Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
- Status
Tell you what, next year I hope to have hot passes again, but for the Texas speedway that time. Next spring, we can talk.
Oh man, if that's the case I better start on the bodywork like now... it's gonna need a lot of work.
Ok,...hours before I have to leave for SC, and my corporate tng for BMW. At the same time, the last of my diversions from keeping the eye on the ball.
The cool thing (well, one of many) about the job I now have, is that I'm restricted to maintaining 40 hours max per week. And I volunteer for everything, (BMW, and Mini nights at the ball field when the Barons are in town, delivering one of the salesmans' car sales to a guy in Tuscaloosa, ....) and doing that adds extra hours to my week. Since they won't let me go over 40, I end up being able to leave early to balance things out.
Yesterday was one of those instances.
By 3PM I'm at 40.
I come home thinking I'll be able to sand the car, and actually start doing just that when the wife comes around the corner, and "reminds" me that I haven't finished helping her with the pool.
(That in of itself is an irony,..because in order to "help" her would imply that she was actually doing it, and needed assistance.)
What she really needed to say was I needed to finish the pool.
(It's such a pain in the ass.)
Every year it seems like the same ordeal. The pool gets covered at end of season, and all through the winter months,leaves fall on it. Then it rains, then more leaves,rain, leaves.....pretty soon, there is a bagillion pounds of wet, decomposing funk sitting on top of that cover, stretching it to it's limits, all in a pool on top of the pool that has to be cleaned off before it can be removed for reopening.
Elsewise, all of that junk spills into the pool that you've had covered for 6 months.
Every other year or so the liner fails, and 13,500 gallons of water has to be "swapped out" to change that piece of crap too.
This year was one of those years.
The only thing that I can say that even makes this thing remotely entertaining is when I have to drain the remaining water left in the pool to change out said liner (provided there's any left to drain).
Most of the time there's a leak somewhere, and they are almost impossible to find. Typically, there is still 1/2- 1/3 of the water left in the pool. (I've tried to fix them before,..seems that what you thought was the hole wasn't, and now you've just added 5,000 more gallons of water back in to find out that you missed it)
So bottom line,....I don't even try anymore. If that btch don't hold water, it gets replaced.
And I get to cut a hole in the bottom of the liner and "expedite" the draining regimen.
And that regimen transfers the water that was in our pool,...and makes the pain in the ass neighbors back yard into a natural pool for a few hours instead. Then just a soggy marsh for a few more hours after that.
That'll teach that btch to piss and moan everytime my dog barks.
Did I mention that I sanded the roof of the car?
No loading up sandpaper, No need to wonder if I should be wet sanding instead,...Just plain ol' flat roof.
Perfect, flat roof.
If nothing else,.....this car will be the complete opposite of the red car w/ regard to underlying bodywork.
I won't be hiding sides of the car when I show it because the passenger side looked like the ocean this time around.
The cool thing (well, one of many) about the job I now have, is that I'm restricted to maintaining 40 hours max per week. And I volunteer for everything, (BMW, and Mini nights at the ball field when the Barons are in town, delivering one of the salesmans' car sales to a guy in Tuscaloosa, ....) and doing that adds extra hours to my week. Since they won't let me go over 40, I end up being able to leave early to balance things out.
Yesterday was one of those instances.
By 3PM I'm at 40.
I come home thinking I'll be able to sand the car, and actually start doing just that when the wife comes around the corner, and "reminds" me that I haven't finished helping her with the pool.
(That in of itself is an irony,..because in order to "help" her would imply that she was actually doing it, and needed assistance.)
What she really needed to say was I needed to finish the pool.
(It's such a pain in the ass.)
Every year it seems like the same ordeal. The pool gets covered at end of season, and all through the winter months,leaves fall on it. Then it rains, then more leaves,rain, leaves.....pretty soon, there is a bagillion pounds of wet, decomposing funk sitting on top of that cover, stretching it to it's limits, all in a pool on top of the pool that has to be cleaned off before it can be removed for reopening.
Elsewise, all of that junk spills into the pool that you've had covered for 6 months.
Every other year or so the liner fails, and 13,500 gallons of water has to be "swapped out" to change that piece of crap too.
This year was one of those years.
