SCCA EMod MGB GT V12 Build

prayers for you missB and MOM

So, do you have to call the flatbed every-time you take the car out so that you can then load into the trailer?

On the move to the USA..Have you looked into what it will cost for healthcare? Way more than I could ever afford, so I am kinda a health care expat whether I like it or not.

not an expert by any means (did sleep at a holiday inn), your situation will require thorough research before pulling the trigger...MOM deserves the best...all i'll say is I'm being fined for not participating....peace out

NOHOME wrote: So, do you have to call the flatbed every-time you take the car out so that you can then load into the trailer?

I'm sure there's plan-B, but that would probably only work once...

NOHOME wrote: So, do you have to call the flatbed every-time you take the car out so that you can then load into the trailer? On the move to the USA..Have you looked into what it will cost for healthcare? Way more than I could ever afford, so I am kinda a health care expat whether I like it or not.

Yes, sadly, it costs me $80 every time I need to move the car in or out. I have tried to come up with an alternate solution but nothing is practical. A ramp would have to be 40 feet long, a 4 post hoist just outside the door would rust to nothing or get stolen and disassembling it every time seems like a huge time suck. I have looked into my own ramp truck but those things aren't cheap around here. As for healthcare, here's what everybody gets wrong about the Canadian healthcare system: It's free but it sucks. We don't have the latest treatments and waiting lists are so long that by the time you get into an MRI, your condition has worsened to the point that it can't be fixed (ask me how I know). And, to pay for this horrible system, Canadians are heavily taxed (I pay around 44% income tax) and have to pay another 12% tax on every good or service that I purchase. If I move somewhere like Nevada, I save so much in taxes that I could pay for the best health insurance several times over.

I guess i'll just take my $2500 (+/-) fine and say "thank you very much I'll have another"

First drive report: We had a local test n tune event and we went out to try all the changes to the car. I think I mentioned this earlier but I had the hose for the turbo bypass valve hooked up wrong and now that it is correct, boost should come up much quicker. Well, in the stock system is a little electric valve that only permits turbo bypass under certain conditions. I no longer used that valve so I removed it. However, the ECM feels that I really need that valve so it limited the boost to about 4 psi briefly. Needless to say, the almost naturally aspirated 2.0 litre didn't feel very strong. Despite this, I was able to drive the car flat out, bouncing against the rev limiter at 72 mph through most of the course and got fastest time of the day by quite a chunk. The new gear ratios seem way better and even with the reduced power, the car kept pulling to redline because the gears aren't far apart. The new weight balance (50/50 left/right, 45/55 front/rear) seems to have cured the braking problem and we were actually locking up the front tires until I turned the balance bar to the rear. I never experienced any wheelspin of the inside rear tire but the jury is still out until I get my 25 psi of boost back. The aero package seems to really work. At low speeds the steering is quite abrupt and direct but as speed increases, the car becomes more stable and planted. At 72 mph, the car did things that I have never felt an autocross car do, it went anywhere I pointed it and just didn't breakaway. I tried driving it without the electric power steering and had to bail on a run because I couldn't steer it fast enough. So, no handling, braking or overheating problems and FTD against a couple of DM and EM Lotus 7's, a successful day if you ask me. A couple of videos of my wife on her first runs.

https://youtu.be/703Pyqmq1bA

Oh yeah baby.....the panther laying in wait to POUNCE!

First actual event was today and after I plugged in that electric valve and cleared the codes, the car made boost. I was in the second group and our local hotshoes were in the first group so I got to see all their lap times as they finished the course. The time to beat was a 58.1 and I went out on my first run thinking I wanted to get one clean one in the books before I pushed. I launched pretty mildly and mashed the throttle once I was rolling.....I definitely had boost. Shifted to 2nd gear and the car pulled like a train up to redline. I just let it bounce against the limiter as I tried to see where the course went and figure out the line. I had a clean run and set a 56.0. For my second run, I didn't start the GoPro and decided I could be a lot more aggressive because the car felt absolutely planted on the first run. I launched a little harder and went up to 3rd gear, doing something around 85 mph in one section before I had to downshift for the hairpin. I hit 3rd gear two more times and the car felt great but I clipped a cone somewhere so even though I ran a 34.5, my first run was my quickest. On the drive back to my grid spot, something felt strange in the transmission and when I pulled into my spot, it wouldn't come out of 1st gear. I didn't have time to pull off panels to get to the shifter so I just drove it into the trailer and called it a day. Here is my first run, keep in mind that I was taking it easy because I didn't know the course yet.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/z_Ll82aV91k

In reply to loosecannon:

That sucks about your shifter, but sounds like you're making excellent progress otherwise. Is it just the camera making the car look a bit skittish on course?

2 seconds eh?? what was my post awhile ago? congrats! awesome! safe travel home...

Pete Gossett wrote: In reply to loosecannon: That sucks about your shifter, but sounds like you're making excellent progress otherwise. Is it just the camera making the car look a bit skittish on course?

