Some days everything goes just right...

What a great day today was. It all began when I stopped by the new body shop to remove a couple items from the car and to drop off some parts to have painted. Keep in mind I just dropped off the car last Thursday afternoon after it has been sitting at another body shop for 6 months which has only been two working days. When I walked in the manager says, "We are probably going to paint your car tomorrow." I thought he was kidding and told him to stop since I assumed he was pulling my leg. Then I told him, "I'm the guy with the fastback Mustang that needs so much work." Finally he invited me to go take a look. After walking out to see the car I was blown away. You could not believe my eyes... The major issues had been addressed and a lot of the prep work had already been finished and again he says, "Like I said, I think we'll shoot it tomorrow." Man, was I blown away. How refreshing it is to trust someone with something that means so much and see them perform exactly the way they said they would.

If that wasn't enough I gave my engine builder a call and he gave me nothing but great news as well. It seems everything has been blue-printed and balanced and is in the process of assembly and will be ready to begin dyno test as soon as I send him a few more parts he has requested.

Then I got a call from Maier Racing and almost all of the front and rear suspension parts are just about ready to be picked up.

Now all I have to do it pick up the car, finish installing all the body parts, a complete new wiring harness front to rear, under dash components, install the engine, transmission, complete new suspension, rear end, front and rear brakes, exhaust, glass and few hundred other things and the car will be ready. This is so much fun and seeing something come to life like this is more than rewarding.

Veya con Dios Amigos

Albeit I wish it would have been longer but yesterday while Gerie Bledso was at my shop having his new vette worked on we had a few minutes to talk racing. For those of you whom have not had the pleasure, Gerie is a laid back sort of guy but after talking with him for a while it's easy to realize his racing career has been anything but laid back. What I like most about Gerie is he treats everyone exactly the way he would want to be treated and a real gentleman. Makes for a lot of fun.

Gerie and a bunch more are heading out for a couple weeks in Mexico to compete in the "Chihuahua Express” in Northern Mexico. Part of me sincerely wishes I could come along while the other part has no regrets at all. Any time Jon and I hear about a race our hearts pump just a little faster. I swear, whenever you mention the word race, Jon's ears "perk up" like a dog when someone says "Cat". On the other hand it's not like Jon and I don't have things to do at home. Jon has some birthdays to contend with at home and I have a race car to build and finish. I am also heading up to the track at Thunderhill this weekend to do some research and testing for the new car with the CMC (Camaro/Mustang Challenge) guys and gals. I will also enjoy spending some time with my son Will who is the race director for NASA. (National Auto Sport Assoc.)

Jon and I have both realized spending time with family is an important part of racing it's self. After all, who do we enjoy sharing memories and victories with more than those who are so special to us? Having said that, Team California's Best would like to wish each of them a safe trip down and back and hope they all have a great time and we can't wait to hear some stories and see some pics.

Walking in someone elses shoes

Having been a mechanic and owning my own auto repair facilities for so many years I have never had the worries that many have with respect to worrying about the what-if's of a car. I have never had to worry about a car breaking down or who will repair it or will it be done on time. That's not to say I don't have my customer's best interest at heart because I always have. On the other hand until something happens to make me walk in someone elses shoes it can be hard to fully appreciate those concerns. Well, I have finally walked in those shoes and I didn't enjoy it one damn bit!

Back in October I sat down with pen and paper and drew up a time-line for the build of this car. Every single item of the build was listed exactly as to when it needed to be done by including ordering parts, etc. Even before I picked up my car I had a meeting to discuss arrangements with a body shop owner and his manager. During that meeting I told them exactly what I needed and expected regarding payment, schedule, quality, etc. As soon as I picked up my car they both came to look it over and discuss exactly what was to be done and gave me an estimate and payment arrangements. During this entire discussion one of my main concerns discussed was that the car needed to be completed preferably within two months and no longer than four months.

But then I began to get excuses as to why the job was moving slowly and they seemed to be too busy to get my job done on time. I never once complained but instead took the high road and simply asked them to at least try harder. It has now been 7 months and the car is way behind schedule. In the mean time IMPACT ENGINEERING went ahead of schedule and not only completed their portion of the build ahead of schedule but in fact performed more that I ever expected. When I took my car back to the body shop on Monday to get them moving again they began to tell me how hard it was going to be to get it finished in a month and within a day the owner began showing his true colors. He had all kinds of excuses as to why he could not get the job finished on time and so on. Not once in this entire project has he proven to be an ethical or responsible businessman let alone remember our original meeting where all of the above was spelled out in great detail.

