26 (edited by TheEngineer 2015-06-03 10:32 AM)

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Part 8 - To the present

My mood following Loudon Annoying 2012 couldn't have been more different from 2011. There was no longer a question of if I was up against an impossible goal, this racing thing was doable. Screw the reputation, turbo Chryslers could have some mild success with the right knowledge. I put the 2.5L on my engine stand and starting tearing it apart to see if it was salvageable. The internals looked amazing, except for the rod bearings on cylinder 1. This engine has many more racing miles to go before it's dead though. New bearings are on their way and this engine is going back in the car to start the 2012 Halloween Hooptie Fest at Loudon in October.

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/580922_638056238312_1314074976_n.jpg?oh=44fd6a856ba73d8fec4ec326e7946ef5&oe=55F90EF4

The 2.2 engine that came in the car originally, and that finished the race in Loudon 2012 is being retired. I don't even have to open the engine to know the crank is beyond repair and the cylinder walls are beaten. It's served well, but it's time to move on. That engine is going to become a bedside table and crankshaft lamp for my bedroom. So that leaves us with the spare 2.2 that I've never used, and the rebuilt 2.5. Maybe we'll grab another 2.5 for luck.

Reviewing Loudon 2012 what really killed us was heat. The front bumper of the Daytona has very few holes to let air through, and the largest ones don't even aim at the radiator. Figuring this was issue #1 to address I spent the past weekend pulling the bumper and adding/enlarging holes to get more air through. This combined with a large below bumper air scoop (coming in part 9) should help us force more air through the radiator and keep the engine cool. Also on the list is ducting the in car heater out the rear so that we can run the heater without cooking the driver.

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/557521_640932718822_1661458837_n.jpg?oh=e7d1062436368543eb971a9a74607f09&oe=56060F07

We also replaced the stock hood latch with pins after seeing the stock latch try and fail at Loudon. They'll need to be modified slightly to account for the fact that we never get the hood back on the same way each time we take it off. Or maybe i'll just replace the hinges with more pins.

That's the story up till now, thanks for reading if you've made it this far. The Daytona's story is far from done, so i'll keep updating as we go along.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Very entertaining writeup. Keep going!

Oh, and I'd put money that the car was running lean before you bought it. The dipstick coming out of its tube is the clue that you're pressurizing the crankcase, and since you know that you burned a piston, that's probably where the crankcase pressure was coming from. Even without the turbo and the ECU going auto-lean, you were in trouble. Not your fault. Well, not totally your fault. smile Experience is a bitch of a teacher, isn't it. That's how I know about the crankcase pressure/dipstick tube thing too. Cheers!

Pat Mulry, TARP Racing #67

Mandatory disclaimer: all opinions expressed are mine alone & not those of 24HOL, its mgmt, sponsors, etc.

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Regarding engine cooling, have you thought about an oil cooler? We followed Judge Phil's advice and snagged one off of a 240 Volvo turbo deisel. I just sliced the original tubing with a utility knife - no muss, no fuss. We put it in using an oil filter sandwich adapter & some high pressure hose (military grade - it took a Sawzall to cut!). We cut the remnants of our grill away and mounted it just in front of our radiator.

As far as junkyard trips or modifications go, the whole process was hella easy. I'm convinced that the oil cooler has played a huge role in the longeviety of our engine. Our oil changes are a little pricier because of the extra volume we added, but I'm completely satisfied with the trade off.

And I'm officially retracting my previous 'for shame!' comment. You and your team show admirable persistence & muleheadedness. Long live crappy Chrysler products!

I'm the doctor who is a wife. Which makes the grease hard to explain to my patients... www.tetanusneon.com.

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Sounds fun.  That's what is neat about Lemons.  Some people love the struggle of getting a truly rotten vehicle to survive against all odds.  We tend to like to drive as much as we can, and watch other people do really cool things.  (we're not so creative in engineering vehicles)  We also don't have one guy that would be even willing to drive at 8/10th, let alone 6/10ths.  So not only would we have quit much sooner than you, we would have blown the car up in about 15 minutes.  This is a good read.  I want more.

TheEngineer wrote:

i think you're confusing stubbornness with dedication.

While maybe we would have had a little more fun with a car that ran reliably all weekend i wouldn't have learned nearly half the things i have by choosing a daytona. I've tossed around the idea of getting something reliable for racecar #2, but where is the fun in that. We're doing something awesome, with engines in the wrong places, maybe 2 engines. When i have the money to do so of course.

