Repair, Race, Reflect
Not gonna lie, this is a big blog post. Covering from mid july until… now.
A lot has happened, but at the same time, not much has changed.
The last track day, I had what you would call a “catastrophic failure” of my Ask Sport F40 engine lid. The top part had come free at 120+ mph, folding back which took out my engine lid, latch, trunk lid, and carbon wing all in the same split second.
Did I mention I was also signed up for the biggest carshow in the PNW a mere two weeks away? WekFest.
After assessing the damage and just plain being worn out with dedicating long hours to the car, I decided to wave the white flag with regards to Wekfest. There was just no way I was going to turn this pile of crap into a showcar in 2 weeks. I had already paid my registration, which was non-refundable. Wekfest is an “invite only” show, requiring photos and a build log to apply, so I figured at the very least they could give my spot to someone else eagerly waiting to show off their pride and joy.
I emailed the coordinator and told them my sad story and to give my spot to someone else. Wekfest, being the cool show it is, refunded my entry due to the circumstances that I broke the car actually using it on track. Good guys Wekfest! It’s probably the only show I plan to ever enter my car into… next year, for sure! (for the record, I’ve said that every year, and keep blowing it)
So, we needed to fix the damage first and foremost. Luckily I have some great car friends who take pity on my terrible trackday luck. David, the EF civic guy (along with a SW20, LS 240sx, STi, blah blah blah) had a spare trunk lid he happily gave me. Thanks bud! The only caveat, it’s red of course.
Seen here, I had already removed the 91-93 spoiler and prepped the holes to close them up. Jesus that’s a lot of holes.
I also added some strut pieces underneath to the skeleton structure. The spoiler mounts through this bracing. This GREATLY reduces the trunk lid flex with the big ol wing. My old trunk lid was already starting to deform. Hopefully this solves that issue until I can devise something more planted to the chassis and framerails.
Looks like it’ll work. I replaced just the carbon airfoil from NRG. Saved me.. like $50? over buying a whole new wing package off eBay. Hooray?
Onward to the engine lid! This part delaminated a little bit, so I carved it out and added a crap load of kitty hair fiberglass mix.
Kitty hair. Meow.
Looks better. Not new, but it’ll work.
I also decided it was time to paint my carbon hood. I know, covering up all that sweet carbon weave feels a little sinful… but it also feels a bit more “grown up”. Besides the hood was pretty trashed from my “experiment” of forgetting to latch the hood down and merging onto the highway.
Remember the engine lid latch got hosed too? It actually tore the welds from the chassis. Better than blowing the welds on the intake I guess?
At first I was real setback by this damage. But, once I started attempting to repair it, it actually was really easy to get it back to where it needed to be. Having a welder is like having an impact gun, you don’t use it much, but damn are you glad you have it when you need it.
With some rubber mallet persuasion, a little welding, and touch up paint, things looks more or less “OEM”.
I test fit the engine lid and things work!
Just like that, I was ready to prime! (not really just like that, this is probably 10-12 hours of prep work and sanding)
Ta da! Hi build primer. Next we needed to sand everything again to 320, and then paint.
Painting didn’t go that well for me, just like the last time. No matter what I did, I got lots of fisheyes. Fisheyes are typically signs of line contamination, or moisture in the airlines. I tried many different coats of paints and procedures. I even built a pretty ridiculous water trap for my compressor (along with a gun trap), but I still had issues…especially with the hood.
What didn’t help, was this was the hottest part of the summer. Ambient temps in the 80s-90s. I think every time I kicked on the compressor, I just created way too much moisture in the tank. Another thing is I’ve never had much luck with this single stage paint. Maybe a two stage paint system is more forgiving these days? After a few tries, I did get a hood I was OK with. The car is now really a 10 footer, but what track car isn’t? (don’t show me your amazingly clean track car, stop it.)
When I finally got it all back together, I felt I deserved a little touge run. (eurobeat intensifies)
I know you’re wondering, stickers still available, but almost out. Don’t think I’ll restock these again so buy now!
