Back to the Bonneville Salt Flats; Racing!

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by Fork-N-Road

Geoff Hart by chance?

Indeed, the one and only



I met Geoff back when he was working for Adam Wik, and he had his weekend shop at the Fullerton airport, 20 some odd years ago

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

Fun. I assume the muscles in your cheeks still hurt a little from all that smiling!

yes sir, they are

[marret]

Yep, super cool and great story. Congrats as well.

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by shenrie

Regarding alignments. I don’t trust any alignment techs that can’t align a car without an alignment rack. Period. Anyone can plug numbers into a machine and align a car, but if I give specific specs and get a blank look, I’m walking away.

I'm shocked and amazed at what passes for a qualified technician these days, shocked I tell you. I align my Samurai, my E350 4x4, and my racecars myself. Too many bad experiences that ended in the pantload statement "Well, it's better now that when it came in!" or my all time favorite "Oh, we checked that... it isn't adjustable on your car" line of bovine excrement

Originally Posted by shenrie

Regarding females listening to directions better than men when driving is involved? 100%. Women take instruction way better then men. They typically don’t have the inflated egos to keep them from listening. I’ve had way better success teaching women how to drive then men.

A motorcycle road race instructor good buddy of mine agrees with every word of what you say, I'm a believer as well. The ego is a dangerous thing, if not properly harnessed.

Originally Posted by shenrie

I know you know you have a rare breed there with your wife. Car chicks are rare, even more rare when they’re happy at speed. She sounds like a keeper I wish you guys luck with your speed records.

When we first started seeing each other, I had to put off our third date because I was prepping for a race. It turns out, Her dad, uncle, and cousins raced hard tops, modifieds, and sprintcars most weekends while she was growing up, so she knows the drill. Before we met, she owned 5 different motorcycles, a Datsun 240z, and can pick out the difference between a 1969 and 1970 Chevelle in oncoming traffic. At night. Total car chick

[Fork-N-Road]

I sold Geoff the green ragtop he has owned for a million years now (that is probably the car I most wish I had kept in hindsight.)

Dale at Dave's Frame and Alignment in HB is a great alignment guy, and I'm sure Geoff knows him. Dale has done work on a lot of fast VW's and knows his stuff.

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by TomsBeast

I'm shocked and amazed at what passes for a qualified technician these days, shocked I tell you. I align my Samurai, my E350 4x4, and my racecars myself. Too many bad experiences that ended in the pantload statement "Well, it's better now that when it came in!" or my all time favorite "Oh, we checked that... it isn't adjustable on your car" line of bovine excrement

Uhgree completely. My most common response is this: “actually, there is camber adjustments available and if you would have actually looked, you would have known the vehicle is ready to accept the specs I gave you. Now please remove my vehicle from your rack.”. Pretty sad indeed.

Don’t have any cars that serve double duty these days so not much need for precise alignments for r-comp preservation. So I’m doing my own anymore as well. Lots less headaches.

Originally Posted by TomsBeast

A motorcycle road race instructor good buddy of mine agrees with every word of what you say, I'm a believer as well. The ego is a dangerous thing, if not properly harnessed.

Very well put Tom, very well put.

Originally Posted by TomsBeast

When we first started seeing each other, I had to put off our third date because I was prepping for a race. It turns out, Her dad, uncle, and cousins raced hard tops, modifieds, and sprintcars most weekends while she was growing up, so she knows the drill. Before we met, she owned 5 different motorcycles, a Datsun 240z, and can pick out the difference between a 1969 and 1970 Chevelle in oncoming traffic. At night. Total car chick

Yep keeper for sure. Well played

My wife was the parts girl from the local oriellys. Her and her buddy both worked there. We’d order stuff just to see cute girls. Eventually we invited them out on the boat one day we closed the shop early due to 110 degree day. Once I saw my wife jump on a stand up jet ski having never tired one before and rally around at wot, I knew I needed to swoon the little lady. Then I offered her a car at a local autox. She seriously whooped ass at the event and we’ve been together ever since. The girls a ripper. Took her 8 years to beat me at an autox, but she eventually did it. She still has local hillclimb records that I haven’t been able to beat either. People flip me shit for losing to her, then I remind them that she’s faster than them too. I take it as a compliment that she’s faster than me at times. Means I’m a good teacher

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by Fork-N-Road

I sold Geoff the green ragtop he has owned for a million years now (that is probably the car I most wish I had kept in hindsight.)

Oh no kidding? Small world. He and Jimmy Larsen built it into it's current form, shortly thereafter hotVW's magazine put it on the cover, back in the mid-90's if I recall.



That car is still in his garage today, it's still beautiful, same 25yr old paint, it's had several big engines over the years, still runs and rips to this day.



He owns an automotive machine shop in Havasu. Being a boat town, he works mostly on V8 boat engine stuff, his bread-n-butter, and is still active in VW's. I'm going to be talking with him in the next few days, I'll tell him Hi for you. Your name?

[JWA]

Well this is just soooooo cool an odessy and great description---kudos for your wife taking on this challenge and doing so well. I know there are feelings of gratification to be had by you and her, I'm impressed!

I have my own story of a former girlfriend I somewhat coached into becoming a much, much better driver, became almost obsessed with learning the different aspects of the art. She learned quickly, found a few of her own "tricks" along the way too.

This came about as a result of her damn near getting us both killed on a freeway that was so close I was shook up---she was a bit "unaware" of just how close it was. The ensuing anger and fear I had really made an impression and brought her to tears I'm sorry to say.

Eventually her interest in high performance driving culminated with a few passes down a drag strip in one of my friends '65 Ford Fairlane that was built into a lower class bracket racing car. She had gone faster but never in that situation---she was hooked.

So I get the joy at a protege doing well---and I'm no where nearly as skilled and experienced as you are I'm sure.

Thanks for sharing!

[LastBlackE350]

Wow, great story and great job by your wife.
Spectating one day is on my list. My dad was out there helping a pal back in 1956 running a flathead roadster. Pics of that trip are priceless.

Way back in 1980 Dave Foltz built the transmission and my 78.4 x 90.5 48IDA carb'd street motor. Good Times!

Lyall

[TomsBeast]

I'm glad you all could 'come along for the ride' so to speak, and enjoyed the read.



If you've always wanted to check out Bonneville Salt Flats racing in person, do it soon, don't wait. Events happen in August, September, and October, weather permitting.



The mining of fertilizer mineral potash from the naturally occuring 'flats' has been ongoing for 50yrs. The process has become more effiecient ove the past 30yrs, and removed so much material that evey summer, the once 18" or so thick concrete-hard 'crust', gets thinner and thinner. So thin in some spots, as little as a few inches, that the race orginizers annually suvey the thickness and set up courses that avoid thin areas, where cars would break through into the mud beneath, with disastorous results.



Back in the 1960's, there was well over 12, even 15 miles of thick surface where jet cars weighing several tons had miles of run off area to get slowed down. The jet cars have had to move to other locations, dry lake beds of Black Rock Desert outside of Gerlach Nevada (where Andy Green broke the sound barrier in 1997) and Hakskeen Pan in South Africa.


Don't put it off, make a plan to go soon!