VCO Newsletter Quarterly Edition |
Viper Club of America • Ontario Region • Volume 3 Issue 7 • September 2006 Editorial Staff: Editor in chief Sonny Stone • Graphics and Webdesign Chris Vogel |
Nabil Arafat President VCO |
|
|
|
|
|
| oCONTENTS |
| o WHAT HAPPENED AT DEERHURST! |
Viper social director tells all! FRIDAY: I thought everyone in the club might want to know about one of the best weekends of the summer. It all began early on Friday, July 21st. (Shouldn't all weekends start early on Friday?) The Vipers led the weekend traffic and made sure they stayed ahead of it. (Believe it or not, we got there really fast, HHHmmmmm....) And most exciting of all, Henny V. predicted all soon-to-be-realized sightings of Shania Twain. (Psychic powers? We think yes.) Shania Twain walks the walk at Deerhurst Golf Course. Photo courtesy Pat (Star struck) Chapin Friday evening in beautiful midtown Huntsville, we dined at the frenetically fashionable restaurant “The Cottage”. They featured, to all our delight: dinner without cutlery. Frank's endless begging finally got him a knife and an implement resembling a fork - and an extremely rare guaranteed collectible Moose FM t-shirt. Sad evening when he left it at the restaurant, allegedly taken by the family that took our table. Sonny became his hero the next morning when he showed up wearing it. (Until Frank found out that Sonny was actually the arse who helped Mary snatch it the night the before.) We walked downtown Huntsville during midnight madness. We lost Sonny and Nabil for awhile but later found them in the lingerie store. Again. Sonny - Nabil - lingerie - alcohol - a dangerous and potentially regrettable setup for an evening's romp in Huntsville. SATURDAY: AM: Boat ride around the bays. (ed. note: generously paid for by the DeFrancescos). Cruising Fairy Lake. Sonny insisted Elton John has a place there. After the delightful cruise, Paparazzi Pat Chapin learned how to camouflage himself behind birch trees. Got excellent pictures of Shania golfing. Got good use of his American Travel Insurance to remove 9 iron from his head. Some say it's made of birch. His head, not the 9 iron. Shania shares a funny, warm moment. With anybody but Pat Chapin. Photo courtesy Pat (Jailbird) Chapin. After lunch - Tennis: President vs. Newsletter Editor. President wins, Editor gets revenge by vowing to be late once again on the next newsletter.... Horseback riding - Caroline's first time, she ends up with a galloping horse. Eda rode like a pro (Editor will make no lewd riding-like-a-pro jokes here.) Water- Skiing - Blair showed off with zigzag skiing on rough waters. And on the Paddle boats - Frank fell asleep while Mary paddled for 2 hours. Meanwhile, Pat and Henny were out, once again, scouting for Shania. Ontario stalking laws may be made tougher. Evening: Dinner - Eda got us steak eaters a free dinner, cool bargaining Eda. Sonny and Nabil were the live lounge entertainment - whilst Kevin and Christine drove from their cottage in Burks Falls to join us for the evening. Shania (or clone)sighted playing guitar on balcony. Pat's saliva test should come back negative, but... SUNDAY: Another beautiful morning in Muskoka. Bodacious breakfast on the outdoor porch (ed. note: extra generously paid for by the DeFrancescos!!) and sadly - departure. Is that Shania chillin' with the VCO for drinks? Is she on Pat Chapin's lap? Is Gail not slimmer and better looking? Photo not by Pat Chapin. An incredible weekend with incredible people. As I always say, this club may be about the cars, but we stay together because of the warm, wonderful people. We must spend more time relaxing in the country together. I want everyone in on The Fall Cruise - be there!
