Winter project under way. Updated 01/07
08-29-2012, 02:11 PM
#301
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Heavy, and thank you xschop.
Hell, I forgot to do what I originally intended before writing my anecdote with a sub plot. ( beer reference there) Here are some more sneak peaks. unfortunately it will be a while before you get to see the rest. At least 3-7 days. The red is going to be a whole extra paint session. Maybe vinyl. decisions to go anyway. This pic is still inside the booth, so you don't get to see the metallic shine, but good enough.
Hell, I forgot to do what I originally intended before writing my anecdote with a sub plot. ( beer reference there) Here are some more sneak peaks. unfortunately it will be a while before you get to see the rest. At least 3-7 days. The red is going to be a whole extra paint session. Maybe vinyl. decisions to go anyway. This pic is still inside the booth, so you don't get to see the metallic shine, but good enough.
08-29-2012, 02:21 PM
#302
Nice. Any idea what paint gun is being used? Missed if you were painting it or someone else.
Thanks,
Jason
Thanks,
Jason
Heavy, and thank you xschop.
Hell, I forgot to do what I originally intended before writing my anecdote with a sub plot. ( beer reference there) Here are some more sneak peaks. unfortunately it will be a while before you get to see the rest. At least 3-7 days. The red is going to be a whole extra paint session. Maybe vinyl. decisions to go anyway. This pic is still inside the booth, so you don't get to see the metallic shine, but good enough.
Hell, I forgot to do what I originally intended before writing my anecdote with a sub plot. ( beer reference there) Here are some more sneak peaks. unfortunately it will be a while before you get to see the rest. At least 3-7 days. The red is going to be a whole extra paint session. Maybe vinyl. decisions to go anyway. This pic is still inside the booth, so you don't get to see the metallic shine, but good enough.
08-29-2012, 02:28 PM
#304
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Gushy, my paint guy is painting it under my direction. He uses his knowledge in technique and I tell him where and what style. He usually tells me thats extra.. lol. We are both learning what to do, and what NOT to do. I don't know what brand. I do know it took 3 different guns for those effects. Air brush is one of them. .. DeVillbiss is the large gun. I have no idea if that means anything honestly.
08-29-2012, 02:30 PM
#305
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tehee. LOL
I'm trying to get the whole suspension spotless, powdercoated. (Oven recently Broke..of course. .. ) and spherical bearings are installed. SO I can get her rolling around again. Then I get to install... EVERYTHING.
I'm trying to get the whole suspension spotless, powdercoated. (Oven recently Broke..of course. .. ) and spherical bearings are installed. SO I can get her rolling around again. Then I get to install... EVERYTHING.
Last edited by 95ONE; 08-29-2012 at 03:17 PM.
08-29-2012, 02:57 PM
#307
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The only part that bothers me about that, is the people who watch and think I'm driving my best even though I've explained the scenario. Then they can't wait to give me "new guy" advice. ... Hey guys, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I'm working in a new car, not trying to learn how to drive or break a track record.. Hold your tongues and condescension about what "run group" I should be placed in.. I think that frustrated me the most. I understand that none of them knew me, but them assuming my driving skill from "Allowing" me to run in blue group and watch me break in the car and stare at temps and worry about some sort of loose suspension piece ISN'T the way to decide that I need to STAY in the BLUE run group when I asked to be moved up! lol. (even when explaining I was running blue to go slow and watch the car for problems) I ran it a few times at my First Porsche event in years and felt like the 40yr old riding the toddler ride at Disney. I've never seen such traffic. They were nice enough to let me give an example run to qualify for yellow within a day of knowing me. (Weston Dillard is a shining star in that club. Super Nova really) I have to admit that was pretty fantastic. Because at that point, I myself had turned into a spoiled brat Dooshbag with a temper. I shouldn't have done that, but Weston looked past that and allowed me the courtesy. I know its a strict club with rules to protect others. It still doesn't change how it makes you feel when denied.. Yellow was a little better, but I still had to wait on some Painful "trains" Yellow was fine for earning the current crews respect. Although I never got anywhere near that far with the car to actually drive it! Sensor issues, oil blow by issues, Turbo mount issues, etc. Typical new system problems..
