Fremont, Indiana

First stop, Fremont, Indiana.  A unenventful trip so far, the way it should be.  Expecting to be in Elkhart Lake late afternoon.

Eric update

Talked to Eric yesterday, he left Seattle Saturday and now was about 200 miles from Elkhart Lake.  He missed the Canada event.  Said he had fuel leaking problems with is newly installed fuel injection unit.  He's bringing a set of wheel rims for me that he got in his Lola parts acquisition.  These should be usable for rain tires.
Anyway, leaving soon and hope to be in Indiana tonight.

Leaving Wednesday for Elkhart Lake

 Every time I pack the truck, I'm left with a little more room.  Wish I could fill those voids with spare car parts.  Haven't heard from Eric lately, guess he's been very busy getting his car back together.  We'll be leaving Wednesday morning and stopping to overnight in Indiana. 

F5000 race schedule for Elkhart Lake

I believe that's it

Needed a little more gasket cement

For the most part, we're ready for Elkhart Lake.  The only problem found was a small leak back by the gearbox. 

 That's fixed and no other leaks located.  The clutch  pedal works properly, and the engine sounds just right.  I'll start collecting the spare parts and tools.  Should have the truck loaded by evening.

Brake pads

The new brake pads are here, but they don't fit.  I recall Eric telling me that he had to preform some grinding on his.  Sure enough, I saw what he was talking about, and now a perfect fit.

The old pad is in the front, the new one is in the back.  The 2 small tabs above the arrows needed to be ground down on the new pads.

I'm using paint on the brake rotors that melts at a certain heat range.  In this process, it leaves a history of maximum temperature achieved while on the track.  Each color is a different heat range.   This should help me set front to rear brake bias. 

Watkins Glen-----Revisited

The folks in the red shirts are know as "Team Bedford".  They have been coming down from Canada to Watkins Glen for years.   Lately they have been assisting the F5000 association.  A great group of guys.



L to R  Mitch, Steve, me, Mike and Ken



One week to go

Road America is coming up fast.  Finished mounting the Goodyear's, now their ready.

I have decided to order all new brake pads.  The pedal was getting pretty long at Watkins Glen. After all, how much service can you expect out of 36+ year old brake pads.  The new ones should arrive Friday or Saturday.

Goodyear tires

Removed last years tires and will be mounting my fresh Goodyear's for Road America.  I noticed at Watkins Glen this past June, a whole lot more drivers are using Goodyear's............hmmm.

Gear box

Installed the new 2nd gear.  It will be nice to finally have a usable 2nd gear.   Looking forward to Road America.

The oil temperature gauge stopped working at Watkins Glen.  I think the vibration broke the sending unit.  Purchased this one on eBay.

Engine

Started the race engine yesterday.  No leaks and sounded good.  Next on the list, change the gear ratios and mount the new Goodyear tires.  Having 4 weeks between races is just the right amount of time.

On schedule

Took the truck for a test ride yesterday, no leaks and everything working correctly.  Haven't got the car back together completely, but I still have 2 weeks to go.
We now have 13 F5000 cars entered for Road America so far.

2nd gear

Back visiting 2nd gear.  As you might recall, the 2nd gear I purchased on eBay didn't fit my gearbox.  One of the gears was too long.  Talked to Brian at "Vintage Racing Service" and he said he'd grind the gear down to fit.  Just got it back and we'll give it a try.  

Before

After

On other news, the truck is completed and ready for a test run.  Spent the better part of yesterday finishing the replacment of both fuel lines.  It finally came down to having to remove the turbocharger and a few more brackets for access to the left line. 

Fuel lines

Getting ready for Road America

With the discovery of the broken clutch, there was no need to inspect the rod and main bearings.  So back in the engine goes, with a new clutch pack.  That should be all hooked up by the end of the day.  Getting ready for Road America.

Watkins Glen Photos

Photos taken by Steve Bedford.  Click on link below

Watkins Glen Photos 2011

The smoking gun

As soon as I removed the clutch, the search for the vibration was over.  One of the clutch discs had shattered.  I'm glad I lowered my RPM's during the race at the Glen; the vibration would have been hard on the engine.  Why it happened, I'm not sure.