Cold In Iowa

Really cold here.  Too cold to work in the garage, or do much of anything but sit by the fire.  It has been a long time since I posted, so I thought I would take an opportunity.  Gary is getting some of the convertible work done - there are pics from his work on the left frame rail.  Other than that, not much new in world of Twenty Footers!

Koni Challenge

The Mustang Club of Central Iowa made the Grand Am Behind the Wheel newsletter, and the Grand-am.com website. Check it out!

http://www.grand-am.com/koni/news/index.cfm?cid=18762

Busy Times

Its been a few busy weeks here, and I've not had the opportunity to blog. Here is the status and other activities that have been going on.

69 Coupe - Ended up getting the car to the Sugar Shack this summer. Drove well, yet was challenging to get started while we were there. As we returned home the car overheated, and puked all over the top of the radiator. Have not dug to investigate the cause yet.

Lightning - Lightning Fest is today. We're heading to KC to see the truck show portion. Should be cool to see a few L's in the same place at the same time. Hope to see some parts for sale, and some ideas for changes to my truck.

94GT - Racing at Eddyville is fun! We didn't think that it would be, but we're signed up for two more events. Should be a good time, assuming that I can get the shake out of the car...

1969 Holley

A few weeks ago I purchased a used Holley 2 barrel carb from a guy that advertised it on Craigslist. While its jetted for a 351, it is working good on the 302 of the 1969 Coupe without too many problem. This is the first time I've had the 69 out this summer. Need to get it ready to hit a couple of cruise nights at the Sugar Shack in Altoona! Maybe Wednesday...

Problem Solved

The problem with the 94 turned out to be a fuse that didn't look like it was blown, but was. I pulled and reviewed each of them, but turns out I needed to check them with a meter to make sure. I'll know next time. I had the work done at Automotive Engineering in Clive, Iowa. They are also looking at the grounding problem in the rear of the car, as when I press the brakes the fuel pump slows. I won't bring up the head light issue... it is a track car. Who needs headlights there?

More on the MAM event

We just had a fairly strong storm. Can't sleep any longer. At the event one of the guys was talking about his car, a 96 that he's done in carbon fiber and fiberglass. He's shooting for something like 2800 lbs. Tiger Racing and Agent Forty Seven are two of the companies that he talked about.

As I think about the event I realize where additional upgrades could be had (outside of the obvious ones): cooling the rear brakes, cooling the front brakes, finalizing the torque arm and panhard bar (when I was on the edge there was some movement/noise), subframe connectors... the list goes on and on. Scales to corner-weigh the car are a given.

Less than electrifying

The first session of the day at MAM was challenging. The back end was loose (as expected due to overstear when I was used to understear) and the charging system decided to stop working. I got a few laps in, but then Saturday was shot. Went to the parts store for an alternator, and a battery just in case. Didn't fix the car. That night I found two grounding straps. Put them on Sunday morning. Still no dice. Ended up starting the car with the jumper cables and used them to pre-charge the battery for the event. For the most part it worked, until it got hotter outside or I didn't give it enough time. In those situations I'd have to keep the revs high and not let the engine die. Push in the clutch and it would. I've got some ideas how to fix it... take it to someone else!

Regardless of the headache, I still had fun and did get an ok time. I'd bet that my best time would have been in the low 1:53 range. Far from where I should be, but it takes more practice, and likely more parts to sort everything out.

Ready for Racing

Saturday is the first of two days for the Mustang Club of Central Iowa annual trip to Mid America Motorplex (MAM) just south of Omaha, NE. I'm taking the 94 over. This will be its 2nd trip out. The first time out was at the same track, pure stock suspension with Hoosiers and Cobra front brakes. I had a 1:54.6, which isn't too bad of a time. With all of the parts and time that I've put into the car for this event, I'm hoping that I can beat my previous time. Under 1:50 would be cool, but close to that would be fine. I don't have the car cross-weighed, and with coilovers that might be a challenge. I'll do some adjustments at the track if things are really out of whack... assuming that the suspension is what gives me fits. A 175K mile car may have a slight issue here or there. Hopefully not this trip!

One off the wish list!

I picked up this car tonight. Pretty good deal, has just a bit of major rust in the trunk and the frame rails. Could have more, but won't know until we start to tear into it. The guy that did the work on my Grandma's 69 Mustang has no work right now, so he's willing to get the work done for $25 an hour. He's going to call with an estimate tomorrow. I'm hoping to be under $1000 for the work. That's likely one of the only major safety issues, but we'll see.

