ITA DC Integra Build

Enjoyed the update!  I particularly appreciate a slow evolution of improvements sticking with the same car.

So....Update time...

Ran another event with the Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs at Blackhawk the weekend of July 8.  Could not quite get back to the times I ran the previous event but had a good race anyway.  This was a slightly larger field so that was great to see.  I think I qualified like 9th of 14 or so in class but had a poor start and a couple cars got past me at the start.  Was looking forward to racing with the two guys who qualified right in front of me in class but both had issues that would not allow them to make the race.  Still was a fun event and had an old co-worker/buddy and his family at the track to see what this is all about.  A little youtube action...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tURfK3Upl_0&feature=em-share_video_user

Almost had the other Integra at the very end and probably would have passed him with another lap or so...  Did receive a nice compliment from the driver of the Miata that passed me later in the race that he enjoyed racing with me pretty closely and safely, so that was nice..

More updates....I had wanted to run Grattan again this year but that wasn't in the cards and had not been to Gingerman in many years (not since 2005 according to my notes) so Gingerman it is...  This was another Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs event and unfortunately the date was up against a Majors at Road America so the car count was pretty low.  While checking things out before the race, bled brakes and such and was looking at the tread left on the tires...after 7 races on this set, there was some rubber left but not sure it would be enough for a double event at Gingerman with this tracking being more abrasive to tires than most so picked up another 'new to me' set of Hoosier SM7s to run.

Got to the track Friday afternoon and got unloaded and ready for Saturday and went out to relearn the track and learn the newer section of T10 and the elevation change there.  Was getting the hang of it and picking up time throughout the whole weekend but still not comfortable in the T7, 8, 9 complex until dropping rear tire pressure a bit which helped the rear stay in the rear there..Qualified second in class for Saturday's race and had a crappy start due to being in third gear when the green flag flew so lost several spots there.  Was able to work my way back up to my qualifying spot during the race but could not quite catch the class leader.   A little youtube action from Saturday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLNAbuhppsw&feature=em-share_video_user

Did have some fun 'out of class' dices during the race and overheard some workers talking about it being a fun race to watch afterward..

Then had most of the afternoon off so my wife and I headed into town to wander around the shops there for a bit.  Checked the car over a bit later that afternoon and rotated the tires so it was ready for Sunday.

Sunday was more of the same and found some more time in the car and driver but still qualified second in class for the race.  The good news is that this time I was in the right gear at the start and the class pole sitter was not!!  Was able to grab the class lead at the start and held this for probably 8 or so laps until he was able to get back around me.  Kept with him for a couple laps before he started to pull a gap.  Another second place finish for me!!  More you tube action from Sunday...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHFABJy6zfY&feature=em-share_video_user

Overall a fun weekend with some pretty close racing.  

So...was reviewing the end of the year points totals and much to my surprise, I was 6th overall for the season in ITA with Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs!!  Pretty decent for only running 4 races this year out of a total class count of 36 racers..

Have started to reassemble the cylinder head I have been working on.  I have disassembled it, had it cleaned, cleaned the valves up and lapped them into the head and then had the gasket face milled a bit to max out the compression ratio for the class rules. 

The B-series specific value spring compressor that Santa brought last years works pretty slick but make sure to put the lower spring seats back in before the valve guide seals....figured that out after only installing one seal...and installing the valve spring keepers is pretty tricky until you get the hang of it. Pics will follow shortly

It's been DECADES ago, but the 510 Datsuns used to run in ITC - is that still the case?

Yes, we have a guy that still runs a 510 with us in ITC.  I had a good 'out of class' dice with him at Gingerman.  He and I were always pretty evenly matched in my old crx also.  

So...haven't updated this in quite a while...

Only ended up running one event in 2019 with a family move and getting everything organized, etc.  Was going to run a second event but it was super rainy that weekend so ended up bailing on that one. 

Did finally get the rebuilt cylinder head on just before getting the car ready for a long winter's nap. 

The cylinder bores look pretty good for ~180k on the engine. 

Had a small brain fart when lining up the timing belt- aligned everything up correctly and then turned the engine over to set the valves and forgot that the crank will spin 2x what the cams will spin so pulled the timing belt and redid it...amazingly, things go quicker the second time.

When bleeding the cooling system, was leaking some water out of the radiator cap so thought I did not torque the head down properly or did not remove enough of the oil from the head bolt holes in the block for the bolts to torque up correctly so was nervous about that all winter but when I started the car this spring with a new radiator cap, everything seems good.  Still need to check the valve clearances and set the ignition timing in addition to normal spring car prep work.

Also picked this up this spring

and fairly quickly turned it into this

Will keep the drivetrain and wheels and some other smaller parts and sell the rest...currently sitting at ~58% of the purchase price recouped and a couple sales pending. 

Did swap the parts car steering wheel onto the race car this past weekend so that will be a nice improvement as the original wheel was getting a little crusty on the top from the Florida sun.  Out with the old:

in with the new:

So.....finished adjusting the valves on the newly installed head before the race on July 5th and packed up for the race...

The car seemed to be running fairly well for the practice session but seemed like there was a slight exhaust leak.  Coolant temps and everything seemed good.  Checked things over between sessions and everything seemed good so went out for the qualifying session.

Car was pulling pretty well for qualifying but was sounding worse after the session- sounded like a really bad exhaust leak.  Checked some more things- exhaust was on and connected, exhaust manifold nuts were all tight so made the decision to bail before causing any or any more damage and headed home.

Got home and started diagnosing- checked compression and cold was like 195-180-180-190.  Not bad but was wondering about the center two cylinders being a little low.  Pulled the valve cover and noticed the valve adjusting nut from the right hand exhaust rocker on cylinder #1 was gone and the other was loose- that explained the noise.  Checked things over and the cam and springs, etc all seem ok but where was that silly nut.  Looked all through the head and did not see it and even broke out the small magnet to fish around some.  Looked at the oil return galleys and wondered if the nut was small enough to flow down there.