Testing

Well during a window of dry weather today Rich was able to go out and hammer the brakes and they did lock up. (Guess I was being a sally. :lol:) No lock up from the rear but the fronts did. So if that's the case with the prop valve set at max, we could have a larger than optimal MC bore size. Of course, as you said, the pads could be a factor as well. Will check that out tmrw.

Oh, I did find out I have a 16 gallon fuel cell when all along I thought (and was told) it was a 12 gallon. That's good news for the road trip!

So it all seems to be all workin' out for you now...

What's up with that?

:D

My HD Motorsport kit came with a skeletonized back door for the case that the instructions said it reduces audio wind noise up to 100 mph. I think it's shown in the replacement housing picture but no text reference? (The back with 3 foam pads on it seperate from the housing)

http://gopro.com/camera-accessories/...t-hd-housing//

Road test
 

Put a few gallons in the tank, tightened up my Wolverine high top drivin boots, and headed to the "Garlic Farm" proving grounds for an afternoon rodeo. The first lap was greasy as expected, then the tires warmed. After that it was on. Power oversteer, slight push but managable by right foot. You could hear the front tires squeal as I pushed thier threshhold. Right then left figure eights, hard acceleration then brake test, lock up, modulating as not to flat spot the tires. Rear brakes did not lock up with the front, however they are doing thier job. Steering is great for the tight stuff, the variable ratio box allows you to drive with one hand on wheel and on on shifter, rarely using other hand. Did get into second, but ran out of room quickly. In the short time it gave more confidence as the tires and brakes got hotter. This baby is a handfull, pipey like a two stroke, raw and bare bones ride. Probably not a nitpick driver car, but a kick in the ass to have a great time. Isn't that what its for? :hail: Nice car Dave, thanks for letting me be part of the evolution. Lets kick ass next week! Run whatcha brung!:cheers:

Great write-up Rich.

Hallmark should hire you to write cards for the gearhead market those fancy boys at that company have seemed to overlook. :mad:


:lol:

That can change as quickly as the weather forecast for El Toro next week. :_paranoid

Aha! Ok I just found it with all my other accessories. Guess I missed that one. LOL. I've been running the solid back door and will switch that out next time. Thanks for enlightening me! :thumbsup:

Hey, how come I haven't been to the Garlic Farm Proving Grounds? :lol:

Awesome review man. I didn't know you had it in ya. :D

See ya soon...

It's the Wolverine boots, Sally! :D

Right on Dave! Sounds like you are really getting that beast dialed in. Can't wait to see it in person! I ended up selling my SBC and am getting all my stuff together for a BBC
.

I need some heavy duty boots too apparently! :lol:

Thanks man... we're getting there... slowly but surely.

Congrats on the sale and the upcoming BBC... that's gonna be a beast. :D

Thanks Dave I hope so! My little SBC ran good....lol

Possibly stating the obvious, but you haven't accidently taped up the mic on the camera?

Great watching the videos - we need more! :cheers:

I don't think I do. I looked to confirm the mic location, but I am pretty sure it has to be these 3 little holes that I left uncovered.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...h68/photo1.jpg

Thanks Mark

I agree. That's great Dave. Good luck!:thumbsup:

Well at least it's not something silly then :) Regardless of that, it still sounded awesome :thumbsup:

Cool vids Dave and that engine sounds freakin awesome.

Yeah, she's a sweet ride.





:lol:

Thanks guys.

Skip -- linky no worky. :willy:

Freekin hackers...I wish they'd target someone else's posts. :mad:


:D

Haha I knew it was either going to be that scene or a juicy van scene. :D

Although I am an approved supplier, my inventory is limited and thus becoming more and more predictable. :(

Shake and Bake!
 

Magic Man and El Diablo in full effect! 1015 miles of driving and racing. :willy: Thanks to Doug Renner, Roger at Ironworks, Dave "Obi Wan Kanobi" Pozzi, and the massive Pro Touring community. Epic road trip and race weekend. Dave, you made me proud.That boy can drive!:hail: :wow: :bow: :cheers: :woot: :yes:

Abracadabra Holmes!

