In reply to Patientzero :
Potential Responses:
1 - That is really nice work. Superb fabrication. Daaang...
2 - and the car is gorgeous also. Daaang...
3- Those are the biggest hood vents I have ever seen.
4 - I can see where rain might be an issue.
5- That's not a hood its a gazebo!
In reply to KentF :
LMAO. They are laser cut. They will be available on my website if I ever get this batch finished up and write the installation instructions. I'm not really concerned about rain although I've thought about maybe trying to make some kind of temp covers to put over them while the car is on the trailer.
Various Updates and Progress
I am lucky enough to be able to do my job (mostly) from home. It is less efficient but our technology and a good internet connection help dramatically. Seems a shame that at a time when I am not commuting that gas prices are so low.
Cylinder Heads
My cylinder heads came back from Manitowoc Motor Machine. They look great. They have new LS Severe Duty valves with 8mm stems and high performance keepers. I have head gaskets on order and should be able to start assembly next weekend.
Fasteners
I have really been sold on the Tin-Zinc plating from Eastman. I have taken to plating just about any fastener that comes off the car including fasteners that are purchased new. The plating lasts much better than the thin coverings the bolts come with.
I plated all the fasteners and the Camber bolts used to remount the new struts. It looks good, and the threads don’t rust so it comes apart easier next time. Those strut bolts are not new:
I have also taken to plating some of the smaller brackets under the car and, as an experiment, the Front Brake Caliper brackets. I use an old Tupperware container.
I was not able to clean up all the rust on the backside (don’t have a glass beads cleaner). So the back is fairly spotty. But the visible parts look very good.
Speaking of the Front Struts - Look at the clips on these MM strut housings. Go back and compare them to the original bent up Bilstein clips.
I dare me to bend these clips. Challenge accepted.
New Front Brakes
As noted earlier, my front brakes were shot so I went on the hunt for new ones. I had been running Stop Tech rotors and Hawk HPS pads. Very happy with the set up.
My SCCA subscription came with the usual assortment of coupons and one was 20% off from Hawk. When I tried the discount code it did not function. So a quick note off to Hawk.
They immediately realized they had not updated the code from last year and also that they had not had any big promotions this year (they have big promotions, who knew?). I was the first one to ask about it so the kind people at Hawk decided I was the winner. $225 off any order, no restrictions. Daaang! It pays to ask. It pays to be polite. The people at Hawk were great.
So here are my beautiful new Hawk Talon Rotors and HPS 5.0 Pads that cost me only about $160. Daaang! We will be stopping on cue this summer. Thank you Hawk!
One thing Hawk does is actually show you the actual specs for their pads in charts and graphs. Many don’t. To me it shows they are serious about helping the client make the right choices.
After viewing the data I chose the HPS 5.0 pads over the HPS. Slightly more aggressive stopping and slightly higher temperature range. We will see if I like them. It has taken a lot of peddle pressure to lock up the front. The new vacuum tank will help with that also.
The back brakes have lots of life in them yet. They have been rebuilt with all new hardware. Hopefully I won’t have bias issues.
Tie Down Ring
Last year as I started towing Mistress to far away events I had an issue getting the rear safety chain hooked on to something solid. The rear axle on this car is a crowded place with the upper arm towers and sway bar. I ended up having to loop the chain over the pan hard bar frame. This is cumbersome, hard to get to, and not what it was made for.
So I added a welded ring on the right lower control arm bracket. This is easy to get to and nothing is more secure under there than that piece of metal.
Maybe it's just the picture but your tie down ring doesn't look very "robust". Mac's tie downs makes a piece to weld onto the axle tube for this very purpose. I personally hate crawling under the car to tie it down especially at the end of the day when the car is hot and the trailer has been sitting in the sun all day. I have the through-the-wheel straps and I'm never going back, lol.
In reply to Patientzero :
Hmm... You could be right. It is a 3/8" thick ring. Not that thick. Checked out the Mac unit but it won't work for me. I am using rental trailers for now and have to be able to loop the chain through. No wheel straps. I don't really want to weld to the axle tube anyway. As noted it is very crowded up there and harder to reach (I'm not that flexible anymore). Mac does have a robust weld on D ring that may work at the current location. Thanks.
