Midweek happenings.

Hi all,

Spent the week forlorn and down in the dumps, 4 melted pistons, 8 burnt exhaust valves and 3 intakes, bore scored and 2 valve seats melted out, other than that the new engine is in good shape.

Fuel and fuel systems are absolutely critical in the sprintcar game.

Of all the limited's the old car (ex Chris Pallentine) has been the most reliable, there has never been a fuel issue, there has never been an engine failure or misfire of any kind, it has the simplest fuel delivery and pressure system of all the cars, this is what I am going to put into the new car and engine when we get it back together.

When we put the spare motor into the new car last Friday night we put the carby off last years engine onto it, when we ran hot laps at Ellenbrook we had issues with the fuel system and pulled out of the first heat, we rejetted the carby (a 750 alcohol holley carby, HP series) with 200 primary and secondary jets, this got the fuel system rich/fat and cooled the engine off, it did not like long laps at just above idle fuelling up and getting up to 220deg, but once opened up a touch it cleared out and dropped temp back to 195deg.

On Monday I pulled the bowls off of the 750 alcohol Demon carby to discover the jetting was 144's all round, how is it that this small jetting made the engine run cooler? I am going to run the engine with the Demon carby at Narrogin and see if it makes the same sort of power that it made with the holley and bigger jets.

We spent Sunday getting Shane's car ready to fire up and fired it at the secret spot, car ran sweet just needs the fuel system fine tuned which we are going to do at Kwinana at practice on 4th November, then we are off to Narrogin for the 7th November.

Shane looks like he will be ready to go by 3rd week of November, here's a challenge can the new guy get on the track before the older gents with the new car? (Names suppressed so as not to cause offence).

There is talk of Bunbury being ready for the 14th November and if this is so there are 7 of us who will head down for a run, not an official meet so we would welcome cars of all divisions if they turn up, the more the merrier.

Dhuy has finished his second Seafood shop in Falcon and it looks like it is going gangbusters, so hopefully he gets time to sort his car ready for Narrogin or soon after.

Rob Watson still has not got a car ready and may not be seen for some time with his commitments on the 410 team, his boy Rib won 2 heats and was looking OK for the feature on Saturday but missed the setup.

Martin has been quite sick and we all hope he gets better quickly, we need his continued enthusiasm to keeping us on track.

The latest news letter is out and is also a credit to Michelle and Martin.

Catch you.

Week 1 of new season "Run And Won"

Hi all,

Well Friday night saw us at "The Plex" for the first Fast Friday of the season.

Of the Limited's (Not an official meet) there was Mick Doble and myself.

We warmed up the engines then sat back and waited for the first heat.

At the start of the first heat we lined up, Mick had a fuel issue and pulled in so I was left to hold the Fort for Ltd's against the other runners, the greens came on and I put my foot down and next thing I knew I had blown past the others and had a clear track in front, first lap down with no hot laps and we had pulled a 16.6 second lap, this engine has got some serious mumbo, however after the second lap we had a fuel blockage of some sort and slowed only to pull out as we were about to get the white flag with some engine issues.

The rest of the night Mick cleaned up but lost the feature after getting caught up behind a couple of slower cars and being run down on the last corner.

Team Crabbe spent 15 minutes slapping me about the head to convince me to go back to the shed and fit the spare motor, not a good plan according to me, I was all for going to the bar and drowning my sorrows, well they loaded the car and then me and next thing I knew it was 11:30pm and we fired the car up on the street (apologies to all the neighbours), I sent the willing crew home for some sleep, cleaned the car and loaded it up ready for Ellenbrook Saturday.

I made bed at 1:30am Saturday morning and spent the rest of the night restlessly dreaming of how that new motor made some serious power and how we would get it running again before next meeting.

So 7am arrived and up we got ready for the haul to Ellenbrook.

There were 8 cars at Ellenbrook of which 4 were Limited's, a poor showing by our club standards but with the others we had a good field for some racing.

Heat 1 had some hot laps before the green and we had the spare engine to lean so I pulled out of the heat and watched.

For a first up hit out it was some of the closest racing and quickest we have had, Mick Doble who had most of last season off whilst on tour of Aus has come out of holiday mode and was flying, Gavin was quick but somewhat rusty, too much weight on the rear wheels I reckon, and Greg Harvey was looking quick as well.

Of the other cars Michael Robinson was his usual lightening quick self (Ellenbrook specialist this guy).

Not sure how all the heats finished as I was in battle for the last 2 and the feature but I got a 4th and a 3rd in the heats.

