S197 @4o6racing Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

[67GTA]

Say hello to the new home of 4o6racing at Burt Brothers Motorpark!

 

[cholmes1]

I’ve really enjoyed reading your thread from start to finish. Quite a journey you have been on from a gifted track day to NASA champion. I wish you the best in Montana and good luck in the new Utah space. It all looks ideal for the race seasons ahead.

With the new cage and added weight, are you planning to increase power or does the weight change better position you in a particular class without further changes?

 

[67GTA]

I’ve really enjoyed reading your thread from start to finish. Quite a journey you have been on from a gifted track day to NASA champion. I wish you the best in Montana and good luck in the new Utah space. It all looks ideal for the race seasons ahead.

With the new cage and added weight, are you planning to increase power or does the weight change better position you in a particular class without further changes?

Thanks for reading through the journey! Ideally I would like to stay in TT3 class. I was still running a full interior with the Watson roll bar, so once everything was stripped out, the preliminary weight is about the same with the cage. The premium interior must have amplifiers in each door for the speaker or something - I couldn’t believe how much the door panels weighed. Door glass is still operable since I have an open trailer, but may choose to gut the doors since the car will be garaged at the track now. Once the windshield is back in I’ll be able to start working the NASA Classification form to dial in to the pointy end of TT3 on Hoosier A7’s.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Oooooo, A7s in TT3, me likes! Rubber so often is the surprise difference as one stops and corners better and better. Congrats on the new digs for your little racing Mistress!

 

[67GTA]

Not sure where the time has gone, but really late on recapping the first NASA event at Burt Bros Motorpark in early August. First off, huge thank you to @RodS197 for the warm welcome to Utah and helping get acclimated with a new NASA group and new track - forever grateful for his kindness and sincere support.

First time on this track, first event in 14 months and first time driving the car since the cage was installed - boy did I underestimate what that learning curve would look like again. Literally left SoCal at the peak of confidence in early 2024 and found myself right back at the bottom of the hill again. Good thing I love a good challenge!

NASA Utah runs a test day on Friday before competition on the weekend. This was perfect to get the rusty jitters out and just learn the track. Plenty packed into the day, with annual tech inspection in the morning and compliance dyno scheduled in the afternoon. Expectations were low with well cycled 3R’s, but maybe not quite low enough. Really struggled to find the rhythm around the circuit. This continued into Saturday’s time trial, and I chose to run cycled A7’s knowing that stickers wouldn’t close the gap to the faster cars. Finally started attacking the track in the afternoon, but well after the heat set it with high temps into the mid 90s.

I’ve never had cooling issues, but was struggling to keep water temps in line. I had the radiator out prior to the event, but filled with the vacuum tool and didn’t expect to have air trapped. Decided to let the system come up to temp with the coolant cap off and the heater on full blast. Thermostat opened and heat was working fine, and then all of a sudden had a big burp from the coolant tank that pushed coolant out on the floor. It was better for the Sunday morning sessions, but still not quite where I like it. Elevation plays a role, but I’m pretty sure there was some remaining air trapped which was later released after reapplying the air-lift tool.

Finished 7th of 8 on Saturday and well back from the podium. Decided to try stickers Sunday morning just to gauge how much of the gap was cycled tires. Dropped 3.5 seconds and good enough to move up to P3, albeit with 2 less cars than Saturday. 100% convinced the remaining gap to P1 is the rusty nut behind the wheel - time to get to work.

Next event is less than 2 weeks out and we’ll be running the tighter East configuration. This will be a nice continuation of the learning curve, since nearly 1/2 of this configuration is shared with Outer. Can’t wait to get back to it!

 

[Fabman]

Not sure where the time has gone, but really late on recapping the first NASA event at Burt Bros Motorpark in early August. First off, huge thank you to @RodS197 for the warm welcome to Utah and helping get acclimated with a new NASA group and new track - forever grateful for his kindness and sincere support.

