S197 BOSS 302 Race Car Build Thread Build Thread

[antman450]

I like the numbers font. What font is that?

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I like the numbers font. What font is that?

http://www.dafont.com/montalban.font

 

[superhero]

@superhero


your garage door gets that hot.... Dam

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

OK yesterday my replacement T-Piece and upper radiator hose came in from Autonation WBL.
The o-ring seals on my T-Piece and upper hose were definitely toast. @captdistraction suggests that these are only good to be disassembled and reassembled maybe twice before the seals get stretched too much. Also--he may have a way to buy the O-Rings separately from the hoses, which would save $80+ for future replacements...

Anyways, new parts installed, no further system leak under vacuum! Got her all filled up with coolant and oil now; just need to replace my sandwich plate seals and I can put the front of the car back on after a fire-up leak check.

95% of the way there!!


Guess which one is the old one??


Got some fresh TMO banners installed, along with a couple other splashes of color from @PeteInCT !




Also completed an oil and filter change on my F250.

 

[DocB]

Following your progress. Nice job.
Question: Are you allowed to run different race class decals at the same time on the car?

 

[Grant 302]

I love the change to white stripes. Great work on that checklist.

 

[captdistraction]

Following your progress. Nice job.
Question: Are you allowed to run different race class decals at the same time on the car?

So far no one has complained

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Looks like my rocker panels are pretty torn up and the decals are having a tough time sticking to them even using 3M adhesion promoter. I may have to find a new home for them if a re-application of promoter won't work. Its tough to get things to stick to slightly textured plastics compared to painted surfaces.

Regarding multiple classing stuff: Has never been a problem; typically the way the run groups are organized you wouldn't have a car that would be in two separate classes at once (although if that became a possibility then you would have to tape over the non-valid decals during the session).

 

[TMSBOSS]

I have seen markings taped over at auto cross events. Speak to scorers to be sure. Usually not a problem.

 

[TymeSlayer]

*** They make these rivnuts in aluminum as well where you don't need high strength and are concerned about weight. I would also hope at this point since you love these rivnuts, you're using an insertion tool rather than the bolt, nut and washers method. ***


"Square aluminum tube and rivnuts to the rescue (again)!

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I have the insertion tool!
So far only steel riv nuts in inventory. Good to know about the Al ones. Hopefully no galvanic corrosion on this stub but if so not a big deal.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

It's ready, with a week to spare. Fixed all the existing leaks and didn't create any new ones

 

[TymeSlayer]

Car looks awesome.

Perhaps I missed something but what's that above the Hoosier decal on the front QP?

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Car looks awesome.

Perhaps I missed something but what's that above the Hoosier decal on the front QP?

Good eye. Those are strips of painter's tape I was writing down my camber measurements on. Took the car around the block to get everything settled once she was back down on the ground, then made final adjustments after these pics.

 

[TymeSlayer]

Thought it might be misplaced front grille tape.

 

[cornercarvin]

love this thread....so much beauty

 

[superhero]

I guess rocker panels decals found a new home. Looks good.
41 Car has a new fresh look to it. Is the driver up to it? To bring it to all its glory. Lol
To be honest>> I really like the white decals with no outline. To me it looks more old school now, and I dig that!! It also poops looking at it.

 

[Fabman]

Car looks great, although you know I am partial to the old paint scheme this one looks great too. Where do you get those rivitnuts? I have a set as well but the flanges are much smaller and they tend to pull through. These have a nice flange size. I think I need them.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Car looks great, although you know I am partial to the old paint scheme this one looks great too. Where do you get those rivitnuts? I have a set as well but the flanges are much smaller and they tend to pull through. These have a nice flange size. I think I need them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y65H8VF/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

RACE REPORT: 2017 NASA West Coast Championships​

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Wow what a long, strange trip it was...

For those of you that have been following this thread, I had been working on a number of changes/upgrades/improvements to the car to get it ready for the NASA Western States Championships. This event was held at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, CA. I had done 2-3 sessions in my car about a year ago, but this would be a big-time uphill battle against the home team from NorCal.

Loaded and Ready

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We trucked out from the Phoenix area on Tuesday, driving about 10.5 hours to our waypoint in Coalinga, CA where we got some fantastic local mexican cuisine (a little joint across from the hotel called "Taco Bell") and downed some beers before getting a good night's rest. @Tucson 302 and his wife met us at the hotel that evening.

The next day we made a (comparatively brief) 4-hour tow up to Thunderhill. The power arrangements at the track were kind of a mess but we managed to get everything figured out and everybody plugged in. We had a five-spot block of AZ racers right next to each other, so the partying was good each night! We settled in with a BBQing of hamburgers and downed some more drinks on the cool California night.

