Something completely different

The Lemon's organizers just posted this link on their facebook page and pointed out that indeed this Car and Driver team is the same as the Lemon's Car and Driver team.  

Made me wonder if they have some new penalties in store for the next race.   It would be fun if they dolled out having to do the parking space 180 over and over until you get it right or the Sumo-wrestling for car-to-car contact resolution.

Rental-Car-Olymics YouTube video

Lodging For Sears Pointless

I have made reservations for 6 rooms at the Novato Travelodge. The Hotel is about 10 minutes West of the track. In the comments section please let me know if you need the a room with the number of bodies.

1) Grandpa and Grandma

2) Cindy, and Muddy

3)

4)

5)

6)

Travelodge Novato 7600 Redwood Blvd. San Marin and Redwood Blvd Novato, CA 94945 US Phone: 415-892-7500 Fax:415-898-0828 Reservation Confirmed Thank you. Your room reservation has been confirmed. A confirmation has also been sent to dougvanlare@yahoo.com. Confirmation Number 55686094 Payment Method We require a valid credit card to confirm your reservation and guarantee your room. Any required deposit or pre-payment will be charged to this card immediately. Otherwise, your card will not be charged until you check-out. NEW PASSPORT RULES Learn more > Guest Information Room Information Name: DOUGLAS VAN LARE Address: 11435 RAMPART DRIVE DUBLIN, CA 94568 Home Phone: 9254136978 Email: dougvanlare@yahoo.com Confirmation #: 55686094 Wyndham Rewards Member #: 116978191H Comments: Number of Rooms: 6 Stay Two, Get 20% Off Rate Description: Stay Two, Get 20% Off 2 Night Minimum Stay Required - Prepaid, Cannot Be Modified Or Cancelled Cancellation Policy: There will be no credit or refund for early departures, cancellations, no shows, or changes in your reservation for any reason. Guests will not receive any refund or credit. 2 Queen Beds Room Stay Two, Get 20% Off Rate Comfortable Room With 2 Queen Beds Amenities/Non Smoking Value And A Relaxed Atmosphere Occupancy: 4 people max Per Room/Night Fri. 03/25/11 USD 59.20 Sat. 03/26/11 USD 59.20 2 nights (6 Rooms): USD 710.40 Taxes: USD 78.12 * Total: USD 788.52 Check-in: Fri. March 25 After 03:00 PM Check-out: Sun. March 27 Before 11:30 AM Rooms and Guests (per room): 6 Rooms with 2 Adults, 0 Children (13-17), 0 Children (0-12) * Rate Information In addition to the Rates and Totals shown, other charges may apply for local amenities like safe warranties and telephone access. Local surcharges or service charges are not included in the total room rate. Local taxes may be additional. Please note that a change in the length or dates of your reservation may result in a rate change. Please check with the property for further details. We require a valid credit card to confirm your reservation and guarantee your room. Any required deposit or pre-payment will be charged to this card in advance of your arrival. Otherwise, your card will not be charged until you check-out. Map & Directions © 2011 Microsoft Corporation © 2010 NAVTEQ © AND © 2011 Microsoft Corporation © 2010 NAVTEQ © AND Getting to The Hotel

YOU'RE IN! Sears Pointless

Hi, Douglas Lare:

Good news--I think. Clunker Refuge Racing has officially been ACCEPTED for Sears Pointless at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma CA, March 26 - March 27. Here's what you need to do now:

A: Read this email completely.

B: Fill out the rest of your team info. Your current team status is Incomplete: Log on here and start finishing your details.

Got all that? Good--'cause there's more:

1) DOWNLOAD THE SAFETY-INSPECTION CHECKLIST

Download the Safety-Inspection Checklist now, fill it out as you build your car, and bring the completed Checklist with you to the track! Remember, not every rule is reflected on the Checklist: You still need to study the full LeMons Rulebook.

2) READ THESE MORE-OR-LESS USEFUL NOTICES

EVENT SCHEDULE

Friday, 25 March 2011

7:30am: Gates open

Noon-5pm: Mandatory Friday Tech Inspection. Every car and at least one driver per team must be present for Tech Inspection on Friday. No Saturday Tech will be offered!

