2003 .......... It's ALIVE! ..........
January 2003
Once again, I have made some progress. This month seemed slow until I looked back through my notes. As I planned, several days were spent on my engine quest while even more days were spent in the shop finishing the body mounts, fortifying the mount welds, and mounting the radiator.
The front clip received lots of attention this month. Just a few days ago, I finished the radiator mount. This radiator is an aluminum 3” double pass. Aluminum fins are VERY flimsy, but cool well. I was told that the tanks needed to be supported and that the center section should not. In addition, any twisting would damage the cooling section. Since the engine will be in the hot spot of the car and will receive little, if any, air cooling, I chose the largest radiator I could. The 31” x 19” section just clears the hood.
As for the body, I think I found the problem with the alignment. As I mentioned before, the drivers side is about ½” longer than the passenger side. This can be seen in the door panel gaps. I found that the rear bumper was about ½” too rearward on the drivers side. There is a lot more to the story of how it ended up there, but it is not worth telling. I don’t think anyone building his or her own body would benefit from what I found.
Well, lets skip to the chase. This write up is really about the engine search since the mounting of the radiator and realigning of the rear bumper is relatively boring. (At least it is to me.) The exciting news is in the last two paragraphs, but I would suggest not jumping ahead because it will spoil the fun.
It was January 9 when everything started to happen. I had learned of a shop up in the Moline, Illinois that build stroker 383 motors at 550hp in my price range. I decided to call that Thursday to schedule a time to go up and visit. The engine shop was American Speed and after talking with Gale, I arranged to go up that Saturday. I left early and made it there by 10:00 am. Gale was working 6 days a week just trying to get all of the race engines ready for springtime. He and I talked about the 383 motor and I left there very impressed. Gale showed me quality work, a first class dyno, several engines that were similar to the one I was interested in and agreed to work with me to custom build my machine. In addition, American Speed is the home of the engines for the Ultima GTR kit car. This car has a similar drivetrain as mine. This means he knows how to build the type of car I want. Or so I thought. When I left, I was convinced that he would end up being the one to build my motor.
A friend of mine suggested that I talk to a local race shop that he had heard good things about. The next Saturday, I did just that. I visited Dependable Automotive on the west side of St. Louis. I was not impressed; however, Jim did mention something to me that Mark had also said. Their suggestion was to go with a low torque / high horsepower motor due to the lightweight of my car. The 383 makes lots of torque and when accelerating off of a turn, it would be very difficult to control the car. The gas pedal would be very touchy. So now, I was confused. The low torque idea made good sense, but how much would be too much. What could I get away with and still have a good seat-of-the-pants feel? Most of Saturday afternoon, I thought of different bore and stroke combinations that might give me what I need. Unfortunately, I do not have a good feel for this since my experience with high horsepower motors is low.
That’s when it hit me. Who knows more about engines than anyone? Who knows more about the racing Fiero setup than anyone? John Callies, that’s who. I decided to give him a call right away. He would easily be able to tell me the best combination to start with and end this dilemma. I gave him a call and his wife, Rose, answered. I asked if John was around and if I could speak with him. She asked who was calling. When I told her and reminded her of our visit in October, she didn’t even let me finish my sentence. “Oh, I remember. It was such a pleasure to have you. When are you coming back to visit?” I was stunned. I replied that once the car was done, maybe I would come down for John to look it over and take it for a spin. She said that John would be back soon and would give me a call. An hour and a half later, the phone rang. I answered and it was John. I asked how they were doing in the new house and he said that they were 95% moved in. He also said that he never wanted to go through that ordeal again. I told him that I called to ask his advice. After stating the problem, he said that I would be better off to build a 357 of 358 with a 4 1/8” bore and something like a 6 ½” rod. Big bore, and short stroke to reduce the torque but make big horsepower. He asked several questions about the specifications of my car (to refresh his memory) but then asked, “do you have an engine builder?” I said that I did not and was hoping that he could suggest one. He said that the best builder he had ever worked with was Paul Vanderley. Paul would ask many questions to make sure that he was building the engine I wanted. For all of you Fiero racing history buffs, the name Paul Vanderley will ring a bell. Paul is the gentleman responsible for building the original race engines for the IMSA car. John said that he would call him on Monday to see if he would have time. Paul is now in his late 60’s and spends most of his time building his Bonneville salt flat car. Wow, that’s big time. I was very impressed that John would take the time to call him and plead my case. I told him that I really appreciated it and that if I called, Paul may have no interest. But if John called……
Figuring that Paul may not be able to do my motor, I looked into an article I remembered from last summer. The article was about using used NASCAR motors on the street. Since John had mentioned a 357 motor, I remembered that NASCAR runs a 357 SB Chevy and a de-tuned engine could easily make 650 horsepower. I called Muscle Industries on Monday. They said that they had a fresh motor that had a dry sump and made about 740 hp. I would need change the cam to make it work on the street, but will still need to run race gas. They also said that they still had the motor that they build for the Hot Rod magazine article that they would sell. This was tempting, but before making any decisions, I wanted to make sure that I gave Paul a chance. He may be able to build something better.
On Tuesday afternoon (1/21/03) at 3:40 p.m., I got a call that the answering machine picked up. It was Paul! No kidding. John sure knows how to be persuasive. I called him back the second I got the message, but he had gone home. I called him back the next morning. I introduced myself and proceeded to tell him about what I was trying to build. He stopped me and said that John had already covered most of it with him. Wow. He also said that he had an engine for sale that may fit the bill. It was a motor he built for his own B Gas 34 Coupe he planned to break another record with at the salt flats. It had everything I wanted, dry sump, external water pump, and even a price I could afford. It ran 13.8 to 1 compression and race gas. I want to run pump gas, so a lower compression will be needed. He agreed that this was easy to change since the engine was fresh. He said that the bore was 4.155 and the stroke was 3.800. This matched what John said I should use. I then asked the big question, “how much horsepower does she make?” Paul replied that with the lower 10:1 compression, she should conservatively make 700 hp. Right. I must be dreaming. With an engine like that, I would need to install a chute. I thanked him for his time and told him that I would need to call him back that evening. I also told him I was VERY interested. That night I agreed to purchase the engine. Paul told me that he would dyno it and break it in. After the initial running, he would take it apart and inspect the valve seating and spring compression. He would also pull the bearings apart to verify proper seating. When I pick it up, I will be given a lesson on specifically what to check on my motor by The Man himself. How cool is that? A private lesson. Sounds just like my day with E.J. Trivette.
The summary goes like this. I am going to get an engine from the original race engine builder for a chassis build by the original suspension builder, all enclosed within a prototype shell. I’ll be grinning for months. Better yet is the performance and history. The engine was Paul’s personal engine. It has the best of everything. Nothing was spared. I couldn’t even try to afford to buy the components individually. When complete, the motor will produce over 700 horsepower and 500 ft-LB of torque on pump gas. The car will be rocketed through the quarter mile in less than 10 seconds and at over 150 miles per hour if I can get traction. Zero to 100 is a mere 5.0 seconds. This car will now be worthy of a bumper sticker that reads “Life begins at 230 mph.”
