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We’ve been busy. This Probe is just about ready for its debut. In our last update we had largely completed the turbo build, but there were lots of odds and ends to deal with after that. Prior to buttoning up the front end of the car, for instance, we had to do some body and …
Well, last installment was the beginning of taking the car apart to turbocharge it. The rest of it is all about trying to put it back together. And man, too much to write. So I made videos! Part 1: Part 2: And today’s installment, Part 3: This get’s us caught up. There’s still a lot …
Well, after finishing off the interior of the car, including carpeting and a new sound system, it was finally time to move on to the fun part: The turbocharger kit. I did an unboxing video for the very incomplete kit a few weeks ago, you can find that video here. Now has come time to …
Well, the 2020 racing season has come to a close for me. I can sum it up in one word: Wow. The decision to run this Probe turned out to be one of the best automotive decisions I’ve ever made. The car is fun. The risk level is low. The consumables are lower. Plus, it …
Well, this past weekend was the last regularly scheduled racing date for me for the year. I trudged 100 miles down the road to NCM Motorsports Park for round 7 of the Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car. I really enjoy this series, and if you remember from my post last December unveiling the …
Read More “2020 Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car wrap-up (NCM + OUSCI)”
Year three of the SCCA’s revamped time trials program culminated in the third Time Trials Nationals at NCM Motorsport Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, this past weekend. The relaunch of the program formerly known (or unknown) as Solo I three years ago was met with a lot of excitement and some predictions of doom. The …
Read More “A Probe visits the 2020 SCCA Time Trials Nationals”
So, after doing an HPDE at NCM, Optima events at AMP and Road America, and the DriveAutoX and UMI King of the Mountain, it was getting to be time to replace the brake pads on the Probe. I’ve never been very confident in the braking on this car. The previous owner had repaired some rusted …
UMI Performance makes some pretty sweet parts. I have their upper control arms and their tie rod adjusting sleeves on the Buick. The UMI arms solved my problem with the exhaust melting the bushings from every other arm I tried. They really are problem solvers. Sorry, Moog. They’re a cool bunch to hang out with, …
Put on your big boy britches, because we hit a big track this weekend. Round five of the 2020 Optima Search For the Ultimate Street car was at Road America! I’ve never been to Road America. I’ve run countless laps of the track in sims, and I knew it would be fun and fast. I …
Read More “Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car – Road America!”
So, the Optima DriveAutoX 2020 season had three points events, their first time running a points series. The year end points winner in each class nabbed an invite to UMI’s King of the Mountain invitational event. We got it. The outright win at the first event, and two solid performances at Trader’s World and this …