LemonAid - Changing kids lives one lap at a time.

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Dr. Wife wrote:

Regarding engine cooling, have you thought about an oil cooler? We followed Judge Phil's advice and snagged one off of a 240 Volvo turbo deisel. I just sliced the original tubing with a utility knife - no muss, no fuss. We put it in using an oil filter sandwich adapter & some high pressure hose (military grade - it took a Sawzall to cut!). We cut the remnants of our grill away and mounted it just in front of our radiator.

As far as junkyard trips or modifications go, the whole process was hella easy. I'm convinced that the oil cooler has played a huge role in the longeviety of our engine. Our oil changes are a little pricier because of the extra volume we added, but I'm completely satisfied with the trade off.

And I'm officially retracting my previous 'for shame!' comment. You and your team show admirable persistence & muleheadedness. Long live crappy Chrysler products!

Oil cooler is absolutely in the plans, just need to find one and get it installed. The 2.5L also gives us the benefit of more oil capacity. It came with balance shafts, but if you remove them the oil pan holes about a quart more oil, up to about 6qts. Between that and an oil cooler i'm hoping we keep oil temps fairly low.


I'll keep the stories coming, just need to find some free time to make more progress on the car.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

31 (edited by coolhand454 2012-07-27 06:45 PM)

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

TeamLemon-aid wrote:

I would've quit about eight times and would've long ago scrapped that car.  Your dedication is disturbing .

FTFY smile

Byte Marks Racing - "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred."
1992 Nissan 240SX DM Edition (Drift Master)

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

coolhand454 wrote:
TeamLemon-aid wrote:

I would've quit about eight times and would've long ago scrapped that car.  Your dedication is disturbing .

FTFY smile

big_smile

Is it bad i find that to be a complement?

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

33 (edited by coolhand454 2012-07-30 12:09 PM)

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

I can relate to you plight. We started with a old 89 Mercury Tracer that sat for five years in a lady's yard. It smoked for 45 minutes until it cleared up. We were going to keep it but a new race opened up in Michigan and we would not had enough time to make the necessary mods to continue the Tracer campaign.

Byte Marks Racing - "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred."
1992 Nissan 240SX DM Edition (Drift Master)

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

The car we originaly bought with great asperation was an 89 Mx6 with a mazda 2.2T. We put 4 engines and 6 turbos on it in 3 races.

Team Lost in the Dark
Winner " I got screwed" and "Jay's dream car"
2012 Gulf region champs

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Part 9 - She lives again

I finally got time to work on the car again. Between a full 40+ hour job, Masters classes, company taught classes, homework for both, trying to keep something that resembles a social life, and this car i've had no time. But I had friday off, so i got to work.

Earlier in the week my rebuild parts showed up. Friday i set to work reassembling the engine i pulled apart earlier this summer. I managed to get the rotating assembly done. Saturday morning my Dad came up to give me a hand, and we managed to get the engine completely together by 1 in the afternoon. For this build i gutted the balance shaft assembly, but left the housing in place to act as oil baffling (which also meant plugging the oil feed to that assembly.) We also remembered to put a clip on the wastegate arm so that it wouldn't fall off again and leave us with no boost like it did in may.

Before putting the engine in we finally took care of an annoyance from the past year and a half. The power steering pump. We removed the belt to the pump way back at the first race since the rack was leaking under pressure. Since then the pump has only been getting in the way when the engines go in and out. So we finally cut the hoses, topped off the rack with a little more fluid to keep it lubricated, and looped them back onto themselves.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/IMG_20121013_135343.jpg

I also found the source of our sloppy shifter from May. The bolt that holds the shift cable bracket onto the transmission loosened up, meaning it wasn't rotating the input shaft 1:1. lots of loctite, and some torque and problem solved. I had dad jump in the car and row through the gears. first, second, third, "it won't go into fourth!" ah crap. What went wrong, it was fine before. "show me first and second again" looks fine. "third and forth?" third fine, 4th won't go in. "Show me fifth?" the assembly moves to the same place 'third' was. "You've been trying to find sixth! and we don't have one of those." "oh right. The shifting is so close in this car i was overshooting and missing gears". "well there's something that's never been said about this car in history."