It’s the Little Things
Well this is a little thing. A long term annoyance has been resolved. For years my 7.5” differential has blown oil mist out of the vent. Not enough to make a significant difference in the oil level. Just enough to make everything back there very dirty.
I am not sure if it is from oil sloshing around during an autocross or just normal driving. I just got tired of the mess and finally did something about it. I installed a little Mishimoto catch can with a sintered filter in it.
Long ago I moved the OEM port a few inches to clear the upper control arm towers. Now the hole needed to be re-tapped for a hose fitting. Note the black vacuum hose. Also rigged a soda straw to try and suck up anything that might have fallen inside. Not sure if that was successful or not.
Installing the mounting screws on the little catch can proved difficult until I just glued them into a Torx driver an snapped it off after tightening.
It fits right up in where the coil spring used to be. Hopefully no more mess.
Rebuilt Heads with New Valves
In mid April on a Friday afternoon the shop called letting me know my heads were ready. My wife and I made the 40 minute drive treating ourselves to take out (Panda Express and B-Dubs) on the way. I donned my mask and went into the shop. The customer area of Manitowoc Motor Machining is rather small and there were four customers in there. It was rather comical as we all waltzed around each other dressed like bandits trying to keep our distance.
These are the same heads I had before but with new 8mm valve stems & guides (original design is 7mm stems which is very limiting on options). The new valves are LS Severe Duty (2” Intake and 1.55 Exh.) turned down to match my valve seats. These are single groove at the retainer.
The 7 mm OEM 3 groove design is meant to allow some rotation of the valve stem in the keepers to even out wear. That means there is some compliance in that joint to allow the rotation. That compliance, I believe, was allowing the grooves to get hammered & mushroomed. Basically, they are not compatible with the aggressive cam I am running. Those valves were the only OEM style component left in the valve train.
The machinist says this single groove design will keep a death grip on the valve. In summary: New custom valves supported by new guides, spring seats, spring hats and keepers. Springs are the same as before and range from ~120# at 1.75”and ~105# at 1.80”.
One thing I noted on this re-assembly is offset wear marks on the rocker rollers (see below). I have seen them before but they are more pronounced now. Basically the rollers are not sitting perfectly on the valve tips – left to right.
This is aligned by the rod guides. Some filing of the keeper hole on most of them allowed me to get them square over the valve. In hind sight: 1 - I should have noticed this before and 2 – This might be why this valve train was always a little noisy masking other issues.
Note the little center punch divot. This was done while it was in the car to make sure I did not loose track of where to file.
With new valves in the heads I systematically assembled each rocker and rod with bluing on the valve tip, set the lash with the cam on the base circle, barred the engine over, took it apart and recorded the witness mark in a chart (High, Little High, OK…). It is a great way to spend an afternoon.
What I got indicated the Intake valves were taller than the Exhaust valves and they were all slightly taller than the original valves. A quick check with a straight edge confirmed the different heights.
I switched to my adjustable pushrod and after several more repetitions of the procedure I found that I got good patterns at a rod length matching up to a Comp Cams Magnum #7636 at 7.250” for the Intake and #7608 at 7.200” for the Exhaust. The original pushrods were #7635 at 7.150” long. The diagram shows what is going on. This could vary depending on the geometry of any individual engine. Basically, when the rods are the right length the rollers will contact only the center section of the valve tip.
The new rods went on back order from Summit and it took almost two weeks to get them. By the way the “Magnum” series rods have hardened shells for use with rod guides.
I set the lash on everything to the standard 1/2 turn plus 10 degrees (I have learned that seems to be what this car needs). Then I finished re-assembly of the top of the engine, put all the bodily fluids in and got ready to start. I expected to have to touch up the lash while running and I was not surprised. Still noisy, mostly on the drivers side…
Using a length of rubber hose to the ear I sounded out which rockers were noisy (three of them, two on the driver side and one on passenger) and each got another 10 or 20 degrees or so to quiet them down. It sounds pretty good now.
After an initial run around the neighborhood to annoy the neighbors and bed the new brakes I pulled off the driver side rocker cover to check a couple of witness marks now burnished into the valve tips. I marked the nuts so I would know they were exactly back in position. They look good.
