Skip's 2008- Workshop Completion

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                  Skip's 2nd Quarter - 2008 
                                  Workshop - Chassis Inspection

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Jeremy Herbert - 2008

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June 30, 2008 - I went to the track, between rain drops, on Friday and watched Jason Adams take the Super Pro $$$ purse. He was right on the tree all night. Jason's 1969 Camaro is super consistant. He clicked of a series of mid - 9.60's to take the money.

As you can probably tell, I have not done anything for the past two weeks on the car or the shop. I did remove the wheelie bars and take them to be powder coated. When I get them back, if I like the work, I will tell you where I got them done.
I have been in the parts books looking for a few more items that I know I will have to have a little later. While under the rear of the car for the first time to really look things over, I discoverd about 5 feet of rubber gase line hose going over the rear end. I will have to remove the whole gas line and put in some new approved gas line to be in compliance with the NHRA rule book. You are only allowed one foot of rubber hose, total from front to back. I wonder how many more surprises I will fine when I really get into plumbing and wiring the car.

Coming Soon! http://mrskipracing.com
This site will launch with the new car.

June 20, 2008 - The official word on my car is, I am trying to be ready in October. The present status is, the car is waiting on having the front and rear bumpers installed and the rear wing. When those are installed, it is going to the paint shop. When it comes back, as I have said before, the gauges, electrical, fuel system and lexan will be installed. The engine and trans are the last things to go in before we start testing in early September.

Workshop update: The long hot Summer just got a lot cooler. It is cool in my workshop! The A/C was put into operation yesterday (6/19) and it works just great. That was my Father's Day gift from the wonderful "Mrs. Barbara". Now I have incentive to finish the workbench and get the car inside.

June 14-15, 2008 - Attended the Father's Day weekend race at State Capitol Raceway. I took many photos on Sat. and many many more on Sunday (see Photo Gallery). Sunday, I was presented with a "Father of the Year" award from Bracket Masters (see Presentations). I would like to thank all of the members that had a part in selecting me for one of the awards. Joey Marcotte was the other Father of the Year.

June 7, 2008 - Van, Stella and Preston Johnson visited our home over the weekend. Preston was in town to take his SAT test at Baton Rouge High School. Preston will be a Senior this year in New Iberia, LA. Preston told me he would like to go to college and become an Aeronautical Engineer. One of the schools he is considering is Emory Riddle University in Huntsville, AL. That is one of the most prestigious avation schools in the country.

While here, Van gave me a lot of tips on my woodworking project. Van is a very good cabinetmaker. Stella and Barbara enjoyed catching up on the latest news while Van and I talked racing and woodworking. Van inspected all the work that had been done on my car and I got his seal of approval on the work!

May 30, 2008 - Went to the track to lend moral support to Silas Rogers on his last pass for his IHRA Competition License. Silas made it on his first try, running a 9.70 @141 MPH. PHOTOS

May 28, 2008 - I am working on the drawers for the workbench. I decided to use "sliding dovetail" joints for the drawers. I am learning a lot about routers, router bits, joints and wood. I decided to make a test drawer first, out of scrape wood. Good thing I did this. It did not come out nearly as good as I have it on paper. The dovetails were not perfect, but they will pass. Tomorrow I will start working on the real wood for the drawers. However it comes out, I can always screw, nail or glue them together.

Lagniappe 3 (Skip's Submarine History - Pt. 3)

May 21, 2008 - I have started the workbench for the left, front, side of the workshop. Although it is a lot of fun, it is also very hard to design the workbench and work on it at the same time. The result is, cut, put it up, take it down and try something else. Of course nothing is coming out straight, the first time. I am not using any nails, just screws, so I am able to correct most of my mistakes without too much destruction. I am learning how to use a square, laser line tool and other tools that carpenters use all the time. I went to Barnes & Nobel and purchased some woodworking books. I really don't see how Lowe's can report a 17% drop in profits. I have spent a lot of money there this last year while building this workshop! I have the top clamped together with the glue drying. The first time I tried to move it, after letting it dry the recommended time on the glue bottle, it broke apart! The base is ready to accept the doors and drawers. Now if I can just figure out how to make the drawers... I have all the hardware for the two doors, and I have some very nice plywood for the face of the workbench. The top will be the last thing to go on. I hope to be finished with this project by the end of this long weekend. May 18, 2008 - Jeremy graduated, with honors, from Glen Oaks High School. He was the only boy out of 19 honor students. Jeremy has been accepted, and will attend, Southern University in the Fall.

