A Different Kind of Oil Leak

Good grief...I swear, I know now ....“Oils aint oils”

There are bloody black oils, red transmission fluid, pink or red power steering oily shit

Purple differential fluid, coolant fluid which could be! green, yellowish or reddish with a faint, sweet smell

There is heavy light tan or black gear oil, brake fluid or as we have here shock absorber oil

& then there is ... Is it a drip, a seep or a leak or even a slow seepage,

I have heard it all, the whole debate

Yeah I know this conversation has come up before!

dripping oil wrapped in strips of torn cloth!!!

All I know is yes I have noticed it, darling !

I have noticed the smoke, smelt the burning odour caused by the oil seeping onto the hot engine or from coming into contact with hot exhaust parts, yes indeed & yes I have mentioned this before I know,

but this is my blog & I will rave as much as I see fit!

Why is it gaskets continue to leak oil?
All very frustrating if you don't find & correct the source of the problem

To date! We have had

Diff spewing oil @ 2 different times, one pinion seal, 2 diff axel seals
2 engine oil coolers
a leaking oil catch tank
a brake fluid reservoir leak

Now it’s the Koni Shocks turn @ $I000 each to replace, thankfully only 2 seals were needed $200 dollars!

Hmmm....what next??? me thinks!

ahhhhhhhhhh & now we have it dear readers, looks like we have a wee Engine sump oil leak????? Enough said

Historic Leyburn Sprints around the Houses, 15 & 16 August

Ahhhhhh....the beauty of a gorgeous Friday morning when one has a long weekend off to go historic racing.
Friday 14 August, 7.15am, promises to be bright & clear with the mist wafting in waves across the dams as we pass.

We are heading off to the 14th annual Leyburn Sprints to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the running of the Australian Grand Prix, which was run at the nearby Clifton airfield circuit.
We will help to swell Leyburn’s population of around 300 to become 2 of the 15,000 fans and competitors expected.
We never did make the trek down to the coast to the airport to stock up on the avgas, so we now have to make the detour to Ipswich to pick it up, $67.00 for 20 litres

We head out the Warrigal Hwy, turn off at Gatton & wend our way up & over a landscape dominated by rolling hills! covered by pastures of many different veg’s & grain crops, towards Ma Ma creek

Lord give me strength!

We dilly & dally our way to the top of the summit of the Great Dividing Range with its spectacular views

We brave the 3 metre bitchamin road, i.e. wide enough for one car in one direction, the one lane bridges, the side track ahead signs, to name but a few of thee delights that we encounted
Past herds of cattle, rusty old woolsheds & abandoned houses & other scattered remnants from a bygone era of early settlement

Tom tom, sat nav, really did do us proud this time, NOT!

But on a positive note, it was places we had never been to before, & this is what this is all abt, the “Feeding of Our Souls” before they float sky high & our worn out bodies are 6 foot under

OMG!!! HOLD ON....

Yes indeedy the brakes on the trailer do indeed work, as Bri makes a sudden stop!

They locked up as smoke belches from the tyres leaving behind beading!

F off all you meandering cattle!!!

...I am brave and strong and courageous....... breath in, exhale out!

Across to the New England Highway through Clifton we travel, at 11.10am we hit Leyburn, winch the Mustang off & unhitch the trailer & set up our spot for the weekend

1pm Bri takes the car off to scrutineering, where they find a missing weld in the roll cage! Between the top of the bar & the roof!
“Must get that welded mate”!
Yeah right!
Ahhhh how?

Still, I am sure my hero will find a way to rectify this matter in time; still it didn’t stop getting the baby out on the track, which was the main thing

We walked the track, darling a bit dubious when he saw the size of the stones in the road, “I’mmmm, I can see the paint tin will be getting a work out when we return home” he says Luckily darling had foreseen what these stones do & had previously adhered a thin layer of foam to the underside of the front mud guards to stop dents

Not so lucky were a lot of the other once pristine cars that on the Sunday arvo were peppered with dents & dings! to the top of their guards!

We then enjoyed a beer & a few rum & cokes in the sun at Leyburn's only pub owned by former Bronco Shane Webcke
Then off we drove to find the Cunningham highway to Warrick to our hotel

Saturday morning at 6.30am we leave Warrick & travelled the 45mins to Leyburn past frost laden fields which sparkled & glittered like crystals as the sun dawned, the Granite Belt indeed living up to its name of being one of the coolest parts of Queensland, breathe taking to see

As he drives, Darlings mind is always on the job & works out the plan for the day, “I’ll take it easy for the first 2 runs, until the road & tyres warm up“ should be ok after lunch to let loose”

Oh yeah that has so put me at ease!!

The car is still tucked up where we left it, luckily not a layer of ice on that baby, as so many others had that had been left in the open air

The 7.30am drivers briefing saw breathes of vapour & frozen lip gloss gasp as the Marshall said “stay away from the hay, each one weighs 600ks a piece, it’s like hitting a kangaroo,
Yea Gods & little fishes!

