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.
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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.
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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.
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So this was the 10 I’d been chasing all be it to complete the job I needed to drive the car home.
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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.

I decided to run again and see what happened. We pushed the car down fire up lanes and when it was our turn I fired it up, selected 1st and tried to pull away, but there was an unusual momentary pause a bit of the thud and then the car pulled away. All a bit alarming. I dipped and released the clutch again and it was fine. I did this several times and again all fine, usual feel bite point etc. So just like the first run I decided I had nothing to loose so I did a little 1st gear spin of the tires and rolled up to the start line. The car left the line in an unusually scrappy manor pulled right, not drastically but it was all a bit messy. Otherwise the run was uneventful. I was not a happy bunny though as I’d not controlled the launch well either. I got back to the pits and had the hump as it felt like a wasted run until Alex rocked up and said it was a 10. That didn’t compute at first and I thought he was winding me up, but I could see in his face he was serious so all of a sudden the world was much better place.
The timing ticket confirmed it was a 10 all be it only just with a 10.99 at 121mph. So smiles all round.
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I put some fuel in it and warmed the car up about an hour before we were due to run. It really was cold still so it certainly needed it.

The first run was a bit odd in that I got round to the burnout box tried to spin the tires but spun the clutch instead. There was a bit of smoke in the car, but definitely not tire smoke as planned. I put it back in 1st and it pulled away, so I tried a quick spin of the tires and the clutch gripped. With nothing to loose I pulled up to the start line and ran a nice opener of 11.03 @ 120mph. After the run I was a bit confused about what had happened as the clutch felt fine up to the line and on the launch. I drove back to the pits with no issue with the clutch and I did a bit of unnecessary start stop and gear changing using the clutch. Back in the pits there was nothing visually to indicate any sort of issue and the data confirmed the clutch held and if anything didn’t slip enough off the start line so all very confusing.
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The car was fine on the journey and I played the usual oil temp / oil pressure / speed comparison game whilst messing about with the fans on the cooler to see what difference they make. Temps weren’t a problem as it was a cold day so 55-60mph was just over 40psi oil pressure with oil temp at 90 degrees C. The drive was uneventful, but for a bit of rain, traffic and a diversion due to a road closure. The journey was consequently a bit longer than usual, but about 2 and a half hours after leaving home I arrived. I was glad to get out of the car, but not for long as it was really cold. I caught up with those already there and got myself signed in. I’d arrived before Alex who was providing somewhere for the car and I to sleep for the weekend, but Alex soon arrived and we got set up, unpacked the car, had some food and got our heads down for the night. The first run was not scheduled until lunchtime so we had a leisurely start and had plenty of time to get the car to tech inspection. The car was all good, but I was told I needed some new race boots. Fortunately Alex had his in the camper which I borrowed for the weekend (thanks Alex). It was a bit of a clown shoes job as he has bigger feet than me but it was all fine.
Ian, Dave and Lee arrived in the morning so we had a good crew of eyes ears and experience to try and keep me and the car on the straight and narrow for the weekend.
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So I’ve just read my last post to see where I left off and I see that I had some misguided idea that I might have been back out in the summer of last year. Needless to say that didn’t happen. I actually didn’t drive the car again until Good Friday this year. I did run the car before then, but the maiden voyage in 2024 was a quick run down the road to a local car show at a mates garage. The car ran ok, but still had the light throttle running issues it had last year so not the most enjoyable drive ever, but it was good to get out in the car again and see a few people I’d not seen in a while and talk car stuff.

With the car back in the garage I had a few small jobs to do and to sort the low speed running. I thought the latter might have been an issue with the new TPS so I decided to swap back to the old one as it was a possible variable from the previous starting issues it had and I was not sure that I hadn’t inadvertently created this new issue. This involved a bit of faffing about extending wires and finding and fitting a new connector so that the two sensors shared the same type of plug and are easily interchangeable. As it turned out it made no difference, but on the bright side it means I have a spare TPS in the toolbox.

I spoke to Johannes and he suggested trimming the overall fuel map as a quick check. As the stumble is just off tickover it’s easily detected with the car just sat at idle. So I added 5% and it was no better and if anything maybe slightly worse. On this basis I decided to take 5% fuel out from the original position and it was better. Not perfect, but certainly better. I took the car for a drive to check the air fuel on the data log which looked OK and sent the logs to Johannes to be sure he was happy. We agreed that assuming it was just light throttle which it is for general road driving it was fine.
This conversation was the morning of my drive to the track for my first race of the year.

So with that sorted I set about packing the car. It was nearly 12 months ago when I did this last and I really should have a list as I always manage to forget something. I got what I thought was the necessary tools, spares, fuel, oil, clothing, helmet, race suit, sleeping bag, pillow, a drink and a bit of food in the car for the weekend and set off.
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I think the EMPI nerds can confirm if those are period lumber pieces.

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