Introducing "TRACKDAY", 1968 Camaro

[Vicinity]

I just read this one today, and I'm impressed (an envious) of you work and progress. Great job!

[sik68]

Wow, thanks guys for pulling my build out from the bottom of the heap! These last couple months have been pretty crazy for me...I haven't had any free weekends to work on the car. SO I don't have much to update.


Today is the first day I have come across this thread and I must say I am thoroughly impressed. Looks like it all started in August of '07 and here you are still plugging away in 2010. It looks like all of your trials and tribulations have been a big help to all that have joined in with your build. I wish I had known of this site when I started my build in 2002. Great job Steven, you are on top with all of us other tight budgeted," more plans then money" builders. How soon before she sees some track time?

Thanks Gaetano! It's been one hellavua journey but I'm remarkably close. Hope to see you at an event soon. I plan to start out with some autocrossing in the Sac area then as I get used to the car, move up to some of the big tracks. Look out for the primered 68!

-Steven

[Gitter Dun]

Wow, thanks guys for pulling my build out from the bottom of the heap! These last couple months have been pretty crazy for me...I haven't had any free weekends to work on the car. SO I don't have much to update.



Thanks Gaetano! It's been one hellavua journey but I'm remarkably close. Hope to see you at an event soon. I plan to start out with some autocrossing in the Sac area then as I get used to the car, move up to some of the big tracks. Look out for the primered 68!

-Steven

Keep me posted and I'd be glad to help in any way I could!!

[sik68]

Weekend Update

Well, the last big hurdle in getting Trackday drive-able was that my Hydraulic throwout bearing kept peeing fluid. So rather than re-o-ringing the thing, I played it safe and elected to spring for a new unit. The Ram 78132. To me, it looks like a much more elegant design than the McLeod, and consistent with the way everybody else designs their TO bearings (Howe, Quartermaster, etc). I chose the Ram over the others simply because it includes the bearing retainer.

McLeod (wetting itself)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/IMG_0962-1.jpg

New Ram 78132
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/IMG_0973-1.jpg

Ram Installed with the Howe hydraulic quick-disconnect
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/IMG_0978-1.jpg

Results?! Well, after driving the car, I think the Ram requires a hint more pedal travel than the McLeod did, but feel is very very similar. Best of all, no leaks. I set the lash then drove the car hard around the neighborhood (still open headers). The car performs awesome!

Also, I'd like to debut my home-made camber/caster gauge. It's made from a shelving bracket, an L plate, and 3 machine screws that I can adjust to level it out just perfectly.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/IMG_0902-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/IMG_0982-1.jpg

Ghetto? Yes.
Effective? Good enough.

I used my Ipod touch (angle resolution to 0.1deg) just test it out; however, I don't recommend it for actual alignments because its backside is too rounded to get consistent measurements. I'm going to buy a digital level and do my alignment that way.

[Gitter Dun]

Hi Steve, Looks like your just about there. SCCA is holding most of their autocross events at Mather(not to far from home). Let me know when your ready and I'll meet you there.

[skinnyboy67]

That was so cool to watch the video and hear your excitement. Congratulations, you've done a great job!

love the video of the first time drive.... I cant believe you went as far a s you did with open headers?!!!!! Cops used to be at my house in 5-10min. One cop used to always pull me over and try to get me for something...noise..antique plates...not admitting to rippin rubber.
Now i live on the very end of a dead end street and he is my neighbor.
HaHa sucker as i drive by every morning at 6am with 3"exhaust:bsjerk:

[Jim Nilsen]

lookin good, I love the quick disconnect on the line, wish I had done that. bleeding mine has never been a problem but it sure would make it clean and easy. Good choice to go with the whole retainer.

I like the alignment tools, cheap is good. You can set yourself up with some tubing and bolts and make a string setup that will get your toe just where you want it.

Get some exhaust on it and start driving to find the bugs early.

Glad to see you are over the clutch hurdle, they can be a PITA.

[shortrack]

cool that you got to go for a ride....keep diggin'!!!

[ConnorB]

Just went through this whole thread. Awesome build, dude. I love threads that document each step of the way. Must be a great sense of achievement finally being able to drive it!

[John Wright]

After you get some miles on it...let me know how that quick disconnect works out...I would like to try one of those on my car.

[sik68]

Thanks everybody for the cheers. I'm at that point now where part of me wants to keep buying parts and continue "perfecting" it, but the other half of me is so stoked just to drive the thing that it sickens me to think about taking anything apart right now.

Gaetano, I'll let you know when I am going to Mather. It's only 20 minutes from where my car is in Sacramento. hopefully it's soon...Are you going to show up with a bare aluminum front end? :p



After you get some miles on it...let me know how that quick disconnect works out...I would like to try one of those on my car.

Hey John,

So far the quick disconnect works out great, except that it makes the line not as flexible as before. It has a spring needle in both ends to keep air out. It dribbles out a couple drops of fluid when you disconnect, but that's better than air coming in. I'll keep tabs on how it does!

Steven

[senor_camaro]

Your build is sick, ive been following your build from youtube to here, your car has come along way.

[sik68]

5/17 UPDATE: Got Exhaust and Finally Stretched Its Legs

This weekend was EPIC! I still have an ear to ear grin on my face. Friday night I prepped the car for its first "official" street miles. Does anyone else with Global West Arms need a crapload of alignment shims to get the camber right? I must have 3/4" of shim stack just to get -1.0. Yuk. Oh well.

Saturday, I drove to Muffler Express to get my system installed. 3" tubing, X-pipe, and Borla XR-1's. Here is a video and dubbed over with audio from a voice recorder. (720P pending)

1sZ6H9BE3jA

In the afternoon, my dad (1970 Corvette), brother (70 Camaro), and family friends (66 Mustang) went out for a 2 hour cruise. It was a great way to get to know the car. Here's my highlight of the day, the first time nailing it and I am literally stunned. Hope you have good speakers, crank it up! Missing a shift never felt so fun. (720P pending)

1RzgUAa1AS4


I'm probably running a little rich, but other than that no complaints. It's going to be a fun summer. I hope to take it to Mather for some SCCA autocross the first weekend in June. I'll keep you posted!

-Steven



Your build is sick, ive been following your build from youtube to here, your car has come along way.

Hey! Glad you're here....I just checked out your Backyard Camaro build. Looks like you have a lot of work ahead of you but it will all be worth it. Good luck!

[Chad-1stGen]

awesome!

I take it the 2 hour cruise was a success?

[Gitter Dun]

Sounds great Steven, I am also 20 minutes from Mather, looking forward to seeing you there. Mary Pozzi is also interested in going to Mather. If I dont break anything at Buttonwillow or the Spectre341Challenge I will see you there.

Fantastic job on the thread and the build!!

[John Wright]

Does anyone else with Global West Arms need a crapload of alignment shims to get the camber right? I must have 3/4" of shim stack just to get -1.0. Yuk. Oh well.

Is that -1° of caster or camber?....If so, shouldn't you be on the positive side for the caster?...is the tire hitting or close to the rear of the fenderliner the reason you didn't shoot for more caster?

edit: maybe I'm reading this wrong......you didn't say what the caster was.

[AintQik]

Its probably camber, they suggest -.75. Caster is supposed to be 5 degrees according to GW unless I'm backwards.

Can you take a side shot of your front wheel pointing straight? I'm interested to know how much farther back your wheel is, I'm having an issue with my GW arms as well.

Sorry to bounch in on your thread. Glad she is up and running.

[sik68]

Is that -1° of caster or camber?....If so, shouldn't you be on the positive side for the caster?...is the tire hitting or close to the rear of the fenderliner the reason you didn't shoot for more caster?

edit: maybe I'm reading this wrong......you didn't say what the caster was.

Hi John, I got +6 Caster on both wheels, real easy with the GW arms have a lot built in...however I have heard that it does take a lot of shims to get negative camber with the arms, and doing the alignment this weekend confirmed that to get to -1.0 . The suspension is not real settled yet so I will likely be doing a couple more alignments.

[John Wright]

Sounds like she revs pretty quick....gonna be a fun ride....woohoo!

[Jim Nilsen]

Isn't that FUN !!!!!!

I love the way it sounds, 1st gear goes by real quick doesn't it !!!

It took me a whole bunch of starts with the pedal down to know how quick to let up for 2nd. You will learn to not put it down so far.LOL

Congratulations

[AintQik]

It actually spins up like my blower car. Motor sounds healthy.

[PhillipM]

5/17 UPDATE: Got Exhaust and Finally Stretched Its Legs

This weekend was EPIC! I still have an ear to ear grin on my face. Friday night I prepped the car for its first "official" street miles. Does anyone else with Global West Arms need a crapload of alignment shims to get the camber right? I must have 3/4" of shim stack just to get -1.0. Yuk. Oh well.

You could look into or build something like this for your control arms...

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Aluminum-A-Arm-Spacers,3532.html

Also, please tell me you got the ebrake hooked up? I didn't go back through and look...

-Phillip

[Tucks69]

Sounds good Steven! Glad to see the Camaro on the road. It remindsme of my 68!

[Jarcaines]

This car is an inspiration to me. Can't wait till I catch up!

[srh3trinity]

I love the way the car sounds through the XR-1's. I don't think they would be my muffler of choice for a daily, but for a PT car/Track car, I love the way they sound. Surely I have chimed in at some point in the thread, but this is a great build.

[EL T1]

Fuuuuu!!! Love the incar vid. How do you like the dumps sound. Would you consider doing full tailpipes?

[DYNODANNY]

That sounds very tasty.

[project g-force]

definitely sounds sweeet!! what tranny are you running?-dom

[Jeff70]

Sounds good! If you plan on doing any trackdays some tracks will give you the boot if it's too loud.

[sik68]

Thanks, I'm running a TKO 5 speed.



Sounds good! If you plan on doing any trackdays some tracks will give you the boot if it's too loud.

yeah my db's are probably too high. I had the muffler shop do a slip fit and clamps to my mufflers. In case I need to switch them out

[sr73bu]

The car sounds great! Your attention to every functional detail is awesome... you must be an engineer, haha... Good luck with the car! you've certainly worked hard and deserve it.

[HectorM52]

It does sound good!! And I've enjoyed watching the build!!

LOL - I know you said you were surprised and missed a shift, but you were trying to start out in second gear there too... You were definitely nervous getting out there, huh??!?! :)

[sik68]

You could look into or build something like this for your control arms...

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Alumin...cers,3532.html (http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Aluminum-A-Arm-Spacers,3532.html)

Also, please tell me you got the ebrake hooked up? I didn't go back through and look...

