Carl Fausett

A few of you have posted about renting the racer to run an event in California or wherever... I don't see that happening. As I said in my original post, Road America or the Autobahn in Joilet IL (outside Chicago). I can transport to these tracks without too much trouble or expense.

I have done the hauls to Bonneville and Pikes Peak and Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glenn and I know exactly how much time and expense it takes. Salt Lake City was a 32 hour haul, with $1600 in diesel fuel alone. Then add the pay for three drivers to compensate them for the work they are missing because we'd have to leave on a Wednesday to get there in time for a Saturday event... The costs jump up pretty fast.

Hence, the Road America / Autobahn concept. I can be at Road America in 1 hour, and therefor the costs to you, the prospective renter, are much lower.

Speedtoys

Oh no Carl..dont get me wrong. IF it came, sure I would..but Im not asking you at all to do anything outrageous.

But..I -would- love to see your 928 racer compete in the NASA 25hr.

Rob Edwards

Bummer, sorry to hear about the motor, Carl. I understand (all too well!) the instinct to 'get 'er home'...

atb

I think its a cool idea, and I also think that it is befitting of a "destination" escape. Seems a little unrealistic to expect this opportunity to come to you. I would love to drive R/A, and knowing I could do it 1) without having to bring a car, and 2) arrive and drive a 928 w/instructor - its a no brainer.

Carl Fausett

Road America is an amazing course at 4 miles per lap, great speeds, fun topography, and lots of room.

Carl Fausett

The data log has been analyzed and it shows the throttle never stuck, but rather, the hose between the throttle body and the intake plenum came off. I had a runaway engine...

We started our dis-assembly last night, and there's a lot of water in the crankcase so we're pretty sure the block split before it died. Will know for sure when I get in that far.

James Bailey

What RPM was the rev limiter ?

Carl Fausett

It was set to 6800 rpm and it performed well. I tried to keep a load on the engine so it wouldn't fly apart but could only do that through two corners. I tried third and fourth gears., but she would still accelerate no matter what. The engine was so strong I was standing on the brakes to hold speeds down to where I could make the corner in front of me. When I smelt the brakes in the cab, I knew I couldn't do much more of that before I would gas them and I'd lose the brakes completely. So I had to use the clutch - causing the engine to run free.

The simple and best solution would have been to hit the kill switch, pull off the track, and wait for a tow. It would have saved my motor. Instead I decided that I could cycle the on-off switch and drive the car back to the pits instead of waiting. I chose poorly. Still kicking myself.

mark kibort

bummer.. toggling the ignition would have been better. yes. 3rd, or 4th is not tall enough... you would want to do that technique in 5th gear. either way, its a bad situation to have to deal with on the track.
whats the rebuild plan?

Carl Fausett

Yes. Shutting it the F**k off and waiting for a tow would have been the thing. Decisions made strapped in and full of adrenaline are not always the best.

A squirter block has already been delivered to the machinist, and I will build an identical 6.57L stroker. Its a "square" engine (1:1 bore to stroke ratio) and absolutely fantastic. This one had 7 years on it and only 1 refresh. It'd still be here today if I hadn't been such a knucklehead.

mark kibort

what a lousy deal!! really sorry! yep, ive been there and I never make the safe decisions on the track when things go wrong.... kind of the nature of the beast when the mist is flowing on the track. However, i would have been worried if you toggle the ignition, that gas would accumulate in the cylinder and make some head blowing back fires, right?

glad the new stuff is on the way. im sure you will be back in no time.

Carl Fausett

I did not toggle the ignition. I have two kill switches (a remnant from the Pikes Peak requirements that I have never removed) and we have a shut off switch for the fuel separate from the master kill switch. It allows me to shut off the fuel pump and leave all the other electrics on. That's what I was using.

mark kibort

well, that was a good idea then. too bad that the RPM got away . i think if you were in 5th , it might have been a little (a lot) easier to control, in retrospect, but the damage is done. hopefully that will never happen again and you get it all together quickly

Drewster67

Carl - Sorry to hear about your ride, getting back to your original post.

James Morrison is selling his very well known racer -

https://classics.autotrader.com/clas.../928/100731220

I believe the price has actually been lowered since the ad was posted

I like the idea of having a track prepped rental but there are a couple of talking points.

1. Skill level vs Horsepower - Not enough skill level vs a high power car can be dangerous.
2. Cost for maintenance per event
3. Reliability

260-270 RWHP is perfect for HPDE and an auto is even better. My S2 is well known for being fast and running in the advance street car group. 10 years with only maintenance and she still runs like a bat out of hell.

James car is pretty much turn key.

Carl Fausett

I very much agree that high HP and rookie driver is a bad combo. The 928 is incredibly forgiving of bad drivers especially when in the less-than-500 HP level. Thats why I think we should go there.

When I have rented race cars for wheel-to-wheel racing I have paid $1500 to $3000 per weekend.
But, thats wheel-to-wheel racing.

I think the better use is DE days and HPDE events. No racing, a little more controlled, and because of the restricted passing areas, less likely an accident. Still a ton of fun.

I am trying to be in the hundreds for a day of DE and HPDE. Like $500 or something. But then there is transport of the car to the track, entry fees, fuel, tires, and maintenance issues I am still working on. In the contracts I have seen those items are all over the board from included to not included and customer pays.