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Really? Hmmm. I thought it would help, but i you say so, I'll go along with it.
Regardless, I picked up a tongue scale, so I can get the car loaded properly. Last time the trailer swayed quite a bit, so I have a feeling it was loaded too far back. Need to get the balance right, then it'll be all good, I think. Right now I'm flying blind. But it not a fun feeling having the tail wag the dog.
This is important. Make sure you have about 5% on the tongue. (some use 10%)
Also you can check and see if the tires on the trailer are not toed out. That can have a big effect on the trailer fishtailing.
It's been some time since I've last posted anything. Rather than starting a new thread, I thought I would add to this one.
I'll be going to VIR in the Spring (March 16-18) and needed to address a few things on the Coke car... well we might need to re name it the "DIET" Coke Car.
First up, one of the many previous owners cut out the seat support on the driver-side. My guess was to get enough headroom in the car. Unfortunately they just bolted the seat rails to the sheet metal on the floor. Over time, the rails cut into the metal floor and started poking out the underside. So in my first attempt, I borrow my neighbor's MIG rig and went to town. It's not pretty, but functional. My first welds were like a kid with his first crayon scribbling away. But like any proud parent, I'm happy with the "artwork." The seat now rests on about 4mm of steel and I feel much safer. as a result.
I had an annoying power steering leak, well, actually more like a weep. The "feed" hose from the reservoir had developed a tear at the clmp. I tire cutting a pit off, and that helped, but I really needed a new hose. A bit messy, but now it's done (sorry no pics).
I wanted to check the condition of the timing belt and the cam timing to see if anything has changed. Everything looks good. Belt and gears show no appreciable wear and tear. I checked cam timing as well and it's spot on from when DaveK and I set it 2 or 3 years ago.
Last time I was at VIR, I had a weak battery and needed a jump, so after I got it started, I let it idle... for a bit too long. It started to overheat and I missed my session, Turns out the fan was not working ( it has an aftermarket electric fan only.) First thing I checked was the fuse. Sure enough it was blown. I replace it and the fan works fine now. I wonder if the fuse blew when it crashed before I got it? I don't recall the fan ever coming on. Will keep an eye on it. Thought about making the fan on with ignition, decided to leave it as is for now.
Next up, I felt like the car was carrying a lot of dead weight. I trailer (enclosed) the car everywhere, so I have no need to door glass and motors. So out it came. Next, I decided to get rid of the headlights too. The removal was pretty easy, but I wanted to "plug" the holes it left behind. After a cardboard template, I cut out the shape on some sheet aluminum and painted with a GM color that matches pretty well. The I pop-rinetted it in for nice aerodynamic cover. Now the car looks kind of like a BMW 850. All told, I think total weight stripped out was about 60 pounds. May look for some other areas (rear glass?) to get a few more #'s out of her.
Next up will be brake rotors, oil change, and replacing a bad tie rod. SHould be able to get those done in the next week or two. Also thinking about refreshing the injectors. I have a feeling I have bad one. Would make me feel better. Still debating.
Welding is not my strong suit, but I got it done!
About 60#s worth here.
First one. Nice thing is that the other side is a mirror image.
Is your window glass in good shape? no scratches from the guides etc?
It has tint on the inside and the tint (for sure) has some scratches. I'll have to pull the tint off to see. Hard to do in the dead of winter. Remind me in May.
Swapped out the old injectors. Pretty sure one of them was not working properly. These guys should help. Fired right up , but we got 12" of snow on Saturday, so test drives are still postponed.
Just returned from a weekend at VIR. Car was running really nicely... until it didn't. Pretty sure it spun a bearing. I was hauling *** on the front straight passing a slower 944 , when all of a sudden, it felt like I lost 50 HP, then 75. Then the knocking started. It was a bad place to pull over, but I didn't want to take a chance of ventilating the block, so I shut it down and pulled off on the outside of Turn 3. Weekend was done.
To add insult to injury, mu student crashed his car on Turn 4. Slammed the passenger side of his car against the tires... WITH ME IN IT! Luckily we weren't going fast. No injuries. Minor damage to the car. But yeah... Pretty crap-tacular weekend.
But I am glad I picked up a new used block from Mark A during his christmas sale. Thought I would have longer to build it up and get it ready, but apparently I will be doing it this month.
Sorry to hear of your bad weekend Andrew. Glad you weren't hurt. Hope you get the Coke Racer back on the track soon. The pics look awesome btw, except the last two of course!
03-28-2016, 07:50 AM
, when all of a sudden, it felt like I lost 50 HP, then 75. Then the knocking started. It was a bad place to pull over, but I didn't want to take a chance of ventilating the block, so I shut it down and pulled off on the outside of Turn 3. Weekend was done.
