White NB track car

[plohl]

That's exactly what I was looking for. Any chance you know the brand etc?

Cage looks great for the price!

[Apu]

David, any updates?

[Bizi]

I am also keen to catch up. Are you around Saturday? Might drop in and then go to Mania.

[david_syd_au]

David, any updates?

Thanks for the reminder :-)
There has been some progress. I will post an update over the weekend.

I am also keen to catch up. Are you around Saturday? Might drop in and then go to Mania.

Should be around home on Saturday morning, doing odd jobs.
Please drop in

[david_syd_au]

Next installment of the tale is written, 1800 words, brings it up to date.
I just need to get some photos to put with the words. Will have to wait until Saturday.

BTW Ben, didn't see you Saturday. I had a beer in the fridge for you and everything!
Tsk tsk :-)

[Bizi]

Next installment of the tale is written, 1800 words, brings it up to date.
I just need to get some photos to put with the words. Will have to wait until Saturday.

BTW Ben, didn't see you Saturday. I had a beer in the fridge for you and everything!
Tsk tsk :-)

Oh nooooohhhhhh!

I got shanghaied into something unfortunately, after being away for the week. Hope I can txt you and set up another time, this weekend. Looking forward to your latest instalment.

[evil_weevil]

beer!?!?!!!!!

[david_syd_au]

beer!?!?!!!!!

Yes, you know, .... beer
One of the worlds most popular drinks
Made with malted barley wheat and hops
Response for the ongoing propagation of the human race through the "beer goggles" effect.
You know, ... beer
:-)

[evil_weevil]

Oh yes...I know beer!

[david_syd_au]

Section 4 - Conversion to a track/race car,

Part 3 - Getting aligned, belted and padded, plus unleashing the beast ... a little

With the roll cage done, it was time to put back the dash. All we had to do was reverse the steps we took to remove the dash, right! Ahh, if only it was that simple. The forward vertical legs of the roll cage would require some of the dash to be removed so that it would fit, so out came the jigsaw. I had a moment of hesitation, looking at a perfectly good MX5 dash, and the jigsaw in my hand, then with a little remorse started cutting. The plan was to remove as little material as possible that would allow the dash to be reinstalled. After about 4 attempts at cutting and fitting, we didn't seem any closer to getting the dash to fit. So I had an attack of the sensibles and we headed up to MX5 Mania, only 10 minutes away, and inspected the dash in one of their NB race cars. This allowed us to see exactly how much we needed to remove, so back home we went, one more lot of cuts, and in she went. Eureka!



Victor (aka BadBong) and Michael (aka Midori) had organised a group wheel alignment day at Spinning Wheel Tyres in Alexandria (viewtopic.php?f=63&t=51149), so I added the NB track car to the list of attendees, and rang SW to make the booking. As the date approached, a few people dropped out, so I also added the tow pig to the list as it was in need of a wheel alignment. I planned to tell everyone it was the new 2.2 tonne NC series 3 4WD :-)
There is a good writeup of the day and few pictures in the thread linked above, so I won't was much more, other than to thank Victor and Michael for organising the day, and Peter and Stu of SW for being great hosts, and running some good information sessions.
When Stu aligned the track car, we was able to get the desired configuration at the rear, but could only get around 1 deg of negative camber at the front, when the target was 2.5 to 3 degrees. He advised me to look at offset bushes or a similar mod to allow more negative camber. Add that to the to-do list.

Along with the Sparco seat, I had bought an Autotechnica 6-point 3" harness from MX5 Mania http://www.mx5mania.com.au/product1123.htm along with 5 of the associated backing plates. When installing one of the harness eye-bolts through a metal panel, eg through the floor, you drill a hole, put the backing plate behind the hole, then screw the eye-bolt through the hole and into the thread of the backing plate. We only needed 5 plates, as the 6th eye-bolt could screw into the existing bottom seat belt mounting point for the right waist strap. We drilled 2 holes in the floor under the rear of the seat for the crotch straps, one in the transmission tunnel for the left waist strap, and the two shoulder straps went back to the harness plate that was part of the roll cage.



About an hours work and it was done. Once the seat was back in, Andrew and I took turns at installing ourselves in the seat and tightening the straps, like F1 drivers :-)
From that exercise we learned two things:
1. When you are firmly strapped into a race seat, you are very limited how far you can reach, and
2. It would be interesting for Andrew and I to share the car at a track day, due to our different ..... girths. Obviously, I would have to find a way to fatten up the little bugger.

The original steering wheel had been removed, as I wanted to keep it in good condition to hopefully sell along with the airbags and their controller, so I bought a new "Momo style" steering wheel via ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150727605387. Along with a suitable hub adaptor and shipping, this came to around $120, and arrived within a few days from the importer/seller in QLD. Fitting it only took about 30 minutes. All good.



A Saturday morning trip to Revolution Racegear at Auburn http://www.revolutionracegear.com.au/ had yielded some roll cage padding. One metre of low-density foam, like a pool noodle, for the side intrusion bar. and a metre of the (expensive at about $40 a metre) SDI rated padding mandated by CAMS for any part of the cage that might have contact with the drivers helmeted head. The Revolution Racegear guys were very helpful, expecially considering they had no power, and still had about one cm of water through the shop from overnight localised flooding.
With some time hacking away at the high-density foam, cutting the required shapes, and a few cable ties, the padding was done. Pics aren't too clear, but hopefully good enough.



