Mikelly

Will I plan to get you those axle ends shipped out tomorrow. Excited! Mike

Just recevied the LSD and rebuild kit for the 8.8 IRS... Mike

Just ordered my LSD and diff rebuild kit... I'm excited... The Q45 setup comes out within the next two weeks...

I know that progress as has stalled on my end with this project. The bulk of the slow is getting things in order for the transmission (T56) that will need torn down and gone through, the changing out of 5th and 6th gears to get more usable (and closer) ratios inplace, and to get the rear swapped over to the 8.8 rear. I'll also be doing a brake caliper upgrade in the process since I already have Wilwood rotors for the Mustang, which had no offset at all. So the project may not get updated while collecting these bits and pieces. Then there is the bodywork make-over... More on that at a later date. Mike

Can't wait to see this one in person...

Amazing wall art my wife had created for me... For our 13th wedding anniversary!! The wooden zcar is an exact trace of my Zcar in a photo that was captured at VIR... Same spoiler and front airdam... So cool, on my favorite track! Yea that picture of me is from when I was about 29 years old, circa Xmas 1995, in a yellow car that was supposed to represent my yellow Zcar from that period when I won a Pro Solo championship with Va. Motor Sports Club!

Not at this time, nope... Close to having it "perfect" for now... Very close.

Managed to sell the transmission (Jason!!) and the rear differential Setup (Joe!!) and now I will have the ideal setup for roadracing this year...

Acquired my 8.8IRS today... Let the building begin!

Like I said in email.. I am in.. Dont need the brakes.. dont need the coil over threaded collars or springs, dont need the struts as I will be using 8610 Konis. Mike

My rear diff setup complete is posted in the forsale section... Mike

I understand and agree with the decision to go 8.8. I'm just wondering why not go with the mustang hub is all...Based on Matt Isbell's usage and abuse, I'm expecting a lot of the same. As long as the Dodge hub is durable, the right bolt pattern (My CCWs are 5X4.5) and easy to source... BTW I already HAVE the rear WILWOOD disc brake rotor hats/rotors... Mike

I won't be at the Z1 nats this year with the car. Not been able to make the progress due to the accident. But that's life. Anyone interested in my REAR drivetrain contact me off line. I'm moving off to another platform... Will include the Q45 rear Mustach bar, uprights, TWO of the shortnose LSD differentials, custom AXLES, and adapters. I also "plan" to sell my custom MML stubaxles, but am awaiting confirmation on how that will pan out with replacements...Pretty much a plug and play install for anyone going five lug and very strong... Gearing is 3:54. Mike

I am here too... Really trying to dig into this 8.8 rear conversion stuff... Mike

I know I stated about two months ago that I would be at Z1 this year, but I'm still sidelined with medical issues from my crash. I will not be climbing in any cars for rides, won't be bringing my car, and since those two are off the table, I will not be coming to this event. Sorry guys. Really looked forward to this. Mike

Will, Sent you a PM last night... I want to talk with you offline about what I need. I'm going to be replacing all of my brake componentry with more substantial calipers/rotors, so I won't need any of the associates brake parts. We're going to go with a true race setup from Brembo or AP. Also, If this has been covered already, my apologies but why not use hubs from the Ford platform? I really want to stick with something more current for parts sourcing. My car is strickly a roadrace racecar and is powered by a 575BHP monster. The car is reasonably light weight. The personal goal for me is to get down to OEM parts that can be had readily. Mike

We apparently lost a shitload of posts...

