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Trip to Sebring

Michael Oritt

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You're getting this message because you might be interested in a trip I started today. I'm heading down to FL to race at the HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing) race event at Sebring International Race Track this weekend.

I'm going down in my 1954 Austin-Healey 100 and right now the car and I are heading south on the AutoTrain, due to arrive in Sanford FL tomorrow morning, when I will drive down to Sebring, arriving tomorrow afternoon. I'm not racing the Healey (It's a road car) but rather a 1961 Ginetta G4 that is being transported there by Michael's Vintage Racing, a shop located in SW Virginia that provides race prep and support to me and several other racers.

I have owned the Healey since 1999 and though it is in very good mechanical condition I need to get to Sebring by tomorrow for registration/tech inspection, which leaves no time for any "eventualities". Therefore I'm taking the train down to ensure a timely arrival and after racing concludes on Sunday I'll drive the Healey back to MD.

I plan to take four or five days to go home on "The Scenic Route" of US 17/301 or other two-lane roads, and if time and weather permit I may travel via the NC Ferry System and the Outer Banks--we'll see.

This is my first extended road trip in the Healey in a while, as once I started racing in 2007 I concentrated on that versus touring. I'm probably not the "Road Warrior" I was 20 years ago but I'm looking forward to a nice weekend of racing followed by a peaceful cruise home on some scenic back roads.

I'll try to post something daily, perhaps with a few pics.

Best--Michael Oritt
 
Quite exciting, Michael! The Sebring weekend should be great fun. Weather may be a bit cool for early March here, but certainly great for the event. There's a remote possibility a pal and I will attend as spectators. He's been a participant in the past, but lost a couple NICE cars to the storms. Saturday is most likely, as Sunday is predicted to have a 40% rain chance. Plans still up in the air.

And if you do decide on Hwy 301 north through Riverview/Brandon/Tampa, you could hit th' Hovel with a well thrown rock.
 
Lots of luck both in the race and the road trip!
 
Looking forward to seeing you on the podium.:winner1:
 
darn, I wish I had known sooner, we would've driven over (it's barely a 1-hr drive) :(

So how did you do; the Healey running okay, and with the Ginetta?
 
I have been making daily posts to a list of email recipients about the trip and I thought they were going to this forum as well. Apparently they havent, so here they are:


Day two--Lorton to Sanford to Sebring

The AutoTrain arrived in Sanford this morning around 11:00 AM, a couple of hours late--but it arrived. I had paid the upcharge for priority unloading and the car came off shortly thereafter. I was on the road just before noon.

While I was still on the train this morning I found that my cell phone was out of battery power and though I tried a couple of different converters and cords it was simply dead and would not accept a charge.

Though the shortest distance from Sanford to Sebring is via US 27, my preferred route is to get off of I-4 east of Orlando, take the Seminole toll road that loops south past the airport and then get on the Florida Turnpike down as far as Yeehaw Junction. From there it is surface roads--441 and 98--to come to the track through the back door.

This route, however, leads through some pretty remote country and though I do plan to take the scenic route on the return trip to MD there is nothing at all scenic about this part of central Florida. Should any problem arise I would be out in the sticks with no phone. However, driving on I-4 and US 27 is no picnic either and though I would certainly be closer to help on that route, it goes right through Disney Country and I would be driving in heavy traffic all afternoon.

I decided to take the chance and go the way I preferred, and though I did hit a bit of moderate rain and heavy side winds for a portion of the trip I felt I had made the right choice, and I arrived at the track at around 3:00 PM. I went into registration to get my credentials and when I got back in the car it would not start!

I had been driving with head and driving lights on as well as windshield wipers, but my new 50 amp alternator should certainly have carried the load--however apparently it didn't and I had to get a push start to get over the bridge and into the paddock.

Right now the Healey is parked at the track, alongside Michael Clifford's trailer, and after my first practice session tomorrow at 8:00 AM I will try to track down the issue. The good news is that I have access to everything I need as Michael has a big charger and whatever may be necessary. PLUS I am amongst a couple of hundred gearheads--racers and mechanics--so I am pretty confident I will be able to diagnose the problem in the morning and take it from the top from there..

More tomorrow and I am turning in. BTW I fixed the cellphone--there was some small piece of fuzz in the charging port.

Best--Michael Oritt

-----------------------------------------------------
 
I have been making daily posts to a list of email recipients about the trip and I thought they were going to this forum as well. Apparently they havent, so here they are:


Day two--Lorton to Sanford to Sebring

The AutoTrain arrived in Sanford this morning around 11:00 AM, a couple of hours late--but it arrived. I had paid the upcharge for priority unloading and the car came off shortly thereafter. I was on the road just before noon.

