Did anyone notice the "Chase Race" sticker on the dash board of the car in the video?!? That is Doug Chase's company. I would assume he did the roll cage for that car. If this information was burried in the thread earlier, please forgive the repost.
Yeah I noticed that, pretty cool.
This isn't good, I'm being very obsessive about this right now. I do this when I'm incredibly stressed about other things (work, health). I've lost a lot of sleep but I have the whole scenario played out in my head as to how I'd go about this, down to many of the fine details- rules compliance, the car, the build, the team, the theme, an "engineering" exercise that they might appreciate (I know I would!), the transportation, the specific events (based on the 2011 calendar), etc... I've got a plan! My wife wishes I was this 'enthusiastic' about fixing up the house, heh. Ah well, if a certain friend of mine can't come online as the main guy, then I'll shove it into the back of my head, like everything else, soon enough. We talked about it in theory only so far and we're on the same page, and he already owns a couple good donor chassis'.
Anyway, probably TMI, but it helps a bit to get it out.
Keep us updated on your progress for sure, it's very interesting (and entertaining).
------------------ '88 Fiero GT - Project MIDTRBO '10 Camaro LT/RS There's no replacement for turbo placement
[This message has been edited by ALLTRBO (edited 12-12-2010).]
Originally posted by Francis T: That car is way to pretty for that type of racing. My son races an MR2 in chump out here on the east coast and put near all his effort into go-faster mods. As you can see it ent pretty just functional and very light.
With all due respect, he has $53 and a couple days of work into the Fiero's paint. Compared to what has gone into the car, that's nothing, I don't think they would have done any better or worse if it was still faded black with only a couple sprayed on numbers.
Good luck to your son. I've seen you mention him in a few threads, I think what he's done is very cool as well. Out of curiosity, has he gotten any penalty laps? From what I gather, a Mk. II MR2 with an engine swap could be (subjectively) worth more than $500 easily. I know it's pretty common for people to get some laps, but they don't care because what they've done is worth it, heh.
Since our roll cage door bars get in the way of the parking brake lever, they've already been removed anyway. No parking brake for the rear wheels is A-OK for us. 11.25" brakes will definitely be in our future.
I don't know the exact race weight of the car yet... it's been winterized for a bit, so I can't take it to the weigh station just 1/8th mile from my house until things warm up a bit. I would guess it to be in the 2600 lb range, but that's just an educated guess. I'm very curious about the weight, so I'll be sure to weigh it next time I have it out.
I contacted Doug Chase about building our cage about a year ago... but time, money, etc. dictated that we make it ourselves. If I had a chance to do it all over, I would definitely have him do it. I've seen a few cages from his shop, and they are very well fabricated. There were quite a few cars at the Portland race that had those decals on them. Doug must be a busy man!
ALLTRBO - Obsess about it! I did for about a month, and then I bought this car. 10 months later, we were racing it. You think you're obsessed now? Wait until the day after your first race! I was hyped up to get back on track as soon as I got home Sunday night of race weekend. It's about the most fun you can have on four wheels. Oh, and Francis T was actually complementing our car. The relatively inexpensive and quick paint job we put on it is still in the top 10% as far as looks go. Ours is probably one of the nicest looking ChumpCars. I consistently get people saying "it looks too good to be a ChumpCar!"
How was the tire wear at the end of the day? Was there more tire wear on the outer edges - if so, you may be able to get a little more cornering grip by going with more camber (front and/or rear). - kv
------------------ 88 GT T-Top 5-spd #338 of 1252 87 SE 4-cyl 5-spd sunroof, spoiler, performance sound 85 2M4 base coupe T-Top 5-spd, rackless decklid, 15-in 88 GT rims, aero-conversion
Tire wear was quite impressive. I couldn't discern any noticeable wear just from eyeballing it. There was slight scrubbing towards the inside of the tire. A slight bit more camber would help.
Tire wear was quite impressive. I couldn't discern any noticeable wear just from eyeballing it. There was slight scrubbing towards the inside of the tire. A slight bit more camber would help.
Cool deal - you guys should get plenty of life out of those Goodyear tires. On my daily driver (87 SE), I have a set of BFGoodrich Radial T/As which have the same treadwear number (400), and size 205/60R15 on all four corners. - kv
------------------ 88 GT T-Top 5-spd #338 of 1252 87 SE 4-cyl 5-spd sunroof, spoiler, performance sound
[This message has been edited by Kelvin Vivian (edited 12-14-2010).]
