January 28, 2005 - Didn't get a
chance to go racing, it rained me out. I did get to go to Glen Oaks
High School and participate in an Acceleration Experiment with three Science
classes at the school on Friday morning. I also had the good fortune
of accepting an award for the Baton Rouge SMART Program for volunteer
participation at the school.
See Story
February 14, 2005 - Valentine's
Day. I can't believe I have not raced this year and the tracks have
been open for over a month. The car is in good working condition and
everything is ready. Maybe it is old age. I have been under the
weather since early January with various little problems. When it
warms up, and I get back to normal, then I will get back into racing.
Glend McDonald has laid down a challenged and backed it up with some great
times in the past few weeks. He ran 9.13 @ 148 MPH a couple of times.
I don't think I can match that without a lot of weight loss. Nothing
like a good challenge, maybe I can find 0.13 seconds somewhere. I am
going to try to go out this Friday night.
Feb. 16, 2005 - If I test good on
Friday night, I will go to Eunice on Sunday and run in their opening day
bracket race.
Feb. 18, 2005 - Went to State
Capitol Dragway for Friday Night Street Races. There were almost 200
cars and bikes at the track. People are itching to race. I took
the Camaro and entered my first race of the year. The results were not
spectacular. I came off the trailer with a 9.33 @ 142 MPH in the right
lane, which was the lane of choice tonight. When I came up for my
second time trial, most cars were lined up to run in the right lane, so I
went into the left lane. This is my normal method, which is what most
of us do, take one time trial in each lane. This pass was only 9.46 @
141 MPH with a lot of spinning and all over the lane down the track. I
was not directly in the grove when I left and this was the cause of some of
my troubles. The third time trial, Mr. Joe lined me up and the car
left much better but still had to do some driving down the track for a 9.41
@ 141 MPH. In eliminations I ran in the left lane again and dialed in a 9.40 and ran a 9.378 @ 139
MPH (lifting), for a break-out loss.
When I started to put the car in
the trailer, the starter would not turn the engine and the fuel pump would
not run. I have two Optima batteries. You may remember that for
the past few times at the track the delay box has been "flashing",
indicating low battery voltage, after each round no mater how much I charge
the batteries. These batteries have a 3 year free replacement. I
have had them for just under 3 years. Upon being tested by Advance
Auto Parts, they found one battery to be dead. I was given a new
battery. Now I have two mis-matched batteries of different ratings and
age. Seems they don't come in the size that I originally purchased, so
the new battery is rated higher than the old one by about 40 CCA. Now
I wonder how long the old one will last. The three years is up in
September, but the pro-rated period is another 48 months. After
replacing the batteries, everything worked just fine.
February 20, 2005 - Headed out to
Eunice, LA to Louisiana Dragway. This race was posted on their web
site, but did not show up on the flyer that everyone got this week in the
mail, plus there was the possibility of rain. There were only 15 total cars and bikes that paid to race.
They ran one combo bracket. Again I lost in the first round. The
best time I got all day was 9.45 @ 141 MPH, and up to 9.51 for one run.
The temp (78 degrees) and humidity (88%) were much higher (and DA) than Friday night, and I had
changed my front jets from 98's to 94's. The back jets are still at 98
each. This was the only change to the car. After losing, I
discovered three leaks, two oil and one water. The two oil leaks will
be easy to fix, just tighten the front and rear pan nuts, but the water leak may be coming from a freeze plug.
This would be the 2nd one in the past 4 months.
Photos From Eunice
Let me tell you how I lost! I
put in the wrong cross-over time for my opponent into my delay box. I
had to run a little truck that I thought had a 14.10 dial-in. He
actually had a 14.70 dial-in. I ended up with a -.379 red light.
I can always find new and innovative ways to beat myself!
Louisiana Raceway - Bracket Masters
Race - I talked to
Arthur, track owner, and discussed having a Bracket Masters race at Louisiana
Dragway on Sat., May 14, 2005. We will send out flyers and post the
race on the web site here and at
http://www.racepics.net . The
format will be the same as the Battle on the Bayou races with heads-up
classes and at least three Bracket Classes, along with Jr. Dragsters.
Come race with us!
Feb. 21, 2005 - Removed the car
from the trailer to tackle the leaks. Tightened the nuts holding the
oil pan at the back and the front. I tried to fix the oil leak at the
back, coming from the weld repair on the differential housing, by using some
oil resistant silicone to seal it. After about 4 hours of waiting, I
determined that was not working. Houston came over, took one look and
suggested J. B. Weld. I went to O'Reilly Auto Parts and got the J. B.
Weld - Stick Weld Repair. I have used this in the past to fix leaks on
radiators at the track. The good thing about this stuff is, it works
in a wet environment. It also helps that it dries in 5 minutes.
So far, it seems the be working just fine. I suggest we
carry a tube of this stuff in our pit supplies.
The water leak was next.
