quick autocross inspection question

[GriffZero]

I'm going autocross racing for my first time this sunday. My radiator on my car is missing one of the pegs on the top (apparently it snapped off... I'm not sure, the previous owner did it), so it isn't held in as good as it could be. If you push the top of it with your hand it slides out fairly easily. Not to the point that it falls out, but you can move it. So, my question is will they check this when they inspect the car at autocross, or am I worrying for nothing?

 

[logic]

Tech with the two clubs I've raced with has involved specific checks for the wheels, pedal pressures, and brake fluids. However, if something obvious pops out at them, they'll call you on it; for example, a friend of mine didn't have a cover for one of his battery terminals, and while they might not have been specifically checking that stuff, they noticed it and told him to cover it somehow.

Basically, if you think your car isn't in the shape it should be, fix it before going and save yourself and tech a bit of time and trouble. Consider the amount of fluid that would end up on-course if your radiator wound up damaged, and consider how upset your other competitors would be (and how upset you'd be in that situation).

 

[GriffZero]

Yeah, that's a good point. I can't figure out how to fix it though. I was thinking about just replacing it with a fluiddyne radiator from RRE (it's really old and just seems brittle after all). This pains me because I had to unregister from autocross a few weeks ago because I had a brake fluid leak and now this. I am sad. However, better safe then sorry! Having my car fall apart would be very very bad.

Another question (possibly a dumb one): Does autocross take place in the rain? If not, then I may be in luck since it is supposed to rain here this weekend.

 

[logic]

It can depend on the club; one club around here will run anytime, rain or shine, but they're a little crazy. Most clubs will generally stop the even with standing water on course, but a little sprinkle won't stop them.

 

[GriffZero]

Thanks for the help logic! I ended up just getting a fluidyne radiator and replaced the old one. Man, I'm glad I did, that old radiator was on it's last legs. It was practically falling out. The new fluidyne cools soooo much better too! My temp guage no longer fluctuates all over.