The Final Preparations

Is it just me or has this last month flown by?   It doesn’t seem like four weeks since we last raced and started to strip the car down.   We’ve pretty much done in four weeks what we’d normally do over a winter!   I’m one of the lucky ones though, as everyone who did the Thunder 500 only had two weeks to do it.

We are very nearly there now - the car itself is finished and there is only the set up left to complete. Then a bit of elbow grease for a big cleaning and polishing session.    We are halfway through weighing the car and it’s sat on the scales as we speak, time just ran out last night though so we left it ready to go back and finish off tonight.

We went to collect the car last Saturday after work and I just want to say a massive thank you to Jay and Sarah for spending so many hours doing it.   I think it looks brilliant and I couldn’t be any happier with it.   I’m sorry to disappoint everyone who has asked to see pictures of it but no one is seeing it until the weekend I’m afraid!

After we got it home we got stuck straight into it and got 90% of the work done.   It was just a lot of small jobs really like changing the oil and things.   They’re things you don’t think about and it’s amazing how long they all seem to take.   It’s not just the car to think about either - there are all the tools to sort and charge up, all the spares to sort out and of course the dreaded wheels!  I think we’re nearly there now though and I don’t think we have forgotten anything.   My Mum has been flat out busy too, cleaning the truck and generally getting everything organised and ready.  She’s a fabulous organiser so she’ll have it all in hand.   This racing is definitely a family affair!

We are going to get everything finished and sorted on Thursday evening and then Mum and Dad are going to load the car Friday night and drive up very early Saturday morning and meet the rest of us at the track.  We have rented a house to stay in; although the truck does have everything you need in it (albeit in a very basic form) you just can’t beat a proper bed and a full size shower!  Ross and I both have Friday and Monday off work so we’re going to make a long weekend of it, it is world final after all!

The reality of it all hasn’t quite sunk in yet and I haven’t taken any time to stop and just think about it fully.   It’s been flat out since we started and I can’t wait for Sunday to come round now.   Like I’ve said before it’s a dream come true and I’m lucky to have such amazing people to share it with.  All the people pushing the car on the parade lap are the people who really mean something to me and I’m proud to have them all there with me.   Thanks guys!

I’m sorry this blog is short but I’ll make up for it after the weekend with a bumper Spedeweekend entry!    All the drivers will be in the marquee located in the pits during Saturday’s comfort break.   Please come in and say hello . . . it will be a pleasure to meet you all.   I do just want to take a second and thank every single person who has supported and helped me this season.    There are far too many to list individually but there’s just a few who are with me through thick and thin and give up a great deal of their time to make this all possible.   Those people being my parents, and Ross, Jay and Sarah.   It wouldn’t have been possible without your time and dedication - you’re all slaves to it like me!   “Cheers” Steph for patiently listening to me moaning for the last month and to Chris Kew for simply telling me like it is!

I’m tired and hard up but it’s going to be one hell of a weekend!

Good luck to everyone on Sunday; every team has worked so hard this year.

 Thanks as ever for reading

Mikey

Panels, paint and numerous bent wheels!

I’m typing this in the workshop whilst waiting for some primer to dry - then I can get on with spraying the top coat.  The car isn’t here so I’m trying to get on and get as many jobs done as I can whilst it’s missing.   My parents are in London and Ross is working so it’s just me and the dogs today.

We had a busy day last Sunday and spent pretty much the entire day in the workshop putting the panels on.  In fairness Boss panels are lovely quality and it’s no hardship to fit them as a lot of the holes are pre-drilled and everything lines up nicely for you to just bolt together.   We got stuck in and before long it was soon looking like the familiar blue and silver Tigra we are all used to - but without the chipped paint and scratches!    Terry has once again done a great job of painting them and we even managed to fit them without scratching any . . . . .  something of a miracle as we normally manage to put at least one mark on the fresh paint.  This is usually in a prominent position resulting in Terry having to come and blow it back in for us!

