Hi All,
Had an abbreviated weekend at Gratton with the XK120, finished my weekend
early with a big bang on the front straight during qualifying Saturday morning.
5000 RPM in third, big solid bang and the sound of heavy chucks of metal
hitting the pavement! Clutch in, ignition off, hand in the air, and coast
onto the grass. I stood behind the Armco watching the steam rise and was
sure I had lost the bottom end. After getting towed in we looked and found
that the harmonic balancer had disintegrated (violently!). It took the water
pump pulley and generator pulley with it, as well as a hole in the radiator,
but no other damage. Needless to say I was really relieved and happy, even
though it ended the weekend. Also I was real glad I took Jim Canady's advice
and removed the aluminum fan! If that sucker had been in there I would
probably have had pieces through the bonnet!
Had a good weekend otherwise. I qualified at 1:59 which was well off the
pace but still better than three others in the group, which is a step up
from Blackhawk! The weather was good, the racing was good and the track is
fun (also a little scary!). Not really made for a heavy, big torque car like
mine (especially with no front sway bar!).
We stuck around for the rest of the day Saturday, watched the sprint races
and then hauled back home Saturday night - on the bright side I did save the
cost of a night in the hotel.
We will be back together and ready for Road America in September - hopefully
with a front sway bar back in place!
Dennis Murphy
Geneva, IL
1952 XK120
1990 XJ-S
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