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40 COOP goes to Bonneville - High Sodium Diet III - Please do not post on this thread

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Irishjr, Aug 9, 2012.

  1. This thread documents my trip to Speed Week in 40 COOP, my chopped and channeled '40 Ford Coupe. I am asking that readers do not post any comments/replies to this thread. Instead, please add any comments to the following thread:

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=724308

    August 6, 2012

    Hello again folks. Irish Jr. here and I'm heading back to The Bonneville Salt Flats again. This time I'm going in 40 COOP.

    DSC08925.jpg

    I am keeping this really short tonight. I am in Columbus, where I picked up my fellow Rusty Nut, Jay Fitzhugh, at the Columbus Airport. Jay is pinch hitting for my brother-in-law, Winston Campbell, who could not join me on my trip due to family health issues.

    But more about that and the background on the trip tomorrow. I'’m tired………

    The second pic is of Winston, Jan, Jay, and me at dinner tonight.

    DSCF4003B.jpg

    Talk to you tomorrow as I head back to the Salt.

    Regards,

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.

    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


    August 7, 2012

    Hello again from the westbound road. Sorry last night’s message was so brief. I was dog tired.

    The alternate title for this trip could be called COOP TO COUPE. I am heading out to Bonneville to meet up with the Doug Rice Coupe. This is a 1939 Ford coupe that was featured in the December 1954 issue of Hot Rod Magazine entitled Bonneville Boomer. It was photographed at Bonneville where Doug Rice actually competed with it in 1953 and 1954:

    Doug Rice 26.jpg

    The car is chopped and channeled and this is the car that made me fall in love with 1939-40 Fords in 1957. For the non-street rod people, chopping is cutting the height of the top down by cutting a horizontal slice out of the top and welding it back together and channeling is dropping the body over the frame to even further lower the overall height of the car. This is no easy task on a fat-fendered 1939-40 Ford Coupe. When channeling, the fenders are usually left in their original position, so the mounting of the rear fenders has to be modified and the hood has to have a section taken out of it.

    Where'’s Irish Jr. in this 1957 picture of Mr. Andress’' 7th grade homeroom at Orange School?

    7th grade.JPG

    These are before and after pics of 40 COOP to illustrate the work involved in channeling. I chopped it in 1979:

    DSCN1098.jpg DSCF4004A.JPG

    So, anyway, back a long time ago, I was hooked on the style of the 40 Ford Coupe and dreamed of meeting up with my hero car….the Bonneville Boomer. This is the year it was destined to happen and I’'ve named my quest COOP to COUPE as shown in this pic:

    COOP to COUPE S1A.jpg
    The Bonneville Boomer is now owned by Don Richardson of Hoquiam, Washington, who restored it in 1983 (but with a Chevy motor rather than the original ’'48 Mercury Flathead) Don owns Richardson Custom Autobody in Hoquiam,where he transforms street rods and custom cars. He went to Bonneville for the first time a few years back and got Salt Fever. This has compelled him to return every year. Last year he even put the numbers back on the Bonneville Boomer.

    2012 is significant for me. Besides just getting old, I celebrate owning 40 COOP for 40 years and I graduated from Orange High School, in the Cleveland, area 50 years ago.

    I am going to close for now. I have had some problems along the way and even before I left. I will tell you about those tomorrow. It will be more interesting than describing the drive across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.

    Bye for now,

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2014
  2. No pictures?????
     
  3. And why don't you want people posting on the thread?
     
  4. Oop's....sorry...........
     

  5. fireLT
    Joined: Nov 16, 2011
    Posts: 4

    fireLT
    Member

    Have a great trip, keep the rubber side down, wish I could be there!!!

    Sorry for the post, just lettin ya know were with you (from Florida)

    Cuzzin' Bill
     
  6. moefuzz
    Joined: Jul 16, 2005
    Posts: 4,950

    moefuzz
    Member

    So if we can't comment on this thread does that mean we shouldn't even bother looking in on it?

    inquiring minds need to know


    .
     
  7. retroridesbyrich
    Joined: Dec 2, 2004
    Posts: 1,872

    retroridesbyrich
    Member
    from Central NC

    You guys ruined everything now!
     
