The Art of Driving

So far I have collected some Bumper Guards for the Sol to go along with the EDM side markers I already have. I’m still in the search for new (old) wheels rather than refinishing my old ones. But, other than this small purchase I’m still waiting to hear back from a contact in the UK who is (hopefully) going to be getting me into one of just a handful of del Sol owners with the full oem EDM lip kit in the States. It’s exciting yes, but also somewhat nerve racking because I don’t yet actually have the pieces at my house yet. But enough of the car for a few minutes, I want print a quote from one of the most amazing car enthusiasts. This was a quote from when the writer was riding with one of the great drivers of the early days of road racing, Tazio Nuvolari.

"At the first bend, I had the clear sensation that Tazio had taken it badly and that we would end up in the ditch; I felt myself stiffen as I waited for the crunch. Instead, we found ourselves on the next straight with the car in a perfect position. I looked at him, his rugged face was calm, just as it always was, and certainly not the face of someone who had just escaped a hair-raising spin. I had the same sensation at the second bend. By the fourth or fifth bend I began to understand; in the meantime, I had noticed that through the entire bend Tazio did not lift his foot from the accelerator, and that, in fact, it was flat on the floor. As bend followed bend, I discovered his secret. Nuvolari entered the bend somewhat earlier than my driver's instinct would have told me to. But he went into the bend in an unusual way: with one movement he aimed the nose of the car at the inside edge, just where the curve itself started. His foot was flat down, and he had obviously changed down to the right gear before going through this fearsome rigmarole. In this way he put the car into a four-wheel drift, making the most of the thrust of the centrifugal force and keeping it on the road with the traction of the driving wheels. Throughout the bend the car shaved the inside edge, and when the bend turned into the straight the car was in the normal position for accelerating down it, with no need for any corrections."
Enzo Ferrari

Goodbye Captiva... Hellooo primer then ... ???

This year at Import Alliance I saw way to many clean captiva del Sols. Even moreso they have been poping up online everywhere too. I love the color but in the interest in being a one off Honda I have decided that a new color is in order for this build.

So... Body work is going to start very soon on the sol. Front reflectors are going to be shaved along with fixing all the little dents and what not that have shown up on the nearly 17 year old car. The cannards I had are going away as well as they will make a slightly cluttered front end. I might get a backup/track bumper and move them to it but for now. Still waiting on confirmation for shipping from the UK on a few things.

The color I have picked out is a factory Honda blue but I wont be staying with the captiva that the car rolled off the line with. For now the wheels I have are probably going to stay on the car due to money limitations however they will be refinished and part will be color matched to the body.

The Plan

9.11.09Heres the plan:
Day one. Drive from Christiansburg, Va. to Springfield, Mo. to meet up with one of my good friends and fellow del Sol owner who has offered us a place to stay for the night.
Day two. Leave Springfield and follow I40 and historic 66 when possible to somewhere outside of Albuquerque, Nm.
Day Three. Short excursion leaving Albuquerque to Sandia Peak then continue on and meet another del Sol owner around Flaggstaff, Az. Continue on to California and hopefully end the day around San Bernadino.
From here Eibach would be the next day then do it over in reverse. back to VA. This route and times may change if Vegas Invasion is around the same time as Eibach My co Driver and I will be hitting up vegas for a day or two.

Oh did I say that I loved racing? Well I do both current and historic road racing. Thinking about making the trip into a Rallye style event since I have gotten quite a few people wishing to join in on the drive. Ill update with more details on this at a later date.

The Road to Eibach

9.10.09 Start: Some of you probably dont know who I am or what this is about. So, allow me to explain a bit.

My name is Chris Mills, I live in a comfortable home in south western Virginia. I'm Married to the most beautiful girl in the world and Im slightly obsessed with the little car I own. I call it a passion and people who also happen to own one of these cars may agree. To everyone else I'm just obsessed and slightly crazy.

My obsession is my 1993 Honda del Sol. Currently she sits in my drive way as my daily driver with lots of dents, slightly off color passenger fender and only a few things that people of the Honda world would think of as rare. Honestly nothing much to look at.

But. I have plans.
Eibach Springs holds a meet every year in Corona, Ca. One of the if not THE largest Honda meet on the Left Coast. My plan is to take my car from run of the mill to one of the most rare and clean del Sols that shows up to Eibach. No easy task for sure. So in the next eight months I will be working to make this goal a reality and to drive the car from my home to California via I40 and historic Rt. 66 once I reach it.

So follow along my journey to build my car and the side stories that will surely come with it on my road to Eibach.

~Chris