Castle Combe 9 May 13 - Report

[Grin-a-lot]

About 3 years ago I bought my Westfield and thought it was great.  Within just a couple of months I popped along to witness a trackday at Castle Combe where the Gaffer and Santa convinced me that I should head onto the track and see what all the fuss was about.  So I borrowed £20 from Santa and a helmet from Phil and it was amazing.  Sadly the car overheated (water temp 120degC and rising) and Tower corner kept seeing fuel and/or oil surge and the car misfiring so after just a few minutes so my first foray into trackdays lasted 2 laps at a time and was marred with a fear that the car was on its last legs and the grim reaper was about to knock on my garage door.  Further trackdays were not without their problems – at Llandow I blew the fuel pump fuse and the car died on the track, at Donnington I had overheating issues and span about 12 times (combination of tyres, geometry (or lack thereof) and me running out of talent) and then at Brands Hatch the engine ditched enough oil into the catch tank that it pressurised and dumped its contents in vapour form over the Golf that was just behind me.

So between then and now I've (with help from all corners):

Fitted additional bits from Dave H (oil cooler and supporting bits mainly)
Converted mechanical to electrical fuel pump thanks to Phil and Dave H
Re-plumbed the breathing system
Rebuilt the wiring loom with help from Gaffer
Had a rolling road session to tune the engine and sort out carb issues
Fitted new tyres thanks to club discount at Steve Harkness (from mud and snow tyres that were fitted to part-worn AO21s)
Had a thorough geometry setup courtesy of Track Developments.
Cleaned, rebuilt and set to work the carbs.
Fitted a high flow oil pump (although didn't realise I needed to prime it so ran without oil for a 30secs – been worried about damage ever since)!
Bled the brakes and replaced the fluid
Fitted electronic ignition (the in the dizzy stuff) as well as new leads, plugs, cap, rotor
Replaced the 4 speed box with a 5 speed with help from Bri

...and a bunch of more cosmetic changes.

So back to 2013...

So I arrived at Combe and went for noise testing.  The car has typically been in the region of 93dB but today I was at 101dB.  The noise tester advised I should warm the exhaust as that can reduce the noise so I went for a burn up and down the lane to do just that, I returned to find I was now at 103dB!  Lots of fretting and flapping and I ended up with an add-on muffler from Merlin Motorsport.  Not the prettiest addition to the car but dropped me down to 97dB so we were good to go (after 4 noise tests)!

So it was with some apprehension that I went back on track – not really knowing what me, or the car, would do.  The first session was awesome, the new tyres gripped more than I'd ever known, the new box gave me longer legs, the engine pulled better than before and no overheating, the water temp stayed at 85degC (ish for the whole day) – thing were looking up.  I was just getting into the swing of it again when the chequered flag was waved and it was the end of the session. So back to the paddock, a chat with some of the other divers and a quick look around the car – nothing seemed to be out of place, the engine hadn't coughed its guts into the catch tank and my confidence was building.  In fact it was really good to see the car working hard and seemingly enjoying it – it just kept on delivering.  With only 12 cars on track there was loads of space and as I was strategically placed at the back of the pack I had the track to myself and could concentrate on going forwards rather than worrying about what was behind me.  All photos courtesy of Jim Gaisford.



Session 2 came round quickly and back out I went and then it started to rain, heavily.  Most of the 7-esque cars bailed out to seek shelter but on the basis that I was already wet I eased off (even by my less-than-rapid standards) and carried on – after all within 1 lap of this rain any water damage to the car would've already been done).  A few small "moments" at Quarry and Bobbies with the arse end stepping out served as a reminder that me and my ever balding AO21s weren't really the tyre of choice so kept my head and focussed on "slow and smooth" to concentrate on my lines.  The session ended without incident and a very wet car and driver returned to the paddock.



Session 3 put me under pressure as the Missus came to watch; the rain had eased but was pooling on the track (particularly at the entrance to Camp Corner) and I was growing more and more in confidence and pushing a bit harder each time – right up until a mega-spin from a 7 in front of me saw him pirouette infield by some distance.  No harm done really but a reminder that the track and the car can bite if you're not careful.  That was one of only 2 or 3 red flags for the day so we reset and went back out and the car continued to go well.  I borrowed a mate's GoPro and was well impressed with the footage - here's a lap from session3:



My last session saw even more rain so was another slow one but I really felt like I was getting the hang of it all again.  I was growing more successful in hanging onto the back of the pack which was encouraging but the continuing rain was making me ever cautious – the strength of a car like this is its ability to corner but a lack of skill and experience on my part coupled with a slippery track meant I struggled to make much ground.  A best lap of about 1.43 in the damp was about as good as it got but I don't mind, I felt that I was working hard and getting better and that is what it was all about for me.





I grabbed some photos from the pro photographer and made my way home in the rain; the last 2 hours were Open Pit so there was loads of track time available but I'd had a good day, my faith in the car is restored and I'd had no accidents so decided to quit while I was ahead.

All in all, a great and confidence inspiring day.  The car developed a squeak that I thought was an aging damper – turns out where the tub had been riveted on at the back it had fretted loose and is now merrily bouncing up and down by about an inch!  I also need to whip the silencer off and see what material is left in there – hopefully that's the reason why I was unusually loud.  Neither should be too much fuss to fix and all in all a small price to pay for an otherwise great day!  I'm tempted to remove the oil filter just to check for metal debris just as a confirmation that there aren't shards of metal in there.

The biggest challenge still awaits; it's the MOT this weekend....

[fullpint]

  Looks like you had a cracking day on track. Rather you than me going out when its raining.
Good luck with MOT mate.

[Moleman]

Combe is a nightmare in the wet mate.  Glad to westy is working well now.
which leaves to only one question.
When is your next one? 

[Lucky Ed]

Great write up, I really must make more effort

I'm pleased all your upgrades have worked well, it's very satisfying when all your hard work pays off.
Hope to meet up with some of you guys at Llandow at the end of June - I can't make the May one due to work, but hoping to squeeze in a trip to Donington before then.

This track day thing is a bit addictive isn't it

['The Gaffer']

Excellent post, I remember the day we convinced you to have a go at Combe. Pleased you haven't looked back and are still having fun in your car

[foggy]

An interesting read & nice pictures

[Hairy Santa]

Bril write up and pictures, you certainly had some water chucked at you, top marks for keeping out there in it

sounds like you definitely  got the bug now 

[Bulldog Bri]

Nice to see the car going so well with that new gearbox.