TheCracker's 2012/13 and 2014 race seasons

[TheCracker]

With the 2014 season imminent, it's probably time for me to fill in the gaps between my last thread, 2011 season, and one for this year. The mists of time have obscured many of the details, but here's a quick run down of what i can remember of a couple of pretty lean seasons racing.



2012

Silverstone May'12 - Historic GP Circuit


Qualified about 2/3rds way down a large 47 car field. Engine wasn't running cleanly due to a distributor/plug issue. With such a long circuit, you have a long way to go to get back to the pits in a short 20 minute session to see if anything could be done. Was 5 seconds down on the time i'd done there the previous year.

Race lasted all of a lap or so. Coming through the Becketts complex on the start of the second lap, i slid on oil and rotated several times before ending up on the infield, scattering the following pack. With the car now feeling down on power once more, i continued round off-line to get back to the pits to see if it could be rectified. Unbeknown to me, it was my own oil that i slid on and by the time the car expired 3/4 of the way round the circuit there was a nice line of oil for everyone else to discover, although thankfully mostly off line. Can't even remember what caused the leak. I wasn't especially popular back in the paddock.

(Photo by CharlieWooding)

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Croft August'12

By the looks of things, whatever gremlins were fouling the engine in Silverstone, were still present at Croft. i don't remember how qualifying panned out - and can't find any timing sheets of the session to jog my memory.

All i know of the race is that i was 14th at the end of the first lap (no idea of where i started on the grid) 14th again at the end of the 2nd before pitting before the start of the 3rd for several minutes then continuing around for one slow lap and retiring back in the pits. All i can recall is the engine feeling 'woolly' that weekend.

(Photo by CharlieWooding)

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Oulton Park Gold Cup August'12

First outing for the new Appendix-K class Cortina. The usual new car gremlins were afoot. The first time it was driven, to and from scrutnieering, it pulled badly to the right. Not a good sign. Lasted about half a lap of qualifying before pulling off at the Knickerbrook chicane. Trying to run the engine in. Gearbox was dreadful. Handled like an absolute pig with massive oversteer on righthand corners even when running as slowly as i did. I think it was a gearbox linkage issue that had me coasting with no available cogs.

With an oversubscribed field and me not completing the 3 laps needed to qualify, there was no chance that i'd be racing. Which was fine by me since by that time the heavens had opened and the racing of an unproven car with evil handling on a narrow, twisty sodden circuit didn't sound like fun. However, all the reserve cars (6 of them) are allowed to line up in the assembly area and follow the pack around on the warm-up lap before pulling off track before the grid lines up. Just in case anyone has dropped out or doesn't make it around. As it turned out, 2 of the qualified cars didn't make it for whatever reason, so the first two reserves would have been allowed to run. I was either 4th or 5th reserve. We'd took a look at the car between qualifying and the race and had fixed the gear selection issue, so a slow warm-up lap around was still a lap of testing. I went out expecting only that. However. Instead of waving off track the last four reserves, the marshals pointed us to (non-existant) grid positions. The lights quickly changed and i was racing!

I made up a few places at the start from the back of the grid, then managed four horrific wet laps before spinning at Cascades - just as the leaders came round to lap me - so decided to it best to retire at that point.

(Photo by CharlieWooding)

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Silverstone Finals Oct'12 - National Circuit

Again, hazy recollections have me unsure of exactly how the day panned out. We had both cars there, but issues with each left us struggling to get out for qualifying. My step brother made it out for a handful of laps in the Class B car, but i think it was a battery/ignition/alternator problem that left me in the paddock.

Knowing i wasn't a novice and had driven there many times before, they allowed me to follow the pace car round for a lap or two on the lunch break as my 'qualifying' session.

I lined up once more at the back of the grid, next to my step brother who hadn't done enough laps either to officially qualify. He started pretty well and began cutting through the field and eventually finishing a creditable 14th from a 36th place on the grid. Not all was rosy in my car though. I knew something was up when i struggled to keep up with the pack on the warm-up lap. I kept in front of a pair of DKW's for a few laps then retired on the fourth. My best lap was 22 seconds slower (on a 1.64 mile circuit) than i've managed there in the Class B car. The car wasn't really quick enough to see if any of the suspension tweaks we'd done had made it handle any better, certainly not on a wide dry track with few corners. That would have to wait until next season...

