HIT AND MISS

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Rod, custom, and motorcycle builder Path Thirteen (and his dog) were looking forward to another summer of thrill rides and got more than they bargained for. The streets of Path's native Buenos Aires are now flowing more blood than traffic - a state of chaos that has turned his life upside-down. So he's packing up the family and shop tools, and making a run for the border to start anew in the U.S.. The dog is ready. And no, this is not a promotion for the Racing to America book (available at https://www.createspace.com/4338903 and at http://www.amazon.com/Racing-America-Global.../dp/1490539778), as it would be wrong to exploit a friend in a time of crisis for monetary gain. Go Path!  (Photo by Path 13 Photography)

Just like this blog, life is a hit and miss proposition. Unexpected challenges tend to present themselves at the most unexpected times. While there's never a good time for bad things to happen, there's also never a bad time for good things to happen. So we roll with it, or it rolls over us. Our paths are shaped by some events, and unaffected by others. The following is a typical case study.

The iconic nine foot tall America's Most Beautiful Roadster trophy stands on a platform of plaques honoring the select few who have earned the proclamation. The Great Pacific Northwest is represented (twice!) by Portland, Oregon machinist Lonnie Gilbertson. Accolades like this can change a person's life in profound ways. Thankfully, it didn't have much effect on Lonnie. He just kept building. (Photo courtesy of Street Rodder magazine)

When he isn't crafting award winning vintage tin, Lonnie is tearing it up - illustrated here at the front of the pack on a Northwest dirt track. Bonus: Most of the cars are street legal and drive to the races.

Lonnie's show and go '55 Chevy recently graced the cover of Street Rodder magazine. Life doesn't get much sweeter. Then, the unexpected happened...

Top secret spy photo of Gilbertson's latest (Code name: Hit and Miss Special), spotted at Marty Strode's legendary hot rod shop, hidden in the hills outside of Portland, Oregon. 

The visual hit is intriguing, but the story behind the concept is a jaw dropper. Lonnie took a few minutes from his chores at Gilbertson Machine Shop for an exclusive SGE mini- interview.

Scotty Gosson Exposed: Okay, alright... What is THIS all about?

Lonnie Gilbertson: Well, I've always been interested in the Hit and Miss motors.

SGE: Uh, 'Hit and Miss', being slang for a single stroke engine?

LG: Yes. In stock trim, the motor fires, or 'hits', and then coasts, or 'misses', until it slows down enough to hit again. It's governed at 500 RPM, stock. It only has one rocker arm, on the exhaust valve. The intake valve has a light spring on it, and opens by suction.

SGE: Ah, gotcha. Please excuse my ignorance. Continue.

LG: When the opportunity to own one of these came up, I jumped on it. My first thought after I got it running was to build a scooter around it. I was surfing the web for ideas, when I came across a drawing by Matt Hurley of a Hit and Miss bellytank. I contacted him and told him I was going to build his artwork. I wanted him involved, as I couldn't take credit for the concept.

SGE: Good move. Not everyone gets credit for their work.

LG: At first, he didn't know who I was. I think he thought I was some kind of nut case. 

SGE: Well...

LG: I told Matt that through my research, I found that bellytanks are designated as Lakesters, and that Lakesters with motors of 35 to 45 cubic inches run in Class J, and the record for that class is 167 MPH. My target is 50 MPH, and to achieve it, I plan to push it to 50, back off, and hope the car will maintain the speed.

SGE: This just keeps getting better. So, what kind of chassis and drivetrain will keep the little popper at peak efficiency?

LG: I fabricated the main chassis using the front axle and hubs from a Midget. Tires are 21" motorcycle, on custom wheel blanks from All American Wheel that I re-worked to fit the Midget hubs. The car will probably weigh about 1,000 pounds, as it has to be built by the rules to pass tech for 167 MPH. I chose to run a live rear axle - I can't afford any power loss going through a transmission or differential. I built the chain drive so I could change sprockets as needed, to reach my goal. The air-operated clutch assembly was designed by Jamie Fox, using (GM) Turbo 400 and C-6 (Ford) clutch drums that will be applied by air to parts taken from a Lenco trans. 

SGE: I am so lovin' this! Can you tweak any more power out of that engine?