By Sunday night the kit was on leaving us with jobs like fitting the door clips and the little fixings that hold everything together.   We got all that done Monday night and spent Tuesday just wiping all the dust off everything from where we had trimmed bits and drilled holes.   It’s amazing just how much of a mess fibreglass dust can make.

The plan was to take the car to Jay on Thursday night and leave it with him for a week to do the stickers.   We loaded it Wednesday evening so we could just go straight after work on Thursday because it’s a three hour trip to get there at the best of times.   It was after nine when we got to Jay’s and a good hour spent talking saw it well past 1am when we got back home.    Jay has been sending pictures as he’s designing the new signwriting and it’s going to look awesome when it’s finished.   I can’t wait to go and pick it up!

I wasn’t able to make it to the Thunder 500 as I’d hoped so Jason “two Hot Rods” Kew picked up all the various bits and pieces for me.   I’ve just been down to collect everything this morning and looking back in hindsight dad’s new Range Rover wasn’t the best car to go in - trying to cram two sets of tyres, a splitter and a wheel in around the dog’s cage was a bit of a challenge, resulting in the tailgate refusing point blank to shut !   After folding the seat partway down I managed to get it to ‘just shut’ and despite a lot of beepers and flashing lights it stayed shut all the way home.  I had to leave an axle casing behind though - I wasn’t brave enough to risk laying it across the back seats.

As I mentioned before the wheels for the car are all mixed up so it’s a good time to get them sorted. It seems I’m jinxed when it comes to doing anything with wheels so it was always guaranteed to be a bit of an ordeal.   We had six that needed to be stripped down and before they will come apart you have to get the silicone that seals them around the join off.  It is a truly hateful job.   The best way I have found to do it is with a wire brush in the angle grinder.   It makes a real mess and the bits just fly off and stick to anything and everything.    I plucked up courage one afternoon at work, put a set of overalls on and got it done - I ended up looking like a snowman, covered from head to foot in white silicone.

Whilst in bits it was the perfect time to paint the centres so they all matched.   Terry got us an aerosol the same colour silver as the roof of the car so the plan was to paint them that colour.  I thought I would use paint stripper to get all the old paint off and start again with bare metal.  The only problem here was that the paint stripper was awful!   Hours later all I had was a big mess with paint coming off in just a few patches, even the pressure washer at close range didn’t help so in the end I resorted to the trusty angle grinder and wire brush and got all the paint off that way.   I then had to spend hours with really course sand paper getting into all the fiddly bits.   They turned out ok but not as well as I had really hoped . . . . . but do look better now the primer is on.   Soon as that is dry I will get straight on with the silver.

It’s going to be much of the same next week, we need to finish the wheels, fit the tyres, fit the blow off valves in the wheels and set them at the right pressure (another nasty job) and get the rear under tray repaired and touched up.  When the car is back it’s a case of changing the diff, checking everything over then doing a big setup.

In exactly two weeks we will be pushing the car round on the parade lap before the big race gets underway and for me it can’t happen soon enough!

Thanks as ever for reading

Until next time

Mikey

The Strip Down

The Monday evening after Northampton it was straight to it with the car.  Although a month to get everything done seems like a long time, when you start to break things down you soon realise there isn’t much time at all.   The first priority was to get the old tyres cleaned off and drop the car on the scales so we had a reference point to work back to when we put it all back together.

I had ordered the panels the previous week in the hope that nothing else would get damaged at the last round and with the ‘flying door’ somehow avoiding complete annihilation I was lucky and didn’t need anything else.   Terry is quite busy and wanted to get everything painted as soon as possible, so Dad, Ross and I set about getting the panels stripped off.   When we had finished all we were left with on the car was half a roof - it seemed silly only doing part of a job so this was removed as well leaving us with just the space frame.

Apart from the roof and the bonnet all the panels are either new or required repairing and the car has pretty much had a full respray now.    Once the panels were off you could see just how dirty everything around the car actually was so after another night removing the seat and all the other bits that bolt in easily the car was ready for some serious cleaning.

