2013: what are you doing for the new season?

[MAZDA1807]

I saw nobody posted anything about the new year yet so thought I would. So what are you doing for the new race season?

[Stainless1]

Moved to LSR chat from non LSR since it seemed to be a racing question.   

Mazda1807... your thread... you start....   

[Glen]

Doing a full ground up on the Turbinator to run this year, many major changes and upgrades, including a new carbon fiber body( changes to the streamlining), new T55 power plant, gear changes etc. Along with that the 444 car will be run as well with a second team, more later. HAPPY NEW YEAR....Go Fast be safe and hope your dreams of that record become a reality.

[Stainless1]

Hey Glen, is Rick looking at an SCTA event... Turbinator could put a new name on the Hot Rod Trophy for a change.

[Speed Limit 1000]

Glen, are you going to drive it?

[fredvance]

The 1350 will get a new fairing and Johnny Cheese will ride it at WOS. My bike will get a Knecum built 1657 and a new tail. I may run the 1350 at Cooks Shootout.

[Glen]

Hey Glen, is Rick looking at an SCTA event... Turbinator could put a new name on the Hot Rod Trophy for a change.

Yes at speed week and others.

[Glen]

Glen, are you going to drive it?

No Dave Spangler is planning on driving it.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Going to the big gig - I love the WOS and World Finals, but this year, it's clear the event to attend is Speedweek - Midget in tow.

Got close last year - 3 days before I was ready to put it on the trailer for World Finals, the chassis dyno munched a valve - it's fixed, I'm waiting for custom spring cups and a print to build an honest-to-goodness dyno adapter.

Unless the dyno shows some new found torque, any ECTA events are off the table.  The Midget needs room to launch.

Spending this afternoon working on the new straight cut gear set for the transmission.

And there's an event I've been invited to speak at regarding my build and MG's on the salt.  The chairman of the annual Cecil Kimber Festival in Bennington, Vermont has asked me to speak to a conference of academics and British car enthusiasts regarding the history of MG at Bonneville, and my build in particular.  Cecil Kimber was head of operations at MG from 1928 until his untimely death in 1945 in a train accident.  We'll be celebrating his 125th birthday, and I'll be speaking at either the Hemmings Motor Museum or at the Bennington Museum.  It's a 4 day event in April, and if I were to have turned down an opportunity to be in New England in April, Mrs. Midget would have killed me.

I'm posting, therefore, I accepted.

Also working on a sponsorship – to that end . . .

The nice part about having a race car that only runs once a year is that it also provides opportunities to attend car shows with it.  You don't see a lot of LSR cars at car shows - I'm looking to up the profile a bit.  I've got 4 scheduled so far.

[JimL]

Ruuning the 650 pushrod again, but plan to run on both cylinders properly.  I learned another lesson last year....the hard way...and this one is about firesleeve. 

Last year, and the year before, each time I got to impound, I would pull the gas sample for the inspector by disconnecting the rear carb fuel line because its easy to get to.  Also easy to contol by cracking the shutoff.  While in line to make my first run, 2012, my rear carb started dumping fuel.  I shut off the fuel, turned it back on to start the engine, and all seemed well (except the water on course.)  Next morning, return run, it did it again.  It seemed like it was fluffing a little waiting to leave the line, but pulled ok until the upper gears....didnt want to rev out.

Got home, had the fuel turned on to fire the engine and gas was running out the mouth of the carb.  Found a strand of the firesleeve liner in the float needle valve....hope this helps somebody else!

Time to major recheck everything, including teardown and install the new close ratio 5th gear.  Also run higher gears and switch to ceramic wheel bearings.  I am still over 35 mph slower than Ralph Hudsons Suzuki on my best pass.  It seems like I'm still not getting something right, but I wouldnt miss this adventure for anything!

[salt27]

  Cecil Kimber was head of operations at MG from 1928 until his untimely death in 1945 in a train accident.

Please tell me this did not involve a car stalled on the tracks.

  Don

[JimL]

Don, I think that is more a problem with the MG Magnette. 

You know....trying to get across two iron rails...to much Magnette-ism and sticks in between due to low torque.

British humor, naming it that way.

[Milwaukee Midget]

  Cecil Kimber was head of operations at MG from 1928 until his untimely death in 1945 in a train accident.

Please tell me this did not involve a car stalled on the tracks.

  Don

Actually, he was in a first class rail car -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Cross_railway_accident

[fastman614]

The Original Fastguys have another car in the build process.....it will keep getting built during the year.....

The slowdown on the new car is due in part to a new warehouse building with private, racecar workshop space that got held up due to some property site prep issues, which have been since remediated, as well as my "job loss" which turned immediately into another job elsewhere and a major move in my life, which remains in progress.

The Vega is not likely to be returning to Bonneville this year, if ever (perhaps a milestone anniversary event in the future will be its next appearance).....

We have one "little" challenge remaining with the red lakester, which is to get one or more of our children into the record books.... my nephew, Willie "J" Langstroth, who (at 16yo, drove in 2006 and again) in 2012, qualified at 278mph last Speedweek, but we over-compensated on the tune for the next morning and the run came up short.... and, it was the last day  ).... we have some more intake parts with which to tweak the tune,  but nothing major other than that.

[Tman]

I am still plugging away on my lakester and house. I plan on crewing for Tim and the #416 pickup again at Speedweek.