One Lap Report - Phils S4

[PDQSHIP@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-06-10 21:20:45 EDT, you write:

>really quick Golfs, etc.  BTW, Lynn St. James was there driving the new 
>Mercury Explorer twin.  Thing had really been worked over, and, the rumor 
>that Ms. St. James causes wrecks everytime she gets near Indy is not 
>true.  At least no wreck today.
>
>	Go see those Audi Boys!!!
>
>Bruce
>
>
>

Maybe down to one....  Spent 5 hours on that car last nite, and it seems that
the boys had some serious muscle work done to the car, and not all of it
good.....

-  Phil showed up at about 7:30 Chicago time with his 1 codriver (?) looking
and sounding very tired (lots of teams run 3 for good reason), gave the keys
and took off to a friends house....  I enlisted the help of Todd Candey (and
after 4+ hours with me, is prolly still on the couch) to make this a pit
efficient tweeking.  Project:  Take off 4 konis, dial in more damping,
replace, ops ck (I liked that idea), and send them off to Elkhart Lake....
 Quoted time 1 1/2 to 2 hours...

Well, I'm kind of retentive when it comes to torque wrenching cars going to
the track, on take off as well as install....  My first hint that something
was wrong should have been all the TAP stickers on the car....  Second one
should have been that I had 250ft/lbs of torque dialed on the wrench to pop
the strut retaining nuts off (with the coveted 2079 tool),  the wrench popped
at 250 and required serious muscle beyond that to actually get the nuts to
pop (Todd, being a little less of stature than I couldn't even pop the right
side).....  Considering a 133ft/lb spec here, someone before us had some fun
with the Ingersol Rand Air gun.......  Take the extra time to get these out,
still at the 35min mark, go to twist in the konis, guess what?   It seems
that somebody forgots to tell Mr. Phil that his "kit" was konied in the rear,
but that the fronts were just Boge ProGas.....  Maybe another
foreshadowing.....   Replaced said Boges, mumbling about the more obvious
reasons this car handled like crap at the track.....  133ft/lbs (and prolly
saved him buying the whole strut the next time)

The rears were indeedy konis, and the left side was a picture perfect 35min
removal, spring removal, 1 1/2 (of 2 1/2) turns of the konis (oversteer comes
to mind now, since they had no turns in them to start), and install.....
  However, those dredded air ratchet marks were on the tops of the strut
assbly again  (figgr that hex on top of the strut is supposed to be no more
than 18ft/lbs, I figgr it had close to 100)....  Not so much luck on the
right, go to pop the nut off the top, THE STRUT HEX SPLITS!!!  right down the
side below the top of the nut.....   Bummer, Todd and I look at each other
with that oh shit look that only a force majure clause could muster.....
  this guy is @%^ked!!  Leave the strut off to call Phil....

He is only half awake, explain the situation to him, including the racers
line of safety that if you make the call to run it, it is YOUR call not mine,
and that if something happens, YOU have to live (or not) with the
consequenses......   They were still contemplating it....  I gave them a more
level thinking head by indicating the DEAD LAST place you want to apply this
risk is at Road America, if it fails, you will prolly not be around to talk
about it.....   And further, if they agreed to take the risk with it a go on,
I would insist on them SEEING what there call was before I was willing to put
the strut in......   The decision was made to find a strut this am, forget
RA, and make Blackhawk if they can....  

More to follow here, I'm spending this am finding him a strut......   Poor
Phil has no racing experience, and really has never experienced the priority
of racing choices, thank goodness his codriver did........   Keep y'all
posted.....  BTW Todd, good beer will follow soon.....  

Scott