broken down on the way to a race.

[rumleyfips]

I forgot all about this one; memory is a strange thing.

I had a 1968 flat nose Chev van as a tow vehicle until I bought my first new truck- a 1972 Ford van - in 1972. The Chev chewed up the felt oiler for the points ( someone here may remember distributers with points ) and finally I stopped replacing them. On the way home, at night, from a Region 2 race, it started missing , a sign the points were closing up. The top of the engine cover blocked any light from the interior bulb so we limped along to a village with streetlights. I stopped under a streetlight and used a Swiss Army knife blade ( couldn't get it across the border today ) to reflect light into the distributer and set the points with the screwdriver on the other end of the knife. Didn't even have to get out of the drivers seat to get the toolbox.

The van ran fine the rest of the way home.

[daveracerdsh]

Not really a on the way to a race story...but those of you that know me understand my follies with rental cars over the years. I think it was 1989, and the Winter nationals and Mercury Challenge series were being held at Indio California in January. I drove a rig down with my chevy van....and had a few minor issues with it..nothing serious. I pulled into a shop in town, and the mechanic said it would be a day or 2 before they could get to it....I asked if there was a rental car place nearby, and sure as hell there was one in the same complex as the shop. I meandered over, and the only car they had left was a brand new Trans Am with a Corvette engine in it....5 speed, the whole works. I of course asked if they had something smaller and slower (ya right) but took the car anyway. Most racers stayed at the Super 8 motel in Indio..and a racer named Tom Pearson asked if I could give him a ride back to the pits, which were maybe 10 miles from the motel. We took some "road beers" with us, (something I would never do now) and ran down to the pits to party for a while. We were both pretty lit up driving back, dumb I know, and were on the 5 mile stretch of road the ran next to the PGA West golf course. Tom said lets open this thing up and see what it will do....we were going about 110 or so and still accelerating when a coyote ran in front of the car, and I nailed it head on. I landed on the brakes and got the car stopped pretty fast. I knew we hit the critter, and could not see it behind us or anything...so we both figured it was jammed in little pieces under the car. Neither one of us wanted to get out and look.....and all of a sudden we hear this thumping...and the thing got out from under the car and ran off into the desert. Ummm...the car did not really drive all the great afterwords....one of the tie rods was a little bent so to speak, and the front air dam was now under the tranny..but oh well. I didnt say a word to the rental agency and never got a bill or anything. It was pretty **** funny at the time!

[deverhart1]

2012 going to Depue Pro Nat's in heavy traffic on Indiana T Pike, I ran over a truck tire tread. It broke numerous things on whole rig. But about 10 miles further it felt like a lot of wind blowing, truck started sashaying, I started slowing, and about 60 mph it felt like a blowout on rt rear of van, so I started to pull over and all of a sudden I see my wheel rolling down thru all the traffic. Luckally no one hit it. But it was almost 3 hrs to get a tow to nearest repair shop. Got there about 5 pm just in time for everything to close. I was parked in front of the garage bay doors on sidewalk. Town had a parade that nite. I had ringside seat. Lots of neat old cars etc. Slept in van, cops knew it talked to me about midmight. Took lots of different rear axle parts, brakes, lug bolts and nuts, etc. Cost a little over 500 to get back on road, I'm a mechanic and all would have been over a Grand at the shop where I use to work. Back on road about 4 the next afternoon, making me have 1 day of testing instead of 2 and missing the Wed nite drivers party. But I got there.
Dave Everhart S52