|
| oTHE 1st ANNUAL AUTOMOTIVE TRIVIA CONTEST |  |
|
Q: What's a newsletter without a quiz? A: Like Cosmo magazine without the word sex on the cover: Should never happen. OK. I've pulled 8 quality questions out of the cool car connoisseurs collection of curious conundrums. The first response to get the highest amount of right answers wins the drink of his or her choice at the Autumn "Change of the Leaves Cruise" in October. Send your answers to sonnystone@shorecreative.com 1) Recently, ZF, the German gearbox manufacturer did an interesting comparison of European and North American transmission trends. In Europe, 80% of cars have manual trannies, 17% have automatics (with 3% having automated manuals and CVTs). What are the North American equivalents in manual and automatics? 2) The 2 greatest Italian car designers of the post war era are unarguably Giorgetto Giugiaro and Marcello Gandini. Giugiaro styled the Lotus Esprit, the immortal Maserati Ghibli and Bora, Ferrari 250 GT Bertone, the trend setting Volkswagen Golf, Scirocco, Passat and dozens of other recognizable classics. Gandini, of course is best known for the astonishing Lamborghini Countach and Diablo (not to mention the Espada and Jarama), Maserati Khamsin, Bugatti EB110, the ferocious De Tomaso Pantera and countless others. However, there is one timeless, gorgeous classic that although generally credited to Gandini - they both had a hand in drawing the curvaceous lines. What car is this? 3) There is some debate over whether the contentious meeting concerning his Ferrari's build quality ever took place between a cheesed off Ferrucio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari. But soon after the alleged event, Lamborghini did get into the sports car business and there is no doubt that Il Commendatore referred to Lamborghini's models as farmers' cars. Why? 4) (a) Who were the winning drivers of the Legendary Ford GT40 when it first won the 24 hours of Lemans? (b) What year was that? (c) In 1966, 3 Ford GT40s crossed the LeMans finish line exactly side by side. Why wasn't it ruled a 3 way tie? We interrupt this quiz to bring you some thrilling shots of all the action at this year's Toronto Grand Prix race, formerly known as The Molson Indy.
|
||
5) Steve McQueen did most or all of his own driving in his movies. But in Bullitt, he did do the 2 stunt scenes when the Mustang went flying off the highways around San Francisco. True or False? 6) Every day there seems to be more and more attention about the use of ethyl alcohol to power cars. Many gas blends already contain 10% and the E85 mix containing 85% ethyl for compatible cars is becoming more easily available. Distilled and fermented from corn, not unlike many types of whiskey, is this the same type of alcohol that we drink? If not, why not? If so, is it different at all - and why? 7) These 3 former Chrysler execs have long been considered the 3 Fathers of the Viper. One is known for shepherding the business case, one for the styling and one for the engineering. Who are they? 8) Mike Buchanan has long been considered the best looking guy in the Ontario Viper Club. True or False?
|
| oVIPER VIGNETTES |
|
| oRADAR DETECTORS: A PATHETIC SITUATION IN ONTARIO |
This editorial is an angry one. It's angry from the heart – and an angrier one from my considerably lighter wallet. I've decided to give up (certainly for now) on trying to knock down Ontario's ban on Radar Detectors: Section 79 of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. This editorial is also a difficult one. I announced here almost a year ago that I was going for the jugular on this disgraceful Ontario law. Now, I am bowing out quietly. I will not go into details to reveal my strategies in case I ever do decide to take this up again. But I will reveal what I have learned about all the bad lawyers, idiotic Detector Manufacturers and appallingly bad judges that have had their way with me. By the way - according to Section 79, detectors and jammers are illegal in a vehicle in Ontario. Whether they're working or not. Broken or not. If it's a device designed to detect police speed measuring technology, it's illegal. FIRST, THE LAWYERS: I knew going in this was going to cost a fair bit of money. Naturally, my lawyer underestimated/lied about how much it was going to cost. I asked him to state my chances of winning. I wouldn't proceed unless it was close to 50/50. He said yes, but probably not till I got to the Ontario Court of Appeal or Canadian Supreme Court. When I got the chance to be heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal $12,000 in legal fees later - he said my fight was going to get tougher. And I'd need a lot more money. I got a second opinion from another law firm. They concurred - yep - tougher. $3,500 please. Lawyers - without exception - will always put their own egos over their clients interests. Including their obsessive preoccupation in defending their opinions instead of listening to you or considering lateral thought. Worse, when they reach the prerequisite Ontario Law Society standards of greed, pomposity and evil - they become judges. Any lawyers reading this should smile knowingly. After all, it's just 99% of lawyers that give all the others their bad reputation…. RADAR DETECTOR MANUFACTURERS: I asked the Detector companies (manufacturers and/or their Canadian distributors) to help me out with legal fees. The market demand in Ontario alone would yield them