Project 3.4 Camaro

Well thats why I didn't find it,lol was looking for something directly related to aero in the title...

FishyWARREN

Hey I have a question about the CMC ai rules that you might be able to help with. Is stitch welding or seam welding ok to do to your car. I have looked rut haven't found a defiant answer.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

In CMC, it's one of those things that if it doesn't say you can do it, you can't, so it's not legal for CMC.

I want to say that it is legal for AI and AIX, but can't find it directly in the rules either. If you're leaning in AI/AIX direction, here's the national forum...
http://www.nasaforums.com/viewforum....a61ec673da0397

FishyWARREN

I'm going to have to agree with you on this. But I was thinking if it didn't say it, it would be ok.. My car is already stitch welded.. I really wanted to compete in CMC I guess I will have to dig around in the AI rules now. I have seen your car a few times. I like it.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Are you looking to build the car listed in the details to the left? '84 350 auto?

I wouldn't let that one thing keep you from looking at CMC2. If you've raced before or just had money to burn, then maybe sure run AI. But if this is something that you've never done before, I personally would do whatever is possible to run CMC.

Car counts are typically higher in CMC. Typically mods and parts are cheaper in CMC. Depending on how prepped you car already currently is, I'd look into demodding it (grinding off the welds) if practical, or starting from a fresh chassis. You're already looking at least a trans swap.

The next event is in Cresson (DFW) Mar 12th weekend. The one after that is April 30th weekend at TWS in College Station. I'd suggest to run up to TWS (about an hour drive), check out the cars, and talk to some of the guys, then decide which class to run.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

We typically have 4 races per weekend. Races 1 and 3's starting positions are determined by a qualifying session earlier in the day. Races 2 and 4 have the field inverted (within class) based on the previous race. As a rookie, you must start your first couple of races at the back regardless of where you qualify. You always have the option to elect to start at the back at any time tho. At Hallet, I was eligible to start where I qual'd. For R1 and R3, this was fine (since I was pretty near the back anyways), but on the invert start on Saturday' Race 2, I elected to start at the back. Sunday's R4, however, I closed my eyes and started on the 2nd row of the invert.

Round 5 was at TWS again, clockwise. The fun started before I even left for the track. I was a warehouse away from not making it. Upon making a final check Friday morning, I noticed a crack in a front brake rotor that was hiding behind the caliper. Must have resulted from running wik TWS MotorSport Club the weekend before. Got a rotor at the parts store (who got it from their warehouse) at 2:30p, installed it, loaded up, and headed out. One more reason I like that CMC still uses stock parts!

At the track, the water temp is a touch high still (but then again it's Texas in August). It finally dawned on me to check the temp of the radiator hoses with my IR gun. Sure enough, there weren't nearly as high as the gauge read. Note to self, buy an Autometer gauge soon!

Round 6 was held at Eagle's Canyon Raceway outside of Dallas.
Here's some highlights starting with R2. Yeah, I'm on the POLE, baby!
ECR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq8WeYHi8OI

That off on the first lap caught me by surprise. The car just didn't turn and had never came close to doing that any other time. Later found out after talking to someone who was behind me that I had locked up one of the rears. Hmm. Add install adjustable prop valve to the list of things to do.

'87IROCZOWNER69

iTrader: (1)

Quick question on the race, I thought you just recently painted the car. So how is it that the race is from 2008?

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

I'm only just now getting around to putting all this in writing, starting from the beginning of the build in 3/2003. It's not in realtime (yet). The dates of when each thing happened are above each post in bold. Sorry for the confusion.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

My first season road racing was complete! A minor dent here, but no major incidents or catastrophic failures. I'm chalking that one up as a success.

During the off season, I decided to try tackle a small oil leak that's been pestering me. Replacing the intake gaskets solved most of that issue. While I was there, I sent off the fuel injectors to be rebuilt, hoping that I would get some power back in the process. They did the before and after tests. The before tests showed most were not that bad. None were really bad. Didn't bank on gaining much power from that now.



In January, I met a few other Houston area drivers at Late Model Racecraft for another mini AICMC dyno day. Posted up 217hp/278tq. Not much of an improvement over last year. That's okay since I'm still behind the car. I don't think having the max numbers would put in contention for the lead just quite yet.
My girlfriends Saturn Sky Redline put down 218hp.

Copchaser

iTrader: (2)

helluva write up so far man.. Definitely enjoyed following along so far. Great work and congrats on your road race 3rd gen.

RU-QWIK

iTrader: (3)

I have an extra set of those plates if interested, one has the bearing (complete), the other is just a plate... PM me if you are, I'll let them go fairly cheap.

Jason

RS Chris

That pic is from several years ago. I think he fixed long ago.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

they also have a lifetime warentee from J&M/Hotmpart, so thats a free replacement.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Replacing it is one of those things where it's more trouble than it's worth. I bought them from another racer and didn't think J&M would warranty them since I don't have the reciept. That and the fact that the stock ones work well enough to give good numbers is all I need. Thanks for the offer tho!

