After the long season of Time Attack the Great Danton is in need of a lot of attention. The car pretty much limped home after the last round at Monza; the turbo is shot, the frame needs some work and the ball joints are done. To be honest it was all timed quite perfectly as the turbo started drooping boost on the last 2 laps of competition this year. The car is now back in the garage for the winter of work ahead.
Now its time for a good overhaul with the engine being the main priority. As the mileage on it is quite high I’ve decided to open it up and redo all the major items like bearings and gaskets, and then upgrade some of the internals to handle the added power that will come from the Garrett GT2871R turbo; pistons and conrods.
So far I’ve just been getting everything ready to pull the engine out so the rebuild can start. The only things left to do now are disconnect drivetrain items and then the SR20DET can be removed. I’m so happy the AC and brackets are now out; this thing weighs a ton and I should have done it sooner. Luckily with the engine out I’ll be able to do a better job at removing all the plumbing too.
Then there’s the old T28 turbo, which I think is the original unit, that is completely shot. The bushings have gone and there is some serious play on the main shaft. I’m surprised it’s still in one piece.
So the goals for this downtime are to upgrade the power and service some of the chassis items. With the classes in the Time Attack Italia championship getting a bit of restructuring next year I am going to need a lot more power to be competitive. 400hp should be very competitive but I will likely start out with around 340hp then work up to around 400hp through the course of the year.
The rest of the work will be restoring some of the aged parts of the frame, servicing important areas and then adding some additional aero. Some of the cars in the new class that I’ll be in (2WD Club Pro 3) have some serious aero packages and I feel like I will need something to minimise the difference. Splitter and GT wing most likely.