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Home sweet home...

11K views 62 replies 14 participants last post by  sbindley 
#1 ·
Got it back this morning.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
When the car showed up in Colorado the new owner had to get it to pass the Denver air quality dyno testing and was not able to do so. Car runs great, looks great and is a blast but his tuner was unable to get it to pass so after a few weeks he gave up. My personal opinion is that he really wanted to concentrate on rebuilding a 70s Firebird and had lost some of his enthusiasm for the Sol.

I am glad it has gone back to a good owner who will enjoy it.
 
#3 ·
I received an email from the buyer this weekend informing me that the car had gone home. :thumbs:

Still an awsome package. Have fun. :agree:
 
#5 ·
I tried hard to facilitate his passing for a long time but I think he just lost interest after a while and is already onto a new engine swap project.

I''m going to pick up from my guy in a few minutes and register it. I'll likely have my guy detune with a larger pulley and drop the hp into the mid 500's and allow for more use of the throttle for street driving. No sniff test until next year, but my guy here says that will be no problem (easier than CO, I assume - no dyno).
 
#10 ·
Very nice car, could you provide further pics and specs? What were you asking?

I like your wheels as well.
 
#14 ·
I've been driving the car all weekend and had forgotten how amazing this car is. The sounds, the power, the looks, the hood (my favorite part of the build). This car is begging for some road course time, but my guy here will start work on the street package setup next week, so I look forward to getting it back with less power, but more usable power.

Weather back into the 70's next week, so the top will come off, likely for good from here on out.

Charity Solstice 2.0 is in body shop for hood install, etc., before custom wrap goes on. Thanks to all the vendors here who selflessly handed over parts for that build.

Cheers all,
S
 
#15 ·
gmtech:
I know Chris (from Stainless Headers) posted a reply. I cannot remember if he did it on the SKYforum and then it was copied here.
So I think anyone that read his post knows what happened. He did mentioned not wanting to talk specifically about WERKS, but rather concentrate on why the manifold cracked.
 
#17 ·
I am assuming the proceeds from the original auction stayed with the charity.
 
#18 ·
The car auctioned off for 38 last Jan and every penny went to the hospital. I bought it back last week and have not decided if I will donate it again, but am really excited to enjoy it for the immediate future. I have the vert that I bought a couple months ago and that is planned to be raffled off for same hospital with every penny going to them, including the purchase price and whatever I have in it.
 
#21 ·
Thanks for the response.
I know I made an offer a few months back for 36K but he refuse it.
I have to agree with King_Oka post about you sbindley.
 
#22 ·
Update

My guy out here, Joe Cordes, at Cordes Performance Racing has had the coupe for some tweaks to make the street driving a little more compliant.

He softened the settings on the coilovers a couple notches and raised the ride height a half an inch.

He found a place where the exhaust manifold was rubbing and redid that to clear.

We're putting in a new clutch that is much quieter, with an easier pedal feel as well as a new short throw shifter -- the six speed should behave much better with far less noise/chatter and handle the power easily.

Finally, Joe's tuner, Nic, had been trying to work with the existing tune without success and simply erased it today and rewrote from scratch. A/F ratios are spot on, car drives much more smoothly and any issues with emissions should be eliminated.

I have not driven it yet as it is in for clutch but hoping to get it back next week.
 
#26 ·
Just got the V8 Coupe back after some tweaks and a new tune and it is a different car in so many ways. My guy was having problems dealing with the existing tune and older software, so they just trashed it and rewrote from scratch -- was performed by Nic D, one of the best LS3 tuners in the country.

The car is so smooth and the power delivery is so linear - much more drivable in every gear. It even shifts better with the tune. Can't wait to get the new McLeod clutch (stock pedal feel, no noise/chatter, good for up to 1,000 hp) and short throw shifter installed on 3/3.

Also, no more groaning noises on turns or hard acceleration (from a rubbing exhaust manifold that developed in one spot). With the KW's softened a bit and the ride height raised a half inch, the ride is supple but plenty firm. It just drives perfectly.

Really, I think this little car is one of the great sports cars around. The small changes allow it to be driven harder, yet more easily - the throttle is so smooth that it invites more pedal without worrying about losing it from the original, harder-edged delivery.

(And no disrespect to Dave/Werks - remember, he holds a lot of track records in a Sol Coupe, so his setup is going to be more severe than what I want for my occasional driver. Cutting back the power 40-50 or so rwhp and softening some settings has allowed for a better street driver. For sure, kudos to Werks for building a really special car -- recall that the most of the work was done over a weekend, outside, in a parking lot, in 100+ degree heat.)

BTW, the TA should be shipping soon -- over a year into that build - a new t-top system has been engineered, and it added six months to the process. I'll post some pics when it comes in. AGP twin-turbo on that one. Oh, and against all better judgement, I put the bird on the hood. I just know that, as I pull into meetings with prospective charity car owners and dealers, that silly bird will make people run to the car. Between the charity GXP, the V8 Coupe and the TA, we will drive a lot of interest in the charity car world.

I may bring all three to a Pavillions car show this spring, if any of you AZ folks want to check them out.
 
#27 ·
A bit of thread restoration to go with some upgrades to the supercharged V8 Coupe. Here is a hint at some of the interior bits - a Corvette D steering wheel with the Sol trim pieces getting the carbon fiber treatment (as well as the dash and door trim). A front bumper camera is now installed to keep an eye on curbs, etc.

All new T6060 tranny should be in soon as well as new clutch. We already put in a new wiring harness, built from scratch, to go with all new wiring throughout the engine (no splices, no tape anywhere). All new cooling setup and new and better locations and mounts for some of the engine and supercharger accessories. Working on new AC lines as well. The level of detail is incredible -- over 1,000 photos so far.

Looking forward to getting back behind the wheel.

S
 

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#28 ·
So tell us more about the tune
Does the cruise and AC work?
How does it do with the BCM?

What tool did he use?

Is this a tune that could be modified for our non supercharged cars?

Do we need to bring the car to Phoenix to get it tuned?

While my car is running well, I'm always open to improvements
 
#29 ·
Tune should be the same. It was redone a couple years ago by a local guy and drove really well before it went in for these latest upgrades.

AC always worked great, but we are redoing the lines to a higher quality - no crimps, etc.

Cruise never worked and I never worried about it. Recall this was the live install Werks car and it was built before Ken had figured out cruise for even the 2.4 cars.

Once the custom tranny arrives, things should start moving again.

Oh, I also put a front camera in the grill to help with parking curbs, etc.
 
#30 ·
This car will be back on the road soon after languishing with a builder working on it in his spare time -- all new engine wiring, new TR6060 tranny, new cooling setup, new hood. ECU has been converted to EFI Live so a new dyno tune will be done soon. I guess I should have the 11 year old tires checked out as well. A lot of missed deadlines and promises, but supposed to get fresh fluids and startup this week.
 
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