While I was still on the train this morning I found that my cell phone was out of battery power and though I tried a couple of different converters and cords it was simply dead and would not accept a charge.

Though the shortest distance from Sanford to Sebring is via US 27, my preferred route is to get off of I-4 east of Orlando, take the Seminole toll road that loops south past the airport and then get on the Florida Turnpike down as far as Yeehaw Junction. From there it is surface roads--441 and 98--to come to the track through the back door.

This route, however, leads through some pretty remote country and though I do plan to take the scenic route on the return trip to MD there is nothing at all scenic about this part of central Florida. Should any problem arise I would be out in the sticks with no phone. However, driving on I-4 and US 27 is no picnic either and though I would certainly be closer to help on that route, it goes right through Disney Country and I would be driving in heavy traffic all afternoon.

I decided to take the chance and go the way I preferred, and though I did hit a bit of moderate rain and heavy side winds for a portion of the trip I felt I had made the right choice, and I arrived at the track at around 3:00 PM. I went into registration to get my credentials and when I got back in the car it would not start!

I had been driving with head and driving lights on as well as windshield wipers, but my new 50 amp alternator should certainly have carried the load--however apparently it didn't and I had to get a push start to get over the bridge and into the paddock.

Right now the Healey is parked at the track, alongside Michael Clifford's trailer, and after my first practice session tomorrow at 8:00 AM I will try to track down the issue. The good news is that I have access to everything I need as Michael has a big charger and whatever may be necessary. PLUS I am amongst a couple of hundred gearheads--racers and mechanics--so I am pretty confident I will be able to diagnose the problem in the morning and take it from the top from there..

More tomorrow and I am turning in. BTW I fixed the cellphone--there was some small piece of fuzz in the charging port.

Best--Michael Oritt

-----------------------------------------------------
Day three--racing and repairing:

I am trying to stay focused on the "raison d'etre" of the trip, which is to race this weekend at Sebring, but it has been a bit distracting to think about the fact that I am 1000 miles from home with a car that is not yet running.

Actually I identified the problem yesterday: the fan belt, which seemed fine when I checked it last week before I left MD, had become glazed and was slipping to the point that the battery slowly discharged while I was running with headlights, fog lights and windshield wipers running for the last hour of Wednesday's drive. And after a midday battery charge the Healey started up just fine.

But in order to clear my head of any distractions I will skip tomorrow morning's race session to find a replacement fan belt and a spare, perhaps one a little bit shorter and wider as this one seems to be sitting a bit low in the pulleys. There are a number of auto stores here in Sebring and I am optimistic that I'll find a replacement for the present Gates 1460 belt, which is still intact, though a bit worse for wear.

I did get to race twice today: the first session was an 8:00 AM practice which went fine, and the second was a late afternoon qualifier which set the grids for the remainder of the weekend's races. I did okay--I came in 3rd in class to another G4 and a Lotus 7. But I am running several seconds off the best lap times I have turned in previous years' races at Sebring, though I am usually a slow starter and gain speed through the weekend. So although I must forgo tomorrow's morning session in order to find a fan belt, I still have tomorrow afternoon's race plus one on Saturday midmorning and I will hopefully be able to drive with a clear head.

---------------------------------------------------------
 
Day four--racing and repairing, continued:

As I said in yesterday's message I decided to skip this morning's race session and instead fix the car. I bought a fan belt one size wider than the one it replaces and in under an hour I had the new belt installed. It sits just a bit higher in the pulleys and is clearly a better fit, After a test drive I pronounced the job done.

The race this afternoon was an "All comers" session, meaning that instead of the race group being comprised of cars more or less similar in displacement and potential performance, the session was open to anyone registered to race at the event. Thus, the grid was quite large--about fifty cars--and rather disparate in terms of speed potential, which made for a lot of passing and being passed.

Sebring International Raceway is an interesting and demanding track. It runs on some of the abandoned runways of the local airport which actually started life in WWII as a B-17 bomber training installation. The racing surface is a mixture of old concrete and newer blacktop and It is flat as a pool table--Any elevation change is due to settling and repaving. It is 3.7 miles long with 17 turns, some very high speed and some quite slow and tight. The course is extremely rough in some places and things happen fast. View some videos on YouTube!

