jt1

Either a V8 or a turbo L6 can be built for dependability and drivabilty, and to whatever horsepower level your budget will support. So, the bottom line is, build what you want! The V8 will probably give a flatter torque curve and be easier to get running and tuned, especially if you're already halfway there. John

My student was a guy from Matthews driving a pretty new Toyota MR-2 with a few mods. He had done two events before, so he had some experience. The car handled really well and he had a good feel for it, and learned quickly. Despite being the lowest powered car in the blue group, by lunchtime Sun he was one of the faster cars. I took him out several times in my car, and he's a big fan of V8 Z cars now!!!!! jt

Wrapped up a great weekend yesterday evening. Just a good time with only a minor problem. I went out for the first run Sat, after a few laps the throttle didn't feel just right. Not sticking, just sort of slow. Not being a big fan of stuck throttles, I decided to come in and check it out. I checked the pedal inside the car, the linkage on the carb, return springs, bracket, and made sure the air cleaner wasn't dragging anything. Everything looked OK, the housing is a little ratty looking, I had a new assembly I was planning to put on but hadn't. Sprayed everything with WD40 and it seemed to be working freely. Next session, second lap, coming off turn 13, hard on the gas, and the pedal goes to the floor, limp, and the car goes to idle. I putt back to the pits to find the cable broken,inside the housing, and am not looking forward to 5 hrs driving back home to get the new one. Nothing at the NAPA, Chevy place is closed, but the Kershaw hardware store comes thru with new cable and some clamps. Quentin and I have her ready for the next session, a big thanks for his help. The rest of the weekend went smoothly, had turbo porsche's and Z06's to play with, and had a great time. I came home tired and with a completely fried set of tires. As usual, the PCA guys put on a well organized event with everything running like clockwork. There was only one minor incident when one of the porsches hit a tire wall off turn 3. Luckily it happed right before lunch, and the CMP track crew did a great job getting the wall repaired in time to get started on schedule after lunch. Now I've got to get some tires and check out trackschedule.......... John

Some very nice work there, well planned and executed, it's going to look great in paint. What width wheels are those flares going to accomodate? John

Doug: No such luck on recovery, I bought another one. Someguy: Come on and check things out! Mark: Glad you had a good trip, it sounded like a good time!!!!!! Time to go, I'm pumped!!!! jt

Hey Twinkle Toes!!!! You back from the white sand and blue water? Norm, these aren't spectator events, but if you want to come I'll tell them you are crewing for me and they'll let you in. Lots of cool stuff to check out. The first rock is always free. jt

I saw that car at a track event at CMP a couple of years ago. The exterior is very nice, straight and nice paint. The interior is fair, it's nice except for the roll bar was never painted and is rusty bare metal. The V8 install was a complete hack job. Sloppy mounts, stuff cut away badly, sloppy plumbing and wiring, burnt places from torching sheet metal. They've cleaned up the wiring and plumbing somewhat. The exhaust was pitiful. 1-1/2" tubing that is kinked half flat in places. Under the fuel cell is a radiator lying flat over a hole torched in the trunk floor, secured by some strap brackets and zip ties, with an electric fan lying on the radiator. No ducting, no positive airflow at all. He would take it on track and it would be puking coolant by the second lap. After being repeatedly black flagged, he went home. The engine isn't a SB2, it's a first gen SBC with 18 deg heads. The car wasn't impressive on track, I doubt it's putting over 300 to the wheels with the bad exhaust. It did sound pretty good. Of course, maybe he was scared to get on it with antifreeze all over the rear tires. It's been cleaned up some, but it still looks a lot like it did when I saw it. There's a guy from Greenville SC who has a V8 911 done right. It's a 70's 911 with 930 fenders, whaletail, and diff (turned upside down). He did it all himself and it's a engineering and fabrication masterpiece. About 500hp and runs and handles beautifully. It's what this car claims to be. jt

Thanks guys. Hopefully it will be a smooth weekend. Car's loaded, gas jugs full, truck full of fuel, all tires checked, tools & stuff loaded, and so on. Time to head home, get supper, a shower, and ready for bed, big day tomorrow. Cruez, you need to come to CMP sometime. Most fun you can have with your clothes on!!!!! jt