After getting under the engine on the passenger side, I could see a track
where the water had been coming from just below one of the head bolts by #4
exhaust port. Not a freeze plug leak at all. After removing the
spark plugs and taking the headers off, I removed the head bolt. Not
having as much knowledge about Big Blocks (Gen. IV) as I do SBC engines, I
thought the bolt went into the water jacket, but it does not. This
leak is from the head gasket! I removed the bolt, cleaned it, applied
some lubricant and critiqued it to 85 ft. lbs. Then I put a bottle of
Bloc Seal in the radiator. I will keep an eye on this one to see if it
seals or not. So far, it holds up to 180 degrees F.
Feb. 22, 2005 - When I got ready to
start the car after the leak repairs, it would not start. All the
pumps ran just fine, but the starter just went, "Click", "Click". I
apparently had broken the jumper connection on my starter solenoid. I
always solder this push on connector to the starter, so that meant I had
unsolder the lead and all the other stuff that goes with putting the new
jumper in place. After that 1/2 hour drill, everything worked just
fine.
Feb 23, 2005 - The Car Show at Capital
High School went very well. Mr. Stuart was walking around with a big
smile on his face all day as the students from various classes and other
staff members of the school came into the shop to view the cars. We
hope this is only the first of a long relationship with Capitol High School.
We really enjoyed our visit.
Bracket Masters Racing Team members that were on hand for the show were: Mr.
Willie Beathley, Mr. Marcus Bowie, Mr. Houston Hawkins, Mr. Van Johnson, Mr.
James Richardson and Mr. Harry "Big Man" Sills.
February 27, 2005 - Took the car to
No Problem Raceway Park to run in their Bracket Race. The car was
running very good. I did not see any leaks. The track was
working excellent! I had my best 60 ft. times with the new
combination. My best to date had been, 1.333 sec. in the 60 ft.
I had four runs with the highest 60 foot time being 1.339 and the lowest
being, 1.308 sec. The 1.308 came on the last pass where I broke out
with a 9.29 @143 on a 9.31 dial-in. The weather station had been
working well up to that point with a couple of times being dead on with a
.005 and a .008. Anyway, I was well pleased with the performance of
the car. That new battery is making a world of difference in the way
all the pumps and electronics are working. The batteries even take a
full charge betweens rounds. I have probably had the battery problem
for over a year.
March 4, 2005 - Skip got a late
start but still managed to get in a couple of time trials and the team saved
me a good parking spot. The first run was 9.269 @ 144 MPH and the
second was 9.32 @ 144 MPH. The car has been slowing down on the second
pass lately, but the weather station also indicated that it would not be as
quick on the 2nd pass. Everything worked just great. Tomorrow I
will participate in the Bonus Race and Sunday in the big Bracket-1 race.
Glend, Jr. ran 9.251 @ 148 MPH on
his first pass, but backed it up with a 9.21 @ 148 MPH. Little Glend
was driving and he had a perfect light (.000) on the first pass. I
don't think I will be able to top that anytime soon. It would be nice
if the two of us could meet in the finals Sunday!
March 5, 2005 - Skip went three
rounds in the Super Chevy Bonus Race before losing to a dragster that cut a
.001 light and ran dead on his dial-in. The car was running good and
is ready for tomorrows big Super Chevy Bracket Race.
March 6, 2005 - I lost in the first
round due to my indecision on the dial-in. With no time trial, and not
checking my weather station before leaving for the staging lanes, I dialed
in, 9.27 sec. After sitting in the staging lanes for almost an hour, I
changed the dial-in to, 9.32 sec. The track was much better today than
yesterday (running before the jet cars) and I had a very good 60 ft. time.
I caught the other car and slowed to a 9.30 @ 139 MPH, for a break-out loss.
Had I stayed in it, I would have run a 9.285. For round two, I dialed
in a 9.30 (weather station said 9.29), and I had to run Rose Ezell in the
"Mighty Carlo". Rose cut a .005 light, to my .044. She went a
10.544 on a 10.52 dial in. I ran 9.335 on the 9.30 dial. The car
kept up its tendency to run quick on the first pass of the day, then slow
down 4-5 hundredths for the rest of the day. The Margin of Victory
(MOV) was .050 sec.
All in all, the Super Chevy Show
was great. I enjoyed the vendors midway, the car shows the swap meet
area, where I picked up the correct tail light assemblies for my 1967 Camaro
for $60.00, and some other small items and tools that you only see at the
SCS. Photos
Make sure you take a look at
Van
Johnson's page.
March 14, 2005 - Worked on the
floor of my trailer all day. During the past six years, the floor has
taken a real beating, in addition to the full can of break fluid that wasted
on the floor a few weeks ago that took up a lot of the paint. So,
today I prepped the floor. I will put a coat of primer and then some
garage floor paint over that. I am going to repaint the walls and
cabinets too.
