PapaSmurf2k3 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2019 4:39 pm
Ian is kindof my hero.
I'm not sure if that's either wise or healthy, but I'll take the compliments where I can get em.
Anywho.
So, its Saturday night, and we're going through our pre-race reprep checklist. Tires get swapped around, brakes get checked, oil topped off, and the spark plugs changed because of the missing. They were new with the rebuilt engine, but it did consume some oil during break in (but none during the race) so I wanted to change them in case. Everything with the engine and ECU logs looked great, so we moved on. One of the last things we do before heading to dinner is fill the car with fuel.
As the last jug goes in, I notice quite a strong fuel smell. With a modded vent, the car always smells a bit after a fill, but this was something else. A quick look under the car showed a puddle of fuel under the tank. Ruh Roh Raggy.
Its nearly dark, and we're all tired and hungry, so I do my best not to bark orders too roughly. I send Matt straight to the auto parts store so when we figure out what it is, hes already there. Then I start ripping the access covers off to investigate. I quickly discover fuel pouring out around the fuel sender. This tank/sender have been through hell, and is already got a new O ring, and a gasket to keep it from leaking, and yet it leaks. I can only assume the whole assembly is warped from all the age/fuel slosh/emptying and refilling. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, when the chips are down, all you can do is punt....
On the phone with Matt, I instruct him to buy a large stick of fuel tank repair puddy, and the largest package of JB weld he can find. While We waited, we pumped the tank half dry to stop the leak, then did everything we could to get the sender and tank clean and dry.
Its pitch dark by the time Matt gets back, I quickly mixed up all the putty, and pressed it in, all the way around the fuel sender, flattening it out as best I could to make the seal surface as large as possible. Then, I mixed up 2 full size tubes (think regular toothpaste tubes) of JB weld. I then poured all 8 or so ounces onto the top of the tank. I buried the whole mess like I was trying to bury my own hunger. Then we buttoned the covers back up, and covered the car and left. It would get 12 hours to dry, and there was no way to test it until morning. Sleepless night, here we come.
In the morning, we grab coffee and breakfast and get back to the paddock by 7am, leaving us nearly an hour before drivers cars need to be on grid. I cross my fingers and start dumping fuel in. I top it up, then wait.
It held.
The car takes the green flag. But after a few laps we get bad news over the radio. Its still randomly stumbling about 4500 RPM. I make the call to keep the car out there. I couldn't quickly diagnose it until it got worse.
Jaret's Sister showed up and captures some great action shots of the car on track.
We pushed through the stumble all day. It was slowly getting worse, but only slowing the car slightly once we all figured out how to driver around it. Sometimes it would rev clear to 6000 RPM, other times it would hit a 5500 RPM wall and refuse to rev higher. It was annoying at first but nearly impossible to diagnose mid race. I made some adjustments to the mapping at one pit stop, but it made no difference at all. In the end we all just did our best to overcome.
We managed to take the checkered flag, sort of....
I was in the car. I took the checkers, but on my final lap, I ran the car out of fuel. I had pushed the car harder than i had ever pushed it for a full stint without any major yellows or slow downs. I coasted/sputtered the car around the track, and barely made it back to pits. It was not the ending we hoped for, but we ended up 5th in class, and 11th overall. Not bad seeing as we had brought a knife to a gun fight.
I even managed to remember to get a group photo.
Well, most of a group photo, I had to sneak a photo of our incredible crew chief Shauni (Evan's Wife) when she wasn't paying attention. I wish I had a better way to recognize the energy she puts into our racing program. She logs all our pit stops, maintains all the records and info that help us plan for fuel strategy and driver rotations. She also makes sure everyone is where they need to be, when they need to be. We've run a race without her help, but we were a mess, and nothing seemed to go smoothly. We cannot thank her enough.
Once everything was loaded up, we headed to our customary pizza place, then home.