Hot Rods Dare to be different - 63 Scout

Engine and transmission are in. That was the heavy lifting part my back was telling me to avoid. Now it's just all that awkward leaning in and over I get to do.

It's official - I will not be driving the Scout for the next month or 2... maybe longer. My back is just too unstable and it's affecting my ability to attend work. One of the steps HR take is to have me commit to reducing the high risk of re-injury activities. No Softball, No Golf, No Racing. The ironic part of all of that is the driving is the least risk to re-injure. I'm strapped in and the wheel stands do not impact or injure. But that's not something you can explain to the folks holding your employment and disability coverage.

What does that mean ?

• It means I'm not driving and shouldn't be wrenching, loading, pushing, carrying etc etc
• It means I'm still showing up at Meltdown. I would even it meant I am a spectator and the Scout is a static display
• It means I use a substitute driver - Scott Brown who drove for me the last time my back was wrecked
• It means I follow the HR program and work my butt and belly off to get back into fighting shape

 

Well you do need to take care of yourself first.
Hope for a speedy recovery.

 

The Shakedown before Meltdown didn't go so well... at least not for the Scout. Paul had the Prefect out and it ran great with anew personal best of 10.17. Larry had the new altered out for the maiden voyage and it performed flawlessly with an 8.50 / 160 best. They are ready and relaxing for Meltdown.

The Scout is still struggling. On the first pass the idler pulley backed off and effectively tossed the blower belt. Easy fix but not what I had hoped. The second pass, nothing catastrophic but the Scout was slow (??) with an 11.17. This should have been deep into the 10's as it was the same set up that went 10.05 / 130 at Rock Falls - WTF ?? We added a bit of timing and went for pass #3 ... and promptly blew the header gaskets out of it. I saw a lot of debris coming through the hood opening and thought we had shredded the blower belt. Nope ... pass side header gasket exited in pieces.

So .... I replaced the gaskets with Ultra Copper RTV goop. I have a couple of spare gaskets in the trailer in case that doesn't work. I changed the Idler pulley stand for a new one and added blue Loc-Tite.

When the Scout went 9.78 / 138 it dipped below the safety standards set by NHRA and the Byron facility. To make everyone comfortable I had our local IHRA chassis guy over to certify the chassis a few weeks back - it failed. (oops) The cage mount outriggers were not up to spec and it required a sill bar as the driver's seat is 3" outside of the frame. There was also some concern regarding the quality of some of the welds. So after the Shakedown, I stripped out the interior and ground the paint off all the weld points. The Scout is at Riverside Welding and Fabrication for updates and corrections, as well as the addition of a parachute mount. The welding is being done by the ever talented Paul Gagnon. I'm hoping to get it back today with that little IHRA chassis cert sticker on it. I know the certification does not carry over to NHRA but it's the best I can do on short notice. The closest NHRA guy is in Fargo ND. (3.5 hrs) If the Byron tech guys are not pleased then we will keep the Scout to 10.0 passes / early shut offs. Assuming it performs ...

Once the Scout chassis is up to date, it's going to Jeff Wiebe at Wiebe Automotive in Letlliere Manitoba. The last time he set up the injection and timing it was a monster. I'm hoping he can work his magic in time for us to leave next Wednesday. (It'll be tight !!)

Tic Toc, Tic Toc !!

 

Sorry to hear of your injuries Saxxon, but it's good to hear that the Scout is still going racing.

Now that I am retired I will eventually have time to get out and fix up my Scout. I'm trying to decide whether to overhaul the engine that's in it or if I'm brave enough to run the turbo motor.

It's just turbo-normalized so there's no fabulous horsepower to be had. I'm just worried that I'll get it all together and then the turbo will blow up on me and I will wish I had just sold it off for parts.

 

Lot's of agonizing on location for the release handle. Ruled out the top cage bar as it created a weird cable routing. Putting on the passenger side of the shifter platform made it hard to reach. Mounting it on the floor is not an option as I sit too far up... can't reach it. This location is what I had left as an option and it works well. My leg is not in the way, it's easy to find without looking and it's out of the way of the shift function.

