Here's a lap in my Yellow Miata - which was sold - this past September.

Looks fast, even on jack stands

More pictures can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkracing/sets/

2012 car getting it's vinyl face lift today!

Going SCCA Production Car Racing

I have always been in love with the SCCA - warts and all - and have been thinking for some time now about racing with the club in something more modern. The MG's days in club racing are behind it and I'm still very young - young enough to learn a new car.

So, a couple of weeks aover the summer, I bought a FP Miata out of Texas and planned to run up here in the DC Region for a while. I raced it in September and finished well placing second in the Labor Day race and overall, enjoying a competitive and maintenance free weekend.

I sold this particular car a few months later, because it was not the best platform for me to use as I launch into another chapter of my racing career. I did sell it to another racer in the area, so I expect to see it again soon. I then bought a roller out of NC owned by David Bryson. This car was a top notch, no expense spared effort, so I'm happy with my foundation.

Jesse Prather Motorsports (http://www.jesseprathermotorsports.com/) has built the motor, transmission and suspension and Third Wave Digital has signed up to sponsor the car in the 2012 SCCA DC Region's Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series (MARRS).

In the coming weeks and months, I'll post updates of the car, the build and the progress we make as we prepare to embark on what we hope to be a successful 2012 racing series.

Special thanks to my friends at Third Wave Digital (http://www.thirdwavedigital.com/).

Blogger and Blogging

Blogger has not been an easy tool to use. Unlike WordPress, at the time, Google was not putting any resources behind improving the functionality of this tool. WordPress is in constant development.

So, I got tired of trying to make it work. I figured I would give it some time and maybe they would make some changes. A second chance could be in order.

A full race season has passed. The VDCA race at Roebling is a few months away from being a year old and since then I've been to three different race tracks - Road Atlanta, BeaveRun and Summit Point.

I'll post updates over the next few weeks in an attempt to get back into the blogging spirit and provide an update of the racing season and the plans we have in place for next year.

A lap around Roebling in a Spec Miata

1:22.7 Lap at Roebling Road Raceway from Glenn Stephens on Vimeo.

In the final days of preparation

It is the Thanksgiving holiday and everything is in place for the VDCA's finale at Roebling Road Raceway located near Savannah Georgia.

The car is ready and I'll start packing shortly. This past month I became a member of the Vintage Driver's Club of America (VDCA) and have registered my car. I have my licensing credentials, as well as my 2010 SCCA license.

The finale is going to be a fun event. Besides being my first event with the VDCA, I'll also get to see and race against some of my MG buddies. I have not raced any of these guys yet, so I look forward to seeing how the car and driver stack up.

Roebling Road

Now all eyes are fixed on the second week of December. We'll be driving to Savannah, Ga., for the VDCA's final race of the season at Roebling Road.

This will be my first real vintage race, so I'm excited about seeing how the car and driver compare to the rest of the field.

I'm busily preparing for this event.

Labor Day MARRS

Summit Point, WV

2009

Recap is way overdue, but here is a video in the mean time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKtXbd08ccM

Towing in style

Last weekend, we were in Va. finishing the trailer and towing it back to Pa. It was a successful trip and I am very pleased with the end product.

Work continued Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning before loading up and pulling out. No real issues ... we lost the tongue jack halfway home and I also learned that I needed to adjust the brake balance inside the truck cab to keep the trailer brakes from locking up. That first couple of lock ups was interesting.

Here are some updated photos to reflect the AC unit, the work bench/storage unit, electrical and decorations ;)

Off to the races

This coming Labor Day weekend is MARRS 9 & 10 at Summit Point Raceway. I'm entered. It is a shake down event and hopefully after finishing the weekend, I will have secured my license for another year. I have not been on track since October of last year when I lost the clutch at the Point.

This weekend I've started packing. I'm really excited.

Trailer update

Since we are going to get my trailer this week, I thought I would record a quick update. During the last few months, my dad has been rocking on the build out of my new 20' enclosed trailer.

We did the floor together, but other than that, he has owned this thing and despite his weeks of travel in service to the country, he has found the time to make it happen.

Here's the short list with some pictures taken around July 4. Most of this has since been painted and finished.

The front section has three areas. A bathroom, which consists of a portable toilet on a riser with a fold out door that meets an accordion door providing total privacy.

The middle section is a table top with shelf and cabinets, as well as a galley sink. Underneath the table top goes the roll around Craftsman tool box during travel and the big cooler when at the races. The shelf will have a small microwave and there is room for a fridge should we go that far. There is also a fluorescent light mounted underneath the shelf.


The third section is for hanging coats and my race suit, as well as multiple drawers for whatever we will need for surviving. When a racer packs to go to the track, we take a lot of stuff, because 1) you are living there for three days and 2) you need anything and everything in case you break something. I have all sorts of spares that I bring with me in tubs. The last thing you want is to lose a water pump and have to go home, losing the entire investment of the weekend.


There are three large two bulb fluorescent light boxes that hang throughout the trailer. In addition along the walls both inside and outside are power boxes. There is a fuse box that handles the power coming into the trailer and enough wiring and outlets to power anything I have and anything my paddock neighbors might have including my AC unit which goes in this coming weekend.


My aunt and uncle did some renovation to their kitchen, so I got some of their oak kitchen cabinets. In addition, mom and dad also did some renovation, and I got the drawers that are near the hanging clothes area. Here is another one of the cabinets toward the rear of the trailer.