-Phillip


The only place I can find those camber shims pre-made (for 6.5" center-center) is from DSE, but they're kinda pricey at 85 bucks....I guess I'll buy them eventually. Or maybe if I can get a hold of some aluminum and a band saw I can make them myself.

As for the e-brake....uh nope not yet and it's still a must do. But Penny doesn't have one either! :secret:



It does sound good!! And I've enjoyed watching the build!!

LOL - I know you said you were surprised and missed a shift, but you were trying to start out in second gear there too... You were definitely nervous getting out there, huh??!?! :)

Uh yeah, I'm definitely not in my comfort zone in this car... my chest beats so hard driving it, I thought for sure my voice recorder would pick up a "thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump" over then engine noise. Haha.

[sebtarta]

Great progress on the car!

By any chance do you have any pictures of the shims on the UCA?

[rickpaw]

Great thread. I noticed in one of the videos that you have 3-point belts. Who made the set up and was it too difficult to install?

Thanks.

[sik68]

Great thread. I noticed in one of the videos that you have 3-point belts. Who made the set up and was it too difficult to install?

Thanks.

To be honest, I didn't know they came any other way. Doesn't your headliner have the seatbelt holding clips for the shoulder belt?

[rickpaw]

To be honest, I didn't know they came any other way. Doesn't your headliner have the seatbelt holding clips for the shoulder belt?

No. It came with lap belts only. Mine is a 67 so maybe GM added shoulder belt in 68?

[67speedfreak]

Car sound great. Congrats on the progress.

Brian

[John Wright]

My 70 has just lap belts too....no retractors either. I'm not sure if mine came that way or were changed along the way for some reason.

[dipren443]

No. It came with lap belts only. Mine is a 67 so maybe GM added shoulder belt in 68?

Shoulder belts were optional in 67. They 'should' be standard equipment from 68 and on up. If you don't have them in a car 68 or newer, they were most likely changed at one point cause someone hated the shoulder belts.

In retrospect, non inertia reel shoulder belts do kinda suck....

[sik68]

Shoulder belts were optional in 67. They 'should' be standard equipment from 68 and on up. If you don't have them in a car 68 or newer, they were most likely changed at one point cause someone hated the shoulder belts.

In retrospect, non inertia reel shoulder belts do kinda suck....

Good info! Do you know if all 67 roofs had provisions for the shoulder belt bolts?

[Dons67]

Good info! Do you know if all 67 roofs had provisions for the shoulder belt bolts?


In 67 the shoulder belt part was separate and an extra option (only 1400 cars actually came from the factory with them), there were clips on the rear side panel to hold it when not in use and it attached to the belt near the lap buckle. My 67 was converted to a 3 point and I hate it - rubs my neck and is uncomfortable - I want to convert it over to a lap only

this guy did a good write up if you want to know more http://www.camaros.org/options.shtml#ShoulderHarness
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/belts67zmello4-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/belts4210x140-1.jpg

[dipren443]

In 67 the shoulder belt part was separate and an extra option (only 1400 cars actually came from the factory with them), there were clips on the rear side panel to hold it when not in use and it attached to the belt near the lap buckle. My 67 was converted to a 3 point and I hate it - rubs my neck and is uncomfortable - I want to convert it over to a lap only

this guy did a good write up if you want to know more http://www.camaros.org/options.shtml#ShoulderHarness
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/belts67zmello4-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/belts4210x140-1.jpg


Don,

I would recommend going with Morris Classic Concepts retrofit belts. Modern inertia reel belts that bolt in to our cars.

http://www.morrisclassicconcepts.com/

Nick

[shortrack]

I know its called Trackday and forgive me if its been mentioned but is it a track only car....no street whatsoever? even later on (like mine)?

how often do you think you might get out in it?

[sik68]

I know its called Trackday and forgive me if its been mentioned but is it a track only car....no street whatsoever? even later on (like mine)?

how often do you think you might get out in it?

Thanks for checkin' in! I will definitely keep it a street car, at least from a legal perspective. I know that one day I'll probably add a 6pt cage but no hoop, just so it's safe without helmet as well. I actually would like the car to be a bit of a pain in the a$$ though, I'm young and can deal with a car that is noisy, rough, harsh as it makes the car feel more special when I drive it.

Anyone recognize this guy?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/IMG_1055-1.jpg

I met D1ck Guldstrand Saturday at the American LeMans race at Leguna Seca. Got his autograph and we just exchanged a few words back and forth. Cool meeting such a legend!

Poor Corvette Racing though, I was disappointed at how the race turned out for them.

[68firebird]

:twothumbs sweet! thats pretty cool

[Bad Bird]

You are a great inspiration to the rest of us budget build guys!

[Motown 454]

Thats cool, geting to meet him.

[youngdeezy]

nice bro anything new going on?

[rsk68]

I have Morris Classic and have the same issue with the belt rubbing my neck, drives me crazy! I do appreciate the added safety of the Morris belts but wish they hung a little lower to eliminate this.

[sik68]

nice bro anything new going on?

Thanks for asking; actually yes.

What would a car name "Trackday" be without actually pursuing some track action? Next Friday, June 25th I am headed up to Thunderhill for my first time on a road course. I'll be in the NCRC "Driving School" run group.

I spent some time working on my car to make it pass tech (mainly having 2 bolts securing the battery), and I purchased an SA2005 helmet from G Force. Hans compatible. "Cueball white" as they say. Also splurged on the Simpson gloves.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/06/IMG_1082-1.jpg

Stay tuned!

[Nessumsar]

Remember, "Smooth is fast"!

You should have a blast, make sure to get pictures/video.

[garner67]

There's nothing like the first time on a road course. If possible, have someone snap a picture of you just as you climb out of your car after your first track session... you'll have wide eyes and a big grin.

Good luck, have fun, and post some pics when you get back!

[youngdeezy]

sounds fun and cool as hell, have a great time out there. G-force makes great items, i use 1 of there double hump cross members. well i'll tune back in next week to see how things went for you.

[PhillipM]

I know that one day I'll probably add a 6pt cage but no hoop, just so it's safe without helmet as well.

Steven,

How exactly would this work? Are you saying no halo hoop? Or no main hoop? Also, nice work on the track time this weekend. Do you have a trailer or are you having to drive it to the track?

[sik68]

Steven,

How exactly would this work? Are you saying no halo hoop? Or no main hoop? Also, nice work on the track time this weekend. Do you have a trailer or are you having to drive it to the track?

No halo...I'd have the main hoop, rear "strut" bars into the trunk area, and door diagonals. I'd consider the halo if my head wasn't already so close to the headliner; as it is I have only about 2" from head to headliner...with a helmet I think I'll be right on it. Blame it on the Sparco mounts.

I'm getting ready for Thunderhill. I've been commuting in the Camaro all week to endurance test it, so far its been flawless for about 250 miles. Hard, hard miles :) . I'm averaging 10mpg on a commute that's 90% freeway...onramps are like crack. I get off the freeway just so I can get back on.

I still have a list of about a dozen small things to do between now and then.

-Steven

[PhillipM]

Okay, i'm with you now. As for those seats you need to get those puppies on the ground... literally! I have mine mounted to a piece of 3/8's plate so that is all they sit up off the floor. :smoke: Of course I'm 6'2 so it is partially out of necessity. Luckily most of my height is in my legs so when my Dad gets in the car he has to motor it forward for like 8 seconds.

What is your punch list of prep items looking like?

[ModernMuseum]

Nice photography in this thread.

I think I'm going to hit those same people up for the pedals.

[MrQuick]

Thanks for asking; actually yes.

What would a car name "Trackday" be without actually pursuing some track action? Next Friday, June 25th I am headed up to Thunderhill for my first time on a road course. I'll be in the NCRC "Driving School" run group.

I spent some time working on my car to make it pass tech (mainly having 2 bolts securing the battery), and I purchased an SA2005 helmet from G Force. Hans compatible. "Cueball white" as they say. Also splurged on the Simpson gloves.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/06/IMG_1082-1.jpg

Stay tuned!
NCRC is a great bunch of guys. Make sure you check with me cause we are going to do a couple of Button Willow drivers clinics soon. It might cost abit more but you gets tons of track time.

good luck and have a great time.
Vince

[John Wright]

...onramps are like crack. I get off the freeway just so I can get back on.


LOL...you got it bad brother. LOL, sounds just like me. I like the clover leafs....I make about 10 trips around and never actually get on the freeway....LOL

[asifnyc]

welllllllllllllllllllllllllllll............... how'd it go? :)

[PhillipM]

Yeah man... where are the updates?

[sik68]

Sorry for the the delay in posting, it has taken me a couple days to gather my thoughts from Friday. Here is my lengthy synopsis:

The Eve Thrash:
I have a new appreciation for the fortitude that motorsports demands. And I'm not even talking about the driving. It's the level of organization and preparation required that absolutely murdered me in the days leading up to the track day. I have never had so many things running through my mind at once; I made list checklist after checklist, ran mental scenario after scenario...the more I accomplished in the days leading up, the less I felt ready. Minutia, details, I took it all very seriously as I could not afford a mis-step on this very important day.

The Pilgrimage:
The alarm beeps for 4:30 am, and the day I am vindicated has arrived. My confidence is way up; I just checked off every box on my "morning of" list. Being disgustingly organized has finally paid off, and I am on the road by 5:15, according to plan. At this time of the 'day', 95 miles feels like an eternity. I'm on I5, feeling very special amidst the unfortunate souls that do this commute daily for work. I'm in a muscle car, my clothes already smell like gasoline and antifreeze. Amidst the 4 cylinder appliances that go whizzing by periodically, it's the best feeling in the world to be on the cool end of that dichotomy.

Track Session 1:
Getting the butterflies out. This 20 minutes is designed so you don't panic and crash while on track; there are enough other ways to wreck. In groups of 5 newbies, with 1 instructor vehicle as the pace car, you travel like 45mph ducks to learn the racing line as demonstrated by the pro. Although the pace was slow, it was a valuable meet and greet session between myself and each of the 14 turns. I have studied this track intensely in the weeks leading up to the event, but track maps and youtube videos do nothing to prepare you for elevation changes at THill.

Track Session 2:
Pass or be passed. Again in groups of 5, the goal here is track etiquette with the traditional arm signals. Mentally, this is not a real taxing exercise at 45mph. At real track speeds, this is an extremely critical aspect to sharing the racetrack.