First time on this track, first event in 14 months and first time driving the car since the cage was installed - boy did I underestimate what that learning curve would look like again. Literally left SoCal at the peak of confidence in early 2024 and found myself right back at the bottom of the hill again. Good thing I love a good challenge!

NASA Utah runs a test day on Friday before competition on the weekend. This was perfect to get the rusty jitters out and just learn the track. Plenty packed into the day, with annual tech inspection in the morning and compliance dyno scheduled in the afternoon. Expectations were low with well cycled 3R’s, but maybe not quite low enough. Really struggled to find the rhythm around the circuit. This continued into Saturday’s time trial, and I chose to run cycled A7’s knowing that stickers wouldn’t close the gap to the faster cars. Finally started attacking the track in the afternoon, but well after the heat set it with high temps into the mid 90s.

I’ve never had cooling issues, but was struggling to keep water temps in line. I had the radiator out prior to the event, but filled with the vacuum tool and didn’t expect to have air trapped. Decided to let the system come up to temp with the coolant cap off and the heater on full blast. Thermostat opened and heat was working fine, and then all of a sudden had a big burp from the coolant tank that pushed coolant out on the floor. It was better for the Sunday morning sessions, but still not quite where I like it. Elevation plays a role, but I’m pretty sure there was some remaining air trapped which was later released after reapplying the air-lift tool.

Finished 7th of 8 on Saturday and well back from the podium. Decided to try stickers Sunday morning just to gauge how much of the gap was cycled tires. Dropped 3.5 seconds and good enough to move up to P3, albeit with 2 less cars than Saturday. 100% convinced the remaining gap to P1 is the rusty nut behind the wheel - time to get to work.

Next event is less than 2 weeks out and we’ll be running the tighter East configuration. This will be a nice continuation of the learning curve, since nearly 1/2 of this configuration is shared with Outer. Can’t wait to get back to it!

View attachment 105743

View attachment 105744

Run a -6 line from the very top of the water neck on the head to the degas tank and the system will constantly self bleed. Also a line from the driver side radiator tank to the degas tank. Separate lines/don't wye them together.
Works killer.

 

[PaddyPrix]

About how far out from Utah are you?

 

[67GTA]

About how far out from Utah are you?

575 miles, so a 9 hour tow or an hour flight.

 

[67GTA]

Run a -6 line from the very top of the water neck on the head to the degas tank and the system will constantly self bleed. Also a line from the driver side radiator tank to the degas tank. Separate lines/don't wye them together.
Works killer.

I believe this is how the stock Coyote hoses are configured. The line from the left side radiator tank has a check valve in it. My original was corroded and not working - should probably check the flow of the hose again.

 

[67GTA]

Day 3. Sometimes you just have to sit back and soak it in….

 

[Callmejnasty94]

Not sure where the time has gone, but really late on recapping the first NASA event at Burt Bros Motorpark in early August. First off, huge thank you to @RodS197 for the warm welcome to Utah and helping get acclimated with a new NASA group and new track - forever grateful for his kindness and sincere support.

First time on this track, first event in 14 months and first time driving the car since the cage was installed - boy did I underestimate what that learning curve would look like again. Literally left SoCal at the peak of confidence in early 2024 and found myself right back at the bottom of the hill again. Good thing I love a good challenge!

NASA Utah runs a test day on Friday before competition on the weekend. This was perfect to get the rusty jitters out and just learn the track. Plenty packed into the day, with annual tech inspection in the morning and compliance dyno scheduled in the afternoon. Expectations were low with well cycled 3R’s, but maybe not quite low enough. Really struggled to find the rhythm around the circuit. This continued into Saturday’s time trial, and I chose to run cycled A7’s knowing that stickers wouldn’t close the gap to the faster cars. Finally started attacking the track in the afternoon, but well after the heat set it with high temps into the mid 90s.

