FUBAR is fast enough
- Thread starter Fubar
- Start date
- Feb 22, 2006
- 370
Mark, congrats!! There was no doubt that pay dirt was coming with all of that hard work in the background! Great job.... and the car looks great as well!
Thanks everyone, it was a small accomplishment by some standards but I felt like I had put a man on the moon when I got home Sunday. You guys know how I love to to make long posts with lots of pictures? Well this is about to be another one. :biggrin
This story begins where the fuel system saga left off. We dyno'd the car (some ignition issues we didn't like but had to live with) and the fuel system worked flawlessly. The fuel pressure remained within 1 lbs of the target injector pressure the entire time (stock system would see up to 20lbs of variance).
Unfortunately we waited until the absolute last minute to finish up. No time to properly road test so we just jump out on the road and head for Goliad. We make our first stop in Waco for fuel and the GT will not restart. :eek Oh Nooos, my tuner installed a switch for my electric primer pump (incase we wanted pump out all the fuel for race gas), so I took a piece of duct tape from the back of a guys truck and a paper clip; and shorted the switch to make the electric pump run continuously (it was rated for 400hp) so we limped back, 100 miles, to Shawn's shop. It was like a NASCAR pit stop in there. He knew I was coming so he had the tools ready to disassemble, inspect, and repair whatever he could.
You can see who does all the work around here. Seriously tho, I did some work.
We decided the only thing that might have caused this was if the shaft that drove the fuel pump somehow worked its way out of the oil pump shaft. This was based on limited information but we were in a rush to make it to The Mile. So he installed a small spring that would prevent any movement in the fuel pump shaft.
3 hours later and we are on the road again...
Next we stopped at a rest-area to wait on someone who was following us. My brother, Dallas, made a comment about me being afraid to turn the car off... so I turned it off. Guess what :bored it wouldn't start back up... exact same problem we had before. Okay, now I'm just mad and I'm not going to let the thing beat me after we McGuiver'd the last problem. So I call Shawn, and he says the only thing left is that the pump might be getting heat soaked when we stop the engine because cold fuel is no longer running through it. Then Shawn tells me to "let it cool down and try again." YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES THESE ENGINES TO COOL DOWN?!?! Dallas had a few bottles of water so I pour those on the headers and fuel pump. Sure, I know it's not good for them but I've got a date with a girl that hands out 200+ MPH tee shirts and I'm not going to be late. Two bottles of water and the car started right up. AH HA, problem identified but no way to solve it at a rest stop between here and nowhere. Onward...
Next we get into Austin and take a new road called 130 (Tollway). Beautiful road for the GT, long flat straights with no traffic. Time to test out this new fuel system in a real world scenario. It does really well for about 30 minutes and then on one fabled pull, the heat in the headers overpowered the fuel pump and it vapor locked while driving. Nothing I could do but mash the clutch and pull over.
All I needed was a little water and we could boogie on down to Goliad. So I pulled over this time and guess what... no water. AND it's getting dark. My brother says, jokingly, "At least it's not raining." At which point we both look up fully expecting to sky to unleash a torrent upon us. It didn't happen, but it would have been in line with events up to that point. We jump on our magic iPhones looking for the nearest gas station so we can send our wingman too get some water and it turns out were a looooooooong way from anything but he heads off because that's the only option we've got left. Afterwards, Dallas sees a few small building near by so he takes off on foot. I am left with the car... I seriously start to think about taking a piss on the headers but sanity returns and I just wait. Dallas came back first with a few bottles of "green water." He said he walked into a dirt floor tavern / childcare facility that looked like a scene from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and asked for water. The inhabitants said nothing but pointed to a rain catch outside. Presto, green water. Engine back and ready to be started, I called our wingman 'Where are you, we got it handled here... okay I be there in a jiff." He pulls up shortly after that and then a state trooper pulled up right behind him. For a minute I thought the Trooper was there to lend assistance but that wasn't the case.
Officer: "Do you know how fast you went through that tollbooth, boy?"
Wingman: "Um, no, I was just trying to get back here, we're a little lost."
Me: "I'm sorry officer, I was rushing him, we are trying to get to The Texas Mile."
Officer: "Shut up and get in the car, I'll deal with you in a minute."
You can imagine how the rest of that incident unfolded. No ticket for me, as I wasn't even moving but the wingman got a speeding, illegal tint, no front license plate. Good times, and we are off again. Getting to Goliad in the middle of the night SUCKED. Several wrong turns and gas station crowds later and we were at The Mile.
