Tomorrow we are leaving on the long trek to Lake Gairdner for the annual Dry Lakes Racers Australia, Speed Week. I am going with my neighbour and good friend Don Hudson and we are taking his Oldsmobile, which was originally a Nascar, and is now having a second life as a land speed race car. It runs a 509 big block chev, top loader gearbox, chugs methanol like there is no tomorrow and just generally looks and sounds mean and fast! I can't wait to have a drive!

Will let you know what happens on the salt!

WOOHOO! is it really on this year? and you're getting a run in the Olds... way to go!

have you heard from Ev? are she and Bones on their way too?

Yes, it was on!!!! Don and I left on Friday 6.3.09 with an almost finished car, we were still doing bodywork on it at 1.00pm on Friday, for Lake Gairdner in SA. We drove to Dubbo, a distance of about 400km, on Friday and then on to Port Augusta via Broken Hill on Saturday (1200km) and did the final leg on Sunday Morning from Port Agutta (as the locals call it!!) to Iron Knob and then out to the Lake. The drive to the lake from Port Agutta is around 120km the first 60km being highway but once you leave the highway the road is all red corrugated dirt, bull dust, which is like driving through red talcum powder and washouts and potholes which would all but swallow smaller cars. We taped up all the windows, vents' air cleaner etc on the race car, tarped it and put a car cover on and the cab was still full of red dust when we arrived at the DLRA campsite.

The first people we see are Evelynne and Bones who tell us that there has been a huge storm the night before and that the lake was closed until further notice. S#!T.

This presents us with a couple of problems the obvious one of having just driven halfway across the country to find that the event may not go ahead if the weather doesn't clear and the fact we don't have any camping gear other than our swags!

Don is a member of Team Speed otherwise known as "the Stans" and Team Speed is one of two teams who are permitted to stay on the lake itself, the other being Club Animal. These two teams act as security for the cars and bikes left in the pits as well as set up and pack up the communications and timing equipment.
The Team Speed bus was already on the lake having arrived before the storm hit and that was where all our gear was!! The pit area is about 3.5 miles from the lakes entrance so it was too far to carry anything to or from the bus. Fortunately Evelyyne and Bones come to the rescue and helped us out, providing us with the gear we needed. Thanks again Evlynne and Bones!!

The members of Team Speed and Club Animal are just a little eccentric! The Team Speed members are Stan ( Bob Bowman), Stan (Neil Jaccups), Stan (Ray Cooke), Stan (Trevor May), Stan (Wayne Breese) and Stan (Don Hudson). They only answer to Stan or Stanley while on the lake and when they are racing the commentators call them Stan as well! They call me Beryl! Weird but good fun. Animal (Steve Charlton) from Club Animal is a real rough diamond! He is the Pit Supervisor, signer of licenses and keeper of the peace on the lake. He works and drinks like a madman, swears enough for ten men, drives like a pro, all whilst clad only in his jocks! Did I happen to mention there were a few eccentrics out there!

The weather improved and we finally got onto the lake Wednesday morning, fitted the car with roll cage padding and an external kill switch before going to scrutineering. The oldsmobile is new to salt lake racing and was thoroughly checked and eventually passed but there are a few small things entered in the log book to be completed for next year. Don and I were both very relieved when it passed. We pushed it staight into the staging lanes to line up for its first pass. Now things were starting to get really exciting!! For starters, Don has never actually driven the car. The build was only just finished in time and there hasn't been any opportunity to drive it before putting it on the trailer and leaving!

As the car is new a series of licensing passes must be completed. The passes are timed 125mph, 150mph and 175mph with parachute pull. You must be able to maintain the the nominated speed for a mile under the eagle eyes of Animal to obtain your signed license so Don has to drive a car thats not been driven before at 125mph and hope it behaves like it should! His turn arrives and he leaves the line and cruises up the track with no problems at all. He arrives back at the pits absolutely ecstatic!! The car is awesome, drives dead straight and doesn't run hot, hasn't sprung any oil leaks and is only doing 3000rpm in top gear at 125mph. He couldn't have been happier. We immediately push it out into the staging lanes and line up for the 150mph pass. Again the car behaves perfectly and the license is signed.

