While Some of You Were at Dixie...[24 hrs of LeMons content]
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:00 pm
While some of you guys were dodging cones in Cecil, the Knoxvegas Lowballers were dodging other Lemons (and connecting rods) in Kershaw at CMP.
Gary, Seanan, and Jordi drove out Thursday night with the Geo to get us a good paddock spot, and get started tech'ing the new build. Me and the other drivers arrived Friday afternoon. We arrived just in time for BS judging. The judges accepted our bribes, and awarded us 0 BS laps. The tech guys didn't think our cage was quite strong enough, so we had to do some on-site welding Friday night.
First thing Saturday morning, we got through tech inspection with our mod'ed roll cage. Gary took the wheel first. We were on and off the track a lot in the morning checking fluids, and generally making sure the car wasn't falling apart. After a little scare of potential over-heating, we were able to put down a few laps. The next issue that arose was our fuel cell. Apparently, we need a more hi-tech fuel holding device. We have a 16 gal cell, and after 5 gallons have burned off, the fuel starving begins. Pitting every 5 gallons of fuel was OK for a first race, but that's going to be an issue if we ever hope to be competitive.
A couple other little issues popped up, and were solved quickly. Later in the afternoon, a bigger problem came up. Seanan came in after hearing a noise coming from the engine. We did a little diagnostics, and couldn't find anything. We sent him back out find the problem. 3/4 of a lap later, we lost a couple of connecting rods. No clue what happened to them. Seriously, if you find them, send em to us.
Luckily we had another car with us that had the same drivetrain. After a nearly all-night wrenching session, we had robbed the motor from my new-to-me Contour, and put it in the Geo. Sunday, we were back on track, putting in some laps. Sunday wasn't without drama though. A few laps in on Sunday, I got punted hard by a Jetta in the right, rear wheel. Knocked out the alignment a bit, and loosened our rear "toe" rack. After more wrenching, and re-tech'ing, we were racing again. The car ran great all the way through the checker flag Sunday.
All our drivers made laps both days. All in all, it was a great first race for the Geo. Gary and I have some work to do before the next race, but we both feel like the car will be in a great position for the second race. Gary and I had lots of help from other ETR members, and we are EXTREMELY GREATFUL for that. We couldn't have completed this car in time without that help.
Unfortunately, I took no pictures all weekend. I know that Jordi and Brandon both took a lot though. Hopefully we can get some of those photos up here soon. In the mean time, there are some photos from the weekend on the Facebook site (http://www.KnoxvegasLowballers.com). You can view the site without having an account if you're anti-Facebook.
Gary, Seanan, and Jordi drove out Thursday night with the Geo to get us a good paddock spot, and get started tech'ing the new build. Me and the other drivers arrived Friday afternoon. We arrived just in time for BS judging. The judges accepted our bribes, and awarded us 0 BS laps. The tech guys didn't think our cage was quite strong enough, so we had to do some on-site welding Friday night.
First thing Saturday morning, we got through tech inspection with our mod'ed roll cage. Gary took the wheel first. We were on and off the track a lot in the morning checking fluids, and generally making sure the car wasn't falling apart. After a little scare of potential over-heating, we were able to put down a few laps. The next issue that arose was our fuel cell. Apparently, we need a more hi-tech fuel holding device. We have a 16 gal cell, and after 5 gallons have burned off, the fuel starving begins. Pitting every 5 gallons of fuel was OK for a first race, but that's going to be an issue if we ever hope to be competitive.
A couple other little issues popped up, and were solved quickly. Later in the afternoon, a bigger problem came up. Seanan came in after hearing a noise coming from the engine. We did a little diagnostics, and couldn't find anything. We sent him back out find the problem. 3/4 of a lap later, we lost a couple of connecting rods. No clue what happened to them. Seriously, if you find them, send em to us.
Luckily we had another car with us that had the same drivetrain. After a nearly all-night wrenching session, we had robbed the motor from my new-to-me Contour, and put it in the Geo. Sunday, we were back on track, putting in some laps. Sunday wasn't without drama though. A few laps in on Sunday, I got punted hard by a Jetta in the right, rear wheel. Knocked out the alignment a bit, and loosened our rear "toe" rack. After more wrenching, and re-tech'ing, we were racing again. The car ran great all the way through the checker flag Sunday.
All our drivers made laps both days. All in all, it was a great first race for the Geo. Gary and I have some work to do before the next race, but we both feel like the car will be in a great position for the second race. Gary and I had lots of help from other ETR members, and we are EXTREMELY GREATFUL for that. We couldn't have completed this car in time without that help.
Unfortunately, I took no pictures all weekend. I know that Jordi and Brandon both took a lot though. Hopefully we can get some of those photos up here soon. In the mean time, there are some photos from the weekend on the Facebook site (http://www.KnoxvegasLowballers.com). You can view the site without having an account if you're anti-Facebook.
