2015 SpeedMullet updates
08-22-2017, 11:26 AM
#767
updates are slowing because honestly, i just don't have time to keep up with everything, and i apologize for that.
Last week and this past weekend was crazy. The engine showed up and i shared that already. I spent some time figuring out what oil to use and I ended up being referred, by several people, to Driven Racing oil, which is Joe Gibbs with a new name. I talked with Lake Speed directly about it and he recommended the FR50, which is a 5w50 fully synthetic oil, after using his BR40 break-in oil. He also got me set up with some 75w140 for the rear. this stuff is killer. reading the material on it has me very confident in the oil. you can read more here. www.drivenracingoil.com
Saturday night before i hit the sack i sat down and hammered out a real list. This was everything i could think of before my eyelids shut, but i have added a few things since, and thankfully, began to actually cross some stuff off too.
the next order of business was the clutch actuation. honestly, this has been a bigger headache than the picture shows. all the aftermarket bells i've found so far use a clutch fork with a 9 o'clock position. well the thirdgen floor board is right in the way of that, and the factory t5 cars actually use a 7:30 position. I spent some time laying this out, trans was in and out a dozen times or more, and i finally came up with shortening the clutch fork, cutting a hole in the floor, and using this universal pull type slave, lol. it's a little hokey, but after spending some time getting the angles right last night, it's actually going to work really well.
yesterday, one of the most critical pieces showed up. you wanna talk about something that was worth the wait? holy crap this is a nice piece.
i also got all fluids in the car, brakes and clutch are both bled. I will be out there again tonight hammering away. i might just be crazy, but i intend to test this saturday
Last week and this past weekend was crazy. The engine showed up and i shared that already. I spent some time figuring out what oil to use and I ended up being referred, by several people, to Driven Racing oil, which is Joe Gibbs with a new name. I talked with Lake Speed directly about it and he recommended the FR50, which is a 5w50 fully synthetic oil, after using his BR40 break-in oil. He also got me set up with some 75w140 for the rear. this stuff is killer. reading the material on it has me very confident in the oil. you can read more here. www.drivenracingoil.com
Saturday night before i hit the sack i sat down and hammered out a real list. This was everything i could think of before my eyelids shut, but i have added a few things since, and thankfully, began to actually cross some stuff off too.
the next order of business was the clutch actuation. honestly, this has been a bigger headache than the picture shows. all the aftermarket bells i've found so far use a clutch fork with a 9 o'clock position. well the thirdgen floor board is right in the way of that, and the factory t5 cars actually use a 7:30 position. I spent some time laying this out, trans was in and out a dozen times or more, and i finally came up with shortening the clutch fork, cutting a hole in the floor, and using this universal pull type slave, lol. it's a little hokey, but after spending some time getting the angles right last night, it's actually going to work really well.
yesterday, one of the most critical pieces showed up. you wanna talk about something that was worth the wait? holy crap this is a nice piece.
i also got all fluids in the car, brakes and clutch are both bled. I will be out there again tonight hammering away. i might just be crazy, but i intend to test this saturday
08-25-2017, 09:15 AM
#773
realized last night that i had made an under-educated mistake on the adjusters for the clutch. unfortunately this means the trans needs to come out and the clutch come off and full disassembled to repair. this is cramping my style for racing tomorrow. will be hitting it hard tonight and tomorrow and hopefully will be testing somewhere sunday.
08-28-2017, 03:32 PM
#776
Friday night i spent the evening pulling the trans back out, pulled the clutch apart, and to my dismay, everything looked exactly as it should. perfect. i spent 4 crucial hours pulling this apart and putting it back together and i didn't need to, lol. oh well, it gave me an opportunity to learn the clutch that much deeper. these things truly are a work of art.