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

The season started at MSR-Houston. Nick in his white thirdgen (Alamo) was there too working towards his competition license. Not much to report about that event.

We both decided to attend the Texas A&M Sports Car Clubs first autocross of the year. We both left TAMU in 2002, but made occasional trips there for autocrossing. Met up with a couple of other old friends too.

Went out and had some fun with the GoPro camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crfyn...feature=relmfu

SomeGuy25thZ

just got me a 85 iroc to turn into a CMC2 car!

planning on a Lt1/T56 swap over the next year. Going to def. safe this thread.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

MSR-Cresson was the next CMC race on the calendar. It was to be a cold and wet event. I was a bit apprehensive (just like the last year); this time because it would be my first session ever on a wet track.

Let the car warm up for a few minutes, head over to grid and wait. Feelin good, relaxed, take it nice and easy for the practice session. Relearn the track, brake earlier, smooth inputs. They send us out and I get 10 feet past the end of the pit wall and Knocker dies. Try cranking... nothing. I quickly dive to the outside of the next corner at the junction of the 'new' track and stop. Crap, problems already and the weekend hasn't even started (Just like the last year). Crank some more and get more of nothing. The rescue truck hooks up to my rear tow strap and pull me back down the 'new' course to get out of the way. Hook up to the front strap and take me back to my pit. The good news is both my tow straps work. A quick look over results in good spark and fuel pressure. Go to pull codes, no SES light. Hmm. Thankfully it turned out not to be the computer, just a $0.15 blown fuse. Whew.

What a fun weekend. The AI/CMC field is getting HUGE! 20+ regular showing cars, with a few more guys who only run a few times a year. Nick got okay'd to race at the next event assuming he makes a few changes to Alamo to make it rules compliant.



Nick getting his checkout "ride"

All the AI/CMC usually try park together. This event just happened to line up a lot of Fbodies.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Good to hear! Saw you post up on the national CMC board. Welcome!

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

After the Cresson event I tackled some things I'd been putting off. At some point there was a rewording of the rules to allow for more gutting of the doors, more than the min required to clear the cage. Since my cage was originally put in to retain the interior, the doors had remained complete (minus glass of course). This rule change had somehow gotten by me, and being overweight (the car) as it is, I started going at it.

One thing I didn't want was the doors to be too flimsy. For one, when I get out of the car on the trailer, I have to sit on the top of the door, and I didn't want then to sag more than they already do.

I ended up removing 12.5lbs each side. I left in the impact beam on both sides. My thought being that if by some chance someone hits me in the door, maybe, just maybe having the beam there would make it so I'd only have to replace the door and not have to go cutting out any of the cage.

I lost use of the interior door handles in the process. Some guys do this funky arm twist and open the door from the outside handle. Not really a good option for me since I'm pretty short (5' 7") and sit pretty close to the wheel. I rigged some safety wire from the latch to a hole at the front of the door, and zip tied it back to the crash bar. This allows me to pull the wire towards me, and it unlatches the door.



One thing I hadn't quite anticipated was that when I was cutting away on the doors, I also cut away the portion where the side mirrors bolted onto. I had wanted to replace them with something smaller/lighter, so I guess now was the time. Went to Autozone and bought their generic 5" convex round mirrors for a couple of bucks.

I had stocked up on some random tabs I had bought from www.colemanracing.com, so I took some to the local muffler guy to get welded on.



The convex one on the driver side bothered me, it made it very difficult to tell how far back a car is. I already have a 17" Longacre convex mirror in the center and I've adjusted to that, the passenger side was managable, but the drivers side might just be too much. After the very next event (TWS), I bought on ebay from JT Outfitters a pair (one spare) of flat 5" round mirrors, $1.99 each. I put one of those small ~1" blind spot mirrors on the 5", and they work great IMHO.



Also bought a camper shell for the 2500HD off Craigslist for $120. Not quite an exact fit, but an awesome upgrade for the tow vehicle.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

TWS, my favorite track. In trying to keep this mostly a build thread, here's a link to the full writeup of the race weekend.

Nick was now running in the CMC ranks. Fortunately I was able to beat him that weekend! Can't have some rookie show me up now, can I? I did also manage a career best finish of 5th of 10!


The unfortunate side of the weekend is that Nick broke a trans in the last race. My issues didn't start until the last lap of the last race. Knocker started to cut out in one corner. On the cool down lap, it started cutting out on multiple corners. Tried to limp it around, but Knocker threw in the towel at T10 and coasted to a stop on the next straight. The corner workers came up to me, told them I was ok, car just died. They said it'd be a while as rescue was fishing someone else out of the mud. To my rescue came a dude on a golf cart with a tow strap!

Pushed both cars onto their trailers. I'll diagnose mine at home.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Rolled the car into the garage when I got home. Unlike my usual race prep, (done the week before the next event) I knew I'd have to work on this sooner than later, especially since there was other stuff I wanted to get done before Hallet.

The good is that the Knocker started up fine. The bad is that the Knocker started up fine. That doesn't give me any clue as to why it died on track. Unfortunately, my subdivision isn't the best place to try replicate the track environment. Oh well. At least it's running now.

