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BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: October 20, 2013 10:16AM

We have started building a chump car using the '74.5 MGB I have in the shed. At this point Steve D, Carl Floyd, Dan B and I are involved. We have stripped down the car and have a new floor panel to weld in and Steve has a 3.1L V6-60 for it. We have Curtis' yellow stuff pads for the front brakes (2 sets, one is new) and should have a usable seat. We will use the existing rear axle and so far we do not have a transmission but I am thinking about checking the local pick-n-pull to see if I can find anything that will work. We are going to build the car much the same way we built the Roadmaster, by getting together when possible for build weekends. Our goal is to get it usable as quickly as possible and participate in one or two races per season. Chump cars run endurance races so we will all get a chance to drive.

Jim


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: November 04, 2013 02:24PM

Have at least two spare sets of rims. I assume you'll have to mount new tires several times.

One nice trick I've seen is to have multiple full sets of lug nuts. When you come in for a pit stop, zip the tires off *and leave the used nuts on the ground*. Have cool lugs in a can or something and use those to mount the new tires. After the car leaves, you can clean up the pit at your leisure and place the 'old' lugs in the can.

People don't consider how blistering hot the wheel assemblies ( including lug nuts ) will get when you're doing a lot of heavy braking.

You going to do any LeMons racing?


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: November 04, 2013 05:49PM

Thanks Todd, I expect it'll be awhile before we even need to think about wheels but definitely something to keep in mind, and the lug nut trick is also good advice.

It seems like I've heard of three sanctioning bodies for these type of cars. Chump Car, LeMons, and some reference to Tin Can racers that I haven't looked into yet. We'll consider anything that makes sense to us, and then probably do what we can afford to do. None of us are expecting to be at all aggressive about the racing schedule, so we'll just see where we are when we get the car ready. When we get there we'll be racing to win, but we aren't going to break the bank in the process.

Jim


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: November 05, 2013 01:35AM

but we aren't going to break the bank in the process.


Well, obviously I can't see what the entry fees for Chumpcar are but I know the LeMons races are kind of steep. I assume that's why Chumpcar started, there's pretty good money in this for the promoters.

LeMons requires 4-6 drivers with a $500 entry fee per driver and $75 per crew member. You can win, at most, $600, depending on class assignment. So if you show up with minimum personel, are assigned to the highest purse class AND win the race your team is $1400 in the hole just on entry fees. And you haven't paid for fuel / tires / car / safety equipment / race licenses ( used to require SCCA or similar ) / hotel rooms / etc.

As a thumbnail figure I'd probably budget 5k out of pocket for one race. If you can keep the car in one piece, some of that would be depreciated for each subsequent race.



[www.24hoursoflemons.com]#

Not trying to dissuade you as it looks like a blast. Just trying to give you a good idea of what the up front monetary expenses look like.

LeMons was doing this first ( articles for magazine cars like Car and Driver and Road and Track go back over a decade ) and appears to be the most professional.



When we get there we'll be racing to win

That's fine and all, but don't be too blatant about that with the promoters or during the race. In race, you're going to want to play up some sort of goofy gimmick AND you're going to NOT want to get too far ahead of the field. LeMons has a 'rule' where they can choose a car *at their whim* in the middle of the race and crush it. They also have a post race $500 claim rule. These rules exist purely to prevent people from showing up with super fast cars and blowing the doors off of everybody.

Circle track racing would be good practice for dealing with traffic. Start all practice races from the back of the field to maximize your passing opportunities.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2013 01:40AM by Todd McCreary.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: November 05, 2013 11:28AM

Thanks for the advice Todd. The way I figure it, if we win we win and if we don't we won't, since we won't be the only ones trying to take the flag. But, we do plan to race and aim to win. From what you say the Chump Cars sounds like the better option for us. We aren't that much into "goofy" and the costs of LeMons sounds considerably higher, as well as some fairly severe sanctions. Are you sure those races aren't being done by a tribe of orangutans? I get the vision of them stopping the race in the middle and a bunch of monkeys (ie drivers and crews) attacking the offending car with boulders (or maybe helmets) ;-) We may be pretty irreverent at times, OK maybe always, but I think we're slightly more serious than that.

It's been awhile since I looked at the rules so I'm not exactly up to date. As we progress I'll have to remedy that. But as I recall CC is a "claimer" type race where the winning car can be bought. I know there are wrinkles, and much use is made of the "handicap" rule where laps are added for various reasons. In the end, winning doesn't really buy you much, but you want to be competitive of course. Anyway I'm also a veteran of the 24 hours of Nelson Ledges, where we slept on the ground behind the pits, so I know there are ways to cut the costs to the bone if desired.

