So much for good gas mileage

Well it looks as if I'm not going to get 32 miles to the gallon after all. When I first put race fuel in Lucky's tank it was only 5 gallons. On the other hand I have only started the engine 4 times for what seems like a few minutes however, yesterday I ran out of gas! This reminded me of my first trip to Baja Mexico when I towed a boat with my motorhome. Even though the motorhome had dual tanks there were numerous times that had we not carried extra military style gas cans we would have ran out of gas. This was due to the fact that what few stations there were they were so far apart. Now I am hoping we will not have those sorts of problems during this event. Besides, a couple military gas cans bolted on the Lucky's trunk deck wouldn't really look very cool.

The four eras of a race car driver

I couldn't help but remember the song lyrics that said, "Son, you're going to drive me to drinkin' If you don't stop driving that Hot Rod Lincoln". The closer it gets to the green flag the later I work on the car. Today I tackled one of the items on my To-Do list that I have really wanted to get done but every time I got started I was pulled away for something else. It was building a tunnel to cover the shifter and shift linkage as well as give me the surface I wanted to install both ignition boxes and adjustable timing controls for each ignition box. For the most part it is now complete and all I have to do is install the last adjustable timing control when it gets here in the next few days. Then I will sanitize the wiring for them and install the knock sensor monitor where it will be easy to see while driving. And hey, after I was done naturally I tried it out and it worked!

Since it's difficult to work under the dash with the seats bolted in I have been waiting to finalize all this under dash wiring before installing them.

Today when I checked on the special order power steering hoses I ordered the aluminum drive shaft so let's hope they get it right the first time. With any luck the power steering hoses should be here tomorrow.

Setting the hook is just the beginning

It's getting close to the big day and teams are already jocking to play out team strategies and tactics. Some major players are winning over top navigators from other teams who are experienced with the entire course having ran it numerous times before. Some teams coming from Europe offer professional rally teams with lots of seat time in rally races. Personally I have the frame of mind that is one of drive it like you stole it and Jon will be helping watch my back.

Considering Jon and I are handicapped because we will be running against teams who have ran this course many times the smart way to run it as first timers is to use common sense, don't drive past our abilities and stay focused. Bad things happen when a driver loses concentration for only a brief instant.

Many years ago one of my biggest dreams was to go marlin fishing in the Sea Of Cortez and fight big-game in the same places as Zane Gray, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway and others. Back then I had always been under the belief that if in fact that fantasy ever happened it would probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Now years later those dreams have become a reality but one of the best lessons of all is having realized dreams like these have no end and the first experience is just the beginning with many more trips made afterwards. Just like big-game fishing, running in the La Carrera Panamericana will hopefully be more than a one-time event. One that Jon and I can return to time and time again until we put all the pieces of the puzzle together and get it perfect. That being said, this race should be a learning curve and one that will help us learn all we need to learn.

Fun is for girls

For the last year many that I have talked to that is involved with the La Carrera Panamericana talks about how important it is to have fun and not focus on winning. To be honest with you I am having a difficult time getting into that frame of mind. If I just wanted to have fun I would spend a weekend at Disneyland. It's only a 4 hour drive to get there, if the ride breaks down it's not my problem, there are no donkeys crossing in front of any rides and it only cost a few hundred bucks.

