Update May 2017

I have neglected this blog for long enough, time for an update.

We are now known as Team Dadzenlads, and still racing at Hunmanby in Class One and Junior Saloons with the S99Y Micra. We have however had a change of livery, no longer blue and white, now black, amber and white, and we will shortly have new sponsor stickers for our sponsors Resin & Lining UK Limited ( R & L UK Ltd)
First meeting at Hunmanby for 2017 saw us trailing at the back for the three heats, and myself also coming home last in the final. The car was down on power and just not performing. A downpour in the Junior final and some very tactical racing saw Thomas bringing home his first ever winners trophy though.
Round two brought more engine woes, with the engine performing badly and overheating through heats one and two, and even half time fettling failed to resolve this, the engine just lacklustre and limp, despite my efforts to eke a little more from it, my heat three was a last place finish, although we had fifths and fourths in the earlier heats. Then disaster struck in the Junior Heat three with Thomas retiring on the fourth lap, the engine knocking badly from the bottom end. We didn't make the finals, the engine just about pulling the car back to the trailer.
Engine out and a quick examination shows almost no oil remaining. The oil was there at the start of the meeting, and as there is no oil on the garage floor I can only assume a seal failed somewhere and it bled all over the track - it certainly wasn't burning it.
R & L promptly agreed to pay for our replacement engine and Coniston Bills Racing fitted one up and the car is now back home and purring like it should. With all new oil and filters, a good service and luck on our side we should see some results now. New tyres all round help the grip, and the only issues to resolve is the wayward steering. Since a heavy collision last season that took out our nearside strut the steering has been toeing out a little - I've tried to sort it but run out of threads on the track rod ends to do any more. I am going to have another look at this tomorrow, because ideally we want the steering toeing to the right a little for best grip
Once that's sorted there will be no excuses for not having trophies on the shelf.

Update - now racing

I appear to have rather neglected this blog, what with one thing or another.

As previously posted our first outing was in June 2015 and we managed another two race meetings before I stupidly broke my leg and tore all the ankle ligaments - not racing, but repairing the trailer, which collapsed as I was welding it and it fell on me. That put us out for the rest of the season.

Today however saw the start of the 2016 season and we were back. The car had lived outside over the winter lay up, and had suffered a little from the weather with electrical gremlins affecting the brake light and causing a breakdown for Thomas in Juniors Heat 1. The car was also using rather more fuel than previously, so that merits some investigation before our next meeting - we had to purchase a few litres off a fellow competitor who had suffered a roll in his mini to make sure we had enough for the finals.

Thomas managed 2nd place in heat 2 after his DNF in heat 1, with a 4th and 6th place in heats three and four and a fifth place in the final.

For myself, I earned a 4th in heat 1, a well fought battle for 3rd in heat 2, fifth in heat 3, a disappointing 6th in heat four, and a sixth in the final.

   
The Micra was originally purple, it is now Screwfix Blue and adorned with stickers Thomas collected from various sources, including the Autosport International event at Birmingham in 2015. Our latest stickers are for the North Humberside motor Club, who we have been following at various Autotest events since January. It just so happens I have a Citroen Saxo sitting on the drive with no MOT, which just might find itself pushed into service for autotesting at some time soon.

Meanwhile we need to find out why the Micra is eating so much fuel (suspect brakes may be sticking a little as we seemed a little down on the pace), an oil and filter change might be in order along with a new air filter, and I'll probably reline the brakes and have new cables for the handbrake while I'm at it. Then there are the electrical gremlins that plagued us today - hopefully they have been sorted by remaking a few connections and liberal dousing of WD40, but only time will tell.

Jobs to do list

Having had a quick inspection of the grass track car tonight after our first race meeting, I can add a further couple of racing driver excuses to explain my poor performance. Firstly the nearside rear brake was binding on, which would cause drag and slow us down. Secondly, the nearside front brake pads have almost no friction material left, meaning they overheat the moment you use them and are somewhat ineffective. I have freed off the sticky brake and taken off the handbrake cable for now to stop it sticking again. (A chock off wood will suffice in the meantime - no MOT standards in autograss racing) i will be replacing it once I've freed it off or renewed it though, as I think a handbrake might give a little advantage at times in those corners - keep the revs up and flick the back end round with the handbrake. 

