'89 Stepside "Way Cool Jr."

Nice, my last race was in 2016 at Grattan. I have had a lot of ups and downs within my life that have prevented me from racing. Most specifically having my left elbow replaced. i have the itch to build another race car

Here's the story of our weekend racing at Sebring. It was full of fail, but we have such a great team that it was still a good time.

Two weeks ago we did a test-n-tune on our race car, and it ran flawlessly.

Our main tow vehicle broke down on the 3-mile long bridge between Mobile and Daphne, AL. We rented a U-Haul to make it to and from the race and left the truck at the Dodge dealership in Daphne.

An hour after the race started our right rear wheel studs broke. The loctite holding them tight had loosened. I replaced all the wheel studs.

The track's tow vehicle had our car strapped wrong when bringing it in and accidentally dropped our car.

The brake master cylinder's internal seals chunked out. I replaced the master cylinder and we bled the brakes repeatedly to get all the air out.

The car died on track, and we thought it might have fuel starved, so we put more gas in it, but it consistently tried to die in turn 15. We brought the car in just before racing ended for the day.

The second day the car died as soon as the green flag waved. The fuel pump wiring broke. I fixed the wiring and replaced the fuel pump three times before we got it working without leaking.

Two laps later the hood pins broke. We pounded the hood out with hammers until we could get it to line up and close again.

The brakes were sketchy, and the clutch was not in the game, but the car ran. Two more teammates and I got an hour on-track at Sebring!

The transmission cooler quit working at some point, and the transmission tunnel got so hot you couldn't put a hand on it. The dash wiring lays on top of the transmission tunnel, and since we didn't want fiery death, we parked it. At the awards ceremony, we got the "I Got Screwed" award, mostly for our truck-dying-on-the-bridge adventure.

We started towing home, and got word from the Dodge dealer on our tow pig. They didn't do any real diagnosis, but based on the sketchiest of evidence they wanted to replace the entire engine. The owner had it towed to a different shop.

In western Louisiana, the trailer blew a tire. We changed it out in under ten minutes, partly because by happenstance the first place we found to pull over was a tire shop. They dug the car and helped us change and air up the tire.

I got to my buddy's house and my car battery was dead. A quick jump and I made it home.

Erik the Awful said:

Here's the story of our weekend racing at Sebring. It was full of fail, but we have such a great team that it was still a good time.

Two weeks ago we did a test-n-tune on our race car, and it ran flawlessly.

Our main tow vehicle broke down on the 3-mile long bridge between Mobile and Daphne, AL. We rented a U-Haul to make it to and from the race and left the truck at the Dodge dealership in Daphne.

An hour after the race started our right rear wheel studs broke. The loctite holding them tight had loosened. I replaced all the wheel studs.

The track's tow vehicle had our car strapped wrong when bringing it in and accidentally dropped our car.

The brake master cylinder's internal seals chunked out. I replaced the master cylinder and we bled the brakes repeatedly to get all the air out.

The car died on track, and we thought it might have fuel starved, so we put more gas in it, but it consistently tried to die in turn 15. We brought the car in just before racing ended for the day.

The second day the car died as soon as the green flag waved. The fuel pump wiring broke. I fixed the wiring and replaced the fuel pump three times before we got it working without leaking.

Two laps later the hood pins broke. We pounded the hood out with hammers until we could get it to line up and close again.

The brakes were sketchy, and the clutch was not in the game, but the car ran. Two more teammates and I got an hour on-track at Sebring!

The transmission cooler quit working at some point, and the transmission tunnel got so hot you couldn't put a hand on it. The dash wiring lays on top of the transmission tunnel, and since we didn't want fiery death, we parked it. At the awards ceremony, we got the "I Got Screwed" award, mostly for our truck-dying-on-the-bridge adventure.

We started towing home, and got word from the Dodge dealer on our tow pig. They didn't do any real diagnosis, but based on the sketchiest of evidence they wanted to replace the entire engine. The owner had it towed to a different shop.

In western Louisiana, the trailer blew a tire. We changed it out in under ten minutes, partly because by happenstance the first place we found to pull over was a tire shop. They dug the car and helped us change and air up the tire.

I got to my buddy's house and my car battery was dead. A quick jump and I made it home.

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Wow! Sounds like, in spite of it all, y'all had a good time. And sometimes it is helpful to know that everyone has a hard time sometimes ( therein lies the continued popularity of blues music! ).

The bridge adventure:

Last Thursday we left Gulfport, MS early in the morning. We got onto the bridge and immediately the truck started vibrating. My buddy and I both commented on how rough the bridge was. Halfway across, the dash chimed and the oil pressure started dropping towards zero. He pulled the truck over. The dipstick wouldn't give us a good reading; it smeared the oil. There were no leaks visible. Our other truck brought us a jug of Rotella and we added two quarts. We restarted the truck and 1/4 mile later, still over a mile from the end of the bridge, the oil pressure dropped again. Oil was spewing from the valve covers, so we knew it was over full, and most likely the oil pump pooped the bed. The Alabama Safety Aid Patrol towed us off the bridge. AT&T roadside assistance got a tow truck to tow the Dodge to a dealership, but the driver had a trainee, so there wasn't any room for us in the cab. We Uber'ed to the dealership where our teammates were already unloading the truck into the U-Haul.

