Everybody's had little victories and little failures fixing these cars given their age but had a little V today. Needed to repair a sporadically failing e brake warning light...replaced the switch which was possibly original. It has a spring, one contact is a pin pushed into the end of the contact driven by the spring. When the handle is pulled to put the e brakes on the light makes contact when a little tab in a slot on the spring touches the switch frame and completes the circuit to turn the light on if I understand it right. It had dirt on the tab, was crushed by time and use down to almost dead flat and was almost like an old tube type tv...worked when you hit or jiggled it...most of the time. Put new switch in, didn't break anything and now it works right..off when you put the handle down, on when the handle goes up, no jiggling required. I could have pulled the wire out and capped it I suppose but that would be cheating.

You might enjoy seeing this little switch and how annoying that idiot light could be, what it's like when it contacts and how little dirt it took to not make good contact.

Lance

 

here are the photos with the tab down, manually bent up on old switch and dirt that was on the contacts. Easier to replace when that old than clean and reuse for such a small thing.

Lance

 

Hi Lance,
Your fingers are way too clean; and where are the SCARS?
You're going to have get more serious so you hands can be dirty and bleeding!!!!!!
Small victories do add up.
Regards,
Alan

 

Alan...you are so right! I do have scars on hand, wrists and arms from 25 years of taking care of a sailboat and its diesel engine though so it is a luxury for me now that I've sold the 35' boat to let someone else do the "heavy lifting." My then living wife used to call them "Boat Bites" so these would be called "Corvette Bites!"

I am getting more comfortable with doing more things and am able to and now do tackle many things which intimidated me at first. This is my first old car and I'm learning a ton.

Thursday it goes in for the required track tech inspection which must be done and signed off by a professional shop/mechanic no sooner than four weeks prior to track day at VIR. The day of the track touring lights they have an added onsite physical inspection of the obvious at 7:30 a.m. or just after a driver's meeting to start the day. I should get my numbers and all that about the first of the month with the detailed procedures. One thing they've arranged for me between my four 25 minute sessions on the track driving my car is a passenger ride with a club member at full road race speeds as they practice on the track. Both things I'm so looking forward to doing and I have a small hd Samsung digital cam and window suction mount for the back window. If I only get to do this once in my life I'm going to have it on film! I'm also fairly certain that no matter what shape I have it in going in, shifting it 900 times, pushing it a little, it would be unusual if something doesn't give up. I won't be full out racing, following a pacing car but as I understand it each session picks up the speed. I hope they let me let it out on the straights in the afternoon as I want to see what fourth gear will do. Probably only place I can do it without going to jail for a really big traffic ticket. In Va. the state police are generating revenue to help the budget gap with more and more radar and pickup and write sites so watch yourself here.

My fingers are getting dirtier and some scars....as I learn more and am more comfortable tackling that I won't ruin something. Surprising amount of things to learn to do this right it seems. It's even getting new cogtop belts, three, next week. Surprising how small in cross section the c3 belts are and I suspect they glaze quickly. Any advice on frequency and type of belt dressing?

One thing I don't want April 13 is a blinking red warning light that I know is a bad switch to explain to someone with a clip board.....

Lance

 

Hi Lance,
It sounds like you're in for some fun at VIR.
The fellow who is the Judging Chairman of the NCRS Chapter I belong to had some time at VIR with his new ZR-1 a few weeks ago. I haven't spoken to him since, but he was pretty excited as you can imagine.
He gives his cars appropriate names... this one is Mariah!!! He says I'm the only person who's made the connection. You?
Good to talk to you.
Regards,
Alan

PS: I cant help on the belt dressing.... I guess I don't drive enough!

 

I think, Alan, on the belts I'll just change them every couple years as I think they tend to glaze and at 15/32" wide vbelts they really aren't big but each only drives one thing. I am taking a new set of spares to the track in case.

Of course, I get it. The wind...Mariah Carey....ZR1's make a lot of wind at their speeds....

"The wind has taken you
You're free finally at peace
So still you lie
Leaving your cares behind

The pain is gone
Gone with the spirits in your eyes
Now you're wandering around
Above us
Looking downward
As we cry

You've flown into the wind
Escaping all the hurt within
Took to the sky
Leaving the world behind

So young to die
How could you let it all pass you by


[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-wind-...iah-carey.html ]

And to the wind go so many dreams
That you had inside
Now you're just a memory
Burning in my mind

So young to die
How could you let life pass you by
And now you'll never know I loved you
And now you'll never know I cared

I really loved you
And now you'll never know

You'll only fade
Into the wind "



Mine, because I'm a sailor and raced sailboats, has a name too...I call her "RoJO" which is the Spanish word for RED. She is very RED!

I think the afternoon when I get to VIR, the track day which is almost two hours of me driving RoJo on the track and the next morning taking photos of an Audi club on the track will be a terrific experience before I head the 120 miles back home.

Lance

 

There's another song where the lyrics say: "...And they call the wind Mariah!"

 

Hi Lance,
A ride as a passenger at full race speeds sounds like enough to get my heart pumping ( I'm a senior to) but some track time by yourself, to cool!

Belts fly off a high RPM so spares are a must.

Be looking forward to the video.

Regards,
Pete.

 

Have a whole list of bring to deal with things, Pete, and some high energy snacks and liquids as well as the stress and effort will push you a little I'm told without them. Yes, it will be an exciting day with 100 minutes over four sessions of my own increasing speeds with pacing car leading track time then riding with someone else at full race speeds when not in RoJo. Don't know what cars the VIR club members drive but they have the track that day and run the Touring Lights for people like me once in your lifetime and I'm going to take advantage of it. I want to see how well RoJo corners with the four 255 x 60 radials on it as the darned thing on normal highways is sticky as heck. Be nice to let it out on the two straights a little as well. Anything over 130 in a car is probably beyond my reflexes on a road course but riding with someone above that hopefully will be fun. Like your car, Pete. Nice looking with the wheels.
Lance

 

Hi Lance,
I was thinking "They call the wind...." I'm VERY old. Broadway Musical/ Kingston Trio.
But, Well Done!
Regards,
Alan

I spent some exciting times on a NACRA 5.2 and then a NACRA 18 sq.meter. 18 feet long x 10 ft, and 275 lbs. It was sort of like wearing a boat!
Some people can't get into cats and I understand that. Both of them were so weight sensitive that they were faster with my wife sailing them than with me sailing.

 

I had a series of boats starting with a 17' typhoon dinghy, a 20' keel boat then a 35' keel/cb boat. Photo of it being launched by travel lift. During that time I captained during racing a 23' scorpion cat on freshwater that went slightly faster than the wind speed. The owner was frightened of it having turtled it once. You had to be careful standing on the tramp as a gust could literally push it out from under you. Was on the water watching Dennis Connors campaign/practice his two 65' cats in San Diego to race the NZ guy who challenged him in the aircraft carrier. One cat was a hard sail and one was a soft sail. At night, the hard sail had to be lifted from the water and laid on its side so it would quit trying to sail into the dock. Those big cats just like their smaller C40 cousins could absolutely fly with speeds not to be believed.

Nacra's were I thought the nicest of the small cats and Hobie Alter hadn't made 'em. When you raced them your tactics were different than centerboard monohulls....sailed further but anything to get more off the wind to pick up speed...fantastic fun. You must have really enjoyed it.

Still sail ever? I sold mine a few years ago when my wife's health problems limited use to zero.