(Photo by CharlieWooding)

v 'Team' Shot (Sam, step brother's son, is already a Lotus Cortina fan)

2013....to be continued

 

[TheCracker]

Ignore

 

[TheCracker]

2013
Thruxton March'13

A new circuit for us as a club. A new 'Easter Revival' meeting for the track. I'd expected Thruxton to suit the Class B Cortina. It's pretty stable in long quick corners, of which Thruxton has many, and the gearing which is too long for a twistier track like Oulton Park (where i barely get into 4th) i thought would be ideal here.

Few of us had driven the circuit before and those that had hadn't done so for many years so no one had much of an advantage in qualifying. Although some had been there on the Friday before testing. Unfortunately during practice it turned out that the gearing wasn't as ideal as i thought it would be. There's a long fast right hander at the back of the circuit called Church which is taken with a slight lift in top. By the time i was drifting to the curbing at the exit of the corner i was hitting maximum revs and had to back off all the way up the next uphill straight (Brooklands?) to the chicane at the end of the lap. I must have been loosing 2 or 3 seconds a lap from that. C'est la vie. Qualified middle of the pack in 13th.

Lost a few places at the start of the race due to being boxed in by a slow starting car in front and a quick starting car alongside. By the time i'd got to the Campbell/Cobb complex i'd probably dropped 4 or 5 positions. As the pack approached the almost flat out Noble, a couple of cars at the head of the field collided flipping one and rolling it back across into the infield skidding along on it's roof. Looked pretty serious from where i was, so backed off as did most of the cars around me expecting the race to be red flagged. But no flags got shown until the start/finish straight. Chaos ensued and some of the cars further back that may not have noticed the car flip, didn't see or expect the red flags and barreled round through the chicane into the halted grid ahead. No one was hurt but several cars were damaged enough not to make the restart.

Made a better start second time around and held position. Ending up having a good tussle with a couple of the quicker Imps. I was all over them through the quick long Goodwood/Village/Church right handers, but as soon as we got on the back straight where i had to throttle back, they'd pull away again. About 2/3rds way through the race they hesitated slightly with a back marker and i dived up the inside of them on the approach to Church. Blocked any attempt to pass me back on the run upto the chicane, then managed to pull out 10 seconds on them before the finish.

Finished 12th and was generally pleased with how the race went. Was just a shame about the gearing issue. I did have a camera in the car, but the memory card filled itself with the lengthy gap between the race stopping and the restart. So have some pix instead:

Cadwell Park Apr'13

I was out again in the Class B Cortina and my step brother having his first outing in the Appendix K car - cars are now referred to as 'Bea' and 'Kay'. Kay had it's engine rebuilt over the winter break and was taken to a chassis set-up specialist to try and heal it's handling woes. Although the shell it was built on looked straight and clean, it must have had some previous damage at some point or maybe just twisted or distorted with age because the suspension mounting points were slightly out. We're only talking millimeters, but it's enough to make it a pig.

I've already mentioned what happened in one of the Premium threads, but here's a quick refresh of the events. Went out for qualifying. Did about half a lap warming the car up. Let a couple of cars past me a the start of the back 'straight' to give me some space. Put my foot down. Bang.

Big clatter from under the car, thought i must have run over some debris or maybe the prop shaft had detached because suddenly there was no drive. I pulled off at the side of the track and got out. Had a quick peer under the back of the car to try and see what had happened. Couldn't see any obvious damage, but the alloy fuel tank that sits just behind the rear axle had a hole in it and a little trickle of fuel was pouring out. Had the hole been slightly larger the limp trickle could of quite easily squirted far enough to contact the hot live axle or rear brakes. Could have been quite nasty. Car was towed back to the paddock and we set about taking the tank out to empty it and try and patch it before the race.

Couldn't check to see if the car would still run until the fuel tank was mended and refitted, but whilst the Araldite was drying (the tanks not pressurised so plugging the hole temporarily is a sufficient bodge) i took the bonnet off for a quick peek to check for oil or water leaks etc. Noticed a slight oil leak - out of the fist-sized hole in the block where a piston had made a bid for freedom. Explained the clattering under the car and the hole in the tank. Chunks of cast iron block. Were going to need more Araldite.

Brands Hatch July'13 - GP Circuit

Another new circuit for me. Oddly i'd been under the impression i'd driven there before, but a mixture of racing on the Indy circuit and being a passenger at a trackday there, had my brain muddled. Beautiful circuit, but probably not as well suited to Kay as it is the torquier Bea - with Bea now out of action for the rest of the season whilst a new block was sourced.