My shopping wish list now includes 4 x M&S tyres, brake pads, brake shoes and a handbrake cable, or work to free of the existing cable. That is the essential list. We are on a tight budget for the year though, with just £133.61 left to pay for entry fees and fuel for the remainder of the year, plus any repairs. A decent set of four tyres will eat up almost all of that, although I might settle for two up front and leave the road tyres on the back. 

Tyres of course make all the difference - being on road tyres last Sunday meant we were at a real disadvantage. Standard fitting is 155/70R13, but I think I can get M&S or proper Autograss tyres in 175/65 R13 size, which will give a 5% advantage in the gearing as well as better grip. That should put us up 1 or two places in the finish order I reckon.

On the if we can still afford it list we have a new nearside CV joint and boot, as it is worn out, but still works. It is only worn out to MOT standard, so I will probably run with it until it fails completely then stick a second hand driveshaft in it. I have a source for these things now, so it should be cheap enough. 

On a positive note I have fitted a large Caravan/towing mirror inside the car, so we can now see who is about to overtake us and position our car accordingly to block them, not that that is the sporting thing to do of course, no. (I was just taken the racing line, Mr Stewards-Enquiry, honest!) It will be nice to see other cars though, it don't half make you jump when they suddenly appear besides you, particularly if like me, you have been road driving for 30 years and are used to having mirrors. 

Our first outing - and a Trophy!

The boy Thomas and I finally made it to our first race meeting, with "Dennis" our racing Micra cutting his stuff at Hunmanby Autograss track. A big thank you to those who have helped along the way, in no particular order Lee and Andy Metcalfe at Boyes Lane Engineering for attempting to resolve the troublesome Nissan Anti-Theft System, Luke Sparrow at Sparrow recovery, who donated race harnesses, (time expired for other motorsport but fine for autograss racing)  James Hesleton for the rollcage welding and Lynn Dent who sponsored our race entry fees for Sundays race meeting in memory of her dad Reg Dent who passed away earlier this year. 

Thomas raced in Juniors, and heat one saw him "blood" the car when he took a spin into the armco barrier, leaving us a minor flesh wound under the redundant fuel filler cap. After that DNF he came home with a third place in heat two, being lapped, but improving as the day went on. Heat three saw him trailing by only half a lap coming in third. In the final he came in third which means he brought home a trophy on his first race meeting. I perhaps ought to point out that for some reason whilst juniors normally run a full grid of 8 there were only three runners in his class, so as well as being third he was also the loser.

This is not to pour scorn on his achievement though, he has had about 15 minutes driving experience prior to the race meeting including the autograss driving test and up until then had never driven anything with a clutch before, although he has driven a Kart once. For a twelve year old he has done remarkable well, and already has excellent car control, managing front wheel drive understeer with aplomb.

As for myself, heat one saw me coming home third out of three, or last if you prefer. And by about a half a lap. Not too shoddy for first time out. This is where I throw in my racing driver excuses. Firstly all our competitors are on proper autograss racing tyres or decent mud and snow tyres, whereas we are on well worn road tyres which have about as much grip as a billiard ball on ice. This means that whilst I could keep up with the others and even catch them on the straights as soon as I reached a corner I lost all grip. I have discovered that a Micra understeers like a really really understeery thing, but then snaps into oversteer without warning. My second excuse is about the driving position. The seat is fixed for Thomas who is about 4 feet 8 inches tall. I am 6 feet 2 inches tall, and consequently was driving with my knees around my ears, which does not make for easy steering response. This is something we need to address before the next meeting - I really need a tad more arm and legroom, so will have Thomas on the rack every night until he grows another foot.

Excuses apart, my second heat saw me home either 4th or 5th out of 7 starters (Thomas lost count and we didn't get the official result before race control closed) Those ahead of me were about 1/4 lap ahead as I crossed the line though. Race three was much closer racing, and I was only inches behind the pack coming home 6th out of 7th - and 7th was well behind.
True to form in my final it was a repeat of race three, even though it was 6 laps instead of 4, 6th out of 7th, and again a really tight race.
The car is well splattered with mud, as am I. The closer you are to the pack the more mud you get thrown up, and the only way to stop it is get even closer!
This was a great day, and I urge anyone to have a go, for £15 entry fees 

for the two of us, plus a gallon of petrol it really is good value fun for father and sin, and the cheaper than a mudpack beauty treatment.