The car was on Craigslist without pictures a few days ago. On Sunday the guy put pictures up. Looks pretty good. Its a so so paint job. Perfect for the Twenty Footer Garage! Not much racing planned for this car, its had its share already. Story is that the son of the guy that owns Eddieville Race Way used to drag this car. It has a 351W with 4 barrel, automatic, and supposed to be something like 4.10 gears.

I'm going to see if I can get it running, and just turn it into a driver. Then, if I want down the road, can restore it. Seems to be a trend...

200 Footer?

No amount of distance will make this 1969 Mach I look good. My mom saw it and gasped (it was stored at her house in Boone for a period of time, and is now at my Dad's house). I see the end product of the car, but certainly a lot of work that would need to be done. All of the typical Mustang problem areas need attention. But, given the price at the time and the value that it has increased, I consider it a good investment if I do nothing more than store it.

Something Different

This 1967 Triumph Daytona 500 Supersport was my dad's bike. He and I used to go riding all over the place back in the early 70's on this bike. My job was to press the "stop" button, which was a interruption switch that he mounted on the handbars to stop the bike once the ride was done. Oh yeah, I was like 5 years old then.

The bike needs a ton of work. I'd like to find a running bike that maybe isn't as collectible and merge the two. I've thought about this bike as being a piece of art (suggestion from a friend) and also as an electric bike (DC motor, batteries, lots of torque). For now its not taking up much space... just another project in a garage full of what feels like endless projects.

L

The second generation Lightning was something that I lusted after for a long time before I purchased one. I was looking for a nice work car... something like the Audi A6 that we ended up buying, but there were a few L's around at the time. After I drove it, and then the sweet deal I got, I was forever a Lightning owner. For a truck it handles like a sports car. Lots of people track these trucks, with just a few mods. Certainly several people drag race them with lots of mods. I'd like to do the Hotchkis TVS system on it, and place 99/00 20's in chrome on it with some sticky street tires. Maybe not do much with the engine... well, a tune is in order. The transmission programming just sucks. The factory tune was good, but after the warranty transmission repair, the tune they put in is just sloppy. Nothing that a few hundy wouldn't fix.

96 Cobra Convertible

I traded in the 2000 Ranger for this car. Hated the Ranger. Was slow, was not really what I wanted from day one, even though I ordered the truck the way that I wanted it. This car was at the Dodge dealer on the west side of town. Pretty much an even trade, and I didn't look back. The car performed great for me for many autocrosses, lots of highway and in-town driving, etc. It is pretty loud on the highway, as the Magnaflows drone. But as you can see from the pictures, the paint is in really good condition. Back in 2007 the car started having problems. I think that one of the bearings is going out. So the car sits and waits for me to return. Too bad the brakes and some other misc parts have been "stolen" and place on the race car. This 96 Cobra will get its time again, hopefully soon. It is the reason that I'm into racing now. I wanted to preserve the car, so I wouldn't put a roll bar in it. Longer term it will get back to stock, as it is one of the rare Mustangs that exists (due to the color, year and convertible).

The car that started it all

This car was my grandma's car. She purchased it brand new in 1969. There was a trade in... my late grandfather's car, which was also a Mustang. I never met him as he died in 68. She hesitated to take the trade in and pick this car up. When she saw it the first time she commented on the hood. It is like a Mach I hood, but it is a coupe. She indicated "they forgot to paint the hood". I'm so glad that Ley Motors in Lakota Iowa talked her out of having it painted. I've never seen another one like it and Marti has indicated that there *may* be less than 200. My thoughts are that the car has the GT hood option, but back "in the day" quality may not have been 100% and it could have been a mistake. Probably so since I don't believe that my grandmother and father ordered that option, since it is a plain jane car. 302, auto, posi and that's it. This is the earliest car in my collection, and one that I'd never get rid of. It is part of the family. While I don't race it, I do enjoy the car. If you get a chance take a look at the near perfect interior, untouched since new.

First Post!

I had 30 minutes to kill before dinner... so built my first blog site! The site will focus on my vehicles, most of which are not show cars, most of which are at home on the track when they are running, and none of them are the envy of my friends (well for the most part). Hence the name twenty footer racing. A site dedicated to an OK looking vehicle that won't win show car awards, but looks nice and is enjoyable to drive. In the age of Europe comparable gas prices (call it normalization) its all about making the most of the gallons we use. I thought about twenty footer garage, but given the status, it didn't seem to fit.