DIY Air-Oil Separator - Crankcase Breather - Black Flag Avoider

So our die hard race fans may remember that one (of the many) Black Flags we received at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2011was due to "Oil streaming down the side of your car like teary makeup down the face of a 13 year old Cure fan upon hearing Robert Smith combed his hair", as seen in this most-awesome photo:

Oops.

Anyway, that was due to having no oil collection bottle on the crankcase breather (among other things, but those were covered elsewhere... suspend your disbelief for a bit and follow me here).

So, this guy at work abandoned his nice aluminum water bottle in his old office, closed on the desk, for about 6 months. Then someone "helpful" put it in the kitchen for a few weeks, as a giveaway. It sat there for awhile, and so I finally opened it... and hooo boy that milk sure does curdle! It actually bent the bottom of the bottle out with it's botulistic-dreams of killing everyone in the office. So, I took it, washed it about 6 times, and decided to hack it to bits. I hate spoiled milk. And I hate to waste a cool spun aluminum-anything even more.

Here is how it unfolded on a quiet Sunday afternoon...

Step 1: buy a copper hose barb and matching cap (be sure to try the threads in the store, those plumbers are NUTSO with their wack-tastic thread pitches)

Step 2: Drill out the cap end to make it a nut:

Step 3: Lightly dent side of bottle to make an approximately-flat area so the hose barb seals ok, drill matching hole, duct-tape cap/nut to the end of your finger because that's the only damn way you could figure out how to thread the damn thing even after a damn pot of damn coffee, and thread it, tighten it to seal.

 Step 4: (not shown) Stuff some stainless steel pot scrubbers (make sure they don't have soap or any grunge on them, must be STAINLESS or the thicker plastic scrubbies) so the oil in the vapor has something to spray and condense onto, then fall gently undamaged-blowby-valve-seals-ly to the bottom of the bottle.

Step 5: Drill out the cap with a one-size -too-small drill and thread in another hose barb, then attach a crankcase breather filter to it. Ta da!

Step 6: Install newly-minted Air-Oil Separator/Crankcase Breather/Black Flag Avoider into rockum-sockum MGB-GT race car and Bobs Your Uncle you are ready for LeMons NJMP 2012! (pay no attention to those zip-ties pulling the bottle holder flanges together, those will be replaced with a metal spring once I make it to Pep Boys auto later this week... honest!)

New Throttle Cable, Finally

Our throttle cable has always been a mess; not sure how it lasted endurance 3 races.

I tried to Tap-and-Dye the end of the new throttle cable so i could positively hold it in the Weber DGV Carb attachment bracket, but I positively failed to thread it. I reek with a tap and dye set, leaving a swath of destruction in my wake whenever I attempt it. I decided to quit while I still had a functioning cable and purchase (with actual money!) a proper cable end/attach/adjuster bit.

Both bike shops in Mt. Airy were closed on Sunday, so I resorted to raiding my backyard stash of old Ten-Speed bikes I had been stockpiling to make my Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race vehicle. Below is the victim, and the two pieces it donated:

The Cable Adjuster needed to be drilled out a bit so the new throttle cable end would fit, here you can see the nice shiny newly drilled inside, and below that the end of the new throttle cable:

Here is the final setup, with much improved throttle feel, less cable wear, less cable-falling-out-of-bracket-and-getting-throttle-stuck-at-wide-open-SCOT!, less badness overall.

Yeah us. Maybe we'll finish a few damn laps this year.

Mirror Mirror On The Wall - YOU SUCK

One complaint from everyone that's ever sat in this beastie of an MGB is that the passenger mirror is too small, hard to position, it wiggles when driving, its face is flat and so doesn't see much, and the driver can't reach it him/herself to adjust it.

I believe we've put on, or tried to put on, a new mirror every single bloody race. I've had it with all the complaints (and to be fair, I was the one that complained the loudest about it).

One trip to Crazy Ray's U-Pick-It, U-Pull-It and ta-da! The biggest, ugliest, nastiest mirror I could find....