I’ve never had cooling issues, but was struggling to keep water temps in line. I had the radiator out prior to the event, but filled with the vacuum tool and didn’t expect to have air trapped. Decided to let the system come up to temp with the coolant cap off and the heater on full blast. Thermostat opened and heat was working fine, and then all of a sudden had a big burp from the coolant tank that pushed coolant out on the floor. It was better for the Sunday morning sessions, but still not quite where I like it. Elevation plays a role, but I’m pretty sure there was some remaining air trapped which was later released after reapplying the air-lift tool.

Finished 7th of 8 on Saturday and well back from the podium. Decided to try stickers Sunday morning just to gauge how much of the gap was cycled tires. Dropped 3.5 seconds and good enough to move up to P3, albeit with 2 less cars than Saturday. 100% convinced the remaining gap to P1 is the rusty nut behind the wheel - time to get to work.

Next event is less than 2 weeks out and we’ll be running the tighter East configuration. This will be a nice continuation of the learning curve, since nearly 1/2 of this configuration is shared with Outer. Can’t wait to get back to it!

View attachment 105743

View attachment 105744

Welcome to Utah region!! @RodS197 is quite honestly the best. Great great man. I was there day 2 for hpde1 in my comp orange gt. What a beautiful car you’ve got.

 

[67GTA]

4.47 mi, 23 turns. Utah’s full-circuit did not disappoint!!

NASA Utah closes their season out with the “Quaduro”, which is all 4 track configurations during the weekend. Friday was a test & tune day, and was scheduled to be outer circuit in the morning and full-circuit in the afternoon. With overnight rain, 1st session was a bit sketchy on cycled-out GY 3R’s. On the 2nd lap, the clutch pedal wouldn’t fully release. I’ve been down this road before and was able to pull the pedal back up with my foot and get the car back around to the garage. I was pretty sure the throw out bearing was toast, but it would pump back up and work normally, so I was hoping it was just air in the system. Made a trip into town for a vacuum pump, but knew I was in trouble after realizing the clutch reservoir was empty. The puddle of brake fluid under the car confirmed my fate.

Pretty frustrated at this point and at a decision point: put the car on the trailer and call it a season -OR- start chasing parts and get busy. I didn’t want to surrender 2 full competition days, so time to get busy. Called the Larry H Miller Ford Superstore to see if they had a GT500 tob in stock. They didn’t, and said there were only 2 in the state - one an hour north and the other 4 hours south. Jumped in the truck and headed north, stopped for some tools that I didn’t have with, and back to the garage around 4:30. Got everything swapped out and back together by 10:30ish, and ready to roll for morning.



This is the 2nd GT500 tob I’ve had fail, so something isn’t quite right with the Kohr spacer and hyper-single combo. I think I’ll make the switch to the Tick Performance billet unit over the winter break so I don’t have to do this job on the Quickjacks again next season.

Car ran solid for the weekend, and despite the windy conditions on Saturday, I was able to shave some time off my PB on Outer. After missing the practice sessions on Friday, this was my first time seeing the 23 turn Full circuit. Felt pretty good with a 3:14 for a first time driving it. Scoring for the day is a combination of your best time on Full plus best time on Outer. I ended up P4 for the day, roughly 2 seconds from the podium.

Sunday was a combination of East & West. I found about 0.5 seconds from my previous East PB and confident there was plenty of time left on the table between worn out tires and incidents on track messing up laps. West was the final session of Sunday, with a messy, slick 1:40 on a very green surface. Was glad to put a time on the board and get the car back to the trailer with out incident. The combined time was good for a season best P2 and only a second from P1.

The offseason starts now, and I’m convinced with a few changes and some weight loss on the car, we’ll be able to make a run for the front in 2026. Chicane23 carbon doors and trunk lid are on order, with a few other tricks planned. Come on March!!

