The pressure is on

Yesterday the roll bar padding and window nets were installed and we made some adjustments to the clutch linkage. The padding and window nets look great but I am not happy with the way the clutch is operating at all and I only have today and tomorrow to get it sorted out or else we will not be able to test this weekend.

And by the way, Happy Birthday To Me!

I never wanted to be President

Yesterday Lucky went back to IMPACT ENGINEERING to get his roll bar padding installed except this time he didn't go on a trailer. I actually drove the car about 15 miles one way in rush hour traffic while some heads turned wondering what all the noise was and others just wanted to see the car. While I was there I did some work on the clutch rods and adjusted the head lights and then naturally after the lights were adjusted I had to go for a test drive to make sure they were adjusted correctly.

When I was a boy I remember many times it was a common question to be asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" A very common response was "I want to be a fireman." Or "I want to be President." To tell the truth I never wanted to be either one but I did always dream of racing cars. As a young boy who grew up in the late 50's and early 60's I used to watch many of the great drivers who's names are still as famous to day as they were back then. And don't forget some of the most exciting series ever ran were popular then. There was the Can Am and the Trans Am series and the Grand Prix series, the World Championships, 24 Hours of Lemans. On a side note, it's important to remember all those great teams and drivers from that era accomplished all these amazing endeavors on tires that by todays standards wouldn't even be safe on the family sedan.

Like all other boys I enjoyed watching various type of racing. There was the drags, Baja and Dakar desert racing, NASCAR and even for a while the sport of "Bog" racing in the Florida Everglade swamps was a popular sport sponsored by TIMEX Corporation. But the racing that really got me excited was most forms of road racing. Road racing has so much that interested me and not just the drivers. Besides the drivers you have to admit the cars are nothing short of spectacular and don't forget some of the most popular tracks like Laguna Seca, Sebring, Lemans, Monaco, Watkins Glen, Nurburg Ring. These weren't just race tracks but instead they were so much more. They were works of art that carved thru hills, trees and canyons that were challenges built to test men's fears, abilities, endurance, stamina and more. In fact it's every racer's mistress.

It was not until in my later years that I became aware of three of the most famous races in the world. It's funny but I tell my friends that three of the most famous races in the world are three of the races that few Americans are even aware of. They are The Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles)was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957. Then there is the Targa Newfoundland which is the first event of its kind to be held in North America. It is an annual event and forms a 2200 km long, high quality automotive adventure. It is held over a seven-day period in September of each year on the paved roads of the eastern and central parts of the island of Newfoundland. Last but not least is The Carrera Panamericana which is a sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. It runs from the southern Mexican west-coast city towards Texas, and back in 1950 to 1955 it even counted towards the World Sportscar Championships. It is widely held by contemporaries to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world even to this day.

As I drove Lucky yesterday I began to realize that after several years of learning all I could about this race, God willing, it is soon to become a reality. It's equally satisfying to know that others share the same anticipation for this adventure as myself. My two sons, Will and Anthony, and navigator and friend Jon and I are all chomping at the bit not one of us ever wanted to be President.

Clutch putt

I don't mind telling you I feel like I'm trying to make a clutch putt to win the big golf tournament and my hands are tied. There is so little time between today and this weekend's test date and there are still several very important issues that need to be dealt with. Oh sure, if I don't make it this weekend I can always sneak out onto some of the best test tracks ever built.... California freeways! But I would prefer to get out on Infineon International Raceway which I consider to be one of my favorite home tracks, Laguna Seca and THunderhill being the others.

I am not satisfied with the way the clutch feels. Sure it's strong as hell and it's definitely feels like a racing clutch but I know something isn't right and I want it to be 100 percent. I also know there is something weird fuel delivery wise and there is a gremlin I will need to search out and destroy. The problem is, it's inconsistent making it difficult to know where to start looking and for what.

Besides those two issues, today was a major milestone day. One of the first major parts of this build was to research, design and install the total suspension package specifically set up for this very race. After all these months finally today the suspension was fine tuned, corner-weighted and aligned by non other than the best racing suspension shop in California, ROGER KRAUS RACING I don't mind telling you how happy they made me when they told me they were impressed with how well set up the car was and how straight everything was prior to their changes and adjustments. Anyone in Northern California wanting the best service you can possibly get with regards to dialing in suspension not to mention knowing what they are talking about this is the place. For what it's worth not only did they get the job finished in half the time they said they would but they also charged me considerably less than I had previously agreed to. Just good old honest gentleman.