Track Session 3:
Neuron overload. First time at legitimate speeds around the track. This session is where a first timer like me really gets slapped silly by how much data he needs to process simultaneously. The intention of this session was flags, but I can easily list 30 other parameters that I expected to execute that I have never asked by brain to handle previously. Each lap got a bit easier, especially since my instructor was on my case doing some of the work for me. Now I see why rally has co-drivers.

Track Session 4:
The hang of things. In session 4, we were picking up speed. I was less of a mental mess and now significantly more dedicated to driving the track well. Dare I say, I was even in a rhythm for a turn or two. My strengths during this session were that I was in the early stages of being able to execute what my brain and my instructor's brain had planned. My apex to corner exit path improved. My main criticism for this session was that I would often carry too much speed into some of the slow speed turns (namely 11 and 13), and as a consequence would miss a lot of the apexes. Overshooting an apex just kills speed.

Session 4 Videos:
1/2
bYE-sptcE_8

2/2
N3QOxl7UM2E

Track Session 5:
The best for last. Session 5 proved that I could become a better driver in a day. Again, I would like to dish out as much credit as possible to my instructor. He would not let me form any bad habits. We had a game plan for this session, what we were going to work on, and we never diverged from that plan. He forced me to execute turn after turn, slow in and accelerate from apex to exit. I could blabber on ad nauseam about the individual breakthroughs and shortcomings I have with each turn, but I'll spare you from it.

Session 5 Videos:
1/2
HRvi2C808bI

2/2
pSsfa5bxv-A


The Camaro:
Perhaps the largest looming question that I had was, "was this all worth it?" I have spent a TON of money and time to make an old car perform well, and frankly, would be disappointed and disgusted to find out that the car sucks. I was not going to kid myself, I wanted a car that will hold its own, even against cars produced 40+ years later. Well, I can attest, that the car can absolutely rock, not only when the hammer is down, but through the turns as well. Here's a brief synopsis of what I felt about the main features of the car:

Engine:
It is raw, loud, angry, and fast. It will put the power down REAL hard coming out of a turn in 3rd gear, squeezing you hard into your seat. Coming out of a turn in 3rd, you really need to modulate the thottle if you have any steering lock still on. You can see when I dig out of turns 12 and 14 in 3rd that the car plants the rear really well, but the tires want to break loose so bad. Coming down the front straight, I hit 6000rpm in 4th gear a couple times, well before the start/finish line; that's 123mph before coasting the rest of the straight away. Rex Hutchison has built me a killer motor that didn't miss a beat all day. I noticed it, my instructor noticed it, and I got plenty of compliments even among the sea of some very high HP machines there that day.

Brakes:
Probably the weakest point of my car right now, and I blame it all on the Hawk HPS pads. The brake feel was terrible and the pedal travel was long, which does not inspire any amount of confidence. The car decelerated well, but only with a lot of pedal travel; the pads had no initial bite to them. It turns out I am not alone in my feeling on the pads, as a lot of reviews on Tire Rack of people using the HPS on the track complained of the same issues. The rest of the braking system performed well though. Got my rotors to turn blue, my instructor helped my dial in the brake bias on gravel (initially the rear was locking up and bringing the car around...yikes!) I am looking for pad recommendations if anyone runs something more hardcore. I'm thinking EBC Redstuff or Hawk HP+, which seem to get a lot better reviews on bite.

Shifting:
Well, this is a commentary on both the parts, as well as my personal ability. The tranny is awesome and will upshift as fast as I can go. I was using 4th gear the whole track except for turns 10-11 and 13-14, where I would knock it down to 3rd. Being a relative newcomer to driving stick, I do not have the ability to heel-toe downshift in those two braking sections. In the video you'll consistently hear my rear tires barking when I let the clutch back out; with an aluminum flywheel, the engine falls immediately to idle when the clutch is in and I'm off the gas...heel-toeing becomes even more of a necessity for me to learn now. Besides that, I need to play with my throttle pedal height so that I can get the positioning right.

Handling:
I can't spend an hour trying to dissect the handling of the car, but I will say that the car can produce both moderate understeer as well as moderate oversteer, it feels pretty well balanced (from the perspective of my driving level). I think the suspension is set up about right for street tires, with not a lot of body roll and pitch, but enough to get the weight around the car for braking, turning, and accelerating. My instructor and I both think that the some of the understeer can be dialed out with additional negative camber. The bottom line is I was driving through most corners much faster then some high profile vehicles, which felt really rewarding.

Tires:
A pleasant surprise. I'm using Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s, basically the tire they put on C5 Z06's. For being street tires, they seemed pretty consistent lap after lap, and wore really well. My instructor noticed that the car "wiggles" around quite a bit on the tires through the corner, probably due to the tread pattern flexing. Additionally they were very quiet, never making much noise when they were breaking loose. The video picks up the tire howl a little better, but we couldn't hear much of anything inside the car. I can definitely put many more track days on these tires without worry.

What Now:
No surprise, I am hooked and I want to get faster. I only have a couple small tweaks planned between now and my next track day, hopefully back to Thunderhill with NASA in August.

I would like again to thank my instructor for being a really fun and constructive presence for me that day. Also, it was really nice meeting Jeff70 from this forum, who was great to talk to as well.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/06/IMG_1085-1.jpg

UPDATE: Session 4 Videos Added

[srh3trinity]

Looks like a blast. The car sounds awesome.

[67 ls1 vert]

can you re-write that, I didnt understand it?


J/K great detail. :)

Sounds like a very fun experence. Cant wait to get to do that myself.

Congrads. :cool:

[Jeff70]

Hey Steven nice rundown of the days events, looks like you need some tailpipes so your instructor (Don) doesn't have to yell over 6k rpm :twothumbs. Here is some pics from the track photography.
http://gotbluemilk.com/web100625/22/index.html



Jeff

[Jeff70]

Funniest part Don has the death grip on your dash, If you look closely in the pics from the track you can see it their also.:drive2:


Jeff

[asifnyc]

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hahaha... that was awesome. nice work :cheers:

[MrQuick]

awesome!!!
now that you have ben there you know where to prepare more.




can't wait to see more on other tracks too.
nice job.

note to self...1 3/4" DOM grab bar.
Vince

[Jim Nilsen]

You looked really good out there. The car sounded great and it all looks like it is working well.

You make me wish I had in car videos of my first time out.

Your instructor was good and that is a plus.

Keep up the good vibes.

[GrabberGT]

Awesoem! That was fun. Thanks for the ride. The instructor was cool. "Not yet.. not yet... GO!" The video gamer in me was telling you to pass the vette on the inside of the turns. "It'll be ok, you'll just bounce off of him and keep going" LOL

[John Wright]

The video gamer in me was telling you to pass the vette on the inside of the turns. "It'll be ok, you'll just bounce off of him and keep going" LOLLOL...no problem, 8 tires are better than 4 anyday...LOL....I've seen those games, where you end upside down and the game automatically sets you right back up in the middle of the track on all four tires, with all of the dents knocked back out like it never even happened.

Thanks for the ride along, enjoyed the vids.

[CurtiSS 69]

Brakes:
Probably the weakest point of my car right now, and I blame it all on the Hawk HPS pads. The brake feel was terrible and the pedal travel was long, which does not inspire any amount of confidence. The car decelerated well, but only with a lot of pedal travel; the pads had no initial bite to them. It turns out I am not alone in my feeling on the pads, as a lot of reviews on Tire Rack of people using the HPS on the track complained of the same issues. The rest of the braking system performed well though. Got my rotors to turn blue, my instructor helped my dial in the brake bias on gravel (initially the rear was locking up and bringing the car around...yikes!) I am looking for pad recommendations if anyone runs something more hardcore. I'm thinking EBC Redstuff or Hawk HP+, which seem to get a lot better reviews on bite.

[/QUOTE]

Hello Steven,

Glad to hear it went well. Your preparation paid off in gold bars by the sound of things.

As far as pads go try Raybestos ST-41's. Check with SpeedToys.com sometimes they have specials on them.

Great video! The white knuckles on the dash was a nice added affect. It might be cool to have some cast up and mounted.

Regards

CurtiSS 69

[Spitfire44]

Thanks for the write up. Glad the first track day went well. Usually there are always some things that pop up and ruin your day.

Now you'll be in racer mode driving around town. Not necessarily driving fast, but working on your heal and toe, trying to drive the correct lines, being smooth.

Its better then drugs, but there is no AAA for it. Just the repo man when you run up the credit card.

[hechtrod]

Thanks for posting that video. Brightened my day a little. Gave me goosebumps and had me smiling the whole time. "Easy, easy, cone...cone...go go!' Awesome! Waht a blast!

[sik68]

Thanks for all the support everyone. Videos of session 4 now online in post #313. Mixing it up with an STI, gnarly sounding C5 z06 ,and a 997 Turbo who is a bit aggressive for this group. Passing into turns is kind of a no-no.

[garner67]

Looks like you had a great day. I still consider myself a newbie to track driving, and I definitely remember my first track outing... what a blast, huh? I bet you were exhausted when it was all said and done. It's a lot to take in your first time out.

Thanks for the great write up and video. It was interesting to see how another club runs their events. I've only driven with the Nor Cal Shelby Club, and it's similar and different at the same time. One thing I noticed is you were not "required" to wear gloves or long sleeve shirts while on track. While I like driving with gloves, a long sleeve shirt on a hot weekend is a killer.

Congrats on a very successful track event!

[MrQuick]

Thanks for all the support everyone. Videos of session 4 now online in post #313. Mixing it up with an STI, gnarly sounding C5 z06 ,and a 997 Turbo who is a bit aggressive for this group. Passing into turns is kind of a no-no.
was that a red C5? I met those guys at the race day at Buttonwillow. Nice bunch.


vince

[Jarcaines]

Can't wait until I can do that with mine!

[AintQik]

Awesome!

[GrabberGT]

Love the videos. I can wait to go home and watch it in the media room in HD and full surround. For future vids, can you please invest in a wide angle rear-view mirror or reverse mounted camera? It took a while to realize that was a Porsche behind you and not a Neon with hyper-blue headlights. LOL

For you track junkies out there... would this be considered an advanced level track? The elevation changes alone would have me in the field in no time.

[Payton King]

Glad you had so much fun at your first track day. I recently had my first at Gingerman for the Motorstate deal a few weeks ago.

Hawk HPS pads are street pads and will not handle the heat of track work.

After searching around and getting a rec from Tobin, I tried Carbotech pads. They are big with the vette and miata crowd. Anyway, they are very easy on the rotors and have great bite. I run their AX6 compound front and rear on the street and for autocross.

