Gen 1 Camaro/ASA Stock Car Build

I saved my favorite for last....

jh36 said:

Just sharing some of my experience here - my tow strap is anchored behind the bodywork, and when I pull it on/off the trailer with the winch, the angle of the strap pushes against the bodywork.  May not be an issue for you if this is to just get out you of the dirt at the track, but something to think about.  I plan on building something to anchor it so the point that it moves is right at the bodywork.

In reply to Gimp (Forum Supporter) :

Good point and I totally agree with you.  This is to make sure the EV guys have a semi-pro connection point, in case of a "situation".  In the offseason, making a more solid connection integrated into the bumper bracket is a pending project.

When I load the trailer, I have a pickup point on the frame that works pretty well.

I have next weekend, Hyperfest in October, then I'm taking what I've learned to prep the car for the 2022 season. 

It is supposed to get pretty balmy this weekend. I have a NACA duct and some plexi. 
opinions on two options. 
1-Passenger side where vent window would be on a '67. 
2-Passenger side where rear quarter window would be. 
 

#2 is much easier to attach as there is no door and seems like it would pick up more air, as the front position would put it slightly inside the a-pillar. 
#1 would have less of a bend in the ducting. 

#1

#2

#2 feels better. But I vote roof scoop. 

Interesting....I was actually looking at what it would take to put the naca in the roof earlier, but not a rally style scoop.

Leaning toward #2 as well.  At least for the weekend...it's going to be toasty.  Maybe we can conjure up something more creative and "cool" over the winter.

I run a rally style roof scoop on my race car, best thing i ever did as far as comfort goes. You can direct the air straight into your face which is great when you're in a balaclava on a 100 degree day. Only works when the car is moving though so I've been thinking sbout putting a couple of computer type fans in their as well.

In reply to jh36 :

I vote quarter window too. It seems like the vent window position could be in the way of your field of vision somewhat. 

Got this together this evening. I think putting the lexan on the outside edge looks smoother and should pick up more air. 

I'm not happy with the glue showing up, but what is done, is done. It should help cool the cabin this weekend and I will likely redo it before the next event...or explore options on treating the area to make it look less abysmal. Even a RacersTape surround would probably be an improvement. 

In reply to jh36 :

You could rivet it to the window if the stuff doesn't crack around the rivets. If both pieces are polycarbonate then methylene chloride will work as a bonding agent, although I have no idea what it would look like.

Hmmm. Yes, I'd agree - maybe painting the whole duct black?  Or the body color?

In reply to jh36 :

Do like the Rolling Stones and paint it black.

As soon as I glued it, I wished I had riveted it.  I did rivet the plexi "window" to the car and was a little surprised it didn't crack....

This morning driving to work, I had a thought.   I could remove the window, bandsaw 1" out around the duct, paint the lip black, make a new window and rivet it back together.  

After VIR...or I could go crazy and order another NACA duct and do it right.

In reply to jh36 :

I think that's a good plan.

I was surprised to see it riveted to the outside of the body, but I forgot it's fiberglass & you don't really have a window frame other than that small lip. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to jh36 :

I think that's a good plan.

I was surprised to see it riveted to the outside of the body, but I forgot it's fiberglass & you don't really have a window frame other than that small lip. 

Yes...I tried a couple of options to make an inside connection, but unfortunately, I trimmed off any logical mounting points. I will either mulligan this in a more professional way or come up with a slicker option with a bit more time. Thanks for being along for the ride. I will throw a couple of updates out during the vir weekend. 

Test weekend revealed more issues. This time from the rear. 
The weekend started with a 7 hour pull to vir in the f350 (I haven't had time to thoroughly go through the bus after it's hibernation) and tech. We passed tech but the car wouldn't start on exit. Turns out...no fuel. What I thought was a full tank was actually a quirky vent. With that hurdle clear, we packed it in and got some sleep. 

Saturday morning we made one run. The car felt good and stable but was making more noise from the rear than I liked. They say these lockers do that so I pressed on. 
 

The first couple of warmup laps felt good. Stable and controlled. I moved to a 75% on 3 and it felt fine. There was again more noise, particularly at tight Oak Tree, and the water temp rose. I ran it pretty quick down the back straight which was exhilarating, but then I came in. 
 

the radiator boiled when I parked. Turns out the cap was not making a great seal. Stupid mistake as I had noticed this and thought it would be ok. 
 

While walking around the car waiting for it to cool down I saw a bigger problem. Diff oil was all over the left side rear...really coated things including the wheel and tire. I was surprised and felt fortunate that something catastrophic didn't happen coming through the roller coaster and hog pen. 

It was blistering hot on the asphalt but I took the car down as far as I could with the tools on hand. 
I took this pic shooting down the axle tube. 

The red at the end is the carrier bearing and the black is the seal. There is another seal on the inside side of the bearing. 
The axle came out with very little friction passing the seal. 
I spoke with Richard Mitchum and the guys at tech and everyone pointed towards an axle seal failure. 
That wasn't going to get fixed at VIR so we broke camp, had a great dinner at Aunt Millie's and headed back Sunday morning.