You looked great out there

That was awesome Todd. It still amazes me how much I feel like I'm riding in the car with you guys when I watch these videos. I wish there was a way you could put up the speeds and rpms in the upper or lower cornes of the video so we could see them as you drive. Verey nice!

Nice job bud:thumbsup: , with those gumball tires it makes you feel like " The King "

Todd, congrats on the lap times!!:thumbsup: Had a great time with you guys this weekend.

We should put together another Buttonwillow September trip next year. :unibrow:

Nice Vid, seams like your doing all the passing!
 

Nice Vid, seams like your doing all the passing! :thumbsup: Grats

Great video and great driving Todd. Car sounds mean.

Good stuff man! Thanks for sharing, car sounds awesome.

Thanks for all the compliments. :cheers: This is really what building these cars is all about, having a good time with great people. The off track festivities was just as fun. In the video you have to remember that the camera was mounted on top of the car. It seems to flatten out the track and make the car in front seem a little farther out. I almost rear ended that S4 halfway through the heat. :lol: After watching the video, I can see where I picked up my 4 seconds at the end of the day. I started to improve towards the end of the video.

The Pettis Performance power was fantastic! The chassis balance was very good. The brakes stayed high and firm and didn't fade all day. Not even a hint of knockback!!!!!!! :willy: :unibrow: :thumbsup: The new aluminum flywheel let me make beautiful downshifts. They are hard to hear with the wind noise.

Now for the minuses. I missed a bunch of shifts. I think the new flywheel and clutch meshed in the first heat and the pedal free play got excessive. I think an adjustment will get my good positive shifts back. My coolant and oil temps got way to high. At the end of the heat in the video, water was 230 and oil 270-275. :_paranoid I later found that shifting into 4th through the middle section reduced temps by roughly 20 degrees. While it was hot, I need to address it befor my next track day with ambient above 75. I felt faster with it in 3rd but turned my 2:14 in 4th. I've got some ideas of what I plan to do to reduce oil temps. You know I'll share my plans.

Gaetano, you are on, brother!:cheers:

Yeah I couldn't hear the revs well on the downshifts.... was it a major adjustment in your heel-toe method to match revs?

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...0916-00007.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...0916-00009.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...0917-00010.jpg

I didn't get around to adjusting the pedals.....

Hey Todd,

Just caught back up on this thread and wow, your car is performing great.

I took a break from mine for a bit after the mad thrash to get it on the road and I'm discovering that working out the bugs can be tougher than building it in the first place...so I admire your perseverance.

Now that it you've had them awhile, I wanted to follow up on your rear springs...are you still happy with the 275 springs in the shorter length? How do they ride on the street?

I'm running 200/12 inch spring on my tri-4 bar and feel they're way too soft...

Thanks,
Jason

great run Todd. I think the track is way better run in that direction; last time I was there they were running reversed, which sucked in comparison.

Jason, I am happy with the springs. They ride fine on the street with the shocks dialed down between 0-2. When I lowered the car .25" two weeks ago, I had to safetly wire the spring to the shock body due to a small gap between the adjuster collar and spring at full extension. I've autocrossed and road raced and haven't encountered any issues.(I have 2.25" compression and 2.75" of rebound) I really depends on your setup. If you have a rear sway bar, going to this stiff spring will require the removal of the rear sway bar. Feel free to PM me any questions....

Jody, I didn't run with Mary and Carl on Sunday but they did run it counter clockwise. I thought the same thing, clockwise seemed like the best configuration.

Next time I'm going to get some real tires. I don't like this two wins and two losses gig very much.

Oh, and nice job on scaring the women and children every time you came by the start/finish. That beast makes all kinds of good noises.

Good times brother.

Mary and I did the CCW thing on Sunday. Though I prefer the CW route I'm starting to like the CCW configuration more and more. In CCW #1, the longest configuration, there are more places where one must be very careful not to carry too much speed vs. the CW arrangement. There were two major off-track excursions while Mary was riding with me, one of them forcing us off the track to make sure there was no bent sheetmetal. The guy that went off in front of us spent the next 30 minutes using the track air to blow out the car. He was carrying too much speed entering Bus Stop and lost the back end of car, spinning him around.