Finally the car was a goer. Sure, it still needed door trims and a few other things to pass scrutineering for an MX5 club track day, and a lot more than that to pass a CAMS inpsection to get log booked, and the timing belt and water pump had to be done to avoid future problems, and the aircon compressor and associated plumbing removed. But these were all minor hassles :-)

I had gone along to the monthly meetng of the Thornleigh Car Club http://www.thornleighcarclub.org, as they were local, and I though it would be a good way to find about events other than just MX5 club track days, where we could use our car. They were a friendly bunch, and were very enthusiastic about a motorkhana being run by the club on Sunday 25th March, at Nirimba TAFE in Quakers Hill. It sounded like fun, and even though I had never even seen a motorkhana before, I said I would come along. It seemed like a good way to give the car it's first outing, with less stress and speed than a track day in case something broke.

So on 25th March, Andrew and I loaded the car on the trailer and headed out to Quakers Hill. After a few detours and scouting around, we found the right location, with quite a collection of cars. Over 40 competitors, with cars ranging from your mum's Hyundai Excel shopping trolley, to very trick specials. Registration and scrutineering were a breeze (whew!) and then we got into conversation with a couple of people down the back of the parking area, and unfortunately missed the driver briefing.

So, after watching a dozen drivers attempt the first test, I lined up for my turn with much trepidation:
- never done a motorkhana before, ... check
- missed the driver briefing, so no idea of what I really have to do, ... check
- never dríven the car before, except on and off the trailer, ... check
- still got on the hopeless no-name brand tyres that came on the car from Japan, ... check
- still using the 1/4 tank of fuel that came in the car from Japan, ... check
- all four brake disks are rusty after the sea voyage, and probably won't work at their best, ... check
What could possibly go wrong!

The worst part is, the observers tell you when they are ready, then it is up to the driver to decide themselves when to go. Sometimes it is better to be pushed!

Anyway, I had a ball. There were 9 tests, and each driver could have 2 attempts at each test, with the best of the 2 being counted. I made lots of mistakes on my first runs getting plenty of penalty points and notations on my score sheet like 'F' = hitting flag, 'NFG' = not fully garaged, 'WD' = wrong direction, ... wrong direction!!!! I didn't go in the wrong direction, I went in the right direction around the flag, ...... twice. Just like being stuck in a round about :-)
With a bit more focus and care, all my 2nd attempts were clear runs, with no penalties, and in most cases better times. I even tried using the handbrake a few times to assist with the tighter turns, with varied results.



In the end I came 15th outright, and 3rd in class B, and yes, there were more than 15 competitors, and more than 3 entrants in class B. I know what you were thinking!
I highly recommend particpating in a motorkhana to anyone who wants to unleash the inner hoon, legally and safely. Almost any car would do, although I would suggest using a set of sacrificial tyres for the driving wheels, as they do tend to get some abuse. You also need at least a CAMS L2NS license, and membership of a CAMS affiliated club, such as the MX5 Club of NSW.
I will have my son and daughter, both very new drivers, do a few motorkhanas to experience under and over steer etc, before they do a track day. Even my wife, who came along to spectate, is interested in having a go.

The track car was booked into MX5 Mania to have the front suspension modified, to allow more negative camber. BTW, I do seem to mention MX5 Mania a lot, but they are only 10 minutes away from my home, 5 minutes on a good day, and I have always found AJ and David to be helpful.
David removed and modified the 2 front lower control arms, to extend them by a few cms, along with the steering rods. This modification means that the standard alignment adjustment will now cover roughly from neg 2 deg to neg 5 deg camber, which works for a dedicated track car, but would not be suitable for a road car. The cost was $400.



That brings this tale up to date as at 17th April 2012.

Next I plan to
- get the wheel alignment done again to use the modified front suspension,
- make some door trims,
- try out the race seat mounted on standard rails for the shorter members of the family,
- replace that damn gear knob that I still haven't been able to remove, and
- find some more events between now and the next track day on 4th June.

[PaulF]

I love a good motorkhana. I tend to find that the front tyres get more abuse than the rears though - maybe if I was doing more handbrake turns and powerslides then it would be a different story...

[hamx5ter]

I'd love to do a motorkhana, even kept my oem wheels with my worn achilles just for this purpose, but the one time i ever saw one, at Nirimba TAFE with Broady, i didn't know how to keep track of which direction to go.. And how many times you loops around which cone before executing the J-turn into the little box if witches hats..

It didn't help that some of the fully sick you silvia wid de missin bumpa managed to keep spinning way out of course and lose even more bits on the concrete barrier..

Still seemed like a lot of fun though..

[david_syd_au]

I'd love to do a motorkhana, even kept my oem wheels with my worn achilles just for this purpose, but the one time i ever saw one, at Nirimba TAFE with Broady, i didn't know how to keep track of which direction to go.. And how many times you loops around which cone before executing the J-turn into the little box if witches hats..

I was worried about that too, and stuffed up a few of the tests. But a lot of others also made mistakes, no one laughed at anyone else, and after a few goes it started to click.

It didn't help that some of the fully sick you silvia wid de missin bumpa managed to keep spinning way out of course and lose even more bits on the concrete barrier..

Obviously they must have more talent than anyone driving the day I was there. Nobody hit anything, other than flags!

Still seemed like a lot of fun though..

Next event at Nirimba is on 12th August. Give it a go!

[Smokinscotty]

I'll be there for some more fun and games!

More than happy to help advise tips and techniques with newcomers, not that I'm a master, but I have done enough events to know what the pros do.

2nd hand semis are ideal for motorkhanas, but can be tricky to find a supplier. I used to hit up garys motorsport tyres, but haven't tried hunting for 15s yet.

Great write up David! When my car grows up I want it to have a cage like yours!

[hamx5ter]

Thanks David I've noted it in me diary...
looking forward to it..