At 8.30am Leyburn sprints is off & running, 1100m closed street circuit winding its way around the houses

I’m off to rub noses with the Motor Racing greats, Dick & Steven Johnson, & yes indeed the aging autograph hunter, aka me, will again be armed with her paint pen, as these 2 men are yet to be hunted down & capture by my camera

Three!!! attempts later & the assurance I am not a stalker & I have a photo of Dick & I

Bri gets in 4 runs today
1.16.21 - 1.07.71 - 1.06.76 - 1.05.12
Big Boy, you are Smokin!

Sunday dawns & it's freakin' cold here, the scene was set for another nail-biting lap around “the houses” on this cold, zero Sunday morn!

We again attend the drivers briefing, again misty breaths are coming out of nostrils & mouths like smoke!

But like yesterday, again the day soon heats up & jackets, scarves & gloves are stripped off

Bri gets 3 runs today, each run knocking off seconds
1.05.73 - 1.04.77 - 1.03.96

Bloody hell!
Bri! 1.03.96 - Tricky Dicky!! 1.03. 87 & Steven! 1.05.26

But in their defence, Dick & Steven did do a bit of drifting at times, & left so much rubber on the road tyres had to be replaced!

Shhhhhhhh...don't tell him, but I did witness the Squeal of Bri’s tyres a few times in his search of the right grove! This just may have slowed him down!

The most sort after Leyburn rock trophy (second in his category) sits amongst the others in the shed, to be gazed upon lovingly at times

Well done sweetheart, you are indeed my Hero xx

Go Fast or be Passed!

First 2 Photos taken by: Troy King, Professional Production Photography

First they started with a warm up lap

Then lined up on the grid for a photo shoot for Shannon’s PR, then it was out for 20mins demonstration on the track from a rolling start

He & his comrade-in-arms, Peter Woods, in his Black VK Commodore Croup A Touring Car, both agreed that this was the high light of the weekend, being asked to run in the Lunch time track demonstration session with the big guns

Along, with Bri’s hero car, the ex-Dick Johnson’s No.17, Bryan Burt Falcon Hard Top, was

The late Ian 'Pete' Geoghegan, 1965 Mustang, which Pete drove to win 68 races from 74 starts, which was driven by, Shannon,s Queensland Business Development Manager, Phil Ross

The ex-John French Falcon XC Hard Top

The orange 1970, 302 Boss Mustang pace car & the ex-Bob Morris XD Falcon sedan driven by ex-V8 super car Driver Craig Harris, plus other racing muscle cars

Last but not by any means least, ex-V8 super car driver & with 7 Bathurst victories under his belt to name but a few, Jimmy Richards

A fellow Kiwi who Bri followed to Race meetings back in NZ in the late 60’s & early 70’s, who drove the Red & White Winfield racing Holden

This weekend was value for money, $185 early bird special, lots of track time & experience, with the beasty guzzling through 75 litres of fuel

“Another day of sprints for you & your car versus the timekeeper”

Sunday 28th June 2009
The start of day 2 of the Shannon’s shootout!

A beautiful sunny day dawns, we leave a bit later as we woke without the alarm, which is always a good feeling

The first 6 laps goes ahead without mishap... 2 hours later he’s off for the 2nd outing of the morning

The car feels great.... Power on down to turn 1.... up to turn 2 .....breaking hard then back on the gas... along the 600m back straight.... the car runs strong... ready to corner down through the dipper..... OH SHIT....

A mowing we will go!!!!

We really are so in sync; it is soooo true that many years together you grow oh so very alike!

I like to keep a tidy property, 1 1/4 acres mowed weekly & depending on how fast the grass grows, sometimes twice weekly!

He likes to keep track side well manicured also it seems

Along the 600m back straight a car is up his arse!

From where I was I could barely see daylight between them, I kid you not

I knew exactly what was going to happen from the onslaught of Bri not allowing him to pass him on Dick Johnson straight.

Just prior to the corner, I knew then the race was well & truly on!
There was no way in hell he was going to let him get passed him & while I’m at it!! Who in the hell had moved that witches hat which had become Bris breaking point after turn 2!

So my man decides, even when racing to take a wee detour,

He reckons some attention is needed at the dipper area so he makes a sideway manoeuvre to give it a quick slash on flight

I of course witnessed all this; all I can see is abt 2 inches of the roof of the car down in the dip.

I rejoiced at that as it could have been the wheels I was viewing

By this time I swear I could hardly breathe, but I was calm as I had an audience beside me

I was brought up old school; "never make a spectacle of yourself Pamela"

Breath, exhale, Breath, exhale,

FUCK that was my husband!! Mother would have been turning in her Grave at that point!

Thankfully after what seemed like an age the red flag comes out & Bri is pushed out of the mud & hostilities resume, he is off & racing once again

Now, after the mud slide incident, other wives might have been excited at this point, but no not me, I am the panicker or so my kids tell me, & in my mind what I see isn't my man gallantly riding into battle once again, I see a possibility of bumps & scrapes, crashes & risk, I am terrified once again

The Queensland Raceway site says "If your pride and joy, your passion, has wheels and horsepower its time you brought it out to play.

