Since the last outing in October I have not done a lot of work on the cars. In light of recent events, I plan on spending more time in the garage to keep from watching the news on TV!
Last weekend I picked the 2008 back-up from the team at UC who were using it for some testing. The guys were nice enough to modify the reservoir mount on the pedal cluster to allow it to fit in the furthest position, something necessary to get my long legs to fit in the car. Thanks guys. I also plan to do a little more ergonomic work to this car to help me fit, since this car is such a blast to drive. I replaced the broken drive sprocket that was damaged at the last outing. I replaced the chain also as a preventative measure. The muffler mount also broke at the last outing, so I have welded on a new one and plan to also use a spring to isolate the vibration.
The 1997 car needed a little tlc after the October outing. The exhaust headers had come loose and were completely off one bank of cylinders. So they are now reconnected and I'll have to add that to the checklist. I also replaced the rear brake caliper which appeared to have a leaking piston o-ring. Spare parts from the '99 car are coming in handy. Other than those issues this car was in good shape.
The 1998 car ran for several sessions at the last outing, but was starting to develop a ticking noise in the right front corner. The last time this occurred I took the right front hub off and discovered a broken wheel bearing. I removed the hub again this week, only to find the wheel bearing in good condition. So, upon further inspection I think the ticking sound may have been due to the brake rotor hardware doing some self-clearancing against the upright. So I changed the hardware to button head cap screws to gain some space and did a little additional clearancing. Hopefully this corrects the issue, but I'll have to go to the track to find out.
The 1999 car keeps asking to be worked on every time I'm in the garage. I plan to start making some progress again on that car very soon.
