JP1738's Stocker and S/G car

[JP1738]

Originally Posted by BIGG18c

Dawson, I always look forward to reading the latest updates on all of your racing and wish I had the gumption to put all of my racing escapades on a forum so please do not take this the wrong way. If the 6.0 rules specifically state no throttle stops allowed then I believe the promoters did the right thing. On the other hand I also agree with your logic of the car is not fast enough to use one and your dad's car not even being hooked up. In the end the rules should be enforced as stated. Please keep updating us on your racing endeavors and good luck!

BIGG18, I can agree with that, honestly. There was a point during the arguing in the staging lanes where I realized that there was nothing I could say or do to justify my car's entry into that class. That's when I gave up and took my medicine. I still think it's horse sh!t. Not to mention the only reason my dad went was because he was convinced by the two brothers to come follow a particular driver out, only to get disqualified from the race by the same people.

We've run our cars in the same way, with the same configuration, for the last 10 years and no one has ever batted an eye. Now all of a sudden, while neither of us are cheating, they decide to throw us out on a glorified technicality.

I very much appreciate the kind words and am looking forward to the next time I hit the track. We've had a few rain outs these past couple weeks, one for a heat index that was egregious and this coming weekend was canceled due to the forecast. So I don't know when that will be, but hopefully soon. And you can bet I'll be back here to report it at some point, win, lose, or draw.

[JP1738]

Originally Posted by Frank Castros

Dawson,
Hang in there kid. You got screwed and it sucks.
Frank

preach.

[pmrphil]

Huge difference between USING a throttle stop and "having" a stop. Our local track would only make sure any delay box OR stop was disconnected AND wiring removed and that was always good enough.
Yes, I agree, you guys got screwed, more than one way.
Pretty chicken ***** way to do things.
And wanting to see it in writing would probably not have helped - "the race director has final say" bullcrap is what you would have heard.

[Tim H]

My view is that the car with "all the technology to make it work" was illegal, sorry. The argument that you don't use it just doesn't fly with me. The other car that was not wired should not have been bounced.
I, like many others, truly appreciate your updates especially regarding the stocker. Thank you for those.

[Mike Gray]

Years ago I had a super-gas mustang that I would run in the Hot Rod Heritage races close to home. I ran into the throttle stop problem and disconnecting the wiring was not an option. The controller had to be completely removed from the car.

[JP1738]

Originally Posted by Tim H

My view is that the car with "all the technology to make it work" was illegal, sorry. The argument that you don't use it just doesn't fly with me. The other car that was not wired should not have been bounced.
I, like many others, truly appreciate your updates especially regarding the stocker. Thank you for those.

Fair enough, I can live with that. I did have it zip-tied open so even if I turned it on, it wouldn't work. That evidently was not disabled enough though.

Also, there was no universe where I could ever actually use it on purpose and still run the index, I'm simply not fast enough and all of the guys that we race with know that. But it was on the car, wired, and plumbed. Bad look either way, and like I said, I took my medicine. It just tasted like caster oil.

[JP1738]

Well I've busted *** all week to try to swap transmissions and converters in my Mazda but to absolutely no avail.

Monday I got the old worn out one ready to drop, Tuesday I got it out and on the ground and swapped shift levers inside the new transmission, and Wednesday (last night) my dad and I got the new transmission in the car. We ended up having to take it out a few times due to some fitment issues and had to drop the pan a few times to get the shift lever drilled out to the right location and size but eventually got everything in and squared away.

Upon first fire up around 11pm last night we realized it had a catastrophic fluid leak. Through further investigation, we discovered that the case was cracked around the upper cooler line fitting. An incredibly demoralizing and deflating revelation. So now the new transmission has to come back out again so I can stuff it in a new stock case. Sadly, I won't be hitting the track with it this weekend like I'd hoped to.

I posted the following on Facebook a few days ago while still in the process of getting the transmissions swapped:
"It is sad to see the old one come out though. The transmission that is coming out of the car was one of the last few race transmissions my grandfather built before he died. I think it?s longevity speaks to his transmission building prowess. It?s been behind 3 different engine combinations, 5 freshen ups, 11 years of abuse and thousands of runs. Nitrous, quarter mile, hot laps, it?s seen it all and never let me down. Even now there?s nothing wrong with it besides a worn out stock pump. Never been serviced, only flushed the fluid one time a few years ago, still looks brand new.

I moment of silence for the most reliable, abused transmission ever assembled."

[Perko]

I enjoy following your posts on the stocker wagon as wagons are just cool.
Went back and reread some of the thread on the wagon build and I didn't see what rear gear ratio you are using would you care to share that?
I feel your pain with brake trouble, but once you have it sorted out rear drum brakes work well. I found a shop that could re-arch the shores to the drum diameter and that really helped with the holding power on the rear especially after I started to turn up the two step launch rpm.
Keep up the good work, I admire your dedication to race and maintain two very different race cars.
Perko
5478 N/SA Aspen wagon

[Doug Domm]

Using 2 long shoes vs a short and a long made a big difference for me.

[JP1738]

Originally Posted by Perko

I enjoy following your posts on the stocker wagon as wagons are just cool.
Went back and reread some of the thread on the wagon build and I didn't see what rear gear ratio you are using would you care to share that?
I feel your pain with brake trouble, but once you have it sorted out rear drum brakes work well. I found a shop that could re-arch the shores to the drum diameter and that really helped with the holding power on the rear especially after I started to turn up the two step launch rpm.
Keep up the good work, I admire your dedication to race and maintain two very different race cars.
Perko
5478 N/SA Aspen wagon

Yeah the brakes still need a ton of work. It stops well, but loads the front suspension too much when stalling on the starting line. It lifts the front end too much and takes all the travel away, then spins the tire when there is no weight to transfer. So I'm stuck with leaving at a very low starting line RPM, usually 1500-2000 depending on the track. Just don't have enough rear brakes, relying too much on the disc fronts. Ideally I'd love to put a disc conversion on the back just to make life easier. They are simpler, less things to break, and work better overall.