Struggled in qualifying with learning a largely new circuit and suffering an increasingly obtuse gear change. Something that's been an issue with Kay from day one. Only had the slower cars around me on the new to me sections, so didn't learn much about lines or braking points. Qualified 2/3rds way down the grid.

Made a reasonable start to the race, but was a little timid heading into Paddock Hill Bend and was badly placed for the next couple of turns, losing a couple of places. Kay still hadn't actually finished a race at that point so with this in mind i wasn't going to be too aggressive. Had an enjoyable battle with a Mustang for four laps or so, eventually getting back past him. Couldn't make much more progress after that as there were a number of yellow flag zones around the circuit. Not long after, the gearbox gave up and i had to pull in.

Croft Aug'13

The two day meeting at Croft's 'Nostalgia Weekend' is turning into a not to be missed event. For us at least. You get a race on Saturday and on Sunday. There's plenty of other stuff to do during down time. Car displays, air displays, vintage military stuff displays. Period dressing-up, stalls etc. Like a smaller Goodwood Revial without the pomp. But it's mostly great because it's local for us and it's August, when the weather is likely to be as good as it going to get.

I have very little recollection of how quali went, but looking back at the timing sheets, i managed only a handful of laps and was in and out of the pits. My guess is gear change issues once more.

Had an uneventful first race, of which i can't remember much. My lap times were up and down which signifies to me that the gearbox was still rather recalcitrant. I was probably still keen on cruising it to the finish, as Kay still hadn't managed that in her half a dozen or so previous races. But on what should have been the end of my penultimate lap, i caught some dropped oil and half spun off into the barriers on the short mickey mouse stretch before the final hairpin. It's the slowest part of the track, but the barriers on the outside are very close to the track and are not covered with a layer of tyre-wall. I slid sideways along the narrow strip of grass before connecting with the armco almost straight on. There was a hell of a crunch but the drivers side headlight and wing-front took the brunt of it, bending the wing around the light (but not braking the inset glass headlight) the chrome surround took the impact then rolled itself between the armco and front of the car. It looked like a chunk of scrunched up tin foil after that, but had protected the front from much more damage. Sacrificed itself for a worthy cause. But another retirement!

Had plenty of time to repair the front wing for the second race the following day, but would have to start from near the back of the grid with the other 1st race retirees. Made an average start, narrowly avoiding being taken out on the first corner by a Mini, enthusiastically driven by a popular Saturday morning TV chef (who managed to take out another Lotus Cortina a few laps later ) Had a decent race, catching and passing a couple of the cars that had been much quicker the previous day, before the car started overheating and i had to ease right back. It was a hot day and the car had probably done the most consecutive laps up to that point. It was a shame to not be able to race right up to the finish, but at least the car finally finished a race!

Silverstone Finals Oct'13 - National Circuit

Missed a few mid-season races due to holidays etc, but made it to the final race with Kay now fitted with the bigger radiator from Bea. Qualifying was a washed out affair. Rain had stopped but the track was still very damp, especially just off line. Managed to spin early on at Copse - which is largely blind due to the pit exit wall. New nomex was nearly required finding myself point back the way i came with almost a full field of cars passing closely either side of me. Ended up 4/5ths down the grid. It also signified that the car's handling still isn't fully sorted. it seems to be very sensitive to tyre pressures and track temperatures.

Made an uncharacteristically good start to the race and climbed from 19th to 13th by the end of the first lap. Held onto that place for a couple of laps before the gearbox started playing up again. Where previously it was reluctant to change down to second, it was now struggling to stay in second once eventually found. It would jump back into neutral as soon as you tried to get back on the power. We've had similar problems with Bea jumping out of 4th gear for years. It's not ideal, but you can at least hold the stick in place and whilst driving with one hand in quick 4th gear corners. But when it's second gear, you are going to be in a much tighter radius corner and need both hands for the wheel. My lap times went up and i started dropping down the field. Still managed a decent tussle with a BMW for a few laps, but was ultimately fighting a losing battle. Finished 16th in the end, but the cars i'd been holding station with before the gearbox issues finished 6th and 7th, so at least the new car was finally showing some potential.

A season of disappointing results overall. But had some very enjoyable races, which is the main thing. The car was weighed after the last race and was found to be about 40kgs over the 751kg minimum in the regs, so there is more pace to be found in it.