This afternoon was not my best day--just before the green flag I accidentally hit the fuel pump switch while downshifting for turn 17, and by the time I figured out what was wrong I had lost 4 or 5 positions. I drove somewhat inconsistently and due to my glove's being slick I missed several shifts. My lap times did not improve very much from those of yesterday and I got lapped by some of the leaders just before the checker--always disappointing. But I have my final race session tomorrow at 10:00 AM and I hope I will have better news to report in my next message!

Following the race I will check out of the hotel and begin the trip back to MD. The forecast seems good and I plan to drive north through Ocala National Forest--Google Earth promises a lot of scenic two lane roads through some remote country. I'll report again manana.

Best--Michael

-------------------------------------------------------
 
Day four--racing and repairing, continued:

As I said in yesterday's message I decided to skip this morning's race session and instead fix the car. I bought a fan belt one size wider than the one it replaces and in under an hour I had the new belt installed. It sits just a bit higher in the pulleys and is clearly a better fit, After a test drive I pronounced the job done.

The race this afternoon was an "All comers" session, meaning that instead of the race group being comprised of cars more or less similar in displacement and potential performance, the session was open to anyone registered to race at the event. Thus, the grid was quite large--about fifty cars--and rather disparate in terms of speed potential, which made for a lot of passing and being passed.

Sebring International Raceway is an interesting and demanding track. It runs on some of the abandoned runways of the local airport which actually started life in WWII as a B-17 bomber training installation. The racing surface is a mixture of old concrete and newer blacktop and It is flat as a pool table--Any elevation change is due to settling and repaving. It is 3.7 miles long with 17 turns, some very high speed and some quite slow and tight. The course is extremely rough in some places and things happen fast. View some videos on YouTube!

This afternoon was not my best day--just before the green flag I accidentally hit the fuel pump switch while downshifting for turn 17, and by the time I figured out what was wrong I had lost 4 or 5 positions. I drove somewhat inconsistently and due to my glove's being slick I missed several shifts. My lap times did not improve very much from those of yesterday and I got lapped by some of the leaders just before the checker--always disappointing. But I have my final race session tomorrow at 10:00 AM and I hope I will have better news to report in my next message!

Following the race I will check out of the hotel and begin the trip back to MD. The forecast seems good and I plan to drive north through Ocala National Forest--Google Earth promises a lot of scenic two lane roads through some remote country. I'll report again manana.

Best--Michael

-------------------------------------------------------
Day five--Leesburg to Brunswick, GA: A sentimental journey

I left Leesburg this morning, my destination for the day being Brunswick GA with a stop in Jacksonville FL.

I drove east, then north through Ocala National Forest--a mixed bag of shady Live Oak hammocks and cutover stands of slash pine. Apparently logging was a big industry prior to the area's designation as a National Recreation Area. (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/florida/recarea/?recid=83528). The roads are classic Florida two-laners, mostly arrow-straight through the pinelands with some twisty sections occasionally thrown in. Since today marked the conclusion of Daytona Bike Week the roads were profuse with Harleys, mostly bearded dudes on two-wheelers with a good number of Mom's and Pop's on trikes thrown in. Most were pretty scrupulous about driving at or under the speed limit and I had a good time passing through the packs.

In the middle of the forest stands the crossroads town of Barberville--famous for the Barberville Yard Art Emporium. It is one of the wierdest places I have ever seen and I've attached several pictures, or visit the website at: https://www.barbervilleroadside.com/. If you're looking for any unique lawn statuary this is the place to go--no matter what you want I'm pretty sure that they have it! About this time the skies darkened and it started to rain, but I was fortunate and skirted the worst of it. Eventually I reached Palatka, the northern terminus of the forest roads and I took four-laner and eventually I-95 bound for Jacksonville.

Aside from racing at Sebring and back-roading it to Maryland there were two other things I wanted to do on the trip:

The first was to visit my first cousin Michael who lives in Jacksonville and is one week my junior. My mother and his father were siblings, I grew up in Miami and he in Jacksonville, and when we were young kids on the occasions we were together I just wasn't very nice to him. As we grew older I behaved better toward him, but I felt I owed him both a visit and an amend, and since we are both 82 there is no time like the present, so I took the opportunity to see him. He and his wife recently moved into assisted living and have some health issues--I'm glad we got together.

From Jacksonville I set out for Brunswick, GA where I've stopped for the night. The reason for my visit is to visit the grave of Nancy Philson Clark, a fine woman who for 6 or 7 years worked as "house-keeper" for my family when I was in my pre and early teens. Nancy was the grand-daughter of enslaved people and she was of Ogeechee or Gullah heritage, a mixture of Native American and African. Since both my parents worked it was Nancy who I saw when I left for and came home from school, and she was a constant source of love who tried to teach me her traditional values. She retired to her home in Brunswick, GA in about 1957 and though we occasionally corresponded I never saw or spoke with her again. She died sometime around 1975 and I visited her grave in Greenwood Cemetery about 30 years ago. I will do so again tomorrow morning before getting back on the road.

