Time for an update!
Saw some of you last month in La Habra at the tech inspection soiree. Steve made me feel welcome, and it was a worthwhile trip. I've been in touch with Ellen at the USFRA, and I'm looking to volunteer this year for the WOS in whatever capacity they'll have me, but attending the tech meeting will hopefully give me a leg up.
Stopped by Nick's on the way out - along with his 5-year-old son, James (named after Kate's dad and Nick's grandfather) they are currently terrorizing the pee-wee classes in motocross around Boulder. I couldn't even ride a bicycle at 5, and this kid's turning laps and developing a reputation as a real competitor. I know from experience his crew chief is a damned good manager.
And since I last visited, Nick and Elizabeth have had a new arrival. Meet Zoe - soon to be giving Nick grey hairs, no doubt . . .
20230419_172339 by
Chris ConradI would be remiss on a trip to LA to not stop at the Rodge Mahal and get caught up with Wayne and Gus. The tank is just about ready to go - I suspect if we get a season in this year, Wayno will be taking no prisoners.
HEAR IT RUN!
https://www.facebook.com/100080413390071/videos/152848574147127/This was the view I had leaving the truckstop in Salina - I had never been there early enough in a year with precipitation to enjoy a view quite like this -
20230421_094818 by
Chris ConradWhile I didn't take any pictures in LA, I was equally stunned by the greenery on the hillsides - I've been there 4 times - this was the first time I didn't arrive during a drought.
Now, on to the Midget -
AARGGHH!
When we attempted to run in 2021, a number of problems cropped up. Part of what Stainless and the Bombshell Betty crew attempted to help me sort out - trying to make some sense out of the ECU settings - is something I'm still trying to get a complete handle on. You can't really work on this stuff without the engine in the car and running, so now that the engine is in place, I was hoping to come to grips on setting it up to the point where I can throw it on the trailer and take it up to La Crosse to Badger Tuners to get it dialed in. One would think that a straightforward task . . . and one would be underthinking it.
When we initially installed the Kettle into the Midget, the plan was to tune the engine at T&T, which we did, but it never performed as well in situ as it did on the dyno. A lot of that was my destroying the #4 cylinder by not installing a circle clip on the piston ring, but there were fundamental issues with the way the engine was performing that were related to the reinstall of the engine into the chassis. I switched from break-in oil too early, which glazed a couple of the cylinders, causing oil fouling on the 1 and 2 plugs, and the incorrect clutch cylinder sizing turned the clutch into scrap. Not the first time I brought back a non-running race car from the salt.
One of the things I did do - in order to facilitate isolating the ECU in the cockpit and being able to move the wiring harness to the dyno - was to install Amphenol connectors on a plate on the footwell. It made setup at T&T a breeze, and mostly worked when I reinstalled the motor in 2021.
Now I'd been working on and off on the harness since 2018. I was out with my cancer diagnosis for a while, and it took a while to get the car back together, but by and large, little had changed. Nevertheless, upon reinstallation of the K series this time, I wanted to double-check my work.
I dug for my notes and drawings on the harness from 6 years ago - the last time I remember looking at them was at WOS in 2021. I have torn the house apart looking for them, and they simply are no longer here. So I determined I would recreate the schematic and pinout sheet. Pin by pin - point by point.
When I was convinced I had it 100%, I reinstalled the plate with the Amphenol connectors, checked everything over and . . . not a bloody thing. No spark, no fuel through the injectors.
After spending two days going over dozens of bulls#*t YouTube DIY videos on diagnosing Holley HP systems (why does EVERYBODY running Holley EFI speak like they know precisely how many catalytic converters it takes to buy enough Sudafed to make meth?), I decided to recheck the pinouts. I discovered upon reinstalling, I broke two on the back side of the footwell plate.
20230509_200333 by
Chris Conrad I'm on it, but I'm looking at a more effective strain relief method - possibly potting the connections.
It's beer time.