Zebra Butt Racing adopts Suprang

Not an overall award but still cool getting 2nd in class. 

Adoption does work. You just need the right parents. 

In reply to DrMikeCSI :

This was an open adoption.  It was cool sharing with Sean how the weekend went and how well his work scored.

Stampie said:

Not an overall award but still cool getting 2nd in class. 

leaves ......dirt and all???? Congrats redneckbrutha of a different mutha!!!!

In reply to 759NRNG :

Well pimpm3 removed about half of that when he ran the 1.5 autocross runs.  Unfortunately for him we didn't vacuum it until the concours this morning.  We got in and they told me that we'd be first to be judged.  I was cool with that.  We started cleaning up things and I swear it was like 30 seconds later that I was told we had 5 minutes.  Amazing how quick you can vacuum a car.  I don't think I posted pictures of our "lights" but I did a rule minium light install of white strip LEDs inside the grill and a strip of red LEDs across the back.  They looked like E36 M3.  So right after the vacuuming Lil Stampie pointed out that we had said we'd remove them for concours.  I had installed them by myself so I tried to explain what zipties to remove and how they'd come out while we started cutting away.  Then we still had enough time for Lil Stampie to start wiping down the white wheels because they got dirty.  What dumbass decides to run white wheels?  This one!  I was proud of him when he got done and I asked how it went.  He replied "I only did the parts you can see standing up, the rest is still dirty."  Smart kid.

Well done grasshopper...... congrats Y'all!!!

Definitly a cool car, I hope you keep it and fix it up. 

In reply to Andy Neuman :

We're keeping it.  I don't want to name names but Matt came up before concours and looked it over.  He started to make a trade offer and I said no.  Our (mine) vision is a barely street legal car with a passenger seat matching the drivers.  It'll come back in May most likely as what I really need to build for the Challenge can't be done in 6 months.

Now let's catch everyone up.

Friday morning I got up first and decided to cut the wood for the bar.  Goal was to have everything precut so that I could just screw it together once we got there.  I only made one mistake on the cuts but it went together well enough.

Next we rehung the exhaust.  That was just three bolts that came up through the floor.  Easy to knock out and we moved onto brakes.

They kicked my hairy behind.  I tried about everything to get the passenger rear and the best I could get was a drop or two using a hand vacume pump.  Around 11am I was at the go or no go point.  Was trying to figure it out.  Decided to bleed the drivers front and see what would happen.  That bleed pretty quick so I moved over to passenger front.  Damn it bleed also.  Now at this point we're not using engine vacume but because it barely runs we're hessitant to start it.  Our hope is we'll start it once to load the trailer.  Ok let's drop it and load up.  Oh I think the day before I figure out that our alternator isn't outputting.  Ok we'll do total loss system.

We still have Igor on the trailer so we pull the trailer out and Lil Stampie starts Suprang to move it out of the way.  We leave it idling while we go back and drop Igor and get back out to the road to load Suprang.  Everything goes great until it stalls half way up the trailer and won't restart.  Ok winch it is.  Loaded we run to Walmart and grab a brand new battery just to make sure and out of town we head.

I think we got to the hotel around 4 and go to unload.  I can't remember if we got it running to get it off the trailer or not.  I do know that it took a combination of three batteries hooked up with jumper cables to get it started later.  First I swapped the carb with a known good one just in case.  Then when we started it same issue in that it didn't want to rev.  Let's move onto timing.  When I swapped distribitors I took pictures of where the old one was lined up and was pretty sure I got the new one lined up in the same place.  I turned the distribitor anticlockwise and it stumbed pretty quick.  Went the other way and hey things smoothed out.  Finally about 45 degrees it's actually running nice.  Like hey this is driveable nice.

Now that it's running I jack up the rear and see about bleeding them with the booster working.  I do passenger rear it works! Ok now I'm feeling better.  Move to the drivers rear and I can't get anything.  I brake loose the last hardline connector and get fluid there.  Brakes feel solid so we went for a drive around the Hotel.  I hit them a few times and they work well with no pulling.  Decide to look at the rear more tomorrow.  Grandma Stampie has shown up by now and we're all cold, tired, and hungry.  We head to the lobby to do our stickers including making numbers because I could only find 1 of our 3 before leaving.  I think we headed to bed around 11pm for our 5:30am wake up.

Up the next morning and after a breakfast in the hotel we head out back to load it.  We start it and Lil Stampie goes to put it in gear and grinding.  No clutch.  Berk.  Yep we're loading with the winch again.  We get it loaded and head to the track.  Actually get there in time and get in a line I see.  There's a GT4 in front of me and I get out asking if this is the line to register.  He sees my wrist band and tells me that if you have a band you can go in.  Lil Stampie and Grandma Stampie haven't gotten there's yet so I tell Lil Stampie to get in her car and I drive in to get everything ready.  I get Suprang ready to push off the trailer and a passing GT alumi offers to help.  Sorry I didn't get your name but thanks.  By the time Lil Stampie and Grandma Stampie get in the gate I have Suprang in place and jacked up on the drivers side.  First up is mount the seatbelt so that we can pass tech.  That went way smoother than I than I expected.  Really about the first thing that went well but it was just four bolts that we had all prepared beforehand.  Next we bleed the clutch again and get it working so that we don't have to tow to tech.

