Corssing the start/finish line during the first session, taken by Russell Hall
Pulling the trans was actually easier than expected. In went the Fidanza, along with a Valeo stock replacement clutch. The stock clutch is supposed to be good to 375-400 RWHP, and I don't drag race, so hopefully it will last. I got it all back together, and.............
Everything went great. No problems so far (with the clutch anyway). I got the car back together on Sunday the 8th, and drove it all week to break it in before the track day on the 15th. Break in went excellent, and the clutch was ready to rock for TWS. I also replaced my power brake booster. A while back, I lost most of the brake assit, and a hissing sound could be heard when the brake pedal was depressed. I got a used booster from ebay for a mere $50. Replacing it was....fun. I'm not sure I could have done it myself; big thanks to Jeff Tilton for swinging the hammer under the dash to get everything lined up :)
So, after freezing my ass off working corner 13 on Saturday, it was finally time to run on Sunday. MSC was running CCW (the normal direction) which I haven't run in quite a while. My previous best this direction was a 1:54, but that was run in April, which is practically summer here in Texas. The forecast for Sunday was bit colder: started out in the low 30's, a high in the low 50's, and sun all day. Great for power, and great for tires if I can get them hot. For tires, I had a set of used Hoosier R3S04's. I got a great deal on them from a fellow CorvetteForum member (thanks Chad!). I wanted to change tires at the track, but my hatch was FROZEN SHUT! So, I changed them at the house. I go out for the first session, and the tires come up to temp well, despite the cold. The car feels good: the oil and water temps are great (surprise, surprise), and the is working well. I don't get passed at all in the first session, and run some decent 1:58's when I'm not stuck in traffic. One scary moment: going into 10 on the rear bumper of a Spec Racer Ford, I almost ran him over. He braked WAY sooner than I expected, especially for such a small car. I hit the brakes hard, and locked up the Hooisers. For a moment it felt very possible I would hit him, but luckily I ended up stopping with a few feet to spare.
Session 2 went equally as well. I pushed harder, and the car went faster. Russell timed me at a 1:53. Faster, but not there was still time to be had. I didn't get passed at all, and, in fact, I don't think anyone else was below two minutes. I was still not going flat into turn 1; I wasn't braking on the oval, but there was a big lift (I have taken it flat in the past). The aluminum flywheel performed great. The engine reved noticibly quicker, and I had to make some adjustments to my heel-toe technique due to this (smacked the limiter once going into 3, ooops).
Corssing the start/finish line during the first session, taken by Russell Hall
Middle of turn 10 during the second sesson, taken by Russell Hall
Heading out for the fateful third session, with a dual finger salute for Russell and Eric, taken by Russell Hall
Session 3 rolls around, and this time I make sure and get to grid first. So far I hadn't been passed, and no one in my run group seemed to be as quick as me (and losing time to pass slow cars sucks). This session was good: the car was running good, and I got some fast-feeling, clear laps. I make it most of the way through the session, and I'm headed into turn 12 (90+ mph left hander). I just happen to look down at the gages and I notice the oil pressure gage is low. As soon as the car straightens out, it goes right back up to about 45 psi. It didn't go all the way to zero (maybe 15 psi?), but it definitely went down. Going into the esses, it does the same thing: way down, but not to zero. This seems odd; the car had plenty of oil, as I had checked it right before this session started and I keep it 1 quart over-full. I decide to stay out and see what it does for another lap. I pull onto the front straight at WOT in 3rd gear, get up to about 95, and then this....
If you look at the far right, you can see the smoke from the big boom, taken by Russell Hall
Something went boom in a big way. There was a loud bang, the car shut off, and I coasted to a stop about the start/finish line. The session is still going on, so I am fored to stay in my car as other cars whiz by at 100+. The session gets black-flagged, and I get out to inspect the damage. I lost all of my oil. There is a hole in the oil pan from something that was spinning, and then ceased spinning very rapidly. The car was loaded onto the flatbed, and taken back to my pit space (while still leaking the remaining oil). After getting it back to the pits, we took a closer look in and under the engine compartment, and a hole was found in the oil pan. Ouch. I borrowed a trailer, my dad's truck, and with Russell and Eric, we towed it back to my house.
Being loaded on the flat bed after the big boom, taken by Russell Hall
This definitely puts a damper on the project, and I'm not sure how long it will take to fix, or what motor will end up in it's place...