Rallye Star!

	July 4, 2005 My brother and I have been working on Anakin for six hours today. It’s disgustingly hot. And no, it’s not a dry heat. There’s some wicked thunderheads hiding behind the mountains where we take our cars out to play. We’re finishing a read-end swap between Anakin and my AE86 Levin (that’s a 1986 Corolla GT-S coupe for the non-drift aware) named Hachi. Just as his namesake transformed into Darth Vader, so is Anakin the rally car transforming into a little monster. Anakin now has bionic legs- a beefy center differential, rear axels, rear struts, disc brakes and a drive train. By 1986, the last year that Toyota produced rear-wheel drive Corollas, they had also perfected the rear anatomy of their little screamers. It was one day while I was resting after welding braces for the seat mounts (I can see over the dash now!) that I realized that my poor little street car had exactly what I needed. He screamed and kicked to have his rear end taken out, and didn’t think being ‘retro’ with Anakin’s rear end was cool, but I’ve since found him a new ’86 rear end. It took so much work to complete the swap! My brother, a highly trained Volkswagen technician by day, was in charge of the technical aspects, while my dad and I did the manual labor. Mike’s completely awesome. He’s been working with me every night, getting home at 7 PM and working until 11 PM only to get up and go to work at 5 AM the next day! He’s working on re-wiring the car, while I’ve been fixing a million little problems that add up to a lot of work. I don’t know much about cars, but after listening to Mike and actually getting my hands on my car, I now feel like I do! And that makes me feel proud. This month has brought many changes to the Rallye Star team. After Shitepoke, I was very disappointed with the way things were being handled- I didn’t have much say in what was being done to Anakin, I didn’t like the quality of work being done and I didn’t like how I didn’t have much say in other aspects of the team. And having recently lost my job, my budget was now severely capped. I was frustrated and took matters into my own hands. I took over Anakin’s care and together with my brother, began setting him to my liking. It’s saved us a lot of time and money, but it’s really hard work. I had a long talk with Leon about the team and he agreed with my actions and he wanted to see me go out on my own. He decided that being independent was a good move for me. But being on my own has been difficult. I’ve had to stretch a meager $1,000 budget to cover a rear sump guard, a firewall, wiring loom, and tires! And don’t forget the incidentals- who’d have thought you’d ever pay $1.13 for a bolt? Gotta love the metric system. After the sticker shock, the labor is difficult. By no stretch of the imagination am I strong and today, and so many other times, I have to hide the pain of trying to hold sheet metal in place or get a piece of ½” plastic up under the gas tank. I don’t want to, but I usually have to ask someone to help. I don’t want to become a cliché girl so I work my butt off, ending like tonight elbow high in grime and with differential oil in my hair and on my clothes. I am cut and I am bruised. I take a great satisfaction knowing that my blood, sweat and tears have been poured into my car. And it’s hard, as I’ve taken this new responsibility, to keep up with the other aspects of running my team. I have not been able to update this site as much as I would like and, with only 12 days until the Treeline, I still do not have a co-driver. My family has been very supportive through all of this. My mom has been out making sure that we’re eating and drinking and frequently babysits our tools when we need a break. No one has complained that Anakin, Hachi and Mr. Rogers (awaiting a new head gasket) now live in the driveway. Or that the house is littered with car parts and that I’ve taken up most of the free space in the garage. My dad helps out when he can and if I run out of things to do, I end up shopping, paying entry fees and looking for co-drivers. It all seemed overwhelming when I began this project, but tonight as I sit on top of my roof watching fire works, I can relax, knowing that there is a lot of love surrounding me and my cars. July 13, 2005 Work updates! Mike and I have been tirelessly working on Anakin, pulling late nights all week. Mike’s really coming through for me. He’s been not only working on the car, but has also helped by buying me things I need and bringing extra tools home from work. He’s almost done with the wiring, but he’s caught a cold. We’ve got the brakes working better. I got brave and conquered the acetylene torch and improved my welding skills to creat a nice rear sump guard. I took out some of the grass in my front yard, but the sump guard looks great! I asked Rebecca Greek if she would co-drive for me again and she gladly accepted after our good run at Shitepoke! And when we thought that all was lost when Anakin’s carburetors were acting up, our great sponsors Richie and Howie at Techno Square really stepped up- not only tuning his carbs, but also replacing Anakin’s camshafts so that we would have more power at low RPMs to help us on the tight roads at Treeline. THANKS GUYS YOU’RE THE BEST!!!!! Things are still hectic, but everything is looking good! Only three more days until Treeline! Return to Diary of a Driver.

July 4, 2005

Our cat Fetisha lends a hand.

