Race Day #1.

My first race is done. Body and car intact. A surprise after three hours of racing.

Nothing like jumping in with both feet and doing a three-hour enduro for one's first race.

It was a blast. Especially the start as they gridded by sign up date. So I was gridded sixth. With Corvettes, GT3 Porsches and several 400HP American Iron series cars behind me. They quickly got in front of me.

The engine and brakes were great. I believe I am down a little on power as the other 944s could walk from me on the straight but with 140,000 miles on the engine without a rebuild, that is to be expected. And the fact that a 140,000 miles engine can take 3 hours of racing, that is to be expected only from a Porsche.

The handling was OK. We had a bit of a push. The Hankook RS-2s, were good for about four laps then got a bit oily. Everyone else is running RA-1s. 

All in all a great event. The pitstops were fun too. Can't wait for my next race.

Mocal Oil Cooler Install

With my first race fast approaching I am trying to get the Writer Racing SPEC 944 up to date.

And, good or bad, the first race is a three-hour enduro. Although temperatures in Colorado at the September should be in the mid seventies, if it is sunny, the track temperatures will be much higher. As a not so smart co-worker once said, "We are only a mile from the sun you know."

I ordered the non-thermostat kit and ten row cooler from BATinc. The kit includes a sandwich plate that goes between the oil filter and housing, lines, fittings and the cooler. 

Installation is easy but tedious. I have no idea how you would squeeze one in a car with A/C, power steering and other options. It would be tight. But without these items in place finding a spot behind the empty foglight area was easy.

I had to make some brackets out of some steel stock I had lying around. You can see the L brackets I made in the picture. It is very sturdy. And the bottom is the same height as the bottom of the radiator to keep it as safe as possible. Still to do, install some mesh in front of the cooler. 

Toughest part of the job was installing the press on lines onto the fittings. What a bear. Must be what a snake feels like when it takes on trying to eat a goat.

Second toughest part was getting a wrench on the second fitting on the sandwich plate. Just awkward and tedious. 

The order I went in was.

Fit cooler with custom brackets.

Fit sandwich plate on housing, blue loctite retaining nut

Fit lines. 90 degree bend fittings on cooler. Straight fittings on sandwich plate.