Getting ready for Lime Rock

First event of the year is looming over the horizon. We going to kick off the 944 Cup North Chapter season with a PCA event at Lime Rock. Lime Rock is one of those tracks that I'm happy to have run there in the past, but given a choice, I don't care if I don't go back. The track is picturesque, nestled in a valley surrounded by hills, a church steeple is visible across from the front straight. One of the earliest purpose built race tracks in the country, the sport of auto racing has a long history here. But along with that vintage history comes a cost. The surrounding area is a haven for the upper classes; prep schools dot the countryside, and development is discouraged. The track is under constant assault from the locals for being noisy, even though it was probably there before they moved next to it. This means no racing on Sunday, and harsh noise restrictions when open. A short (only 1.5 miles) track, one left turn and a 1 noise warning and the next you're gone, dampens my enthusiasm. Not to mention the $100+/night motels with all the charm of a rundown Motel 6. (It's ambiance dear!)

But it's on the schedule, so I need to get ready.

First order of business is a corner balance and alignment, so off to Behe's again.

On the scales and adjusting the corner weights

I had changed my camber plates to use the MantisSport strut hats - a pretty neat piece of trick. This obviously changed my ride height and I was pretty close setting it back but needed some tweaks on the scales to get it right.

Next Jerald and David set up the laser bits for the Hunter alignment machine.

Once done at Behe's, it was back to the garage for the finishing touches.

The body shop repaired the rear quarter, tweaked one fender and hood, and adjusted the header panel to align with the hood. But it was up to me to finish up the front end. I needed to rework the headlight panels to align up, plus the bumper had too many times being hooked to a tow truck and could see some love.

modified bumper mounts - saved 4 lbs on each corner!

I pulled my bumper mounts, did some straightening and added a weld bead where one side had cracked. Did some fiberglass repair to the front air dam and cleaned and painted everything. All updates that I was going to do is done, let's do a race prep.

My race prep sheets

Fresh rotors on front

I needed new rotors up front, but I knew that from back in the winter and had already ordered them. The only major issue that turned up was a dead wiper system. A couple of hours traced it to a dead wiper motor. Luckily I had one from a parts car stuffed in the attic and it was quickly replaced.

With that I'm ready to go. See you at Lime Rock.

Meanwhile, let's crack open that Otter's Creek sampler. Hmmmm, a Black IPA, that looks interesting...