Painting!

The car is back from Full On Fabrications with the roll cage complete. Well it's been back a couple of weeks or more to be honest but as ever time is short and work gets in the way. It just needed the seat frame fabricating and one tube welding in to take the harness at the right height to feed it through the slots in the seat, which I have done myself. The welding isn't half as nice looking as James Heselton has achieved on the main roll cage, but I'd happily hang my hat on it.
I had taken last Sunday until this Saturday as leave from work, originally to go away with the family for Easter, but that fell through so I had time on my hands - time to crack on with the car then. after all the season start deadline is long past. Unfortunately on Saturday I came down with the great Granddaddy of all man flu's which has knock me for twelve.
Today however the eye bolts arrived for the harness, so I thought I'd just fit that in. I was feeling up to that at least. A word of thanks at this point to Luke Sparrow of Sparrows Recovery at Brough. Sparrows are one of a number of recovery agents I come across regularly in my day job, and it was whilst chatting to Luke I discovered he does a little Autocross racing. More importantly, I discovered that due to different rules he has to change race harnesses regularly as they are date expired under AutoCross regulations, but are still fine for Autograss. Worth knowing, as he had a couple of harnesses lying around surplus to requirements which I was able to grab gratis. Anyhow, as ever things are not simple - the offside strap is no problem, the eyebolt screws in the existing seatbelt position. The nearside for some reason is a different thread size, so I need a different eyebolt. There is nowhere to screw the crotch strap eyebolt so I'll either have to weld it to the seat frame mount (whcih in turn is welded to the floor and frame) or I'll have to weld a anchor plate with the screw mount into the floor. The rear shoulder straps meanwhile are of the wrap around the rollcage type, and as my rollcage has no suitable tube it's either weld a new tube in, or weld a short tube to some angle iron and bolt it into the rear seatbelt mounts - which is probably my favourite idea. The shoulder straps would then fix around that. Should satisfy the scrutineers.
Faced with nothing more I could do on that for now, I figured that even with my head spinning and losing my balance from an inner ear infection I ought to be able to paint, I set about making things look pretty. When I say pretty, that is to a certain value of pretty. I see many autograss cars that people must have spent many hours and much money on with beautiful paint jobs only for them to be trashed first time out. And I have noted that the shiny mirror flecked paint does not make them go any faster. With that in mind my plan is black hammerite for the interior and a simple plan to paint the exterior using a roller. Looks are not at the top of my agenda, ease and convenience of repair is. The rollcage is now looking good in black hammerite, as is the drivers floor area - but then I ran out of paint. The rest will get done ion due course.
Exterior wise I have gone for "Toolstation Blue" for the main body with roof and detailing in "Toolstation White." Some motorsport disciplines make novices paint the roof a specific colour - i.e white, but this is not the reason I have done it. The colour schemes for Autograss are entirely open, provided they are not deemed offensive. No there is a personal historical reason, plus of course aesthetically it looks good.
Back in the early 1990's when the Berlin Wall came down a friend of a friend of my sisters boyfriend at the time rescued a Wartburg Knight from a fate worse than death - well death at least and brought it to England. Originally mustard coloured many panels had been replaced with spare dull red coloured parts when it came into the possession of sisters boyfriend, who planned on making a three wheeler out of it. Always a sucker for the word and unusual, I bought it for £80 and saved it from a fate worse than three wheels. I ran it for two years until it succumbed to my yearning for an American car, and it was sold on. But in the meantime I had painted it (with a roller) blue, with a white roof and with a little thin pink heartbeat pinstripe down the side. If you lived in Hull in the early nineties you may remember it. It was certainly unforgettable, smoking around in it's little cloud of two stroke. Anyhow the racer will be a tribute to that little Wartburg.
The car now also has a name - Dennis, which was my late fathers name. Dad used to tell an anecdote: He served with the RAF in Germany in the late 50's and early 60's. Whilst out driving on one of their challenging mountain roads in his Borgward Isabella estate car he was giving a flashy Italian sports model a good run for it's money, and when he eventually stopped to allow the Borgward to cool down he was approached by the wealthy owner of the sports model who offered him a trial as a racing driver with a professional racing team. He apparently declined as with a young family to support and motor racing being much more dangerous in those days he did not want to pursue such a risky career - he remained a fast driver though as I recall from my young childhood, and he later mellowed and became a professional driving instructor, passing on those skills to many. I dismissed his anecdote as one of his many tale tales - until after his death two years ago, when amongst his treasured possessions I came across a photograph of him with the Borgward, and a mystery gentleman in an early Ferrari in the background. It doesn't look like Enzo Ferrari himself, but could have been one of the many drivers who worked for him - or maybe just a punter in a flashy car, but it might lend a little credence to what I always thought was one of dads Tall Tales. Either way, in honour of dad, the car will henceforth be known as Dennis the Datsun.
The body needs another coat of paint before I can finish off with stickers and the race numbers, but S99Y "Dennis" should be ready for action very soon - pictures to follow.

