Vince's Stuff: Second track outing: even fewer laps than last time, at Tremblant

When it comes to car stuff and track outings, I'm a pretty good planner. I hesitated to sign up for the BMW Club Tremblant HPDE last weekend because I wasn't sure if the gold Civic would be ready. After Calabogie, it needed the overheating issue fixed and the brake lines repaired. Also, I didn't have any mounted track tires. I decided to register 9 days before the event and got moving. I mounted 5 tires at Canadian Tire (although it took a whole week to get them back!), B.G. fixed the brake lines and replaced the rear brakes, and I changed the radiator myself (no issues there). I even had time to install the Acura leather steering wheel and vacuum the interior. I had my street tires for rain (which was in the forecast) and my track tires if it was dry,

My plan was to sleep in the car at the track to save money, and my tests showed that I could insert a single air mattress into the back of the car and sleep with my feet in the trunk. I managed to fit everything in the car and I left at 5am on Saturday. The drive was uneventful, and while waiting for the gate to open at the track, I even had time to change my tires. By the time the first session began, I had gone through my whole checklist and rolled onto the track. I was taking it easy, even though the track was dry, just to make sure all was in order... it was not. After two laps, the car was overheating again. I couldn't believe it! It had been fine all week and the radiator was new. I pulled in and checked the car over. There was coolant near the bottom of the rad, but no obvious leak. I refilled the car with water and went out again, and it overheated again. I pulled in and someone came and told me the car had been smoking on track. I had the person sit in the car and give gas while I watched, and sure enough, there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust... head gasket leak! I went to Canadian Tire to get some "leak stop" so I could make it home, and that was it as far as driving on the track.

Looking good but going nowhere!

Luckily, my two students were really good, so much so that I recommended them for graduation to the advanced group. I had a lovely dinner at Josée and Guy's camping area in a clearing in the middle of the track. They cooked us up a lovely seafood and sausage dinner. I managed to sleep in the car (not terribly well, but not too badly) and I was authorised to leave for home after lunch, as my students no longer required supervision. On the way home, the water temperature seemed stable, but it suddenly shot up near Mirabel. I stopped to add water, then had to stop again in Laval. It was creeping up again coming through Little Italy, but I made it home without another stop.

Will I be able to replace the head gasket before my summer trip in a month? It seems unlikely. I asked JS, Choo, B.G. and Pat Boyer if they had time, and none of them did. I guess the first part of the track season is over as soon as it began. At least I made it home in one piece, and I'm quite sure that all the effort and time will have been worthwhile, as the gold Civic is fun to drive on the street and should be fun on track as well. But I have to face it: the beautiful, brilliant plan to have a second, simpler, more reliable track car has failed... for now.

By the way, there are more and more GT3's and GT4's in the BMW Club... here is a sampling.