99.9% Sure

It is a story worth telling and at some point, I'll write it all down, but since September of '06 I have been on the hunt for Dad's old racer. I am about 99.9% sure I found it. The .1% to be confirmed this weekend as we head to Fredericksburg, Va to uncover the car believed to be the same one my dad built in 1975, raced and then sold in the mid 90s to cover some of our college expenses. I don't know what we'll do from there, but I'll let you know.

Sweet!

New Trailer

Cramper money converted into 8.5 x 20 enclosed car trailer. We pick it up next week and start upfitting the inside with paint, carpet, electricity, lights, cabinets and work benches.

New Helmet Design

Jake Metzger, a designer colleague of mine designed this helmet for me. I am going to have it wrapped by another vendor who works with my company.

I told Jake that I wanted flames. I wanted to put flames on my car, but I will settle for the helmet. He is an edgy guy, so he added the bio hazard logo which I thought was cool and played into the whole racing, risk, driving in anger thematic that all racers deal with.

It is going off today, so I'm pretty excited. I have wanted to lose the white stormtrooper look for a while and these colors are the same as those on the car, so there will be some consistency of look.

The wrap verses paint, won't make it permanent and you can change it up over time without buying a new helmet.

Again, apologies for the poor formatting. I'm not sure what is going on.

Latest addition

We sold the Cramper last Fall and I squirreled the money away. The plan was that we would find an inexpensive tow vehicle and new enclosed trailer. By also selling the Explorer this could be done easily with money back in the bank.

The enclosed trailer protects the car from the elements and any curious bystander, as well as provides an at-the-track workshop/living space/camping space (when the women are not with us). The tow vehicle gives us the freedom to go to a hotel, out to eat, or back and forth to registration, or any other location around the track. The extended cab makes room for the kids, the truck bed for the 4 wheeler.

The Explorer goes up for sale in April and I located this truck here in Altoona just down the street from my office. It is a '99 GMC 2500 pick up. It was a former railway support vehicle and has a lot of miles on it, but serviced extensively. The interior needs a lot of cleaning up - it was a work truck. But it looks great on the outside. Thanks to a new bed and paint job.

Not sure what we will call it yet, but I am looking forward to having it around for trips to Home Depot and those landscaping nursuries just as much as going to the races.

Anyone know how to fix the formatting so my paragraphs have spaces?

All moved in!!

We are in the new home. I still have to unpack, but should be back to work in a couple of weeks!

New Pit Vehicle

Last weekend, my son and I traveled to South Carolina to pick up this '98 Honda Recon ATV. It has never been trail ridden and is about the cleanest ATV you could find considering its age.

Its primary role will be to ride my kids around the neighborhood ;) But on a few weekends, it will tow my race car to the grid and shuttle my dad back and forth to the pits and a few us to varying turns during the other races.

It will go in the shop for a tune up and we'll replace the rear tires with a set that came with it!

Race Prepped HS6 Carbs

While I am in the mood to post, I should catch up on the new set of HS6 race prepped SUs.

These are larger than the HS4s that I had been running and will provide the added fuel required by my motor.

We used the Lynx HS6 manifold and Volvo HS6s. The carbs have quite a few tweaks to them. Including CNC velocity stacks port matched to the throats of the carbs, there are epoxy ramps leading up to the bridge to smooth out the air flow coming into the carb, radiused piston, thinned throttle shafts, and the leading edge of the throttle disc are knife edged.

The intake is fully ported and match to the carbs, and the head. Included are custom made throttle linkage bars and a bracket for the return springs. The float bowl are orientated so that racing side loads won't affect them.

The throttle levers and choke arm levers are all off a set of MGB HS4.

They are beautiful and look great sitting on my office desk.

Ouch, has it been that long?

It's been since Christmas since I posted anything? I have some updates, which I will capture, but most of them are around a move to a new city, purchase of a new home and the re-creation of another garage.

Not to mention the fact that no work has been done on the car since last year. Just the purchase of new parts.

So, to get things going in 2009, here is my favorite picture. It is of my dad (#40) in 1982 at Summit Point. They are in the Carousel. The front end of his car was recently repaired from a collision with half a dozen trees at the end of turn one when the pedal went to the floor after several turns and a long front straight at full throttle.

Merry Christmas

It is vacation time and Christmas is literally around the corner.

With falling leaves, raking, re-doing the guest bathroom and a fairly extensive Winter cleaning, development and play time with the car has been slow at best. I have acquired a bunch of things, but none of them have made it on the car.

Engine and carbs should be done by the first of the year, so that is meaningful progress. I am going to pick them up around Jan. 2. I have also acquired some key spare parts which I will be picking up too. I hope to make the new dash and finish the electronics before having to go back to work on Monday, January 5, 2009.