Placed an order with Summit for some new gauges and a Wilwood proportioning valve. My old roommate recommended the lever style because it is very repeatable. It's easier to set it at two clicks for a particular track than about one and 3/4 turns. Made sense to me.

Only thing was, even tho I installed the hard lines from the b4c, I didn't feel comfortable splicing in the prop valve or going with some hockey setup. I figure brakes are pretty important, so I'll let someone with professional expertise do that one.

I took Knocker to (Greg) Lucas Automotive Restoration. Heard he did good work on racecars, especially cage work. Even tho it should be a straightforward task to complete the "X" door bars, it seems that anytime I took the car to have a shop do something (like weld, alignments etc) that I couldn't, they never quite did it the way I'd have liked it.

I removed the dash, called to set up a date, and towed the car up to his shop. My girlfriend and I get there right at lunchtime. Greg was just about to head to lunch with a couple of racers. Like any good business owner, he invites us along for lunch. Sure, why not! We hop in his car and meet a few other SCCA racers/his friends at the restaurant. Reminds me of the small business feeling of when I worked at the machine shop in Bryan/College Station.

Getting back to his shop, I tell him what I'm needing, finish the "X"s and install the prop valve in the cabin. He takes a look over my cage, points out that if he's going to do any work, he's going to change the way I have me shoulder harnesses mounted whether I like it or not. I'm thinking "Wha??" He goes on to explain the reasoning. I have two tabs welded on the crossbar facing forward. The end of the harness is sandwiched (bolted) between the two tabs. Should the seat back brace fail, the seat collapses backwards, those tabs would go straight thru the holes in the seat (for the sholder harnesses) and into my back/shoulder blades. Hmm, never thought about that before.

We talk over the door bars. He's more than happy to do the "X" on the drivers side, but highly recommends doing more of a NASCAR style bar setup there. Well, the door is now gutted, so the room is there, and it is safer, and he gives me a fair price, so, yeah, I'm sold on the NASCAR bars.

I give him my deadline of two weeks and leave the car. I'm nervous as usual about leaving the car, but feel better with this guy than I have other places.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

We go to pick up Knocker after I get a call that it's done. I like what I see.

Ignore the missing padding on the top bar.


Greg explains that they butted the door bar right up under the impact beam. He was even apologetic that the paint wasn't quite a match. Close enough for me!



Note the grip tape that has been added to aid getting out of the car in racing shoes, especially if it's damp.



Very, very pleased with the work that was done.

Now it's my turn to get to work. The completed "X" on the passenger side meant cutting up the dash a bit more to fit. I also made a new gauge cluster panel. Pimpy, but the new gauges needed bigger holes. Besides that, the old cluster had a speedo. A speedo in a racecar? That's just extra weight! Cut a new panel from some ABS plastic for the new Autometer Oil Pressure and Water Temp gauges and CEL. I'll cut the hole for the tach later. Also redid my travel windows out of the same material.


The racing pedals were installed a long time ago as a temporary way to try move them closer to the seat. I'll fab a proper spacer someday...

The last thing I did was replace the sheet metal panels sandwiched between the radiator and the radiator support with some dense foam to seal it off. Don't want anything too rigid next to the plastic tanks.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

June means the long trek up to Hallet, Oklahoma once again.

In the first race, I had fun playing wik the Rocky Mountain guys since Nick wasn't able to make it. Halfway thru the race, I started getting a long brake pedal. Took it easy for a lap or so til it came back. I proceeded to chase back down Dave B, passed him, then promptly spun at T3. Oops. Finished 11th of 14.
Video of Race 1

After that session Laura and I bled the front brakes.

Race 2, inverted start. After a few laps, started to have the same issues I had in R4 at TWS. Felt as though it was running out of fuel. This time it was consistent in that it would only sputter on the right-hand turns. After a few laps it got really bad in the B-tch (the name of a corner) so I dived into the pits to end the race early. Good move as Knocker died in the paddock 100’ from the garage. 13th of 14.

I got it towed back into our spot and started troubleshooting. I had brought Nick’s old fuel pump and something kept saying it’s gotta be something else. Big thanks to Steve, another racers insistence that it seemed like an electrical issue. With the car running, I was moving the wiring looms around. When I picked up on the loom at the rear of the engine, a few seconds later it started to die. Eventually found the problem to be a chaffed fuel pump relay signal wire. Used half a roll of electrical tape just to be sure it won’t happen again.

In race 3, after a few laps, Knocker had some bad popping, lack of power, and general running like crap. First thought it was maybe another timing issue. Babied it to the finish and got a great vantage point of Wirtz and Glenn in the final few corners of the last lap after they lapped me. Finished 11th of 14.

Came in after the checker, checked timing (ok) and started looking over the motor for signs of a problem. David L comes over, looks for all of 30 seconds and points out a missing AIR plug on the exhaust manifold. Big thanks to Burch for giving me one of his spares.