  8. Crap, ruined already...
     
  9. August 10, 2012

    Well folks, I'm here and tired from driving all night. I promise I will spend time updating to fill you in on the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the trip out (AND THERE WERE PLENTY). For now, let me say I made it to the entrance to the Salt as the pic shows:

    DSC08952.JPG
    Talk to you tomorrow from the Salt.

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2014
  10. sodbuster
    Joined: Oct 15, 2001
    Posts: 5,040

    sodbuster
    Member
    from Kansas

    Is Jay here at the salt? Oh yea, I can see your coupe from my room.......Very cool looking.

    Chris Nelson
    Kansas
     
  11. hotrodladycrusr
    Joined: Sep 20, 2002
    Posts: 20,765

    hotrodladycrusr
    Member

    You guys are so funny :D
     
  12. We aim to please
     
  13. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    Coment has been deleated.
     
  14. August 11, 2012

    Hi again from Bonneville.

    As promised, I will start telling you about the trip out by telling of some of my trials, tribulations and triumphs both before and after my departure from home on Kent Island in Maryland.

    As I said in my first posting, I have owned 40 COOP for 40 years. I have had it in different forms. From 1972 to 1979, it was pretty stock with a flathead engine. In 1979, I chopped the top and built a chassis with pieces from a wrecked 1969 Camaro. This included the front suspension with power steering, the rear end with custom parallel leaf spring suspension, the 307 c.i. V-8, and Powerglide transmission (4-speed manual and TH350 automatic followed later).

    In the latest build, I have kept the front suspension, but modified it with 2-inch dropped spindles and disc brakes. I also narrowed the upper and lower control arms 1-1/2" on each side to allow the tires to clear the fenders with the lowered suspension.

    The latest drivetrain consists of a 291 c.i. DeSoto HEMI engine, a GM overdrive automatic transmission (700R4) and a Ford 8-inch rear end out of a early Mustang. The rear suspension has been changed to a parallel-link system of my own design/build with coil-over spring/shock assemblies. I had to have a new driveshaft made (and you will see the significance of this later in the posting).

    Now on to the story:

    With a last name of Ireland, one might associate many of these occurrences with the luck of the Irish. I'm not really Irish, and the luck can sometimes be bad.
    • About five weeks before departure, I removed the valve covers tor repaint them. The rocker covers on the driver's side were bone dry.........no oil. Lucky me! It turned out that I had installed the head gasket on that side upside-down, blocking an oil passage to the valvetrain. That was not too hard to fix and would have been disastrous on the road.
    • I had an oil leak at the rear main oil seal. Transmission had to come out for the first time and I had to modify the frame x-member slightly to allow it to drop out. It turned out that I had left out a couple of rubber gaskets on the side of the rear main bearing cap. Got that fixed and now there are no leaks!
    • The transmission went back in and now the car was in a position to start being driven (or so I thought). It wouldn't shift out of low gear! Let's just say that the transmission was out and back in three times before it worked right. It had to be totally rebuilt because there were earlier miscommunications between me and the transmission shop about what I wanted done with it before I mated it to the back of the DeSoto motor. Now we both know that the transmission is GOOD! I lost a lot of panic-near-the-end build time and needed to put shakedown miles on the car!
    • Before leaving, I was in panic mode to finish wiring, upholstery, rebuild the trailer box, and the myriad of other things that it takes to make a roadworthy car that can make a 5000+ mile journey. I lost a month on things that just should not have been on the last-minute-major trouble list!
    • Then my 87-year-old mother started failing. My brother and I made a quick last visit to my sister's house in Ashtabula, Ohio. Mom died 15 days before I was planning to leave. The funeral was in the week before I left. She was a good mother and made lemonade out of the lemons she was dealt in life.
    R.I.P Lenore Joyce Ireland.

    I left on Monday, August 6, instead of the planned August 4 with a plan to be in Wendover, Utah on the following Thursday.

