32 replies to this topic

[dstevens]

Frank, I know you wouldn't do that. My note was in fun. My engine refresh has nothing to do with intake paint but a long year of racing, including a few times over 7000 rpm  . 

 

However, Jim Creighton called over all of the other Tech officials and showed them my intake and told them it was illegal. That's how I found out - I turned around and saw 6-8 Tech officials huddled under my hood. Jim did say that if I had finished in top 3 (I was about 10 positions off the podium  ) then he would have DQ'd me. So the possibility exists that an official might call someone on a painted part.

Though the OP is referring to the valve cover.  There are performance advantages to coating the manifold with the proper material. As Wheeler pointed out a few posts back, intake coatings are specifically prohibited hence your talk at tech.

[Bench Racer]

 

So do the rules specify that you can clean it?

Yes, on the same rule page that specifies you may clean the dip stick when checking your volume of oil in the crankcase.

[FTodaro]

Frank, I know you wouldn't do that. My note was in fun. My engine refresh has nothing to do with intake paint but a long year of racing, including a few times over 7000 rpm  . 

 

However, Jim Creighton called over all of the other Tech officials and showed them my intake and told them it was illegal. That's how I found out - I turned around and saw 6-8 Tech officials huddled under my hood. Jim did say that if I had finished in top 3 (I was about 10 positions off the podium  ) then he would have DQ'd me. So the possibility exists that an official might call someone on a painted part.

That would be BS if it was just paint and not a thermal coating. A warning would be in order for the first time, since till now never would have guessed in light of builders making the motors look pretty.

[James York]

There is not warning for non compliant.  He was given one, which was very generous instead of having a request to the stewards written by the tech officials.

 

If the rule reads as Dave quoted, and I am sure he has it right, then there is no grey, painting the intake is as non-compliant as applying anti-friction coating to the internal moving engine parts. 

[Ron Alan]

 

 

If the rule reads as Dave quoted, and I am sure he has it right, then there is no grey, painting the intake is as non-compliant as applying anti-friction coating to the internal moving engine parts. 

 

 

Or Trannies or Diffs...but who checks??? 

[dstevens]

What you would do, or so I'm told...    ( a nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat) is coat the manifold then paint it and claim it's paint.  That's why they don't allow paint only, too tough to tell if it's doing anything.  I looked at the specs of a couple of thermal coatings that somewhat resemble paint and the reflection rate is 80-90% on some of the thicker coatings, a few hundred microns.

[Bad Rusty]

Or Trannies or Diffs...but who checks??? 

Anti Friction coatings are allowed in the drivers seat, drivers suit, and drivers fire proof underwear.  Quit worrying about making it a show car, go race it!

[SaulSpeedwell]

Random thoughts, history, facts (or possibly fiction if I remember something wrong or it was BS to begin with?):

 

-In the 1970s, "Datsun Competition" (predecessor of NISMO and comparable to MazdaComp "sort of") recommended all Z, 510, and 1600/2000 Roadster aluminum valve covers be painted satin or flat black to help with heat rejection.  (They also recommended adding SMALL amounts of ATF to the transmission gear lube - I have the "recipe" somewhere - the forefather of manual-transmission lubes????)

 

-I know of two brand new $6K motors that blew up in the middle of $1K+ weekends because of "cosmetic obsession".  One had blast media trapped in the valve cover baffles, and the other had blast media in the Concours d'Elegance diptick tube. 

 

-At least one Mid-Ohio Showroom Stock Runoffs winner (long before SM was invented) avoided a full teardown when the Chief Scrut said:  "Look at that engine ... it's never been out of the car!"  (Later revealed: "Of course it was a 'built' motor!")

 

-Based on the above lore, I used to transfer the same crappy looking valve cover to every "new" motor (apologies to Jim Stewart and Bob Thornton!), at least until I had engine builder sponsorship.    For a brief period of time I had "Harry Manning Race Motors - 120HP" written on the valve cover.  This is when 120HP would have been "huge" for a 1.6.  Harry (R.I.P.) thought it was hilarious, and (supposedly) got a few inquiries to build motors based on it. 

 

-Unless you have meaningful sponsorship, any time or money spent looking good is time and money spent not going fast.  I'm all for "to each his own", I really am, but I just don't understand a Concours d'Elegance Spec Miata, when there is PCA, BMWCCA, Vintage, and 28+ SCCA classes where the cars are "cooler" and nobody ever hits each other, OR gets torn down, OR gets protested?

 

-I was always amazed how good my car looked in the trackside photographer's "glamour shots".  I had a tube of caulk "smoothing out" the front bumper cover, and 10 square feet of white vinyl and NASCAR-type sponsor stickers covering various scars, and the thing still looked great in trackside photos at speed. 

 

-Tony Coello, after fresh repaint and sheetmetal, gets into a game of wheel-to-wheel "chicken" down the Mid O backstraight on the start, with a guy that he would have easily passed one lap later, at some worthless Regional, totally waffles one whole side of his car (plus risking hard feelings or SOM penalty or protest) and upon my asking him why he did it and whether it was worth it, he replies:  "If you move out of their way, they'll never respect you and they'll just keep doing it."

 

-I'm ashamed to admit how I learned this, but paint WILL take out a seal.  So you think painting an axle or driveshaft looks good? I agree!  You would think the seal would just polish the paint away and all would be fine.  Apparently not! 

 

-I'm ashamed to admit how I learned this, but paint WILL screw up the brake pad and rotor interface.  So you think painting a rotor and caliper would look nice, so you just hit it quick with a bombcan?  I agree!   You paint a corner of the car and don't mask off the drivetrain parts?  You would think the pads would just burn that cheap plastic "paint" away and all would be fine.  Apparently not! 

 

 

 

 

   

[davew]

I heard of bead blast debris screwing up a brand new cheater cam shaft years ago.

 

Ruined the cheater cylinder head too.

 

Dave

[Bench Racer]

Saul's stuff, especially the word recipe takes me back to Karting days. A local Kart shop sold their private liquid label tire dope for IIRC $18.00 per pint. This $18.00 got old in a hurry. I provided a water washed/rinsed small glass medicine bottle with some of this liquid tire dope to a salesman from a paint company at my work place. The salesman had their lab chemist analyze the liquid. 77% some liquid, 22.5 % another liquid and .5% water. Salesman to me, the chemist doesn't understand why the water. Me to salesman, I didn't dry wipe the glass bottle. I sold "my" tire dope for $10.00 per pint. We used rock hard Bridgestone tires. Legal, illegal, you know the answer.

[dstevens]

LOL, sounds like the take away from the thread so far is don't let Saul paint your car....    More like a modern day Earl Schieb.    

[SaulSpeedwell]

LOL, sounds like the take away from the thread so far is don't let Saul paint your car....    More like a modern day Earl Schieb.    

 

In my defense, these were things learned in younger long-before-SM days, and probably had a formative effect on me, because I am loathe to paint ANYTHING these days!

[LarryKing]

What's the matter Speedwell? Didn't you build model cars as a child?

 

(I was actually thinking the same thing - that paint gunks-up stuff better left ungunked. And where do these people get all that time?)