Conference oass::racers

    Is an oil cooler allowed?  It would help keep the engine cool.
    
    What tire pressures are others running?  Are tires overheating?
    
    Can you mount both batteries on the left side.  I would think you
    would want the weight down low in the corners.
    
    What shocks are you running.  Are they giving up?
    
    Bob V.
    

Like Bob said in -.1, I would check the tire temps (or pressures) after the race
to see what they are running at.  If possible, get numbers from other teams
to see if you're in the ballpark.

Have you checked the simple things like water pump and thermostat for the
engine temp problems?  Maybe a few little vents on the rear of the hood to help
extract some heat.

Dave

    Im not sure of all that you talk about,but my Dad has alot of friends
    in dirt racing and I will give them a call today and tomorrow and see
    what they say. Your temp may have alot to do with the gear you are
    running and the gear you run thru in the trans. The advice in the other
    replies are good. Give me a couple of days and I will get back to you.
    
    What tracks do you run at in the Carolina's?????
    
                                                        M.J.

    Add to rep.3
     How many RPM's are you turning while racing? When my Dad was racing he
    ran a rear gear somewhere in the mid 400's I believe and he ran the
    trans in second gear. We had two batteries also and had them in the
    passenger side of the car, covered in case of a wreck. and he had
    different springs on the 4corners of the car with the strongest on the
    the rightside and the stronger of them two on the right front. 
     Believe it or not I remember my Dad saying once that the car was
    turning too many RPM's and that that was causing the car to run hot by
    forcing the water thru the radiator too fast and not allowing the water
    time to cool. 
     The best thing to do is while your at the track and if it's early, go
    ask them Sportsman div. drivers what they did when they first started
    out. I'm sure your problems are not new to any of them and most of the
    drivers are usually willing to help. I would hang out alot in the pits
    and talk to all of them. We ran at G'ville Pickens, Anderson, Fountain
    Inn, Riverside, Cherokee and a couple at Myrtle Beach all in S.C. also
    we ran in Toccoa and Laviona(sp?) in Georgia.
     I will be back in touch. I hope what I said made sence cause now I'm
    totally lost and in the morning I will call some drivers and get from
    the people who know. I wished I would have became more involved in the
    mechanical aspect of racing than I did, but all I wanted to do is
    drive. I'm hoping to get into a car within the next two years.
                                                          M.J.

    
    I agree with a previous noter that you might be running the water thru
    your radiator to fast. You may want to try washers of different sizes
    in the thermostat chamber or I cut the guts out of an old thermostat,
    any thing to slow that circulation down a bit.
    
    It seems to me you may be running your tires a little soft. Most of my 
    experience is from pavement but I do know that just a few pounds of 
    air makes a world of difference. 
    
    Back to engine temp, I ran a 350 Chev with the sensor in the head and
    almost always came off the track at 240 + with no ill effects. We
    always shot water thru the radiator to get the temp down before we 
    shut her down tho.
    
    Is your car too loose or is it pushin?
    
                                                RRH
    

    
    I agree with .5 (I have to since he pits for me whenever we tow
    to Denver to get rained out!!) ;-) ;-)
    
    You might look into some baffles for the radiator also. Try to get
    more of a serpentine affect. That will slow the flow down also.
    
    Regarding the battery placement... I would try to keep it on the
    left hand side. You want most of the weight low, to the left and
    as close to the center of the car as possible. That goes for your
    fuel cell also.
    
    Tire pressures do seem a little low, but then I run a Dunlop GT
    Qualifier at 9 1/2" tread width, not the Hoosiers. 
    
    What are the spring rates in the car? Are you getting excessive/uneven
    wear on the tires?
    
