Three Track Weekends After the Rollcage

It has been a while since the last update. Three weekends at the track so far .....

October 4 & 5 with TDE at TWS

Great weekend, I was getting used to the new suspension and all the new equipment added to the car. I was able to push the car more than before. Everything was going well until the first session Sunday afternoon. As I soon as I left the paddock, the hood flew up open. I have no idea how it happened. I have couple of videos of the incident:

Kermit's Hood Flying from Edison Rincon on Vimeo.


Kermit's Hood Flying V2 from Edison Rincon on Vimeo.

The hood was replaced with a red one. Kermit looked like watermelon, or something that Santa would drive. My friend Chris covered the hood with vinyl. It came out great !!!!! (notice the hood pins).

November 9 with MSC at TWS

Fantastic day at the track. It was my first time on R-Comp tires (Yokohama Advan A048). What a difference the tires make :o. I was passing people left and right. I have a video for the weekend:

Kermit w/R-comps = Bimmer killer from Edison Rincon on Vimeo.

November 15 with TDE at TWS

This weekend didn't go so well. First session out was very cold and I had no grip, terrible session. Second session went better after I changed the rear sway bar setting (full soft) and lower the rear tires pressure. The car behaved much better, but the clutch decided to start slipping. After inspecting the car, we found an engine oil leak that ended up in the clutch.

The engine oil leak was fixed, the problem was a bad intermediate shaft seal. New seal, crankshaft seal and timing belt were done. Now I have to replace the clutch. I'll take the opportunity the try a 020 AGB transmission with close ratio gears. Hopefully it will help increasing my top speed.

Next time out is December 6 & 7 at MSR Cresson with TDE.

PS: I forgot to mention that the white MK5 GTI was traded in for a Chevy Avalanche. I'm now trailering the car to the track.

Last Project Before Hitting the Track

Tonight I just finished my last two projects: camera mount and strapping the passenger :)

After Hurricane Ike Update

This is the after Ike update :)

I picked up Kermit from the shop the Tuesday before Ike, went home and parked the car along with the other three VW in preparation for the hurricane. I have a two car garage, but managed to squeeze all three in there.

After Ike I spent the whole week getting the car together. First started with the Ground Control coilovers ..... I couldn't finish the job since I needed a hardened washer between the front spring hat and the strut bearing, to avoid damaging the strut bearing. Then I had to cut the spacer in the rear suspension. Since I couldn't get the suspension done, I moved to the rollcage. One day was spent masking the hole interior, and the next one painting with rust-o-leoum (?) black hammer style spray paint. Here is the final result:

More pictures of the interior finished and harness + seats:

Suspension was also finished, after I was able to go to the local hardware store:

As of now, Kermit's debut is October 4-5 with TheDriversEdge.net (TDE); let's see how it goes. My next update will probably be after alignment and corner weighting the car.

Ground Control Coilovers

Today, the Ground Control coilovers I ordered arrived. I'm starting with 500# front and 600# spring rates. I already have Bilstein Sport shocks, which I plan to send for re-valving as soon as they give in. The 28mm Neuspeed rear sway bar will stay at the full stiff setting, however, I plan on playing with it next event.

The AGB short ratio transmission also arrived, it should give me higher acceleration and a higher top speed at the main straight of TWS. I also have couple of small projects, like oil temperature and pressure gauges, vacuum gauge, door panels, floor panel for the driver side and hood pins.

Rollcage Update

Lucas Racing & Restoration is doing a great job. The cage is pretty much done, just waiting for Greg's magic to weld the joints. There is still the bar behind the seats to be welded, he is waiting to mount the seat before installing the bar. I should have the car back in a couple of weeks, and get ready for October's event with the Driver's Edge.

Here are pictures of the update: