Oct-Dec - 2006

Dec. 31, 2006 - This is the end of the year 2006. Taking everything into account, it has been a very good year! You may ask how can I say that? I am alive and still able to do the things that really count, like loving my wife, attending my church and talking to my children, that are spread from one side of the USA to the other. It's great to be an American!

I plan to build another car. I have been discussing this with my wife and Van Johnson. Van built his own car in his back yard workshop. I am about to build a workshop that will accommodate everything I need to build a racecar. My dream is to build a late model (1996 and up) GM body drag car. I already have the engine, transmission and electronics, which I am not going to sell. I will run in Super Street (10.90) Class, so I can lower the compression ratio, slow the car, and use pump gas. This car will be much better than the last one (and maybe better than "Masterpiece")!

Dec. 29, 2006 - Today we spent about 5 hours taking parts out of the car. Arnold Jordan and his brother, Dobie, are building a 1968 Camaro and they needed a lot of parts off of my car. They took all of the Lexan windows, the fuel pump and filter, door handles, electrical wiring from the trunk and the steering system. They also helped me get ready to pull the motor and trans. I took all of the electronics out and the dashboard, with all the gauges. All that is left inside is the shifter and parachute cable. We will remove the rear end, the engine and transmission in the next few days. The work today was done by Warren, Robert Garner, Arnold, Dobie and Baron Young.

We have determined that the impact moved the body of the car (or another way of looking at it is, the whole cage moved) about 3-4 inches. This is the amount of separation that we see between the front top bar on the cage and the top of the windshield. Another thing I found was, the hold down strap that I used to secure the two batteries was totally inadequate. I had removed the 3/8" steel bar that was holding the batteries down and replaced it with 1/8" straps. After the crash, these straps were mangled and twisted, but still holding the batteries down. Lesson Learned: Use the 3/8" steel bar (insulated if you can) to hold the batteries down.

Dec. 22, 2006 - Nothing has been done on the car. I have had many calls from racers looking for parts and asking about the price of different items. I have had lots of Dr. appointments and other things going on right now, and I have not been able to put any effort into the car.

The physical therapy really works for staying in shape and feeling good. During the past week without the therapy, I have begun to feel real sore and tight in a lot of places. The Dr. ordered a MRI of the neck region to determine why it is not doing better like the shoulder and left leg, which are almost back to normal. I am waiting on the results of that MRI. I did 3 push-ups today after not being able to do any this past Monday. I normally do 20 push-ups during my regular exercise routine, before the accident. After the accident, many of the people that had to check me were amazed at the condition of my 68 year old body.

Barbara and Mrs. Nita Garner sorted and labeled gifts for the kids until well into the night on Thursday. They will finish the sorting and labeling Friday and the gifts will be delivered to FEMA Officials on Sat. morning. FEMA will direct the distribution the gifts to the kids.

Dec. 19, 2005 - Mrs. Barbara Holbert, Mrs. Nita Garner and Mrs. Jerri Harris completed Christmas Shopping for the Katrina Kids with the help of President Willie Beathley, James Allen and James Richardson. Wal-Mart has given a donation to the fund and the toys were purchased at the store in Central.

Dec. 18, 2006 - We will start to dismantle the car today. People want to purchase different parts, so we are advancing our time table. Most people know I had excellent quality parts on the car. Everything is for sale, but I am going to keep the engine and transmission for now and a person has already made an offer on the rear end.

Dec. 12, 2006 - I am being released from the therapy sessions this Friday! Maybe I will go get the car a little early, get it parked in the back and start the disassembly.

December 8, 2006 - My therapist is releasing me this coming week. I feel just fine, although not 100%, I am so much better than a week ago, I feel just as though I am completely back.

Trying to make some drag racing decisions, which is very hard right now. I have decided to concentrate on three things in 2007. First of all, we will remove whatever is of value from the old car, engine, trans., electronics and other misc. items that may be used or sold. I will let the body go very reasonably. That will be the extent of my 2007 drag racing. The second project will be for Barbara and I to expand the living area of our home. This will be done by taking my work shop and converting it to a wash room/ironing room, accessible from the inside of the house, and expand the dining area of the house, which is adjacent to that room. Project three will be to pour a slab and build a large work shop for me in the back yard that I will be able to drive a car into and work on, along with my engine building and carburetor work. After all of that is done, I plan to get another car and resume racing, sometime in 2008, most likely with a driver, other than myself.

