QuestionQUESTION: Ok Dan I'm the guy who drives the dodge stratus who had the battery problem. well the battery is good now for like a month now and i have mastered the technique. well i wouldnt say mastered but i mean really... i heel n toe smoothly from 5th gear to 2nd without any jerking. 1st gear will always jerk and in racing its unneccissary to use it after you launch anyways. but now that i've done all this now what? i have a skill on a law enforced road that is useless. i feel trapped. i'm still in this alone and i'm about to hit 18 in 3 weeks. i dont have money like i should. i dont know what to do now
ANSWER: Hello again !!
I think you should keep practicing, and join Sports Car club of America, and get involved in racing even if you are a flag man on a corner, or fire crew. There are literally dozens of jobs in race administration. It's all volunteer work, but once you are proficient and licensed, you will be offered oppertunities to work pro races. A young lady race driver I know goes each year to France and works the most famous road race in the world the LeMans 24 hour endurance race. There are of course, hundreds of other opportunities here in the US and Canada.
So to Join SCCA, go to << www.scca.org >> and click on the region locator for your area. Iti's $75 for a years membership and that will get you started.
Now to the money problem. Perhaps a career counselor is what you need. Certainly if you aren't in school, you should GET there- - - 18 is too young to quit learning. That's where you'll find career counselors and good advice, And that is not something I'm good at. I only know that in todays economy, that without a college degree of some kind, you will never have enough money to go racing the way you would like to. I'd suggest computer stuff for starters, but go after something you LIKE , that's far more important.
About all the advice I can offer- - -I wish you good luck !!
Dan Liddy
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QUESTION: Well i was not going to do the long college thing for about 8 years. i was going to take the police exam in november 2010 when i am 19 going on 20. when i pass and go to the police achademy i start off at 36k a year (huge benefits of course) then after i go through all the training it jumps up to 52k a year. then year by year i go up for my experience. I also study stocks and bonds really hard because i think once they decide to go back up (if they do) i can take a very large advantage of this. idk hopefully i will make enough money. Is being a police officer a great idea? is that enough money? also now that i'm almost out of high school i have money in the bank for a new car. i wanna know what kind of used car will be great to start with to hit the track? only thing is that i'm picky on the drivetrain. anything but front wheel drive. Because if i'm correct a Front wheel drivetrain uses up useful room under the hood for tuning. and i would love to get my hands on a flow bench
ANSWER: Hello again James:
The 36 K you mentioned as a starting policeman is OK but not earth shattering, the good news is that you have to do something either very embarasing or criminal to get fired. The 52 K in a year is better, but small potatos around a race car. On the other side of that argument is my friend Charlie who went from patrol deputy to special agent in the Florida Depaprtment of Law Enforcement. The "college boy cops" that investigate complicated frauds and bigger drug deals. He retired in his early fifties, and is doing quite well. It happens though that his wife is a retired attorney. I'm sure that makes a BIG difference.
I'm really not qualified to give you any more career advice.
As far as used cars go, you might be better off to join SCCA like I suggested, find out what people are racing on a budget in your area, and perhaps buy a used race cr. Trying to build one is a very major project that costs a young fortune. It also takes way more mechanical knowledge and fabrication experience than you will have at your age. For the street you can learn the heal toe thing in a front driver, and many people race Hondas and VW's successfully these days. I too prefer the rear drive, but they are getting scarce.
A flow bench is simply WAY beyond your experience level at this time, if you get a chance, take welding lessons at the local vocational school.
Dan
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QUESTION: Thanks Dan you always have the right advice for me. And about the flow bench thing i thought that was funny how u say it was way beyond my experience. i was thinking of taking welding classes at boces. i dont know if boces nation wide but its around here. they do 6 week courses for some money. i dont remember how much it cost but its like maybe 150 bucks. but i would like to make a few short cuts on your advice but i did stuff like that before thats not on this subject and it never worked out. i'll just listen to what you have to say. thats enough from me for a while. i will get back to you in several weeks with a new update on what i'm doing. I really look up to you.
AnswerOK, a flow bench is a high tech piece of equipment for testing the individual flow capacities of each intake and exhaust port in a cylinder head. The whole area of porting and "flowing " is a black art similar to witchcraft and best left to the people with experience. Your machine shop ( choose a race engine shop) is the best place to take that kind of thing.
Also, at least in SCCA, it's quite likely that you'll be racing in a limited preperation class, and porting , polishing and all could be prohibited.
Welding is a different matter. You can buy a used arc welder for around $100.00 but hold out for one that welds on both a/c and d/c - - -most d/c welding is easier, prettier and much better. Plus a d/c welder can be used as the power source for a MIG (wire feed) welder with a few accessories. And ultimately can also use attachements for TIG welding which allows you to do really neat looking stuff with aluminum. Start with the arc welding first, learn that well including "verticle up" and "overhead". Once you've mastered that, you're ready to move to the next higher tech processes.
When I was your age I was just learning the principals of engine building, and took work at shops and garages specializing in sports car work. After a couple of years, I developed enough skill that I was able to command full pay for a mechanic, I was still in school at the time. But at one time, I overhauled and rebuilt a motor for a friend . It was a 1957 MG TF-1500 . A beautiful little 1500 cc Brit sports car of the era . It took a while to assemble all the parts and get the thing just right . but I learned a few months ago that that car still has the same owner and the SAME MOTOR I built for him in 1960 !! Still running strong !
So all this racing stuff takes time. You've persevered , learned the heel/toe business, bet yerself ANY stick shift car, front or rear drive and start pracing being SMOOTH> Get one of the driving instruction books I've mentioned, and join the SCCA, You'll see your learning curve take a giant leap upward !!
Dan
