When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
What a year… 2022 was less exciting and MUCH MORE frustrating. Over the winter between 2021 and 2022 I dropped the motor, swapped rod bearings, Did all new belts, water pump, thermostat and a host of other repairs. And while the motor was out with the belt off, I inspected all the pullys. BIG mistake. The balance shaft pullys have woodruf keys. In re-installing the lower of the two, the woodruf key fell out of the shaft. This would haunt me through three race weekends, shake the clutch release bearing shaft out of the car during race weekend one, causing me to lose the trophy race to John Perkins, who I had 6 seconds on before I drove off when I missed a shift with two laps to go exiting T17 at VIR. I’d finish second, and very frustrated.
The following weekend with PCA the exhaust fell off in race 1. My temporary fix before race 2 dumped carbon monoxide into the car. I finished second in race 2, sick and pissed, and out of the trophies because, well, I didn’t finish race 1. I was less than gracious in my losing given the gas and the problems and the stress of it all. I would later throw up in the restroom of the place I was staying at.
Moving onto Summit Point During June the fuel rail cracked after the first practice. It was miserable. We tested a number of things trying to get the car to fire after the fix, but the bracket that held the reference sensors broke a bolt and caused the reference sensors to lose their gap, damaging one of them with contact to the flywheel.
Two months later I tried again at Dominion, for a test day. The car ran well, with no issues, but leaked oui due to the cut oil dipstick after the pan was dropped so I could check the oil pickup for cracks. SO we turned a completely dry motor into a wet nasty mess.
October came and with a healthy dose of confidence I went and did very well, securing two 1st place finishes. The car is fixed and ready for 2023. I’m hoping this year I can get my oldest in the car and get him on track without issues. I’m hoping he’ll get his license and be ready to race by year’s end.
Is the aluminum flat or L channel, it looks flat?
Did you attach the aluminum just to the Lexan or also attach at the ends to the frame of the window?
txs
as it states above, it is L-channel. If you look closely the channel is bolted to the lexan at three locations across the span of the hatch, using the nylon spacers and is bolted to the frame at both ends.
Originally Posted by dave968M3
Is the aluminum flat or L channel, it looks flat?
Did you attach the aluminum just to the Lexan or also attach at the ends to the frame of the window?
txs
I'm new to cars. Mostly restoring Ducati's, making a 944 my first purchase and learning from your experience puts me astronomically far ahead of where I thought I'd be when I'm just starting out, thanks bud I'm gonna keep up with your story
I've been working with my son to prepare him for racing my 944Spec/SP1 car as I move to two new cars in 2024. In 2023 I raced with champcar in March at VIR12 (came in second in A-class alongside Edgar Morales and Emil Dugaro. In June I ran the 968 Powered 944 turbo SP3 car in NASA's GTS2 and won by default, due to first place breaking 6 laps into the race. In the middle of sorting the 968 powered 944, I ended up buying John Kennedy's 944Turbo, which was being kept at the RPR shop just outside Baltimore, MD. John Behe helped me sort the 968 engine with a fresh tune/chip and I found a bit more power changing out the air intake system and the exhaust.
Attached are a few pictures of me in the 968 powered car 944 doing lead/follow with my son in the SP1 Orange car documented here. I am really looking forward to 2024 and racing these two cars, while helping my son learn to race with NASA and PCA.
we have three sets of 18 x 11 and 18 x 8.5 0Z racing wheels and we have a set of CCW 18 x 9 and 18 x 11 wheels. I also have a set of cups with 17inch rain tires on them in a square setup.
Originally Posted by dave968M3
Curious what brand and size 18 in wheels are you running on the SP3 car?
thanks
Last weekend we entered the PCA Club race weekend at VIR. It had been 18 months since I last raced at VIR and the last time I would be in a 944Spec racecar. No expectations for the car since BEHE had stated the car likely wouldn't be fast when he did an evaluation on it for me, and that I should probably just use it as an HPDE car. My intent originally was to sell the car, but after drving the car with Dominion Raceway over the fall and early spring, I wasn't so sure it would be "that" slow. Turns out, she isn't. I managed to get the car into 2:11s with a theoretical best of a mid-2:10:5X on 18 inch Hankook tires and I managed to win 1 of the 2 races in black group. Unfortunately I hadn't bothered to measure the fuel in the car, compared to the AIM dash and we ran out of gas on the last corner of the last lap. I'd been running 4-5 seconds down the last two laps, which allowed Mark Calzaretta to win the race. The take aways are this: The car was slower because of the gearing and because of some tire selection/choice (We already owned the Hankooks) and because of the exhaust system that I believe is restricting a wee bit of power. I now know that when the AIM says it's got 2 gallons fuel, it's on "E". The other two things I'm taking from the weekend is that we're competitive, doesn't matter the class or the speed. I had several people snipe at me previously that "You're racing in 944Spec, it's a nothing class with slow cars" and other insulting comments. We went into SP3 and won our first race. How about that? The other thing is as a coach or two have commented, rightfully so, I'm passing in "dumb" spaces and not getting a run on cars in the smart places to drive past them out of corners. Some of the video on Youtube shows this very issue where a couple 911/SPB cars were "holding me up", but in reality they were running their pace and it's up to me to take advantage of my power, slingshot out of places like OAK TREE and get past them cleanly. I'm very quick in places like T15-17 and T10. I need to get smarter with the other places to pass.
Our plan is already moving forward. I've ordered wheels/tires from Phils Tire, and I've ordered the parts to build a 3 inch exhaust system. I've also made the decision to move to Hoosiers. The 18 inch wheels and tires will sit and be used with the turbo car and we'll see where we go from there.
01-05-2023, 07:07 PM