Swami, Funny you should mention that... Yesterday at 1PM I entered a "Patient First" medical facility... Doc has blood drawn, does chest Xray, does motorskills testing. Comes back in with the Xrays and says "Sit down, I think you should go to the hospital immediately". OK do I sit down or grab my stuff and leave? <scratches head> He shows me a few things on the chest Xray that make him think there is something involving the kidneys and encroaching on the lungs. So I collect my things, thank him, tell him where I am heading, and he says "I will call ahead so they can get a room"... Holy mother, mary of KAYRYST!!! WTH am I gonna tell the wife... Hmmm... So I drive the hospital, fill out the touch screen pad and no kidding, I don't even sit down... lady walks over and gets me by the elbow... "Mr. Kelly we have a room for you, are you OK? Do you need a wheelchair?" <Don't panic> I go in the room, they get a gown and start peeling me out of my dress shirt and undershirt. I get EKG pads attached by one individual while another is getting me ready for another blood draw... "You, Uhm, take sugar with that?" Not a single chuckle, chortel, nothing. Fawwwwk they are taking this seriously... Hmmm... I get the EKG scan done, stuck with the needle and they install a IV drip pick line. The doctor comes in and hears the story I told at the beginning of this thread. Shakes his head, his nurse shakes her head and I can tell they think I'm full of chit. Which reminded me... I had to go poop... so before we get down to the next series of tests, I say "Hey can I go to the restroom? "Sure, we need you to pee in a cup anyway... " Off I wander to destroy some hospital plumbing. I come back with cup, try the same "Sugar" joke on another unsuspecting soul and get the same type of response. Wonderful. I'm messed up... So they pipe a bag of IV fluid through me to get my bladder full. You know, the bladder I just emptied? Yea that one... An hour later, I get wheeled into the Ultrasound lab where this nice Asian American lady tells me she is going to do an ultrasound on my vital organs and that she will have to encroach on my pelvic are. Now at this point I'm thinking "Hey the Asian BOX FINALLY gets checked.... BZZTTT" wrong answer. She's all business too. Jeebus I can't even get a chuckle out of these people. Maybe when she sees the business end of my pelvic...<not funny> So we get into this rythme of her grinding her hand all over me, and I do mean ALL over me... I'm fine the first series of scans because I have a full bladder and it is uncomfortable with her hand all around my junk pressing down on everything from my upper chest all the way down to the hang lows... But then she says "Break, now I need you to go empty your bladder." I'm thinking maybe I'll come back to disco porn music and Nurse Ratchet in fishnets... Nada... Second verse, same as the first. So now I don't have a distracting full bladder. Now she is spending a LOT of time around the pelvic region... <For the love of everything that is holy do NOT pitch a tent. DO NOT pitch a tent... please don't...> Twenty minutes and two cigarettes later (I don't smoke) we're done and I'm back in the hospital room where I started off... Doctor comes in with his sidekick and they are chuckling. He says "Let me tell you a story... you're going to like this story because it is about you... I asked the technician her opinion about the internal injuries you might have and she said it looked like you had been in a bad car accident." They both laugh and I'm looking like a doofus thinking <Genius that's what I told you when I came in here 3 hours ago>. "You'll love this... I told her... Yea he did, 9 days ago" And they laugh some more... And "She just deadpanned it and said could you imagine how bad he looked 8 days ago?" Ealrier I couldn't get a peep out of these mooks. Now they're killing themselves cracking up over my busted organs... Turns out I have bruised lungs and kidneys. The lungs are gonna be "OK" but the kidneys are sufficiently jacked enough that on Friday I get to go see a Nephrologys. Thankfully I googled it a second time after I mistyped it as "Phrenologyst" at first... Goddam I hurt...

A week later and I am still recovering from the accident. Likely concussion. I have been disoriented, sluggish, tired, and off center off and on throught out the last 7 days. Today I overdid it and really paid the price. Spent the afternoon on the sofa watching the Tudor race at VIR. Hopefully things will slowly get back to normal... Crashes suck.

Wiring and dash are buttoned back up with the list of things to do getting ever smaller. I hope to have more wrapped up this week. Mike

This will, by far be the most advanced Zcar ever built. Mike

After the incident on track yesterday, I took today off, until about 2 hours ago. Then I went to the shop for a little bit of therapy. Pretty sore and tired... Ugh...

