Blackhawk Classic XXIII

Sometimes things start off well and go all to hell. Sometimes things start off all to hell and turn out well. The Blackhawk Classic XXIII was pretty much of a mix of these two.

Built in 1967, Blackhawk Farms Raceway is 1.9 miles long, flat as a pancake, and has the very best facilities bar none. Owners Paul and Carol Musschoot have really put a lot of money and effort into it. The chalet serves as an eating area on the lower level, with a very nice spectator tower above. The grill is 3 steps from the chalet, and the food is good. The shower/rest rooms are clean, showers far better than the "name tracks" we have attended. Grounds are meticulouslymaintained, and camping, be it with a tiny tent or a motor home, is welcomed without additional charge. Each year improvements are made.

Alex Christopher (L) shares some quality time with Blackhawk owners Paul and Carol Musschoot

Following Spring Vintage we decided it was time to find the source of the oil leak and elevated coolant temperature. Suffice it to stay that once one starts heading down this path it becomes a long one, with lots of twists and turns.

Off came the head and down to Competition Specialists it went. The almost inevitable call from Steve Blom came: "Jim, you have a really beat up exhaust valve seat. And the guide is completely destroyed." This after only three race weekends! Crap.

Well, that was the only good head for that block, and it needs to come out anyway to search for the oil leak. We have two weeks. Wait! Make that 4 days given all the other commitments. Crap. Life became very regimented. Again. Still.

Transportation Coordinator Sam Seward came up from Milwaukee and we lifted Block A from its moorings. Not much sign of a leak from the engine, but there was a transmission cover bolt standing very proud of its seat. And that confirmed Race Coordinator Joy Perry's sharp olfactory observational skills that we were throwing Mobil 1 gear oil from the top of the 'new" Sellholm tranny. The bolts went to the drill press for safety wire holes.

Racer's Best Friend

And those bolts ain't goin' nowhere again!

The car ventral surface (that's biologist speak for bottom) got a good pressure washing and new coat of Ford Gray paint.

While I was at it, I decided now was the time to get rid of the very heavy driveline spacer made necessary by the 'new' Sellholm transmission. Off went an Amazon drive shaft to Appleton Crankshaft to be shortened. Of course that's not as simple as it sounds because BOTH halves need modification and then because it's a two piece shaft, it has to be sent out to be balanced. (Don't trust Internet ads that say "We balance two-piece drive shafts.") $423 later we had a shiny dandy looking correct length driveshaft.

Might as well replace the clutch while we're at it -- after 2.5 years and knowing what it has gone through, it must be time. The new Tilton disk and pressure plate arrived from Pegasus in time, Of course, it can't be just that easy -- the new one has a slightly different profile and also, most ominously a different number on the pressure plate, A call to Pegasus ended up in a call to Tilton, which ended up with a consult with their fabricators, and eventually the message that it was indeed the right plate, that the numbering was now a serial number and not a PN. Geez, why cannot they say that up front and save everyone some angst?!

Motor B had been lounging in the trailer for over a year, awaiting its turn. This is the one that was the original creation from bottom to top by Competition Specialists. Thanks to help in my absence from Crew Chief Dave Buettner, we got 'er done in time to get to Blackhawk Farms for the annual Father's Day Blackhawk Classic.

As we sat waiting for the track to open for us to cross into the paddock we watched the late morning practice session. Our three Volvo buddies Jeff Babcock (122), Joe Brabender (123) and Alex Christopher (92) were out putting their Swedish Iron through the paces.

On the last lap Alex came around trailing a plume of white smoke., When I got to the paddock Alex's hood was up and the guys already in discussion. Removal of the valve cover revealed a broken roller rocker . Unfortunately, that was not the extent of the damage as a look inside the cylinder with our 'protoscope' showed lots more damage. Well, one did not need to even get in quite that far ...

Uh, something doe not look right here. (David Farrington photo)

I really admire (and am jealous of) Alex's ability to face adversity. While he was disappointed that his weekend had ended before it really even started he made a great weekend of it nonetheless. Class act. VSCDA helped out in this regard too; they refunded much of Alex's entry and race fees. Thanks VSCDA.

I got out onto the track for the afternoon practice sessions. The new motor had only 20 minutes of break-in run time on it. so I took it easy. But I could tell she was really rarin' to go! In fact, after the session I texted Buettner that we had one sweet motor.

That feeling held up until the cool down lap of the second practice, when very suddenly I lost a cylinder. So now it was my turn to look for issues, and once again it was found under the valve cover.

No. 4 exhaust valve spring

Now, I carry just about every spare imaginable. But "my kingdom" for this too!

... which, unfortunately, was home on the shop pegboard.

And my buddy Duane Matejka sent me this so I can duplicate it. This is a mechanical engineer's work at his best! (Well, maybe that's just a little overstatement.)

R Sport Engineering Valve Spring Compressor

I need to give credit here for some really wonderful help that managed to find a way to reinstall a spring to get us back on the track., I went to Autozone and bought a valve spring compressor make for the wimpy stock springs. Ray Freiwald suggested stuffing a rope in the cylinder with the piston at TDC to prevent the valve from falling into the cylinder. Then Dennis Birkholz and Mark School spent hours trying different things, and after a good night's sleep Dennis used a channel locks to compress the new spring, and Scott Barr suggested wrapping a small hose clamp around the whole mess to keep things from flying apart. Wahla! It worked!

It looked a bit like an operating room late into the night.

So how did it all turn out? Pretty darn good! On both Saturday and Sunday we finished first in class and on Sunday second overall, behind only the insanely fast Bugeye of Colin Comer. In the Dad's Day Handicap Scramble (staggered start with slower cars first) I set a personal Blackhawk best lap and 'beat' my buddy Colin, finishing 3rd overall.

Here's the video of the race that really counted.