There are far too many reputable body shops around to force me to continue to tolerate any more such immature business practice as he has shown so today I made several calls to find someone else. As it turns out everyone I showed the car too asked me why it was taking them so long. I took the car to a shop to inspect the car and wrote an estimate and they told me the car will probably be completed in less than two weeks. One bit of good fortune about this experience was while I was at the body shop a manager walked out of a back office and to both our surprise it was a long lost friend of mine who had painted one of my other Shelbys and many of my customer's cars some years ago. Not only do I know I can trust this man but in fact I know his work to be awesome. We had a few laughs and as I was leaving he said, "Don't worry about your car. If we have a car over 30 days we lien sell it. LOL"

Boy am I glad I don't have to worry about who works on my cars.

Training for Mil Cumbres on a budget

It seems we all have our roots as to where the desire to go fast came from. Here in the San Franciso Bay Area everyone including old, young, tall, short, sane, crazy, has the craving to go fast. Here is just such an example as we all got together for a little Easter Sunday tradition. Here's hoping everyone had a happy Easter.

Lucky comes home!

Yes, it's true, even though it was only over the weekend. But it sure felt good to see the car back at our facility again. After items were removed like the fuel cell, battery box, misc aluminum parts, etc. I took it back to the body shop with an itemized list of items to be done and then the painting can begin. This is where a lot of hard work will begin to come together and Lucky will begin to look and feel like the true gem that he is. He really has been a diamond in the rough and now it's about time for him to shine.

Racing and Golf... Any comparrison?

The single most important lesson I took away from my Olympic Skeet shooting days was that "Consistency is what wins." Since then I have come to realize this is true in all sports whether it's skeet shooting, tennis, football, and even racing cars.

For those of you who have been watching this years Masters at Augusta Georgia again you can see what consistency can do for a great athlete. Just yesterday (Friday) Tiger was in 22nd place 5 down and today he is already in third place only one behind. Sure there is match pressure but match pressure is nothing that stumps a great athlete. Great athletes know they can't be beat... Great athletes can only be beaten by themselves. Tiger knows that he is more consistent that any of the other competitors and for that reason the pressure is on all of them and not Tiger.

Just yesterday Gerie Bledso and I were chatting and Gerie said, "Gary, as an endurance racer, you know the first and most important lesson -- to finish." Gerie is absolutely correct and history shows us so. It's a well known fact that for many years during the La Carrera Panamericana, some of the most famous racers in the world never won a single stage but being consistent took them to victory circle as the overall winner. In 1953 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, one of the greatest racers of all time, won the Pan Am without winning one daily “leg.” But his accumulated time over the entire event was significantly lower than his nearest competitor. He knew how to pace himself and conserve his equipment when others were slowed by mechanical problems.

The lesson here is to remember to take good care of your equipment, do not drive above your ability and most important of all... HAVE FUN! years ago my skeet shooting coach asked me why I had missed a target. I told him I was trying too hard because I wanted to win. He then gave me a severe lecture about not doing anything different than I had been doing in practice. We should not expect some Genie to appear and make us any better today than we have been in practice for the last few months. Once again, just be "Consistent" and keep doing what we already know works. Just remember all that seat time we have on the track accompanied with all the knowledge and expertise we have learned from years in a racecar and NEVER drive by the seat of your pants. That would be for those who won't finish.

It's official! No rest for the wicked.

Birthday, anniversary, wedding day, prom date.... None of them compare to this one. The official anouncment has just been confirmed regarding this years date for the 20th anniversary running of the world famous La Carrera Panamericana.

Gerie Bledso let us know; Yesterday, Mr. Eduardo "Lalo" Leon, President of the Pan Am, confirmed by telephone that the dates of the 20th Anniversary of La Carrera Panamericana will be as initially announced:

Friday, October 26--Thursday, November 1, 2007.

Up until now I kept telling myself "No hurry, we have months to get ready." But when Gerie put it this way.... "There are only 203 days left until the race!" it made the hair on the nap of my neck stand up. Thanks Gerie... now I won't get a good night's sleep until the car is finished.

EDIT; My wife is standing behind me with skillet in hand and she has convinced me that our anniversary is more important.