    Paul

    I got in touch with some friends and one was Harold Painter he drove
    for my Dad for three years, He said (1). He said with the gear you are
    running your trans should be in third gear while racing. (2). You need
    to restrict the water flow, use a washer with a 5/8 or 9/16 hole and
    put in place of the thermostat. (3).Check the jets in the carb. you
    could be running to lean. (4). To advance your timing 34 to 36 degrees.    
    (5).Put some more air in the tires 4 to 6 lbs. more in each tire than
    what you have, Cause as the track gets harder your tires need more air
    pressure. He said it depended on the track conditions. If its mud when
    you run, then the pressure you are running is good. If the track is
    alittle hard then put some pressure in them.
     Curtis Limbaugh said to (1) Check for a collapsed hose on your
    radiator. (2) You may have a slight crack in your heads or maybe your
    block. (3) Check the belt and make sure its tight on the pulley (4) To
    get a Chevy Truck Fan with 4 blades that are cupped toward the motor,
    He said alot of drivers are using this fan and it works better than the
    racing fans.(5) He runs a 180 thermostat and he has no problems with
    over heating.(6) To check your jet sizes also and be sure to not go to
    a too large of a size, only go up two sizes at a time.
     They both said they would need to know your set-up more in detail to
    say anything about your handling. Is it pushing, oversteering, is the
    rearend coils or leafs, the type of shocks. If you can send me your
    set-up and I will talk to them this week. Mail is RAVEN1::M_PHILLIPS.
     Hope this helps in some way. Let us know how you do each week.
    
                                                                M.J. 

    Thanks again for all the advise, guys.  I have already made several
    changes, I don't want to make too many so that I will know what did
    work.  We did have a washer in the thermostat housing, it was a cut up
    thermostat(with the center cut out).  We have replaced this with a
    special washer with a 9/16 hole in it. I have checked the hoses and the
    bottom hose is the type that can't collaspe.  I am going to replace the
    top hose just in case.  We also swapped the temperature gauges to be
    sure that we didn't have a bad gaug We are also going to make a an air dam
    on the front of the car to be sure that enough air is getting to the
    radiator instead of going around it. We will try this for this week to
    see what works.
    As to the handling, We found that we had a bent tierod end on the right
    side and we replaced it and reset the front end. Also our class is the
    first main event of the night, so the track is normaly a little muddy
    when we get started.  As I said in the first note we start out handling
    real good and then as the race gets into the last 5 to 6 laps we start
    getting loose in the corners and the rearend tries to come around too
    much and the driver has to back off of the power to keep from spinning
    out.  We are going to try the car this weekend like it is, because we
    found the bent tierod, and if the car still looses in the latter stages
    the I am going to move the battery from the right side and put it on
    the right side as close to the rear tire as I can.  As I said earlier
    we are a new team with only two years experience together so we don't
    want to do too many things at once because we won't be sure exactly
    what fixed the problem.  I am also starting to look at the other cars
    that are running on the track and I am asking more questions of the
    other drivers.
    Thanks for all the advise and I will let everyone know how we do this
    weekend.  We are having a special race at Chester, SC , Friday night
    and then the regular race at Lancaster, SC Saturaday night.  The Race
    starts at 7:30 PM. Both night if there is anyone out there that wants
    to come to the race let me know and I will leave directions.  We are
    driving a Red 1974 Camero number 22. Its not hard to find.  
    Directions to Chester track: Go south on Interstate 77 to Highway #9
    exit. Take a right after you exit the interstate toward Chester, SC.
    The track is on your right about 1 mile from the interstate.  The pit
    road is just past the grandstands, it is not hard to find.
    Directions to Lancaster track: Go south on Interstate 77 to the
    Carrowinds exit.  Turn left at the traffic light.  Go under the
    interstate to next paved road on the left(do not get back on the
    interstate) turn left go to the next stop sign turn left.  This will
    take you to Pineville, NC.  Go to the Second traffic light ( this
    should be Highway 521) turn right.  Go south on hwy. 521 about 12 to 15
    miles and the race track will be on your left.  I might be off about
    the exact mileage because I normaly go another route to the track.  But
    the Race track is marked so that you should not miss it.
    Thanks again, and ya'all come to the races........:* >
    
    

    You say your getting to loose at the end of the race, right? The track
    is drying out and your tires are heating up and changing air pressure.
    Check your air pressure before the race and as soon as you come off the 
    track and note the difference. You can tell which tires are getting the
    most bite as they will be the hottest and gain the most pressure.
    
