Forgot that I also have an engine coolant temp update.
I ended up talking with Tuff Stuff Performance who makes the waterpump for the Vintage Air Frontrunner kit. They suggested that my issue might be related to an air pocket but when I explained the steps I took to try and bleed air out of the sytem they didn't have any suggestions for trying something different.
So I shipped the waterpump to them to have it double checked. It of course was fine but did have a waterline suggesting an air pocket did exist. Having drained and refilled the coolant system on this car many times for a variety of reasons it was antibody's guess if that was still true. Tuffstuff shipped the pump back and suggested I drill and tap a vent line into the top of the pump which I can't do with the DBW throttle body.
So Friday night before the Hotchkis Autocross I filled the radiator and did everything I could to bleed air out of the system. Including jacking the front of the car off the ground several feet and letting the thermostat cycle several times with the cap off.
TL,DR = It was an air pocket in the waterpump. If anything the car now almost runs too cold at freeway cruise in 6th gear. Its gone from 210-214 to about 180*
They paid off today. I posted this on my auto club thread but figured I'd throw the after action report in here too.
Here is my quick after action report:
Whew!!! What a great day! Its been a while since I've had this much fun. Its been a while since I've been this nervous/scared out of mind ha ha. The Auto Club Sports Car course (aka Roval) is one intense track!
I ended up being the only Pro-touring / classic muscle at the track today. Its a bummer no other PT cars showed but it was kind of neat being the sole outlier too. I did see Jake running his daily driver Mustang in the time attack competition. Good stuff.
This was a real test for me and the car as this is the first track day I've done since getting the TCI Engineering subframe and torque arm installed along with the 427" LS3 motor. After many setbacks it was awesome to have a 99.9% trouble free day. I only had two gremlins. 1) My license plat didn't like 150mph and was hanging by one bolt after the 1st session. 2) My ignition relay melted down after the first session (not sure what to make of that yet). Otherwise the coolant temps were 195-200 the whole time and oil temps hovered a hair under 250*
By the numbers:
- 33 Laps driven
- 25 timed
- Over 1 hour of seat time (left early too)
- 6.6mpg on track
- Over 100 miles driven on track
- Fastest lap time 1:59 (ran at least one 1:59 lap in every session so at least I was consistent).
- Highest top speed 151mph
I didn't push the car nearly as hard on the brakes and corners as its capable of but the Auto Club is so damn fast I wanted to still drive home. Yeah I didn't trailer the car!
Here is some data from my fastest lap:
And a video of my highest top speed and some passes.
Overall the car felt great and though I had some pretty conservative brake zones and g's in the corners I was far from the edge. Its so much more fun to drive a balanced car than my old push monster!
I might do some more video and pics but for now I'm off to bed!
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
Hybrid Mode