For track with street tires I am running XP10's in the front and the same AX6's in the rear. Give them a call and tell them what track you are running. It it is a brake heavy track may go to XP12 in front and XP10's in rear, but they should be able to point you in the right direction.

I used the XP10's and AX6 at Gingerman and my tires were the only thing keeping me from stopping any quicker. Very easy to modulate on threshhold braking and they released very well.

Look forward to hearing about your other track days.

[CarlC]

I've been using the HP+ pads for street and track use for almost seven years. They have not failed me yet and are reasonably priced. They are a bit noisy for the street but it's no biggie.

[Chad-1stGen]

Nice!!! I really enjoyed the vids thanks for taking the time to post em up. I noticed the lack of toe heal in the video. Something fun to work on ha ha.

Did you have the camera mounted on a roll bar?

[sik68]

Nice!!! I really enjoyed the vids thanks for taking the time to post em up. I noticed the lack of toe heal in the video. Something fun to work on ha ha.

Did you have the camera mounted on a roll bar?

Thanks for watching. Yea I'm excited to try heel toeing. It is definitely a requirement for some of the turns at thunderhill. Add it to the list of 10000 other things to think about while driiving on a track.

I don't have a roll bar, the camera was on a ball/socket mount by Ram Mounts, suction cupped to the back of the seat. Luckily the suction cup held, but in the future I have a base that I will bolt to the back of the seat.

-Steven

[smhigh]

Your car is really nice and performs well and your driving is excellent.

Very Impressive!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing!

[sik68]

7/23/10 UPDATE

Since my first track day, I have had a total shift in priorities about what to buy. My money is being shifted from buying parts to buying track time, a really cool feeling. So this is all I have to show for my latest purchases:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/07/IMG_13201-1.jpg

I think these 3 items: the Skip Barber book, a ginormous convex mirror, and additional camber shims from DSE , along with better brake pads, represent everything I need to get me through my next time on track.

August 21st-August 22nd with NASA at Thunderhill.



Your car is really nice and performs well and your driving is excellent.

Very Impressive!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for tuning in, Paul! I have a long way to go before my driving is excellent but thanks for the compliment. I really want to get better....

-Steven

[GrabberGT]

"convex mirror"

Alright! Bring on the videos.

[sik68]

"convex mirror"

Alright! Bring on the videos.


Per your request :)

[Small Block LSX]

Looks like a lot of fun. I just watched the videos.

[shortrack]

looks like an awesome day bud! congrats on getting to THE day!......man your instructor talked a lot......the non stop jabbering would get me off my game....what do they charge out there for a day ?

[sik68]

8/2/10 UPDATE

Over the weekend, I did several critical tasks to get my car ready for its next track day, August 21st & 22nd at Thunderhill.

1) Instead of using a suction cup, I bolted my camcorder mount to the back of my seat. NASA frowns on suction cups...now it will pass any inspection.

2) Installed my fiberglass hood and locking hood pins. It fits like crap (oh the joys of craigslisting), but I can live with it for now. I can switch back to the steel hood whenever.
Steel Hood = 50lbs
Fiberglass Hood = 26lbs
Savings = 24lbs

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/02/IMG_0859-1.jpg

3) Removed the back seat for weight savings. I had never done it before, but it only took 5 minutes to get the bottom and back out. I still need to remove the seat belts and carpet over the area.
Seat Back = 24lbs
Seat Bottom = 22lbs
Savings = 46lbs

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/IMG_1374-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/IMG_1364-1.jpg

4) Did another alignment. After several hours late into the night I was finally content (or was it resigned?) with my alignment.

Camber: -1.75
Caster: +5.5
Toe: 0

I absolutely maxed out the shimming on the rear control arm bolt, about 3/4" of shims. On the front bolt I had about 5/8" of shims. I could get more caster, but at the expense that my tires rub on the rear of the fenderwells, so I was trying to avoid that.

5) K&N Filter

That's it! After I install better pads, I am ready to take it to the track. The more aggressive alignment settings and weight loss (70lbs) should pay dividends in how well the car performs next time out. Can't wait!


looks like an awesome day bud! congrats on getting to THE day!......man your instructor talked a lot......the non stop jabbering would get me off my game....what do they charge out there for a day ?

Thanks shortrack, I had a blast. The instructor talked a lot but it was like having another brain onboard. He really helped me smooth out my driving and make it more consistent. That day through NCRC was $125 I think with 1-day NCRC membership.

[John Wright]

LOL... removing the spare tire is another item that will save some weight. :)

[sik68]

LOL... removing the spare tire is another item that will save some weight. :)

Haha, very true...All my trunk stuff comes out for track anyways so I can't really count it in my weight-savings scheme. My instructor was 190lbs but I dare not consider him dead weight :)

[John Wright]

All my trunk stuff comes out for track anyways so I can't really count it in my weight-savings scheme.I figured as much...LOL, I imagine that a loose spare tire suddendly slamming up against the sides of the trunk might be a distraction when you are testing the limits of adhesion.

[johnnymac46]

great work, I too am young blood to the sport, just turned 23 a couple days ago. I bought a 68 back in april, however it is far from where you are. keep the updates comin.:cheers:

[Jim Nilsen]

Haha, very true...All my trunk stuff comes out for track anyways so I can't really count it in my weight-savings scheme. My instructor was 190lbs but I dare not consider him dead weight :)

Promise him lunch if he can reduce your lap times otherwise he will have to go hungry so the extra weight won't effect the outcome,LOL

Get a panel of something on that rear seat to trunk opening, it might not be required for your configuration but it will look better and stiffen up the car a bit more if mounted securely, it should add less weight than lunch.

I wish track days were only $125 around here instead of $225 and $300 +.

Were all watching and cheering for you !

:cheers:

[musclecarmatt]

just read all 18 pages.....man...thats awesome car!...i'm 24 years old....glad see some other younger guys working on old muscle...i'm upgrading my 71 RS for autocross events...amazing what alittle work and upgrades can bring these cars to life!

[Gitter Dun]

Lol, you remind me of myself when I first got started,

YOUV'E BEEN BIT!!!!:cheers:

[CarlC]

It's really more like a hit on a crack pipe. Once you strart.....

Great stuff in this thread. You're forturnate to be able to shift directions based on your new expectations now, and not after the car is "done."

[Flash68]

Great build and detailed thread. Just read the whole thing. Congrats to you and getting where you want to be.

[sik68]

Thanks for the encouragement all!

Today I received these:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/IMG_1378-1.jpg

PFC 01 front and rear. Expensive as hell for pads, but I had to do it. I plan on slowly developing my braking technique and these pads will be able to take anything I throw at them. The track guys over at www.corvetteforum.com swear by them, and they're running more HP, much better drivers, and are on slicks, so I should be good to go. Or rather, to stop.

For the C5 Corvette calipers I have, the part #s are:
Front: 0731.01.15.44
Rear: 0732.01.17.44

Here's where to get the best prices:
http://shop.motorsportbrakespecialists.com/main.sc

Now to come up with a McGyver-style cheap brake cooling solution...stay tuned.

-Steven

[PhillipM]

Removing the back seat, that's is hardcore. I used to do that on another vehicle I had too:) I got tired of it after a while and just started leaving it in. Good luck at your next track day!

[Oakesters]

Nice Car,Pics with the new hood on?

[shortrack]

I wish track days were only $125 around here instead of $225 and $300 +.

Were all watching and cheering for you !

:cheers:

yeah no kidding....up here its $400 for a day at the Mosport GP track but that includes lunch!.....I do understand it though Mosport is extremely fast and they are required to have like 7 marshalls around the track at various corners (almost all of them blind) in order to get insurance, still......theres another track around that basically rips around an open field that charges like $150

[Zanie]

..........they are required to have like 7 marshalls around the track at various corners (almost all of them blind) in order to get insurance, still....


why would they employ blind marshalls?
:lmao:

[MrQuick]

latest track report please...

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

go go go!!

[sik68]

Haha, ok update time. I have several mechanical issues as collateral damage from this weekend. But nothing broke so I consider it a success. But the car is going to require some extensive preparation for its next track day because the scary stuff that unfolded this weekend opened my eyes. All I can say is that you car is always vibrating loose, so use tie wire or loctite etc everywhere possible. My mechanical fuel pump started gushing fuel on track, due to loosening bolts from vibration. Then, my carb bolts that hold the baseplate to the body vibrated so loose that I was getting a vacuum leak. Had we not caught that, they would have eventually fell into the engine and kaboom.

Lesson learned, track days are to be taken seriously, so over prepare. Thoroughly examine your cars ahead of time. I was fortunate that my problems were fixable, but I am not going to keep pressing my luck.

My fiancee Jackie came to support me:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/IMG_1612-1.jpg

Here's my car and Asifnyc in his crowd pleasing Javelin. He ran great all weekend in Group 3
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/IMG_1599-1.jpg

I weighed my car: 3098 full of fuel, without driver:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/IMG_1595-1.jpg

With driver: 3257
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/IMG_1584-1.jpg

I had a blast meeting some of the pro-touring.com guys. I have several videos coming, here's the first:

Aw65EyWWXc4

[Chad-1stGen]

Just checking that neutral still works... ha ha I love it.

Holy lap traffic though wow!

[nicks67camaro]

Very cool....What were the top speeds you were hitting?

[asifnyc]

awesome video! you were too fast for group 2. should have been in 3 at least (maybe even 4). thanks for the ride, it was great until the fuel pump decided to separate...

[Nessumsar]

Looks like you do need to move up at least a class! Good job out there.

Glad to hear your fuel pump didn't turn into something far worse.

[sik68]

Asif, I had a great time being track buddies with you this weekend. Feel free to tell everyone you know that your car grips so well it makes people throw up. HAHA. Group 3 is definitely in my future, but I was very happy in 2 this weekend getting used to being in traffic with simultaneous passing going on. I have some nice sunset pictures of your car, should I email them to you?


Very cool....What were the top speeds you were hitting?

Hi Nick,

Early in the weekend (when the motor felt better) I banged the rev limiter a couple times at 6200rpm in 4th down the front straight, several hundred feet before the braking zone. That figures out to 127mph. Getting out of turn 14 with some speed is key. I stopped launching hard out of 14 because oil pressure drops to 0 on sustained right turns :eek:. A new oil pan is likely in my future.

[nicks67camaro]

Did you have any front end lift at those speeds?

[sik68]

Did you have any front end lift at those speeds?

