Arse-Freeze Prep

Work on the two toys continued this weekend.  Both car saw some attention.


For the D, editing of the roll cage began.  However, to finish this project a bigger welder is needed.



For the Z the oil pan was one of the big project.  What a mess under there .


Anyway a lot more to come.

2019 - 24 hour Lemons Race Schedule

Lemons HQ has just published the race schedule for 2019.  There looks to be 23 races next year in the US and 8 in the land down under and 2 in Kiwi land.  So, Alive and well.

From this list there are four in the local 300 mile radius, and of these the three highlighted are the one I think we should target.

24 HOURS OF LEMONS RACES

FEB 2-3: Barber Motorsports Park (AL)

FEB 23-24: Inde Motorsports Ranch (AZ)

MARCH 9-10: Sonoma Raceway (CA)

MARCH 30-31: NOLA Motorsports Park (LA)

APR 6-7: Autobahn Country Club (IL)

APR 27-28: Carolina Motorsports Park (SC)

MAY 4-5: New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJ)

MAY 18-19: Thunderhill Raceway Park (CA)

JUNE 8-9: High Plains Raceway (CO)

JUNE 29-30: Gingerman Raceway (MI)

JULY 27-28: The Ridge Motorsports Park (WA)

AUG 10-11: Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (CT)

AUG 17-18: Heartland Motorsports Park (KS)

SEP 14-15: Carolina Motorsports Park (SC)

SEP 14-15: High Plains Raceway (CO)

SEP 28-29: Buttonwillow Raceway Park (CA)

SEP 28-29: Brainerd International Raceway (MN)

OCT 5-6: The Ridge Motorsports Park (WA)

OCT 12-13: Gingerman Raceway (MI)

OCT 19-20: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NH)

NOV 9-10: MSR Houston (TX)

DEC 7-8: Sonoma Raceway (CA)

DEC 14-15: Road Atlanta (GA)

Let me know if you think otherwise.

Funning Happened Yesterday (Note From Lemons HQ)

Hi, Muddy:

Half-Life Racing (Seize-Z-ium, Ra-D-ium) are officially ACCEPTED for Arse-Freeze-Apalooza at Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma CA on December 01 - December 02.

Holy crap: NOW WHAT?!

1) PAY THE ENTRY FEE. Your spot isn't yours until you pay up! To lock it in now, pay online through your Team Home Page at https://registration.24hoursoflemons.com/members/races/registration/signup_id/21926.

2) FINISH ADDING DRIVERS: Any remaining drivers or crew should be added online (here's a step-by-step guide). Can't find enough drivers? Email Nick Pon at Lemons HQ.  (You should see invites tonight)

3) READ THESE NOTICES:
-FIRST TIME WITH LEMONS? There's a mandatory Rookie Meeting after tech closes on Friday. Unless a Lemons official says otherwise, be at the tech area 15 minutes past closing.
-DON'T HURT THE FACILITY: If you destroy their Armco, break their tow rig, dissolve their pavement with gas spills, etc, the track may charge you. So, don't do that.
-SCHEDULE, CAMPING, DIRECTIONS, ETC: They're all in the race's online Event Page.
-RULES: Read the complete Rulebook (http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/prices-rules) now and re-check it often, refreshing your browser each time. It's your job to know this stuff!
-TECH SHEET: Print one out now and check every line against your car. When the car's ready, bring your own signed, completely filled-out copy to tech.
-DROPOUTS: There are no refunds or fee transfers! When you enter a race, you're buying the right to compete--not a guarantee 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 use your grid spot, that's racing. That's why they're called "entry" fees, not "I got to drive the whole race" fees.

4) CLICK THIS LINK TO CONFIRM YOU GOT THIS MESSAGE (It's how we know this hooptie-ass thing is working): https://registration.24hoursoflemons.com/login/acknowledge/sid/21926/hash/916e59f3d4d7a7ca7c0d2637a3a6b81b

Got questions? Hit www.24HoursofLemons.com or:

Nick Pon, Associate Perpetrator
5675-C Horton Street, Emeryville CA 94608
nick@24HoursofLemons.com

Exploratory Work to Get ready For December

Some work was done last weekend to explore the most problematic issues that we have to get the two cars ready for the next race.

For the D, it required the connection of the battery charger, getting the car to run, then warm it up, and finally perform the Engine Compression test.  All went well and the D will go another race with the motor.  Here is the compression results:

D	Cylinder
	1	2	3	4
Pre Race	180	180	170	180
Post Race*	170	190	190	205

* Preformed with a new Compression Gauge.

From there it will be the odds and end.  I would like to chase the balance issue.  As it stands now, we can't get the weight to balance up front.  The current thought of this cause is excess twist in the chassis.  SInce this is not necessary going to buff out, we might be able to chase it with some spring changes.  After that, the adding of a roll bar to the cage here, and change of the seat belt there and we will be off to the punch list.

For the Z it is a little different story.  When we got to it like the D the Battery was low so another changer was used to help the battery.  The next problem was the Le Brea lake under the car.  Our oil pan leak has let most of the engine oil to coat the mat under the car.  With so little oil in the engine, running the car seemed wrong, so the oil pan exchange is high on the docket.

The second issue we wonted to address is the fuel issue. The symptom that we are fighting is that during the race, when the tank is about half fuel, the car in the left hand turn began to develop a hesitation. Why this problem has started up is the questions.  To investigate, the first step was to get into the tank, check:

What we found inside was a mess, like when we opened it on the track.  Debris was found in the tank, shown below:

So, we set forth to empty and clean the tank.  Here is the image of the first rag out of the tank.

That is a fair amount of debris, so clogging of the fuel strainer, tank transfer tube, and/or trouble with the fuel pump assembly are possible.  It will take another weekend to see if we can narrow the cause.

Early Work List For Arse-Freeze

I have most likely forgot all the troubles that the cars have since the last race.  I did not do a good job during the last race of documenting all the issues, so we will need to go through these and most likely other items will appear.

However, I think this is a good start of items that we should look at before the next track thrashing:

Z
 Fuel System
     ⦁ Clean Out Tank
   ⦁ Clean/Replace Fuel pump screen
     ⦁ Inspect and Repair Sending Unit
     ⦁ Review Catch can for fumes

 Roof 

   ⦁ Replace Panels

 Replace Seat Belts 

     ⦁  Send Powerstop in for Repair

     ⦁  Replace belts

Crank Position Sensor
     ⦁  Replace wires and add connector

Exhaust Heat 
     ⦁  Wrap left Exhaust with installation

Oil Catch Can
     ⦁  Redesign Catch can

Oil Pan
     ⦁  Replace

Front Sway Bar
     ⦁  Review mount away from oil pan

Perform Engine Compression
     ⦁  Keep or Replace Motor


D
 Roll Cage
     ⦁ Added Bar for head Clearance

Oil Cooler
    ⦁ Add Oil Cooler

Weight Balance
    ⦁ Adjust overall balance

 Seat Belts
      ⦁ Send Powerstop in for Repair

Perform Engine Compression
      ⦁  Keep or Replace Motor

Let me know if you have any other ideas or issues.  As for work, also let me know if and when any would like to come for a play date.

Getting Ready For Arse-Freeze

As I shake my groggy head from the summer vacation, I find myself staring at the shop.  With feet up and beer in hand I think that we should starting working on getting some cars ready for the Arse Freeze race in December.

Nah! Not this weekend, I should enjoy the beer and look to schedule next week!