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| Overall, however, the interior was in excellent shape, with no tears or rips, and few stains. |
Our Goals
Our goals for Project Hi-Po-Miler are to create a vehicle with relatively few vices as the ultimate commuter. To start out, we will bring the vehicle up to snuff, performing and looking as close to showroom stock as we can get it. All maintenance, regardless of the car’s records, will be brought up to date, giving us a clean slate. We will refresh the car’s interior and exterior as best we can with simple products anyone can buy from their local parts retailer, and repair the broken trim and other flaws that come with an 11 year old car.
Once the car’s baseline is established, we’ll work on making it better. Our goals are relatively modest, but will add up to an amazing commuter if accomplished. We want the car to make no less than 140whp (likely accompanied by over 250 lb-ft of torque at the wheels), attain a 60mpg average over a tank of fuel, and turn lap times of less than 1 minute 50 seconds at Willow Springs International Raceway. All modifications will compromise the smooth and quiet commuting ability of this car as minimally as possible.
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| With our project’s goals of at least 140whp and sub 1 minute 50 second lap times around Willow Springs, we expect quite a few changes under the hood. |
In short, think of this project as Project Sipster’s cousin: sharing the same “have your cake and eat it too” power and MPG goals, but slanting more towards daily “spirited” driveability than the ultimate in Spartan efficiency. Not to mention a much less accelerated timeline to accomplish these goals. Sure, it won’t be quite as fast or thrifty, but it also won’t require the Unibomber disguise or limo-tint on all windows (including the windshield) to keep the guaranteed-to-happen ribbing by your coworkers at bay. Since our car is a little girly, and your author works with a bunch of retired military men, we also plan on butching it up a little along the way to reduce the pestering that only a retired Senior Chief can deliver – think R. Lee Ermey’s wonderful role in Full Metal Jacket. Additionally, one tires of the disappointed looks of fellow commuters expecting to see a cute blonde, and instead getting a peek at some dude behind the wheel, so a little butch can only help.
Stay tuned for future installments on our rattling commuter. With luck, this project will inject some fun and thriftiness into the soul-crushing monotony that is the daily commute to work.
