NMS South - Summer Update

Temperatures are soaring down in South Carolina, but it's not stopping progress on the race trailer and preparation for the fall 24 hour Lemons race at CMP. The trailer has been slowly progressing with added storage, organization and safety. More modular E-Track has gone up, giving me more mount points and ways to hang straps and cables. I mounted a marker board for those trackside planning sessions. A first aid kit, fire extinguisher, and CO/smoke detector were all installed. Door handles and latches added to the cabinets. The next few weeks will see the bare plywood floor get cleaned and epoxy coated to round off most of the upgrades. 

We were gifted a whole parts car, which was torn down to make considerable contributions to the spare parts collection. Several modifications are coming up, including a new rear differential with a special ratio, improved manual steering rack, and improved wheel hubs. Miatas are famous for eating wheel bearings, so we invested in some beefy aftermarket units. After losing 20 minutes to swaps hubs during each of the last 2 races, we're hoping to avoid more lost track time. 

In a couple weeks I'm going to attempt to cut up one of the free hoods we got and make hood vents. I've been reading about the benefits of drawing more air out of the engine bay and I think we can make some effective improvements on a budget. During the endurance races, and especially the 24 hour races the engine bay gets saturated with heat and the engine has trouble making maximum power. Anything we can do to keep temperatures lower will be helpful. 

Leading up to the September race I'll also compete in the 99 Miata at the SCCA Time Trial event at NCCAR in North Carolina. This will be my first Time Trial event, so I'll be curious how I stack up. Either way, I'm just looking forward to getting some more seat time. SCCA has been very cautious about hosting events with COVID and they have a number of precautions that will keep us all safe. I'm looking forward to having the trailer's air conditioning in the August heat to keep comfortable between sessions. The old NMS livery was recently removed, so the Miata will run naked until I develop the next scheme for the car. 

If all that excitement isn't enough, the truck is due for some more maintenance before hitting the road to NC next month. More coverage to come.