Since taking these pictures, dad has built a rolling tool bench with multi-power outlet box, florescent light and vise with a pegboard back that will double as a storage unit while traveling. It is made to go over the front of the car and secure to the sides preventing both forward, backward and side-to-side movement. Storage will be a key factor when packing for the race track.

In addition, he has put a mount in the floor that will connect to my winch, so I can continue to load the car on my own.

I'm real proud of the work dad has done and in three weeks, we'll be camping in this thing, sleeping on cots with the AC pumping. When the ladies join us, we'll retreat to the hotels.

Back together and running

The last several weekends have been a blur of activity. Wiring issues sorted, starter issues sorted, nearly a hundred things resolved, but for the most part, the car is done, running and ready for the next race.

I was very pleased with how everything has come together, and I have enjoyed solving those problems as they have arisen. Now, I look forward to getting the car on track and fully sorted.
This weekend I backed the car out of the garage to see if she would pull forward under her own power, which she did. It had not occurred to me until this moment though, that this was the very first appearance outside of the garage that the Biscuit had made since we moved to Pennsylvania.

We are off to Virginia this weekend to finish up-fitting my new trailer - installing the AC, painting the undercarriage and hanging the dry erase board, Think Racing clock and McConnell family Crest (tradition). It is coming back with us, so I can start loading it for the Labor Day race at Summit Point.

I admit that I get a lot of pleasure from essentially building this car from scratch in three months, but I am also glad to see it together again. I'll probably leave it together for a while now. We are going to move on to dad's car and I want to start studying some of my spare engines, so I can learn to build them myself. I've also thought some about the long-term possibility of adding another car to stable as a "foster" car that I would rent to other drivers. A Sprite or Midget that runs as a limited prep SCCA production racer. It would not be fast, but people could rent it for schools, to maintain their license, or for more experience. That would be a fun little side business and give me more time at the track than I get when I'm paying the bills with a little help from sponsors. I'm just thinking out loud.

Fun times ahead.

What about the car?

All of this talk about new trucks and tricked out trailers, but what about the diamond that sits in the middle?

She is coming along. Pictured above are numerous pictures of the journey. New engine, new HS6 carbs, new Mallory Unilite distributor, new wiring, new wheel studs, new, new, new, or cleaned, cleaned and painted.

The motor is in, the carbs are on and the exhaust is hung. The brake system is done including the re-routing of the rear brake line through the cockpit - along with the main battery line and fuel line. This is done to protect these lines. If they remained under the car they could get ripped off if I went off the track.

The wiring is done and bundled and the battery has been moved to the passenger side. The front steering needs to be finished along with running the fuel lines through the pressure regulator to the carbs. The brakes and clutch need to be bled and pressure built up. The oiling system needs to be connected and the cooling system installed. Probably 10 other things I looked past - my notes are downstairs.

Oh yeah, and it needs to start and run on its own. All by the first of September. Throw in a family vacation and weekend trips to my parents house and I am running behind.

I'll be down there tomorrow busily working ...

Progress on the trailer

My dad is rocking it on the trailer. As the pictures show, it is wired for electricty, lights installed, cabinets in and even the fold out door that meets the accordian door creating a private space for - you guessed it - a toilet.

I'm real proud of his work and laugh every time I get an update. I'm traveling in a couple of weeks to help finish it and take it home. There is some trim work to do and dad needs to finish the two roll around work benches/storage. I'll help undercoat underneath the trailer and I bought an AC unit off of ebay for installation via the vent hole in the top. Its a perfect fit.

We have our first event in September and plan on spending two nights in the trailer. When the women join us, we'll move to hotels. The whole design is to allow a comfortable space while at the races in addition to any work that may need to be done. We have cots for our beds.

Big G

A few months ago, I bought a very cheap red pick up. I was really excited about it. 5.7 liter V8, extended cab, long bed, plenty of power to pull the trailer filled with race goodies. Truth is, the truck was not my smartest purchase. I could write for days about why at the time it seemed like the right purchase. And now having lived with it for a while - I can write a page or two about why it was not the right purchase.

So, the red truck is going on craigslist with the hope that some aspiring businessman in Northern Virginia needs a decent work truck.

Enter my latest toy. A 2003 Chevy 2500 HD extended cab pick up. 6.0 liter V8, 77,000 miles, working AC :), 4x4, long bed, four-wheel disc brakes, working radio with CD :) and plenty more reasons why I probably should not own a nice truck like this. Now the family will ride with me and we can make some long reliable treks to race tracks in distant lands.

Slow Progress

The move really set me back. I disassembled my whole car with a huge list of to dos before knowing I was changing jobs, moving and leaving the garage for nearly five months. I've missed the start and middle of the race season and won't see the track until September at the earliest. So, I'm hoofing it. From the top, I removed the jack points and welded in a 1x1x30 piece of steel in its place. The jack points were in the way when trying to actually jack up the low car. Next are the wheel studs, I replaced them all with much longer versions giving my lug nuts something more to grab on to than the original short studs. Painted the engine bay and built a new dash with the gauges clustered providing a quick glance verses having to scan them longitudinally. There is only so much time to check the gauges and they needed to be in a convenient locations.

Next up is wiring and installation of the motor and transmission, as well as custom building a new braking and fueling system. Stay tuned.