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Practice Makes Perfect

As I mentioned before, I had only run a couple sessions on this track in my car before (and none in this particular configuration)--so the optional practice day was a big opportunity for me.

Morning practice driver's meeting

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The officials noted that everyone should be cautious during the practice day--it was a long weekend and the only race that mattered was Sunday's Championship race. They also mentioned that someone writes off a car every time on the practice day--so don't be that guy! I wasn't, but unfortunately one of my friends (and close competitors) was. A Miata made contact with his rear quarter panel and spun this car at 100+mph coming up to T14, putting this car into the tire wall around 100mph. The driver thought the car may be salvageable, but upon closer inspection, the frame was bent in a number of places so it looks like it's toast.

Clip ahead to 6:45 in this video:

That happened about halfway through the day; it definitely gave everyone something to think about. I managed to get my time down from a 2:00 flat to a 1:58.7ish time by the end of the practice day. Chipping away...

Is This Thing On?

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Friday was our first official day of competition, in a Practice, Qualifying, then Qualifying-Race format. There were 7 of us signed up for ST2 at the start of the week. One competitor didn't show up. One had an oil leak that could not be diagnosed, spraying directly on his headers. He (wisely) chose to retire. And then there was the aforementioned wreck, leaving only 4 of us in-class. Unfortunately, my competitors were learning the track a little faster than I was, and I ended up with a third-place grid spot for our qualifying race in the afternoon, but I did find another second while I was out there.

Also during qualifying, my epoxied-in rivnuts on the driver's wing stub pulled out, sending my brand new @AJ Hartman carbon fiber endplate to god knows where. To be clear—this was not an issue with AJ’s product, it was the result of a poor attempted fix on my end with another vendor’s wing. If anything, this is a clear indication that the large endplates WORK! I was curious how the car was going to feel during the race missing the endplate. AJ even got in-touch with me at the track to see if there was anything he could do to help, to make sure I would be good-to-go for my race!

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In the qualifying race I got a good start at the green, but ended up boxed in along the inside of the track behind the leader, and competitors to the side and rear. The second-place car in-class managed to keep his position through the first few turns and started to pull away from me a little bit. I must have just needed someone to chase because I dropped another second off of my lap time almost instantly. I was able to keep the gap to him the whole race, but I couldn't get close enough to make a move. Ended up third of 4 for our first qualifying race.

What I didn't realize until the next day was that my best lap time was 0.2 seconds faster than the second-place finisher's, and we were being gridded by lap time for Saturday's race--meaning despite my third place finish, my lap time put me on the front row for the Saturday race.

Driver Info Sheet for the Live Broadcast Announcers

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Another good thing I realized is that my car was running quite cool now that the C&R radiator was installed, even in 90* heat. With a BOSS-S grille installed, she barely got above 208* CHTs.

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My oil temperatures dropped slightly from a "normal" 275-280 down to around 270 with the cooler re-oriented and more exposed fins in the upper grille. On Saturday we would see how cool it would run with my home-made high-flow grille, but overall this was GREAT and indicated that all the mechanical work I put in on the car prior to the event was paying off. Reliability is very important out there!

Cruising

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I was excited to start on the front row for Saturday's qualifying race. This would give me a great opportunity to put some distance between my competitors and I, or at the worst, put me in a position where I could possibly hold them off by driving a defensive line for the duration of the race.

Unfortunately, when the green flag flew, I didn't get the advantage I was looking for. The polesitter in-class didn't leave much of a gap to the back end of the pack ahead of us, and we caught up to the tail end of that group (in massive disarray) right as we entered the 90-mph Turn 1. Now things switched from "get the lead" to "survive the corner" as we scrambled for grip and attempted to avoid contact with other cars. During the scuffle I got boxed-in again, this time mid-track, as one of my competitors snuck through on my left. I managed to make a defensive move and keep the final guy in-class stuck behind me until we got some clear track, but the first and second place cars had pulled away. I could still see the second place guy (and he wasn't pulling away), so I kept pushing to stay with him.

Things were turning into a repeat of the previous day's race, until I crested the short hill at Turn 12 and saw the second-place car limping along down the back straight. His Evo's aftermarket turbo exploded and he was done. Reliability--it matters! With that, I moved into second place and managed to easily hang on to that position for the remainder of the race, the slower Camaro Z28 comfortably in my mirror. I found another half a second in time as well.

To top it off, I got a "free dyno run", courtesy of our tech inspector! We got the car on the rollers and found that she was putting down around 433hp MAX, which was 10-12hp low compared to my last dyno--the stock mufflers I put on to pass the sound limit were choking the car off! Oh well...
Apparently, with the stock mufflers, the car couldn't even be heard from the side of the track. A few people asked me if it was an Electric Mustang!

Finally, someone recovered my missing endplate from the track earlier that day! Alright! Time for more drinks and food

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To be continued...