The last event which was not a PCA event, was a TWS Motorsport Edge event. It was the third one for the new set up and last one for the year. I finally started to get comfortable with not constantly looking at the gauges and had got most of the annoying mechanical problems worked out. 3 sessions into the day, I decided to go out and start to get serious about judging the suspension and tires.. Sadly 4th or 5th lap in, I just starting to push the throttle a LITTLE... I blew a headgasket. But here's how it went before that;
The instructor I had in the car was starting to understand what I was telling him before he got in. He's heard it a million times I'm sure. OH HI Mr. instructor, you've never seen or heard of me, and I'm just going to start slow and concerned for the car, not really the driving aspect, but I do know what I am doing!... LOL. he was like.. Yeah sure buddy, ok.... hehe. I at least got 2 laps where I started to actually turn and use all of the gas pedal. (Low boost.
) I was going to get the car to slide out in a few turns and get a feel for lower to mid speed corners.. - as I will do again. He started to smile and actually admitted he didn't think I was telling the truth until then. He asked me why we were accelerating faster than before.. He was shocked when I showed him I was only using part of the throttle before. - It was accelerating hard at 70% throttle low boost.. Trust me.. I just laughed and hit the high boost button for a short straight. He reached for an, "OH ****" handle that wasn't there. That made my day. I quickly turned it to low boost again. I started to go a little bit faster and push it just a tiny bit more on the next lap. He said he hadn't been in many cars that fast before, (meaning acceleration not handling) and couldn't wait for me to turn it up... Sadly, that's right about when the headgasket blew. 
That's all I got. That's it. One guy who only saw about 60% of the older versions potential. I was more than frustrated and tore my car apart that week to make it what it is now.. 3 years later. .
He asked me to keep in touch and find him when its fixed. It's been so long, I lost touch. I hope to see him again soon though.
The last event which was not a PCA event, was a TWS Motorsport Edge event. It was the third one for the new set up and last one for the year. I finally started to get comfortable with not constantly looking at the gauges and had got most of the annoying mechanical problems worked out. 3 sessions into the day, I decided to go out and start to get serious about judging the suspension and tires.. Sadly 4th or 5th lap in, I just starting to push the throttle a LITTLE... I blew a headgasket. But here's how it went before that;
The instructor I had in the car was starting to understand what I was telling him before he got in. He's heard it a million times I'm sure. OH HI Mr. instructor, you've never seen or heard of me, and I'm just going to start slow and concerned for the car, not really the driving aspect, but I do know what I am doing!... LOL. he was like.. Yeah sure buddy, ok.... hehe. I at least got 2 laps where I started to actually turn and use all of the gas pedal. (Low boost.
) I was going to get the car to slide out in a few turns and get a feel for lower to mid speed corners.. - as I will do again. He started to smile and actually admitted he didn't think I was telling the truth until then. He asked me why we were accelerating faster than before.. He was shocked when I showed him I was only using part of the throttle before. - It was accelerating hard at 70% throttle low boost.. Trust me.. I just laughed and hit the high boost button for a short straight. He reached for an, "OH ****" handle that wasn't there. That made my day. I quickly turned it to low boost again. I started to go a little bit faster and push it just a tiny bit more on the next lap. He said he hadn't been in many cars that fast before, (meaning acceleration not handling) and couldn't wait for me to turn it up... Sadly, that's right about when the headgasket blew. That's all I got. That's it. One guy who only saw about 60% of the older versions potential. I was more than frustrated and tore my car apart that week to make it what it is now.. 3 years later. . He asked me to keep in touch and find him when its fixed. It's been so long, I lost touch. I hope to see him again soon though.
