my road race SBC V8 Porsche 914

[byndbad914]

Took some video of an open track day this last Friday. There are three of my most consistent, fastest laps to date, all in the 1:55s. I ran one 1:55 the last time I went out with consistent 1:57s after I put some old radials I had laying around on the car from a couple years back, so I got the most out of them the last track day. This time they held on for about 4 laps in the morning, and then just got greasier and greasier as the track and the day warmed up.

So I have three clean laps back to back at the beginning, a slightly slower overall time lap as the fourth but there was some neat traffic so I left it in and it was my fastest shot down the bobsled to hell and sliding back up the hill, then some footage of traffic to see some cars, general bloopers and random chaos with yet another Vette guy with a fast car, pitiful driver out in the fast group

And then I realized upon editing that I left the camera on when I finished, so I got a bunch of footage of various folks coming up and asking questions, talking about the car when they thought I couldn't hear which is always funny, but I threw in one snippet of a corner worker that worked down in that area I would go sliding through and the open wheeler spins.

The springs are getting stiff enough that I know I have to get the right camber set on the car, some new radials, then monkey with tire pressures. I suspect that I am in the "1/2 psi makes a big difference" spring rate range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg8SkOZVLBs

[Flash68]

Great video! That thing flies and looks like a handful at the same time. Nice commentary and captioning.

How in the hell are they grouping people for that day? Your car, open wheel cars and a damn 4x4 pickup all in the same group? That looks dangerous... how many groups/sessions were there?

[byndbad914]

that is an "open track day", so literally anybody can come out with any car and run on the track. Makes it sketchy so that is why many times you will hear me off the throttle and carefully passing cars, going in on them and hoping they see me before the turn. If you dart in like a bat out of hell, they may just turn into you.

So, at the drivers' meeting before the track goes live, they talk about etiquette, hand signals if you want someone to pass you or if you are exiting to the pits, so forth, then they talk about two groups: fast group and slow group. The irritating part is that it is basically an honor system. If you are getting pass a lot in the fast group, you should step down. If you are passing like crazy in slow group, maybe step up. Problem is you get self-serving bungholes no matter what you do, and those people go out in the fast group because they can just do as they please - when you are the slowest person, the track looks wide open to you. I have never been like that, maybe just raised better, but I worry about being in others' way; if I have a GT2 Cup car behind me, I point by and maintain speed or even slow to let them by, not drag race them and force them into a bad line and sketchy situation at the next turn like the Vette and the open wheel guy that went off the track after I passed him. I like to have faster guys on the track, gives me something to let by and then try to keep up and see their line.

Just a different perspective, I am out there to learn something and get better, some are just out their to serve their own needs and F everyone else. Sad really.

So I like to poke at that on the vids - maybe others can pick up on the not so subtle hints haha. I get the point there are slower guys than me, but if you aren't trying and clearly just clueless or so selfish to not care, I am going to rip away

As for the open wheelers, in the AM drivers' meeting, there was only 4 guys, so they couldn't really make a group just for them, so they were advised to run in the fast group and we know to watch out for them since they are so low you may not see them. They were also really good about allowing me by, pointing by, staying on line so I could safely pass, so forth so I don't mind them at all - that one guy just would not stay on line or let me by so I cut him nice and tight after driving me deep into that tight corner. Him going off track and not me is just a nice piece of karma

[byndbad914]

Took the car out after not tracking it in almost a year (!!) so I was a bit rusty and running 2 minute laps in the first session. And I dropped the air chuck right on the windshield while airing up the slicks and cracked the crap out of it on the passenger side. My cousin was out from Iowa so I took him out for two sessions while I knocked the rust off my hands.

Finally in the fourth session as the temperature went well into the upper 80s and both me and the car were running hot (300deg oil temps and I could barely swallow after 20 minutes on track!) I ran a 1:54.97 and backed it up with a 1:55.12 IIRC, so two of my fastest laps yet! I overfilled my trans (the first time I have ever done that one) so I was puking trans fluid out the breather and probably oiling my own tires as every lap I went a little slower and the rear got looser and looser

I put Goodyears on which I have never used before and eesh, they will required a LOT more camber than the Hoosiers. The wear pattern was way off so I believe with about a degree more neg camber all around I can maybe dip into the 53s. That is Porsche Cup Car territory

I will post some vid on Youtube in the next week or so after I get a chance to edit all of it down. Fast group was actually all fast people as well as fast cars for once which was awesome, so I had pretty much a wide open track and found that I could pass the others and not worry they would freak out and run into me. And giving my cousin some rides with lap times that would break the Super Production record for the track was the best part

Gonna make it tough tearing that car apart to build a 66 Nova instead next year. I am going to try to track it a few more times this Fall to wring out all I can before moving on...

[byndbad914]

Got a chance to edit video over the weekend so there are two new vids up on YouTube. Here is my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/byndbad914?feature=mhee

can check out the first one which is just the fast laps but I mixed in-car footage with footage my cousin Dylan shot from the flag tower, then there is one with Dylan in the passenger seat and it also has the fast laps but in-car footage only.

[Payton King]

Why are you building another car? Selling the 914 or just retiring it?

[byndbad914]

basically retiring it. I might sell it if the right offer came in, but since I can reuse every part except the body and cage, the price I would want would be high because I would need replacement value to make sense. It is hard to do tho' because literally every time I go to the track I have made some change and just go faster and faster. I have yet to go to the track and go slower in the last 5 years since doing the full tube chassis. And it seems to be 2 seconds every time - if I get 2 more seconds out of it I am running with $300K Porsches!

But, alas, it is one of those things - I have been messing with 914s since the mid 90s and the V8 race car since 2000 and it was just time to move on to something else I have been wanting. It was either do a 70 Mustang fastback (I had that before the 914 and still love those cars) or, after following builds like John's (novanutcase) and so forth, a 66 or 67 Nova. The Nova made the most sense as the next step because I already have an engine and the trans will adapt much like a Vette.

Lastly, as funny as it sounds, I have never built a full chassis with my own hands start to finish and I really want to work through that just to learn it. I have been around it a lot and know how to get things square, but still expect to waste a fair amount of steel teaching myself

[Sieg]

Good job on the wheel! The car looks like it's a great track car.

Pssst - Your steering wheel is upside down.

[Payton King]

Love the updates and the track video, but I understand that sometimes you just need a change. So little time and so many cars to build. First gen Camaros apparently are just my thing and about to start a full frame 68. Going to try and make it as wide and light as possible.

When will you start? Make sure you post it up in the project section. Really needed to post this entire thread there even though it was a race car...still one of my favorites ever.

[byndbad914]

Sieg - you aren't the first to notice the wheel. I broke the top half the last track day I was out right above the three spokes, and since I will go to a nicer wood wheel design in the Nova, I just flipped it over to the rigid half Gotta make due for a couple more track days this year.

Payton - thanks for the compliments on the car! A full frame 68 would be pretty cool as well. I plan to grab the car the weekend after SEMA and trailer it back here to CO. I will plan to get started on it over the winter - they are predicting a light winter and if so I will track the 914 for as long as the weather holds out. Once I am done with the track days, the engine and trans will come out of the 914 and mock up can begin. I will mostly be plotting and planning at first as every day I come up with a better idea than I had the day before, so I want to try to capture all of that brainstorming first, then cut metal.