Oh yeah, I never showed you guys my fix for the F40 engine lid. It’s a simple fix, but I never got a good photo of it. Basically I extended the lower lip on the top part of the lid so that it grabs the car much better and is basically impossible to pull up and out now. I will get real good pictures for you in the next installment.
This is the end of a road near my house I didn’t even know existed until 2 years ago. It is mostly straight with a few short but amazing curvy sections. It’s also stunningly beautiful. WA might have the best roads and scenery out of anywhere in the USA. Prove me wrong!
Maybe some time I will start documenting these roads for site content. I don’t want to give up these “secrets”!
After driving the car quite a bit over the next few weeks, a couple of small issues came up. The first… my speedo died. It’s electronic, what the crap?! But, cars that are 25 years old tend to break. So, after some research I found that the capacitors usually fail on the speedo. Youtube found me a perfect repair tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpObqMse2CY
I found the replacement capacitors through a local hobby store, since Radio Shack has gone the way of the dodo. I think they all cost me $2.90?
Pull your speedo, and fire up your soldering gun.
Once my old caps were removed, I used solder wick (found from same hobby shop) to clean up the board, and soldered in the new capacitors.
I put everything back together and went for a cruise. No Speedo. Damnit. Maybe my sensor somehow crapped out on me. I pop the hood and take a peek. Wow. My sensor had somehow loosened up the 10mm bolt and backed out. Proper troubleshooting, Mike. A minute later I had it back in the transmission and went around the block. Ta-Da, speedo is a go! Oh well, it should hold up another 25 years.
Next up were my mirrors. Yeah, they look badass. Yeah, they’re light. Yeah, they have some pretty shitty visibility. But, I put up with them. But, since I bought them years ago, the hinge and arm mechanism have always been…crappy. The mirrors tend to move on their own during any drive over an hour. Usually, they droop down. It’s gotten worse over the last year. One night I started looking into it and saw APR sells replacement arms for cheap, so those were scooped up quickly.
New arm on top, old below. The ball joint on this one was completely seized.
Rebuilt, and much more stiff.
I also installed a bit of a impulse buy. The turbo engine gets very hot at track days. I figured maybe a little exhaust wrap might help the downpipe evacuate 1200 degree heat a little better.
Not sure it’ll really make a difference, but why not? Tip: soak the wrap a few minutes to get very pliable to form to your exhaust. Obviously, let it “dry out” before install, like a day or so. Wish it would wrap around the bellmouth better, but the O2 bung gets in the way.
Fast forward a few weeks. It was time for another track day. When SCCA Track Night In America shoots you a discount code, you use it. $125 for three track sessions is a good deal anywhere. I highly recommend them to get your feet wet with tracking your car.
This was also the last track day for me this year. Once September hits, the weather can be very hit or miss in the PNW. I feel pretty good with another 4 days this season.
The weather this day was a little ominous. Rain was a real possibility, 40% chance.
When I arrived things looked good, if not great. Temps in the high 60s, and pretty much beautiful out. But, dark clouds were on the horizon.
I unpacked, and went through tech and the drivers meeting. We geared up as we were first on track in the advanced group.
The first session went really well. The car felt great. After a two lap warm up I was driving the car hard, and it was responding. There was also limited traffic, which was awesome. Everyone was aware and keeping an eye on their mirrors. It was a fantastic session. I clocked off a bunch of low 2:00 laps and a few 1:59s. But, this was the first time I’ve noticed my tires don’t quite have the grip they once did. This is their 8th track day, along with probably ~8000 miles on them. Overall, not bad for a “200tw” tire. They still have quite a bit of tread left too, which is nice since we’re coming into the winter months soon here, so it’s gonna get wet. I might try to squeeze another day out of them next spring…
There were some pretty cool cars in attendance too. Namely, these two BEAUTIFUL Porsche 911s.