Ha -- I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. I recently moved to the DC area, after having done the majority of my track days out in AZ. Now, I've been tracking my car for years, and I consider myself to be a competent driver. I'm not yet superstar material and I'm always excited about how much I learn at each event, but I'm definitely no slouch. In AZ, I was usually Yellow (or White, as it's called out here) and would occasionally slide into Black run group.
So, not a professional, but certainly no novice either.
Anyway, fast forward to the move out to DC/VA and I'm immediately placed in GREEN. I say, but wait, I've done this before. Well, I quickly learn it's rude to argue the rules so I just decide I'll just have to show my instructor how smooth, aware, consistent, safe, and fast I can be and just hope that I'll get the checkout ride to Blue sometime soon.
Well, out here is much more political than I anticipated -- even though your instructor may sign you off for blue, you then must convince the next event's instructor that you're fit, who will then speak with one of the instructors in charge of checkout rides, and sometime in the next couple of events (and much pestering) you finally get that checkout ride and get upgraded. Meanwhile, there's nothing you can do except humbly accept each subsequent instructor's comment of "What the hell are you doing in Green dude?", not to mention the fact that you are NOT learning as much as you could be because there is NOBODY in your run group that you can follow behind -- because you're busy passing them all!
So fast forward a bit more to that event where you finally get the checkout ride to Blue -- for me, this happened recently, after no fewer than four events in Green. I tell you, it was getting frustrating. Keep in mind that at this point, I'm running circles around guys in 997 C4S's and Cayman R's in my lowly 951.
So anyway I get that checkout ride, and the level of play seems to increase 10x (still not all that great in the grand scheme of things!). And the best part: we're INSTANTLY the fastest car on track, out of about 25-30 cars. And I continued to pass everyone in Blue. WTF? Here's the funny part: I still have not been passed a SINGLE TIME since moving out to DC. There is something fundamentally wrong with that!
I have to mention there has been a big plus in all of this: I had previously taken a ~2.5 yr hiatus from DE's and had never been to these tracks out here, so it was nice to simultaneously learn the track and shake the cobwebs off with the help of some very knowledgeable instructors. Plus, each time I went to the track I was with a new instructor, and it was great learning new nuances about the track from the perspective of each expert. So that has been great.
But come on people -- couldn't I have just done this from Blue?
In all seriousness the people out here have been great and I do believe there is a bit of a shortage of checkout instructors, so I'll grant them a pass on that. I did recently get a nod from an instructor that I would be good for White, so hopefully I don't have to wait too long. As for right now, I'm just happy to be back out on track. As a point of reference, the very fast instructors at Summit Point will turn ~1:19-1:24's, depending on the car (most of which are full-blown race cars). Very good Spec 944's will turn 1:27's. At the last event (third time at the track) I was doing easy 1:28's, needing to brake very early and ease off by 20mph on the front straight due to Hawk Blues that had finally kicked the bucket. The oil on track forcing us to drive off-line didn't help my situation any, either.So, I'd feel very confident I could turn a 1:26 with relative ease, simply by replacing the brake pads. Now, that's not instructor-level speed, but the faster cars in Blue are still averaging only 1:30's. That's a hefty disparity.
Ok, I'm done bitching, thanks for listening.
08-29-2012, 03:15 PM
#308
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haha Aus.. you nailed it.
What usually ensues from the run group heads is the equal importance of knowing the safety crew, flags, sudden changes, and being aware of everything else that could go wrong and knowing what to do in that case. VERY valid points, and I will not, and just cannot argue that. Except that I'm fairly familiar with that too..
What usually ensues from the run group heads is the equal importance of knowing the safety crew, flags, sudden changes, and being aware of everything else that could go wrong and knowing what to do in that case. VERY valid points, and I will not, and just cannot argue that. Except that I'm fairly familiar with that too..