My brother and I have been working on Anakin for six hours today. It’s disgustingly hot. And no, it’s not a dry heat. There’s some wicked thunderheads hiding behind the mountains where we take our cars out to play. We’re finishing a read-end swap between Anakin and my AE86 Levin (that’s a 1986 Corolla GT-S coupe for the non-drift aware) named Hachi. Just as his namesake transformed into Darth Vader, so is Anakin the rally car transforming into a little monster. Anakin now has bionic legs- a beefy center differential, rear axels, rear struts, disc brakes and a drive train. By 1986, the last year that Toyota produced rear-wheel drive Corollas, they had also perfected the rear anatomy of their little screamers. It was one day while I was resting after welding braces for the seat mounts (I can see over the dash now!) that I realized that my poor little street car had exactly what I needed. He screamed and kicked to have his rear end taken out, and didn’t think being ‘retro’ with Anakin’s rear end was cool, but I’ve since found him a new ’86 rear end.

It took so much work to complete the swap! My brother, a highly trained Volkswagen technician by day, was in charge of the technical aspects, while my dad and I did the manual labor. Mike’s completely awesome. He’s been working with me every night, getting home at 7 PM and working until 11 PM only to get up and go to work at 5 AM the next day! He’s working on re-wiring the car, while I’ve been fixing a million little problems that add up to a lot of work. I don’t know much about cars, but after listening to Mike and actually getting my hands on my car, I now feel like I do! And that makes me feel proud.

Mike tackles wiring.

This month has brought many changes to the Rallye Star team. After Shitepoke, I was very disappointed with the way things were being handled- I didn’t have much say in what was being done to Anakin, I didn’t like the quality of work being done and I didn’t like how I didn’t have much say in other aspects of the team. And having recently lost my job, my budget was now severely capped. I was frustrated and took matters into my own hands. I took over Anakin’s care and together with my brother, began setting him to my liking. It’s saved us a lot of time and money, but it’s really hard work. I had a long talk with Leon about the team and he agreed with my actions and he wanted to see me go out on my own. He decided that being independent was a good move for me.

But being on my own has been difficult. I’ve had to stretch a meager $1,000 budget to cover a rear sump guard, a firewall, wiring loom, and tires! And don’t forget the incidentals- who’d have thought you’d ever pay $1.13 for a bolt? Gotta love the metric system. After the sticker shock, the labor is difficult. By no stretch of the imagination am I strong and today, and so many other times, I have to hide the pain of trying to hold sheet metal in place or get a piece of ½” plastic up under the gas tank. I don’t want to, but I usually have to ask someone to help. I don’t want to become a cliché girl so I work my butt off, ending like tonight elbow high in grime and with differential oil in my hair and on my clothes. I am cut and I am bruised. I take a great satisfaction knowing that my blood, sweat and tears have been poured into my car. And it’s hard, as I’ve taken this new responsibility, to keep up with the other aspects of running my team. I have not been able to update this site as much as I would like and, with only 12 days until the Treeline, I still do not have a co-driver.

I did it!

My family has been very supportive through all of this. My mom has been out making sure that we’re eating and drinking and frequently babysits our tools when we need a break. No one has complained that Anakin, Hachi and Mr. Rogers (awaiting a new head gasket) now live in the driveway. Or that the house is littered with car parts and that I’ve taken up most of the free space in the garage. My dad helps out when he can and if I run out of things to do, I end up shopping, paying entry fees and looking for co-drivers. It all seemed overwhelming when I began this project, but tonight as I sit on top of my roof watching fire works, I can relax, knowing that there is a lot of love surrounding me and my cars.

July 13, 2005

Work updates!

Mike and I have been tirelessly working on Anakin, pulling late nights all week. Mike’s really coming through for me. He’s been not only working on the car, but has also helped by buying me things I need and bringing extra tools home from work. He’s almost done with the wiring, but he’s caught a cold. We’ve got the brakes working better. I got brave and conquered the acetylene torch and improved my welding skills to creat a nice rear sump guard. I took out some of the grass in my front yard, but the sump guard looks great! I asked Rebecca Greek if she would co-drive for me again and she gladly accepted after our good run at Shitepoke! And when we thought that all was lost when Anakin’s carburetors were acting up, our great sponsors Richie and Howie at Techno Square really stepped up- not only tuning his carbs, but also replacing Anakin’s camshafts so that we would have more power at low RPMs to help us on the tight roads at Treeline. THANKS GUYS YOU’RE THE BEST!!!!! Things are still hectic, but everything is looking good! Only three more days until Treeline!

Return to Diary of a Driver.