I'm not even sure if I should run the car now, because it vapor locked under load once already. However, my lust for that elusive tee shirt overtook me and I ran Saturday morning (well midday - see wrecked Lambo thread for details on the delay), watching my A/F ratios like a hawk. There was a tuff head wind, 15-25mph I'd say and I only got a 192. :ack but the A/F ratios were perfect. I let the car cool down for 3 or 4 hours and tried it again around 6. This time I ran a 196 but I was still fighting a slight headwind. I am a beat man at this point. I've got one shot left at 200+ and it would require my absolute A game.
I needed my tuner, Shawn, to come down and bring my fuel systems "pump-out hose" (a line that connects to the fuel rails that allows us to drain the tank quickly & safely) and some goodies he made to ice down the intercooler on the dyno. He was planning on delivering a car to another customer at the mile anyway so I was hoping to see him in a few hours. With race fuel, ice cold intercooler, a fresh set of Hoosiers and some calm, cool morning air, I figured I had a shot. Shawn was fixing another customer's GT500 trying to correct some less than stellar work from different shop. He had been working on my car almost non-stop for 3 days but there isn't much he likes more than winning a race, so he stayed at it. Finally, at 10pm Saturday night, he called and said that the GT500 could not be completed but if I needed him to drive down to Goliad he would (6 hours). I wasn't going to make him drive down just for a hose and a few coolant pipes. I knew how much sleep he was operating on. I gave up; there was no way for me to pump 1/2 tank of fuel out of the car and properly ice down the intercooler without him.
Me, Dallas and Ramsey (the Wingman) sat around laughing about the duct tape and bottled water... the cop incident was even funny at that point but we were all melancholy about the way this trip was going to end tomorrow morning. Finally around midnight, Ramsey decided I could just run the car out of gas... 1/2 tank, that'll take forever. 20, very spirited, minutes later the car is running on fumes. We hustle around for some hosing to let us drain the intercooler and by 2am, WE HAVE A PLAN and the tools to execute it.
Morning comes and we are all surprisingly energetic. Our RV neighbor, Shawn's GT500 client, knows about our LONG journey to get to The Mile and was glad to help tow the GT down the paddock, with his 4-wheeler, to the starting line. All we need is race fuel and there is a VP vendor down there. I suit up and pack my things (because the Aggie was leaving for Dallas in the RV as soon as he got up :frown). We arrive at the VP vender and he was nowhere to be found. The line is filling up fast and the damned VP vender is nursing a hangover somewhere. I put the car in line without any gas and start our icing procedures. It was working, and the whole intercooler system was getting COLD :eek. Condensation was dripping from the all of the hoses and even the pump in the front boot. Dallas came skipping along with 10 gallons of 109 and it was GAME ON. This time I had the Hoosier, so the launch would be less finesse and more :smash. We had to sit in line for about two hours because of the VP incident but when I staged for the run it all seemed worth it.
Mullet had some words of wisdom, "if you don't make 200, we will be making fun of you on the internet for months and months," no pressure there. Then Dallas leaned and said, "I have commanded the winds to stop so you should be good, think positive." That's a little better but some 80s music will steady my hand. The pre-stage girl tells me this is her favorite car and asks if she can take a picture.
Remember, I haven't so much as turn the key on the GT all morning, cold fuel, cold intercooler, cold air... Here we go. I start the car and pull up to the line (damn, I forgot to do my burnout - oh well). I just need the track master to send me down the line quick... no heat. I wait... and wait, there is some debris on the track but he doesn't want me to turn the motor off. Water temps are climbing 140, 160.... COME ON!!!
At 170 the thermostat opened and temps plummeted down again but I was more worried about the intercooler. Then I get the all clear "GO GO GO." Money for Nothing kicked in at just the right time and I rev to 3500 and ease off the line... wait Hoosiers, screw it I floored it in 1st and it sticks like glue. 800hp just got transfer to the ground with a kind of mind bending violence that can only be described with words like euphoria and holy #$%@. Second came on even better, shift, drop clutch... FLOOR IT. No slip at all, the gods of traction were smiling on me. Now I just needed a break on the wind. I couldn't tell at all because the GT just hunkers down and deals with it so well that it's hard to get a feel for whats blowing around. All I know is that I have to be going at least 180 by the 3/4 mark and when I looked down the car was going 187. Lots of things were going through my mind, speedo may be wrong, maybe I was supposed to be going 180 at the 1/2 way mark, fuel pump is going to get to much heat any minute. That was a lot to think about, then the 1 Mile marker flew by, quick glance at the speedo and I see 205ish :eek
Could it be? Did I make it? I DID, I DID MAKE MY NUMBER!!! Coming up to the speed instruments stand I see a small figure waiting for me. I know it's going to be 199. No, if it's 199 I'm going to go completely ape $#&@. Seriously, if that slip of paper says 199, I will go to jail for what happens next. As I get closer I can see he has the slip in this hands. He doesn't looked worried about the bi-polar fit he is about to witness (it better not be 199). The guy hands me the slip and then takes off before I can eyeball him and let him know, it's on. So I just read the slip.