    If the car has been handling reasonably well at the start of the race,
    bring your tire pressures to a more equal ratio. If you have the time
    during hot laps, start with all your tires with equal pressure, see
    how it works then start letting air out and note the changes. If it
    wants to push, decrease the air in the left side tires...
    
                               RRH

    Just to bring everyone up to date on our progress.  We raced friday
    night at Chester, SC and finished 7 out of 12, because we hade a left
    front brake calipher to lockup on the car. Saturday morning we took the
    left front tire off and found that the calipher had stuck so that the
    brake would not release also upon futher inspection of the right front
    wheel we noticed that it did not move freely.  We removed the tire and
    spindle and found that the inner bearing had been broken apart and it
    looked like this had been this way for a while.  No excuses but we have
    had some major engine problems lately and we just have not had time to
    check the car over properly.  We put new bearings and spindles on both
    the front wheels and new brake shoes, the we rechecked all the bolts
    and fittings on the entire car. This too us right up to race time.  We
    loaded the car up and took it to the track.  I drove two iron-out laps
    and brought the car in and rechecked all bolts, fittings and the front
    end to be sure nothing had happened to it again. Everything seemed to
    be ok.  I reset the tire pressure to adjust for a dry track.  Then
    Allen( the regular driver) took the car out for the heat race.  We had
    drawn the last place in the heat race and started at the end of the
    pack.  The car was running and handling a 100% better by the end of the
    5 lap heat race allen had moved into second place and was closing on
    the leader.  He brought the car in and we rechecked everything, the
    temperature was a cool 210 degrees and Allen said that the car never
    slowed down at all.  I had watched him in the turns and the car was
    handling better that it had in any other race.  We finaly felt like we
    had found all of out problems.WRONG!
    
    We checked everything that we could think to check and everything
    seemed to be ok.  When it came time for the main event Allen started
    the car and lined up in second row inside, which was a good place to
    be.  The pace car took the normal two warm-up laps and the flagman
    dropped the green flag.  Allen made it thur the first straightaway and
    the he shut the engine down because he had noticed the oil pressure
    dropping fast.  They pushed the car into the pits and we jerked the
    hood off to find that he had lost all fire to the plugs also the
    distributer was not turning.  Our first thought was that we had broke a
    cam, but upon futher inspection we found that the distributer gear had
    sheared off on one side and that was all, but by the time that we had
    found this the race was almost over and we did not have time to get
    back into the race.  Needless to say we were a little discoraged, to
    say the least, but we had tried our best and as they say THAT'S RACING!
    But the good new was that since we had at least taking the Green flag
    they gave us last place which was just enough to give up the Fifth
    Place in the Overall Points Race.  We are going to be in a special
    "Race of Champions" next week because of the points race finish and I
    will try to let everyone know what happens then.  
    Thanks again to all those people that gave advice and as you can see we
    did use some of the advice and it did help us.  I guess that the main
    thing that we need for next year is a Major Sponsor,  If there are any
    sponsors out the please let me know know also we could use some more
    help in the pit crew as we are going to try to field two cars next
    year.  Let me hear for any of you that want to get a little greasy and
    dirty in the name of RACING.
    
    Thanks again, Fred....

    Glad to hear everything is going better for you guys. Good-luck in the
    special race and bring home the checker!!!!!!!! Maybe me a friend or two
    of mine will try and make it to some races next season to give you guys
    a hand. I live Greenville, so its not that far of a drive.. Keep in
    touch and let us know how you guys do. 
               
                                                              M.J.

    Well I guess that I need to update everyone on our progress.  We raced
    at chester, SC this past sunday and as usually we was doing great in
    the early stages.  In the heat races our car was running as good as
    anyone could have dreamed of and if allen could have gotten around this
    one car I think that he would have lead the field but the other car
    kept blocking him and so he finished fourth.  In the main event he was
    doing better and was running second when the lead car spun out and hit
    our car in the right front.  The hit bent the upper A-frame just enough
    to throw off our handling and also knocked something into the radaitor
    so that we had a small pin hole.  We finaly finished in fifth place. 
    We did win the 5th place in overall points at the Lancaster track. Also
    we have started to make plans for next year.  We are going to try to
    build another new car and I am going to drive the car that we a running
    this year.  I have no dirt track experience but I have picked up a lot
    of sideline experience these past two years, so I want to try my luck
    at driving.  I will have to make up my mind what division I want to run
    in though, I am leaning toward street modified but if that is the class
    that the other car is goung to run and we don't have enough other
    people to pit crew two cars, so I might have to run in the street
    division.  Oh well I all winter to make up my mind.  If there is
    anybody out ther that want to start helping pitcrew a dirt track car in
    the Charlotte area let me hear from you.  Also I am willing to accept
    advice on what division to run in and also in being a rookie driver.
    I will try to keep some updates posted in here as I can.
    