Those of you who read this regularly will know that I have a bit of a habit of bending wheels and the situation had started to get a bit serious again with only one spare straight one left and the wets all being on odd combinations of mix-matched wheels.   We decided we’d best get it sorted so everything was the same for the world final and set about getting all the wheels out and laying them in the workshop to see what we actually have.   In the end we counted 35 with over half of them bent and looking pretty sorry for themselves.   We found 6 of one style to run the slicks on and 5 of another for the wets -  the only problem was that although they all matched, a lot are either damaged or odd colours so a big strip down and rebuild session has to happen now.   I honestly can’t think of a worse job!

Once everything was off the car we put it outside and set about cleaning it, it took us a complete afternoon in the end just washing all the dirt and grime from everywhere.   The car had all been stripped and cleaned for the NEC and it’s hard to believe it could get so dirty in such a short space of time.   After a good few hours, numerous buckets of water and lots of engine cleaner it’s looking nice and clean again.   Whilst in the mood for cleaning we gave the dog a bath at the same time – much to his disgust!    Normally he can’t wait to get in the garage to make a nuisance of himself but he was nowhere to be seen after his little rinse, choosing instead to hide up the garden sulking!

The car has always been a bit heavier than we really wanted so whilst it had no kit on it was the perfect time to put it on a bit of a diet and see if we could save a few vital kilos.   Dad set about drilling holes and trimming brackets whilst I replaced a lot of bolts with shorter ones, in the hope of saving a few grams.   The panels are going to have a bit of a trim before they go on too.   It’s a hard decision as to what actually should be cut off because you don’t want to compromise on strength, a strong car beats a light one hands down in my book so we’re not going too mad, just anything we’re sure won’t make it any weaker.

Roy finished off his illustration of the car this week and I got home from work one evening to find a copy and a disk waiting for me.   The detail on it is just out of this world, you can see where the 40 hours of his time went to complete it all, it’s inch perfect even down to all the bolts in the split rims and the screws in the door clips.   If you want to see any of Roy’s work or ask him to do an illustration of your favourite car check out his website www.racecartshirts.co.uk

With the points now officially finalised we ended the year in fifteenth place.   I really am pleased with this.  I said I’d be happy with twentieth and I am glad to just be in.   It was super-tight right to the end with the final points being so close - just 12 points between the last 5.   Qualifying just makes it all seem worthwhile and all the time and money not in vain

You don’t think about how much work the world final will be, as well as the car you have the clothing, the spares, the accommodation and all manner of other things that need to be sorted - along with the poor old dog’s visit to the kennel . . . another reason for him to sulk I’m sure!  Everything is coming along really well though and the car will hopefully be re-panelled today ready to go to Jay’s on Thursday for signwriting.   I’ve seen some of the designs and it will look awesome by the time he has finished with it.  While it’s away we can get all the spares and wheels sorted and just get the car finished off on its return.

I’m sure I’ll see some of you next Saturday at the Thunder 500, it’s going to be a good race I’m sure, and thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time

Mikey

A dream come true!

Sorry it’s been a bit longer than usual between posts but things have been a bit hectic.  So “that’s it” - the 2010/2011 world qualifying series draws to a close and what a season it turned out to be - and I can happily say we have qualified for our first world final!

It came right down to the last race but after three seasons of trying we are in and I can’t even begin to tell you how good it feels.   It has been a season of massive ups and downs but this is definitely the high point!   After spending the second half of the season moving up and down within the top twenty it’s quite a relief to know it’s over.   I’m not sure where we ended up in the points but we’re in and that’s what matters.

After Skegness we didn’t think we had much to do to the car, but after looking and measuring we decided the car once again had a bent axle.  Seeing as the spare one is also bent it, was a case of an early morning trip to Hairds on the bank holiday to collect another.   Although Chris knew I was going I turned up completely unexpectedly on David and Lesley’s door step at half eight on a bank holiday - sorry to disturb your peace!   It was nice to catch up with you both though.

With it back home and in the car and everything measuring up properly again, we could get back on track and finish getting the car ready.   It was all the usual jobs really, and with the exception of the tyres being their usual awkward selves, everything went pretty well and we were ready to go by Thursday night.    For some reason completely unknown to us all the front suspension was set slightly wrong and we had to spend a bit of time getting it a hundred percent again.