Not surprised Flash that you no longer hold the title of tonites episode when it comes to 'trackin' it'... :D

Very nice Dave!:cheers: :thumbsup:

My life has changed
 

Wow. What a way to spend a long weekend. I can't remember more fun with a car or more good times with a bunch of car freaks. Awesome racing and social event rolled into one. I'm hooked. Sorry if this post is going to be novel-like, but it really was the best weekend I can remember having, so bear with me, or go read Todd's epic thread. :lol:

So much to be thankful for and people to thank. My good buddy, crew chief, and wrench Rich Bermea/Road Touring Customs -- great road trip and we did what we intended to do and then some. Thanks for all that you did for me buddy. Can't wait til the next one!

My Camaro buddies Vegas Todd and Doug Fresh are the best. Great guys with awesome cars and so hospitable with their homes, tools, advice and support. I consider them great friends.

Also thanks to the Tennessee boys Bill, Yancy and Danny for all they did and continue to do for us. The volunteers were great and got to talk to many of them during the days. Many I "know" from the forums. Too many to list that's for sure! :cheers:

1010 miles of great American road trip (I called it the Half Lap of California) that started on Thurs morning and continued til Monday when we pulled back into home base in Gilroy. The car proved more than valiant and only had a few minor hiccups (some driver induced of course).

We'd had oil leaking a bit more than we liked out of the driver side valve cover breather and just got the Moroso baffles in Thurs morning. After we (Rich and I in my car and Rod towing his sweet Camaro) hooked up with the Newman boys in their sweet 55 Chivy in Paso Robles, we headed over to Ironworks in Bakersfield to meet up with that crew - Rodger, the Speedtech guys, and the Northwest guys Greg, Bob and Tim. Great BBQ spread provided by Speedtech and Rodger let us borrow Brycen for a bit to skillfully weld on the baffles, which Rich then installed. Problem solved. Thanks Rodger. :cheers:

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...68/photo-8.jpg

As temps hit 43* over the grapevine, our duct taped heater vents (no heater, remember) helped curtail the cold air and we managed to get to Doug's house around 9pm to meet up with Doug and Todd. Badmotorfinger had gotten us there safely. 1st stage completed.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...hoto_001-8.jpg

Friday cruise was money. Great route mapped out and there was just a tad of rain. RainX worked pretty good for me. Well, it kinda has to. :D
Had a great run thru the Ortego Hwy chasing Yancy in his 5th gen Camaro with Dfresh following. We broke from the pack and had some fun in the twisty canyon roads. But my GoPro was full so no vid of that. :mad:

Had lunch at Bob's Big Boy after hanging at Spectre for a bit - we were late for the food and wanted to get back to Doug's for some tuning on my car. Rich, with Todd sitting in his chair directing (not really), made some adjustments and got the car into race ready form for the weekend. My coil wasn't looking good and leaking a bunch so Doug had one on his wall (seriously) and he let me have it. Thanks Doctor Fresh. Doug also masterfully handled the Tri-tip, chicken, and brats on the BBQ. Rich and I handled the beer since Todd is no fun anymore and Doug only drinks Moonshine.

Saturday heading into El Toro and getting ready to race created a feeling in me I have not experience since high school I think -- that anxious/nervous/excited energy that one cannot put into words. You just can't buy that stuff anywhere and better than any drug I ever tried. :_paranoid

Had a good first day and laid down a decent road course time of 1:13 as we were in the first group and the wettest condition. I was :01 off Todd for our morning group of 20 cars and his 1:12 was the best of the group. Can't complain there for my first road course effort ever.

On to the autoX and conditions had improved. I got 3 or 4 runs I believe and laid down a 39.5 best for a pretty respectable time. That slot car Vette hit a low or mid 37 for best time of Saturday. We then got shut down for the Speed Stop as the timers were not working and they decided to fix it for Sunday.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f..._3106317_n.jpg

As you know, it was party time at the Renner facility that night and it was great meeting more and chatting with more friends and sharing laughs... mostly at Doug's expense. I can say that apple cider moonshine tasted non-alcoholic yet was 120 proof I believe. :thumbsup: Yes I had a slight headache on Sunday morning but it didn't matter -- it was go time.

