Naked Guy Racing

New Year, Change in Name

2010-04-27T01:37:00.003-04:00

This post is just to confirm that we are not dead yet, and plan to run at Stafford again this year, with a new theme of Naked Guy Racing. Logical, since that was and is the most distinguishing feature on the car. A very large wing, acting directly on the rear axle is also planned. A basic tuneup and new front brakes are in order, as well as rear wheel bearings. Tires are also on the to do list, as is checking the head for the source of some rather loud lifter / valve noise.

Race Pictures

2009-07-21T14:23:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of the race. Some of these are of preparing the car, and some are of the other teams. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the gallery.

Everyone had a good time, and I certainly hope to do it again next year.

Race has Restarted

2009-07-12T12:56:00.004-04:00

I don't have time for a full post right now, but so far today we've only spun the car once after one hour of racing. Mike is out of the car and Josh is currently driving. I will have another update later in the day.

Car in Pit

2009-07-11T18:54:00.003-04:00

We just got a hour penalty, which will end at 7:55 PM. It was due to being rear ended by the #77 (who we promptly voted for people's curse) into the first corner, and we were penalised for the four wheel off that resulted. During the penalty we are allowed to work on the car, so it's not a complete loss.

Pictures

2009-07-11T16:18:00.004-04:00

The number 69 Ducks of Hazard car. I particularly like the "TireQuacks" sticker on the windshield.
Our number 5 Ni-ssan following the 63 Trailing Throttle Over steer Corvair.
Our car, again, with Josh in it, showing of the wonderful paint job. Just did a smooth fuel + driver pit stop.

Update

2009-07-11T16:12:00.003-04:00

Kielbasa Kids are leading the rest of the field by 18+ laps. Our car has been quick, but are in fortieth due to a mechanical difficulty, and several penalties. All the systems (except the radio) have been just fine for the last 3 hours.

At Track

2009-07-11T10:31:00.003-04:00

We're at the track, the finishing touches are being put on the car, I've almost gotten everything set up for the race, and am realising that this is completely crazy. We attempted to bribe the judges, but they only took a couple of bottles of beer. The car passed tech and BS judging easily (the judges lost interest as soon as we told them it wasn't a SE-R), and we're now going over the last minute checks. I'm confident that we'll finish at least the first couple of hours.

Preparing the trailer for the Race

2009-07-10T02:17:00.003-04:00

Everything on the 'must do' list for the car has been accomplished. The trailer, however, still has a Triumph sitting in it, plus most of the stuff from when it was last used. The generator has been tested, and works, but there are some other minor things that need to be fixed before we leave tomorrow. Our goal is to leave sometime around 4 PM, work on the trailer should start around 9 AM.

Plans for Race Updates

2009-07-08T10:34:00.001-04:00

As of today I'm planning on liveblogging and tweeting the race. I also may be able to post some video from the race here as well. Of course that depends on us being able to get a Verizon signal at the track.
Any information of this sort would be incredibly helpful.

EDIT:OK, got signal less than a mile from the track, will provide updates this weekend here, and under the name particle_man820 on twitter.

Ni!

2009-07-02T13:09:00.002-04:00

Ni!

Eight days until the race!

The Competition

2009-06-30T18:57:00.003-04:00

Here's a list of all the teams competing at the New England event. We're car number five.

Ten days to race weekend!

Facebook Page

2009-06-29T18:48:00.002-04:00

We have a Facebook Page! I suggest you look there for updates, as it gets updated much quicker.

Eleven days until race weekend!

Daylight = Bad

2009-06-20T19:27:00.006-04:00

At least when you're looking at the bottom of a car on a lift. This is a picture of the bottom of the car while on the lift after a attempt at drilling holes for a roll cage mount point.
Turns out there's a roughly six inch square section of rust in the floor. A patch was made and welded solidly to the car. Work proceeded and the roll cage is now completely mounted in the car.

Ballistics: Round Two

2009-06-10T14:49:00.001-04:00

A update on our program to develop a device for the launching of lemons: After the success of the first device, a second one was devised that had a barrel 8 feet long and a combustion chamber made of 2 feet of four inch pipe. Sadly it was not meant to be. A shortage of materials and an error in production means that the current model is not what was originally designed. Not like that hinders it at all. In early tests it has shot a potatoes and lemons 150 feet further than the previous cannon, on the range of 500 feet overall on the best shots. Experimentation will continue, even while work progresses on the Ni-ssan.

