PorKen

Can I have those old front springs, Mr. Man?

I'm rebuilding the '81 back to stockish for selling, and I cut the original springs because it was so light in the front.

Tom. M

Hey Ken,
Sure....they're yours...but you'll need to pick through the stack because they are all mixed up with a set of 85 springs (front and rear)....Maybe you can even take home some other parts from track car...lots of stacks of parts around the shop at the moment ...

eidolon

Excellent Tom... good seeing you last night.

PorKen

I've sold the '81, as is, but if I come up there (to teach you noobs how po-wa is made), maybe I'll pick through the pile. BTW, I'm looking for a pair of OB 2½" single mid exhaust pipes if you or your ilk have any.

Good to see everyone at the dinner!

Tom. M

Finally she runs and moves. Found some bolts to get the pod/column bolted up and got the drivers seat in. Fired it up...noisy, and oil pressure read ZERO>>>>>> ahhhh..but as I revved the gauge started responding..seems it was "sticky"...let it warm up and drove it around the block...ran smooth and track OK for the quick alignment I did...let it warm up..temp got to between mid and the upper white block...and then the fan kicked on...dropped the temp quickly..took it for a few more laps around the shop and it revs nice and fast...smoked the tires easily...gonna be a nice car...feels good..

Next step is to get it home..clean it up..put in some plexiglas door windows, and get an alignment. Will be doing as much driving before our track event on the 12th .....

pcar928fan

Tom,

Way to go! Keep those sharks on track everyone! It is a GREAT experience. I have driven three of mine on track in the last 2 months!

Tom. M

Track car is back home in my garage... Yea...!!!!!!

Just got back from the Shop..Adam dropped down to pick me up and give me a
ride to the shop.. put in the harness and checked a few
things...crap...no lights...but it was 9:15pm ..cutting it close..and it
was dark when I got home..but at least I had marker lights..

Car ran great...smooth ride...little bouncy..(next step --get some
shocks to handle the 750 and 500 springs)..engine ran great..and that
exhaust..holy crap is all I can say...If anyone remembers Pat Edwards
85 exhaust..well..this is the same...get on it..and it barks something
fierce...gonna be a blast..even the notchy shifting got better the
more I drove it. A change of the tranny fluid will happen in the near
future. Right now I want to concentrate on getting door
windows..cover for sunroof, and cleaning up the interior..lots of fuzz
and glue that needs to be cleaned before I paint the interior.. Also
need to get an alignment. She tracked straight but it needs to be done..

All in all I'm stoked to have it back home ...

Tom. M

Drove the track car up to Kirkland (Omni Brake and Alignment) for an alignment after swapping on a full S4 suspension and new ties rods and such. My eyeballed settings were close...and he got everything where he wanted (asked for a track alignment with minimal street use)..I did the same for my GT about 3 years ago at the same place and it's still tracking true and handles well. They have a new machine now that allows them to roll the car back instead of lifting (they lifted the GT, but measured fender height before and spent 20 minutes getting it back down haha). Only problem identified during the alignment was the rubber block in the steering column. The power steering leak covered that area and probably ate into the rubber breaking it down so I still have a bit of play in the steering wheel.

After the alignment though..the car started running really rough...I got it pulled into a parking lot and tried to get it to run without stalling..thought back to when I experienced the same symptoms on the way down to Cali (and over to Spokane too)..so I pulled the MAF connector..ran great..crap..another MAF to repair (third time for me twice on the GT and now the track car)..but got the car home (60 miles) fighting traffic and revving the **** out of it...

But...she tracks straight and true...now..on to the lexan windows...in prep for the Track Attack..July 12...yea!!!!! Here's a crappy photo of the alignment spec sheet...I've read some of the alignment threads...interesting numbers...and the total cost including tax was $158..about the same I paid 3 years ago for the GT...and took just under 2 hours..

pcar928fan

WOW! That is a bargain on the alignment! Wish there was a place down here in Austin that you could trust to do the job right and only charge $160ish! That said, my cars all seem to be behaving properly though my S4 fades left slightly if you let go of the wheel...I would not call it a pull, but it seems to move that direction.

Looking forward to seeing some on track action shots soon!

AO

Looks like they did a good job for you. Congrats.

BC

Mineral Spirits from Home Depot - it eats the oil-glue stuff pretty well. BUt then you have to wash it down with paint thinner before you go and put something else on that surface.

Tom. M

More updates......and a public Thank You to John Davis, Ken Osage, and Thurston Pritchard who went out of their way to help me get some final bits done on my track car. I hooked up with Ken yesterday to grab some sheet aluminum and John stopped by Kens to grab all his aluminum tools, double side sticky tape, and some other goodies..along with a sheet of lexan and various sanding implements provided by John...Thurston came out a month or so ago to take care of the mess of wires left when a 82 gets transplanted with a 91S4 motor..(as well as wiring in the friggen huge racer boy Tachometer haha..)

while sitting at the shop, I checked the cams (with Porken 32Vr..) and it was dead on...tension was checked and was good...Cam gears and belt were in really good shape, and I also added the oil cooler line thermostat springs and regulator and a new high pressure oil bypass piston...

Last night..John met me at the shop and now the track car has an aluminum sunroof cover and lexan side windows (with enough lexan left over to add the rear quarter windows and rear glass over time). Thanks guys...without all the assistance from Thurston, Ken and John...as well as a host of others (you know who you are), my car wouldn't be where it is today.

At this point she's running good and I think it just needs to be taken out and driven....

I am yet again...looking forward to our annual Track Attack in Spokane this weekend....following this event, the rest of the year will be getting the car up to SCCA specs and then hit the local SCCA circuit next season....