Progress report

Okay, so the first race meeting was cancelled due to weather and I didn't make yesterdays meeting as a driver either, although I did go to watch as a spectator - and to pick up a few pointers as the build reaches it's conclusion.
So where are we with the build? Well the rollcage is in and completed, with thanks to James "Hessy" Hesleton at Full on Fabrications. The only part missing is the tube the harness runs over which he couldn't fit as he didn't know what seat I was using. Not a problem, I'm sure I can weld that single part in place.
The doors are now welded in place, as is the boot lid, and switchgear is in the advanced planning and partially fitted stage. The battery box arrived today and has been fitted. I'm not too happy with it though - it was supposed to fit with the standard Micra battery, but there is insufficient height to clear the terminal posts. It's supposed to have a lid that makes it spill proof but if you can;t bolt the lid on without shorting the battery it's hardly fit for purpose. I have padded the posts out with foam rubber and packed the top of the box with more rubber, so it is sealed down, but not metal to meal - I just hope the scrutineers see it is leakproof. If not I'll have to look fr a smaller battery.
Still to do - paint the roll cage and interior, install the ECU and wiring, paint the exterior, add the roof numbers and door numbers and all the stickers my son Thomas has been collecting. Shouldn't take long now.

Things are coming together ....to do list

So, with just nine days to go before the start of the race meeting, we still have no race car. This does not present a major problem because I am working that day anyway. That gives me an extra 14 days before I can actually race, but will it be enough?
I have the car booked in for the roll cage fitting next week. You may recall that whilst I can weld, it is only pigeon shit welding, and I wouldn't trust myself to fix something as important as the roll cage, so it is being sent to Full On Fabrications in Pickering to get fitted out. Let's hope they live up to the reputation the recommendation suggests. They need the bare shell, so the doors and bootlid need to come off, and the seat needs to come out so they can weld the cage in without anything in the way.
The seat - oh the pains that has given me - literally. The car has to fit my 12 year old son as a junior, and myself as a 6 foot 1 inch adult, and as the seat cannot have a sliding adjustment mechanism and has to be firmly bolted in place the seating position has to be a bit of a compromise. After trying several ideas with the original seat base frame and a quick release bolt mechanism i eventually welded a mounting system in place.
The doors meanwhile have been skinned - i.e basically reduced to the outerskin, which reduces weight as well as freeing up room for the roll cage side protection/door bars. The hinges have to be retained (regulations) and at present the door locks are in pace simple to keep them shut, but once they are refitted they will be welded closed and the locks can be removed too.
So, in the remaining two weeks or so, we have the following list to complete;
Brake light (easy enough)
Towing point to be added front and centre (easy enough)
Battery box to be added (spill proof and secure) - costly in Aluminium, might come up with an alternative.
Seat belt harness (hopefully I have a date expired FIA harness being donated for free, which is adequate for autograss)
Door numbers and roof numbers - Vinyl numbers and a pucker roof pod are about £50 - I may have a cheaper solution - watch this space.
That just leaves the wiring to sort out and whaddya know - What was a runner with the replacement ECU and harness has now decided it doesn't want to run again - damned NATS system.
However, I'm confident that with a mix of the ECU's (3 off) and wiring harnesses I can make it go again.