Y'all make my head hurt....
Re: self trades- how about I pull the 521" stroker boss 9 out of the Galaxie, it makes a measly 620 crank hp, I inherited and budget it for $145? That's going rate for a pnp engine off the one local price sheet. That's how I'd abuse the rule but don't. Only because I don't have to establish a fmv via quorum. Not fair but completely within the rule set. Yes, it goes against the don't be a dick rule, but what if I just don't care?
This sort of stuff is why even self trading with fmv, D2D can't be challengeable. I traded out the stock 7.5 rear for the 8.8 I had in my previous ranger with my dad for zero dollars. He cut the chassis up to make a trailer out of the rear section and didn't need it anyway. I can troll enough FB group listings and make the turbo coupe engine zero, but they are in Cali mostly.... So, let's do a roadkillesqe fly and drive. Load it in back and because "I was in the area for something else", transport/freight is free. I have enough parts right now besides wiring to finish D2D, whether turbo 2.3/302/351/460/hell I have a 300 straight 6 too, but fmv self trading on any part prices me out. I even started out with an easy parted to zero vehicle, because $400 purchase price.
Etc etc etc....
Re: track prep- This is a literally sticky subject. On one hand, the company in Germany that makes the ether for the base stock of glue, quit making it. This makes it hard for VP to make LC9 or VHT to make their version of glue. Lots of tracks either closed early for the season or told everyone it's not glued or no prep, which they still tendered the lanes with dragging to smooth the balled up rubber, just nothing sticky. Tracks that setup for radial prep is way different for slicks. Radials need the glue to stick where slicks just need enough glue to hook because the slick just has mechanical advantage through surface contact.
Losing traction and crashing at the big end was probably a combination of a couple things. One is just vehicle setup that isn't tested, skilled driver or not. Second, there was a hurricane that rolled through. Florida is largely sand and a relatively high water table. The track surface had water on it that just can't be seen through seepage. The ground was saturated and wicking back up because it's overloaded with water. You can't feel it or see it because it's like black ice up north.
"We", races that I and my friends attend, race well upto midnight. As the dew settles out right about sun gone, track gets reprepped quickly to evaporate possible water around.
Drag radials fyi are NOT zero treadwear, they are 100tw. This hurt when the 200tw tire rule was proposed. Even nitto nt05's are a 100tw tire, which I still have from my challenge Miata from '17, thanks Patrick.
Re: the rest- this was fun in the aspect as it was a building exercise. Sadly, it's become a buying exercise. If I lucked into a free 91 Mustang 5.0, which I have squirreled away, plus a rebuilt c4 thats never been used, and all I need is a converter, I'd say that should be what the challenge is/was about. I'd put that into D2D yesterday!
All I hear anymore is how so and so has this and that and I don't have that. So what. Build what YOU want to bring and leave the class warfare politics out of it. If I found a f40 that lost storage for 2k, I'm there if I had to sell my kids! Don't anyone say you wouldn't because you are lying.
Peace out. See, anyone that wants to, in Orlando for SickWeek in February!
Brian