Race 4 is another inverted start. I didn’t get completely blown away as I was as quick as some of the RM and MW guys. I have a good race with Bryan W. Most of the field gets by us both and I eventually get back on his bumper. I knew I could get a better run onto the backstretch than him. I was able to make my move with a lap or so to go. Got along side, braked a tad deeper going into 3, and had my fingers crossed I wouldn’t screw it up and let him back by or worse, end up hitting him. I made it stick and make my first real earned competitive pass on a non rookie driving a non-broken car who hadn't just spun or gone 4 off and that I keep the position My funnest race to date! Finished 9th of 12.

Video of Race 4
Not my car, but I start right behind him (RoadRacerWhite here on TGO).

We had a long drive ahead of us after all that excitement, but I was very happy to once again drive Knocker up onto trailer even having some minor issues thoughout the weekend. We drove straight home back to Houston, got there at 2am. Still took Monday off work! I will say that the people are what makes this series so great. Sure everyone wants to beat you on track, but off track, everyone is willing to lend a hand to get your car running right.

Project 3.4 Camaro

Wow, gd that looks fun, thats the exact kind of racing i want to do, not identical cars, and not all lefthand turns =/

Aardvark

here's a surprise, you have a photo of our race car (that was taken at Hallett in 2009)

and also one of my wife with our car (who was racing the car at Hallett) ...miss coming out there, might make the trip this year

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Not in any of my pictures unfortunately. Those ones are from the "official" Nasa Tx girl. I do have some video tho (Beth started directly in front of me in one of the races).

Hope y'all make it out there this time. Don't think we'll have quite the same number of cars, but it looks like they're still expecting ~25 CMC1/2 cars.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Back ‘home’ at TWS (clockwise) for the next round of racing. We arrived at the track and began to finish wiring up new cool suit I had purchased the previous week. Very nice addition.

Here's the mount that was fabbed in the trunk.


Unfortunately at this event, I had my first car to car contact. In race 2 (an invert) on the second lap, DF (LT1 4th gen) attempts a pass under braking into T6. I didn't fight him too hard for it. He axle hops and loops it. I take to the grass to avoid, but he backs across grass right infront of me. Contact. Damn. After the hit, I back up and see a big hole in his door. I envisioned my front bumper dragging and the radiator being all tore up. Limped it back to the paddock keeping an eye on the temp gauge. I was actually relieved when I saw the damage. The brake duct naca duct was somewhere off T6, the steel bumper on the passenger side was pushed back maybe 1", bumper cover had a few more marks, corner of the hood/fender has a small 1/2" bend. Biggest thing was my fabbed radiator box was bent to hell. My brother and I redrilled the fender brace to ensure clearance to turn the wheel and another racer and I banged out the rad box and he re-pop riveted it in place. Good enough to race again on Sunday. For my first real contact, I guess it could have been much worse.

(Not from my car)

Sam C., another TAMSCC member, got his comp license to start his first race on Sunday. He's running a SN95 Mustang.

In race 4, another inverted start, I get a horrible start and immediately get passed and left behind. Coming around to T3, there is a HUGE smoke display. An AI car has blown a motor. The field comes to a near stop as everyone picks their way thru the smoke. Good heads up by all. Puts my damage in perspective.

Not quite an exciting weekend as usual since Nick wasn't able to make it. Lap times are down from last years times. Even with the crappier R888’s (were on RA1’s last year), each event til this one I was able to improve my times. Maybe it’s just the tires are dead. The RA1’s were nice in that they were good til the cord. The consensus seems to be the R888’s are dead before the tread is worn off. This was my 5th race weekend on the R888’s and I’ll try to get one more out of em since I’m cheap Yay for CMC going back to the RA1’s next year!

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

A before picture...


After repairs...


After his repairs...


Once I saw the extent of my damage, it made the emotions settle down quite a bit. It's not like it was an intentional aggressive move. He just ran out of talent. I remember when doing some performace rallying, one of the guys who had been doing it for a while said, there are two types of rally drivers, those who have wrecked and those who havn't wrecked yet". (Another one of his tid bits of advice was "If you get into a fight with a tree, you will lose. The key is to not lose by much" in regards to the rollcage.) Roadracing is about the same.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Eagle's Canyon is the last race of the year. Nick has signed up, and another of our friends, Wade, has just bought a CMC2 from a racer (who was upgrading his ride and purchased a California car from another racer out west). Wade will be going thru the HPDE ranks to get his license and will be joining us in 2010.



The entire weekend was dreary, misty and rainy. Shot this during the practice session with my GoPro camera.

In race 4, with Nick in his 7th (SEVENTH!! ) race start ever, manages to get a third place finish in the rain! Holy crap! Kuddos Nick! I'm in trouble!



I finished 5th in overall season points, out of a total of 22 points earning cars. We are allowed to drop the lowest 20% of our races. Most of the those cars did not make all the races. Still, beats my 8th of 20 from 2008.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Looking good, hey rubbing is racing!!!!!

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Unfortunately that is true. If you're not willing to push the car off a cliff, then you shouldn't be racing.

In December, the Texas AICMC guys held a rookie day at TWS. Nick, Wade and I all attended. It was a big practice, driving side by side thru the turns, getting comfortable with people right on your bumper and you right on the other guy. It was fun, and more track time never hurts. Wade was able to 'prove' himself and was passed off onto getting his provisional race license.