 

Thrash Fest - Started painting the new welds and realized 3 sections in it was the wrong color. Not even close, but I kept painting. No idea why.... ran into town the next day and - grabbed the wrong color - again - ran back into town for try #3. All good... Cage is painted, chute mount painted.... while waiting for the paint to dry I whipped up some tie down racks for the trailer. No more tripping over the tie downs. Then I put the rest of the interior in, added in the cage padding and tied up a few loose ends and cable connections.

Cosmetically the Scout is a mess. Body damage from last year has not been repaired and it picked up a few more nicks and scratches at the chassis shop. But it's going to Wiebe Automotive 8am tomorrow for a baseline tune and timing. I'll pick it up on the way down to Meltdown Wed am. Hopefully it won't need anything major as I'm out of time.

 

This is what happens when you're in full thrash mode and do stupid sh*t when you're tired. I added a crank support this year and spaced it out for the set up without a timing wheel in the mix. Then added the timing wheel and forgot to check the clearance. Note the aluminum shavings in the pulley and the grind line on the outer edge of the pulley. Scared the crap out of Jeff Wiebe when it started screaming at him when he fired it up. Jeff took it all apart and made it right... sorry Jeff. Scout should be ready tomorrow (Tuesday) and we'll pick it up Wed am on the way past to the border.

Also - I inspected the used chute I bought for the Scout and my "good friend's" description of - "Race ready" and "Great shape", turned out to be ratty, tattered and not safe. The main canopy looks ok but the pilot chute is beat up and the material looks like the mice got at it. I could buy a new pilot chute but I decided to buy a whole new chute and be confident about it. Jeg's will be shipping it to the Hotel in Rockford so it will be there when we check in.

 

Sooo... this year, our trip down to the Meltdown event will have a slightly different travel plan. In the past 3 or 4 of us would iron-man it straight through. Last year we crashed for 3 hours just short of Eau Claire Wisconsin. It made a positive difference in the trip, even if we did only crash in the trucks. This year we are booked at the luxurious Motel 6 in Eau Claire. We are leaving a ton earlier than last year so we should be checking in around 9pm Wednesday. That means a decent sleep, breakfast and a steady 4 hrs to Byron for about 1pm.

We leave in 40 hrs - see y'all there

 

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1418320524914871

 

Be safe. Same for the trip see you there

 

Sounds delicious!

 

Good luck and be safe.

 

My hat is off to you. I walked by a couple times Saturday and the front suspension was ripped apart and the axle no where to be found. I'll assume a bent axle from a wheel stand ? Saw that you had it back together and running for last nights show. Who knew having fun was so much work ! Way to stick with it and get the job done.

 

Thats a racer right there.

 

This was about 2:00 in the afternoon Saturday.

 

Persistence and patience. Those are virtues lost on many. Can't wait for the Saxon to chime in with the whole story. This is one of my favorite threads on here.

 

Something about a blower pulley, too...

great save, Dave!

 

I'm home but tired and hurting (Back is wrecked - from the trip - not from the wheel stand)... the rest of the crew stopped in Fargo. They have video of the wheelstand and more pictures. Once I collect all that I'll post the whole story. 15 hrs down - 2 trips to the starting line, 1 full pass ... and 15 hrs home - it was a great weekend !!

Thanks for posting the pics of the Scout in it's most pathetic state ... adds a little drama and suspense

 

Here is the teaser to the whole story. A lot happened in a short amount of track space. I should have video tonight and some pictures showing how badly bent the axle was. Any guesses how high that left rear tire was (judging by the center divider...) Yikes !! On a different note - I'm guessing I made the magazines...

Thank you Dean Coryell for the pictures.

 

Thanks for letting me help you swap the blower pulley.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

How cool is this ??

This single gesture of respect and appreciation has just become the best thing that has ever happened to me racing. Thank you to the MDA for the honor and the privilege. I'm pretty sure I blocked the registration line for 10 minutes after my co-driver handed this to me...