The next day sees us back in the staging lanes lined up for the 175mph pass with parachute pull. I am really anxious about this pass because 175mph is bloody fast and the positioning of the parachute was purely guess work when fitted. I was worried that if the positioning was wrong that the car would react badly and bounce around or spin and didn't want to be taking Don home to his wife in a bag! I think I almost cut the poor bloke in two while tightening the racing harness and neck protector! He leaves the line and and the 509 sounds sweet and as it travels through the gears the car is really starting to hoof it along. I am standing on the start line and he is rapidly disappearing into a rooster tail of salt and the shimmering horizon. I strain my eyes and I just see the plume of the chute as it's released. The car is still dead straight and everything worked as it should, thank goodness. I was very happy and relieved! Licensing is completed and now its time to see what the olds can really do!

We don't get another pass Thursday due to the huge amount of vehicles present and Friday is only a half day to allow time for pack up and give people a reasonable amount of time to travel home.

We get up at the crack of dawn and push the car into the staging lanes but there is a start list of people who haven't had a run as yet who are given preference over everyone else. This is fair enough but it does mean we will only get one more pass and I will miss out on having a steer. I am very disappointed but it just means I will have to come back next year!! I can tell you there are worse things in life than a couple of days spent on Lake Gairdner!

Finally Don's turn comes around and he sets off up the track. The track has been extended from the 5 mile short course to the full 8 mile as the track has finally dried out after the 5 mile mark. He has elected to run the full 8 miles and as he goes through the gears the engine is really humming! It sounds fantastic! I jump in the cruiser and head to the end of the track to pick him up. I haven't even made it to the three mile mark and his speed is announced! 192mph. Woohoo!!!

He was on his way back to the pits under his own steam and was very happy with how the car had run but said that it had gotten a little loose in the rear at about 190mph. Thats when we discovered that the right rear tyre was flat! Fortunately the tyres on the car were lifesavers which have a tyre within a tyre and probably saved him from spinning out! It was a fabulous performance from both car and pilot and I am very happy to have been there to see it!

Evelynne had the last run of the day on Friday but she wasn't having a happy meet with " Salty" her bike. She was having a few handling issues with it and I think her best run for the week was about 147mph. She is determined to do 200mph so expect bigger, better, faster, stronger things from Evelynne next year. Bones rode "Teeny" the fomula 1 125cc bike and did a very fast 127mph. Awesome for such a tiny engine!

I will try to attach some photos and I can't wait for Speed Week next year!


http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv63/540cubic/

congratulations to you and Don... what a first time out!!! bummer you didn't get a steer, so hopefully next year!

great to hear that Ev & Bones were there too, even though there were bike issues.... and that 'teeny' bike is just awesome - and so cute

if i'd been more observant and had realised it was done and run - i would have sent a message down for one of the eccentrics - Stan, i mean Bob Bowman is an old mate from way way back and hubby and i haven't seen him for yonks.

i do enjoy reading your stories Liz

I will tell him you said Hello when I see him next. I see him fairly regularly as he works just around the corner from my house.

So you made it out to Lake Gairdner. That's great news.

It is hard to keep the dust and dirt out of the cars sometimes and no matter how hard you try it doesn't seem to work.
I remember coming home with the rover from WSID or Mackay, can't remember which but it was as dry as and the rover was filled to the brim with dirt.

Nasty job then of cleaning it all up.

We meet Evelynne and Bones a couple of years back at the AWMN ladies training day at Heathcote. They seem like really lovely people.

It was ashame you didn't get your drive but I'm sure it was a fantastic experience all the same. We enjoyed meeting Don at your place and listening to his story and I loved reading all about your journey to the lake.

