ChrisM said:

LS swap?

*ducks thrown rotten tomatoes and cabbage*

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We don't use that kinna talk around here....

Fabman said:

Poof.

On the out lap no less....

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Ouch. Sorry to see that.

Hopefully you'll be able to built it stronger and get back to racing soon.
Good luck.

Finally finished replacing my oil cooler and lines to find my battery was dead.
Wanted to make sure it was just the battery so I spent a few days jumping, charging, driving, and checking the battery, which confirmed that the battery was completely gone but the alternator seems fine.
Picked up a replacement battery from the local Ford dealer and she cranks like new again.
As far as I know this was the original battery meaning it lasted about 7.5 years with no trickle charging or maintenance and lots of sitting (never a daily driver).
$140 (including tax) for 3 year free replacement and 100 month pro-rated seemed worth it especially if I can get similar life out of this battery.

Stm's you surely got your money's worth out of that battery! I got a little over 6 yrs out of my OEM before a very cold winter stole it from me.Good luck with your new one...we need em to keep our bad boys going!!!

Be sure to keep the receipt for the replacement battery. No receipt, no warranty. Dont ask me how I know this.

TMSBOSS said:

Be sure to keep the receipt for the replacement battery. No receipt, no warranty. Dont ask me how I know this.

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Ouch. Luckily they made sure I knew that, and apparently a picture of the receipt counts, so now that's in the cloud and I can't lose it!
I also got 2 hard copies since I went back the next day to return my old battery and get the core charge back.
Hoping I don't need to use the warranty but much better safe than sorry.

Installed custom wrapped alcantara touchpoints
Untitled by smallblock, on Flickr

First track day of the year today at Utah Motorsports Campus (UMC). This year I was going for further weight reduction. So... I made the big step of removing the A/C. Somehow this crosses over the "is this a track car" line. Of course I removed the "broken" A/C as in "Honey, my A/C isn't working anymore... I guess I will have to remove the parts instead of spending money to fix it... See, I'm so frugal when it comes to spending money on my car!"

I also took the time to install some debris protection behind the grille, and Nomex radiator protector in front of the now exposed radiator.

Results: Prior weight reduction efforts (racing seats, rear seat delete, driveshaft, BBS Wheels, trunk froof and other small parts got the car from 3711 (with 200 lb driver) to 3607 (with 200 lb driver). Removing the A/C (all except the under dash pieces), rear seat belt retractors and rear speakers got the car down to 3549 (with 190 lb driver after loosing 10 lbs myself)

That made the A/C delete, rear seat belt retractors and rear speakers worth about 48 lbs. But the greater benefit was cooling the engine. I boxed in the radiator as well. Even on a cool day like today the car would run consitently at 205 to 210 degrees. Today, I did 2-30 minute sessions and never saw temps over 190. So even if I didn't loose the kind of weight I wanted to, the A/C delete was way worth it to me.

SavetheManuals said:

Finally finished replacing my oil cooler and lines to find my battery was dead.
Wanted to make sure it was just the battery so I spent a few days jumping, charging, driving, and checking the battery, which confirmed that the battery was completely gone but the alternator seems fine.
Picked up a replacement battery from the local Ford dealer and she cranks like new again.
As far as I know this was the original battery meaning it lasted about 7.5 years with no trickle charging or maintenance and lots of sitting (never a daily driver).
$140 (including tax) for 3 year free replacement and 100 month pro-rated seemed worth it especially if I can get similar life out of this battery.

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Dang, that's awesome. I think mine is still the original battery, so about 12 years old, give or take, and it needed its first ever jump last month. I could be wrong about that.

smallblock said:

Installed custom wrapped alcantara touchpoints
Untitled by smallblock, on Flickr

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That is some nice looking stuff. I especially like the shift boot.

RodS197 said:

First track day of the year today at Utah Motorsports Campus (UMC). This year I was going for further weight reduction. So... I made the big step of removing the A/C. Somehow this crosses over the "is this a track car" line. Of course I removed the "broken" A/C as in "Honey, my A/C isn't working anymore... I guess I will have to remove the parts instead of spending money to fix it... See, I'm so frugal when it comes to spending money on my car!"

I also took the time to install some debris protection behind the grille, and Nomex radiator protector in front of the now exposed radiator.

Results: Prior weight reduction efforts (racing seats, rear seat delete, driveshaft, BBS Wheels, trunk froof and other small parts got the car from 3711 (with 200 lb driver) to 3607 (with 200 lb driver). Removing the A/C (all except the under dash pieces), rear seat belt retractors and rear speakers got the car down to 3549 (with 190 lb driver after loosing 10 lbs myself)

That made the A/C delete, rear seat belt retractors and rear speakers worth about 48 lbs. But the greater benefit was cooling the engine. I boxed in the radiator as well. Even on a cool day like today the car would run consitently at 205 to 210 degrees. Today, I did 2-30 minute sessions and never saw temps over 190. So even if I didn't loose the kind of weight I wanted to, the A/C delete was way worth it to me.

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Dang, mine weighs 3478 (without driver), although I can't recall what the gas level was when it was weighed. I had the rear seat delete, racing seats, lighter wheels, no trunk crap, and stock driveshaft when I weighed it. Haven't done other weight reduction. I know there's a few people here running BMR lightweight front end stuff without issue if you want to go that route for further weight loss.

Sprang an oil leak last weekend (my fault, new oil line routing was rubbing somewhere I couldn't see). Had to get the car back in the trailer somehow. Brother comes to the rescue.

...I'm installing a winch after this.

OMG ! Good thing he was there to pull you out of it...lol. So you found where it cut through ?

Not to point out the obvious......but. If the crew of folks with phones/cameras in hand had simply put their phones down and pushed your car. Problem solved. Lol.

My friends are useless. Kidding. This was only the beginning. Trailer had a blowout on the way home. Apparently it wasn't my day but was happy to be there.

Tri-bar said:

OMG ! Good thing he was there to pull you out of it...lol. So you found where it cut through ?

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Found it. Making up new oil lines this week with a little more thought put to routing/protection.

I have lost two tires on trailers. With a dual axel trailer it’s hard to see the tire is down. Both were C rated so I stepped up to D. No damage to anything but the tires.
Not trying to bust on your friends. Just seemed funny at the time.
Glad the oil leak is fixed.

I run Load Range E LT tires on the trailer and even then it seems they need to be replaced every 2-3 years. I try to limit towing speeds to 70-72mph max.
For changing tires quickly roadside on a multi-axle trailer, I HIGHLY recommend the "Trailer Aid" ramp product you can find on Amazon.
If you have that, a good cordless impact, and a spare (all within easy reach of your trailer door), you can change a flat/blowout in about 10 mins roadside. Minimizes trip downtime and also minimizes time risking bodily harm outside your truck on the side of the highway (if you're not lucky enough to be able to limp to an off-ramp etc).

@ArizonaBOSS - thanks for stepping in for Grant. I need one of these and just bought one!

It was age that bit us on the trailer tires. I should've known better. They've been on there for 5 years.

Good tip on the drive up ramp. Way easier than a bottle jack on the side of the freeway.

I learned the hard way too. Tires need to be replaced after 5 or 6 yrs, no matter how many miles are on them....

Have had four trailer tire blowouts over the years and firmly believe in high quality load rated trailer tires. Not super hard to change, driving up on boards that are in my trailer, but an incredible hassle on the highway.

Don't forget to use the TMO Tire Rack link above when purchasing trailer tires.