    Monday went fine. I picked up Jay Fitzhugh at the Columbus, Ohio airport at 7:30 PM and went to dinner with him and Jan and Winston, as you saw in the first post.
    Oh, did I mention that something happened to the air conditioning just as I entered the airport driveway?
    • We had a good drive from Columbus, although it was uncomfortable without the air conditioning. So while driving along we decided to see if we could get a new compressor. Jay used his i-phone to find a Vintage Air stocking dealer somewhere along the intended route, wherein we would be working our way up to I-80 west of Chicago. He found Bill&'s Hot Rod Parts, in Lafayette, IN who had a Sankyo 508 compressor in stock and could install it and charge the system that afternoon! Bill and I worked together on the installation and charging of the system. He and his wife had just returned from the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville. They were very gracious to stay late to finish the work and didn't charge me for anything but the parts. Bless you folks! Back on the road again............
    Bill's HRP.JPG
    • Oh, did I mention about the vibration? Right from the get-go there has been a shudder in the driveshaft as I start moving and a clunking when I go from accelerating to coasting. The vibration clears pretty well above 50 mph. I was thinking that the clunking was excessive endplay in the rear end gears, but the vibration had me stumped. But I'll discuss that more later..............
    • The weather was very warm, as one knows about this summer and especially in the Midwest. The radiator on the car doesn't like the hot weather and I will eventually have to do something about that. We made our way to just west of Lincoln, NE, having tried to travel in the cooler part of the day, but needing to make up the lost time with the A/C repair. Also, the A/C system has some kind of an electrical control problem. I think the dampers are not moving right to give me good cold air. I'll have to look into that later. We had pulled into a gas station with a mini-mart and McDonalds attached. The computers for the fueling had to be re-booted, so I left the car in the fueling spot and Jay went in to be on a conference call at 1:30 EST. I was able to refill for cash and put in $60 worth of fuel. The computer was still giving them fits, so I left the car there for about an hour. Then Jay and I changed plans. We had 1000 miles to go and it was HOT. We decided to go to a motel next door and get some daytime sleep, hit the road at 9:00 PM and drive through the cool of the night. If we made 500 miles per night, we would pull into Wendover on Friday morning. I called the Knights Inn in Wendover and delayed my arrival for one day, and they were cool with that. So we moved the car about 150 feet to the motel parking lot and got some sleep. That night, about 45 miles down the road, Jay asked how we were on gas and the gauge said 1/2 full. WE WERE ROBBED!!!!. About 5 gallons was siphoned out while we slept. Or as the title for the new C&W hit will be........We Were Hosed in Nebraska.
    • Now about that driveshaft..........The vibration was getting worse. It was still not too bad at speed, but when decelerating, it raised up a storm of clunking. We were in Laramie, Wyoming and Jay was asleep (I won't mentioned the snoring). I got up and found my NSRA Fellow Pages. I called the only street rodder in Laramie, Gary Puls. He said that he could give me a couple of hours starting at 2:30 PM and gave me the address of what I thought was his home. It turned out that Gary has the title Coordinator of Street Rod & Custom Fabrication at WyoTech, Official Technical School of the NHRA and his specialty was drivehaft vibrations. He had directed me to WyoTech! THE WyoTech!!!!!! Gary, Troy Tennal, Thomas Wilbur, and Dave Knopf all pitched in. The front U-joint was loose.........easy fix. The driveshaft was removed and I joined Tom on a wild ride in his Rat Rod Coupe to the NAPA store for a new joint. (as a really neat aside, Tom recognized me from back at Bonneville in 2006. I saw him resting in a hot rod [drunk?] with one lens missing in his sunglasses. I had an extra pair so I gave them to him. Small world, huh?). When we got back to the shop, Gary showed me something very disconcerting about the driveshaft. IT HAD BEEN BUILT OUT OF PHASE BY 95 DEGREES!!!!!!! A driveshaft shop in Maryland, [name redacted pending litigation], just plain screwed up!!!!!! Fortunately, a former instructor at WyoTech, Brick Casper, was contacted at Dan's Driveline in Las Vegas to build a new driveshaft which he will bring to Bonneville when he arrives on Saturday. HOW'S THAT FOR LUCKY?????? I will be returning the old driveshaft to Maryland for investigation and a FULL REFUND!
    photom.JPG photoj.JPG
    • Then there was the deer meat spread in chunks across I-80 that I drove over as I crested a hill. No damage was done but the left rear fender and skirt was covered with deer stuff.The second C&W song will be titled Fir On My Fender Skirts.
    Well folks, I will leave you for now. Going out to the Salt. Unfortunately in rained yesterday on the racecourse and pits and there may not be any access to there today. I'll see if I can rub off some good Irish luck on the proceedings.