I will need to listen/watch for valve float this season. Since these valves are slightly taller than the OEM style the springs I am using are slightly less compressed than before. I might have to switch to a slightly stiffer spring. We will see…
Mistress running around the neighborhood making a ruckus, dirty and braless…
Oil Leak
Last winter I replaced the front main seal to stop an oil leak. It continued to leak once Mistress was back together again. One of my friends suggested using an oil dye to find the problem. I did not know this was a thing. It works very well.
The bottle of dye cost about 15 bucks at the local parts store. I already had break in oil (cheaper synthetic) in the car. The dye works with ultraviolet light. I used a simple LED flashlight we had that is meant to find pet stains in the carpet. Have not had that problem for many years but still had the flashlight. Any pet store will have one.
The dye quickly showed the leak was from the oil pan RTV gasket joint just under the front seal. It would be very difficult to tell without the dye.
One way to fix this would be to drop the K-Member, remove the oil pan and re-RTV it back on to the engine (there is no gasket). Plan B would be to pull the engine. Neither is on my to do list.
I bought a cheap mini grease gun, a grease needle and a fresh tube or RTV. Total cost about 25 bucks.
I cleaned the gasket joint with Brakleen and worked it over with a small stainless wire brush. I also drilled into it slightly in several places with a very small drill (1/32”) to get the needle in deeper. And I broke off the drill and had to fish it out with a pick.
I packed a section of paper towel into the grease gun (to help seal against the plunger since there would be no cartridge) and then packed in about 1/2 tube of RTV. Yes – I sacrificed the grease gun. This is a one shot operation.
I then injected the RTV directly into the seal area at roughly 1/8” increments. I was afraid the needle might break off but they are actually pretty flexible. The grease gun can exert tremendous pressure. Hopefully it would force the sealant back into the cracks and seal up the joint.
Then I smoothed it all out and let it sit overnight. The next day I put things back together and … It worked. No more leak. Hopefully it will last until the next time the engine is torn down. Hopefully that is years away.
While the dyed oil was still in the car I had the rockers off to make the final lash adjustments. With the UV LED flashlight shining on it the engine looks like it is full of green slime! You can really see where the oil is going. This could be a useful tool for checking oiling issues perhaps.
Blow By Tester
Another tool for testing the condition of engines is the Blow By Test. Pressure from compressed air and expanding combustion gas leaks past the piston rings on every engine. All piston/rotary engines have this weakness.
Compression testing and leak down testing are great but neither actually tests the condition of the rings in actual operating conditions. The blow by test does. Basically it measures the compression air/combustion gas flow from the cylinders coming out of the crankcase. The more flow the worse you rings are. To use the tester you plug up all other inlets/outlets to the crankcase except one (usually PVC) and measure the flow.
Since Mistress had an entirely new rotating assembly, pistons and rings I was curious to see how it was doing after a season. My only regret is that I did not make this tester last spring when the engine was utterly new inside.
These tools can be very simple. The one your Ford dealer uses is a controlled orifice with pressure gauge connected to the hose upstream. Simple and cheap. However, it infers the air flow by relating the pressure reading to a flow rate on a chart. Other systems are expensive electronic hot wire anemometers that measure the flow in the same manner as the mass flow meter on your car.
In the sprite of mechanical engineering I designed and made my own tester for about $35. It is simple, fairly accurate and very repeatable. You saw a “proof of concept” photo in my “End Of Season Testing” entry last January.
A good engine will have somewhere between 1 and 10 CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute). This is a very rough range though, “good” for one style of engine will be “not so good” for another. Some very tight race engines will read 1 CFM. Others could read 10 or 20 and be just fine. Once it gets to 30 CFM or so the engine is probably getting pretty tired. My research indicated my V6 with a few thousand miles on it should be around 5 CFM or so. Above all the absolute readings though, is consistency over time.
The key component is a Dwyer Vaneometer wind speed instrument. This cost about $20 and is meant to sit in unobstructed air and measure wind speed in Feet per Minute (FPM). It is a portable device for meteorologists. It is remarkably sensitive. If the fan kicks on in the engine bay a few feet away this thing will sense something has changed in the room while sitting on the bench.