2014

The gearbox has been rebuilt over the winter and was found to be botched together with mismatching components, so there's no wonder it never worked properly. It also has new mag-alloy gearbox and diff housings and a larger alloy radiator. It was raced a couple of week ago at Donington (not me driving) and was weighed again after the race. We're now only 19kgs over weight and the new gearbox works perfectly. It apparently still feels unpredictable on a damp or cold surface, but we are going to try adjusting the dampers and trying some different springs at the front to try and get better parity between the front and back - but as anyone who messes around with this stuff in Gran Turismo, it's a bit of a dark art.
I'll be out this coming weekend at Thruxton, but in Kay this time. Bea has a fresh engine, but we've not had time to fit it and run it in yet.

 

[TheCracker]

Thruxton Apr'14

*sighs* I'll make this quick because there isn't really much to tell. Went out in Kay for qualifying. Engine was misfiring above 6000 revs. Did a handful of laps to see if it would clear, but it didn't. Various ignition and fuel system items were checked or replaced before the race and we were hopeful that the issue was sorted. Lights went out and I made a decent start. Unfortunately Thruxtons grid is very tightly packed. The car infront of the car infront of me failed to get away so the car behind it, a Galaxie 500xl, set off but imidiately had to slam on so as not to hit it, a car as wide as that left me no alternative but to do the same. Got to the first turn in last place. Had a lap or twos dice with the Galaxie, but it was obvious that the engine issue was still unresolved. It had been revving cleanly before the race, but until it's under load, you never get the full picture. I pulled in and retired at the end of the 3rd lap. There was a 2nd race the next day, but it was due to piss it down that day, so we decided to pack up and go home.

Silverstone GP circuit May'14

We took both the 1600 and 2000cc cars down for this one. I was due to drive Bea, the 2ltr one, it's first race since I managed to blow its engine at Cadwell Park last year. It's freshly rebuilt engine installed, needed a little running in, so was driven around for 20 minutes around one of Silverstones many car parks the night before. We were called out for qualifying, but couldn't get the engine to fire. Hooked it up to the back my dads Merc, and we towed it around to bump start it, managing to get it running moments before the session began. Kept the revs bellow 6500-7000 for a couple of laps just to be sure it was decently run in before I went for a time (it will rev to 8000/8500 normally). Came up to the right hand kink before the start/finish line at the end of the 2nd lap and I detected the engine suddenly feeling tight. Came off the throttle and knocked it into neutral, but BANG!. I knew straight away what it was this time. Destroyed another block.

It's far too much of a coincidence that two engines have blown in a row, in Bea, after only a couple of light-throttle warm-up laps. There has to be some issue, probably with the oil supply, maybe the oil pump, for this to happen with such little warning beforehand. Kay (1600) made a decent start, gaining 4 or 5 places on the first lap or the race before the engine started missing again and was retired. Needless to say, morals and wallets are low right now.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Great pictures and thanks for sharing your experiences. Lady luck hasn't been nice to you and your team but things can only get better. Gremlins are a part of racing, even more when doing it in classics but I'd say you must have a clear diagnostic of what has failed in the 2 L engine (twice) so it won't happen again. Best of luck, keep it up!

 

[TheCracker]

Brands Hatch GP July'14

Another race in the 1600 car, engine freshly back from a refresh. Was installed the Saturday morning before handing down that afternoon, but couldn't be fired up before putting it on the trailer as part of the fittings for the oil pressure gauge snapped when trying to refit it. A replacement (or four) was sourced for when we got to the circuit.

Part was fitted first thing the next morning, but the engine wouldn't fire. Took hours to source the problem, eventually discovering a tiny bit of broken carbon in the distributor cap. By the time the engine was running, qualifying had begun so there as no opportunity to set the engine timing, so I'd have to just try and get the needed three laps in whilst keeping below 5500 revs. I joined the session near to the end, so spent it keeping out of everyone's way. Got my laps in, but would have to start from he back of the grid with a quali time 46 seconds off my best lap last year.

On my way through the paddock to the grid the car struggled at low revs, and come the start I bogged down and was left trailing into the first turn. Made some places up braking into Druids, but then spent a lap and a half or so behind a Volvo Amazon. Passed it and a couple of others before easing up behind an Alfa and a Triumph 2000. Spent another couple of laps behind the Alfa before managing to get passed on the run out of Druids down to the left hander at Surtees.