Earl Rice, you were right about the horsepower after all.
February 2003
With the engine being rebuilt by Paul Vanderley in Mississippi and a tight, self imposed deadline looming, this past month was spent finishing some of the brackets and starting on the car’s systems. I have decided to push as hard as possible to “complete” the car by July 1. The goal is to test and tune the car at the CFOGi show in Pontiac, Michigan on July 17. The show is a 4-day event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the Fiero. When I say “complete” I mean that the car will be running and track worthy, but not of show quality. I wanted to wait until the car was complete before its first showing, but I cannot pass up an opportunity like this.
Paul has confirmed that the engine will be complete and ready to pick up by the end of March (Helllloooo 700+ hp). When I bring the engine home and get it set in place; the position of many items will be apparent. Things like the firewall, seat, cross bracing, and other items must be fabricated and installed around the engine. Until the engine is installed, none of this can be done accurately. Therefore, in order to accelerate the process, I am fabricating other systems in the car that do not depend on the engine position. This month I focused on the front clip, brake ducts, radiator mounting, steering and a custom built engine stand for the back of my truck. I am also working on designing the brake and accelerator system.
The first question I expect after my last statement is “Why are you designing an accelerator system?” Good question. This car has a horsepower to weight ratio of about 3.3. That means that for every 3.3 pounds, there is one horsepower to propel it. For reference, NASCAR is about 4.3. The amount of force put to the ground is tremendous and there is very little weigh to hold it down. If the car is at high speed, there is no problem; however, at lower speeds (under 100 mph) it will be very easy to brake the tires free. In short, the gas pedal will be touchy and the car will be extremely difficult to “feather” through a curve. Loss of control would be catastrophic. On shorter courses (SOLO II), the car will be slower because it will never be able to hook up. Therefore, I am designing an accelerator configuration that will adjust the usable power of the engine. In the production car, the throttle cable is pulled by a lever arm that is connected to the gas pedal. The distance that the pedal is depressed corresponds to a ratio that the throttle linkage is actuated. The longer the lever arm is on the throttle cable side, the further the cable is pulled and the further it opens the carburetor. Normally, this distance is set and stops are put in place to keep from overextending the butterfly valve on the carb. What I intend to do is adjust the end position of the throttle cable on the accelerator pedal lever arm. By doing this, I retain the full stroke of the pedal while only actuating the carb to a predetermined position. For example, in the normal position, the full pedal means full carb actuation. With an adjustment, full pedal means ½ carb actuation. The control of this will be done using a brake bias knob on the dash. I will be able to adjust the usable horsepower on the fly. This will greatly improve the usefulness of the engine for many events.
As I mentioned earlier, I did a lot of work on the front clip. I finished adjusting the mounts for the radiator and grinding down sharp points. I then painted them silver (see attached photo). Next, I spent lots of time cutting off old tabs on the frame. Lots and lots of time. I also installed the rear roll bar supports and triangulated the upper connection of the rear suspension tube. The roll bar supports are a requirement for SCCA.
I also fabricated the brake ducts this past month. I ordered some of that “special” 550 F degree, orange, NASCAR tubing. I had a hard time figuring out what to use to mount the hose to the spindle. Here is a trick you can use at home. Exhaust pipe. I went to my local exhaust shop and asked for some 3” pipe. Perfect! Then I made a pair of brackets and welded them up. The bracket simply unbolts form the spindle when maintenance is needed.
In preparation for sheet metal fabrication, I purchased a Grizzly 3 in 1 sheet metal fabricating tool. It is rated for 22 gage mild steel, but I will be using it on .040 aluminum. I’ll let you know if it holds up. I intend to spend much of March fabricating the sheet metal panels.
Part ordering was high on my list last month too. I ordered some Sparco Pro 2000 seats, Sparco 6 point camloc belts, and a Sparco steering wheel. I also ordered all of the steering shaft components. The AFCO universals and Sweet Manufacturing quick steering wheel release are more durable than most. I picked up a set of overhead Wilwood aluminum pedals and US Brake master cylinders.
I installed the steering system as seen in the attached photo and finished the removable PS support tube.
There is still lots of work to be done and a quickly approaching deadline.
March 2003
Even with substantial progress during the month of March, things seem to be moving too slowly. I still believe I will be able to make the July 1 (read this as July 16) deadline to make the CFOG-I 20th show in Pontiac, Michigan however, the car may be a little rougher than I would like. Again, lots of progress this month. I have included several pictures for your viewing pleasure. Comments and suggestions are encouraged. I want the feedback and ways to improve the car.
The big news this month is centered on the engine. I received pictures and a dyno sheet. As you can see from the pictures, it even looks like a Winston Cup motor! I was excited to see it. Paul Vanderley told me he had done something to the engine that he had never done before and asked me to see if I could find it. I was skeptical. I thought that there was nothing that Paul had not done before. I was surprised to find out that the valve covers that say “VanDerLey Engines” were custom. He had them made to reduce the height of the motor so I could get it under my main rear firewall bar. What a guy! No charge too. I think they are beautiful and show off the Fiero-famous engine builder’s craftsmanship. Okay, okay…. Someone out there is impatiently saying, what did the dyno say! Drum roll please… 645.7 hp at 6900 RPM, 534 lb-ft at 5000 RPM.
That should be enough. My wife and I will pick up the engine on Friday.
Much of the sheet metal work has now been done. The radiator intake shroud, pan, front firewall, door panels, and rear firewall are 70% complete. This took about 60 to 70 hours to complete. The seats arrived as well. I installed them after the pedals and steering wheel was positioned. I also got the mounts installed for the 3” – six point belts. They and the seat are very comfortable. I had a tough time making myself get out of the car. Busy dreaming.
I ordered the clutch and all components to make it work. I ordered the clutch from Renegade Hybrids in Nevada because they specialize in Chevy SB / Porsche drivetrain combinations for racing applications. Scott gave me a hand in determining what clutch would run best with my setup. I have received the brake and clutch line as well as the slave cylinder. This project is on hold until I get the engine mounted. With the help Fuel Safe, I designed and ordered a custom fuel cell. It will hold 17 gallons and should provide plenty of laps at 7 mpg. On most tracks, that should be about 50 laps.
Once I get the engine home, I will need to decide if the current motor mounts work for well. What I mean is, is the engine too high or too low, or is it too far rearward considering I have moved the rear wheels forward about 1 inch. I plan to move it so that the axles are straight and the engine sets as low as possible. Naturally, this will help stability.
I picked up a used 20ft enclosed Timber Wolf trailer. She tows nicely, but I decided to purchase an anti-sway friction bar for the hitch. This coupled with the load levelers will greatly improve the stability of the trailer. Saturday (yesterday) was the first time I took the car anywhere in the trailer. I took it over to a glass shop to have the windshield put in. Much better! This car surprisingly uses a factory windshield. That and the taillights are the only stock items on the vehicle.
