181 replies to this topic

[micklx]

Sadly my next outing at the Gippsland Hillclimb Track ended in tragedy for me

Edited by micklx, 12 November 2007 - 09:28 PM.

[LXCHEV]

This is a great read Mick, and cool pics too!!! Circuit racing sounds so addictive!!!!!!!

[RIM-010]

It is, because there's these real tricky things called corners at the end of all of the straights

Tim

[WhiteA9XS]

great story mick , i,ll be staying tuned for more ... we must be end of 06 by now.

you have a good memory !!!!

[rodomo]

If something like that ever happens again there are 3 doors and a front and rear bumper here.

[micklx]

Thanks Guys,
The incident (CRASH) at Morwell Hillclimb happened on the last corner within metres of the finish line. They award a trophy for fastest in each class on the day, and there is a heap of classes so there was only about 6 other cars in my class that day. I sized up the opposition and reckoned I had half a chance of taking the trophy home. My first lap was going really well, when i got to the last corner (a hairpin) I gave it a big bootful to get the rears spinning so I could slide around the corner, the engine hesitated, and somehow it understeered off the track into some big tyres. Bloody Driver !!!!!
The damage looked superficial until I realised the left front tyre was touching the rear of the wheel arch - oops - that looks serious.
The front subframe and the adjustable castor rod were both bent. Damn !

[micklx]

No more PIARC sprints this year and I don't think next years calendar has been done yet.

Well I got the car home and into the shed, removed the guard and set to work repairing the damage. Luckily when I bought the car I got a spare VH SL as part of the deal, I finally went and picked this up and it provided the panels and front subframe. There was nobody home in the budget department so I heated and straightened the bent castor rod and promised myself I wouldn't go back to Phillip Island (or any other high speed track) until I could afford a new one. I had some white enamel tractor paint from a previous life and I blew some of this over the front guards.
The crash was on 28/5/06 and on 27/8/06 my comeback meeting was an event at the Morwell Hillclimb track run by the HSCCV Holden Sporting Car Club of Victoria. I approached the track cautiously and made sure I finished the day in one piece.
It was a good day, the HSCCV run a series with the FFCV (Ford Four Club of Victoria) and this was part of their championship. There were all sorts of cars there, from a HQ ute with a stuffed dog in the back to a CV8 Monaro, a few Torrys and heaps of Escorts and Capri's. All the Big Bangers must have stayed home because even with my cautious approach I won my class. Check out the HSCCV website for details about this club, it seems like a well organised club with an emphasis on entry level motosport..

[micklx]

Rhys there's a heap of young blokes at the PIARC sprints but most of them drive rice burners !

Well over the Summer of 06/07 I managed to afford a new set of castor rods so I was all set for a season of sprints.
I started the season off at the Hillclimb on 10/Feb where I came equal 2nd in my class behind a 1980s Corona running a VR V6 engine. On this hot day, the engine was running very hot and the oil pressure was very low at idle and dropping right off on a couple of corners.
One week later at Phillip Island on a 35 degree day, I again had temperature and oil pressure problems. I couldn't get under 2.00 which was my goal for the day. I was running a std V8 radiator and the sump was just a basic high energy one. I finished the day with the engine still running strong, but the oil pressure had dropped to zero a few times and since I had a bit of money in the kitty after wrecking a few cars I decided the engine had to come out, to check the crank journals and fit a better sump.

[micklx]

Sure enough there was damage to the crankshaft. The crank was taken to the local machine shop for a regrind, the block was dropped off to get honed and I started investigating better sumps.
While this was happening I kept thinking it was the ideal time to unleash some more HP.
After looking into stroker kits and roller cams, I decided the most cost effective way to find some more neddies was to upgrade to VN type heads.

[WhiteA9XS]

you,d have to be under 2.00 now ?

by the way the blue block is stripped down and a beauty thanks mick...

[micklx]

Well I might have gone better than 2.00 but you'll have to wait until I get up to that. LOL.

Glad the 308 I sold you looks good, Mick Holden Parts has hit the big time now, selling an engine to go into a Group C car recently driven by Peter Brock.