"Old" lame-ass mirror on the left, "New" Jurassic Park mirror on the right... OH HELL YES:

 

If I remember correctly, it's off a mid-ninties Astro Van... go ahead, you can say it: "That's Classy!"

As far as wiring it goes, well, there are many many wires and supposedly you tell them apart by something called "color", though I've never believed in such a crass concept.

I tracked down the connectors on the web and ohm'ed it out; wired it up; fabricated a sturdy mount for the control switch:

 

 Spot the new Joystick! The driver can easily reach it...

 Mirror mount, outside view; this actually took the most time I believe:

 Mirror mounted, inside view:

Here are the wiring diagrams for 1997 Chevy Power Mirrors. The passenger side mirror that I grabbed must have been a replacement because the colors match a drivers side mirror, at least that's what the people I live with tell me...

More Fuel Pump Coddling - Vibration Dampeners

Installed a set of "Vibration Dampener Mounts" (Lord Mounts) that I bought from Pegasus for $4.99 each; part 3048-02 10-32 Male-Male Shock Mount, .75 dia x.62 high. Probably could have gone one size larger, but it seems pretty stable. Next step for the fuel pump area is fabricate metal mesh to go under the pump to keep road debris from molesting it...

Bogging Down Exiting Corners - Weber DGV Accel Pump?

During our last few races (ok, all of our races), I've noticed the ol' chap tends to hesitate when exiting corners. Up till now I've assumed that's just the carb being slightly dirty or temporarily starved when stomping on the gas (right after holding your breath through the tight corners).

It's been nagging me for a year now; something's wrong, but not sure how to troubleshoot it without having someone hang on the hood while we drive around the track?

Then I stumble across this little gem of a description from the Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies catalog:

Accelerator Pump Diaphragm Assembly, Weber 32/36 DGV

 
If your car bogs down exiting corners, your accelerator pump may not be pumping! When the throttle is opened all the way from idle, the accelerator pump should deliver a shot of fuel directly into the carburetor throat. If this shot is not visible (with the engine off), the diaphragm may be ruptured.






You know what today is? DAY I GOT COOKIE!!!

Problem may still be elsewhere, but boy does that description fit! With all the crap and junk and dirt and bits and crud and grime and filth and rubbish and mud and garbage we pulled out of the tank and carb and filters at 24 Hours of LeMons Summit Point Capitol Offense 2010, it is very possible this contraption is hobbled.

Thanks Pegasus for the schoolin'. Order placed.

[UPDATE 2012-04-08] Either we don't have a Weber DGV, or Pegasus sent us the wrong part... either way, it don't fit no way no how. We need the part shown in photo above; the part we received was not 'square' and the brass pin in the middle was mush skinnier and was not spring loaded.

Bob found and took out the old part, and it looks like there could be a little leakage around the circular shape of the rubber is.

We put the original piece back in until we get our hands on the unobtanium accel pump...

Brighter Brake Lights, for those about to pass us (eg, everyone)

Last year we added some old-time beehive-style brake lights (re: cheap). Watching the car on the track I noticed the brake lights were a little lame in the daylight, and I've finally got 'round to fixing that.

 Here is the difference in brightness between the standard bulb and the SuperBrightLeds.com part 1156-R19-WV:

 

The "bulb" itself (actually 19 LEDs and a circuit board) is a tiny bit taller/wider than the red lens... 

... so to make the retaining snap ring hold the lens properly, I de-nubbed the lens to allow more 'grab' area between the ring and the black base (as seen in photo 2). [ note: if you are extremely bored or have a snap ring fetish, you can see the retaining snap ring in photo 1 if you zoom in on one of the lights; it's the silver that goes around 7/8th of the circumference.]

De-nubbing:

The punchline? Naturally after doing all this hacking resulting in just-ok results, the exact same beehive brake lights are pre-made with LEDs by SuperBrightLeds for the same price as the LED bulb alone! Although, to be fair, their assembly is sold as a marker light and only has 6 LEDs, whereas my hack has 19...

Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile

In preparation for the ChumpCar's 14 Hour race at VIR- the beautifully named "St. Guinness - Patron Saint of Perpetual Indulgence Challenge Pint Race", we've added some (non-Lucas) headlights to the MGB-GT.

While they may be cheap, at least they're weak so we won't notice nor care when they finally get smashed up. You may call that "Planning Ahead"; we like to call that "Not Really Giving A Flying Fark."

Lights are Pilot NV802CP Off Road Lights, 100 Watts (I'm guessing total; they don't actually say). 

Brake Light Switch - Sorry Lucas

Sorry Mr. Lucas, but after we were black-flagged and lost 2 hours during last years Charlotte Motor Speedway race because the MGB brake light switch was crappy, we've replaced you with a higher quality switch from a Datsun 240Z, part number GO300, from eBay for $7.50.

I noticed the pedal arm has some play side-to-side, so I installed the switch at a slight angle; turns out it would not have made a difference but there you go; it's just the price of being gormless.

Here it is installed, with the brake pedal NOT engaged :

Here with the brake pedal partially pushed in:

Here it is installed on the Brake Pedal Box. More Tea, Vicor? 

Comparison of AFFF Fire Suppression Systems for Race Cars, Jan 2012

Comparison of AFFF Fire Suppression Systems for Race Cars , Jan 2012 Edited 1/28: added Lifeline and VRO
				Activation				Approvals
Name	Volume	Bottle	Nozzles incl(max)	Manual	Auto	Can be recharged at race	Cost	FIA	SFI	SCCA	Others
Firecharger AFFF 2.3L	2.3 L		2 (3)	1		Yes	$299 (Pegasus)			cars reg < 2009
SPA Design Mechanical	2.25 L		2	1			$409 (Pegasus)
SPA Design Steel	4 L		6 (P)	1			$369 (Pegasus)	Yes		Yes
SPA Design Steel	4 L		6 (O)	2			$350 (OG)	Yes		Yes
OMP 4.25	4.25 L	Steel	6	2			$510 (Pegasus)	Yes		Yes
ESS 2.3	2.3 L	AL	3	1		Yes	$410 (VRO)		maybe	maybe	NASA, PCA
ESS 5	5.0 L	AL	4	1		Yes	$510 (Paragon)		YES	Yes	NASA
DJ Safety Coldfire			2	1			$556 (DJ)		YES	YES
Lifeline 4.0L	4.0L	Steel	4	2		No	$350	YES		YES?	RACMSA
VRO	http://www.vro.com/interior-fire-systems-c-91_94.html
Pegasus	https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/advcat.asp?CategoryID=FIRESYSTEMS
OG Racing	http://www.ogracing.com/spa-fire-system-4-liter-afff-mechanical
Paragon	http://www.paragon-products.com/product_p/essfire-5.0-liter-kit.htm
Apex	http://www.apexperformance.net/CartGenie/prod-56.htm
DJ Safety	http://www.djsafety.com/firesystems.html
NOTES: a) Firecharger has been superceeded by ESS Systems b) Auto Activation column was for temperature triggered activation, which none of these have (some Halon Gas systems have them)

Windshield wipers... well maybe not

Removed the plexiglass windshield (eg scratch collector) that we had so much trouble with (eg couldn't see through) in the rain at Charlotte Motor Speedway last year (eg Black Flagged for passing under Yellow that we couldn't see).

Drilled out the rivets and removed the remaining screws (eg 25% of the screws have been lost to vibration over time). While it was out I stripped down any surface rust (eg it's English) and coated them with De-Ruster treatment.

You can see the red Kill Switch that I will be moving to the center of the dash (as per ChumpCar Rules [.pdf]) while the windshield is still out.

The big item that was planned to do while the windshield was out: adding some Windshield Wipers! I had scavenged a system from Crazy Rays last fall and had been waiting impatiently to install them.

Finally get to it and.... can't be done as is.

