VIR 13 HR, or for us, 1HR !

[Ron]

This was our 3rd. try at the 13 hour race. In 2004 we crashed out in the first 30 minutes. In 2007 we ran a very smooth and controlled race and if the hood had not opened on track after our last pit stop we were looking at a 2nd place finish not 3rd.

A little background, my dad and I run an ITB mustang. As I wrote last year it was a dream come true to run in a long race with dad and do so well. This year we wanted more. My dad's old race engineer from the 70's in the IMSA series was brought out of retirement to help jump start our engine program. I had always felt that we were making good power but something was missing.

Tom ( the engine builder) and I set out to do all the little things right in the motor. We degreed in several cams from the various years of production until we selected on one from the early eighties that showed promise of a better torque curve. That worked well with the d-port head and closed chamber that it came with and we built form there. Properly tuned headers and pipe that matched the cam were also built. A ring package from Total Seal with very low , I mean very low, drag was ordered. In fact we went through several orders until we got just what he wanted. The real trick was in oil control in the bottom end. A proper teflon crank scraper, windage tray, baffle system, and new oil pan is where we felt added power could be found.

Boy did it work! Please understand that we are at the top of the compression ratio allowed, everything is maxed out. Several sets of rod and crank bearings were looked at until we found the best set etc... Tom is manic about measuring and measuring and measuring to insure everything is right and more importantly legal. We even took the car to a chassis dyno on Tuesday to break in the motor and tune it in. The numbers were not off the charts, but we felt we had something to race against Kirk and the Troxell family.

During qualifying we were 5 seconds, yes 5!, seconds faster than we had ever been there and only missed the lap record by .8 seconds. It was so fast that I did not believe the data that was being flashed up on the dash for lap times and had to call the crew to confirm. But Qualifying for a 13 hour race fast means nothing.

The race started without fanfare, the car was strong and easy to drive and I felt I could maintain a pace of 2:25 to 2:27 for my stint. The car would leap out of the turns, that is the best way to describe the torque that Tom had produced. About 40 minutes into the race going through turn one the low oil pressure light pops on and the pressure has dropped to 15 psi. As I exit it returns to 55psi and is good through the next 2 left hand turns. As I make the right heading toward the uphill esses it does it again. For the next few laps I drive by the oil pressure gage and watch it drop on every right hand turn. I talk it over with the crew and we decide to press on. Big mistake. I should have come in right away and had the oil level checked. I caught up to the Troxell golf and got inside of him in turn 1 and held a really tight line all the way around and that was it. By the time I reached the oak tree I was at 5 psi and the oil temp was at 250, we were done.

Sorry to the Troxells, I was trying to wave him by up there and I think he thought there was something in front of me so I held both of us up.

We will have the motor apart in the next few days and I will report what happened. Our guess is that the oil pickup has broken and that is why we were sucking air in the right handers. As a driver I did a poor job of telling the crew how bad it was and should have pitted right away, dumped in 2 quarts of oil and seen if the problem went away.

We are really pleased with the car. We also got an overhead fuel rig/ dry break system, and had 2 friends on the crew that work for Synergy racing to help us improve in the pits. We were coming after the Convover Motorsports team and the Troxell family.

But as they say " To finish first, first you must finish" and we didn't finish. We will be back, so watch out.

Ron

[JeffYoung]

Sorry to hear that Ron. We were pitted next to you (06 Miata) and I started right behind you. That car had some skonk on the start.

[Ron Earp]

But as they say " To finish first, first you must finish" and we didn't finish. We will be back, so watch out.

Ron

Hey Ron,

I did notice that ITB Mustang being far up on the grid and pointed it out to a few of my team members. I'm a Ford guy, so I like to see a Ford show up and put a scare on the FWD boxes that make up the bulk of ITA/ITB. Anyhow, I was sorry to see that you guys had to pack it in. Keep on digging at it. I'd like to see you and the team pull off a win in that car.

Best,
Ron

[pballance]

Hey Ron,

Nice write up. Too bad it only lasted an hour though. Good to hear that you are back on track again.

You coming down to RR for the school in Feb.? I should be there helping a couple of guys. I owe you a cold one or two.

Paul

[Knestis]

>> Tom ( the engine builder) and I set out to do all the little things right in the motor. We degreed in several cams from the various years of production until we selected on one from the early eighties that showed promise of a better torque curve. That worked well with the d-port head and closed chamber that it came with and we built form there. Properly tuned headers and pipe that matched the cam were also built. A ring package from Total Seal with very low , I mean very low, drag was ordered. In fact we went through several orders until we got just what he wanted. The real trick was in oil control in the bottom end. A proper teflon crank scraper, windage tray, baffle system, and new oil pan is where we felt added power could be found. ...

By the bold bit, you mean "worked well with the head that the cam originally came in," right?

K

[callard]

Many thanks and congratulations to Ginny, the race officials and workers for putting on another outstanding event. The weather steward surpassed herself as did the pit, grid and tech folks. NCR just keeps getting better with the 13 hour.
The Fifty Plus Benz lost its high pressure fuel pump around the 10th hour with no spare so we parked. However, our All-Girl-Fuel-Crew for the second year did an outstanding job and every one of our pit stops was at the 2 minute mark. Guys, if you want something done right, have a woman do it!
Regards,
Chuck Allard

[Ron]

Yes Kirk the head and cam came together as a set. Ford has always used the 4 cyc mustang to balance out overall fuel numbers across the company. The car had a run from 1979 to 1993 with 4 different head configurations and several cams. I know you can't mix and match so we looked at all the options.

There are no secrets in building the motor, I have learned from Tom you just have to do all the little things to make it work. Or maybe it is all the little secrets that make it work. I don't know Kirk, it was just amazing what he did. Of course he said many times this is why it is very tough to get someone else to build you a motor. There is just so much time involved in doing a motor. I have to say he must have had 500 hours in the project, maybe more. And with that you can't just buy a set of headers and expect it to work or an oil pan, or a windage tray. It all has to work together and most of the time that means doing your own research and building your own.

Yes I plan on going down to Roebling again Paul I look forward to meeting up with you for that beer.

[Knestis]

Thanks for clarifying, Ron.

K

[Knestis]

Yes Kirk the head and cam came together as a set. ...

Sorry - I'm getting old and the synapses are slowing down, so a delayed extension to that question: Since the ITCS defines the "engine long block" as an assembly for the purposes of up- and back-dating, that cam and head are on a block, crank, and rods that were originally delivered under them, too - right...?

I ask because Cameron is revisiting the OBDI/OBDII question as we look at a winter engine rebuild. With the MkIII, there's really only two iterations, coincidentally defined by the switch between generations of engine management, so it's likely more complex over the life of the Mustang...

K

[Ron]

I don't know that much about the inner workings of the VW. I have only driven a couple in some 24 hour of lemons races. With the Ford, all the bottom ends were pretty much the same except that the later ones had what they called a small journal crank. It had to do with the size on the crank bearings.