We are a GO!!

We have gotten the GO signal from Mission Control, and all is well. The final report came in on the 8th that Rick was cleared to do anything and everything his heart desired, and that left us with just five days to get everything in order. We had been anticipating this would be the case, but nothing was for sure. The track day at Thunderhill Raceway was uneventful, read successful, with nothing breaking, except for a small oil leak that was repaired. The trailer was another matter, it needed new brakes and the spring shackles were shot and had to be replaced, naturally this was all discovered the night before we were to leave, so some midnight candles were burnt.
That all being taken care of, we were off at 3:30 am on the 14th, headed to Phoenix for the first stop. The excitement was only starting. Somewhere around where freeway 580 turns into Highway 5 south, Rich mentioned that he felt some kind of bump when he let off the gas petal, my reply was it probably was the cruise control!? Whatever! As we then stopped to change drivers, we checked the straps holding the car to the trailer, and found the two in back unhooked and one in front slack. The straps in back were also holding down a couple of new spare tires and rims, one was still on the trailer the other may still be rolling along on the Richmond Bridge somewhere. With that little problem solved, it was 900 miles to Casa Grande, Arizona where we spent the night. Next day on to beautiful Alpine, Texas, where we discovered the phenomenon of the Lights of Marfa! Next time you travel through West Texas, do not miss this sight, seriously weird! Today is the 16th of October, and I'm writing this from Convoy Headquarters in Laredo, Texas. We will be going to the border in a few hours to see about getting out visas and car permits. There has been some disturbing talk that things will not go smoothly because of the problems Mexican truckers have had getting into the United States. Gerie Bledsoe has been on the phone all afternoon trying to remedy this, we'll soon see if his efforts pay off.
Sorry there are no pictures to post on the blog, but you just can't remember everything, like the cord for the camera. We'll try and keep the reports coming from ol' Mexico as the days go on, until then, hasta luego!
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Hurry up and wait

With about 22 days left until joining the convoy, we are in a holding pattern. Rick is feeling much better, almost 100%, but until he has his last MRI and chat with the doctors on October 8th, nothing is certain. The plan at the moment is to GO, and with HANS devices, driving suits and video cameras being purchased, things are moving in that direction. But nothing will be certain until the next visit at the hospital.

What is certain is that Gerie Bledsoe's Durango Deuce 2 has a new motor and is almost ready for some track time. A few more modifications are due before the Deuce is set loose. Anonymous inside sources say the car is fast and it could do some real damage in Historic C Class.

As for the 2002, it's debut will be a track day in early October at Thunder Hill, and until the next doctors appointment, we'll continue to with plans to meet in Laredo.

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Yikes!! You scared the Hell out of us!

The day after the the trip to Monterey, Rick woke up not feeling good with a bad headache. As the week progressed it didn't get better, and on Friday his wife Claudia took him to the Emergency Room, where it was determined that he might have a brain aneurysm. Anyone who has looked into this condition knows that it's very serious with not many favorable outcomes. After tests at UCSF, it was most fortunately concluded that a blood vessel had broken and had healed itself, and that had caused the bleeding. Not that this cause for celebration, but the danger seems to have passed.


It's unfortunate, but our bid to run in the California Melee will not happen this year. At this point, Rick is feeling much better and will now be slowly making his way back into work, and with approximately 45 days until it's time to leave and meet the convoy, there's some major decisions to be made about the race. Does Rick carry on with "business as usual", and drive the Carrera with his son James? Does his other son Matthew take over driving duties, and Rick becomes the crew chief? With the entry fee paid, will the race organizers give a refund or roll it over onto next year? Does Frank, in the other car, take over Ricks spot? There are many scenario combinations possible, and we'll soon see which one emerges. At this point, we're just very happy to have choices.

There's also good news in that Gerie Bledsoe's engine has arrived and is ready to be installed,... almost. There is a few miscellaneous parts needed, like a transmission, to complete the job. This should be appearing any day, so a couple break-in laps around the track are still possible. The BMW still needs attention, with doors to be hung, a hood to be fitted, and road testing to be thought about. All in all, things are as they should be.

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California Melee... did I say Mille?