    See ya for now,

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2014
  15. sodbuster
    Joined: Oct 15, 2001
    Posts: 5,040

    sodbuster
    Member
    from Kansas

    I sent Nick/Malcom about those deer guts on the highway......They were EVERY where. I will try to find you on Sunday......I saw you guys driving back out to the salt this evening with the maroon coupe.

    Chris Nelson
    Kansas
     
  16. August 12, 2012

    Hello again folks,

    It’s now a quiet day in Lake Wobegon. I can start catching up on my daily postings.

    Most of you on my regular list know that I have been working on 40 COOP pretty seriously since 2009, and especially in recent months, in preparation for this trip. No project gets done without help, and so I would like to thank a lot of folks who gave of their time, brainpower, and physical effort at various times during the build:

    Carl Langkammerer has really been a special friend. His lathe and milling machine, TIG welder, A/C charging equipment and expertise have been helpful, but especially being able to bounce ideas off him has been invaluable.

    Scott Collier, who gave me the DeSoto Hemi and the 700R4, plus let me store 33 COOP over the winters.

    Don Vogt, former co-worker (now both retired), owner of my next project ‘41 Chevy.

    Ace Allen, 200 MPH Club member and owner of Allen’s Auto Service

    Pete Peters, BMW field Engineer, neighbor, and lifting helper,

    Bill Sadowski, neighbor, kit helicopter builder, and lifting helper,

    Vic Dilling, previously of Vic’s Speed Shop, for A/C help

    James at Chesapeake Transmission for the last-minute rebuild,

    Jimmy and the crew at NAPA in Grasonville, MD,

    Doby, Kevin, and the crew at Western Tire and Auto in Chester, MD.

    Joe Houck, swimming buddy and 40 Ford owner,

    Tom Turner, fellow Rusty Nut,

    Mike Barber at Bay Country Custom Upholstery for doing my seat and giving me upholstery advice.

    Mike Szuba and the Rusty Nuts for inviting me to show the car unfinished at Jalopyrama 9. It was an honor.

    But especially I want to thank my wife, Judy, for her patience and support. She is my life. She puts up with me and my obsession. What more could a guy ask for?

    Now back to Utah…….

    Yesterday, Brick delivered my new driveshaft. I got it installed this morning in the parking lot of the Knights Inn. It took about 45 minutes, including setup and cleanup. SUCCESS! Only good vibrations when I have the Beach Boys on the tunebox!

    Driveshaft1.JPG

    Yesterday, Jay and I visited with Aussie Steve at E.J. Kowalski’s pit area. I will try to give some time to being a gofer on their crew. They are running three cars this year. Some may remember his Flathead-powered Chevy Coupe from my 2006 trip. E.J. Senior died in 2010. He was very supportive of his son’s racing and car building work. I am sure he is really missed.

    I took some pictures of my car at the Bean Bandits’ pit, next to a neat Chevy custom. Have a look……:

    COOP n Custom.JPG

    Don Richardson and I have been hanging together around the course and getting a lot of attention….two chopped and channeled old school fat-fendered Ford Coupes at the Salt is neat.

    COOP to Coupe1.JPG COOP to Coupe2.JPG

    Then last evening Peter Vincent photographed the two of our cars at low light….I will keep you informed of why, but for now look at the pics.

    COOP to Coupe3.JPG Photoshoot1.JPG

    Well, I am going to post this and go back out to the Salt.

    Studebaker.JPG

    Catch ‘ya there,

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2014
    Stogy likes this.
  17. zibo
    Joined: Mar 17, 2002
    Posts: 2,361

    zibo
    Member
    from dago ca

    Funny how tall yours looks next to the 198C!
    TP
     
  18. Brickster
    Joined: Nov 23, 2003
    Posts: 1,130

    Brickster
    Member


    I'm so glad it worked out for you. I was a little concerned about the measurements of that rear joint, it's not real common. By the way it's Dan's Driveline. www.dansdriveline.com
    and if you like, leave us some feedback on google, yahoo or anything else that alows feedback.

    Brick
     
  19. August 13, 2012

    Hello again from the Salt.

    Salt Flats Cafe.JPG

    I spent most of the day with the Kowalski Customs Racing Team.

    Yesterday, E.J. made a run in the belly tank which was over the existing record speed for that class. When that happens, the car is put in an impound area. The crew then can do certain repairs over a defined period of time, and then nobody is allowed to mess with the car. Period! The next morning, starting at 6:30 AM, each impounded car makes a second run, and the speeds are averaged. If a car’s average speed is over the record speed, it becomes the official record holder.

