The Breakup (Miata build)

Larson
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by Larson »

I'm bringing a spare SA 2005 helmet if you need it.
Larson Schultz

El Jemino Hillcimb Special V1.0
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by drummingpariah »

Larson wrote:I'm bringing a spare SA 2005 helmet if you need it.
That would be fantastically helpful. Jamie has a spare small helmet, but even if it technically fits, I think I'll end up with a pretty bad headache after two days of wearing it. I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but do you know what size it is?
walterclark wrote:I have ordered from saferacer in the past and found them to be reliable, though I was never in a big hurry so cant comment on speed.

You might call a couple of the local speed shops that are listed as retailers by G-Force and see if they have something in an SA2010 that you can afford.

Ciotti Racing Products Dover 603.743.4333
Johnson's Speed Concord 603.225.5799
One Stop Toy Shop Epping 603.679.9800
Pro-Street Unlimited Manchester 603.647.1919
Tim's Speed & Custom Nashua 603.883.2700

Or even look for a cheap temporary deal on and SA2005 like these: http://gforce.shptron.com/c/helmets_sne ... 05-helmets. Not sure how fast they could get you one though. Saturday is only 3 business days away. I know I bought a Hans a few years back from HMS on Tuesday before an event and while they had to order my size they arranged for an overnight FedEx direct to me from Hans. Trouble is someone at Hans decided to save HMS a few bucks and they shipped it some way that took until Saturday (I was at Ascutney) to arrive. So even well laid plans can go amiss.
I had tried looking around on the interwebs for local places that might have helmets, but I didn't really know what to look for and was uncertain about my results. This list is saved to my 'car log' in case I need anything last-minute in the future.

It looks like it's going to be clear & sunny on Sunday, but rainy on Saturday. That sounds good to me, with slow, smooth practice laps in the wet and more grip on 'timed day'.

Update time! Most of this is boring stuff.

GEAR
It SOUNDS like I'll be ok with a borrowed helmet, even if saferacer doesn't come through for this weekend. 2.5lb ABC extinguisher and a pre-fit single-loop steel mounting bracket should be waiting for me when I get home. Tires are waiting at VIP, and I'll get an alignment (and hopefully an inspection) tonight. I just checked my shoes last night, and they're 100% cotton (no nylon), so I think that's everything I need to participate in U6.

ROLL BAR
I still have to drill holes and add fasteners to the rear of the roll bar, and solve the passenger's seat belt issue (the captive nut on its rear fastener doesn't appear to be captive any more). It's not a lot of work, but nothing I've done so far has been a lot of work, it just all adds up to be a lot of time.

I snapped a few more photos of the current roll bar bracing while I grabbed lunch. There's an odd black mark that Laurie and I couldn't identify the source of (the metal was well cleaned before we started, so it's unlikely that it was contaminated).

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Stopping
I may swap the front brake pads before the weekend as well, if there's time. I don't expect a stock Miata is going to overwhelm them going up the hill, but it looks like they're thin enough that coming back down might be problematic.

Camping Stuff
I'm worthless without a good night's sleep, so I'm making sure I have everything I could need. I just realized that I don't have any bug nets (didn't need them that late in the season last year), and I'm guessing I'll need them pretty badly this year. One more thing I have to make within a couple of days.

Learning the Course
I'm generally nervous/anxious about my first hillclimb event, even though I'm sure everything will be fine as long as I get through safety tech. I've watched several videos of other peoples' runs, and can generally remember a few landmarks so I can keep my bearings going up. Is there anything else I can do to prepare myself ahead of time? I'm taking Friday off from work, so I only have one thing on my mind. How early on Friday can we show up? I remember reading something about a 'novice familiarization' on Fridays, but can't find that information again.
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by drummingpariah »

I got ahold of my tracking number, and it looks like my helmet should arrive tomorrow via FedEx. I think I'll have to wait to leave here until it comes in, just so I'm not scrambling on Saturday morning to borrow a helmet.
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walterclark
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by walterclark »

Dont worry (too much). Heck, I STILL get anxious before the first event of the year...

You will go thru a novice orientation. Usually Friday evening. That helps a lot.

At some point Friday afternoon or Saturday morning you will take your car thru tech where we will check your safety equipment, wiggle the wheels and check for leaks. Sometimes the novice orientation overlaps this. If you are in the tech line when the time comes for orientation dont sweat it, do the orientation. You can get back to tech later. The weather forecast for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning is kind of sketchy so exactly when things will occur may change. Someone will be at registration (Oak leanto which is in the center of campground activities) and should have the latest plans.

