SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
ABS would be a good addition, but what I really need is more seat time...
Plastic Fantastic 2
- Thread starter SuperBuickGuy
- Start date
mfain
Well-known member
I feel your pain regarding the attitude of some of the younger crowd. They buy performance and think they are the experts. I road race, but the crowd I run with isn't interested in my old, modified Vette - maybe they will change their mind when I eventually get it on track and do some serious spanking. I think that is the only way to get their attention. Even the more purist Corvette guys still give me a hard time for cutting up a classic. LOL A dry sump is a good idea, but fairly expensive. An accusump can be a crutch for the long sweepers where the oil pressure drops. A dry sump doesn't help low oil pressure at idle unless it is caused by low oil in the pan after running and braking hard. I looked for photos of the underside, front of your oil pan to see how much clearance you have behind the harmonic balancer. I have an unused Dan Olsen BBC road race plan that I had built and, at one time, planned on using. It is pretty high volume (wide with a kick-out) and has multiple trap doors. I would let you have it cheap if it will fit your car and is something you are interested in. I'll snap a photo so you can see if it might work. Dry sump systems include a pump, pan, reservoir tank, and lots of plumbing. It takes a little planning to find room for everything. You will need at least a four-stage pump (3 scavenge, 1 pressure) to be reasonably effective. One solution to the space problem, albeit expensive, is the Dailey "Signature" series pump/pan combination that tucks things in tight and eliminates pan to pump scavenge lines. That is what I finally chose. In any case, clearance around existing motor mounts, headers, and perhaps front steering components can be a pain.
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
I'd be quite interested in the pan.
another 24 hours of reflection - and it's as you pointed out, lack of knowledge of the judges that's the biggest issue. Then again, the attorney in me says that it's either accidental or intentional. I can't imagine that the person who runs it doesn't know the lack of knowledge - I'll give this from last year - so I talked to one of the employees, who was also a judge last year. He got the job because his dad is friends with the promoter - and "he likes cars"
This year's judges included a "automotive author" an employee, and someone else I'd never heard of... maybe someday someone will really promote the notion that innovation should be rewarded. I think the hard part of that is the majority of the viewing audience isn't really interested in building anything so the promoter is going to be labeled a sell out and the promoter is going to say "but I have to sell to keep this going." Drag week was supposed to be the be-all-end-all of fastest street car.... the fastest cars in Drag week were not built by a manufacturer nor do they share any parts with cars you'd normally see on the street.... successful? sure, but now we have sick week - which started with the same premise but is just a few more dates for Drag week and is functionally the same.... SCCA extreme street, again, the unintended audience has latched onto it and it's the same as Optima but with better rear spoilers...
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
it arrived
and put the old wing back on
did an oil change
oil looked okay and the spark plugs showed a touch rich and that I might be able to add a degree of timing... but at this point, it's safe so since I'm changing the entire fuel and spark system next.... I'll leave it for now.
I'm pretty close to doing the port EFI swap. Need a few parts, order them tomorrow.
and put the old wing back on
did an oil change
oil looked okay and the spark plugs showed a touch rich and that I might be able to add a degree of timing... but at this point, it's safe so since I'm changing the entire fuel and spark system next.... I'll leave it for now.
I'm pretty close to doing the port EFI swap. Need a few parts, order them tomorrow.
69427
The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
I've had similar experiences with my '69. Rarely do any fellow (but later model) Corvette owners bother to say Hi or visit while I'm hanging out prior to the first track session (It certainly ain't because my car gets lost in a sea of early Corvettes in the pits.). No proof, but I suspect my antique is being classified in their minds as a moving chicane. After the first session there's frequently a couple of those guys stopping over at my pit area asking questions about my car. With stock bodywork (and therefore tire size) I'm never going to be the fastest car out there, but with 400-700 pounds less vehicle weight (but comparable power to weight of most any of the cars there), I can do a bit more mirror filling than most of them are comfortable with.
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
at this point, it's my talent that limits my car. As you point out, weigh less, more hp and I have tire sizes that are actually wider then theirs. There is a part of me that wouldn't mind someone else shoeing this car for me... I like building them, however, I don't think I'll be a better builder if I don't stay in the driver's seat for a bit longer.
As far as people, I met a lot of nice guys out there - honestly, in thinking about it, I didn't notice anyone who wasn't nice. Maybe I'm blind? maybe it's willful blindness? In Portland there was one - but even he got a comeuppance (won't give details because it'd be easy to figure out who it was) from someone he respected and that problem was marked 'solved' after that...
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
Time to clean up the shop....
yes, I can get another project in there
street tires off
and get the racing tires back on it
yes, I can get another project in there
street tires off
and get the racing tires back on it
bobs77vet
Well-known member
me thinks big shop equals big clean up time....it looks good.
