AROSC at the Streets of Willow

[Doug Liedblad]

See the AROSC information HERE

An excellent first course in track driving.

They usually give another around September but this won't be so hot.

[Clark]

Hi,
I'm planning to attend in the Advanced Time Trial group. That is if I can get a fuel tank/fuel pump adapter leak stopped. I recently replaced the in-tank fuel pump and the engine runs super strong. But now there is a seeping leak at the through fitting for the fuel pump wire. I'm working with Bruce Beachman to get this resolved - hopefully soon. Caterham no longer stocks the fuel pump adapter (i.e. since 2008) and I don't know of any gooey stuff that will seal metal, plastic and be impervious to gasoline. Any ideas? Someone suggested JB Weld epoxy. I'm taking the tank back out this weekend and will send the adapter to Bruce and see what he can find or do. He's really been helpful. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Best wishes,

[Doug Liedblad]

Clark

It's only a small leak. Wrap it with some duct tape and go for it.

Also see HERE

And bring a fire extinguisher.

Have fun.

[Clark]

Bruce Beachman should receive my leaky fuel pump adapter on Thursday. I'm anxious to see what solution he comes up with. I forwarded the gas tank goo link for him to take a look at. Most of the reviews I've read for that kind of stuff haven't been too encouraging.

Why bring a fire extinguisher? It's just a small leak!

Best wishes,

[rzempel]

I think 3m 4200 sealant might work for you. Or, you could try some of this 'butyl' bedding tape: https://shop.marinehowto.com/products/bed-it-tape

Randall

[Clark]

Hi Randall,
Thank-you for the sealant tip. Gasoline is tricky. I haven't found any spreadable elastomers that claim to seal it. Also, tank sealants often have poor performance reviews, so Im tentative to use them. I've heard that some epoxies like J-B Weld might work, but the spec sheet for that doesn't state resistance to gasoline. I'm wondering, my best bet might be sealing the tank with a solid plate and plumbing in an external fuel pump. Right now I'm waiting to hear what Bruce recommends. The jury is out deliberating! The AROSC school is coming up quickly and I'm hoping to make it.

By the way, I know I'm stretching here, but if any CCC members are wondering about track days but unsure about them, take a day, come out to the school, meet the people and see what's going on. The Saturday night dinner is fun. The AROSC usually brings in a guest instructor (most of the time, a retired pro), and with their presentation, it makes for an interesting evening. The instructor at my first Alfa Club school was Milt Minter who gave us the story behind "Donkey Bop". Milt became a good friend and during one session, he drove my Caterham and scared the?!??&& out of me! Yes, he was fast and had a style of driving that was pure pro. He intentionally unsettled the car to make it faster. At another school, John Morton came up and introduced himself. His first race car, after going through the Shelby Racing School at Riverside Raceway and working for Carroll Shelby for awhile in Torrance, was a Series II Lotus 7. John doesn't know what happened to that car, but has since acquired another Series II car. I'd like to see him drive it sometime. Then there was Tony 'a2z Racer' Adamowicz. At the peak of his career, Tony was one of the best road racers in the world. F/5000 Continental Grand Prix champion (Gurney Eagle), U-2 Trans-Am champion (Porsche 911), Le Mans podium finisher (Ferrari) and many other glories. One night while having dinner with Tony, he mentioned an AROSC enduro race coming up. A few days later after thinking about it, I called and asked if he would be interested in sharing a drive. He answered sure, why not? Doug Liedblad agreed to provide pit assistance and we had a team. I'd like to say we ran away with the race, but not everything went smoothly and we finished 2nd in class and about 7th overall - still not bad for a total newby attempt at enduros. But what a humbling experience. I've always wondered how my abilities as a driver compared to a professional's, and that day I found out. Within about three laps, Tony was turning lap times faster than i've ever made. During the race, he consistently turned laps at Buttonwillow in the 2:09 range, while mine were around 2:12 to 2:14. Same car, same track, same conditions, and he was four to five seconds a lap faster! The editor of Lowflying compared Tony's talent to the likes of Chris Amon and Jackie Ickx. I believe it. Godspeed Tony.
Best wishes,

[Sean]

I just searched for “silicone gasoline†and results indicated Permatex 85420 fuel resistant gasket dressing & sealant. It has mostly positive reviews on Amazon’s pages. No first-hand experience by me.

[Clark]

Hi Sean,
The Permatex looks like a good candidate. Finding something that lists fuel resistance on its spec sheet is rare. This product seems to be a gasket replacement like an anaerobic sealant. I'll check it out further tomorrow.

[Doug Liedblad]

Hi Randall,
................ During the race, he consistently turned laps at Buttonwillow in the 2:09 range, while mine were around 2:12 to 2:14. Same car, same track, same conditions, and he was four to five seconds a lap faster! The editor of Lowflying compared Tony's talent to the likes of Chris Amon and Jackie Ickx. I believe it. Godspeed Tony.
Best wishes,

I remember this well, his first lap was faster than yours, in a car he'd never driven. Each lap was consistently within .5 seconds or less and 20 minutes later he was another 2 seconds faster. 'You just find it where you can' said Tony.

I miss the enduros and if you ever do one, practice the refueling before hand....

[escondidoron]

......his first lap was faster than yours, in a car he'd never driven. Each lap was consistently within .5 seconds or less and 20 minutes later he was another 2 seconds faster.......

.....

Reminds me of an old Peter Egan article in Road & Track. At the time of Ford's introduction of the Mustang Cobra in the early 90's IIRC. At the time Ford was providing cars to the Bob Bondurant school out in the Phoenix area. Ford brought out a bunch of the new Mustang model and invited automotive journalists to spend a week at Bondurant for school, of course driving the new Mustang Cobra. On the last day, Ford performance advisor Jackie Stewart, came out to have a meet & greet / track day with the assembled journalists. By this time the journalists figured that they were pretty good drivers. Egan, who had a fair bit of SCCA club experience felt that he was on top of his game, especially after all of the track time with good instructors. Then enter Jackie.

After the obligatory introductions and PR presentations about the new products, Stewart gave all of the journalists ride along laps on the track. Because of the size of the group the track laps were not done in the Mustangs. Instead Stewart drove 3 passengers around in police interceptor model Crown Victorias. And talked to the passengers while driving. Egan said that's when he knew that he was never going to be any good as a race driver. Jackie Stewart was faster than any of the journalists best laps driving solo in a Mustang Cobra, including Egan, by seconds, while driving 3 passengers around and holding conversations in Crown Victorias!

I guess there's no substitute for talent.

[Papak]

In the early ‘90s, Bill Scott started training drivers for the State Department and other federal agencies in evasive maneuvers and high speed driving at Summit Ppint Raceway in West Virginia. In between SCCA practice sessions, he would take out 4-5 big guys in a full sized Chevy Impala that he used for training and lap at race speed ending a handbrake turn on the front straight. Hell of a driver and a pretty good instructor as well. We would then proceed to putter around in our Formula Fords as if we knew something.