Introduce Yourself

[Glen]

Her name was Vicky and she loved everyone. She is missed by all. Thats whats great about LSR is the friendships it generates. Good luck on your build and future is ln LSR.

[Mad Max]

Hello to all. I'm "Mad Max" Gary of Mad Max Machines in Missoula Montana. I build Cafe' racers and have since 1972. I'm 62 years old and this August 25 (BUB Week) will be my first trip to the salt. My shop is more of a hobby than a money maker but I enjoy it. I will be taking a 35 year old Suzuki GS 750 that I built from a $100 Sheriff sale find. Old man on old bike going fast? Anyway I look forward to getting to know you and hope to see some of you in August. I would love any constructive help from you seasoned vets of the salt.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Welcome, Max.  First thing:  I took the liberty of going to your Profile page and adding Missoula as your location.  Now you won't get pestered by other folks asking where you are.

Second -- Missoula is the home area of Rex Svoboda.  He's a car racer - but has a vast amount of experience on the salt.  You might try to find him and see what stuff you can learn.  He crew chief-ed on the Burkland 411 car, races his own competition coupe, and is in the tower at the Bub's event.  He is definitely qualified to help you learn stuff.  The rest of us will do what we can, too.

As for "old man" -- once upon a time, five or so years ago, I made a loosely-run study of the median age of the racers on this Forum.  It turned out that 58 is the middle of the hump of ages.  As for old guys on fast bikes -- well, I'm a couple of years aolder than you - and run in the very low 200s when Nancy lets me make a run on the bike  Then there is that 82-year old fella (I'll think of his name as soon as I click "send"*) that rides a turbo 'Busa well over 200.  Nah, don't worry about us hasslin' you for being an old guy on a fast bike.  Welcome.


*Sure enough, I did just that.  Nick Nicholaides, I think is how he spells his name.

[randre]

Well hello there. I would like to drop by and say hi.  I am new to the forum though have been lurking around for quite a long time already.  It really is nice to be a part of the forum which talks a lot of really interesting and nice things that go about and transcend a lot of different things.

And with that, it surely will make for a very nice and interesting chance to join just like that.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Andre, please continue with the introduction -- by telling us where you're located.  You should go to the Profile page in registration and enter the city & state in the "location" blank.  It'll help us figure out who's near enough to you for some help - whether he needs it from you, or you from him.

Welcome to the Forum.

[jeffblundell]

Hello all,

I’m a Canadian television producer and I’ll be at Bonneville this August for “Speed Week.” We’ve got three camera crews and 9 days to put together a series of shows about the people and the vehicles racing on the flats. The series is called – “Give’r.”

We’ll be arriving in Utah on August 8th and staying until the 18th so there is plenty of time to cover all the ups and downs of the week.

We’re doing a wide variety of stories: first timers and old salty veterans, Motorcycles, and pickup trucks, Studebakers and Ferraris. Even a few streamliners.

Right now I’m still looking for additional guests in all categories, but I’m especially in need of a couple really old cars…. 1930’s roadsters… or ever older if they’ll be there. They’ve got to be racing – we’re not interested in “show ponies.”

For the last six years I’ve been producing a science show for Discovery Channel. I’ve now left Discovery to take on this project.

Our plan is to follow each team throughout the week and tell their story: From “Why they came” to “What they did.”

The six 1-hour shows will air nationally in Canada on RadX – an action sports cable channel. The series will also be sold to an American broadcaster, but those plans are still in the works.

So – who’s interested?

Cheers,
Jeff Blundell
Series Producer, Give’r
Whistlestop Productions
jeff@whistlestoptv.com
416-417-7541

[Don Martin]

  OK it's my turn to drive.  Don Martin here. From NW Tennessee. I am the other half of the SCAATY race team. Like my partner said we are building a 53 Studebaker. It's a 2 door sedan that we chopped the top on (FUN-FUn Fun) about 7 inches. We built a 2x4 tube chassis with Must II front and a 4 link rear. We are running a Winters quick change and wilwood brakes on all 4 corners.
After a trip to Hooley's last summer we were hooked. Must have been the salt off the 974 car. When we got home work started.
Plans are to have it ready for tech and shake down runs at Willington next spring. Then run at Speedweek 2013.  It's all fun  Don

[Black Sheep]

New guy here, My name is Jerry I am from Tinley Park, IL just southwest of Chicago. I've been a gear head from the womb, from cars to bikes to nostalgia fuel dragsters, building from the frame up and the crankshaft out, from magazine featured shops to my garage, even turned wrenches in the USAF. I've done all my racing to this point in the quatermile. I decided this year to finally get into landspeed racing after years of talking and planning and talking some more. I've been slowly building a purpose built supercharged 68 Triumph 650 for the past 4 years that always ends up on the back burner, much like it did this year. So not wanting to lose another year I decided to regear my Shovelhead drag bike and see what it would do in the other 3/4 of a mile.