The car really has me perplexed
over the fast times on the first pass of the day, then the slow down for the
remainder of the run. This car has not been near as good on 60 ft.
times as "Masterpiece", and to be 100 lbs. lighter and not run as quick, is
also a puzzle. At first we had a air induction problem, which is not
totally solved, but the K&N air filter is helping out a lot. Then we
thought it was brakes, but a new set of calipers on the front and rear
should have solved that problem. Something is wrong with the chassis
and I think I must let a professional look it over and correct the problem.
March 16, 2005 - Applied the 1st
coat of paint to the cabinets inside trailer.
I made an appointment to take the car to AGCO Chassis and Frame shop on
Coursey Blvd. in Baton Rouge. They will put the car in a frame machine
and determine is the frame is straight and all four wheels are working as a
unit. They worked on the old "Masterpiece" about 10-12 years ago and
did wonders for the old car. This is the first step in trying to solve
the problems that exist with this car that will not let it run as quick at
the old car. This car is 100 lbs lighter, is all tube chassis, built
from the ground up to be a race car. The other car was only a
back-half, stock Camaro.
After we get it back from the chassis shop, we will make a few passes and
them pursue other avenues to try to solve the problem, if necessary. Van Johnson,
Houston Hawkins and I have been talking about different solutions. I
have looked back in my data and found the car has been slowing down after
the first pass since back in November, before the rear end was destroyed.
It was doing good, tracking with the weather station, before November 2004.
I can't seem to find what may have caused the change.
March 18, 2005 - Dropped the car
off at AGCO to determine what needs to be corrected. After their
inspection, they found the following: The right front ball joint is loose,
one bolt is missing and the others are loose. This has caused the ball
joint to be almost destroyed. The frame is not straight and the rear
end is installed crooked. The bolts on the rear disk brakes are too
long and are making contact with the right rear wheel when the brakes are
applied. There is something to do with the chassis that is not level
that they will fix also. The car will be ready Monday afternoon.
I checked the trailer
battery that serves the lights and the winch. I added water and
charged the battery.
I have finished painting the walls
and cabinets in the trailer. Now all I have left is the floor, the rear door
drive-up area and the workbench. I will do the floor with some special
"Hot Tire" paint that contains epoxy. If it looks good, I will put
that on the workbench too. I will wash the outside of the trailer this
weekend and when I finish, I will have a new looking trailer!
March 21, 2005 - Spent the weekend
putting the finishing touches on the trailer paint job and washing the
outside. My trailer is only 20 ft long. I feel sorry for all of
you with the long trailers (anything over 24 ft.).
I picked up the car from AGCO
Automotive Corp. today. Louis Altazan, President of AGCO, and his crew
fixed everything. The front alignment was way off, along with the bad
ball joint that was replaced and a new mounting surface had to be fabricated
and installed to hold the bolts for the ball joint. One of the
adjustment arms was frozen and would not move. They had to cut it out
and fabricate a new adjustment arm for the right front. The rear end
was in there at an angle, not in alignment with the front wheels, so it was
scrubbing MPH off with the front tires and the rear tires. I should
pick up some MPH and maybe a few hundredths too.
Looks like I will have to go to No
Problem Wed. night to test it (did not go). We will be on the road to Monroe, LA
this coming weekend. The Monroe Racing Team is hosting us at Twin
Cities Dragway on March 26, 2005 at that tracks regular 1/4 mile bracket
event.
March 23, 2005 - I was privileged
to be one of the few persons invited to the private testing session of
Van Johnson's new
car, the Zubie III 1969 Chevelle.
March 25, 2005 - No testing yet.
The trip to Monroe is cancelled due to impending bad weather.
We put on a small car show at Glen Oaks High School yesterday.
Everything went well. GOHS was in a celebrating mode yesterday.
They received an award for academic excellence from the state which entitled
them to a cash award and a nice yellow flag for the schools flag pole.
They had a flag raising ceremony just before the car show and they had a
parade scheduled for right after the car show. Yesterday was the last
school day before Spring Break.
I changed the oil in the car, put in a total of 7 qts of Mobil 1, 4qts of
10W-30 and 3 qts of 10W-50. I reset the valves and found two exhaust
valves on each side too tight. None of the other valves required any
adjustment. The valves are set at, Exh.-.024" and Int.-.022". I also
found the MSD Adapt-A-Cap body loose. This had caused the rotor to
ride about 1/16 inch below the normal spot on the cap. I have no idea
how this could have happened, or how long it has been like that. I
tightened everything up and checked the timing. It was still at 37
degrees (crank trigger).
March 30, 2005 - Rain, rain, rain.
Each time I decide to go to test or run, it rains. I had planned to go
to NPRP tonight, but... Maybe on April's Fool Day!
HOME Skip's
Home Page
Cars-Parts For Sale
1st
Qtr 2003 2nd Qtr 2003
3rd Qtr 2003
4th Qtr 2003
Dec. 2003
1st Qtr.2004
2nd Qtr.
2004 3rd
Qtr 2004 - Page-1
3rd Qtr 2004 Page-2
4th Qtr. 2004