I'm going to CMP this weekend to play with the porsche guys. Last track day was the first weekend in Dec, then the snowed out VIR event last month, so I'm itching to go. Weather report is 60 deg and sunny both days, car is checked over and ready to go, work is done for the day. I've got to get the trailer hooked up and the car loaded. Leaving out at 4:30 tomorrow morning!!!!! YEEEEEHAAAAA!!!! jt

In my 20's I definitely had the stupid part covered. At least today it's somewhere in the gray area. John

Good luck with it, Mike. Your own business always presents some special challenges, but also some special rewards. jt

I've been running the Illuminas 4 yrs with 250F/275R, lots of track days, with no problems with them. John

Glad to hear he's OK, Mike. My father recently had two stents and after the surgery, he's doing a lot better than before. Let's hope it's positive for him. jt

Looking Good Tom!!!!!!! Keep up the nice work. That thing is gonna be as much show car as track car. jt

Glad you're having a good time, and planning on coming back. Don't hurt yourself!!!!!!!! Life ain't all bad here. I'm getting the car checked over and loaded up to go play with the porsche guys next weekend at CMP. jt

Congratulations Terry!!!!!! That is a beautiful, nicely done car. I like the hood. The only thing better that that would be a tunnel ram or blower sticking up thru it. John

Hey Man I hope you have a great time!!!!!!!!!! I missed this yesterday somehow. Right when they're about to pass out is a prime time to make like your honeymoon again!! I agree with Mike.......but y'all have a great time and a safe trip back!!!! ....assuming, of course, that you haven't moved there and are coming back..... John

Twinkle Toes is my hero. When I grow up I want to be just like him. jt

Yep. By the time the dust settled around putting in my TKOII, I had almost $3500 in the trans, clutch & flywheel, shifter, HTOB and master cylinder, plus some bits and pieces. The price of the trans has come down about $300 since then. jt

Usually an electric pump will prime itself no problem. If it doesn't, I take a rag and air hose and put a little pressure on the tank to push some gas to the pump. It doesn't take much, a few psi is PLENTY. Don't let the pump run dry long if it doesn't pick up the gas quickly, say 30 sec max. John

Stock Car Products? Pete, Earl's and Russell have all lengths and end types of -3 stainless hose, and summit stocks about all of them. That's what I used when I plumbed up my HTOB, they worked great. Edit: Another good place to shop is pitstopusa.com. Their price on a set of superlites I recently bought was almost half of SCP's. jt

Yeah, it was called off at lunchtime. By the time I got back to Danville to the motel, it was snowing, and by the time I checked out and left it was snowing pretty heavy. Right before we got back to Greensboro, it changed over to rain and rained the rest of the way home. Kind of a bummer, but no damage and we'll be back. Mike, I didn't see Jim if he was there. Norm, there's lot's of good info on the page Mark linked, also http://www.thscc.com or http://www.trianglezclub.com. If you got any questions shoot me a pm, I'll try to help out. Track days are a ball. John

Once again we find ourselves in the land of speed for the THSCC/TriZ event. This time it's 36deg and steady light rain. Cold, lots of standing water, and a very slick track make for not much fun. The only tires I have are a half worn set of V700's and a set of new S05's, neither of which are good for these conditions. In the first session the car stumbled a little coming off Oak Tree, and when it caught I did a nice 180, probably going all of 30 mph. Didn't leave the pavement though, so it wasn't too bad. There were several encounters with the tire walls. This sucks. Forecast tonight is for 2-3" of wet snow. Maybe tomorrow will be better. jt

No one cares. Cross posting sucks. Wanted ads anyplace but the buy/sell section suck. John

Either you've still got some air in it, or the rear brakes need adjusting. If the pedal's firm on the second stroke, I'd try adjusting the rears till the shoes just drag the drums. If the pedal's got some softness on the second stroke, bleed it some more. Start with the master, then the rears, then the fronts. It could be a combination of both. Also have somebody mash the pedal and hold it, and look to see if any of the flex lines are ballooning. jt