Nice write up and we look forward to hearing your CAMC runs next year!

Bill Pemberton said:

Nice write up and we look forward to hearing your CAMC runs next year!

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Hopefully plenty of Max 2 laps too! I'm still waiting to hear what my local Time Trial group does once this Pitt Race stuff settles

First round of off-season upgrades is complete. Racequip seat, CSM roll bar, Racequip 6-pt harness, and Sparco steering wheel. I'm most proud of the steering wheel setup because I didn't lose any functions (cruise control, radio controls, turn signal cancel, horn), there are no warning lights on the dash, and the only part that I'd need to buy to bring it back to stock would be a clock spring.


We had some nice weather over the weekend and I got to take the car on a quick spin. I'm always surprised by how fun this car is to drive. I didn't notice a significant increase in NVH with the new interior setup. The only change that I might make is coming up with a place to mount the buckle for the 3-pt belt. The harness was a little annoying for street driving.

Nice job on the steering wheel controls.

Yes great work on the steering wheel controls. Where did you get that bracket from that holds the buttons? Would you be able to give a brief description how you got it to work

Mike_FL said:

Yes great work on the steering wheel controls. Where did you get that bracket from that holds the buttons? Would you be able to give a brief description how you got it to work

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Brief description is this: I made the bracket. The NRG adapter was modified to press into the clock spring and to allow wires to go under the face where the QR mounts. Resistors were added to the airbag wires before the clock spring. The steering wheel wiring harness connector had to be depinned to fit through the adapter and repinned.

I'll likely make a more detailed write-up later and possibly offer the bracket or CAD files for sale.

Great work!

Thanks. I would be interested in a bracket if you make some

The new hood has been cut, painted, and installed. A coworker let me borrow his pneumatic riveter, which I'd definitely recommend! I'm really happy with how this turned out.

I'm about a month and a half before my first track day of the season. It was nice out this weekend, but snow is forecasted for tonight. I guess that gives me time to install the new coilovers.

New coilovers are on. I went to a buddy's shop last night and scaled the car to make sure that my balance wasn't off. This is what I saw with me in the car and a little over half a tank of gas:


I was hoping to see under 3,800 lbs, but that's not the case. I've gained a little bit of weight, the new engine with GT500 oil pan adds weight, and the CMS roll bar adds weight. It seems like there isn't much more to take out of the car unless I start sacrificing street driving comfort. The driver's weight seems to be the best option.

Alignment is coming next week. I think that I'm going to shoot for -3.3° of camber, max caster, and 0 toe. I had -3.2° of camber before, and was happy with it, but I think that I want just a touch more. I'll go into a little more detail with the MCS/Vorshlag Coilovers after I have an alignment and a chance to play with them.

I had my first autocross on this car since its big rebuild! Saturday Test and Tune and Sunday Points Event.

Leading Up to the Weekend
I tried to get my new tires installed, but my shop was busy and didn't get around to them. The old tires seemed safe, but didn't have much grip. They are a couple of years old and sat outside in the snow for a winter.

While the wheels were off, I decided to swap my brake pads over to my track setup. My street/autocross setup is Hawk HPS 5.0 in the front and HPS in the rear. I like how clean and quiet these are on the street, but they just don't have enough stopping power. I'm not able to trigger ABS with that setup. My track setup is DTC60 front and DTC30 rear. I love my track pads, but they were annoying on the street and destroyed my previous set of Hawk rotors when I tried running them at an autocross. I'm over the Hawk pads, but I couldn't justify buying new Gloc pads and a new set of rotors since my Hawk setup has so much life left in them. I decided to risk the increased wear because the track setup worked so much better.

After I swapped over to the new pads, I did an ABS service bleed and full system flush. My biggest complaint with these cars is the brake pedal feel, but it may have been a touch better after this. I also divorced the clutch from the brake system using SVE's kit.

The car was loaded onto the trailer and I was ready to hit the road!


Saturday - Test and Tune
Saturday was cooooooold. It snowed on my drive to the track; luckily, it didn't stick and didn't make the surface wet. My tires had very little grip, and I struggled to put down power.

I was playing around with damper settings, but the changes and their effects didn't make any sense. I had a hell of a time keeping the rear of the car under me on corner entry and mid-corner. I reread the manual for the coilovers after we were done running, and it turns out that my understanding of the adjustment knobs was backwards. "Rebound +" means more rebound damping, not more rebound speed. Oops. I should have tried going the other direction just to check.

The brakes were working great. I was able to modulate them just enough, they weren't shooting sparks like they did last time I used them at an autocross, and they weren't even that noisy.

The interior mods were amazing! I loved flying around the track and not having to even think about holding myself in place. I was able to put 100% of my focus towards driving the car, and it was still comfortable!

After talking to people after the event, just about everybody agreed that my car looked like it was on ice. Even with the old tires and improper damping, I was about mid-field for CAM cars.

Sunday - Points Event
Sunday was also cold again, but the sun was out, and it didn't feel as bad. I tried adjusting the dampers in the correct direction for today, and hoped to be running mid-pack.

As expected, my tires were cold again, and I didn't have any confidence pushing the car until the 3rd or 4th run. Once they got some heat, I was able to drive with some confidence and was able to put down a good time that got me 2nd in class. The winner was a nice S550 on fresh tires. I'm very happy with the way the car performed. I think the new engine has a bit more mid-range power.

Overall, I'm super happy with how the car did. It should be super competitive once I get some good tires on it!

It was a super fun weekend at Watkins Glen! The car did great, but the driver could use some work. I love this car!!!

I was still having issues with oil temp at WGI. I was only able to put down a lap or two before I saw temps around 280°F. I never saw the cylinder head temp go above 211°F, so that part was great, but I'd like to do something about my oil temp.

Quick specs to reference: 11q 5W-50 Amsoil, Setrab STD934 cooler, -12AN lines and fittings, Setrab thermostatic sandwich plate, Autometer oil temp gauge w/ sensor placed in the sandwich plate measuring temp before it goes through the cooler, 430 rwhp (mustang dyno), trying to shift at 7k RPM.

I know that a lot of people on here suggest the next size up Setrab cooler, but I'd like to see if there is anything I can do with my STD934 to make it perform a little better. I'm looking into adding shrouding to force air through it instead of around it. Is there a general rule of thumb for how deep the shrouding should be for something like this? Should it go all the way from the face of the cooler to the grill, or is an inch or two from the face of the cooler sufficient?