Hi all,
Well there is good news and there is bad news.
The good news is we have cured the bearing problems we had last year. We
changed two inserts after the first run and five runs later all eight still
had the flash coating on them. We are so gun shy we pulled the pan and
checked the rods after each run. After six runs the engine is clean dry and
all in one piece.
The bad news is we destroyed both transmissions, another first for us.
The week went like this:
Saturday
First run, NASCAR tires 28" dia. (no I still haven't given up), 229 in mile
3, Russ said he had to feather it all three miles, no traction and really
squirrelly.
Sunday
First run, 8.00-18 Indy tires 31" dia, turn out, no drive in high gear.
Trans is fried. Crew thinks there may have been some brain fade re checking
the fluid level (car on stands).
Second run, same tires, 237 in mile three, Russ says his foot was flat on
the floor all the way. Got some oil on driver so we pull the blower and
manifold to check the valley gasket. Couldn't see where the oil was coming
from so we re sealed everything. We found a leak between the adapter plate
for the PSI and the manifold (that's why the manifold pressure is down). I
engineer a fix by adding more bolts attaching the plate to the manifold.
Before this it was just trapped between the blower and manifold with no
dedicated attach bolts just the eight blower hold down bolts. It also gets
new O rings. Plugs look fat but since we expect more manifold pressure we
leave it alone.
Monday
Jim the desert rat passes out at breakfast. The clinic at Wendover can't
find a cause so they transported me to Salt Lake. I Told the guys to stay in
Wendover and run the car but they followed the ambulance to SLC. After a
batch of tests rule out heart attack, blood clot and epilepsy the doctor
says the only thing left is dehydration. I thought I was drinking plenty of
water but I guess not. They want me to stay in SLC overnight in case I pass
out again so Mary and I do. No mater what I say the crew says they won't run
till I get back (a bunch of hard heads, but great people).
Tuesday
Mary and I get back to Wendover on the gamblers special bus (a hoot if there
ever was one, bingo for entertainment and Oreo's and soda for a brunch) at
11 AM, we are back on the salt about noon,
First run, WFO all three miles, 237 again, engine is dry and sill rich.
Second run, 9.00-18 MT LSR tires 26" dia. 238 in mile three, had to feather
it all three miles, no traction but not squirrelly. I am really tired and
Mary wants me to get some rest so we leave early so as to be able to start
early tomorrow.
Wednesday
First run, Added about 700 pounds of lead to the car, lets see it turn that
tire now. Turn out at mile and half. Russ says it went like a striped ass
bear, 7,500 in low not slipping the tires, shifted to high and the trans
blew the filler tube out and covered him with oil. Trans has metal flakes in
the pan so our week is over.
Haven't heard the post mortem on the trans.'s yet but we probably will do
away with the torque converter and put in a direct coupler and a push bar.
Not a great week but we went faster than we have since coming out of
retirement in 1998, had a great time (except for Monday) and for the first
time the motor isn't junk. Russ's wife Sherrie came along for her first time
at the salt. She had been apprehensive about Russ driving but once she saw a
spin and the fact that there were no walls to hit a la NASCAR she had a
great time.
And again let's hear the chorus "wait till next year"
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