Our leaving to meet the Coyote Convoy in Laredo, Texas is now about sixty days out and the 2002 is ready to start road testing. The wiring has been finished and the engine has been started for the first time. The initial start of a 4 cylinder does not have the same impact as that of a V8, but is satisfying in knowing that it runs, so far so good.

Still no word on whether the other 2002 will be going to the Carrera, and the engine builder, Joe, has not surfaced yet with a motor for the Durango Deuce. That gives the shop time to finish Rick's car, adding the seat belts, seats, doors and hood.
Some track days are in order to get Rick back in shape to advance his high speed driving habits, but also the car needs a workout too. We've decided to try and get into The California Melee, which is not The California Mille. The Melee is a 750 mile, 3 day romp through some of Northern California's most beautiful back roads, on the cheap, as they say. It's a fun event and would be a great way to shake out any bugs the car might have.

Check out http://www.californiamelee.com/ for more information.

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We also made a trip south this last weekend to see the Monterey Historic races. Porsche was the featured car at this years event, and there were a couple that had some La Carrera Panamericana history. The 550 Spyder was not originally a hardtop, but was being refurbished as one by Jerry Steinfeld. We were surprised not to see any 2002's racing at all. Afterwards we stopped at Tarpy's Roadhouse for a La Carrera gathering, mostly to

grab a copy of Gary Faules DVD on the 2007 race. It's a great story on the history of the race and of the building of his Mustang, and what it takes to make it to the finish line. Personally, I thought it could have had a few more shots of a red Chevelle, but that's just me. Wonderful job to all who worked on it, it's a beauty Gary! Now we'll wait and see if we get into the Melee for some road testing and keep checking things off our lists.

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Busy, busy, busy...

Things are busy around the shop these days. There has been weddings for two of the shop techs, a death of an old valued customer, a shoulder operation for one one of Rick's sons, a retirement to become a stay at home dad for John, who ran the front office, and some well deserved vacation time for Rick and his family. Out in the shop, things have also been lively, the race car is coming along, an emergency rebuild for a crashed BMW Spec E30 racer, and a new engine for the Durango Deuce 2, Gerie Bledsoe's Chevy Nova. The engine is being built by Joe, who did the one for our Chevelle. At that time he was mostly a Chevy guy, but since then he's been working for Dembesti Motorsports in Windsor, CA, who specialize in Carroll Shelby products, to say the least!

Once Gerie's car is finished, the 2002 will come back into focus and with only about 75 days until we leave, the pace should quicken.

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Back to Business

It's now the middle of June and it's time to get back to work from a short sabbatical with the blog. The Chihuahua race has passed and the boys had a decent finish considering the car had almost zero testing. There were a couple mechanical problems, but nothing that wasn't solved, or at least subdued. The biggest problem was lack of horse power, due to the stock cylinder head that had to be used, as the racing head had been sent wrong. That problem has been resolved
and these beauties should be putting out somewhere between 185 to 200 HP for the La Carrera.



As you can see in these pictures, the second 2002 has been painted and is progressing through the building stage. The brakes, brake lines, suspension, fuel tank and lines are in. All the other main components, except the engine, are ready to be installed. The car should be ready for some road tests within a couple of weeks.

One of the more exciting things to have happened this summer is have a film crew sniffing around, talking about doing a piece for the History Channel. Here's a picture of Rick getting interviewed our man Jeremy. If their funding comes through, there could be some interesting camera angles from the cockpit,... everybody wave to the helicopter.

At this point, there is some question as to if both cars are going on the make the trip to Huatulco. The car that went to Chihuahua is in the "definite maybe" state, and a decision will have to be made soon so plans can be made.
There are 121 days till the start of the race, and about 112 until we leave....it's time to get busy!

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Adios amigos, buena suerte!

Today it's Monday, March 23rd, 2009, the car is in the trailer and ready to go... more or less. It's been a scramble to get things wrapped up to this point. The engine was started on Saturday and the car was first driven on Sunday, so everything is fresh and untested, to say the least.

The motor is not the version Rick foresaw, the cylinder head that came back was not compatible with the pistons, so a stock head had to be used instead. The upside is that the car ran well when driven on it's three mile break-in. Everything seems working, but there are many things yet to be tweaked, too much to mention, which should make for some interesting stories by the enthusiastic rookie crew. There's not much else to tell at this point, just the hope that all goes well for the car and drivers. Hasta luego amigos.

 

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