The Free18 profile picture

The Free18

Do you smell smoke?

About Me

Hello, I'm the world-famous "Free-18". Ostensibly, I'm some form of race car, but my spotty reliability and inherent slowness don't make me much of one. Hopefully, all that will be taken care of in the near future.

Check out these speculations:
1984 BMW 318i
1.8L SOHC 8v inline four
101 hp
103 ft-lbs

0-60: 11.6 sec
1/4 mile: 18.3 sec

Modifications:
Stripped interior with racing shells, harnesses, and custom six-point roll cage.
H&R race springs with Bilstein Sport shocks, 325e front roll bar.
Four wheel disc brakes.
Custom wiring harness with Megasquirt ECU and Ford EDIS-4 ignition.
VDO gauge cluster.
Paint by Krylon.

My Interests

Not starting, getting passed, producing ferric oxide, getting repo'd by The Man, leaking important fluids, burning oil.

I'd like to meet:

Paul Walker, Vin Diesel.

Music:

I don't have a radio anymore.

Movies:

Grand Prix, LeMans, Bullit, The Fast and The Furious (but not its sequels... they lack the subtle nuance of the original), Gone in Sixty Seconds, Days of Thunder, Talladega Nights

Television:

Speed Channel

Books:

Vehicle Dynamics and Simulation 2005, 1984 BMW 318i/325e Electrical Troubleshooting Manual, Bentley BMW E30 Repair Manual.

Heroes:

Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna

My Blog

For real this time

So what has happend since the last time I said the car was up and running here? Well, let's look:The original engine died.A junkyard engine was put in.The junkyard engine died.THe original engine was...
Posted by The Free18 on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:54:00 PST

On the road again

Finally got a chance to put some miles on the car the other weekend. Things were going well, but the oil temp started to rise and we had to head back. It then stalled at a light and wouldn't restart...
Posted by The Free18 on Wed, 17 Jan 2007 07:30:00 PST

It's alive

After sitting idle for nearly eight months and suffering countless failures and setbacks, the Free-18 ran for the first time since March today. Once the cooling system is re-installed and all the lig...
Posted by The Free18 on Mon, 20 Nov 2006 07:59:00 PST