Jim


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: November 05, 2013 03:28PM

Hanh. For some reason when I went looking for ChumpCar rules before I went to a page that was requiring registration.

Here are the 2014 rules:
[www.chumpcar.com]

Some interesting bits I'm getting from skimming through:
1 - ChumpCar 'purses' are paid what amounts to store currency. This currency has a one year expiry.
2 - If you win race A and compete next at race C, you are assessed a lap penalty prior to race C equal to your victory margin in race A. So you still want to *not* run off and leave everybody in the dust.
3 - On the plus side, you get a free Optima battery
4 - entry fees are a bit cheaper, running from $300 for single driver and car in a sprint event up to $1200 for min 4 drivers and car in races over 14 hours. additional drivers are $50 per.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 10, 2013 03:31PM

I guess if there aren't any photos it didn't happen, so:

Dec2013 008.JPG

Steve working on the V-6 that's going in the car later on

Dec2013 009.JPG

Me working on the floor which is now all stitch welded in on the top side

Dec2013 013.JPG

Dec2013 012.JPG

Can't say when we'll be working on it again, the world is a snowball from my perspective right now. I took it out to the shed after finishing up the welds earlier today.

The next big thing we need to do is get a transmission package for it. For now any T5 should work and we're checking the pick-n-pull yards we're familiar with. If anyone has a tranny stuck under the bench and they want to be in on this project that would make a good donation.

Jim



MGBV8
Carl Floyd
Kingsport, TN
(4511 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 11:32PM

Main British Car:
1979 MGB Buick 215

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: MGBV8
Date: December 20, 2013 06:17AM

V6 or V8 tranny?


MGBV8
Carl Floyd
Kingsport, TN
(4511 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 11:32PM

Main British Car:
1979 MGB Buick 215

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: MGBV8
Date: December 20, 2013 03:46PM

I may have a line on a T-5. Not sure yet, but I'm betting it will be a V6 T-5.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 23, 2013 11:35PM

We don't much care which one at this point Carl. Just something to make it move under it's own power and if we want to later we can swap to something better if we need to. Not a whole lot of concern about standing starts anyway.

Dan's been asking about a winter gathering this year, might be a good chance to do a few things if we do.

Jim


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: December 25, 2013 01:22AM

TVR Sagaris beating each other up
[www.youtube.com]

Winstanley's car is obviously slower, but what was his specific mistake that allowed the pass?


Hoods does make some outside passes but only on blatantly slower lap cars. i'd have liked to see him try to make a real effort to set Winstanley up properly from the outside on a couple of those corners.

looks to be the Coastal Circuit:
[www.angleseycircuit.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2013 01:31AM by Todd McCreary.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 25, 2013 11:02AM

Looked to me like he let him by.

In addition to the transmission we will need everything from the crank back. Bellhousing, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, and either external slave and clutch fork or htob.

Jim


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: December 25, 2013 01:43PM

Looked to me like he let him by.


Effectually, yes.

But there was a two part driving error which enabled Hoods to drive by. You'll notice that earlier, Winstanley was cutting across Hoods' nose very aggressively. There were several corners where Hoods was almost completely alongside Winstanley AND on the inside of the turn in the braking zone and Winstanley used his better, wider corner entry to carry more speed in and then chop Hoods nose. He probably intimidated Hoods into not getting into the throttle like he normally would but I'd want to compare instrument traces before I made that a definitive assertion. Most road racey guys are finicky like that.

1 - Winstanley cleared the lap car too early before the corner ( as fast as his car would permit him too, sometimes slower is better ). He exacerbated this by slowing for the corner as he moved out.
2 - Winstanley moved to the right, in front of the lap car, in order to get a better arc into the left hand corner. This effectually allowed Hoods a straight line into the corner, which is worse for corner speed but which he used to establish a dominant position ( he was probably nose in front of Winstanley ). Then Hoods carried his line all the way to grass on corner exit, forcing Winstanley to back out.

The lap car IS NOT the threat. Winstanley forgot this and it cost him the lead and the win.

The better answer would have been to slow and just barely clear the lap car by corner entry. Then, hammer through the corner as fast as you can and swing your line all the way out to the grass on corner exit ( max speed ). The lap car isn't going to be there for you and 2nd is going to have his corner screwed up because he's going to be pinned beside the lap car.