easily $20 million in profit the first 2 or 3 years. That's PROFIT. Sales/cash flow would be triple - quadruple. They all said they'd love to - but no thanks. So I offered them a deal: I'll continue with all the legal bills and research - on condition that if I win and open up Ontario and any other banned province, they will pay me a small percentage. Cobra, Whistler, Beltronics (Bel and Escort brands) all said “Yes, let's deal.” When it was time to sign a contract not one of them played ball. They didn't return phone calls, they missed meetings, they said they will only deal on a handshake, no contracts, maybe this - maybe that, etc., etc. VALENTINE: You think Valentines are stealth? SPECTRE can catch them easily, it got mine. And Mike Valentine would never take any of my calls or respond to my emails. I dealt with Pete Kaufman - his “marketing guy”. Pete was sympathetic but could not get Mike to answer my calls. They don't ship to Ontario any more because too many got confiscated at the border. Yes, they'd love the Ontario market to open up, but... Thanks Mike, you schmuck. BELTRONICS: These guys are huge. They own the Escort and Bel brands and engineer and manufacture them right here in Toronto. I got sympathy and shrugs from the president at head office in Ohio (but he wouldn't help) and the broken promises and missed phone calls described above from their two distributors in Canada. Beltronics is legally allowed to manufacture and ship to consignees out of province. They pay $millions in income tax and business tax. Aren't we glad that Ontario government gets a piece but also makes sure that they keep us safe by not letting us use them? There has never, ever been any credible study that shows detector users have more accidents or fatalities than non-users. In fact, two studies – MORI in England and Yankelovich Clancy Schulman in the USA have shown that detector users have fewer accidents. It stinks of illegal lobbying and payoffs by the manufacturers. A comparison: You can't posses heroin - it's dangerous. You can't sell heroin - it's dangerous. You can't manufacture heroin - it's dangerous. Now: You can't have a radar detector in your car in Ontario - it's dangerous. You can't retail a radar detector in Ontario - it's dangerous. But you can manufacture them and ship them out of province to kill people in Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and the USA. Hey - that means we can manufacture Teddy Bears and stuff them with arsenic, asbestos and broken glass as long as we ship to places like South America and Africa that don't have the same toy codes as we do. My friends - if there was proof that detectors caused more fatalities and accidents - I might be in favour of banning them too. Don't the people of Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and the USA love their children just as much as we do? Why don't they ban them? Great Britain had a ban but reversed it; Alberta had a ban in 1978 and REVERSED it in 1987. If there was credible proof that detectors cause anything except fewer tickets, Alberta would ban them fast and so would the other provinces and the 49 states that have no problem with them. THE JUDGES: The first judge - in Ontario Traffic Court - is a Justice of The Peace. Her name is Ms. Doelman. A Justice of the Peace has no real legal training. They are court clerks. Not lawyers, yet every day they hear cases and pronounce fines. It's astonishing. Her written judgment was incoherent. It contained misquotes and so many errors in law that it could be a textbook case study of an illegal judgment. Next, in our 1st Appeal, the judge - a Mr. Griffen didn't just find a loophole to judge that the Ban is OK - he found a trapdoor. Chicken shit. He didn't want to deal with our arguments so he broadstroked with some judgment that we have no Constitutional rights when driving a car. Guess what? You do. All of them. Truth is, only a very senior court - ie. Ontario Court of Appeal or The Canadian Supreme Court - would recognize this and be willing to pronounce a law illegal. And it takes a lot of time and money to get in front of these courts. Judge Griffen could have done the right thing but just passed the buck. In fact, when we were presenting our arguments he said, and I quote: “I can't believe no one's challenged this law before!” But when he read his judgment a few weeks later - he made it quite clear that my only recourse was to further appeal. CONCLUSIONS: 1) I did further appeal it and I was offered my day in court with The Ontario Court of Appeal, just one step away from The Supreme Court of Canada. I declined to go. The Detector Manufacturers were still hemming and hawing and wouldn't commit to paper on a percentage deal even after verbally agreeing to do so. Without a signed agreement I'm not prepared to make them millions for a sharp stick up the ass in return. They haven't legally sold a detector in Ontario in 30 years (or Quebec and the 5 other banned provinces). They will continue not to. The last time someone offered to put $20, $30 plus million dollars in my pocket - and only asked for tiny percent of it back, I returned phone calls. This case is dead. 2) We are simply at the whim of any bad judge on any given day. They can choose to ignore your valid legal arguments, rule against you, and not let you say a word. They do let you appeal to a higher court - where with lawyer's fees and court charges it costs you insane amounts of