I was unable to return from Dallas in time to get tires mounted for the 01MAY2010 rallycross. The 05JUN2010 event, however, went much smoother!
I picked up two 14″ Neon rims from Besslers as well as four injector pigtails with actual clips. I had the Kuhmo R700s mounted to the front and two of the old Bridgestone Potenzas mounted to the rear. The front passenger side needs new lug nuts and studs in a bad way: there’s a whole lot of stripped nuts. The day went sort of like this:
– Car came off trailer and made it up the very steep hill, no problem.
– First run was over 80 seconds. Ignition was waaaay retarded.
– After fixing the timing by advancing it about 10 degrees across the board, I was able to run around 52 seconds.
– Third run, the exhaust came loose in the middle and was dragging. I decided to ignore it.
– Fourth run, the front exhaust section came off of the downpipe. I retrieved it from the ground near the finish line.
– Fifth run was pretty good, but I got a re-run because timing was screwed up. I decided that one of the noises I was hearing wasn’t something banging around — it was detonation.
– Sixth run was pretty good. Still in the low 50s
– For the seventh run, I adjusted the fuel table a bit to get things a bit richer when in boost
– Right before the eighth run, while I was idling and stationary, the car started making a different sound. It sounds suspiciously like a car that’s running on only three cylinders. Run time was right about the same as before.
-Ninth run was also on 75% motor, but still right in line with the other times.
The exhaust needs to be patched up better. The injector pigtails need to be replaced. The lugs need to be replaced. The fourth cylinder needs to come back online. All before the 26th.
I did come across a four-door 97 R/T with a manual transmission and some clanking in the engine. I’m thinking about trying to pick it up as a parts car to do the manual conversion, use the whole exhaust, and pick off the lug studs and nuts. Then I can part out the rest and haul off the shell. Alternately, I could pull the turbo motor from the Sport coupe and put it in the R/T and have a driver with a clean title. We shall see.