The feature race was fast and close, all cars were on the one straightaway and jostling for position, Mick and Michael had a coming together which dropped both of them out, Gavin, Greg and myself battled it out for a few laps before Gavin got clear and drove away leaving me all over Greg's rear but he was to quick and held a good line which left me with only the very outside to go around him, and as we all know that fence scares me just a little so I was left behind Greg and crossed the line in 3rd.

My biggest learning for the weekend was that the motor we purchased off of Steve Bombak is one fast and strong motor, wish I had it in my car last season and not Glen's, it got back up every time you got on and off the gas, no lag just pure grunt, think I might leave it in till after the Narrogin meeting, I reckon after that Glenn will want it back.

The big motor is back at Performance Unlimited, Gary is stripping it and we will have it back together before the "Unofficial" Bunbury meeting on the 14th November, we will sort the fuel system out and I am sure this motor is going to take us right up the pointy end.

Another pleasing part about the Limited club is the camaraderie around the members, it was also a great little get together we were having between races, no sensitive people allowed as jibes were the order of the day, lucky there was no alcohol as the BS would have flown onto the track.

Peter Wodg gave me his list of Shed Racers who need to be mentioned on this blog site, Norbert denied ever inventing the term "Shed Racer" but may have slipped up at the end of the meet and dropped himself in it.

Great day even if we were in the sun for far to long and the best track I have raced on at Ellenbrook.

Thanks to Norbert, Ed and Mick for the help over the weekend and thanks to Mick Doble for the tip on hooking up the rear end, we had a car that if driven better would have finished the feature in the front.

Catch you.

FINALLY WE ARE READY

Well we have fired up the beast, it started straight away and we then checked it all over again.

After 3 weeks of messing around we can say bring on Ellenbrook and Fast Friday.

We took the car to the Motorplex main gate for a photo shoot with Murray Schnaars from KI Group our main sponsor, we took some of last years silver ware to make it look all the more impressive.

I have put a photo on the site for you all to check it out, the car came up looking fabulous, just got to keep it that way now.

Heading off to practice at Kwinana tonight just to watch and catch up for a speedway fix and to get the adrenalin pumping ahead of this coming Friday.

See you all Saturday at Ellenbrook.

Bunbury cancelled on the 24th October.

Hi all,

Bunbury has been cancelled and will be rescheduled, the track resurfacing has not been completed.

It looks like the meeting originally scheduled to be run on the 24th October will be removed from our calendar and not rescheduled.

The first of our cars has left the shop, check out the photos, it still needs the new knerfs and bumpers fitting and they will be completed today.

The second and most important machine is still undergoing fine tuning and completion of some minor items, I will drop some other photos on later this week but will put one on so you can see the beginnings of its rejuvenation.

Catch you later.

Another weekend of preparation ahead.

Hi all

Have not signed in for a few days so I thought I would just do a quick blog.

Glen's car has returned from Jason at JRH Signs, what a job, it is one very nice looking car, the stripe work and sign writing are better than first rate, they are simply stunning, just need to add some little item on the front wing to make the front on view a little better, for that I have a cunning plan.

My car has returned from Jason's also and looks great, the colour scheme with the new panels goes together well.

This weekend we will attempt to get the radiator in, the new back brakes on and the exhaust finished, I would like to get it fired up on Sunday ready to get a photo shoot with my sponsors next week early, then be ready for fast Friday and Ellenbrook early, now that would be a nice change.

Well have to go, more people to ring to try and get some more starters for Ellenbrook and Bunbury.

See ya.

Will this car ever go!!!!!!!!!

Good evening all,

Just back from Aladdin's cave.

Sunday we had 5 wise men work from 8.30am until 6pm getting the Crabbe car into some form of repair, well it was not to be.

All the easy to fit parts just would not go, engine had to be pulled apart somewhat to get it between the bars, the oil tank would not fit inside the frame, the radiator would not fit without being damaged due to the dry sump pump, the bracket that holds the dry sump tank in was to wide, the panels that were going to just clip in did not fit, off came the Dzus brackets to be modified and re welded elsewhere, lucky the powder coating was crap or I might have cried, each time we welded on the chassis the 3mm of powder coating burst into flames and the smoke detector went off (only kidding we don't have a smoke detector) but we certainly had plenty of flames from the coating.

The exhaust didn't fit it hit the lower frame rails, the engine breather hung to far outside the engine bay and the bonnet would not go over.

The moral of the story is use the same gear as everyone else and let them work out how it all fits, then copy it.

