Spent some time shooting my buddy's AW11. He got me excited to finish my suspension up, and get this thing riding really nicely. The cantilever design is complete, and I'm ready to start prototyping final designs, and might even end up selling them as a kit afterward. There are almost no bolt-in rear suspension options for the s12 or the z31, and that's what prompts most owners to move on to move to a different chassis altogether. They do look kind of cool side-by-side though, don't they? I'll lower my s12 a couple inches once I have all the proper geometry measured out.
I have also been considering the old carb'd Ford 2.3 liter inline 4's, with my rack of Mikuni BST38ss carbs off my old GSXR750. They're GREAT carbs, and with a mediocre intake and exhaust setup, I should be able to hit an easy 150whp while having all the tuning options I could possibly want.
I'll have to write a bit about WHY I like carbs so much, since everybody I mention this to seems to think carbs are a massive step backward, in terms of power and efficiency. While EFI offers a higher ultimate threshold of tuning, carbs get me to the point where I have 90% of the same options at 1/10th of the price and complexity. Instead of having to buy a new ECU, extra o2 sensors, wiring in the knock sensor, new injectors, a new fuel pump, and several new gauges (around $2000 worth of gear)...
I get a rack of carbs ($100), a carb fuel pressure regulator (drops pressure down to 7-10psi for around $25), a vac gauge (already have one, but they're $25 for a mediocre one), a set of jets ($50 for main and idle jets, which are really all I need), and I'll spring for a wideband o2 sensor to save myself hours of time that I'd otherwise have to spend reading spark plugs.
But aside from that awesome level of control, if something goes wrong with an EFI system, I need to break out the manual, test light, and soldering iron. If something goes wrong with a rack of carbs, I can shake a stick at them menacingly and get them working again. I MAY need a can of carb cleaner and a cereal box, in a worst case scenario.
I added a sticker to it as well, which is normally something I'm completely opposed to, but couldn't resist the Darth Vader on my overly-80's-looking car.
So I suppose that's all for today. It's snowing like the sky has gone batshit insane, and we really hadn't expected it to start this early in the season, so there's wood splitting to do and plant-covering to take care of. 'till next time!