The Triumph would prove a little harder to get by. Being a 2ltr, 6cyl car, it has plenty of poke down the straights, but he took very defensive lines into the braking zones. I could make plenty of ground up under braking and into the apex, but his car gets the power down really well coming out of the turns. This 1600 Cortina isn't as planted as our other one, and i struggle with its scrappy handling in the medium speed turns, which loses time in the exits. I kept pressure up as best I could and eventually got alongside him through Clearways and out braked him into Paddock Hill bend. Pulled a gap on them over the next two laps but the rest of the field was too far ahead.

Had I made a better start and looking at my lap times over the last couple of laps, I should have finished about mid pack. My best lap was almost 3 seconds quicker than I managed last year. I probably would have gone quicker still, but when you're following other slower cars, you get sucked into braking where they do and cornering the same speed that they do. When you do manage to get past, you find that you're not quite sure where your ideal brake and turn in points are. You get used to seeing their brake lights come on then try to brake slightly later still. When you don't have that as a guide you can suddenly find yourself baking earlier than you had been doing. Still, low-rev issues aside, the car should be in good health for Croft in a couple of weeks 👍

Forgot to pack the camera, so no vids unfortunately, but I'll dig out some pix to illustrate tomorrow.

 

[homeforsummer]

for Croft in a couple of weeks

Is that the nostalgia weekend? If so, I might have to get along to that.

 

[TheCracker]

Is that the nostalgia weekend? If so, I might have to get along to that.

It's worth a visit. Apart from the racing, there are plenty of classic and vintage car exhibitions and various stalls - mostly with a vintage or military theme. I guess it's like a smaller scale Goodwood Revival with a bigger emphasis on military stuff, and its all a bit more blue-collar and northern in it's execution.

 

[TheCracker]

 

[TheCracker]

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/acdc-singer-brian-johnson-race-7520977

I hope he hasn't got too used to that Floridian sunshine. It's due to piss it down both days

 

[daan]

Is that the nostalgia weekend? If so, I might have to get along to that.

It's worth a visit. Apart from the racing, there are plenty of classic and vintage car exhibitions and various stalls - mostly with a vintage or military theme.

Looks like I'll be able to come down for this. We're off on holiday just now but aren't away anywhere, so we've booked nearby Travelodge for sat and sun. We should get there for lunchtime-ish on the sat, and all day Sunday.

Where's the good places to stand at croft for pictures?

 

[homeforsummer]

Where's the good places to stand at croft for pictures?

More or less anywhere, really. You get a good view through the fence at the first turn, there's banking all around the first complex but again the fences are fairly close to the track, the chicane after the complex is good for photographs too. The back end of the circuit isn't accessible but from Sunny onwards there's banking again, all with a good view of the track.

Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to make it along any more, though I'll keep my eye on the weather as it's expected to be a bit changeable.

 

[TheCracker]

Well, if either of you do end up coming, be sure to come and say 'hi'!

Still not sure if i'm racing or my step brother as yet.

As HFS stated, The stand and banking around the first corner, Clervaux gives you a good, if obstructed, view down the start/finish straight, around the Clervaux/Hawthorn complex and back down the back straight. The long stretch of banking between Sunny Out and the Complex gives you a good, mostly unobstructed view of almost all the rest of the circuit. The two are only a short walk away from each other. Croft is one of the better UK circuits to watch the action 👍

Bring rain gear!

 

[TheCracker]

*UPDATE*

If daan or HFS are still pondering visiting. I will be driving both days. Latest forecast has sun and rain all day Saturday but dry and sunny on the Sunday.

If either of you wants my mobile number, PM me and I'll supply.

 

[daan]

*UPDATE*

If daan or HFS are still pondering visiting. I will be driving both days. Latest forecast has sun and rain all day Saturday but dry and sunny on the Sunday.

If either of you wants my mobile number, PM me and I'll supply.

Didn't make today, (ended up driving an MX3 from Gourock to a secret location in the north of England) but I'll certainly be there tomorrow.

 

[Bo]

@TheCracker, making it to Gold Cup this year?

 

[homeforsummer]

Didn't make today, (ended up driving an MX3 from Gourock to a secret location in the north of England) but I'll certainly be there tomorrow.

Seriously debating popping up to Croft myself today having seen the weather.

 

[homeforsummer]

​

 

[TheCracker]

Was great to catch up with daan and meet Mrs daan and HFS on the Sunday 👍

Just a shame i was unable to provide much of a show for them with an increasingly poorly car

Will provide a report later.