One of my other drivers showed up around the time we were lowering the engine in place, which is good, because mating the engine to the transmission is my most hated job. sometimes we get it right and it just pops together, other times we fight for an hour. Yesterday was a fight day. 30 minutes of "tilt the engine a little this way", "raise the transmission", "drop the transmission", "we're still uneven" "screw this get a hammer". It finally popped together with a satisfying click and in my excitement i let go of the 6ft board i was using as a lever to go grab bolts and it hit my dad in the head as it fell over. Oops. We'll see if he helps me again after that.

My dad left around 4:15, shortly after we had the engine in and some of the engine bay hooked up. 20 minutes later enough was attached to the engine that it would technically start. No coolant, enough crappy oil to flush the system, incomplete intake system, a battery with barely 12v. But hey, why the hell not. I climbed into the car, handed the fire extinguisher to steve, and turned the key to on.

The fuel pump reluctantly came to life, along with the low fuel light. Well, at least we know we'll have new good fuel in the car for the race. I stepped on the clutch, which went right to the floor. Crap. It's a simple cable actuated clutch, so it's not like we lost fluid. Whatever, we'll sort that out later, just keep it in neutral. Turn the key to start.

The familiar cranking started, and 8 seconds in i was losing hope. around 10 seconds in the engine just sprang into life, sounding happy as could be. I looked at steve in amazement, let it run for 10 seconds or so, then killed it. No sense overheating and breaking it today. We start cleaning up and i start to smell fuel. oh no, not good. The fuel rail is soaked around the area of the relief valve. awesome. Then i notice i forgot to hook up the vacuum line from the pressure regulator. No idea if that will help, but we'll sort it out later. If that isn't the problem i'll find a new valve and cap for the rail.

We're almost ready to race again. There are some things to work out, but the car runs again, and that's the most important thing. Sorry, no more pictures, my hands were too filthy yesterday to handle a camera.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

36 (edited by TheEngineer 2015-06-03 10:34 AM)

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Part 10 - The test drive.

This past weekend my dad once again came up to lend a hand tidying up the car. We finished putting the engine bay together, tweaked a few things, and filled the cooling system. Finally we looked at each other and said "test drive?" I mean whats the worst thing that could happen. So with no front bumper, and the rear still loaded with spare wheels and fuel jugs i climbed in, cranked it over, and cautiously drove out of the driveway.

The car is just as terrifying as ever.

Leaning way up and forward so i could see the nose of the car and avoid running over small children i looped the block once. All seemed fine. So i got back to the house and told dad to jump in the drivers seat, i needed a video. We pulled out of the driveway with me sitting on the cool shirt cooler. As we went round corners i could feel the gap between the top of the door and the roof changing in size dramatically. Lots of clanking and fun turbo noises later we backed it into the driveway again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbnI_3SQkAg

So the car drives. Now we just have some last minute things to button up and somehow we're ready to race again.

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/602561_655053176312_349184666_n.jpg?oh=b9f7c4e4d3b1cd625d3389a2ba2e573b&oe=560C7548

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Wooooo!

Lorin Mueller
Scuderia Asino formerly Team Haulin' Ass - 83 Plymouth Scamp
Team Soccer Moms - 93 Dodge Caravan

38 (edited by TheEngineer 2012-10-29 06:39 AM)

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Part 11 - Halloween Hooptiefest 2012

I honestly didn't think this race would go well. I just didn't have faith in the car. Despite the test drive I had a week prior I was convinced we were going to break early and often. Regardless, Thursday night came and somehow I had the car loaded, packed, and ready to go. 5am Friday morning rolled around and I got up, threw the rest of the stuff in the truck and headed towards NHMS. Dad and I arrived at 7:30 and set to work unpacking.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/20121026_072826.jpg

Friday brought the strange feeling of "what do we do now?" for the second race in a row. The car was running and working. So we decided to mess with it (we are engineers after all). The turbo was setup in the stock configuration, however since the wastegate can wasn't the right one, we were only getting about 4psi with the wastegate fluttering. Turns out Bryan had a manual boost controller out of an evo in his car. Sounds perfect. So we threw it on with enough tubing to run out the hood and into the car via the window. I mean what could go wrong?

