69 Camaro at Best of Show

[Hotchkis]

Originally Posted by 69MSA

Greg, Jody and Chris, thank you guys for lending suggestions. I'm going to follow your advice and see if I can get this thing working. I'm hoping for my own sake that it the issue is horribly stupid and simple. If you don't see me responding with a fix, I might be too embarrassed to admit what went wrong

Despite the lack of AC the Hotchkis sponsored autocross at the NMCA event went well. I didn't break anything, which in and of itself meant that it was a good weekend. The Socal gang was out in force, and our old pro-touring cars were all towards the top of the heap in regard to lap times. I was having so much fun I forgot to take pictures. Even got a few rides from fellow members like Deanna, Carl and Tom who brought out his newly roadworthy Chevelle. All in all a great weekend!

Matt – It was a great event. We’re glad you could make it out and that you didn’t break anything. Good luck on your A/C issue.

[Matt@BOS]

Here is a little more proof that show cars do get beaten on (at least a little):


Big thanks to Brett Habegger for taking and posting this video, among a bunch more on pro-touring.

I spent labor day over at the Orange County fair grounds for the OC Labor Day Cruise. For the last several years Barry's Speed Shop has sponsored a little good guys like autocross, and this year was no exception. The speeds might have been kept low, but there was still plenty of fun to be had. With only a handful of cars in attendance, and a well though out entrance/exit system at opposite ends of the course, the amount of runs a person could make was really only limited by how fast a person could get back to the entrance. I was chasing after Brett Campbell and his amazing '68 'vert all weekend. Brett has built quite a car, and try as I might, I never could catch him. I probably put about 50 runs in my Camaro in pursuit though.

The car is getting more dialed in, and I'm becoming more comfortable driving it. I've noticed it pushes a little through corners, albeit not much. Initial turn it is remarkably good though. The front tires I've been running might be to blame. They are questionable at best. They once belonged to the One Lap Camaro and were borrowed by Bad Penny for the second day of RTTC. I really should get a picture of them. While they still have tread left, they are just about the most thoroughly abused tires I've ever seen.

I'll have some more updates in the future. My car got hit by a tire shred while driving on the freeway, and so I've decided to take the opportunity to fix a few nagging little issues, and clean her up. I'm thinking it might be fun to take it back to a certain show in November.

Matt

[cencalc6]

I just went thru your whole build.What a Great job you did on this car

[69x22]

Matt that's a beautiful car and it looks like you are getting it sorted out.

[Vegas69]

Your driving has come a country mile. Sorting and seat time are definitely a huge factor. You were hauling ass on that little merry go round.

[Gandalf]

Awesome job Matt! Love the vid! It's great to watch you drive - seems you've come a long ways and of coarse it's even better that you hammer on that show-winning car.

Mmmmm.....might just "come take a look-see in november ;-)

Gregg

[Matt@BOS]

Originally Posted by cencalc6

I just went thru your whole build.What a Great job you did on this car

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing your car on the road too.

Originally Posted by 69x22

Matt that's a beautiful car and it looks like you are getting it sorted out.

Thanks, getting it sorted out has taken some time, but suspension wise, it has been pretty easy. Everything is from DSE, so all I've had to do is fine tune some shocks and potentially change an anti-sway bar.

Originally Posted by Vegas69

Your driving has come a country mile. Sorting and seat time are definitely a huge factor. You were hauling ass on that little merry go round.

Todd, you should have seen Brett work his way around the cones in that lot. You know when you get to the point where you think your car is fast, then someone takes you for a ride where you start looking for the brake on the passenger side footwell? That is what Brett did to me.

Originally Posted by Gandalf

Awesome job Matt! Love the vid! It's great to watch you drive - seems you've come a long ways and of coarse it's even better that you hammer on that show-winning car.

Mmmmm.....might just "come take a look-see in november ;-)

Gregg

November? From what I hear we may be seeing a lot of your car in the days leading up to November.

[GregWeld]

Matt..... Gwen and I will be doing driving school at Bondurant (she the beginner and I the Grand Prix) begining March 19th. Come out and race with me!!

[Matt@BOS]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Matt..... Gwen and I will be doing driving school at Bondurant (she the beginner and I the Grand Prix) begining March 19th. Come out and race with me!!

Funny you should say that, my dad just tentitively planned a trip out there for sometime in the second half of March. One of the instructors over there, Danny, said he would see about changing up the regular grand prix class to include a little autocross training one day. Not sure if that is something you're interested in or not?

[GregWeld]

If I can learn something -- I'm up for ANYTHING they'll allow.

I worked with BRUCE -- so if you want to check our dates etc -- he's got 'em. We can't change our dates due to other commitments... but that's when we'll be there!