Don't worry, last years winner didn' drive until the day before we loaded it onto the trailer to head south.
Don't worry, last years winner didn' drive until the day before we loaded it onto the trailer to head south.
Well, it's been over a week since getting back from the 2022 Challenge. I'd like to say it was a triumph, but the reality is it was more of a fiasco. In the end, I got the car to the Challenge, but being that the car wasn't running when it arrived, I spent the entirety of Saturday thrashing to figure it out. In the end, it turned out to be a combination of setting the cam timing right (my own ineptitude) and realizing two plug wires were reversed (previous owner's handiwork). Unfortunately, that means I missed all of the autocross and only made one drag run at a woeful 20.xxx @59.99mph. I opted to not waste the judges' time and didn't have the car judged during the concours. I'm pretty sure that means the car DNF'd the competition.
But for all the struggle and hassles and frustrations, it was rewarding if not exactly fun. Barring unavoidable conflict, I will be back with this car next year, more complete and better sorted. I certainly owe a debt if gratitude my friends, family, and those in attendance that offered encouragement and suggestions.
And to be sure, this ain't over! I will be updating this thread with more details of the prep of getting the car to this year's Challenge and further work to get it to next year's. In the meantime, here's a pic of how the car ended the Challenge:
Bummed about the performance but glad you got it running. Looking forward to seeing updates
jfryjfry said:Bummed about the performance but glad you got it running. Looking forward to seeing updates
Agreed. I did absolutely no testing after getting it running right enough to idle, not die in gear, and move under its own power. It ran, it moved, it stopped (mostly, sorta), and so I put it in the drags to get the one run in. What kind of timing was in it? I dont' know. Boost? Maybe, but definitely not much, if any. I was genuinely shocked when it tracked straight and didn't try to put me into a wall, or simply shake itself to death or burst into flames. I called that a success, sad as it is. I also found it reassuring it didn't leak profusely (other than water leaking from the radiator core) and didn't smoke (excessively). The goal is to now develop and tune it to get as much performance as possible before next Challenge in the spring.
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