The dealership got the car Thursday morning, didn't touch it until Monday morning, and told my buddy, "We pulled the codes and it shows a #1 cylinder misfire. Most likely it's a sticking injector. If that's the case, it probably broke a piston ring. You need a new engine." WTF does that have to do with the oil pressure? Morons. They charged him a $150 diagnosis fee to not even diagnose anything.

We talked with some fellow racers, got a shop recommended to us, and my buddy had the truck towed there from the dealership. They currently have a month waiting period to even get the truck in the shop. Totally worth it to avoid the dealership.

HotWheelsBurban said:

Wow! Sounds like, in spite of it all, y'all had a good time. And sometimes it is helpful to know that everyone has a hard time sometimes ( therein lies the continued popularity of blues music! ).

Click to expand...

I think there's a fine line between schadenfreude and enjoying the blues.

Erik the Awful said:

I think there's a fine line between schadenfreude and enjoying the blues.

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Probably so. What I meant was, that sometimes you need to know that you're not the only one in a ****** situation.
The way Stevie Ray Vaughan explained it in an interview once was that you could hear a song, and think " well this guy's got it worse than me, so now I don't feel so bad about my life, or ,there's someone else going through the same thing, or ,this guy's problems aren't as bad as mine, but it still helps to hear about them...." Not an absolutely exact quote, cause it's been a while since I heard this interview, but that's the meat of it.

Erik the Awful said:

Here's the story of our weekend racing at Sebring. It was full of fail, but we have such a great team that it was still a good time.

Two weeks ago we did a test-n-tune on our race car, and it ran flawlessly.

Our main tow vehicle broke down on the 3-mile long bridge between Mobile and Daphne, AL. We rented a U-Haul to make it to and from the race and left the truck at the Dodge dealership in Daphne.

An hour after the race started our right rear wheel studs broke. The loctite holding them tight had loosened. I replaced all the wheel studs.

The track's tow vehicle had our car strapped wrong when bringing it in and accidentally dropped our car.

The brake master cylinder's internal seals chunked out. I replaced the master cylinder and we bled the brakes repeatedly to get all the air out.

The car died on track, and we thought it might have fuel starved, so we put more gas in it, but it consistently tried to die in turn 15. We brought the car in just before racing ended for the day.

The second day the car died as soon as the green flag waved. The fuel pump wiring broke. I fixed the wiring and replaced the fuel pump three times before we got it working without leaking.

Two laps later the hood pins broke. We pounded the hood out with hammers until we could get it to line up and close again.

The brakes were sketchy, and the clutch was not in the game, but the car ran. Two more teammates and I got an hour on-track at Sebring!

The transmission cooler quit working at some point, and the transmission tunnel got so hot you couldn't put a hand on it. The dash wiring lays on top of the transmission tunnel, and since we didn't want fiery death, we parked it. At the awards ceremony, we got the "I Got Screwed" award, mostly for our truck-dying-on-the-bridge adventure.

We started towing home, and got word from the Dodge dealer on our tow pig. They didn't do any real diagnosis, but based on the sketchiest of evidence they wanted to replace the entire engine. The owner had it towed to a different shop.

In western Louisiana, the trailer blew a tire. We changed it out in under ten minutes, partly because by happenstance the first place we found to pull over was a tire shop. They dug the car and helped us change and air up the tire.

I got to my buddy's house and my car battery was dead. A quick jump and I made it home.

Click to expand...

I got to the track tow vehicle dropping your car and thought "good lord what kind of event was this?" Then got to the "I Got Screwed" award and realized "Ah yes, 24hrs of Lemons."

I'd love to participate in one someday. I always watch the race wrap-ups on YouTube, it looks like a ton of fun. Sorry you all had such a problematic weekend but nice job fixing everything you did!

Erik the Awful said:

Here's the story of our weekend racing at Sebring. It was full of fail, but we have such a great team that it was still a good time.

Two weeks ago we did a test-n-tune on our race car, and it ran flawlessly.

Our main tow vehicle broke down on the 3-mile long bridge between Mobile and Daphne, AL. We rented a U-Haul to make it to and from the race and left the truck at the Dodge dealership in Daphne.

An hour after the race started our right rear wheel studs broke. The loctite holding them tight had loosened. I replaced all the wheel studs.

The track's tow vehicle had our car strapped wrong when bringing it in and accidentally dropped our car.

The brake master cylinder's internal seals chunked out. I replaced the master cylinder and we bled the brakes repeatedly to get all the air out.

The car died on track, and we thought it might have fuel starved, so we put more gas in it, but it consistently tried to die in turn 15. We brought the car in just before racing ended for the day.

