Today I finally got to put this Spitfire race car to the test. I traveled to
Sierra Vista, AZ for an autocross and had a blast!
In taking the thing of the trailer, I managed to destroy the oil cooler so I
removed it and ran without it. (Not really necessary this
time of the year anyway.)
It was so cold that I had to tow the car to start it. I guess it is a
combination of thick oil, new engine, high compression and a
weaker than desired battery. Anyway, I managed to get fuel flowing through the
two Webers and build a fire in the 4 pots and it
sounded oh so sweet.
I let it run for a while to warm up and charge the battery a bit. After that
it started every time I needed it to.
I ran in the third of three run groups so the car had a chance to cool down by
the time I got up. I did 5 runs and improved on my time
each time (except for the last when I over-did it in one turn and got a bit
squirrely losing about half second.
The best part of the day is there is no evidence ot the problems I was having
with the clutch and flywheel.
Now I will tear down the upper end and check everything out before the two
events here in Tucson next weekend.
All in all, a very good day!
Joe (C)
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