Combine all of this work with some significant life transition coming soon, and I'm afraid I might again miss the beginning of the racing season. However, I feel confident we will be able to make several marquee vintage events this year.

We sold the Cramper this Fall. I loved that little motorhome, but honestly it cost more to store than to pay for a hotel room at each event. And, now we are not on the hook for gas, insurance, maintenance, etc. etc. So, instead at the beginning of this year, we are going to get a 7.5' x 24' enclosed car hauler. We'll put an AC unit in the top, as well as a microwave, refrigerator and bathroom. With some cots, dad and I could easily camp in it when the ladies are not with us ...

Merry Christmas everyone. More to come in the new year.

Shots from Summit Point. Difference in wheels tells you whether it was wet or dry. Black (ugly) wheels have the wet tires. Superlite charcoal wheels are dry tires. Plus they look good too.

I can't stop

It is the end of the season and for next year, I want to improve several things that could have been executed better the first time around, or there was not enough time or resources at the time.

Yesterday, I rolled the car out to pressure wash from the last race, as well as to clean out the engine bay in preparation for painting. Right now the motor is getting refreshed, a new set of carbs are being built and I plan on building a new dash and re-routing the fuel lines and brake lines through the cockpit.

I'm gonna be busy.

Phase 2 of engine development

This weekend I went to Acme Speedshop to drop off my motor for some winter development. It was a great trip, because we actually broke the motor down together, giving me the chance to participate in the process, see the motor come apart and get a clear understanding of what was in there and how it all worked together.

Now apart, the motor will go to the machine shop to have the head and block decked several thousandths. This process increases your compression ratio, creating a more violent explosion thus increasing your horsepower. We are shooting for 13:1 compression. In addition to increasing the horsepower, I am installing a set of Pauter rods (pictured above) and high tension valve springs in order to sustain a higher number of engine revolutions. This motor should allow me to regularly shift at 7,200 rpm. Acme Speedshop is also going to build me a set of HS6 carbs. The larger carb will be able to provide the amount of fuel needed to feed the thirsty engine. I think I was getting about 7 miles to gallon on the smaller carbs and less developed motor. Of course, fuel mileage is not so much a concern for a sprint racing car verses an enduro car, or better yet, your commuter vehicle.

So, while the motor is being worked on, I am spending my time at home stripping the tub and making some much needed improvements to the fuel system, as well as looking for ways to refine certain functional aspects of the car. As I make changes, I'll post my progress.

Refining my game

I have been doing more welding. This time, I needed a stand to hold an engine for transporting. Whether it is my current race motor, or the spare. I have needed something to hold and stabilize the motor so it would not bounce around or tip over while in transport. This one does the job ok and I will clean it up and paint it shortly.

In addition, I created a bracket to hold my remote oil filter housing. Though it does not make the car any faster, it is a nice touch of professionalism that improves my presentation.

My License Arrived

Well it took 2 1/2 years to earn, but my competition license arrived at my house yesterday. I was excited to finally receive it and as dad says, "take care of it, it was expensive."

A Riddle

What do Summit Point Motorsports Park, Pocono, Watkins Glen, Beaver Run, Lime Rock, N.J. Motorsports Park, Nelson Ledges and Mid-Ohio among others all have in common?

They could be within driving distance if we make the move ...

Just one of the many priorities one must consider in life.

Building a Tire Rack for the trailer

I have always wanted a tire rack for my humble little home made trailer. Hauling around spare wheels - a luxury - is a hassle when you have to put them in the motorhome or Explorer. They take up so much space.

So, with my new found welding skills, welder and design inspiration from my last race weekend, I went to work.

I bought all of the metal, made the cuts and constructed the uprights. I then welded them onto the trailer and connected the cross rails. Then the gussets.

The rack looks great and will hold two additional sets of wheels - practice dry tires and rain tires.

After we got it together, my wife helped me paint it and voila. I am proud. My $300 trailer is maturing nicely. Pictures with tires is unpainted. Have also since trimmed the pole.

Culprit unveiled

As you know, a few weekends ago, I was qualifying at Summit Point Motorsports Park for a SCCA regional race in FP.

Summit Point has a nice fast turn 10 and a long front straight with a tight turn one. You have the foot the floor for a long time before you hit the brakes hard. In this particular session, I came down the straight and when I hit the brakes and shoved the clutch in, the accelerator cable stuck and pegged the motor at 8,000+ rpm. I say + because my tach only goes to 8,000 and I am not sure where the motor went.

Anyhow in that sequence of events and my attempts to recover while not hitting anyone or going off track, I managed to explode the clutch.

So, if you ever wondered what happens when you dump a clutch at 8,000+ rpm in a B, this is your answer. I had the heavy duty clutch and pressure plate.