Drifting in a C6 Z06

Nothing to do with us  but I just liked this video. Apparently with a 1050 hp Corvette and an excellent drone pilot, there is nothing you can't do!  The driver is Matt Field, whose Z06 features the usual supercharged LS7 engine (albeit with a bigger supercharger) but also nitrous for that extra bit of power.  I can't drive like this at all.

Virtual Corvette Racing at Simwerks, Ottawa--April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019--yet another snowstorm hits Ottawa, and brings some freezing rain afterwards.  Although I know our Corvette comes out of the garage on May 1 when the insurance is reactivated, it is depressing to look outside and think that Spring and sports car driving feels yet so far away.  

An alternative is to get behind the wheel of a simulator.  Although I have flown aircraft simulators, I had never tried an automobile version after the people at Simwerks, a four month old simulator centre in Ottawa, told me that I could race a C7.R at the Daytona International Speedway road track, I thought this would help beat the winter blues.

Meeting my Corvette Club friend Graham, we had a short introductory session with Marc, one of the partners in Simwerks.  We were given virtual reality headsets and shown where the various controls were.  We would take a few minutes in BMWs with paddle shifters, although the simulators are also capable of reproducing the motions of an H-pattern manual shifter.  The first few minutes are a bit disorienting as we drove around a short oval, spinning out from time to time as well as hitting the barrier walls.  But with some adjustments and helpful instructions, we were set for our 30 minute session with the Corvettes.

There are a vast number of cars and tracks to choose from.  We had selected the Daytona track as it is one of the more interesting tracks, featuring some nice banking, and Corvettes, well, obviously.  Seated in the comfortable racing seat and strapped in with shoulder belts, looking through the VR headset was amazingly real.  Rolling out onto the track, it first became a question of familiarization with Daytona, as I missed two turns market by orange pylons as they came up so unexpectedly.  But soon enough you get the hang of it and I was comfortably doing laps, hitting 272 km/h on the banking.

From what I had seen on YouTube as Tommy Milner did a nighttime drive-through on the course, the simulator is very realistic in terms of the cockpit of the C7.R and the track itself.  It was a terrific experience (and as close to driving a C7.R as I will get) and a lot of fun just to do laps.  It is possible to race against others in the simulator centre, people hooking in online, or against virtual opponents but we were satisfied to just go around without crashing.  That said, 30 minutes is probably sufficient as it actually is tiring to concentrate.  

And for the real thing, here is Tommy Milner at work:

Port Colborne Cruise Night, August 2, 2018

Every Thursday in summer the small town of Port Colborne, Ontario, on the Welland Canal and near Lake Erie, closes a main street and has an informal car show.  We were fortunate to be in the area at the time and surprised by the number of cars that appears.  I said to my wife "Lots of American Muscle, not many exotics like a Lamborghini to be expected." Of course, I was wrong!

Two Dodge Hellcats sandwiching a Mini

1953 Mercury Monarch Sun Valley Coupe

1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air Sedan

 

1930 Ford Model A Tudor

1957 Cadillac Convertible

1968 Dodge Charger

1955 Chevrolet Two-Door

1949 Mercury Meteor hot rod--the Meteor model was sold only in Canada from 1949 to 1976

C3 Corvette and 2004 C4 Z06

Heavily-modified C3 Corvette

The Rapid Rabbit next to a Tesla Model S, the latter with nothing under the hood!

Corvette C7 Z06 Coupe

1964 Corvette Coupe

Ford Model A Pickup Truck hot rod

1957 Ford Thunderbird

1934 Ford Coupe hot rod

Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder arriving...

Another 1934 Ford Coupe hot rod

C3 Corvette and 1970 Dodge Challenger (440/2 x 3 bbl)

1965 Jaguar E-Type, 4.2 l. Coupe

Wicked Garage Open House and RTB Collection, Greely, Ontario--July 15, 2018

An event we look forward to each year as the Open House at the Wicked Garage where interesting cars always turn up,  It was one of the first events we attended with our Corvette (in 2015) and although the dates change it is always worth the pleasant drive to Greely.  There were a lot fewer cars this year but it was compensation that a gentleman who had his own car collection around the corner put out the cars for us to look at there as well.

1976 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe

1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 "Tweety"

1940 Chevrolet Master Deluxe Coupe

1991 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster, heavily modified

1954 Chevrolet Delivery Sedan

1987 Chevrolet C4 Corvette Roadster 

2017 Chevrolet Camaro RS 50th Anniversary Edition

Old Truck Paradise

1955 Ford Thunderbird

1968 Cadillac Calais Coupe

1966 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster Custom

2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

1965 Ford Mustang Coupe

Noticing a lot of activity around the corner from the Wicked Garage, I discovered a massive private collection, the RTB Collection, of American cars which the owner had taken out for display for us.  I know that there is an RTB auto body/restoration shop on Bank Street in Ottawa but am not certain of the connection.  Not only was the collection of pristine cars (plus some interesting projects) massive but every one of the roadworthy cars had personalized license plates.  These cost $310 each to acquire so multiplying this over the number of cars on display would have added considerably to the Ontario treasury!

1966 Chevrolet Nova SS

Mustangs to the left, Corvettes to the right

1966 Dodge Cornet

Left to right: 1977 and 1979 Chevrolet Corvette Coupes; 1995 Corvette Roadster; C5 Corvette Coupe

1965 Ford Mustang Fastback Coupes (two GTs on the left, white 2+2 on the right)

1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (left); 1974 Trans Am 455 Super Duty

Of the more than 10,000 Firebirds built in 1974, fewer than 1,000 Trans Am versions featured the optional Super Duty LS1 engine.

In addition to the cars parked outside and the main garage building, there were several structures housing parts and project cars.

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

1959 marked the introduction of the El Camino, Chevrolet's response to Ford's Ranchero which debuted two years earlier.  More than 22,000 of the rather flamboyant El Camino were sold in its first year, but sales plunged in 1960 and the car was discontinued.  The El Camino was reintroduced in 1964, based on the Chevrolet Chevelle, and production in various styles continued until 1987.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe rear section

1963 Buick Riviera

Ford Econoline Van

I next walked into the main building/workshop where there were a lot of other great cars parked, including an impressive Corvette collection.

1969 Dodge Charger R/T

1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe drag car

There were a lot of cars and I did not even bother looking at the dozen pickup trucks as well.  Given the ease with which the cars can be identified by their license plates, I do not think I have ever seen one at other car events in the Ottawa area so it was nice to be able to look in on one person's Giant Man Cave.