Well today we went back and started the process of fixing each item one at a time and by 6pm tonight we almost had it ready, just need mufflers and a radiator and we will be able to put some fire in the cylinders.

The car is off to the sign writers first thing in the morning and then to an exhaust shop to get the Gonzo mufflers fitted, they are also larger dia than the pacemaker headers we now run and they sit right in the way of the shorty knerf bar bottom mount points.

Things got that hectic and the pressure was mounting towards late Sunday afternoon as we started to realise that we were not going to get very far, most composure's were kept but my head was getting redder and the tips of my ears were going purple as the blood pressure rose faster than the temperature gauge on last years car.

After thanking the Bunbury boys for helping and urging them to go home so they did not get into trouble and so I could cry in peace, I opened up a few beers and dreamt of the easy life, Shane the new guy was wondering what he had let himself in for, like me when I started, the famous words "It will all fit no problem" were starting to sound like a politicians pre election promise, he was shattered at the thought of what lies ahead for him, but he still thinks Bunbury will be his first meeting.

Telling you guys all this has made me feel like I should go back and start again, so Thursday to Monday we will be at it again, then a photo shoot with sponsors and bring on fast Friday and Ellenbrook.

Bye all.

Hopefully some more new members.

Good evening all,

As you may be aware Norbert has been trying to sell his old JSR roller and his complete Maxim (Brooke Tatnell aussie title winning car) with the motor he purchased from Graeme Warner.

After advertising the cars in the Sunday times he had 2 offers for the Maxim, looks like the Maxim has found a new home in Geraldton and maybe the JSR is on its way back to the track, looks like we are starting to get some real interest in the club and racing.

This weekend sees the Scrutineers course run, Gavin and I are off to be trained in how to inspect a sprintcar.

Some of the committee are attending an officials course.

On the car front I have got the brake lines and master cylinder in, the torsion bar bushes in and reamed, and all the spuds cleaned ready for bars etc, nothing will be done now until Sunday when the "Crew" arrive, the sign writer has asked for the car early as a Dirt Modified he was going to do next week changed the date it was going to come in, now I need to be ready a bit earlier, not sure we can but we will give it a good shake.

Catch you.

Time to start the rebuild.

Hi all,

First some more info on my wrongly painted chassis.

Despite the people admitting they painted the chassis the wrong colour and saying they would fix it for free,when it came time to collect it they wanted full payment a second time.

Negotiated the price down and they gave me the chassis back, the job was absolute crap.

Keep clear of Canning Vale powder coaters.

On a lighter note we put the chassis on the stand ready for reassembly, got out the new magnesium motor plate and the Ti Bolts, the motor plate would not fit, can you believe it, where is the black cat I kicked?

Some quick work on the milling machine and we had an even lighter motor plate that now fits, fitted the floor and sat back to admire the start of the rebirth of the JEI from last year.

This years mission is to have a light car, that will make weight but only just, if you see me eating a hamburger after finishing a race and before weighing in you will know why.

The new panels were painted by Mandurah Panel and Paint and they look fantastic, Gavin, Norbert and Ed are coming down to give me a hand on Sunday so we can meet the tight deadline I am now running to, still pretty certain I will make Fast Friday and then Ellenbrook, Gavin assures me that if I so much as get in the way on Sunday he and his assistants will send me out for coffee and put the car back together with all the old bits, I still have a couple of tricks up my sleeve, I am going to hide all the old bits.

We need to fit up the new body panels, they are slightly different from last years and look absolutely George Jetson ish (Old TV show for you youngsters that have never heard of it), it means space age if you couldn't work it out for yourself.

They came with no holes drilled or anything despite being for a JEI chassis, just another curve ball for me.

We have a new member, he is joining as I type, He, Shane has purchased the Ryan Farrell car, he has also purchased a motor from Jason Bloxsidge and it is in at Chevpower on the dyno getting sorted, another recruit, Shane is also coming down to Aladin's cave on Sunday for a sticky to see if we have more Titanium than him.

Rob Watson has assured me he is going to be at Ellenbrook for the first meeting.

Glen's car is off to the sign writer tomorrow, it will be ready early next week and then it will get its first run at Bunbury on the 24th of October, hope we can get at least 12 cars for this meeting, at the corresponding meeting last year the track was just awesome and fast, you no sooner came out of a turn and got the car straight and it was time to get back into the next turn, Todd Davis will be out for his first run this year on that night as well.

Well time to go and dream of a car assembly that may just go smoothly.

See ya.