The accident has a lot to do with me getting out of driving. Other things have been factors, even before the accident. The summer heat in Louisiana is becoming unbearable at my age. The long wait in the staging lanes and the hot clothing required to run under 9.99 sec. (which I am glad I had on when the accident occurred). I believe I will have almost as much fun watching someone else drive the car that I have prepared. I plan to be hands-on in getting the car ready to compete. I may keep my license and do some testing every now and then!

By getting the car back, I will be able to go to schools and participate in the work that we started with the kids in our area. After the accident, one of the first persons I called was Mr. Russell Lyons, Auto Tech Instructor over in Denham Springs. I had promised to bring the car out to his Technology Center in Denham Springs to show his students and talk about careers in the automotive field. I still want to keep that commitment.

December 2, 2006 - The recovery is coming along just fine. I almost have all of the range of my neck and shoulder back, and the pain is almost all gone.

I talked to Willie and Van Johnson about how to go about removing the engine from the car. We have decided to take a slow approach. We will bring the car back to my home and then disassemble it. Van owns a Plasma Cutter and we will use that to cut the engine out. The parts of the front end will be removed with care, so we can try to determine what went wrong. We know it is almost a hopeless quest, but Van and I both want to determine if there is something to be learned from the accident. We will start the work sometime in late January 2007.

I have been looking over the internet drag race cars for sale sites. There are a lot of very good "sounding" cars out there. Two local cars have been offered that I know a lot about. When I sit down and start looking at the internet, I can waste a lot of time reading specs and looking at photos and PRICES. Everyone is very proud of their cars and they want a arm and a leg for them. IF I had unlimited funds, I would purchase this 1999 Pontiac Pro Stock Firebird (rolling chassis), which is Ad # 17134, and put my engine and trans. into it. I have been telling everyone that my ideal race car would be a late model Firebird or Formula Pontiac (I like the Formula better).

For the past 32 years, I have only raced 1967 &1969 Camaro's. In 1974 I purchased a 1969 Z-28, "Masterpiece I" ,and kept it until 1980. I purchased "Masterpiece II" , a 1967, in 1988 and the last one, "Mr. Skip", also a 1967, in 1998. The early models have a lot of frontal area and therefore are harder to push through the air. The late model Camaro's and Firebird's are better for cutting down that coefficient of friction (I still like the 1st generation).

Web Site Stats.: We have averaged over 120,000 hits per month for the past three months!

November 29, 2006 - I went and looked at the car again today... I removed a loose bolt from the drivers seat that secures the seat to the tab welded to the crossbar on the roll cage. The bolt was hanging down about 1/2 inch and was being retained by the cover on the seat. The nut had vibrated off. This bolt was the cause of all the pain in my right shoulder blade. I also looked at the throttle linkage. The linkage is still wide open. The hole that the linkage passes through is about 1" in diameter. The 1st impact on the left side caused the firewall to move about 4-5 inches to the right. The aluminum firewall is pealed back where the linkage cut into the firewall and it is still so tight I could not close the throttle. I did not take any tools, but the linkage will have to be disconnected to close the butterflies. I pressed the brake petal and fluid squirted out of the brake line on the left side. So, after the first contact with the wall, I had no front brakes.

I thought my therapy was only three weeks. It is going to be six weeks. I have made a lot of progress. My wife let me drive for the first time yesterday (it's been nice having a personal driver)! I have regained about 95% of the range of my right shoulder and arm and about 75% of my neck range. All in all, I am doing just fine!

November 25, 2006 - Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, my family prayed for many people in our family and for our troops overseas, wherever they may be. We also stopped to thank God for my being here to celebrate another Thanksgiving and to reflect on the many blessings that he has given to our family. I called each of my 5 children, who are scattered from coast to coast, and just said, "I love you". All of us have a lot to be thankful for. I hope everyone that reads these words will look at the good things they have accomplished, shared with family and friends or just the small things that made you happy during the past year, and say, "Thank God".