Then saturday we thrashed. When i say we, i mean myself, my cousin, and a good friend Scott. i was able to get the car all together minus the hood on saturday, and closed up shop just a little after 2am. I am incredibly satisfied with how this all came together. i went live on facebook for first fire. not sure how to rip that video off and put it on youtube just yet. will look into that.
sunday morning we got up early and i grabbed the cut-off wheel and the hood, with probably a little more zeal than most would have. i have a philosophy when it comes to modifying stuff: "it doesn't work at all like it is now. the worst that can happen is i make it still not work and have to start over". i've done all sorts of stuff to all sorts of projects. ruined some parts, and made other things infinitely better. as is the case with this hood. it turned out great!
we made it to the track and managed to hit the line 5 times. the first hit was soft on purpose and the data was useless. The second hit i broke the throttle cable on the 1-2 shift. it pulled the little plastic clip that goes into the top of the pedal right off the cable. i mcguivered it back together using a small machine nut that i cut with a pair of dykes, slid over the cable, swedged, then shoved inside the plastic clip. worked amazing. #becausedragweek
the last 3 passes were good enough to count as my partial passes of an IHRA license but was not able to get the final 2 full passes in.
a very very sloppy outing truthfully, and short shifting on a conservative tune i still made a 138 mph pass.
taking tonight off. i need to rest up. then it's off to get the street manners and trailer stuff hammered out!
Then saturday we thrashed. When i say we, i mean myself, my cousin, and a good friend Scott. i was able to get the car all together minus the hood on saturday, and closed up shop just a little after 2am. I am incredibly satisfied with how this all came together. i went live on facebook for first fire. not sure how to rip that video off and put it on youtube just yet. will look into that.
sunday morning we got up early and i grabbed the cut-off wheel and the hood, with probably a little more zeal than most would have. i have a philosophy when it comes to modifying stuff: "it doesn't work at all like it is now. the worst that can happen is i make it still not work and have to start over". i've done all sorts of stuff to all sorts of projects. ruined some parts, and made other things infinitely better. as is the case with this hood. it turned out great!
we made it to the track and managed to hit the line 5 times. the first hit was soft on purpose and the data was useless. The second hit i broke the throttle cable on the 1-2 shift. it pulled the little plastic clip that goes into the top of the pedal right off the cable. i mcguivered it back together using a small machine nut that i cut with a pair of dykes, slid over the cable, swedged, then shoved inside the plastic clip. worked amazing. #becausedragweek
the last 3 passes were good enough to count as my partial passes of an IHRA license but was not able to get the final 2 full passes in.
a very very sloppy outing truthfully, and short shifting on a conservative tune i still made a 138 mph pass.
taking tonight off. i need to rest up. then it's off to get the street manners and trailer stuff hammered out!
09-08-2017, 11:15 PM
#780
got new slicks last week
also got the interior back together wednesday night.
did this thing too. i had a light left over from my interior lights and i decided to stick it to the inside of the tunnel for clutch tuning
finished up the trailer as well. it cleaned up nicely i think.
yesterday i took the car for it's maiden voyage. i'm late to the party and didn't put many miles on it, but it survived the trek. the tune needs some work but i think we can get it hammered out on the road without too much headache. it seems like mostly timing related that are the issues. i snatched a picture of it wearing the street shoes. there's just something about draglites that i love. glad i got these. wish i had more time to work on those front wheels.
as of tonight, all our stuff is loaded and i think we're ready to hit the road in the morning. i don't think i'll sleep much out of excitement honestly, lol.
also got the interior back together wednesday night.
did this thing too. i had a light left over from my interior lights and i decided to stick it to the inside of the tunnel for clutch tuning
finished up the trailer as well. it cleaned up nicely i think.
yesterday i took the car for it's maiden voyage. i'm late to the party and didn't put many miles on it, but it survived the trek. the tune needs some work but i think we can get it hammered out on the road without too much headache. it seems like mostly timing related that are the issues. i snatched a picture of it wearing the street shoes. there's just something about draglites that i love. glad i got these. wish i had more time to work on those front wheels.
as of tonight, all our stuff is loaded and i think we're ready to hit the road in the morning. i don't think i'll sleep much out of excitement honestly, lol.