'70 Nova LY6/TH400 6.0VVT
06-06-2018, 12:13 PM
#1503
Ask and you shall receive! Here's a video of the first run of the day. I was driving conservatively to get a feel for the course. As I crossed the finish and looked over at the board, I was completely stunned to see a 47.1sec ET. It was just a few seconds off pace from some more experienced drivers that preceded me.
I am still processing videos, but here is a cool one I got looking at the rear suspension.
I have a ton of photos and videos to go through. Hopefully I have time to to post some later this week.
I am still processing videos, but here is a cool one I got looking at the rear suspension.
I have a ton of photos and videos to go through. Hopefully I have time to to post some later this week.
06-06-2018, 03:08 PM
#1507
How I Got Cool Overlay Video for Autocross:
I downloaded Harry's Lap Timer Grand Prix version which cost $28 for Android installed on my Samsung S7 phone. (not sure what it is for iPhone but should be similar). There are other versions of HLT that are cheaper, but only Grand Prix allows external video recording using a GoPro. I have a Go Pro Hero 3+ which I can connect to my phone via WiFi. I placed my phone on a window mount on the dash area and my Go Pro on a dual suction mount on the quarter window. GPS services have to be on on the phone and the WiFi has to be connected to the Go Pro before starting the HLT app. When I open the app, I ignore all the tutorials and trigger setup stuff (more on that later) and simply go to "Timer" and hit "Video" and use "Video Preview". It does not show me the GoPro video, but it will tell me if the GoPro is connected/ready. It does show me a preview of my phone's camera footage and I can select whether to use the front camera or the rear camera. While in the video preview mode, I hit the "record" button. This starts the timer, starts taking lap data, starts recording video on my cellphone camera, and triggers the GoPro to also start recording. At the end of the run, I hit the "stop recording" button which will cause HLT to stop taking data, stop the cellphone camera video, and stop the GoPro recording. Next I use a USB SD card reader that I bought for my phone to transfer my GoPro video file from the GoPro's SD card to a directory on my phone. Then in HLT I go to my lap list and "link" the GoPro video to the lap data (the cell video is automatically linked already). I found when I have multiple videos to look through, I can check the video length of the cell video and find the GoPro video with the closest video length. Finally once the videos are associated, I hit a button for creating the overlay video. This can take several minutes and I can't do anything on my phone until it is done. All the files are put or have to be put into obscure folder locations, so there are many pitfalls to getting this thing to work. But I understand with newer GoPros, you can download the video directly with HLT and that should make things much easier.
One thing I mentioned above is that I use the video preview mode to start my lap timing. HLT has the capability to automatically trigger lap times based on start/finish GPS locations, which you can walk to and "save" prior to driving the course. The problem is that those triggers can be unreliable due to inaccuracy in the GPS location system, especially on tight autocross courses, and I've heard a lot of people struggle with lost laps because the triggering didn't work. Using the manual recording method makes the elapse time useless, but is perfectly reliable to make sure the lap data and videos get recorded. So when you see the elapse time ticking by on my video, you can see it has nothing to do with the actual lap time. That's fine with me because I am more interested in track map, speed, g-forces, and videos than the timer.
Since HLT can not live stream video from my Hero 3+ (although I think it has that capability for newer Hero models), when setting up my camera position I just used the regular GoPro app. I had a few issues with my GoPro staying on and connected over wifi. A few times HLT did not recognize the camera, but I was able to get it to recongize again after shutting off the GoPro's wifi and then reconnecting.
Also I used a wind sock over my camera. It didn't cut out all the wind noise but trust me it was much better than without. A better solution is a dedicated microphone, but my particular Hero model doesn't allow that.
Finally, it was really important to have a USB charger in the car to keep the phone and the GoPro charged up. I keep the phone charged during the runs and recharged my GoPro between runs. It was a lot of work, but I got some really cool video. I also used it in my brother's Manx. I've been posting some photos and videos as I can to Instagram but haven't put them in a more permanent location for sharing here yet.
Last edited by -TheBandit-; 06-06-2018 at 03:22 PM.
06-06-2018, 03:20 PM
#1508
I have watched that video over and over and studied photos. It looks like the rear end is moving laterally a fair amount, but I wasn't getting any tire rub whatsoever the whole day and the car felt very well balanced. I have data showing sustained lateral acceleration around 0.9g on many of my runs and few blips at 1.0 and 1.1g - not bad for street friendly treads!
Looking forward to more time so I can do a full write-up.
06-06-2018, 05:18 PM
#1509
Autocross - Camarillo Airport - June 3, 2018 - Speed Limit Racing
Back in April I got the email I'd been waiting for - Speed Limit Racing announced an upcoming autocross event June 2-3 at the local airport. I made a call right away to my brother, who rode along the last time I went a year ago, and he said he was in to streetify his dune buggy and join. The race was on for both of us to finalize changes to our cars and get ready for the event. I'm happy to report, we both made it!