I went on the facebook page, but I couldn't find any solid footage of the Fiero. You guys should try and get a POV camera for your car, that would be really exciting to watch!
I have BF Goodrich Radial T/A's on my daily, and they have a very nice balance of grip/longevity. So far, I am just as impressed by the Goodyears. If anything, they might have slightly longer life, and just a fraction less grip.
JesseM, We really want to get an in-car camera setup, so we can record what happens out there. We were scrambling to get our car ready for the first race, and so things like that took a relatively low priority in comparison to getting the car to the track and race ready. Possibly for the race in April, we'll see.
Awesome thread! The car has come a long way since I last saw it this past summer. I would love to find a way to get involved and help you guys out in some capacity (or just be a groupie if nothing else).
Indeed. So much happened in the last MONTH before the race. We love groupies. On race day, it's a lot of fun to have a dozen or so people hanging out in the pit to converse with. Maybe we can make the April race a Fieros Northwest meet or something.
Question for those with stock 15" Fiero wheels- What's the best performance tire you've found for them? I'm contemplating what our next tire choice will be. The only requirements I pose are that it needs to be available in a 205/60/R15, and greater than 190 treadwear rating.
Good news! The holiday season has brought Team PontiAxed two racing-related items: first, a new canopy with sides, to help protect the car and team in the pits... second, and more exciting is the addition of a Samsung digital video camera capable of shooting in 1080p, which will be used in our future events to record in-car footage. So those of you who wanted in-car shots from us, you'll finally get your wish!
Are you using vented -drilled or sloted- rotors and 4RS portafield pads with no dust shields? I'm pretty sure, to a point you can upgrade your brakes with no penalty as it is safety equipment. Above may have been mentioned, I didnt read evey reply etc fully
Are you using vented -drilled or sloted- rotors and 4RS portafield pads with no dust shields? I'm pretty sure, to a point you can upgrade your brakes with no penalty as it is safety equipment. Above may have been mentioned, I didnt read evey reply etc fully
None of the above. It's as stock as the day it left Plant 17 in Pontiac. You're allowed up to 2x the cost of OEM equipment, which on a Fiero opens up a LOT of options. The stopping force has not at all been the problem, as we can easily exceed the grip of the tires with the stock brakes already, we just need to keep them cooler. Next race, we're going with just running some cooling ducts, with better pads. We'll spend the summer beefing up the brakes if we find it necessary.
None of the above. It's as stock as the day it left Plant 17 in Pontiac. You're allowed up to 2x the cost of OEM equipment, which on a Fiero opens up a LOT of options. The stopping force has not at all been the problem, as we can easily exceed the grip of the tires with the stock brakes already, we just need to keep them cooler. Next race, we're going with just running some cooling ducts, with better pads. We'll spend the summer beefing up the brakes if we find it necessary.
You really should take the dust covers off you dont need them for racng, the brakes will run cooler. I'm quite surprised that you haven't ran into brake fade on the track whereas the stock Fiero bakes are just not up to it for road racing. Heck, before I went over to porterfield pads and sloted rotors my Fiero would fade the bakes on the street when used hard at anything near 60 mph. Also the more you race that car the faster you should get, especially into the turns where brake fade can ruin your whole day and maybe someone else's too. BTW: good luck
Just read this thread for this first time, really cool! Also became a fan on facebook I checked the chumpcar website, and they have a race july 9th at my local track (a couple miles away)! My mind is now racing to see if I can come up with something for the event
I do think we'll take off the dust covers, I hadn't thought of that.
I am able to fade my stock Fiero brakes on a spirited drive through some twisties, so I knew they would be inadequate on track, we just ran out of time trying to get the car ready to do anything about it for our first event.
To be honest, I think the car was worth about $500 when we bought it. They exclude the value of the safety equipment like the harness, brakes, roll cage, etc. because that's necessary for safe racing. It had knackered paint, no title, didn't run, bald tires, sunroof and driver's window were left vented outdoors for 6 years, it was a mess.
kwagner - Go and watch, even if you can't get something together in time... you'll be hooked by the time you leave!
