Newbie bought a Lemons car -- '94 Acura Vigor (Page 2 of 2)

Yeah, but good news is a 5 is less likely to blow than a 6 stronger torsionally), and at least 50% of the motor is behind the axle center line, for decent balance, unlike an Audi for instance (which I drive on the street) that hangs the whole freaking thing out in front of the axle!

Hey!  You stole my idea!  The Vigor was my target LeMon before we settled on our rust-bucket Beretta.  I found plenty of cheap ones, but just couldn't find one with a manual transmission.  If you race it, I think you'll have the first Vigor ever at Lemons...I hope you do really well and prove me right that it is a good race car

Nope, headgasket problems, then overheating. So you need to solve the potential headgasket problems. APR head studs are worth it. Clean the head and block very good. You can use gasket cleaner (which is essentially methyl chloride, or just buy Jasco Paint stripper, way cheaper - same nasty stuff).

We have tried copper headgaskets, but the block and the head need to be fresh machined. We figured that out after a couple re-installs. The up side to copper head gaskets is that you can flatten them and then re-anneal them (at 1000-780 F).

and that whole welding/brazing thing was a joke, just in case you still had not figured that out. Those guys were just pulling your shifter. While its possible, it would be a nightmare, if you ever had any other problems (like a busted ring, or valve problem), how would you take it apart to fix it?? you would have to heat the whole block/head up to about 1500F. Are you bringing an oven to the track??

Epoxy the head on, now there is a fix. Then if it had a problem then you could just heat it up with a torch and the epoxy would soften or carborize and you could take it apart to fix it. Makes much more sense.

Work on the spacers first..
they cause most of the problems!
seriously!
Oh, by the way spacers are the thing between the steering wheel and the seat back.
Don't just talk about it!   Set up a plan to succeed..
  First set a target lap time..
  Figure out what a successful average lap time would be.. for the sake of conversation, let's assume 2 minute laps..  Base that the lap times turned in by the winning team the year before..
Throw out their  20 fastest laps and make sure it represents all of the drivers..
  (don't pick their best driver to attempt to beat your first time out)
   Now adjust it for your skill.
   Here is some real truth.  You will be faster the second time you race! and faster still the third time..
  (assuming no changes or improvements made to the car in the mean time)
Racing isn't about how hard you step on the gas.. Or how late you wait untill you brake for a corner
  Honestly! it's about energy management..
   Think of the car as a pitcher of water.  you can dump it all out on the first lap and the glass won't even be completely full.
  or you can pour it out slowly and carefully and fill up a whole lot of glasses..  That's how to drive an enduro..  Set a maximum rev limit.. (should be no more than 80% of redline) 
Same with the brakes!  if you use the brakes to 100% everytime chances are you will be having prpblems.. so plan on using no more than 80% of the brakes except in an emergency..(like avoiding an accident) 
  To finish first, your first requirement is to finish..
Sir Stirling Moss Former Formula 1 star, sportscar racer, and sedan racer. took great pride in winning as slowly as possible..   NO sense in using up  the car in a vain attempt to  win by a large margin..
  OK now how does a bunch of guys with no endurance experiance adjust their driving? 
Information..
Pit signs (if you haven't bought radios)  that show the driver how fast or slow his lap time was in comparison to goal.  + 10 sec. is actually worse than minus 10 seconds..
  It's relatively easy to lose a lot of time when traffic slows you up.. but using up the car faster than needed means there is little chance tha car will be around at the finish..
Endurance racing is about patience.. not about driving at the limit..
  By the way, when you cut the springs on your struts you will automatically lower the car and stiffen up the suspension..
Getting rid of excess weight will raise the car, Anything that isn't absolitely needed should find another place to reside. There are a lot of body panels that can and should be cut off and sold for scrap..

Wow. It's like Saab and Audi got together and adopted an Asian baby. What could possibly go wrong?

That said, there is a ton of very useful advice in this thread. If you get stuck, ask.