The roll bar, eg the excessively over-engineered roll bar, is in the way. The photo to the left is a shot from inside the car looking forward. The farthest blue bar is completely unnecessary for LeMons, ChumpCar, and probably VRG, SCCA, NASA, and pretty much anything else except a Sherman Tank Demolition Derby. Never-the-less, I can't bring myself to remove the extra pieces; after all I've hoodwinked talked my friends & family into racing this beastie and therefore the more safety qualified the car is the better. Who cares if it doubles the weight of the car?

Sigh.

So, options at this point seem to be:

1. Cut out extra roll bar bits (don't wanna!)
2. Install some other after market wipers, possibly a single one on driver side only
3. Install the MGB wipers, but from above the windshield! Top rollbar may be in the way :-(
4. Drive without wipers; since we now have a GLASS windshield we can use Rain-X and it may be ok. :-(
5. Do a 1968 American Rambler wiper system eg twine and clothes hangers manually operated
6. Rig up a few hairdryers on the hood pointed at the windshield (this is LeMons after all)
7. Hire a Baltimore street corner window wash guy to sit on hood during race
8. <Your suggestion here; please leave comment below.>

Happy 50th Anniversary MGB!

Happy 50th Anniversary MGB!  

We are racing the MGB GT this year in GOLD (the traditional 50th Anniversary color)... and I've re-registered all the races will will be in so as to have car "50" for the whole year... all the races except ChumpCar Nelson Ledges October race... there is still time for that team to drop out and we can grab the number.

"Get Out Of Penalty Box Free" Device

For Sale: LeMons and ChumpCar "Get Out Of Penalty Box Free" Device

Currently sitting at $460, this RADAR Trailer is for sale via Government Surplus.

 Radar is working, sign lift hydraulics or motor is not... but if you can get a old deathtrap into racing condition that should not be a problem!

 

WANT!

Magic = Not Natural

I searched Amazon.com for "MGB RACE" and the first set of results yielded this bit of opinion:

I mean OH COME ON! It must be possible for the love of ^&%^%$%$#%$!!!!!!!!!

sigh

IT LIVES!!!!!

• New head gasket installed, water was flooding cylinder #3
• Adjusted valves, 2 were way off
• Of the 2 center rockers that needed shims, one was missing and the other was folded over so twice the thickness it should have been
• Rocket cover vent was clogged

 More pics later, but for now the bottom line is:

First drive after rebuild: no oil covering windshield, fender, hood or roof!

Mystery Bolt - Can you identify?

 

While replacing the head gasket in the engine (1973) of the MGB, I had the rockers sitting on a piece of cardboard while I worked on scraping the carbon off the head, cleaning, and measuring for warp.

The next morning I start work again and notice this plug/bolt laying in the area very near the rocker assembly. I CANNOT find a location that this would go, either in the rocker assembly or the cylinder head... or the carb (webar DGV) for that matter. I poured through the MG Service manuals, and the Moss catalog as well.

Stats: 

• it is about 0.6 inches square (about the size of the Spark Plug at the threads!)
• the threads seem worn down
• it was mostly coated in nice clean oil
• it is not brass
• hex socket is for 5/16ths allen wrench
• It's not an air-injector hole plug
• It's not a rocker/valve gap adjustment bolt

Leave a comment if you have any clues to this mystery!!

Is it possible the last owner/mechanic dropped it into the engine at some point and it's been rolling around - that may account for the worn threads - maybe??

Video: Where the Elite Meet to Cheat 2011

Here is a cool video pvreditor made of the Charlotte 2011 race; our beloved Goldbrick may be seen being towed off the track at the 4:58 minute mark:

Race Report: Where the Elite Meet to Cheat 2011

Where the Elite Meet to Cheat at Charlotte Motor Speedway was a riot as expected. Plenty of this report snipped & edited from Driver Dave's email.

We finished the race with a blown head gasket; 53th place out of 66 entries; we were in the pits the last 4 hours with the engine ripped apart. A noble effort!