May 17, 2008 - The ceiling fan is installed and works perfectly, of course! Looks good too. I started the workbench plans for the left front side of the workshop. I have been reading a lot of books and magazines about constructing shop workbenches. It is amazing how many ways there are to do this, and none of them look like the workbench I want! I am going to take the best practices of each of the plans I've looked over and incorporate them into my "Workbench Masterpiece". Little "Liz" (granddaughter living with us) is finishing up 11th grade this year. She finished with a 3.2 GPA and only missed 2 days of school this year. She also made "All District" in Volleyball! We are really proud of Lizzie Herbert. I went out to State Capitol Raceway to give support to Mr. Silas Rogers, who was trying to get his IHRA Competition Drivers License. Silas was required to make 5 passes at different speeds and distances. He got 4 of them done, with a best time of 9.77 sec @ 137 MPH on his 4th pass. Traction problems developed after that and he could not get the last pass safely completed. The IHRA Competition License procedure and requirements are a lot different from NHRA. They are much easier to obtain in IHRA. For starters, there is no FAA physical required all the way down to 9.00 seconds. Only 5 passes are required, not 6 as in NHRA. There may be other things that I missed, but those jumped out at me. If you already have a NHRA Comp. License, you can apply and get the IHRA license by sending in a copy of your current NHRA license, along with the completed application form and the IHRA Membership Form. You must pay for your respective class and get a number. I need a IHRA Rule Book to really be able to quote the requirements. All of us that plan to race at State Capitol Raceway should get the IHRA Rule book to see where your car will fall. I went to the IHRA website (http://ihra.com) to download the membership form and competition license form, along with the medical form (only needed if you run 8.99 sec. or quicker - I think).

Lagniappe 2 (Skip's Racing History - Pt. 2)

May 11, 2008 - Not much to report. No work on the car at all. I did get some foam insulation installed in the roof and sides of my workshop. We had to move everything from the walls to the center of the shop. What a mess! I don't like the look of the finished product. Takes away some of the classy look of the shop. I will work on trying to make it look better (Yes I care about how it looks)!We have finished the inside washroom, including a large storage cabinet that I had to assemble, and a stainless steel folding table. Barbara is very happy with the outcome of her washroom. I just purchased a ceiling fan that I will install later this week.

Lagniappe (Skip's Racing History - Pt. 1)

April 26, 2008 - All of the welding is complete. Joe and his son, Troy, finished the seat installation, window net, fuel cell and parachute cable release installation. They also welded the tabs to hold the trunk lid down. That is all that will be done to the car until I complete the workbench in the shop. I am very pleased with Joe's work on the car. He is planning on going into business doing fabrication on race cars. If you need any welding done, email me at oholber@yahoo.com and I will have Joe call you.

I finished the painting in the washroom and dinning room. The laminate wood floors will be installed this coming Thursday in the dinning room, and that project will be complete. The kitchen floors are next, whenever Barbara get around to looking at, and picking out, the type of flooring.

My exhaust fan in the workshop is connected and works very well. Phillip came by with the tractor and moved my storage building off the servitude and made it possible to drive around the back of the workshop and storage to the south side of the back yard.

April 24, 2008 - Joe has started the completion work on the car. He has the seat mounted, the fuel cell mounted the the tabs are welded for the trunk. He also installed a new window net. The only thing remaining is mounting the parachute cable release.

While Joe has been working, I have been painting on Barbara's new washroom and the old dinning room. It really in coming out very nice. We are waiting on the floor installers to come now. She has decided on simulated wood floor in the dinning area and large block ceramic tile in the kitchen. She had the 1' x 1' ceramic tile put in the washroom.

