Superformance MKII, Riverside Racer 289 FIA vintage race car

[Sawdust]

Originally Posted by 1795

John,

Where have you purchased the EBC brake pads for the cobras from? I have found it difficult to find competition brake pads for the cobra. Thanks. One of these days I would like to make it out to the west coast for a vintage race and would like to stop by and visit. Let me know if you are ever on the east coast.

Jim

Jim
Here are two sources for EBC Brakes:
EBC Brakes Homepage
www.tdotperformance.ca

Good luck!
Stu.

[1795]

Received a short video from Fitzgerald Brothers, the engine is on the engine stand and running. Plan remains that Darryl will dyno tune it Saturday afternoon and I will go there Sunday morning, we will do a couple of pulls and then load the engine in my truck for the ride home. I am going to see if i can attach the short video.

https://youtu.be/LmPoRwlaL1M




Jim

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by 1795

Received a short video from Fitzgerald Brothers, the engine is on the engine stand and running. Plan remains that Darryl will dyno tune it Saturday afternoon and I will go there Sunday morning, we will do a couple of pulls and then load the engine in my truck for the ride home. I am going to see if i can attach the short video.

https://youtu.be/LmPoRwlaL1M




Jim

Sounds great Jim....and idles nicely too.

Cheers,
Glen

[Alfa02]

Good Lord Jim, she sounds healthy! Just remember Slow in, Fast out (no understeer) , and with the new Webers sucking (The sound of them doing their job, is heaven) to make HP, now the tires will be a factor (Oversteer). There is nothing more fun then driving with the throttle!!! Oh what fun you'll have, my friend, Cheers Tom.

[Moto One]

A big Gold Star for you Jim, it always seems like friends go missing when its time for some heavy lifting. I'v been removing and installing a C5 Z06 Trans/Torque Tube/Rear sub frame with axels/brakes/suspension two to three times a year on my T-1 car. Surprisingly how handy a skateboard is... Last year I have now found it easer to peace meal them in. its still good exercise keeping the arms/shoulders in shape. Are you registered for any races this season?

Mark.

Mark.

[1795]

Mark,

Yes, they do disappear when the real work comes out. Lucily my son and his friend were around yesterday morning to hold the hood up for me while I re-attached i. NO way that you can do that job by yourself.

I will be leaving in a couple of weeks for Mid Ohio, and then will be doing the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix and SAAC event in early July. The final race right now will be at Watkins Glen in September for the US Vintage Grand Prix.

Jim

[1795]

Well, back home after a long trip to Mid Ohio. Met some new friends and had a great time, but am exhausted. First time out this year, so a little rusty, but made steady gains on each session. The new engine ran great, need to make a couple of minor changes to the jetting as I was running more towards the lean side. The plugs weren't white, but they were not tan either and the engine seemed to run hotter than normal. Upping the jetting to the next size larger jets.

I have attached one video and I need to take a look at the brakes and rotors, seemed to be a little bit of squeaking there when I was hitting the brakes. Did not notice it when driving, but there was no way I would have heard that over the sound of the engine.

For the first time I had to manage the throttle a little. Several times while going through thunder valley I would accelerate hard in second gear and break the rear end loose. Adjusted my tire pressures thanks to the advice of a fellow racer and immediately dropped my time by 2 seconds in the next session. Started the weekend doing 1:53 laps and finished with a 1:47. Still plenty of room to grow and on later races did keep my right hand on the steering wheel and not resting on the shifter as much as in this video of one of the time trials.

Video link: https://youtu.be/9Rh5eRmYByU

Enjoy.

A special thanks to Blas Castagli and Ross Henry who stoped by on Sunday and helped me with the car getting ready for my last run. Saw some fellow cobra owners at the track on Wednesday and again on Friday.

Jim

[Blas]

Any update on the coolant issue?
Blas

[1795]

Blas,

Did not boil out as much water the last race. I think that it was due to the higher pressure radiator cap. I am thinking that the increased temp for the coolant was secondary to the engine running on the lean side, and we finally got all of the air bled out of the system. I am going to put in the next size larger jets and then test that theory at home. I have a couple of weeks until Pitt race. Also am going to see what I can do about getting better ducting to the brake rotors as there were times when the brakes would fade some and then I would have to start braking early. A course like Mid Ohio is tougher on brakes as you are hitting the brakes almost every 20 seconds with the only long pause on the back straight.

Speaking of the back straight, it seemed to get shorter with the new engine.

Jim

[Alfa02]

Jim, nothing in your post that make's me happier, then hearing your keeping your right hand on the wheel too Pretty soon it will be second nature. Make's me laugh to think your going down the track, going o'yeah Tom said "Hands on the Wheel" Glad to hear everything went well, and yes the straights do get shorter, we call that "Cartoon Fast" I'll explain in our next phone call. Cheers my friend, Tom.

[Moto One]

Jim, came across your video (I'm a subscriber) all looks good. Cant remember did you change the shifter linkage, your shifts looked much smoother.

Mark.

[1795]

Mark,

Thanks for the feedback. I readjusted the shifter linkage at the end of last year and replaced all of the spring clips with cotter pins to ensure that the linkage stayed attached. I did not notice any problems with shifting this time, everything was smooth. One less thing to worry about on the track.

Jim

[1795]

I had a good discussion with a fellow racer that was driving a C4 Corvette. He is an older person and a fairly good racer. We were both discussing how we had each reduced our lap times during the race weekend and we both are similar in that we are predominantly one man shows. We tow our cars to the races, perform all of the maintenance, get our own fuel and cover all of the expenses out of our own pockets. We spend more time repairing and prepping our cars than we do on the track and are scrambling to get to the grid on time. We have limited race budgets.

