Australian Belly Tank

[Sumner]

............ visiting Sumner (hi Sum!),.........rev H+

Just sent you an e-mail back with some driving instructions.  Have a good trip over,

Sum

[interested bystander]

Reading these recent posts, I wuz gonna make a comment about you antipodean (sp) folks and your poor health, but after thinking about it I realize that here in SoCal all my pals who used to talk about Hotrods and Honeys now now talk about Hotrods and Health -usually theirs! It must be universal.

Life is, after all -bending the wire back and forth or bumping the timing a bit more -  and eventually . . ..

[Reverend Hedgash]

...and eventually the wire breaks?

[SPARKY]

You guys have a great visit---that SUM guy is a popular destination!!!!!!!

Snow may or may not fall on you---but I guarantee you will be able to see it in the distance!!!!!!!

[Stainless1]

You guys have a great visit---that SUM guy is a popular destination!!!!!!!

Snow may or may not fall on you---but I guarantee you will be able to see it in the distance!!!!!!!

Didn't you forget he may not be "in the middle of no where" but you can see it in the distance too....   

[Dr Goggles]

Ok, I got a text from the Rev this morning with a picture of the good lady standing next to a rag top late model Mustang....that they've hired....God help us..

Anyways, yes we, I ,have been scarce on here...I've been lurking but to be honest I have little to report about the car...my focus has been the ankle...I got back to work and my days are currently filled with that and talking to the insurance company.......bless 'em , it's easier to make a kid eat broccoli than get them to do something they're supposed to do( and before anyone pipes up with the whole "They're running a business like everybody else and if they didn't care about profit/loss they wouldn't be there" they're a government outfit funded by a compulsory component of(~60%)registration and they make huge profits)...I've paid nearly thirty years of rego on more than one vehicle and I've NEVER hurt myself or anyone else in a car or bike...enough of that..

I'm not walking yet, I have a moon boot but can't weight bear fully yet and have very limited movement in the ankle so far...nearly made it through last week without painkillers but Friday was a shocker , the problem is I work in the drug and alcohol rehab field and one of the painkillers I'm taking makes me itch like someone in withdrawl, the only thing that stops the itching has me falling asleep constantly....you can see the problems with that

After the cars run at Mangalore airfield in 06 I stripped the bodywork.........given that the climate control in the "research and development facility" is Al Fresco I try not to paint during winter, then I was overseas, then I had the accident.....at present there are various odd shaped pieces of aluminium bodywork doubling as garden sculpture all over the back yard...the front part of the tub sits forlornly under the lemon tree...filling with lemons, the canopy sits on our Sea-Fury tank,making it look like something is happening......meanwhile Speedweek 09 bears down upon us.

I did solve one of the problems we'd been fighting with and that was our new seat , relocated harness mounts and how to mount the hip belts .We are sitting on the floor basically , in the old format we could JUST get the mounts far enough away to get proper tension. TCALSS we will loop the belts around the lower frame rail in order to extend the distance between the mount and the buckle...a small step but an important one.....where we were looking at the new mount there is no space, no height above the deck and no width in the frame so mounting the anchor higher and then going down and around the lower frame rail may be our only solution.

We still have lots and lots of little stuff to do, right now I need a back pack to carry anything more than a few steps which slows everything and makes using a spray gun out of the question.....but, I'll get there.

Right now I reckon the Rev and the good lady Hedgash are lost somewhere in LA , talking to a cop...."whaddayamean you were driving on the wrong side of the road because you got confused" , or staring absent mindedly under the bonnet of that Ford........get ready Sum

[Dr Goggles]

Last night Rob Carroll President of the DLRA posted the following on the club's message board , it is encouraging and also highlights that the motivation for restricting access to the lake is far different to what most people believed.This is still a sensitive topic but it looks like there may be a positive outcome in sight. Here is Rob's letter

This week I have traveled to Port Augusta to attend a meeting with the representatives of the Gawler Ranges Native Title Group. I attended this meeting with Robert (Doc) Murdock, who organised the meeting through an aboriginal who he previously employed. On Thursday the three of us traveled out to the Gawler Ranges National Park for the meeting.
This meeting was very productive in two ways, the first being to meet them in person, the second being to explain our situation and what we need to get our meeting happening and them explain to us what they need to eliminate the threat of mining on Lake Gairdner. This threat is the reason we have not been granted a permit yet. They are concerned if we go on the lake for speed trials, the miners will use this as leverage to get what they want, and that is to test drill holes in the lake.
To help them they have asked us to write a letter to the Minister demonstrating our objections to any mining of any kind on Lake Gairdner. There are other conditions involved as well, but no big deal. I have agreed to write the letter which the committee will do early next week.
Doc and myself have been invited to a subsequent meeting in Adelaide possibly Jan 28 or 29 or as soon as the Minister commits to a date. At this meeting we are hoping the Minister will agree to no destruction of the lake. If that happens we may be granted a permit for March.