Connected to a pipe of known inside diameter and laminar flow one can calculate the CFM.
Air is compressible and to get a “proper” reading one should also measure the pressure and temperature in the pipe and then convert to “Standard CFM (Sea Level at 60 DegF). These effects are 1/4 of negligible at these conditions so we can treat the air as incompressible. If I ever move to a mountain top in a rain forest I might get different readings, but for now…
I experimented with placement of the instrument in relation to the pipe. Too close could force extra air through the meter and too far would allow too much bypass.
Fairly close with about 1 mm gap seemed to give consistent readings. Remember, this thing is measuring velocity not volume so close coupling (sealing) it to the pipe would give erroneously high readings. I made a sheet metal bracket to make sure the instrument is positioned the same way each time.
To make sure I had laminar flow I used a bundle of large plastic soda straws inside (about 6’ long) in the mid part of the 12 inch long tube.
So – The inside diameter of my 1 1/2” PVC pipe is 1.8 inches. Area of a the circle (converting inches to feet) =(Pi x (d/2)^2 )/144. That comes to = 0.0177 Ft^2 is the area of the inside of the tube.
If air in the tube is moving at 15 Feet per minute then the volume of moving air is 15 Feet/Minute x 0.0177 Feet Squared = 0.26 Cubic Feet per Minute (0.26 CFM).
My measurements with the engine warm and idling yielded about 60 FPM. That is about 1 CFM. That is very good.
Revving the engine up to about 2000 rpm brought it to 90 to 110 FPM or 2 CFM. Also very good!
How trustworthy are these readings? Anecdotally, holding the hose up to the back of my hand and cheek indicates the flows are, indeed, very low. We are in the Ball Park but not left field. I can test this on other engines and get some other data also.
More importantly, this instrument will be absolutely consistent. I will be able to track wear and conditions of the rings over time and gauge the effectiveness of the PVC system.
Flows may go much higher at WOT and high RPM (or not). One issue I had last year was oil back feeding from the rocker into the intake. A catch can and a strategic and unusual PVC system modification are in place to mitigate that. I will write that up later.
In the mean time I am off to the old Kinross AFB in Michigan’s eastern UP for a little two day autocross on about 19 acres of concrete this weekend. First event of the season with a Test & Tune on Friday! Mistress is fully prepped and I am fully stoked!
Any chance you're coming to Topeka next weekend?
In reply to Patientzero :
Hmmm... 10.5 hours. Bit of a hike. I will look into that next year. Getting farther flung now that I have the truck. At Kinross in Michigan's UP this weekend. Then, possibly Oscoda Michigan in July. I am signed up for CAM Challenge in Peru in August.
PVC Blower
The new stroker engine with the aggressive cam does not develop a lot of vacuum. At idle it is about 14” Hg (normal engine would be 18” to 20”). When revved up vacuum goes to roughly zero. On the highway it is perhaps 2” or 3” Hg. This will become much worse someday when the blower is installed.
I have installed a small vacuum tank and check valve to help with brake boost. That worked surprisingly well. But the PVC system does not work well and in spite of the blow by testing showing low numbers I know the blow by is much higher at high rpms under load. I know this because I am getting oil in the intake from the PVC inlet tube. Also, last summer the Mobil 1 oil got pretty dark pretty fast indicating that fumes are not being effectively removed from the crankcase.
Other testing (leak down, compression, etc.) indicates nothing is wrong and that is the nature of this beast.
Catch cans on both ends of the PVC will certainly help catch the oil mist and I have installed them. Tom at Super Six says this is pretty normal and advocates just putting breathers on the rocker covers. Others on various forums say the same. But it is stinky and this is not a drag car that gets used for a few minutes a month. Also, I am not really interested in time traveling back to 1940s technology.
A full on belt driven vacuum pump would solve the problem. But these present additional problems. Seals on the engine need to be turned around and dirt can get pulled in at every leak. I have to admit an additional 20 HP or so would be nice. It is also expensive.
I think I may have an additional problem given that this is an autocrosser with a stroker engine and normal sized oil pan. I think that the crank is getting into the oil on course and seriously throwing it around making a lot of mist. There is a windage tray but it is small.
Exhaust eductors work well but only on open/nearly open pipe drag cars at high throttle. I decided to experiment and go another way.
