Testing, testing. Is this thing on?

The Saab got a workout on Friday before the World Racing League enduro, as we took to the track for some testing. Brainerd International's Performance Driving Schoool had an open track day, so we entered. Good thing we did as we found several issues.

Since Hawk Performance is the title sponsor of WRL, and we were in need of new brake pads, we ordered the Hawk Blue racing pads. They arrived on Thursday, after some odd shenanigans with attempting to order directly from Hawk. Tire Rack came through with 2-day FedEx delivery and we were able to install them before going out on track. They work GREAT! Much better than the old Metal Master pads we have used in previous seasons.

Once on the track, Tim felt a misfire above 5,000 rpm. We checked the spark plugs and wires and found two plugs that were not quite tight and a not quite snapped into place spark plug wire. The Bosch plugs of unknown age were replaced with a set of new NGK plugs and the engine now runs great!

Another problem we encountered was a sudden intermittent misfire. Mike was out for a practice session when it happened and came right into the pits. It turned out to be the negative battery cable which had apparently not been tightened properly.

Travis took advantage of the BIR Performance Driving School to get some track time in his 1984 Chevy pickup. He recently added some 50-series Dunlop performance tires and wanted to play.

With those issues on the race car taken care of, we were expecting a good start to the race. And it appears we were correct... for a change.

Drivin' a Moostang

Mark, Mike and I met up with Jasper Drengler and Brad Nelson, and had a damn good time racing Jasper's V6 Mustang at Brainerd. It was a pair of 7 hour races. We finished both days, but not without some drama.

Though Jasper had installed a surge tank to keep gasoline flowing to the engine as the tank ran down, we still had some fuel starvation issues. Tim managed to go wide entering the cloverleaf and hit a concrete berm, damaging a wheel and flattening a tire.

The 'Stang finished both days, but had to make a few extra pit stops for fuel. Jasper was the final driver on Sunday, when the V6 dropped to 5 cylinders. It slowed down but Jasper was able to make it to the checkered flag.

Results:
Saturday - 13th of 39 starters.
Sunday - 18th of 32 atarters

Another engine, part II

Got called into work on Friday, so the engine-ectomy did not take place until Sunday. After watching the F1 race at Valencia, Spain, on FOX TV (Vettel is a truly amazing driver, is he not?), I headed in to Duluth. Mark provided me with a key to the shop, but Phil was there working on a project so helped me get started.

Shortly after Phil left, Dark Dan wandered in the door. He had been doing laundry across the street. Since his evening was without structure, he offered to give me a hand. Together we worked on making all of the disconnections, and about six hours after I started, the engine and trans were on the floor.

The biggest problem was the cable from the shifter to the automatic transmission. A call to Mark gave me the correct procedure and the cable was easily removed.

Now to remove the engine from the A/T and determine if the timing chain needs replacement. At 240,000 miles, it probably does. Then it can be dropped onto a manual transmission for installation in the race car this weekend.

Dave Steen has come up with a couple more drivers for the team, Jim Seubert and Rick Moe, some friends from the Porsche Club who have experience racing at B.I.R. That makes six.

Another car, another engine

Since none of the three 2.1-liter Saab engine blocks that I have for the race car are perfect, Mark is not too keen on building a race engine our of any of them. He proposed another possibility. His son, Phil, bought a 1993 900S for very cheap a year or more ago because it needed an automatic transmission. Phil intended to find a suitable slushbox to drop in so he could sell the car, but good automatic transmissions for the 900 are not easy to locate. I made Phil an offer on the car, and FHR now has another 2.1-liter engine available.

Got the car started with a battery boost and drove it into the shop. Planned to do a compression check and leak-down test, but the compression check came back with about 120 psi on all four cylinders. That's pretty damn good for an engine with 240,000 miles, especially one that hasn't been run in over a year and had not gotten up to operating temp yet.

The plan is to pull the engine & gearbox on this car on Friday night at SVS in Duluth. Because of the high mileage, Mark wants to replace the timing chain and guides, but I am all for just dropping it onto a 5-speed gearbox and go racing with it as is.