To be honest I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention to that. Probably was, but the steering wheel was mostly dead straight during that time so I wouldn't be able to "feel" it through steering inputs, even if I was paying attention. By the time I turn the wheel into turn 1, I was down to around 80mph

[nicks67camaro]

Gotcha. Whats next on the "tweak" list

[MrQuick]

Asif, I had a great time being track buddies with you this weekend. Feel free to tell everyone you know that your car grips so well it makes people throw up. HAHA. Group 3 is definitely in my future, but I was very happy in 2 this weekend getting used to being in traffic with simultaneous passing going on. I have some nice sunset pictures of your car, should I email them to you?



Hi Nick,

Early in the weekend (when the motor felt better) I banged the rev limiter a couple times at 6200rpm in 4th down the front straight, several hundred feet before the braking zone. That figures out to 127mph. Getting out of turn 14 with some speed is key. I stopped launching hard out of 14 because oil pressure drops to 0 on sustained right turns :eek:. A new oil pan is likely in my future. yikes, and an accumulator

oh and a cowl mounted oil pressure gauge. LOL

[Zanie]

That was a fun ride thanks for posting that up.

[CarlC]

It's amazing how much oil a timing chain cover can hold. Champ makes some nice pans at a very reasonable price.

[sik68]

I talked to my engine builder today about my low oil pressure...he wants to see my oil filter. Yikes. I may have found out about oiling the hard way. We'll see. Nick...can you call a bottom end teardown a tweak? Haha.

Here's another short clip from this weekend with some great action. Asifnyc is riding shotgun.

bvyYuN75H64

[Flash68]

Great videos. Your driving looks pretty good already!

[MCMLXIX]

very cool... looks like the passenger needs a Holy S#!t handle....

[John Wright]

Hope your engine survived....doesn't sound good if he wants the oil filter to cut open and review.

[nicks67camaro]

Oh no! good luck with the filter check. Are you running a mechanical or electrical gauge?

[sik68]

Oh no! good luck with the filter check. Are you running a mechanical or electrical gauge?

I'm running an autometer pro-comp mechanical gauge. Are there issues with these?

[nicks67camaro]

None that I know. Are you running the copper or plastic type sender? with high speeds and engine movement things do move around is there a kink somewhere? I have had some odd things happen that I would never suspect. Start poking around.

[RYU]

It's been really nice following your build. Definitely one of my favs.

It's even better seeing someone spending money on improving their driving skills versus improving their car first! That's so... well... refreshing, because i've been saying that for years!

Now that you've got some track time under your belt, do you feel you need any more frame stiffeners? Do you have any plans to do that?

I've got a 66 A-Body but short of boxing the frame or installing a cage there's not much bolt on frame "stiffeners" out there.

[CurtiSS 69]

very cool... looks like the passenger needs a Holy S#!t handle....

Hopefully a better passenger seat is in consideration for future upgrades. The stock seat with an $8 Home Depot carpet anti skid mat is barely making it, but it definitely adds to the fun & excitment! The passengers are developing Popeye forearms.

Regards

CurtiSS 69

[sik68]

As promised, 1 more video. On the last lap, I close in fast on a 997 Turbo Porsche. I won't spoil the ending, but it's worth watching:

IU-qQROtDuc



It's been really nice following your build. Definitely one of my favs.

It's even better seeing someone spending money on improving their driving skills versus improving their car first! That's so... well... refreshing, because i've been saying that for years!

Now that you've got some track time under your belt, do you feel you need any more frame stiffeners? Do you have any plans to do that?

I've got a 66 A-Body but short of boxing the frame or installing a cage there's not much bolt on frame "stiffeners" out there.

Thanks! Yes I have a 6pt cage in the plans by the new year. I can definitely feel a lot of body flex over turn 5, where it's a downhill right hander. Also feel a ton of flex in the rear of the car when I hit the curbing on the apexes of turns. The rear is definitely loosey-goosey and needs to be tightened up to let the suspension do its job.

And YES CurtiSS, new seat too :).

[John Wright]

I thought those cars that were out there on a parade lap would never get out of your way and let you run....LOLz

[ho428]

I have several mechanical issues as collateral damage from this weekend. But nothing broke so I consider it a success. But the car is going to require some extensive preparation for its next track day because the scary stuff that unfolded this weekend opened my eyes. All I can say is that you car is always vibrating loose, so use tie wire or loctite etc everywhere possible. My mechanical fuel pump started gushing fuel on track, due to loosening bolts from vibration. Then, my carb bolts that hold the baseplate to the body vibrated so loose that I was getting a vacuum leak. Had we not caught that, they would have eventually fell into the engine and kaboom.

Lesson learned, track days are to be taken seriously, so over prepare. Thoroughly examine your cars ahead of time. I was fortunate that my problems were fixable, but I am not going to keep pressing my luck.


Use Lock nuts everywhere possible.

Also, if you have drivline vibrations they will not go away, find them one at a time and fix them. A PITA but nothing beats a smooth running car.

I drove mine through the pilot bearing coming out of the crank in a race, vibrated so bad it broke my shifter, trans case, harmonic balancer, alternator, and finally kicked the belts off and left me stranded on the track with about 4 laps left, but I was running second and didn't want to pit.
No telling what else but that's all I found so far.

If you use zip ties for stuff make sure it's not heavy or harmful to other cars if it comes loose, and always use at least two ties. Seems one will always break but with two neither will.
About the only place I use them is brake duct work and wiring.
Don't use sheet metal screws unless absolutely nessesary, and then only inside the car, never where it can come loose on the track and cut a tire.

Only Loctite bolts that do not have to come off regularly. Lock washers and or nylon lock nuts, etc... for everything.
Check your cotter pins regularly to make sure they're still there.

Mark certain bolts to easily see if it's moved, I had the bolts come out of an upper ball joint in a race, I never thought to put a wrench on those after the initial build. Now I have lock nuts there instead of the supplied lock washers and check them often.

After awhile you get used to what to look for though, but there will always be something new come loose.

[sik68]

LOL, looks like I can out drive the stock oil pan:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/IMG_2258-1.jpg

Engine goes back to Rex Hutchison for (hopefully just) a refresh, while I gather parts for a better oiling system.

That is all!

-Steven

[ledslinger]

neat rig! i got to join you for a track day, my dad lives in danville, funny, i just turned 24 yesterday, building a 68 camro

[John Wright]

Sorry about the "color" in the filter Steven. Check into that Canton Road Race pan....those things have trap doors and kick outs to help with oil control. I haven't tried mine out yet, but it looks like it will do the trick. Also has a place for a low oil indicator, or oil temp sender. They are kinda pricey when you get to looking at oil pans, but...cheaper than copper and babbit in the bottom of the pan.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/ctr15240t_w-1.jpg

[Steve68]

Ya, that doesn't look good,

[nicks67camaro]

Sorry about the "color" in the filter Steven. Check into that Canton Road Race pan....those things have trap doors and kick outs to help with oil control. I haven't tried mine out yet, but it looks like it will do the trick. Also has a place for a low oil indicator, or oil temp sender. They are kinda pricey when you get to looking at oil pans, but...cheaper than copper and babbit in the bottom of the pan.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/09/ctr15240t_w-1.jpg

I am running this pan. It works really well. Good luck with the rebuild.

[Gitter Dun]

Glad to hear your workin' on your car. Be sure you let your builder know what your engine is going to get put threw so that he can clearance all the bearings properly. I also noticed that at Thunderhill you were taching pretty high before turn 1, might want to think about a gear change. If so, let me know and I'll see what I could come up with. Dont be afraid to except free-bee's, what comes around goes around. I try and help my buddies out and I get the same in return. To expensive to do it all on your own.

The pan John posted is the way to go. Go into the Pegasis racing site and pick up the Mocal oil thermostat then look into a Setrab oil cooler. The coolers are a bit pricey but IMO the best. Be sure to use 12 an lines, volume is always good.

I've been where your at more than a few times, keep your chin up, in time I see some solid track times coming out of you. :twothumbs

Wont be long before you are in HPDE 4 mixing it up with the crowd.

[sik68]

Thanks to everyone for the advice; I have finally gathered all the parts for the oil cooler and accumulator setup. I will post about this over the weekend as I begin the test fitting. Setrab, Mocal, Accusump, Aeroquip, and the gracious donation from CurtiSS of the CV road race pan...can't beat that!

Big news though...scouring Ebay really paid off this week, as I scored an unbelievable deal on a pair of 1 year old Sparco Pro2000 seats and 6 point harnesses, lightly used. Yes, I already have an older Pro2000 seat, but it was pretty worn out. This new setup is much better.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/IMG_0327-1.jpg

The seats will go in right away, but I can't do the 6pt until I get the cage installed...which I'm targeting for early spring. Soon after that is a fuel cell and fire suppression. I've come to realize that I want to go beyond "pro-touring" and place a lot more emphasis on making my car track worthy.

I'm finally pulling the engine this weekend for the rebuild...stay tuned!

-Steven

[srh3trinity]

Nice score on the seats!

[Gitter Dun]

Nice score Steven. As far as roll cage goes, consider an Auto Power cage. They have 6 point bolt together cages for first gen Camaros that are DOM .120 and NASA/SCCA approved. I think they are around $1000 now. I had mine welded in and together and it saved me a ton of money not having to have one fabbed.

I went in and visited Rex Hutchison a few weeks ago. I was expecting a younger guy. We talked for about an hour, great guy.

[Flash68]

Nice stuff! I'm putting that pan on soon as well. You gonna have this ready to go for RTTC2 in late Feb? I think I saw a post of yours saying you were in. We gotta get a Norcal group to cruise down there together.

[shortrack]

About the seats.... weren't you worried about buying them without sitting in them first.....I went to a car show once and sat in about a dozen seats some really expensive..... I'm like 6'2 230 and the only seats I felt comfortable in were some cheapo Chinese jobs.....so I bought them....do they come in different sizes?.....the ones I saw seemed built for 100 pounders.....D

[sik68]

Nice score Steven. As far as roll cage goes, consider an Auto Power cage. They have 6 point bolt together cages for first gen Camaros that are DOM .120 and NASA/SCCA approved. I think they are around $1000 now. I had mine welded in and together and it saved me a ton of money not having to have one fabbed.

I went in and visited Rex Hutchison a few weeks ago. I was expecting a younger guy. We talked for about an hour, great guy.

Thanks Gaetano. I will look more into the Autopower setup. Did you use their door bars and "dashboard bar" for lack of a better term? How well does yours fit up against the headliner? Both Dan and Rex are great people. What were you in there for, more power?!