April 18, 2008 - Let's start with the car. We ordered a new rear wing and that will be fitted and installed before we get the car painted. I am thinking about the color green for the new Camaro or maybe going back to the purple that we had on the last car. That yellow just doesn't do anything for me.

"FLASH"! While looking through all the information I received with the car when I purchased it, I found the serial number tag, which had been removed. The serial number indicates the car is actually a 1967 Camaro. This is real good! I became suspicious of the car being a 1968 when it did not have any of the side running lights in the front or rear fenders.

I fit the old purple trunk on the car and lined up all the hold-down fittings. I am not going to be able to use the old cowl-induction hood, it was modified to fit the last car and will not fit on this one. I put the yellow hood with the scoop back on. I removed 6 of the old hold-down fittings (and still have 10 left)! Joe is working on the window net and he still has to put the seat on a frame, build a support for the back of the seat, install the parachute cable and the new fuel cell.

Workshop Update - We now have an exhaust fan installed in the back wall, up at the top. It is variable speed and will help exhaust the fumes from the carb. cleaner and smoke from welding.

Barbara had ceramic tile put down in the new washroom. I will start painting tomorrow, Sat., and we hope to get all the appliances back in the room on Sunday. Then we will paint the new, expanded, dinning room.

April 15-17, 2008 - This is all about our grandson, Jeremy Ramon Herbert. As previously stated, Jeremy is one of eight winners of the 13th Annual "Young Heroes" award sponsored by; Louisiana Public Broadcasting. The Baton Rouge Rotary Club, CHASE Bank, Price Le Blanc Toyota/Lexus and Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge.

Jeremy was recommended by Bracket Masters President - Mr. Willie Beathley, Mrs. Charlotte Placide - School Board Superintendent and by Sgt. Jordan of the Glen Oaks High School JROTC program. This is the first time that a person has had three nominations for a Young Heroes award.

The eight young people that were picked for the 2008 awards were equal winners. Everyone received the same gifts and treatment. LPB and Rotary Club went out of their way to make each recipient feel special and like a winner. Each winner was assigned a personal mentor who worked with the kid from a few weeks before the big day and accompanied them every step of the way on the final day from breakfast until the banquet was over. Jeremy's mentor was Mr. Mark Fry, a member of the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge.

Each winner was allowed to have up to four persons accompany them through the festivities of the last day. Jeremy picked his grandmother, Barbara Holbert, grandfather, Oliver Holbert, his girlfriend, Terika Dillard and ROTC Sgt. Thomas Jordan.

Tuesday, the kids and parents checked into the LOD Cook Hotel on LSU's campus for a two night stay. On Weds. morning they were transported to the LPB studio for breakfast and to be presented with gifts. Each Young Hero received the following: Engraved cups and umbrella, along with a set of DVD on the History of Louisiana from LPB; A $10 gift certificate from Raising Cane's; a $100 gift certificate from Best Buy; A very nice back pack from The Backpacker; A $500 U.S. Saving Bond from CHASE Bank; A DVD Player from Olinde's; and a Dell Laptop Computer.

We were treated to video presentations of 3 past Young Heroes winners and the kids were given a preview of what would take place later that night at the banquet.

We departed the studio and traveled to Louisiana State Museum on 4th St. in downtown Baton Rouge. After a very short 50 minute stay, we were shuffled over to the Governor's Mansion for lunch. Lunch was catered by DEMCO and served by DEMCO employees. The tailgate style bar-b-que was great!

After lunch, Supriya Jindal, the First Lady of Louisiana, presented each kid with a medallion commemorating the day. Governor Bobby Jindal was out of state and could not attend. Proclamations were read by a representative from Baton Rouge Mayor, Kip Holden's office and from a state representative declaring April 16, 2008 to be "Young Heroes Day" in the state and the city.

After the lunch and the presentations, the kids were given a tour of the Governor's Mansion and then we returned to the hotel to get some much needed rest and get ready for the night activities.

Dinner and the banquet were held in The LSU Stadium Club, high above the playing field where LSU won the 2007 football national championship. Dinner was complete with live chamber music.