    E.J. made his second run and the new record is now 138.9 mph for that class. Pretty neat with a vintage Model A Ford four cylinder engine, lovingly referred to as a banger, that originally powered a model A to a top speed of about 50 mph!

    EJ Tanker1.JPG

    The Kowalski team brought three cars to the Salt. The belly tanker, a red roadster with a Model A engine, and a really low-slung black roadster with a Flathead V-8. This morning and afternoon, the crew changed the engine on the red roadster because of a bearing problem. They put the banger motor from the tanker into the roadster. As of the time I left today, they had made one pass with that car and were within 0.5 mph of the record speed. They are having a good racing session!

    EJ Roadster red 1.JPG EJ Roadster 1.JPG EJ Roadster red 2.JPG EJ Roadster red 4.JPG EJ Roadster red 5.JPG


    The racing is done on long and short courses. The long course is 8 miles long, with timing over the first 5 miles and 3 miles for stopping. That course is for the faster cars and bikes, about 225 mph and up. I haven’t heard what the fastest time at this meet has been so far, but in past meets there have been speeds posted in excess of 450 mph!

    The short courses are for the slower cars and bikes. The timing is the first 3 miles and two miles are for stopping. This is where E.J. does his racing. Spectators can gather right at the start line to view the push-off. I have posted a lot of pictures from the start line. Of course, I cannot post the sound of un-muffled high performance engines being started and the roar as they hook up and scoot!

    Start 1.JPG Start 2.JPG Start 3.JPG Start 4.JPG Start 5.JPG Start 6.JPG

    For now, I will just say that if you can get out here to experience this event, put it on your bucket list. It is other-worldly! You will not be disappointed.

    Later tonight, I went to the nightly car show and bench racing session at the Nugget. I parked near the Bonneville Boomer and said my goodbyes to Don Richardson, as he will be heading back to Washington tomorrow morning. It certainly was neat to have a meeting of COOP and COUPE.

    COOP to COUPE 4.JPG COOP to COUPE 3.JPG

    I will talk to you tomorrow from the Salt.

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2014
  20. Kevin Lee
    Joined: Nov 12, 2001
    Posts: 7,582

    Kevin Lee
    Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Yeah, a couple of "ruined" '39/'40 coupes right next to each other. :)
     
  21. August 14, 2012

    Hello again from the Bonneville Salt Flats.

    Today I had fun, but I will talk about that later. First, I want to talk about and show you pictures of a streamliner that has been under construction for 15 years and is almost ready for its run at speed records: The Treit & Davenport Viking 31.

    http://www.target550.com/

    Above is a link to the website for this 43 feet long streamliner that the owners hope to run at 550 mph! They had it on display under a long, triple-peak tent that made it easy to find E.J.’s pit, which was just across the front pit road from it. Unfortunately, it was always so crowded with gawkers like me that it was hard to get a photograph that showed the scope of the car. It is fantastic. The fitting of parts of a very complicated driveline was amazing. The machining of so many custom parts with such precision and beauty gave me chills.

    With a race car shooting for these kinds of speeds, aerodynamics is key. The total frontal area is a major determinant of how much horsepower it will take to go the high speed. This car has a verrrry tight configuration to keep the frontal area very low. Thus it is calculated that they can do the speed with two Chrysler Hemi engines in line with one another.

    Back in the 1960’s Mickey Thompson was able to go 406+ mph. However he had four Pontiac engines with two each side by side and much larger diameter tires. Thus he had frontal area that was at least double of this car.

    challenger.jpg

    Later in the ‘60’s The Summers Brothers took the record to 409+ mph with four hemis in a row.

    goldenrod.jpg

    Al Teague had a single engine streamliner that he took to 425+ mph in the kilometer FIA course.

    Teague.jpg

    More recently, others have done fantastic speeds with single, double, and four engines. The point is, it takes a LOT of horsepower to go these speeds and the coefficient of drag and the frontal area are the key elements to matching the horsepower to the goal.

    This car is a mechanical thing of beauty with design and construction that looks like it is a fighter jet. As a mechanical engineer, I guess I am more impressed than most at the beauty of such machinery. No apologies!