Flash, yeap I'm definitely in for RTTC. I am holding off on my cage plans until after that event, so my car doesn't get stuck in someone's shop when I need the car most. I just noticed your 68...you bought that car from a guy in Modesto right? I was drooling over that thing when it was on Craigslist! It's badass.

Shortrack, besides those seats, I already had a Pro2000 seat in my car that was just old, so I knew I'd fit. I'm a svelte 5'7 150lbs. Your Cup car project is awesome and if I must say, is more worthy than "Chinese job" seats. I'm sure you could get into a Sparco Evo 3. They'd also be much safer, as you can attach the seat back to the roll cage. I really think seats are undervalued in a car build; I can drive my car so much harder with good seats.

[CamaroAJ]

i went through all 20 pages. its good to see more people building cars to beat on with a budget. good work.

i could hear in a few parts of your videos the rear wheels skid when you let out on your clutch on the down shifts. i had that problem from time to time in my vette when i was first learning to heel/toe. what helped me alot was practicing on the freeways off ramps and turns around town that didn't require stopping. it helped alot on track and is increasingly more important when you start pushing the car more on track.

[sik68]

12/14/10 UPDATE: Engine is back!

Whew! What an expensive lesson I learned: Don't track your car with a stock oil pan. Rex Hutchison said I actually caught the problem rather early...could have been worse. I spun a main bearing, which got the crank so hot it cracked it in the journal. So after a complete teardown, they line honed the block, replaced a bunch of stuff like rings, valve seals etc, and put it back together.

I picked up the fresh engine over the weekend (they even gave the block a new paint job).
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/IMG_0016-1.jpg
Canton road race pan 15-240 and their sandwich adapter.

I also spent a lot of time mocking up my oil cooler/accumulator setup. Here's the Setrab cooler test fit:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/IMG_0017-1.jpg

Here's another shot, showing the Mocal thermostat and Canton accusump. Ideally, the accumulator wouldn't be positioned on the fender, but it was a packaging issue and I just wanted to make the install as simple as possible. I also used a small fortune worth of Aeroquip fittings and hose. Short of a dry sump, I think this is about the best you can do for a small block Chevy.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/IMG_0018-1.jpg

Run To The Coast 2011, here I come!


i went through all 20 pages. its good to see more people building cars to beat on with a budget. good work.

i could hear in a few parts of your videos the rear wheels skid when you let out on your clutch on the down shifts. i had that problem from time to time in my vette when i was first learning to heel/toe. what helped me alot was practicing on the freeways off ramps and turns around town that didn't require stopping. it helped alot on track and is increasingly more important when you start pushing the car more on track.

AJ, that's been the toughest adjustment for me driving on track, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's something I'm working on though! Thanks for the tips.

-Steven

[shortrack]

12/14/10 UPDATE: Engine is back!

the toughest adjustment for me driving on track, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's something I'm working on though! Thanks for the tips.

-Steven

you can also increase your idle speed rpm so the engine doesnt fall on its face every time you let off on the gas......it can make for smoother transitions

[srh3trinity]

Glad to see you are getting back into the game. I am looking at oiling pretty intently right now. In some regards, if it is worth doing, it is worth over doing. I am aiming at doing it right the first time.

[Damn True]

Thanks Gaetano. I will look more into the Autopower setup. Did you use their door bars and "dashboard bar" for lack of a better term? How well does yours fit up against the headliner? Both Dan and Rex are great people. What were you in there for, more power?!

Flash, yeap I'm definitely in for RTTC. I am holding off on my cage plans until after that event, so my car doesn't get stuck in someone's shop when I need the car most. I just noticed your 68...you bought that car from a guy in Modesto right? I was drooling over that thing when it was on Craigslist! It's badass.

Shortrack, besides those seats, I already had a Pro2000 seat in my car that was just old, so I knew I'd fit. I'm a svelte 5'7 150lbs. Your Cup car project is awesome and if I must say, is more worthy than "Chinese job" seats. I'm sure you could get into a Sparco Evo 3. They'd also be much safer, as you can attach the seat back to the roll cage. I really think seats are undervalued in a car build; I can drive my car so much harder with good seats.

Before you do that, head out to West Sac and talk to John Pagel at Evil Genius Racing. He builds tons of spec E-30, spec Miata and other cars and he is a NASA tech inspector. Does rock solid work, super, super guy and his prices are reasonable as hell. Just take a look at having genuine, structural, roll protection. If it's too much, at least you'll have explored the option. IMO it'll pay dividends in terms of chassis stiffness as well as safety.

[Flash68]

Flash, yeap I'm definitely in for RTTC. I am holding off on my cage plans until after that event, so my car doesn't get stuck in someone's shop when I need the car most. I just noticed your 68...you bought that car from a guy in Modesto right? I was drooling over that thing when it was on Craigslist! It's badass.


Hey bro-- I didn't see this post til now. I am trying to avoid doing something too big right now too so I can make sure I'm good to go for RTTC. A road race oil pan and some suspension upgrades are what I am sticking with til after the race. You're right -- that would blow if either of our cars got stuck and was not able to make it down south.

Yes, I did get this from the guy in Modesto. He was not able to sell it for quite awhile then gave up posting... I found an old ad and then looked him up on Lateral G... I've been pretty happy with it so far, thanks! Other than every damn gasket and seal leaking on this car from underusage or no usage over the past several years, it's been great. LOL

You're in Walnut Creek... I cruise by there 3-4x a week on my way to San Ramon. Maybe I'll try to meet up with ya sometime you're there and chat. Would love to check out your car.

[sik68]

you can also increase your idle speed rpm so the engine doesnt fall on its face every time you let off on the gas......it can make for smoother transitions

That's a good idea! what rpm range would you suggest? With the aluminum flywheel, heel-toeing is an all or nothing proposition since the revs change so fast. The upside is that it doesn't need to be blipped as hard. The downside is that you need to be quicker with all the motions otherwise it gets squirrly!


Glad to see you are getting back into the game. I am looking at oiling pretty intently right now. In some regards, if it is worth doing, it is worth over doing. I am aiming at doing it right the first time.

Yessir oiling is definitely worth any preemptive cost. It was sickening enough seeing the oil pressure degrade throughout the course of 4-5 sessions on track, then to hear the "thump thump thump" of the engine all the way home, then pull the filter and see flakes, yank then engine, and get the phone call from the builder on how much its going to cost. I almost quit the hobby like 17 times because of all this :)


Before you do that, head out to West Sac and talk to John Pagel at Evil Genius Racing. He builds tons of spec E-30, spec Miata and other cars and he is a NASA tech inspector. Does rock solid work, super, super guy and his prices are reasonable as hell. Just take a look at having genuine, structural, roll protection. If it's too much, at least you'll have explored the option. IMO it'll pay dividends in terms of chassis stiffness as well as safety.

I do have those guys on my radar, thanks for reaffirming. They are building Asifnyc's Javelin race car for the American Iron class. They are doing great work for him, so when and if I ever have disposable income again, I'll be looking at them. www.asifnyc.com for a blog on the build.


You're in Walnut Creek... I cruise by there 3-4x a week on my way to San Ramon. Maybe I'll try to meet up with ya sometime you're there and chat. Would love to check out your car.

Hey Dave, I'm in Lafayette actually but seems like more people know WC. Yeah that would be good to meet you; bring your car if you can! I do keep my car at my parents' place in Sacramento though, so it may not be as easy to see mine. When it's up and running again I'll be bringing it down though, so I can break in the engine and tinker before RTTC. Just give me a heads up when you're passing though and hopefully we can make it work.

[shortrack]

As far as the idle speed I dont know where your car idles now but if you speed it up too much it will run on when your trying to shut the car off, thats no good....just play with it.

[Damn True]

I do have those guys on my radar, thanks for reaffirming. They are building Asifnyc's Javelin race car for the American Iron class. They are doing great work for him, so when and if I ever have disposable income again, I'll be looking at them. www.asifnyc.com for a blog on the build.

Another option is TC Design Fab in San Jose. A bit more expensive but not shockingly so. Difference in overhead. Tony does excellent work.

[Flash68]

Hey Dave, I'm in Lafayette actually but seems like more people know WC. Yeah that would be good to meet you; bring your car if you can! I do keep my car at my parents' place in Sacramento though, so it may not be as easy to see mine. When it's up and running again I'll be bringing it down though, so I can break in the engine and tinker before RTTC. Just give me a heads up when you're passing though and hopefully we can make it work.

Cool. Yeah I was just in Lafayette a week ago to try on helmets at IO Port Racing.

My car is in Gilroy for the next 4-6 weeks so I plan to get it back up here (Dublin storage unit) by Feb 1 and have some time to drive it a bit before RTTC. We should try to hook up then when our cars are here. Then it's off to El Toro!

[Flash68]

Another option is TC Design Fab in San Jose. A bit more expensive but not shockingly so. Difference in overhead. Tony does excellent work.

Unless they moved, they are in Milipitas. They do very nice rollcages and alignments. They did my my 996 Turbo when I had it and are very well thought of it in that community.

[Damn True]

Unless they moved, they are in Milipitas. They do very nice rollcages and alignments. They did my my 996 Turbo when I had it and are very well thought of it in that community.

Right you are sir. Houret Dr. is Milpitas. I tend to psycologicaly draw the southern border at Great Mall Dr. Incorrectly so.

http://www.tcdesignfab.com/projects.php

http://www.evilgeniusracing.com/

[ledslinger]

its awesome to see a car built as you go along.

[67zo6Camaro]

Steven, just got wind of the build....Wow. Nice work. And as many said before, it's great to see your post from start to goal completion...the track!

Looking forward to meeting you in person and seeing the car at RTTC2.

Brett.

[Flash68]

Steven - what's the latest? RTTC is coming right up! You still planning on trailering down there? Would be sweet if you cruised it with us on the road trip!

[sik68]

Steven - what's the latest? RTTC is coming right up! You still planning on trailering down there? Would be sweet if you cruised it with us on the road trip!


I am WAY behind schedule on getting my car back together...but I'm hoping to get the it fired up this weekend. I appreciate you calling me out with my project thread though...it's that extra kick in the pants that I need.

I would like to drive it down there, but my car has way too many gremlins to trust it and never have enough time to chase them all down...besides I'm bringing 2 people with me and I've removed the back seat.

I'll keep you posted. Congrats on getting your car to full throttle; must be nice to discover some free hp.

Steven

[Flash68]

Well you're ok. Still 3+ weeks left to work it out. Understand on the trailering vs driving.

Full throttle is always a good thing! Let us know how your weekend progress goes.

[sik68]

YAY RTTC!

