Hi all!
I had a WONDERFUL time at the Stephens Brothers School of High
Performance Driving at the Hallett Motor Speedway in Oklahoma! Due to a
miscommunication between the track manager (Mike Stephens) and his sons
(who run the school -- they bought it from him), I WAS the school! Mike
was my instructor, and I was the only student, therefore getting lots of
quality track time at my own pace (Spitfire fast!).
To start, I drove up there Thursday and was very nervous about the rig
-- I am towing with the Monster Jeep, my awesome 1979 full-size
Cherokee, but had never really towed with it before, so was stopping all
the time to make sure everything was okay. It did great, and it was
about a 5 1/2 hour tow (without all my extra stops...). I dropped the
car at the track, offloaded it, then Mike came around and took me for
some laps of the track in a Chevy 350-powered Jag. That was fun, plus I
got to see the track earlier than I expected!
Friday the weather was co-o-o-ld (yay, driving suit!) and really misty
at first, then the mist cleared up but it stayed cloudy and cold all
day. I watched an instructional video, did threshold braking on the
straight, went around the track with Mike in the Jag again, then with me
driving. Then came the fun part -- me on the track in my car!!! I
followed him for a bit, then went on my own. Since I was the only
student, I got the track to myself! I drove for quite a bit, then the
trans started popping out of gear, then I lost 2nd altogether. Since I
*really* needed 2nd for several parts of the course (not a terribly fast
course, but very technical -- FUN!!!), I had to give up for the day.
Fortunately my boyfriend Jim was still at work in Dallas, and was
planning to come up that night, so I asked him to bring a trans for me
(I had one in my garage, and he had one in his). Dear person brought
BOTH! So, I yanked the trans Friday afternoon, he got in at 10:30 pm,
we slept, then started putting the new one in first thing Saturday.
Saturday was the test day, with about 5 sessions for my class, and we
got Tristan back together in time for the lunch ride-around/drive-around
and I tested it out there. The trans worked fine, so I went out for my
first session (the third session, really, but I missed the first two).
They practice the open- and closed-wheels together, even though they
have separate races, so it was VERY interesting. (I had to go to the
Formula Continental folks afterwards and ask for my doors back, since
they blew them off quite a few times!) Nothing like being on the track
for the first time with traffic, with folks MUCH faster and more agile
than me! A Cobra replica blew my doors off, too, but I did manage to
pass an MGB!!! Yee-HAW! I was a little leery of the Formula and Spec
cars, since they didn't seem to be observing my following the lines and
would pop up next to me at the most unsettling times. But I made it
through unscathed, except for a small crack in the exhaust collector
that apparently spontaneously happened (I didn't run off the track or
over anything) during that session.
My second session found me kinda tired but EXTREMELY ebullient -- I was
really having fun!! But, after about two or three laps, poor Tristan
lost power and started chugging, and backfired twice, blowing smoke out
the LEFT side of the bonnet. Eeek! So I got him around into the pits,
where he promptly died and wouldn't restart. Mike towed me back to my
paddock with the golf cart (ah, the shame) and Jim and I popped the
bonnet. There was a dark ugly burn on the forward driver side of the
red valve cover (ugh -- not a good sign, that) and upon examination, we
found I had broken a rocker arm and dropped a valve. The valve appeared
to be sitting on the piston and didn't look like it had punched through,
but I will have to pull the head tomorrow night to find out and will
give a more detailed report Wednesday. We loaded him up and hung around
for some of the fun Sunday (the American Indy car Series, Baby Grands,
Legends cars, and pro shifter carts were all there, as well as the COMMA
club I was with, so it was a VERY exciting weekend!), then towed home at
70 mph with no problems! I had a GREAT time, notwithstanding the
problems, and I am sure they will tell the story about the girl who came
up by herself and replaced her transmission for a lo-o-o-ong time. ;)
(The Indy car crew next to me in the paddock was very impressed.)
So, now I have some questions. I will be replacing the valves, and was
wondering if I should go with one-piece stainless. I also need to know
what I should do at this point with the head -- I am going to take it to
a competition shop locally to have them check it out, but what else
should I have done I don't know about, being a rank beginner? I am
running stock rockers and want to stay with them, since I understand
they break instead of causing worse damage if they are hardened and
don't break, if something like this happens.
And what about the block? If it escapes unscathed (cross your fingers,
PLEASE!!!), Jim suggested pulling the bottom end and checking the
bearings, which I think is a great idea. The block is decked, but I
don't know if it is o-ringed -- should I pull it and have that done, if
I am taking it apart this far already? And I was also told by some Spit
pilots (Baby Grand driver now) at the track that a copper head gasket
from some California guy's company (Gasket Works?) is the absolute best
way to go.
I would appreciate any and all advice about this engine (1296) at this
point, since I have not done a competition "rebuild" and want to make
sure I know how to do it right. Thank you SO MUCH in advance!
Keep Triumphing,
Susan :)
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