 

[EF1]

4.47 mi, 23 turns. Utah’s full-circuit did not disappoint!!
View attachment 106329
NASA Utah closes their season out with the “Quaduro”, which is all 4 track configurations during the weekend. Friday was a test & tune day, and was scheduled to be outer circuit in the morning and full-circuit in the afternoon. With overnight rain, 1st session was a bit sketchy on cycled-out GY 3R’s. On the 2nd lap, the clutch pedal wouldn’t fully release. I’ve been down this road before and was able to pull the pedal back up with my foot and get the car back around to the garage. I was pretty sure the throw out bearing was toast, but it would pump back up and work normally, so I was hoping it was just air in the system. Made a trip into town for a vacuum pump, but knew I was in trouble after realizing the clutch reservoir was empty. The puddle of brake fluid under the car confirmed my fate.

Pretty frustrated at this point and at a decision point: put the car on the trailer and call it a season -OR- start chasing parts and get busy. I didn’t want to surrender 2 full competition days, so time to get busy. Called the Larry H Miller Ford Superstore to see if they had a GT500 tob in stock. They didn’t, and said there were only 2 in the state - one an hour north and the other 4 hours south. Jumped in the truck and headed north, stopped for some tools that I didn’t have with, and back to the garage around 4:30. Got everything swapped out and back together by 10:30ish, and ready to roll for morning.

View attachment 106330

This is the 2nd GT500 tob I’ve had fail, so something isn’t quite right with the Kohr spacer and hyper-single combo. I think I’ll make the switch to the Tick Performance billet unit over the winter break so I don’t have to do this job on the Quickjacks again next season.

Car ran solid for the weekend, and despite the windy conditions on Saturday, I was able to shave some time off my PB on Outer. After missing the practice sessions on Friday, this was my first time seeing the 23 turn Full circuit. Felt pretty good with a 3:14 for a first time driving it. Scoring for the day is a combination of your best time on Full plus best time on Outer. I ended up P4 for the day, roughly 2 seconds from the podium.

Sunday was a combination of East & West. I found about 0.5 seconds from my previous East PB and confident there was plenty of time left on the table between worn out tires and incidents on track messing up laps. West was the final session of Sunday, with a messy, slick 1:40 on a very green surface. Was glad to put a time on the board and get the car back to the trailer with out incident. The combined time was good for a season best P2 and only a second from P1.

The offseason starts now, and I’m convinced with a few changes and some weight loss on the car, we’ll be able to make a run for the front in 2026. Chicane23 carbon doors and trunk lid are on order, with a few other tricks planned. Come on March!!

That is an ambitious repair to make at the track. I like the never hive up attitude.

 

[Fabman]

That is an ambitious repair to make at the track. I like the never hive up attitude.

Yeah, hell with that......I'd load up and go home.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

...........load up, dang I would not only do that I would likely already be home,ha. Like Fabman, my age has me not suffering the punishment anymore , but all that said, admiration for you tackling the task is noted. We have Fabman and apparently we also have Superman on this site!!

 

[EF1]

When my clutch pedal stuck to the floor at Barber and would not up without turning off the car during the first session of the weekend I parked it for the weekend. I hung out at the track and helped some friends.

 

[JDee]

Well, one bonus from an unfixable breakdown is you can get into the beer sooner!

 

[Fabman]

Well, one bonus from an unfixable breakdown is you can get into the beer sooner!

I have fixed a lot of stuff at the track, repaired wrecks, swapped engines, transmissions and rear ends.
I even swapped a head on a small block chevy between rounds without taking the intake manifold off or the distributer out....which is quite a trick, and saves a ton of time.
But, that was when I was young....now its like:
"Damn, we got bugs on the windshield again?"
...straight to round table.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

JDee is giving you good advice , though at his age ( and mine ) I suggest wine, as beer makes both of us fart too much. So if you are in the 60-80 age group follow this worthy medical advice.

 

[JDee]

Or, you can have both beer and wine! My nightly routine is a beer before supper and a glass of vino with supper.

Some days, you know the kind, where all kinds of bad things have happened and nothing went right at all, I might throw in a Bailey's as well. Just because I'm an old guy and I no longer give a shti if it's bad for me. It gives me peace, and that's what's important.

Live to fight another day. And the farts are a nice bonus, nothing finer than a well formed thunderblast. Good way to clear the room if you want some alone time....