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A day at the races

To: british-cars@hoosier.cs.utah.edu
Subject: A day at the races
From: Philippe Habib <phabib@apple.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 92 16:42:27 -0700
Since Dstone posted about his trip to driving school at the
track, here's mine:

It wasn't easy getting there, 2 weeks to the day before the 
class, the Triumphs saw fit to overheat.  The water pump was 
shot.  Not only that, but I would be gone kayaking that 
weekend.  It was my girlfriend's Valentine's Day present and 
we'd been rained out, cancelled or booked at each previous 
opportunity.  I didn't want to re-schedule again.  That would 
leave me with a bit over a week to get the car running, but 
like Bob Metcalfe used to say, "anything is possible with an 
intervening weekend."

Getting the water pump changed was easy, thanks in part to some advice from the 
people on the list.  Then I figured that since 
the manifold was off to get to the pump, I might as well 
overhaul the carburetors.  The car didn't run under 1500 RPM 
so it was time.  I took the carbs apart and found worn 
throttle plates and worn throttle bushings, and that didn't 
even address the bad automatic choke.  I sent away for a set 
of rebuilt carbs and choke instead.  It was only going to 
cost me a bit more than the machine work alone.  The carbs 
arrived and I put them in with little problem.

Only one thing, the car wouldn't start.  Time was running 
short so I called for help.  My father solved it in the first 
30 seconds of his visit.  The distributor cap was on crooked.  
A nudge back into place and the engine started on the first 
turn of the key.  Next I borrowed a helmet and arranged for 
the use of some tires from another SOL.  The car ran sort 
of ragged so I made an appointment for a tuneup.  They 
determined that the choke I just had bought was bad.  They 
tuned it as best they could and sent me on my way for no 
charge.

The night before, with the car all loaded up, I went to spend 
the night with a friend in Monterey.  I woke up early and was 
on my way to the track at 6:45.  About 6 blocks from his 
house, the car lost power and died.

The re-assuring click of the fuel pump could not be heard 
even in the quiet morning.  I walked back, woke up my friend 
and asked for directions to the nearest parts store.  He 
provided me with directions and car keys and I was outside 
their door 20 minutes before they opened.  They had a pump 
and it only costs 75% more than what it should have.  I was 
in no position to complain so I paid for it, thanked them and 
left to install it.

By 8:45, I was again on my way to the track.  Registration 
started at 7:15 and there was a mandatory driver's meeting at 
8:30 but I figured I'd go, if only to tell my sob story and 
try to have the fee applied to the next session.

Luckily they were running late too.  I wasn't even the last 
one to register.  It was too late for me to swap tires, but 
at least I hadn't missed the class.

The rest of the day was great.  After the first couple of 
track sessions, I finally had time to swap tires but decided 
not to.  I wasn't driving fast enough for tires to become a 
factor, and didn't until the last session.

I learned a lot about driving and my car's handling.  Mostly 
I learned that my car performs quite well and that the 
biggest factors in driving on the track are attitude, 
concentration, practice, and skill.  Not horsepower, sway 
bars and other modifications.  The car, in its current stock 
condition is capable of delivering a lot more than I know how 
to get out of it.  I'll be back at the next opportunity to 
try to even up the balance a bit..


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