Well, the long winter is finally over and we are getting ready for our first SCCA race of the season at Mid-Ohio on May 22. After some time off I got busy fixing stuff and making improvements to the VW.
First, I traced a fuel delivery problem and replaced the hi pressure pump and filter, then installed the rebuilt 5-speed with the correct 5th gear in it. With the tranny out, I dropped the pan and installed an Ishihara-Johnson crank scraper. I found a head gasket that would give me half a point more compression and replaced the clutch and throttle cables with new ones. I added a belly pan to the spoiler and cleaned up some of the aerodynamics on the grille and air intake and replaced the bogus "tuner" air filter with a real K&N.
I found some places to move some ballast further back, this should help handling and braking. I got a free used fiberglass right front fender from a Vortex member, good for a 5 lb weight saving on each side over the steel ones. And I had the left side fender off to clean up the gear oil from Watkins Glen, so I thought it would be an idea to pull a quick mold of of it so that I could make a matching glass fender in the future. This turned out to be a grand make work project as the fenders are a bit complex with returns and bends. The resulting mold is a bit rough, but good enough to make a part from with a little bit of work. But the paint on the original fender took a beating and had to be repainted. While doing this I decided to paint the black Rabbit GTI fender flairs while I was at it. I think the car looks wider, more integrated now.
We are almost ready for Mid-Ohio, just an alignment check and the sorting out of some spares and equipment. I cant wait to be racing with my old Mini friends again, Keith and Chris.
Posts
