Andy from Gateway International Raceway

 

Hi all,

 

Second race of the year and first race at Gateway has come and gone. Two Dog Racing was represented by just one car this last weekend. Frank's Spitfire was still waiting on a flywheel and he was teaching the school. We decided not to press to hard getting his car done. Frank's big race in St. Louis will be May 3rd and 4th.

The weather was typically crappy for early spring in St. Louis. When we showed up to register on Sat. it was raining, snowing and sleeting all at once. One minute it was cold and sunny, the next it was snowing or icing. Jack and I set the car up and ran for the hills.

Sunday morning was clear but very cold. I arrived at the track at 6:30 AM to scrape the ice off the car. It was around 28°F. I was hoping the engine fluid was not frozen enough to pop a freeze plug. They do not let us use antifreeze in the SCCA. We have to run straight water or an alcohol mix. Jack, Steve, and Frank arrived around 7:00 AM to help get the car started and ready for warm up. The Gt-6 was very hard to start. I had to hook jumper cables up from my truck, just to make sure we did not run the battery down to far starting the engine. I run a total loss electrical system, meaning there is no alternator to recharge the battery while driving. This system saves horsepower but requires us to charge the battery from an external charger between races.

At 8:00 AM my race group started our qualifier. It was cold and the track was slick. There were several wet/ice spots on the track. The engine was having a hard time warming up. I don't think the temperature gauge ever reached 160°F. We had covered a large portion of the radiator with cardboard, but it did not help much.

After eight laps I pulled the car in for a quick check by Jack and crew then headed back out. I ran one more lap and decided to call it quits for warm up. The engine was not pulling as hard as it should and I was smelling oil. I did not want to take any chances on breaking something I could not fix in time for the race later in the day. It turned out I had not sealed the valve cover gasket properly when I put the engine back together. I had tried using cut off fuel line under the nuts and washers that hold down the cover. This stopped the leaking at the attachment holes but created too much mechanical force on the valve cover itself. The pressure from the rubber caused the old gasket to crush and leak. Jack replaced the gasket and all was good.

>  The engine power issue was from the carbs. I had a problem getting the accelerator pumps working properly. I had uped the timing and run the idle jets full rich to compensate. I am going to order new parts for carbs #2 and #3. They are over 15 years old and quite worn. The #1 carb is brand new and is obviously out working the other two.

At race time the day had warmed up to a brisk 37°F. It was still quite cold. At least the sun was out and it made for a brilliant looking day. I had qualified second in my class and in the top third of the race group. I realized I could not catch the number one car but would have a good race with the number three car in my class. As Frank put it I was racing the guy behind me on the grid. If I let him by on the start I was in trouble. The number three car was a Datsun 240Z. We all know they have lots of horsepower. Lucky for me the starter held the group until we were half way down the Straight before waving the green flag. It was such slow start; I had the Gt-6 in second gear. The Gt-6 loves second and third gear! All my power is there. I was able to out drag the 240 and pass a couple of cars before turn one. It was pretty exciting. We were three wide going into turn two and again the horsepower of the Gt-6 proved to be a great help getting around people early in the race. I think I put three cars between the 240 and me the first lap. The rest of the race I only saw him occasionally in the rear view mirror. I was actually kind of bummed he was not closer. It would have made a great race.

I spent most of the race battling it out with a Spec Racer Ford and an A-Sedan Camaro. We had lot of fun changing positions throughout the race. In the end I had to let the Camaro go because my throttle was sticking open (damn Carbs!!) and we were starting to lap the field. I did not feel comfortable racing him in traffic because he had pretty wild line around the track and my engine idle speed was around four grand at this point. When the engine does not slow down it hinders braking a great deal. We had very few laps left and I did not want to hit anybody. I did come close to hitting the Spec racer on the last lap. He pushed to the outside in turn six, and I went under him to get a better line on turn seven. He started to spin and we nearly made contact. It was close enough we could have shook hands!!

In the end I was able to finish second place in my class and move up two positions overall from were I started. I am pretty happy with the car and the race. I was also lucky there were few Mazdas at the race. I would not have had as good of luck with them there. I have a long way to go before I can run with them.

The carbs need to be fixed before the next race. I also need to find out what is up with the accelerator cable. It was fine when I got back to the pits, but it caused the car to idle at 4 grand during the race. This will take some testing and tuning.

I also have to get more aggressive on certain parts of the track. I know the car could be at least four second faster a lap once I learn more about how to drive it. The Gt-6 is a bit of a strange beast in high-speed turns. I will master it, but it is going to take a lot more seat time.

Next event is May 3rd and 4th. Frank, Jack, Steve, and I are inviting all of you in the Triumph club, MG club, and Healey club to come join us for a spring party at the track. Lets make it a potluck like we had at the Oct. race. Hopefully we’ll have better weather.

Keep the Shiny side up

 

Andy