Ran an Autocross yesterday.

First run: Clutch slipping like crazy. Only needed adjustment.

Second run: Damn thing wouldn't start. The little battery wouldn't turn my new engine over, too much compression. Gotta change back to the bigger battery. So some guys push started me. Clutch better but still some slipping. Clean run no cones.

Third run: Clutch is really hooking up and I was flying. Than at about the 3/4 mark, the gas pedal goes to the floor and the engine dies. I check it out and the bracket at the cable and the gas pedal has bent and the ball/socket has come off. I don't have a "stop" behind my gas pedal and when I pushed the pedal too far it bent the bracket.

So I need to fab a bracket for a gas pedal stop. If I had the stock floor board that goes behind the pedal, it wouldn't have happened. I'll make it so the stop is a bolt that can be adjusted in or out so the pedal stops when the carb linkage is fully open.

It's always somein' ain't it?

BTW, my second run with the slipping clutch was good enough for the 3rd overall quickest time.

Damn Paul, you finally get the motor running great, then you can get it hooked up.... When's the next event? Congrats on 3rd, who beat you?

BTW, if you need a floorboard for measurements, I've got an extra one...

-- Rob

well done paul, what are you running for a clutch?

that motor makes tons of torque, even down low. First time I ran it I wasn't sure if the tires were spinning or the clutch was slipping.

i got one of the fancy aluminum floorboards from engman "i think", its too heavy for your taste but looks great and uses the original clutch and throttle stops.

QUOTE (synthesisdv @ Nov 14 2005, 06:25 AM)

well done paul, what are you running for a clutch? that motor makes tons of torque, even down low. First time I ran it I wasn't sure if the tires were spinning or the clutch was slipping. i got one of the fancy aluminum floorboards from engman "i think", its too heavy for your taste but looks great and uses the original clutch and throttle stops.

When I left the starting line on my first run, at first I though the tires were spinning. So I short shifted into second, and then when nothing happend I knew it was the clutch.

I'm runnin' that stock clutch I had in my other engine/tranny.

Rob,

There won't be another event until after the first of the year. Maybe I can get it painted during the down time.

QUOTE (URY914 @ Nov 14 2005, 09:32 AM)

I'm runnin' that stock clutch I had in my other engine/tranny.

you may need the 6 puck kennedy, its lighter too....

Great job Paul, Once you get it reliable and gain confidence in your ride you can concetrate on the course. TTOD is only a matter of time. I suspect nobody will be within a second of you when all is sorted.

QUOTE (Joe Ricard @ Nov 14 2005, 07:08 AM)

Great job Paul, Once you get it reliable and gain confidence in your ride you can concetrate on the course. TTOD is only a matter of time. I suspect nobody will be within a second of you when all is sorted.

That's what I'm hoping for too

The more I push it, the more something breaks or bends but one day it will all be sorted out.

I would say with the lightweight/minumim approch I've taken with it. I'm kinda on the ragged edge in some ways. It is same with the f/g body. I've tried to keep it as light and thin as possible. And to use as few mounting points as possible. But this has caused cracks to develope too. Therefore before I paint it I want all the weak points found and fixed.

One good thing is that I've never found a crack in the welds or tubing. So the basic design seems to be sound. (Or that means it is over designed.) I'll have to watch to see what happens with this new engine and the stress that gets transmitted to the car structure. I also need to watch that lt. wt. engine bar I made. That thing may warp like a noodle.

Paul, Do you have any idea how much paint WEIGHS?

T.C.

QUOTE (carr914 @ Nov 14 2005, 03:30 PM)

Paul, Do you have any idea how much paint WEIGHS? T.C.

Actually I won't be painting the rear trunk lid.


I'm going to cover it in black vinyl.

I had my gas pedal fail in the same way last year. Popped the ball joint back in for the next run, only to have it happen again just 100 ft short of the finish.

In my case, it wasn't lack of a bottom stop, rather it was that side force I was putting on the pedal. In going quickly from brake to gas, I often don't get my foot aligned vertically with the pedal. My heel tends to stay about half way between the brake and gas, so my foot is then angled to the right when I'm pushing on the gas. Push down hard and dealing with high g turns then produces a lot of side force on the pedal, which the stock joint wasn't really designed for.

I mention all they by way of saying that you might want to design you pedal stop with a ear or something to take any side force from the pedal.

Andrew

Andrew,

Excellent input. Now I need to figure out how to do it.

Maybe some type of rod on the right side of pedal that the pedal slides on. It would only go up/down and not side to side.

I never liked how the pedal is sorta flexable at the base of it. I could put a hinge at the bottom that is tighter than the sloppy rubber hinge.

I'll work on it. Thanks

P