181 replies to this topic

[micklx]

Hi everyone, Well some of you know about my racing efforts over the last few years, but I finally decided to set it out in some sort of order and hopefully its an interesting story that will inspire you and interest you and show that any old hack can have a go, learn new things and have a lot of fun.

It all started back in 2003, at that stage I was 37, a bit old to start racing !!!
Anyway, I went to Phillip Island one day to watch my cousin race his XY Falcon.
It looked like heaps of fun, and I decided I needed to get involved and I had this idea that I could go just as fast as him for a lot less money. Of course it had to be in a Torana, only problems were I had no Torana and very little spare money.

I can't quite bring myself to put a Ford picture here but if you click on the link, you can see Karls Falcon.

https://cache.gmh-to...fastlx/KWXY.jpg

Within a few weeks I had sold an old Kawasaki dirtbike that was gathering dust and bought an LX Sedan. It took a while to get started but over the next 18 months, I patched up some rust, pulled off the gas, towbar etc, removed the 173 and put in a 202 which came from a forumer here, a quick hone, a set of rings, SH XU1 cam, SH YT head, new lifters, SH Holley 350, SH lightened flywheel, (all SH parts sourced through gmh-torana people, already had extractors, welded up a big bore exhaust from scraps, swapped the M20 for a Toyota 4 speed, bought NEW front brake pads from Super Cheap Autos, a tacho and a couple of guages and I was ready to try it out. I found some 13" Hotwires and some S/H 60 series tyres to replace the Bob Jane All Rounders.
First time out at Phillip Island I had major overheating problems which meant that after 3 or 4 laps I would come in with water spraying out from under the bonnet but the car ran well otherwise and I was had a ball. It revved to 6000 easily which I figured was enough for a stock bottom end, it sounded good and I was hooked.

[355LX]

Good on you mate, just proves you dont have to spend a truckload to have some fun on the racetrack. I'm certainly guilty of thinking I have to have this or that before I can hit the track, when what I started with would have been more than suitable for a beginning in motorsport.

Great to see someone out there actually participating and obviously having an absolute ball, all the best and hope the lap times keep tumbling!!

Dave

[rodomo]

What did the Torrie cost on the track first time out?
I had a look at the results from the other week at P.I.
Didn't you get there?

[micklx]

By the time the Torana first made it onto the track, I had still spent less than $2000. Lots of wheeling and dealing and of course doing all the work myself made it all possible. The first time out at Phillip Island which was my first time on a racetrack the car was oversteering badly. The rear springs were way too stiff and I removed the rear sway bar at the track but it was still a handfull. Best time on the day was 2.25 which although not very quick, was ok considering the issues I had and I knew there was a lot of potential in the car and driver.

I did make it to Phillip Island a couple of weeks ago but on the saturday. They only post results from the Sunday.

[rodomo]

I'll be blowed if there wasn't dudes there more than 70 in the shade jumping into cars with massive smiles on their dials. This was about the same starting age as yourself.

Never to old to start

[micklx]

Chapter 2.
Now that I had been to the track, I knew what the major problems were. An overheating problem and bad oversteer.
Dollars were a real problem but around this time I bought a couple of UC Torrys quite cheaply and wrecked them out, selling the parts here and on ebay and so armed with some money I set to work.
I had rear springs out of a much heavier car in the LX, I threw them away and fitted a set of HQ springs. They were too long so I cut them and reworked the ends into the correct shape and got the car sitting right. I bought a big front sway bar from LXChev and re-fitted the rear bar. I fitted a CIG locker 3.36 diff to cure the wheelspin (DRCruz) out of slower corners and I bought a 3 core radiator from a forumer (Turbotorana?) for a ridiculously cheap price to get the cooling under control. I think I also fitted 14" rear tyres to offset the diff ratio change from 3.08 to 3.36
I had fitted a UC front end during the original build up, I made some spacers and managed to get about 3 deg neg camber. Measured with a builders level, a ruler and high school triginometry ! Couldn't afford a front end alignment.