Qualifying is the wide entry, perfect apex game. Which isn't useless in a race, but is very nearly so when actually contending for a position. How are you going to cut a perfect line into the corner if the slower guy in front of you is already taking that perfect line? You can't pass a guy if you're under his rear deck lid. You can wreck him from there, but you can't 'pass' him.

Racing is *more about positioning*. Racing is about establishing your own position on the track, taking away the other driver's line and putting him in positions that he is uncomfortable with. Note that this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with touching his car. Although a Chumpcar race is going to have a lot more to do with circle track mentality ( rubbin is racin ) than it is with the normal, "oh my God, don't touch my pristine sheet metal" attitude of an SCCA road racer.

The basic rule of thumb for side-to-side contact is, if the car in front gets turned across your nose, you were wrong. This means that your front tire needs to be near the driver door if the guy on the outside comes down on you.

People say Schumacher was an a-hole. Which, he often was. Sometimes even self destructive and stupid ( he caused a wreck and destroyed his car under yellow while leading Monza once because he idiotically brake checked 2nd place while following the safety car ). What they don't understand is that he was also a circle track mentality in a road racing world. He was constantly putting his car in a position which scared the bejeezus *out of the guys who were next too him*.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 26, 2013 01:23PM

I see your point Todd, and all of this is very good to know going into this thing. I don't have the track time to understand these nuances the way a few of the guys do, and I come from a very different environment than most. Not even sure how exactly to describe it but I'll try. Think of a world where the road is wide open except for a certain number of slow cars, often clustered behind semis, a few reasonably fast drivers every now and then, no law enforcement, almost all hills and curves, straights are defined as any transition between one curve and the next, passing zones are any place long enough to pass, "rubbing" is frowned upon but in some situations inevitable, the goal is shortest eta, and it is an open course where the same curve is seen maybe once a month. I think Carl shared this environment, and maybe a few others. I'm not saying what we did while we learned to drive was right, it certainly wasn't. But I'm just giving you the background. Combine that with multi-lane working through the pack and you get the basic idea. To say it was non-competitive would be to misunderstand the situation, and it was far less controlled than a closed course. Most of us from those crazy old days in the mountains have mellowed considerably but it's sort of like riding a bicycle, the old muscle memories and nearly automatic reactions don't just go away. In that environment the perfect line through a corner is the one that gets you through it the quickest *this particular time* and traffic will always change it. Who would think that trailing throttle oversteer would be the quickest way around a hairpin? But if you have the balls it sure can be, at least under some conditions.

I doubt I'll have too much trouble converting that experience to chump car driving personally, but I have no desire to make enemies in the process and my desire to win is not an all overpowering one I don't think. I also don't expect our team to be at the top of the competition going in and we won't be able to make more than a very few races a season, but maybe, just maybe we can give the guys a good run for the money when we do show up. (What money, right?) But from your example it seems obvious that background is sure to play a big part. Right now as drivers I think we have five of us as potentials. Me, Steve D, Carl, Dan B, and Dave B. Carl is undoubtedly going to be the smoothest driver, and likely the fastest but we'll see. I will be the hardest on equipment without a doubt. Dan and Steve will be good reliable and competitive drivers. Dave is young and trainable with inherited skills. I think we'd make a pretty good team, and that should be enough of us to get through a race. Obviously we'll have to learn from each other as we go along.

What I see from your analysis of the video are two schools of thought on cornering. One emphasizes the theoretical ideal line through a corner and is undoubtedly going to pay off on an open track, such as in qualifying. The other emphasizes the "flow" through the corner which is going to pay off through traffic. Oddly enough, guiding whitewater rafts is instructive here. The fastest way down a river is to stay out of the eddies, which in water are very obvious and there are multiple routes some of which are incrementally faster than others. Having a feel for which is faster and when will give a shorter overall trip time. And of course on the river are many other rafts. Which you are allowed to bump, as well as rocks. Sometimes the fastest way down the rapids includes certain elements of bumping and even spinning, which clearly have no analog in racing under normal conditions. But if it does turn out that somebody likes to bump it clearly won't be something new to me.

But the conclusion seems to be that for qualifying the first school of thought is going to result in a better lap time unless too much time is spent getting the car into the preferred line. Personally, I would have never even considered drastically changing the exit line in order to line up perfectly for the next curve but who knows, there could be some advantage. As I see it, as long as I can keep the car under control while braking and be at the right attitude at the apex, other than that the entry line isn't as critical as acceleration and braking time and certainly isn't worth easing up on either of those for. In traffic I don't think there's any doubt that the second school of thought pretty much rules completely.

