Thursday, May 28, 2009

Show n Shine




4rd Annual Classic Speedway Association Queensland Car & Bike Show & Swap, Sunday 17th May 2009

All types of Speedway, Vintage, Classic & Modern vehicles, including bikes & all types of motoring clubs welcome says the flyer

Ohhh we know this show n shine only too well, the Cobra won a trophy at the inaugural, so now the Mustang will try her luck

Polished within an inch of its life

Up on the hoist, wheels off

Ahhhh Bri, why does it have to be soooo clean underneath, no one gets down to look under it

Ohh sorry I am forgetting myself, yes indeedy! You are right sweetheart, Mr Glen Seton does

I think we will have to get a couple of mirrors to slip under that sucker, so all that work & time doesn’t go unnoticed & unappreciated!

Touch up all the stone chips

Dam!! there’s another one, Weld paint brush in hand, gone!!

Well it seems this was a job well done

Home again with lucky spot prize of Armor All gift pack & hot little Trophy in his hand

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Historic Mt Cotton Hill climb Sunday 3 May











5.30am we head for the hills, me with a sense of foreboding after yesterdays turn of events or should I say we head for the mountain & 946 metres of bitumen sealed up hill & down dale
The Mustang is off on its first Hill climbing jaunt & will try her luck at a standing start to a flying finish, along an uphill course against the clock!!
Ohhh I will love this NOT!

Hmmm... If you fancy some 4 wheeled action you might consider hill climbing, heart in mouth sort of stuff! Timed sprints
As he said to me, this is safe, it means you won't be bashing body work with some maniac
But darling, says I, remember there are trees, corners, & sheer drops to consider instead

Only one thing left behind this time, my thongs, as it’s so cold this time of the morning I have to put on my boots
Lots of laughs enroute as we reviewed the winch incident from yesterday
Boys & their toys, we are amazed at all the speed racers out there, they pass the pinepac car on the trailer & plant their foot on the throttle & roar off into the distance

We get the site he was after, the sole reason for arriving so early, set up camp & get the paper work over & receive the commemorative mug, take the car in & pass scruteneering & attend the drivers briefing, phew I’m exhausted already

Pit crew persons arrived a little late, I might add, I believe we rang & told them they must also attend the Drivers meeting at 7.30am, but this was meet with peals of laughter & a! "I don’t think so"!! but no Jody obviously kept her husband in bed!! & didn’t heed her parents
Oh the young generation of today, what happened to honor your Father & your Mother, I ask
All is forgiven when they arrive in time for the first run

Race suit, socks, shoes, gloves & Helmet are adorned & the car fired into life, then pep talk from wifey
"Take it relatively slow & easy & build up a good knowledge of the course, please remember you want to participate in Mt Cootha hill climb later in the month, in a car with good working condition
Young Son number 2 shows up with his mates, Jesse tells dad at the end of the day he was awesome he really made his Daddies day
He warms the tyres with a bit of a burnout trying to "put some heat" into them to improve their grip as he approached the start line, the light goes green & with the right amount of wheel spin to get a good "launch" he was off & racing, around the first corner, accelerating up to the first loop, which seemed to me to loom rapidly, aka “lovers loop” then he’s taking the downhill plunge to the hairpin at the bottom of the hill, then on & up to a very steep, sharp left hander, where I must add 2 cars had mishaps during the course of the day & had to be trucked off!!! Down the hill to the hairpin nut corner, back up the straight to lovers leap corner again & through to the finish line

His nemesis:
”The hairpin”!!!
he slides sideways across the track, which slowed his times down considerably on this run, his explanation of this sideways maneuver, when asked “I stood on gas pedal too hard, have to learn to ease the power, LOCK INTO BRAIN, one of many things one has to exsicute in under 60 seconds!”
4th run “Where did 1st gear go” on the run back up to lovers leap??
back at the pits ajusted the clutch & everything was hunky dory

By this time he was full of self doubt, as he had gone from a 62.66 to a 67.01, “I’m shit at this, he says, I should just be the team owner & get one of the boys to drive”

But his sheer bloody-minded determination kicks right in there again & he is once again the driver & loving it, his best time for the day was 57.11 as he says it can only get better from here

Praise the Lord we are back safe & sound from the hill climb
Really proud of you, sweetheart for living your dream & for taking me along for the ride xx

Winch? what winch


Saturday arvo, Bri needs me to help with the winching on of the car, he has spent several hours cleaning & polishing, I had to Shield my eyes from the brilliant sunlight reflecting off this highly polished car as I walked down the slope towards it

Disaster has already hit, the silage water had been running down onto the grass & part of the lawn is a quagmire, hence the cars spinning wheels & the slicks getting no traction!!