First, my Nova should be familiar to folks following this thread. A basic recap - it's a 1970 Nova powered by a VVT- cammed 370 ci Gen IV LY6 with a TH400 and posi rear. When I did the engine swap, I also made a number of suspension changes up front including the Guldstrand mod to improve camber gain, tubular upper arms to allow more caster, 600lb/in AFCO springs and adjusters to lower the front, Helwig tubular sway bar, and Hotchkis Bilstein shocks. Since my last autocross, I cut and narrowed the rearend, added "LS1" rear discs with HPS pads and Powerslot rotors, and sprung it with stiffer Hotchkis 1.5" drop springs, rear Helwig tubular sway bar, and recently rear Hotchkis Bilstein shocks. I also made a major tire upgrade, going from 15-year-old 225/60R15 and 275/60R15 tires to modern 245/40R18 and 255/40R18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Last week my wife and I used her craft machine to cut an all-important magnetic #70 for each door - pretty sure that was worth +15hp and +0.5g in the corners!
And the newcomer to the thread - my brother's Meyer's Manx dune buggy!
My brother and I got these cars at about the same time, between 1997 and 1998. It was built as an off-roader. While I was interested in drag racing and "pro street" cars, he was building and driving this at the sand dunes of Pismo Beach, high speed desert, and tough truck challenges. About 7 or 8 years ago he built a big motor for it and destroyed the transmission. It sat mothballed until he regained interest after I took him to autocross with me last year. He was really interested to know how his buggy would do in this kind of event. In the course of the last couple of months, he swapped out the transmission, fixed a bunch of issues due to sitting, lowered the car, and swapped the wheels and tires for some dirt-cheap Hoosier take-offs from the local asphalt race scene. With less than an hour of shakedown, he threw the car on a trailer and drove it a couple hours to join me at the races!
Back in April I got the email I'd been waiting for - Speed Limit Racing announced an upcoming autocross event June 2-3 at the local airport. I made a call right away to my brother, who rode along the last time I went a year ago, and he said he was in to streetify his dune buggy and join. The race was on for both of us to finalize changes to our cars and get ready for the event. I'm happy to report, we both made it!
First, my Nova should be familiar to folks following this thread. A basic recap - it's a 1970 Nova powered by a VVT- cammed 370 ci Gen IV LY6 with a TH400 and posi rear. When I did the engine swap, I also made a number of suspension changes up front including the Guldstrand mod to improve camber gain, tubular upper arms to allow more caster, 600lb/in AFCO springs and adjusters to lower the front, Helwig tubular sway bar, and Hotchkis Bilstein shocks. Since my last autocross, I cut and narrowed the rearend, added "LS1" rear discs with HPS pads and Powerslot rotors, and sprung it with stiffer Hotchkis 1.5" drop springs, rear Helwig tubular sway bar, and recently rear Hotchkis Bilstein shocks. I also made a major tire upgrade, going from 15-year-old 225/60R15 and 275/60R15 tires to modern 245/40R18 and 255/40R18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Last week my wife and I used her craft machine to cut an all-important magnetic #70 for each door - pretty sure that was worth +15hp and +0.5g in the corners!
And the newcomer to the thread - my brother's Meyer's Manx dune buggy!
My brother and I got these cars at about the same time, between 1997 and 1998. It was built as an off-roader. While I was interested in drag racing and "pro street" cars, he was building and driving this at the sand dunes of Pismo Beach, high speed desert, and tough truck challenges. About 7 or 8 years ago he built a big motor for it and destroyed the transmission. It sat mothballed until he regained interest after I took him to autocross with me last year. He was really interested to know how his buggy would do in this kind of event. In the course of the last couple of months, he swapped out the transmission, fixed a bunch of issues due to sitting, lowered the car, and swapped the wheels and tires for some dirt-cheap Hoosier take-offs from the local asphalt race scene. With less than an hour of shakedown, he threw the car on a trailer and drove it a couple hours to join me at the races!
06-06-2018, 05:28 PM
#1510
As much as I like your Nova, I'm a VW guy going back to age 14. (I'm 45 now) I dig your brother's buggy. Is it a legit Manx, or a Manx-style?
Any more specs? How'd he do?
I'll have to go back and watch the videos later, but I love the setup on the Nova.
Jay
Any more specs? How'd he do?
I'll have to go back and watch the videos later, but I love the setup on the Nova.
Jay
06-06-2018, 05:31 PM
#1511
Autocross Continued...
Speed Limit Racing is the same group I did autocross with a year ago and they are a great bunch - they keep cars moving through the grid all day long so everyone gets a good deal of seat time. The course is setup on a runway, which limits layout to some degree but allows for long high speed sections and open spaces in case you spin off the track. There is always a good mix of classic and modern cars, along with some super cars and interesting stuff showing up from time to time (at least from what I've seen on their social media). Here is Sunday's grid:
The format is simple. There are color groups of about 8 cars. The first group gets 1 parade lap to get a sense of the course followed by 3 hot laps. Then they rotate through the groups, repeating the same. Then each group does a set of 4 hot laps and finally each group does a set of 3 hot laps to end the day. Every car gets 10 hot laps total. Whenever there are problems with the timing equipment, the car gets to rejoin the line for a rerun.
