Can't agree with Jeff Cushing more. I really enjoyed TU in Big Bear and
only regret that I could not stay all day yesterday to attend the autocross
and the banquet. If these events were half as much fun as the those on
Saturday, it only adds to my disappointment. One of these days I will drag
my wife off to one of these events and maybe be able to force her into
noticing she is enjoying herself.
One thing to add to Jeff's comments. I had the pleasure of "assisting" in
the judging process on Saturday. Yup, that's right, pleasure. I am not
sure which of the Steve's set up the guidelines, Alcala or Sage, but either
way it was very well done. Steve Alcala ran a helluva good program and was
very receptive to suggestions. One thing I think we did that helped was to
take time to explain the process to the car owner as the "real judges" were
looking over the cars; and noted to the owners how we were trying to keep it
fair. Don't know how the other classes did this, but in the "largest" class
it seemed to work well. As I missed the results, would you care to send
them to me Mr. Sage?? Much obliged.
My Tiger performed quite admirably on the trip up to B-Squared, not
overheating a bit or puking any fluid. The hottest it ever got was about
225-230 degrees when we were stuck for a half-hour on Friday waiting for
construction to clear. Not bad. One thing to note however: Many have
expressed concern over cockpit heat in the past, and I just could not
understand it. I do now!! This is the longest trip I have ever taken in
the Tiger with the top up (160 miles each way). Damn that cockpit got hot!!
Though at speed (75+ mph and 4200 rpm.....yeah, I know, too big a rear
end....) and 90 degrees ambient in the drive through San Berdoo and
Riverside, the water temp never crossed the 195 degree mark.....hey, my
cooling mods worked for a fairly long trip....Yippee!! But new challenges
develop quickly......
However, I did develop a problem that I diagnosed when I got home as in the
steering rack. A bit of history might help and any suggestions for
rectifying will be greatly appreciated. Several weeks ago, I replaced the
steering knuckles on the lower steering rack of the Tiger. I was ver
pleased in that it totally removed the play in the front end. Ran tight as
a drum, though still took brut force to turn the wheel. While taking some
scenic drives at TU and testing the cornering, the steering developed a
curious problem. In steering to the right was very tight with on play
whatsoever. On turning to the left, the steering wheel had to be turned at
least two inches or more before affecting the direction of the car. When I
got home on Sunday afternoon, I popped the hood and took a look. As I
suspected, wheels turned immediately when steering wheel was turned right,
quite a bit of play when turned to the left. By the looks of things, this
play has developed in the steering rack. Question is, what is possibly
going on here??? I have checked the manual and suspect it might have
something to do with the dampner, shims or oil level. I know I will have to
remove the rack to fix this problem......but what am I looking for??? What
will I need to repair and or replace??? Sorry for the questions, but I have
real limited experience with Rack and Pinion. Mostly they have always
worked, and all I ever needed to do was add oil.
Your suggestions and thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all who made Big-Bear a lot of fun, and to everyone who made a
conscious effort to leave the politics in their garage.
Regards,
Allan
B9472373
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