Datsun Roadster Race fans:
I was out at Waterford Hills this weekend, running my GP 1600. I've been
chasing carburetor problems for almost two years, and I'm starting to get a
handle on things.
Qualifying went OK, but not great. I found out that my float levels were
way off front to back. I got this fixed, and I was looking forward to the
race.
During Saturday's race, things were looking up. The car was running great!
On the second lap, the spec Miata in front on me spun in some fluid and
crashed on the fastest corner of the track. I was sideways through the 60
mph corner, but was able to make it though. I backed off a bit after that,
and coasted home. The car started running rough at the end, and I thought I
was running out of fuel. Turned out it was the screws holding one of the
carb suction chambers coming loose.
With those problem sorted out, I was looking forward to Sunday morning's
race. Things started out well, and I was starting to push the car a little.
The float arm in the rear carb broke, which started flooding the engine with
fuel. I was able to finish the race, though. Repairs were quickly made.
The car was running great for the final race on Sunday. Towards the end of
the race, I think I may have been running short on fuel, as the engine was
cutting out in left hand turns. Still finished the race, and the car is in
one piece.
The good news, is that I've finally got most of the major carb problems
sorted out. Now I can work on fine tuning. The bad news is that I was
expecting major improvements in my laps times, but that didn't happen. I
think the car is seriously down on power relative to the cars I should be
competitive with. This is not a major surprise, but I was hoping to pick
things up a little bit with my carburetors running better. This winter
project is a new engine: 1000 more rpm, and probably 30 more hp should help
things along.
Happy Roadstering all,
--
Chris Coker
69 1600 SPL311 <http://mywebpages.comcast.net/chriscoker/roadster.html>
66 1600 GP Race Car <http://mywebpages.comcast.net/datsunracer/racecar.html>
Royal Oak, MI
/// datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net mailing list
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|