Project 944
***
Links aren't working - need to fix that
****
Here
is the list / chronology of work
MAY
2003:
As of
May 6th:
As
usual, work fell behind, and the car is now due back on
Saturday, May 10. I have updated the
suspension page and
the
bodywork pages,
so check them out for the latest pictures. More to
come soon, as I plan to take more photos once I have the
car. The paintwork is done and it looks
awesome. I changed my mind on the color, slightly,
from Speed Yellow to Zinc Yellow. You'll have to see
it to understand...
At
this point, the body is done, although the 968 mirrors and
door handles still need to be installed. I bolted in
the Recaro seats last Friday, when I tool the day off from
work, and also got the Simpson harnesses installed.
The roll bar is in. The steering wheel, interior door
panels, and dash cover still need to be done. The
suspension is almost all together, as the springs, shocks,
bushings, and torsion bars are on, but the sway bars still
need to be added. It will also need an
alignment. The engine is almost together, as
the
Jet-HOT Sterling coated
cam cover and intake proved challenging, as they needed to
be honed before re-installation. I think I'll run the
car for a little while before adding the K&N filter and
the Autothority chip, but we'll start using the new
Magnacore wires immediately. I'll add them when we
take the car to the dyno, to verify the benefit. The
transmission is all set, with the new spring clutch, GT LSD
and Autothority short shifter added, although I still need
to install the AGLA shift boot. Of course, the new
Kokeln solid motor and transmission mounts are already
on. The BK strut brace still needs to be added.
The exhaust is almost together, although we're not sure if
we'll install the hi-flo cat, or leave it running with just
the test pipe. It depends on the noise. The 951
brakes are on, although the Pagid pads were misplaced, so
Kevin may order in a new set. I'll provide another
update after I get the car. Still planning to run at
NHIS on 5/12-13 for the MetroNY PCA DE. More on that
later, too, of course!
========
As of
May 10th:
I
just got back from Kevin's. We got the door handles
and mirrors installed (see bodywork link above), and I
finished the harnesses and I put the license plate on the
car. I also installed the fire extinguisher.
The car was running for the first time today, and Kevin
actually took it for a short ride! The exhaust is on
and it sounds awesome!! Still needs door panels
installed, strut brace, steering wheel, and
alignment. Plan to do all of that on Monday, and
still hoping to get to NHIS on Tuesday.
=========
As of
May 13th:
The
car is still not ready! Ugh!
I
went to get it today, but just as I got there, Kevin
noticed that there was something wrong with the front
passenger side. He spent an hour diagnosing the
problem: wrong spindle! We sourced some used spindles
to accommodate the 951 brakes and the driver side was fine,
but the passenger side was the wrong part. (Same
item, but from a different year, so - a slightly different
size) So, the dismantler was called, and he offered
to send the correct one via next-day-air, so I will pick
the car up tomorrow. In the meantime, Kevin and Randy
installed the interior door panels, and the shift
boot. However, the shift boot does not seem to fit
properly, so I will call AGLA to try and resolve the
issue. I installed the steering wheel and I vacuumed
the rugs. Still need to install the power window
switch, get the car inspected, and fix the wheel bearing /
spindle issue - all of which should be done tomorrow.
Fingers crossed! Lastly - hoping to get to NHIS for
Open Track test and tune on Thursday, 5/15, as I missed
both days of the MetroNY DE event.
==========
As of
May 16th:
I
picked up the car on Wednesday and drove it to, on, and
back from the track on Thursday, without incident.
This, despite a major dumbkopf uncovered on
Wednesday: I failed to fully communicate the fact
that the wheels that came with the car were 15", and the
951 brakes require 16" minimum. So - I had to drive
it with the used Kumhos on it. The fronts were spent
after a couple of sessions at
NHIS, but I
still made it home. I've since ordered some used
wheels from Greg Esmail, so I can use them for the street,
and I ordered a new set of Kumhos from Russ Castagna for
the track.
At
any rate, the car understeered all morning, even after
adjusting air pressures, shock settings, and rear sway
bar. In the end, we determined that it was probably
due to the condition of the tires (old Kumhos). For
now, the shocks are set for 8 in the front and 7 in the
back (based on 24 settings, where 1 is the most stiff and
24 is the softest). The front sway bar is not
adjustable, but the rear bar is set to full stiff.