We are off the "Bayou Classic" to see Southern beat Grambling! Of course Barbara thinks it will come out the other way around, but it should be a good game. Both teams are equally bad this year!

November 22, 2006 - I have been to three of nine, 1.5 hr, sessions of Physical Therapy and I am feeling much better. I have regained about 40 % of the motion of my right shoulder since I started. Here are some photos of the car when they loaded it up the day after the wreck.

November 19, 2006 - I went to the track and only stayed for one round of qualifying before I needed to get out of the cold and get some rest. We had invited several young men from an alternative school in Baton Rouge. They were escorted by new member, Mr. Robert Garner. Mr. Fred Sibley, of the Baton Rouge Chapter of 100 Black Men, escorted 7 young men who are in The 100 Mentoring Program, to the race. Bracket Masters members, Reggie Jackson and Tarrus Jones, gave a brief presentation to the young men on drag racing, track layout and the electronics involved with running the track and gave them a tour of the pits and the tower. Later, during time trials, I talked to them about the electronics in a Super Pro or Super Class car and how the Christmas Tree functions.

We had an excellent turnout of cars! When I departed, at about 3:00 pm, the spectators were still coming and we had over 200 cars, bikes and Jr. Dragsters! The support from all the people in the area was fantastic, just like the weather. We could not have had a better day to go racing. We did manage to get some photos, which I will post later.

This time, unlike past races, I don't have to make any excuses about the car count or the low spectator turn-out. Everything was GREAT!

November 17, 2006 - Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Everyone that I have talked to, and it flatters me that so many, from all walks of life, have called or come by to make sure I am OK.

Since I wrote the short piece for the front page of the site, I have learned a lot more about the run and accident. I thought I hit the wall just after taking off, maybe at the 330' mark. This was not the case. I actually hit closer to the 1/8 mile and again, on the other side of the track, just after the 1/8 marker. I then scrapped the wall all the way down to just past the finish line and recorded 57 mph through the speed trap. I must have been out for the ride down the right wall, or I would have turned the engine off. Just after hitting the wall the first time, the throttle stuck, wide open because the firewall had shifted over from the impact, and the steering rack was broken. This resulted in my not having any control. All I remember is hitting the wall the first and then heading across the track, under full throttle, to hit the opposite side. As I crossed the track, I can remember thinking that nothing hurts yet, so I must be OK, but here comes the second wall! That is when I felt the pain in my shoulder and saw stars! After that I remember the engine stopping and I took off my belts and the neck collar, I had put it on just before entering the B. O. box, along with my gloves, and I put the window net up while they were signaling me to come on up and make a single pass. After the wreck, I could not get the helmet off. I did manage to swing the drivers door open to signal the tower that I was still alive. Then people appeared from everywhere. I wanted to get out, but I could not move. I was in too much pain. When the EMT lady, Sheeree, arrived, I asked her to get in touch with my wife and let her know I was OK

On the first run of the night, we went up to the line and did not get a good burn-out. I had changed the jets in the Holley 1150 carb during the day, before heading out to the track. I had removed two spark plug wires to tightened up the header bolts and laid them down next to the carb. Running on six cylinders, it felt sort of sluggish and not responsive at all. That pass was 10.17 sec. at 132.99 mph.

Coming back down the return road, I thought the jets were too small. On the dyno, that carb had 98 square jets during the last run, which produced 836 HP (the BG 1090 was higher, but did not run good). I had talked to Bill Doucet while over in Eunice on Sat. and he thought 92 or 94 jets would be enough. I had installed 92's in the front and 94's in the back. When I got back to the pits, I looked under the hood and found #3 & #5 plug wires off. After some choice words to myself, I pushed them back on and went up for my second pass.

When the car left the line, the front end went up like it was trying to fly, and it went to the right, headed for the Christmas Tree. When it came down, I thought I had it under control, but it veered to the left and into the wall.