 

Rain. And more Rain. And no windshield wipers. And no RainX (plastic windshield).

Friday: set up day: Judge Phil comes over with a friend and says something like “this is my friend Randy, he’s a pretty good driver and your car really caught his eye… any way he could sneak a few laps in it sometime?” … Carl is in a great mood and of course said “hell yeah”… good karma and all that. Also - it's always a good idea to do the penalty-wielding judges a favor.

Tech Inspection: should move under-hood fuel filter closer to pressure regulator so it is more protected and doesn't flop around; brake light switch may need adjustment (woops - more on that later).

Paddock all set up Goldbrick style: XBOX, fridge, leather couch, snacks. We'll unload the car sometime... oh wait did anyone remember to actually bring the car?!?!?!

Saturday, Race day one: we finished the first hour as the top class C car.  Carl was driving in the rain and doing a great job.  Until he passed under yellow - scratchy plastic crap windshield with no wipers was almost ok until it stopped raining and muddy water coated it.... oops. Penalty: driver change *whew* Second hour we had a terrible driver transition and refueling.  Dropped 30 laps back of top C car.

Then Ray got the best black flag in the history or racing.  He gets stuffed by some other car on a corner and ends up hitting some cones (mandatory black flag here.)  His penalty was to sit out for an hour... OR...  Let Randy Pobst drive our car during the penalty. Randy is a professional car roadracer.  Check out his info on Wikipedia.  So, during that hour Randy posted 60 laps, one of the top 10 fastest laps on the track (1:21), got us back to within 5 laps of the lead!  He was doing stuff we didn’t know the MG could do.  UNREAL! It's written up here: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/09/randy-pobst-lemons-mgb-gt-handles-well-bad-brakes-low-on-power/

I had forgotten to replace my lucky stick-shift knob with a "real" one... sorry Randy!

Randy dropped the rear tire pressure to 2 or 3 psi below the fronts, so now Front 29psi, Rear 27 psi; also said the rear drivers side would "clunk" on the one hard left, and that we really should adjust the pedal travel.
 
Then the problems started....  While Kurt was driving, he got flagged for brake lights.  Took us 2 HOURS to fix the stupid brake light switch on the MG.  So, we were well behind.  Dave made up some of it and was having a GREAT hour.  Posted a 1:24 lap and was trying to emulate Randy.  Was gaining 1 lap every 4 laps against the 2nd place C car and 1 lap every 5 against the 1st place C car.  Then Dave says he turned into a moron and ran out of gas while on the track...  Lost everything he’d gained waiting for the tow truck.  "I’m advocating a gas gauge Carl..." We added 7.5 gallons... so that is our new volume (thanks for measuring that Dave!) Max went out... into the heavy rain... zero visibility.

We finished day one pretty well though.  160 laps even with none of Kurt’s last 20 laps in the rain registering - several transponders were not working in the heavy rain towards the end of day one.  We were only 30 laps out of 2nd C class car.We were 47th place, "good enough" with all that lost time.

I guess 43 is old enough to smoke, so what the hell was I supposed to say?

Sunday, Race day two started well.  Ray was putting in some good laps.  Posted a 1:28 lap time!  Then 1/2 hour in the car started overheating.  When we looking it over, discovered water in the oil... unfortunately AFTER we refilled the radiator.  We’ve driven it without water before, so sent it back out!

Exhibit 1: A major disadvantage of having a light colored paint job

Kurt was driving when he was black flagged for the oil pooring out of it... :( 

We cleaned it up (drained everything; replaced oil filter plus oil change) and let it idle for a good 15 minutes; revved it a few times. We were thinking of sending it back out with new oil and no water.  

Judge Phil drove up and so no f@(#)%^ing way. Probably a good call.

 

So, we had no choice but to try to replace the head gasket.  Judge Phil assured us it was an easy job... Then disappeared...  We had some generic too-thick cork for other gaskets and decided to go for it. With four hours left we tried.  Couldn’t get it done by the time they called the race 1/2 hour early with lightning.