[2020] What Did You Do To/with Your Z Today?

[Racer X]

Here (a poor scan of a photograph, I need to find the negatives and do a proper job of digitizing them) is the first pipe I built. The baffle on the end is on a slight turnout. I scraped the bottom of the cone off and about an inch of the baffles in one race weekend.

Summer 1990 by Racer, on Flickr

Before the next time out I added some more elbow work and got it up off the ground a bit. Still the whole thing rode pretty low, and my cylinder head guy suggested the shorter pipe with the Lowback.

The first is exiting the hairpin and heading for the esses and front straight at Westwood, in Canada.

Westwood Hairpin by Racer, on Flickr

 

Then up through the esses, again, Westwood. A buddy of mine took this shot, and was going to throw it away. I managed to get an 8x10 from him first.

Westwood by Racer, on Flickr

 

The next one is the banked (15 degrees I think) second turn of Westwood. The car is as compressed as the suspension will allow, and even with the added elbows the bottom of the baffle cone would drag the track. I could go into that turn after only slightly tapping the brake, grab a gear, then mashing the accelerator hold on and the car took a set, it was on rails all the way to the exit. A short chute down hill then a flat left, around the clubhouse, another short chute and a downhill off camber double apex right hander that opened onto the downhill backstretch.

I sure miss that track.

Westwood Turn 2 by Racer, on Flickr

Edited October 14, 2020 by Racer X

[Mark Maras]

 I loved Westwood too.  Down that short hill, pulling multi G forces at the bottom was the most fun for me. Lap after lap, going down that hill, I kept believing I could enter that left hander faster than the previous lap. That theory worked well for a few laps until I went off on the left turn exit. Regretfully, I never felt like I mastered that off camber downhill right hander. I loved tracks with elevation changes.

[Racer X]

15 minutes ago, Mark Maras said:

 I loved tracks with elevation changes.

Deer's Leap on the backstretch. My car would get very light there.

[AK260]

Racer, that sounds like some immense fun!!! Absolutely love that 8x10 photo!!! And, that’s some serious effort into that side box. Without the wrap that must have been mega louuuud!!!!!

We’re you running coil overs back on the day or some variation of the stock suspension?

[Racer X]

6 minutes ago, AK260 said:

Racer, that sounds like some immense fun!!! Absolutely love that 8x10 photo!!! And, that’s some serious effort into that side box. Without the wrap that must have been mega louuuud!!!!!

We’re you running coil overs back on the day or some variation of the stock suspension?

The exhaust was actually pretty quiet, at least from a distance. The club measures the sound, and I never went over about 85db at 50 feet. 

But.

I borrowed a sound pressure meter once, strapped it in on the passenger side, and recorded 140db during a 30 minute race. That is quite loud.

 

The suspension is basically stock. Tokico Illumina strut cartridges, aftermarket stabilizer bars front and rear (I forget the sizes at the moment, but they are big, and I had to reinforce the front frame rails as the mounts were tearing out) with urethane bushings, and those eccentric lower control arm bushings that enable camber adjustment. I forget what springs I used, but those were cut down a bit too.

 

I also had those compression rod aluminum cup and delrin ball things. The delrin would get beat up pretty badly, so I milled replacements from aluminum, and lined them with teflon. No more galling, or need to grease, just replace the teflon once a season.

[siteunseen]

Looked for Z shaped leaves while stretched out on my deck. They're were many or maybe none? It was a Bloody Mary morning.

 

 

[siteunseen]

Patcon you and I have the same view on our surroundings, beauty is everywhere. 

[Racer X]

Didn't do much with any Z cars this weekend (I know, I should be ashamed), as the used oil furnace in my shop consumed my time. I guess if you ignore them for 15 years then one autumn you flip the switch, and they refuse to fire up.

Who would have thought, eh?

Still, I prefer a warm shop to work in, and the days won't be getting any warmer for the next few months.

But beauty can be found in most surroundings, such as this springtime shot of my race car from many years ago.

Black & White Z Spring 1991 by Racer, on Flickr

Beauty, eh?

Edited October 18, 2020 by Racer X

[moelk]

Took her out for a short drive (one of very few drives this season). Now it’s soon time for winter sleep.

[madkaw]

21 minutes ago, moelk said:

Took her out for a short drive (one of very few drives this season). Now it’s soon time for winter sleep.

Why so few drives ? Z’s want to be driven !

[moelk]

16 minutes ago, madkaw said:

Why so few drives ? Z’s want to be driven !

Have had very little time to spend on the Z this season. Was about to build a new head for the engine but haven’t even started on that. 
Next season will hopefully be better.

[Racer X]

Waiting on a part for the waste oil furnace. A transformer that makes the spark for igniting the oil, 120 volts in, 10,000 volts out. Well, when it works like it should. Mine doesn't, and the package guy will have a new one here next week.

So I got a wild hair and decided to rearrange the shop a bit, do some cleaning.

I cleared a path, and dragged HLS305957, build date 6/70 out and assess its condition. Managed to get it out and have a cursory look, but need to move all the stuff into the slot it was in and then free up the right rear brake so I can roll it up on the lift.

I got this car not long after the race Z and the brown 72. A friend of a friend connected me with a guy who was under threat of divorce if he didn't clean house. I can't remember if I got it free, or paid a couple hundred bucks for it. It was last registered 1991. The original color was yellow, and it has those stupid dealer installed rub rails on the sides. One of the previous owners changed it to red. It was later painted red oxide primer, the badges removed (why didn't they take off those stupid rub rails?), and an attempt was made to graft the headlight buckets to the fenders. The front marker/turnsignal assemblies are missing, and someone has gotten creative and uses stainless lockwire (like is used to secure assemblies in aircraft) to suspend the bulbs in the middle of the openings. The bumpers are trashed, the rear looking like someone had a trailer hitch on it at one time.

 

I'll get some pictures up, after I get the shop cleaned back up, and the brake freed up.

OK, lunch is over, back out to the shop.