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| Pictures courtesy of CTJay
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The 69 Adventure
Chapter 24 - End of the Season
After getting myself to and from the track, decided to go again on the 8th. As usual, Kat & PK were there. I had finally nailed down the sensation I was getting driving home - there was detonation in the engine and I confirmed the timing setting. We backed it down to 34 and I wanted to see what difference that made.
Once again the Gambler's Race was holding us up. It got to be 10pm and we hadn't gotten even one run in! One guy we were talking with spoke to one of the officials and Kat got two runs, one right after the other - the times weren't terrific. It was cold and the Bastard doesn't like the cold - I guess it's a Florida car at heart! It dieseled when I got home too.
I was starting to think about what I was going to do with it for the winter. I certainly wasn't racing it much longer. Without a heater, it made for a miserable ride home and the times didn't improve as it got colder. Whereas last winter had been mild and Atco was open all year, there was talk of them closing to do some paving - not that I would care to drive it with a chance of moisture on the roads anyway. And part of me said I needed a break from this car. I hadn't thought about having to worry about winter weather and 'storing' it - I had always assumed it would be in Florida for the winter. I started making a list of what I would need to do and where I was putting it.
Somehow I was conned into heading for the track on Halloween, since the car was still running. Ct Jay was down and I followed him over. I got 3 runs in - nothing spectacular: the track was cold, I was cold, and the Bastard was cold and still dieseling. PK checked the timing and although the ET's improved, they were no where as good as when it was warmer. Amd I still hadn't gotten it to 110 mph. This was too cold to be fun - time to put the Bastard to bed for the winter, plan for the spring, and order more car parts!
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Kat came over on November 9 and we put the car up for the winter - literally. The weather was mocking us as it was 70 degrees out, but I wasn't going to get caught by winter! We cut up the driveway and used it to make a platform on top of cinderblocks and 4x4's in the side yard. This part of the yard is swampy, at best and I didn't want the Bastard sinking. This would also allow me to get both my other cars in the driveway for winter. We put the original tires on the back and had to notch the ramps to get enough traction to get it up. The oil, etc on the ramp wasn't helping! I managed to get one wheel off, but corrected that and it was centered and tucked away. The battery, chips, registration, portable heater, my pillow, and anything else not screwed it were put in the garage. It was locked and covered. With the other car blocking it, it wasn't going anywhere. I still hated it, but it was safe.
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