In the few weeks before the first race of 2010, I did my 'prep' for the racing season. Removed the passenger seat that was installed for Rookie day, put in a new drivers side harness, gave everything a good once over, give Knocker a bath, and got a dyno cert. I'm a bit down of power from last year @ 212hp/274ft*lbs. A lot of the guys made the jump from CMC to CMC2 this year. CMC was almost spec third gen with the exception of a few.

NASATx Round 1 at MSR-Houston is the start of our racing season for 2010 once again. This will be my third season in CMC, Nick's second, and Wade's first. To say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement.



Full race report here (since I'm trying to keep this more 'build' related)...
http://www.witchdoctormotorsports.com/ch157.htm

Saturday:
Sunday:
Best. Racing. Weekend. EVAR. Yeah, this weekend topped last year at Hallet. Racing that close with good friends (who you happen to have spare body panels etc for in case you mess up) is the best.

On the way home, we picked up a 50cc yamaha to use as a pit bike we found on craigslist.

after some fresh white paint and stickers.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Here's a long one, but worth the read...

Craigslist can be a wonderful thing. I’ve used it a few times with good results: bought a camper shell, wheels/tires, sold a car or two. When the newest version of the CMC2 rules (same basic rules as CMC but with 260hp/310tq) were released, third gens were now allowed to either modify their 305 TPI, build a carb’d vortec 350, or drop in an LT1. I’ve been casually looking for an LT1 to put into Knocker when I make the jump from CMC to CMC2. Aluminum heads? Yes please! In my wee head, I figured a wrecked 4th gen would be ideal in that the at least I would know the main reason for selling would be something other than a bad motor. Buying just a longblock or even a running car always plants a seed in your head that maybe the owner knows something is going bad. Plus, with an entire car, we may get lucky and get to use some of the interior for Laura’s ’91 RS.

I just happened to come across an ad for a wrecked Camaro in Abilene ’s craigslist. Ok, so it’s a bit far away from me in Houston . But wait! Location of vehicle says Brownwood . Ok, so it’s a bit closer than Abilene , but I’m still not sold. I call and the lady who answers the phone tells me it’s a 6 speed (score!) but doesn’t know a mileage or details since the car belongs to a friend of hers who is computer illiterate. Lemme think about that.

Craigslist ad...


About the same time, Laura had come across a good deal on a Queen bedroom set on Houston ’s craigslist. We were looking for a queen bedframe, and the ad included a mattress/box for an extra $50. Laura asked if I knew anyone that needed a queen bed. Hmm… A quick email to Nick, and he’s all over it for his guest room. I may even deliver it if he helps me load a busted Camaro onto my trailer. The wheels start turning…

Laura emails the furniture people, I email the Camaro people for more pictures, mileage etc. I get a call back from a guy, Wes, who fills me in a bit more about the car. He tells me the engine seems fine and turns over by hand. I ask about the trans and he mentions he couldn’t get the clutch in because the floorboard is bent up. Oh, the car was t-boned on drivers door. A picture in the ad would have been nice. He then tells me that they have someone coming to look at the car that night. The earliest I could get up there is the coming weekend. First come, first serve. Dang.

Shortly after, the furniture ad is deleted by author. Laura never got a reply.

Email from Nick…

“d'oh

no furniture, and possibly no LT1....0 for 2 (maybe)

:-\ ”

Next day (Wednesday), it all turns around. I call the Camaro guy and he tells me that the other guy came over with a cherry picker to get the engine, but there wasn’t enough room between the front of the car and the fence. If I’m really going to come get it, he’ll hold onto it until the weekend. I specifically tell him my concern is loading onto the trailer, and ask if the front suspension is ok to bolt some wheels onto. He affirms. Laura gets an email saying if we have a truck and can pick up the furniture tonight after 6, it’s ours. Double Woo-Hoo! To top it off, the actual address is in the town of Goldwaithe , which is closer still to SA.

Friday afternoon, we head to San Antonio to spend the night at Nicks. I had every tow-strap, ratchet strap, tie down, bungie cord, random bits of wood, jacks, jack stands I own loaded up as well as Nick’s new bed. We arrive at Nicks, make our bed, and are out for the night.

Laura is liking the scenic hills on the way from San Antonio to Goldwaithe. Around 11:30 we arrive at Goldwaithe city limits, and proceed thru the town. This next right is the street. As we come around the trees, the street is staring down at us at about a 30* angle. It’s STEEEEEP! We collectively hope that there’s another way out and we don’t have to come back down that grade loaded.

A quick look over and this car is HURT! There isn’t a single panel with the exception of the roof that isn’t damaged. The header panel is straight tho and the engine does appear stock and is ok shape. Now the fun begins.

We first jack the front of the car to get the wheels on. The passenger side is sitting on a cinder block making it a bit easier. Nick has the driver side and makes a catastrophic discovery. The lower ball joint on that side has been sheered off. Technically the guy I spoke to was correct. We could bolt a wheel on. Having it roll and support the car was another issue. The collapsed front wheel would play havoc on the loading party.

