El Camino project car

[CaminoRacer]

On Saturday I went down to the local tire shop to get some new rear tires. I had already looked up what I wanted on Tire Rack so I asked for a price match. They couldn't come down far enough ($442 total from tire rack, $475 if they ordered the tires for me) but I went ahead and had them ordered because I figured I would support a local business and maybe they would treat me better as well. False!

Tires were supposed to be at the shop on Monday afternoon, so I dropped off the wheels (wasn't going to let them touch the actual car) in the morning with the expectation that I could pick them up that evening. Nope! They ordered Conti DW, not DWS. So I had to wait until Tuesday before the correct tires could be delivered. Tuesday nights rolls around and they still weren't done. I called today (Wednesday) around noon and finally they were done. Went to go pick them up, have to explain that the guy I talked to on Saturday gave me a discount, and then while loading the wheels into the car we notice that there are nice new scratches on one wheel, in a nice circle pattern like the tire mounting machine decided to take a lick. Now I have to call them next week so they can fix it. So I paid them $50 extra to still screw things up.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

UGH!

[CaminoRacer]

INCOMPETENT IDIOTS DIDN'T BALANCE MY WHEELS CORRECTLY EITHER.

I'm surprised the tires are mounted the correct direction, that's the only thing they got right.

[68_427]

I just had to get a new tire mounted onto one of the Mazda's wheels.  I can't believe how fucking slow and stupid people are that work at tire shops.  My friend and I could have been done in 10 minutes but it took these guys 40 minutes, AND they're fucking dumb enough to think it's ok to have wheel weights on the outside of painted wheels.  Come on people.

[CaminoRacer]

While autocrossing on Sunday, one of the alternator bolts backed out and apparently the alternator torqued enough that the front half hit the cooling fan, breaking it off and sending it flying into the hood. This pic is after I touched up the paint so it wouldn't be quite as obvious. Sometime this week I'll call the guy who painted the car to see if he can fix the dent.

[CaminoRacer]

Other than the alternator, the weekend was a great success. I came in 2nd or 3rd and ran very fast considering the all season DWS06 tires. With Rivals or RE-71Rs, I would have been within spitting range of the $200k quasi racecars. I'm very happy with how it performs now.

[FoMoJo]

While autocrossing on Sunday, one of the alternator bolts backed out and apparently the alternator torqued enough that the front half hit the cooling fan, breaking it off and sending it flying into the hood. This pic is after I touched up the paint so it wouldn't be quite as obvious. Sometime this week I'll call the guy who painted the car to see if he can fix the dent.

Is that a teardrop on the hood ?

[68_427]

Saw that pic on protouring's IG

[CaminoRacer]

Is that a teardrop on the hood ?

Saw that pic on protouring's IG

Befriending photographers and giving them rides is a good way to get photos on IG

[CaminoRacer]

http://youtu.be/kPNXnYVrcUs

[giant_mtb]

Nice.

[CaminoRacer]

Finally got my wheel balance issue fixed. Just in time before I drive 1600 miles next weekend. Woulda been annoying to have it shaking the whole way.

[CaminoRacer]

CAM Challenge at Grissom AFB, one of the top autox sites in the nation

[CaminoRacer]

Check out them shiny headers poking out behind the front tire

[shp4man]

69 meant a completely different thing back in '69. Nice car, though. Is the helmet a requirement?

[CaminoRacer]

69 meant a completely different thing back in '69. Nice car, though. Is the helmet a requirement?

LOL it still does. I kept those number magnets on the fridge door last year and my roommate walked in and immediately started giggling at the innuendo.

Helmet is required for all SCCA races, but not for the Goodguys or NSRA events.

[CaminoRacer]

I swapped the rear springs from 175 lb to 300 lb. Should help a lot with hauling the motorcycle and other junk. I also needed to increase the rate to get rid of the squat under acceleration. The sway bars keep the body roll under control but I've been struggling to keep the squat and dive to a minimum. There's only so much stiff shocks can do for that. I'm going to increase the front rate from 550 lb to 650 lb as well, which should help prevent the corner-entry oversteer I get sometimes. Add in a front chassis brace to limit flex, and it should ride better as well.

[CaminoRacer]

In further preparation for motorcycle hauling, I bolted in some eyebolts. Same thing I mounted my racing harnesses with. Big 3" washers behind them. A little bit beefier than the stock one in the picture.

[CaminoRacer]

[CaminoRacer]

Looks like the oil leak was from the valve cover. That's a relief. I was worried about the main rear seal that I just replaced before putting the engine in.

[CaminoRacer]

I'll be getting a new steering wheel for Christmas. Black suede with a yellow stripe.

I'm debating a transmission swap, again. A Richmond 5 speed box doesn't have an overdrive, but it has a 3.27 first gear. So I'd swap the rear end from 3.36 to 3.08 or 2.73 and get the same or better first gear plus better highway rpm. It's also a much stronger transmission than my Saginaw.

[MrH]

Is it a four speed right now?

[CaminoRacer]

Yes. First gear is 2.85, fourth is 1:1.

[MrH]

T56 6 speed or bust!

[CaminoRacer]

I'd have to cut the floor up to fit one. A TKO500 or TKO600 would have a better chance of fitting.

[CaminoRacer]

Richmond also makes an overdrive 5 speed.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rmg-7020526b/overview/

This has a better ratio spread for my purposes. With a 3.55 rearend, I'd increase my overall 1st gear ratio from 9.5 to 10.2 while also dropping highway rpms by 500 rpm @ 70 (3000 to 2450). 3000 rpm is generally my comfortable upper limit for extended driving, which would be 86 mph with that setup. Much better.

They are also available with a 3.06 1st gear. With that, I could keep my 3.36 rearend and get the same overall ratio in 1st and have even better highway cruising rpms. However, 2nd gear is the same ratio so it'd be a bigger leap from 1st to 2nd.

[CaminoRacer]

Two header bolts fell out this weekend.

They didn't even give any warning. No exhaust leaks until they fell out.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Two header bolts fell out this weekend.

They didn't even give any warning. No exhaust leaks until they fell out.

Dude, header bolts always fall out. You should know better.

[CaminoRacer]

Well I ordered stainless ARP replacements. Stage 8 would be the best but I'm a poor college student.

[CaminoRacer]

I'll be getting a new steering wheel for Christmas. Black suede with a yellow stripe.