    DO IT IN THE DIRT......
    
    Fred,,:^)

    Fred,
    	Best wishes for the future. You have a big advantage compared to
    many new drivers: you have crewed for a car and know what really goes
    on in racing. I wish more new drivers would take the approach of
    getting involved, either as crew or a track worker, before going off
    with stars in their eyes and entering the 'glamorous' world of racing.
    We know better...  - Chris

    Fred,
    
    We have tee-shirts up here that say:
    
    "DO IT SIDEWAYS... IN THE DIRT!"
    
    Good luck next year. 
    
    Paul

    Good-luck on your racing and your decision!!!!
    
                                           Later,
                    
                                                 M.J.

    Well here is another update.  The Lancaster track has shut down for the
    winter, but Chester track is still running until December?  The car is
    officially mine now so I am starting to set it up for me.  Allen, the
    other driver, is about 5 inches taller that me so there is a few
    changes to be made in the seat and the gauges.  I have done some
    checking and found that Chester track is open on wednesday nights for
    pratice only, so I am going to start going on wednesday night and get
    the feel of the car before I try any competition.
    Two weeks ago we decided to go to chester to run on a sunday afternoon
    and I decided to try to drive the car just for the warm-up laps and the
    heat race.  This was the first time that I had driven the car under
    full power.  I started the heat race on the inside pole and finished
    last out of five cars but I did not get lapped and I was only a
    straight-away from the leader.  I felt good about that because I did
    not spin-out nor cause anybody else any trouble. and I finished the
    race.  But I knew that I needed some pratice time so that is why we are
    going to start going on wednesday nights until I feel more comfortable
    behind the wheel.  
    Also I am going to try to race in the street modified class next year,
    which is where the car is running now.  I hope to be able to pick-up
    some more pitcrew helpers before next year, but we will have to wait
    and see.
    If there are any of you guys in the charlotte area that want to help
    let me hear from you.  I can still use any and all help and also we are
    still looking for spare parts for the camero.  
    I will update again after I have gotten in some pratice time.
    
    "DOING IT IN THE DIRT"

    Sounds like you are getting it together pretty good. I'm glad to hear
    that. How far away are you from Greenville, South Carolina??? I have a
    friend that might can help you on the parts for the Camero, what all do
    you need, he runs camero's also.
    
    You may want to move this discussion over to INDEC::NASCAR, we moved
    and you would probably get more info/help from the guy's over there.
    
    Later and good luck!!!!!!!!!
    
                                               M.J.

    Well I thought that it was time to update this note.  I had my first
    race sunday.  It was the last race of the season and we only had eight
    cars show up.  The track owner put all the cars together and ran us
    as one main event.  There were a six-cylinder modified and a late stock
    modified(fast), two street modified cars, and four street stock cars.  
    I hit the wall on the next to the last lap, cutting a tire and finished
    last in the heat race.  We repaired the car as best we could, the rear
    axle had shifted to the left and we could not get it back over with the
    little time that we had between races.  
    
    I started the main event in the last place and after ten laps had
    worked my way up to fourth place.  I finaly got around the fourth place
    car with a low inside move in turns three and four.  But in doing this
    I must have forced the car too hard and I cut the right rear tire,
    remember the axle had shifted moving this tire closes to the chassis. 
    I came into the pits and we got the tire changed and I went back onto
    the track at the rear of the pack, because  I had brought out the
    yellow flag.  The car was not handling as good as before but I still
    was able to get back to sixth position before the race was over.  We
    were supposed to run twenty laps but my pit crew told me that we only
    ran fourteen laps under the green flag.  I did not find out why the
    race was shorten but I think that if I would have had two or three more
    laps I could have picked up a few more positions, but then thats
    racing. By the way this was my first race ever and all the other driver
    were experienced.  I had a very good car and I am looking forward to
    next year.  But now comes winter car/engines building time.  
    