Jim


DiDueColpi
Fred Key
West coast - Canada
(1364 posts)

Registered:
05/14/2010 03:06AM

Main British Car:
I really thought that I'd be an action figure by now!

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: DiDueColpi
Date: December 31, 2013 02:58AM

Hey Jim,
Winning is great. Fun is better!
I think that you guys are going to experience both.
I have a V6 trans that you can have.
It's noisy in every gear but 4th so I guess it's a bad counter shaft bearing.
It's a little pricey to ship but if you run out of options I'll rebearing it and send it on over.
Hope Santa found your chimney.
And it looks like another year dealt with.
Cheers
Fred



BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 31, 2013 11:36AM

Hey Fred, that sounds great! Pieces coming together. I'd be more than happy to pay the shipping plus whatever parts you want to put in it. Is it the V8 or V6 T-5? Not that I'm being choosy, either one is better than what we have now.

That leaves bell, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate and throwout bearing to get the drivetrain sorted. Plus a radiator of some sort. Seems like a reasonable list.

Jim


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: February 05, 2014 11:48AM

DiDueColpi
Winning is great. Fun is better!



And winning while having fun is best. ;-P

Which is what I'm trying to point y'all too. I've started at the front and spent 15 laps running by myself and been bored out of my mind, even though I won. And I've started dead last and finished 3rd and come off the track going, "Hot damn, HOT DAMN! Can we do this again next week?"

Starting at the front and trying to hold on by your fingernails against cars that are clearly faster than you can be done ... but it's not very satisfying. Figuring out how to slice and dice the pack, that's where your blood gets moving. Attack is more emotionally satisfying than defense.



BlownMGB-V8
What I see from your analysis


I'm just trying to give you guys a little bit of a heads up on modes of thought and ways of looking at things that are fairly simple but which I observe to be rare even at the highest levels of the sport.

For instance, most people are baffled by Danica's lack of success. I say that I've never once in her career seen her demonstrate the kind of track/traffic awareness that I'm talking about. In fact, when it comes time to make a 'traffic' decision she almost always makes the wrong choice ( last year was the very first time that she would bump draft on the super speedways ). The fact that most of the commentors fail to realize / refuse to comment on what is going on even though some of them are former pros ... sigh.

This is not limited to Danica of course, Ricky Carmichael was even less impressive in his attempt to convert to cars and Dario didn't last even a full season in his attempt at Cup. Pastrana looked good when he first came in but has started looking bad. I suspect that Pastrana has/had good innate traffic skills but is now being forced to do his own suspension setup, at which he has no expertise, and that this has started a negative cycle in the team/driver dynamics.

To short list the most basic principles -
1 - Stay as calm as possible.
There's going to be a massive adrenaline dump ( competition heart rate for Cup drivers is ~150 bpm for +4 hours, F1 can be north of 170 ) and the only way to get used to dealing with that is ... by dealing with that. Hopefully, by being aware of what your body is doing you won't lose your mind quite so easily. You guys with whitewater experience will have a definite head start here.
2 - Analyze everything.
Racing is a *decision making* process. Those who make *good* decisions will tend to outperform those who are simply aggressive. Aggression has a purpose, a time and a place but if it doesn't serve your ANALYSIS you're probably wasting time and damaging equipment for no good reason. I have walled people ... and I have refrained from walling people ( who had been payed cash money to take me out of the race and wreck my car ) because it was the last lap, I was in the lead and I could dispose of the problem lap car *while retaining the lead*. Best revenge is the trophy, destroying their car is far and away the second choice.
3 - Be smooth
Smooveness is very important. *ROLL* into the throttle when coming up on the straight. Try not to jump on the brake pedal during corner entry. Keep steering inputs as minimal as possible. Concentrating on smoothness will help with #1. Work on doing things smoothly THEN work on doing things quickly.
4 - Check instruments at least once per lap
Same place, every lap, usually on the long straight. You can check them more often but don't check them less often. It can be the difference between a short day at the races and a short day at the races PLUS an engine fire and a rod out the side of the block.
5 - Reserve grip / speed is a thing
IF you are behind a slower car THEN ( excepting mountain motor situations like a 1970 Camaro vs a Mini ) you are taking the corner at LESS than your max side loading. How can you redeploy this additional cornering capacity to your advantage? Can you run a wider line or a later apex? Do you actually need to back up from the car in front in order to get your max corner entry and apex speeds so you can use that to slingshot him on the straight?
6 - Maintain concentration
Some drivers, especially in long races, have real problems with zoning out. This was actually a problem Dario had and was why I expected him to fail at NASCAR. If you can't keep your eyes open for a 200 lap IndyCar race ... how the hell are you going to stay awake for the Coca-Cola 600 ( which as recently as 2005 went +5 hrs )?
[www.youtube.com]