Without a doubt, Run To The Coast was the coolest thing I have ever done with my car. Sure, I would have enjoyed having more road course laps, but I've never been to an event where the energy was just pure, v8 muscle cars that were all getting an honest-to-goodness beatdown. The whole event was automotive excess: excessive horsepower, excessive noise, excessive wheel spin, big budgets, little budgets, you name it this weekend had and I was a part of it. What a blast.

Drove down I5 on Friday with hit and miss rain. My grandfather's impeccably maintained 90 Dodge Cummins had towing duty:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/IMG_0047-1.jpg

I am proud to say that my car didn't have a single mechanical failure this weekend, which you may know by now has become a rarity. The car is making good power although it's still running rich as a pig.

Each event taught my something new about my driving style and abilities, as well car's capabilities and limits; so it was a real blast uncovering the shortcomings. What I learned:

Speed-Stop Challenge
1) I am weak at launching my car. All I can think about is clutch preservation.
2) Fuel load has a tremendous impact on rear brake bias. For fear of locking them up, I didn't stop very hard. I didn't bother adjusting the prop valve and just moved on.

Autocross
1) If your car understeers, there is no hiding it in an autocross. I felt like a farmer...you know, plow. I NEED to get rid of understeer.
2) My brain is not calibrated to the fast hands needed for cone-dodging. My times really suffered from not grabbing the car by the scruff enough.

Road Course
1) If you have pad knockback issues, you're going to have busy feet. It was actually a lot of fun trying to do so many things at once, but I could see it getting old pretty quick :) Going to diagnose the problem before my next track outing.
2) Slow-in Fast-out really is a great mantra to drive by. Rushing the corner entry really got me nowhere, especially with the understeer-prone car. All of my most successful corners were those that I went in slower than I thought I could go, because I could come out of them in a blaze of glory. And fast exits are way more fun then fast entries anyways.
3) These 280 treadwear tires just don't cut it as far as maximizing my competitiveness. They're a soft sidewall tire with lots of squirm...I was always doing a lot of handwork without feeling like I was really planted into corners. The car drives with a lot of destabilizing characteristics, which are fun to some extent because I like the challenge; but now that I have the stopwatch ticking in my head, I want to take some of the spook out of my car and go faster.

I even got the pink hat, for a relatively mild spin that you can see in my video clip from Saturday. Yee Haw!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/IMG_0072-1.jpg

cI4u2dUSh18

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/IMG_0074-1.jpg

It was great putting some faces with names; I wish I had more time to hang out with everyone! This weekend was priceless. Thank you to everyone who came up and chatted with us; it was so great meeting other people who are passionate about pro-touring.

-Steven

[asifnyc]

awesome! glad to see the car's running again!

[Nessumsar]

I was nice to meet you out there Steven, even if it was at the very end of the day. Your car looks good out there. You think you'll make it down to the August RTTC if there is one?

[Gitter Dun]

Glad to hear the car held together for you Steven. A little more time and tuning and she'll come to you.

[RicerwannaB]

Just read this whole thread, Took a good part of a few hours. Great work and I love the progress! I cant wait to start on my project here soon!

[sik68]

awesome! glad to see the car's running again!
Thanks Asif. I've been watching your updates on your AIX build, and the vids where you're building the car at the speed of sound. Very cool stuff. What's your timeline for some shakedown runs with it?


I was nice to meet you out there Steven, even if it was at the very end of the day. Your car looks good out there. You think you'll make it down to the August RTTC if there is one?
Jon I really appreciated you coming up to us to say hi; it was great to meet you. I will definitely be at the next event, although it's rumored to be in norcal from what I hear?!


Glad to hear the car held together for you Steven. A little more time and tuning and she'll come to you.
Thanks Gaetano, I'll be picking your brain! Let me know your racing schedule and if I have a free weekend I'll come and spectate and crew for your if you need it.


Just read this whole thread, Took a good part of a few hours. Great work and I love the progress! I cant wait to start on my project here soon!
Hey thanks a lot! Glad it was interesting enough, haha. Let me know when you get your build started.

[Flash68]

I will definitely be at the next event, although it's rumored to be in norcal from what I hear?!




Really?? I have not heard of this but it sounds great to me!

[johnnymac46]

any updates?

[sik68]

Hey johnnymac! Thank you for bringing this one back out!

I am sorry to report no real updates on the car lately. I knew RTTC was the last time I would drive Trackday for a while, as this spring/summer is full of other commitments: wedding, honeymoon, her going back to school. All good things of course, but the car will be on the back burner until we figure out the new budget.

Driving the various events at RTTC helped me pinpoint the shortcomings of my current setup. My next few part purchases should make my car handle better.

[Flash68]

Hope to see ya at an event soon Steven once your life settles down a bit! Best wishes with everything.

[sik68]

Well the snowball effect of tracking my car continues...I bought a trailer.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/07/P1030750-1.jpg

18' Big Tex. A friend of a friend just upgraded to enclosed, so I was more than happy to take this off his hands. It's got a dove tail, electric brakes, leaf springs, and short height fenders that I can open the doors over. I need to do D-rings and a winch and should provide years of reliable service. Awesome! My next track day is Buttonwillow with NCRC Sept 17th and 18th...and I'll be looking a bit more legit.

[johnny68]

way to go steve great deal
john

[Gitter Dun]

Congratulations Steven!! looking forward to seeing you at Buttonwillow!!

[Ratty 46]

Just read all 22 pages of this thread ... I can only say: Impressive!

Good luck on the next stage of your progress. I'll use some of your trials & tribulations as inspiration on finishing my Bonneville inspired '46 ford coupe ...

Ratty 46

[dusterbd13]

we use a similar trailer. a harbor freight winch welded to the front has been handy more times than i care to admit. same with the d-rings.

we modified ours to make the drivers side fender removable, as we used to have a track only c4 corvette.

also, we built a two tier tire rack on ours for slicks and rain tires, as well as a place for 4 gas cans. i can get pics of ypou want them

Michael

[ROBS6T8]

I'm liking the trailer Steven. And I've liked your build for some time.
We'll be there at Buttonwillow too. Hopefully Orngasm will be driveable. Might still be in primer but hopefully not. Looking forward to meeting a few folk there. It seems as though I'm missing all of these fun events... not this time!

[Flash68]

Congrats Steven! Nice addition to your race "stuff" :)

[Nessumsar]

Nice addition Steven. Hoping to see you at Buttonwillow!

[sik68]

Thanks you guys, I am pretty stoked for owning a trailer. It's a can of worms...I didn't realize I was buying a whole 'nuther project. :) I will have to hold off on getting a set of sticker tires for Trackday.

Michael, those pics would be great if you have them, or if you or anyone else can give me some good tips as to good locations for the d rings.

Also, if anyone has good recommendations on hand crank winches (brand, cable load rating, etc) I would be much obliged. An electric winch setup is too rich for my blood.

Robert, good luck getting your car together in time. There's no shame in primer!

[intocarss]

Just read all 22 pages. Great build (brought back memories of when I was young) You did an awesome job building and driving your Cammy And I bet you learned that.... Speed, Hp, Tq, and Racing is an addiction that there is NO cure for!!

[geberhard]

wow read through the build and loved it, very inspiring!!!!!! Gui

[sik68]

Just read all 22 pages. Great build (brought back memories of when I was young) You did an awesome job building and driving your Cammy And I bet you learned that.... Speed, Hp, Tq, and Racing is an addiction that there is NO cure for!!


wow read through the build and loved it, very inspiring!!!!!! Gui

Thanks you guys! It is an addiction but luckily everyone in the family encourages the habit. I'm just a track day fiend for now that has fun running along side many "more suitable" track day cars. In my 5-10 year crystal ball I see a Factory Five cobra or perhaps an AI car to become competitive with. There's cheaper ways to play hardball, but I can't see myself on track with anything short of a v8.

I'm headed to Buttonwillow September 17th & 18th with a bunch of the guys on here...going to test out the new sway bar and maybe break in a new set of tires....or at least finish off the old ones once and for all.

And look out for some major upgrades over the winter. I'm going to go on a safety binge.

[Flash68]

Thanks you guys! It is an addiction but luckily everyone in the family encourages the habit. I'm just a track day fiend for now that has fun running along side many "more suitable" track day cars. In my 5-10 year crystal ball I see a Factory Five cobra or perhaps an AI car to become competitive with. I can't see myself on track with anything short of a v8.

Readers, look out for some major upgrades this winter. I'm on a safety kick.

I like your style Brother ! I share your vision of maybe an AI deal in the next 5 years or so. Have you seen this new California series Agent 47 has been talking about?

http://www.agentfortyseven.com/A47racing/index.html

[sik68]

Oooh la la first I've heard of this, but that's a top tip. Gut a vanilla ice mobile, drop in an LS1 and go have some fun!

[shortrack]

if anyone has good recommendations on hand crank winches (brand, cable load rating, etc) I would be much obliged. An electric winch setup is too rich for my blood.



FWIW.....I have a 1200 lb hand winch and its a decent workout winching the car up the gentle slope of the driveway and into the shop....I couldnt imagine trying to pull it up ramps and onto the trailer.......D

[Hondo78]

Great thread! "Willows" is a great track.
Just a tip: I just hung a cheap Harbie Freight 8000lb winch on my cheap open dove tail trailer with a 2" receiver hitch, and ran a quick disconnect (Ebay) with used 00 welding cable to the front of my PU works great dragging my dead cars up off the street. It gets you to the track without any drama.
Keep up the thread, enjoy following your progress.

[sik68]

Hi again!

We were at Buttonwillow this weekend; I had a blast!

Buttonwillow is a great track, it is much flatter and more technical than Thunderhill, so it tests the car and the driver differently. I feel that T-hill is a track that can be driven 1 corner at a time, where as BW has so many consecutive corners that it's more critical to be connecting the dots. Saturday I ran a fast lap of 2:20 in the 1CW configuration which felt pretty decent...I see many places in my video where being more patient or being more aggressive would really bring down my lap times.

Here is a video from the 3rd session in helmet cam mode
pHqt3oyB_0k

The engine just bogs below 3000rpm; I need a tuneup badly and plan to change a couple of my downshift zones.

Setup Report!
I installed a Hellwig rear sway bar (oops no pics) and it really makes a difference with how the car rotates through the corner. You can see in older videos, my hands were constantly looking for front grip...the front tires would skid everywhere throughout the corner. With the rear bar (in the softest setting), the understeer is still there but it has been dialed out quite a bit. I can carry more speed through the corners now, and get on the throttle more aggressively coming out. It is fun to have adjustability on the car!