First we jacked up the back end up of the car and I thanked myself for having such a low trailer. We placed some wood under the car to make it slide up the trailer once we start winching. I backed it up and lowered the rear of the car down. Reposition the jacks and back up some more. It was working out well. With the car 1/3 on the trailer, we lowered the ramps. Now just to pull it up the rest of the up with my newly purchased cheap-*** winch. HAHAHA!!! What’s that? Oh, that’s the car laughing at the puny winch. Ok, so that’s a no-go. Glad I brought my dads come-along. We hook it up and the car started to move.







The front wheels are at the edge of the ramps and it’s starting to all go wrong. The collapsed suspension is just getting caught up under the car. The other wheel will not stay straight. At some point, the come-along gets harder to ratchet and the center part of the come-along comes out of alignment. The cable is tangled within. We spend a while to try fix it as best we can getting the cable unstuck and getting it half workable again.

The car now has the front wheels on the ramps. We decide to jack up the ramps level with the trailer, block the ramps and the car tires, and slowly back the trailer up again. In theory, the ramps will slide into the trailer, and push the car up. This works… for a few feet. The ramps are now almost back in the trailer, the front wheels of the car barely on the edge of the ramps. There’s too much resistance from the rear end of the car on the trailer.

Time for plan E. We placed a jack on each side at the back of the trailer and disconnected the trailer from the truck. Chocked all the wheels of the trailer. We tied a tow strap to the hitch and the front of the car. Slowly eased the truck forward and… started to spin the tires in the soft dirt.

I think you know what’s coming next. No, not “Hold my beer and watch this!” I got a small running start and jerked the car forward. It worked! Since this Camaro is, oh, about a foot and a half narrower than a stock Camaro, we routed the strap straight, then left, then right to make sure the car didn’t fall into the center section of the trailer. On the last jerk, the entire trailer pivots and digs and sinks the trailer jack into the soft mud. I’m done. Let’s go home, they can keep the trailer. As it turns out, the jack is undamaged, we can get a floor jack under it easily to hook it onto the truck and more importantly, the car is actually completely ON the trailer. Holy crap. We use the half broken come-along to inch it up a bit more until the wheel gets hung up on the license plate frame of the trailer. It’s good enough, lets get this trainwreck up onto the rock patio / driveway and get it strapped down.

Easier said than done. The soft dirt at the lip of the patio was no match for the truck tires, as in, the tires sent the dirt flying. The ledge/form of the patio was now a good few inches above the dirt. I back the truck up and we throw some wood into the newly excavated ruts. The truck climbs up onto the patio… only to get hung up on the unleved rocks. It’s not even a 2” height difference between the edge of the patio concrete and the top of the rock, but the dirt embedded in the all terrains just lets the tires spin. The back yard is not even by any means either. The front tire of the trailer is at the base of a small hill making things just that much tougher. Un-freakin-beleivable. A little gas, a lot of gas, add wood, nothing works. If I back up, I fall back into the ruts. Finally we decide to back up, move out of the ruts and take another stab at it hoping I don’t make a repeat performance. GAS GAS GAS! Yes, finally , truck, trailer, car and on solid, uneven, ground. It’s (almost) over. ~4:30pm.

We get it strapped down, pay the lady her cash, and get the @&%* out of there. I know the trailer is nowhere close to being loaded properly and the tongue weight is maybe in the positive number range. We ease back thru town with a state trooper following us for the first few parts. Nothing to see here. On the highway, we can cruise at about 44.5mph. At 45mph, it’s a matter of minutes before there’s a nice wag from the trailer. 44.5mph it is then until we find a bigger town.

We find a tractor supply, buy a new come-along, and heave the turd up as far as it will go. Still back loaded, but now our cruising speed is 60mph. 65mph there’s still no wag, but we’ll play it safe.

Finally get back to San Antonio , decide to spend the night as it’s been a long day (understatement!). Thankfully after Tractor Supply, it’s an uneventful journey asides from all the stares from people as they pass.

It’s home now, awaiting the removal of the trans and engine and maybe the diff, then off to a scrap yard. Hopefully that ordeal will be cake compared to … I’m going to keep my mouth shut and not jinx myself. Either way, a BIG thanks to Nick and Laura for helping with this mess. No way I’d have any hair left if it wasn’t for them.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

And from Nicks perspective (he's quite a comedic story teller)

maroman88

wow awesome story!

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Well, we did get it unloaded... a whole lot easier than loading it. Lifted the nose up, and pulled the trailer out from under it.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Next task was removing the engine and trans. Went with the proven method of removing them from below (for a 4th gen). Bought a small furniture cart from Harbor Freight to move it around.











I posted these pictures on the AICMCTX forum, and people started wanting parts from it. There wasn't much usable, but I went and cut off the roof for one guy and pulled the steering column for a neighbor.


It was amusing watching the guys load the remains into this truck to say the least.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

That sounded like it was fun, atleast the roads their are nice & wide.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

No time to mess with the LT1 however. There's racing to be done!

