Region: SE
Car #: 39
Year : 1999 Posts: 835
Status: Offline
posted
(OK that’s a little subjective)
Hats off to Tom Fowler, Ryan, Mike, Brad and everyone at OPM Autosports in Georgia for building a really awesome car. You guys are the best. I know how much time you put into this over this past weekend – much appreciated!
This car is a testament to their unwavering attention to detail. The pictures do not do it justice. I wish I had pictures of the crowds around the car at VIR. That says more than anything – we were mobbed for 3 days!
CONCEPT The premise was simple. My lovely wife Kim always stresses…. “Danny, it’s not how good you are, it’s how good you look!”, so that was our starting point.
Tom was instructed to apply everything he had learned in over 50 race car builds, add to that everything we had learned about my old car #39 over the last 2 years, incorporate the latest stuff we have seen in the SE, and couple that with some new innovations, and build the best damn Spec Miata PERIOD!
DONOR We started with a clean high mileage dark green donor '99 (cos they look waaaaay more cool than 1.6's) with no body damage at all. Everything was totally stripped to a bare tub, and the car was built from the tub up using new components where needed.
CAGE Tom and Robinson Racing collaborated on making some new improvements to their tried and tested design. As you will see from the photos there are several new additions to the cage, and some new forward anchoring points.
The welds are beyond excellent; the penetrations through the parcel shelf and dashboard cutouts are incredibly tight with no gaps at all. And we went one further….. and believe me, this is not for the faint of heart……. we painted the cage matt black and the interior silver so you can imagine how much masking was involved in this process alone!
PAINT I played on the computer for a month looking for a striking new color combination that would stand out on the track and also look fast standing still. I think the color combo works. You be the judge.
Tom's paint guy Glen is absolutely exceptional. The front of the car, including engine bay interior is blue. The rear of the car including trunk interior is graphite. The cockpit interior is silver. The cage is matt black. The entire car is clear-coated throughout. Plus the entire undercarriage is painted black. And the paint quality is amazing, better than you will see on many cars on a showroom floor.
GRAPHICS I stayed with OPM’s trademark side swoosh and my signature orange accents. FishHead Graphics did a super job with the graphics and the overall combination is a stunner. Thanks Tiffany
ENGINE We were very happy with the performance of the excellent Rossini engines we used last year, winning 3 championships and racing more than 37 races without issue. So I called Mike Rossini and he refreshed an engine for me and the boys plunked it in. Of course Ryan, Mike and Brad detailed the entire engine bay so it looks like a completely new car off the showroom floor.
Region: SE
Car #: 39
Year : 1999 Posts: 835
Status: Offline
posted
DRIVETRAIN and UNDERSIDE We completely went over everything in the gearbox, differential, prop shafts and half shafts. Joe is the man there, and did a tremendous job.
GAUGES We borrowed the digital gauge idea from Cliffie Chains (thanks Cliffie), used AutoMeter digital gauges, which are great to look at in the car, easy to read, very cool blue color, but they do not show up at all in race video so some of the post race checking of temps and pressures that we used to be able to do by looking at video is no longer possible, so now we have to output all data to the Traqmate.
DATA Traqmate is by far the dominant data system in Spec Miata in the SE, so we installed the newest Traqmate system complete with Chase Cam. Nothing special here except that the control is now via LANC so it is so much faster on/off switching and synching, plus you now have the ability to synch with ANY HD video camera with a LANC input. Now HD video and Traqmate are synched – way cool! Thanks Glenn
ELECTRICAL / FIRE SAFETY / KILL SWITCH Mike did a great job on the electrical system. We retained the electrically adjustable side mirrors, blower fans, and all the other standard stuff. And with the heightened awareness from the recent tragedies, we wired in a DOUBLE Kill Switch and a DOUBLE Fire Pull, so that there is a Kill Switch and Fire Pull at the driver’s door for the Emergency crew, PLUS one of each within easy reach of the driver.
COST TO BUILD? This is the question you are dying to ask… so what did it cost?
For that answer you will have to speak to Tom, he can give you an idea. We had lots of parts from the 2009 season, so I have no idea of the final build price.
Sure we went all out, and it could have been done for less, but Tom and I wanted not only a fast car but also a show car, that will turn heads and draw customers to his shop and to my photo studios …… and I think we did it.
I look forward to all your comments….. I am on my way to Brazil so will check in each day to see what the feedback is like
Region: SEDIV
Car #: 33
Year : Whatever's Available! Posts: 311
Status: Offline
posted
The grand prize goes to the person who can correctly identify the number of occurances of Danny's name on this car.
Sorry buddy.... had to make one little dig This car is definitley an awesome piece. I thoroughly scoured it this weekend, and was floored with the build quality. Turns out, it's got some speed too. Well done OPM crew!
-------------------- Dan Tiley
Sponsored by Race Engineering Spec Miata's fastest and best supported engine program!
Region: mid south
Car #: 2
Year : 1999 Posts: 4275
Status: Offline
posted
quote:Originally posted by Dan Tiley: The grand prize goes to the person who can correctly identify the number of occurances of Danny's name on this car.
Sorry buddy.... had to make one little dig This car is definitley an awesome piece. I thoroughly scoured it this weekend, and was floored with the build quality. Turns out, it's got some speed too. Well done OPM crew!
I counted 8, so I am going to guess nine?
Very nice car, but I think the best one is about to hit the track in Atlanta in a few weeks , the current best one resides in NH somewhere?