money. Most give up. I did. 3) If you study our revered Charter of Rights you'll find it gutless and effectively worthless to anyone but grandstanding politicians. If you've read any scholarly critiques of it by George Jonas (he wrote Munich, the basis of Spielberg's last movie) and others, you will understand. It has changed virtually nothing in Joe or Jane Average's ability to get something done about a fundamentally bad law. Don't get me started on trying to change things through the provincial parliament. The charter offers no fundamental property rights or economic rights like in the American constitution and Bill of Rights that actually recognize that our people's daily business is business. The charter – and its current interpretation by judges - offers no easy recourse to provincial laws like Section 79 that are clearly set up to grab extra revenues and specifically written to sidestep the Charter. The Ontario government can pass a law that says you can't wear red underwear while driving a car. The Ontario government can pass a law that says Ted Woods can't own a car dealership. Impossible to believe? You have very few real rights in this country. I have seen hardcore proof of this. God help you if you ever really have a beef with the government. CLOSING NOTES: 1) Except for the Bel STi, do not use a radar detector in Ontario or Quebec. Police have hundreds of SPECTRES to sniff you out. They are good at it. Be careful with the STi, even if they can't see it electronically, they can see it on your windshield, dashboard or visor, especially in a convertible. They are using stealth unmarked Chevies, Toyotas and Nissans to cruise beside you. The manufacturer of SPECTRE is currently working on an update to sniff out the STi. STi's useful days in Ontario may be limited 2) Early on in this case, I sent requests to members of 20 car clubs in Ontario asking for financial help. They all stood to benefit from the removal of the Ban. I got lots of sympathy, empathy and not one cent. Except from 2 members of our Viper Club who donated to my legal fees. I believe this does say something great about the spirit of this club and heart of the people who support it. 3) I am not a good enough businessman to have persuaded the Detector Manufacturers to see the tens of $millions in profits open to them by just offering a fraction back to me. If anyone here has the time, patience and business savvy to get these dimwitted slugs on board, I would be ready to go at it again. Probably more than anyone in Ontario, I have the knowledge on how to get the ban overturned. Call or email me any time. Sonny Stone: 416-871-8992, sonnystone@shorecreative.com
|
| oALBERT ULISSE'S Engine Odyssey | |
How to get more power without getting blown! Story & Photos by Albert Ulisse
Albert Ulisse's incredibly expensive and precision machined crankshaft and flywheel assembly is on display as Active Engine's chief engineer /country singer /golfer approaches for final inspection. The Big Decision: Debating between supercharging, turbocharging or an engine build can drive anyone mad. Simply put, the price ain't cheap nor is the cost of a new engine should you choose wrong. One thing I did get cheap was advice, and that was even more confusing. My decision ultimately was fueled by fear. The fear of becoming a vision in someone else's rear view mirror was getting worse every day. I mean these days, with the advent of "500 HP" on seemingly every new car that's out there - my beloved Viper was now SLOOOOOW. On May 24th, I ended years of indecision and went for broke. It's who you know... I met Andrew Turner of SPI, through Frank Fusillo of our Viper club during one of our events this past winter. (Frank and Andrew's Viper Turbo project was covered in detail last newsletter at http://ontario.viperclub.org/Newsletter/VCO_April06_turbo.htm ) . Frank told us of the Viper he was having prepped for the 2006 Gumball Rally race. This was a custom built twin turbo setup on a Gen III. Now Andrew is not your typical run-off-at-the-mouth mechanic, so Frank did most of the PR work, giving credit where credit was due while Andrew remained unusually quiet. I managed to get him off to one side to ask him the same question I've been asking others. SuperCharge, TurboCharge or Engine Overhaul? He quickly told me that the engine overhaul/build would be the best option. His reason was quite simple: Build the engine strong enough right now to add some decent power and to handle ANY Charger or Nitrous system in the future. If I started now with just strapping on a blower or NOS option, it wouldn't allow enough boost pressure/HP for my goals, and possibly lead to engine failure. This lower allowable boost limit on all 2000 to 2002 Vipers, as many of you know, is dictated by the hypereutectic piston setup that Dodge installed. For the next few months, I became more convinced that the engine overhaul was the only choice. But on a motor that was still under warranty and only had 15K was, in my wife's opinion: CRAZY! The question plaguing me then was "Who would do the work"? Should I take it to the U.S. as so many have done in the past, or do I find someone locally who could do this acknowledged "tricky" job. I considered several local shops, but their arrogance was unacceptable. As this was my second attempt to get some major work performed, it also was the second time I dealt with people who couldn't give me the time of day. Thanks... but no thanks.
