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Mike Kelly's Zcar Project


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Mike, Glad things went that well on the shakedown II run! How did the motor fair with the running-out-of-fuel issue? Any damage? I suppose you'll be able to tell with another pull on the dyno. Hope all is well with the car and everything.

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Unfortunately no video... I couldn't reach the damned camera once strapped in... Ugh...

 

Pete, I don't think we hurt anything... I only went 6-7 laps each session before the starvation got the best of me. We'll pull the oil filter and install a new cartridge and inspect the element and see what we see...

 

Mike

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Unfortunately no video... I couldn't reach the damned camera once strapped in... Ugh...

 

Pete, I don't think we hurt anything... I only went 6-7 laps each session before the starvation got the best of me. We'll pull the oil filter and install a new cartridge and inspect the element and see what we see...

 

Mike

 

Im laughing..........not at the car issues as I have my hands full as well. At the fact you couldn't turn the damn camera on after you were all strapped in. That happens to me at least once every outing. I'll one up you. I get strapped in and camera on, go to start and remember I haven't turned the battery shut off back to on. No one is around to help so I have to go through the entire process while dripping in sweat and cussing. Then after the session, I get back to the trailer to download my data and the camera and watch the event unfold again on the video. I now think its funny because I look like a complete idiot. I quickly delete it as I dont want anyone to see what a dumbass I really am.

 

Matt

Edited by cobramatt
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Hahahahaha

 

I needed that this morning... :lol:

 

Last weekend I sat on my glove in the seat, was half strapped in, and started looking for the glove... it was second call for instructors... I'm like "I ain't doing Michael Jackson impersonations going around the track, where the hell is that glove?" Had to get out of the car (and you know that whole cage/Steering wheel hokey pokey) and "find" the glove... :D

 

The things we do...

Mike

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Matt, that's a good one !!!!!

 

I know of two guys who built a pretty nice circle track car, a complete build from a new tube chassis. They had a spiffy switch panel mounted with all the switches nicely labeled, cool looking setup, all the wiring neatly routed, tied, soldered connections, etc. etc ......

 

Only when they got to the track for shakedown did they learn that when you were tightly belted in, you couldn't reach the !@#$$%% thing to even crank the car. It wound up being jerked out at the track and zip tied to a roll bar, with some of the wiring crudely extended and duct taped.

 

There is no reason to discuss who that was.

 

jt

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So today I went ahead and removed the driver's side CV axle and installed the OEM Nissan boot on it...

 

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And cleaned up the mess the old boot made...

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I also ran a new solid one piece/no joints fuel line from the cell to the return port on the regulator. I'll do the same with the main feed one I sort the resolution of the cell/surge tank issue!

Mike

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...And after working on the Zcar for oh four hours, I decided to sneak over to the Battlefield drive and take a few pics of the new daily/weekender. I'm fortunate that I live within a national battlefield park that is low traffic and overlooked.

 

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Not to bad for a crappy iphone camera!

Mike

Edited by Mikelly
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Nice. Last weekend I was shotgun for several sessions in a BMW M3 gutted track car with the whole 9 yards. Fun as hell. Then for the last session went out with in a NA 997. Nice. Kind of sucked sliding around on the leather porsche seat and normal seat belt instead of the race seats and 6 point harness in the BMW. But all in all, that thing was fast, even on street tires. Got a little sketchy in one corner but felt super stable. Lucky dog, you.

 

Jimbo

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Ugh... Apparently my mother (who is 69 years young) decided to hop on the train to crazytown last night and got herself arrested for threatening to burn her house down and to kill my nephew. You guys will remember about 18 months ago she was diagnosed with Dementia and Alzheimers. So the cops took her in and were going to put her on a 72 hour hold/eval... Someone had the bright idea to actually contact social services who made them release her this morning.

 

Getting old is hell...

 

I'm sorting out issues with the car. Right now I'm planning to install one of these in the fuel cell:

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/product/656/Surge_Tank_Collector

 

Along with new line from the fuel rail all the way back to the fuel filter, then to the port on the fuel cell. Hopefully that will resolve the fuel starvation issue. After that is resolved, I'll order a Fire supression system and a coolsuit setup to sit in the passenger footwell... Summer is officially here and I don't see it getting any more livable in that thing...

 

Mike

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So I went ahead and ordered the FuelSafe fuel Surge box/high pressure pump, new fuel line (20 ft.) and all new fuel cell foam. Hopefully these parts and the revamp on the return line, I'll have the fuel deliver issues resolved!

 

Shooting for July 7-8 at Summit Point. 7th is my B-day, so I'm hoping the gods will smile down upon me and let me have a drama-free weekend at the track. Anyone wanting to get a few laps in the passenger seat, ping me off line and I'll work it out!

 

Mike

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"Anyone wanting to get a few laps in the passenger seat, ping me off line and I'll work it out!"

 

I'm looking to put some miles on my recent SR swap.....I might have to take you up on that offer sometime!

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Hey Mike,

 

I have been using the ATL version of the Fuel Safe Surge/ High Pressure Pump in my car for the last few years and I absolutely love it.

 

I autocross the car with less than two gallon of fuel in the car (in a twelve gallon tank), and I never have fuel starvation problems. My box, an ATL CFD-600-HP, is centered at the rear of the cell and the return line dumps into the top of the box. As an added benefit, the pump is nearly silent inside the fuel cell.

 

http://cdn.racerpartswholesale.com/downloads/ATLBlackBox.pdf

 

I hope the Fuel Safe unit works as well for you as the ATL unit has worked for me. If it does then your fuel problems are history.

Edited by 74_5.0L_Z
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You know, I saw that listed on racerpartswholesale's website... Oh well. Parts shipped yesterday and I expect to have everything in house and ready to complete later next week. I am running by front hubs over to Tom Harris' place today and getting them machined down on the OD so they will fit the CCWs in front without having to use spacers. Need the OD to be less than 2 5/8th of an inch. Getting her closer to "debugged".

 

Mike

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Big Big thanks to Tom Harris for machining my front aluminum hubs to essentially make the wheels "hub-centric". No more need for front wheel spacers and now I can dial back in the caster I pulled out when we installed the CCWs and had hub diameter interference issues... No more!! Everything is bolted back up and fits like a glove!! The 275s up front actually look like they're perfect tucked under the fender flare with plenty of room for compression of the suspension without issues.

 

 

Mike

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Couple pics of the work Tom did...

 

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Moving that wheel inboard 1/2 inch really made a difference. But this is a lesson on custom parts fitment... The guys at CCW took specs from another Zcar customer and never once did I think "Hub diameter, and never once did they mention it.. Even though I'd said "5 lug conversion" and they'd said "we have another customer with that pattern"... So it was just an oversight on all parties...

 

before:

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After:

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Right now I'm waiting on the Fuelsafe surge box to come in. When it arrives, I'll have the parts needed to address that issue, and then I'll just need to re-do an alignment on the car and loc-tite the header bolts. Summit Point main in three weeks...

 

Mike

Edited by Mikelly
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