Great, we need more posts like this and I can relate to the fact your son wants to shim in with some "marvelous" ideas like the Lambo seats... haha, I had a few of the same conversations with my boys in the garage. Thx Rob, make the lounge great again!
Having arrived home a day early I decided to get the motor out of the car the following day to check the clutch. It looks like the pressure plate has gone south not entirely sure why yet, but I’m working on that and have a plan to be out again at the end of July with a happy clutch and another change which I hope will help improve the cars performance a bit too. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
The drive back was all good but for the rain for the last 45 minutes and it really did rain but the car was all good and pulling back onto the driveway at home this time really was a big deal as this plan to run a 10 in a n/a 1776 street car took some doing. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
I fitted up the lead fired the car up but it was still on 3 cylinders and you could see some unbury fuel tripping from the exhaust joint of number 4 which was the cylinder with the lead issue. The assumption at this point was that it had killed the plug. I switched the car off and checked to see I’d not missed anything else. Nothing obvious found, but having checked everything and reset the TPS I started the car again and it was back to 4 cylinders. I do wonder if it was a bit of heat which recovered the plug but can’t be certain. I took it for a quick drive to check and to try and weigh the car. The drive was fine, but they were not weighing cars when I was there so it was back to the pits but happily with car on 4 cylinders.
There was due to be a bit of sketchy weather Saturday with some on and off rain, but the forecast for Sunday was really wet so I decided to call it a day and pack up and head home. The only reason I was at the track this weekend was to drive the car there run a 10 and drive it home. With two of the three aims completed I was thinking more about driving home than another run particularly given the clutch issues I’d experienced and not actually diagnosed or fixed.
Decision made I packed everything back in the car had some lunch with the guys before heading home. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
That evening I cut off the boot and unpicked a connector and fitted it on my existing one so we were hopefully good to go in the morning. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Looking at the data it was clear that the clutch slipped a bit after initial engagement as it kept the rpm up at around 7,000 which is better than normal. There was clearly something not quite right with the clutch though. It was one of those fellings when you know there is something not quite right, but I really had no idea what it might be. After a bit of thought and a cup of tea I decided to take it for a drive as I was planning to get the car weighed anyway so jumped into the car and fired it up but it was running on 3. This again was really odd as it had just run a 10 and I’d driven it back to the pits after the run and it had been running fine.
So I started with the plug leads as I had an issue with a lead coming off the coil before, but they were all connected. However number 4 felt slightly odd so I pulled it off to check it. It turned out the 90 degree connector in the boot had broken off and half of it was left on the coil and half of it was still attached to the lead.
When this happened, how it happened I’ve no idea, but needless to say I needed to fix it. I do carry a few connectors but they were all the plug end variety not the coil end type I needed. I run a Ford Zetec coil pack and they have a smaller diameter connector. No one else in the pits had one of but one of the guys who runs in Competition Eliminator recognised the connector type and mentioned that there was a Ford Focus round at the other side of the track that the monster trucks were due to run over the following day. We needed some food so we’re heading over that way anyway and sure enough when we got there there were actually two Ford Focus’s to pick from. We asked the Monster Truck guys to see if we could nick a plug lead to which they said ‘no problem help yourselves’. A few minutes later we were wandering off to find some food with 8 plug leads, which needless to say was a right result. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
So this was the 10 I’d been chasing all be it to complete the job I needed to drive the car home. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Anyone who has followed this thread will know this has been a long time coming as it was way back in 2011 when I first got after the idea of a 10 second 1776 na street car. Whilst the car did run a 10 in 2015 when it was first out with the 94x64 1776 that was on slicks, with a stinger and no cooling. There have been various issues between then and now which have slowed progress, but it was not until 2023 that I ran another 10. The delay was in part due to me wanting to get the car to a point where I could drive it to the track and most importantly run a 10 on street tires, with the cooling and fan belt on and through the muffler, basically in the same state as when I drive in the gate to the event. The only compromise I make is fuel. Whist I run the car on the street on super unleaded I’m a bit cautious running it all out on the track without a bit more octane to make sure I keep things safe. So wanting to run a 10 and just rock up at the track unpack the car adjust the tire pressures and put some fancy fuel in it proved to be a bit more difficult than I had first thought. Even the 10 in 2023 although through the muffler, fan belt on and on street tires was good, the problem was I didn’t drive it to and from the track.
The Cal-look Lounge
haha, I had a few of the same conversations with my boys in the garage.