Everyone of us on CALIFORNIA'S BEST RACING TEAM know how to have fun and racing is not only fun to each of us but a way of life. We live, eat and breath racing and we take what we do very seriously whether it's a car build, prep or driving the car. We all hope that everyone else takes their car preparation and safety as seriously as we do. On the same subject we are hoping the quality of drivers are nothing short of the best. Nobody wants to finish on a podium only to hear someone say, "It sure was a good thing ole So & So wasn't there." As a matter of fact we are hoping the best in the world are there. After all, isn't that what this race is all about... The best drivers in the world brought together in what has Wikipedia Encyclopedia says, "The Carrera Panamericana was a sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running from 1950 to 1955, it was widely held by contemporaries to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world. Due to safety concerns, the high speed race was canceled after the 1955 Le Mans disaster. This was unavoidable given that cars of the period were of a high-speed, low-safety design, and drivers of a win-at-all-costs mentality. Only a third of entrants typically finished the race, and unlike more compact circuits, the long course was impossible to secure entirely, making it possible for crashes to linger for several hours before being noticed. 27 people had died during the five years of the Panamericana, giving it one of the highest mortality rates per race in the history of motorsport, primarily because during the years the race was held, automobile racing had undergone an amazing technical transformation to emerge as an advanced science. The speeds had almost doubled as a result but safety controls remained static and competitors, spectators and safety control personnel alike became casualties." This is not my idea of fun but in fact something that I have been preparing for, for over a year both mentally and physically.

Now don't get me wrong, TEAM CALIFORNIA'S BEST plans to have a blast and lots of fun but we will not be doing it from the cockpit of the car.

Have a seat

Yesterday while Jon and I were organizing navigation and radio equipment in the car I tossed one of the seats in so we could make sure everything was within reach and laid out properly. Jon said, "Do you realize this is the first time I have ever sat in the passenger's seat of a race car?" I guess he must have forgotten not long ago when he rode along while I blistered the track at Infineon in his Mini Cooper. Granted it was just parade laps and not as noisy as Lucky is but he could at least act a little afraid. As I recall he was reading the latest edition of Vintage RaceCar while I was driving around the track. I bet he won't be reading much while in Mexico when I'm driving.... Oh crap, what about the route book?

The RACETECH seats are the best there is and they feel like it too. Once those seats are bolted in the car I will know we are truly getting somewhere.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I can't believe it, things are really beginning to come together. There is still plenty to do but at least the end product is in site. Today I began building a shifter tunnel box to cover the opening that was required for the shifter offset and made some good headway. It's one of those jobs that keeps me awake night wondering how I can make it simple but well done at the same time. I got the basics of the box finished and I still need to seal it, get it fastened down and then install the shifter boot.

Once the tunnel box is finished then I can mount the two ignition boxes and the MSD adjustable timing controls and then wire everything in nice and sanitary. Today I also installed a new fuse block in addition to the other one just to be on the safe side. At the same time I decided to re-wire some of the items I had already wired not only so they will be protected by fuses but so they will shut off with the ignition switch instead of the emergency shut-off switch. In any event the emergency shut off switch overrides everything any way.

Jon and I semi-installed the radio equipment into the dash where Jon can reach it from the navigator's seat. Once I have the rest of the wiring complete Jon and I will begin installing the radio and navigation equipment. Believe it or not Jon has all the needed equipment to hook up his I-Pod while we are in the transit stages so we can boogy on down the road. How cool is THAT! Since Jon loves anything computer or electrical related I would not put it past him to install a DVD player so we can watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

A breath of fresh air

Today I installed the new K&N X-stream air filter. Woopee! Oh, and for what it's worth, I finally installed a throttle return spring. Two as a matter of fact. One can never be too careful when expecting the throttle to slow down on some turn in Mexico.

The exhaust system arrived today and when I have time I will install it. Other than the fact it's larger than the original that came on GT350s it's exactly the same design. Nothing More than exhaust pipes with some very open glass packs that exit out the side of the car in front of the rear wheels. I have a suspicion it won't be much quieter than the open headers but that's a good thing, right?

This evening I just relaxed after a very long week. I sure will be glad when my son in law returns to take over so I can get back to what it is I love doing. Right after I was done installing the air filter I noticed some guys checking out some guy's Eleanor next door at my friend's Mexican restaurant. While they were looking under the hood I decided to start up my engine and let it breath. It wasn't long before they came over to see what all the thunder was. I felt bad for the guy in the Eleanor.... Well, not really. ;)