@TheCracker, making it to Gold Cup this year?

Hopefully, but it really depends on whether we can get to the bottom of whatever it is that's ailing the engine. It has to be either the fueling or the spark. Oil pressure and temperature were fine, so it's not an engine issue.

 

[daan]

Great to meet you and your dad, @TheCracker. Sorry to hear of your continuing car issues, but I seem to have come away with a few photos of a Lotus Cortina...

Lotus Cortina @ HSCC Croft by GTdaan, on Flickr

Lotus Cortina @ HSCC Croft by GTdaan, on Flickr

And a token picture of the 2nd most famous bloke in the race...

Brian Johnson (AC/DC) Mini @ HSCC Croft by GTdaan, on Flickr

More photos

 

[TheCracker]

Thanks for the excellent pictures, chaps 👍

Caught with HFS after the race, but missed Mr & Mrs daan. I wandered up onto the banking where HFS had said he'd seen you both during the race, but couldn't see you.

 

[daan]

Caught with HFS after the race, but missed Mr & Mrs daan. I wandered up onto the banking where HFS had said he'd seen you both during the race, but couldn't see you.

Sorry about that. We left just after your race in order to escape before the crowds.

 

[TheCracker]

Croft Aug'14

Two day, two race meeting at the aforementioned Nostalgia Weekend. Weather wasn't looking good on the forecast in the week running up to it, and sure enough it rained on and off on the Saturday. When i say on and off, it rained during qualifying and it rained during the race. The rest of the time, it didn't

Qualifying was interrupted by a collision between a couple of cars at Sunny Out, leaving one against the barriers and bringing out the red flag by the time most competitors had just finished 3 laps. By the time the session restarted, the rain had gotten worse and i don't think anyone improved their times. I qualified 12th, next on the grid to a certain cap-wearing Geordie of some notoriety.

The rain was even heavier for Race 1. Didn't make a great start, the car bogged down and i had to dip the clutch and pile on the revs again to get away. Made up a few places as the pack ahead concertinaed into the first complex of corners, but the spray ahead was too much for the single wiper, and a lack of ventilation started to cause the screen to mist up on the right hand side. Nine of the circuits thirteen corners are right handers, so finding an apex, or even a corner, through the spray and misting was a challenge to say the very least. I even had the foresight to stuff a wad of paper beside me in the seat, but with the belts tightened i couldn't reach the screen. After a lap or so the rain subsided, but the track just seemed to get greasier and greasier. I was short shifting and trying to take corners in a higher gear to aid traction, but it just got worse and worse. In the end i just decided to cruise it to the finish, hoping that a few cars would drop out so i wouldn't have to start Sunday's race right at the back. Turns out that the tyre pressures at the back were up at 40psi. We normally run them at about 30psi in the dry, and drop them slightly if its wet. No wonder it felt so bad, but then everyone who i spoke to after the race confirmed that for some reason the track did get more and more slippy as the race went on.

A massive thunder storm overnight cleared the indifferent weather away, and Sunday turned out to by dry and warm, if mostly cloudy. Perfect conditions. Made a great start and was up to about 10th into the first corner, almost running into the back of Brian Johnson going into the second - i'd set myself the goal of beating him in this race. I lost a place to an Imp who'd taken advantage of me running wide to avoid hitting the back of the Mini, but was still running just behind them by the start of the second lap. Unfortunately the engine started to develop a wooly patch higher up in the rev range which just spread as the race went on. I was a sitting target for the pack behind me and was soon tumbling down the order. Before long i'd resigned myself to cruise it to the finish as i had done in the first race. It might be that the car had started suffering similarly in the first race, but with me feathering the car around even on the straights, i'd not have noticed.

Was a shame to not have a competitive race all weekend, but at least there was no blown engine. As i mentioned above to @hsv the oil temp and pressure were fine all through the race, so there's nothing majorly wrong with it. More likely that its an electronics issue, maybe a fuel issue, which looking back has blighted us all season with this car. Whether we can get to the bottom of it before the next race, we'll see.

 

[TheCracker]

Oulton Park Gold Cup Aug'14

Weather forecast was for rain all day so didn't bother taking the in-car camera, so no vids for this event. With the car only having a wiper on the driver's side, you ain't seeing nowt but rain drops through a passenger side mounted camera on a wet day. Blame autofocus.

