Porsche wins Sebring outright

I think this shows that ALMS is correct in its LMP1 / LMP2 class rules. It makes for a better race, with more interesting outcomes. We'll have to wait till LeMans to see how the French rules do.

Clutch Woes

It looks like I need to replace my clutch. Right now, when I am in 3rd gear at about 3,000 RPM and I push the accelerator the revs kick up to 5,ooo RPM with no increase in speed. Then the revs drop down, speed starts to increase and the tach moves back up. My diagnosis is the clutch is slipping.

Now the hard question. Do I do this myself or do I go back out to a mechanic?

The parts are $1K. A professional will likely charge $1,500 - maybe a bit more.

The job involves removing the engine, seperating the engine and transmission, removing the flywheel and so on. It is rated a 7 on a scale of 1 -10 with 1 being washing the car and 10 being rebuilding the engine.

I want to start doing my own work on the car, but I was thinking oil changes, brake bleeding - simple stuff. Maybe fixing the heater and the AC fan. This is major work for my first project. Plus I have never done a clutch before, on any car.

But if not this project, which one? And if I pay for this, will I ever do major work on the car?

Pros of doing it myself:

• Cheaper
• Learn more about the car
• Satisfaction of doing my own work
• Less dependant on mechanic

Cons of doing it myself:

• Need a weekend and a bit just in case
• Risk of screwing something up
• Risk of occupying Steve's garage for more than a weekend
• Risk of ending up having to pay twice for the same job
• Adds tow costs if I screw up

Any opinions?

Photo's of my stripped civic

The thieves did not leave much this time. At least it made my decision for me. There is no way the car is coming back again. 

The photo set is here. 

Here are some from the first time for comparison.

Civic update

Ok, this is getting silly. My Civic was stolen AGAIN!

Last night, around 1:00 am, Duff wakes up and looks out the window on her way to the restroom. The car was gone. WTF.

I had very little sleep last night, as I woke up at 1, went back to sleep, woke up again when the cops arrived, went back to sleep - fitfully.

The car was parked in my driveway, under a streetlight, in a neighborhood STILL full of Police and Fire Department employees.

Tim said: "The firm has a phrase - "Lessons Learned" perhaps you should not have parked it there again. After it was stolen from that location before."

I only just got it running.

I had removed a distributer wire to keep people from stealing it, but when I had to jump the 911 I put it back and did not remove it again.

I will miss that car.

Odd situation

"Ed, can you get over here? I broke the toilet."

"How did you break the toilet?"

"I don't know. I was vacuuming and all of a sudden there was water everywhere!"

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."



First thing to do, find my tools. My father - in - law has a great set of tools, but I do not know where any of them are. So - my tool box, my Craftsman socket set, and this and that go into the back of the 911. Now, to start the car.



"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" "rrrrr" "r"
Great, I ran the battery down trying to start it.



Hook up the old battery to the new battery using the jumper cables.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" "rrrrr" "r"



Oooo kay - now what?



No, that will never work. I cannot use the civic to start the 911! The civic has been sitting in one spot since this summer. I have not started it in months. I need to tow it to the DMV to have it inspected before it will be "street legal" again. It will NEVER start. Well, give it a try - I have no other option.



So I run inside, grab the keys, open the civic and sit down. Saying a brief prayer to the car gods, I turn the key. Blip - the car starts. One turn of the key, no cranking, it just starts. Gotta love that civic.



So, back to the 911 - connect the jumper cables. This time I open the hatch and take off the air filter. I want to pump the gas a bit and do not want the air box to explode if there is a back fire.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" "rrrrr" "r"

Wait for charging from the civic.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" "rrrrr" "r"

Wait for charging from the civic.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" "vrooom"



Finally, the car starts and I can run over to Duff's parents place to try and fix the toilet.


No luck on that front - we had to call a plumber.

Photos from our Skyline Drive trip...

Duff and I went up to Skyline for our anniversary. I'll post more on the trip later, we had a great time.

Here are a few photos from the trip, if you are interested.

10th Anniversary Trip

Wine Tour

Last weekend we went on a tour of the Ohio Wine Country with the NORPCA. For those of you not in the know, Ohio does have a number of vineyards. Some people do not link the wine, calling it fruit flavored cough syrup. I was surprised at the prices - way more than I expected. The drive was wonderful. Les set up a great drive down through some very pretty country roads. I only made one mistake in following his directions, but that was easily remedied. We had lunch at one place, a tour of another and a stop at a third. Over all it was a really nice day. 

That was surprising because both Duff and I were slugs that morning - neither of us wanted to wake up. And once we did get moving we were sniping at each other over every little thing. We finally looked at each other and said "We are going to enjoy this trip - DAMMIT." That fixed it. We both backed off and started just having fun with it. 

Photos are online