Jeremy had the following guests at the dinner/banquet: Grandmother and grandfather, sisters Barbara Morris and Lizzie Herbert, brother Ryland Gardner, girlfriend Terika Dillard, and step-father Roland Gardner. The Principal of Glen Oaks High School, Mr. Wilbert August, Jr, Mr. Tommy Stout - Security Dad, Bracket Masters President - Mr. Willie Beathley, Mrs. Charlotte Placide - School Board Superintendent and Sgt. Thomas Jordan of the Glen Oaks High School JROTC program.

The banquet featured a video presentation on each of the eight Young Heroes. Each video was played and then the kid was welcomed on the stage, along with their parents or guardian and they were given their award. They were asked a series of questions about their particular situation or adversity and what they planned for their future. Then they were asked to take a seat on the stage. Jeremy was the last kid to be presented (they saved the best for last). His video was great and he handled each of the questions very well and even had the audience and MC, LPB President and CEO, Beth Courtney, laughing. Jeremy was asked what he would like to do after graduation and he responded, "I would like to become a Mechanical Engineer".

Jeremy would like to go to LSU or Southern University, take engineering and play baseball. Both schools have excellent engineering and baseball programs.

Again, Barbara and I were very proud of our grandson. All of the kids were great and handled themselves as little ambassadors of Louisiana. There were not many dry eyes in the place after all of the stories were presented.

April 17, 2008 - More on Jeremy! Today is the Glen Oaks High School Sr. Breakfast. Jeremy walked away with many, many awards. Jeremy was given the following awards: Knight Of Columbus Patron's Award, he was selected as one of two top students at Glen Oaks and given a Louisiana State Students Award, he was voted the "Most Courteous", "Most Likely To Succeed", "Most Handsome" , "Best Dressed" and "Best Athlete". There were others, but I forget, but just one more, he was also voted "Mr. Glen Oaks"!

At home his grandmother has always called Jeremy "Mr. Cocky"! Now we may have to ask for an appointment to speak with him! I must add, Jeremy was the only boy out of the 21 Honor Students in the Sr. Class of 2008. (Did I mention that we are proud of Jeremy?)

I would like to give a big "High-Five" to the Glen Oaks High School Sr. Class of 2008. Their Sr. Breakfast was one of the most orderly and dignified high school ceremonies that I have attended.

When Jeremy arrived at home after the Sr. Breakfast, with all of his hardware and other awards, he found an acceptance letter from Southern University!

Jeremy has had conversations with representatives from Tulane Engineering and LSU Engineering. Both schools are working on getting Jeremy accepted at their school. Tulane also has an excellent baseball program.

April 6, 2008 - The yellow (for now) Camaro has obtained it's NHRA Chassis Certification, thanks to the welding of Mr. Joe Dunn and his son, Joe, Jr. The NHRA inspector did not find one thing to complain about or that he had to give us some slack. I am very happy with the way the new bars came out. We did away the the original X bar on the drivers side and installed the required seal bar on the bottom with 360 degree welds on both ends.
Silas Rogers also got his NHRA Certification on his Nova. He found out that because he has the original, non-modified, firewall, he does not need the seal bar. He has the bar that goes under the dashboard.
Joe and and I set a goal of having everything done to get certified by 4/5/08, and we made it. Early this morning, Silas and his brother Leo came over and we loaded the car on my small trailer and headed for No Problem Raceway Park to be inspected. There we ran into Mr. Van Johnson and his son, Preston, of New Iberia, LA, with their awesome 1969 Chevelle. He was there for re-certification, which he passed with no problem.
I want to personally thank my welder, Mr. Joe Dunn, for the excellent job he did on my car. Next time any of you are close to the car, look at the parachute and wheelie bars. Joe installed the parachute and he fabricated the wheelie bars from scratch.
I ordered a new wing for the rear end. It will get installed on the old purple trunk and get painted to match the car. I am also going to paint and put the old cowl induction hood on the car. As Mr. Beathley says, "Skip is going to make this car as close to the old "Masterpiece" as he can". AMEN!

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