    DSC09003.JPG DSC09001.JPG DSC08998.JPG DSC08999.JPG DSC09006.JPG

    But now back to the activities of a spectator at Speed Week.

    DSC09105.JPG

    Today, I changed the thermostat on 40 COOP to try to keep the coolant temperature a little bit lower. I also added some shims to move the top of the radiator ½” more away from the A/C condenser to give better airflow between them. It seems to have helped somewhat and at least given me a little more confidence in controlling engine heat when the temperatures are high outside on long drives.

    Meanwhile, E.J. got the red roadster into impound. They made a run at 0.02 mph under the record and were trying to change the tuning to get just a little more out of it. Ed Iskenderian (see the picture of then 87-year-old Isky from my 2009 trip) and another old timer made some suggestions that were implemented. They then made a run at about 5 mph over the record and got into impound. Isn’t that fantastic? There is a lot of institutional knowledge in the heads of old timers!

    DSC07158.JPG

    About 3:00 PM I was feeling tired, so I thought I would take my old body back to the motel room for a nap. I stopped at the Salt Flats Café for a snack-that-turned-out-to-be-a-meal. I got to talking with a fellow from Minnesota who was under serious salt fever stress. He asked me if I would drive his pickup as a chase vehicle for his 650 cc Honda bike. He was on vacation with his 12-year-old stepdaughter and had put the bike together to try to run about 150 mph. It was a really lowball operation. He had his own helmet, wore his welding work boots for racing, and had borrowed his leathers from another team. He was here to have fun! They were camping out in pup tents alongside the road. The nap could wait!

    DSC09153.JPG DSC09155.JPG DSC09162.JPG

    He made a run at about 125 mph, with a need to change drive ratios so he could get the engine revs into a better range, but that’s what racing at Bonneville is all about. Tomorrow I will have him sign my helmet.

    These two photos are of a race truck with graphics showing iconic Bonneville racers, including the Doug Rice Coupe, the Bonneville Boomer!

    DSC09173.JPG DSC09172.JPG

    For now I’ll say goodbye from the Salt.

    Talk to ya tomorrow.

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2014
    Stogy likes this.
  22. Holy shit..... :rolleyes:

    Not worth the trouble.

    JH
     
  23. August 16, 2012

    Me, again, from somewhere on an eastbound road.

    Well, yesterday was my last day at Speed Week. Today, I packed the trailer and headed to Denver. I will be picking up Judy at the airport on Friday and we will celebrate her and the grandkids' birthdays, have a nice visit with Jill and them until next Tuesday, and fly back to Maryland.

    The car will reside for a short time in my daughter, Jill's, garage. Then, I will fly back on September 4 and head back to the Salt for the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (USFRA) World of Speed. They have a fun part of their event called the 130 MPH Club. I did this in my '33 Plymouth in 2006 and 2009. But that’s another story for later in this thread.

    Yesterday, I again drove the chase vehicle for Keith Nohner for two runs. He changed the transmission drive sprocket in an effort to get it running in a better part of the power band.

    Today they closed down Course 4 and combined the effort on Course 3, so I was there to watch E.J.'s crew as well as chased the bike.

    I also got my video camera batteries charged, so I was shooting video along the course.

    For the first run, I took the truck down to the 3 mile point and shot video from there. On the second run, I shot video from the start line, and then went after him along the side road. Actually, the bike ran much better than the truck.

    The electric fuel pump vapor locked or something on the way back to the staging line. It ended up that I blew into the filler neck to pressurize the line, with the electric pump running, and it unblocked.

    On the first run he indeed did better than the 125 mph of the previous day's runs. He wanted to get into sixth gear with the revs about 12,000 rpm, whereas he couldn't pull 12 in fifth gear with the sprocket he had on there before the change. With the change, he was able to pull 12 in fifth gear at the 2 mile and had a speed of 133 and change, but couldn't pull 12 in sixth gear and went out the back door at mile 3 with a slightly lower speed. I got a charge out of Keith's often saying how amazed he was how fast those mile markers come by at speed. Yeah, about 30 seconds between them.

    As we were waiting for him at the Mile 3, we heard the speeds along the mile marker for the long course for the Poteet & Main streamliner, over the CB. Their speed out the back door at Mile 5 was 401+! I can’t imagine seeing the mile markers coming by in 9 second intervals!