We then compared ourselves to the big teams that show up to the track in which the driver never touches a wrench and has one or more mechanics whose job it is to prep the car, make adjustments and have it ready for each race. All the driver has to do is be ready on time. Many of these race drivers have much larger resources than us and can afford to build engines with significantly more horsepower, as they can afford to have the engines replaced or rebuilt after a weekend or two. Some people own the cars and have professional drivers race their cars for them.

This lead to another discussion that went something like this, it is easier to drive a car to its limits when you have unlimited resources and can afford to replace it, or if you are a professional driver and it is not your car, than if you have limited resources and if you crash your season, or possibly several seasons may be over.

On this weekend at least five cars were totaled in the first day, probably over 20 for the weekend. There were 5 vintage racers that I know locally who went to Mid Ohio, one car was rolled and had to have significant work done to get it on the trailer and another one hit the wall the first day and had to have some body work done to get it back on the track and then it blew the engine on the last day.

I think that those thoughts sit in the back of my mind as I am on the course and pushing the car. I certainly am not doing parade laps, and have a competitive nature, but find myself not aggressively taking someone in a corner if it looks like there is a substantial risk of contact. I could have passed a Porsche in a corner, I was gaining on him and he over braked for the corner, but it was going to be tight and I would have had to get up high on the curbing to take him and would have carried possibly a little too much speed, so I broke hard and and that threw off my momentum going into the corner.

We both came to the conclusion that while we can be competitive and will seek to become faster, we will never be able to compete against race teams that can afford to build engines that are grenades and replace/repair cars that are damaged in short order.

As an aside, was talking with Jim Inglese today about changing my jetting and he asked me for a better picture of my car than what I had sent him as he is revamping his website and wants a picture of the car on it.

Jim

[CSX 4133]

Yikes, sounds like a very expensive weekend, for some anyway. As vintage racing becomes more popular it seems it's bringing less experienced drivers into the sport.
I hope none of the totaled cars were in Group 6 as I know most of them.

[1795]

Originally Posted by CSX 4133

Yikes, sounds like a very expensive weekend, for some anyway. As vintage racing becomes more popular it seems it's bringing less experienced drivers into the sport.
I hope none of the totaled cars were in Group 6 as I know most of them.

Steven,

No accidents in Group 6, we were one of the few groups that did not have any contact. However, there was some attrition do to engine and other mechanical issues.

Jim

[Moto One]

Jim, please don't take this other than this is the coach coming out in me. After watching you last video (more than a few times). May I suggest that you keep your eyes forward more, drive your line, and let the faster driver coming up from the rear work around you on exit of corners, (it's their responsibility to safely pass you) Your responsibility is to check your mirror on or just after exit of a corner and then give way if needed. When you stay consistent in your line it keeps everything predictable.

Mark.

[Alfa02]

Jim my friend, you have just what us vintage racer's want to hear. Your there for the "Sportsmanship, friendship, or just to be part of something we enjoy. A very good friend & fellow racer once told me, come the end of the weekend the prize money between 1st and 10th, is the same I think I have mentioned this before. We live by 4-rules in "Vintage Racing" 1-Take care of the other driver. 2-Take care of the other drivers car. 3-Take of your car, and 4th Take care of yourself. You live by those rules, and come the end of the weekend, your car will be undamaged by you or the other's around you, and that's what you take home, fun, friendship, and even a job well done The more time you spend with your group, and the more they trust you (It can a take season or two) then you can to start to run fender to fender or nose to tail, that's when the REAL FUN start's. Trust me Jim, I spent 16+ years running with the "Boys" and none of us EVERY touched each other, sometime it was CLOSE, but that's for another day . Again Jim I'm proud of your attitude, and mindset, toward vintage racing, keep it up Pal. Cheers Tom.

[Moto One]

Jim, when Dennis lowers the car,(and I'm suer he knows) too check the play in the rear axels/CV play, we suspect that is what cause my CV to pull apart. I'v add one spacer at the hub to add some slack in the CV's. It never cross my mind when lowering and adding some camber that it would cause the axel/CV play to become too tight.

Mark..

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Moto One

Jim, when Dennis lowers the car,(and I'm suer he knows) too check the play in the rear axels/CV play, we suspect that is what cause my CV to pull apart. I'v add one spacer at the hub to add some slack in the CV's. It never cross my mind when lowering and adding some camber that it would cause the axel/CV play to become too tight.

Mark..

Jim's (1795) car has a Salisbury diff and therefor the Spicer sliding spline halfshaft axles rather than CV joints. Dennis will go through the car properly and return it ready to race at Watkins Glen. The standard ZF diff with the CV joints is not eligible for vintage racing.

[1795]

Originally Posted by Moto One

Jim, when Dennis lowers the car,(and I'm suer he knows) too check the play in the rear axels/CV play, we suspect that is what cause my CV to pull apart. I'v add one spacer at the hub to add some slack in the CV's. It never cross my mind when lowering and adding some camber that it would cause the axel/CV play to become too tight.

Mark..

Mark,

Thanks for the thoughts. As Rick said, I ordered my car sans differential as I had to have the Salisbury rear end to qualify for vintage racing. Dennis was able to point out a couple of things from the start that we will be working on. He also is going to manufacture a set of spacers, 1/2", and two at 1/4" so that I can play with the lowering and find an optimal performance level. Dennis is also going to see if he can get some brake cooling brackets that attach to the rotors to focus the air coming from the cooling ducts and more directly cool the brakes.

Jim