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S'pose you want chapter and verse! Yes I was only 'team manager' for the weekend having decided to let my pal who rebuilt the engine share the 2 races with my eldest son. (ulterior motive - I decided it wasn't a great idea to race on slicks for the first time at the fastest circuit in the country in an unproven car).
Testing on Friday revealed a skyrocketing oil temp issue due to the poor placement of the oil cooler up by the bulkhead with no air vent close by. Fortunately I had a spare cooler and pipes with me so we plumbed that one in next to the rad and butchered the rad ducting to feed it. Second test proved this was a good solution so will re-install it properly when back home. Next issue was the handling with both drivers reporting a lack of feel and a porpoising or floating sensation in the fast bends. Improved it a bit by stiffening rear shocks to maximum but suspect the ex-Formula Renault radial tyres with soft sidewalls may be the main culprit; not knowing anyone else using them we are in the dark on pressures. Qualifying early Sunday went OK - we weren't last although the handling was still holding us back from trying too hard. Race 1 went well for a couple of laps then John had a big moment when he thought he'd lost a wheel; pulled off to place of safety and discovered the panhard rod had torn itself free of the mounting bracket leaving no lateral axle location at all. Combination of age, rust, and using too thin a sheet for the bracketry. Found a big rig with a mig and a genny (there is no power in either the paddock or the garages at Thruxton but that's a rant for another day), and a super spannerman who straightened out the bracket and welded it all up in no time at all. So we got Alex out for the second race, started 20th and a with a few falling off and a couple of overtakes finished 14th.
Learnt a lot about the car, have a goodly list of jobs to do and things to research; the engine, box and brakes are all terrific so we're halfway there.
It's still in one piece and we didn't get wet so all-in-all I call it a good weekend.
PS - anyone know a good source of used Avons in 13 inch?
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