Notice in the photos the before and after difference in the fender height. They did exactly as I requested by not setting the car as low as we would normally have it for the tracks here. We intentionally set it an inch and a half higher to help with the speed bump and whatever else runs across the road. Also there is a before and after photo of the trailer after Anthony got it looking much better. Thanks Anthony!

Speaking of rain coats

Yesterday I wrote our theory regarding whether or not to take a rain coat and what happens if you don't. Naturally it will rain. Thanks to Francisco Ortiz site these are the first photos I have found of the Jag that crashed last year that really shows how serious that crash was. It also caused the La Carrera Panamericana officials to begin enforcing stricter roll cage rules thus resulting in something positive. It's simply amazing that nobody was killed in this crash and I am glad to report the young man that was injured is reported to have made as a full recovery. It's no wonder one of the team was injured once you look at the windshield on the passenger's side.

On another note; Yesterday I got a very cool phone call from Michael Emery, another driver who has run in the La Carrera Panamericana as Team Lucha Libre Racing. Michael showed what real gentleman drivers are all about. Not only did he have some very nice things to say with respect to our blog and Lucky but he also offered to be of any assistance he could offer and told me all I had to do was ask. Thanks Michael and Team California's Best tips our hat to you. This is part of what I love about racing... camaraderie, sportsmanship and none of this, my (explicative) is bigger than yours way of thinking. Be sure to click on their name and check out their site as well as a great read.

Things to do list is getting smaller

While it may not sound like much today my sons, Jon and I accomplished a lot and what a relieve it was I might add. Jon began his assault on the communications setup which is simply nothing short of awesome. Besides the Terratrip which by the way has a remote, there is the driver/navigator communications set-up. Not only can we talk to each other but our crew can listen to everything being said from the crew truck. All of the above is recorded live on the in car solid state camera equipment complete with sounds of the engine and driver/navigator communications. During the transit sections we have headsets which not only allow us to quietly communicate amongst team and crew but it is also wired up to I-pod selections as well as telecommunications that enable us to use our cell phones. Jon might as well install a microwave so we can have fresh popcorn. That is unless he hasn't already thought of it. I will say Jon has a good amount of the work done and all he has left if a few parts to install after he gets some of the power coated parts back.

I got the job of installing the antenna in the top of the car. Do you have any idea what a horrifying feeling it is to drill a one inch hole in the middle of the top of a car after you have gone to this much trouble to make it look good? While Jon worked on Lucky Will and I spent some time on the flatbed trailer installing new taillights and cleaning up the wiring under the trailer. After talking to many who have experienced this adventure before we are taking their advise and leaving my enclosed trailer at home. Besides the fact the small flatbed is much lighter than the enclosed trailer which will be a lot easier to maneuver on the twisted roads of Mexico but it will also be a huge help in saving fuel and some of the narrow streets that racing fans line up along make it difficult to maneuver an enclosed trailer as well. I am also told that enclosed trailers are much more difficult to get accross the border and can cause long delays. Compaired to the enclosed trailer pulling the little flatbed is almost like not having a trailer at all but I must say I will miss having all those back up parts and equipment at my fingertips but sacrafices must be made.

Finally it was my turn to get some things done. I managed to finish installing the second timing control for the dual pickup ignition system which I had been waiting for. Then I finished installing the knock sensor which will help me know when to adjust timing from inside the car as well as help protect the engine from detonation should we get some bad gas or gain altitude. (Whoever hasn't heard of getting bad gas in Mexico hasn't eaten at the border taco stands?) I also installed the new shift light. Last but not least I installed the safety tabs to hold in the front windshield. The theory is, it's like deciding whether or not you should take a coat with you to the races or not. If you don't it will surely rain but if you bring it you're guaranteed it will not rain. After all was said and done I decided to go around the block and see if Officer Pruette was lurking anywhere. I was very pleased to find out everything that I had installed was working perfectly.

Tomorrow some of the crew will come in early to sand the trailer and paint it before I put Lucky on the trailer to deliver him to get the suspension tweaked, corner weighted, springs lowered a little and aligned on Monday morning.

Let me tell you about Officer Pruette...

Officer Pruette is about 6'6", about 250 pounds, and packs a big gun. But before I say anymore that may incriminate me, let me tell you a little about downtown Mountain View which is a couple blocks from my office where I work on Lucky.

Downtown Mountain View is one of those quaint main streets bustling with cafes, restaurants, book stores, shops, bars with live music and lots more. Just as it begins to get dark there are lots of couples and people walking from the homes with the big trees lining the quite streets surrounding the down town area. You can hear laughter and live music under the stars especially on Friday and Saturday evenings. Many times people will wander into my shop to check out some of the nice rides we are working on on their way downtown. Needless to say, it's pretty laid back and very Californian lifestyle.

