpg
Lurk lurk lurk. Phear me, flags.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/33.jpg
Ooh, shiney!
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/34.jpg
End of day and all gone well. Everyone who drove Ari agreed the 3 years spent working on it were worth it. It's a brillinat and fun thing to drive, if unsuited to flag racing (motorkhanas). Not open enough, though it is spectaclar when it drifts. Both to watch and drive. and the hp is addictive and comes on in an insane rush.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/36.jpg
Helen
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/40.jpg
Okay, sleepy time now. Job well done
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/42.jpg
Doug, Helen's brother. He got a wild ride hen.... ahhh see a bit further down
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/43.jpg
Me, giggling and laughing after....... see below
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/44.jpg
My brother, laughing like a loon after....... see below
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/46.jpg
Helen having a great time being flung about int he passenger seat.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/48.jpg
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/45.jpg
Would you belive the Barina, a heap of crap, won the day. It beat all comers. Much disbelief and shaking of heads. But, flag tests are now rallies - this is probably the only race type the Barina could ever be suited to. And, stunningly fo rus who laughed at it, it's perfecteld suited and just plain quick in it. Anything longer and wider, it's going to get blown away. Still...... who would have thought it?????
I referred to a see below. Well, see here. The VR-4 was an unknown to us and as I said earlier, handles different. Much different. Drifting a 4wd is not easy nor is it natural. However, some of us got the hang of it and ended up with 50m power drifts with the turbo and motor howling, dirt and grass beign thrown in all directions. I am pleased to say I worked it out first- by the end of the day Peter and Tim also got the hang of it and were drifting spectaclarly too. However one run with Doug in the car ended not quite to plan.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/48.jpg
Have a look at the dirt and grass being thrown everywhere.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/49.jpg
Getting a drift started.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/50.jpg
WE HAVE DRIFT!!!
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/51.jpg
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/52.jpg
I discovered that 4wd's dont just drift. They also do insane high speed donuts, all four wheels spinning. Photo 2 is the donut, .5 sec after photo 1. It got the crowd cheering, got me laughing liek a loon and Doug was just flat out impressed. Whhhooooooo yeah.
And that, is the end result of 2.5 years of work. All who did the work and who drove it, all agreed, it was more than worth it. The VR-4 is incredible and a ball of fun. Even if the Barina did beat it.
Which was probably the most absurd thing about the whole day
You know how good it feels to actually finish something of that complexity and difficulty? Man, I am happy to burst.
------
Despite the fact I'm now carrying a stuffed finger or two from bashing a rollcage, yesterday was genuinely a great day for me. It saw the debut of ther VR-4 as a race car, not just as a project. It proved better than I could have ever expected. It was also the oddest handling car I have ever driven, it didnt slide or turn as 2wd front or rear drives. It sort of drifted rather than slid. Very odd feel.
Pictures we got. Lots of pictures. Here are some. We have video as well which is eyeopening and shows what we mean by drifting.
But before I post pics, consider this - my other car there on the day was a Holden Barina, a 1.3 litre shitbox, with about 40 hp, no handling etc. The vr-4 is a 270 hp purpose built 4wd turbo monster. You think the Barina stood no chance, right......?
read on
<img src=http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/1.jpg>
Thar Ari lurks. Ready to go
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/2.jpg
and again. Ready to race
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/3.jpg
Ahhh, now this thing is ridiculous. A tiny Toyota Starlet, with a 1.3 litre motor, that's turbo'ed. Does 16.2 on the quarter mile with huge amounts of wheelspin. Amazing little thing.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/4.jpg
My brothers car. RX-2, pushing 250 hp. Wild axle breaker. This does 13 sec quarters and would nearly beat the VR-4 in a drag race on tarmac. With home built carbon fibre intake system and EFI.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/5.jpg
The rollerskate. A 40 hp Holden Barina. It's my runaround car, a shitbox we decided to enter with, just for a giggle. Little did we realise what would transpire through the day and finally earn this car some respect, fleeting as it was
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/24.jpg
Waiting to pounce
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/25.jpg
Pulsar SSS, quit e neat car and quite well driven by my brother's g/f
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/26.jpg
RX-2 again. The lights work, even if they look odd.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/27.jpg
Helen being chauffeured.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/30.jpg
There it is again. By now, we were suddenly aware this thig can go through flag tests much quicker than we had thought possible. It doesnt wheelspin (no power to), is narrow so it squeezes though narrow places, and handbrakes incredibly well. It's not good enough to fling about to have fun, so you can only try to go fast.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/31.jpg
Lurk lurk lurk. Phear me, flags.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/33.jpg
Ooh, shiney!
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/34.jpg
End of day and all gone well. Everyone who drove Ari agreed the 3 years spent working on it were worth it. It's a brillinat and fun thing to drive, if unsuited to flag racing (motorkhanas). Not open enough, though it is spectaclar when it drifts. Both to watch and drive. and the hp is addictive and comes on in an insane rush.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/36.jpg
Helen
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/40.jpg
Okay, sleepy time now. Job well done
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/42.jpg
Doug, Helen's brother. He got a wild ride hen.... ahhh see a bit further down
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/43.jpg
Me, giggling and laughing after....... see below
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/44.jpg
My brother, laughing like a loon after....... see below
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/46.jpg
Helen having a great time being flung about int he passenger seat.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/48.jpg
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/45.jpg
Would you belive the Barina, a heap of crap, won the day. It beat all comers. Much disbelief and shaking of heads. But, flag tests are now rallies - this is probably the only race type the Barina could ever be suited to. And, stunningly fo rus who laughed at it, it's perfecteld suited and just plain quick in it. Anything longer and wider, it's going to get blown away. Still...... who would have thought it?????
I referred to a see below. Well, see here. The VR-4 was an unknown to us and as I said earlier, handles different. Much different. Drifting a 4wd is not easy nor is it natural. However, some of us got the hang of it and ended up with 50m power drifts with the turbo and motor howling, dirt and grass beign thrown in all directions. I am pleased to say I worked it out first- by the end of the day Peter and Tim also got the hang of it and were drifting spectaclarly too. However one run with Doug in the car ended not quite to plan.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/48.jpg
Have a look at the dirt and grass being thrown everywhere.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/49.jpg
Getting a drift started.
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/50.jpg
WE HAVE DRIFT!!!
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/51.jpg
http://www.thegjo.com/marcus/1372003/52.jpg
I discovered that 4wd's dont just drift. They also do insane high speed donuts, all four wheels spinning. Photo 2 is the donut, .5 sec after photo 1. It got the crowd cheering, got me laughing liek a loon and Doug was just flat out impressed. Whhhooooooo yeah.
And that, is the end result of 2.5 years of work. All who did the work and who drove it, all agreed, it was more than worth it. The VR-4 is incredible and a ball of fun. Even if the Barina did beat it.
Which was probably the most absurd thing about the whole day