Yesterday, 11/16/06, Warren Birkett and Robert came over with my car and trailer. Houston, Willie, James Richardson and James Allen went to the track and got my car and trailer. James Allen drives a roll-back flatbed wreaker. They picked up what was left of the car. The motor is in good shape, except my beautiful headers, which are folded like big pretzels and the bottoms are ground off. When the two front tires blew, the car dropped down on the headers. The pan was not touched.

Right now I am in more pain than the first two days, but thank GOD that I am alive. The lord placed some real good people in my path the other night, and I cannot thank them enough. A big Thank You goes to Timmy Graves and his brother that built the car back around 1998-99, just before I purchased it. That cage saved my life!

Barbara had taken half day off, just so she could be there for the runs that night. She normally just says, you go on, and I will meet you there, but not the other day. I am so glad she was there.

Looks like the weather is going to be perfect for our "Katrina Toys for Kids Race" at State Capitol Raceway Sunday. I am going to try to come. We have invited a lot of kids, and I am suppose to give a seminar on 'Drag Racing", which will include, track layout, electronics and careers associated with the racing industry. Many of these children have never been to a drag strip.

Nov. 11, 2006 - Oh how much we forget! I was truly embarrassed this morning when I attempted to put the car into the trailer. I drove the car out of the back yard and when I attempted to back up, the car would not go into reverse. I sat there with the engine running, moving the shifter back and forth. It would move forward but not backwards. My wife and I pushed it back so I could drive it back into the back and work on whatever the problem. I called Van Johnson to tell him that I would not be meeting him in Eunice to test. Van, in his normal low key voice, asked me to describe the problem again. Then he said, "You have a pro brake, don't you"? All I could do was say, "Yes, let me call you back". This is called a Senior Moment! There were more as the day progressed. What normally takes me about 45 min. to go from, "Let's go to the track", to on the road, took me over 2 hours this morning.

We put the car in the trailer and proceeded to Louisiana Raceway for Test & Tune. The weather was excellent, except for a little crosswind. All I wanted to do on the first pass was go down the track straight and stop. We did a fair burnout and left at about 2500 rpm and only went about 330 ft, up to the shift point, 6700 rpm, and got out of it. Everything worked! I noticed the gas pressure dropping off and on, while on the return road. During the excitement, I forgot about it. When I got ready to make my second pass, the fuel pump would not start. During the down time, I changed the jets in the front of the BG King Demon 1090 from 94 to 90. The plugs were soot black, it was running very bad at low rpm and it was hard to start.

I could jumper from the power lead of the fuel pump to the positive terminal of the battery and the pump would run every time, but not from the switch. Reggie and I had taken the switch out of the ckt. yesterday and we still had intermittent operation of the pump. We replaced the relay and that seemed to take care of the problem yesterday. Van suggested cleaning all the ground connections, which we did. This appears to have solved the problem. I put the second battery back in to help the starting.

I made a second pass, and this time I did a good B. O. and left at about 3000 rpm, with a .069 light and a 1.293 sec 60' time. This time I went to just pass the 1/8 mile (5.803 sec.) and then slowed down. I coasted through at 9.991 @ 96.086 mph. When I got back, the fuel pressure was at zero. The fuel tank was empty. I had put 5 gals. in during our testing in the back yard, and I had put 5 gals. in this morning before the first run. I would need to win the lottery to afford gas for this beast! I changed the carb from the BG to my new Holley 1150. We made one more pass, leaving at my normal 3800 rpm and shifting at 6600 rpm. We went all the way through; Sixty Foot=1.284, Eighth=5.836, E.T.=9.155 @145.965. That is my personal best. It felt very good and laid out, but there was one problem. Right after the shift, and just as the car was coming back down to earth, the engine stopped, and then restarted instantaneously. I could hear it and feel it. After the pass, I called Houston Hawkins to ask his opinion. I have a replay tach and could see the tach go up to about 7400 rpm just after the shift, just for a moment, then drop back to about 6000 rpm and go through the traps at about 7300 rpm. I called Houston because I thought it was something to do with the transmission. Jerry Brown, watching from the stands heard it and thought I was up on the rev. limiter. Houston explained it was Test & Tune day, and the car most likely lost traction just as it left the launch pad and the spinning wheels caused the engine to hit the rev. limiter, which is set at 7800 rpm. As I think back, I am almost sure I was still up in the air, on the back wheels, when the car shifted and it dropped down when the engine momentarily stopped. It was still a good run. The car ran very good, it went straight and stopped easily. This is all I wanted to do.