Now, back to Officer Pruette... Today I put the rear end back in the car but never really had any time to go "test" things out. When I finally got ready to go I was turning the car around and then something bad happened. The clutch pedal assembly had something wrong and I was NOT a happy camper especially due to the fact I could only blame myself since I was the only one who worked on it. All I needed was something that was short of perfect not to mention right after last nights rear end travisty. Now frustration was beginning to set in only because crunch time is upon me.

So this evening I stayed late and removed the entire clutch pedal assembly and made sure it was nothing but perfection. On a separate note I found a ground wire problem that was affecting my fuel pressure gauge and that made me happy as hell. I would like to say I'm glad it happened at least if it did while I was still near my shop but the truth is... It sucks big time knowing it wasn't perfect the first time.

Once everything was finished my right foot kept begging me... "Please, let me step ON something. PLEASSSSE!" Well, not being one to want to hurt my foot's feelings I decided to go for a small cruise a few blocks thru down town Mountain View and over to Jon's house to surprise him. Unfortunately as I hit the strip of Mountain View the only person that was surprised was me when a few bright red lights began flashing in my rear view mirror. Not one for being disrespectful to law enforcement I immediately pulled over in front of an Irish pub which turned out not to be the right place to pull over with a car like Lucky. As soon as Officer Pruette walked up to my window there was a crowd of on-lookers all holding mugs of ale. Being of Irish decent myself I must say I began feeling at home as the on-lookers began taunting Officer Pruette ad even offering him a brew. Things were fine until someone asked since he couldn't have some ale, maybe he would like a donut. That's when Officer Pruette decided to call for back-up for crowd control. Crowd control? Yep, by now there was a pretty big gathering from the restaurants, bars, and every other out for a good time rascal.

Enter two more squad cars, red lights and hooting and cheering for the guy in the white Mustang. After I was able to explain what I was doing in a car like Lucky and why I didn't have proof of insurance or registration papers in the car Officer Pruette sounded like he was going to let me go. I believe what cinched it was when the lady officer who was working the crowd said to Officer Pruette, "You must be kidding. If you write this guy a ticket you will be here all night looking up code for all the infractions." When I asked if he would mind if I drove a few more blocks over to Jon's house Officer Pruette said, "See this night stick? Want to see what I can do to you and your car? Now take this thing back to your shop." Then I got a three car escort back to the shop where they waited while I took the hood off so they could check out the engine. In the end they were are a lot of fun and they advised me that it might be better if I waited until day light so that the elderly wouldn't have to hide under their beds due to the rumbling of the earth when Lucky drives by.

(EDIT) Today Jon asked me to walk to the back of the car with him. Then he said, "Now let's take a look. Now waht do you see? Full roll cage, fuel cell, sitting low to the ground, loud exhaust and so on. Don't you think that any police officer pulling up behind you is going to say, 'Hmmm, what do we have here?'".

Some good news and some bad news

Yes, we had a little excitement today and the truth is, there is no bad news. However, there was a chain of events that led to the realization that Lucky has an awesome amount of power. So much in fact that nothing can be overlooked or assumed to be strong enough.

It all started when the drive shaft came on this mornings UPS delivery and it didn't take long to get it installed. Then I was able to start up the car and back it out and actually feel Lucky move under his own power and what a treat it was.

After that we began installing the JBA exhaust, the same that came on the original GT350s that exits out the side of the car right in front of the rear wheels. I have to admit, even though it's much quieter that it was with open headers but it's a sweet sound that even Steve McQueen would recognise with his eyes closed.

Then I decided to take a slow drive around the block just to feel Lucky move under his own power. This is when things got interesting. Do you have any idea how hard it is to take a drive in this car without giving it just "little" gas? OK, so maybe I gave it just a little more than "little." When I banged off 2nd gear something didn't feel right so I put it back on the lift to take a look. It seems Lucky has so much torque that he twisted the perches right off the casing of the rear-end!!! I mean WOW!

Needless to say I wasn't a happy camper however, this is what testing is all about and had I not found out now I would have wasted an entire trip to the track next weekend. So Will, my son and I removed the rear end and took it to IMPACT ENGINEERING and had the perches boxed in the same way they are and dragsters. Believe me, they will not twist off again. We brought the rear-end back and set it in place on the leaf springs and I will finish installing it in the morning. But the good news is... I drove Lucky around the block.

In the mean time stay tuned... Team California's Best will be making not one but two announcements during the next few days both of which we are very excited about.