Topic: Team-ing with bad Ideas, Martian Invasion Beetle
Well, here ya' go.
We didn't get the martian "cobra head" mounted on the roof.
Also missed the sound effects of the death ray.
~ but we did get the enviro-suits and some color-appropriate paint.
...Phil was concerned confused and afraid to ask what the theme was - somehow he missed the alien in the passenger seat.
Zero laps! (and a shake of the head)
Mechanically, we got a car together, but as it's kinda hard to thrash on a car outside in the rain in Sactown in the winter, no matter how much gear you pile on...
It was "just" together. untried, untested and untrue.
What could possibly go wring?
I got drivers from San Diego Autocross club - SDAD, to come up, make an attempt at subverting them from driving FTD sports racers, Lotus Sevens and Motocross to something more meaningful, Like a Turbo-aircooled bug. Sum total of racing experience of all drivers? probably close to 100 years. yeah, they are old farts. woohoo!
Thrashed all week b4 the event. just like most everyone else. Got the new guys involved/invested in the car by thrashing on things like bleeding the brakes, sealing holes in the firewall and running some last-minute electrical - on Friday at the track.
Painted the theme late Friday...
Then got on track. Saturday.
Under yellow for 6 minutes, got to finally open it up enough to see the boost numbers. Wow. With the 255/60-15's on the back, tached out from Just Before Riverside all the way down the Dragstrip. At the end was looking at boost. Crap. 12psi. a bit of ping on sudden throttle. Mixture looks good though (Innovate LM-1 on-board)
Work with it and do a retard and rejet on the 1st driver change - maybe @ 45 minutes.
Green flag.
Mid lap one, get to romp on it with the red/white RX-7. he doesn't get smaller in the windsheild! Damn and wow!
Traffic and weird flagging in the sweeper.
Tached out again on the front straight.
T-boned in Turn 2-3 "The offramp" - the usual dingbat doing a "Hero" move up the inside on the first lap - I had thought I was far enough back in the pack to avoid that...
Demolished a tire.
Pits:
Organize "the guys" to find an ANYthing tire in size enormous, knowing that I can't afford to drop diameter (being Tached out down the entire dragstrip)
Some hits, but the tire guys don't want to stretch something too small onto the 8" rim.
~thanks everyone that offered tires!~
Give up and go for the spare Star-Specs for the fronts.
205/50-15. Tiny in comparison to the T/A's!
Re-jet, Retard and get the next driver installed... about 1:30 into the day
Track version two:
Newbie driver, Lotus Seven driver. looks good! Sounds good! Turns a 2:46 on lap 5 of 7
oops, yeah, that was seven...
smoke everywhere, oil everywhere. 1 qt in the blow-by catcher. Head nuts in the rocker cover, not on the studs. Push-rod jammed between the rocker and the side of the hole.
Thrash to 'right' things, get it all back together about 5 minutes after the flag.
Turn it over by hand. swish,swish,swish, choof, clank.
we've a sticking valve and still no compression in one of them cylinders not associated to the clanking valve.
Very distraught throwing in of towel. We've no spares, and the new guys aren't yet Lemons spec mat'l
come to arrangement with the guys (I'll be very poor for a long time)
Walk the pits a bunch, try and get some sleep.
Sunday try and rally enough support in Peoples' curse to crush the guy who hit us and didn't bother to check us out or apologize (until coerced late Sunday)
Walk the pits and watch Spank's team work and work and work.
Admire many others who've got issues and problems - and spares.
end of day, great awards ceremony, thanks Jay and crew!
It was an OK weekend - we'll be back with the bug, it's a fantastic platform - but I NEED to redo the diff, and I gotta get a rev-limiter.
Seeya all at Infineon!
Thanks Larry, Rod and Thomas for attempting to be the first drivers of the Super-Bug!
Thanks, Mike R and Kevin for helping with the pre-Friday thrash
Thanks, too to Amanda (my g/f) for providing support and comistables to a huge group of miscreants located around the Spank camp!
Thanks Wendy and Bruce for a bitchin' generator.
And yeah, huge amounts of warmth to anyone who offered comiseration, condolances, help or whatever to us during the weekend.