Hallett - 8/6 - 8/7 - Tulsa, OK

I believe Jim has already made his reservations at the Hampton, however, I just found this one - http://keystonelakemotel.com/default.aspx. Hampton is 32 miles away, this one is 15 and there are restaurants nearby, not nice one's, but good enough for me for 2 nights, plus the rate is 1/2 of Hampton. My plan is to go to the track Friday and drop the trailer, then head back to the hotel after.

Steve, you going or not?
 
Think I got the brakes fixed last night, headed out at lunch to see for sure :eek: Forecast is 103 for Saturday and 98 for Sunday, perfect weather for a firesuit and a helmet :D :rolleyes:
 
Hallett day 1 - Mark and Jim had a great time. Me, I spent the day changing out a failed water pump - long story...will tell you about it Tuesday

Day 2 Mark and I are having fun, jim's clutch slave linkage is messed up. His day is done :-(
 
Man,I have been thinking about Hallett all weekend, wish I could have been there too!! Glad all is well, I am sure the heat was terrible, not much shade.
 
Tim I missed seeing your vidoes from the last event. If you need help with the footage I have some good software that makes quick work of it. It takes about 10 mins per lap to render. I can even host it if you need.
 
Tim, water pump kept you out the whole first day? major bummer!

How'd the second day go? Any pictures? (I'm driving vicariously through your posts! looks like a blast!)

I'm sure there are videos coming soon! :D
 
So it was me and Madison, Tim, Jim Dooley with Chuck, Dean & Clois, David Williams with Josh, Steve Brazile with Chip, plus the rest of the old Run N Gun group. What a great time. I just love that track. We ran counterclockwise on Saturday, and then clockwise Sunday. Loved it all. I put 130 track miles on the car - that's 72 laps! I got blisters on my hands from driving ! I managed to pass a few people - what a thrill. I did get passed by some too - but still I learned to keep my head in the game.

The car ran perfect all weekend. I think I have to replace the brake pads, and will bleed the brakes and clutch fluids - I'll learn to do that - neat project for me. I'll have to adjust the clutch a bit - I'll learn. I lost a center cap cover on the track - other than that - all went fine. I developed some front end shuttering under high speed and hard braking on Sunday. I think it may be some debris in the brake pads and/or worn ball joints. I'll replace them with upgraded units anyway.

Handling - well
1) Tim was right - just learned to drive a bit more assertive.

2) I lowered my tire pressures and things went well. The fronts chirped going into turns so I knew my limit, then the rears chirped exiting turns and I knew when to mash that throttle. And mash it I did.

3) Track tires (A6s) and wheels are in the future. That will solve 80% of my concerns. Springs will come as well.

4) I'll learn to be more "smooth" - driving the proper line. That will be fun.

I'll get there. On one particular corner I got brave and did a full drift around the turn. BIG FUN. Then on the next lap I tried it again and spun about 90 degrees. I never went off the surface, and away I went. From then on I just settled for mashing the throttle on exit and doing a burnout through 3rd gear. I know, not the fastest way to exit a turn - but the funnest way.:D

Tim did great. After he solved his over heating problem he drove every session. He actually closed the place down. His skills are impressive. A standing ovation to Jim Dooley. He drove most sessions on Saturday, until a clutch problem late in the day. He fixed it and went back on track Sunday after lunch.

SOAPBOX - you guys missed a great time. If you were ever worried about tracking your car because of a crash or a breakdown, this sort of event is for you. It was safe, pressure free, and so much fun. In all reality, it wasn't that much different than what we do on our cruises - there just wasn't any oncoming traffic (or police). The track was excellent, and the group was small - making for lots of time on the track and lots of learning. Seriously, if your car is sorted out you would have no problems. I know some were worried about the heat. I say stop whining. There was just too much fun to be had to worry about anything other than driving fast. Putting your car through it's paces, driving it like it was meant to be driven, testing yourself, and the pure adrenaline rush was just a complete thrill. This event will happen again - you have to go.

C-343.png
 
Here is first video, two laps, weren't my quickest, but still good laps. Let me know if you like the black and white effect

[youtube]6WAw2FND79o[/youtube]
 
So, was thinking today about the weekend. I locked up a water pump had a bad thermostat, my alternator belt squeals due to my alternator being misaligned because of a missing spacer washer, then I break the mounting bolt off in the head, and finally found that I left my gas cap on the pump at hallett. Whew, what a weekend :D
 
Plus, you found out you can't go left.:D

You need a crew chief. You kept it together better than I would have.
 
Tim not all bad car looked good on track black & white looked like the 60's.
I don't even what to think about all the things that can/will go wrong when I get my car on the road/track.

Rick:)
 
Sometimes looking through pics for a third or fourth time, you see something that you missed before. The pic below is one of those. This is the result of a water pump locking up :eek:
A-167.png
 
Yep. In the larger image it looks much worse. Thinking of getting it printed to a 11x14.
 
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