Introduce Yourself

[lsrcarl65]

Hello, My name is Carl Roberts and I have been lurking on this site for a few years now.  I am building a D/MS and have worked on it on and off for about thee years.  Looking forward to hopefully finishing it in the near future.  I work for one of the big three investment banks as a fund manager and have been going to the salt since 1980 as a crew member and decided to take the leap of building my own car about five years ago. 

[salt27]

My name is Don Jackson I reside near Yoncalla Oregon. I was first interested in land speed racing in 1969 at the age of 12, when I got to look at One of Craig Breedloves vehicles. I have been involved in several motor sports [mostly drag racing bikes and cars]. I started going to bonneville in 1991 as a spectator and to help when needed. I have made the 130 and 150 club and now i'm in the process of collecting pieces for a lakester. Just like so many others, The friendly attitude of the people, the history and beauty of the salt has me hooked.
Your fellow salt addict, Don [salt27]

[Ray-Dean]

Golly. I'm just the new guy.

Started trying to make things go faster at age 3. That was back when "shinny" meant faster. Spent an entire day polishing an old cycle rim. I then began to change sprockets on bicycles, then the ridding mower. Shortly after, I began to work on dad's VW. At the tender age of 14, I built my first 327, and power glide to put in place of the old I-6 and three on the tree in my first truck ('67 short/step side). From there I got into fords. Mainly 460cid and variations of it. Began to do a little drag racing with a BBC powered '76 Pontiac Aster. didn't do much after that 'till I got back into VW's. I now build custom "hot rod" inspired VW cars. But I still wanted to go fast.


Then I heard about the USFRA 130 club. I began laying the plans to do it in a VW. Reading more and more, I learned about this site. Time to switch to plan B. Decided to build a VW powered lakester. Why? I was flying by the seat of my pants. And nothing sounds more official when flying by the seat of your pants than a plan B. 

Read everything I could find on lakester's. That's when I stumbled on Sumner's site. Read every page! I had a lot of time on my hands. And that's when I decided.... Plan C! I am now in the process of building a BG/CC out of a '71 VW Ghia.


That's all the car stuff to date. Well, I'm a Ford Master Tech. by trade, so I guess that's car stuff too in a way. As for the rest of my life, I've been married to my third wife for 6 years. Jamie is in training to become an Oklahoma State Trooper, and we have three boys: Guss 5, Beau 2, and Ian 1. I really got to hand it to her for putting up with me through all the car build.


And that's about it. I know very little about LSR except what I have learned here. to that, I am extremely grateful. Thanks.

[Harold Bettes]

Hello All,

I have been absolutely infatuated with internal combustion piston engines (and other stuff) since I was about 12 and that was a very long time ago. The study of engines and mechanisms made it an imperative to go to engineering school when I got old enough as a natural course of events and I thought that would give me some kind of advantage. All that it did was gave me lots more questions than answers! I also learned how to push on doors that are plainly marked "pull".

Go-karts, drag racing, boats, airplanes and even some circle track experiences. When I first went to Bonneville was long after growing up around various machinery and and even a stint at wiping tires (and hanging out) on the infamous Chaparral race cars of Jim Hall and Hap Sharp. 

The salt bug must bite pretty deep because in helping some efforts out at Bonneville I even got to do my best to slow down the efforts of the apple farmers (Danny Boy) Thomason and Tradup. They even let me hang out and  eat apples for no charge! Fun guys!

Currently I am working whenever I have the time on a Monza (yeah another one) and hope to make it the vehicle that both my sons and myself will get legal in. In order for that to happen, they will have to meet me on the salt from each coast of the country. Have had some setbacks on my projects and it probably won't happen this calender year, but maybe next. 

My first book Dyno Testing and Tuning is just now on the book shelves and I continue on another one on airflow through engines. Nothing monumental, but fun anyway.

Been married for 35 years come May and have three wonderful kids as a result of my wife's efforts. All of them have been at Bonneville at one time or another and although my wife calls Wendover "Bendover" she has been supportive of my hobbies all these many years. It has been a great time to be a gearhead.

And that is all I have to say about that......(apologies to Forrest Gump)

Regards to All,
HB2

[cuchullain]

hi there folks

paul from the north coast of ireland, our team has just started r&d for a car, which we are intending on racing at Bonneville in 2009 or 2010.