LG: Dick Elverud (famous Porsche race engine builder) will be building the Hit and Miss. At it's present configuration, it's 45 cubic inches, and makes one and a half horsepower at 500 RPM. Our hope is to keep the same cubic inches, increase the compression, and increase the engine speed to 1,000 to 1,500 RPM. I'm going to try to supercharge it by means of a squirrel-cage fan, hooked to an electric motor. We can't do anything mechanical that will take power away from the motor. Our hope is three to four and a half horsepower.

SGE: What was that about squirrels?

LG: Huh?

SGE: Oh, nothing... Lonnie, I would love to be involved in this project...

LG: I have to get back to work, Scotty. Just one last thing: When I started this, I thought people would laugh and think I was nuts. I'm overwhelmed with the interest in my project, and the acceptance by people of what I'm trying to do. I have an engineer friend who's intrigued, from an engineering standpoint, to see how fast we can go with such limited power. I know the amount of work involved - by a lot of people, including Marty Strode - to go 50 MPH at Bonneville seems dumb. But I feel it's all supposed to be about the fun.

SGE: Exactly! That's why I'd really like to -

LG: Thanks, Scotty. Gotta go. Take care!

That was the last I heard from Lonnie. But Marty Strode did click off a few more shots of the Hit and Miss Special while it was at his shop for tin and 'cage work...

Designated driver Jamie Fox makes a virtual test run while being fitted for rollcage, seating, steering and pedals. The grin indicates positive test results. 

Marty Strode's shop is no hit and miss operation. Projects may roll in and out, but they all roll out a lot prettier than when they rolled in. 

Marty continues the thrash on Jim Lindsay's Modified Roadster landspeed project. This week: Headers.

Mister Marty also got a good start on the tin work, with this sumptuous lounger for Lindsay's aching back.

On his lunch break, Marty built a new shop truck. The flathead-powered '40 Ford will also serve push car duty at Bonneville. During our visit, Marty also delivered a baby in the parking lot and put a new roof on the shop.  

Lonnie's fiberglass bellytank body will be finessed by Leighton Mangle, who carved this one-off sports car shell from a bunch of foam blocks that he glued together. This guy's good. Marty enlightens,"Leighton picked the things he liked best between a Ferrari and a Maserati and built it." (Photos by Marty Strode)

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HIGH DRAMA AT CUSTOM METAL

Last week's blog spoke of the tensions that permeated Dr. Lockjaw's Custom Metal emporium when we clashed on the design parameters of the rear spring perch for my Model A project. We were both too busy to discuss it until this Sunday's session...

I've raved before on this blog of the joys experienced on Hwy 238, leading to Custom Metal. My Sunday morning commute is usually free of traffic and livestock, allowing for a pure driving experience. But on this Sunday, a slow moving vehicle ahead put me 13th in line, as more cars piled up behind me. I watched the speedo dive from 60 to 20 MPH, where it stayed for several long minutes.

 The culprit. A Toyota 4-cylinder powered '32 - '34 pickup, hauling a precious load. Tasty chop.

A wider view reveals the entire precious and precarious load, being checked here at roadside. These guys left northern California hours earlier, en route to Hugo, Oregon. They still had a ways to go with the ramshackle homemade trailer, employing a broken come-along as a safety chain.

Where Doc and I left off last week. I felt this perfunctory rear suicide spring perch needed stylized side gussets, while Doc stood adamant on pure function. We both theoretically won, via an uneasy compromise that ultimately left us both feeling defeated. The debate has subsided to whispered mumbles - for now...

I hacked out this pedestrian 1/4" gusset for the 3/8" perch.

We snuck up on proper fitment after folding the gusset in the hydraulic press.

Doc waved his magic TIG wand over the perch and made it one with the universe.

After some clean-up, we had a nice piece. The folds lend it the personality I felt it lacked, while remaining 99% functional. The perch will double as a taillight mount.

Ta da. The perch will be supported by triangulated round tubing, tied into the tubes above and below the perch.

A look at the big picture for reference. For you new arrivals, this will basically be a two-seat Lakes Modified, built from a '31 Briggs body cowl and a mystery back half. These baby steps are taken two hours at a time, on most Sundays. I'm learning patience at a snail's pace. (Scotty shots)

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SQUIRREL AND TOOLBOX

If we've learned anything this week, it's how life can change in a heartbeat, as this DirectTV representative is discovering. Don't fight it. Change is good. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That's squirrel protocol at SGE, anyway. (Image courtesy of Motormouth Ray)

Who could have guessed that hot rod stalwart Dean Lowe had a gennie streak in him? Not us. This shot of a factory issue Model A tool kit (posing with a resto-A) changes everything! (Photo by Dean Lowe)




UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

Your Northwest farewell postcard from SGE favorite, Mark Ryden. Squirrel included. Postage paid.