I cannot kill these Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's! The more I heat cycle them, the longer they last. They howl like mad in the corners but they don't lose any depth. I may have to just kill them with an autox day or something. Gitter Dun sponsored my procurement of a pair of 275 width R888's...so it looks like I'll be rolling on R-Comps soon! Very excited.


Carnage Report!
After a full day of HPDE on Saturday, I broke a rocker stud with 5 mins to go in the last session. I was so relieved that it was such a minor issue for a change. For whatever reason, it only had 3 threads of engagement with the stud to the rocker arm nut.

Here is the aftermath:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/09/P1040100-1.jpg

Remainder of the stud (3 threads) left inside the nut
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/09/P1040099-1.jpg


The failure mode was pretty surprising to several of us, as we would expect 3 threads to simply shear off. Not the case here, as the threads survived but the shank failed. My non-expert diagnosis is this is what you get with a fatigue failure of a very hard (brittle) bolt. Look at all those internal cracks though; I can't confirm yet if these are ARP or other brand studs, but it is eye-opening to see several included cracks like that.

I am going to check the rest of the studs...either they're too short or this rocker simply wasn't installed correctly. Upon first inspection, there is no apparent damage to anything else, woo hoo! Engine builder is going to get a call from me when I check out the rest of the valvetrain.

It was great to hang out with everyone. I'll be sure to bring more XX next time!

-S

[Nessumsar]

I was glad to find out the carnage was at a minimum. Can't wait to get back out there with you guys.

[sik68]

Hey guys, I'm pleased to report the car is back up and running; after helicoiling the rocker stud threads and replacing all studs with longer ones, problem solved. Seat of the pants tells me I have more power now that all valves are operating at full lift. 45mph+ rolling burnouts are pretty awesome.

Also, I just picked these up for my car...anyone care to guess what they are for?
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/01/P1040167-1.jpg

I'm getting geared up for RTTC; can't wait!

-Steven

[Flash68]

Hey dude I was just gonna email you after your old 2010 Thunderhill thread got bumped up.

Gotta love some more power, even if it's just in your head. :)

No idea on those mini springs... popout eyeballs maybe? LOL

[MrQuick]

Hey guys, I'm pleased to report the car is back up and running; after helicoiling the rocker stud threads and replacing all studs with longer ones, problem solved. Seat of the pants tells me I have more power now that all valves are operating at full lift. 45mph+ rolling burnouts are pretty awesome.

Also, I just picked these up for my car...anyone care to guess what they are for?
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/01/P1040167-1.jpg

I'm getting geared up for RTTC; can't wait!

-Steven

I know I know, those are the fancy Pozzi springs to keep you off the brake pedal right? Never seen them from that angle before though.

[UMI Tech]

Hey guys, I'm pleased to report the car is back up and running; after helicoiling the rocker stud threads and replacing all studs with longer ones, problem solved. Seat of the pants tells me I have more power now that all valves are operating at full lift. 45mph+ rolling burnouts are pretty awesome.

Also, I just picked these up for my car...anyone care to guess what they are for?
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/01/P1040167-1.jpg


I'm getting geared up for RTTC; can't wait!

-Steven

Stronger springs for the differential?

[sik68]

Haha, all good guesses; they are knockback springs for my rear calipers. My pads will always slightly drag but I don't put many miles on the car so it's worth it to me to fix the problem.

They are from PFC and I measured them at 5.5 lbs of force fully compressed.

My knockback is pretty bad so I'm looking forward to seeing if these springs do what they are supposed to do. Will report back!

[UMI Tech]

Makes sense now that you mention it. Let us know how your pedal feels.

Awesome thread by the way, I read through the whole thing awhile back. Love the videos.

ramey

[John Wright]

Steven your threads and updates are always fun to read. I enjoy reading when I can detect the passion and excitement in what I read. Keep up the good work.

[sik68]

Hey hey thanks everybody. Now that I've had the time to digest everything from RTTC, there are some interesting things to report

Results
Road Course 1:47.5
Speed Stop/Slalom 25.035
Auto X 44.574

I am definitely happy with my results, all things considered. It's pretty weird that my road course time is a lot better than my autox/speed stop times; I cannot really isolate why this happened, other than that I felt comfortable with the car on the road course and felt like we were fighting on the other events.

Knockback & Knockback Springs: I don't know of many people that have used these and written a review, so I decided to be the guinea pig and put some information out there. Each spring is 5.5lbs fully compressed, and I decided to install two of them behind the piston of my rear calipers. Theoretically, the springs push the piston, keeping the pads in slight contact with the rotor at all times. However, as soon as I popped the piston out of the caliper I knew that in practice these weren't going to do a darn thing. The theory is nice, but the o-ring in the caliper causes way too much drag with the piston to make it effective. The piston doesn't move with 11lbs of force, nor would I suspect it would with 20 or 30lbs. So, they proved to be pointless at installation, and even moreso on the track. My knockback has been degrading for a while now, as I am pumping the pedal constantly during autox, and 2-3 times before each road course corner just to get some bite. Pretty distracting.
Solution? I really need to tear down the rear end and probably replace some key components, whether its the axle bearings or the housing itself...it's something I shouldn't be battling with.

R-Comp Tires I wanted to try a different set of tires for this event. Figuring that the car was running on 300tw last year, I decided on 100tw R888's...at least I would be averaging 200. Being on a budget and out there more for experimenting, I scored some 255/40/17 fronts and 275/40/17 rears with $70 total invested into the set. Needless to say, they were pretty well used up to begin with. It was a great lesson in handling vs. grip.

Handling The car handled so much better. R888's have really stiff sidewalls compared to my Goodyears, so it ratcheted the steering feel and overall spring rates up by a HUGE margin. The car felt so much more alive. And going from 245GY to 255Toyo was actually over an inch of width to the pavement so the car felt more balanced. From the video, you can see that coming out of the turns the car was pretty neutral.

Grip Grip was a different story, and a great lesson in heat cycled tires. Outright, I don't think the grip level was that much greater than my Goodyears. I was still breaking traction in a straight line up to the same speeds as before, so that was a big indicator that I was about the same in grip. However, the Toyos seemed to like heat a lot more...they got progressively stickier lap after lap, whereas the Goodyears would quickly get slick.
If I had to do it all over again for $70, I'd still choose the used Toyo's over the Goodyears. Next time I have $1000 for a set of tires, I will buy a new set, something that gets me on the official results list.

Reliability It seemed to be a war of attrition out there this weekend, a reminder that what we are doing is hard on our cars. I am very happy to report that my car just kept going all weekend. Vitals were good thankfully. Good oil pan, oil cooler, accumulator, and 10W40 Redline is all it takes to make an engine happy! The TKO has a bit of a problem shifting at high rpm, but I just learned to be patient and wait for it to double-click before letting the clutch out.

People It was the people that made this event so great. I met and hung out with a lot of gearheads with great cars and great personalities. Big shout out to guys of the Road Touring Customs, they're a really cool crew...you heard it here first, they are a force to be reckoned with in the near future. John, Aaron, Erich, Todd, Dave, Carl it was good hanging with you guys for however short it was.

Here's a video from Friday's road course, putting down the power the best I could. I think I run about a 1:51, the 1:47.5 came Saturday.

4qwcqPWndDo

http://youtu.be/4qwcqPWndDo


Until next time!

[lt1chevelle]

nice, looks like u where driving on ice! nice driving

[RYU]

I experienced the same knockback issues on my 66 CHevelle although at the time I didn't know it was called that. Unfortunately the problem is only aggravated with big fixed caliper like the Z06 C6 PBR 6pots & 4pots units I had. After every turn there was a dead spot in the pedal of maybe 1-1.5". I think the problem can be alleviated with better spindles which incorporate a better hub design and a more robust wheel bearing. This made me want to switch to a floating caliper setup real bad for it would allow the caliper to float with the deflection of the rotor as shear forces become high, say during hard cornering. :(

[sik68]

nice, looks like u where driving on ice! nice driving

Thanks! I really like racing at El Toro because there's nothing to hit except cones. On a 'real' track I don't have the guts or the wallet to attack corners the same way; I normally keep it slow-in, fast-out....but sometimes it's just too fun to pitch a car into the corners and see if you can keep it dancing the whole way through.



I experienced the same knockback issues on my 66 CHevelle although at the time I didn't know it was called that. Unfortunately the problem is only aggravated with big fixed caliper like the Z06 C6 PBR 6pots & 4pots units I had. After every turn there was a dead spot in the pedal of maybe 1-1.5". I think the problem can be alleviated with better spindles which incorporate a better hub design and a more robust wheel bearing. This made me want to switch to a floating caliper setup real bad for it would allow the caliper to float with the deflection of the rotor as shear forces become high, say during hard cornering. :(

Hey thank you for the heads-up. I do run the C5 Z06 floating calipers in the rear, but alas, still have knockback. My axle end-play is ridiculous...I will measure it and capture some video; I think that's the main reason I have knockback. I'm looking at replacing the whole rearend because it's a sketchy sensation when you're not wholly concentrating on it.

Great photos on your blog!

-Steven

[PhillipM]

Any new updates Steven?

[sik68]

Hey Phillip, thanks for checking in!

Car has been parked since my last post (3/16/12!). It wore me thin trying to keep the car going while living 2 hours away from it, only having the scarce weekend here and there to wrench. I'm at the point where I would rather drive the car than be working on it...but don't have the budget to have someone work on it, ha! I've been in hibernation, pretty much saving up and planning out the next iteration: Trackday, Safe Mode. Cage, fuel cell, 6pt harness, fire supp, hans, etc. are all on the table.

I pulled the motor a couple weeks ago and going to have it sent out for a refresh (to a different shop this time!) and make it more reliable...perhaps even get more than 2 or 3 track days out of the motor without finding metal in the oil.

Thanks!
Steven

[PhillipM]

Cool thx for the update! You've got to get yourself a garage!!

[arue333]

An new news?

[sik68]

Hey thanks for checking in! I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Trackday has been pretty dormant while my wife is in school. She is out in a couple months, and the next phase of the project kicks off. I have a fuel cell and fire suppression kit waiting, and going to have a cage built. I'll be sure to post it all up when it happens!

[EL T1]

Love this car.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

cool track rat

[uk68327]

So 3 years in, any updates, did you get the cage, fire suppression system and fuel cell installed?

Love the car btw, I am biased as I have a 68 as well :cool:

Come across this thread due to searching for power steering options (my old pump can’t handle the newer box), going to pull the trigger on the same unisteer setup as well.

Cheers,
Mark