I didn't find the car skittish at all but our site is really, really bumpy so the wheel moves around a bunch when crossing the gullies and dips. I honestly didn't drive well at all because I'm still thinking about the car instead of how to drive. I don't feel like I have to change anything for local events, we will see how it goes on concrete in Lincoln

In reply to loosecannon:

Ah ok, that explains why it looked like it was jumping all over the place.

You "stood on your first run" without standing on it for your first run. Gotta be gratifying.

So, I don't know what's up with transmission. I did 200 autocross runs last year with no issues but I get it rebuilt for this year and it breaks first time out. I think it's just a bent shifter fork but it's out of the car and going back to the shop that rebuilt it.

so 56 and change for your first run (FTD)....not to shabby congrats!!!

In reply to 759NRNG:

Thanks, it's too bad I didn't get a chance to really show what the car could do. I am not known as a cone killer and often do all my runs clean. I like to get a clean run in the bag and work my way up to a best time in my 3rd or 4th run. The first run was just a sighting run to figure out the line so I could start to push on later runs. I ran a 54.5 on my 2nd run but know there was a 53 to be had. The next closest competitor is the best driver in our club and has placed 2nd at Nationals several times. Last year I could beat him by 2 seconds but this year I was 3.5 seconds ahead and am pretty happy about that. I don't trust the trans shop so I will be putting another trans in on Wednesday and will keep this one as a spare. I have another event this coming weekend

It took only 30 minutes to remove the transmission then I took it to the shop that installed the gears. Second gear somehow fused to the main shaft and couldn't be separated, even with a 10 ton press. I attached a picture and you can see the blue metal from becoming hot. The other gears were still perfect and the oil clear and free of debris so it's a mystery how this happened. There was no way to correct this in time for my next event in Lincoln, Nebraska so I pulled the trigger on a new Richmond Super T-10. It already has the W code gearset that I desire. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/MGB-GT/IMG_9024_zps5vmecui6.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/MGB-GT/IMG_9030_zpsac98jsqx.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/MGB-GT/IMG_9031_zpszm5ok2uz.jpg.html][/URL]

Loose, being lazy here(not going thru the thread), but does the Panther have a tranny cooler system thingy?

Man sucks about the trans, but ti sure looks like its going to be running great this year!

759NRNG wrote: Loose, being lazy here(not going thru the thread), but does the Panther have a tranny cooler system thingy?

No, and it has no need for one. Manual transmissions rarely have coolers except in road race applications and autocrossing doesn't put any heat in the transmission

java230 wrote: Man sucks about the trans, but ti sure looks like its going to be running great this year!

This is the first thing to break on Pink Panther 4.0 and it has done over 200 autocross runs, a few passes down a drag strip and some road racing laps-it was due. I'm glad it wasn't anything I did, it was a freak thing.

The gear probably was too tight on the shaft or did not have enough end play to get lube. Your gear installer should be embarassed.

This year is not starting out so well as far as reliability is concerned. I did over 200 autocross runs last year without even a bolt coming loose but this year is a bit of a disaster. Briget and I drove down to Lincoln this weekend for a Nebraska Region test n tune and event. I watched some others go out on the course then I went out and the car felt great and was about 6 seconds quicker than the next closest car. The car is clearly a lot quicker everywhere so I made an adjustment and went out again, this time with a camera on my gauges so I could see what my pressures were around the course. Everything looked fine, boost was going to 23 psi and oil pressure was 20-100 psi depending on rpm. I made another run and came back to raise the rear roll center and noticed that oil had overflowed out of the crankcase vent/catch can. I drained half a liter of oil out of the thing and wondered what that was all about. My oil level seemed good (maybe a little high) and didn't look or smell funny. Last year I had the crankcase vent tube just going to the intake tube before the turbo, and changed it so I didn't get any particles of oil through the turbo. I went for another run and came back and found a little more oil in the catch can. This was a mystery to me, couldn't understand what was going on. Blowby out of the oil filler hole seemed normal, just a slight bit but I could put my hand over it and not feel any pressure. The car felt great so I handed it over to Briget and she made some runs. She looked great and was running fast times immediately. I challenged her to a certain lap time and she went out and did it, but as she pulled up and we did our high fives, I could hear a slight tick coming from the motor. I pulled the covers off and listened carefully but couldn't identify a source. it doesn't get louder when I rev it up and actually gets quieter with when I raise rpm just a little. Oil level is still good and oil is clear and oil pressure was fine, and coolant was 180 degrees. I have heard that Ecotecs have weak timing chain tensioners and I guess it could be that. The sound goes away when engine is cold but comes back as it warms up. I didn't know and wasn't going to risk it so we packed up after only 12 runs on the test course. I will be doing a compression test and use a stethoscope to figure out the source of the noise. I already have an air/oil seperator, road race oil pan and Accusump on the way to try to solve any issues before Springnationals (only 2 weeks away-Yikes!).

something simple for a change eh?