Brocks Gulf Tribute Build! **Test Ride\Problems**

[ncbrock]

good news for my paint. My hockey coach that works for akzonobel can get me base coat clear coat or acrylic for cheap. Im going that route, I can get it mid week. Even better news he gave me the color books for all the paint to take with me this weekend to see a special visitor.
This weekend Ill be heading up to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) and I get to witness AND get to ride in a Ford Gt with the gulf livery driven by a professional on the track. One of my dreams will finally come true. Im really excited it will motivate my build and I can get my colors dead on.

 

[Sanoman]

VIR is an awesome course.l've run it several times.Oak Tree turn is sweet and then the next three turns after.Hopefully you will get to run the full course! enjoy the ride.That car willl be fun.

 

[ncbrock]

Yes vir is awesome, we run is about 2 sometimes 3 times a year. It is not the full course on saturday, its only the north course. Thursday and today however were full course and my dad has been running that both days in the M coupe we just got, but I couldnt make it until saturday due to school. It will be an awesome ride, Ill try to get video if they allow me, they usually dont let you have anything loose in the car.

 

[Sanoman]

ls it strictly a BMW event?

 

[ncbrock]

it was a SVT cobra event. Anybody is welcome I think, there were vetts and some more bmw's too. It was a total blast this time, weather was perfect. Really makes me want to get a track worthy car for my first car though.
I did not get to ride in the ford gt as I hoped, they were packing it up to head back to michigan in the morning, but however I did get to ride in the brand new 2011 gt500 which was the most fun thing I have ever done. Couldnt take video because no loose objects in the car were allowed. But I cant just describe it. Its like the adrenaline rush of when your about to die or something but not having to worry about dying. It was a 2.2 mile loop for the north course and we were putting in 1:45 lap times which is scary fast. Nothing can compare to that, not even a roller-coaster.

I do however have some good and bad news. While the car was out, I got the paint down to 4 blues and 4 oranges I have to choose from. It was just hard to pick 1 exact blue and 1 exact orange because of different angles\lighting. I dont think you will be able to tell a difference though once everything is painted.

 

[ncbrock]

this crap takes 2-3 days to dry! Then another day for the glass to dry. Im wondering if I should enclose it even more towards the ankle. They look really wide, but once there is padding\turf in there they will be nice!

 

[Waternut]

That should be good. Any further back than that and it becomes a pocket that doesn't allow your foot to pivot and that's annoying.

 

[ncbrock]

slowly but surely its coming along... slowly is the keyword. Hopefully Picking up paint tomorrow or friday. It rains here just about every afternoon its getting old because I dont have any garage space. Last day of school is tomorrow so I can finally kickstart the build, but the major thing is still paint, after that its just assembly. My drill broke, just another thing on the list to get.
got two layers of 17oz on those enclosures, will add about 3 more layers once I grind that clay out tomorrow

got both my tank strap inserts glued down (I really hope they stay that way)

also my new lifejacket came. It is just OK, after having the non cga lifejacket at first this thing feels like a tank and its not as comfortable by a long shot. It it actually pretty thick for a competition style jacket. The neck opening is kind of small for my neck and is rather annoying and gives me a rash just wearing it around, hopefully that will go away once its worn in. Im not returning anything to coleman EVER, horrible customer service IMO and would rather not waste my time.

 

[Waternut]

Let me get this straight... You're putting 5 layers of 17oz biax on the enclosures of your footholds but hoping that epoxy and thickener will hold the tank strap down? For the record, I put 3 layers of 17oz biax on my flatdeck without any foam underneath and it survived the summer and a trip to Daytona... For more record, I put 3 layers of 8 oz weave over the battery box and that ripped out like it was nothing.

 

[ncbrock]

well then what do you suggest glueing down the inserts with? Maybe I was exaggerating on 5 layers. I will see how much it needs when it cures

 

[Sanoman]

Brock,lmust have missed it,what did you use for glueing them down?

Opps,l see what you used.

 

[ncbrock]

maybe i should take it out and redo it, but shane told me thickened epoxy should work just fine, maybe i should add fibers next time?

 

[Powerhouse]

I would just run it, and see how it goes...

 

[McDog]

You could still put some fiberglass over it if you are worried. John has more experience than me in this area. It wouldn't hurt to reinforce it with a square of biax or something.

 

[ncbrock]

im not too worried about it, its just a strap it wont probably even be tight , the tank will mainly be secured by the filler neck to the gas cap sadly.

 

[Waternut]

The thickened epoxy SHOULD be enough but let's quickly look at what happens if it does pull out...especially if it's the mount that's between the waterbox and fuel tank. Since the hull opening is so small, you aren't able to remove the tank without removing the engine and everything else that's in the way. It's a real big pain in the butt and I had to do it because my mount popped out of the 5200 that I thought would be sufficient.

 

[Waternut]

im not too worried about it, its just a strap it wont probably even be tight , the tank will mainly be secured by the filler neck to the gas cap sadly.

Nope, it'll pull away from that filler neck, splash all over everything, prevent you from getting any kind of power while you limp the ski home on a tank that can't be pressurized. In the words of Chris Farley... "I know from experience, if you know what I mean".

 

[ncbrock]

Ok John, then what advice do you have for me other than negative thoughts to secure the tank? Only got 2 inserts, not much I can do with that.

 

[Waternut]

Sorry. Didn't mean to come off as a dick. The epoxy and thickener is good but just throw a piece of biax or something like that over the mounts to add that extra bit of strength. An inch or two beyond the mount on all sides will be good. I just used small strips instead of one big piece and drilled out the center. Some time soon, I plan to pull the engine out of mine again just to inspect everything and see how it's holding up. If I find anything, I'll let everyone know.

 

[Sanoman]

You do come off as like a dick sometimes,man.He's a kid,give advise..............That's what he needs.