Wow. Where do I begin? Uh-oh... Sounds like he's gettin' ready to accept a Grammy or something. =) -Carl
This effort would not have been possible without a tremendous help from a whole bunch of people. Let's see...
To all the guys who helped hook us up with parts, from OEM rebuild stuff, to random goodies needed at the last minute, you guys are awesome. Chris and Graham at CAP, Marty at Toyota MotorSports, Mike at Ron Goode, Art at Streetwize Motorsports, the people at Dorris Auto Wreckers, TAP Recycling, Romania Toyota in Eugene, American Auto in Springfield, and all the local parts stores... THANKS!
Many thanks to Alan and the crew at Manuel's Machine Shop for doing such great machine work on the engine!
Thanks to Tito Solis, of SFR SCCA Starlet fame. Thanks for letting me store my dirty ass 4A-GZE engine at RedStar Racing for a couple of years! And, of course, for the E51 hook up. Too bad it didn't have an LSD, though. ;)
Thanks to Floyd for letting me and Alan borrow the Tacoma. Otherwise, we would've had an interesting time trying to get the whole 4A-GZE drivetrain and miscellaneous bits from Tito's shop in Hayward to Oakland. -Carl
Thanks to Durk Edwards, who not only helped me acquire some much needed suspension bits, but continually serves as an excellent example of how you don't need to drive a brand new, super expensive car (although it would be nice!) to kick butt in Street Modified! It's also great to see someone get excited about tech'ing a supercharged grocery getter!
Many thanks to Carl's uncle, Norman, and all the guys at Norman Auto Body, who graciously let me store my nasty, dirty car for all those months, along with use of the tools, especially Thor. I might be a body man, yet! I'll come get the 4A-F outta there right away... And thanks to Carl's cousin, for dealing with us banging away under the house, and for opening up the door whenever we forgot our keys, which was quite often!
To the women in our lives, my wife Desiree, for letting me continually spend countless evenings and weekends "at the shop", and for letting me keep the car when it looked beyond all hope. Thanks to JoAnn, for letting me steal Carl away for those several months worth of work. We'll be done soon, I promise! And of course, to the shop woman, who shall remain nameless...
Thanks to my buddy Mike, whose years of naggin' and naggin', finally made me do the swap. Are you happy now? Time to give your VR6 some serious competition!
To McDonalds, for your dozens of chickens and potatoes in the form of nuggets (Mmmm... Nuggets... -Carl), sandwiches, and french fries that sustained me and Carl after each and every wrenching session.
A big thanks to Randy Noll, E Stock god, for constantly helping me with tires, alignments, driving tips (which I keep trying to implement...) and all around coolness. At least I can say I knew you before you were in F1..... ;)
Props to George, whose electrical expertise and superior disassembling powers made the car fire to life...
Until he stalled it...
Three times.
In under 30 seconds. -Carl
And last, but not least, thanks to Carl. Without your enthusiasm, dedication, time, energy, friendship, and knowledge, this would never have happened. From picking me up at the Bart station (ewww...scary people out there), to braving the elements of your uncle's garage, to being buried knee deep in a bird's nest of wiring, you made this project a reality. Thanks, man!