205.3 *sigh* followed by WOOOOHOOOOO! That's all they heard going down the track for the next mile and 1/2. It was all worth it.
Special thanks to Dallas and Ramsey for helping everywhere. Matt, David and Robert for hauling my junk and putting up with me talking in my sleep. Huge thanks to the forum for being a constant source of research, data and moral support. Huge, huge thanks to Fish (Shawn Fischer) for staying up at the shop every night until 6am and getting it done (sorta) for me. It has been a team effort.
Did I mention we picked up some more Texas State Trooper souvenirs in Victoria? It didn't matter nothing was going to bring me down.
This story begins where the fuel system saga left off. We dyno'd the car (some ignition issues we didn't like but had to live with) and the fuel system worked flawlessly. The fuel pressure remained within 1 lbs of the target injector pressure the entire time (stock system would see up to 20lbs of variance).
Unfortunately we waited until the absolute last minute to finish up. No time to properly road test so we just jump out on the road and head for Goliad. We make our first stop in Waco for fuel and the GT will not restart. :eek Oh Nooos, my tuner installed a switch for my electric primer pump (incase we wanted pump out all the fuel for race gas), so I took a piece of duct tape from the back of a guys truck and a paper clip; and shorted the switch to make the electric pump run continuously (it was rated for 400hp) so we limped back, 100 miles, to Shawn's shop. It was like a NASCAR pit stop in there. He knew I was coming so he had the tools ready to disassemble, inspect, and repair whatever he could.
You can see who does all the work around here. Seriously tho, I did some work.
We decided the only thing that might have caused this was if the shaft that drove the fuel pump somehow worked its way out of the oil pump shaft. This was based on limited information but we were in a rush to make it to The Mile. So he installed a small spring that would prevent any movement in the fuel pump shaft.
3 hours later and we are on the road again...
Next we stopped at a rest-area to wait on someone who was following us. My brother, Dallas, made a comment about me being afraid to turn the car off... so I turned it off. Guess what :bored it wouldn't start back up... exact same problem we had before. Okay, now I'm just mad and I'm not going to let the thing beat me after we McGuiver'd the last problem. So I call Shawn, and he says the only thing left is that the pump might be getting heat soaked when we stop the engine because cold fuel is no longer running through it. Then Shawn tells me to "let it cool down and try again." YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES THESE ENGINES TO COOL DOWN?!?! Dallas had a few bottles of water so I pour those on the headers and fuel pump. Sure, I know it's not good for them but I've got a date with a girl that hands out 200+ MPH tee shirts and I'm not going to be late. Two bottles of water and the car started right up. AH HA, problem identified but no way to solve it at a rest stop between here and nowhere. Onward...
Next we get into Austin and take a new road called 130 (Tollway). Beautiful road for the GT, long flat straights with no traffic. Time to test out this new fuel system in a real world scenario. It does really well for about 30 minutes and then on one fabled pull, the heat in the headers overpowered the fuel pump and it vapor locked while driving. Nothing I could do but mash the clutch and pull over.
All I needed was a little water and we could boogie on down to Goliad. So I pulled over this time and guess what... no water. AND it's getting dark. My brother says, jokingly, "At least it's not raining." At which point we both look up fully expecting to sky to unleash a torrent upon us. It didn't happen, but it would have been in line with events up to that point. We jump on our magic iPhones looking for the nearest gas station so we can send our wingman too get some water and it turns out were a looooooooong way from anything but he heads off because that's the only option we've got left. Afterwards, Dallas sees a few small building near by so he takes off on foot. I am left with the car... I seriously start to think about taking a piss on the headers but sanity returns and I just wait. Dallas came back first with a few bottles of "green water." He said he walked into a dirt floor tavern / childcare facility that looked like a scene from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and asked for water. The inhabitants said nothing but pointed to a rain catch outside. Presto, green water. Engine back and ready to be started, I called our wingman 'Where are you, we got it handled here... okay I be there in a jiff." He pulls up shortly after that and then a state trooper pulled up right behind him. For a minute I thought the Trooper was there to lend assistance but that wasn't the case.