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DARRACQ ATTACKS AMERICA!

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Back road testing before taking the slow boat to Daytona in search of inky glory in 1905. (Photo courtesy of Bonhams)

Daytona Beach, Florida was the hot spot in the early 1900's. All the big dogs were running wild there. From Henry Ford to Louis Chevrolet, Daytona was overpopulated with nothing but heavies. On the outskirts of Paris, France, Pierre Alexandre Darracq had just sold his Gladiator Bicycle Company to fund his new Darracq Motor Car concern. Darracq believed newsprint was the key to promotion (bless his heart) and set out to prove it by taking a shot at the World Land Speed Record on Daytona Beach. A new 1904 Darracq roadster was stripped to the short hairs and fitted with a monster 1,550 cubic inch V-8, said to make an unprecedented 200 horsepower. After an epic journey to Daytona, the speedster met with endless tech and political challenges before finally being unleashed on the infamous hard sands. An eleventh hour 122.5 MPH blast garnered the precious ink that ultimately spiked sales to near-acceptable levels before Darracq's company went under in 1935. Such is the power of the printed word. For better or worse.

Even before Darracq managed to breach the elite Daytona good ol' boy club and make his lucky run, the beach had been pummeled by other Frenchmen, Brits, and Italians, in search of high velocity immortality. 

This French vehicle is said to be the first ever purpose-built landspeed racer. I believe it's electric. The words "Le Jamaise Contente" appeared beside the photo (Translation: "I'm comfortable in my jammies"). Why have you never seen it, or heard of this car before? For the same reason no one else has ever heard of it: It made its runs at Achilles, instead of Daytona. Case closed. (Photo found online) 

Personally, I don't believe the world's speed demons' efforts are any less credible if not documented in American ink. What matters to them is that they believe it. And so they came, from every latitude and longitude of the globe, hell bent on leaving their marks on Yankee record books. And they keep coming. Why?

That's what I set out to uncover in Racing to America. Why do you care? Because these gearheads with the racy accents have romanticized America's high performance pedigree to the point of providing a whole new perspective for we who have come to take it for granted. And because of their boundless desire, these colorful characters also remind us what "highspeed highjinks" really look like. Alas, we've become too smug to even recognize the fun under our noses anymore.

That stench you're noticing is yet another question mark: I'm aware that I stated just last week that this blog is commercial-free, then opened this week's post with a reference to a product I'm selling (Racing to America - The Global Homage to American Motorsports. Available at  https://www.createspace.com/4338903 and at http://www.amazon.com/Racing-America-Global.../dp/1490539778). How does that work? It's okay. I just checked the rule book and learned this is all part of God's plan.

I found this in the fine print: If I'm willing to do the legwork, God will notice. If I actually do some legwork, as a leap of faith (like risking alienating readers by using this blog to promote products), God will do the rest (like creating adequate sales activity in my given demographic to pay for more Bachelor Chow). That's my interpretation, anyway. (Image courtesy of piecomic.com.)

So there it is. Of course, you're free to choose whether or not to purchase this product, just like with those Garden of Eden apples. That's all between you and God of course, and none of my damn business. Hey, has anyone seen Baxter?

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24 HOURS OF LEMONS 

Just like you, I insist on having fun with any activity I indulge in. From writing to wrenching to wrath risking, it better be fun, or I'm just not interested. And from what I've seen, the most fun in Motorsports has to be the 24 Hours of LeMons series. This is obviously what I was born for, but I have yet to get involved. It will happen when it's meant to be. In the meantime, let's revisit last year's standout entry of the series, Florida's NSF Racing K-car wagon. 

According to Car and Driver magazine, the wagon traveled through 43 states and at least one Canadian province, and was crewed by nine different teams (comprising over 100 drivers) to compete in the 14 races of the annual series. It was towed 14,012 miles, highway driven for 12,194 miles, and raced for 4,678 miles. It went through seven engines and stranded drivers from the Mohave Desert (122 degrees) to Wyoming (-21 degrees). Why? This is the previous daily driver of NSF Racing pal and lifelong auto industry employee, "Detroit Betty". The Reliant never had a chance. It was predestined to serve as a race car upon Betty's passing. 