Both cars were amazing, but the 911 on old school Toyos really caught my eye. I chatted with both owners who said they normally track their cars very often. I told them how their “hot rodded” 911s had an great Magnus Walker vibe to them. They then mentioned he’s a friend of theirs. Man, I would love to part of the “porsche family”. Someday, all it takes it time and money, right?
The piggy and the horsey.
Things went really well for the second session too. I thought I was going to crack that 1:58 nut many times… but was only able to muster a 1:59.2, which is still a new lap record for me. Hooray!? A 1:58 would’ve been much more satisfying, but I’m more than happy with the consistency I’ve been able to lap 1:59s, which I believe the car is capable, but the driver is making the same mistakes. (I know I can brake later, I’m just a pansy)
While in the paddock awaiting my last session, the rains came down (from Africa).
It got wet, real wet. I was unsure what to do when Advanced group was called to get ready. Do I call it a successful season? Do I brave the rainy track and possibly wreck this car too? My last wet track session was a disaster (I put the car into a wall and shortened it 6 inches).
So, I told myself I’ve learned a lot since then. My car is better, my tires are better, and most importantly, I’m a better driver.
This will be a learning experience.
The anticipation. LOTS going through my mind, mostly just stay calm, and don’t do anything stupid.
Here’s a wet lap. Honestly, it’s pretty boring and obviously off pace quite a bit. I should’ve softened the suspension a bit, but wanted to get some baselines with the car in the wet. I was running 2:25-2:35s, just trying to survive mostly, and had some fun with it! I never caught the R8, kudos to the driver tracking a supercar in the wet, even with AWD.
I came in off that session feeling in a good place for this track season.
The drive home was the scariest part of the whole day actually. The road I take home was the target of a big storm cell the entire 40 miles I was on it. Visibility was ~15 feet, wipers full bore (mr2 wipers suck btw) hydroplaning more than steering. I was going to pull over and let it pass, but the storm was traveling the same direction as I was… so I toughed it out. An hour later I got her home in one piece.
Afterwards, I decided the car needed a real thorough cleaning. In a rare case of OCD with this car I pulled the wheels to really scrub them. Two years of abuse and dusty brake pads showing off. One wheel probably had half an ounce of rubber stuck to it, that might help my wheel balance better!
Mucho bien.
With a ghetto polish, and coated with some magical Topcoat F11. I got a sample bottle, and will report back how well it does.
The next weekend was the annual MR2 The Beach! My favorite “meet” of the year, since it’s really the only one I attend.
The forecast… you guessed it. More rain. But that didn’t hamper everyone, and attendance was still great.
As always, Russ’ car was the bell of the ball. With good reason, it’s very well put together, and not your typical forced induction SW20.
MMMMMMM 2GR with Lotus Supercharger MMMMMMMMMM
Unfortunately the rain came pretty hard when I finally got my camera out, and most of my pictures of the other cars didn’t turn out. Some great machinery there, the PNW Supra guys came as well.
But, just like every 2 The Beach, the sun came out a few hours later at the big BBQ hosted by Rat2Motorsports. After I just had to do my favorite thing whenever I go to Ocean Shores, drive on SR 115, aka the beach! Yes, it’s a legal road! Yes it always turns into a big photoshoot.
After the amazing sunset, we all gathered on the beach for a big bonfire, and libations quickly ensued. It was awesome to hang out with a lot of great MR2 guys from all over the PNW, Oregon to BC. And anytime alcohol and fire mix, usually some cool stuff comes out of it.
Thanks Martin, Lyle, and MacKenzie for putting on another great event.
For the most part, that puts a bow on the car season for me here in the PNW. It’s been a good one, with is usual ups and downs, but for the most part, the car performed well when asked. Small little problems showed, but we shaved 3 seconds off my previous best lap time! So, there’s something to show as improvement.
Unfortunately, the car is showing a lot of wear and tear. I beat the crap out of this car, and it’s showing. So, I’m planning a rather large overhaul this winter. Now I know you’ll tune in! But first… we have to build a bigger garage ;)
Tease-tease-tease.