Please forgive the short write-up this month. The combination of this car, my job and a little one on the way, I have had very little time (or energy) for anything else.
April 2003
Lots of stuff going on! As I look back, it is hard to believe that this all happened in one month. As a quick overview, I picked up the engine, finished the front fire wall, finished the inner aluminum door panels, fabricated a dash, took it to a show, and (this is the big one) figured out how to fit the engine, dry sump and alternator in while still being able to sit in the car. Yes, I have been working this whole time without knowing for certain if the engine and seats would fit. Keep in mind that a safety wall needs to be constructed between the engine and the seats. Sure I have made measurements, but until the engine arrived with all of the hardware on the front, it was impossible to know. I’ll tell you now; it didn’t just slide in.
I want to say that I had a great time at the 9th annual St. Louis Fiero Show. What a blast! I wanted to have our local show be the first show this car attended. As it turned out, this was not only the first show my “baby” (the racecar) attended, but also the first Fiero show that OUR baby (our expectant child) attended. Two firsts in one day. I put the car all together and brought it as a “display only” car. I had a great spot at the end and lots of help from my friends/fellow club members. I also was very happy with the support I received. Since I am building the car, I know all of the “flaws” or things that I would have done better. Graciously, none of these items were brought up. Several Fiero owners mentioned to me that seeing my car made them think seriously about the possibility of a normally mounted engine for a street car. I believe that with the right planning, this type of car could be achieved and would be a nearly perfect car from an engineering and race balance stand point. A Fiero with this drivetrain would be a true mini supercar. I do want to apologize for not staying for the banquet. As it turned out, leaving early did give me a chance to make substantial progress on the dashboard. Thank you for understanding.
As mentioned, my wife and I picked up the engine in mid-April. We met Paul and his wife Kay. Very nice people indeed. We covered some paper work and then I saw her…. The engine! To make a long story short, we had a lot of waiting to do. Paul had plenty of other things that had to be done and it took nearly 4 hours to get around to loading the truck. I also chased him around the shop asking questions about the type of coolant system, oil system, and ignition system to run. After lots of great pictures and movies in his shop, I asked if he would sign my book and allow me to get a picture of the three of us. He jokingly said that he would “break the camera”. As it turned out, he was right. As I was preparing for the shot, I set the camera on a stool and when I went to pick it up, it dropped and hit the floor. My stomach flipped. I tried my best to get it back together for the photo, but as you can see, it was not in focus. I have fixed it since then, but the moment passed. At least I got something!
The engine has many impressive specifications that I’ll share. The parts list reads like a Winston Cup car; 412 ci, Callies crank, JE pistons, Comp cam, and prototype Pontiac 867 heads. That’s right, I said prototype. Again, there has been another original part put into the car. Best of all, now I can say that the car is “powered by Pontiac”! As it turns out, the heads he sold me with the motor were heads that he received from Pontiac Motorsports (John Callies) in 1984ish to use as development for Winston Cup racing. This set of heads lays claim to the following firsts; the first “hot burn” chamber, the first 60/40 heads, and the first high intake. Other helpers around his shop couldn’t believe that he was selling these heads. Paul said “well, it’s my personal engine, and they come with the motor.” Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of them Paul. As for other specifications, the carburetor flows 930 cfm and the cam is pretty major. Gross lift on the intake is 0.696 and on the exhaust, it is 0.672. Duration at 0.050 is 269 and 274 on the intake and exhaust respectively. Lobe separation is 106 degrees. Basically, this car will have a serious lope and trouble idling at 1200 rpm. I love it! If any Mustangs, Vipers, or Cobras want to pick on a Fiero, bring it on! Okay, that wasn’t very nice.
After the show, I got a chance to work on the dash. The layout and fabrication took a lot longer than I had anticipated for such a simple part. Just make some metal brackets and slap some aluminum sheet metal on it, right? Not a chance. After 5 days of 3-hour sessions, I am close. It is about 90% complete, but I forgot to make a place to mount the ignition switches. I felt dumb. The good news is that I do have a back up plan and things will be all right if I can’t get it to fit in the driver’s side dash.
Last but not least, the fitting of the engine. I put the tranny and the engine together (without the clutch) to verify the fit I had measured back in January. As I got close, I found there was a ½” interference fit between the carb and the upper firewall cross tube. Time to cut! I removed the cross tube and installed the “X” bracing in the back window. This should supply plenty of support. The dry sump was too high also. I had to reposition it about 2 inches lower to keep from hitting the seat. The drivers side valve cover was also an issue because it came within 3/8” of the seat backing. To give the proper clearance for the engine shroud, I moved the seats forward 1 5/8”. The seating is still okay for my height. I did not have to sacrifice seat angle. Since then I have figured out how to make the alternator fit behind the lower portion of the passenger seat.
Within the next two weeks, I plan to get the engine shroud and fuel cell cover completed. At the same time, I hope to find headers that will work for me. Next, I will mount all of the tanks. I have determined where all of them will go; it is just a matter of mounting them. The tanks include the oil tank, coolant surge tank, heat exchanger, breather tank, coolant overflow tank, and remote oil filter. I am planning to take the last week of May off at work and spend 9 days with the car. I should be able to get all of the wires, hoses and lines laid in the car. Shortly after that, I’ll try to start her up!
May 2003
Another month has passed and we get closer and closer to the July goal. I felt like I was running in slow motion against my speedy enemy, the clock. Okay, it wasn’t that bad. Some of the reason I didn’t get as much done was due to my back. I had a problem early in the month that, I dare say, was the worst pain that I have ever felt in my life. Bad enough that I couldn’t walk, crawl, or (this is the worst part) sit in a car. My wife, an angel sent to watch over me, helped me walk and took me to the ER. All is better now. I know, I’m making excuses and getting off the subject. My back feels 100% better.
I did a lot of firewall fabrication this month. Most of it is done. All that is left is the cutting of holes for lines and such to pass through. Naturally that comes after the line installations are complete. I was very aware and particular about the firewall. SCCA GT specifications (which is what I am using as a guideline) call for the firewall to prohibit fluids, flame, and debris from passing through. All of these concern me. Two reasons: Me, and more importantly, my passenger. In most cars, the engine sets forward of the firewall and is some distance from it. If there are any issues, they arise from the transmission. In my case, the front of the engine sets between the seats. If for some reason the engine throws a belt or explodes a dampener (unlikely, but consider the possibility on the drag strip), the fire wall is the only thing that will offer protection from the flying shrapnel. From some simple math, I found that the pieces of dampener could be traveling at 133 mph. So, what did I do? The plates must be easily removed, so welding in a wall would not work. Instead I fabricated a multi-angle panel for each side that had several overlapping areas. The main shield is 4 ply 0.040 aluminum. The front is 3 ply and the back is 2 ply. The nice part is that I can add as many sheets as I want. I decided to stop there for now, but I am considering Kevlar webbing. Suggestions are welcome, but either way I am considering having potential passengers sign a waver.