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/20121027_093208.jpg

I had Bryan jump in the passenger side and we went for a spin around the pits to dial in the boost. I hit the gas and instantly we spiked to 16psi..... when stock was 12. Shit. Panic and twist it down, down, more, all the way to the lowest setting. With the boost controller set to minimum we made around 6psi, which was absolutely perfect. enough to keep the ECU happy and build some power, but not enough to over stress the engine. And the boost built fast. I mean really fast. If you even went near the gas you were almost instantly at 6psi. So the race would be interesting.

We finally rolled the car to tech and went about getting it approved. Jay greeted us with enthusiasm, gave the car a once over, pointed out a few things wrong and set us on our way. As we're waiting for BS inspection Jay comes back and says "I think we all know where this is going, give me your sheet." C class, zero BS laps. Sweet. We were still trapped in the tech garage so we waited for Phil to be done with the car ahead of us, then with a huge grin "we're pre-approved for zero laps". With a laugh we were sent on our way.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/FB_IMG_13512783832581384.jpg

The rest of the day was spent tidying up the car slightly and finding things to do. As it grew dark we setup the PS3 and driving setup for some GT5 sessions and set about enjoying a stress free night before race day. Exploring the pits proved amazingly entertaining. Between the burning man mobile dance floor, the Halloween living room lounge, and all the other madness it was just a great night.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/20121026_210057.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/20121027_171911.jpg

Somewhere around 9:30 or so we decided that it would be an awesome idea to walk the track. and by walk I mean ride around on razor scooters. (yes, we're a scooter gang as well as a race team). So we found a gate with enough of a gap and slipped out onto the pit lane and took off. After climbing the hill we set off on the sketchiest drop into the bowl ever. Flying into the banked turn far faster than should ever be done on a scooter designed for children I just could not stop grinning. It was a friday night, i was with great friends, and i was running a race track on a scooter. Finally completing the lap we slipped through the gate and back into the pit area.

Saturday morning rolled around and we slowly got going and checked the car once over to make sure there was nothing blatantly wrong. The drivers meeting came and went and suddenly I was being strapped into the car and sent on my way out onto track. Oh god this was still terrifying. Many many caution laps later the green flag dropped and we were off. For one brief moment we were actually in 10th overall, until many many cars divebombed and blew their way past our miserable little daytona. The car was still just terrifying and awful to drive as it ever was, but we were racing. End of the first stint I came in and we put the next person out.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/2012-10-27_16-03-42_817.jpg

Despite my gut feeling that something was moments from going terribly wrong, the car just kept going. And going. And going. We only had a few tiny stops to check things on the car and we just kept making laps. Amazingly we were climbing in the standings too. From somewhere deep into the 80s we moved up to the 60s. Finally it was within the last half hour of the race and I was back at the wheel searching for the limits of the car buried deep inside the zero feedback controls. And I found them. Braking hard for the turn up the hill I locked up the rear wheels and sent it sideways. I saw the wall coming and just dumped both feet in preparing for the worst. Somehow i came up short, planted on the grass and fine. A quick cranking to restart the engine and I was on my way, right to the penalty box.

Rolling into the penalty box Jay comes over with "you were so close to a checkered, what did you do?" "well, i got into the brakes too hard and sent it sideways. Stupid move." "get back out there and stay out of the brakes." And off we went. A few more laps and for the second time ever i was greeted with the sight of a checkered flag waving above me. We pulled into the pits, parked the car, and marveled at the fact that we didn't have to start changing an engine. So we set back up the GT5, found some beer, and set about giving the car a once over.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/431759_3283981557782_2003594122_n.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/20121027_202717.jpg

We decided to try and mess with the front suspension to try and induce some more camber. So we loosened the front struts, forced the lower bolt all the way out in it's adjustment slot, and clamped it all together again. The result actually was most more camber, it was impressive. We'd just have to see how it worked in the morning. We also discovered that our rear passenger side bump stop had rotted off and was now free floating inside the rear spring. Well, guess we found the source of one rattle....

Sunday morning rolled around and I found myself awake at 6:30 and checking the car over. Everything seemed fine, so following a drivers meeting we loaded our first driver and send them on their way. Now, if this is all seeming a bit too reliable and normal, our first setback came after our second driver came in. The car had been making a few new less than great noises, but now there were some serious grinding noises that sounded quite fatal. Assuming a starter issue we set about pulling the intake piping to get at the starter. What we found terrified me. We were missing a bolt holding transmission to engine, and most the others were loose. That wasn't good..... We had torqued them all during assembly, so there must be enough vibration to shake them loose, great. A little time with a breaker bar and a new bolt and everything was tight again. An hour lost but the car sounded normal again.