My challenges for this week to get ready for our race are the following: Try to make sure I have solved the fuel pump problem. Clean the plugs. Check the jets in the Holley carb to make sure of what they are. Practice on the practice tree!

To say that I am happy with the results of today's testing would be a real understatement. I am so pleased with the way the car performed, it could not be much better. I still have NO LEAKS, for the first time since 1999 when the engine was originally built.

Nov. 10, 2006 - Reggie came over and helped and we got everything ready to go for our test session tomorrow. The fuel line was split under the fitting, I changed the 45 degree to a straight fitting and plugged up everything and tested it to 16 psi. No leaks! I also tested the hose going from the regulator to the carb. We did the one gallon test in 12-13 seconds.

After all the testing, we started the engine and let it warm up. Set the carb floats and idle and set the timing at 36 degrees. No oil or water leaks at N.O.T., but while running the engine, the fuel pump stopped working. The relay had failed, but I just happened to have another one on hand. Changed it out and the pump worked just fine the rest of the day. I set the valves at the recommended lash and restarted the engine. Sounds very good. Trans shifts into all gears.

After the rain tonight and in the morning, I will go over to Louisiana Raceway to do some track testing. All I need to do is go straight, stop, and have everything work as it is suppose too. I want to get the car scaled at Pro-Fab this coming week. I did not do my leak-down test. That is the only thing that I missed.

Nov. 9, 2006 - It leaked at the fitting at the fuel pump, but nowhere else. I completed the flush. I tightened the fitting and I will try it again tomorrow. I have a 45 degree aircraft fitting where it is leaking, but I have a straight one to put on there if necessary.

Nov. 7, 2006 - Removed the old fuel line and trans lines, replaced the trans line. The fuel line has all the new fittings. I will install it tomorrow and give it flush and test.

Some good did come out of this. The old trans cooler lines and fuel line was wrapped in heat shield tape, but they were being pressed against the frame by the headers. The old headers were about 1-2 inches away from those lines. Now they are rerouted to clear the headers.

Nov. 5, 2006 - Decided to replace all of the braided hose on the car and upgrade the AN-8 line, from the pump to the regulator, to AN-10. This is the recommendation from BG for the BG 400 pump. I have about 5 ft of AN-8 going to the two carb bowls. I have about 15 feet of braided hose on the trans cooler lines, which will be replaced also. I would hate to break a trans cooler line while going down the track.

The cooling system if full of water and I used the pump to circulate is for a few minutes. No leaks, but no pressure either.

Nov. 4, 2006 - Short story - fixed motor plate leak, fixed the fuel pump, gas poured of the complete length of braided hose from the pump to the regulator. What else can go wrong? The dead bolt lock on my workroom broke, in the locked position. I will go to church tomorrow and get some strength to complete this task. Monday I will get some more hose, call a locksmith, and try again. Thanks for the help Reggie!

Go Jags! Go Tigers! Go Panthers (GOHS)! All are winners this week. Now if the Saints can beat Tampa Bay...

Nov. 3, 2006 - If things were not bad enough, now I have a cold and not feeling well.

Today, after taking enough medicine to fail a drug test, I went out and worked on the car again. The alternator job is eating my lunch. Now I have the correct belt (28 -5/8" diameter), after trying 7 different belts.

Moving the crank trigger pick-up from one side to the other is more complicated than it seems. I had to trim some of the oil pan rail off and cut a notch in the front motor plate. None of the four crank trigger wheel magnets line up with the pickup when the timing is set to 36 degrees timing. Now I have to remove the alternator pulley and the crank trigger wheel and rotate it until I can get one of the magnets to fall under the pickup while the timing mark (and engine) is at 36 degree. The distributor rotor must also be pointing to #1 spark plug wire on the cap at the same time. It is 5 pm on Friday. Testing and racing this weekend seems to be a dream.

