Going LeMons racing in a 6GC! Options

[slavie]

Hey ya'all!

A series of questionable decisions have led me to getting accepted to my first LeMons race coming up at Thompson, CT in August. Not much time left, lots to do.
If anybody is seriously interested, I'm still looking for the 4th driver. Hit me up.

The car came from 6gc community - I picked up Rymaster's 96 GT (his FS thread)
Car has an issue with the gearbox - makes really funny noises. I suspect something off with the diff. Drivetrain is already out of the car, gearbox separated, waiting for me to get wrenching on.

Cage installation is lined up for a week from now.
Need to completely redo the brakes - rebuild rears, replace fronts with dual-piston calipers, new rotors and pads.
Replace wheel bearings as a precaution.
Figure out what tires I'll use.
Finally, all the safety bs - kill switch is a must, and I'd like to plumb fire extinguisher and cool suit in if funds and time allows. If not, hand held extinguisher and sweaty balls will have to do.
Tons more crap I'm sure will come up.

Interior is getting completely gutted, so feel free to inquire if you need parts (I'll be posting a FS thread, will put the link in here). Any money I make back on selling parts I can use towards "performance mods", and I'm looking to get some decent lowering springs (no thanks to noname crap). If you have a set of such springs collecting dust - talk to me.

If you've done LeMons before and have suggestions, fire away.

[slavie]

The LeMons Celica finished a LeMons race!!! Like, without blowing the engine or loosing any other bits. The worst problem we had was we ran out of brake pad - used up 1.5 sets of EBC Yellows in the back, and about a set in the front. I did not have any more spare rears, so we had to baby it the last few hours with the brake pad squealers fully engaged.

Finished 33/79 overall, 16/46 in our class B. 419 laps x 1.7mi.

Tires got chewed up pretty good, though looks like they'll last another race. 300TW Summer Tire. Thing is, even with this tires we could not get the brake pads to stay cool enough (the increased pad wear was due to pads overheating), so 200tw tires are out of question until I can sort out the brakes. Will try brake cooling ducts first, see how much it helps.


So what was the secret to finishing the race without overheating? Pressure tested the cooling system with air, found that the radiator was leaking where the steel auto trans cooler hookup ports go into the plastic rad cover, and heater hoses (engine to firewall) were both seeping. All 3 replaced, system holds pressure.
Now onto the radiator cap. The stock cap is rated for 0.9 bar, or about 13psi, which is in theory good for water boiling temp of 245F. In reality, the cap lets loose a little earlier than that, esp if it's older. In my testing with radiator cap tester, the cap could only be relied on to hold about 9psi, so 235F boiling temp. Short on time, I got the cap from a MkIV Supra, which is same as Celica but stock holds 1.1bar pressure, or 16psi. That one in my testing held about 13psi steady. There are aftermarket "performance" 1.3bar caps our there, but I didn't have time to order one for the race. 1.1bar Supra cap served me well.