 

Well, both you and Brian (Racer X) are proving that once you put something other than gasoline in the tank, anything can happen...

How much of that namesake beer did you buy? LOLOL...

 

I like the blurred image......that's Art in my book.
Can't wait to see the video, it says it's unavailable at the moment, maybe you're blowing up youtube.!

 

Here's the video.
When I added the parachute it never occurred to me I would need it for a re-entry

 

Looks like it really took the term "launch" to heart.

 

OK kids ... here's the story.

We thrashed for weeks to get the Scout ready. A combination of weather, bad back, procrastination and a want to upgrade the cage put us well behind. This - once again - left little time to test. The one test outing we did get out to was plagued with problems so once again I was heading to the event with a relatively untested vehicle.

When I got to Meltdown I decided to launch with - what I thought - was a conservative approach. Foot-brake, 2000 (ish) RPM and a 1/2 throttle hit after. As you can see - and to quote my friend Jeff Wiebe - "the wheelie bars never stood a chance". We blew through them, hopped on one wheel, squatted on the wheelie bars which bent them and sent me left and then it landed hard. Last year I drove through a similar event but this year I knew it was bent badly so I just pulled it off to the side. I got a warm round of applause from the fans and even gave them a bit of a bow. Thank you to the track crew for pushing my junk off your track. Seeing the faces of the photographers - I sort of knew I made the media

The axle was bent on both sides giving the front wheels a pigeon toe stance. We later found it was bent backwards and twisted. The passenger side wheelie bar was bent. Everything else survived... even the tires are still holding air.




I decided I had the tools in the trailer and desire to fix it - if we could find the parts. I went directly to Bill Carlson at the WAC Customs booth. He had the correct width 49" king to king axle but with a shallower 3" drop than my normal 4". He also had the spring perches and shock mount tabs I would need. I decided not to start pulling things apart Friday night and went to enjoy the show. The plan was to pull off a spindle and king pin first thing Saturday morning to confirm the axle would work. Then make the call from there.

Saturday morning I confirmed that the axle would work perfectly with my spindles and king pins. In fact - they fit better on the new axle than the old. Green Light for the Thrash !! - So Gary Misko, Tim Misko, Kieth Worell and myself tore out the front end - leaving the Scout looking very pathetic sitting on jack stands with just leaf springs and shocks. By now the word had spread quickly we were fixing the axle. At least a dozen racers came by to offer assistance. It was very gratifying.




We loaded up both axles in cart and went to see the guys at the Welder's Supply tent and the Bessing Welding mobile welding truck. 4 guys spent over an hour making sure the new axle was prepped and ready. Bill Carlson (WAC Customs) made sure it was set up correctly and supervised the welding. These guys were artists with a plasma cutter and made the axle assembly look easy. They nailed it !!







With the welding complete, we carted the still too hot to handle axle back to the Scout and started re-assembly. The looks and smiles we got as we went past some of the racers were priceless. More than a couple just shook their head... We found about 1/2 way through the re-assembly that the dampener bracket wasn't in the correct location (Our fault). There were a few minutes where a number of red-neck McGuyver style solutions were discussed and everyone seemed to have an opinion.... At this time I just stopped everything and advised the axle was going back to be done correctly. So we dropped the axle, spindles and all, from u-bolts again, loaded the new axle into Gary Misko's truck and went back to see the Besson Welding guys - who took all of 10 minutes to make the repair. 45 minutes later we were torquing wheel lugs and setting the toe in.



I had sent Larry Arnold away to find me a grease gun and after an extended search he came back empty handed. But the word had gotten out and over the next 30 minutes - 4 grease guns showed up at the trailer... (Again - very gratifying to see the support)

Once we greased up the king pins I took it for a test drive around the pits. It felt great with no issues. Then I spent 15 minutes re-tightening every single nut and bolt on the front end - just to be sure. Earlier, my brother Paul and Ralph Thomas had straightened the bent wheelie bar sections using the Prefect push bar... how appropriate. Then - very deliberately - I dropped the wheelie bars as low as they would go.