9:00 pm Friday - Water leak from behind the motor plate and the fuel pump will not run. Everything else works. Put in a mix of 4qts of 30w and 3 qts. of 50w Mobil 1 synthetic oil. I also put in Mobil 1 synthetic trans fluid, for the first time. The plugs are indexed and in, wires are on, the timing is set. Tomorrow I will remove the motor plate, fix the leak and troubleshoot the fuel pump. All I have left is putting the carb on, flushing the fuel lines (while running the one gallon fuel capacity check) and connecting them. I also want to do a leakdown check and compression check for a baseline on the bottom end and valves. Took my nighttime medicine.

Nov. 2, 2006 - It's not going to happen anytime real soon. By the time I finished all my team duties connected with the upcoming race and several personal items, it was 1:30 pm and I had not done anything.

I put the headers on the engine. Boy those Lemons Headers look good with the Streamline Coating on them. After installing them, I had to adapt the old evacuation tubes to the new header. The new headers came with evacuation tubes, but my hoses were not the correct length. All the hard parts bolted right up. Going to get the right hose was the first of many trips to the parts store today.

I purchased a belt (actually 3 belts) for my alternator. When I installed the belt, the pickup on the crank trigger was hitting the belt. After looking at the whole arrangement, I decided to move the pickup to the opposite side of the engine. This is not as easy as it sounds. I had trimmed the pickup bracket, the pan rail and notched the front motor plate to be able to have room to adjust the timing in the present position. To move the pickup to the other side means doing all of that to the other side. You may say, "Why is all of that necessary?". I could just go back to two batteries and no alternator, but I really want to get rid of that weight AND keep the voltage up while going down the track.

Tomorrow I will complete the pickup swap and get the right belt for the alternator. I may have to do a little welding on the alternator bracket to give it some adjustment. Right now it has to have an exact fit belt to work. Willie was over tonight. I showed him my list and he said, "You only have three things crossed off!". Slow but sure...

Nov. 1, 2006 - Yesterday was a day full of doing everything except what I wanted to do, work on the car! I did get the last head installed, all the valves set and the intake was put in place. I charged batteries all last night.

Today, after installing the engine, I made a list that went from A to U (21 items). All the little things that I may forget, or that I have told myself I need to do. Mr. Van Johnson would be proud of my list. While working my list, I have done a few other things that was not on the list. Anyway, I am moving right along, slow but sure.

I purchased one of those engine installation devices that has the crank and a bar with the chains coming off each end. It is suppose to allow you to tilt the engine to get it in much easier. IT WORKS! I am use to trying to put engines in alone, but many times I have to call someone to help, but today, this device let me slip the engine right in with no problem at all.

I have made sure all the bolts were grade 8, except the waterpump bolts are stainless steel. I soldered the push-on pig tail on the starter solenoid. All the wires are identified inside the car and at the component. I will install the radiator, fan, catch-can combo tomorrow, put in all the fluids and do a fuel pump test. Before I start, I will prime the engine. After starting, I have to rotor-phase the distributor and set the timing, which should be the same as we had on the last dyno test, approximately 38 degrees.

I should be able to start the engine some time after Noon tomorrow, If I don't have any "Honey-Do's"! That would allow me to test this weekend, somewhere...

October 30, 2006 - I HAVE MY HEAD! Alvin finished up by doing a cc check of two chambers. They came in at 122 cc. This is the same as the other side. I will come in at approximately 13.5:1 compression ratio. Just a bit more than the 12.3:1 that I had as a 540 CID engine.

October 28, 2006 - Picked up my head that had no work done to it and put it back on the engine. I also picked up another set of Cometic MLS head gaskets from Remi at Womack' Head and Block Shop in Denham Springs, LA. I have installed the head, set the valves and put the stud girdle back on. Alvin has promised that my other head will be ready on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006. I will be at the racetrack watching the U. S. Muscle Car Race at No Problem Raceway Park, so I guess he will have an extra day. I put the front motor plate on, along with the new electric waterpump. I had to remove the crank trigger pickup and put it back on in order to install the motor plate.

