Trailered for Primm
Final work on the car Thursday included mounting springs to hold the pumper hoses and moving the pumper switch from the unit (behind the co-driver) to the dashboard. Creech and Bob, towing the soon-to-be-rebadged 1107, should have arrived at Primm sometime around 2 a.m. Everyone else is headed out today.
I’ll be providing updates here and on Twitter (@desertdingo ) throughout the weekend. First race is just after 11 a.m. Pacific time Saturday.
Bob vs. the engine
This weekend belonged to Bob, Creech, and Shawn. The whole weekend.
They installed the rebuilt transmission from Bradford Racing in Prunedale. On Saturday they drove nearly two hours to Hollister Hills SVRA for a shakedown test. The video says it all. Drive a couple hundred yards, stop. Check the transmission. Drive another couple hundred yards. Stop. Repeat. It kept popping out of second gear.
They packed it up after just one run and headed back to Bradford’s place. He drove it. It still popped out. The team trailered the car back to Creech’s and Bob dropped the engine and tranny in a record 75 minutes. They drove it back to Bradford’s and he committed to rebuilding it overnight.
Creech picked it up this morning and Bob worked his magic to get it re-installed. The engine, coaxed into place by Bob, Creech and me (while Shawn made a rocket run for transmission fluid), went in like buttah. (Bob had his own description for how smoothly it went).
Creech and Bob took it for a test drive just as it started to sprinkle. No joy. Still popping out of second gear. It really started to rain as we loaded 1102 onto the trailer. An hour drive to Prunedale. Steve says he’ll deliver us a working transmission, whatever it takes.
The team starts heading out for Vegas and the Battle at Primm on Thursday. A handful of photos here…
Dave Dixon, who grooved our tires and has an alcohol-fueled dune buggy.
The goal was to do a shakedown cruise at Hollister Hills today in prep for the Battle at Primm outside Vegas next weekend.
It didn’t quite work out that way.
Bob and Richard made one run and couldn’t keep the car in second gear. They trailered 1102 and made a beeline to Bradford Racing in Prunedale. A quick test drive indicated a possible tranny rebuild is in order. Rich, Shawn, Bob and Creech headed back to Creech’s to drop the engine and transmission and speed it back to Bradford.
On the way back through Felton, Dave Dixon, who grooved our front tires for the Baja 1000, saw everyone and joined the effort. He’s headed to his place to grab an ATV jack to help drop the engine. I suspect he’s also ordering food for folks, who’ve been wrenching or driving for the better part of the day.
Shawn is providing updated via phone and SMS.
That’ll buff right out…
Two weeks to Primm and we’re buttoning the car up. We re-attached the hammered out fenders, installed the rear skid plate, adjusted the shifter and clutch and installed the rear bumper.
Took it for a run around the neighborhood and decided some more teesting is in order, so we’ll out to Hollister Hills next Saturday for a shakedown cruise. Sunday the fenders get painted. Then on to Vegas.
Photos of today’s work here…
It’s three weeks to Battle at Primm and we’re working like crazy to get the car ready. Scott, Bob, Richard, Cary, Skid, Shawn and I showed up at Creech’s mountaintop retreat today. We installed the transmission, then the engine, then got the electrical and hoses connected, put in a new steering damper and fired her up. Bob also had his heart set on a front end alignment before terrorizing the neighborhood. Cary and Shawn worked on some new fenders we got courtesy of Bradford Racing in Prunedale.
Rather than trash those perfectly good fenders during the gold rush start of 14 Stock Bugs at Primm, we’re opting to hammer out and rattle can paint our existing fenders.