Photos

2009-05-29T00:20:00.010-04:00

Here are some photos from our May ninth work party.
This is the engine bay of the Ni-ssan, pre-headlight removal. There was a oil leak (A small one only visible when the car was on the lift) coming from the seal between the oil pan and engine block, but after tightening that up it seams to have gone away.
This is part of the original documentation that came with the car. The EPA estimate was 29 city, 39 highway.

Other documentation that we found includes:
The original bill of sale, complete owners manual, recent insurance registration (discarded), and the manual for the CD player.

Some money (21 cents, to be exact) we found while ~~ripping~~ gently removing the interior.

You can see more pictures (mostly of stuff we removed) here.

Fees Payed

2009-05-17T12:09:00.002-04:00

The entrance fees were payed on Friday, and yesterday we started the brake lines. Roll cage, rear bearing caps, and rear brake parts have been bought or ordered. Tire hunting has been somewhat successful, but nothing has been found so far. We're also thinking about various banned technologies to try, but that's still classified.

"Tech Inspection: The Ugly"

2009-05-04T22:56:00.003-04:00

Some photos taken a couple weekends ao when we first got the car on the lift.

Crunchy!

Didn't know you could paint cottage cheese. Or that it could rust, for that matter:

I like how the roof/trunk drain line is still there... drained straight into the rocker until it finally, uh, vented itself.

More images here.

We're In!

2009-05-04T18:51:00.004-04:00

We have been officially accepted into the 24 Hours of Lemons New England! Now the hard work begins. We have workspace, but haven't ordered anything, or fixed any of the work the rust has done in "strategically lightening the car". The next steps are draining our bank accounts to buy safety equipment and pay the entry fees, fixing the leaks, and stripping down the interior.

Photos of the Chosen Car

2009-05-02T01:55:00.019-04:00

Since there won't be any real progress until we get accepted or have our butts kicked and told never to come back, I have some photos of our ~~rust bucket~~ car. These were taken a little while ago, before it moved (Under it's own power!) to it's current residence in Bob's garage.
(above) A view from the passenger's side. Has quite a bit of rust and it doesn't get any better from there. Click for a larger version.
A view of the car from the driver's side. More rust.
Yet more rust around the back right wheel (passenger's side).
I wonder what we could get for those headlight assemblies...
Here's the only shot I have of the interior.

There's a gain of fifty chipmunks between the wing on the back, the wind deflectors for the windows and moonroof, and the highly-aerodynamical rust holes!

The car's former luxury features include:
Air conditioning, a cruise control system, and locks.

Mechanically the car:
leaks oil, has an odd noise on start up that could be a timing chain issue, could need a clutch adjustment or worse, really needs back brakes, a lot of rust prevention, and the rear suspension has a few "issues" that need to be resolved.

Sounds like a great race car doesn't it?

Registration

2009-04-21T19:07:00.003-04:00

I've entered the team, now we have to wait while lemons chief instigator, Jay Lamm, decides who gets into the race.

We also had a successful work party over the weekend, and managed to get the Nissan up on the lift. We have a list of parts and leaks, thanks to Necoro. It needs rear brakes, brake lines, rear suspension linkage/bushing, rear wheel hub bearings, and front caliper slides. We should also change the oil, find the front oil leak, and check the clutch. Other than a lot of rust that doesn't seem to be terminal, it is in as good condition as a car valued at less than 500 dollars can be.

Logo!

2009-04-15T21:16:00.003-04:00

A pretty good logo, I'd say! Thanks, Lib!

Boom!

2009-04-14T00:48:00.003-04:00

We have a lemon cannon! It was fabricated over the weekend and works quite well. I tested it extensively using a combination of lemons and potatoes with wadding/skinning when necessary. As I learned very quickly, it is great fun to propel fruit and vegetables hundreds of feet through the air with a boom. The only problem is the combustion chamber to barrel ratio, which is 2.25:1 (combustion chamber:barrel), and having to get up really close to fire it. Our next version will fix the ratio, and probably add electric ignition.

Photos will (probably) appear at a later date.