Lucy’s Slipping Clutch

I forgot to mention in my race-day write-up how Lucy’s clutch started to slip towards the end of the day. It’s probably related to the off-road excursion I took, so I’ll check the linkage for bent parts when I next get her up on jackstands. Currently, the clutch takes up right at the top of the pedal travel, so I’m able to safely drive the car as long as I gingerly apply the throttle.

Speaking of my agricultural experience, the left front tire was damaged during that escapade. When I first installed this wheel and tire combination the edge of the tire rubbed the inner flange of the wheelwell, so I took a two-by-four and flattened the flange against the inside of the wheelwell. Monday when that side dug into the mud with the wheel turned, the tire caught the edge of the flange. The flange grabbed into the tire and was un-flattened. Once I was back in the pits, I borrowed a hammer and re-flattened the flange, but didn’t check out the tire. This morning I noticed the cuts in the rubber, so I snapped a few pictures with the camera in my cellphone. The rubber’s still intact, the cut's not into the cords, and I haven’t noticed any vibration in the steering, so I’m just going to rotate the tires while the car’s up on jackstands for the clutch repair.

Lucy's Punch List

So I had this punch list I’d hoped to have closed out before going to Summit Point. Did I? Nope. Id get to everything but changing the o-rings and valance bodywork, so I guess I shouldn’t feel too badly. Fortunately, neither of the two items that went undone prevented me from having another wonderful day at the track.

With all the time Ringo and his brakes sucked from my Saturday, I had to wait until Sunday afternoon before I could work on Lucy. I got the racing harness installed and the brake rod adjusted. That last task was a pain in the butt. The inboard end of the rod is threaded into a block attached to the brake pedal. There’s a jam nut snugged against the face of the block to prevent its movement. Halfway down the rod is a knurled collar. You’re supposed to be able to simply loosen the jam nut, and rotate the rod using a pliers on the collar. Even after dousing the joints with my magic penetrating concoction, it was a serious chore to turn the jam nut. Fifteen difficult degrees at a time, I turned the nut towards the color. When it bound with the knurl, the rod finally started turning. After moving it to the new position I felt comfortable with, I tried to hold the knurl with the vise grips while turning the jam nut. The rod just spun with the nut. I decided to leave it without the jam nut jamming.

After that I worked on the front valance getting half of the patchwork done before running out of welding wire. At that point it was time to pack tools and the rest of the accouterments required for a day pushing the mechanical limits of my nearly fifty year old car.

I ended up happy that I hadn’t spent any more time on the valance since it got mostly ripped away by the tow rope that drug me to the pits Monday. Oh well, I wasn’t happy with the job anyway. The metal I used for the patch was thinner than the car’s sheetmetal, so I had to use a lighter setting on my MIG welder to keep from blowing out the patch. That meant I didn’t get good penetration of the weld in base metal. I’m going to try and get an actual valance to do the patch correctly. If I strike out there, I can use the old patch as a template.

CPotD #100 (Had to Be the BEST)

The one-hundredth Corvair Photo of the Day had to be extra special. This photo popped up when I clicked the CorvairCenter forum thread called, “Who makes these wheels?” It’s been a CPotD subject before, but since it’s the most desirable Corvair I’ve seen, this new picture got the honors.

Also, check out the custom EM in the background. It looks to be a Model 700 with the chrome beltline that I love. The two-tone look is oh so hot as well.

Ringo’s Sticking Cable

So Ariel told me last week that her car’s brakes were making noise. Fortunately, she was planning on coming home that Friday. So Saturday I pulled the left rear hub and all looked fine. Pulling the right rear hub exposed a much different situation. The front shoe had only a sliver of lining left, while the rear shoe had less and part of the lining was actually floating loose from the metal. I went to my collection of GUPs, but surprisingly came up empty. I tried Napa and Carquest, but neither had any shoes in stock. Next I called Gary, but he was unavailable. Finally, Rich (also in the Corvair club) came to the rescue. He had a bag of used shoes and I was able to find two that would get Ringo back on the road.

I got home with the shoes and had them installed in short order. After some cursory adjustments, I decided to adjust the emergency brake cable to shorten the pull. After pulling the rear wheels up on the ramps, I tightened the nuts on the front-to-back cable and then pulled on the handle in the car to see the difference. It felt like it was engaging sooner which is what I was shooting for. I released the handle and climbed back under the car. The cable to the right wheel was still taut, so I gave it a pull and it haltingly moved out. The lightbulb then went on. The cable was sticking causing the shoes on that side to drag on the drum thus wearing them out prematurely.

For the next hour I attacked that cable with all sorts of lubricants and had both Brianna and Loriann exercise the handle. All to no avail. Since I knew Ariel was only driving him back and forth to Millersville one last time, I asked her to please don’t use the parking brake – park the car facing downhill against the curb. That would ensure the brakes wouldn’t rub.

In the meantime, I’ve ordered a full new set of shoes from the Corvair Ranch, and I’ve planned on how I’ll completely remove the cable assembly from the car, clean it thoroughly and then lubricate before reassembling.

CPotD #99 (Another Shorty)

I actually thought that someday I’d like to convert a 4-door EM into a 2-door hardtop ala the early sixties big cars from GM. Someone’s done it, and now I’m not so sure I like it. The person who modified this one stuck a 454 cubic inch engine in while they at it. This thing must go like stink. If anyone’s interested it’s for sale.

Because it’s so wildly modified, it’s Wacky Wednesday’s CPotD.

CPotD #98 (No STD for Me)

The weather prediction was ominous – good chance of thunderstorms - so amongst the tools, spare parts, rags, gas, helmet, oil, etc., I stuck an umbrella and some Rain-X. As I drove to meet up with Jonathan Kendig to caravan to the track, the prediction was coming true – big time; it rained the entire drive to the track except for the last three or four miles. Thankfully, that was it - the rain held off for the entire day.

