In Iowa!

Ok, folks...I'm going to try to real-time post from Iowa, if the electronic gods cooperate.

The team is all here, Stephen, Robert, Kevin and myself, along with Dennis. Everyone got here fine and we're going to bed. We'll be attempting to get through tech early tomorrow and practicing on the speedway. Robert, Stephen and Dennis actually got to ride around the track today with the Iowa Speedway "track boss," they report that the "rumble strips" in the infield section are essentially CURBS and we should treat them as such...hope none of us end up going over one!

Check back here for more updates...

Jamie

The Race!

To make a long story short...we came, we raced...we had a few minor problems...we finished!

The Top Ten Notes:

1. Having your first ever time around VIR full course being at 10:45 pm on a moonless night is...not fun.



2. Having a wheel center break out (!) of the left front wheel under braking is...exciting, but not fun.



3. Racing 83 other cars at VIR is...FUN!



4. Some folks on our team can really drive. I'm not one of them. Wayne is.



5. Changing out superheated calipers when the caliper seals blow is...not fun. Being filmed for a documentary/reality show WHILE this is going on just makes life more interesting. Being interviewed immediately after the fix was...surreal.



6. Lacey 2 is a better race car than Lacey 1. Period.



7. Ethanol-based gasoline outgasses A LOT MORE than avgas. This leads to interesting experiences when you pop the filler cap at the first pitstop after using avgas. Thank you, Robert and Stephen figuring out and instituting a fix.



8. Watching the sun come up after a day and night of racing should be on everyone's bucket list. Awesome...and that's an overused word.



9. The 'never say die' attitude within RiffRAF Racing is something I wish everyone could experience. Very uplifting!



10. If we had to lose a position in the final hour due to having no brakes, I can't imagine anyone I'd rather lose it to than Piggy. Nice job, Ken!

We finished 20th of 84 cars...first time out with a new car that was much better than anticipated. On to the Chumpionship!

VIR Pre-race--Keeping Calm and Carrying On!

The "Classic VIR 24" has been over for almost two weeks now, but I'm still coming down from the great feelings of accomplishment. Simply making the race at all, considering where we were May 1 (no car, little time, oh my...) was a Triumph of monumental proportions, but to finish 20th out of 84 entries was even better! Here's the whole story...

After the usual mad dash to finish the final components on the car, Kevin and Robert drove up Thursday night to make sure we got good spots for the paddock and the camping trailer they had brought (which became RiffRAF HQ for the weekend). They ended up 14th vehicle in line if I remember correctly.

When I got there early am Friday, there were probably 100+ vehicles in line outside the gate. I found Robert and Kevin by walking up the road just in time to have the gates open and them start the long path in. By texting back and forth, we could follow each other's progress, which was added to when Tim ended up about 8 vehicles behind me in line.

Kevin and Robert got a GREAT parking spot for the trailer at John Condren's recommendation and we found ourselves in a good paddock spot as well. We were able to thank John by dropping off an ice-cold bottle of water on the way through the line.

Honestly, it was amazing how ChumpCar managed to organize us all in that little space. I heard few if any complaints and we certainly were happy. Soon Joe arrived and we prepared Lacey2 for her first laps in anger.

Practice on the South course went well...but it was really hot. One mistake we made was hooking up the power brake booster on Lacey2. The original Lacey didn't have a functioning booster so we never worried about it. Thinking more brake action was better, we made this one functional, but it cost us dearly down the road. More later.

What it cost us at this point was proper brake bedding. We had new Hawk pads and were not able to modulate the pedal well enough to get them bedded in properly. Consequently, the brakes were very grabby and there was A LOT of vibration when they were applied. After consulting with Dennis and looking up bedding in directions again on the internet (thank you, smart phone!) we took the pads out, ground them to a fresh surface with an angle grinder and tried again. Better, but still not ideal (and still had vibrations). However, the car was at least stopping RIGHT NOW when you pushed hard enough on the pedal.

After we had all tried out the South course (and found out yet again that we have exactly ZERO straight line speed but can out brake and out corner almost any other car in the series) it was time for dinner. We all headed to Shoney's, had a good time, and then crashed for the night.

As for the race, that will have to wait for the next post!

Lacey2 is Finished!!! Yay!