08-30-2012, 11:36 PM
#309
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Last post in here was 2 hours ago. Crickets..
Anyway, it looks like I might have painted a car that looks like a POLICE race car... hopefully the red slashes and wing and wheels changes it up a bit. But right now, I'm a little sad it looks so much like a state trooper vehicle with canards. It's not too bad, and still race car, but not as great as hoped. the painting was quality, it's just the lines and the design. My fault. I will still love her, but darn, just missed the mark I think. I will now just move on to getting it put together. No pic for you yet except this little nose bit. and why not? a pic of my powdercoating oven that I just had to fix. Doesn't it look like it belongs in Frankenstein's Lab?!
Anyway, it looks like I might have painted a car that looks like a POLICE race car... hopefully the red slashes and wing and wheels changes it up a bit. But right now, I'm a little sad it looks so much like a state trooper vehicle with canards. It's not too bad, and still race car, but not as great as hoped. the painting was quality, it's just the lines and the design. My fault. I will still love her, but darn, just missed the mark I think. I will now just move on to getting it put together. No pic for you yet except this little nose bit. and why not? a pic of my powdercoating oven that I just had to fix. Doesn't it look like it belongs in Frankenstein's Lab?!
08-31-2012, 12:33 AM
#310
I'm sure it will still look great Maybe if it looks like a police car it will distract the other drivers and they will subconsciously slow down Psychological advantage.
Ya my thoughts out in left field but hopefully that cheers ya up
Jason
Maybe if it looks like a police car it will distract the other drivers and they will subconsciously slow down Psychological advantage.Ya my thoughts out in left field but hopefully that cheers ya upJason
08-31-2012, 01:04 AM
#311
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Bruce, perhaps you just need to get a roof mounted siren/light setup and pull past all the other racers?
Sorry, only teasing. Wait until it's all finished. I'm sure it's going to look totally unique and great!
Sorry, only teasing. Wait until it's all finished. I'm sure it's going to look totally unique and great!
08-31-2012, 01:57 AM
#312
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Thank for trying man.
I was hoping to distract you guys with the oven
Last edited by 95ONE; 08-31-2012 at 10:39 AM.
08-31-2012, 02:01 AM
#313
Race Car
the accents are very important with base colors like that. You may want to look at a few accent colors to break it up and flash it up. The red in your other pics really pulled it together...My 02
08-31-2012, 05:26 AM
#315
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Just had time to read yours and Colin's account of track days. Made me nod and laugh a little in recognition of seeing similar things down here. The differences are that we can't believe that you guys are allowed out in T-shirts and shorts type dress when we have to be covered top to toe in all cotton at the very least, but most guys run race suits. However, your DE's are far more policed and organised vs ours. Well to be clear, we don't exactly have DEs. We either have Club Time Trial events called Sprints or we have mid-week track days where people turn up in anything from a 4 door sedan to full Cup Car+ level racers. Of course they run in different speed groups similar to your colour groups but not nearly as defined or policed. When I turn up for one of those they either recognise you when you've done a few in a row or you just tell them what group you want to run in and if they ask, previous times around the track. What can often happen is that people get thrust into the wrong group or they have booked too many for the day. So you get these ridiculous situations where you're stuck behind some guy in his Audi/Aston etc who hasn't much experience and has no idea how to use the mirrors. In the liberally termed driver's briefing before the event they always fail to emphasise this point even when I remind them out loud in the "Anybody have a question" time. It's always amusing to watch a posse of 6+ cars come around the top corner onto the straight and gallup into Turn 1 (scene of this writer's recent demise) 4-6 abreast. Looks like something out of an old Western movie. Makes me laugh every time.
Anyway, thanks for the memories. Saying all that, can't wait to get back out there and also to see your 'Car 54' on the track after 3 years Bruce.
Anyway, thanks for the memories. Saying all that, can't wait to get back out there and also to see your 'Car 54' on the track after 3 years Bruce.