Once again, Albert's massive custom cut shaft. Actual size. The rumours are true.
Springtime - so I put the Viper away for a few months Spring had now arrived and I was anxious to release some venom, or should I say saliva. But I no longer had the confidence I once had with my car's ability to devour its prey, something my wife just can't understand. So I retreated to my computer and found that Nabil informed the membership that SPI was having a Tech Session in late April and all were invited. My son and I were the first there! As we made our way around the shop, looking at the many photographs of the Gumball Rally Viper in the making, I had just one thought: “This guy really knows these cars". In addition, I found that he worked for many years with Legendary Motors. I also discovered that if you can get him to talk shop he will have your attention. So after leaving SPI that faithful day, we traveled home in the cold rain when I came to the conclusion that it was time to retire the old engine into the hands of SPI. (Hmm, sounds like the Trudeau story?) I called Mr. Turner, a couple of days later and started to arrange details for the build along with an estimate of prices and timelines. His prices were not inflated with the dreaded "Viper" tax, and he estimated the work would take 4 to 6 weeks, due to the fact that all parts would have to come from the U.S. And some would have to be custom made for my application. On May 24, 2006 I brought my car in. The engine was immediately pulled and sent to Active Engines of Oakville for the rebuild. Active Engines have been in business for about 30 years and have a well established reputation for producing high rev., high HP engines for all applications. Our club dyno day was held there and we were also treated to a tour of the facilities. There, I discovered my engine in its bare bone state, with some work already completed. I also got a first hand look at the parts that were going into it. Custom machined Crank, custom made billet cam, custom made forged pistons, Titanium rods, oversized s.s. valves, ported and polished heads, billet caps, high performance race timing chain and gears, roller rockers, balanced and blueprinted, etc. All this for one very low price including a VEC II and dyno tuning. This was looking good.
