Build Thread: Project Rusty Hulk

Discussion in 'Members Rides' started by sriley531, Feb 16, 2015.

  1. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Yep, tighter than two fat girls in a fiat. I know they aren't bottomed out as they we're in the transmission when it arrived from Midwest muncie, and they were screwed in deeper than what they are with the arms installed.
     
    GranSportSedan likes this.
  2. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    So I adjusted the linkage (again) and backed the shifter stop bolts out via Jeff's recommendation. Took the car out for a test drive with the new wheels and tires and to see how it shifts. No issues, hopefully that fixed the 2nd gear problem, time will tell. THEN.......

    coming around a blind-ish curve and the on coming car was way across the double yellow lines. I had to take the car into a ditch to avoid a really bad situation. :eek:

    So when your big puffy bias ply tires are already snug and you go offroad at 45-50 hitting God knows what (smacked a log or rock or ditch or something big and nasty), here's what happens....

    IMG_20180819_145946074_HDR.jpg

    Nothing like trashing a brand new tire with all of 2 miles on it!!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

    Driver of the small black SUV the ran me into the ditch didn't even hit the brakes! I swear I cant win with this car!
     
  3. Gallagher

    Gallagher Founders Club Member

    Son of a Bitch.
     
  4. 2001ws6

    2001ws6 last of the v8 interceptors

    Holy **** dude..... :(
     
  5. 70staged

    70staged Well-Known Member

    Wow that sucks
     
  6. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    All of the above, yes.... :(:(:(

    But it is what it is at this point. New tire will be in Wednesday. Gotta straighten a little sheet metal and gonna roll the lip a bit more to buy some insurance. What can ya do, just take it in stride sometimes...
     
    2001ws6 likes this.
  7. Taulbee2277

    Taulbee2277 Silver Level contributor

    AA19C11B-B4D8-49D2-8541-705B01A81787.jpeg
     
    moleary and sriley531 like this.
  8. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Haha, Yep Taulb, did that too!
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2018
  9. moleary

    moleary GOD Bless America

    phuck....glad it wasn't worse.
     
  10. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    You and me both Mark. There were some pretty sizable trees right along there, I know I didnt miss them by much. I figure that's kinda why I'm not nearly as pissed as I thought I'd be. I was really close to it being next level bad.
     
  11. moleary

    moleary GOD Bless America

  12. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Nice choice as well Mark! I just recently finished a bottle of Jameson 18 year actually... (Did you know my sons middle name is Jameson? Seriously. Haha)

    But Taulb was pretty close on this one. It wasn't as nice as Glenmorangie port cask, it was Dewar's white label. But hey, I had a new tire to pay for....:(:mad::confused:
     
  13. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Maybe you can repurpose that bad tire into an end table or something:D
     
    69GS400s likes this.
  14. moleary

    moleary GOD Bless America

     
  15. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    The saga of this cursed adventure continues. Got the new tire in last week and took it to be mounted. The tire shop called and said it couldn't be balanced. It was so out of round that it would've taken right at 40 ounces (yes, you read that right, FORTY OUNCES, as in 2-1/2 POUNDS!!) to get it balanced. They checked the wheel, it ran true and was perfect, they then spun the tire 180 and it checked the same way, 40 ounces. I called the vendor and they sent me a new tire with a return label for the bad one. Now the new new tire (#3) is at the tire shop HOPEFULLY getting mounted and balanced. I'm starting to think the universe is telling me not to run this car at the strip.....

    And time is running out. I still need to install/wire the window switch, line lock, drag shocks, and airbags along with finish redoing my car trailer to have it ready to drag the car to BG. Why do I always seem to have to be under the gun when trying to get this car ready for events..... :confused::mad::(
     
  16. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    So I figured I'd update this one last time and this will be it for a while. Many of you saw the thread "BG race dream". Well this ain't it. It's more like "BG race nightmare".

    Let me preface this by saying if you remove my car from the scenario, I had a great time in BG. Hanging with old friends and making new ones, it never disappoints. Bringing my old man down, cruising the town with Taulb in his awesome GS and having cold brews at the hotel saved my sanity. Hanging out with Ethan (hugger) was a blast (among other things...), and swapping stories with Gary Steele in the pits was really enjoyable. Plus my hats off to all the GSR guys, what a great group. Really had a good time with them, they welcomed this outcast with open arms. My car on the other hand......