It's been the usual long day so I'm turning in. Enjoy the photos.

Best--Michael Oritt
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PS--sorry, I'm having trouble posting the pictures
 
Day 7--Brunswick, continued: Good news, bad news and best news

As of last night the forecast for today's weather was not good: rain, fog and wind were called for as a cold front was due to move in. Well, the weatherman was right and this morning it was as predicted--quite discouraging....

I had made an appointment to meet the manager of Greenwood Cemetery at 8:00 AM to find and visit Nancy's grave and after he searched records he directed me to it. I was not able to purchase any fresh or cut flowers so I bought some plastic Daylilies and placed them on the grave. Certainly not the best, but the best I could do. (see picture 4)

I had visited Nancy's grave once before in 1995 and by prearrangement met two of her daughters at the cemetery. They were probably in their late sixties. and they told me that Nancy spoke of me often, which gave me a good feeling. They wished there was a place to sit when they visited her, so I made arrangements to have a bench placed on the grave (see picture two). Today I sat on the bench and thought of Nancy for a few minutes, and saw that both of the daughters were buried there as well. As it started to rain I went back to the car to return to the hotel and to my dismay it would not start, and I had to use one of the worker's jumper cables to get it going.

I returned to the hotel, parked under the entrance porte-a-cache and began to turn over in my mind what could be the issue as I thought it was the fault of the fan belt. On examining things I found the post where the alternator, starter and battery connected together was a bit loose, and when I removed the nut holding all of the terminals to the post I found a good bit of corrosion. (see picture 1)

I spent an hour cleaning all the terminals and after reassembly I turned on the ignition, and with my heart in my mouth I pushed the start button. To my extreme pleasure the engine fired instantaneously and the voltmeter climbed to about 13.5 VDC. As of about an hour ago the engine still fired on the first crank and I am planning on resuming the trip north in the morning.

Nytol--Michael
 
That's quite a nice record, so far, of your journey; too bad about the Healey troubles, but I think you're dealing with them in splendid fashion!

Paying your respect to Miss Nancy's grave is a tribute to the values she instilled in your formative years.

Is there someplace where your pictures can be seen online? If you're having trouble posting them here, you can email them to me and I'll upload them (in my gallery) and put them in this thread. If you like. Example below...

IMG_0992-me.jpg


IMG_1008-me.jpg
 
Hi Randy--

I'm sorry I did not let you know I was racing at Sebring. It's always good to see you and I certainly could have used your input.

I was playing catcg-up last night, simply posting the accumulated daily messages that had not gotten onto the forum, and did not attempt to post the pics.. Tonight I will try to post them when I write my day's message.

Stay tuned--Michael
 
Hi Randy--

I'm sorry I did not let you know I was racing at Sebring. It's always good to see you and I certainly could have used your input.

I was playing catcg-up last night, simply posting the accumulated daily messages that had not gotten onto the forum, and did not attempt to post the pics.. Tonight I will try to post them when I write my day's message.

Stay tuned--Michael
As I reported in last night's message, based on the way the car started yesterday after I removed some corrosion from the battery-starter terminal post I was optimistic that I had found and addressed the issue.

My plan for today was to take US 17 and some other secondary roads to Lumberton, NC--about 300 miles. When I pushed the "start" button this morning the engine cranked and fired off, but not with the same zest as yesterday PM, which immediately gave me concern. Nevertheless it ran fine so at about 8:00 AM off I went. While driving I noticed that the volt meter needle was indicating at or just below 13 VDC, whereas it normally shows just under 14. Nevertheless the car was running fine and I tried to convince myself that all was okay. However, after about 30 minutes the voltage did not increase and I decided that when I reached civilization in Pooler GA I would pull off and investigate, rather than proceed into the SC countryside with things uncertain.

Upon reaching Pooler I pulled under the entrance of a Hyatt hotel and turned the key off. When I tried to restart I heard only the clicking sound of the bendix, and it was clear that whatever was the issue I had not yet found it. I pulled the spare tire out of its aperture so I could access the battery. Though the terminals were tight and appeared clean I undid them and gave them a good cleaning, then buttoned everything up, crossed my fingers and pushed the start button--and again heard nothing but clicking.

