Success with the electric car.

The kids got the car wrapped with printed vinyl the day before the race. I loaded it on the truck along with the batteries and tools. Friday morning I got more stuff to carry and headed off to Lime Rock race track. The bus with the kids got there 30 minutes later and we got the inspection process going. The amount of cars overwhelmed the crew and things got off to a late start. I was hoping we could get into the second race but had to settle for the third race. That started at 2:00pm and ended at 3pm. The drivers managed to get in 22 laps each and we didn't have much faith in the results. but with rush hour very near we decided to stay for the awards. We got second place in our class and everyone was quite happy. I think we were in the top ten overall. Not bad for a new car and greener than green drivers.

Almost spring.

The snow is gone but the temps are still low. Nearly or below freezing on most mornings. Windy and rainy on top of it all.
 I was able to complete the Gypsy and get it into the air. It flys quite well. I may have to switch engines as this one uses too much fuel.
 I  moved the El Camino over one bay and can put the truck in the garage now. I keep a close watch on the mirrors so I don't jam one into the garage and break it.
 We ran the electric car for a full hour last Friday. The batteries still had some juice left. It averaged a bit over 20 mph for the hour. All that remains is to get the graphics printed and installed.

No end to it.

Another 3 inches of snow with morning temps in the mid teens.
The basement looks pretty good. I put another coat on the stucco wall and around the stairs. I put the work bench back into the outer room leaving the work table in the inner room where the stairs are. Two more pick up loads to the dump and lots of stuff in boxes that I won't be able to find when I need it.
 The electric car is going well with the new roll bar design and hub adapter. One of the brake calipers broke during a test run. After carefully looking at the tiny pictures that served as directions I found that I had installed them in reverse. I cut off the brackets and turned them around and reinstalled the good caliper. The new set should be in late next week. All up weight of the       car/driver/ballast/batteries is 442 pounds.
 I checked on the flying field this morning and it's covered with snow with a large pile of plowed up snow blocking the entrance.

More paint.

I bought 5 gallons of floor paint last Saturday. I moved a bunch of stuff out of the first room in the basement to get at the floor. I found some dents that needed filling with cement which held up the painting until today. I got a coat on the floor with the heavy stuff in a path from the stairs to the doorway  which is now blocked until tomorrow afternoon. It took a gallon to do about 80% of the floor. The other room is several feet shorter so I should have plenty of paint.
  The temp is near 40 so I opened the garage doors and fired up the hot rod to check the thermostat housing for leaks. Dry as a bone. It's strange how the store bought gasket softened and couldn't seal. I had some rubberized gasket material from NAPA, as was the new gasket, and made one. I bought the stuff when I installed the old thermostat.
  Several people commented on the roll bar on the electric car being kinda short. I was looking through the rule book and found some pictures of other cars and one had a double roll bar like modern dragsters. I bent one up and had the kid weld it on. The sprocket hub adapter replacement should be in soon. Now to get them to print up the wrap and get it applied.

First run.

I had the electric car charged and ready to run by 1100 today. We pulled it outside and one of the kids got in, buckled up and started off. A little problem with the chain, or so we thought, so we ran it back inside. I made some adjustments and back out we went. The second kid got in and took off. A minute later he came into view. The rear hub assembly that goes on the tire to allow free wheeling came apart. 3/4 of the ball bearings were lost so we have to get a replacement.
 At home I drained the hot rod radiator and planned on resealing the thermostat housing. When I got it off I found the new gasket turned to mush. I made another and slopped some sealant on and re installed it. Maybe tomorrow I'll warm it up.

Almost done.

We bent a piece of plastic to act as a windshield. The batteries should be in tomorrow morning 3/10/15. I found that the steering box was at the wrong angle and there was binding in the U-joint. I redesigned the mount and welded it into place. I'll get 2 shorter bolts when I pick up the batteries.
 Hendrick driver J.J. took over the race lead so I went outside and got the hot rod started I let it run until the new thermostat opened. I had to tighten the housing bolts and wipe the leak up. The Magnaflow glass packs sound pretty good.

A month later.

Because of the cold and snow I haven't been able to do anything but clear snow. Today 3/7/15 the temp. got close to 32 and I was able to change the thermostat in the hot rod. The old one had a hitch in it last time out. I may be able to run it in the next couple days. No chance of putting it on the road with all the sand and dirty melt water puddles. I'm listening to WPAQ- am 740 Mt. Airy, NC. It's 50 degrees there.(wi-fi radio) It was 1 above this morning here.
  The school car is ready for batteries. Another rear strut and some side sheet metal then the kids want to vinyl wrap it instead of paint. That should be a hoot.