The Cars

An '85 Swift DB1 was the first car to be converted to Honda power.  A rolling chassis was purchased from Don Baggett in Atlanta in the Spring of 2010.  It was taken down to a bare chassis for a total rebuild.  The entire braking system was replaced with new parts including calipers, lines, cylinders and such.  The body got a new paint scheme.  All control cables, the radiator and a slew of other stuff got replaced.  An AIM data system was installed.  More than 100 man-hours were consumed with the conversion kit installation and the refurbishment.  The "old girl" had her shakedown race at Summit Point in June and made 6 races in 2010. The Swift was sold at the end of the 2011 season with the plan to replace it with a new/near new car.  The old guy wanted to finish the twilight of his racing career with a top notch car that would not annoy with things getting loose or breaking.  The vintage Crossle 16F was also sold to help pay for the frivolity.  
 

 A year old Piper/Honda was purchased from Grant Lockwood in December 2011.  It has been raced in the Pro 1600 Series by Jim Goughary to a third place in the series.  It came with a ton of spares.  It will be interesting to see what improvement in lap times result.  Game on!

After a lengthy search for a car, Sean bought a  '95 Citation FC in January 2011 for conversion.   In addition to swapping out the Ford 2 liter engine, all the FC specific stuff like wings and bigger wheels had to be removed.  After the chassis was stripped, it was taken to Eric Langbein's shop in Annapolis for the not trivial fitting of the Honda kit.  Honda does not make a "kit" for the Citation, so some fabrication and engineering was required.  Eric finished his work at the end of February and rebuilding the car began in earnest.  

Sean kept a detailed blog of the process with lots of detail photos.  It can be seen HERE.  The Citation will also use an AIM data system. The car will retain it's "John Deere" livery.  

Update (March 14, 2011):  The Citation conversion was taken to VIR on 11 March for a shakedown test. The Hoosier spec tires mandated by the F1600 Series were fitted. The car and engine ran flawlessly in each of the five track sessions.  Before the F1600 Series race in April, the engine cover and air intake were improved.  Sean spent many late nights and over came many obstacles to complete the conversion.  Well done.

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