Over the years I found that writing the turn numbers, where you really need to do something like brake hard, on a card and posting it on the instrument cluster really helps with learning the hill (and as a reminder not to flat foot it thru that next turn if you get a little confused as to where you are).

Mostly though, just relax, have fun and try to not get too far outside your comfort zone. No one will push you to go faster than you feel you can handle, so you just need to avoid pushing yourself too hard.
The older I get the better I was.
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by drummingpariah »

Thanks Walter, Im just getting my tires mounted and alignment finished and should be at the hill before 5. Hopefully i dont have to set up all my camping gear in the rain, but if thats what it takes, thats what it takes. Im also hoping i can make the novice orientation, but i dont really know what to expect with that.
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KevinGale
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

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The novice orientation is where they tell you not to do what I did at my first event. (I ended up in the woods upside down.) Mostly they will point out sections of the course to watch and tell you not to try and set the world on fire your first event. Walter's advice is sound don't push yourself too hard.
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by drummingpariah »

KevinGale wrote:The novice orientation is where they tell you not to do what I did at my first event. (I ended up in the woods upside down.) Mostly they will point out sections of the course to watch and tell you not to try and set the world on fire your first event. Walter's advice is sound don't push yourself too hard.
Novice orientation made a massive difference for me, even though we could only see fog at the top. Thanks again to you and Sherm for showing us the ropes before we had to drive it.

The only room for improvement I saw was during the first fam run - I ended up with nobody in front of me on the first one, but the second was hugely helpful for me (following some reasonably quick cars). It really gave me a good idea as to how to approach each turn, and what the experienced drivers know is ahead that I won't be able to see.

I met my modest goal of staying under 5:00, but didn't meet my goal of being faster than the Woo (Don ruined that for me). Overall, a great weekend. I didn't go off (not even a little), didn't interrupt anybody's fun, and started to learn a little bit of one of the hills.
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KevinGale
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by KevinGale »

drummingpariah wrote:I met my modest goal of staying under 5:00, but didn't meet my goal of being faster than the Woo (Don ruined that for me).
Don has done that to more than a few people. Watch out for him on his last run if he needs any time. He often suddenly finds it.
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by drummingpariah »

KevinGale wrote:Don has done that to more than a few people. Watch out for him on his last run if he needs any time. He often suddenly finds it.
It REALLY illustrated the value of knowing the hill and the car. Hillclimbs are nothing like any track day or autocross I've attended, where you can (generally) see the exit of a turn when you enter it.

I didn't spend any time working on the roll bar yet, but I did start digging for rust. I already knew that the package tray had gotten wet at some point, and the removable panels had some surface rust along with a few pinholes.

Popped them out:
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Spent some quality time with an angle grinder:
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Blasted them with some primer:
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Blasted them with some rattlecan flat black:
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And finally reinstalled them, without replacing any of the crusty old bolts or trying to repair the rust holes. I don't really care about rust damage, as long as it isn't spreading. I may even put carpet back on top of that, possibly.

While I was waiting for the primer to dry, I remembered that the battery had leaked at some point and started some surface rust. I got aggressive with a wire wheel on an angle grinder and cleaned it, did the same for the battery mounting hardware, and rattlecan'd all that as well.
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For a temporary quick-fix, I think it came out reasonably well, and I'm happy with the hour I spent doing it. Rust tends to spread quickly, and I'd much rather nip it in the bud and have an incomplete-looking car than to put it off until I can 'do it right'.
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I'd love to get the Datsun ready and street legal for Okemo, but time is ever my enemy. I can either get the Datsun barely-prepped, or I can toss a hardtop and maybe a dished steering wheel on the Miata and call it good. I already know that having a faster car won't affect my times in a meaningful way (but the Datsun is roughly double the power of the Miata...) and I'm going to have fun either way. The Miata has already been shaken down pretty thoroughly, where the Datsun hasn't driven around in 5 years (which makes me nervous). It looks like the little white 1.6 will make another appearance populating U6 class.
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drummingpariah
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Re: The Breakup (Miata build)

Post by drummingpariah »

I'm not interested in going through the whole arm restraint dance again at Okemo, so I picked this top up last night (these things aren't cheap):
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I'd still like to make/buy some side latches, but there isn't much clearance between the roll bar and the body bolts to fit a proper latch. I might have to get creative to secure it 100%.
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