I also decided to back down the horsepower and swapped in a bigger upper pulley to change the blower from 5% overdrive to a one-to-one ratio. Jim Forbes (aka Squirrel) came over to assist and I didn't recognize him. In fact I barely recalled him being there... (Sorry my friend).

At that point it was crazy hot and I was very over-heated and light headed. The thought of sitting in the heat and the lanes with a SFI Spec -15 suit didn't appeal to me (and probably not safe) so I decided to stay hydrated and wait until the scheduled runs in the evening with the Great Lakes Gasser vs. Nostalgia Gassers Association match ups. A wise decision in hind-site.

Since I wasn't racing I took the time to clean up the pit area, clean tools and put tools away. Just as I was finishing and reaching for another water, John Denski shows up with 4 of the MDA crew. Something was up... turns out John overheard a couple of the MDA folks talking about the wheel-stand and that I was done for the weekend. John told them I wasn't and showed them the Scout stripped down to the leaf springs. After they saw the test run around the pits the MDA decided to present me with a little token of appreciation for making the effort. I was very surprised and a little emotional about it. Especially since the MDA had already honored me with the event beer bottle theme.



In the evening we lined up with the GLG vs.that nasty Brandon Beach driven 58 Chevy from the NGA. (Brandon kicked my ass 2 years ago and his brother had my number last year in his 56 Chevy) I was waffling between a cautious drive down the track or doing something stupid for the show... I settled on "cautiously-stupid". After a very bad burnout and an awkward stage I launched at 1,500 rpm (ish) off the foot-brake. The Scout stayed low and carried the wheels nicely. I never felt it land. In fact it pulled the wheels - twice - I was 2/3 throttle until the 2-3 shift when I put it to the floor. It pushed me back into the seat very nicely and ran a 10.13 / 130 ... Outstanding !! ... The Scout handled beautifully, I never moved the steering wheel. The tune up was great and never even loaded up idling back to the pits.... I also won the round - which was the first official points earned for the GLG in 4 years of participating in this shoot out event - how fitting.

As I drove the Scout back to the pits, I was very surprised to see a few folks walk out of the pits to the side of the return road and give me a salute and applause. A couple of them I recognized as folks who had come to help. The same happened as I went past the MDA cars along the staging lanes and the entrance to the grass pits. This gave me a lot of warm fuzzies ...



Back in the pits there was a call out for another round for the GLG / NGA shootout - for those who wanted to participate. I decided to pass and went into the stands with some of the group to watch the show. It had been a very long day but it had ended well. I also knew this was likely the last - and only full pass I would make this weekend. But i was very OK with that.

This epic thrash story would never have happened without the help, support and actions from the following people:

• Bill Carlson at WAC Customs for the hard parts and commitment to setting it up right.
• The Bessing Welding Crew / Welder's Supply - who committed 4 guys for over an hour - for free
• "The Champ" Gary Misko, Tim Misko, Ralph Thomas, Kieth Worrell
• Larry Arnold who went walk-about looking for a grease gun for me
• John Denski and the MDA folks
• To the many racers who came by and offered to help in any way they could
• To the many racers and fans who came by after the pass to shake my hand and give kind words

Thank you all - this will be the story I tell for a long time. This is also why I've been telling folks that I only made 1 full pass... and it was a great weekend.

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...d-and-his-family-picture-heavy.931788/page-37
this is a link to the rest of my Meltdown pics they start on this page of my thread

 

that's hard core. very cool. congrats on getting it running again and not giving up. had I known you had all that going on I would have shaken your hand. I will do just that at the fall out.

 

The true spirit of drag racing survives. Nice to know that kind of folks are still in the mix. Great job of hanging in there and making the pass after all you went through. Cool trophy and a great story to go with it. Some of the best memories seem to have a "pit thrash" involved.