Bill Pemberton
0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
GB899 ( good friend Rob from Omaha ) who always makes it to the Mustang Roundup, made a pleasant compliment about how pretty my Boss S looked , then followed it up with the frustrating news that it was " Dead!" This and many other scenes from the premier event were all documented by numerous photos of both the " Car Show " and the "Racing " participants. With fellow drivers crawling all over the White Stallion it was a consensus that the alternator was fried , or the computer had taken a dump , or the starter was toast , or......................you get the idea. Well, since she would not even turn over and the battery was drained I trailered #22 over to Palmer Racing Development ( in the country near Malvern, Iowa ) so Dean Palmer could assess the cause, and make repairs, along with switching over to anti-freeze since it is getting quite cool now during the Midwestern Fall evenings. Well , all the guesses on the problem came out to include toasted alternator ( locked up ) which in turn fried the starter and flung the belt around in a weird fashion. This put a nasty gash in the radiator hose and luckily that did not burst or I would have more problems. I am starting to feel like Madhatter because the scramble for parts is almost as bad in North America as it is in South America , and once the concerns were found ( engine turns over fine ) the migraine parts headache began. The last NASA race of the Central Region is coming up this weekend so time is running out , but on Monday Dean told me the good news that all the parts were in but the special alternator used on a 2012 or 2013 Boss 302 and it would be in Tuesday afternoon. Called up this morning to check on whether we might be able to finish up and do a full corner weighted alignment since we had made a few changes this year and then I got the " Madhatter " news. The alternator was delivered yesterday according to FedEx except no one could find any box , not at his home, his place of employment or frigging anywhere!!! I realize that Mad uses TMO to help keep his sanity, chatting with others and using the frustration of many racers to calm his nerves. Well, I feel your pain Chile con Racer because I seem to be under the same wacky umbrella in 2020.
I do have to thank the " Racing gods " because I was able to finish the short course timed runs at the Mustang Roundup and actually run the second fastest time in my class, but NASA races this year have been a bust, I have missed all of them except getting in at the end of one event to test my newly installed fuel cell. My problems have been partly health and massive parts delays, so a word to the wise , if you are making changes to your beast , start now getting the stuff you need as Winter is around the corner and projects are on many Christmas lists.
So, GB899 , say a few prayers for me that they find the box with the alternator , as I do want to make it down to Topeka ( Heartland Motorsports Park ) ----- would lover to see some of you fellow TMOers that also frequent this super smooth race course.
I do have to thank the " Racing gods " because I was able to finish the short course timed runs at the Mustang Roundup and actually run the second fastest time in my class, but NASA races this year have been a bust, I have missed all of them except getting in at the end of one event to test my newly installed fuel cell. My problems have been partly health and massive parts delays, so a word to the wise , if you are making changes to your beast , start now getting the stuff you need as Winter is around the corner and projects are on many Christmas lists.
So, GB899 , say a few prayers for me that they find the box with the alternator , as I do want to make it down to Topeka ( Heartland Motorsports Park ) ----- would lover to see some of you fellow TMOers that also frequent this super smooth race course.