The previous week we were greeted by a post from our WebMaster that was very exciting.......here

Rod just rang to say that Andy Green (yes, THE ANDY GREEN, current holder of the World Land speed record) had telephoned him today. Andy was at Sydney airport on his way back to the UK.

For those that have been living under the proverbial rock, Andy's team have built a new car, the BLOODHOUND and have been traveling the world checking out the 20 odd sites that they have determined suitable for their exploits (read better than 714MPH).

Andy was at Lake Gairdner yesterday and they drove a Land Cruiser some 5 miles over the lake. There is some surface water that is being blown around by the strong winds that we have all experienced and a few soft spots. In his opinion the Lake is in very good condition, especially for this time of the year and he has indicated that it is the best place in the world that they have seen, bar none. They want to make their attempt at Lake Gairdner.

Rod has made Andy aware of our current situation and is forwarding all the information to him. He has promised to give the Federal and State Government contacts a fair old pasting and bring them up to speed, so to speak. It's fantastic to have some one of his profile going in to bat for us, especially at this time.

There is a meeting at Lake Gairdner next week between Government agency officials and the Indigenous representatives. The DLRA may be asked to attend by have not received an invitation yet.

The darkest hour is just before the dawn......

So that"s where our race meet stands at the moment, in the meantime my leg is getting better , this morning I carried two plates to the table.....hobbling ,but it's a big step and has me thinking I'll be off the crutches within a month.I'm off to the shed today.

[ol38y]

Good on ya James.

Glad to hear your leg's on the mend as well. Ya know you can race bar stools at World of Speed huh...

[Reverend Hedgash]

Wow, you guys sure have a big country!

Well, it's only a little bit bigger than ours but how it differs is that around every corner it seems to be amazingly different, whereas ours is the same for thousands of miles at a time...

We had a fantastic time in the US and made many friends. We were a bit weirded out at first as everyone seemed TOO friendly, (anyone read Watership Down?) but we found that was the American way and it was good.

We visited Sumner and were delighted to meet someone who has been a great help and support to us as we have been building on similar timelines over the past 5 years.

Below is a photo of me squeezing into his streamliner. His home built workshop is bigger than ours, with better tools, a groovy greenhouse to help heating in Winter and a flat floor(!)

Sum took us out to see some 700 year old Indian Pueblos and Ruth cooked up a storm with a delicious Shrimp pasta. Our stay there was a highlight of our trip. Thanks Sum and Ruth!

Another Highlight was the vehicle. I hired a standard Mustang soft top for the trip but it wasn't ready when we arrived so we were UPGRADED to the Shelby GT-H unit.

Now all I can say is this car rocks!! 300+ horse power, it has what I think is the most successful retro designs going around with an appropriate tip of the hat to the style of the old but being unabashedly modern (except for the live rear axle!)

With the top down driving through the canyons of Arches or Zion National Parks was a fantastic experience.

With Peak Oil fast approaching, I felt that this would be one of the last chances to do that great dream of a major V8 road trip across the US, and it was a great success. The weather was great, snow on the ground but clear skies making it the best of both worlds.

Our trip was a round trip of 2200 miles from LA to PArk City and back, taking in route 66, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Blanding, Arches and Canyonland, Bryce and Zion and of course Las Vegas (what a crazy place!)

Below is a picture of the beast at Arches our favorite location on this trip.

Sorry I didn't get to meet more of the LAndracing fraternity, but rest assured I'll be back with Dr Go in a few years hopefully with the tank.

All the best

Reverend H+

Oh and for the record it's 42degrees celcius today, thats over a 107F in old school and we have a forecast of four more days of this temp. Looks like it is going to be underwear only in the garage this weekend in preparation for Aussie Speedweek...

[Elmo Rodge]

Rev, when were you here? You could have stopped at the Rodge Mahal and seen my Tank. I have beer too. Wayno

[Sumner]

Hey we had a great time with the two of you.  Come back any time and hopefully we will get over there also.  I'm glad you enjoyed Arches, it is a nice up close personal place to go to.

The best of luck to you guys in a month,

Ruth and Sum

[Dr Goggles]

Rev, when were you here? You could have stopped at the Rodge Mahal and seen my Tank. I have beer too. Wayno

an opportunity sadly missed.

[Milwaukee Midget]

I hired a standard Mustang soft top for the trip but it wasn't ready when we arrived so we were UPGRADED to the Shelby GT-H unit.

A bitter disappointment, I'm sure!  
Kind of like the game Monopoly - "Banking error in your favor - collect $200.00".

[Reverend Hedgash]

Wayno, it would have been great to visit, we probably drove past your door if you are in the middle of Utah...

We arrived back 2 days ago.

Next time, keep the beer cold!

rH+

[Elmo Rodge]

So you're telling me I'll have to drink the entire batch of Porter I just bottled?  Well OK. I mean it's just 5 gallons.  It really is all my fault. I've been working on the Racer and haven't been posting much. I shall endeavor to do better. Wayno