So your first event will be 9-10 April 2011 Portland Int'l Raceway (Portland, OR) Chumpy's Revenge!
what are you doing March 6th (Sunday)? 45th Annual IceBreaker Autocross Guaranty RV, Coburg Also April 2nd (Saturday) Test and Tune Members Only Limited Entries Coca Cola Eugene The Emerald empire Sports Car Club really has their act together. Fun, safe, organized. You should come race with us. Last year some members had a RX7 FC in the chumpcar series. They cut a fuel door sized hatch in the hood so they could add blood to the rotary without opening the hood.
I do not see Thunderhill on the Chumpcar calendar. What gives?
I can build all the lighting you will need. check your PMs.
Our first event was October 2010, a few months ago. Our first ChumpCar event this year will be April. We're not opposed at all to doing other series, or other styles of racing. One reason I was interested in getting all my safety gear was so that I would have a helmet, so I could get into doing autocross.
I remember a couple RX7's from last year, any details to jog my memory? (Car color, team name?)
ChumpCar tries to get the best tracks whenever possible. Of course this means putting up the coin to rent the place out... and if a race doesn't get enough entries to justify paying for a relatively prestigious track like T-Hill, it gets canceled. Unfortunately, this was the case with Thunderhill this year. It was supposed to be the first week in February, and apparently, there were too few entries for that event.
Thanks for the PM. I'm interested to see what we can work out.
also from Halloween Chumpcar at PIR 13 minute in car video traffic, passing, no scraping, inline 360 at 2min, passed by NO ONE, I watched the whole thing.
[This message has been edited by hairballrm (edited 01-22-2011).]
The Scrapes and Spins video is an awesome intro to most people as to what ChumpCar racing is.
As for the second video, those guys really know what they're doing. It's a Datsun 510 Wagon, with a surfboard on top, and a carbureted VG30 V6 under the hood. Real nice guys, and really well prepared... well, as well prepared as Chumps go. The response from the driver after that 360 was "Wow, that was FUN!"
Sunday AM Coffee at Human Bean, What time? Hwy 34 spirited but adult to Waldport, Breakfast in Newport. Where? Buy oysters at Oregon Oyster Farm via Toledo Return calmly Hwy 20. Fat Tire at Crow Bar
Talked with a bunch of people, and the chumpcar officials. I'm aiming to race in July Couple questions: - What did you use for a roll cage (I contacted Doug Chase, he no longer offers mail order fiero cages due to getting rid of his mule to make space in the garage) - How much rust was on the car, and is it an issue (my project car has a bit of surface rust... hard to find good frames in the northeast) - What radio system did you use?
We used a Jeg's kit for our roll cage. My advice: don't use theirs. About half a dozen of the roll cage pipes in that kit are undersized compared to what they list in the catalog, and thusly need to be replaced for use in ChumpCar. ChumpCar strongly encourages teams to check out RollCageComponents.com for CCWS cage stuff. I kind of wish we had investigated out options more, as our cage works well, and is fabricated damn near perfect, but the layout is not what I would do in a perfect world.
We had zero rust on the car. It had only 103k on the clock when we got to it, and we don't salt roads up here in the Northwest. Surface rust is A-OK, in fact, ChumpCar doesn't care so much about rust, so long as it's not a safety issue (ie, cage mounting, seat mounting, big openings, etc.)
We just used a Motorola FRS radio, with a headset in our helmet wired to a jack which plugged into the control box mounted to the dash bar of the cage. This box has a receptacle for the helmet plug, and a push to talk button. It's all Radioshack parts, and could be assembled by an electronics novice, I think. Our 'veteran' crapcan racer team mate did it all for us, so I'm not entirely sure the technical details.
Way cool! I expect a progress thread when things start to come together.
[This message has been edited by ManMadeChickens (edited 01-31-2011).]
The original plan was to leave the stock wheel in place, but once the seat and cage were more or less in their final position, we realized very quickly it would be darn near impossible to get in without a quick release. We ordered a Grant Performance Series steel wheel, and a Grant GM quick release hub. The wheel itself was like $32, but the quick release adapter hub was like $130.
9-10 April 2011 Portland Int'l Raceway (Portland, OR) Chumpy's Revenge! Let's hang out and cheer on Team PontiAxed
That would be great! More the merrier. There's a ton of great vantage points to sit and watch, take pictures, and generally just hang out at PIR. Stop by the pit, and I'll be happy to talk Fieros, or just cars in general, so long as ours it out on track, running.
Oh, and I got the car on the scale the other day. Looks like it's a bit over 2500 lbs. Interesting, considering a stock '86 GT is nearer to 2800 lbs stock. Without an interior, but with a cage, it's about 2550.
