My Sebring ride!, Update: Finished 44th out of 68. Fast lap of 2:43 Options

[ThePaintedMan]

So, no this is not 914 related, but some of you may know that I was attempting to have my car ready to run the Chumpcar 14 hours of Sebring in Sept. As is often the case with these things, the OTHER drivers who were supposed to pony up have not to date, and I just don't have the funds to finish the car appropriately on my own. We would be a joke, if not a hazard and I would rather get the car sorted correctly and have some fun on the street then rush into something. Maybe next year.

However, I saved enough money and set some aside to cover my own azz in just such an occasion. I started poking around on the forum and met a great team from Sebring - a father, son and brother in law looking for another driver. Though its not a 914, it is something I'm VERY familiar with.

'95 Mustang 5.0. Needless to say I'm very excited to be living one of my childhood dreams - driving a lap at Sebring. I'll let you all know how we do and post some more pics soon.

[ThePaintedMan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR38x4OPwg8


This is the full video from my day stint. I only got to drive twice, but you can see a lot more in this one than the night one. Anyhow, the more thorough run-down goes as follows:

We tested the car previously at PBIR to work out all of the gremlins, but 3 laps into the race, around 9:15 they returned. Lenard, the father of this family I was racing with, was in the car and it started backfiring heavily. He came back into the pits and we checked everything. Jason, the son and team captain said he changed everything after the test, from plugs to wires, coil, etc. I suggested it could be the distributor, or the Ignition module on it (Ford mounted it on the distributor for a long time till they realized how much heak soak occurred and was frying them). Instead, Jason sent the car back out, why, I do not know. Of course, it died in turn 3 and now it won't run at all. Takes them 30 minutes to tow back. I again suggest swapping out the dizzy, which he finally does, if nothing else to start eliminating things. Jason gets in the car, and it starts right up. He is able to run about 10 laps and it dies again. 30-45 minute tow and the car makes it back. The only thing left I can think to fix is the computer inside the cabin. Everyone thinks I'm crazy and says "Ain't no way its the computer man." I explain that I've owned Fords and Mustangs most of my life and just to freaking check it. Finally, I go in and do it myself even though its not my car. The computer is barely plugged in and the pins in the access port on the top are rubbing against metal, shorting out. I duct tape it and it starts right up again. Thats when I finally get put in the car, which is where the video starts. I think by this point we were already 60 or so laps down, so my goal is clear: have fun.

My first lap I was just about in tears, since it has always been a goal to get to turn laps there. My grandad was one of the founders of the local SCCA chapter and he raced at Sebring many a time, so this really hit home. My dad and my fiance also came down to watch, which was a big plus.

After the initial jitters, I start to really explore what the car can do. I'm trying to remember all of the words of wisdom that T.C., Paul, John, Chris and others have told me, but for the most part, I just explored. I would hit T1 right sometimes, and mess up 17. Or I'd get 17 and screw up 10. But like I said, one lap I turned a :43, which I was pleased with. I know that I never felt like I got any lap "perfect" and I really wasn't ever truly pushing. That tells me there is a lot of speed left in that car. The other problem is that I was running water temps around 235. No one else even came close to that, and I explained to Jason it was because I was heel-toeing, something they don't do. I had to back off at times and short-shift to keep the car cool. That reminds me - Jason runs a "gutted" thermostat in the car. That is, it has no center or spring portion, but the outer ring is still there to allow him to control the amount of water running through the engine. He claims if you leave it out completely, too much water will rush past the heads and not do a good enough job soaking up heat. I suggested he open it up more, since I was definitely running the car harder and hotter.

T.C. - I saw what you're saying about turning in early now. There was an instructor (Russ) at PBIR who noticed the same thing. The trick with the Mustang is it already has the tail-wagging-the-dog feeling, so when I turn in late, I always feel like I'm sliding the ass end around. That happened to me in the video above a few times in T1, which is fun, but not all that productive. Do I just need to brake longer first, then turn in later?

At the end of my stint, the car cuts out and won't re-fire. Its really sudden, but since we don't know how long it can go on fuel, I'm starting to think that we're out. Turns out to be a bad fuel pump, which on Mustangs, means you have to drop the whole thing. Of course we already filled the tank, so it has to be siphoned off first. Get the car running again and it starts POURING rain. Like harder than I've ever seen at Sebring. The Miatas are having a blast, but we're fuched. The windshield fogs over and Lenard brings the car back in, unable to drive. Within a lap however, Chumpcar red flags the race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlARnLClJug


I think it was about an hour before they got it dried out and we resumed. Jason took the car through the sunset and I got in right as it got DARK. Not to mention, it started drizzling again. So my first night laps at Sebring were in the rain, in a Mustang with headlights that weren't aimed at all.