2010: An EFI Hot Rod Odyssey

[cole930]

Tom,

Anything is worth exactly what you are willing to pay for it and if you paid for it you own it so everyone else can kiss your ass. Otherwise you will spend your life never having the things you wanted and die having spent your life doing nothing more than serving the self interests of others.

Cole

[tj930]

Hi Tom,

Never ceases to amaze me that people who tend to have a dim outlook on money, they tend to be those without any. Bette Middler had it right: "Anybody who says, 'money can't buy you happiness,' doesn't know where to shop!"

If spending your bucks with Mr. Carroll et al at Turbokraft makes you happy, then you do that.

TJ.

P.s. Reading your 28-page thread through the weeks has made me pretty happy and appreciative of what you have right there.

[tom84930]

Hey Cole
As usual, your post gets to the very heart of the matter. Someone should publish a book entitled "The Collected Wit and Wisdom of Cole". I'd be first in line to buy it. Thanks.

TJ
Thanks, my friend. Bette Midler had it right. Besides, as the saying goes, you can't take it with you.

[MikeD930]

Originally Posted by tom84930

Hey Cole
As usual, your post gets to the very heart of the matter. Someone should publish a book entitled "The Collected Wit and Wisdom of Cole". I'd be first in line to buy it. Thanks.

TJ
Thanks, my friend. Bette Midler had it right. Besides, as the saying goes, you can't take it with you.

+1...I always gain more wisdom whenever I hang around with Cole.

Tom,
I would not let others opinion bother me. Obviously that guy was just plain jealous. What you said is very true that it's not just money alone that gets good results. It's selecting the right services and establish teamwork between the customer and business. It goes both ways. Having lousy business, customer or both will give poor results no matter what business we are talking about. I enjoyed following your 930 build and am glad that everything turned out great. That's the kind of stories I love hearing about whether one does his own work or others.

[Tom F2]

Where would the world of art be without all those wealthy Florentines who paid for the Renaissance? Okay, I overstate the point slightly, but this was art that you paid for, Tom, and there will always be those who do not appreciate art.

All I ask is that you post the dyno sheet when you put this on a chassis dyno.

[cole930]

Tom,

That was kind of you to say but I'm sure the book would be banned by the Federal Government.

I showed your reply to my lovely wife and she laughed. She said you just didn't realize that it wasn't wit and wisdom, it
was that I am totally void of grey.

Seriously,
In reading your post I felt that that slugs comment got to you. Don't ever feel that way or apologize for your successes, you worked for them they weren't just given to you. Realize his comment was nothing other than a reaction to his disappointment in himself. All of us are nothing other than the sum of our choices and that incredible car is one of the rewards for making the right ones.

Cole

[Tom C.]

Originally Posted by tom84930

There he goes, I thought to myself, just one more unhappy camper who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

This really sums it up for me. Don't care what anyone else thinks because when it's done . . . you have to live with it. Good or bad. Guys that just write checks don't want the responsibility that comes with a project like this one.

So I've followed this thread with great interest. Just to enjoy all the cool stuff getting accomplished between TurboKraft and a very involved customer. Can't see something as good as this happening any other way.

Congrat's and thanks for sharing this experience.

[tj930]

Yeah, to put things into a sporting context, the D-type guy was probably just suggesting that you "bought success", instead of doing the hard work yourself. He's trying to suggest that anybody could achieve what you have achieved, just by throwing a truckload of money at a problem - it's BullS**t.

"A fool as his money are easily separated" - and he's the guy driving the miserable Jaguar!

[JFairman]

short version: the guy sounds like a jealous shmuck with a negative attitude and probably hasn't gotten laid in a very long time...

[tom84930]

Thanks, guys. When it's all said and done, I had a great ride with TurboKraft--just one hell of a fun year. And the engine they built, well, it's a thing of beauty. Terrific to look at, and even more terrific to drive. Unbelieveable, really. And yes, JFairman, I suspect that poor old slime pond probably couldn't find his dick with a search party.

[turbocarrera]

So Tom, just how hairy is it with that rubber on the back? Are you keeping e85 in the tank for the full 800hp or use the low octane maps mostly? I'm guessing it doesn't hookup so good in the first two gears? Must be awesome.

[tom84930]

Hey Tony
Yes, you're correct, it definitely needs bigger, stickier rear tires. On hard acceleration in first (on back roads with zero traffic) it has traction for a moment, until boost, when it breaks loose. It also breaks loose in second on hard acceleration. It's going to be some time before I can get some sticky 315s on the back, so safety first. Good thing it has limited slip. Actually, it's downright docile and very, very manageable and predictable when driven sanely around town. Just like a little old 1980s NA 3.2 Carrera put-puting along to the grocery store and back. The Magnaflow is quite mellow until boost, also. So my neighbors have nothing much to complain about. The main thing is to drive it sensibly, especially when other cars or people are about, where things might go quickly wrong. The reality is that the boundaries of an engine like this really ought to be tested on a track, where no one can be hurt, which I will be doing.

