Test day

Had 4 test sessions today(Thursday). Each session I felt more comfortable with the track and the car. The gear ratios aren't perfect, especially 4th. But better than Savannah.

The large oil leak by the valve cover is fixed and it's really nice not having too use the mufflers.

Having all the other F5000 cars really makes the weekend. Looking for more progress Friday.

The Mitty

We arrived here yesterday around 3 pm. Road Atlanta is a big place. Unloaded the car and the first under the tent. Today will be a busy one. Testing and attending the track/driver orientation program. I took a similar program at Savannah and found it very helpful in learning the fast way around. Friday will be practice sessions, Saturday qualifying and the race is on Sunday

Hillsville, VA

Quality Inn, good place to spend the evening.

Same town, different hotel. This was a good stop last time down, so I used it again. Should get to Road Atlanta around 3pm today.

Back to Georgia

Georgia, here we come.

Finish loading the truck Sunday evening. Must easier the second time around and I won't need the tent at this event, all the F5000 cars(14 total) will be under the big top. The Mitty is a big event with 350 cars and lots of other things going on. I was really glad that I went to Savannah. I feel better prepared and the car has gotten a few of the bugs shaking out of it.

The trip to Atlanta is almost the same route as Savannah. We'll leave Tuesday morning and get to Atlanta around 3pm Wednesday. Practice on Thursday then Qualify Friday and Saturday, race on Sunday.

I've created a link where I'm going to add photos from this weekend.

The Mitty Road Atlanta 2010 photos just click on it. I'm going to continue to update the blog, but it's easier to add many photos to this site.

Exhaust gaskets installed

The new copper exhaust gaskets are installed and no leaks. This is the first time since I've had the car running there are no leaks. Maybe it's my imagination, but with the spark plug re-gaped and no exhaust leaks, the engine sounds better.

The rear of the car is back together. I think that completes the list of things to do. Hoping to have the car in the back of the truck today. I'm leaving for Atlanta Tuesday and it's suppose to rain Sunday and Monday.

Gear box done

Now that the gear box is completed, I can start to reassemble the back of the car. That should be finished today.

1 day early

The gear set came one day early, that's good. I'm a little rusty at changing gear ratios, so the extra day helps. I also discovered that I don't have the extra gears to change 1st and 2nd. The 1st gear I have now would be great for standing starts, but we don't do that.
So for now, I'll just use what I have and make the adjustment for Watkins Glen.

1 gear set

I could only locate 1 gear set in the states, and will be here Thursday. The other set is in England, and with the Volcanic ash shutting down the airports in Europe I won't have it for Atlanta, but will for Watkins Glen in June. Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta are similar tracks in low and high speed. So my gear ratios should work for both tracks.

Finished remounting the mirrors, this should help in keeping my head a little lower in the cockpit. I was raising my head to see out the mirrors.

Oil Leak

Back to the oil leak. My first thought was the valve cover gasket was leaking. But upon closer inspection it looks like the breather vent I made for the valve cover is the suspect. I think the fix is to add a little more gasket compound. No time to work on the car today, I'll save this for tomorrow.

Battery secured

The battery is now secured. This was pointed out to me at Savannah during tech inspection. It needed to be fastened by a metal device. I used a large hose clamp and riveted to a small bracket that was already in the location of the battery. That should satisfy my next tech inspector at Atlanta.

I removed the starter motor. With the headers off, it easy to get to. The starter mounts on the bottom of the engine and is subjected to dirt, sand, water, oil and anything else that goes flying by when on the track or off the track. So it's a good idea to clean and re-lubricate it after a race event.

Gear ratios

Talked to Chuck Haines(he's the guy I got the car from)he handles new and used gear sets for my DG 300 gear box(5 speed). 3 gears sets I already have and 2 I will need to order for Road Atlanta. Chuck has one set in stock and looking for the other. I'll hear from him Monday.

As for the exhaust gaskets, the problem was on the right side of the engine. This picture is the left side. As you can see this one was starting to blow out too. Now is a good time to take a look at the spark plugs. When I removed the one on the left, it had a gap of maybe .010. It should have been .028-.030. In fact if you look in the exhaust port you can see the exhaust valve is shinny from not completely burning the fuel. The one on the right is how it should be.

New exhaust gaskets

Just received the new copper exhaust gaskets, I think these are better suited for my application. Next on the list is to order some gear ratios. I don't have a gear ratio list for Road Atlanta, but the track is similar to Watkins Glen, so I'll start there.

