The big trip 2016 (part 4)

Looking back at day two I'm starting to understand that this is a marathon not a sprint. I've been doing my best to stay out of the sun unnecessarily, wear long sleeves, hydrate, not drink too too much.  But sailing uses your body in ways much different from regular life. Not better or worse, just different.

I'm feeling a little sun soaked and sore from banging against things, hauling lines, cranking winches, etc.

All this sounds negative but i assure you i am in my happy place.  Im anchored off of Anna Maria island with my beautiful fiance, frosty beverage in hand, and freshly showered from our hanging solar shower. Life is good.

The big trip 2016 (part 3)

The first day, i must say, was an overwhelming success. I could not ask for a better start.
 
Once we finally got fuel, water, and all our last minute things done at the marina we pulled out of our slip at exacty 11am. We motor/sailed a little over 20 miles to get to hurricane pass and the south side of honeymoon island.  If i would have take Ambers advice and stopped at anclote key we could have stopped in relatively clear water to scrub the hull and test out our new aqua lung dive masks and snorkels. When we anchored at honeymoon island the water was so cloudy you could only see a foot in front of your face. (Can't wait for the keys!)

Once we left from there we continued down looking for a suitable place to anchor. We had left the relatively shallow areas and we're forced to continue down until right off Indian Rocks beach where there is a small section of shallow water. This is good though because even with a late start and stopping to scrub the boat we got basically to where we planned to get to in the first day.

(We like to anchor in 14 feet of water or less. That gives us the safe anchoring scope of 7:1 with all of our line payed out.)

We traveled approximately 36 mile, getting roughly 10+ miles to the gallon. This is better fuel economy than expected but tomorrow we are going to sail more.  I needed one day for testing the fuel and making sure the boat would ride well with the extra weight from supplies. Overall everything was better than predicted.

The best part was while we were anchored there, during a blazing orange sunset, I asked the love of my life, Amber Henry, to marry me. I could not think of a more appropriate place than on our boat, anchored offshore, headed out on the biggest adventure of our lives. I only hope the rest of the days of our trip don't dull too much in comparison to this one.

The big trip 2016 (part 2)

Today has been filled with loading, unloading, purchasing, figuring, organizing, anticipating, stressing, and enjoying. Tomorrow morning we head out from the marina to the waters we have traversed many many times.  We have always anticipated the day we could continue sailing beyond our known territory and now it will finally happen.

Project drift S14 (part 7)

This is the last "project drift s14" update for at least a month.  I'm only slightly sad about that because we head to the boat tomorrow to finish provisioning for the keys!  

The car (that will now be called "Silvia" to help differentiate between all the project vehicles I have) is in the best version of itself to date.  She is running better, more reliable, and more powerful than she ever has.  While there are a few issues to still iron out I can now just hop in the car fire her up and go tear up the streets.

The issues that sill be addressed once we get back from the keys are:

• The fuel tank cannot hold more than three gallons of gas without leaking. Fuel cell time!
• The tranny leaks fluid.  I replaced the rear tranny seal a couple days ago so this issue may be fixed but I know I still have to fix the upper seal around the shifter.  Fluid escapes up through the shifter hole during acceleration.  When the fluid gets low in the tranny the syncros start to grind.
• The car is still turned on by a screwdriver.  Once I figure out the current draw on that circuit I can get a switch of the correct amperage to turn the car on from the center dash panel.
• The power steering also has a very slow leak but it is negligible.
• There is a slight pull to the right and a little wheel feedback on sharper right turns.  These will hopefully be sorted out with a front end alignment.
• Lastly what appears to be an oil leak has surfaced today. I have no idea where it is coming from and unfortunately will not be able to diagnose until July.

Those are the issues that effect drivabilty.

These are the fun things that will improve the car:

• Most importantly is the differential.  I was drifting for years on an open diff. It's time to get serious. I may buy an extra open diff and weld it, or I may just save the money for a real Tomei
• The hydraulic e-brake handle and master cylinder is bolted in place now but is not yet hooked into the cars brake system. It looks awesome though!
• Rear camber arms. The pretty low now with the ISR pro series coilovers installed. This is cause major camber in the rear. I'm going for performance oriented, not show. Plus I will be chewing through enough tires as it is. I'd rather not wear the insides out prematurely.
• Fuel injectors!  The gt2871r turbo is limited to around 14-15 psi before the stock 370cc injectors loose the ability to keep up. With new injectors the car should be able to boost up to 20ish psi.  The catch to that is it would be wise to change out the head gasket, head bolts, and get a rom tune for the ecu.  Enjuku Racing in Clermont, FL can facilitate all of this but it just takes time and money.
• Paint - not the highest on my priority list but it will look great once the car has a...
• Body kit - because. just because.

There is much more bubbling around in the convoluted thought-soup I call my brain, but only time will tell what comes from it.  For now I get to veg for an entire month while sailing to the keys!

Wooooo!

The big trip 2016 (part 1)

The plan is set, the time is requested off from work, and we are mentally already on island time.  We are finally setting out on a big trip in our boat "Happy Day."  We are going to The Florida Keys traveling slightly over 300 miles down the west coast.  We have the entire month of June requested off to give us enough time.  

The plan involves us sailing roughly 40 miles per day for 2 days. Then stopping on the third day to re-provision.   Another 40 miles for 2 days and then a re-provision day. Then one 40 mile day and a re-provision day.  Then finally two 50 mile days to reach the keys.

This probably sounds like a slow pace, and it is, but we don't want to kill ourselves trying to get to the keys. We want to watch the weather and play it safe. Our boat is arguably not the most seaworthy boat and we are well aware of it's limitations. We will pay careful attention to the weather and not take any risks.

So essentially we have figured 11 days to get down. We spend 7 days with the rest of my family in the keys and then 11 days to sail back.

While in the keys I will most likely be renting a car to drive 5.5 hours back home to pick up Austin and Aaliah only to immediately turn around and drive back to the keys.  This is the only way I can figure to get them there without with 4 of us being trapped in a 26ft boat for 11 days.

I'll be posting more regarding preparation for the trip as soon as possible. 

Project Drift S14 (part 6)

It's been 5 months since the last update and there has been progress but not nearly as much as I would like. 

So far completed:

• rear subframe fully bolted on
• interior cleaned
• engine bay cleaned
• wiring harnesses re-ran
• airbag systems removed
• door panels and rear seats installed
• fabricated new center dash panel
• pillar mount gauges installed
• intercooler and piping installed
• radiator installed (although it gets pulled back out when the motor goes in)
• new water pump installed on sr20
• front main seal replaced
• hood latch reinstalled

So far purchased and waiting to install:

• pilot bushing
• clutch release bearing
• isr radiator lines
• isr thermostat
• clutch slave cylinder
• isr power steering line

Still need to buy:

• GT2871r turbo from twisted motion $350
• turbo clocking adapters $65
• turbo lines $120
• starter switch panel $70
• front and rear driver side 300zx brake calipers $120
• battery $110

Still have to install:

• center dash panel
• all gauges
• Greddy boost controller wiring and mounting
• Apexi fuel controller mounting
• starter switch panel
• turbo/motor/trans once all assembled
• battery
• brakes
• clutch slave cylinder
• thermostat
• radiator hoses

Things are getting close now and the list of todo's is not nearly as daunting as it was in the beginning. The big hold up has been the turbo. When we pulled the t25 apart the bolts holding the exhaust side to the center housing were seized. Even after grinding the bolts off we found that the exhaust side and central housing had seized itself together. We banged, pried, leveraged, and wacked in every way we could think to try and separate the two without damage to the fins and center shaft. 

Finally i threw in the towel. After calling a local certified Garrett turbo rebuilder and getting a price quote of 350 we changed directions.  My original goal for the car was 375 horsepower. I feel that's plenty of power and I don't have to upgrade the stock internals of the motor.  Instead of rebuilding the stock t25 for $350 we are putting that money towards another turbo.  

Twisted motion turbos, even though they are not garretts, seem to have good feedback and they come with a year warranty. The turbo itself runs $350 but requires $65 clocking adapters to mate with the the intercooler piping correctly. Also highly recommended by Josh from Twisted motion (who returned my text immediately with a call and was extremely helpful) was the stainless turbo lines ($120) which helps avoid stripping the threaded fittings on the block.  

That's not much more than the price of the rebuilt t25 turbo and we are at the power levels I originally wanted. It kind of seemed like a no brainer to me with the warranty and since the car won't be daily driven the longevity of the turbo should not be an issue.

As far as short cutting things we decided to put back in the act clutch that is almost worn out. The friction pads are touching the rivets but there is still some pad.  The motor is easy enough to pull out when the clutch goes. Keeping $300 + or - in my pocket is nice too.

I will do another post once more significant progress has been made. Hopefully that post will be when the car is running!

JFK and the sea

“I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came.

[Remarks at the Dinner for the America's Cup Crews, September 14 1962]”

― John F. Kennedy


The sea is calling to me hardcore.  It consumes the majority of my passing thoughts and whims. The draw to it is exponentially worse now that it is winter time. Winter time in Florida is a relative thing but the air is still too cold, the water is too cold, the daylight hours are too short, and we are too busy at work to be able to squeeze in that precious time at sea that I cherish so much and never take for granted when we are basking in it's presence.

Soon I will have to slake my thirst for the sea. Maybe soon it can be in large gulps rather than small sips.