I had the joy of attending my first race at the Ohio mile with ECTA July7-8 and must say I was one, very under planned, and two very impressed. Everybody was great, and was lucky to pit next to somebody I new. I had alot of fun and was able to set a record in the 1350 M/G class. I fell two mph short of the record in 1350 M/PG which was my goal, but I am planning on taking it in September.

I look forward to the salt next month and hope to get as many runs in as I can. I'm glad I finally got out and ran an event this year and look forward to adding this form of racing to my schedule. I hope to be running a fuel class in two years on vintage iron of couse.

[vwpsycho]

Hello.
My name is Abe Potter. I am a professional mechanic. I have worked on about every type of motor vehicle there is.
I have spent the majority of the past 24 years working for various Volkswagen dealerships all over the Western US.
I've been involved in sports car racing since 1996. -SCCA Solo as a builder and driver. SCCA Pro Racing as pit crew and crew chief with multiple teams.
My roots are in Salt Lake City and a tiny town called Pioche, NV, which is about 4 hours south of Wendover.
At the age of 41, in 2011, I finally had an opportunity to participate in Bonneville Speedweek; I was hired by the Skoda UK team in a effort that evolved from commercial stunt to go 200 MPH with a modified front-wheel-drive grocery-getter car, to a serious, -and ultimately successful- G/Production Supercharged record set at 227.080 MPH. The mechanical development of the G/PS 2011 Skoda Octavia took place over WEEKS, not months or years.

I felt it could be better, so I convinced my brother  to finance a one-year car build to explore the potential of what a 2000 cc Volkswagen-based car could do at Bonneville. I chose a 1998-2001 Volkswagen Passat, as it has the finest aero prep in stock form, of virtually any car ever made (I am serious -do the research!)

As I type this, the car is in the barn behind our house in the south end of the Salt Lake valley. Most of the mechanical work and engineering is complete. The powerplant is waiting at a (local) business for final fabrication work, to be broken in and calibrated on their Superflow 902 engine dynamometer.
I expect to spend the next 29 days in a frantic thrash between my day job and however little sleep I can tolerate.

To say I am eager for Speedweek would be a gross understatement. Feel free to come say hi and check it out on the salt.  I'll try to get some sleep before then...

Abe Potter
Constructor of the Integrated Engineering/Strong VW/Potter Bros Racing #2571 G/PS '00 VW Passat

[robfrey]

Welcome aboard Abe!

[Stainless1]

welcome all
have fun, be safe, go fast.... that's the order I suscribe to
see ya on the salt 

[Monolith]

Hi all, my name is Baz.
I'm 48 and it's time to start following up on a childhood dream.
I went to El Mirage three years ago and got dirt in my blood. I havent been able to get the thought of running a vehicle at speed out of my mind. When I was younger, I could do my own oil changes, brakes, and tuneups, and that was about it.
Now I'm trying to teach myself a bit more, to the tune of puttering around with 60's GM trucks. Hopefully, I can build one to run E/PP at El Mirage sometime soon. Prepare for a pile of new guy questions.

[PatMc]

Welcome Baz!

This is Pat McSwain, I used to run a diesel under the McRat Racing team.  We closed down McRat Racing, so I changed my username.

Now I'm going to play with other types of LSR vehicles.  A >7000lb entry takes too many people and logistics.  Need something smaller that can run with 2 people.

However if somebody needs free tech support Duramax high-performance (no dealer stuff, just racing questions), email to qi@qinsp.com = me.   I have tons of parts from full-race fresh Duramax engines, to ECM's programmed for max output.

[Luke Hall]

Hey all,
This is Luke Hall, I'm a general aviation mechanic, former Marine, and non-discriminating gear head from the Detroit area. My dad ran a '63 stude powered avanti on the salt in the late 80's/early 90's (Ron Hall #1963 D/PS at the time). Me and my wife made it to the inaugural Ohio Mile event this spring and had great time despite the rain delay and we will be at speed week on the 11th this year but unfortunately can only stay around for a day. I've always had it in the back of my head that I would eventually run something on the salt but after getting to the Ohio Mile the gears have really been turning and the theoretical dollars are constantly being spent, hopefully one of these days the wrenches will start turning too... I'll probably just be lurking for the most part and taking things in but I grew up loving this community so I figured I would introduce myself finally.

-Luke

[4-barrel Mike]

Welcome, Luke!

Did you see this: http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,10748.0.html ?

Mike