Talked to Jim Coleman the engine builder, had a question on what rpm should I shift at. I had been using 7200 rpm as my shift point. He said it should be 7500-7600 rpm, that way it pulls through the power band, that's good to know before I order more gear ratios.

The work begins

My to do list for Atlanta. When the car went through tech inspection this past event, they noted that the battery needed a metal strap to make it more secure. Right now the seat more or less holds the battery in. No big deal.
Ordered 2 sets of header gaskets, the replacements are heavy duty. Still have that oil leak, I'll work on that today. Another issue was the placement of the my rear view mirrors. Need to rotate them downward more, I was seeing more sky than road.

More photos and videos

A real fast water cooled Super Vee


Plenty of room for parking.




Video
A couple of laps, the last slow lap was a cool off lap. It's a fun track, I think with the right gear ratios, I could have gone a little faster. Now the focus is on Road Atlanta, my next event, April 30.

Home again.

Just a short note. The race(Sunday) went well, no problems and completed all 12 laps. But I do have a list of items that must be taken care of in the next 2 weeks.

Left Savannah around 3:30pm yesterday and arrived home at 8:00am today. I'll get some photos added to the blog later. Now it's time to unload the truck and get the car back in the shop, and maybe get some sleep later.

Going faster...but working harder

Saturday

The morning qualifying session was going well until I was blacked flag for going over the noise limit. So I could not complete the session, but did drop my lap time by another 5 seconds.

So back on went the muffler end pieces. Went out during a hardship practice and didn't exceed the noise limit. But I was hearing a exhaust leak. When I got back I found a exhaust manifold gasket piece missing and also a sizable oil leak, both I believe are related.

Had two hours before my qualifying race to repair the problem, but no replacement gasket' so it was off to the local auto parts store. The had one and also a valve cover gasket that I think was leaking the oil.

I had to remove the exhaust header to replace the gasket. Fortunately no problems arose and the job was completed. But I could not replace the valve cover gasket, so I just tightened down more and crossed my fingers.

Made it to the grid in time, the race was uneventful and the leak had slowed. I'll do a little more work on the car today, and see how it goes. One last race today.

Another good day

Friday

The morning qualifying session was cut short to remove a couple of cars who got together in turn 4. But with the time I had did make a small improvement over Thursday best lap.

The afternoon session had perfect weather, mid 70's. No problems had surfaced in the morning session, but 1/2 way through the afternoon session the tachometer stopped working. I stayed out for a few more laps but didn't want to take a chance on exceeding the rpm the engine was designed for. But I did improve about 4 seconds.
Looked at the tach after I got in, when I turned on the ignition it was working again. Oh well.

Today the weather looks like a repeat of yesterday. I have a qualifying session at 8:45 this morning and a qualifying race this afternoon.

A good day

We had 3 sessions yesterday. In the first session, my main focus was on the mechanics of the car. I really was anticipating a problem, but none surfaced. After the session. went over the car and everything looked good. I now had a lot more confidence, and could work on getting more comfortable in car. In the second session my lap times improved, and it was now all coming back. I was having fun now.

That's Ted Wenz sitting on the tire, he's will known in the racing community for his engines and on occasion, drives a F5000 car..

One nagging problem was engine rpm, it should have no problem reaching 7500, the best was 6100. I suspected the mufflers were to restrictive. If I removed the baffles from the end of the mufflers, this should fix the problem and not increase the noise level too high.

Session 3

Bingo! It felt like the engine had a extra 150 HP and no problem bring it over 7000rpm.

Today their will be 2 session, both are qualifying.

Savannah, GA

Arrived at Roebling Roads race track at around 3pm.

Very nice location and the track looks like fun. I'm all ready for Thursday.

Hillsville, VA

Got a late start yesterday, but now a little more than 1/2 way to Savannah. The weather is like summer. Should arrive at the track later today. Once there we can setup the tent and get ready for the event.

All Packed and ready

The last day packing. Figured on 3 hrs, and it took all day to load the truck. Anyway, it's done.

Retrieved the last of the decals for the helmet, so that's completed also.

Packing for Georgia

That's it, I can't find anymore things to do the car. Placed a cover on it and started to pack parts and tools. Not many spare parts for the car to worry about, really just a nose.
Been watching in car you tube videos of Roebling Roads race track in Georgia. The track is only 2 miles long, but looks like a lot of fun. I'll find out in less than a week.