- Entry Fee: $50
- Gas for Truck and Trailer: $100 ($2.50/gallon gas at 15 MPG does not cover too much distance)
This is for one day of racing. As mentioned earlier, I'm shooting to complete eight of them to be competitive for the points race. Before the car can be driven at the track it needs to run. Currently, the car does not run in any way that resembles useful. Assembling the Capri has reached a stage of deafening commitment. For those playing the home-game, commitment is equivalent to cost. In the past two weeks I have discovered the following things needed to be replaced:
- The oil return line. This is fun because it is the first AN-line I assembled myself and it has turned into a massive failure. Best case scenario: $0 - Someone can fit it with the mangled fitting that are still on there. Worst Case scenario: $70 - I need to fabricate a new line. In either case, I need to remove the passenger side motor mount, the exhaust, and potentially the exhaust manifold and turbo charger. This is probably two solid hours worth of work.
- The new to-me-starter I purchased from a reputable used parts vendor is broken. The vendor is a half-hour away and claims they do not have any more to replace mine. I might be out the original hour, plus another hour, and potentially more cash tracking down a new starter.
- In a very classy way, I busted the oil-pressure sending unit. In most cars there are various indicators on the dashboard that inform the driver of various pieces of information: the speed of the car (MPH), the speed of the engine (RPM), the temperature of the coolant, oil pressure in the engine. The Capri is no different except instead of using readily available and inexpensive Ford or Chevy parts it uses aftermarket parts. "Aftermarket" parts are pieces of hardware that are made specailly for racing with the promise of increased durability. Increased, that is, until it meets me trying to over tighten a wire to it late at night. This required a run to a shop 40 miles away and spending another $30.
- Over the past few years I have been struggling to understand the reason why my Oxygen sensor has not been able to get a dependably correct reading. Oxygen sensors tell the car's computer whether or not it is getting enough fuel. They are placed in the exhaust. However, if air is getting into the exhaust before the oxygen sensor it will read erratically. After some playing with the exhaust clamps on the turbo charger I discovered one is way too wide in order to actually seal the exhaust. It seems terribly obvious but it was such a small detail we did not notice it until only a few days ago.
There are more parts that I could list with additional wait times and research needed to find them. What becomes noticeable when tabulating the cost and time involved is how the activity of getting the car running turns into a part time job with negative income. That only covers collecting the parts and does not include the time it takes to bolt them on to the car properly.
It may just seem crazy. The time and money to simply get the car running can be exhausting, not just financially but it can get mentally exhausting. Trying to find time to fit everything in to a regular schedule is a brutal thought exercise requiring dedication. In the past few years, I have spent a lot of time tracking down various parts from various people and believe this process pushes people to madness. While I maintain sterling sanity, there are occasions where I have found myself meeting people in strange parking lots late at night. Other times, I meet genuinely helpful people who are simply willing to help out a guy working on a project they think is interesting -- in the day light no less. Sometimes those meetings are what keeps me interested in the face of breaking parts.
Besides meeting the people, there is also the pure feeling of victory when you finally hear something like this:
It ain't pretty but it is mine. That's me holding the timing light to see if we had any.
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