I had a minor panic yesterday when I started to get all of my SFI numbers from the components that require them for Super Gas class. When I looked for the stickers on my trans. case, which should have two numbers, one for the case and one for the insert, I did not see any stickers! I inspected everywhere. The trans. is already in the car, which is on jack stands. I looked all over. No SFI stickers. I looked in the box that TCI shipped it in, which I had stored away, but they were not there.

Finally I called TCI. The first operator that I talked to said I would have to send it back. Now I am really upset! She passed me on to a customer service rep who listened to my panicky voice and calmly asked for my name. Lucky for me the box had the customer number for my overhaul. Did I mention that I looked all over the house and shop and could not find the packing slip or the invoice? Another reason to panic! The C. S. rep. told me to wait while he went to the shop. When he returned he said they do not use SFI stickers for re-certification. They stamp the numbers into the bell housing flange, on the edge where the bolts go through. I have the Dedenbear case for my P. G. trans. While holding him on the phone, I looked for, and found, the numbers! Instant relief!

I now have a complete list of my SFI numbers and dates of manufacture, where applicable. This will come in handy when I enter a NHRA Divisional Event or if I ever go to another National Event. It will also help when I visit other tracks for the first time. For my car the SFI list is: Harmonic Balancer, Flexplate, Transmission Case and Insert, Window Net, 3" Seat Belts, Helmet, Jacket, Pants, Gloves and Neck Collar. The NHRA yearbook will list the items that apply to your class or will apply to you by the speed and E.T. that your car runs. As I typed this, I just thought about one sticker I forgot. My chassis inspection, which is due every three years. I just had passed in February. I will also add my NHRA Competition License number (every two years) and NHRA Membership numbers, along with expiration dates, to my list.

October 22, 2006 - The Men's Day Program at my church, Jordan United Methodist Church, was awesome! Chief LeDuff delivered a passionate address. During the initial part of the program, Glen Oaks High School Principal, Mr. Wilbert August, requested Rev. Clark give a special alter prayer for the football and basketball teams. There were about 40 young men from the two teams present. When the doors of the church were opened, after the address, 7 young men got up and joined church! What a joy!

The car show was super. We had hoped to get at least 4 cars and we ended up with 8 cars, including the Jr. Dragster. Some of the persons that came were, Lacey, Tenoa, Willie and Johnell, Big Poppa, Joe Lewis and Kevin Gray, Larry Gotreaux and Sue, Wilfred, Broderick James and his daughter Breanna and Nerone Harrell. Thanks to Arnold's Air Hoggs, The Bayou Boyz and Bracket Masters Racing Team, along with all of the supporting people.

October 20, 2006 - Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to ME and Barbara! We have been married 21 years. These have been the best of my sixty-eight years! Thanks Barbara!

I have been busy working with President Willie Beathley, trying to get the "Bracket Masters Toys for Katrina Kids Race" off the ground. The race will be at State Capitol Raceway on November 19, 2006. Working with track manager Gary Carter, we came up with a Flyer. Willie has done an excellent job of getting sponsors for our race. So far we have all of the classes covered except Motorcycle. We did not ask for complete coverage of each class, but just $500 to sponsor a class. Our Event Partners were asked to chip in $250 each. Red Hot Racing and The Lewis Companies put up a bonus for Quick-16 of $1000 to the top qualifier. We are wishing for a lot of very fast cars to come out an try to take that $1000 home. The winners purse for Q-16 is also $1000. Images Silkscreens & Promotions is going to design a T-shirt with a collage of local cars on the front (I took all of the photos) and all of the sponsors names will be on the back. Those shirts will be for sale at the event. Cox Communications is giving us some 30 second cable TV commercials the week before the race, so keep an eye out for them. If you clicked on the link above, you saw where we are collecting toys for kids that were displaced into our area by Hurricane Katrina. We will use some of the profits from the race to purchase more toys and help those families get through the holidays.