Congrats to you and Don on this achievement.

that'd be great probably the last time we saw Bob was not long after they acquired the Team Speed bus - and that was a giggle or maybe it was a rod event, i can't remember.

my husband's name is Greg Brown ... a hot rodder (built the first topolino hot rod in australia) - ex-hot rodder really, as he only builds cars for other people now - at present he's working on an Austin A40 (although he swore he never would) with a turbo motor - little weapon he's converted it to a 2-door, widened guards, flip-front and other mods. it's also just been painted by Rick Pacey (another old mate of Bob's) say hi to Bob from Rick too, as we see him fairly regularly.

our main interest is drag racing now - heaps more fun than hot rodding. although heaps of old rodders are now going Nostalgic racing and a few go to the salt (and the rest would like to)

Hey thanks Terri. It was pretty frantic trying to get everything finished on the car before departure, I can tell you!! I spent every evening in the shed with Don for about three weeks furiously cutting, grinding, making windows, fitting bonnet scoops, radiator, plumbing fire extiguishers, making the scatter shield etc etc. and we still had some little jobs left to do when we got there!! I arrived home absolutely exhausted and nearly every time I sit down I fall asleep!!! But is was worth it. As for the dust, bloody hell!!! The interior of the car was thickly coated in red dust. You could not see through the window because of the dust on the inside. I had to get in and wipe everything a couple of times before it started to look half reasonable and when I was finished I was a lovely shade of orange. Niiiice!!

Did you sort our your entries from the Summernationals with WSID? Did they refund or have they held them over for another comp at a later date?

Sue, I will makes sure I mention Greg and Rick to Stan when I see him. The team speed bus now has a diesel engine in it as the Stans kept blowing up the V8's. Went like a dream and used about a 1/4 of the fuel so the Stans are very happy with it.

We have just bought and Austin A40 ute drag car. It was Mal Gowers supercharged outlaw car and then it was purchased by Chad Taylor (of landrover fame after he smashed the landrover) and we purchased it of Chad. It is a roller and we will put the engine and gear box out of the blue ute into the Austin and as the Austin is about a thousand pounds lighter than the ute we should be running very low tens, possibly high nines out of it.

I will try to attach some pictures of it for your viewing pleasure!!

http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv63 ... ic/austin/

Apparently we have been given a credit from the rained out Summernationals to be used within a 12 month period.

I'm not sure if we will use it for the Nitro Champs or leave it until the Nationals later on in the year. Will have to decide very shortly. I'm undecided about travelling all that way again so soon. I think entries close on the 10th April for the Nitro Champs.

Let us all know how you guys go with the new race car. Possible low 10's or high nine's. Wahoo!

Well for which ever meet you come down for please come and stay with us again. We'd love to have you!

Thanks for the offer Liz. Very much appreciated!

I'll let you know when we intend to head on down there next.

Bombed out at the Bracket Event last night because the car ran off (go figure! It rarely does that) and my reaction was a bit on the slow side. The slicks are getting down after 165 passes almost time for a new set.

I believe all the ladies that entered got out first round.

There is always next time which will be the Tin Tops on the 18th & 19th April. I will have to start practising at more Test'n'Tune's to try and get my reactions into something more reasonable.

That's it now! Talk later

Gosh that is unusual for your car to not be running at it's best! The ute did a similar thing when the slicks were getting down. Kept spinning off the line and running a couple of tenths slower. I found a brand new set of second hand ones at a swap meet and that helped.

Good luck for the Tin Tops. We race again on the 4 April (I think!). Will let you know what happens!

Good luck to you and Rex on April 4th.

Yes! please let us know how you go with racing.

good luck on the weekend Liz

and good to hear you bought Chad's Austin. any idea how long before you have that on the track?

ps: you can now load pics directly onto the forum since we had our last update