My girlfriend and I are planning on going! I'll check with Fieroseverywhere to see if he's up to it too...
Josh
------------------ 1988 GT
--Now new and improved with restriction free manifolds, Rodney's floating rear cradle nut kit, Fiero Store front cradle bolts, manifold stud kit, etc...
My girlfriend and I are planning on going! I'll check with Fieroseverywhere to see if he's up to it too...
Josh
------------------ 1988 GT
--Now new and improved with restriction free manifolds, Rodney's floating rear cradle nut kit, Fiero Store front cradle bolts, manifold stud kit, etc...
What an AWESOME weekend... and the fact that I can say that after the car has had that damage to the LF corner courtesy of contact with a vintage Volvo, and having had the rear bumper ripped off by a Nissan Sentra... now that's sayin' something. Saturday we were 25th out of 60 cars, and Sunday we were 24th of 60. We ran as high as 12th at one point!
The car ran flawlessly the whole weekend, even if it's driver's weren't as good (one of our Rookies was stopped on track after a spin, which resulted in the aforementioned damage.) More pictures, some video, and a lot more commentary forthcoming soon, once I have a bit of time to get that all together. Mad props to those who showed up and visited with us, your support is a huge morale booster to the team!
[This message has been edited by ManMadeChickens (edited 04-11-2011).]
Hello again everybody! After our first outing in October of last year, Team PontiAxed was rearing to go get back out on track, and show ChumpCar what a Fiero is all about. After a few small fixes, a few minor modifications, and a good wash in the off season, the car was ready to go, come race weekend. The team loaded up the truck, and we set off for PIR. We got through tech with no hitches, and were assigned zero penalty laps, which was a relief. The car was nearly ready to race as of Friday night, so the team took it pretty easy after setting up the pit. We took a team field trip to go purchase our fuel for Satuday, and to have dinner.
Saturday morning was relatively warm for April, with gorgeous weather greeting us as we awoke in the pits of PIR. Really nothing interesting to note for Saturday morning, other than we made pre-grid on time (what a difference 6 months makes!), and got the benefit of starting warmup with everyone else. Ken took the first shift, and ran his whole 1 hour 45 minute stint with no apparent issues. There was a long full-course caution, so we brought him in about 5 minutes early. He came into the pits, and traded off with Drew, who drove second stint. Fueled the car, and off it went.
Drew had a few off-track excursions, and a few lessons in car control in his first stint, but was consistent in lap time, and made a really nice run. It was during this stint that the fastest team lap of the day and weekend was turned - 1:44.96. About ten minutes to go in his shift, the car started sputtering in corners- low on fuel. He ran another lap, and brought it in, fearing he might run out. We fueled again, and switched drivers. Blake was next out.
Blake, without the mid-engined vehicle experience of the rest of the team, had a bit of incident as well. A few spins here and there, one of which resulted in a bit of on-track contact. He spun once in turn 4, and Team VJJ's Volvo didn't maneuver out of our way well enough, resulting in a bit of a tear in the left corner of the front bumper. Simply cosmetic damage, no big deal. At one point in this stint, Blake received our team's first Black Flag. Otherwise, Blake appeared to have learned a lot in his first stint, and seemed to have a fair bit of fun. He too complained that in the last minutes of his turn in the car, it was sputtering going though corners. Apparently running fast on a completely dry track uses more fuel than running in the wet. That, and we weren't getting it quite topped off on Saturday. About 6 gallons of fuel into the car, 1 quart of oil added, and a driver change. Justin took anchor shift, and got into the car just a bit after 2:15.
The last stint on Saturday was relatively uneventful. A fair number of competitors were off track by this point, so traffic was a bit thinner than in earlier stages. Again, quick laps meant higher fuel consumption than we were used to. With about 15 minutes left in the race, we were forced to pit again for fuel. The car was sputtering in corners for two laps, before it started missing on the back straight. Justin brought in the car for a top off, and left, completing a handful more laps before the finish. We were running all day, with no breakdowns, no tows. A very successful day indeed. We finished 25th of 60 cars, having turned 183 laps. 366 miles in 7 hours works out to an average speed of just under 52 MPH, which is counting pit stops, yellow flags, a lone red flag, and all. Not bad.