Finally he has the car in position, I operate the winch as he turns the wheel & guides it up & onto the trailer, horrid grinding noises are coming from the winch.
I beacon Bri to look, he says carry on.
I may as well pop in here he hasn’t got his reading glasses on! as he gazes at the winch
The wire I notice is winding beyond from the drum & into the area beyond
I call Bri again & as he come near, ping the knob flies off the winch drum & through the air
The look on Bri’s face, classic, I can just imagine mine looked equally horrified
I suggest we reverse the winch & let the car back down
It starts to roll slowly as I push the winch button, then snap the wire breaks while under the extreme tension, the wire is now flaying around with such force & the car rolls back off the trailer FAST
The car is heading backwards towards the dam!
Bri runs, I run, he thrusts his arm through the open window, wrenches the wheel around & turns the wheels!
Disaster is foiled & we stop the runaway car
Moral of the story, never dethrone car without windows down

Winch well & truly FUCKED

By this stage I am not feeling to confident abt this motor racing one little bit
Bri starts the beast & I guide Bri up onto the trailer
All very traumatic, we are both in need of a very stiff drink!

My Claim to Fame







All the FORD big boys were there, happy to stand & pose with this ageing autograph hunter, I can see them duck & weave trying to get away as I come close rattling my paint pen at them. No just kidding, they are always happy to oblige

Me Thinks ... Should you be facing this way?




Sunday 26th April, the day dawns bright & clear in this wide brown land, thankfully, the day of David Besnards fundraiser at Queensland Raceway

Please sit back, relax, put your feet up & enjoy the first installment of fundraiser at Queensland raceway
Car on Trailer “check”
Race gear bag “check”

Briefcase with licenses “check”

Ready to lock the house …. Che ..”

Dog, dog? ………… DOG?

Darling I call? Have you seen Judge?

F%&#!!!! Where’s the F$%^&N DOG

30 mins later my car returns with Dog trotting on beside!

By this stage, man with avgas in his veins is feeling & sounding a wee bit tetchy!
I throw him a fag & within minutes calm is restored

There is no doubt about it, the acorn doesn’t fall too far from the tree, this girl of ours has avgas in her veins, just like her Daddy, she & her gorgeous husband Stevie & little girlies come to egg Daddy on & don their Pit crew gear. You make us so very proud, sweetheart xx thankyou

What can I say? He drove well for two laps then started to get a bit lary & lost the tail end. Whoops, he does a 360 spin out!!

Note to self: First of all: Don't Panic. Second of all: Don't Panic.
Panicking pushing the heart rate up & causes stress!

Phew!!!! was close!!!

“Stevie can you smell that?” I ask, as Bri races past us

Vroom past he goes again “Stevie, it smells like gas”
By this time I am all but hanging out over the barrier beaconing him to come in

Vroom, he’s gone again & yet again, no amount of arm waving or beaconing is bringing this boy in

Speed Demon, Road hog, there was no way once he was out there, he was going bring this car into the pits

In our MINDS we hear over the loud speaker “Pinepac, pinepac, would you please vacate the track”
45 mins later he returns to the pits, smoke spewing out from under the hood

“Didn’t you see or smell that smoke” I ask in amazement, as I peer into the smoke hazed cockpit!!!!
“Yeah, but I checked & the gauges, they were all ok”

Ok, I’ll give you all a few moments to recover. Alright, time’s up!

Are you for real!! I think. This baby & you could have blown sky high!!! He just laughs & rolls his eyes

I have a pit stop, return to see lots of bods with heads down arses up under the bonnet. I hear “can I have a rag” Bri rushes off.
I see, nice tight arse encased in blue racing pants, stripe shirt,

Light bulb goes on in my brain, man looks up, I gasp “Oh my God”, he smiles

I rush over to Bri who is a rag hunting,
I lean close & pass him a rag & say “give Glen the rag darling”
“darling give Mr. Seton the rag”
“What” he says, too right, I have his attention now
“Give Glen Seton the rag love“
Yes you do read right, we had Glen Seton working on the car & chatting

Please note evidence photos

Darling if I died tonight, I die happy, I am so lucky, my Children, you & today, he tells me