My brother's group was first up. Here are some photos of his car running from throughout the day:
His car did great. It didn't have the power of some of the V8 cars like mine, but in tight corners it was an animal. Once he learned the course and started driving harder, I was recording 1.3g lateral in some places! He made big improvements lap after lap, posting a best ET of 48.3sec.
Speed Limit Racing is the same group I did autocross with a year ago and they are a great bunch - they keep cars moving through the grid all day long so everyone gets a good deal of seat time. The course is setup on a runway, which limits layout to some degree but allows for long high speed sections and open spaces in case you spin off the track. There is always a good mix of classic and modern cars, along with some super cars and interesting stuff showing up from time to time (at least from what I've seen on their social media). Here is Sunday's grid:
The format is simple. There are color groups of about 8 cars. The first group gets 1 parade lap to get a sense of the course followed by 3 hot laps. Then they rotate through the groups, repeating the same. Then each group does a set of 4 hot laps and finally each group does a set of 3 hot laps to end the day. Every car gets 10 hot laps total. Whenever there are problems with the timing equipment, the car gets to rejoin the line for a rerun.
My brother's group was first up. Here are some photos of his car running from throughout the day:
His car did great. It didn't have the power of some of the V8 cars like mine, but in tight corners it was an animal. Once he learned the course and started driving harder, I was recording 1.3g lateral in some places! He made big improvements lap after lap, posting a best ET of 48.3sec.
06-06-2018, 05:46 PM
#1512
Autocross Continued...
Not to be outdone, the Nova!
From the moment I turned into the first corner, I knew all the work and time upgrading the suspension and tires had paid off! After watching cars in the previous groups run in the mid/high 50sec range and a couple experience drivers posting low 40s, I was stunned when I saw the board after my very first lap 47.1sec! Lap after lap I explored different lines and pushed the limits of the car. I found the car was very well balanced and the tires forgiving. I have read about these things, but never really experienced them until now. Previously my car would be doing fine fine fine then suddenly I'd either be oversteering with the back end coming around or plowing/understeering right out of the corner. Now when I reach the limits of traction, the car starts to slip in a very predictable way, strafing sideways while still turning. It has this really awesome wide threshold where I have some choice on how much to push it and it's so much easier to manage.
Unfortunately the story isn't quite the same under braking - hard braking still induces understeer and I found a couple of times I was braking a little too late/deep, like this time I came out of the slalom too hot, pushed out of the next corner by a few feet, and plowed a group of cones. Yes that's one of them smoking under the heat of my exhaust.
As I learned the car and pushed things a bit harder, I managed a best time of 45.1sec. Looking back on the data, I was regularly sustaining 0.9g lateral while in a few places I blipped 1.0-1.1g - not too shabby for an old muscle car on a set of street tires! I was stoked!
I have more videos and stories to share but for now I better get back to my day job. Thanks for looking!
Not to be outdone, the Nova!
From the moment I turned into the first corner, I knew all the work and time upgrading the suspension and tires had paid off! After watching cars in the previous groups run in the mid/high 50sec range and a couple experience drivers posting low 40s, I was stunned when I saw the board after my very first lap 47.1sec! Lap after lap I explored different lines and pushed the limits of the car. I found the car was very well balanced and the tires forgiving. I have read about these things, but never really experienced them until now. Previously my car would be doing fine fine fine then suddenly I'd either be oversteering with the back end coming around or plowing/understeering right out of the corner. Now when I reach the limits of traction, the car starts to slip in a very predictable way, strafing sideways while still turning. It has this really awesome wide threshold where I have some choice on how much to push it and it's so much easier to manage.
Unfortunately the story isn't quite the same under braking - hard braking still induces understeer and I found a couple of times I was braking a little too late/deep, like this time I came out of the slalom too hot, pushed out of the next corner by a few feet, and plowed a group of cones. Yes that's one of them smoking under the heat of my exhaust.
As I learned the car and pushed things a bit harder, I managed a best time of 45.1sec. Looking back on the data, I was regularly sustaining 0.9g lateral while in a few places I blipped 1.0-1.1g - not too shabby for an old muscle car on a set of street tires! I was stoked!
I have more videos and stories to share but for now I better get back to my day job. Thanks for looking!
06-06-2018, 06:06 PM
#1513
I will ask him, but I think it is a legitimate Manx body on a shortened pan. It's registered as a '67 bug. He has restored and built a number of them since for friends and family. I wouldn't say he's a Manx history buff, but he's a fabricator and knows how to shorten a pan, build a cage, repair fiberglass, etc. This one is a basic swing axle out back and beam front. I don't know my VW stuff, but the engine is a punched and stroked 2xxx cc setup with Delorto carbs. It has a stock transmission right now that he got cheap and put in to make it a runner for this event.
06-06-2018, 08:47 PM
#1514
TECH Senior Member
The hood on the buggy is not Manx. The raised "speed bump" seen in the pic was never put on Manx hoods. I used to be a real Manx enthusiast
06-07-2018, 10:59 AM
#1520
TECH Senior Member