Track was wet for qualifying, but it had at least ceased raining. Didn't feel like i'd gotten a decent clean lap in or even really pushed the car, but managed a surprising 16th out of 32, which was promising for the 1600 car which still handles awful in the wet.

Made a decent initial getaway at the start of the first race but a slow-starting Mustang a few rows ahead bunched everyone up on my side of the grid. By the time i reached the first turn and the run down through Cascades i'd lost 2 or 3 places. I could see very little through the spray. The wiper, which we've discovered is probably an Escort one, is a little too long and is riding up over the screen rubber at the top of it's sweep. So there's a nice untouched section just where i need to look through the screen...

Took a dive down the inside of someone on the run down to the Hislop's/Knickerbrook chicane on the second lap, but ended up poorly placed for the 2nd lefthand apex, which had me taking too much curb on the exit, resulting in an uncatchable tank-slapper finishing with a neat, if slow, pirouette. I was left at 45 degrees to the track, but i'd thankfully dipped the clutch to stop it from stalling. I let what i thought was the rest of the still tightly packed pack through then set off after them. However. I must have been further up the field then i thought and when i rejoined the circuit i was collected by an Austin A40 that clattered into the side of the car. Handling felt worse so was unsure if it had caused any damage to the steering or bent a wheel arch onto the tyres, i pulled into the pits a lap or so latter. It seemed pointless to carry on not being able to see out of a car that handled like crap.

Sums up the first race

I was pretty down after the first race and i wasn't sure i wanted to bother with the second race, especially after a call to see the Race Director for a slapped wrist following my 'unsafe rejoin'. I explained that because of the angle i ended up at, i was unable to see what was behind in my mirrors, and because i was now wearing a Hans device, i couldn't turn my head enough to see over my shoulder. The officials accepted this so no further action. I did feel i needed to go grovel to the A40 owner, who hadn't raced with us before and who'd already been overheard complaining about being hit twice during qualifying. The damage to his car had just been taken by the front wheel and he'd carried on and finished the race. Damage to the Cortina was limited to a caved in drivers door panel, what will just push out.

Rain had eased off following that first race and we'd decided we'd take a look at a 'wet setup' There was no time to change the front coil springs, the rears being leafs anyway, but the shocks are adjustable and we decided to set them all to their softest settings. Turns out the rears were set differently anyway on either side, which might explain the inconsistency in the handling of this car that i've complained about all along. I also bent a neat loop into the wiper arm so it would do it's arc purely on the glass and not the surrounding rubber.

With these modifications made i felt a bit better about starting the second race, even though it had started raining quite heavily again. I'd be starting from the back of the field, so it could be used as a test session if nothing else.

Didn't make a great getaway at the start. Mainly die to the start lights not working and the race 'apparently' being started by a waved flag instead, which i couldn't see from where i was sat. I'm there waiting for the lights to come on then go off, but before i know it everyone's setting off. I gave chase and was already up behind everyone by the time i crossed the start line, but was just faced with an impenetrable wall of spray and rain lights. As the field thinned out a bit through the first few turns i could feel the felt so much better than previously and i actually had some confidence to push the car. After 3 or 4 laps of picking cars off, i found myself behind the same Alfa and Triumph 2000 that i'd had a good dice with at Brands Hatch earlier in the year. They were already passing and re-passing then blocking each other by the time i caught them. So although i had more pace it was going to be difficult to pass, especially on a narrow circuit like Oulton. I had a couple of hairy moments where i had to take a wheel to the grass as i tried to make a pass in the breaking area just as one of them tried to do the same to the other. But in the end i got them both and quickly pulled out a lead. Unfortunately as i'm sure i've mentioned before, when you suddenly find yourself with a clear track ahead after a qualifying session and a race and a half of following other cars, your breaking points aren't always so clear when you are used to using other car's break lights as your own points. I locked a rear wheel in the bumpy Lodge Corner breaking zone and the resulting rear axle bounce flicked the back end out as i turned in and i half spun the car and they both got passed me again.

A VW Beetle had expired and left a nice oil slick all the way from just before Knickerbrook all the way up Clay Hill by this point and because of the rain and the steepness of the hill it had dispersed nice and evenly instead of just leaving a line, which made that part of the circuit very interesting indeed! @hsv said he watched the race from there, so i'm sure he can vouch for that

I was back up with the Alfa and Triumph quite quickly, but gremlins had crept back in and the engine was refusing to rev over 6000. The gearing meant using top (4th) was redundant anywhere on the circuit, especially in the wet. So i had been using mostly 3rd and only down to 2nd for the tighter chicanes. i was soon dropping back down through the field, but since the oil pressure was still looking healthy, i just decided to nurse it home once more. No idea where i finished.