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
I still can't believe how blessed I am with this shop. I have 5 projects going on simultaneously... and don't have to move anything when my ADD strikes.
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
fancy things
good grief do they wrap this well
and the throttle body
good to 850 hp - calculated I needed 58 lb injectors, these are 72 - or 20% more...
good grief do they wrap this well
and the throttle body
good to 850 hp - calculated I needed 58 lb injectors, these are 72 - or 20% more...
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
More pictures today - some are repeats... sorry
Ax day 2
brake challenge, I think
this launch, 7k rpm and the brake challenge/Ax space is in a bowl... the noise... glorious. I'm sure I heard angels singing too
or Ax... one thing - the rules say you cannot change your tires.... that was roundly ignored
this picture plus one other convinced me to move the rear sway bar rate up
plus one
and two... and this is without my max grip tires
more wet Ax
Ax day 2
brake challenge, I think
this launch, 7k rpm and the brake challenge/Ax space is in a bowl... the noise... glorious. I'm sure I heard angels singing too
or Ax... one thing - the rules say you cannot change your tires.... that was roundly ignored
this picture plus one other convinced me to move the rear sway bar rate up
plus one
and two... and this is without my max grip tires
more wet Ax
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
out on the track.... so numbers.... my practice lap was 2:41 in the wet, 1:47 dry... I needed about 2 more days of practice to get to the normal track time of 1:17 or so and better tires
still glad i did it, it was a great experience
pucker factor for certain
imagine, the photographer is horizontal to my car in this picture - the Buick cannot see me or the corner from his perspective...
the camera isn't leaning... this corner really is that off camber
brake challenge again... I got 2 good times and said bag it...
get it
still glad i did it, it was a great experience
pucker factor for certain
imagine, the photographer is horizontal to my car in this picture - the Buick cannot see me or the corner from his perspective...
the camera isn't leaning... this corner really is that off camber
brake challenge again... I got 2 good times and said bag it...
get it
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
I kept pushing that corner - never did find the limit, thankfully that one doesn't have the 'jump off a cliff' issue as where I went off rather you'd just spin off into the infield... that track would be a blast as a home track... I feel like either PIR or Pacific Raceway are my home tracks - both are nowhere near as technical
I need to duplicate myself to get everything done...
phantomjock
Well-known member
Too many to pick from.
Large smart screen and rotate the images. You've got plenty of wall space.
Some very nice shots.
Car looks fantastic!
Cheers - Jim
Large smart screen and rotate the images. You've got plenty of wall space.
Some very nice shots.
Car looks fantastic!
Cheers - Jim
mfain
Well-known member
Finally got around to going to my storage unit to get the Dan Olsen pan for photos. Take a look and see if it is something you can use. It is 7" deep and has baffles and trap doors under a windage tray to control oil under cornering and braking. If you are going to have any clearance issues, it would be at the front of the pan, depending on steering components. It also uses the small Tilton-style starter.
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
I'll measure tomorrow, but I have a lot of room under the pan because of the C5 cradle... and that.... leads into my question in the next post
SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
so decision time.
not this, I needed to update seat belts so I bought the twist to unlock rather then the latch.... everyone, and I mean everyone - no matter their ability on the autox course could not easily figure out how to latch... fine, I'll dumb it down.
but that's not the decision.
I have 99% of the pieces for the port EFI/COP system. I have another Optima even in mid-July. I need to run a few autox events before but the first won't be before mid-May. Should I pull it apart and do the upgrade? it runs now. is basically ready to go.... but with all of that said, I already have another 4 bolt block that's ready to build that I plan on building this winter. Use the port system, maybe change the cam, put better heads (no more knockoffs)...
not this, I needed to update seat belts so I bought the twist to unlock rather then the latch.... everyone, and I mean everyone - no matter their ability on the autox course could not easily figure out how to latch... fine, I'll dumb it down.
but that's not the decision.
I have 99% of the pieces for the port EFI/COP system. I have another Optima even in mid-July. I need to run a few autox events before but the first won't be before mid-May. Should I pull it apart and do the upgrade? it runs now. is basically ready to go.... but with all of that said, I already have another 4 bolt block that's ready to build that I plan on building this winter. Use the port system, maybe change the cam, put better heads (no more knockoffs)...
With the extra block, you open up the option of completing the new engine and controls build on the side while keeping the car 100% available for gaining more experience on the track with the car and getting everything dialed in like you want. Then later you can swap in the new engine and have a smaller list of variables to iron out. It is definitely an opportunity worth consideration. On the other hand, do you think you can get it all ready for May? I know it's still a little while off, but the way the parts supply chain is going these days, a small part can sideline everything while you are trying to get the electronics dialed in.
bobs77vet
Well-known member
those pictures are wonderfull. that looks like a lot of fun