3/4 Race - Shop Truck

In reply to gumby :

Very cool to get the shocks dialed in just the way you want them. Happy to see new updates here. How's the Fiat coming along? Gonna make power tour?

I just found this thread, small fast trucks for the win.  Beautiful work on it and holy hell that thing is gaaah-narly!!! 

Well, thanks!

This thread has gotten neglected a bit. With the Fiat/Power Tour thrash and other life circumstances, the truck has only made two autoX runs this season. Hoping to change that soon but currently in the middle of a clutch swap on the tow pig, so life marches on!

This thing is awesome! With now owning a 2.3t project I have come to appreciate the potential they have!

In reply to gumby :

Will I see it this weekend? 

bobzilla said:

In reply to gumby :

Will I see it this weekend? 

Possibly Sunday if I can get the clutch buttoned up in the blue truck.

I built this adapter to help the job go easier.

The racetruck has been sitting ready to go while everything else has gone on around it.

you could always borrow my non-race truck if need be. All those GM pushrods might make you faster. 

Truck guys be like:

Much appreciated either way  If I am not there it is most likely I will be in the shop finishing the clutch job. Relying on a Fiat while your daily is down is a whole different level of 'likes to party.'

In reply to gumby :

It might have been both?

Last weekend I confirmed the rear tires have given up. Truck felt great turning in, and mid-corner was more stable than it has ever been. Shocks feel great! It would not, however, drive off the apex. All the tire spin. Tried pressure adjustments and even disconnecting the rear sta-bar for some compliance. Nothing. When a chassis adjustment does not produce a result(any result, even negative) there is something afoot.

Stuck a durometer on the tires to seal the deal; these are done.

I am running asphalt oval slicks intended for use on the front of a Sprint Car; left fronts specifically because they are softest. I don't have anymore on-hand currently, so I am going to put right fronts on the rear and see how they work out. This will open up more options for take-offs which is always a good thing. The hang up is I built the truck around the LF size and the RF is larger. They will not fit under the rear bedsides. Lots of positives though, as they are taller and wider. Taller means longer contact patch and more grip available exactly where I need it most.

And the funny business, they are labeled the same Gotta love dealing with a position specific oval track tire built to a fixed ruleset.

I will test these without bedsides on the truck this weekend. If things go well, I will get to work on some box flares.

berkeley me, I took the Fiat last weekend due to threats of rain. Leaving the truck home meant it was dry all day 

Go for box flares, testing be damned.

A little cutting here and there, then some man-handling

And a bit of "gentle persuasion" 

At this point I just need to connect the dots, but am considering one more cut and bringing the rear of the panel forward vs. patching the gap at the top of the wheel arch.

Never done fender flares myself, so it's always nice to learn by watching others. Keep it up!

Watching me may learn you to hire a pro

Here is where I made extra work for myself just because

Since I had nothing rear of the panel to worry about aligning I made the decision to pull the rear portion forward vs. building patch panels. This turned into a bit of a task getting the body line matched back up and the top crown of the bedside blended. It will pass in racecar land, but I am reminded that bodywork is not my forte.

Alright, both bedsides are done enough for now. Tires fit, seams are welded up, but I haven't capped the flares. I will get to that eventually.

As is generally the case, the second attempt went much more smoothly

Pushed out to sweep the floor; these tires look massive!

I may have slipped off the clutch while repositioning the truck in the shop...

Sweet. I like the eleven-zees..... Uhhh, I mean clutch slipped.

Actually got the truck out to an event today! New shock valving is solid. New rear tires are good. It is all kinds of wrong to be feeling things out this late in the season! I am out of practice and a bit off my game, but here it is anyhow.

Looks fun and quick!

I saw you heading home yesterday, and was happy to see that you'd had the truck out. I also realized I'd been failing to keep up with this one. Glad to see things really coming along nicely!

loosecannon said:

Looks fun and quick!

Thanks, it is quite fun but no where near as quick as yours! I suspect the majority of us never think our racecars are fast enough

STM317 said:

I saw you heading home yesterday...

I was trying to beat the rain yesterday. One of these times I need to let you know I am headed thru and stop by to check out your place.

gumby said:

Actually got the truck out to an event today! New shock valving is solid. New rear tires are good. It is all kinds of wrong to be feeling things out this late in the season! I am out of practice and a bit off my game, but here it is anyhow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9M9J-2ziVQ&feature=youtu.be

 

Nice run! Looked pretty clean and smooth to me. Only thing I noticed was the one spot there were corner workers was right where cars would be pointed when entering one of the slaloms, seemed like a really bad spot to be in case of brakes or other mechanicals failing...  

Great job on the flare work.  Much cleaner than my hacked up Ranger!

A couple weeks ago I swapped in a smaller front sta-bar to experiment with roll couple. Learned very quickly that with this much front weight bias, reducing front roll stiffness is not a viable option.

Lazy, slow, and lifting the inside rear tires with the rear bar on. Disconnecting the rear bar helped keep tires on the ground but didn't help the slow and lazy handling

This past weekend I put the big bar back on for the CAM Challenge event. With the rear bar still disconnected it went full dump truck. Pushing the front is not something this truck has really done before, so the new rear tires must be working! Reconnected the rear bar and was rewarded with a significant improvement in balance and time on the next run. Still pushing a bit in slow, tight corners so I am going to replace the front tires and be prepared to increase rear bar until it lifts rear tires again.

Pics from CAM Challenge

where'd you get those photos so fast?

bobzilla said:

where'd you get those photos so fast?

 

Andrew Wong posted on CAM Nation this morning. You are in there!

In reply to gumby :

I can't find them! NOOOOOOOOOOO! 

EDIT: nevermind. I had to open his complete post.