It has been an intersting winter and now spring as I try to get my car ready to race.  The last 4 weeks have been one setback after another and rather costly at that.

First off, I bit off way more than I can chew in totally rebuilding the car.  Taking it down to a shell and putting it back together in my spare time from November to April was ambitious to say the least, but that never stops me.  So, it’s together.  Yeah, a few things aren’t quite as nice as I hoped.  Afterall, it was my first paint job, I was rushed and less than ideal conditions.  However, from 10 feet away, it looks great, and at 130+ mph, no one will know.

So, I’m ready to put it back together and ran into transmission / torque converter problems.  I tried the torque converter on another transmission and thought it was good, so I sent it all to Maryland to have it looked at.  In the fall, it took 3 days and it was on the way back to me.  In the spring, it takes 4 weeks before they look at it and find nothing wrong with the transmission, so I pay to have it shipped back.  Thankfully, I got a great referral from Joe Schmall on the torque converter and had Dick at Midwest Converter rebuild it.  So I put it together.

Oh, since I’m trying to go faster, I need more shielding.  The flexplate shield from TCI fit poorly to begin with but with perserverance and a little force here and there, I got it on.  Only to find out my headers don’t fit over it and it won’t fit in my transmission / firewall tunnel.   So, while I was hoping to race at Grove Creek tomorrow, I’m instead working on other things as I wait for a new SFI approved bellhousing.  No more shield.

So at this point, Brainerd may be my first race, and the first of a new decade for me as I turn 50.

Lesson learned: the first childhood is much easier and much cheaper.
Second lesson learned: patience.  There is nothing I can do about it at this point anway.
Third lesson learned: Grace for myself.  I did far more than can be expected and flaws are inevitable.

But I can’t wait to race.