Your math is pretty fuzzy. :D Thos Kuhmos felt pretty sporty to me. You better bring some bubble gum on your shoes next time because my girls not done improving lap times.

Seriously great time......:cheers:

For you guys reading this, me and Carl have a very healthy rivalry and we always are neck and neck regardless of the event. It doesn't really matter who wins as long as it's me. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Quote of the year rt there!! :thumbsup:


PS more pics please

I don't fit in with you all yet. Here's me at BW in 2010

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y3/...willow2010.jpg

Good call on the bubblegum. When Mary was riding with me on Sunday I felt something weird by my feet near the end of the session. The accellerator pedal came off. Bubblegum would have worked. Thanks for the tip!

Let's add 'em up.

Optima = Carl
RTTC2 = Todd
NMCA/Hotchkis/Baer Autocross = Carl
Buttonwillow = Todd.

Plus, if memory serves, you ran the last three events on gummy tires, while my prissy little cupcake has 180-220 treadwear tires.

Game on! It doesn't get much better than friendly competition of this nature. :thumbsup:

You are conveniently forgetting RTTC 1. I know you turned your RF into a square peg but none the less. :unibrow: Last time I checked, anything under 200 treadwear was illegal(Kuhmo Ecsta). You buy me a set of PS2's and we'll see if you can settle the score.:D

Talk my wife into it. That's something neither one of us will win.

I wouldn't want to face reality either...:lol: :cheers:

Thanks
 

Todd,

Thanks for taking the time to record and post the video, let alone all the great tech information you provide. It's appreciated very much.

And this goes without saying, your car is outstanding in every regard.

Cheers.

Jason

Both you guys did great!! I need to be a little more prepared for the next one.

Next time more sleep and a little more wheel time before the event. Oh, and a tire pressure gauge that works!!

Good time bro's, looking forward to the next one :cheers:

This is a passion of mine and I don't mind helping others not make some of the mistakes I've made building this car. The hard work and persistence has definitely paid off. Thanks for the compliment.

Todd, How is the oil cooler progress comeing along?

I've got most of the parts and have started some mild fabrication. Should have it wrapped up soon. I'll post some pics once I get some real work done. :D

Todd,Will you and your camaro be coming out to the optima shoot out this year.

I'll be there, doubt I'll drive the camaro.

I've got people knocking on my front door, emailing, and calling to make sure the post whore extrodinair is still alive. :lol:

I've been busy. For starters, I went on my first Northern Nevada Mule Deer hunt earlier this month. For me, hunting is probably the only hobby that could keep me away from the racetrack or garage. Growing up hunting Whitetails always had me primed to stalk some Muley's. Why it took me 11 years to do it, well, it's Vegas.

Anyway, I shot the buck of my life 20 minutes into opening morning. Poked him at 317 yards on the side of the mountain. After my buddies quit chapping my ass for being suck a lucky ****, I sent him off to the locker and taxedermist. :thumbsup:
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...9/MuleDeer.jpg

Back to the fastest black 69 Camaro on the planet. :lol: I'm trying to stuff a full size truck in a compact spot. If you read my thread, you know that my oil temps were getting a little toasty at buttonwillow. Since I have to plumb in a larger oil cooler, why not over engineer it right? Honestly, my thought is that it will help keep the engine cooler in these brutal Summers as well. I may install a fan later below the grill opening to aid in high heat conditions. Also, I'm switching over to a full synthetic red line oil. My engine builder, Jason Pettis, said go for it and he wasn't concerned with my oil temps for that short duration. Clearly, they must come down and synthetic oil will take the heat better and keep it's viscosity. I was running a partial synthetic Brad Penn.