    I haven't even posted here all that went nuts while trying to get the car and trailer in shape, but suffice to say the month or so leading up to BG was borderline ridiculous. Trying to balance a hectic work schedule, family stuff, and get this car and trailer in some semblance of ready to go was nightmarish. But I was bound and determined. I got most of the boxes checked (all the critical ones I thought) by Wednesday night, loaded up Thursday and headed south. The ride down was uneventful, the freshly "restored" trailer pulled beautifully, off to a great start. We pulled into beech bend at about 4 and were told last car down the track at 530. I started a wild goose chase to get my car tech'd in, only to burn an hour for nothing and not get any shakedown runs in.

    Friday was a rainout, nothing could be done there. Saturday I finally got the tech card thing straightened out thanks to Ethan (hugger). Had the GSR drivers meeting and lined up for our only remaining qualifying pass. Mind you I had not made a pass at all at this point.

    So after multiple breaks/oil downs and what seemed like forever in the staging lanes, we were up. I was "fortunate" enough to be at the front of the line. Rolled into the water box, did a brief burnout, and BANG!. Felt something hit the floor and suddenly the car got very loud. Peered under the car to see my exhaust hanging. The engine had torqued hard enough to pull the exhaust off the header reducer.

    Backed out and Ethan informed me if I could get it fixed quick and get in the back of the line, I could still make a pass. Ran back to the pits and busted out the tools, Taulb and I giving it hell. Unfortunately right when we were wrapping it up, we heard turbo cars spooling up in the water box. We had missed it by a minute.

    We decided to pull the exhaust altogether and just make a few test hits if possible. I went and spoke to someone track officials, they put the kabosh on that, no test passes.

    So after all I went through, all the time money and effort I put into trying to be a part of GSR and finally do something with the car I had always wanted to do, I got 25 feet from the starting line, and never got any further. Never got to make a single pass. Every single damn minute of my time and efforts for absolutely nothing. What an abhorrent waste of time and resources.

    To say I was/am disappointed is an understatement. I was furious. It was a failure in the biggest sense. The entire effort brought down by a piece of exhaust pipe. Something so simple. The entire way home I'd look in the trucks rearview mirror and see the car on the trailer and wish it wasn't there. If someone had offered me half what it was worth at the track, it'd be somewhere else right now.

    And everyone said it'd subside, cooler heads will prevail, it's normal. And I thought so too. But now, almost a week out, everytime I walk by the car I get disgusted just seeing it. I'm sitting here angry just typing this post! I hate it. I don't want to look at it, touch it, think about it. I want it out of sight and out of mind. If I didn't have a chorus of people telling me how much I'd regret it, it'd already be gone to the highest bidder.

    So with that, my new lift for the barn will be in next week. The cars getting put up on it, covered as much as possible to hide its hideous facade. Maybe in the spring I'll feel like messing with it after taking a break, maybe I won't and it'll sit all next year, or indefinitely. Maybe it'll sit for good. I don't know. But I'm burnt out. Im burnt out from messing with that stupid piece only to have failure. I'm burnt out from pouring every spare penny on something that proves to be useless. I'm sick of the car, and it's sadly for the time being made me just about sick of the hobby as a whole. The only saving grace is my admiration for the white car and how drama free it is. But it's gotten out of hand, boderline unhealthy I think. So I'm stepping away from all of this for a while as it's become too burdensome, aggravating, stressful, and I just don't want to deal with it anymore. It's made me miserable and I don't need that in my life, I've got more important things to worry about.


    You all take care.
    -Shawn
     
  17. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Ive been in this hobby for 30 years. Eeesh, I feel old!

    To say Ive had my ups and downs is an understatement. I can't tell you how many times Ive thrown tools across the garage and wanted to pour gas on one or more of the cars and just light the damn things on fire. We've all been there dude. It goes with the territory. It really does become an emotional roller coaster ride sometimes.

    That's racing. Sometimes its a 10 cent part that sidelines a racing team.

    Put the car in storage for the winter and take a break. Done it many times. Believe me, you'll feel better about the whole thing come spring.
     
  18. moleary

    moleary GOD Bless America

    Break time for sure.
     
  19. mrolds69

    mrolds69 "The Cure"

    Shawn...Confuscious say "Defeat is the soil from which victory blossoms". Take a break, we've all been in similar situations.
     
  20. 2001ws6

    2001ws6 last of the v8 interceptors

    Shawn,

    Take a break, sounds like you need it.

    Second, I dont think I have all the details leading up to the failure at the track but from some of the stuff I saw you post, it seems had a lot of stuff going on with different tires, tires rubbing, going off road. Maybe too much going on within a short period of time and trying to get the car ready for BG took its toll.

    I think you have an awesome car. Take some time off and come back at it in the spring. You have a great friend that i'm sure will be there to help you and of course you have all of us.

    Good luck :)
     
    BeatersRus likes this.

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