Oh yeah, in caution situations it's a good idea to OFFSET one lane from the car in front of you. There's no requirement for the field to single file, one lane, you just aren't allowed to PASS. That way even if the guy behind you goes space cadet and rear ends you, at least you're not getting submarined under the car in front of you.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: February 05, 2014 12:53PM

All good advice Todd and appreciated. I've been accused of not reading the rulebook and I'll confess, it's been awhile and I should brush up on it. I intend to do just that but not today. Will the car, as we are building it, be competitive? Maybe not. Maybe lap penalties for creative thinking will put us out of the winner's circle. Will it be faster than a significant percentage of the cars in the field? Very possibly, although a tired 2.8L engine is less than optimum so our first year we will have to just concentrate on learning how to compete most effectively. The goal that first year is to maximize fun and learning opportunities. Beyond that we can decide just how far we are willing to go to win. Just like in a high school relay track team, some drivers will be faster than others so we will do a lot of sharing and comparing during those first races. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses, where one may be super smooth, another may be the first to foresee any potential opening, and another may be finely in tune with the vibrations of the car and to some extent at least, these things can be taught. As has been mentioned it is vital that we not break the car. Can't win if you can't race. I have no doubt that the needed competitive urge will take care of itself.

I've been told by a competent Chump car builder that our approach is solid. That's enough for me to go on at this point, at least until we have the drivetrain in the car. Steve has found us a transmission so we're planning to get together in early March and get that part done. Then we can start looking at the details.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: March 12, 2014 10:15AM

Update:

We had intended to work on the Chump car this last weekend, but Dan had a sudden family scheduling conflict (we all understand those, right?) Carl's chiropractor absolutely demanded he stay at home, and Steve and I decided it would be best to fix the issues on the Roadmaster first, so other than sorting parts little was done here. But we did make a bit of progress on the parts.

Steve had scrounged some parts from a junkyard buddy that came off a Camaro. A 4 speed tranny, flywheel, bellhousing, clutch, PP etc. He figured we wouldn't need OD in a race car and I'm inclined to agree. Carl thought we might, but we really won't know until it's driveable.

Fred, thanks for the reminder about the V6-T5 tranny you have, I had forgotten. I will mention it to Carl. It is a most generous offer that we really should accept.

Anyway, it looks like we should acquire an S10 flywheel, bellhousing, clutch fork, and flywheel bolts. Plus the clutch disc we have doesn't mate with the splines on the 4 speed. Does the S-10 clutch fork compensate for the thinner flywheel? That'd be my guess. I kinda like the idea of racing this cheap and common V6 engine. Replacements are about $175 at the local pick-n-pull.

Rummaging about yesterday I ran across the spare set of engine mount cushions I'd bought so we have those and front mounts for the V6 should be simple and easy.

It was pretty decent weather, about as good as you could ask for this time of year. So it was a good way to kick off spring. We'll have to schedule the next weekend at everyone's convenience. My hope is to have the Roadmaster back out on tour by then and my car in the running and tuning stage so that the only distraction from the Chump car will be Dan's TR7/1UZ conversion. Definitely by then it will be warmer. You guys let me know what weekend might work for you. I know Carl's got baseball and Dan's got swim meets but see what your schedules allow. The daughters come first, they won't be with you much longer. Chump cars will probably be around for awhile and if not, there will be something else.

We'll have to sort out what we're going to do in the way of drivers eventually. Steve isn't interested in competition but enjoys the rest of the program, and with a 12 hour race there's room for more than we have lined up at this point. I know personal gear is expensive, but back when I crewed for the Just BMW 2002 team at the 24 hours of Nelson Ledges there was a driver who wore a USAF flight suit, which was nomex and I think he said he bought it surplus for about $80. Probably be twice that now but still half what a regular driving suit would cost. I don't mind wearing OD, especially in a Chump car race.

Jim


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Chump Car racer
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: March 12, 2014 02:50PM

If you decide on Fred's trans, I *may* be able to get a load going out in his direction. I know I can get stuff going out through Cinci. So I could string a couple of trips together and not have it be out of my way too much.
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