I went to the next PIARC sprint in July 05 hoping to take about 10 seconds off my previous best time.
The car ran like a dream, no overheating problems, handling was much more predictable, so now I could concentrate on learning to drive on a race track. My best lap for the day was a 2.14 which although nothing flash, it was a big improvement over my first time.

https://cache.gmh-to...lx/Torana3a.jpg

[rodomo]

I had fitted a UC front end during the original build up, I made some spacers and managed to get about 3 deg neg camber. Measured with a builders level, a ruler and high school triginometry ! Couldn't afford a front end alignment.

[micklx]

http://www.piarc.com.au/?page=home

http://www.sdpics.co.../imageFolio.cgi

Thanks for all the comments and pm's. I will answer most of the pm's in the story as I go because a few of you have asked the same questions about how to get started etc
You can find all this info on the various car club websites, but basically you need to join a club $60 upward depending which club you join.
Most sprints are open to any members of a cams recognised car club so it doesn't really matter which club you join.
Most car clubs run their own club championship which might consist of a few sprints they run themselves, a few sprints run by other clubs and maybe a Hillclimb or Autocross event.
You will need a Cams L2S Licence which you can buy on the day and costs about $80 per year.
Phillip Island Auto Race Club (PIARC) run the sprints I have entered so far. They have a 2 day event, the saturday is practice, the cars go out in groups of about 14 and do 15 minute sessions. You get a minimum of 4 sessions, I have had 6 a couple of time, it depends on the number of entries on the day.
Sunday is Supersprint day, the 14 cars leave pitlane 2 at a time , do a warm up lap and 3 flying laps which are timed. The times go on the PIARC website so you can't fool your mates about how fast you went !!! Your fastest lap for the day counts towards the club championship etc.
Often on sunday there is a photographer there (see link to sd pics above) and after lunch he will have photos of your car for sale.

Well thats enough for tonight, stay tuned for my final outing in the Torana, the decision to sell it and the replacement car.

Edited by micklx, 01 November 2007 - 08:49 PM.

[micklx]

Chapter 3
In an effort to make some more HP cheaply, I put a wanted ad on the forums, asking to borrow some triple carbies. A young guy about 30 mins up the road had a set of triple SU's sitting around so I bolted them on. I also cleaned out the front calipers and fitted new seals to try and stop one of the fronts locking under hard braking, and i fitted another set of supercheap autos front pads because the existing ones had worn on a weird angle and were almost worn out after less than 2 hours driving ! I had flat spotted a tyre due to locking a wheel coming down into MG lap after lap, apparently it looked good from the pit roof, I must have made a fair bit of smoke, so I threw another used tyre on the front, the canvas hanging out of the other one may have caused some problems at scrutineering.
So on 25th Sept 05 I headed back to the Island on a sunday. This time my laptimes would be on the internet for all to see so I had to show some improvement over my previous best of 2.14
On the warm up lap the brakes felt a bit dodgy but I pressed on, the car made a little more power in the top end with the triples and all was good until I arrived at the end of the straight on the first lap and the brake pedal went nearly to the floor. Scary !!!! My first 3 timed laps were 2.22, 2.20 and 2.19, not looking good so far.
I bled the brakes between sessions and managed to get a nice hard pedal. My next few sessions I got stuck in traffic, there were cars there like Honda Civics etc that could get away on me down the straights but then I'd catch them under brakes and they'd hold me up through the corners only to pull away again on the straight. The mighty 202 was pulling 5600 rpm in top gear down the straight, compared to 5200 with the 350 Holley so the SU's made a noticeable difference. I managed a 2.11 but I really wanted to do a 2.10 , so in my 5th session for the day I followed a damn Civic for a couple of laps then took a deep breath and passed him under brakes at the end of the straight and went on to do a 2.10.49 on my last lap of the day. This turned out to be my last lap in anger in the Torana, I sold it a couple of months later to a fellow forumer (V8racerchic). I don't know if she still has it or not, but if anyone knows the whereabouts of my old car I'd be interested to hear from them. I'd like to get a few photos of it if it still exists.

Someone asked me about the number 04, it was actually 02 the first couple of times in memory of my childhood hero - Kawasaki legend Gregg Hansford. On the day of the photo above, someone was already number 2 so I became 04, nothing to do with PB I'm afraid.