Our next setback came with our third driver. "I'm off the track, no power, trying to get to the pits" Shit. Running back to the garage i see our car limping by the other side of the garages absolutely pissing fluid from the back. From the back? oh SHIT, that's fuel! "KILL IT!!, GET OUT!". Our driver had tried to pass the inside of another car, who was pitting, and as a result had gotten nudged off the track. In the process he hit a cone and pinched a hard line, cracking it. Unfortunately it was the supply line, so anytime the key was on the fuel pump tried to build pressure and puked fuel. Another hour and a half or so later and we had the line replaced, and with an approval from HQ we headed back on track.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/stands.jpg

As I climbed in for my last stint the starter died. Hooray. Lets start pushing again. After a few caution laps to rescue a car that had gone into the wall in the bowl I got some clean laps, and amazingly I started to enjoy the car quite a lot. The camber adjustment had actually helped. It still pushed like a pig, but it now turned in before pushing. The car had a great personality at this point. It was like it was trying to make up for all the disappointments of the past and prove it was worth something. Even shifting at 4k it actually had some power. Once you figured out it's poor handling characteristics you could start actually enjoying corners again. Turn in, let it lean over 6degrees, and give it a foot-full, done right and it would somehow manage to pull through. Down the front straight and we were licking at the heals of triple digit speeds. If I had been brave enough to pass our 4500 rev limit we would have be really flying (and exploding).

As the afternoon pushed on the car started to come undone. The car started to burn and leak more and more oil. By the end of the day we were losing at least 1/3 of a quart of oil in a 20 minute stint. But we kept adding oil and sending drivers out. We didn't care, the end was in sight. A goal that previously seemed impossible was now in sight. Keep it going. Just make it get there. 4:10pm and we put our last driver in and told him to get it home. 4:30 and the checkered flag goes out to the glorious sight of our car still turning laps. I was stunned. How on earth did this pile of absolute crap make it through 286 laps without a major drivetrain failure? no matter it had.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/IMG_6032.jpg

Elated with what we had accomplished we made our way to the awards ceremony. Expecting nothing, we were absolutely thrilled to hear a description of our team being announced for the organizers choice. I couldn't have asked for more. 68th place of 122 cars, and 286 laps. If we hadn't lost time sunday with our off-road shunt we would easily have surpassed 300 laps, a goal I had jokingly set after the race in May. So what do we do now? Well I think we go for top 3 in C class. (assuming we stay there of course) I think with an improved cooling system, oil cooler, properly adjusted brakes and suspension, and a few other reliability improvements we could have a decently fast car. I'm not sure it will ever be reliable, but it might have a shot.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/halloween%20hooptiefest/20121028_195337.jpg

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

TheEngineer wrote:

That engine is going to become a bedside table and crankshaft lamp for my bedroom.

You know how we can tell you're still single, right? wink

BTW, awesome story...can't wait until the next installment. smile

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

I've been following this, and was really glad to see you have a good weekend!

Rally Baby 87 Audi 4KQ, Audi 90 Quattro Coupe, 1975 Mercedes R107, 87 E30s, E36s, the Whorenet, Rocco...
J. Phil: "Audis Never Win".  He might be right.But!, the K Dominates 2013 NJ and NH (not, but...). 
Stafford 2011 podium, 2nd NJMP 2013, Summit Point 2012 "WV ASSimilation award"
NJMP 2012 Organizer's Choice - R107, 2013 Monticello IOE Whorenet ! Organizers, CMP fall 2013 w/NSF

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

That's freaking awesome. Congrats!

Pat Mulry, TARP Racing #67

Mandatory disclaimer: all opinions expressed are mine alone & not those of 24HOL, its mgmt, sponsors, etc.

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

It was great seeing you guys out there running most of the weekend, and great to have you as garage neighbors. Congrats on Organizer's Choice! On behalf of our team, I would like to offer an apology for guessing you would turn only 262 laps. smile Next year we'll pick over 300 for sure.

Dave -- member emeritus, Vermont Bert One --

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

DauntlessStan wrote:

You know how we can tell you're still single, right? wink

While i'd love to claim otherwise, I did end my long term relationship earlier this year. The Ex was supportive of the engine block table however.