    For his second run of the day, Keith changed the engine mapping CPU. He had one from a later model of the same bike and just thought that maybe Honda had made some changes that would help. It was not to be. He experienced what he felt was shortness of fuel at high revs, so his times were lower. He gave it up for the day and we said our goodbyes. It was a lot of fun and added to the Bonneville experience!

    Meanwhile, E.J. and his crew were running the red roadster, which had made a pass in the morning to bring that car the record at around 116 mph, and the flathead-powered black roadster, the latter running on a 50% mix of nitromethane and methanol.

    I didn't get a chance to see the black roadster run, but they were running around 150 as I understand. They pulled the plugs out after a run and one had no electrode. I guess that is a lot better than sacrificing engine internals to the fuel gods! Maybe a little too lean?

    Since the red car already had the record, E.J. was letting Barry McNeil, another old fart like me, drive the car. He was having the time of his life! They had fattened up the fuel mixture to prevent any damage to the engine, so his runs were in the 105 mph range, but I’m sure he felt like he was flying at a record pace!

    By the way, Barry is a friend of Mike Szuba, promoter/coordinator of the Jalopyrama Hot Rod Show in Annapolis. This year will be #9 and will be at the Annapolis National Guard Armory on October 27. Y'all come down, hear? It's a great show.

    I put the photos of Barry prepping for his runs just to get Mike jealous. Mike's gotta do this Bonneville thingy.

    I am a member of the Rusty Nuts, who put on Jalopyrama. Earlier on this trip, I asked Mike to send the decals from Jalopyrama to replace those on 40 COOP that had gotten messed up on the trip out. Mike and the Nuts sent me a check along with the decals to help with my expenses. WOW! That blows me away! Thanks, Rusty Nuts!

    I left the Salt this morning after a last breakfast at the Salt Flats Café. I will be in Rawlins, Wyoming tonight and on to Denver tomorrow.

    Unless there is something interesting to report, I will not be adding to this post until I return in September to try the 130.

    Bye for now from somewhere east of the Salt.

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.

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    Last edited: Aug 19, 2016
    Stogy likes this.
  24. Ned_Gob
    Joined: Jan 12, 2007
    Posts: 539

    Ned_Gob
    Member

    Don't means do do !
     
  25. September 4, 2012

    Well, here I am again.

    I flew back to Denver today to retrieve 40 COOP from my daughter's garage and head back to the Salt for the World of Speed and an attempt to put 40 COOP in the 130 MPH Club.

    But the adventure continues......

    I first had to have the transmission pan dropped and oil and filter changed because of a strange screeching noise as it shifts from low to second and second to third at moderate throttle. I had made an appointment at Parker Transmission in Parker, CO for late afternoon. They dropped the pan and there were a couple of small dark pieces of cast iron(?), but without a teardown, it would be impossible to say what was causing the noise.....back to Chesapeake Transmission when I get home. I found I could make the noise go away.......crank up the volume on the tunes!

    Then, as I left Parker, I decided to make a quick stop to see a friend who helped me out back in High Sodium Diet I in 2006. Rody is a superb pinstriper who let me use his shop to change out the A/C compressor on 33 COOP.

    As I left his drive, the engine sputtered (electric fuel pump failure?), so I turned around and hightailed it back to his shop. Fuel pump was running but erratic fuel delivery at the carburetor. We got a Mr. Gasket pump at the nearby O'Reilly's (I bought a spare, also) and installed it in short order. When I got down Arapahoe Road about 1000 feet, it ran out of fuel again.

    To make a long story really short I RAN OUT OF GAS!!!!!

    I had misread my gauge as FULL, when the pointer was actually on EMPTY!

    Now I have three working fuel pumps!

    After dinner this evening, I replaced the broken window glass on the driver's side door with a tempered piece I had carried on the plane with me.

    I will pick up the trailer at another street rodder friend's house. Pat Dougal of Arapahoe Water, whom I met on a trip to view a wastewater pumping station screen a few years ago, graciously let me store the trailer in his garage. He has a really nice chopped Model A Coupe with a blown SBC.

    I hope to be somewhere between Rawlins, Wyoming and Wendover tomorrow night....then on to Bonneville!

    Hope to see you there, at the Salt.

    Talk to you again.

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.

