Racing the Clock Again: Finishing the engine install & Getting the #86 Car Ready for CMP

Once again, as we approach another race weekend, we are racing to get the car ready to…well…race. At this point, this is less of a scheduling problem and more of a team tradition. Some race teams spend the week before an event doing things like “final checks” and “fine-tuning.” We seem to prefer the far more immersive experience of solving mechanical problems in real time while covered in grease, staring into the engine bay like it owes us money, and watching the clock count down closer to the tech inspection.

The latest round of progress has been substantial, even if it did not happen in anything resembling a straight line. We installed the 2-quart Canton Racing Accusump and the oil cooler from JEGS, which sounds simple until you actually try to put them into a race car that has already made it clear it does not care about your plans. Naturally, that meant fabricating a mount, because apparently nothing on this build is allowed to arrive at the easy part without first demanding an arts-and-crafts project. So, thank you to Canton Racing and JEGS for the parts, and an additional thank you to Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Advance Auto Parts for providing the plumbing pieces, hoses, and assorted hardware that allowed us to convert “a pile of parts” into something that might actually save the engine.

Speaking of saving the engine, in our burning desire to avoid another K24 swap, on our quest for oil control, we decided it was time for baffles. We ordered baffles for the K24. They didn’t fit. We ordered a second set, because optimism is a chronic condition around here. Those also didn’t fit. At that point, we stopped asking the universe for permission and made our own. Huge credit goes to KPower for patiently entertaining technical questions long enough for us to figure out what needed to happen for the RBB3. Also deserving of recognition is Angry Orchard, whose repurposed cardboard became the foundation of our very sophisticated CAD process: Cardboard Assisted Design. It may not be how major manufacturers do it, but major manufacturers also aren’t trying to make race-ready miracles happen in a small garage or a gravel driveway.

Next came the big moment: the RBB3 finally went into the #86 car. This was one of those moments that feels triumphant right up until you remember the car is still a collection of unfinished tasks wearing the shape of a race car.

Yeah, the engine is in.

Yes, that matters.

No, that does not mean we are done.

We still have to sort out the gauges, clean up some wiring, and make sure the Accusump is properly charged. But the important thing is that the engine is finally home, the car looks dramatically more serious, and the dream of making CMP under our own power has advanced from theoretical to probable.

Of course, the car wasn’t content to let us enjoy that progress without adding a few extra challenges. We had to customize the U.S.-spec power steering line to work with the JDM power steering pump, because a simple installation would have been suspicious and out of character for this build. So, thanks again to Advance Auto Parts for the fresh line that became custom fabrication material the second it crossed the garage threshold. And because the mechanical nonsense quota had not yet been met, we also ended up potting a solenoid with bits of fuel line, a leftover cap, and JB Weld…so far so good. The last bit of memorable repurposing involved repurposing a flashlight O-ring for the O-ring on the transmission shaft.

This is endurance racing at this level. It is not polished. It is not glamorous. It is rarely efficient. But it is deeply satisfying in the specific, slightly unhinged way that comes from solving one problem after another with a mixture of technical skill, stubbornness, and increasingly creative use of whatever is lying around the garage. The #86 car is getting closer. The RBB3 is in. The oiling system is better. The custom pieces are custom because they had to be, and even though there are still loose ends to tie up before race weekend, CMP is now close enough to feel real.

Whether the car is fully ready or merely ready enough, CMP, here we come.