DaveG wrote:

It was great seeing you guys out there running most of the weekend, and great to have you as garage neighbors. Congrats on Organizer's Choice! On behalf of our team, I would like to offer an apology for guessing you would turn only 262 laps. smile Next year we'll pick over 300 for sure.

No, that was an ambitious goal. I was ecstatic to get to 200 laps, over that was just a bonus. Was fun being next to you guys, i loved the couch setup again.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Congrats on the award and the growing success.  You guys have thoroughly earned every bit of recognition you've gotten for sticking with that nasty little beastie and somehow making a horrible car less and less horrible each race.  Spirit of Lemons and all that wink

2011 LA-#53 300zx, 10 OA/3 B; 2012 RHoNJ-Guest Outlaw! #115 Parnelli Jones Galaxie; LA-#53 300zx, 15 OA/5 B; HH-#53 300zx KERBLOOIE!!!; 2013 TGTN-#53 300zx, 30 OA/4 B; LA-#86 golf, 32 OA/7 B; HH-#53 300zx; 2014 HH-#53 300zx
2017 HH-Squidrope #847 BATMOBILE, 9 laps of DOMINATION then Screwed; 2019 HH-#847 batmobile, 42 OA; 2021 Thompson-#847 batmobile, 12 OA;  HH-got Corked (#491 Miata), 72 OA

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Great writeup!

Near Orbital Space Monkey's
'85 BMW 528e Rocket Car - Sold
'89 Ford Mustang - In Pieces

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

This is an awesome story! Our team has been through all of these stages - from optimism to frustration to "I-hope-the-car-falls-off-the-trailer-on-the-way-home" so we don't have to look at it ever again. Whether we're stubborn or disturbed, most Lemons teams choose to maintain hope and chase the elusive checkered flag. In the process we make great friends, learn more about fixing cars than we ever wanted to know, and  spend hours grinning from ear-to-ear on a racetrack. There are worse hobbies to have.

Peter St Pierre             #63 Hong Norrth "C" Supra
     5th Place: 2016 CMP Fall
     6th place: 2015 Autobahn 24 hour
     2nd place: 2014 CMP Fall : 17th place: 2014 CMP Southern Discomfort Spring

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

"We decided to try and mess with the front suspension to try and induce some more camber. So we loosened the front struts, forced the lower bolt all the way out in it's adjustment slot, and clamped it all together again. The result actually was most more camber, it was impressive."

Did you check toe after this adjustment.  Adding camber will also add toe out, which might have been a good thing also depending on your original settings.  We are running -2.5 and 1/16 to 1/8" toe out on the shadow.  The handling was night and day difference from the stock -1 and 1/16" toe in.

Otherwise glad to hear you got to take the checkered.  Check your email, I think i'll have to take you up on that extra piston you offered.

If it doesn't have 2 doors, 3 pedals, and 5 lug nuts per wheel - It isn't a real race car

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

our alignment is so screwed it's not even funny, so no, we didn't check toe. I'm going to redo the whole suspension anyway, so once that is done i'll set the camber, toe and everything else semi-properly.

Haven't seen the email come through, but sure, let me know.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

I am so happy I stumbled on this thread.  I just bought an '88 Shelby Z and am working on getting it ready for one of the events in Texas in '13.  I hope you don't mind seeing me send you messages with questions or comments on your experiences.  I raced Gator-o-rama in September in a friend's CRX and decided I had to build my own.

I haven't dug much into the engine and transmission, but from what I have seen the power train seems to be in pretty good shape.  The front/rear suspension is toast though, and that is where I am focusing for now.  Once I get her more road worthy, I can do a better shake down on engine & transmission.

Anyway, I am just glad that someone else has attempted to race this car in Lemons.

-timbo

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bad-Scie … 1090510124

Bad Science Racing
     '88 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z.....Hey, it's still a Shelby!

Re: Chronicles of a Lemons Daytona

Send me any questions you want. There are a couple other people on here that also race a chrysler 2.2 car.

off the top of my head, the '88 motor is a bit different from the '89 common block. square tooth timing belt vs round tooth, oil pan/block is minorly different, but other than that most parts are interchangeable. I own an '88 2.2, an '89 2.5 and a now junked '89 2.2.

Suspension upgrades for the daytona are almost non-existent, but i've been slowly finding cars with compatible parts to try and upgrade mine for 2013. I'll share the list once i've confirmed more of the lines on it.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice