Hank

I competed a LONG time ago against an A-Mod machine that had a Polaris snowmobile engine, custom tube chassis, and a HUGE dirt track (Sprint car?) wing on top. Guy won every single race until his wife blew the motor up with a missed shift. Didn't see him after that. Funniest thing was when we had to wait out a rainstorm during an autocross. He was all smiles waiting in his car out of the rain under the wing. Once the storm was over he cranked up to get ready to run next and when he started to move forward the wing dumped a few gallons of water on him. haha! Question: Would it be beneficial at all to run a Sprint car style wing on top of my MEGABUSA's rollcage for autox duty? I know autocrosses are typically low speeds, but surely it helped the A-Mod guy? Not sure what mph those large wings kick in at. I'm sure it would work for roadcourse duties just fine. I would obviously need to work on the proper angles and what not. Checked the wonderful internet and a wing can be had for $400-600. I'm willing to give it a shot. Hell, it will be removable! Your thoughts? Here's quick photoshops for laughs and/or ideas. http://www.hanksmegabusa.com/images/megabusa-sprintcarwing1.jpg http://www.hanksmegabusa.com/images/megabusa-sprintcarwing2.jpg http://www.hanksmegabusa.com/images/megabusa-sprintcarwing3.jpg Hell, this setup is working beautifully for time attack on Chris Rado's FWD beast and most people thought it wouldn't work because it was different. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads15/scion+tc+race+car+with+front+wing1248450156.jpg

Alaskossie, Quick rundown of the two cars: Cosworth Evo Difference Length 165.74 in. 178.5 in. EVO 12.76 inches longer! Width 68.5 in. 69.7 in. EVO 1.2 inches wider Height 53.5 in. 57.1 in. EVO 3.6 inches taller Weight 2998 lb 3018 lb Not much here I found the generic Cosworth info: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Escort_RS_Cosworth"]here[/url]. I found the generic EVO info: [url="http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=109126/pageId=68445"]here[/url]. (weight above was my specific car)

286 HP 289 lb-ft torque 3018 lb (jack and spare removed, 1/4 tank gas) RS (nicknamed "really stripped!" by me) gets no ABS, no radio, no sound deadening, no power door locks or windows, no cruise control, no rear wing or rear wiper, but it gets A/C. Both the Base Evo and RS get a 5 speed tranny. The MR edition had a 6 speed, but I was told they overheated and died on lapping day events.

To clarify my original post I said a guy "looks gay" in a Miata. He could be the straightest guy on earth, the Dugger dad for instance fathering all 19-20-21 of those kids depending on what week we're in, but when he gets behind the wheel of the Miata he will definitely look gay. Once he gets out of the Miata the generalization is gone. Second to that is a Neon. Ending the gay debate is *gasp* an article I found searching google for keywords like "what car makes me look gay". Seriously. Here's what I found: the Top 10 Most Researched Vehicles by Gay Men, 2nd Quarter 2009. Back to topic: I almost had the pleasure of driving a Noble at the Carlisle kit car nationals a few years ago. I signed the waiver and just before I was going to drive it out of the barn it started to rain. The salesman promptly took the keys from me. Top #5 for me: 1. 2009 Westfield Megabusa - it's different, power/weight, turns heads (own it now) 2. 2006 EVO IX RS - only 300 or so made, autox/track day potential (owned one 2008) 3. 2004 Mustang Cobra - dragstrip potential (owned one 2005-2007) 4. 2006 Ford GT - sat in and cranked one, OMG! Drool. 5. 1996 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo - fantasy car

If it was a gay list I would definitely put Miata at #1. No guy looks heterosexual in a Miata. Period. Two guys in a Miata is just wrong.

[/url]http://www.hanksmegabusa.com "Click on the Racing link for pics" Yep, I got tired of the "toy car", "show car only", blah blah BS and I brought the car out to lay the smack down on all of the nonbelievers. Believe you me, I don't want those little orange bastards (cones) to kill the bodywork. That is true. I've never been associated with killing cones so I didn't want to start now. First run I slipped the clutch hard at the line and I slammed second just shy of the rev limiter. Damn clutch pedal got stuck behind the bolt stop which keeps the clutch from being pressed too far. Not 4 seconds into the course I'm stuck in neutral and I coasted to the finish after bypassing the entire course. Not good. I keep my cool, kneel down next to the car and I bend the clutch pedal over slightly. Problem solved. Second run I decided to try my hand at left-foot braking. Not good. I blew past a few gates and tried to negotiate a 90 degree turn at 60mph. I felt like that one hoodlum on TRU Tv's "MOST SHOCKING" video that tries to turn the Cadillac at the interstate offramp going 90mph and he plows through the intersection and rolls the car. No cone damage and I got to complete the course for future reference. Third run was going REALLY WELL until I hit a patch of sand/pebbles and all hell broke loose. Keep in mind this is my first attempt at autocrossing a RWD vehicle. I have been spoiled with AWD vehicles in my autox/lapping day career so far. I did have a 2004 Cobra Mustang once but it only saw dragstrip duty. Anyhow, I hit the slick patch of asphalt and I went for a ride. Not good. I slid sideways and took a cone out at 50mph. I cringed at what damage could be done to the car, but I was lucky to hit on the driver side where the header promptly melted the top of the cone off. Nice. To make matters worse I hit another patch on the back side of the course and I proceeded to make a big smokey 350 degree burnout. I ALMOST completed the turn but my inferior torque let me down. Now I see why all of the Se7en owners like boost! Fourth run was completely perfect (I thought) until I saw my time. I'm on the heels of competitive drivers with street tires, but I need much work to catch those R-compound folk. I need to purchase some Hoosiers for the 13" wheels gathering dust in the garage, NOW! Fifth run was kicking butt and taking names until I drove into a Chicago box that a Hummer H1 could easily fit through at speed. Not good. Overconfidence set in and I spun out merely 20 yards from the finish. I quickly exited the course and apologized for my actions. Next time, you wait! :nopity:

I'm running a 2 piece Bailey Morris driveshaft setup with a center carrier bearing. I had to fabricate my own cross member out of 2x2x1/4" Aluminum. The rear diff to center bearing driveshaft run is pretty darn flat and parallel to the chassis rails. The output shaft to center bearing is at a slight angle which mimics the output shaft to reverse box angle this setup replaced. I bolted the driveshaft at each end and I found a happy medium in the middle of the driveshaft tunnel as well as keeping the driveshaft level. The engine is rigidly mounted as is the rear diff. If it was a solid axle Mustang with an engine that rocked back I would have positive/negative angles cancelling each other out. Not much flex in the Megabusa.

That's funny I don't care who you are. My favorite one is: "I'm a rice farmer because potatoes make your butt big" or something like that.

Let us estimate that bucket to be 100 cubic yards. 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet 100 cubic yards = 2700 cubic feet Water = 62.4 pounds per cubic foot 2700 cubic feet x 62.4 lb/cf = 168,480 lb of water However, not all of the water hit the car.

Definitely a close one. Maybe he should have backed up once he taxied to the end of the runway to allow more runway length to take off. Probably can't back up on his own though.

Diggin' the pics, Andrew. Can you tell a difference with the rear wing at speed? Lastly, maybe NSFW for the wording on the wing? Love it though!

If it gets me a cookie or anything I used to own a modded WRX. http://www.rufridr.com/wrx.htm Nobody got the license plate.

Hayabusa engine and aftermarket (car) pump here. If memory serves me from building her the pump is a Walbro unit.

I attached my rear arches (fenders) with 12 zip ties so that the rear fenders shear off in a collision. The lower body is really expensive and I doubt the Brits have shipped one by itself to the States. http://hanksmegabusa.com/images/050409/01.jpg I haven't autocrossed yet, but if/when I do I will probably take the front and rear fenders off. It may look funny, but it only takes 1 cone in the wrong spot to do major damage. I'm not going to chance it. The roadcourse is a different story. Higher speeds require as much aerodynamic help as possible and if I hit the wall the lower body is damaged anyway. Therefore, I will run front/rear fenders on track days.

Binnacle = Instrument cluster (heard on "A 4x4 is Born")

The only person I would EVER let drive my car is my wife as we don't have children. Good thing is she can't see over the aeroscreen. So... it's just me! *maniacal laugh* Laurens looks like they had fun!

If you get an iPhone purchase the phone case called "OTTER". Absolutely amazing. Be sure to take out the white material (felt?) inside the case in all 3 spots. Otherwise you will not be able to hear the other caller and they probably won't be able to hear you. The 3 pieces are filters to keep sand out of the phone. I can tell you this, if I go to the beach my damn phone ain't coming with me. I took the 3 pieces out and I can hear and speak clearly. $50 case with the paddle holster from AT&T. It's a 2-piece plastic case that snaps over the phone and a rubber sleeve goes around the entire case. I highly recommend putting a clear film over the iPhone before you put the OTTER case on as the clear protector on the OTTER doesn't fit snugly and it makes the screen hard to see. A few dollars for a clear protector and it's perfect! Local AT&T store took an OTTER cased iPhone and dropped it from the 2nd story mall balcony. Then I placed a call on that phone to mine. SOLD!

Helluva deal! I'd get the go-kart (in 2nd pic) too.

John, do you think me wearing a full motorcycle helmet has anything to do with it? I just assumed Harley guys would frown upon my white rollerskate with Yoshimura pipe and crotch rocket engine. I guess I was wrong.

First: Drove to a car show and the bottom fell out of the clouds. The 20 mile drive home in the rain was uneventful. No rain in the cockpit above 30mph. Beautiful. Second: Driving to my mom's house and a motorcycle rider coming towards me put his arm down and pointed to the ground. I hesitated for a split second, but I quickly gave him my left arm out the left side before I passed him. I couldn't go too far down or I would have hit my hot exhaust pipe! Next encounter was a Harley rider passing me in the same flow of traffic. Once he passed me he slowed down to admire the Yoshimura exhaust and the factory Hayabusa dash. I got an actual thumbs up from the Harley rider. I'm excited to say the least! Maybe motorcycle owners do respect us BEC guys/gals.

Spent most of the morning watching "A Plane is Born". That Mark Evans is a joy to watch building things. So far I've watched "A Car is Born", "A Helicopter is Born" and I'm finishing off the "Plane". I'm downloading the "4x4 is Born" right now. After getting to episode 13/15 I decided to mow the lawn. Next I washed the Megabusa. A quick shower later and I'm ready to go to the monthly car show. I head out on the 20 mile journey with rain clouds to the Northwest. I took the scenic route past LSU along Nicholson highway to Gonzales, LA. When I arrived at the car show the parking lot was wet, but ~50 vehicles were attending the show. I pulled in and parked amongst a few friends. I popped the hood off and answered the usual questions. 1. What is it? 2. Is it yours? 3. Where did you get it? 4. Who built it for you? 5. What engine is that? An hour into the show the bottom fell out of the rain clouds above us. I quickly put the hood back on and found refuge under the event organizer's tent. I struck up a conversation with 3 beautiful, older Russian women who have been in the states for 8 years. Turns out one of the women was an Electrical Engineer and she designed chips for control systems at Chernobyl. She was slated to work there, but things didn't pan out and she stayed at her former job. Wow. I told her that I'm a Mechanical Engineer at the River Bend Station nuclear plant in St. Francisville, LA. Small world. The rain stopped and I decided to check the water damage. Thank god I brought my trusty chamois. I dried the seats, dash, and roll cage. My stomach was rumbling so I drove a few hundred yards to the edge of the shopping center and I pulled into Wendy's. Uneventful dinner with a few drive-thru patrons stopping their vehicles to admire the Megabusa. A scary moment when a huge passenger van pulled up next to my baby and 8 kids got out. Not one of the kids touched the car, but they got close enough to get my attention. I switched visors on my helmet from the "Stig issue" iridium blue to clear. I put my iPhone in the clear chamois case to keep the water out. I found the Simpson helmet bag to be a great tote for all of my belongings (wallet, flashlight, keys - hood/house, hat, shirt with helmet shield wrapped up, chamois, .45 Glock, headphones, and spare shop towels). A few youngins peek through the Wendy's windows to watch me strap in my harness and fire up the Megabusa. I slowly drive out of the parking lot and into traffic to exit the strip mall. Damnit, it's still raining. I pull out onto the highway and I notice the rain isn't coming off the helmet as quickly as I thought it would. No use wiping the helmet as it only smears. Although the highway has a 55mph speed limit I settle at 45mph. Not much traffic on the way home. I had to drive out of the typical two asphalt ruts which put me a tire width off the center line. I am not in harms way, but it kept me in full concentration with oncoming vehicle spray. The alternative was to drive in the ruts and risk hydroplaning. I made it home and the only thing wet was my t-shirt ringed collar. The windscreen definitely helps in the wet weather and so does driving at least 30mph. Any slower and the rain starts to hit me instead of being deflected. I actually got more wet once I stopped in my driveway for a few minutes than I did over the entire journey home. Sorry for the long story, but I figure it's the first blat in the rain so it is yet another Se7en milestone surpassed by Hank is his Megabusa!

I laughed just a bit harder when they mentioned the driver was female. Sorry.

Dude, I love you guys and all, but we didn't land on the moon. I agree with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on this one.

Got stopped in my Megabusa the other day while cruising through a small town. 3 cops were standing by 3 cruisers at the side of the road. When I pulled over I had to turn my iPhone off and I still had my helmet on and earphones in. Cop leans over as I kill the engine and he says, "I'm not giving you a ticket or nothing, I just wanted to see what the hell this car was." I killed the engine and BS'd with them for 10 minutes before heading off for more blatting. Good cops around these parts.

Nice plate. Nice power slide. Welcome aboard!