When I was first getting over the fact that I HAD to sell my old fire breathing Saab 9000 turbo (many, many, mods, very, very fast) the only car I could come up with that I could afford AND could come close to the Saab's performance was my friend's 95 SE. After poking around the net for some 'tour information I landed at contour.org Just reading the archived info was soon not enough for me, and I joined the email list. Getting my hands on my 'tour took 3 months, not the three weeks it was supposed to, so the list was my daily outlet for my growing contour habit. The more I read, the more I kept seeing posts from this guy Ray McNairy. The more I read, the more I began to appreciate what he had to say. Unlike most auto lists I had been on, this one was full of good, honest technical information. No hype or sticker power, just the real deal stuff. Ray became the "last word" on any of the hair-brained ideas that we could come up with, and he always answered our questions without the slightest bit of derision.
I know Ray had been sick for a while. I kept thinking of him as I was reading Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About The Bike" - the story of how Lance overcame an almost terminal case of testicular cancer. I kept thinking that I would see his presence grace our inboxes soon enough, but unfortunately thats not going to happen now.
Ray's legacy is the maturity level of the CEG. His presence and keen B.S. detector made sure that this site (and the email list) were a place where knowledgeable discourse took place.
If I am not mistaken, didn't Ray come up with the throttle hang fix? Maybe we sould rename one of the best contour mods after one the best contour enthusiasts we had?
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Alex S.
95 SE MTX
Midnight Red w/all options
Susp: Koni, Eibach, Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 205/50Z/15
Motor: KKM, ASP, Magnecor, +4's, Grizzly Street clutch, SVT flywheel, SVT rear motor mounts, resonator removed, TH fix, EGR restrictor, Ported MAF, Mobil 1
Audio: Kenwood eXcelon X815, Infinity Reference speakers
Other: Badgeless, KKM pedals, 885 fog bulbs
