Last on the list

After 3 years of restoration on the car, I too needed some restoration. The first time in the Lola, I knew I would have to lose weight. I could barely fit. I had certainly put on the pounds since my last race(1994). So last June, it was off to the gym and on a diet. Dropped 50 lbs and the cardio is much improved.


My first time in the car(2007)

I'm Ready!

The suit

With keeping in the 1970's theme. I've added a couple of 1970's patches. From a early photo, I know Ron Dykes(driver 1974-75) had a Justices Bros. patch on the back of his suit. I found a old Justice Bros. jacket on ebay and purchased it and removed the patch.

Speaking of Ron Dykes, he's going to try to attend the Road America event in July. It would be great to get some photos with him in the car.

Fine tuning

Fine tuning the chassis setup. I don't have any records or settings. But when I disassemble the car I noted and recorded all measurements and reassembled the car using those measurements. They seem close.

A second look

Examining the car a little more closely yesterday, I did discover 2 small leaks. One was a radiator hose that just needed a little tightening. The other was a small fuel leak on the crossover line between the 2 fuel cells. That also got tightened a little more. Will look under the car today for any returning leaks.

At the drags

Loaded up the car and off we went to the drag races. Sunday was their test and tune day. When the car went through technical inspection, a lot of head scratching started. You don't see one of these cars at the drags everyday. The car did fail for about 4 or 5 items, but the track owner really liked the car and give me the go ahead as long as I took it easy.

Overall I was very pleased, no leaks, nothing came off and the gearbox and engine worked fined. This was a good dry run for my trip to Savannah.

Helmet completed

With the exception of a couple of JB decals that go in between the stars, the helmet is done.

I still have my eye on tomorrow for a test day at the drags. It seems the closer I get in completing the car, the more work their is. All those small details that have been left until last. I guess this evening I will know if it's a go.

Catch cans

Back to the catch cans. Found a couple of containers that fit. The clear plastic one on the left is a perfect fit, the yellow one the right will have to do for now.

Clutch push rod

Received the new clutch push rod. Installed it and finished the hydraulic lines and all seems to work well. The true test will happen on the track.

Accomplished a little more work on the helmet. Next are the stars, a little sanding, then the clear coat.

3 weeks to go

Hard to believe only 3 weeks before we leave to our first event. Found a fuel dealer about a hour from the house. Picked up 15 gallons of race fuel at $7.50 per gallon. And I thought aviation fuel was expensive.

Did a little more paint on the helmet and working on some odd and ends.

In order to get even paint lines I use a surface plate(a very flat piece of granite) and a height indicator. I tape a pencil to the height indicator and scribe a line around the helmet.

Then use very narrow painters tape to follow my pencil line. Works real nice.

Seat belts installed

The belts are installed and adjusted. I'm using the ones that are designed for the Hans device. The shoulder belts are 2"s wide and fits better over the Hans.

Started on the paint for the helmet. That should be done in a couple of days.

Getting close to the finish line.

The seat belts came yesterday along with some hardware to complete the mounting of the rear wing. Also the push rod for the clutch should be here next Monday.
Spending sometime on the truck now, transporting the car in the back and eliminating the trailer is a plus. The first event is a track that I never raced on. Roebling Roads is a private track in GA. I've down loaded some in car videos from youtube onto my ipod and watch them while I'm on the treadmill.

Back to the helmet

Like to get the helmet painted before my first event. It's basically red, white and blue stripes with the stars, wrapped around the helmet. To get a idea of placement I cut strips of leftover decal and placed them on the helmet.

With the car just about done, I should have time to complete this.

Last order

What I hope will be the last parts order for awhile should arrive this Wednesday. The seat belts that had been back ordered are on the way with some other small items I needed.

Starting to work on the suspension setup, brake bias and all that fun stuff.

More mufflers

Well, it's sure something that I would not like to use all the time, but I guess for one event it's OK. Started the engine with the mufflers, it is a lot more quite, but they sure are ugly. No problem with the size after all.

Auger muffler insert

Auger mufflers, they slip into the exhaust pipes. Not much to them, I do have to reduce the dia. from 3" to 2 1/2" to fit. It would be nice if they work, I also have mufflers coming this Friday. Between using one or both, I hope this resolves my noise problem.

I've been looking at the idea of taking the car to the local drag strip. There's one about 20 min. from here and they have a test and tune day on Sunday's. This will be my only opportunity to test the engine, gearbox and brakes before my first event in April.

Tachometer

The car came with a Smith Mechanical tachometer. But I replaced it with a electronic Stack with the retro look. My magneto distributor did not have a tach drive. I believe this can be modified to accept a drive, but I can save this project for the off season.

Wiring done

With the arrival of the battery yesterday, I could now complete the wiring.

Also I needed the push rod on the transmission. This rod is connected to a hydraulic cylinder that works the clutch. Terry at Taylor Race Engineering found one in England. So I should have that item by the end of next week.