Region: OVR
Car #: 88
Year : 1991 Posts: 2401
Status: Offline
posted
Very nice job, but to think, this past week I decided to pound out my old front fenders instead of replacing them with a pair of like-new 'Panic' sourced fenders because I just know as soon as I put them on the car they'll get bashed. -Denny
Region: NASA MA / SCCA CCR
Car #: 6
Year : 1990 Posts: 600
Status: Offline
posted
This car is absolutely stunning in person. The pictures (though very good pictures) definitely don't do it justice. I caught myself just staring at it for long periods of time. Great job OPM on an amazing build.
Region: WDCR - 042
Car #: 75
Year : 93 & 95 & 99 Posts: 3727
Status: Offline
posted
13 total if you count the watermarks in the photos.
-------------------- Mike Collins MEATHEAD Racing http://www.SHEETZ.com The MEATHEAD Racing 2010 Calendar is up!!!! www.MEATHEADRacing.com SMAC Member WDCR-SCCA SM Drivers Rep. ALL OPINIONS ON RULES OR SPECIFICATIONS ARE JUST THAT, MY OPINIONS!
Region: South East
Car #: #92
Year : 91 Posts: 189
Status: Offline
posted
Great looking ride I like the contrasting black tubing with the silver interior, as far as getting dinged I guess thats why its so fast, dont want anybody near it. 1st class looking car
Danny, your car looks beyond awesome but with the way you drive, you might as well have left the cruise control in. Congrats buddy can't wait to see how my new car stacks up.
Region: Blue Ridge Region (103), SEDiv
Car #: 52
Year : 94 Posts: 314
Status: Offline
posted
We were at OPM January 23rd and saw the donor just back from Robinson's. The cage was awesome but nothing else was done then. Nothing. We went by the OPM tent at VIR this weekend (March 6) to see the finished car. The transformation in six weeks is amazing as is the quality of work. And as others have noted, Danny can drive it too, also a tribute to his work ethic as a driver.
Region: 83
Car #: 127
Year : 90 Posts: 284
Status: Offline
posted
Wow! Danny, "You make keeping up with Jones's" a pretty tall order. I love the color combo and the gauge work. Clearly one of the best looking rides out there.
Region: 011
Car #: 47
Year : 94 Posts: 488
Status: Offline
posted
mr boerboel; enjoy your new mistress, ride her hard, to the front and to many wins! you a lucky guy, & kudos to major Tom for the 100 pt. concours quality creation, if the first one was way fast, this one is should be wicked. P.S. anyone remember Stu's '8 ball' 1.6 spec miata from back in '02? He was the first builder to create a masterpiece spec miata, then his BSI orange crush 'JD Signature Series' 1.8's of '05 ... now it's OPM with their 2010 'Pebble Beach' '99 ... absolutely beautiful craftsmanship by one of the Masters
I love our Aerocatch. We installed them the opposite way though (with the narrow side facing forward) even though clearance is tight. Aerocatch recommends narrow side forward as well--reason being if for whatever reason the latch somehow pops up at speed, air flow will keep the latch from opening completely. With the wide side facing forward, the air flow could cause the latch to open all the way.
-------------------- Rob Gibson RJ Racing 2010 NASA Nationals TTE Champion 2008/2009 WERC Champion 2007 NASA SoCal SM Champion rjracing.net Weekend-Racer.com
Region: Southeast
Car #: 6
Year : 2002 Posts: 33
Status: Offline
posted
As a Vandy fan, I'm a little uneasy with that shade of orange...reminds me of Bruce Pearl's sport coat... but my wife and my son (Auburnistas) think it looks good with the blue. Regardless of the color scheme, you'll make the car go fast and brighten up the grid in the bargain.
-------------------- Skip Brock OPM Rental, RE Engine
Seems like everywhere I go, The more I see, The less I know.
Region: cfr
Car #: 13
Year : 1990 Posts: 105
Status: Offline
posted
Truly awesome!!! if it was mine I would have to sleep in it for a while. The way we drive down here though you better stay in front. They filmed days of thunder here for a reason. Ha Ha!
Region: SE
Car #: 39
Year : 1999 Posts: 835
Status: Offline
posted
Hi Guys
Checking in from Copacabana beach in Brazil - don't get too jealous, its been work all week, but I will take some of the weekend to get to see this lovely spot.
Thanks to all for the kind words, but please direct them at Tom and his crew as they did all the hard work. I just came up with the color scheme. As I say when you see it in real life, you will be stunned by the build quality.
As to keeping it this way for the season, anyone making that comment hasn't seen me drive. Unfortunately I am sure that it will make many return trips to the body shop, but I hope to delay that as long as possible, so guys treat me nice!
Looking forward to the National next week at Road Atlanta. Hopefully the car will have the speed to stay with the big boys. Last year I got lucky and Cliff Brown gave it to me in the last corner. Doubt that will happen again this year.
And if anyone is contemplating a new build, give Tom Fowler at OPM Autsports a call. He will give you a good deal and build an awesome car, as you can see above.
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![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
This car is definitley an awesome piece. I thoroughly scoured it this weekend, and was floored with the build quality. Turns out, it's got some speed too. Well done OPM crew!![[yep]](graemlins/yep.gif)
, the current best one resides in NH somewhere? ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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Talk about getting the center of gravity low!
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Congrats buddy can't wait to see how my new car stacks up.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
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