The systems were also a primary focus this month. I had to design, order parts, and fabricate several systems including the oil, coolant, electrical, fuel, brake line, clutch line, and gauge/sensor systems. I can’t say that I got any of them done, but I made substantial progress on all of them. I started by figuring out the basic flow of the systems and how they would interact. To be fair, I have been thinking about this in the back of my mind for the last 3 months, so I had a good idea where I wanted to start. I decided to make a list of all of the tanks and other “hard mounted” items that would need to be fixed. The location of these items is critical to the flow and routing of lines. We wouldn’t want any lines to get too hot! Lots of items had to be designed for and ordered including the dry sump oil reservoir, breather, heat exchanger (coolant and oil), fuel pressure regulator, remote filter, surge tank, overflow tank, fuel filter, MSD box, coil, and the list goes on. I bet you didn’t know about the heat exchanger. Okay, I didn’t. As an alternative to air cooling the oil system, a heat exchange box for the coolant and oil systems used in many SCCA GT cars. This method is a far better way of reducing oil temperature due to heat transfer efficiencies, and can be located anywhere in the car! Another benefit is that while it cools the oil after the car hits steady state temperature, it also brings the oil temperature up more quickly when it is cold. Basically, both systems are tied together to stabilize both.
I spent nearly 6 hours just planning and ordering parts for the oil and fuel lines and fittings. I made a drawing of every tank, fitting and hose in both systems, and then looked up all of the part numbers. Next, I went out to the car (yes, I did all that from memory on the first pass….hard to believe even for me) and went over each hose and fitting to make sure that they pointed in the right direction and that the hose length was correct as routed through the correct tubes. Later that afternoon, I ordered the stuff. I choose Areoquip for all of my lines, and if you have ever priced fittings, this is something you only want to order once. But, you get what you pay for. Stainless steel braded hoses with AN JIC fittings set at 37 degrees. They have O-ring seals to ensure there is no leakage. No Challenger here.
Coolant tubes went pretty easily. I don’t have them welded up yet, but that’s because I am waiting for the ends to get beaded. I friend of mine offered to bead them for me. I just want to say, what a guy! Finding a beader is tough. Maybe one of you know someone with one, but I couldn’t find one. Heck, even AFCO didn’t do it in house! For long time readers, I’ll give you a hint, it was the same person who gave me the SD4 blueprints. All I can say is that he is an outstanding gentleman (and a darn good engineer too). Here is a trick he told me about that anyone can use when fabricating hard coolant lines. Get some hose clamps and punch holes in them. Order 90 degree aluminum tubes and straight tubes as needed for your project. Cut and fit the coolant tubes together as you want them to fit and hold them together with the hose clamp. The clamp holds them together and the holes allow them to be tack welded in place. Next, remove the clamp and weld the remaining seem. Great idea! It sure made my life easier.
I found a fabricator up in Chicago that does some nice custom headers. I was not able to find any that would fit (not even block huggers!) so I had to resort to custom fabrication. The good part is that it will look great, be routed away form any potential problems, and be exactly the right diameter and length of the tubes used on the dyno for maximum power. Even though it is about 3 times as expensive (never mind trailering to Chicago) it is the right way to do the job. One of the reasons I had trouble is because they are Pontiac 867, 23 degree, 7 bolt heads. Not real common. But hey, can anyone say 645 horse power. I knew you could. I’ll be taking the car up on Sunday, June 8th and I’ll pick it up a week later. As a bonus, he’s a Fiero guy! I guess I’m just lucky.
With any luck, I’ll fire her up before the next monthly update!
June / July 2003 Report
Let me start out by saying that it seems like forever since I have written a report. So much has happened in the last 2 months that it will be difficult to cover everything. Naturally, I’ll try : ) The reason for the delay is simple, procrastination. At the end of June, I was within days of starting the car and decided to wait until it was running to write a report. As it turned out, I didn’t have time due to the CFOG-I 20th anniversary event that I had built my time line around. After that, I took a break. Up to that point I had been working on, planning for, or thinking about the car every waking moment for 7 ½ months. So let’s roll back the clock to early June….
June was a pretty busy month. With only 6 weeks before the big event, I was starting to panic. The guy in Chicago who agreed to do my exhaust, continued to have problems with his TIG welder and continued to delay fabrication. I didn’t have the coolant tubes welded together yet either. Heck, I didn’t even know of a shop near by who would want such a job. Welding aluminum tube is a difficult task. I also was still finishing the installation of all of the tanks and system lines.
I’ll start with the exhaust. After two separate one week delays, Brett (custom exhaust fabricator) committed to a Sunday drop off date of June 12th, Father’s Day. The plan was to trailer the car to Chicago and leave it with him for a week to fabricate the exhaust. I would then pick it up 6 days later on Saturday in order to gain as much fabrication time at home as possible. I arranged to leave the trailer up there to save fuel on the way back. When I got there, we unloaded the car and pushed it in. Unfortunately, I had a dragging PS rear rotor at the time that made it really tough to push. I was so bad in fact that it took me nearly 4 hours to load her up! Anyway, we discussed the layout and the direction the 1 ¾” primaries and 3 ½” collectors would be located. We decided that the pipes would need to go on the high side of the heads and through the triangle opening in the removable rear shock tower support. Kind’a tight. Each of the Borla XR-1 mufflers would need to be angled at about 45 degrees back and to the side to fit. All of the connections would be slip-fit and I told him I wanted the entire system ceramic coated. Since he and I had been planning for a while, he already had the materials in house to perform the task. I told him again that I must pick the car up on Saturday. After our discussion, he showed me some of his “toys”. He and his group make a Lola T70 kit car that they hope to sell to the public in the near future. This car took 1st place at Carlyle just 3 weeks before. He also showed me a 67 Mustang fastback road race car running a 351 with over 600hp! They had built the car from the frame up and claimed that it had a perfect 50/50 weight distribution both longitudinally and transversely. Next he showed me a Porsche 914 he had built with a SBC. He was selling it for a new project. Last he showed me his Fiero that he was putting a 3800SC in. This is one of the reasons I agreed to let him do my car. Not only was he a kit car builder, but he was also a Fiero fan!
Brett worked on the exhaust all week and when I came to pick it up on Saturday, he had not gotten the tubes TIGed together yet. Only the tack welding had been done. After I examined the construction, we disassembled it so he could TIG it together that coming Monday. As I had guessed, several things needed to be changed to get the headers to fit. Along with other items, I would need to move the oil filter location away from one of the primaries. Separate from the exhaust issues, it was also pointed out to me that the front brake duct outlet would need to be relocated to help cool both sides of the rotor more efficiently. This could be done by aiming the outlet near the hub and blocking off the open holes through the rotor mounts. This would in turn force the air through the 48 vanes of the rotors and cool both sides. After the information exchange I connected the trailer and we loaded the car. Brett would send the headers to LOKO in a suburb of Chicago to get ceramic coated and then they would be shipped directly to me. It was estimated that it would take a week. Naturally I was concerned. At the time I was planning to take the first week of July off as a last ditch effort to get the car ready for the CFOG-I 20th event. One week meant that I would get the exhaust on Thursday of that week with only 3 days to spare before the planned startup date. Luckily they arrived on Wednesday and by the end of Thursday, they were installed. As a side note, they were very difficult to install. The slip-fit was tight and the tubes seemed to move during the final TIG welding. I will correct this problem the next time I take it apart otherwise it will be a chronic problem for years to come.
