Postscript

In an act of unbridled honesty, a senior team member admitted that one of the drain holes drilled in the floor pan quite possibly was the cause of our fuel leak. He even sent out incriminating photographs, which I will not stoop so low as to re-print here.

The team captain wants to make another go at it in 2009, as there are several areas of the car that aren't bent yet.

The End

Our race ended about 7 hours after it started with the pool of gasoline you can see in this picture. The decision was made to throw in the towel, rather that patch together the gas line and continue with the risk of being incinerated. Within an hour, we were in the stands, drinking beer.

Intense Wheel-to-Wheel Action

The car was running well. Although we were a little below the curve in horse power, we had perhaps the finest brakes out there. Some folks seemed to have better tires than us, though. Some fine footage of the Gulp Excort can be seen from Team Cougar Bait's in-car video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvw7aLTwYKM Just watch off the left side (before they run their car into a wall).

Brian

My nephew is, well, a little aggressive out there. Many of the little dents and scratches on the car came from Brian's friends that he traded paint with out on the track.

Captain Vogler

Here, as Mr. Vogler awaits his turn at the wheel, he is enjoying the fact the the brake cooling duct he attached is still in place. The car returns a little rougher every time it goes out.

Micki was nice enough to run out and buy us a clock for the interior car so that we would know when our "turn" was up. This way no one had to stay in the crap can more than an hour. It was a rather large clock for the interior of a car. I noticed that other drivers were using it is, as well as some of the fans.

Drying out.

That pesky kill switch added as a safety device somehow kept the battery from charging. We defeated it and moved on. Eric drove next. It is a shame we don't seem to have a picture of him suited up as he looked splendid in his french cut suit. Here the rain has stopped, and the track is starting to dry.

Le Commencement

The author volunteered (?) to drive first. Rather than a traditional LeMans start, where the drivers run to their cars (can't imagine why the organizers passed on this tradition), the cars begin circling the track. A car number is pulled from a hat to determine which car is in the lead. This immediately places me 10th in a field of 50-some cars. As such, I was closer to winning this race than any of my team mates. A dead battery brought the car to a halt after about 20 laps. This gave me the honor of being pushed back to the paddock by the safty car.

Paddock

It rained as we loaded the car on the trailer, the whole way to Toledo, as we unloaded the car, and as we sat in line for tech inpection. Lacking windows, there are now 3-4" of rainwater sloshing about in the foot wells. A senior team member remedies this problem by drilling holes in the floor so that it can escape.

Here, the car rests under the tent as we go out to "walk the track". Unfortunately, latex paint (even exterior grade) should not be exposed to a deluge within 12 hours of application. Large patches of Gulf Racing blue peel off, adding to the car's rich patina.

Ready ?

Busy Busy Busy.  We think we are done, or at least time is up.

Last night details included putting the seat back in, removing the masking tape, putting the "cheap" battery back in, and trying to think of what else we were supposed to have done.  We added a rain gutter, to keep it from raining.

It will Rain in Toledo

Captain Vogler finally completed his wiper control board. At least, I think it is finally done because he sent me this picture. It would be hard for the reader to imagine the amount of work, or the number of trips to Home Depot that have gone into this.

Now it is a Race Car

I'm not sure if you are supposed to paint the stripes first, but it make sense to me. Pam painted on the white number circles.

Crankshaft Position Sensor

They don't have a crankshaft position sensor in old cars. That is why, after we changed the timing belt, I saw no reason not to try to restart the car without this simple fan belt pulley. It took a couple of hours, to root cause why it would not start. Eric, being hip and modern, actually knew what one of these did ... car started right up after he put it on. That Eric is smart.

Atomic Rotors

Spacely Sprockets came through with replacement (correct diameter) rotors yesterday. The front suspension is now buttoned up, including fresh grease in the ball joints.

Captain Vogler worked most of the day to decode the jumble of wires that control the windshield wipers (rain is forecast for this weekend). In a truley astounding feat of wizardry, he succeded in hooking up his Pep Boys toggle switches to run them. If space permits, he will label them "Singin in the Rain" (slow), "Cats 'n Dogs"(fast), and "Tut, tut, it looks like rain"(squirter).

Hot Roof on a Tin Cat

Our sarcastic thanks to Mr. Daren Leipinaitis, for his help in welding in the access cover we added to the catalytic converter. The fact that he signed his work will no doubt increase the value of the Escort - sort of like having your pin striping done by Von Dutch himself.

Eric, asleep under the car

After we woke up Eric, we got a number of items checked off on Captain Vogler ubiquitous list. The seat belts are ancored to the floor with grade-8 hardware, roll cage is covered with foam tubes, and the sunroof opening has been covered with a panel. The regulation kill switch was wired into the ignition with less than four trips to the store for wire and connectors. The brakes were bled using some blue liquid that Kevin claims is hydraulic fluid - but could pass as Mr. Spock's Vulcan blood (or was that green?). Brian wore his racing suit to a frat party at Washington University in St. Louis in an attempt to meet more girls. He ended up hiding in the school library after a group of 2nd graders on a field trip mistook him for a Power Ranger.

Rotor Ono

T-Minus 7 days.  Houston, we have a problem.  Out new "atomic age" rotors are too small.  Eric has voiced his opinion that something needs to be done, as we will need brakes.  Also, our new dryer vent brake cooling duct work would be for naught - with nothing to cool.  Luckily, Captain Vogler didn't paint the new rotors a gaudy shade of red, as was done with the new calipers.

Exhaust(tion)

Last night, Captain Vogler and Eric spent time, knuckles, and compressed air removing various sections of the exhaust system, in an attempt to liberate the Escort from its catalytic converter. Some sort of issue involving an unexpected 2nd oxygen sensor, and fear of flumoxing the computer, has sent Eric to consult the Wizards from Dearborn before they go further. It is certainly louder when un-corked.
While Pam went to Murry's to put a deposit down for a new set of front brake calipers, Eric and I drained the system of all its old muddy hydraulic fluid to make way for Captain Vogler's well researched replacement.
Rear brake drums were removed. After careful investigation, we determined that there were still two brake shoes per side - so we put them back together as is. Eric, being the stickler, would not sign off on the rear brakes until we painted the drums some gaudy color.
Mr. Vogler wrecked havoc with a sawzall, removing the last vestiges of pointy instrument panel reinforcements - so as not to impale Eric's knees.

In keeping with the Steve McQueen theme, the color scheme (if we find time for paint) is to match the Porsche 917 that his character drove in the movie "LeMans". This includes the Gulf livery.

Captain Vogler has sourced new wheels, tires and brake rotors. Now he is researching the boiling point of various brake fluids.

Fluids

Today we changed the oil, flushed the radiator, removed the A/C compressor, and put in a new alternator. Note that Captain Vogler is the one adding fluids in the picture. Eric is still concerned that the car leaks oil out the valve cover. I remain confident that we can pour oil in faster than it is leaking. Eric and Kevin power washed the engine compartment, so you will not be able to tell it is leaking for a day or two.