Start of the second race

Not a great end to a largely frustrating day. But the car felt so much better handling-wise so i've come away feeling positive about it all. Will probably leave it fully 'soft' for the next race, wet or dry, and see how it feels like that. It's amazing how much quicker you go when you have some confidence in predicting when the back end will let go, instead of knowing that at some unknown point between turn in and apex (and beyond) the back end will suddenly snap out on you. Still not sure why the engine went off like it did. Initial thoughts were that some damp had gotten into the electrics somewhere. Again, frustrating as the car had been on the rolling road just prior to this race to get to the bottom of the 'woolly' feeling it had at the end of the last race. Turns out the alternator was working itself loose. But it had been running strongly at Oulton Park until then.

Spa was due to be our next outing. But it's a long way to go and an awful lot of hassle taking time off work etc when we aren't sure what's up with the electrics and/or fueling now, so that's now not happening.

 

[Bo]

I'd watched from Cascades, but saw the run from Knickerbrook. R2 was like rallycross.

 

[TheCracker]

Gremlins are a part of racing, even more when doing it in classics but I'd say you must have a clear diagnostic of what has failed in the 2 L engine (twice) so it won't happen again. Best of luck, keep it up!

Turns out it was a sheared jackshaft which fubar'd the engine. A new block has been sourced and a rebuild is underway. Again.

Think the Appendix-K car will be sold at some point this year. If we can get to the bottom of it's handling issues and get the decent results it should be capable of, it will be a much better proposition for someone.




*edit* Turns out it wasn't just a sheared jackshaft* in the engine that caused the issue with the 2ltr engine/s. The Class B car is currently getting spruced up a little to be sold, including replacing the boot-mounted dry sump reservoir to a custom crafted one now placed in the corner of the engine bay. The change in placement means re-routing the oil pipes. Whilst doing so it was noticed that the pipe that feeds the dry sump had a slight kink in it, even though it was an braided-metal aeroquip hose. There was enough movement in the engine on it's mounts under load that the kink was closing or substantially restricting the flow of oil into the sump - resulting in oil starvation* and subsequent couple of blown engines we had in the more recent seasons. It explains why the engine showed no problems when dyno'd and blew quickly and unexpectedly when transitioning from a restricted revs run-in to a full blown hot lap. The location of the oil pressure gauge also meant that it would only register a drop in pressure when it was already spilling out of a massive hole in the side of the block.


Also: (as seen elsewhere in the Premium section of this forum Easter 2015) - the reason why the Appendix_K car was never sold.

 

[GBO Possum]

I may have been hiding under a rock for some years, but what a delight to happen upon this thread with those classic shots of front wheels off the ground.

Back in Australia in the 1960s, I marveled at the Cortinas on the track, and followed the Neptune Racing Team avidly.

Just in case @TheCracker hasn't seen this, here's a link...

Made In Australia: Jim McKeown and the world's fastest Lotus-Cortina - Shannons Club

Jim McKeown posing proudly with his Neptune Racing Team Lotus-Cortina at the height of their powers in the mid-1960s. Jim was based at Kilsyth at the foot of th...

club.shannons.com.au

 

[TheCracker]

I may have been hiding under a rock for some years, but what a delight to happen upon this thread with those classic shots of front wheels off the ground.

Back in Australia in the 1960s, I marveled at the Cortinas on the track, and followed the Neptune Racing Team avidly.

Just in case @TheCracker hasn't seen this, here's a link...

Made In Australia: Jim McKeown and the world's fastest Lotus-Cortina - Shannons Club

Jim McKeown posing proudly with his Neptune Racing Team Lotus-Cortina at the height of their powers in the mid-1960s. Jim was based at Kilsyth at the foot of th...

club.shannons.com.au

That’s a good read. I had heard about and seen the Neptune cars and their distinctive livery, but hadn’t realised how well they performed. It sounds like they were making similar power to the best Appendix K, ‘Goodwood Revival’, cars do these days, although the mods they made back then wouldn’t pass today’s regulations. With the suspension mods and engine upgrades, they were probably closer to what we were allowed within the HSCC. 👍