It was a hectic couple of days getting it ready. Had to replace a head gasket which fixed my oil leak, then had to re-adjust the rockers etc, I got to bed at 4am, then back up again at 6:30am. The drive to Heathcote was going great until we started hearing a massive ticking noise (sounded like top-end rocker noise). Backed off and cruised, the noise was on and off a bit but settled down and we finally made it there. Off came the rocker covers but didn't find anything. Couldn't see anything else, and the car felt fine again, so I bit the bullet and threw her down the strip.
Started with a flat 12, and then ran three 11.9's, my best being an 11.91 @ 114mph. Deb also got her hands on the keys (first ever time racing it for her). Her first pass was a 13.4, then a 12.7, then a 12.5, and then finally as 12.2!!! Lucky she didn't keep going, I would have been toast.
In the Dial Your Own comp in the arvo Deb raced first in the ladies comp but got knocked out first round because she broke out by 3 tenths. I had my go next in the blokes comp, and after 3 passes made it to the final, eventually being the runner up (missed it by a few hundredths). So close!!!
The burnout comp was next, with 4 cars going totally nuts. But I decided to give it a miss with the motor still being so fresh and all...
So all in all it was a great day. A bit dissapointing for me, I really hoped the car was going to go a fair bit quicker than that, but it's still my new best time for Heathcote and it was over 30 degree's, so we'll venture out to Calder Park in the near future and see what we can do out there.
A few other highlights of the day for me - I got to race against Sean (Flamenco) in his mighty little machine - the Cappuccino. That was so cool. It was certainly getting a few interested looks. I think he managed a best of around 18seconds for the day, he'll be able to confirm...
After that I then strapped in as passenger with Tim (oldn64) and saw the master in action behind the wheel of the Galant. Bloody quick little jigger that thing!!! Felt surprisingly fast, but unfortunately it was running off the pace since last week. The new tramp bars seemed like they were working well, but we think the new diff was a taller ratio which possibly hurt the times... Cath also strapped herself in for a blast down the quarter (I believe it was her first ever time racing), and did an absolutely fantastic job behind the wheel. She eventually ran a quicker time than Tim himself, hehehe, but I think he may have re-claimed that in his very last pass?? I can't remember the exact times... But well done Cath, awesome job!
Some other neat stuff from the day included a whole mix of real neat, high horsepower drag cars - a few low, mid, and high 11 sec cars running, plus stacks of everything from 12's to low 20's. A combi van with a Subaru engine managed to crack off a 17sec pass. A couple of rotaries in the 11's too.
If any of the pics turn out, I'll post a few up when I get the chance...
Happy to be back on the road!!!!
Cheers
LXCHEV.
Edited by LXCHEV, 26 March 2006 - 07:15 PM.
