Flyin' Miata : Track Dog updates

Since the OTC, we've been busy with other things. The Track Dog is running (with a new engine and transmission) but it hasn't seen any track time in a while. If only there were a track that was closer...

Some videos of the race are finally available.
Videos

These photos of are of the last thrash before the race itself. Currently, the car is resting as the crew works on the Supertuner car.
Dyno chart

April 5, 2003: Test day at Spring Mountain Raceway, Pahrump, NV
April 6, 2003: Spring Mountain Raceway, Pahrump, NV
April 7, 2003: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Club course)
April 8, 2003: Buttonwillow
April 9, 2003: Thunderhill
April 10, 2003: Thunderhill - the other way
April 11, 2003: Willow Springs
April 12, 2003: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Club course)

Say "aaaah!"
The powerplant, ready to go in. 1996 cc, oversized valves and a bunch of trick bits.
This is the last thing an air molecule sees.
The hardtop, hood and windshield are on, the spare engine is packaged - it's getting closer.
The head got here, so Bill contemplates having everything together.
It's fun drilling holes in transmissions. Here's the feed for our cooler.
The clutch is holding up perfectly.
A little house for our tires. That'll free up some space inside.
Andy doing what he does so well - pulling an engine. That little 340 hp lump is our spare.
Dyno time! Check out a couple of videos of the Track Dog at full throttle - including wheelspin on the dyno.
Quicktime (better)
Windows Media
For this race, we're going to have a carbon insert with our vents. The entire hood wasn't ready in time.
5 lbs were taken out of the wing supports.
Water spray for the intercooler. You can't see the water injection. Between the two, we are seeing intake temperatures at ambient. Plus it's really cool to see the spray go off when we hit full boost!
The interior.
The front end aero is finally fully assembled.
The pump for the cooler.
Voila. Taking advantage of a high pressure area behind the rear bumper, we installed our transmission cooler there.
While Bill fixes the downpipe, Keith tears apart the rear of the car. Taking some more weight out from the rear structure and getting ready to plumb in a transmission cooler.
So that's why the exhaust wasn't fitting correctly. There's a flange on the end of the exhaust that would sometimes get caught going on to the dyno. Well, looks like it took a real hit at some point. Our fast times at Pahrump were set with this downpipe!
The 2.0l short block comes together.
To get the rod ratio we need, the wrist pin is pushed way up in the piston. You can see the ring land that's used to support the oil ring. This is pretty advanced stuff.
Stroker pistons and rods ready to go in.
The driver's side headlight gets a NACA duct to feed the air filter.
A larger duct on the passenger's side rams air through the oil cooler.
The prototype hood is getting prepared for production. Click the photo for the full details.

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