As was with Friday night, Saturday night proved relatively uneventful as far as the car was concerned. An inspection of the brake pads showed that they were about half worn, but deemed usable for the conditions expected on Sunday. In the rain, the slower speeds mean less brake wear. We zip-tied and duct taped the torn front bumper skin, but otherwise the car needed very little attention to race on Sunday. As Mazda says in their ads, "The best street cars make the best race cars."
Sunday was much colder, with a pretty steady rain since about 11pm the night before. The rain let up at about 8am, just in time for driver's meeting and pre-grid. First out again was Ken. Car started right up on cue, and we rolled off with the pack, now down to about 55 cars. Ken's stint was relatively uneventful again, showing his patience and consistency in the car. The wet conditions were showing, with lap times being several seconds off of Saturday's pace. We intentionally topped off the car, to make sure we were running full stints on fuel. The strategy worked- we were up to 12th before coming into pit for driver change. The car took only 6 or 7 gallons when we switched drivers. Blake was running second shift today rather than the third shift he took the day before.
A few laps into his Sunday stint, Blake went into turn 4 with a bit too much speed, resulting in a near-save spin to the inside of the track. Very wet conditions were also to blame. #22 Team Cash Cab Nissan Sentra made hard contact with our rear end, leaving some silver paint on the RR wheel, tearing off the bumper skin and crash absorbing honeycomb from the car. It tore out two of the four mounting bolts for the rear bumper support bar, which was now flapping off the car. Blake turned back on track, and radioed to the pit to take a look at the car as he went by. Justin hopped up on the pit wall and was astonished to see the car missing most of it's back end. The command "if the car feels fine, just keep truckin" was given. Blake turned a few more laps, and was black flagged for the flapping bumper bar. A couple bolts were removed, some duct tape added, and the car was good to go back out. Blake drove the rest of the stint without too much other real drama. Wet conditions, a few spins, black flag, and driver change meant we were down to about 25th at this point. We fueled, swapped drivers, and out Drew went.
Drew's Sunday stint was one of much excitement for those in the pit. Watching the live scoring showed that Drew was consistently beating the previous team lap time record for the day. Every few laps, another second of two would come off. Ken's best lap was in the 2:11 range, Blake had been down as low as about 2:02, and Drew was down to about 1:58 by halfway in his stint. The track was drying out, as the rain had stopped about the time he got into the car. All told, I believe his best lap in the car on Sunday was in the 1:48 range. Solid driving, and a full fuel load meant that we were up to about 20th or so as Drew was finishing his turn. Again, pitting and driver change dropped us a fair number of spots. Another fueling and driver change meant that Justin would be finishing up again.
Strapped into the car, and heading out of the pits, things took an interesting turn. Boiling brake fluid in the heat-soaked calipers made the pedal go straight to the floor, even after four frantic pumps. To avoid running into a parked 240 at pit-out, and several ChumpCar workers, Justin made a quick swerve for the pit-put barrier, nudging it gently, bringing the car to a stop. Sitting against the wall, the brakes were pumped a few times, which brought back pedal pressure and braking force. ChumpCar officials decided it was a prudent idea to have the team "check the brakes" in the pits. A run through the paddock and back to the pits showed that the brakes were OK, and after a quick visual inspection by the crew, out the car went, instructed to "take is easy for the first lap or two, to make sure the brakes are OK." A few cautious laps to prove that the brakes were up to snuff, and the rest went down easy. On the 12th to last lap, Justin turned the fastest lap time of Sunday, with a 1:46.03. A full stint to the finish meant we were running at the end of all four races we've participated in. A couple of close wall passes for the crews, and the race was over. We completed a total of 186 laps in 7 hours, meaning we averaged a tick over 53 MPH on Sunday... interesting, as the conditions were not as good, and we had one unexpected stop that we didn't experience on Saturday. Possible Driver experience factor perhaps? The net result was we placed 24th of 55 cars running Sunday. Again, a really nice showing.
All told, We're impressed with how well the car ran, and how much we've accomplished since the last race in October. We've got some ideas to improve the car for October 2011, which we'll be implementing over the summer. I think everyone involved would agree, we had a damn fun time, and we all can't wait to get back to the track in the Fall.
I've got a few more photos up on the Facebook Fan Page, and some video on the way.
[This message has been edited by ManMadeChickens (edited 04-05-2018).]
Great write up!!!!!! awesome car!!!! but IMO not worth under 500 bucks lol id prbly give you more than that