Officer: "Do you know how fast you went through that tollbooth, boy?"
Wingman: "Um, no, I was just trying to get back here, we're a little lost."
Me: "I'm sorry officer, I was rushing him, we are trying to get to The Texas Mile."
Officer: "Shut up and get in the car, I'll deal with you in a minute."
You can imagine how the rest of that incident unfolded. No ticket for me, as I wasn't even moving but the wingman got a speeding, illegal tint, no front license plate. Good times, and we are off again. Getting to Goliad in the middle of the night SUCKED. Several wrong turns and gas station crowds later and we were at The Mile.
I'm not even sure if I should run the car now, because it vapor locked under load once already. However, my lust for that elusive tee shirt overtook me and I ran Saturday morning (well midday - see wrecked Lambo thread for details on the delay), watching my A/F ratios like a hawk. There was a tuff head wind, 15-25mph I'd say and I only got a 192. :ack but the A/F ratios were perfect. I let the car cool down for 3 or 4 hours and tried it again around 6. This time I ran a 196 but I was still fighting a slight headwind. I am a beat man at this point. I've got one shot left at 200+ and it would require my absolute A game.
I needed my tuner, Shawn, to come down and bring my fuel systems "pump-out hose" (a line that connects to the fuel rails that allows us to drain the tank quickly & safely) and some goodies he made to ice down the intercooler on the dyno. He was planning on delivering a car to another customer at the mile anyway so I was hoping to see him in a few hours. With race fuel, ice cold intercooler, a fresh set of Hoosiers and some calm, cool morning air, I figured I had a shot. Shawn was fixing another customer's GT500 trying to correct some less than stellar work from different shop. He had been working on my car almost non-stop for 3 days but there isn't much he likes more than winning a race, so he stayed at it. Finally, at 10pm Saturday night, he called and said that the GT500 could not be completed but if I needed him to drive down to Goliad he would (6 hours). I wasn't going to make him drive down just for a hose and a few coolant pipes. I knew how much sleep he was operating on. I gave up; there was no way for me to pump 1/2 tank of fuel out of the car and properly ice down the intercooler without him.
Me, Dallas and Ramsey (the Wingman) sat around laughing about the duct tape and bottled water... the cop incident was even funny at that point but we were all melancholy about the way this trip was going to end tomorrow morning. Finally around midnight, Ramsey decided I could just run the car out of gas... 1/2 tank, that'll take forever. 20, very spirited, minutes later the car is running on fumes. We hustle around for some hosing to let us drain the intercooler and by 2am, WE HAVE A PLAN and the tools to execute it.
Morning comes and we are all surprisingly energetic. Our RV neighbor, Shawn's GT500 client, knows about our LONG journey to get to The Mile and was glad to help tow the GT down the paddock, with his 4-wheeler, to the starting line. All we need is race fuel and there is a VP vendor down there. I suit up and pack my things (because the Aggie was leaving for Dallas in the RV as soon as he got up :frown). We arrive at the VP vender and he was nowhere to be found. The line is filling up fast and the damned VP vender is nursing a hangover somewhere. I put the car in line without any gas and start our icing procedures. It was working, and the whole intercooler system was getting COLD :eek. Condensation was dripping from the all of the hoses and even the pump in the front boot. Dallas came skipping along with 10 gallons of 109 and it was GAME ON. This time I had the Hoosier, so the launch would be less finesse and more :smash. We had to sit in line for about two hours because of the VP incident but when I staged for the run it all seemed worth it.
Mullet had some words of wisdom, "if you don't make 200, we will be making fun of you on the internet for months and months," no pressure there. Then Dallas leaned and said, "I have commanded the winds to stop so you should be good, think positive." That's a little better but some 80s music will steady my hand. The pre-stage girl tells me this is her favorite car and asks if she can take a picture.
Remember, I haven't so much as turn the key on the GT all morning, cold fuel, cold intercooler, cold air... Here we go. I start the car and pull up to the line (damn, I forgot to do my burnout - oh well). I just need the track master to send me down the line quick... no heat. I wait... and wait, there is some debris on the track but he doesn't want me to turn the motor off. Water temps are climbing 140, 160.... COME ON!!!