After emptying Lucy of all loose contents, I drove over to tech inspection where Terry Stafford carefully went down the NECC’s list ensuring I was meeting all the safety and mechanical requirements while I artfully applied blue masking tape to form the number 5 three places on the car. With a green dot "passed" sticker affixed to the upper corner of the windshield, I headed back to my parking spot in the paddock to wait for the driver’s meeting. Sitting in that meeting a few minutes later, I was surprised to find my heart rate increasing as Ray Zabinski went over the important info for the day’s event. On the way out of the room, I checked the list to see which group I was placed in for the familiarization laps. I was in Group A! I got to go out first!

Back to the car to don my requisite long-sleeve cotton shirt, grab my helmet, and drive to the false grid. As I sat getting all buckled up, I kept reminding myself that I was seated in a basically stock, forty-seven year old daily driver that needed to get me home at the end of the day. In other words, don’t do anything stupid. The first few laps were run under caution, but I found myself having to drive about as fast as I dared just to keep the car ahead of me in site – so much for caution. Then they cut us loose, and by the end of the first green lap, I had a string of three cars ready to take advantage of the one passing zone. For a few laps, I had fun running just ahead of Al Lacki in his Yaris. He was obviously faster through the corners but didn’t pass me in the straightaway until I let off to allow him to go past. A couple laps later our twenty minutes were up and it was time for Group B.

After Groups B and C had finished their twenty minutes each, they opened up the track for all cars to run until lunch at twelve. I was out there for most of that time finding the best line for me and the car. Later in that session, Randall Russell in his New Beetle appeared in my rearview mirror a ways behind me. I spent the next four laps or so trying to hold that distance between us. He’d have to let some fast cars by, and the next lap they’d be passing me. Finally, he had a clear run at me, but I’d decided that fading brakes and tires meant it was time to pull into the pits. He came in one lap later and laughingly accused me of leaving the track just because he had caught me. He was partly right.

During lunch Jonathan and I were talking about the lines through some of the turns. I was complaining about how there was a camber change through Turn 4 that really upset the backend of my car. He made the comment that a track instructor had told him to drive turn 4 flat out. That agreed with what I’d read on the Trackpedia website.

After lunch we all went out on the track again and a few laps later, I decided to drive through turn 4 harder than I had before. The rear end came out and I tried to catch it without lifting, but I overcorrected and ended up in the mud on the right side of the track. As I’m trying to straighten the car out and keep it off the tire wall, its rear end is wagging back-and-forth. I remembered to put the clutch in as I’m sawing at the wheel. Finally, the E-ticket ride came to an end when the car went into a sideways slide, ran into the tire wall head on, and bounced back to a stop. I remember three thoughts I had during the last few slow-motion seconds:” I don’t want to call Loriann to tell her I wadded up my car,” “Wow, that tire wall was REALLY soft,” and finally, “Where did all this mud come from?” At that point the engine wasn’t running anymore and I noticed that only the TEMP/PRESS idiot light was shining at me - no GEN/FAN. I unbuckled and climbed out to survey the damage. The guy in the corner stand asked me if I was alright and I yelled back yes. Other than a whole lot of mud on, and even in, the car, I couldn’t find anything amiss. Mufflers were still in place, all the wheels were pointed in the right direction, and nothing was hanging from the underside. There weren’t even any dents in the front sheetmetal - yes, that tire wall was really soft. I got in and tried to start the car, but while the tired, old battery turned the engine for a few rotations, it didn’t have juice enough to get her started. I climbed back out and the corner worker asked me if I needed a tow, and again I yelled back yes.

A few minutes later, I was on my way back to the pits at the end of a tow line. Shades of BeaveRun. I felt terrible that my miscue had shut down the track. They pulled me to a hose and I sprayed off as much of the mud as possible. Then, with help from Larry Koenig (VW R32), I was able to roll-start the car and drive to my parking spot. I left the engine running as I opened the lid to look and listen. Everything sounded normal, thank God. I found the GEN/FAN light and socket that had popped loose from its hole and put it back. After a few blasts up and down the paddock road, I was confident the car was ready for the track again.

At that point, the time trials were about to start, so I drove to the false grid and lined up fourth. I kept the car running not wanting the old battery letting me down again. I went out and put two fairly decent laps together. No excitement. After my cool-down lap, I parked the car and climbed the stairs to the tower that overlooked the starting point. It was great to watch and listen to each car as they pulled away then a few moment later see and hear them scream by on the straightaway.

When everyone completed their runs, Jonathan and I walked to the timing house where Al handed us a printout of the final results. I quickly scanned the list. I wasn’t Slow Time of the Day! I was twenty-fifth of twenty-eight drivers.

Soon after I packed up all my stuff and hit the road for the uneventful ninety minute drive home. Later Jonathan called to tell me I’d been given a coveted Tweety award for Fast, But Ugly. Thankfully, Al clarified in his e-mail to VV and FastVair that it was the car, not me, that received the award. A wonderful ending to an unforgettable day.

Miscellaneous final thoughts. Much thanks to the NECC guys and the volunteer gals for putting on a great event. It was great meeting more people from the Corvair world. Here's a link to the pictures I took during the day.

CPotD #97 (Fresh Motor for Monday)

I’d read about and seen photos of Mike LeVeque’s craftsmanship, but until yesterday I’d never attended an event where he and his current racing Corvair were present. I took a few pictures of engines at the track event held at Summit Point, and I chose to feature his for this Motor Monday. This car sounds mean and goes fast.