My other big project is trying to put on a small car show for Men's Day at my church, Jordan United Methodist Church, on Sunday, October 22, 2006 at 12:45 pm. The program speaker will be the Baton Rouge Police Chief, Jeff LeDuff. The service will start at 11:00 am. We expect a large turnout for the program and the show. We have about 8-12 cars and motorcycles lined up for the car show. Due to most of the Bracket Masters cars being down for repairs, the local race teams from around the area are being very gracious in providing cars. They are; Arnold's Air Hoggs, The Bayou Boyz, Young Blood Racing and The Nubian Kruzers Motorcycle Club. The church is locate at, 4619 Stearns St., in Zion City, just one block off Plank Rd. down from the Earl Scheib Paint Store. We are praying for the weather to hold up Sunday for the show.

After this weekend, I will concentrate on getting the engine back into the car. No, I don't have the head back, but there is a lot that can be done with the shortblock in the body. The trans. and converter, along with the cooling system and alternator can be installed. All of the wiring, starter and gauges can be installed. I can also put one of the heads on, along with the header for that side now. The only things left would be the other head, manifold, distributor and carb, the fuel system, the remaining header and the fluids. I hope to be testing in about two weeks. I would love to be able to run a match race with another mid - high eight second car at our race in November! I will be very disappointed if I cannot run at least 8.90 in the quarter (in the summer heat).

This summer, Barbara and I visited St. Louis and we attended a Cardinal baseball game. I am a Dodger fan, but I will be pulling for the Cardinal's in the series! Their new stadium is awesome!

October 9, 2006 - Spent most of the day at Alvin's working with his new Superflo 600 flow bench. We retested my old head. Alvin discovered the alignment of the head and the block simulation fixture was not correct. This was caused by the dowel holes in the head being in the wrong place. To correct the misalignment on the real block, I will need offset dowel pins. After correcting the problem on the test bench, the old head flowed slightly more CFM than the new head, which made Alvin feel real good. Both heads (Dart Pro-1 345's) flow approximately 380 CFM @ .750" lift on the intake and 250 CFM @ .750" on exhaust.

Later, we paid special attention to #8 chamber. When the old head was removed, the indication was, looking at the piston tops and the color of the valves in the other chambers, that #8 was burning very lean. The dyno test data had indicated #8 cylinder was consistently the hottest. The flow test of #8, which was the same as the other tested chambers, proved that the problem is not in the head but most likely in the fuel delivery system, possibly the carburetor jetting or the air bleeds. I may have to go to some type of stagger jetting to correct the problem. We also checked the Super Victor intake manifold, which Alvin had ported earlier this year, and there appears to be nothing there that would cause the lean condition. This manifold has given poor distribution since I installed it. The original Super Victor, for a small flange carb., that came with the engine, had very even distribution.

October 6, 2006 - Alvin called, all of the test that were run yesterday are invalid. We will re-run the test tomorrow.

October 5, 2006 - Just as I suspected, the flow test showed that the new head, out of the box, flows as much as the head that was ported. The numbers for the old head had been improved by about 4-5%. The new head flows about 2-3% higher than the old ported head. We will port match the new head to the intake and go with it. You may ask, why doesn't he bring the old one up to match the new one? The old head is already at 121-122 cc per chamber. The new head is only 119-120 cc. Does that answer your question?

October 4, 2006 - My left side head is assembled (by Tim's Engines) and delivered to Alvin. Tomorrow he will flow both heads. The right side has been ported, and the left side is new and unported. We will be able to determine just how much must be done to match the two sides. In addition to the under valve port work, the intake ports must be matched to the old manifold. Alvin has two other sets of heads in front of mine, so it will be a few weeks before he is done. I may be ready for our next Bracket Masters sponsored race on Nov. 19, 2006 at State Capitol Raceway.

Alvin has his new Superflo 600 flow bench installed and working at his shop. He also ordered the 4.50" sleeve to be able to test my heads without any shrouding (4.560"). Because of the new, larger sleeve, we will possibly see some improvement in the numbers for the (right) side that was done back in October 2005. I have a feeling that because of process improvements at Dart, we may not be too far off with the new head. One Step Closer!