During the wait time for the exhaust, I was fabricating several other systems including the coolant lines. I purchased some aluminum tubing from HRP. I purchased several 90 degree bends and straight tube sections in both 1 ½” and 1 ¾” sizes. I cut the bends to the proper angle and hose clamped several tubes together to form the correct shape. Using a tip from John Callies, I drilled holes in the clamps before use so that the aluminum could be tack welded together. That way the clamps could be removed to allow for a full TIG weld around the seam. After figuring out what tubes needed to be made, I disassembled all of the smaller pieces and packaged them to be shipped to John. He had offered to bead the tube ends that would have tubing clamped to them. Since beading machines are hard to find, I took him up on his offer. One week later, they arrived on my door step completed. Thank you, John! Next I took them to a local welding shop that specialized in welding pressure vessels. They did a great job. After that, the installation was simple. Since the tubes were the correct shape, all I had to do was connect them to the hoses and components, and clamp them. This final install of the tubes also took place during my time off the first week of July.
As part of the electrical hook up, I fabricated the dash board. The goal was simple; make a dash that was easily removable and easy to read while putting the controls at a minimal reach distance. Setting up the dash was far more difficult than it appeared. I decided that I would need to put the seat and steering wheel in place to determine the driver’s view. From there I positioned myself in a comfortable driving position and traced around the blind spots caused by my hand and steering wheel location on the blank dash with a pen. Now I knew where NOT to locate the gages. I set up the dash so that the switches and knobs were close to the steering wheel but out of view during normal operation. Switches can be operated by feel. The gages were located so that the most important ones were viewed inside the steering wheel, while the less critical ones were outside the wheel view. After determining the instrument location, I cut the panel and test fit the knobs and gages. Once I had everything where I wanted it, I took it all apart and painted it flat black so that glare would be reduced from the windshield. The instrument side of the dash was painted blue to match the tube frame.
After, all of the electrical was complete, I decided to install the battery and check to make sure that everything was working properly. My first try was unsuccessful. In my infinite wisdom, I had forgotten to plug in the dash. Take two. I turned on the ignition switch, nothing. This time I forgot to turn on the master power switch. Take three. Ignition, GO; fans, GO; fuel pump, GO; start…… She turned over! I was bouncing off the walls! I thought for sure that with all of the wires running around everywhere, I would have missed something. Fortunately I did not. Or at least that’s what I thought. Later I would find out that I had no ground hooked up to my water temperature sensors. A simple fix. Now that I knew it would turn over, I focused on getting the fluids to the engine. The plan was to have a couple of friends come over on Sunday July 6 to help me put in the fluids and start her up for the first time.
I finished all of the systems just in time for that Sunday in July. Mark and Dana showed up bright and early at 8:00 am. We started by filling the clutch fluid and bleeding it off. As we went along, several small leaks were found mostly due to fittings that I had tightened but not enough or fittings that I had not tightened at all due to some other fabrication project in that area. Next, we filled and attempted to bleed the rear brake master and lines. We found a leak in the banjo nut fittings on both sides where it connect to the caliper. I suspected that we might have a problem here. Due to suspension clearance problems I had to install a banjo bolt and nut to make a 90 degree angle out of the caliper. To do this it was necessary to drill and re-tap the caliper hole. I used a neat trick that may help others do a similar job in the future.
I took the caliper off and put it in the bench vice so that the hole to be drilled and tapped was facing downward. Next, I loosened the bleed screw and attached about 15 psi of compressed air. This created a positive pressure inside the brake chamber eliminating the possibility of shavings getting in. Unfortunately my plan did not completely work. As I tapped the new hole diameter, it was slightly crooked. The leak was being caused by the inability for the copper ring of the banjo nut to compress uniformly around the hole and seal the rim of the caliper. To correct the problem, each caliper was removed from the car and placed in the vice again. With the compressed air hooked up, the caliper hole face was hand filed flat. Every 4 or 5 file strokes, we put in a new copper washer and compressed it with the banjo nut. The washer was then removed and checked for even compression all the way around. Once the rear brake system was assembled bled off, the front system was a piece of cake.
Next the oil and coolant was added to the system. This was done simultaneously. Mark and Dana added a mix of water, water wetter, and coolant to the radiator. Once it was full, they moved to the back of the car to the surge tank fill tube. Interestingly enough, as completely different as this car is from the stock Fiero, the coolant system is basically the same. There are two fill points and the motor must be running to top it off correctly. While Mark was working on filling the surge tank, Dana and I were filling the oil. We started by adding 10 quarts to the oil reserve tank. With a dry sump system it is necessary to prime the system while filling. Dana poured oil into the tank while I was under the car with a drill spinning the dry sump motor. The final count, 15 quarts. She was thirsty. Last but not least, the fuel. As I have mentioned before, this 645hp beast drinks normal 93 octane pump gas. Wow. It sure seems like a lot of horses for 93 octane.
Now, the part that I have been waiting for, for over 2 years. We would try to start her up. With all fingers crossed and all systems checked, I went through the sequence. Ignition, GO; fans, GO; fuel pump, GO… “wait, wait, wait”, Dana said, “we have a fuel leak!” I shut off the pump and turned off the whole car. After finding the leak to be a scored carburetor crush ring, we tried the fuel system again. This time, no leaks.
I completed the starting sequence again. “Okay, START!”, I said. Rurrrrrr… Rurrrrr, Voorrrummmm! And with that she was running! We all were checking the fluids and watching for problems as we tried to be serious, but the smiles were impossible to hold back. Once the nervous factor wore off, there was a sigh of relief and we shut it off to check all the systems again. Everything looked fine with the exception of the fuel pressure. It was bouncing around +/- 8 psi. Okay to idol, but to dangerous to run under race conditions. To get out of the fumes, we pushed it outside and started it up again. I was later told that the neighbors heard it over a ¼ mile a way just at 1600 rpm. I want to send a BIG thank you to Dana and Mark. I couldn’t have done it without your help!
