TSOA - Holden HSV Sprint

Had a play at Wanneroo today with some big V8's (Holden / Chev 5 - 6 litres with 500-600bhp!!!) some not so big V8 (Tr8's) and some assorted other fun TR's and things.

Quite a bit of prep for this meeting including fitting a nice home fabricated strut brace and getting my front rotors machined as they had picked up a nasty warp. Also fitted an oil pressure guage which I was a bit worried would scare me but after an excursion into the sand trap at the last track day and sitting watching my oil light flickering I decided that I needed to know - even if I didn't want to.

This was also my first event with a 4.11 Diff with a Salisbury type LSD rather than my usual Quaife.

Practice went OK getting used to the lower gearing - the strut brace was instantly noticeable with MUCH better turn in - very sharp and solid. Diff was also working really well - just needed some controlled aggression for the short track which demand quite an attacking style - kerb hopping helps! I actually got a better time in practice than in the actual proper timed runs! Fastest non V8 but not quite quick enough for my liking - bit out of practice and the car is now quite a handful changing into 3rd overdrive uphill , flat out on the limit on a left bend - kind of steps out for a good half turn of oppo' at about 80mph - good fun tho' just need a bit of track time to explore the new wheel spin free handling the new diff offers.

Humph was going welll with his new steel rodded , forged piston bottom end and Andy Miller was again the quickest non V8 TR - pic's and Vids to follow

Only issue was my new oil pressure guage telling me that I need an oil cooler NOW!!! I had always been a bit ambivalent to oil coolers as we generally only do 3 laps and I usually run Mobil 1 but looking at the pressure wilt after 3 hot laps especially back in the paddock when all the cooling air stops and the heat sinks in was frankly a bit scarey. After one proper run I threw in the towel as its simply not worth dropping a rod when you KNOW the oils getting too hot - to think I have been in blissful ignorance for the last 10-12years!!!
I have all the fittings for a cooler of my Pi estate but sadly the 16 row cooler is U/S as one of the alloy threads has been damaged and I won't risk such a important part leaking or failing - I have now ordered a 25 Row monster off Think Automotive. This should have sufficient capacity for anything I can throw at it. I will also whip the sump off and weld in a fitting so I can fit the other worry gauge - an oil temperature gauge although hopefully with the cooler this will all be an over reaction.

Practice
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?31/10/2010.BARB.P1

Short Circuit
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?31/10/2010.BARB.Q1

Long Circuit
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?31/10/2010.BARB.Q2

 Nice new homemade / adjustable strut brace - They work!!!!

 Oil cooler adaptor ready for fitting as soon as I get a new 25 Row cooler as my 16 Row one has corroded and stripped fittings. Also I have had my bulkhead plate for my brake master cylinder conversion electroplated and just need to jig it up in wrecked car at Markich to bend the Triumph dual circuit brake lines through 90 degs so I can plumb it all in .

 Just to keep an eye on things this will be going in the sump or possibly in the oil cooler line?

RBRR 2010 pictures

RBRR 2010

Well thats another one done - number 4 after 2002,2004 and 2006 - had to miss out 2008 for the birth of my third daughter.

Second event in Dougs 1964 Mk1 2000 / 2.5PI and for the second time the days in the lead up were spent fitting a freshened up cylinderhead due to lack of valve guides causing a burnt valve.

We only have ourselves to blame as we fitted stainless valves in iron guides back in 2006 (it was all we had at short notice). After 4 years intermittant use (probably less than 10,000miles but including a RBRR and 10CR) number 6 exhaust valve had worn the guide sufficiently allow the valve to burn out (on the way back from Gaydon drivers meeeting !!!)

Wednesday was diagnosis day - check plugs , injectors and valve clearances - all OK although it showed up another fault - plugs 1-2-3 lean plugs 4-5-6 rich so different MU required. Quick blag of Ellis Stokes compression tester reveals 185psi in 1 to 5 and zero on 6 - head removed between 8pm and 10pm - only one rusty bastard stud or it would have been 45mins work and then off to bed.

After mulling over options (including doing the event in a 30mile old 2.5PI spitfire)Doug remembers on old 218225 PI head in his pile of scrap which will refresh easily + we can use the metering unit off the spitfire hence ensuring it is disabled for the RBRR and our sanity will remain intact

Up early to hunt down some supplies of valve paste and fluids and then into head reconditionning on the picnic table in the back garden. Head sorted by lunchtime with a couple of better S/H 32mm exhaust valves thanks to Dale Barker at Moordale.

Head on and torqued to 80ft/lb and quick metering unit swap, oil and fluid change and we are fired up and ready for the event by 4pm with some rainex and a quick immersion of everything in WD40.

Car sounds very fruity so its parked up until 3pm Friday when Chris Lennard arrives and we're off to the Plough.

No dramas for the first leg apart from a prodiguous thirst for fuel so at Blyth we lean off the midrange and from that point on we manage 25-28mpg regardless instead of 21mpg.

Also applied this big screwdriver and hammer metering unit adjustment to Thomas Keys PI at Blythe which was doing about 16mpg but this is only half the problem with his car so we adjust the full load setting from 0.070" to 0.057" at Seaview Hotel and that really helps the wallets of Roger Keys and Dave Kent.

North of Blythe we had to do a quick injector swap (it was an untried metering unit and set of injectors fitted on Thursday and this was the last fuelling hiccup - it even starts on 6 everytime)

Loved the drive from Edinburgh to JOG and arrived a lot earlier than usual - very little traffic after Inverness which made for a superb drive along the East Coast together with the wee Hurricane.

After JOG we had the now customary Cheese and Cracker halt lochside with the Shackford crew + Tom Keys TR6 , Dave Langrick, TS2 and the Coke TR7 - good times .




Well on schedule for pies although needed to fiddle with the starter solenoid at Glencoe and Stirling where I fixed it properly -



Uneventful run to Lancaster after a facefull of pies - pretty hectic rain in places which was a sign of things to come. Lancaster we helped out Roger and Dave in Tom's PI with a new (dodgy) injector hose from under Dave Langricks wheel arch - this failed (unknown to us) in the fuel station causing much grief and a small fire. Obviously they and the car were made of sterner stuff and after a quick bodge by the RAC they continued to Lands End and a proper fix at Bude with another Langrick fuel pipe

I drove again from Oswestry to Gordano on some of my favourite roads and the detour avoiding Llandrinod and Builth Wells in convoy with three other Lucas injected cars (Mk1 PI, Spit PI and TR6) through Newbridge on Wye was a real high point on the dry clear Welsh Roads.





Rain in Devon between Exeter and Bodmin was epic but the screen only hd a odd drip and the car never missed a beat. Glad I persuaded Doug to buy a new set of P6000's.
We were amongst the first at Lands End and the lack of cars and signs of blue sky were wierd after the atrocious weather en-route.

Great new breakfast stop at Redruth and then the relaxed cruise back across Dartmoor to cookies at Pimperne and the usual mayhem back to the Plough for a euphoric Pint and deep deep sleep. looking forward to 10CR and 2012RBRR - but no more head changes please