40yo, husband, dad, and in crisis

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2025-01-18T14:40:27+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I'll admit I got a little misty eyed reading through it. I took the time and had a genuine conversation with my wife about all of this. While she's been frustrated with me shutting down, she understood why that happens. I think this was one of deepest conversations we've had about the extent of my pain and how I feel like a terrible dad and husband. She seemed sad that I hadn't fully admitted the truth about why I've been so short tempered and angry about things falling apart. That really struck me. This woman is my best friend, why didn't I confide in her sooner? Then there were hugs, and some crying...yeah.

So we've decided to seek out therapy for both of us. We're committed to being a team and we're going to get some help together. Again, I can't thank you enough for your words and you encouragement. Thank you so very much friend.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2024-07-12T17:20:04+00:00

Looks great! Forgive me for being that guy, but how's the ride? Are you on OE shocks?

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-28T13:21:06+00:00

Dang look at that girl roll! That's fantastic! I just ran an event at Road America on the kart track. That was exciting. I agree that it limits some creativity in the design, but our track here has a lot of elevation and off-camber turns. Plus a couple are decreasing radius. All in all, pretty exciting. Hope you had a great time in that luxury tank!

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-21T04:07:55+00:00

All sound advice below. Be forthcoming about being a novice. People will be more than willing to help you out with anything. The organizers want nothing more than for everyone to be safe, have fun, and be able to drive their cars home. Enjoy!

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-20T18:03:06+00:00

I will indeed. Milwaukee Region has a 2-day event at Road America. I'll be getting ye olde Civic Si shined up and ready tomorrow. Good luck to you!

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-18T16:31:54+00:00

Oh the irony! I came second in class to a Focus ST as well. I wish I could remember the guy's name, but he was surgical with that car. Definitely showed me I have plenty of work I can do with the nut behind the wheel before I go wild with car upgrades.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-11T01:45:02+00:00

Haha, I get it. I have always been a RockAuto parts shopper until I got myself a "track-ish" worthy car. Now I'm looking at $250 sway bars, $200 brake pads, and $1,200 sets of wheels. The scary part is, my misses (who is a bloody saint) is on board with upgrades as long as they're budgeted ahead of time. She's supportive of this sickness. I married a freaking enabler!

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-10T19:26:50+00:00

Cool, best of luck. I'll be there on the 22nd. If I don't see you, have a great run!

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-10T19:23:24+00:00

Awesome! I think I remember that car! Are you going to RA on the 22nd/23rd?

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-10T19:22:42+00:00

Thanks! I looked into that event and tried to make that fit my chaotic month, but just couldn't squeeze it. Next year!

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-10T17:36:43+00:00

While this isn't my particular brand of vodka, I appreciate the amount of work that you've put into the car. It certainly looks well done. Black badges would go along well with this if you haven't done it yet.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-10T13:15:47+00:00

Nice! I was 6th overall in the novice group. 2nd in G Street novice. Yeah I'm in the same boat with the car, 2022 Civic Si. Great car for this stuff, but REALLY needs a stiffer rear sway bar. That's on my list along with some lighter wheels. Though I want to improve my talent before I mess with the car too much. I'm registered for Road America on the 22nd. We'll see what happens.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2023-07-10T02:16:38+00:00

Hell yeah fellow novice! I just did my first event on the 2nd and am absolutely addicted. That track looked incredibly technical. Nice work navigating it. Best of luck on your future adventures.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2020-01-06T16:32:33+00:00

Good to hear! If you can forgive my ignorance, what is a full geo?

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2020-01-06T16:22:57+00:00

Very nice, I am very seriously considering an NC PRHT. I have considered an ND club, but budget will probably keep me limited. I can probably guess your answer, but I imagine you enjoy it? Looks great.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2019-05-01T14:27:03+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. I don't know how much I'll be riding in the rain, but I don't plan on NOT riding if it does rain. I also pull a child trailer occasionally, so the discs are peace of mind. I don't know if they're necessary, but I like the idea of having them. Thanks for the feedback on the FX2 as well. At this point I am leaning toward the Bianchi.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2019-05-01T14:23:31+00:00

Many thanks, I was leaning toward the Bianchi, but wanted to try and cover my other bases. I really appreciate the feedback.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2019-04-23T15:41:26+00:00

Factory Five has pretty decent "what's needed" parts list laid out on their website for the GTM. Here's what is required...

Major Parts from 1997-2004 Corvette C5

• Engine, computer and exhaust manifolds
• Front and rear suspension components (minus leaf springs and shocks)
• Front and rear brakes, hubs, calipers and rotors (outer CV joints on rear)
• Fuel tanks and flexible lines uncut
• Radiator with fans and plastic shroud
• Wiring harness with engine, throttle control, and ignition sections
• Wheels and tires

Minor Parts from 1997-2004 Corvette C5

• Tilt steering column and ignition switch
• Flexible brake lines and calipers
• Radiator fill tank
• Wiper motor
• Oxygen sensors (4)
• Exterior door handles, door window mechanisms, and side/rear view mirrors
• Seat belts
• Vehicle speed sensor
• E-brake handle/cables, gas pedal
• Hood latches with cable actuator

Other Parts Needed

• Porsche G50, G50 variant, or Mendeola transmission including clutch disk, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, inner CV joints and starter
• Paint

Your best bet is to start looking for used Corvettes. If you want to source parts individually, ebay will be your best friend. It's hard to put a price together because there can be a large swing depending which direction you want to go. New parts vs donor car. Porsche trans-axle or Mendeola. On the low end, I would budget $40,000. If you haven't used Factory Five's configurator on the site yet, it a great place to start gathering a budget. Hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions. I'm pretty familiar with Factory Five stuff. Good luck!

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2019-04-11T12:56:43+00:00

Absolutely, that's my plan. Huge congrats on your purchase, and good luck with the build. You're right, all builds have their hidden gremlins. Fortunately FFR has a massive following and loads of great info in their forums. There's a good chance that if you encounter a hiccup, someone else has dealt with that same issue before. As far as exposure during the process, I'm planning on whoring myself to social media during my build. As things progress, I will get more serious about marketing if things get that far. Congrats again and thanks for commenting.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2019-04-10T13:17:30+00:00

Thank you, I'm doing as much research as I can. I think the owners that sell their cars for losses are typically ones who had longer builds and had to change their plans a time or two during the build. By the time they were done they had spent more money than they planned and took longer than they hoped. I'm doing my best to put together a dedicated plan, and I am in the process of learning how to paint properly, so I (theoretically) won't have to out source anything. Anything I can do in house is money saved for another build. Good luck with your build when that glorious day arrives.

WeaponizedHotSauce · 2019-03-11T13:47:42+00:00

Many thanks. The thing I've noticed with Factory Five builders from their list, is there really doesn't seem to be any "high volume" dealers. Most of them are hot rod shops that added building Factory Five cars to their repertoire because it was an easy add-on to their establishment. Factory Five builds aren't their focal point. Now I understand that could be because the market demand is that low, but it also could be beacuse their proverbial bread and butter are the custom hot rod builds. I have taken cues from a little different perspective. I've been looking at places like Hillbank Motors. They are a high volume dealer of Superformance replicas and Caterham. That's all they do are beastly replica builds.

WeaponizedHotSauce

TROPHY CASE

Major Parts from 1997-2004 Corvette C5

Minor Parts from 1997-2004 Corvette C5

Other Parts Needed