Ghetto Garage

So a couple more pics of the two centurions:

So after my debacle with the tyre joint (they said that the setup was no good) I went out and had a play with it. Self aligned it all up, adjusted ride height and she’s all good. Well not quite:

After the first few runs the new setup was making a huge difference in driftability, and as I grew more confident I got faster and faster on the entry. Then, mid-way through about a 100k entry I hear a dull smack and the car understeers like crazy. Luckily I didn’t hit anything, but after playing with the steering a little I just limped out of the pan, into the esses and back to the lines. As I went to hop out, the door didn’t open properly. It is now hitting the door. No matter I took the targa off and jumped out the car to take a look.

Turns out the driver’s side castor rod was wound in about a thread on the chassis side, and it had come away mid-drift. Why? When I was moving the castor forward to make sure there was enough thread the bracket was rotating with the rod. I was pretty sure I had enough thread in there, so rather then pulling it all apart to fix the problem, I just let it be. She’ll be right. Well, no. So let that be a lesson to you, if you see a problem; fix it properly before you take it to the track. I was lucky I wasn’t coming onto the straight at Lala where I could’ve understeered into the concrete wall…

So after about an hour fixing that so it was threaded properly (cheers to the dude who lent me his shifters) I got back out there and finally shredded the tyres. I probably did one run too many, but here’s what the Federal 595 looks like after you completely shag it:

Changed tyres (now using a set of Admirals) and did a couple tandems with a Silvia that were really good, but then the heat started to get to it. It didn’t cause the misfire problem like the previous outing, but I finished up about 330 to give it a chance to cool down before taking it home. Exhaust temps peaked at 130 degs:

And my oil temp was getting warm too:

But still. It was a successful day, and a good end to the drift year for me. Now to start on some of the larger projects I have in store….