Yesterday I was instructing with NASA MidAtlantic at Summit Point Raceway park main circuit. I had an HPDE1 student and was not, repeat not driving a car. It was a last minute fill-in as they were short staffed and I didn't have time to prep the focus. So my student had a 2003 BMW 330 with 192K miles on it. BONE stock. We had a great time all day working throw the process of getting the line down and finding his braking points. This guy was a true joy to work with and zero issues. He knew the limits of the car and was comfortable with my instruction. Parked next to me was another guy in a 2005 Lotus Elise. We got to chatting and throughout the day really enjoyed talking cars and high performance driver's ed. He is an HPDE2 student and he claimed his instructor had basically disappeared on him after the first morning session. At around 3 PM he asked if I would go out for a session with him. I was skeptical that I would be able to fit into the carbon fixed back seats in the car, but I did, so we adjusted the harnesses and I went off and found my communicator device I had given my student. When our session was called, we hopped in, strapped in and off we went. I was wearing my Pyrotec Helmet and my HANS device, sitting in an FIA approved Lotus specific seats, and using Schroth 6 point harnesses. 2/3rd of the way through our session the student was picking up speed and cleaning up lines with my help. Summit Point Raceway park main circuit has three high event corners, one being Turn 3, one being turn 9 and one being turn10. Only turn nine causes me concern as an instructor and I had mentioned that to my HPDE1 student in the first session of the day. T9 is where my group 2 student, with new found speed from cleaning up the entry to T5-8 would enter to early, pinch the apex and find himself out at the far edge of the pavement. He was fine and would have had enough space to stay on track or at worst put two tires off. Had he stayed on the throttle it would have been a teachable moment we could have cleaned up the next lap. Instead, He lifted. I felt it immediately at the first "breath" of the throttle and said "GAS", and then he lifted off all the way and the car rotated at well over 80 MPH. Into the tire wall on the right side of the track we went. The car struck the tire wall spun, got tangled in a bundle of tires and flipped. Yes, I said flipped. These are small cars. When we were sitting in the pits I noticed my left elbow touching his right. I'm 225# and he was probably 195#. Not small guys to say the least... So now we are upside down and the car is still "on". I tell him to calm down and turn the car off. Silence. I'm hanging by the harnesses and trying to figure out how we are going to get out. Sniffing for gas, oil, or smoke. Nothing. Within less 30 seconds the corner worker was asking if there were injuries. Within less than a minute the track had rolled two ambulances, the fire engine, the boom truck, a roll back, a wrecker, and three trucks full of people. This is the same group Ken Nomenger was running with when he died at Hyperfest two months ago, so tensions were already high coming into the event. Three previous redflag incidents weren't helping the nerves of all who were running this event. And here I am, upside down in a car, student who wasn't even mine, at an event I wasn't even supposed to be at... I felt a lot like Dante from the Movie "Clerks"! Sitting upside down it dawned on me that my student was not capable of getting out on his side because of the disorientation and the shock of crashing his prized possession. I wasn't getting out because my door and window were blocked by grass and tirewall. The expert crew got us out in less than three minutes. As the boom lifted the car, the targa roof gave way and we were able to climb out of that opening. I managed to cut myself on broken glass getting out, but otherwise was no worse for wear. My safety gear, his safety gear, and those tire bundles worked together to do their jobs and disipate energy while keeping us snuggly in place. I've said it elsewhere and I'll remind folks here. The safety equipment associated with seats/harness/helmet/hans needs to be purchased carefully and in coordination. The equipment in that car worked like a total package solution, and worked well. I'm sore today from the impact and bruised from the harnesses doing their job, but otherwise, no worse for wear and will live to annoy some of you for another day!

Exhaust is done, Cold air kit is done, and I am down to literally a handful of things left before we terrorize the streets and racetrack! All that is left is mounting the IAT sensor, the Remote Start relay, wiring the alternator, and then it is on to breakin of the motor, and get it ready for the dyno. I will still need to make the new radiator air box and then bleed the clutch system again.

Something I forgot to mention that came from last weekend's visit from Cory Brown was the fact that My RollCage and my fuelcell are fine for competition. So for all those who said after my cage was done that it wouldn't pass tech inspections, nanynanybooboo... Small victories my friends, small victories...