The only thing that I can say that even makes this thing remotely entertaining is when I have to drain the remaining water left in the pool to change out said liner (provided there's any left to drain).
Most of the time there's a leak somewhere, and they are almost impossible to find. Typically, there is still 1/2- 1/3 of the water left in the pool. (I've tried to fix them before,..seems that what you thought was the hole wasn't, and now you've just added 5,000 more gallons of water back in to find out that you missed it)
So bottom line,....I don't even try anymore. If that btch don't hold water, it gets replaced.
And I get to cut a hole in the bottom of the liner and "expedite" the draining regimen.
And that regimen transfers the water that was in our pool,...and makes the pain in the ass neighbors back yard into a natural pool for a few hours instead. Then just a soggy marsh for a few more hours after that.
That'll teach that btch to piss and moan everytime my dog barks.
Did I mention that I sanded the roof of the car?
No loading up sandpaper, No need to wonder if I should be wet sanding instead,...Just plain ol' flat roof.
Perfect, flat roof.
If nothing else,.....this car will be the complete opposite of the red car w/ regard to underlying bodywork.
I won't be hiding sides of the car when I show it because the passenger side looked like the ocean this time around.
My parents owned an above ground pool when we lived in TX. Other than watching my dad treat it, and help with getting a few leaves off the bottom before swimming in it, I havent had to go through much with pools. That being said, I already told my wife hells to the no about buying one.
- Dec 19, 2010
- 5,721
- 4,244
- 224
This is how it's going. 4 words.....
It's
So
Freakin'
Cool.
You look a lot younger in that pic Mike. I think those bimmers must be therapeutic.
Maybe so,... There just might be some medicinal benefit to driving an 80, 90, and 100k car as hard, and as fast as you can on the BMW road course.
This pic was taken mid way through the program. We had just taken out (8) equally equipped 420 horse M4's and beat the snot out of them on a slalom and combination wet skid pad,
( into the slalom, then into a 270 degree wet skid pad, then back out onto the slalom, finished by a 50 mph , foot through the floor, panic stop to zero).
5 laps of that, then over to the road track to drive one of 5 other M rated cars on a high speed road course 3 laps in each car, stopping only to switch drivers, and cars. The big boys there were the m 5, and x6m,
575 hp. The straights were purposely kept short to keep speed down to under 130 mph, but let me tell you, you come barreling up to a corner in a 4400 pound 575 hp four door, stand on the brake as hard as you can, then dive into a hard left corner,..,The fact that you were "only" going 120-130 mph when all of that stuff had to happen was more than adequate to get a gigantic grin on your face that couldn't be wiped off for hours after.
The last "event" was an off road course. We transferred into 5 exact
X5's AWD suv's, and negotiated a series of deep water forgings, insane 40 degree side hills, blind hill climbs
( angled so steep, you couldn't see the road) followed by an equally strep descent, capped off by an obstacle that they called the frame bender to demonstrate chassis rigidity, and the AWD system. A series of " high v's" built into the course to force the two diagonally opposed tires to loose contact with the road course. The cars would literally teeter-totter as they rocked over those obstacles.
I tell ya boys, I'm completely sold on the brand. There's a reason the things are so damned expensive, and this week has proven to me why they are.
- Dec 19, 2010
- 5,721
- 4,244
- 224
I realized after reading your post about the M series track stuff that I was breathing heavily through my mouf.
- Dec 19, 2010
- 5,721
- 4,244
- 224
This was what we were driving, these cars are every bit as capable as this oneYeah. A 4400 lb car turning into a curve at 120mph?
stangboy
Founding Member
They were doing 185+ IN A CURVE!!! Holy SHI t!!! At those speeds curves make my butthole pucker.
- Dec 19, 2010
- 5,721
- 4,244
- 224
I can't say I've been thru a curve over 120...
Edit: maybe a gradual curve on an interstate, but that's about it.
I like th color on that car, even for a BMW.
This is how it's going. 4 words.....
It's
So
Freakin'
Cool.
Ah hell Mike, I did the same in my pick up truck going down a dirt road here in Oklahoma!
Meh, you get used to it on a race track. I've done tons of track days on my motorcycle and curves are taken very fast, especially at COTA which is my favorite of all the tracks I've ridden.
- Status