Author Topic: My WOS story.  (Read 19135 times)

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Offline m610

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My WOS story.
« on: October 06, 2014, 07:36:11 PM »
This was our second time to the salt in our Corvette-themed Opel road racing car, having come just for the fun and the experience. We run in the 150 MPH Club event even though there is no way we'll get to 150, but it is a 2 mile run and that's more fun than 1 mile. Anyway, I wrote it up so fellow LeMons racers and Opel fans could be made jealous enough to come out next year.

So, for a tale of life in the slow lane, on the short course -- Bonneville 2.0

Mike

P.S. Supposedly there was going to be a ChumpCar contingent at this event but none of them showed up.

Offline Stan Back

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2014, 09:19:32 PM »
Thank you very much for that report.  Enjoyed it all.
Past (Only) Member of the San Berdoo Roadsters -- "California's Most-Exclusive Roadster Club" -- 19 Years of Bonneville and/or El Mirage Street Roadster Records

Offline m610

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2014, 12:18:09 AM »
Thanks.

It's probably not the story many of you would tell, although some elements might be familiar.

Oh, and some typos are more fun than others. I took care of the "4000 mph" typo in the caption under the photo of the Black Salt car.

Offline Peter Jack

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2014, 04:09:37 AM »
I enjoyed your tale m610, you gave a true sense of what it feels like to be there.  :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

I sense that you may have become addicted.  :roll: :roll: :evil:

Pete

Offline dw230

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2014, 11:11:31 AM »
Nice story. The caption on page 41 photo is 50% correct.

DW
White Goose Bar - Where LSR is a lifestyle
Alcohol - because no good story starts with a salad.

Don't be Karen, be Beth

Offline 4-barrel Mike

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2014, 11:24:51 AM »
Perfect for the New York Times!   :evil:

Mike
Mike Kelly - PROUD owner of the V4F that powered the #1931 VGC to a 82.803 mph record in 2008!

Offline m610

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2014, 02:21:14 PM »
Nice story. The caption on page 41 photo is 50% correct.

DW

Help me out with it. I was writing that part from memory of what people standing near the cars were telling me.

Offline m610

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2014, 02:21:57 PM »
Perfect for the New York Times!   :evil:

Mike

I could be talked into a revision just for the Times. ;)

Offline RichFox

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2014, 02:38:33 PM »
It looks alot like Seth Hammond's single engine lakester.

Offline dw230

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2014, 04:59:21 PM »
The car pictured is the Seth Hammond lakester. The car is single engine(Chevy) and rear wheel drive. The part about Seth putting family members and friends in the car for records is correct. Seth, wife Tanis, daughter Tegan and son Channing are all 300 chapter members. Other team members are either 300 chapter or 200 MPH club memebrs.

The twin engine car you refer to is more than likely the Danny Thompson four wheel drive streamliner that qualified at 419 for a record. The car lost a clutch on the next mornings backup run, no record.

AS someone said, your caption is good enough for those that read the NYT, not for us though.

DW
White Goose Bar - Where LSR is a lifestyle
Alcohol - because no good story starts with a salad.

Don't be Karen, be Beth

Offline m610

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #10 on: October 07, 2014, 05:17:35 PM »
The car pictured is the Seth Hammond lakester. The car is single engine(Chevy) and rear wheel drive. The part about Seth putting family members and friends in the car for records is correct. Seth, wife Tanis, daughter Tegan and son Channing are all 300 chapter members. Other team members are either 300 chapter or 200 MPH club memebrs.

The twin engine car you refer to is more than likely the Danny Thompson four wheel drive streamliner that qualified at 419 for a record. The car lost a clutch on the next mornings backup run, no record.

AS someone said, your caption is good enough for those that read the NYT, not for us though.

DW

Many thanks.

It needs to be correct. I'll fix it.

Offline lsrjunkie

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #11 on: October 07, 2014, 06:30:56 PM »
Thanks for sharing! Good read!  :cheers:
Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish. The product of a demented hill billy who has found a way to live out where the winds blow. To sleep late, have fun, drink whiskey, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love or getting arrested.    H.S. Thompson

Offline m610

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #12 on: October 07, 2014, 07:04:03 PM »
Fixed it, and thanks all for the input. I'll let you know if the Times calls. ;)

My first trip to Bonneville was in 2012. We ran well until we burned a hole in a piston. As a result we had to miss our race the following weekend. It took a while, and one more motor, and one more missed race, and retiring after 5 laps at the next race, to figure out what we had done wrong. Apparently 11.5:1 compression ratio on pump gas is OK when using a wheezy downdraft carburetor, but put side-drafts on it, and boom. We didn't realize at the time that it was an 11.5:1 head. The motor was built, on the cheap, using spare and donated parts. So that is the disaster we were hoping to avoid this time, and we did.

After the 2012 event I became editor of this newsletter, and in my first issue I did stories on all the Opels I could find that had run at Bonneville, including Bill Ward, Ken Lindebak, the Black Diamond Racing guys, the Berkeley that has an Opel GT-derived nose on it, plus of course our story. If interested, I can upload those. (I sent Ellen a printed copy of that issue.)

Offline Buickguy3

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #13 on: October 07, 2014, 10:27:47 PM »
  Here's an Opel that I drove for the Buick dealer in Livingston,Montana. This was taken at Lewistown, Mt. [About 1968]. Won Jr. Stock Eliminator. Everybody had to spot me about half the track and they just couldn't catch that little 1.9 L. Fun times.
    Doug  :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
I keep going faster and faster and I don't know why. All I have to do is live and die.
                   [America]

Offline m610

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Re: My WOS story.
« Reply #14 on: October 08, 2014, 01:08:50 AM »
I didn't realize they were winning at the strip. There are tales of the SCCA in effect banning them from the Showroom Stock class soon after they came out. As some people put it, they were winning every weekend. They had good power, half decent aero, and much a better suspension than the GT. The then new Ford Capri, which everyone had high hopes for, was getting beat every time. (I'm working on that story, too. ;) )