Before: Detroit Betty's '86 Plymouth Reliant station wagon. A perfectly sensible automobile. And she kept it in pristine condition.

After: Instantly obsolete. Much better.

After gutting, caging, and patriotizing the car, NSF towed to Eagles Canyon Raceway in Texas, where the K-wagon debuted at the Heaps in the Heart of Texas race. It was here that the wagon's image freakishly morphed from Norman Rockwell to Ralph Steadman. It finished 21st out of 32 entries. From this inauspicious false start (the 2.2 banger blew to smithereens), the wagon became the feelgood story of the 2013 Motorsports season. NSF handed it off to the all-female Rosie the Riveter team at the South Carolina Southern Discomfort race, who soon passed the keys to Sputnik Racing's team at the following There Goes the Neighborhood race in New York, and so on - with a shared LeMons-community goal of racing the Reliant at every event in the 2013 series under different team banners. "K it Forward!" became the season mantra. Go to http://blog.caranddriver.com/the-tale-of-the-k-it-fwd-plymouth-reliant-part-1/ for the whole epic saga. Grassroots Motorsports magazine (highly recommended!) also carries in depth coverage of the series.

Bon Voyage! Let the games begin...

Rosie Riveter Kim Harmon grenaded the freshly rebuilt 2.2 at the season opener. Note perfect paint on block. Sweet!

Acquiring replacement wrecking yard engines became routine maintenance early in the series. By season's end, this exercise was performed during lunch breaks.

Back in action at the Cure for Gingivitis race. The K's best finish of the season: 38th place, out of 63 entrants.

The Rosies at the Southern Discomfort race.

Another late night, another engine swap.

The ceremonial Handing Over of The Keys ritual was also perfected over the course of the grueling season.

K-It-Forward homage paint scheme at Michigan's Gingerman Raceway. Note snow on Lemon-Aid Racing's BMW and the K-wagon. Welcome to Michigan.

"The car didn't run very well, or for very long stretches, but it ran." That's saying something in this dog-pee-on-dog series.

Ignoring fuel and electrical gremlins at the There Goes the Neighborhood race in New York.

In the end (utilizing the seventh oil-spewing engine and a welded balljoint), Detroit Betty was canonized, Lee Iaccoca was vaguely remembered, and America relapsed into a nasty case of K-car fever. The 2014 24 Hours of LeMons series promises more of the same. Don't miss it! 

Some other overachievers from the 2013 season. This is where the fun is. (Photos courtesy of Car and Driver Magazine)


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MODEL A BUILD DEAD ENDS?!?!

Global tensions approached volatile levels last week, as fabricators worldwide anxiously awaited the final design of my Model A's rear spring perch. Sparks flew last Sunday, but the masterpiece remains unfinished. Here's what we can show you, for now...

I arrived at Dr. Lockjaw's Custom Metal shop to find that he had drilled out my pilot holes for the U-bolts and shaped the 3/8" perch in his hydraulic press to hug the Model T spring! What a great surprise! Doc is the awesomest hero ever.

We sliced the perch open with a cutoff wheel, bent it to fit, and filled the gap with a couple miles of MIG wire.

Doc went over it with the TIG...

... The welds were ground down and we checked the fit...

... and the passionate debate on 1/4" side gusset design ensued. Things got ugly and we went our separate ways. We haven't spoken since. Could this silent standoff mark the fizzling of a project that began in 1996? Will our heroes make their impossible deadline? Is a long term friendship worth sacrificing to win an argument over aesthetic dogma? On that, Doc and I agree: You bet your ass it is! Bottom line: I'm right and he's wrong. Tune in next week for the latest developments in this intense drama. Meanwhile, note that this is a true suicide perch, with the spring mounted over the perch. (Scotty shots)

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SQUIRREL AND TOOLBOX

Tis the season. Our local track (Champion Raceway) is now open. Screaming tortured tires and uncapped headers can be heard echoing throughout downtown, every night of the week. I'll be dusting off the camera to shoot squirrels in their natural habitat soon. And my bones are starting to thaw. 

Something for the younger set this week. A guy known to me only as Bosco, works out of this '73 Mac rollaway. No pretentious cuteness here, just another box with a work ethic, helping to make the world a better place. Thank you for your service! (Photo by Bosco)

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UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

While the SGE cartoon archives are legendary, this is my go-to piece for a quick pick-me-up. I'm a simple man with simple needs. (Image via Motormouth Ray)


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