This year we proudly displayed some of the UK’s finest S-bodies both on stand and on all three SXOC dedicated track slots. We even put on free food for all our awesome members

Our dedicated track time makes this event a must for all the track day fans out there giving you a chance to drive one of the fastest tracks in the UK and really stretching the legs of your Jap wagon

I am sure this car lives at Combe but when it cruised past the stand I couldn’t resist getting a cheeky shot, caption is so true – Welcome to the dark side!

A massive thank you needs to go out to Spirit and Bristol Blue for organising the event for us this year and making it run so smoothly, also to TheBigShow for keeping us fed and bringing us the van so we had some  tunes and equipment for the day. I must say it was an epic event and really got me buzzing for the rest of the SXOC events this year. Roll on the weekender

Media thread here

1st prize: A comprehensive track day tool kit
includes clarke alloy race jack, clarke pro ratchet/screw driver/spanner set, clarke 12v impact wrench & a Gunsun fold up work mat. All will fit nicely in the back of your s body

2nd prize: Clarke pro 3/8″ drive socket set

3rd prize: Clarke 1/2″ torque wrench

5 x runner ups: SXOC beenie hat

How to enter? That’s the best part, you don’t, all you need is to be a paid up member of the club. On Friday 11th May we will randomly pick some SXOC member numbers, if it’s your number, you’re a winner

You can view all of the posted media from the day here.

Booking has already started for the next event on the 2nd of June – click here for more information

This very thread has been an inspiration for numerous people on the SXOC over the years and in no small part helping to keep many an s-body on the road.

Take one much loved and cared for s14a.

Even the best examples have a little hidden rust so it seems

Mid refurb, Petrol stripped his car right back to ensure it would be returned to better than new condition.

After years of blood sweat and tears here are the results.

Finally here it is as it stands today parked up alongside Pete’s other project

For the full thread click here

The “Post pics of inspirational S-bodies” thread was started by Quail way back in 2008 and over the past four years has had pictures of all the famous and infamous S-bodys in existence added.

Clean s12′s

Mean s13′s

Smooth s14′s

Bad ass s14a’s

Simply stunning Imports

In short if you’re looking for inspiration for your own car this is the first place you should start

http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?349593-Post-pics-of-inspirational-S-bodies

Friday 6th July – Monday 9th July

So here it is folks, finally the booking thread is up for the Club Weekender 2012.

Before I start going into what it’s all about (I’m sure you lot already know what to expect! ) I want to say that this is going to be the biggest event the SXOC have ever put on, I am looking forward to a superb weekend and expect you all to help out and chip in. Without you guys it wouldn’t happen so lets make it not just the biggest but the best event we’ve ever held. JAE isn’t what it used to be and there’s no Awesomefest this year sadly so this is our premier, blow out event

It had been a LONG time since we had visited “Dastek” in Dalgety Bay, Fife. So long in fact that the company had become Performance HQ, had a new Mainline dyno installed and had a new, very experienced Dyno operator in the guise of Russ Paton. There was a rather eclectic mix of cars ranging from Ryan’s ultra rare JZX110 Chaser to a rather pimp looking A4 TDi, plus lots of  S-Bodies, a few Fiat Coupés, Focus ST’s, Type R’s and more thrown in for good measure.

After a quick briefing and the usual signing of wavers the day got started. First to take to the Rollers was Stevie-b and his rather spotless S14a. It put out a healthy 236whp with 252lbft, it had set the benchmark. S14a followed S14a, each posting a good figure on the board which peaked with Joey’s 317whp with 327ft/lb. Not only that be he would then do a 2nd run at the end of the day and claim the most powerful car of the day…… just, with 330whp with 337ft/lb.

From the S13s there were 2 high powered cars to do some runs, Kev’s and Campbell’s (2BobRocket) both giving 300+whp, showing that the trusty CA’s still have life in them yet!