I made an electric PVC pump to push blow by fumes into the intake manifold. First what this system is not:
It is not a vacuum inducing system designed to make horse power. I just want to effectively remove fumes from the crank case, keep oil out of the intake, and extend oil life.
The pump of choice was an aftermarket design smog pump for several Toyota and Lexus models. The choice was made because this unit can be completely disassembled, modified, & rebuilt. As noted above this is an experiment. I needed to be able to change it if needed.
Change was needed very quickly. I am not sure what voltage these pumps run on but 12 is not the number. It ran on the bench for about 10 minutes and then let the smoke out. During that time I determined it moved quite a bit of air but I did not know how fast it was turning.
Several evenings hunting found this replacement motor:
The version I bought spins at 3000 rpm at 12 VDC and 6000 RPM at 24 VDC.
It fit up perfectly in the pump. However, testing indicated at 3000 rpm it barely kept up with the blow by under light load. A little more research found this 12 VDC to 24VDC converter.
12 VDC to 24 VDC Converter Link
This will allow the motor to spin up to 6000 RPM. Testing with the pump connected through the Mishimoto catch can and some hosing indicated flow rated 50% more than when revving up the engine. Let’s try it…
I made up a bracket to mount the pump where the battery used to be. The location allows easy access and the ability to drain the catch can.
After a test drive I found that once things got hot the rubber housing around the motor started to collapse on to the motor. I made a cage out of some wire mesh to reinforce it. I also found it needed reinforcing on top because the rubber cover would pull down onto the spinning motor shaft stub and burned a hole in it. That is a bottle cap pushed in there to hold the soft rubber away from the shaft. All held in with some RTV it works very well.
I contemplated putting this motor on a vacuum switch but after testing I decided it does not overheat and appears to be able to run indefinitely. I decided to forgo the response time for the motor to spin up and become effective. It runs all the time the ignition is on.
That was immediately a problem as it is whining away even if the engine is not actually running. I added a switch to turn off the entire aux power circuit I added with the power steering pump (it has a temperature switch so it does not run all the time).
I cut up the additional dummy button on the console that is intended for fog lights and fit the switch inside.
It took a bit of fiddling and trimming but it fits (barely).
So – How does this work? Jury is still out. First event was last weekend. Came in 13th and 9th in PAX on the two days. Mistress performed very well:
The PVC pump worked – but not well enough. Oil still looks like new. However, I still got oil in both catch cans (PVC inlet and outlet). In fact, the inlet can collected more oil than the outlet can at the pump. Interesting - All the motive forces (engine vacuum and pump) are pushing towards the intake manifold. Yet the upstream can collected more oil.
This makes me wonder if there is not another dynamic involved (dynamic being the key word). The inlet PVC tube connecting the air intake to the rocker (through the catch can) is near the back of the engine. Is it possible that, under acceleration and WOT, with blow by at max, there is oil collecting at the back of the rocker cover and finding its way out? The other PVC tube would see the same pressures but it is at the front of the engine.
Either way, oil should not find its way out that tube if the crankcase is under even the slightest vacuum. Need more/better pump. The same people above supply a 6000 rpm 12VDC to 12000 rpm 24VDC motor in the same housing. It should arrive in another week. Even if it is not 100% effective it appears to be helping. We will see...
Below is a video to my best run on Sunday. This is at Chippewa County Airport (formally Kinross AFB in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula. A very good venue for autocross.
Home Made In-Car Camber Adjust Tool – Version 2
A while back I posted about a tool I made that allowed the camber to be reset (pulled out to normal) while there is weight on the wheels. This is because I would typically drive the car to a local event and then reset the camber to max for autocross. That is easy but getting it back to normal street mode is difficult without jacking up the car. No fun after a log day in the hot sun.
So I made a tool to pull the car back from -2.5 degrees camber to -0.5 while one the ground. That post is back on Page 4 of this log.
When I put in the MM coil over kit a while ago that tool no longer fit. So I made another one. I think it is better. It certainly is simpler. It is a lever.
It hooks over the top of the strut and pries against the base of the camber plate. It takes three seconds to pull the strut back to the end of the slot (or part way).