[Kraftday]

Can I just say it is very refreshing to hear fellow enthusiasts contemplating and realizing the VALUE of craftsmanship. It is extremely gratifying actually. Sure a monetary gain makes it possible when you are not breaking even. Each project out there is a living example and hopefully carries equity with it. Chris pays all of his college educated employees well and I'm grateful about that. I really hope humans begin understand that recycling (rebuilding) and increasing efficiency is less costly in the long run! Chris I don't believe to be in for the fast buck by selling disposable parts...there are plenty of business owners out there in this small Porsche Builder Industry that do and we are forced to compete.

Don't ask me about Chinese made headers for $185...it just isn't right. I hope they start taxing industries based on pollution and us consumers less. Best way to vote is with your wallet in my opinion. Tom, you got a STEAL and many people simply do not understand all the time and energy it takes to do things right. Very glad you are enjoying responsibly!

[Kraftday]

This week we posted some photos outlining Tom's the project in the TurboKraft gallery. We also have some of the dyno sheets posted in a sub-album. Turn down the AC, grab a cold glass of lemon-aid and enjoy!

2010 : An EFI Hot Rod Odyssey

Dyno Markers:

91 Oct - Baseline


91 Oct - After TK

[tom84930]

Brian
I completely agree with your suggestion that I got a "steal". Granted, it was no small amount of money, but given the amount of time and obsessive attention to detail that went into hand-building that engine--every step of the way--it really was a terrific bargain. In retrospect, it's easy to see how I could have spent twice what I did with some shops and not gotten anything close to what you guys built. I don't want to go all hyperbolic here, but the way that engine looks and drives goes beyond craft. It's pure freakin' art. Lincoln is going to love you guys.
Tom

[SCHNELE]

Tom I am sweating here trying to figure out how much this damage is going to cost me to make it right.

[Shadetree930]

Originally Posted by SCHNELE

Tom I am sweating here trying to figure out how much this damage is going to cost me to make it right.

Pfffffttttttt .... don't sweat the small stuff Linc . Tell the wife to bill out a few extra hours of work.

[SCHNELE]

That won't go over well, I am trying to figure out what to cut so I can get her back on the road and fast.

[tom84930]

Hello all
Like many of you, I've been following Lincoln's "Resurrection" thread closely. Sadly, as Lincoln himself aptly descibed his engine, it's a "train wreck". Any of us who've gotten to know Lincoln here on Pelican know that he's one hell of a nice guy and certainly doesn't deserve such felonious and unforgivable treatment. For that matter, who does?

When I look at the photos Chris has taken during Lincoln's engine disassembly, I can't help thinking that there but for the grace of god, go I. After all, few of us on the Turbo Forum are sufficiently knowledgable to know exactly what we're getting into when we hire a tuner/engine builder for these old beasts of ours. What is abundantly clear in Lincoln's situation is that sometimes it can be a real roll of the dice.

I hesitate to restate the obvious here, but I thank my lucky stars that I had the good fortune to find TurboKraft. I've said it before on this thread, and I'll say it again now: Chris Carroll and his guys are extremely intelligent, highly experienced and totally honest. People like Chris are all too rare, and they need to be rewarded. In this case, although they can't fix the pain, they can and will make Lincoln's 930 problems go away.

If any of you ever have questions or concerns about working with TurboKraft, I will be more than happy to talk with you at any time about any aspect of my experience with them. Like me, you might just save youself a lot of grief.

Tom

[Kraftday]

Tom, probably should clarify my thoughts about the cost of parts and hardware for these Porsche cars is defiantly not a steal! I still choke at the price of Porsche Motorsport cylinder heads or Mahle motorsport wants over $6000 for the 98mm P&Cs these days!! When they show up, you expect them to be tops and not be left-over blems from Germany or to include rings or whatever! How a shop reacts to these curve balls really can raise hidden costs / time to a builder and owner too. It's like having to tell someone their dog died!

The formula, designs, commitment of parts, adaptations, machine operations, fabrication and trusted mechanical labor from only experienced personnel done at around a $100/hr is the real bargain I mean to say. You've had such an awesome attitude this whole journey. Thank you for helping us expand our capabilities!

We just finally finished off the Texas UFO. That was the black 965, 3.9L MoTeC example you came to trip over here. I think with Lincoln’s car we should have fun dealing with the consequences of illustrating the differences between MoTeC and AEM! Ready to enable and exploit! Hehe