Edited by micklx, 02 November 2007 - 09:53 PM.

[rodomo]

I'm waiting for next year�s calendar for P.I.
Me and my mate with the Bluebird are thinking about a pilgrimage.

[micklx]

A couple of pm's asked me why I sold the Torana. The reason.......
MOTORSPORT IS ADDICTIVE
I needed to go faster. In my 3 sprints in the Torana, I had a ball each time, but i wanted to be able to race with Karls XY, and even though my Torana was now as fast as his XY had been when I first went and watched him over 2 years earlier, he hadn't stood still and was now going 10 seconds a lap faster around Phillip Island. He also had plans to race in the VMRC at Calder and Winton. To get another 10 seconds out of the Torana I needed a lot more power, a power upgrade would mean I would also need a stronger drivetrain, bigger brakes, etc. I wanted to fit some decent race tyres , I could get SH tyres in 15 or 16" but to put that size wheel on a Torana means expensive wheels, flares etc
After doing that I would have a Torana capable of matching the XY, but it still wouldn't have a roll cage, fuel system etc to enable it to get a log book for racing. Also the Torana shell was not exactly rust free and I didn't want to have to start doing bodywork.
The budget (or lack of) was my major consideration for deciding to buy an early Commodore.
I found a guy who raced a Commodore Cup car, he was going to upgrade to a VS, using all the running gear out of his VC. The top CC cars can do under 1.50 around P.I. , this car had done 1.54, so I figured if I bought the shell which came with a CAMS logbook, I could cobble it up using S/H parts off a few Commodores I had wrecked and get it on the track fairly cheaply and hopefully keep up to that damn XY !!!
Then if the budget ever allowed, I would have a logbooked car that i could actually enter races in.
Here is a couple more photos of the Torana and one of the Commodore in the hands of the previous owner.

[Racehatch]

Nice writeup Mick, I did wonder why you went away from the LX, but reading your explanation makes good sense, it sounds like the commo does have more of the right bits in it from the start.

Looking forward to reading more!

If you have nothing on in a couple of weeks time, come down to Phillip Island, I'm running mine at Island Magic, would be great to catch up for a chat!

[micklx]

No probs, i was thinking of coming along for look at Island Magic, you might be the only Torana there, the LX Hatch is up for sale, not sure about Ricks LH sedan.

Yeah Toddles, I could have put a 308 into the LX, I came really close to doing it, I basically had the engine and gearbox sitting on the garage floor waiting to go in, but the banjo wouldn't have liked it, the brakes wouldn't have liked it, and even if I'd upgraded all that, I'd still have a car that was a long way short of what I wanted to have. The torana was a great car to start with, but the Commodore has been cheaper to get to where I am now. eg How much does it cost to put 330 mm front brakes and rear discs on a Torana ? The Commodore already has rear discs and front brakes S/H from a Commodore Cup car only cost me a few hundred dollars. Used Commodore 16" wheels - $40 each off ebay, how much do 15s or 16s in Torana offset cost ?
I'd love to be racing a Torana but it all came down to money. Not enough of it !

[micklx]

Late in 2005 Lostit advertised a VC Commodore on these forums, it was basically a tidy sedan with no engine, g'box or diff centre. It had a 9 inch, a big V8 radiator and an almost new set of pacemaker extractors, I knew I would need all these parts if I went down the Commodore path. The VC was a bargain and when i went and picked it up, lostit showed me something else he had for sale, a 308 built to similar specs as many warm 308's in the early 90s, Auscar pistons, B Cast heads, Crane 286H, VN rods etc. I went home, thought about it for 2 minutes and then got Chopper to go and pick it up for me and deliver it to me at work, I think I gave him a UC diff or something in return.
I also bought a Supra 5 speed and conversion kit to suit a Commodore off ebay.

