Lime Rock, Saturday AM

Yesterday went well. The first session was more of a shakedown making sure the steering and braking was proper. The second session was more fun. Starting to drive the course and remembering turning and braking points. The engine feels like it's producing more power than last year. Today, 2 more sessions. By the way, the paint is still on the Goodyear tires.

Lime Rock Friday AM

Today it's a driver meeting at 9:00 then our first session around 12:00. The weather is looking good for today, but goes down hill for the rest of the weekend. May main concern is the problems that I had at Road America has been repaired.

A long day

Finally have everything setup and

made it to the lodge will be staying at for the duration of the event. It reminds me of Seneca lodge in Watkins Glen.  



Restaurant in front of our lodge



Almost ready for Lime Rock

This morning right after loading the car in back of the truck we got hit with a thunderstorm. It’s been raining since then. Lucky for me, most of the truck was already loaded. Thursday weather looks better. Leaving around 9am tomorrow.

Turning Avons into Goodyears, con't

I cover the tire with newspaper and spray paint the letters.

Hand paint the areas that need filling.

And now before your very eyes, Goodyears appear.




The top tire is from the 1970's.  The winged foot(Mercury)is position close to the 'D'.  On the new tire, bottom left, the 'D' is centered.   It looks like a mistake on the painted Avon, but that's the way it should be. 

 

Turning Avons into Goodyears

I've been working on this off and on. I have a old set of Goodyear tires that came with the car. I'm working on lettering the Avons using the old style Goodyear.



The tires have raised lettering and I coat them with paint.

Next I place clear tape over the letters and press down.

Now I place the tape on thin cardboard.

With a knife I cut out each letter.

Now I tape down the cardboard and ready the tire for paint. More tomorrow.

Lime Rock Park

Everything is on schedule for Lime Rock. The to do list is done for the car and most of the support equipment and parts are still on the truck.

Geneva trip

Took advantage of this great weather to get some work done in Geneva.  Staying overnight at the Sampson State Park. This was a Navy base in WWII. Did training at Seneca Lake.

Nose support repair

The repair at the track was a temporary one. Upgraded the bolts and installed new rivets, that should hold it for a couple of years. Other items preformed was changing the oil and filter, then running up the engine to check for oil and water leaks. All looks good. Next is to work on the gear ratios. I might leave in the Road America ratios, not to far off from what I used at Lime Rock last year.



That’s the bracket I made a couple of years ago. I only used rivets to fasten it to the nose support. What happened at RA last month was the rivets sheared off. That’s why I’m included a bolt in the repair.



Water line

Moved the water line forward, away from the oil pump belt. It must of been moved toward the rear when I used the T190 Lola radiator. No big deal, just loosened up the clamps and a couple of taps with a rubber mallet got it back in place. Just finished up the truck also. Another item on the list was a spare belt and water hose, they should be here Wednesday. Tire choice will be the Avon’s for Lime Rock and the Goodyear’s for Austin.

Problem solved.

Ball joint done

Received the necessary parts from Eric the other day. In the photo below the part in the middle is the replacement. I only had to remove .080th from the height to make it fit. Installed it and looks right. Might need a small adjustment at Lime Rock, but that’s easy. Next on the list is move the water line away from the oil pump pulley.

Ball joint parts

Should have the ball joint parts from Eric today or tomorrow. Continue to work on the replacement parts for the drive shaft from the truck. Bigger job than anticipated because everything was very rusty.

A visitor this morning

Lime Rock next

Lime Rock event is coming up fast. In just a little over 3 weeks it will be here. I think Lime Rock will end up being a test session for Austin. I really need to be sure the car is ready for that race. Their was going to be another F5000 car at Lime Rock, but it got damage at Road America a couple of weeks ago.

These are the drive shafts from the truck.  I have been meaning to replace the u-joints and center bearing.  Something that's needed attention for the past couple of years.

Next problem

Next on the list is to move the water line a little more away from the oil pump belt.

My old water line hose, not the first time it made contact with the belt.

I tried to add this photo the other day. 
This is the ball joint spacer, as it pressed down, the crack would open up more.