2008
For
some reason, I decided to completely dismantle and
re-construct my Mustang this past year. It did need it
after four years of running on the salt, but it turned out
to be a massive job, much larger than I had anticipated.
Sometime in late May, Jim Best started bugging me about
getting the car back together. In July, he started showing
up in the morning, asking "What are we doing on the car
today?" Then Sonny Chapman started coming by to check
progress … and ended up welding and fabricating with Jim.
Since we just barely got the car ready in time, I think
it's pretty clear that there wouldn't have been Speed Week
for me if Jim and Sonny hadn't pitched in. Thanks to both
of them!
Jim Best and Martha and I left for Bonneville on Thursday,
August 14th, towing a trailer containing my Mustang, tools,
parts, coolers, and assorted other stuff. My son-in-law,
Aaryn, was still working on the engine in the Focus wagon,
which had been assembled just two days before. He and my
daughter, Annie, left Seguin Friday afternoon and arrived
on the salt Sunday afternoon. The Focus wasn't actually
running but most of the parts and pieces were there. We had
picked up middle son, James, on the way and oldest son,
Scott, drove over from California to meet us on Sunday
afternoon as well.
Sunday was pit setup and tech inspection. Jim and I spent
some five hours in line for Tech. There were about 480
pre-entries and the tech line was proof of that. We had
ample opportunity to look at other cars and talk with crews
and spectators. Tech was almost a slam-dunk -- the car has
been through Tech many times before -- except this year
they wanted a more robust side head restraint on the seat.
I thought I had included the spare head restraint in the
parts box so the inspector signed my sheet on the
understanding I would bolt the head restraint on before
running. Turned out I hadn't brought it. !#@#$*
Jim to the rescue. He fabricated one from a sheet of
aluminum that I had brought, copying (but in reverse) the
head restraint from the other side. Took quite a while,
without a vise or sheet metal brake, but he made a credible
copy of the factory head restraint in a couple of hours
using visegrips and end wrenches for a brake. Some of you
know just how inventive Jim is.
Racing started Monday. I prepped the car, adding three
quarts of oil to the newly-installed dry sump oil tank
since it read low on the fancy dipstick I had bought.
Checked tire pressures and such and then we pulled the car
into line on the long course to make a run.
There are usually two courses at Speed Week. The long
course is five miles of timed track with several miles of
shutdown area beyond the last timing lights. Your speed is
measured in the "quarter", from mile 2 to mile 2.25; in the
"first mile", from mile 2 to mile 3; in the "middle mile"
from mile 3 to mile 4, and in the "last mile" from mile 4
to mile 5. Your exit speed at mile 5 is also measured.
Neither the quarter speed or the exit speed count for
records. The short course -- and this year there were two
-- is similar except it is three miles long plus shutdown.
Speeds are measured from mile 1 to mile 2, in the quarter,
and from mile 2 to mile 3.
You pull
the car into the staging lanes and wait for your turn to
run. This can sometimes take hours, especially early in the
meet. When your car is about three cars back in line, the
starters expect you to be suited up and in the car. Seat
belts should be on and snug but the NASCAR net should be
down so the starter can talk to the driver and check the
belts. He removes every speck of slack in the belts. If you
can still breathe, the belts aren't tight enough.
When your car is ready to go, the starter (Jim Jensen) will
signal you to drop the visor on your helmet and then point
you down the course. On this run, Jim had to point me down
the course twice -- because I started off in reverse. Oops!
I found first and tried again. Maybe I was a little eager?
I wasn't able to use full throttle in either first or
second gears; there simply isn't much traction on the salt
with the skinny tires we run. Third gear let me roll into
the throttle and I shifted at about 160 mph. I was able to
nail it in fourth. I saw the tach at 8100+ all through the
last mile. This was the rpm I had hoped to see to break 200
mph.
I popped the parachute going past the five mile marker,
slowed down to where I could use the (puny) brakes, and
exited just before the six mile marker. I pulled off the
course along the return road and clambered out of the car.
A patrol pickup pulled up to me as I was taking my helmet
off and handed me a post-it note with my speeds on it,
confirming my tach reading. They congratulated me on the
run and then mentioned that they had seen oil running out
of the quarter window of the car. I looked back in the
vicinity of the dry sump tank and, sure enough, the vent
tube from the tank to the breather had come off and there
was oil everywhere.
Turns
out that I am a dry-sump novice. This is the first year
I've run one and I don't know much about them. One thing I
learned, however, is that no one ever measures the oil
level in the tank. You put in the correct amount of oil and
forget it. Since the oil will run through the pump into the
engine pan over time, the level in the tank doesn't mean
anything! We had to swab oil out of the car after several
more runs until the oil level reached the correct point.
After quite a while, Jim and Martha and the kids arrived at
the six mile marker (they are supposed to drive more
sedately on the way from the starting line).
We took
some pictures and then hooked the car up to tow back to the
pits. Along the way we stopped at the timing tag stand and
picked up my timing tag. 180.325 mph in the quarter,
186.898 in the first mile, 198.790 in the middle mile, and
202.572 in the last mile. Exit speed was 202.908 mph,
confirming that there wasn't anything left in the old gal.
I have raced this car at Bonneville for five years now. The
first two years were for fun, running a hot street motor
(actually, several motors because I blew them up pretty
often). In 2006 I decided to have a race engine built and
see if I could make this Mustang go over 200 mph using a
5.0 L engine. It took three years but finally I made it.
Meanwhile, the kids were having their problems with the
Focus. It took a couple of days for them to get it ready
for Tech Inspection. Then, after getting the inspected
sticker, they still had to get it running. They made two
abortive passes, neither going even one mile, and finally
decided the problems were too difficult to solve on the
salt with only hand
tools. A sad decision but, probably, a wise one. We decided
that we'll try to figure the problem out here in Seguin and
only take it back when it's running right. We've done some
time on a chassis dyno and discovered that there is serious
reversion in the intake system. The air/fuel ratio wanders
all over the map, doing horrible things to the power. We
are revising the intake system and plan to be back with a
runner in 2009!
After my Monday pass, I let Jim Best take a couple of
licensing passes on the short course. SCTA will give you an
"E" license upon presentation of a valid drivers license.
You can use this to drive at speeds up to 125 mph as often
as you wish. To get the next license, a "D" license, you
have to make a pass at a speed over 125 mph but under 150
mph. Jim made a run at 143 mph for this license. You get
the starter to sign the time slip and take it to the
registration trailer where they will issue your next
license. The "C" license, which all of my kids already had,
requires a pass between 150 and 175 mph. Jim made a pass at
173 mph to get this one.
Later in
the week, I tried another run on the long course. The salt
was pretty chewed up and I was happy to clock 195 in the
last mile. Happier still to go through pointy-end-first!
Many of my friends have gotten chummy with the Tech
Inspectors at Bonneville by spinning out. I've already done
that at El Mirage, thank you.
Then we rolled over to the short course to let my boys do
some licensing runs. They each did a pass in the 180's to
get their "B" license. Old Dad, of course, now has his "A"
license with the 200+ mph run.
This was the 60th running of Speed Week at Bonneville.
Considering the number of entries, I suspect there just
might be another 60 events waiting to happen. Hope I make
them all ...