TBA: Pre-race track testing

Saturday, 26 March 2011

7:30am: Gates open

9:45am: Mandatory drivers' meeting

10:30am-6pm: Race session I

Sunday, 27 March 2011

8:30am: Mandatory drivers' meeting

9:15am-5:15pm: Race session II

Noon: People's Curse

5:15pm: Checkered flag

5:45pm: Awards

8:00pm: Gates close

MOTELS, CAMPING, DIRECTIONS, ETC: Check out the race page and keep coming back often--when we learn something new, we'll update it here.

PARTICIPANT-DISCOUNT SAFETY GEAR: Thanks to event-sponsor Pyrotect, everything an individual needs to pass driver tech (full-face SA2005 helmet plus SFI-rated driving suit, undies, gloves, and shoes) can be bought in one box at a LeMons-only discount: $425 for the bundle. All the gear has been pre-approved--just put it on and go.

Pyrotect also offers discounted LeMons rates on neck braces (at least one is required per team--this isn't part of the bundle); SFI five-point belts; and stand-alone SA2005 helmets. Remember, to get the subsidized LeMons rates, you've got to order online via the LeMons-rate ordering page.

RACE #s: Now that your team has been accepted, a pulldown menu of car #s is visible on the Edit Car Info page of your online registration. If the number you want isn't shown, somebody else already has it. Pick another one. Numbers should be displayed on both sides of the car plus the hood or roof.

COMP LICENSES: Every driver needs a LeMons competition membership. Memberships cost $50 and are good for one year from date of purchase. We are no longer recognizing other series' comp licenses, due to unbelievably excessive whining. Blame the BMW CCA and PCA Club member in the pit space next door. No, seriously, kick his butt. He just cost you 50 bucks.

ROSTER CHANGES: For now, it's still okay to make updates and changes to your online registration. If the changes affect your entry fees, the total will update itself automatically. About a week before the race we'll lock down the database, after which no more additions or changes are possible. We'll give you a few days' warning before that happens, but once it's gone, it's gone.

RULES: THE LeMONS RULEBOOK HAS BEEN UPDATED! Read the complete Rulebook at http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/pricesandrules.aspx/ now and re-check it often, refreshing your browser each time. Pay special attention to the strikeout copies linked at the top of the page: It's your responsibility to know the latest version of all posted rules going into the race.

DROPOUTS: When you enter a race, you're buying the right to compete--not a guarantee from us that you'll get your own act together. If you drop out, can't finish your car, blow up, go broke, catch swine flu, step on your own wiener, or otherwise fail to avail yourself of your grid spot, you forfeit your entry fees. That's why they're called "entry" fees, not "I got to drive the whole race" fees.

3) PAY UP BY SATURDAY, 01/29/2011

Speaking of entry fees, they're due now. All entry fees must be paid in full by 01/29/2011. Miss that deadline, and your spot may be given to the next team on the waitlist. Need to beg an extension? Please drop us an email before the due date.

Your total fees are shown on your registration Home page--assuming you filled out the driver, crew, camping, license, and transponder info correctly. If there's a big red INCOMPLETE at the top of your Home page, you've screwed something up, and that might affect your fee total. So...um...fix it.

To pay online by credit card, use the "Pay Now" button shown on your Team Home Page, athttps://registration.24hoursoflemons.com/members/races/registration/signup_id/101.

To cough up by check or money order, make payable to "24 Hours of LeMons" and mail to "24 Hours of LeMons, 5675-C Horton Street, Emeryville CA 94608."

4) READY? JUST CLICK BELOW TO CONFIRM, AND 'YER IN

https://registration.24hoursoflemons.com/login/acknowledge/sid/101/hash/10cfee0feb646e2454c472ed47b51f96

Welcome aboard, hope we'll be seeing you there! Best &c--JL

Jay Lamm, Chief Perpetrator
24 HOURS OF LeMONS
5675 Horton Street, Suite C
Emeryville CA 94608
510.655.5980 x23 (Jay direct)
jay@24HoursofLeMons.com

Early work for Sears Pointless

Rod and I did some preliminary work on the car today. It might have been more about drinking beer and talking over the issues, but a few topics were addressed.