With the car running, there was light at the end of the tunnel. All I had to do was finish some odds and ends to make it drivable, and of course, fix the fuel pressure problem. After several conversations, I decided that I had a bad fuel pressure regulator. I ruled out the possibility of an incorrect fuel pump or pump problem since I had worked with Fuel Safe to design the tank. As it turned out I was wrong. With only one week remaining, timing was critical to make the Waterford event on July 17. I was able to order the fuel pressure regulator on Monday, July 14 and it arrived on the 15th. I had to load the car that evening. After installing the new pressure regulator, I found I had the same problem. I immediately called Fuel Safe to confirm the pump specification. There was a miscommunication and a high pressure 100 psi, fuel injected pump was installed. No wonder I couldn’t get the regulator to bring it down! Anyway, that killed any hope of running at Waterford, the goal of my project for the last 6 months. I guess that’s racing.
But not all was lost. The Saturday before, 6 days after the first start up, I decided to take her for a test drive down the street to make sure that there were no other issues. After a full check I primed the oil system. I climbed in and strapped myself tight. I fired her up and slowly backed out. Well, at least reverse worked. Once on the street (I live on a county highway 7 miles from the nearest gas station. I put her into first and gently gave it some gas. Surprisingly, it was easy to start rolling. The shifter seemed slightly misadjusted, so no speed shifting would be done today. I crawled along at about 30 or 40 mph (I guess) in 3rd trying not to make too much noise. Right! I got on it and off of it several times to break in the clutch as recommend during my short 6 mile drive. At one point, I decided to get on it to find out what 645hp really felt like. I started in 2nd at about 2500 rpm. I choose 2nd because it only goes to 105 mph before redline (7500 rpm). This would keep me relatively slow. I pressed the throttle from ¼ to ¾ in about a 1.5 second time. The nose came up about 5 inches and the back squatted as it fought for traction! This thing took off so fast that I swear the sides of the road blurred. I had to pull myself up to the steering wheel. The back end wiggled as it continued to fight for traction all the way to 6000 rpm where I let off. Holy cow! I wasn’t even pushing hard or in the peak horsepower band! After that simple demonstration, there is no question in my mind that this car will never run anything worse than an 11 flat in the ¼ mile. A very conservative number indeed.
Even with the fuel pump problem I was still looking forward to going to the 20th anniversary show in Detroit. I had met many people on Pennock’s Fiero Forum (internet group) that I wanted to see in person. In the weeks prior to the Detroit show, I had been in communication with George Ryan frequently. Actually one night while talking to him on the phone in the shop, I asked him “you want to hear something cool?”. He asked what it was, to which I replied, “It’s running!” I walked over and fired her up. Even though he was in Oklahoma at the time, I think I could see him smile. Things like that had been happening to me for the last 3 or 4 months on the internet with this PFF group. What a great bunch. Now I would finally get to meet many of them.
I met up with the convoy (caravan) on I55 just north of St. Louis. I had already spoken to Chuck Hodges and George on the phone, but I will never forget meeting Blake. I introduced myself and Blake gave me his name. I said “Blake as in, Blakeinspace” (his PFF name). He said yes. I thought that was pretty cool. Blake asked me what was in the trailer. I told him it was open and to go take a look. He came back and said “Oh, your THAT Paul Hosler.” I couldn’t help but smile. The trip to Detroit was a blast. My wife and I had a great time talking with everyone on the 2 way short range radios. We got there late on the Wednesday (7/16/03). Thursday was the big track day at Waterford. I did start the car up twice so everyone could hear it run, but that was it. The first time I started it, and the second time I let Eric (Boomtastic) start it up. Eric is building a Prostreet Fiero with the engine in the front. A very cool car. We had been talking and I thought it would be cool to see the look on his face sitting in the drivers seat starting up the 600+ hp beast. I wasn’t disappointed. I hope he enjoyed it too. Later I got a chance to ride in the pace car 4 different times. Three times was in Ron’s Indy Pace Car (with working lights!), and the last time was in George Ryan’s Cadero race car with Eric at the wheel. Lots of fun. Later that evening Blake and I went cruising in his Formula and met two cool couples from Alberta and Adam (Squoch). I finally got to meet squoch.
The next day I should have gone to the drag strip, but without my car running, I decided to catch up on the local activities. I spent most of the day getting rested from the trip and Waterford.
By the time Saturday rolled around, I was ready for the show. I had asked CFOG-I if I could have two spots. I told them that if I could, I would remove the body so that everyone could see the inner workings of the car. The plan worked out well. I also started it up. I still had some fuel problems, but with Keith and Eric helping me, I wasn’t too worried. Keith has been racing his “Orange Pumpkin” for as long as I have been in the Fiero community. Actually, it was a treat for me to finally meet him after reading so many of his articles in the national news letter. When we fired it up, it drew a crowd quick! I was surprised. I thought that maybe 8 or 10 might come over who were close, but it turned out to be about 40! I was flattered. There were several prototype Fieros there including the famous 1990 as well as both the first and last Fiero made. They also rolled out the #55 GM Goodwrench car. Wow! This is the first time I had seen a real one. I shouldn’t have, but I did. I sat in it while no one was looking. I was amazed to find that the seat, tube chassis, steering wheel, pedal and center armrest position were EXACTLY THE SAME. I had no idea that I had copied the feel of the real car that closely. Later that evening, I got a chance to meet “Hulki”, the Father of the Fiero. When I first saw him, I wasn’t prepared. I wanted him to sign my dash because I actually made the passenger side removable just so he could sign it! After I told him that, I ran to get it. Fortunately I found him again in the parking lot and he signed it. Joy! That night my wife and went to the Banquet.
I had brought along a copy of two 20’ long engine blueprints that John Callies had given me. John had told me that the prints were doing no good in his attic and he wanted me to show them to other Fiero enthusiast so that everyone could enjoy them. On Friday I hung them up on the wall for all to see. One of them was of the Iron Block SD4 used in the IMSA GTU cars and the other was the Aluminum Block SD4 used only in the GTP-L Spice Huffaker car. I was very excited to show the copies (too much handling on the originals would destroy them). After I took them down, I heard that there was going to be an auction for charity during the banquet. I decided to donate them to the auction. I’m really glad they went to a good cause. For me that was the best part of the banquet.
After the show and the LONG drive home, I started working on the fuel system redesign. After 3 weeks, many phone calls, and consultation from both John Callies and Paul VanDerLey, I think I finally have it figured out.
Speaking of Paul VanDerLey, he and his wife Kay, got a chance to stop by for a visit on July 30th. I was impressed that he wanted to see the car. After all, there isn’t much he hasn’t seen or done with a race car. We talked for about an hour and a half while my wife Sharon and Kay walked in the garden and discussed the sights to see in St. Louis. Paul gave me some insight into ways of making the car better. Many of these were things that they had learned during their development in the 80’s. Paul said that the car looked “very familiar”. Before he left, I got a group picture of the four of us in front of the car and he signed my dash right beside Hulki. My goal is to have all 7 original race team members sign my dash eventually. I know where 5 of them are right now, so I think I can pull it off.
Again, a very busy two months. I plan to have the fuel system finished within the next 2 weeks and then I will be able to hit some local events. That will start a new chapter in the history of this car; the racing years.
