V8 influenced Wheels on the SC

As the son of a Hot Rodder, I was around a lot of classic Fords during my formative years. As such, I have a love of the Ford Engine Blue color. Just something about it. Just a bit softer than Gulf blue, more grayish.

It brings me back to the 1970 F250 I owned for a couple years as we restored our home. With a 390 V8 and only two wheel drive, it was the best vehicle I ever owned for laying strips. And under the hood was always pleasant to look at because of that blue color.

So, I painted my very tired Fuchs with it. I used the 500 degree engine paint, primer and clear. The 2000 degree stuff requires a heating period so it is not good for wheels. I have painted other wheels with this engine paint and it was durable.

I spent an open lapping day at High Plains Raceway breaking in my new motor. 

Glad to report it was uneventful.

With my old Hankooks aired up, don't want to was the RA-1s, I trailered the 901 out to HPR. I did not hook up the oil cooler as the ambient temps were low and incase something went kablamo I did not want to also replace that. 

But with a brand new radiator, the car barely got above the first temperature mark on the original water temperature gauge and struggled to break 170 on the new oil temperature gauge. Granted, I was hardly pushing the engine at race levels.

I did three 30-minute sessions. The first session kept it under 4,500 RPMS, just basically make sure the car ran and did not have a huge leak or something.

Second session did a few pulls in third up to about 5,000 RPMs on each lap. 

The third session, basically alternated fast laps with cooling laps, revving up to 6,000 RPMs.

I was expecting the biggest difference to be felt at the top end. So I was surprised when the biggest difference I felt was in the mid-range torque. I could fell the car pull out of those third and fourth gear turns much better.

But the proof will be in the racing on Memorial Day Weekend. In the meantime, I still need to cure some oversteer.

 

Shedding Weight Like Biggest Loser Contestants

I was looking to still drop about 25 pounds from my 944 so that I could adjust my weight with fuel. And, after having Hanksville Hotrods, a 944 SPEC sponsor, remove my stock muffler, I got almost all the way there.

It weighed 21 pounds. Who knows how much junk was inside of it, but dang. That was a lot of weight, especially as it hung way out the back of the car. Past the rear axle. Not an ideal place to have weight. Unless you own a 911.

You'll see in the above pick, that I still have the chrome exhaust tip. That was not a move out of vanity. That was because I was able to use the stock hanger by keeping the tip and very end part.

Report on how it functions soon.

I am sure it will be loud.

Car Fail Day.

While not as epic of a fail as the above, I did have a car miserable day. Some days your the hammer, some your the nail. Today I was the nail.

It began when I opened my garage door. A couple of days ago I had drained the oil form my race car and had set the drain pan, filled with oil, on my garage floor. I did this so that I could put thread sealant on the temperature sensor.

Anyway. I open the garage door and I almost fell over because it looked like I my 911 had dumped all its oil on my garage floor. At closer inspection, I noticed the oil drain pan was empty. How the F did the oil get out? Well, it had a small crack in the bottom. Simple. Luckily I have a rubber floor in my garage so thought I could get away with just a messy cleanup. And it was messy. Ever try cleaning up 5 quarts of oil? It took two bags of oil absorbent. And a bunch of towels and rags. I thought I was done. Until I picked up the edge of the mat and saw that the oil had crept under the mat and covered a good 3x4 area. UUUUUUUGGGGHHHH.

When that was done. Went for a drive in the Wagoneer and noticed a drip. Smelled it, it was gas. Saw that the line connecting the hardline from the gas tank to the fuel pump was dry rotted. So, went and bought a couple of feet of house and went to replace it. I somehow was hamfisted and wound up getting about a quart of gasoline dumped on me when I swapped out the lines. I just threw those clothes away. MISERABLE.

Finally. I wanted to remove the end piece of the exhaust on my race car so that I could get a straightpipe welded in-place of the stock muffler to save about 15 pounds. Guess what. One of the three bolts was cross-threaded. NOOOOOOOOOO.

I wanted to do a couple of other jobs but decided to call it a day and enjoy a Colorado Native lager.