Albert's Centerforce clutch is durability tested at the Deerhurst Resort Golf Course. I'm arrested by Murphy's Law Unfortunately, something always has to go wrong. The pistons' pin holes were drilled incorrectly by the manufacturer and caused big delays. All the pistons had to be sent back. Active Engines aggressively pursued the manufacturer and new pistons arrived within 2 weeks. The engine could now be completed and sent to SPI. By this time I had been re-bitten by the snake and wanted more. (It's a man thing.) I asked Andrew to order 70 mm throttle bodies, 1.75mm Headers, free flow cats, aluminum flywheel, racing clutch, Hurst short shifter and a complete Baer "Mono Block" braking system. This now sent the completion date to unknown. Fearing that I may loose the entire summer waiting for parts, Andrew quickly contacted the suppliers and all of the parts were shipped out during a 2 week period. With all parts and the engine installed, everything was ready to go. The engine started perfectly, and Andrew was able to log some mileage on the engine prior to the final dyno tune. On August 4th the day of reckoning came and the car was on the dyno. The car was previously dynoed stock at 371.9 hp with 368 lbs. of torque (low for a GEN II). With the modifications now complete, we were anxious to see the results. But as the fourth run approached and the numbers climbing over 500 hp, disaster struck! As it turned out The Crower roller rockers were not capable of sustaining the loads and one bent, thus bending a pushrod and a valve. Luckily, the piston did not sustain any damage. Andrew removed the head and sent it back to Active Engines for repairs. What followed was several long distance calls to the American manufacture for a new stronger setup. Andrew was able to get an Aluminum Shaft mounted Rocker Arm setup good for 8000+ rpm within days, paying for overnight delivery. (ed note: Several Viper owners have experienced failure from Crower roller rockers. They are not recommended for our cars.) This setup was much more expensive then the original setup and was at no cost to me. Once again things did not go so great as the newer setup now required longer pushrods, something the manufacturer failed to tell anyone. Once again calls were made and parts were flown in overnight, again at no extra cost to me. Finally the motor was complete and sent to the Dyno for final adjustment and tuning. The car was returned to me today and it looks as if I had just picked it up from the Dealer brand new. Immaculate! The sound was absolutely exhilarating and the thrust of power from 3rd to 4th was noticeably improved. What sets SPI from all other shops is the attention to detail, the extra time taken to make things perfect, their constant communication and finally their honesty. I was kept aware of all aspects of the build. Hundreds of high resolution photographs were taken by SPI and emailed directly to me.
Finally, the engine goes back in the Bay. Shania goes for the birdie.
ENGINE WORK
ADDITIONAL WORK
Regards, Albert Ulisse / 2002 Viper RT/10: 548 rwhp |
| oA SUNNY DAY WITH A McLEODY SKY! | |
Neil and Trina put on amazing BBQ despite bad puns in Newsletter! This July, The magnificent McLeods opened up their home to the VCO in the hope that it would be as wonderful as last year. Well sorry, it wasn't. It was better!! Special thanks, once again to Mardig Sevadjian for having his way with the lamb – it's an Armenian thing, we wouldn't understand. Seriously, a nest of Vipers in front, a cool swimming pool in back and the scent of Neil's decadently delicious exotically exhilarating cigars. Whoa - thank you McLeods. Summer really doesn't get any better than this. Not everyone at The McLeod's party thought the lamb should take all the heat! Some jealous neighbour takes advantage of the McLeod's hospitality and uses their driveway as a driving range.
|
| oTHE KEE TO GREAT A BARBECUE! | |
Port Perry becomes Viper party HQ! The entire Ontario Club was invited last weekend to Gilbert and Kathy Kees' magnificent home in Port Perry. The Agenda? Relax and chill, dogg. The Feast? Gourmet delight prepared by Gilbert's son Aaron his crew of culinary geniuses! Steaks, chicken, salads galore, enough dessert to sabotage Sonny's diet and enough beer to keep club Pice Vresident Buchanan in fishin' lie telling mode for hours. Guest of honour: Former Ontario VP and perennially cool dude, our beloved Jeff Green. Left to Right: Our gracious hosts, Kathy and Gilbert Kee, some yuppie bitch. CAUTION: Do not mess with these Viperados. Pat “WormDoggy” Di Fiore, Jeff “Cement Overshoes” Green, Renso “Don't Ask–Don't Tell” De Pellegrin, Shania Buchanan, and da man - Gilbert “Silver Bullet” Kee. |
| oMember Information |
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION President: Nabil Arafat. Email:narafat@cogeco.ca Vice President:Mike Buchanan Email: buchananmike1@rogers.com Event Coordinator:Neil McLeod Email:tmcleod@cogeco.ca Event Coordinator: Kevin McDonald Email: kmcdonald3@cogeco.ca Event Coordinator: Paolo Rossi Email: paolo.rossi@sympatico.ca Event Coordinator: Jason August Email: jason@ebox.com Treasurer: Eda Vanderveen: Email: Eda Vanderveen Technical Advisor: Daniel Lesser: Email: finalgts@aol.com Social Director : Mary De Francesco : Email:sesco@globalservice.net Financial Director : Pat Difiore: Email:concordinsulation@sympatico.ca |
| oBusiness Advertising | |
|