August / September 2003 Report
Amazingly two months has already passed since the last report! As in the June / July time frame so much has happened, it is hard to get it all in. I will summarize the best I can. With the fabrication of the project winding down (and spending of the money… thank you,) my focus turns towards the testing and tuning of the vehicle. My intent is to turn this determined two-year effort into a fruitful racing experience while allowing (no…. encouraging) others to enjoy the Fiero’s racing history and participate with me. Seems like a lofty goal, but I think it is already happening to a mild degree. Much more than I hoped for at this stage of the project. As for the car, many notable developments took place.
We left off with the fuel system redesign. As many may recall, I had the wrong fuel pump installed. The pump was intended for a fuel-injected car. I called several people for suggestions on the redesign, but came to the conclusion that simple is best. I decided to install a Mallory Comp 250 18 psi pump with a bypass. This would allow a constant 14-psi to reach the regulator at up to 250 gph. My Holley 4150 should only need about 160 gph. After that, the regulator steps it back to 6.5 psi. I used Areoquip AN-10 hose from the in-tank pickup to the fuel filter. The remainder of the system uses an AN-8 hose. Because I already had a fuel filter mounted on the shock tower crossover, I decided to use it in the system, thus giving me a filter before and after the pump. This will ensure that no debris will reach either the pump or the carburetor. It also made sense to install an in-dash fuel pressure gauge. This way I could keep an eye on the pressure to help eliminate lean / rich issues. While putting in the gauges, I decided to install a voltmeter for kicks. I wanted to make sure that the alternator was charging the battery.
I made several other improvements while the car was waiting for the correct fuel setup. I added some inverse bump stops. INVERSE!? you say? Actually, their purpose is to keep the rear suspension from traveling too low. I learned that when the car is on the lift and the suspension is hanging, the CV boot rests on the chassis. If the car were to become air-borne (parish the thought) the CV boot would be spinning on the chassis. This is not a desirable condition at all. I put in some adjustable bump stops that faced upward against the rear lower A-arm. I also decided to move the battery disconnect from the center counsel to the DS side-view mirror position. This allows easy shutdown from both the drivers’ position and outside the car. I had a chance to install a 10 lb. Fire Bottle system to contain any cabin fires. It protects both the driver and passenger. You just can’t be too safe in a beast like this one. Speaking of safe, I used an isolator when I installed the in-dash fuel pressure gauge. If you are planning to install a fuel pressure gauge, I strongly recommend one. This device keeps all of the fuel on the engine side and uses coolant to send the pressure to the gauge thus eliminating the potential for fuel to leak inside the cabin.
As always, I had a time issue with the car. My goal was to have the car running at least one week before the September 14th Gateway Fiero cookout at our house. I wanted to offer a ride to each of the two gentlemen who helped me get the car started for the first time. I had sent the starter out because it was missing (bad solenoid?). I found out that it was likely from a slight misalignment between the tranny and the engine. Simply the weight of the tranny hanging on the engine during assembly was enough to throw it off. On September 3, the starter arrived. Since I had adjusted the shifter linkages and all of the systems were ready, the rush to install the starter that evening was on! By 6:30 I had the starter in and the fuel pressure tuned out. All 4 gears slipped into position easily.
Now the car was all together and working properly, I decided to finally take it for a spin. I went down the road and back twice (total of 8 miles). WOW! This thing was REALLY fast! It was really easy to start at about 3000 rpm in 3rd, blast up to 6000 and then back down again all within about ¼ mile. Basically that is 60 mph to 125 mph and back comfortably.
As I mentioned I wanted the car to be ready for the Gateway cookout. We had a great time! I want to thank everyone that helped out. As promised, I gave Mark a Dana a ride. They both agreed that it was very quick. I’m leaving out some details, but that’s a story that they need to tell. I wouldn’t want to take away any of their fun.
On September 21, I participated in my first (for the car at least) autocross. It had been two years since I had driven competitively and never in a car so powerful. I was able to get a total of 9 runs. Four of the runs were on my own, and the other 5 were with instruction from a friend of mine, SCCA instructor, Matt Granger. Matt was very helpful in getting me to make the most of the car on this course. As it turned out, I placed first in E-Modified class. However at this event, there were only 2 other cars in my class. The biggest gains were from shifting my brake bias from rear to front. When braking, the car had a tendency to over steer. By shifting more brake to the front, I was able to balance the car at the limit. I also had problems (oh what at great problem to have!) controlling the horsepower.
I short shifted to 2nd in the first 100 ft and stayed in that gear the remainder of the time. I still had problems. If I applied more than ½ throttle at 3000 rpm, the rear wheels would spin. If I was in a turn at the time, I came around 180 degrees. Fellow PFFers can attest to this and even caught it on video (busted!). Okay, I was having way too much fun. I was able to meet FieroRinke and Darth Vader from the post. Dana and Earl also showed up. Thank you for the help everyone! If I missed someone, please forgive me. My mind was focused on driving that day.
So far, I am extremely pleased with the performance of the car. But, my interests now turn toward more important topics; my expectant wife. We are due in about 1 week! If all goes well, I will try to attend the October 26th Autocross, but no promises will be made. After that, I will disassemble the entire car down to the chassis this winter to paint the frame and do a complete rebuild (not the motor or tranny) in the spring. At that point I will be ready to think about paint.
October / November 2003 Report
Another two months gone. Wow how time flies! October and November proved to be exciting. Now that the car is drivable and track worthy, the fine-tuning can begin. Part of the fine-tuning to be done is in the suspension and fabrication; the other is in the driver. Getting acquainted with the car was half the battle.
The end of September was the first time I had raced (autocrossed) the car. In fact it was the first time that I had done any serious turns at all in this vehicle. As you may recall, I did well, but needed to do some fine-tuning. The gear shifter needed to be adjusted and the sway bar size dramatically increased. Also, my speed shifting was poor due to my familiarity with the Porsche 930 tranny. My goal was to set the car up for the October 26th (and last of the year) autocross. As I placed orders for equipment went out my wife and I began the final stages of an event that we had waited nearly 9 months for, our first baby!
On October 7th at 9:39 am, my wife and I had a beautiful little girl weighing 6lb 14 oz (my wife was happy J) and very healthy! Both mom and baby are doing just great. Dad (me) is still trying to get his bearings. The fact that all went well and with no complications what so ever makes us truly thankful. I have never felt so lucky. As part of the plan, one week after our baby girl was born (Calista Evelyn) my in-laws would visit and stay for a week (to help support while I was at work) and then my parents would come for a week as support. Total support time: 3 weeks.
Fortunately during this time, I was able to prep the car. I ordered a Speedway Engineering front and rear sway bar with arms. The front and rear bars are both 1” in diameter, but the wall thickness on the front bar is slightly less. They are 0.095 and 0.120 wall thickness respectively. This will help compensate for the 10% weight difference from front to rear. There was a lot more fabrication to this than I expected. First I had to turn new bushings (out of Delrin) on my lathe.