[micklx]

Well after a few months of wrecking cars and making money I started to put the 308 back together. The block was honed, some deburring and cleaning up of the casting, the oil gallery welch plugs were replaced with screw in plugs and of course it was hot tanked. Cam bearings went in, the reground crank, pitons with new rings, new solid cam to suit the VN heads, had the heads machined to accept the larger diameter springs, put the heads on, topped it off with a Torque Power dual plane Hi-Rise manifold, underneath was my new Commodore Cup style sump, new extractors to suit the heads and a race style muffler.
Fired it up for the first time and it sounded awesome.

Took it up to the Hillclimb to run it in a bit and I was very impressed. I was changing gears earlier so it was obviously accelerating quicker, all was good until a misfire started so i put it on the trailer and took it home. A new coil seemed to fix the misfire so I made plans with Karl to go out to Calder one Wednesday in late September.

[Heath]

when you say Late September you mean a few months ago right? Morwell is a lovely track to test the car out on

[micklx]

Well firstly Heath, Morwell is close and free but its not a great track for a big car, I imagine its great in a Go Kart, anyway they are building a new track courtesy of the Power Company who want the coal under the track so hopefully the new track is a little longer.
Anyway we headed out to Calder, Sept 26th I think it was (yes Heath a few months ago) Karl knows his way around Calder after racing there in the Vic Motor Racing Championship over the last couple of years. The big question was, could the new improved 308 hold the 351 on the straights ???
This was my first time at Calder and also my first time at a practice day when you can do as many laps as you like. Karl has previously had brake trouble at Calder, its a hard track on brakes as well as cooling systems, it consists of 2 long straights with 90 degree turns at the end, so every lap (around 70 secs) you have 2 hard brake applications from 200+ kmh compared to Phillip Island where my laps were about 120 secs and only 1 hard stop from 200+, another hard stop but from a lesser speed probably around 140 and a bit of brake at turn 1 to wash off some speed.
So I ventured out onto the track at Calder, Karl was in front of me but by the time i figured out where the track went he was a fair way ahead so I drove around on my own and tried to learn the track. The 308 was awesome, the top end had so much more power, and after being frustrated at first at how tight most of the corners were (compared to PI) I started to enjoy being able to be more aggressive and throw the car around and have some fun. After about 12 laps I arrived at the end of the front straight, asked the brakes to do their stuff and the pedal went all spongy and I was lucky to make it through the turn. The water temp had gotten fairly high so I headed back to the pits to let it all cool down.
While in the pits, we noticed that just across from us was one of Australias Motor Racing Legends, anyone recognise this bloke ???

He was more than happy to talk to us and pose for photos, and once we got him talking about XY GTs, well lets just say my brakes had plenty of time to cool down.
The next time out on the track I followed Karls XY. The mighty 308 could stay with the 351 down the straight, the brakes were still not 100% (still running std pads) so i wasn't able to push as hard as I liked but I followed him around and had a heap of fun. I gained a new appreciation for the V8 Supercar drivers, its damned hard to pass someone who is running at a similar speed, especially if part of the car (ie. brakes ) is not at its best.

After another break to cool everything down we headed back out and after a few laps Karl braked early for turn 1 so I could go past. We both had video cameras mounted in the car and I wanted to get some footage of me on his camera. About this time it started to drizzle, as we came back onto the front straight my Commodore got a bit sideways, after I got straightened up, I looked in the mirror and saw the back of the XY. He managed to do 2 complete 360's and finished up in the middle of the track facing the correct direction! Its a pity I wasn't behind him, the video would have been great ! Anyway I have the footage from his car so I'll try to get it onto Youtube.

[rodomo]

So Sandown is the next track to conquer?

[Racehatch]

So Sandown is the next track to conquer?

Sandown is next on my list too, might have to put a bigger carb on for a bit more top end though..

[micklx]

Well Sandown would be fun to try out, but most of the sprints there have a 75 db noise limit so I think I might cause their noise meter to meltdown !
I'm trying to get the car to run fast and reliably and then I'll make a few changes to meet Improved Production Rules, once I'm able to run in IP then I'll get to go to Sandown and race.
Moving house has stuffed up my last couple of months, I haven't touched the car since it came off the trailer after Phillip Island in October , I'm having withdrawal symptoms, I need to hear that 308 singing at 7000rpm through an open exhaust,

[micklx]

Did anyone recognise Murray Carter in the pic ?
He was at Calder testing his Corvette and even got his hands dirty working on it.

Did you spot the gmh-torana sticker on the back of my car ?

[rodomo]

Spotted the sticker.
Didn't know the old bloke.