During the daily grind, Turtle was a little unhappy with the fact that, whilst going up hills, he had to shift Lola down to 4th and sometimes 3rd in order to get any kind of response. This car was so weak compared to the MR2 he'd grown accustomed to. He also hated the way the exhaust sounded, so restricted, so worn-out, like it hadn't been changed in over 50 years.
Also, at stop lights, there really was no power to get a good launch. Turtle was often left behind when the lights turned green.
The only explanation for this lack of power must be that the engine is on its last legs and the exhaust system needs an overhaul.
However, this posed a problem. Turtle had very little knowledge about fixing cars and owned almost no tools. Even though he had access to an array of automotive tools, he wouldn't know the first thing about changing or rebuilding an engine. The biggest job Turtle had done to date by himself was an oil change! The only solution then? Throw money at it!
So, by doing some research, saving some money and collecting some needed parts (such as a TRD 4-2-1 header he bought from a guy in Daly City on the night of the worst storm in years),
Turtle chose to rebuild his existing engine instead of replacing it. Having a 4agze, the supercharged motor was an option, but it was too expensive and rare an option at that time. So after dropping $1200 for the rebuild (and a new exhaust and drilled and slotted rotors),
the mechanic he went to promptly made it rain.
Just a little bit more power was all he needed, and Turtle was convinced that this rebuild would do just the trick. Now all Turtle needed to do was wait...
... and wait...
... and wait...
... until finally he was able to drive Lola again.
In retrospect, there was a reason why the MR2, with virtually the same engine, was so much faster than than Lola. There was a reason why the MR2 was able to pull and gain speed whilst climbing up a hill in 5th gear. It is an unbeknownst (to Turtle) fact called:
POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO: The idea that the same horsepower with less weight will yield bigger gains than with more weight. A simple idea, really. The MR2 was few hundred pounds lighter than Lola, therefore, the same horsepower yielded a better response.
So although the put-put sounding exhaust was gone, and the rebuilt engine felt fresh and slightly more responsive, it still didn't compare to the way the MR2 pulled.
Worse still is the fact that Lola was entered to run in the pod races on Tatooine the day after Turtle got her back.
And sadly, Lola finished in last place. Lola was so far behind in fact that the stadium was completely empty when she finished!
Not even a Jawa stayed to try and haggle engine parts...
Oh well. At least Turtle was able to check "rebuild the engine" off the list and move onto the next project.
FTH
