Mikelly Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Love it love it love it... We took a lot of abuse from others sniping and yet, there you are... 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I have also taken some abuse for my coaching from some paid well known coaches whose drivers didnt do nearly as well. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Good Luck this weekend racing with SCCA Matt!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramatt Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) THe ARRC race was great and I wish I could have been a better part of it. I qualified fourth overall and on pole for my SPO class with a 1:28.2 behind three GT1 Corvette's (MIke Skeen, NIck Hazelwood and Simon Gregg). The start was tiresome as we had three restarts for different reasons all related to the back of the field and quite frustrating. After the third green flag and for some reason we started side by side again I went over the curbing in Turn 3 at Road Atlanta, and everyone knows how the car gets air born there, well I did however in doing so my tie rod bolt sheared off at the heim joint and I hit the wall doing 83 miles an hour. I'm ok after spending time in the medical center with basically a very sore body. I feel like a worked over punching bag. Car is hurt pretty bad. Frame rail is buckled up against engine and headers, front nose, hood, fenders, roof is buckled, pretty much front end is toast. Engine should be ok. It stalled upon impact and Im glad because the oil cooler is integrated in the radiator and it was smashed and drained out. Not exactly how I wanted to finish the season but these things happen. I will be decompressing for a few days or a week and then with a clearer head I can assess the damage and make sound calls on what to do moving forward. A complete redesign of the front suspension geometry is in order, removing everything from the firewall forward and doing a tube frame clip where we can use proper adjustable coil overs and upper and lower control arms. I want to add a power brake master, new race hubs and bearings, I want to rebuild the radiator box and front nose. After having to load the busted up g nose I realized how heavy it was. I had to weight the car per SCCA rules and the car was heavier than I thought. It was 2615 with 11 gallons of gas in it. Thats almost 100 lbs more than I thought it was. I can make the car better and I intend on it. Here's the funny part of the weekend. During practice with the Trans AM cars TA1, TA2 and TA3 cars. After a few sessions 5 team crew chiefs and a few drivers came over to inspect my car. They said that now they understood what the hell was going on. They said that their driver would come over the radio and say that they were coming in as their was a problem with the car. The chief would say, stay out there is not a problem with the car what do you mean? Their reply was that a car, that they think was a Datsun just passed them and their has to be a problem with the car. Reply, A Datsun just passed you, are you sure? Yea it passed me and their has to be a problem with the car because I had it matted and he pulled on me. Now that's freakin funny. Obviously there's more to come, stay tuned............ Edited November 4, 2013 by cobramatt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Glad YOU are ok. Cars can be fixed but friends cannot be replaced. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannyvig Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Holy hell, glad you're ok man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Sorry to hear about the car, glad you're okay. I see you are using an AIM data logger. Have you added suspension sensors to your car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) Wow, glad you made it through ok, shame about that gorgeous car. I'm happy to hear you plan to repair it. Edited November 4, 2013 by SleeperZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 As I told you offline, Glad you are OK. I wanted to ring you, but figured you had more important things going on. I'm pretty surprised at your weight, knowing what my car weighed before I dropped weight with the CCWs and the smaller/lighter batter/dash/fuel deliver redesign. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramatt Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Sorry to hear about the car, glad you're okay. I see you are using an AIM data logger. Have you added suspension sensors to your car? No I do not have any suspension sensors. Good idea if you have a good suspension. I am never going to say Daves Arizona Z track pack suspension is garbage because its really nice for what he intended it to be. I dont think he would mind me saying that, however for what I am using it for, with 315 fr and 335 rear, with 600 RWHP, on a full on race car, I dont think the suspension needs sensors........it needs a proper suspension. We did find through blind luck that we were able to drill through the bottom of the front shock housing that AZC designed and then you can make adjustments to the shock. I guess everyone knew that but me. I thought they weren't adjustable all along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramatt Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 I apprecaite the kind words and I will repair her. Just have to gather my thoughts and put a proper plan together that will make her stronger and faster. This is the second time that that bolt sheared off and I went off track. The first time I was lucky and didnt hit anything. This time was not good for me or the car. I dont go into a race ever thinking that an accident is not possible as I have been in my share. Its really not a matter of if.......its a matter of when. This weekend was when. The fact that it was mechanical failure only reinforces my redesign plans. I would never go back with the same geometry again. EVER. I should have fixed it after the first failure, if that would have happened at 160MPH, lets just say it would have been worse. I have been thinking and I believe after selling a kidney, most of my blood and hopefully some semen I can afford to start the redesign. Here is some highlights of the car at Road Atlanta this past weekend at the ARRC championships by SCCA. These are all practice sessions with the Trans AM cars. They had never seen a Datsun pass them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Really sorry to hear about the car, but your journey with it has been freakin' awesome! Hope to see it back on the track badder and stronger than ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Glad to hear you're ok Matt! Following for updates and the improvements you'll incorporate on the Z. David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramatt Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Here is a quick video of the start of the race. Turn your speakers up as loud as they go............. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1um5dj9UYQXRjZoRm5vMlVGTGc/preview?pli=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 One of these things is not like the other one.... Corvette, corvette, corvette.......,hey, was that a.....Datsun??? I love it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Fn Awesome!!! I just got the word my motor is on the way!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramatt Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 OK............. The process has begun in sorting out the re build of the MTI Racing 240Z. For now the "plan" looks sorta like this: 1. remove engine, tranny, radiator and all other catch cans etc from engine bay. 2. assess all body panels to see what can be repaired or needs replacing 3. Cut and remove chassis from fire wall forward. 4. frame shop to determine if remaining frame is straight. 5. tube frame front clip. 6. design and fabricate new suspension. a. upper and lower control arms b. fully adjustable coil over shocks c. adjustable sway bars d. spherical bearings e. corvette hubs / bearings f. etc... 7. repair radiator 8. remove rear flares and all bondo in rear quarters 9. attach new IMSA (1.5' wider) rear flares with fasteners 10. widen rear stance by 3" 11. redirect exhaust to side exit exhaust behind side skirt 12. this will allow us to drop the rear fuel cell 9" lowering the CG. 13. lower the front splitter at air dam by 2" and extend it out forward another 4". 14. extend undertray and flat bottom the car (I have an aerospace engineer working on the design now) 15. fully functional rear diffuser. I would love to install our new sequential transmission but an extra $25k is just not in the budget after spending this on improvements. I truly feel after the weight reduction, added aerodynamics, redesigned weight distribution and suspension upgrades this will be an astonishingly fast car. It already was and with these upgrades I am looking to go from 1:27 at RA to 1:24's. Thats in the GT1/Trans AM times. I've even thought to go to a 16" wheel to be able to run a full slick tire instead of R compound's on the 17's. I've also given thought to a power assist on the brakes. More to come I'm sure........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duragg Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Matt your 2615 was weighed WITH driver and 11g fuel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramatt Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Matt your 2615 was weighed WITH driver and 11g fuel? No without me and 11 gal of gas and 3 gallon water cool suit. Im 170lbs. It was 200 lbs more than I thought it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Oh No! Sorry to hear about your wreck. I guess that is pat of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duragg Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Are you a 240? or 280? My 1973 s30 with Zero usable fuel was 2252 without me. I am 170 buck-nekkid also, I figure me and suit and helmet and HANS is another 200, I still have L28 and am running the Toyota anchors. I wonder where the weight is? I am trying to stay in a certain P/W class so I really can't dump anymore weight now. But I think losing another 100lbs from the car is possible (CF hood & hatch, battery, alt, starter, struts and wheels) This new 1970 shell I just acquired is a feather... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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