The first major issue was to basically see how the engine is doing. The primary tests were inspect the spark plugs and then to do a simple compression test. After some messing around with the spark plug socket all the spark plugs finally came out. Carbon fouling was noticed on all with increasing amount of carbon noticed the closer to the front of the motor we went. The cause of this is not 100% known, but with that much carbon buildup we think we are still running rich. To confirm this I think using the conzult connection will help. Over the holiday Sparky and sons replaced the ECU, but communication with the ECU could not be made. Hopefully Sparky can get this sorted out and we can use the conzult tool to see what the ECU is thinking and doing. In the end this seams to be a fine-tuning issue and not terminal one, so we can at least run like this.

As for the compression testing it went well. Numbers as tested are below:

		Cylinder Number (reading in psi)
		1	2	3	4	5	6
Prep Arse-Freeze	11/14/2010	175	190	180	190	180	200
Post Arse-Freeze	01/09/2011	175	185	180	190	180	180

Reviewing the compression numbers they look even better then first tested. However, I think after the flogging at Arse Freeze, I will just leave it that it doesn’t appear to be a problem. Then after all this testing we put things back together and tried to start it. Good news, it still fires right up and runs.

After the engine, we poked at the transmission issues. We did not touch much and spent the time trying to plan our task. For now we know we need to pull the rear transaxle and driver line. We may also need to pull the transmission if the problem with 4^th gear can’t be determined. The transmission problem could be the clutch, synchronizers or something complete else. We have a second transmission, but know nothing about. So, we will need more work here to see if the problems with the old transmission can be corrected or do we risk the unknown with the new-to-us transmission. Clearly more work is needed here.

The final issue we worked on today is to address the new safety rule on roll bars. As the car is, there is definitely a problem. The rule requires the driver’s helmet have 2” clearance from and around the roll bar. As seen in this picture from Buttonwillow the white cue ball is not only at, but is above the roll cage.

Here is a picture of the interpretation of where the roll bar should be:

So, after some head scratching we think the best solution is to lower the seat and tilt it. We think we can get 5” reduction with this, but not sure that is enough. Here is the before and after.

Before

After

Even with this we may still be in trouble for the bigger drivers (i.e. me). We will have to get the seat mounted, and measure again to see if other clearance action is needed. For drivers this move alone could be a problem. This plan has all the drivers move down 5” from where you where. This is a lot. As Rod is picture, for him to see out the windshield he needs to look through the steering wheel. So, this may lead use to lower the steering wheel. But, that may make getting in and out harder. And if those changes aren’t enough, by lowering the seat, the shoulder seat belts will be mounted to high for many of the drivers. So, we then may need to add or move a roll bar to the cage hoop to be compliant. Wow, and that is what we know of right now. This rule change really hurts, but I think this will work and we can get this thing to pass tech.

Well that is what I am telling myself tonight, so I can go to bed.

Muddy

Pointless Start to Car work

Happy New Year!!!

I hope you all enjoyed the holiday's. As I come out of my Eggnog induced comma I thought it good to start the work on the next Lemon's race, Sears Pointless that will be held at Infineon over the March 26-27 weekend.

To start the race application will be due on January 15. They have changed the process where each driver needs to signup independently then attach yourself to a team. I have started the registration and will send out an invite, so all drivers at your leisure can sign up and add your names to the team.

As for getting the car ready we have some work to do. From the last race I have already started the broken item that need to wait for repair list and now have added several more items. Let me know through the comment section and we will go from there. Here is what I have:

1. Review Brakes

• Order New Rotors
• Get new Brake Pads
• Brake Bias options/balance

2. Rear left drive shaft boot

3. Check Engine Compression

4. Transmission drive train seal and 4th gear issues

5. Roll bar repair

• Box driver side support
• Added overhead bar.
• Check head clearance

6. Check Front Right Fender

7. Radio Head Sets review

8. Replace or repair one tires

9. ECU

• Look for error messages
• Look to connect Consult
• Have Replacement

10. Review seat belt positions for all drivers

11. Review switch locations for all drivers.

12. Rear Differential

13. Nut Behind the wheel (Work on tank slapping and off avoidance i.e... practice)

To kick this off I will have some time this weekend January 8-9. Rod has said Sunday was his best day, so let me know if any of you have interest in working either days on the beast. I will be something both days

Muddy.