Started with 3 Speedstop efforts, but they were telling us the wrong stop box location for 2 runs so that was kinda messy. More runs later there so that was fine.

Went over to road course 10 min practice session and hit our first snag -- a janky shifter linkage had me off the track in the first half lap -- limped back to the pits in 3rd gear (that's fun with a monster solid roller cam). Rich made the adjustments and we were back in business for more AutoX and Speedstops after lunch. Bummer to miss out on the practice session on the dry road course as it woulda definitely helped me later.

Went over and nailed about the best I could do on the Speedstop on the 2nd effort so I said I'm done. Save the brakes and car for the road course and autoX. I think Todd ran like 17 times on the Speedstop after I quit. :rofl: I still don't know what my time was though.

Went over to AutoX next and spun out a couple times in the same spot trying to be a hero. We did up the rev limiter from 7000 to 7400 since I was bouncing off it way too early and it wasn't worth shifting into 2nd. Not much better sound IMO than hanging it out at 7k+ rpm for a few seconds. I was setup well for this course since I could stay in 1st gear (I top out at 70mph with my M21 and 3.55 gears) and focus with 2 hands on the wheel.

On my 10th and final run of the weekend I nailed my best time of 38.8, which should have me in the top 10 and I think top 6 or 7 based on talking to others. But for some reason I wasn't listed in the top 10 when they announced it and not sure why. Hoping it will show up as everyone there said it was a clean run. Here's that run (720HD is best)



Last was the road course and I needed to improve by several seconds to make my goal of getting into top 10. Thought I needed a 1:08 or 1:09 to get there but not sure where I ended up. Todd says he thinks he was about 1:10 for 6th, but I think his time had to be better. Again, we still don't know our times there yet. Here is my road course run. (720HD is best) I need to quit putting my damn hand on the shifter for no reason!!

Headed out on Monday from Doug's for the drive back. Gorgeous day to cruise home. 60+ and sunny. :thumbsup:

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...7_990997_n.jpg

Stopped in Gorman for gas and lunch, and decided I had a Snow-Touring photo opp.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...8/DSCF3282.jpg

1010 miles later we were home. Dead tired. Ears ringing. Worth every cent, minute, and not enough sleep. I will never forget this trip.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...8/DSCF3292.jpg

Man Im so jealous! That sounds like a blast.

Glad to hear you guys had a good time. Nice times!

That's Awesome, Dave! Glad to hear it was such a great trip and experiance! I so wish I could have been there...Blake even offered to pick me up on the way down...but I had to work! Oh well, another time!

Your car looks great in race form! I bet you got a ton of looks as you blasted down the interstate! :thumbsup:

Just watched the vids you posted...sounds awesome dude!! You did a great job of driving...both hands on the wheel tho! ;) I can totally see why you are hooked!! :yes: :thumbsup:

Very nice...especially like the stance. :thumbsup:

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...323_368505.jpg

Wow Dave, sounds like it was an absolute great time. Glad the car performed well for you with little hicups.

I was impressed with Dave and his car boys. :yes: This was his first real event. To drive that far and run so well.. You deserve to be stoked.

That nervous energy doesn't go away. It's been there at every event for me. It's a drug only racers feel. :D

I'm really not sure what I ran just yet. With a 1:12 in wet, sloppy conditions, I'm sure my best run Sunday was in the 1:05-1:10 range. Two years in a row with a dead battery in my go pro. :faint:

Your car looks great Dave.
Can tell your proud.

Sounds great Dave and car looks awesome.

It was sick watching your car run. Just flat out mean. Your car was in my top 3 for most entertaining... and most bad ass. The Detroit speed 70(?) and the Speedtech Nova were my other favorites.

Great write up! I really wish I could have gone. So cool to see the car performed great. Congrats....:thumbsup:

Great write up Dave. It was fun watching you come off the chicane and blast your car down the straight! You're a rookine no more Bro...:lol:

What can I say Dave, fantastic vids, car sounds angry as you come off the throttle :cool: Love the write up, I think I need to move to the US :unibrow: and join in the fun!