Posts Tagged racing
I’m Seeing Double!
Posted by stocjoe in Uncategorized on March 26, 2013
Unusual automobiles show up in all sorts of shapes and sizes all over the place. However, it still comes as a surprise when an example of automotive uniqueness shows up in your own backyard. But sure enough, that’s what happened in this case.
A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine posted a Craigslist ad for a “Pontiac Twin Car.” The preview picture was pretty surprising. The ad was for not one, and not two Pontiacs, but really two halfs of Pontiacs. On one end was the front end of a ’94 Pontiac Grand Am, and on the other end, the front end of a ’00 Pontiac Grand Am. It certainly caught my eye, and apparently the eyes of a few other places, even Jalopnik. Knowing that there was a vehicle this unusual just down the road from my dorm at McPherson College, I decided I had to see this car for myself, and meet the people behind its creation.
Eric and his father
So, last Tuesday afternoon, after arranging a time to visit, I drove over to Auto House Collision Repair Center to see the push-me-pull-me Pontiac. I spoke mainly to Eric Unruh who listed the vehicle that he and his dad built. Eric has been working at the shop that his dad started for most of his life, and he and his dad have been working on all variety of vehicles. When Eric was a kid, he and his dad built go-karts, and even turned a John Deere pedal tractor into a powered, pulling tractor. Nowadays, beyond shop vehicles, they have a few racecars they build and take dirt-track racing at Salina Speedway. More specifically, Eric drives both Mod-Lite class cars (like smaller versions of Modified cars using motorcycle engines), and front-wheel-drive compact cars (Preludes, Neons, etc.).
It was the connection to Salina Speedway that started their foray into a push-me-pull-me type car. Eric and his father told me that a friend of theirs had the original idea. Their friend does clowning shows at the racetrack, and thought that such a car would be a great addition to the show. So he talked to the Unruhs, and the project began.
The resulting car is quite interesting. It was constructed from two Grand Ams that had suffered damage to the rear. The vehicles were cut apart, and work began to make them into a single unit with a twist: both parts of the vehicle can be separated and driven individually. The two halves were
constructed with their own roll cages, separate fuel systems, and caster wheels mounted to electric jacks. On the 2000 Grand Am, a latching mechanism is attached to the hand brake lever. When stationary, the electric jacks can be lowered, and the latch released to let the two Pontiacs scamper off in their own directions. Eric and his dad estimated that it took only about two weeks worth of work to get the car into a fully functioning state. And the result is a very entertaining thing to watch, and according to Eric, just as entertaining to drive. (Video link in photo below)
As a result of the extensive surgery, there are occasional handling quirks. As Eric informed me, losing half of the car makes it very light at the back, and that you want to be easy on the brakes as the back is much more likely to lift up. There also isn’t a way to lock the steering on one end of the car, so it’s best to have two people at the wheel when the halves are together. While this may seem like a minor inconvenience, it has its benefits in that you can drive the car sideways in a straight line, and can corner even tighter than a normal Grand Am!
Of course you might be wondering, if this car was built for a specific buyer, why are Eric and his father selling it? Well, as it turns out, their friend decided that he wasn’t going to use it for one reason or another, and Eric and his dad couldn’t find any use for it, so it’s been listed on Craigslist. They are currently asking $2200 and I honestly don’t know where else you would find a car like this. And if it helps, the air conditioning still works on at least one of the halves, so if you need to drive your double-sided Pontiac in hot weather, you can still stay cool. As for whether or not there are any other unusual projects in the future, Eric wasn’t sure but he said, “If we find something cool, we’ll build it.” So, if you find yourself in central Kansas needing a push-me-pull-me Pontiac, or have some other automotive project needing work, you know where to go.
Tokyo Auto Salon 2013: Race Cars
Posted by stocjoe in Uncategorized on January 30, 2013
The big draw for me at the Tokyo Auto Salon was all the amazingly modified cars that are on display. But those aren’t the only vehicles that show up at show. As it turns out, to my surprise and delight, some pretty cool race cars from the past and present were on display this year. Two of Honda’s 1960’s Formula One cars were on display, one from 1967 at Honda’s booth, and one from 1964 at the NGK booth. What I love about these cars are the elaborate twisting headers sprouting from the rear mounted engine. And speaking of F1 there was also a 1996 Ferrari Formula One car on display.
Super GT cars were also out in force, ranging from Toyota Prius, to Honda CR-Z, to GT-R, and the lamented HSV-010. The HSV was what came of the remains of Honda’s canceled NSX project. The plan was originally to have a V10 mounted up front for the next generation NSX, but economic conditions led Honda to cancel the project. The Super GT HSV was developed from the stillborn NSX. As many of you know, the NSX will return, but instead with a mid-mounted V6 hybrid. I still look forward to the newest interpretation of the NSX, but I still wonder what a front engine V10 NSX would have been like.
Le Mans cars also showed up, and this probably excited me the most. Last year marked a serious return of Japanese cars to the big prototype leagues at Le Mans. Toyota fielded two LMP1 prototype cars, both gasoline hybrids, against Audi’s nearly invincible entries. Although they were not victorious, it was still a big deal to see them on track and being reasonably competitive. One of those Toyota racers was on display this year. Almost more exciting was seeing the DeltaWing (powered by Nissan) race car at the Nissan booth. The DeltaWing is one of the most radical race car designs to come up in many years. It’s design involves a very narrow track up front with a wide section at the back. The idea is that the car is half the weight and half the aerodynamic drag of its competitors, and as a result, only needs half the power and half the fuel of its competitors. It’s proven to hang well with the established racers, but how to classify it has been a major issue, with the car being relegated to experimental classes. The other issue has been completing a race without wrecking. Through no fault of its own, the DeltaWing has had unfortunate incidents where other cars have taken it out of contention. Ironically, at Le Mans 2012, it was taken out by a Toyota. The other Le Mans racer on display was Mazda’s new diesel powered LMP2 car. This car is brand new and marks Mazda’s return to Le Mans this year. Mazda is the only Japanese manufacturer to ever win Le Mans overall, and the only one to do so with a rotary engine. Since Le Mans is generally dominated overall by the LMP1 class, I doubt that we’ll see Mazda take an overall win, it will be interesting to see how it does in the LMP2 class.
And besides all of these, there were race cars of a slightly more stylized persuasion. Inside the show there were a handful of drift cars scattered about, but it was outside that you could see some D1 Grand Prix drifters putting their cars through their paces in a small course marked out in the exhibition area. Each driver had two solo runs, one a warm-up and the other a scored run, and then they ran tandem drift runs. Though I’m sure it wasn’t quite as spectacular as at a full scale race circuit, it was still brilliant to see some pretty impressive car control, and a healthy (unhealthy?) amount of smoke in such a small area.
Also, be sure to check out the videos linked to YouTube down below for a taste of the drifting action at Tokyo Auto Salon:
Idling: A Car Blog 