10Dec21; Fri. 1430 hrs. EST. At Tech, suddenly the brake lights won’t work.
Of course they were working when the car came off the trailer. We begin trouble shooting and go off track to find and buy a new brake light switch. Replacing it, and attempting to bleed the brakes, we make the puzzling discovery the brakes will not bleed.
David arrives at dark and rescues us. The new EMPI brake proportioning valve Jamie had installed last week was marked wrong on the brake line in/out ports. When Jamie installed the lines according to the instructions and markings, it was actually backwards. This was a years-ago problem with that EMPI part, and we’d assumed that the marking error had been corrected.
11Dec21; Sat. No visible sunrise. Just gray, rainy, misty cold. Heavy fog. This is when the real heroes reveal. Jamie has made coffee. David makes pancakes and sausages on an electric griddle. Propane heaters glow warmly on our little band of racers as we eat in silence.
Weather forecast is more of the same cold-wet and worse. We run 57 down to tech to get the “Good Enough” sticker to race while the 0800 driver’s meeting was underway.
This where things start to go wrong. The staff is waffling because of the weather warnings. Possible local tornados. The early national news report tornadoes have already swept across six states. Kentucky has really been hit hard. Over the next few days, almost 100 people will be found killed and many more injured. And there are major storm fronts approaching us in waves at Road Atlanta.
Dr. Steve is out first, but the start is delayed yet somehow there are cars on track doing pace laps while others are parked on the grid. Some drivers are out of their cars, wandering around in the fog. Uncertain pace laps and transponder testing continue.
Finally, almost an hour late, the green flag drops and the cars who can see it take off, while others are confused. Then the fun begins.
Steve is in the thick of it, and his brakes soon lock up and cause him to spin just before the bridge, but he doesn’t hit anyone and no one hits him. Steve takes a quick detour to our paddock camp and David adjusts the brake bias valve and the problem is solved.
Then another problem emerges, the W140 cam engine starts erratically losing power. We try to ignore it, but it gets worse, dangerous even, and finally after two troubleshooting (ignition and fuel) paddock stops, I call the answer. A loosening ignition module plate in the 009 distributor. We tighten it with a small Allen wrench and smooth running is restored.
Johan and Steve. Steve's the good looking one.
I’m watching the oil temp. We’re not exceeding 180º very much this cool winter day even with one oil cooler scoop taped off.
Next, Johan goes out and (wham) quickly gets sideswiped on the left by something red, yellow, and fast. It tears off the ground effects running board. This kind of crazy driving is just a foretaste of what was coming.
We’re trying for 1.5 hour stints but weather and bizarre driver activity is not letting anything proceed as planned. Multiple cars are passing on yellow flags caused by accidents and oblivious drivers. Then cars began passing on double yellows. Some cars actually start racing the emergency vehicles on track.
This is mutiny at the racetrack.
Black flags are now out, everywhere. The staff is trying to stop the race. The racers are not altogether cooperating. Some act like they’ve never seen a black flag. Among the traffic of cars returning to the paddock is Johan being towed in. We’re not absolutely sure what’s happening but it looks like the race has been stopped if not called off. The loud speakers are blaring. A staffer says they have four pages of cars who were passing on double yellows. The race has degenerated into chaos.
We have our own problems. The W140 cam engine will start but shakes and dies. We’re frantically checking everything. The worse clue emerges as David discovers he can easily rock the crank pulley back and forth with one hand. Something is broken inside.
A few days later, when we open up the W140 cam engine, we discover the crank-mounted straight-cut cam gear was breaking apart at its Woodruff key slot. The large straight-cut gear, bolted to the cam, was chipping teeth.
I make the call to swap engines. It seems that the opportunity couldn’t be better. The race is halted and likely over for today. David, Jamie, and Justin grab tools and start the engine drop immediately.
As the swap progresses, LeMons restarts the race, which is moot to us because we’re too busy to notice. The crew has the backup W125 cam engine in and running as the mid-afternoon December sunset closes on us. We have tomorrow to make up lost time.
Yelling, drinking, and lunatic laughing goes on outside my trailer until midnight and past.
12Dec21; Sun. Dawn comes clear, warming. I discover thick gobs of multicolored Silly String hanging from everything as I exit my trailer for our adjoining tent compound. Opened or empty bottles of cheap and expensive alcohol litter the tables.
Jamie has the coffee going as Johan, Dr. Steve, and David stagger in, faking alertness as they process that it’s time to race.
The Blitzwagen starts at the first turnover, the stinger blasting the hangovers. I slept well and the roar is hurting me. We manage to get Jamie in the car to drive and the car to the grid and lord the green flag goes down. We might have a race here.
Yesterday was crash and burns. Forewarned, Jamie takes it easy, keeping us out of trouble until the mandatory hour-long race-recess Sunday School “quiet time” aka lunch. The brakes are excellent. Ambient is about 60º F. oil temp at 190/210º F. is still low, even with one rear deck intake scoop taped off. The day is still warming, so we leave the scoops as is.
David takes the Blitzwagen out next and sets our best lap time of the race, a 2:03 on the fresh small cam engine. The Blitzwagen is handling, braking, and going great but smartphone checks on the timing site shows we are way to far behind to win.
Our fuel stops are showing the extended stint times are requiring almost a full refill of the 12-gallon Jazz fuel cell.
Finally, Johan goes out. We begin to pack, the mid afternoon now actually warm, in the high 60’s. At this vulnerable moment, twenty minutes before the checkered flag, it happens. Johan is being towed in. The tool boxes are already in the 24-foot trailer.
The engine will start but is erratically blasting out through the right hand Solex and exhaust. The wire screen on the right hand carb, which normally fits down within the velocity stack, has been bulged out upwards in a true cone. There is no time left to do anything about it.
The Blitzwagen is pushed back up into the trailer and we diesel home. We don’t know it yet, but we discover the dual-spring 40mm intake valve on #2 cylinder has dropped, but with minimum collateral damage. The valve stem separated at the keeper grooves. Piston okay. The veteran DRD heads need new guides and valves.
There were 108 finishers. We put in 113 laps, only good enough for 78th place. Our best lap was 2:03, set by David. Our average lap speed was 74mph.
Class A was won by a 1989 535i. Class B 1989 Mercedes e280. Class C went to a 2006 Chevy Cobalt.
We depend on our dual Solexes (aka Kadrons to the masses). Best balance of power and reliability on the track.