Back at TWS again. Nick, Wade and myself are all in attendance. The CMC1 group is about 7 cars strong. A lot of the guys already made the jump to CMC2. 2011 will have even less cars in CMC1 as people upgrade.


CMC2 guys taking the green Race 2.


CMC1 guys taking the green Race 2.


Race 4 start


Smooth event for me running on near dead tires. Nick unfortunately had a bit of contact in the fourth race. Damaged fender, minor damage to his bumper cover and just caught the edge of his hood. The other guy unfortunately got it in the rear quarter panel.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Rubbing is racing......

camnite

any more updates? this is a very interesting thread and can't stop reading it

FlyHiFlyLo

Very cool thread! First read for me... We are racing TWS in the Lemons race Feb 11-12th... Come on out. Your car is very nice! Much better than my 2 month build. LOL

FlyHiFlyLo

What rear gear ratio are you running? Diff?

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Woa, can't believe I forgot about this thread. I'll get a few more updates shortly and hopefully get closer to being caught up 'realtime'.

With the whole rubbin is racing thing, this is true, but not encouraged with NASA. We're all out there doing this for fun, with no big sponsor money backing us. Any body work comes out of our own pockets. It is an unfortunate reality that mistakes happen and bumps will occur. The good thing is, nobody does this intentionally.

I've been running the 3.42s from the b4c with a take out 4th gen T2 from SLP. IIRC, it took a slight grinding of one of the gears to drop in.

Hope you had good luck at LeMons, a few of my fellow racers were out there. All had engine problems.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

spacesaver

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

Time for Hallett again. Unfortunately, Nick can't go due to work, and Wade can't go due to being in a wedding as a groomsman. Really, who schedules a wedding on a race weekend, especially a guy who eventually wants to join CMC? *cough*Tilton*cough*

It was a good weekend for me, finishing midpack in the first three races. I'm really starting to get the hang of the circuit. For others, it wasn't so great. There were transmission swaps, rear end failures, clutch swaps (x2 on the same car!), p/s pump replacements...



and some contact with other cars ...



and some with the Bitch...


I will say that this is why I love CMC...
Sunday morning, after a lot of guys pitch in to get both cars involved back on track


We (my girlfriend and dad) go over the car before the big 40 minute Unofficial "Summer Nationals' race and get the cool suit topped off.

At the start, I get behind Rob in his Texas Flag liveried fox mustang and make it my goal to stick to his bumper since he's one of the faster guys. We start making our way up thru the field, passing cars easily when they put 4 off track, or pull off due to mechanical failures. After we clear the traffic, we're in 2nd and 3rd, and Rob starts to pull away from me and chase down Glenn in his 4th gen LT1. That's the last I see of them.

I'm feeling really good about such a good finish, all I got to do is keep it on track and make decent lap times. On lap 19, with only a handful of laps to go, a SN95 from one of the other regions starts making up time on me, tho if I keep my current pace, I should be able to hold him off. And then it happens, the power steering starts going wonky. In most corners it's fine, like after the straighaways, but on the second corner of a two corner complex, it goes away momentarily. Crap, fight thru it. I'm praying for the white flag. Lap 21, I miss a shift coming out of T2, and take FOREVER to get it into 3rd. The mustang is now only a second or so back. The next right hander in fine, but at the left hander immediately following it, I have no power steering. I check up and crank the wheel to avoid going into the grass, and he gets by me. At the end of that lap, we see the white flag. I finish .3 seconds behind him in 4th place. And of course, my on board camera didn't record this final race! Arg!

It wouldn't have been so bad if the power steering went away completely. It was the surprise of it being there or not that caught me out. The culprit? The cap had come loose. Somehow, it fell into the battery tray and not onto the track. Add that to the list of things to check before each race.

R1
R2
R3

R4 (not my car)

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

TWS once again, and Summer in Texas is hot, so the car count is down slightly. Once again, Knocker is doing it's thing, no big issues for the weekend.



That weekend however, we had a stark reminder of how quickly a good weekend can be ruined. At Hallett, Rob and Glenn were duking it out for 1st place in the summer shootout. In R2 at TWS, they came together ending both their weekends.




Both cars ended up being totaled completely, and later stripped down for parts into another donor chassis.

The video was posted on multiple forums. Interestingly, the point of view of the posts depended on if it was a mustang forum or f-body forum. "Man, why did that mustang idiot downshift and accelerate into you" or "The camaro idiot shouldn't have tried to save it". The reality of it is there is always a coulda shoulda woulda. There's a dozen scenarios that would have come out well, and a dozen where it could have ended up worse.

With Rob and Glenn out, I rack up a pair of 2nds on Sunday behind Wirtz. That should help me out some in the year end championship points. I hadn't really paid too much attention to the points standings, but it's looking like I might have a shot at 3rd or even 2nd for some TOYO bucks. Wirtz has a huge lead, and with Glenn and Rob out, it's down to myself and Jason for 2nd and 3rd.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

My fiancé and I decided to take a short break from racing to get married in Scotland (where I'm from). We had our date picked out and it's definitely NOT on a CMC race weekend. Knockhill Racing Circuit is a few miles away from my Gran's where we will be staying. I check out the Knockhill event calendar and to my luck, they're hosting a round of the British Touring Car Championship about a week from our wedding date, so we book our return flights around that. We go out there both days and get to see the BTCC and all the support races, Porsches, formula cars, Ginettas, Clio Cup etc. Very cool!