Next I had to bend the 1” thick aluminum arms and cut them to the proper length. Last, I had to drill multiple holes to allow for adjustment of the rod ends. Sound easy, but with the time constraint of work, it took a week. I also shortened the shifter and angled it forward. I decided that in the process, I would use a shift lever and knob from a junkyard Fiero. Once it was complete, the car definitely started to feel more like a real live (on steroids) Fiero.
The last St. Louis Autocross this year was held on October 26th. I was fortunate enough that my entire family was able to attend. My wife, Calista, Mom and Dad were all able to attend.
While getting the beast into it’s starting grid position, I found that I was placed between two awesome cars; a 2003 Viper and a yellow Z06. I had to back the car into place, so I was nervous to say the least with the limited visibility out the back. Once in my spot I let the engine idle until it reached 180F. I looked over at the guy in the Viper and said (joking with him) “That thing got a Hemi!?” He and I laughed.
The results of the autocross were not that spectacular, but I did win my class (one car entered, me) and finished higher overall than the last event. Through the help of a friend, I met a gentleman by the name of Bud Scott. (BTW... The gentleman in the picture is my Dad, not Bud Scott. )
He told me about an event on November 15th at Gateway International Raceway that would give me an opportunity to run my car on the 1.6-mile road circuit, AT SPEED! I was excited. A few days later, I signed up for the event. I also told a friend of mine about it and he signed up too. Jim has a Superformance Cobra with a 460ci motor. NICE. Needless to say, neither one of us wanted to tear up our cars, so we were happy that this even incorporated “gentlemen’s rules”. No passing except in certain areas and drivers were encouraged NOT to take lap times as this promotes racing.
The big day arrived and my best friend and I set out for GIR. The weather was questionable, but promising; 20% chance of light rain, and 46 degrees. After a tech inspection and a drivers meeting, we were allowed out onto the track for a follow-the-leader style introduction. There were a total of 7 sessions for 20 minutes each. The first session was simply to get drivers familiar with the track and to allow more time for some damp spots to dry out. During this session, I noticed that the car was darting from side to side with no steering input.
Figuring that it was alignment related, I decided to toe the front inward ¼ turn on the tie rod. Also noticed that the idle was WAY too high (3000 rpm) I spent the entire time at idle speed going around the track and still had to use the brake to keep from getting too close to people. I adjusted this too for the next session. During the second session, I still had the darting problem and a witness to prove it. One of the instructors was riding with me. He could barely fit in the car. I suggested talking with Steve, one of the road race guys. By this time I had a good guess as to what the issue was. I had set the caster too close to zero. I needed much more. Steve agreed. I sat out the 3rd session to make an emergency alignment change. Boy it was ugly! I hadn’t brought my alignment tools, so I was doing it by eyeball. I moved the upper “A” arm back and the lower one forward to induce some camber.
At lunch they allowed drivers to take “non participant” riders around at a slow follow-the-leader rate. This would be the chance to test the alignment. I took my friend Rich along and we decided that it was much better, but still needed adjustment. So at the break, I made another adjustment in the same direction.
The 4th session proved drivable! I decided to turn on the in-car cam. Although still misaligned, the car performed well and felt very solid. Feeling some of the old joy of kart racing coming back, I pushed a little. Not too much. The track is still 46 degrees and with loose asphalt (recent patching) in the bank, and damp places, it is still a very dangerous place. I estimated my speed on the straight to be about 125mph. After the session, I decided to that I would push harder for the next 20 minutes. In the mean time, Jim was also getting good track experience and getting faster by the minute. We had planned to ride with each other later in the day. The bad part is that we would each have to give up a session of driving to do so because we were in the same class.
During session 5 I was pushing just a little too hard. Although my driving was better, I got going too fast down the main straight to make the first turn and had to bail onto the oval. I think I got up to about 140, but let off too late. No problems, but the track officials didn’t like it. (I was doing what I was told! If we went into 1 too hot, we were suppose to bail onto the oval.) The next problem I had was just after passing Jim. (Sorry, Jim L) I passed Jim on the main straight after he waved me by and I proceeded into 1 with caution because I had over run that turn just 2 laps before. Still I was too hot into 2 and as I let out on the clutch (down shifting) I lost the back end. A few swerves later I found myself in the grass. Oops. Instead of trying to drive back on, I waited for the safety truck. I felt that there was no point in causing an accident. Once they arrived, they asked me if I could drive out. I said I would give it a shot. Believe it or not, my car drove out of the wet grass on slicks like it had 4 wheel drive! No problem! I proceeded to the pits to check on the mechanical of the car fearing that I had broken something. It was a good thing I had removed the lower front air dam just after the 4th session. If I hadn’t it would have been killed for sure. During my inspection I found that the DS axle was loose. 6 of the 8 bolts had backed out about ¼” and several on the other side were also loose. Not good. I tightened them down and made a note to safety wire them this winter.
The 6th session was fantastic. I got the opportunity to ride with Jim in his Superformance Cobra. This car has the side exhaust, spinners, wood steering wheel, and everything else you could want to make the perfect cruising machine. We ran the full 20 minutes and were consistently hitting 110mph on the main straight. It really felt narrow inside. With the top down, it was better than any convertible I had ever ridden in. I never was a Cobra fan until I rode in this car. Now I understand.
Session 7. The last one. Jim managed to squeeze into the passenger seat. I drove conservatively, but pushed were I felt confident. After the session, I noticed that the front tires were worn (too much camber) on the inside 60%. Wow, what would it have handled like if the alignment were even close to correct.
The plan is to fix the alignment, and a page of other issues I have made. Then I plan to disassemble the car so I can paint the chassis. After the car has been re-assembled with the changes, I will consider paint. I plan on some track days in the spring. By next year’s annual show in Topeka (Wheatstock), I will be ready to Autocross, Drag race, participate at the Track Day, and show the car too.
I intend for this to be my last monthly (bi-monthly) update. I have really enjoyed sharing this experience with you and hope that you have enjoyed it too. Feel free to e-mail me with questions, comments, or (if you dare) advice. My door is always open.
December 2003
The plan now is to dissassemble the entire card down to the chassis. I plan to paint the chassis, clean it up, have the body fixed and painted, and many other minor changes. This picture shows some of the items that I want the fiberglass shop to fix before painting.
Again, more picture of the body. Notice I am playing with the idea of using a scoop. : )
Scoop : )
This picture shows the car without the body from above.
INDEX:
Page 1 = Overview, Vehicle Summary, History
Page 2 = 2001 - The Dream
Page 3 = 2002 - Getting Going
Page 4 = 2003 - It's ALIVE!
Page 5 = 2004 - Making Improvements
Page 6 = 2005 - Here's to a better year...
Page 7 = 2006 - The Story Continues...
Page 8 = 2007 - Wider is Better ; )
Page 9 = 2008 - Wider is Better - TAKE TWO ; )
Page 10 = 2009 - All Systems GO!
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE TO SEE THE PROGRESS IN 2004 ----->