Yay! Lacey2 is finished! Ok, almost finished...there's some numbers/letters coming that will finish dressing her out, we'll apply those at VIR. Kevin's taken her back to Siler City today and will be safety-wiring the caliper bolts, repacking the front wheel bearings, and installing the radio...but...other than that, she's done. Huge thanks go to team members and the extended team with Dave, Ted, Robert, Stephen & Doug especially allowing us to make it to VIR. I wish I could say that I never doubted that we'd make it, but considering the mountain we had to climb starting after the Charlotte debacle...totally phenomenal work, folks.

Anyway, here she is in all her glory... :-)

June 18 Update

Doug, Tim and I worked on Lacey2 today. Doug was able to completely finish and test all the wiring harness and installed all the toggle switches and the main switch into doug-made holes in the new instrument panel. We now have relays for all the lights and fuel pump installed in a really professional looking panel in the footwell, and a cool suit switch on the panel so when we forget to start it in the pits, the driver can start it!

Also, Tim was a workhorse, installing the carbs, exhaust downpipe w/new gasket, brake master cylinder, clutch master cylinder, fan belt, generator, and fabricated screens for the grill and two ducts in the front valence and figured out a way to install the grill as well.

I, on the other hand, can only account for the trunk latch and alignment and replumbing the fuel system up to the new conduit, including a new breather location where it's both more protected and going to stay cleaner and a better location for the pre-pump filter and cutoff valve. Also installed choke cables, temperature sensor, catch can and other miscellaneous items like a ground cable between the body and engine.

I also asked Tim to remove the offending part of the choke mechanism that caught the throttle linkage at Charlotte...it's gone! I have temporarily hooked up the mechanical linkage with a replacement clip (it broke in the wreck) until the cable system is worked out.

I'm hoping to install the rest of the fuel system this week, which will allow us to start the car for a short period (no cooling system yet) just to verify ignition and that everything's OK since the accident at Charlotte.

Please see attached pictures for more details. Note the great front and rear bumpers (that was for Jack's benefit)! Note that the radiator is just placed in and still needs to be recored in Siler City.

Please note that Doug mounted all switches so that "down" is off, "up" is on. We will be labeling everything this time as well, and the switches and gauges are in a much more logical order.

Further Progress

More pictures to share as Lacey-er (Lacey2? It rolls off the tongue better...) comes together. Work session at my garage this Saturday, but you can see the cage & bumpers are finished and there's actually wheels back on the car! Yay!!!!! Tim was kind enough to move the car to Raleigh while I've been out of town this week...

Projects this weekend will include finishing the dash and wiring, sheetmetal work between the rear of the car and front, and many other "small" details :-)

Well, it's been a long time, but here's an update

I had stopped using the blog for updates, but since there have been a lot of pictures taken, it makes it easier to use this for our mailing list. So...

We had a work day today. To catch anyone up that hasn't known what's happened, we turned the TR6 into an awesome...ok...a semi-awesome racecar. And then, when I didn't shut it off as quickly as I should have at Charlotte...it was totaled. So, since then, we've been working on making the car all over again starting from a new frame and tub donated to the team by Joe, our wonderful team member.

The team had a major work session today; the second one in the past two weeks. LOTS was accomplished. We now have four wheels worth of suspension, the engine and tranny are installed (bolts not tightened yet, but they are installed!), all four fenders are installed (thanks, Joe!), a new dash panel was fabricated and pre-installed (will have to be pulled one more time and painted) from Lacey's old drivers' side door. Brakes were installed, fuel pump and ALL electrical harness was put in place (THANKS, Doug!!!) and both headlight buckets were installed (we now have a TR7 bucket on the driver's side).

We actually would have put the car on its wheels, but didn't have enough straight wheels and tires to put it on yet. Jack sent three wheels by Joe today and I will be cleaning them up and painting them to re-create the famous ORANGE set of wheels.

From the top, you can see the new door (and Kevin's temporary (?) numbering). Nice to see how the door fastening will go.

Wanted to show Doug pondering the next move....

You can see the nice electrical panel Doug created for us installed in the footwell.

Also the fuel pump installation (in the trunk for more protection this time)...we will be running the fuel line through conduit through the interior to keep it away from the hot exhaust. This is "chump legal."

You can also see the (currently) camo dash and proof that the engine is installed.

Looks like more work next weekend as long as we can figure out a way to transport the car to Raleigh...I'm out of town, so it will have to be someone else...

Jamie
Squadron Leader, RiffRAF Racing