The General Lei

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:12 pm

We are often asked stuff about the General Lei, so I decided to search the archives and compile some data for those who may be interested in a few facts and figures.

1989 Nissan Sentra
1.6L I-4 Engine
71 HP (as dynoed in 2004)
1WD
~2000 lbs (as raced)
$400 purchase price

THSCC Rallycross debut – August 8, 2004 (Rockingham event)

Total THSCC points events attended – 53

Total THSCC points events missed – 5 (none of these were due to mechanical issues)

Total official THSCC timed runs to date – 936

Mechanical issues since 2004:

(8) struts/shocks
(2) front wheel bearings
(1) drive axle
(1) lower ball joint
(1) battery

Besides the substantial quantity of oil we have burned over these 7 years (over 50 quarts) the General Lei has been one tough machine. As long as it runs we will continue to drive it!

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:04 pm

Vincent Keene wrote:

Besides the substantial quantity of oil we have burned over these 7 years (over 50 quarts)

That's almost 19 runs to the quart! :thumbsup:

Les Davis · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 2:04 pm **Posts:** 2059

That's impressive stuff, the Laser needs to take some lessons.

Matt McGrain · **Posted:** Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:19 pm

Wow, you were pretty close with that guess of 1k! I have a totally new respect for eighties Sentras after seeing you guys wheel that thing around last weekend despite tasting it's oil clouds at station 3 during the afternoon runs. :lol:

Nissan doesn't make 'em like they used to. My dad's '82 Sentra wagon that I learned to drive 5MT on saw almost 200k.

Les Davis · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 2:04 pm **Posts:** 2059

How many miles were on the car when it started its life of rallyx abuse?

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:24 pm

Les Davis wrote:

How many miles were on the car when it started its life of rallyx abuse?

Stephen has the title so he may know, but the odo stopped working quite a while back. When people ask how do I know fast I'm going I always reply "As fast as I can, wide open!".

steve remchak · **Posted:** Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:53 am

and i have been unable to break anything on the car............. something to be said for that too. :lol:

Stephen Westerfield · **Posted:** Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:52 am

Vincent Keene wrote:

Les Davis wrote:

How many miles were on the car when it started its life of rallyx abuse?

Stephen has the title so he may know, but the odo stopped working quite a while back. When people ask how do I know fast I'm going I always reply "As fast as I can, wide open!".

I want to say it was on the low side, 130k or so.

On top of all this, this car started life in California if I remember correctly and was stolen and MIA for a period of time. When they finally tracked it down, I think they had to replace the steering column as well as various other parts. Every single lock on the car has a different key (driver side door, passenger side door, ignition, trunk, and fuel fill door). I bought it from a guy in Greensboro that you would probably classify as a hoarder. I didn't go inside his house, but he had a garage packed full of crap that he "intended to sell on e-bay". He was upset when I told him we were going to gut it and turn it into a race car because he had just spent a bunch of cash on two new tires for it. 165/75/13 Dominators. Ooooooohhhh, I bet he spent a fortune on them.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:10 am

Yeah, the General was spittin' and sputterin' yesterday morning, but after we changed the 3-year old oil-fouled spark plugs, he was back to full power in the afternoon. :thumbsup:

The same couldn't be said for Charlie's SE-R though. I don't think Charlie could simply cram that connecting rod back through that hole in the block.

So with the final demise of Charlie's SE-R yesterday, we were reminded once again just how dependable the General Lei has been, though it's seen more abuse that any car still running to date in our series.

I thought an update on his stats may be in order so here you go...

Total THSCC points events attended – 57

Total THSCC competition runs to date – 1,010

Mechanical issues since 2004:

(8) struts/shocks
(2) front wheel bearings
(2) drive axles
(1) lower ball joint
(1) battery

It looks like we may new shocks once again, and a pair of new front tires, but otherwise the General will be back yet again in 2014!

steve remchak · **Posted:** Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:14 am

Amazing. I really think we picked the wrong car to race in LeMons.......... :lol:

Scott Bradford · **Posted:** Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:05 pm

shots from this weekend. all hail the Lei!

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:11 pm

Thanks Scott!

Brett_Murphy · **Joined:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:02 pm **Posts:** 355

We need a Spec Sentra class for Rallycross, based on the General.

Scott Bradford · **Posted:** Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:34 pm

Vincent Keene wrote:

Thanks Scott!

i took 1200 pictures...i'll have a whole folder for each car, and i'll have a thread for it.

that's what i get for just holding my finger down on the shutter and letting it run fully automatic :lol:

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

Vincent wrote:

Quote:

It looks like we may new shocks once again, and a pair of new front tires, but otherwise the General will be back yet again in 2014!

Hey Vincent, I might know where you can pick up some of those parts you need. I think that I am just about Sentra-ed out.

The BIG question is what should the potential rally-x VP be looking for for the 2014 season? What are the best/cheapest reasonably competitive cars out there? (Did I mention cheap?) The car will likely have 3 drivers for 2014 (providing I can pick up something that will keep Carl Fisher coming out). I'm thinking that front wheel drive or 4-wheel drive is essential and either really light or moderately powerful (more than 95HP). Limited slip would really be nice for a 2-wheel drive car since that 1-wheel drive in the General Lei and in the DirtMaster 1600 Toyota really makes soft dirt challenging.

What I really need is a car that is at least as fast as the General Lei and with enough ground clearance that I can drive over cones instead of through them. :lol:

Charlie G

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