Superformance MKII, Riverside Racer 289 FIA vintage race car

[1795]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Jim's day ended with shifter issues that made getting gears "iffy" at best, not a good way to help your driving concentration.

We had a beautiful October day so the 289 Slabside was transport for Ross and myself. It had rained up to our starting time of 7AM so the roads were wet thus the dirt patina on the car however we had not drop one of rain fall on us and it turned into a an 82 degree, sunny day. I remember that this would have been "Grand Prix" weekend at the Glen and would have been my 50th GP were it still happening.

Jim has had no real mechanical issues with the car, the engine and chassis have been bulletproof so far......if only the shifter was!

I will add more pictures later, the site is so slow that it times out before a picture can upload.

Rick,
Thanks for the photos, well except for the ones with my ugly mug in it, and all of the support from you and Ross. It was great to have you there. It's nice to have a crew and support who are knowledgable.

Jim

[Mark IV]

More here: https://www.facebook.com/TimeMachine...85734231490809

[1795]

I had purchased a 195 degree thermostat to install after I drained the water and prior to putting in the antifreeze for winter storage. In reviewing my data from the last race weekend, the water temp was running at about 185 degrees and oil temp was at 220 degrees. I attribute the increase in oil and water temp to a combination of slightly warmer ambient temperature and running the car a little faster and at higher rpms. Based upon these results and the potential to be running in more southern areas where temps will be warmer, I am going to leave the current thermostat in. Would rather run a little cooler on the water temp, than risk running hot. If need be, I can always block off some of the radiator to increase water temp.

Will get the car up on the jack stand shortly and start working on the winter projects to get the car ready for next year. The car does handle well and is fairly neutral in the corners. Engine is running fine and had no problem running it up to 7200 rpms. I did notice that in second gear coming out of the boot with full application of power in the 6500 rpm + range it gets loud and my ears start to hurt a little.

Next year I plan on continuing to drive faster and faster and testing the limits of the car.

[Morris]

Originally Posted by 1795

I did notice that in second gear coming out of the boot with full application of power in the 6500 rpm + range it gets loud and my ears start to hurt a little.

You might want to get better hearing molds for your ears.... as it doesn’t get any better.....

1/2 hour at full race conditions.....will rattle your brain....

[1795]

Originally Posted by Morris

You might want to get better hearing molds for your ears.... as it doesn’t get any better.....

1/2 hour at full race conditions.....will rattle your brain....

Morris,

Some might say that my brain was a little rattled before I started to race

I will defiantly start wearing better hearing protection.

[Mark IV]

more photos

[Mark IV]

and a couple more

[byronpete21]

Thanks for the amazing pictures and videos. All the best with the winter preps for next year.

[1795]

Thanks for following this thread. Once I start tearing into things will post pictures and progress. The car does handle well and I will be able to push it harder next year. Will be sitting down this winter and planning next years race schedule.

Many thanks to Rick, Ross and Roy for their assistance with the build and support. Thanks to Susan Parham and Lyle for a nice engine that pulled well and gave me no problems, to Superformance for a well designed car, to Morris for his wisdom and advice, and a special thanks to Dennis Olthoff for his knowledge, advice and track side support when I needed it. I had one hell of a support team and have no doubts that we will have a successful race season next year.

Jim

[Moto One]

Looking forward to following your adventure, still know update on 0012, Owner hasn't given any more info. He truly is a very busy guy.

Mark.

[Morris]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

more photos

Jim

You might want to rethink your fuel line.......each tank line should go to a pump then to a filter then to the front.....if your fuel level sucks air from one side or the other.....then you will lose fuel pressure......especially in a hard corner ....

[1795]

Morris,

Thanks for the advice. On my MGB I run two fuel pumps, one from each pickup. I'll see what I can do here. Unfortunately, there is a lot more room in the MGB boot than with the FIA and the fuel pumps are a lot smaller.

Started the winterizing project by draining the water and water wetter and replacing with antifreeze for the cold weather.