Just to go off topic for a minute the epic go-kart race happened last Saturday and I’m sad to say all did not go to plan.   The first race was all fine with me managing to get a third but it all started going wrong from there.   For the second race Jason and I were having a bit of a battle for the lead which resulted in us both being black flagged!  I pulled off to receive my ‘telling off’ and although he did pull up at the pits Jason promptly drove off again as all the other karts came sailing past me.  He claims he pulled in the next lap but it was too late for me to do anything.   With me having to settle for 5th at the flag he romped home with the win!   After starting last for the final heat I only managed another 5th.      Sadly this just wasn’t enough and I missed out on a place in the semi-final.  To make it worse I’m used to being beaten by one Kew but this time I was beaten by two, with Jason’s wife Kerry managing to get herself a place in the semis!   Something I know full well I’m never going to be allowed to forget.  The semi turned out to be pretty exciting to watch with 2-litre Hot Rodder Brendon Smith deciding he was going to tackle the track the wrong way resulting in a full restart!   It was a great afternoon and thanks to Mr and Mrs Kew for sorting it all out – don’t think you’re getting off so lightly on the re-match Kerry!

The final National Hot Rod meeting of the year didn’t turn out to be my best but it certainly wasn’t my worst.   The weather looked pretty set to be a dry day as we were heading towards the track, with the sun even coming out at one point.   It was still nice come practice and the car felt better round Northampton than it has for ages.  For some reason Northampton has always been my problem track, I don’t really know why but I always struggle more there than anywhere else.

Just before the first race it had started to spit very lightly with rain - it was nothing to worry about but enough to start making the track a little bit slippery.   It turned out to be a pretty uneventful race and although I did lose a few places throughout the race we crossed the line 9th at the flag.   For my next race there was no worrying at all about tyre choices - it was emptying down with rain and the four wets were bolted on.   Although soaking wet it was another clean race.  Once again I lost places but still finished in the points with a 13th.

By the final the rain had stopped and the track was rapidly drying again leaving the big tyre choice. After watching everyone around us and leaving it till the very last minute Dad and Ross did a tyre change that the pit crew from Red Bull would be proud of, and sent the car out on full slicks.  The final turned out to be a really good race with the track now almost dry and the racing at full speed. Somewhere through the race my passenger door decided to fly off but unlike the bonnet a few meetings ago everyone managed to miss it and a marshal rescued it to the safety of the centre green.   With the 35 laps completed we came home with an 11th.   Maybe not the best of results…but points in all three races.

Within a few minutes of the final finishing the points had all been worked out and Chris once again is English Champion for the third year on the trot, well done mate!   I know a lot of you will disagree with this comment but I truly think National Hot Rod racing is the best it’s been in years with so many cars all so evenly matched and the racing being so close.   I certainly wouldn’t even consider racing anything else!

I remember watching my first world final in 2000 when Colin White won it for the third time and saying to my dad “One day I want to do that”.   Now, twelve seasons of racing later, we are there.   I want to thank every single person (there are far too many to list individually) that has helped me over that time.   My dream really is coming true and I can’t wait for the big day in July.   I know I’m not going to win – it’s just ‘being there’ that will be so special.

There’s going to be no time to rest between now and then though, and by the time you read this the car will be in a million bits and the rebuild will be underway.   It’s looking very tatty now and the least we can do is make it look good again for the big day . . . get ready for some late nights Ross and Dad!   We won’t be racing at the Thunder 500 but I will be heading up to collect some tyres and spend the evening with my friend Steph - who I really don’t spend enough time with!  It will be nice to watch a race without the stress of being in it, although it will be a strictly sober night as I’ll be driving straight home after.

I’ll keep you updated over the next few weeks with how the rebuild is going and try to have a look back over the last season as well.   I’ll get back to doing the blog more regularly too - thanks as ever to everyone who reads it.  I may not be the quickest Hot Rod driver, but I challenge any one to enjoy it more than I do!

Until next time

Mikey