THIS weekend's autocross...

Mr. Pockets · #1 07-19-2004, 08:40 AM

...and I got crushed. Again. This week was weird, though. Inexplicably I could not sleep the night before. I literally did not sleep an entire minute all night. So I drove like crap.

But the course was also frustrating because it was just so dumb. Just straight, turn around, straight, turn around, straight, turn around, straight. Bleh. I really need something more technical to put in a competitive time.

Anyway, the hit of the weekend was revealed in this fashion. Earlier we had seen two monstrous motorhomes pull up, one towing a trailer behind it. The owners had stretched an awning between the two motorhomes to make a very nice shaded pit area. From across the pits we saw the car, and a friend says to me, 'don't go over there - it's scary.'

See, I thought that from behind the car looked like an R5 turbo. Another friend thought it looked like an M roadster. As we got closer, I remembered the stories I had heard, and realized what I was looking at.

It was the world's heaviest Yugo. The owner, nowhere to be seen, had the rear hatch open and inside was a 500ci Cadillac engine with a hydromatic transmission. The fenders were flared out about a foot to fit some gi-normous slicks.

The hood, in the front, was also open. Under that was a turbo 2.2l Chrysler 4cyl. for the front wheels.

I was working the second heat and got to see it run. This thing made the most complicated noise...

...man, I wish I had my camera with me.

Chiketkd · #2 07-19-2004, 10:34 AM

Sorry your AutoX outing wasn't as 'successful' as you may have hoped. That circuit did sound kinda lame, and with all those straights, the Justy would be at a disadvantage....

That modded 'Yugo' sounds hilarious! I wish you had pics...

-Chike

SVXRide · #3 07-19-2004, 12:04 PM

but did it have FTD??
-Bill (wondering what the Yugo's index must have been...)

Mr. Pockets · #4 07-19-2004, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SVXRide
but did it have FTD??
-Bill (wondering what the Yugo's index must have been...)

No, it didn't get FTD. There's a guy who shows up with an '80s Formula Atlantic car, and he (or whoever is driving it) usually gets FTD.

The FrankenYugo was only about 2 seconds off that Formula car, though...

Chiketkd · #5 07-19-2004, 02:08 PM

Damn! That's one Yugo that hauls butt...

-Chike

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
The FrankenYugo was only about 2 seconds off that Formula car, though...

Earthworm · #6 07-20-2004, 07:40 AM

Do the results get posted anywhere?

Mr. Pockets · #7 07-20-2004, 08:34 AM

Yeah, at the end of the season.

It's a small group, so nobody compiles all the results, I don't think, until the end of the season.

#8 10-04-2004, 09:42 AM

sorry to resurect this tread but i found the pictures just now on my local street racing board.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/user.php?phlash|21269

SVXRide · #9 10-04-2004, 09:50 AM

That V8 has me wondering -- how are they driving the rear wheels with it? It looks like the engine is right on top of where a line connecting the rear wheels would be....
-Bill

Mr. Pockets · #10 10-04-2004, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SVXRide
That V8 has me wondering -- how are they driving the rear wheels with it? It looks like the engine is right on top of where a line connecting the rear wheels would be....
-Bill

There original hydromatic transmission is still attached to it. I believe the tranny is actually underneath the engine. Stubby little axles about 6" long connect the gigantic rear tires.

gsodonis · #11 10-04-2004, 11:42 AM

Another obvious candidate for a Darwinian award. Both drivelines must be fighting each other constantly. I just hope he didn't test drive this thing on public roads.

#12 10-04-2004, 11:51 AM

what class did that car get put in in the autox?

Chiketkd · #13 10-04-2004, 11:57 AM

That V8 looks bad arse though!!!

-Chike

Mr. Pockets · #14 10-04-2004, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gsodonis
Another obvious candidate for a Darwinian award. Both drivelines must be fighting each other constantly. I just hope he didn't test drive this thing on public roads.

My theory (because he wasn't answering questions, and I never heard it shift) is that he matched first gear in each transmission by using a particular size of wheel and tire in the front and the rear. That and each tranny has a torque converter, so some mismatch would be okay if it's just for track use.

Earthworm · #15 10-04-2004, 05:01 PM

It also shouldn't matter provided the front and rear wheels are not connected to each other (like AWD/4WD). Basically it looks to have 2 independant drivetrains.

What did that car start out as? It looks like an older Mazda 323 or Starion.