We have some catching up to do!

Yes, we just got back from Thunderhill.
Yes, the car finished the race.

But... we'd be doing a disservice if we told the story out of order. So we'll blast through the next couple of chapters and get all caught up.

After fixing the transmission (hooray for ingenuity and persistence!), the next few work parties addressed various issues with the car. The shocks were easily rebuilt with new seals and fresh oil (lighter weight, as the heavy weight we'd used before was probably the cause of shock failure). We relocated the battery to the trunk to make it easier to work on the engine, a little elbow room under the hood can make up valuable minutes at a LeMons race. Relocation made easy by a BMW 325 battery cable from our local junkyard. We decided we liked the spring performance with the clamps we'd used, so decided to clip the springs to make the change more permanent and prevent clamp failure. Basic maintenance of course, fluids, all that good stuff. During the course of this, we discovered that we'd need new axle nuts. Contacting our source for Peugeot parts, however, proved frustrating. The Turbo S model is, of course, different from your standard 505 in almost every way that matters, very little is interchangeable. Yes, he "could" get us the correct axle nuts, but like so many of the other parts we've asked him about, they would be about the "very last in the country" and Pug enthusiasts cry when they hear it would be going to a race car. This forced Sean to take the cheaper option. Owning your own aerospace machine shop makes it easy to replicate certain types of parts. A little 2" hex bar, some measurements, a couple hours, and only minimal swearing later, a brand new set of replacement nuts for less than we could have bought them.

We installed a more permanent location for our transponder, not that zip ties are a bad thing...


Time began to run short before the race. It was now less than a week to go, and our big ideas for redecorating would just have to be put aside. There's always another race, right? We had a team meeting to discuss trip logistics and strategies, and our youngest Monkey stepped in to ensure that our art theme would happen as planned, if not on the original scale.


We showed off the work we'd done to a tough audience, Doug's dad who was up from Nebraska, a wonderful man with many years of racing expertise under his belt. He was, to say the least, a bit dubious about our choice of a Peugeot.

The meeting was as good as a 6-person meeting can be with 2 people absent. Sadly, one of our drivers was feeling the effects of a cold, and another had been hit earlier in the week with swine flu. It was now Sunday night, and we were hopeful for quick recoveries from both guys. Our hopes turned to worry as Bret's fever continued, and by Tuesday, he was officially not going on the trip. At the last race, going from a 6-man team to a 5-man did not hurt us in anything other than the fun quotient. But even though we knew we'd have less daylight, this time was different. One of Doug's good friends from the Rally circuits was going to be coming up from San Diego to watch and support us in the pits. Would he be interested in taking a turn behind the wheel since he was going to be there anyway? After just a few questions which proved he wasn't completely mental, he agreed. We welcomed temporary Monkey Rick onto the team, and couldn't wait to meet him on Friday.

A little diversion

We signed up for Arse-Freeze-Apalooza in November at Thunderhill raceway. You might remember that this was the event we originally signed up for and didn't make it to. Naturally we feel compelled to conquer this event. However this is still some months off and Pujo! needs surprisingly little work to get him ready for this event. Mostly we just need to transplant the less f**ked up transmission and alternater from the parts car and we'll be doing a major redecorating job on the car (we'll keep the theme secret for now). Plenty to do, but also plenty of time.

Good thing too. My dad's '61 Austin Healy Sprite decided it needed some attention and blew its engine. From the sounds coming out of the block, I'd say there's plenty o' bearings and rings just itchin' for replacement. So, for the next couple of weeks I'll be chronicling a full engine rebuild on cutest little engine you ever did see. 948cc's of fury. 42 raging horsepower. Doesn't sound like much, but it only has to move 1400lbs of car. It's pretty peppy.

Oliver and Shannon, almost too much cuteness for one picture.

It begins again...

I registered us for Going for Broken in Reno in May yesterday. 5 months should be sufficient to fix our busted up pug.

Brent and Scott actually made it to Arse-Freeze-Apalooza and were offered a ride in the Dead Smurfs Miata. Many thanks to those guys for adopting our orphaned Monkeys. Sadly they didn't have a chance to win because of an enormous lap penalty. 1200 laps. Wow. Only one car got more and that was only because the owners of the offending Acura demanded it.

Anyway, time for us to dig into Pujo! and see exactly what the damage is. I drove it home but it was obvious it didn't escape unscathed. The suspension definitely suffered. It was noticed on the way home that none of the tires were actually pointing in the same direction. Plenty of negative camber on the drivers front, but the passenger front was showing significant positive camber. The passenger rear for some reason is an inch lower than the drivers rear.

Whatever the diagnosis is, we'll get Pujo! back on his feet.

And then, hopefully, win the index of effluency in Reno. :-)

Road Tripped

Had a little trouble on the way to Thunderhill this morning. Hit some black ice near Dupont on I-5 and spun off the freeway into a gully. We rolled at least once. The truck is almost certainly totaled. The trailer looks like a refugee from trailer park attacked by a tornado. The race car looks like it's been beaten with baseball bats and crowbars, but it survived. It ripped free of all of it's straps and landed on its wheels on the wall of the trailer. It wasn't fun, but I limped it home under its own power after the wreckers towed the remnants of the truck and trailer away.


Crap.


Somewhere underneath this wreckage is a rather startled little French car. Notice the checker board "wall" that used to be the "floor".


Nice lift kit, huh? I'll be all but invisible in Kent now!


Broken and battered, Aunt Bea held onto her dignity, refused all assistance and drove out of the ditch under her own power. No kidding, that is one seriously tough truck.


Ignoring the law, Bea hitched a ride anyway.


The trailer was a little spartan, so we spruced it up with this festive mobile made of fuel jugs!


Red paint smears from Pujo! are on every interior surface of the trailer except the floor. Pujo! must have felt like a drumstick in a bag of Shake-n-Bake. (credit to Bret Dodson for the comparison)


"Open other end"


Don't worry about being gentle, guys. WE'VE ONLY WORKED ON THAT CAR EVERY WEEKEND FOR THE LAST 6 MONTHS!!!


"For sale, 0ne pace convertible car hauler. Minor cosmetic work required. A real bargain!"


No humans were harmed in the making of this film.

We're In!

Sean received confirmation from Jay Lamm that we've been officially accepted into the 24 Hours of LeMons! Apparently they had over 200 entries and could only take about 80 so our wise (ok, it was crazy at the time but it seems wise now) choice of car made the difference! Now all we have to do is work our butts off for the next 10 weeks to get the car ready and we're all set! Well of course except for the actual driving in the race part, can't wait for that and our chance to show America just what an old hunk of bent-up French iron is capable of!