    We are still looking for pit crew helpers and or parts.  Also the track
    where we are going to race will be starting a baby bomber class next
    year.  I am think about building me a baby bomber and driving it for a
    while to get more track experience and save my good car until I am more
    experienced.  Let me hear your ideas on this plan.
    
    FRED: DOING IT IN THE DIRT SOUTHERN STYLE
    

    Well I have finaly made my mind up.  I am going to build myself a BABY
    BOMBER car for next year.  I am going to build a ford product. 
    Probable a pinto or excort.  The track is going to give extra bonus
    money to anyone that wins in a ford product.  Also there are quite a
    few pinto in the junkyards around here.
    
    The rules are simple:The cars must be front engine four cylinders stock
    cars.  No body modifications.  Stock tires, max seven inchs wide. 
    Stock steel wheels.  Must have a roll cage.  Must have fuel cell. 
    Stock engines only, 2300 cc max.  Must have seat belts and shoulder
    belts.  All glass, including all lights must be removed.  Interior must
    be removed.  Body can only be hulled out for roll cage only.  Driver of the
    car can not have driven a race car at lancaster speedway in the past
    four years and you can not currently be driving in any other division.
    
    I think that this will give me more experience at driving and also a
    better chance to get started.  I am keeping my other car so that I can
    race it next year or whenever I feel that I am ready to move up.
    Let me hear from you guy if you have any suggestions or comments. 
    Another reason that I am going to drive in this division is so that we
    can concentrate more on the other car on my team and try to get him
    some *****FIRST**** place finishes this year.  
    
    On that subject We are building Allen a Brand new car.  This time we
    are going all out.  We are doing everything that we can by the book to
    make this car right.  Boy this is a lot of work for a hobby :^)  :^)
    
    Fred,..DOING IT IN THE DIRT SOUTHERN STYLE...
    

    Well I thought that it was time to update my note (especially since
    this note file was getting slow during the holidays).  I have finaly
    found three decent pinto's that I am going to buy this weekend.  They
    are all in good condition and have 2300cc engines with 4-speed
    transmissions.  While looking at pinto's I have learned some
    interesting facts on them.  Only the later models (75 and later) came
    with decent bumpers on them.  The earlier models had very small bumpers
    front and rear.  Also only the later models came with 2300cc and
    4-speed transmissions.  All the 2300cc come with large 2 barrel
    carburators.  The three cars that I am going to get are out of a junk
    yard so they don't run.  But the cars are basically complete.  I am
    going to rebuild two of the engines so that I will have a primary and
    backup engine.  I am still looking for a source for speciality parts
    for these engines and also the body.  The sources that I have are
    mostly geared toward larger cars.  It looks like there are many things
    that I will be able to do to this cars, but I will just have to wait
    until I finaly get them started.
    
    Thanks for all the help, so far.  Keep it coming :*)
    
    April will be here before I know it.  So If you have any advice or
    sugestions don't be shy.  Let me have them!:^)
    
    I will try to post updates as I can on the progress of both of our
    cars.
    Fred DOING IT IN THE DIRT SOUTHERN STYLE......
    

    
    
    
    
    
    Well I thought that it was about time to update the race season so far
    this year.  As of this time we have been able to get 4 out of 6 races
    in because of bad weather.  My finishes are as follows.
    
    First race--------------Third place finish
    Second race-------------Fourth place finish
    Thire race--------------Sixth place finish
    Fourth race-------------Second place finish
    
    I am in third place in the overall points race because I have not
    missed a race (yet) and I have been having some minor engine trouble. 
    But I intend on rebuilding my engine this week and also putting a lower
    gear in the rearend.  I have also made some minor adjustments that
    seemed to help at the last race.  I guess that only time will tell.  I
    am still looking for my first win.
    
    Later:
    
    FRED...DOING IT IN THE DIRT SOUTHERN STYLE...