The second day the car died as soon as the green flag waved. The fuel pump wiring broke. I fixed the wiring and replaced the fuel pump three times before we got it working without leaking.

Two laps later the hood pins broke. We pounded the hood out with hammers until we could get it to line up and close again.

The brakes were sketchy, and the clutch was not in the game, but the car ran. Two more teammates and I got an hour on-track at Sebring!

The transmission cooler quit working at some point, and the transmission tunnel got so hot you couldn't put a hand on it. The dash wiring lays on top of the transmission tunnel, and since we didn't want fiery death, we parked it. At the awards ceremony, we got the "I Got Screwed" award, mostly for our truck-dying-on-the-bridge adventure.

We started towing home, and got word from the Dodge dealer on our tow pig. They didn't do any real diagnosis, but based on the sketchiest of evidence they wanted to replace the entire engine. The owner had it towed to a different shop.

In western Louisiana, the trailer blew a tire. We changed it out in under ten minutes, partly because by happenstance the first place we found to pull over was a tire shop. They dug the car and helped us change and air up the tire.

I got to my buddy's house and my car battery was dead. A quick jump and I made it home.

Click to expand...

Drop whatever you are doing and go buy a lottery ticket right NOW! You are due for some good luck!

Annnd don't forget about the guy that told you to buy the ticket when you win. Just sayin'.

My buddy got word yesterday that his Dodge does in fact need a new motor for $13,000. He immediately sold it to his connection in Mobile for $2500 and bought a newer 1/2 ton gas Expedition. I feel kind of rotten, because I'm the guy who talked up diesels to him several years ago. I was a bit jealous when he bought his first Dodge, but I couldn't afford one. Also, every time I ran the numbers, diesels just didn't make economic sense for me. While we were waiting for the Uber we chatted and I made the case for a gas truck. I apologized for leading him down the diesel rabbit hole, but I still feel guilty.

...but enough about trucks I don't own...

One of my kids called yesterday and asked if they could bring a friend over and use the tools to install speakers in the friend's car.

"Sure."

I hung out in the shop while they were working because neither of them had swapped door speakers before, and they were using my tools. Sure enough, the speakers were riveted in, so we had a quick class in drilling out rivets. The factory speaker wires were routed to the front of the speakers, and the factory connector wouldn't work with the generic terminals. They got that sorted and had to find hardware in my buckets to bolt the speakers in place. It took them about five hours to complete the task.

In the mean time, I removed the valve body from the 700R4, put the correct gaskets in place, found the packet of steel valve body balls and replaced the old balls, put it all back together, and buttoned up the pan. Then I started working on installing the Sonnax servos. I re-read the instructions on grinding the servo pin to fit and did that job - it's intimidating grinding that to spec. I had my dial indicator set up and the spec says .075 - .125". I barely missed my target and got it at .105". I put the seals on the servos and cinched the assembly in place with a cargo strap. The locking ring went in and the transmission came down off the stand.

I'm a bit undecided. My current plan is set it the rebuilt transmission aside for now and drive the current transmission until it craps out, but I'm also not 100% confident my rebuild will run, and I don't want the transmission to crap out and then swap in a transmission that doesn't work at a time that I really need a truck. It's easy enough to swap it out, but I really want to tackle other projects for a while.

The boys still weren't finished at that point, so I wheeled the engine hoist over in front of the Jaguar and lifted the engine out - I disconnected everything a couple months ago but didn't have an empty stand to put the motor on. Today I need to fab up a mounting plate to put the Cadillac motor on the 'transmission' stand. Then I can flip it over and swap oil pans.

I ordered a power window switch and oil filter for Way Cool Jr so I can do some minor maintenance on it, and I also ordered a v-belt water pump and alternator for the old motor so I can continue dressing it out vintage-style.

Yesterday I used Way Cool Jr. to move my daughter's bed to a house across town that she and her friends are renting. During the drive I got a few clunks from the front suspension, and the steering has been loosening up lately. I think the rubber bushings were holding together fine until they started getting some miles. I still need to spend a weekend tearing the doors down, installing new seals, cleaning the latches, and finishing out the door panels, but the front suspension may take precedence.

I have a new pitman and idler arm sitting on my shelf, and I'm looking at purchasing a Redhead steering box. Last night I looked at Polyurethane and "Prothane" bushings. I'm leaning towards the Prothane because it's twenty dollars cheaper. Anybody have any input on the differences? I'm also lightly considering factory-style rubber bushings, but I can't help wanting better performance.

I've been a little disappointed in the straight-line acceleration of the truck, but I'm beginning to realize it's because I'm comparing it to my Mustang. I drove my race team captain's GMT900 Suburban during the trip to Sebring, and I kept thinking something was wrong with his truck because it had no power. Now that I'm a little more confident in it, I'd like to take Way Cool Jr. to Thunder Valley and get a quarter mile time, but I need to get tires on it first, and there's no point on getting new tires until I get an alignment, and there's no point in getting an alignment until I rebuild the front suspension, and that's going to take dollars and time.

Ugh. Two things I'm always running short of.