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.

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.