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The kid and I have been building an 08 Crown Vic for derby..
Stripped it befor he went to Utah on a scouting mission for Memorial day..and started building right after for the 4th of July show there..
Supposed to be a "team derby" which consists og teams of 4 cars.. 2 dropped out 2 weeks before the show..
So we did what any normal car freaks would do, change stuff to make another show..
Well.. Stuff is different between the shows that we had to make everything anew..
Hindsight being what it is, we should have just started a new car..
The last 5 days we were working 10-12-14 hour nights (too hot otherwise)
08 Vics have an aluminum cradle which makes it bad for derby but the rest of the car is strong.. Thus one is adapted from an older Lincoln
Frame widths and location of the various bits were just different enough that the car basically would not turn left.. But turned right beautifully.
When we decided to not go the night before, another driver built us a bumper so we could finish the other stuff and go.. He even had his welder set up..
We made the mistake of not jury-rigging everything and testing the car before putting time and money in a hopeless cause..
Come daylight, the first test drive, it just was not going to do.. Could not even drive it on the trailer!
Thankfully Dave, the rig volunteer driver still wanted to go and we barely made it to watch, nevermind taking the car..
Maps on my phone said 5.5 hours to drive to Forks Washington where Twilight was filmed. BULLSHIT, took Dave driving mostly 80 mph most of the way to get there in 6 hours!
Found out that 2 other top builder/drivers, like us failed to make the show for many of the same reasons.
I'm finding that at 61 years old, I am just too old to do this at a high level.. I need more time! I am in the best shape I have been in for at least 5 years..
The kid and I mostly slept thru some of the most beautiful countryside.
What bites me personally is it is the FIRST TIME I failed to make a show I said I would do in 30 years. The kid was pretty disappointed..
Never has so much been done, spebt, for nothing..
There are other shows coming up, true, but Utah is a premiere show and Forks is a hell of a place to run!
Forks puts on a 4th of July show, where the whole town helps.. The arena is built for derby in mind, dirt backed concrete walls where normal hits kill cars.. Concrete pads for the floor.. Hits are off the ground, fast and furious!
The winner, Ethan, was nodding the whole derby!
Small blocks built to sing, and sing they did! Normally I would faintly hear a nicely built car make a run, this show the action was fast I could not keep up with all the floored small blocks making their hits.. You can hear the scream, then you see the car move... Hits happen..
I'm so tired right now, I think I'm going back to bed, it's not quite noon yet..
Stripped it befor he went to Utah on a scouting mission for Memorial day..and started building right after for the 4th of July show there..
Supposed to be a "team derby" which consists og teams of 4 cars.. 2 dropped out 2 weeks before the show..
So we did what any normal car freaks would do, change stuff to make another show..
Well.. Stuff is different between the shows that we had to make everything anew..
Hindsight being what it is, we should have just started a new car..
The last 5 days we were working 10-12-14 hour nights (too hot otherwise)
08 Vics have an aluminum cradle which makes it bad for derby but the rest of the car is strong.. Thus one is adapted from an older Lincoln
Frame widths and location of the various bits were just different enough that the car basically would not turn left.. But turned right beautifully.
When we decided to not go the night before, another driver built us a bumper so we could finish the other stuff and go.. He even had his welder set up..
We made the mistake of not jury-rigging everything and testing the car before putting time and money in a hopeless cause..
Come daylight, the first test drive, it just was not going to do.. Could not even drive it on the trailer!
Thankfully Dave, the rig volunteer driver still wanted to go and we barely made it to watch, nevermind taking the car..
Maps on my phone said 5.5 hours to drive to Forks Washington where Twilight was filmed. BULLSHIT, took Dave driving mostly 80 mph most of the way to get there in 6 hours!
Found out that 2 other top builder/drivers, like us failed to make the show for many of the same reasons.
I'm finding that at 61 years old, I am just too old to do this at a high level.. I need more time! I am in the best shape I have been in for at least 5 years..
The kid and I mostly slept thru some of the most beautiful countryside.
What bites me personally is it is the FIRST TIME I failed to make a show I said I would do in 30 years. The kid was pretty disappointed..
Never has so much been done, spebt, for nothing..
There are other shows coming up, true, but Utah is a premiere show and Forks is a hell of a place to run!
Forks puts on a 4th of July show, where the whole town helps.. The arena is built for derby in mind, dirt backed concrete walls where normal hits kill cars.. Concrete pads for the floor.. Hits are off the ground, fast and furious!
The winner, Ethan, was nodding the whole derby!
Small blocks built to sing, and sing they did! Normally I would faintly hear a nicely built car make a run, this show the action was fast I could not keep up with all the floored small blocks making their hits.. You can hear the scream, then you see the car move... Hits happen..
I'm so tired right now, I think I'm going back to bed, it's not quite noon yet..
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