As usual, this project got expensive. Between the fittings, hose, oil cooler, t stat, it wasn't bad. Then I decided I needed to upgrade the shop for the project.:rolleyes: Nothing to spendy but I picked up a new drill press and belt sander so I can fabricate with more authority. Car's 99.9% done, perfect timing!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...lcooler005.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...lcooler003.jpg

I fabricated the mounting bracket and lets just say when I mounted it, it didn't work out quite like I had hoped. So now, I designed a bracket for my water jet guy and I can still use my bracket, just not how I imagined.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...lcooler014.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...lcooler010.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...lcooler006.jpg

This engine has 3k? and a boat load of races on it. Maybe 15? Anyway, after Buttonwillow I found my oil sender had come loose and was touching my Z bar. It happened while at Buttonwillow since I just had the trans out for the synchro upgrade. Moral of the story, I found a trick extender/or block fitting and I'm taking a few pieces out of the equation. Luckily, it didn't leak or that could've been a bad deal! It's a super tight area to deal with.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...lcooler019.jpg

Dad's coming to town next month and I hope to take him to the SCCA event on the 13th. I'm hoping to surprise him by doing a dual driver deal. He's got enought experience in his Corvette now that I don't feel to nervous handing him the keys.:_paranoid

Nice shot! Nice deer....


Charley's '66 and my new (to me) Mustang have big oil coolers in front of the radiator... and he actually taped both of ours up in order to get the temps UP... after the first 20 minute sessions then we'd pull the tape.

I can't remember -- does the Camaro have an Accusump? That gives you a lot more oil capacity... which also might help with temps??

Drill press and belt sander!! Thats awesome. I love buying new toys for the shop/garage.

What was that block on the left with the fittings and line tapped into it? Attatchment block? I was thinking oil thermostat but never seen that one before.

Nice! High temps and short shifting are a thing of the past!

Mine is going to be mounted partially in front of the radiator support(With a gap of course) and the rest in front of the radiator. I do have a 3 qt accumulator. Big blocks make big heat. :unibrow: I thought about making an aluminum cover for the oil cooler in winter months. I'm hoping the t stat works as promised.

Yep, it's an Earl's T Stat, one way valve, and 3 way to plumb in my accumulator. Starts to open at 165 and fully open at 180. I found that the Mocal and Canton have approx. 10-15% of the oil going through the cooler at all times. This one is supposed to act more like a coolant t stat. We'll see.. My car will run to cool in the cold months at freeway speeds so cooling the oill all the time was not that appealing. (One of the reasons I went with a heat exchanger for oil cooling originally)My decision to go with a 180 was in hopes that it would help my cooling system in the summer in stop and go traffic. It doesn't get to hot but less heat will certainly help my heat soak with modern gas. These are theories and you know how that goes.

You actually fabbed/built something that did not work out? :faint:

What size and brand cooler is that?


I like that simple racer's trick. :thumbsup:

Very nice muley! My 9 year old son has his first elk hunt coming up next week here in northern NM and we spent all weekend at the range for his last practice sessions.

Where did you find the oil sender extension? I could use something like that as I have the same mixture of fittings on my 69 BB.

That will be a blast. An Elk hunt is on my radar. I'm going to start drawing for my Desert Bighorn tag. In Nevada, once you draw a tag, you can't draw for another 10 years even if you don't harvest. Some guys have been trying to draw for a long time. I really want to go back home and hunt some whitetails once of these years. I have an uncle that has some prime land we hunted as a kid. I've missed a handful of monsters there.

I found the extension at Jegs. I can grab the part number?

A part number would be great if you have it handy.

New Mexico is similar, in fact the hunt my son drew is a once in a lifetime hunt. He was finally eligible for hunter safety last year at eight and I put in for every rifle elk hunt I could. As luck would have it he drew a once in a lifetime tag. We are very nervous as we are doing this without a guide and if it doesn't go well he will never have the opportunity again. We are going to try for Oryx next year as they have transplanted them to the missile range in southern NM. There are lots of monster muleys around here but the best areas are on Indian reservation land and the tags are $10,000 plus. And I thought cars were expensive, lol.

Nice radiator design Todd. Great shot as well.
Post some pics when you got him mounted on the wall.:D

Almost took out a very big buck the other night, (on the highway) There moving since the fields are getting cut, You need to get back, Their everywhere..LOL