Trouble

I had high hopes for this work weekend. We had everyone together for almost the entire day, but by looking at the car you wouldn't know it. So what's the problem you ask? Car doesn't run and the cage is not done.


First the carb, and yes the picture says it all. I finished rebuilding it, but after installing it on the engine it didn't work. The first problem was the gas tank was empty. We filled it up and tried again but it would only run on the accelerator pump, not the main venturi. We had the carb apart a few more times double checking passages but they were all clean. As a final check we tried to run the carb under pressure. 3psi of shop air to the bowl vent and the car ran great. So obviously the passages aren't plugged. We suspect a major vacuum leak, but whatever the problem is it's our #1 priority. How can we win a race if we can't start the race?

As for our roll cage, that's an easy problem. Jeff made great progress, that is until he ran out of gas. I guess technically the cage is done (although we may add a few more braces in a few places), but our seat mount is incomplete. After welding for more than 6 hours, Jeff was tired anyway.


How about the things we did accomplish? Ummmm..... Chris and Phil got the gas tank out. The tank needs to be cleaned and a new fuel sock needs to be installed. We may also end up replacing the fuel line because of it being so heavily varnished. This fuel system has become a real pain. The doors were also finished trimmed so that they're ready to be welded closed and the rear quarter panels started to get trimmed to clear our new wider tires.


I suppose these tires are one of the high points of the weekend and maybe even the car. We may not be fast but we should stick to the track!

Even though we didn't get as much done as we wanted, it was still a good weekend. I mean come on, the worst day of working on a race car is still better than the best day at work! There was plenty of beer (do you think this is hampering our progress?) and Russ grilled burgers and brats for everyone. Russ has also promised to paint the inside of the car today while I write this. We shall see....

We've got 5 weekends left before the race so I wouldn't say we're in trouble, but we'll all feel a lot better when the engine runs right. Most of our parts are already in the shop and there isn't much welding left. I think until the engine is running I may be working more than one day a week. I would much rather have the car done early and give us some time to pack some other weekend items than be scrambling around that last week still trying to finish the car. Well maybe next weekend we'll look a little bit better than this.