After the S-Bodies it came time to run the rest. The dyno was alive with the sound of the 5 cylinders of the STs and Fiat Coupés all giving great figures. Surpise of the day was a Mk4 Astra with a V6 in it, we all got a little shock thats for sure. Finishing off the day were the 4WD runners (A nice clean very quiet Impreza and a subtle looking GTiR), I appreciate your patience chaps as you waited all day and what a long day that was.

Dynos although great for giving figures to spout at the pub have also been proven as great diagnostic tools, which for tinnysteve and Paddy was a good thing. Their runs were aborted due to fuelling issues. Running on the dyno may have saved their engines, lets hope they get their issues sorted quickly.

As organiser I’d like to say thank you to all who came. Hope to see you all again at future events.

For all pictures and power/torque figures see the thread: HERE

Rubix_Cube

In his project thread Jim explains that there have been many transplant projects done to these cars in the past including twin sparks, V6′s etc, but in his pursuit of making his dream car Jim found out that to get any real power via this route you have to spend big bucks and that still leaves the original gearbox which is the weakest link. It was then that Jim stumbled across a transplant that a Greek fellow living in Australia had done (SR20DET into a 1973 Bertone).

“Everything looked so right under the bonnet and there was a tentative link between Nissan and Alfa (Alfa Arna was basically a joint Alfa / Nissan project) so that maintains the heritage link”

A Donor car for the engine was found in the form of an accident damaged s14. The engines were soon out and placed side by side for a comparison.

It became apparent that the engines were in fact of very similar dimensions and when it came to the first test fit the SR actually landed on the Alfa’s original engine mounts. This meant that the originality of the car could be mostly maintained giving any future owner the opportunity to return it to standard if so desired.

Due to restricted space in the engine bay Jim decided that going for a top mounted turbo would be necessary, having to convert the manifold from a T3 to a T2 flange in the process.

With all this added power Jim thought it would be prudent to upgrade the safety aspect of the car. “This was an area I was not willing to accept (the one area I wasn’t going to compromise to maintain originality is safety). So a roll cage and decent belts and seats are a must”

With the car almost complete it was time to get the it to Jez at H-Dev for it’s final map and full suspension set up, “It now runs 17psi of boost and has nearly three times as much power as when it left the factory”

With the car now finished it was time to start enjoying it. Jim entered it in to the Angoulemerally In france

I’m sure some of you are aware but Jims car has made it on to the cover of PPC this month with a cracking write up. Good to see all of Jims hard work getting the credit it deserves. Below are a couple of pictures from the PPC shoot.

If you want to see more of Jims fabulous Alfa pick up a copy of this months PPC magazine, or why not check out the full build right here on the SXOC http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?497694-Alfa-Scuderia-quot-non-originale-quot

Onward into the show and we soon got lost in the maze of shiny custom parts and pretty ladies, so much so we nearly lost track of time and missed the live show. The show was as expected, loud, fast and full of excitement. Our first sighting of an s-body was the second car brought out and was a standard s13 drifting doughnuts around Mr Plato. Sadly due to my amateur photo skills, I failed to capture a pic but did manage to get this time attack GTR.

Back to the show and back on the search for the s-bodies. With so many machines and so much going on it’s easy to miss what’s right in front of you, we did however find these two beauties:

Acorn Motorsport Division’s S13

The Maxxis drift s14a

We popped into see our friends at PPC to find them not selling their rendition of “the best thing since sliced bread” but using the free time to work on their cars and to boot they had a keg of hobgobblin on the go. They were also the only stand advertising for spectators to touch their cars and get involved. Loving the way way you rolls guys and thanks for the overs.

In all it was a great show, lots of quality machinery and engineering, from custom made adjustable rear arms to stand alone ecu and data logging, it really has got me thinking of more mental ideas for my s13. Still uploading and sifting though photos, so check out this thread for more pics from the show.

 2011 Xmas Winners

Oh! and a massive thank you to these guys, check out their SXOC offers in the trade section.