Safety padding installed per spec. The new steering wheel should be done soon.

 

Does this mean the airbag is disabled?

 

We transplanted the airbags to my girlfriend, you can imagine the rest !

 

lol...


this is my favorite pic ... its just calling for you to enter!



you should be really proud of your accomplishments thus far in preparing your car... truly great work!

 

Thanks Andrew, it's a work in progress only moderated by my bank account. I'm now in the process of buying a tow vehicle (truck) and a trailer.

This has to be the most difficult car to modify because of the lack of support from the mfg and after-market. Thank god for Woody, who has skill sets far beyond mine when it comes to the electronic aspects of the car.

Make him some sort of moderator... LOL

I've had to do all of this modification to compete with the car, unfortunately I missed many points races this season while I was bringing the car up to race spec. My intentions are to continue working on the car and track testing until the season starts next year. Then I'll compete for national points.

The next event I'm hoping to do is at California Motor Speedway on July 21st. It's going to be an expensive day, $340 for the entry fee and $1,200 for new track tires... GULP !

 

I don't know how familiar you are with the trucks, but I'd strongly urge you to look at a Cummins with a year or two on it. They won't be cheap because resale values stay way up there. There is a good reason for it. Those beasts are real tug boats and will return good mileage and long life.
My Cummins has 258,000 miles on it and it never missed a beat. I dropped the tranny pan around 250,000 miles to swap the filter. There was zero clutch/band residue in the pan. I tow frequently and have been known to push the GCVW a wee bit. Overdrive is always engaged but I do have an additional tranny cooler under the bed (complete with rock shields and thermostatic fan).
I regularly see 17 mpg tugging a car down the highway. The secret is to forget about the cruise control and drive by the boost gauge. Allow yourself a speed variance of 10 mph (more if you're climbing steep grades) and keep the boost within 5 or 7 psi. That means you're keeping the load on the engine steady and letting the truck ease up the hills and slide back down.
When it comes to producing real pulling power you can have as many cylinders as you like. Just be sure they're all in one row.

 

FEETS: Thanks for the info, I need it since I'm not much of a truck guy. I have been considering a diesel because of its reliability, but I found a '97 Dodge Ram 2500 Lariat 4x4 with a V10, 60,000 mi for $6,200. I'm still debating what to do, I'm also thinking of a class B motor home (van conversion) so I can just roll out to the track and stay there for the weekend. It will save me a few bucks on hotel rooms.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

The V10 will pull all day long but it will only deliver single digit mileage doing it. That's why they're cheap.
A coach is a pretty good plan but be aware that you're going to have to maneuver that rig. Diesel is the ONLY way to go on those beasts. Mileage drops again but it certainly saves on hotel bills and travel time to and from the track. The down side is that if you leave the track for a short time, you've got to disassemble the whole thing and take it all with you.
I don't know what you've got for a trailer, but I've seen a few with living quarters up front and a place for a car out back. They're not exactly the lap of luxury, but they get the job done.

If you don't normally leave the facilities after you get out there, I'd grab a mid sized diesel coach and a small trailer. It'd be nice to be able to relax inside in the A/C and maybe have a couple other folks join you without leaving the track.
You can use the coach for other stuff too.