With aesthetics in play, it was time to drive! Shenandoah is an absolutely breathtaking place. The track is perfectly situated in a valley of mountains, and you are surrounded by untouched scenery. Everything is green, and makes the entire driving experience that much more serene. When you first pull in, the road is straight and all you can see is a steep mountain range and the morning fog.
Everything felt great, nothing broke after beating on it for the entire day. This was the true test of the headgasket job! I was able to dampen the overheating by looping the heater hoses (didn't have heat) and clipping the small valve on the thermostat to facilitate bleeding. It's a little taboo, but helped.
Things were going a little too well?. Finally during the Drift Valley/US Drift combo event I had a brusque malfunction. The car shut off on me in the infield and it was low on power for the rest of the day (more than usual). The battery light also came on. After a voltage test, the alternator failed and was no longer charging the battery. Even despite these issues, I kept driving. My head was in the wrong place, and I was frustrated. In order to compensate for the lack of power, I had to manji halfway through the bank to keep the wheels spinning; an abysmal idea. I threw the car too hard and I grazed the wall. The damage wasnt too bad, I was able to pound most it out with a hammer and a 2x4. The overfender effectively rebounded back into place, who would have thought!?
The entire event put me in a fairly somber mood, but I had to keep trudging on. There were other events looming near. I distracted myself by working on the equips, I refinished one of the center caps and the 5.5″ inner barrels came in from Apt5 wheels. I still had to wait on the outers to come in but it was enjoyable figuring out the wheel math to get the perfect tsuda-ichi fitment!