I called a couple of auto repair shops and when I told them what I was driving they both said that they would not or could not help me and did not know anyone in Savannah who worked on old cars. I was bummed, but was forced to accept that while the issue might be nothing more than a bad alternator, or a defective battery, or a connector lug that appeared to be fine but wasn't, or some other things I hadn't yet thought of, I was not going to be driving the car back to MD and arriving by Friday when I have a couple of important obligations I cannot change.

I called my insuror, Hagerty who told me that while the first 100 miles of towing were indeed free, after that it $7.50 per mile, which would come to over $3500.00--assuming they could find someone to do the job. Next, I called U-Haul and was told that there was a car trailer and box truck available nearby, and that it would only come to something under $1,000.00 for a one-way truck/trailer rental to my home in MD. So I caught a ride to the U-Haul store, signed the papers, produced the plastic and at 4:00 PM I drove out in a 10' box truck with a trailer behind. After returning to the hotel I positioned the trailer, got a jump start for the Healey, and with assistance from the small audience that gathered in the parking lot I drove up the ramps and onto the trailer. By 5:30 the car was tied down and I was done for the day. (see attached picture).

I'll depart in the morning and since there's not much newsworthy about me driving a truck/trailer up I-95 I'll post again when I arrive home.

Thanks for tuning in--Michael Oritt
 
Day 8--Pooler GA to Solomons, MD

I got onto I-95 at 8:00 AM and arrived home base around 6:00 PM. Not much exciting happens on the Interstate except perhaps an accident or a speeding ticket and I'm glad to say that neither occurred.

The U-Haul 10' box truck apparently has a governor of some kind as it will not exceed 75 mph, and to achieve that speed the pedal has to be pressed firmly to the floor. I drove the 575 miles in 10 hours, but with an hour off for gas and food stops I averaged about 65 mph--not bad, considering. It's been a long day on the highway and my right leg is sore.

Best--Michael
 
Well that sucks :( I know you'll get it sorted out, but I'm sure you were disappointed you couldn't finish the trip in the 100.
 
It was great waking up in my own bed with my two favorites: my girlfriend Terez and Daisy the dog. As Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, "There's No Place Like Home".

While the cause of the starting issue is yet to be identified, it's worth noting that all of the components which are, potentially, the source of the problem are of recent manufacture:

--The single 12 volt battery, the high-torque gear starter and the alternator are all "modern upgrades" from the original-equipment twin 6-volt batteries and the much-maligned Lucas starter and generator.
--The car's wiring harness was replaced within the last year a new one from British Wiring.
--All battery cables are of heavier gauge than original with plated terminals.
--The always-suspect kill switch was replaced years ago with a modern marine-grade iteration made by Hella.

The point is that while we may try to modernize our old classics to make them more reliable, we must still depend upon the quality of these upgrades' manufacture and installation, along with their condition.

Tomorrow I'll roll the Healey down the ramps and return the truck and trailer to the local U-Haul station. Then, in the comfort of my garage I'll begin to diagnose the starting issue in a low-pressure scenario, as opposed to in a hotel parking lot or in a cemetery, etc. I can remove, inspect and test the battery, starter and alternator, and replace or repair as need be. And I can examine all primary cables and connections for continuity, etc.

When I find the culprit(s) I'll return with a report. In the meantime stay tuned and thanks for your patience and attention.

Best--Michael Oritt
 
Due to the intermittent nature of the starting issue it is difficult to determine with certainty the cause but I still believe it relates to intermittent continuity between the positive battery cable and the leads to the starter and solenoid. As I believe I mentioned in an earlier message these cables come together at a Blue Sea power post (pictured). When in Pooler I attempted to clean up the leads as best I could with sandpaper and also went so far as to wipe them down with Coca Cola which supposedly has the ability to remove corrosion! On reconnecting all of the leads I still was not able to consistently get the car to start and after a couple of frustrating days I threw in the towel and trailered home.

I am in the process of replacing the post itself as well as the primary cables along with the lead to and connection at the starter and solenoid, etc. etc. Though the car (of course) started immediately once I arrived home there is obviously an issue somewhere! All of these cables have been on the car for probably ten years and just don't owe me much, so out they go and I will replace with good marine grade cables and terminals.

BTW the alternator checked out fine and the starter itself is next on the list to be scrutinized. I'm also taking the opportunity to replace the Diehard flooded 75/25 battery with an Optima Red Top AGM and having to remove the spare to check the electrolyte level will be a job I will not miss. More news as I know it.
PowerPost.jpg
 
John--

The connectors are secure to the cables.
 
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