Tomorrow at VIR - end of a 6 year restoration

[panamericano]

They look non the worse for wear. Congretulations. Did you get to drive the Beemer at all?

[Croc]

Sadly no. There were two reasons:

- we needed the camber reduced

- I only had slicks and it was very wet.

 

Next date to aim for is August 27 provided weather cooperates.

[SanderGA]

Having peeked under the dash of my 93 and seen an amazing amount of wiring that appeared to need a good tucking in, I'd fully expect electrical problems driving in such weather. Am I being paranoid or do you have the Submariner edition of the Caterham?

 

Admire your determination.

 

 

Update - so I switched myself back to open session without the pace car. Then as a dry line on the track was developing, I went out straight after lunch....

 

....and then the rain started. Was not bad initially. But I noticed it was getting worse and cars started heading into the pits.

 

So I was left out there with just one other car

 

It was wild. The car was aquaplaning all over the place. Standing water anywhere near track edges. A river ran through the track edges. So I decided I should give it away and call it a day. I was soaked - trail of soggy clothes on the way to the shower.

 

Still it was an enjoyable two days at VIR.

[Croc]

Having peeked under the dash of my 93 and seen an amazing amount of wiring that appeared to need a good tucking in, I'd fully expect electrical problems driving in such weather. Am I being paranoid or do you have the Submariner edition of the Caterham?

 

Admire your determination.

 

Strangely, the wiring under the scuttle stays well protected. Once fully sorted, these cars are quite durable - far more than you expect. Where you have to watch out for in monsoonal conditions is:

 

1) The well on the cam cover for the coil on plug connections for a Duratec/Zetec gets a lot of water sitting in there and a little bit will seep through and will cause the car to develop an engine miss. Mine was - really did not like idling. So you have to warm it up well for the heat to evaporate any water leaking through. The Vauxhall engine may be a better design but it depends if the water can leak under that plastic cover.

 

2) The alternator pulley bearing loses its grease in wet conditions and the bearing starts to fail. You hear the noise developing as the bearing starts to fail. I need to replace mine again...

 

Otherwise, I find things work fine in those conditions.

[Croc]

Some photos - it was wet

 

 

 

[Croc]

And a 360 degree video. If you have not used these before then using your mouse to click and drag, or the little arrows at top left, or if on your cell phone, then just spin your phone around, you can then see up, down, around, behind, etc. for the full panoramic 360 degree view.

 

The track map is on the passenger tonneau. The speed is on the roll bar if you angle down.

 

I start off using a dry line at the beginning. By the 18 min mark, I am running a wet line. Both ways are slow as grip was pretty marginal.

 

 

 

 

Still it shows what a pretty track VIR is and gives you an idea of layout.

[fastg]

Loved VIR, but I had problems all day with that double right hander before the long back straight.

 

Graham