With the sale of the S13, I’ve decided to change the direction of this site. In the coming months, this blog will move away from “Project 240″ and become a place where car enthusiasts can come and share stories and discuss their racing experiences. This new site will be Club 23 Racing, after a local driver’s club. Look for more more media, a community forum, and more news surrounding the local New England racing scene. I hope you all will enjoy this new direction. I welcome all feedback, so please, drop me a line and let me know what you think.

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I last posted. I don’t really have any excuse, so with this post, I’ll hopefully start a new trend of posting at least once every 2 weeks.

It’s been very busy around here working on the Lemon’s race car. Last week the car went to CageThis in Lynn, Massachusetts for the competition roll cage. Bill does great work and the cage should be completed before April 17th. We’ve also got the master shutoff switch and the Corbeau seat bracket. Check the Wiki for the latest updates.

The project car is up for sale on craigslist. You can find find the ad here.

This is a hard decision for me. I’ve put a lot of time and money into this vehicle. It’s fun to drive and easy to maintain. But, I’ve moved on. Maybe if I was 5 or 6 years younger I would dismiss the constant rattles, the droning exhaust note at highway speeds and the stiff suspension. It is a 19 year old chassis, so it has 19 year old problems. The good news is I’m moving up to a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. I’ve got my eye on the 2.0T version and am waiting on the local dealer to clue me in when one arrives. Based on the press I’ve seen, this is the right kind of car for me. Newer, turbo charged, and comfortable enough I can drive it every day. I’m very excited.

According to the Autoblog article describing information made public at the Tokyo Auto Salon, development on Toyota/Subaru FR Coupe has not stopped, but been delayed due to the introduction of Toyota’s new D-4S Direct Injection Flat Four engine. This is obviously based on the Subaru’s boxer engine technology. The code name for the project is 086A. You read that correct, 86A. Click the link above for the full article.

[Source: Autoblog]

Rhys Millen and Hyundai are at it again. If anyone doubted that Hyundai could build a car that could take on Formula D, Watch the video below.

For those that have $35K floating around, APR Performance in California is selling off their project cars. The G35 is already sold, but the 2006 WRX is still available. I’ve always loved their products. The race car has their GTC-200 Universal Carbon Fiber wing.

For more details, visit APR Performance

The folks at Autoblog have reported on the latest from Hyundai. These folks have been busy. First up are details about the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec. This is basically the base model 2.0T with all the goodies of the Track Model, minus the fluff.

R-Spec provides genuine track-readiness in an affordable model. The R-Spec adds core performance equipment to the most affordable 2.0T model, such as: Track-tuned suspension, 19-inch gunmetal-finish alloy wheels with performance summer tires, Brembo® braking system, Torsen limited-slip differential, and R-Spec badging. To further reduce cost and weight, it also eliminates some non-essential convenience equipment such as: Bluetooth®, automatic headlights, cruise control, trip computer, chrome interior accents and steering wheel audio controls. The Genesis Coupe R-Spec will be priced at $23,750 and $3,000 less than the 2.0T Track model, leaving tuners with extra cash for their own choice of aftermarket performance upgrades. Appropriately, the R-Spec will be available in three performance oriented exteriors colors: Karussell White, Bathurst Black and Tsukuba Red.

[Source: Autoblog]

That price is amazing. Sign me up! Click on the Source link for the full article.

Next up is the news about Rhys Millen and his new Hyundai Genesis Drift Car. This car will use Lambda V6 bored to 4.1 liters and turbo charged for a whopping 550-hp. I’m not sure what this means for Rhys and Pontiac, but I really don’t care. This car is awesome. I look forward to seeing it tear it up in Formula D this coming season.

[Source: Autoblog]

It’s official (somewhat), the Project 240/Club 23 racing team is participating in the 24 hours of Lemons - New England race at Stafford Springs Speedway this July. The junk heap for this debacle, a 1989 Toyota MR-2. Generously “donated” by Kononchuk Motorsports, this MR-2 will be a work of art. With 6 drivers, she will have plenty of chances to meet her untimely demise.

The budget is set and we have started planning the roll cage installation, parts purchases, and driver safety equipment installations. The car will be towed up to the North Shore for the roll cage installation. Once that is complete, the build up will begin. Our journey, will be chronicled here and on the Lemons Wiki. So follow along and watch how pathetically we try to take this seriously.

Being that it is now February in New England, winter is starting to die down. These past few weeks have been unseasonably warm which has led to a kind of “Spring Fever” among us here. I personally started the race car up for the first time since December and took it for a spin. Afterwords, I immediately began planning the upgrades and purchases for the upcoming racing season. Each of us was affected. A few friends came down to the South Shore area for a little impromptu “practice”. Check out the video below:

There is more footage to be seen. Look for it in a few days.

Here is some raw video from last month’s cruise. We expected a few cars but when we ended up with 18, things got interesting.

Motorsports Update

Another racing season has come and gone. It’s now Thanksgiving and it is officially cold here in New England. This past season was great for us here at Project 240. We attended 2 hill climb competitions with the New England Hillclimb Association (NEHA) and 7 Autocross events with NER/SCCA. Thankfully, there were no injuries or major car failures at any event this year. Well, we did have some trouble with the tow vehicle, but hey, what do you want for a $2,000 truck? Since I like to keep detailed records, here are some interesting facts regarding this year’s season:

Number of Team Members: 6 Active, 10 total.
Total Number of Events Attended: 11
Total Number of Events Participated: 9
Total Miles Towed: 380
Total Miles Raced: 20
Total Miles Driven: 1050
Best Position: NER AutoX: 2nd (Event 10 Full Runs)
Worst Position: NEHA Ascutney Hillclimb #2: 5th in Class, 34th Overall

Not bad for our first full season. Personally, my favorite event was the Ascutney Hillclimbs. The venue is very beautiful and the road is amazing. Not to mention the people running and managing the event were friendly and incredibly helpful. If you haven’t already, check out the Mt. Ascutney Hillclimb Highlights video. This was the first season where there was no major work done to the car aside from general maintenance. Overall, I’m very happy with the way it performed, but there are some areas for improvement.

First up, a roll bar must be installed for safety. Second, at the hillclimbs, the combination of the Yokohama ES100 tires and the KAAZ differential equaled a whole lotta wheelspin. For next season, I am replacing the Yokohama tires with something more race ready. I have 2 options in mind, Dunlop Direzza D1 Star Spec or Falken RT-615 Azenis. Both should help in the grip department. The final area to address is the nut behind the wheel. I’ll work that out as the new season begins.

Site Updates

The idea of Project 240 is to document the build of the race car and any motorsports tomfoolery we wanted to share. But with the car “complete”, all that is left is motorsports. So, over the course of the winter, this site will change from a build site to more of a motorsports diary our local motorsports team, Club 23. You will be able to reach this site from either http://www.project240.org or http://www.club23racing.org.

This is more of a cosmetic change. Any new work on the project will be chronicled along with other members cars. Also, the site will make liberal use of the many many hours of video we shoot but never really do anything with. So look for the changes to start soon after the holidays.