The front pressures were set to 30 hot and the rears were
at 36 hot. I'll leave the settings as-is for the Glen
next weekend, and see what happens. The good news is
that I can adjust these things at the Glen, if necessary,
and that Caroline is a very good judge and she provides
very useful feedback as a test driver. Kevin noted
that the front brakes were locking up, so he removed a
pressure release valve from the rear, to balance things out
a bit. Otherwise, the car was fine. Still need
to get the new wheels and tires, get the car inspected, and
see about a hitch for the tow-behind
trailer.
==========
As of
May 31st:
Well,
The Glen experience was interesting, as usual. It
rained the first day, and that made things a little
hairy. I was driving on the wheels and tires that I
bough from Greg Esmail, and although Kevin and I each
checked the pressures, and we had each checked the tread,
and everything seemed cool, the handling was still
weird. I wasn't sure that it was due to the tires,
but I was hoping that it would clear up once I put on the
new Kumhos. I had them in the car for the ride out to
Watkins Glen, while Caroline and baby flew in to
Buffalo. They hitched a ride to the track in George
and Karen's camper. Regarding the handling, the car
would drift to the right under heavy acceleration, like
around 4500 RPM, especially of the gas pedal was used in an
abrupt manner. The car would jerk back left if the
pressure was released from the gas pedal. Smooth
inputs did not create such extreme behavior. I later
found out that the tires were mismatched - the fronts were
the same, but the back tires were different - from the
fronts and each other! The rear driver tire had a
directional tread - going the wrong way! The rear
passenger tire was not directional. This is probably
the reason for the erratic handling. Also, I am now
learning to be a smooth driver, as the C4 used to mask all
of my inadequacies. I found out early the first day
that this car, unlike the C4, requires either a heel and
toe downshift, or atleast some throttle input while the
lower gear is engaged. I popped the clutch coming
down the chute, entering the boot, and found myself
sideways. My lack of smoothness, combined with the
stiff suspension, the rain, and those tires were all
contributing factors. I had an instructor in the car
and he confirmed that I was not going to fast. He
thought that the poor footwork was the main issue. At
any rate, I almost caught it, but the car spun in toward
the apex, onto the grass, and it just grazed the armco,
causing very minor damage. The front bumper is
scraped and the turn signal is busted, both on the
passenger side. So - I worked on being smooth for the
rest of the weekend, and I still have a long way to
go. The weather was better the second day. I
got about 2.5 good runs and Caroline got in 3 good
runs. There were three runs the first day and four
scheduled for the second day. We participated in all
of the sessions, even in the rain. My times were
quite slow. Caroline, who always had a leg up on me
in the smoothness category, was also slow, but atleast
faster than me! I used to be faster in the C4, which
did not reward smoothness as much as this car - but now the
order is reversed. So - I am extra-motivated to get
this thing figured out!
APRIL
2003:
The car
went to the body shop on April 10th for full paint
job. The car will be painted bright yellow. It
should be done in about two weeks. Then - back to
Kevin at Randolph Racing for one more week of final
assembly. I plan to have the car on 4/25/3, but I
have a feeling that things may get help up at the body
shop. There should more updates coming this month,
and hopefully final project photos and
details.
===========
MARCH
2003:
Still
in the process of building the car. Lots of new stuff
bought. Projected completion date is pushed to
April.
===========
FEBRUARY
200
Dropped
it off at
Randolph Racing for
Kevin to start building as a
Class H PCA Racer:
• Engine and Transmission are out of the car.
Engine is being rebuilt and transmission (was a 951 unit)
is being replaced with one from a stock
944.
• Adding a Limited Slip from
Guard Transmission
• Bought camber plates and a solid bushing kit
from
Karl at
Racer's Edge
• Also Bought shocks and springs from
Karl
at
Racer's Edge
•
Bought "Charley" A-Arms and Caster
Blocks
• Working on the interior, planning to add a new
wheel, dash, seats, and shift knob
• Bought a
Safety Devices
roll bar from
Stable Energies
•
Bought an exhaust from Tim at
Speed Force Racing
•
Bought some Cup Wheels from friends in
Florida
• Bought a door to get the body work
kick-started
===========
Bought
the car in late January 2003
More to
come...