    Pat Dougal.jpg me n Rody.JPG
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2016
  26. Jay Tyrrell
    Joined: Dec 9, 2007
    Posts: 1,631

    Jay Tyrrell
    Member

    Hey I'm here where are you? Shit I posted!
     

    Attached Files:

  27. September 6, 2012

    Good morning from Rawlins, Wyoming.

    Why is it I always end up in Rawlins, 400 miles from Wendover?

    Yesterday morning I picked up my trailer, packed up my tools, hugged Jill, Sammy, and Lily, and headed north on I-25 toward Cheyenne, WY.

    All is fixed except the A/C, which only cools when the engine is idling. Unfortunately, Bill (Bill’s Hot Rod Parts, Lafayette, IN) did not have a scale and uttered an “oops” when both cans of refrigerant went in such that the system was overcharged. The over-pressure binary switch was cutting off the compressor clutch at higher engine speeds, so I essentially did not have air working. I thought I would find an A/C shop along the way and decided to stop at Pinkee’s Rod Shop in Windsor (FT. Collins), Colorado because I had never been there. Perhaps they could recommend a local shop.

    Instead, they let me pull the car in and hook up their gauges to see what was happening. Ultimately, we bled off some of the refrigerant such that it now cools and does not cut out above idle! Thanks Jay and Eric.

    Pinkee’s is doing some neat stuff and the fab shop was a noisy place, so they have a lot going on, as the pics show.

    Of course, the weather is cooler (lower 80’s) so I don’t need the air conditioning!hopping and channeling he wagon?

    Take a look at the treasures the one collector was hauling. Boy, there is a collector hobby for everything isn’t there. I wonder if he will

    One advantage of having a louvered hood, is that you can be made aware of even minor leaks. One pesky bolt on the water pump housing is tapped through the housing, so disturbing it when removing brackets to get at the A/C pressure taps, of course resulted in a small drip that manifested as little water spots on the windshield. I tried to fix it with silicone at a fuel stop, but that didn’t really work. So yesterday I made it to the NAPA in Rawlins before they closed and bought some copper washers and good old No. 1 Permatex. 60+ year old technology works! Fixed it in the parking lot at the Quality Inn. No leak!

    This morning I push on to Wendover and should get to the Salt about 3:00 PM. My brother-in-law, Rich Link (Phoenix) will be arriving at about 6:00 so the “crew” is starting to coalesce. Friend Don Vogt (Crofton, MD) and Judy’s cousins Jeff and Tim Hughes (Louisville, MO and Boulder, CO) will be arriving tomorrow. The testosterone is starting to flow. Can 40 COOP do 130?

    Stay tuned for updates.

    See ya at the Salt.

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.

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    Last edited: Aug 19, 2016
  28. September 6, 2012

    I’m back at the Salt!

    Unfortunately, there had been some rain earlier in the week. As I approached Exit 4 (the Bonneville Speedway), there were large ponds where there previously was dry salt….worrisome! When I got to the end of the entrance road, I was told that the courses were in good shape. However, the entrance was similar to 2009, when there was about 6” of water to go through for a short way to get on to dry salt. I decided to wait until tomorrow at 7:30 AM to set up in the pits.

    One sight that gets the adrenalin pumping is to pass a couple of vehicles with race cars in tow. Team Vesco (see pic) is an iconic race team/family. ALRIGHT! Time for the racing to begin!

    It is now abouot 6:00 PM and I am waiting for Rich to show up. All is well!

    Tomorrow we register, set up in the pits, put the racing tires and numbers on, and go through inspection. Saturday morning is drivers meetings and driving of the courses, then DO IT!

    See you tomorrow at the Salt.

    Jim Ireland, AKA Irish Jr.

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    Last edited: Aug 19, 2016
  29. woodbutcher
    Joined: Apr 25, 2012
    Posts: 3,310

    woodbutcher
    Member

    :D Hi IrishJr.Ahhhhhhh the trials and tribulations of a cross country trip.BTDT.Still,a LOT of fun.New places to see and new people to meet.
    Love the on salt pics.
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
    Leo
     
  30. fatkoop
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 713

    fatkoop
    Member

    Met you out at the Nugget during Speed Week and enjoyed talking to you about the '40. Saw you a couple of days ago going down Parker road in Denver. I waved but I was I was in my civilian car so you probably wouldn't have noticed. Great story about your trip, good luck in the future!
     

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