Hey... Put a lid on it, will ya!

Now not only does Lucky have a hood but now he has hood pins as well. Do you have any idea how painful it is to take a drill to a perfectly brand new hood and hope like heck your measurements are dead on? Talk about "pucker power."

After the hood was on I really wanted to take the car for a spin but since the motor wasn't back yet we had to grab the first thing we could find. You know what they say, When in Rome do as the Romans do but since we're headed for Mexico....

Landslide Buries Bus in Mexico

Today there was a tragic accident when a busload of at least 40 passengers was buried by a landslide which resulted in the deaths of over 26 passengers so far. The bus was headed for Tehuacan which is where we stop for the first night of this years La Carrera Panamericana.

Soldiers and rescue workers recovered 26 bodies from the bus but held out little hope of finding survivors. Frantically digging through tons of earth and rock, hundreds of soldiers and rescue workers braved threats of additional slides to pull victims from the bus which was believed to be carrying between 40 and 60 passengers. The state's chief of ambulance services told the Televisa television network that "All are dead," but did not explain how he knew that. He said workers had only gained access to a small section of the bus. One official said, "All the mountains are risky. ... It's nature."

Authorities are considering dynamiting the rest of the mountain once rescue efforts end to avoid future landslides, saying its "current condition is a great risk."
Heavy rainfall across Mexico this week has triggered flooding and landslides that killed several people.

Update; So far, all but two of the 32 victims -- aged 6 to 48 -- have been identified, Puebla's state government said.


California's Best Racing Team would like to offer our sincere condolences to those families who lost loved ones in this terrible accident.

Just a little trim on the top please.

Today I finished installing the upper spring perches with full bearing movement which also allowed me to finish installing the springs and Bilstein racing shocks. After they were installed I installed all new tyrod ends, drag link, power steering ram and control valve. I also installed the "Quick Steering Idler and Pitman Arm" designed specifically for the 1965 GT350 R model Shelbys. This combined with the Flaming River quick ratio steering gear box and the TCP power steering pump system to be installed later will give the ultimate control that can be found on any Mustang. For years I ran Shelbys and Mustangs minus power steering and for the most part felt comfortable with it. But when you are intimately involved with a handful of car while dealing with an unexpected slippery road let alone a amorous burro it pays to be "quick" on the wheel and that's exactly what Lucky will have.

I also found time to finalize the installation of the adjustable proportioning valve lines and re-routing as well. Last but not least we installed the small bit of door trim chrome moulding. As my wife would say, "Not to be too overpowering but just enough to make a statement." LOL.

What's Red, White & just Blue your doors off?

TEAM CALIFORNIA'S BEST Race Team would like to take time to wish everyone a wonderful Fourth Of July and to express our sincere heart-felt thank you to all our men and women in the service who are fighting so that we can enjoy all that we do. We pray that they will all come home soon so they can see and enjoy all that they are fighting for. God's Speed each and everyone of you.

Only 40 days until testing

But who's counting?

Today I worked on fine tuning and some re-routing of some brake lines and began installing the adjustable proportioning valve for the rear brakes next to the driver's seat. I also finished the final adjustments and fastening of the front fenders. Then I installed some firewall boot's for the throttle pedal assembly and the clutch rod linkage as well as the steering column support brackets.

Before I bolted the proportioning valve in place I temporarily installed the driver's seat so that I could make sure it was in an easy to access spot. I must say, it sure made me happy to see what it feels like to sit behind the wheel and I realized it really is coming together nicely. I couldn't have done it without the help of my crew, my son-in-law Anthony and my navigator Jon.. Thanks guys.

Here is wishing everyone a wonderful Independence Day.

Bugging Out

Never being one to overlook using anything the latest technology has to offer, today I was thinking about any advantages that may be found in the F16. But as soon as I told Jon that a few missiles might be helpful in eliminating competition then he began putting in his two-cents as to a special seat requirement he had for the navigators seat. Remember that old saying.... Give a man an inch of rope and he'll want a yard. Well, so much for going to the Naval Wholesale Yard.

Hey the shed is missing!

Anyone like myself who has been a regular at Infineon Raceway or should I saw Sears Point, over the last 40 years can tell you there have been some major changes, most of them over the most recent 10 years. One such change almost caused me to fall out of the car this weekend. As we drove around turn 11 someone said, "Hey, the old shed is missing!" "The Shed" as it has been called for many years was nothing more than an old tin building. To call it nothing more than an old tin building is like calling Prince William and Harry's grandmother just another grandma. Boy, if that building could talk... How ironic, it was in that very building that Bob Bondurant helped design the front suspension of the GT350 R Model for Carroll Shelby. It was in that very building that Bob Boudurant and I got into my personal Shelby to go take a drive around the track as we discussed me coming to work for him as a shooting instructor. It was in front of that very building where I first met Paul Newman and in fact at that time Paul used it to store his stable of race cars since he practiced there on a regular basis. Seeing nothing there was like learning an old friend had left us.

Jon, Will and I spent a great weekend at Infineon Raceway racing, eating, enjoying friends and some outstanding weather so I was rested and ready to get a few things done on Lucky today.

One of the items on today's agenda was installing the new racing mirrors on each door. Then I installed a road racing mirror like the kind used on the NASCAR cars that sits high in the door jam. I also removed the vent windows like the Shelbys had to not only lighten things up but more importantly to gain better visibility for the mirrors between the window nets and the door jam. And of course I installed a great convex mirror across the upper roll bar to see just about everything a driver could ever wish to see, including all those other headlights getting smaller and smaller.

After all the mirrors were properly installed, Anthony my son-in-law, helped me trim and install the special 20 pound weight saving rear window that only came in Shelby GT350 R Models. One of the special features for the 1965 GT350 R-Model was the now recognizable R model rear Plexiglas window which was designed by Peter Brock one of Shelby's top designers and Chief instructor at the Carroll Shelby Driving School. It was unique with a 1-inch space at the top which acted as a duct to remove air accumulating inside the car and introducing it as a layer of air over the rear window at speeds. This created what is known as a "Laminar flow" a principal that added an extra 5 horsepower to the car's top speed.