At 170 the thermostat opened and temps plummeted down again but I was more worried about the intercooler. Then I get the all clear "GO GO GO." Money for Nothing kicked in at just the right time and I rev to 3500 and ease off the line... wait Hoosiers, screw it I floored it in 1st and it sticks like glue. 800hp just got transfer to the ground with a kind of mind bending violence that can only be described with words like euphoria and holy #$%@. Second came on even better, shift, drop clutch... FLOOR IT. No slip at all, the gods of traction were smiling on me. Now I just needed a break on the wind. I couldn't tell at all because the GT just hunkers down and deals with it so well that it's hard to get a feel for whats blowing around. All I know is that I have to be going at least 180 by the 3/4 mark and when I looked down the car was going 187. Lots of things were going through my mind, speedo may be wrong, maybe I was supposed to be going 180 at the 1/2 way mark, fuel pump is going to get to much heat any minute. That was a lot to think about, then the 1 Mile marker flew by, quick glance at the speedo and I see 205ish :eek
Could it be? Did I make it? I DID, I DID MAKE MY NUMBER!!! Coming up to the speed instruments stand I see a small figure waiting for me. I know it's going to be 199. No, if it's 199 I'm going to go completely ape $#&@. Seriously, if that slip of paper says 199, I will go to jail for what happens next. As I get closer I can see he has the slip in this hands. He doesn't looked worried about the bi-polar fit he is about to witness (it better not be 199). The guy hands me the slip and then takes off before I can eyeball him and let him know, it's on. So I just read the slip.
205.3 *sigh* followed by WOOOOHOOOOO! That's all they heard going down the track for the next mile and 1/2. It was all worth it.
Special thanks to Dallas and Ramsey for helping everywhere. Matt, David and Robert for hauling my junk and putting up with me talking in my sleep. Huge thanks to the forum for being a constant source of research, data and moral support. Huge, huge thanks to Fish (Shawn Fischer) for staying up at the shop every night until 6am and getting it done (sorta) for me. It has been a team effort.
Did I mention we picked up some more Texas State Trooper souvenirs in Victoria? It didn't matter nothing was going to bring me down.
Last edited:
tmcphail
GT Owner/Vendor
Absolutely Awesome my friend ! You hit the mark and that's all that matters. Great read it totally made my evening.
Superfly
HERITAGE GT OWNER
skyrex
FORD GT OWNER
THAT was a quest!!! Thanks for sharing all of it. There is no better feeling than a slip that had the number you are shooting for........well maybe one better feeling. :lol :cheers
I breathed harder and harder as you described how the events unfolded - What a story.. Congrats.....
Shelby#18
GTX1 Owner/Moderator
Excellent! I couldn't be happier for you. My attempts at 200 on the Mile have eluded me so far. Hopefully that will all change next year. And then I'll have that big grin going to.
Lets get that "vapor lock" problem fixed and then lets just enjoy driving it again, instead of always waiting until it gets out of the shop?:confused At least for a while!:biggrin
[video=youtube;GYT9u1aRkUI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYT9u1aRkUI[/video]
[video=youtube;GYT9u1aRkUI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYT9u1aRkUI[/video]
timcantwell
Le Mans 2010 Sponsor * Moderator
PL510*Jeff
Well-known member
Old racing adage - there's never enough time or money...... the green flag waits for no one.
A big Wahoooo for you and your team. 205+ and that Texas Mile Tee Shirt.
Special, Very Special.
A big Wahoooo for you and your team. 205+ and that Texas Mile Tee Shirt.
Special, Very Special.
Piccola
GT aficionado
Wow is all I can muster up after that stress read. What a wild night and some killer writing to tell us of the drama. Glad it worked out for you and another GT hits the magic mark.
Go relax now and enjoy. Loved the part about getting the tape at the end. I remember when they handed it to me! Emotional fit I had.
Go relax now and enjoy. Loved the part about getting the tape at the end. I remember when they handed it to me! Emotional fit I had.
GTJack
GT Owner
fjpikul
GT Owner
Mark, I figured you would end the story with "they ran out of shirts!" Excellent tale and extremely well told. Frank
Congrats Mark. I saw you guys pushing the car up to the line and felt bad you had to wait so long at the start running.
I was told it was 90% humidity before the winds came and blew that away but stayed around. It was 40% humidity later on.
I've seen lotsa pics of your car from the mile, but these are really good.
http://hybred.smugmug.com/Texas-Mile/Texas-Mile-10232010-Afternoon/14367736_uRrUN#1064352320_j6cRe
I was told it was 90% humidity before the winds came and blew that away but stayed around. It was 40% humidity later on.
I've seen lotsa pics of your car from the mile, but these are really good.
http://hybred.smugmug.com/Texas-Mile/Texas-Mile-10232010-Afternoon/14367736_uRrUN#1064352320_j6cRe