Geez, where to start.
A new engine - yes that did happen last month.
Another new 510 also happened last month, for this I need to step up a level. Long story short, I’m going vintage racing with a proven 510 that had been raced locally for 15 years or more. I bough the car turn key, Because quite frankly I don’t have the time to build one from the ground up.
So what does this have to do with the Bronze? Well to go racing, I need a competition license. And to do that, I need a street car to participate in a sanctioned driving school. And since I have only SUV’s in the family… the Bronze gets put back in action, and what better way to do so than to simply make the Bronze once again reliable.
The first order of business was the motor. Since this all came together in the last four weeks, I looked at what I had, and what I have time for. That meant that the stock, rebuilt L20B short block that has been sitting in my garage for the last 12 years, is going into action. Yes, it’s a full 2 point drop in CR, and yes the car just lost about 30 HP, but it doesn’t burn an equal quantity of oil and fuel. I am to learn to drive, we can go faster, later. Check.
Next was to deal with the front brakes, which suddenly developed the problem of not fully returning after applications, leading to severe brake drag. Turns out I have been on the threshold of this issue for years, but with the car basically parked for the last 3 years, there was just enough added ‘stickiness’ in the brake bias linkage to now cause a real problem. The solution was to get the bias adjusted away from its extreme adjustment to full rear brakes, and while I was at it, fix the damn remote bias adjustment that never worked properly from day one when the car was built 20 years ago. The latter was accomplished by running the bias bar adjustment cable and housing inside a 3/8” stainless tube, from the adjustment knob right to the balance bar. This allowed the cable to be supported, instead of binding and simply tying itself in a knot. Lubrication and cleaning of the balance bar and shaft also needed to be done, it hadn’t moved in 20 years. To address the pressure issue, I needed to apply more brake pressure to the rear as I had too much front bias. To do this, I changed to a smaller rear MC, dropping from 7/8 to 3/4. Now keep in mind I have a low ratio pedal box, the pedal is still plenty stiff! So now on street tires, my bias adjustment pivot point on the balance bar is much more centred. Brakes done, check. Oh, and I rebuilt the front calipers for good measure to eliminate this as a possible issue.
Corner weights. I have had this issue since I put the car on the road. My pass front tire wants to lock up prematurely. The was solved by effectively raising that corner up - balance problem solved and braking distances drastically decreased. There was more to it and I spent a few days on this, but this is the Coles notes. Scales would be great, but I don’t have that conection.
Tires, Keith’s misfortune with the mountain of issues on his 510 turned into Fortune for me when he offered his brand new A052’s for sale. This will definitely help at the driving school because I will be racing on the same type of mandatory DOT tires. I had some older A048’s, but I bought Keith's tires and I guess my old ones are for sale (driven only on Sundays of course!) Check.
Steering. One item I have wanted to tackle for years is something with the steering. Ultimately, a R&P is the only way. But there’s no time as driving school is next week. So I made the best of what I have, and built a steering box brace. I may do the delron sleeves in the idler arm if I have time next week.
Pedals - from a safety standpoint, I had to secure the carpet under my feet. A foot plate seemed to be the best answer. The drawback was drilling 2 new holes in my floor for rivnuts. But it was necessary. And while I was at it, I finally built myself a proper dead pedal (and another 2 more rivnuts in the floor pan) and modified the throttle pedal to be lower. In this way, when the brakes get hot and the brake pedal starts to drop, I have a little more wiggle room. The pedal can easily be brought up if needed. I just have that adjustment now if necessary.
The drive to Lillooet last weekend was really a shake down run, and I’m happy with what I’ve done. This tires are amazing, Keith. But the car is also working well overall. It’s just lacking the go! The R compounds meant more front bias on the brakes, now easily tuned in by a twist of a knob. The only mod I may make is changing to the semi metallic rear shoes (green stuff) I bought them, but I am undecided.
There you go, updated
Photos to come.Byron