Jim

[Cracker]

I am very impressed with your car build - tracking is rough on any car and your's seems to be handling it well. Also, kudos for you to bring such a car on track! A couple of observations: 1) Consider keeping your right hand more consistently at 3-o'clock - it drifts up to 12 to 1 too often while your left hand is at the 9 position; 2) also consider leaving your right hand on the wheel (as opposed to resting on the shifter) as you pull the straights. I am not trying to step on your toes with these tid-bits (I promise)! Again, I am impressed you are campaigning a Cobra and it appears you are doing a great job! Best of luck!

Tony

[1795]

Tony,

Thanks for the kudos and the observations! One reason that I post videos is so that I can get some feedback. I watch my videos as a means of critiquing my driving and trying to improve it. Yes, I do have a tendency to almost drive with one hand and spend too much time with my right hand on the shifter. Part of that may be related to not trusting the shifter and making sure that it is engaged, thereby leaving my hand on the shifter a little to long. I will revisit the video and watch to see if there are certain times that my right hand tends to creep up.

In the paddock area I have been questioned more than once concerning why I would want to put such a nice looking car on the track. Always wanted to race a cobra, and having driven one on the road (my ERA 427), this is way better

Jim

[glenview289]

Jim - I have 2 large (3' x 4' x .050" thick 301 stainless steel) Cobra logos over the words "289 Cobra". I was going to put them on my trailer, but the car ran so good, I sold the trailer. I think either you or Morris needs these on your trailer. They were a digitizing software test for our CO2 lasers. If you can PM me or post an e-mail or phone #, I will send you a photo. Building a new house and am starting to clean out the garage.
Bill

[1795]

Bill,

Thanks for the consideration. Sent you a pm with contact information.

Jim

[1795]

Getting ready for next year. One of the issues that I encountered this year was some trouble shifting, mostly notably into third, but at the end all the gears were binding. I have a Hurst Competition Plus shifter and it was observed that the linkages were a little sloppy. We also spent some time changing the length on the linkages to try to resolve the problem.

So, I removed the seats and tunnel to gain easier access to the shifter and re-aligned neutral with the alignment pin. The 3rd/4th gear arm was a little of, so I lengthened that. I also disabused myself of a fallacy that I and others had when trying to adjust the arm for better 3rd gear engagement. We were assuming that when the gear arm was facing forward that it would be third gear and when the arm was moved backwards it would be fourth, wrong! As I shifted gears it became quite obvious that the reverse was true.

To deal with the sloppy levers, I ordered some steel bushings and spring clips from Summit. The top set is what was on the shifter, nylon bushing clip and washer, the bottom set is the steel bushing and spring clip.


Removing the old ones with the transmission in place was a mild pain, replacing those with the steel bushings and spring clips was a major pain Not a lot of room o work with, had to move shift levers at times and disconnect arms to access other arms. But, after an hour or so, all were in place. A much better feel, no sloppiness and smoother shifting.



Started the car up with the tires in the air and she went through the gears no problem. Now on to the next project, new oil cooler lines and fittings as the old ones had some minor leaks at the fittings that just could not be stopped.

Jim

[Morris]

Jim

Is there a reason you are not using Heim Rod ends for the linkage on the transmission...??

Also did you say you installed some Residual valves in the brake system???

[1795]

Morris,

Have not had the time to fabricate some Heim Rod ends for the linkage. May experiment with that over the winter, but wanted to make sure that I had something that would work just in case making the Heim rods becomes problematic.

I do not recall saying anything about residual valves in the brake system.
we had to install the Girlings to be vintage legal, but retained the Wilwood master cylinder.

Jim

[1795]

Just received some wonderful gifts yesterday. In an earlier post Glenview289 offered some 289 Cobra signs that he had laser cut from stainless steel. I came home from a trip and there they were in my barn. Nice work. Feast your eyes and prepare to be jealous. Thanks a lot Bill!



I can't wait to figure out where to put them. Going to see if I ca make one fit on the front of the trailer. If it were an enclosed trailer it would be much easier.

I also received another "gift" yesterday. As I was going through a weeks worth of mail I came across the latest edition of Vintage Racing Quarterly, the magazine for SVRA. I was flipping through the pages and came upon the article on the US Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and there on the bottom of page 91 was my car!



That was cool! Next week the upgrades to the car for next race season will commence and continue until it is too cold to work in the barn.

Jim