It is made from an old jack handle and some scrap with a little pin to allow the strap to pivot.
Works great and fits in my “Go Box” (overall length about 20 inches). I don’t use it as much now because I am often trailering Mistress to events. From time to time I have used it to take a little camber out when running in the wet. You can hold position with one hand while tightening one of the nuts with the other.
Two weeks to the next event at KI Sawyer Airport. Mistress is ready except I am waiting for the steering rack to come back from Turn 1 steering.
That is a brilliant solution! I love the adjustable camber functionality.
Vacuum Tank Install
With the new cam shaft a few years ago the engine vacuum dropped. With the stroker rebuild it dropped some more. At idle vacuum is about 14” Hg. With any application of throttle it drops to almost zero. Yes the car breaths better now. And the brakes require a lot of pressure even with the new Hawk HPS 5.0 pads and Talon rotors. To help combat this last spring I installed a vacuum tank.
I bought a nice chrome tank from Summit but it does not fit. Needed something longer and narrower and found an aftermarket plastic tank from some sort of Jeep thing.
Fitment is still tight. To verify the location I used some of the foam that florists use to make flower arrangements. It holds its shape when crushed. With the tank about where I wanted it I put a chunk of foam on top and gently closed the hood crushing the foam. On inspection I was able to find a place it would just fit with a few millimeters to spare.
This vacuum tank is meant for accessories and the port was too small. I drilled out the port and installed a brass fitting with some heat shrink tape and JB Weld (my old friend).
I once (no exaggeration) glued together a shattered oil pump on a Dodge Omni with JB Weld. My wife had hit a raised manhole cover which caved in the oil pan breaking the cast aluminum oil pump into several pieces. I made a wood frame to simulate the engine block and pounded the oil pan back into a useful shape. I then glued the oil pump back together and reinforced it with some sheet metal clips. I reamed out the inside gear surfaces, put it back on the car and it ran for another 20k or 30k miles until the car lost an argument with a 6 ton truck.
The engine still ran very well so I presume it was dropped into another little Dodge. I can see a real mechanic doing a rebuild, many miles later, dropping the oil pan and looking up in there…. What the hell…?
I used the heat gun to put a permanent bend in a piece of power steering hose and assembled the whole thing with a little vacuum check valve from Amazon on a fabricated metal bracket.
The vacuum tank has improved the braking situation quite a lot. However, at the last event we had some fun runs and did some car swapping. Mistress had been sitting in the sun for a few hours so a friend took it out for a few runs and promptly put it through a cone wall. He did not expect that much pedal pressure and by the time he could respond it was too late. He did remark how well she handles though! Very good transitions!
I have resolved that with the ProCharger I will have to switch it up to a vacuum pump. Already have it picked out.
I think this is finally the year of the ProCharger. A midsummer inspection of rockers and valves showed no wear on the new valve tips. No hammering. The engine sounds good, my job is stable, and life is good. Unless an oil sample shows up some problems… yes I think this is the year.
More updates on the summer season to come. One points event left in two weeks.
Thanks for the update!
My neighbor across the street has been watching me build this car for the last five years. He has been both fascinated and, perhaps, a little incredulous with my slow but steady pace of study, planning, and modification (Hey - If it doesn't make sense it must be a hobby - right?) I could see that he also really wanted to try it.
So this summer I invited Lou up to autocross 21 runs at one of the best venues in the country - Sawyer International Airport. Of course he started out gingerly. Strange psycho car, strange psycho motorsport. He is about 10 years my senior and spent most of those years learning how NOT to drive like this. It takes some un-learning.
I drove first within him riding. I always like to have a new driver ride with me (or anyone more experienced) the first run or two out. It gives them a sense of what we are doing. It is almost like a "release" for them - Yes you can drive like this. This is what driving with no "I don't want to die today" reserve set in th back of your mind. Go for it!
You can tell someone about it all day but until they experience it first hand most people have no frame of reference. They have to see it and feel if from inside the car.
At the end of the first run Lou was almost speechless: "Hoo!... Wow!... What a rush!" My run was rough. I was late everywhere. I almost got lost (it had been 4 hours since walking the course). But now Lou knew what we were doing out in the middle of a federal airport on a blustery morning. "Your turn!" I told him...