I love my wife.

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

I'm trying not to post too much about race specific details (more about build details), but final race of the season at Eagle's Canyon race weekend was nuts. For the season's points race, I never would have guessed it could end like it did. I went into this weekend in 3rd place, 8pts after drops behind LiiR (Jason's team), assuming we got all 4 races in. Assuming that a tie in points is broken by whoever has the most 1sts, then 2nds etc, I knew I had to beat Jason every race by 2pts, and in one of those races beat him by two spots, or a get pole. Tough to do, but I had a slim chance at 2nd place. Hadn't even expected to be fighting for second earlier in the season.

R1, Jason doesn't qual well, and during the race, I was in 4th ahead of Jason, only gaining one point. Then I spin trying to chase Dave, and Jason gets around me. Crap, now he's up by 9. Then I see Wirtz's car dead/dying (simple fix later). Crap! That gives Jason a 2pt gap. End the race 10pts back. Arg. On the bright side, Nick was in 2nd place, and when Wirtz dropped out, Nick inherited the lead! SOB got his first win before I did!


Post race tech of the winnar!

R2, The race was shortened due to someone blowing an oil line. I'm in 2nd, Jason in 4th. Good, I'll get back within 6pts. At tech, they inspect subframe connectors of the top 3 finishers. A miscommunication between Wirtz (who finished 1st) and his cagebuilder resulted in a DQ for that race for his sfc's being stitch welded to the chassis. So, I'm given 1st and Jason moves up to 3rd. I dropped the gap to Jason to 5 points. I get my first (hollow) win in a shortened race via a DQ

A great part of ECR is hanging out as a group for the Saturday night BBQ.


That night on the laptop, we figure in the DQ as non droppable (you're allowed 20% drops per season, 5 races). Wirtz didn't attend Hallett, so used up 4 of his drops there. We figure that I'll again need to beat Jason in the races, but with the "win" (I use that term loosely) now only need to tie in points. So again, I need to beat Jason by one position in one race (worth 2pts) and another by 2 positions (worth at least 3). Wirtz has such a lead over me and assuming he gets pole and 2 wins, I would have to pull off a 2nd and a 3rd to win 1st overall. If think it worked out that if Jason got 2 fourths or better, he would beat Wirtz. Neither Jason nor I had expected such a scenario where we could even get close to Wirtz. In a nutshell, there was an outside chance I could take 1st in the championship, but the odds were against me.

R3. This time I was the one with the bad qual (5th), and Jason was starting outside pole. Oh well, probably not gonna happen. Somehow, I get around Dave and Nick on the opening lap, now I'm right on Jason's bumper for the rest of the race. LAST lap, he has brake issues, goes off, and myself and Dave get by. I finish... 2nd, 2 spots ahead of Jason.

Holy crap. Only one point behind Jason. Finish 3rd ahead of Jason and it's ALL mine.

Everyone got a good laugh with about 1 hour to go before the final race of the year. Everybody else were sitting around b/s'ing and being lazy except for Jason and myself who both had our cars in the air, all wheels off, making the final adjustments. I think that's the most I've ever worked (not fixing something that broke) on the car during an event weekend! Saturday rotated front tires right and left. Sunday after qual, put in new front pads. Before the last race rotated tires back to front to eek out that last bit of performance.

R4 It's Greg and Nick on the front row, Jason and Dave, then myself and Wirtz. Again, somehow on the first lap, I get around Greg, Nick and Jason to fall into, yup, 3rd behind Dave, exactly where I need to be to take it all. But Jason couldn't just let that happen. He was coming full steam ahead halfway thru the race. I had made an attempt or two at Dave so I wouldn't have to deal with Jason. I got alongside Dave into T3 since he was braking a lot earlier than I did. Couldn't quite pull it off out coming out of four. Next lap, lets try that again. The moment I touched the brakes this time, I knew I left it too late. Dave learned from me the previous lap to go in deeper. Note: brakes don't work as well when turning. I smacked into Dave the entire length of the car, watched Jason pass us both. Dang (understatement of the year).


Threw away the championship, damaged my car, and damaged someone else's. The bright side was I kidded Dave that it was payback from TWS last year. Guess I'll take third in the championship.

Really strange in how the points actually ended up turning out.

There's two columns, total points, and points after drops. The championship is determined by points after drops. The first tiebreaker is NOT what I had first thought (most 1st's etc), but determined by total points before drops. As it turned out, Jason and I tied for overall points, but he got the win after drops. Wirtz and I tied calculated with drops, so the tiebreaker was overall points, which I won. WTH, I got 2nd?!?! SWEET!

GMan 3MT

iTrader: (4)

More 'art' for the garage walls.

raybob9289

Good Job Gary...