It will be an aircooled vw, called "Lucky Charm", running a stone stock 36hp engine, running in the 36 hp land speed challenge.

Our team includes members from California, Ireland and England.

looking forward to eventually meeting some of you folks on the salt !

cheers
paul
Team Ireland, 36hp lsr "Lucky Charm"

[Richard Thomason]

Harold, you forgot all the black government projects and that weird transparent flying object we saw down at the 13 mile. I'll have my good friends at the Washington Post review your book. If it's a good review do I get an autographed copy?

[Harold Bettes]

Richard,

This forum is to introduce yourself.....not rat somebody out!

These days, the farther away I am from DC the better. Perhaps they will even forget my name.

The best to you and yours and the Lord's little berries.

Regards,
HB2

[Glen]

This is for introductions, lets stop it now and let people introduce themselves. I don't think Richard was doing any more then have a little fun. But this is one of the reasons the site got in trouble before, someone took something wrong and started name calling and putting down the site.

[crusher]

we made a video
   http://youtube.com/watch?v=3WMG5gDTAoc 

[Stan Back]

Us Neanderthals can't see a video.

[malakiblunt]

hi foud  link to this site on foekema kreidler 50cc site, looks intresting, i like makeing stuff with engines in my shed bikes mostly.

[Count]

Hey All,
My name is Joel Platts, and the guys that I work with call me the Count. (Because they think I look like the Count from Seseme St.)
Lets see, I  started out in Salt Lake City doing some drag racing, and then took a little trip out to the salt in an attempt to make the 130 club at the World of Speed in 01 and had a great time doing it.  Bonneville has always had a special place in my heart.  As a kid hanging around in my friends garage, his step dad would come in every once in a while and regale us with tails of past glory at Bonneville.  Some of you probably new Leroy Neumayer, and how good his stories were.  Well needless to say I was hooked and now my goal is to compete in the Modified Sports Class for a world record.  My wife Lauren, bless her is a saint, since I moved her to NASCAR country (NC) so that I could learn more about building fast cars.  It was a move that was risky, but has since proved to be the best decision we've made together and I couldn't have done it without her.  Our car is an 85 Corvette that we've had for quite some time.  It's in a million pieces right now, but full of potential.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to picking your brains, and hope I get to meet some of you sometime.  And if any of you from the USFRA remember me, shoot me an email and say hi.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Well, I can't say that I remember you, but that won't diminish the welcome I'll extend to you now that you've decided to join the posting world of land speed racers.  I'm glad to see another in this group. 

So -- Huntersville, hey?  That's about a two and a half hour ride down I-77 and turn left on US74 to Maxton and the E C T A meet.  Ask for more specific directions and information, please.  The next ECTA meet is less than two weeks from now -- racing begins Saturday morning the 17th and ends Sunday afternoon around 2.  We'll expect to see you there.  No excuses will be allowed.  Nancy and I will be there to do our volunteer chores, but one of these days - one of these days -- we'll have the race bikes with us.  In the meantime - come find me inspecting bikes (tall guy) and Nancy hanging around or selling admission tickets (well-tattooed lady).

See you soon, right?

[GH]

SSS, if that fellow named Count is really 152 years old (or young), he would be the oldest racer alive.

[charliew]

Hi, I'm new. Gonna be a sponge on tech stuff. Gotta study this site a lot. Been trying to make things faster a pretty long time. I guess God likes me I'm still here although a little beatup. Just a little slower on getting things done. Lots of mediocore projects in the back yard. All unfinished. Fieros, jeeps, scouts, blazers, one old 79 corvette and a few kit cars. Oh yeah, a whole lot of vws. I like to fabricate.

My son hot rods a suby STI and I'm building a 914 porsche with a 2.5 turbo suby motor and tranny. Thought about the mile but it's really a street car. I probably don't have the finances to go mile racing.

Gotta read the rules.

The slipperyest thing I have available are some fiero gt's but the power to weight of the subie motor is interesting to me. That probably would be my motor choice.

My son is a ME. He likes fast cars maybe as much as me but is way more educated. I would like to take him to the Texas Mile this year.