Start up and head to tech.  Lil Stampie is sitting on passenger floorboard cause that's how the cool kids do it.  I pull up and an inspector waves me to his station.  As I get to him I tell him that we can't turn it off cause we can't restart it.  He's cool with that and I tell Lil Stampie to get out and open the trunk.  That's right as the inspector says "Oh your battery is in back?"  They walk around and look at that then we get our sticker.  Lil Stampie feels that the tech inspection was way lax.  I explain to him that there's thinks that they notice.  On ours we have our kill switch in place.  The hold down is the traditional two 3/8ths threaded rods with 1x.25 bar on top of the battery.  They'll notice things like that and assume we know what we're doing.  Now if someone pulled up and there's no hold down on the factory tray they'll look over it a lot harder.

Ok back to the pits.  We pull in and try to get the drivers rear brake bleed more.  Nothing we do is working.  Drivers meeting is starting so I go up there and ask pimpm3 if he can do our shakedown run.  I realize that I need to start building my seat layout for him because I think I always ask him to do my shakedown run.  He's supposed to be working course during our runs but GRM staff let's Lil Stampie work for him until he can switch out.

We work on the brake some more and just can't get anything on that wheel.  We decide to install our tach and get 90% done when pimpm3 walks up. E36 M3 it's already time?  As he walks up I tell him that drivers rear brake isn't doing much braking.  Wouldn't let anyone get it without being totally clear on something like that.  He said he was good so we go over everything and start it up.  I guess at this point I forgot to tell him not to turn it off.   He pulls up in grid and turns it off.  It won't start again so I run back to pits and grab our brand new big battery and jumper cables.  Walk back as fast as I can carrying that and jump start it fine.  He goes out and lays down a 60 second run.  Only issue is a second gear shift and all the dirt and leaves blowing around him.   Sorry about that.  I watch it and it's running pretty flat and looks good.  He gets back in grid and goes for the second run.  Right about where he had problems going to second it stumbles.  First thought was clutch again but then it stumbles more and start stalling and then he just coast to mid course.  Damn it Jim.  They tow it off course and back to the pits for me. 

We pop the hood and Lil Stampie notices no gas in the gas filter.  WTF I put 15 gallons in it Friday.  I go to the back and see fuel leaking near the gas tank.  We jack up the rear and it's leaking from the hard line on the sending unit.  I'm thinking well there can't be much in there so I let it drain into a bucket while I go out and work course.  Come back and it's still draining.  Lil Stampie and Grandma Stampie have gone out to get more buckets cause this is way more than I expected.  I borrow a hose to see if I can syphon it faster.  They get back with buckets so I put the hose in and get a good syphon going.  Fill one bucket and move to the next.  I move the hose and loose syphon.  Ok wipe the hose down and try agin.  Nothing.  Then on the next try I get a mouth full of gas.  That berking sucks.  I think I'm going to throw up and gather myself well enough to go to the bathroom so that I'm not grossing everyone out in the pits.

By now we're getting close to where we need to get it fixed or we won't make drags.  It's still leaking so I try a little JB weld on it.  Nope it's not going to stick to the wet metal.  madmrak351 is helping me and we decide that the best course of action is to pull the sending unit.  It came out a lot easier than I expected but a lot more fuel drains out.  I'm wondering why we had fuel starvation issued if the tank has all that gas.  Maybe it was pulling air around the bad joint?  Doesn't matter as we can't do drags leaving a trail of gas anyway.  We get JB weld on it and it's not sticking well.  I pack it in with a screwdriver until it's sticking better.  We wait the hour and it feels good.  I flick an edge with a knife and it comes off.  Yep we're done.  We're all tired, I never got to make the bar the night before so we decide to head to the hotel and relax. 

Get there and put the bar together.  Go upstairs and relax a bit before heading down right before everyone else shows up.  Drink more than I should have but enjoy the company and conversation before heading to bed. 

I think that catches us up.  I'll do my after Challenge report later on.

OK before I forget I want to thank Stafford1500, Mr_Asa, tb, Gameboy, madmrak351, pimpm3, eastsideTim, 84FSP and all the others that helped and or offered to help us this weekend.  Without you guys this community wouldn't be what it is.

In reply to Stampie :

And I want to thank you for the whiskey!  It helped me realize that it isnt that I don't like whiskey, its that I don't like cheap whiskey.

Curtis, when you read this, I think it was better than what I traded for those injectors. 

Because of this car/thread and how much Dan did at the track this weekend I started wonder about a tube frame with a Mustang body draped over it.  Dropped danger-low and with big ole fat fender flares. 

Dude you had a weekend... 

JB Marine weld sticks to wet stuff and fuel better than the regular 

Byrneon27 said:

Dude you had a weekend... 

 

JB Marine weld sticks to wet stuff and fuel better than the regular 

The only thing I've found that works on gasoline soaked areas is seal all.