All this sat in the shed while I sold the Torana, then on January 14 2006 I went and picked up my new car. It was a Commodore Cup Car, missing was the engine, gearbox, front calipers, seat, harness , radiator, exhaust etc. It was still rolling so I could get it home, but I had to give back the diff, springs. shocks, front rotors etc

So I had this bare car, an engine that needed head gaskets and a better sump, and 3 weeks until the first PIARC sprint , yes 3 weeks, did I make it ????
I also had lostits VC and another VH 253 Wagon to rat parts from.

[micklx]

Well I set to work, the heads came off the 308 to replace the head gaskets, I bought a modified sump from someone on these forums (racelj maybe) put it all back together, bolted up the flywheel and box and sat it in the engine bay. I bought a 3.5 centre with a mini spool and whacked her in, luckily the Supra 5 speed had come with a tailshaft, just had to change the rear uni for a crossover uni that had Holden size on one side and Ford on the other, made life easy. The guy I bought the car from let me borrow the springs, shocks and front rotors for my first meeting, just had to raid the swaybars off my parts cars. I bought some front calipers from one of the front running CC guys who replaced his reguarly, along with some standard pads. Connected everything up, raided the parts cars for accel cable, radiator hoses and some brake pipes. Still on a tight budget ! The tailpipe wouldn't clear the alloy fuel tank so cut it off before the diff, fired her up, sounded great but ran like a dog, swapped the coil with one of the parts cars, ran great, Was still working on it the night before the sprint at P.I. but managed to get it on the trailer all ready for an early start the next day.

[rodomo]

I'm watching my life flash before my eyes

Or at least the last 12 months

[micklx]

Well I made it to P.I. for the PIARC Sprint on Feb 5th 2006. My best lap time in the Torry had been 2.10, For my first lap I cruised around in 2.14 to make sure everything was working ok, then on the next lap did a 2.07 which was my best ever lap of the island, then whoaaaa !!!! The oil light came on and stayed on. I backed off, the light went out and I cruised back to the pits. I checked the oil, it wasn't on the dipstick, i looked in the catch tank and there was 2.5 litres of oil in it. I unscrewed the bracket holding the catch tank (a 5L oil tin) on, tipped the oil back into the engine and waited for my next run. Next session, did a 2.03 and 2.04 then the oil light came on. Recycled the oil again and so on, thats how it was for the rest of the day. Two good laps then come in and recycle the oil. I managed to get down to 2.02 by the end of the day, I was still coming to terms with the car and knew there was much room for improvement but first i had to fix the oil problem. Apart from that, the car ran well, the 308 ran out of power around 6000 rpm but that was to be expected with the cam it had, the car was heaps of fun to drive, great brakes, good power and I actually got to pass a few cars which was new to me !

[micklx]

After the oil problems I started making a system to drain the oil from the rocker covers back to the sump. One day i was picking up some S/H tyres from a guy who has won multiple CC National Championships and we started talking about the problem I had. He said he had tried draining the oil back into the sump, but all it did was give you more places that could spring a leak. His theory was that at high revs, the 253/308 gets too much oil in the rocker covers and the best way to fix the problem is to prevent the oil getting there in the first place. I'd heard the stories about XU1's running pipe cleaners in the push rods, so this idea made sense. Before I knew it, he was on the dognbone to his engine builder getting a quote to supply me some modified lifters. What they do is fill the hole in the lifter with liquid metal and then drill a smaller hole in it. At high revs, you don't get as much oil at the top end. I odered a set of lifters, and also modified the rocker covers so the breathers were at the top and hopefully away from the oil.
With all fingers crossed it was back to P.I. on Sun 7/5/06, Kark bought his XY along which was the first time we had been on the track together. It was the most fun I'd had since i started. Being able to race with a mate in similar speed cars was so much fun. His Falcon had a little bit more grunt on the straights but the Commodore was better under brakes and through corners.
Our lap times were almost identical, i was a little faster on the wet track early but as the track dried he set the faster lap for the day 2.03 v 2.02 if I remember correctly, its all on the PIARC website if you're keen!
I went out in the last session on a very wet track while Karl kept the XY safely in the pits. I had a ball on the wet track and managed to keep it on the black stuff (just) see my video in the circuit racing section and watch my other videos t see the advantage the Falcon had down the straight.