As a side note - One of the best end of first run comments I can think of was from a young lady at her first event: "Holy Sh++!" were about the only words she could find for the moment. She is now an avid autocrosser.
Lou took his first run and found his way admirably. He was really enjoying this!
On the second run I inadvertently demonstrated what not to do and what happens when you do it. With Lou riding along I put Mistress through the finish sideways with cones flying. I was not driving well and had gotten very late in the final pinchy slalom. Video is below:
Again - This demonstrates to the novice that there is really no harm/no foul for going a little too far. You went off course backwards. You didn't crash. You didn't die or kill anyone. Life is good and now a little more exciting.
At lunch my wife asked him which car he was going to sell. He answered before she even finished the question: "The mini van". I said I thought he would enjoy a Miata. He contacted his daughter about that as soon as we were home (she has one).
Lou got faster with almost every run both days. In the end he was sliding the back end around, squealing the tires all over and having a blast.
Lou hasn't bought a car yet but it is a difficult summer for that. If he has not bought one by spring I will have to take him out again.
I am a bad influence.
Lou after a great weekend.
Well, your picture above sent me down a rabbit hole of learning why an IL-78 is sitting at an airport in Michigan, very interesting!
I love taking new drivers for ride alongs, it has been a shame with Covid that we haven't really been able to do that this year.
My new car is a partial effort to get my wife involved. I want her to come drive too instead of just hearing about it from me. I know she'll have a blast.
In reply to adam525i (Forum Supporter) :
Yes it has been sitting out there for about 10 years now. Last time I talked to the airport manager (a year or two ago) someone was still paying rent to store it. Not sure if that is still true now. We (Lake Superior SCCA) would love to have it gone. We can set up a previous nationals course there except we often have to squash one side a little because it is so big. Part of my SSS Driver's meeting talk includes "and don't hit the plane".
Then again, it makes a great photo shoot afterwords.
In reply to Patientzero :
That is brilliant and right on target. My wife has a neck injury and can't wear a helmet. However, even before that she would not drive the Mustang let alone autocross it. And it was a domesticated little grocery getter back then. She was afraid of hurting "my car". Having her own track/Autocross car could be wonderful. Something a little less formadible that that other beast you built. Most people would approach that thing with a at least some intrepidation.
I assume you are willing to have her beat you if she really gets into it. Some of the fastest people I have known are women. They got the skills many just won't use them for this.
End of 2020 Season
Good News - I actually managed to have a pretty good autocross season this year. It helps living in a more lightly populated area. Counting LSR events, Peru CAM Challenge, and a local event, I drove about 130 runs. Mistress made about 30 more with other drivers at the wheel. I came in 5th place in my local club (Lake Superior Region-SCCA).
Bad News – My wife and I are currently recovering from the China virus right now. No we don’t know where we caught it. Yes we always wear masks when out.
Good News – While we are miserable we did not get sick enough to be hospitalized and are on the mend nicely, thank you. And I did not miss any significant work because I have already been working from home since March.
More good news – Mistress played very well this summer and this may finally be the winter of the supercharger. I need to take an oil sample and inspect the valves but I am not expecting trouble. A midsummer check indicated no wear on the valve tips.
At Peru I came in 6th from last. That is not impressive but, then again, it is an improvement over last year.
At the event I was ribbing one of my friends (national champ Lorien Fieghner) driving a well prepared ’96 Cobra R (named Princess) that I was only 2 seconds behind her (usually 4) and she had to “step it up a little”. She responded that perhaps I was just getting better. I had nothing to say…
Lorien was right of course. At her top tier skill level 2 seconds improvement several runs into an event is very significant, almost unobtainable. She is already nearing perfection and has been at that level for many years. At my level, well, could happen any day… Perhaps I am getting better.
Photos – Here are some great professional photos of Mistress on course at the Peru Cam Challenge East:
And here are some links to some runs this summer:
Sawyer-July 2020
Peru - CAM East 2020
USA International Raceway with FVSCC (end of season extra)
Congrats. Now BOOOOST ITTTTT!!!!
Stay safe and get well!
What are the plans for this winter?
Kent: We haven't heard from you in a while. Are you guys OK? Any updates on the car?
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