Mr. Stampie, 

Looks like you made a lot of memories this weekend. The car is truly unique and fantastic. Keep on keeping on. 

Enjoyed talking to you and your mother as you marinated in gas Saturday.  :-)  I'd like to see you get it running and street legal; let me know if I can help any time.

In retrospect looking back I think the correct fix would have been asking Lil Stampie and Grandma Stampie to grab a propane torch and some solder.  I think I could have tinned it all back sealed once removed and dry.  Unfortunately I didn't notice that the leak was just the joint failing.  I assumed it was a crack. 

BTW ... I want to thank all you guys.  This was Grandma Stampie's second Challenge.  After the first one she told me that she understood why I liked doing the Challenge because everyone there was so nice.  She's mentioned a few times after this one about how nice it was to talk to people and how welcomed she felt.  Oh and thanks for the GT kids and other people that thanked her for the cookies she made.  I could tell that it really made her day that you guys enjoyed them.

Stampie,

Your mother was so nice, and to add to that she was a functional part of your team.

It was so cool seeing her help you guys out.... she's a sport!

I vote we make her the GRM $2000 Challenge Mom!

Seriously.

In reply to a_florida_man :

Thank you. She really enjoys come and you definitely should have been on the list above. Thank you for your help also. 

"Official Challenge Mom"  

I second the motion.

I'm exhausted reading your post.....you have WAY too much sweat equity in this to even consider parting with it. How much "room" do you have in the budget for next year?

759NRNG said:

I'm exhausted reading your post.....you have WAY too much sweat equity in this to even consider parting with it. How much "room" do you have in the budget for next year?

That question depends on if you think Stampie will stick to half budget or full budget.

Being Stampie, we all know he will aim for half, but seeing what he's done so many times with half I'm almost giddy at the thought of him going full budget.

Budget ended up being $960. I spent extra money that I didn't have to in order to get things done quickly. One of the things we'll work on is lowering that budget so that we can do things we couldn't this time.  I also have about $2k in trade parts that came with Suprang. Also don't forget that Suprang came with nitrous installed. 

Here's my list.

Get her running again

Get the brakes 100%

Fix alternator

Fix power steering leak

Make sure nitrous works

Get title and tag

Drive it to get the shakedown done early

Stampie said:

In reply to DrMikeCSI :

This was an open adoption.  It was cool sharing with Sean how the weekend went and how well his work scored.

Sean is a cool guy, glad you're keeping in touch with him.

Stampie said:

Budget ended up being $960. I spent extra money that I didn't have to in order to get things done quickly. One of the things we'll work on is lowering that budget so that we can do things we couldn't this time.  I also have about $2k in trade parts that came with Suprang. Also don't forget that Suprang came with nitrous installed. 

Here's my list.

Get her running again

Get the brakes 100%

Fix alternator

Fix power steering leak

Make sure nitrous works

Get title and tag

Drive it to get the shakedown done early

 

 

Does wrenching from others count towards the budget(free labor)?

Ok the Challenge Report.

We berkeleying broke 1.5 runs into the autocross!  That's all on me.  No excuses.

Did it suck yes.  Was I amazed at how the Challenge group responded and offered help?  Yes amazed but not surprised.

So let's look at it.  Fuel sender connection failed.  It wasn't something that we did.  It was a 57 year old part that failed.  The only thing we could have done was finished earlier so that we had more time to shakedown the car.  I took it way to easy when we started.  We should have been on the street at least a week before Challenge to find things like this.  An eye opener to me was Grandma Stampie asking me today what I needed to do to get it ready for May.  I could tell in her voice that she thought it was a lot of work.  I looked at the list and honestly told her that it was a day of hard work and it was done.  I started too late and took it too easy at the beginning.  My fault only. 

Thank you to everyone that helped.  Thanks to Grandma Stampie for coming down and putting up with our shenanigans.  BTW ... Goldies Burgers at 201 SE Depot Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601 is great.  Thanks Mom for suggesting that we leave the track for lunch Sunday.  It gave me a bit to collect myself and get out of the race.

-Challenge Mom had some pretty great cookies

-You son looked happy in the seat of Suprang

-The bar was well designed, constructed, and served us well on Sunday evening

Good to see you guys again!

In reply to 759NRNG :

Sorry missed this.  No that was donated time that I didn't pay for so it is free to budget.  It's basically like they temporary joined the team.  So now I'll share a conversation that Lil Stampie and I had Friday night.  We pulled in to the hotel Friday and unloaded pretty quickly because we knew we had work to do.  Other Challengers also knew that we were behind the 8 ball.  I think 3 or 4 people immediately came over and started working on it.  Now here's my problem.  I am OCD about how I do things.  Lil Stampie is used to me.  We may disagree but he at least understands me.  It was very hard for me to have other people doing things that I couldn't see/watch/control.  It was a lesson to me that I need to let go sometimes.  Lil Stampie would say that it's the military dad in me.

As long as the branch water was flowing I'd put up with any and all of yur B$hit while twisting wenches er wrenches BRO....peace out