Cotton balls are all well and good but if you want to get the real deal you have to use it the way it was built to be & how right they are, you do not have to put your car at risk.

If half the roads were as safe as Queensland Raceway it would halve the road toll.

Your car was meant to be driven and you owe it to the people who designed it, and built it, to show what it can do – safely"

How right they are, day 2 & we only have a bit of mud & bits of grass hanging foul!

Qld raceway Shannon’s Sports & Muscle Car Showdown

Photo by
Professional Production Photography
Saturday 27th June 2009

As a hint of early morning light peeks through the wooden blinds, she slowly climbs out of her warm comfortable bed.
She can hear him outside on the patio, patting the dog, lighting his fag & slurping his coffee, over the idling engine of the mustang.
With a heavy heart & hesitant footsteps, she forces herself to make way to the shower, then dresses, wanders out into the still dark morning, & forces herself to face her fate for this weekend –
Two days of adrenalin at The Shannon’s Sports & Muscle Car Showdown.

He was thoughtful enough to say, do you want to stay home.
Thankyou darling, but no, there is no way in which I am going to take the chance of missing any moment of significance as I wait patiently, camera in hand … What were our Vows.. To death do us part

We are off, 5.55am & black as pitch, & a brisk 6 degrees, blinded by the glare from the headlights off the rain puddles on the road!
Then to top it off, further on down the track the fog rolls on in!

Saving Grace, NO wipers needed.
What was that I just said, 15mins away from the venue rain! Wipers on!

The weather discussion starts, slicks? yes, no, maybe, & then a glimmer of hope, as my Granny always said if you can see a handkerchief sized patch of blue in the sky, then the weather will be fine, & there it was, & yes indeed she was right

We unload the Mustang, the wet weather tyres in case needed, the fuel etc etc & took the car & trailer to the car park, in minutes we were all sorted & erected the cover amid the quagmire the ground had become overnight.

Bri then attended the drivers meeting, they stressed how slippery the track will be with all the water lying through the dipper area,
“keep off the green & stay on the black stuff! if you get on the green, grab your passport, as you will end up in some foreign country & in this weather you are likely to hit the wall”, yeah right, just what I wanted to hear!

Back to our paddock area where darling jacks the car up, he's now decided to run with the rear sway bar off, thankfully this was completed with no mishap & the sprint began

The new tyres are duly noted by Mr John English

Clubman Circuit 2.11 km
Practice - 1:13
Best time – 1:08

SPEED COSTS MONEY, HOW FAST DO YOU WANT TO GO?

Thank you MR Glen Seton & MR John English, NOT!!
As one really must buy new tyres particularly when the fact is mentioned that new ones are paramount by 2 Racing Drivers at 2 different times!

It’s a tuff call as to who’s advice to take when buying new slicks, & when this advice has been personally given, & even worse, when you will see them both again

One recommended,
Hoosiers “Tyres designed for champions”
& the other Pirelli Tyres “Mates rates”

Worn tyres or the wrong choice of tyre, means the difference between losing & winning
Or the staying on the track or the running out of control & off it,
ahh that would be into the mud! but that is another story!!
so this thought process is no mean feat

In dry weather, 'slicks' are used
Slick tyres have no tread, thus giving the tyres maximum surface area in contact with the road to grip most effectively on a dry road surface, so the man says

So you can imagine my deleimer when the courier arrived with the tyres & they had grooves!!!! in my mind grooves mean tread!!

In my defence the Dunlop’s we were running were a non grooved slick

My man just grins that indulgent grin, at me, which seems to appear when I have a blond moment

Lots of humming & haring & tooing & froing & the new bags are....

Hoosiers, size 275 45 16. A6
Got to be good as also run by the Pinepac 1 car & by the Biante drivers

Cost $1860
We have yet to see how well these babies’s perform

The climb-Up & Down the Mountain

I wake on Sunday & rushed to peek out of the window, the day was cloudless halleluiah was the catch cry!

Today’s adrenaline rush comes from day 3 up Mt Coot-tha
A bit of a bonus as we arrive, since we are soooo very early again 6.3Oam Bri was allowed to drive us into the Pit area via around the track.
I’mmm I was thinking, I wish he hadn’t done that, I am really much better being oblivious to a lot of this business!
Looked very daunting all these concrete barriers, & chicanes
& “shouldn’t there be lots more towers of tyres there at that corner Bri? “ How in the hell they get around this skinny road doing the speeds they do & not hit anything! Is beyond me

The first run of the day sees a car come back on the back of a truck, with its bonnet all smashed in!
I’mmm this reassures me a lot, not!!
Reality check too for man with avgas in his veins & he says “I might rethink my strategies & back this baby off abit” “I don’t really want to come back that way” Praise the Lord, thinks I

Jaime, Zoe & Josh arrive in time for his second run, & because there was another hold up on the track, they were able to make the trek up the hill to the start, with time to spare
Bri & I then walked up to meet them & enjoyed the racing, narrowly beating death I might add, by a red fly away bonnet, which thankfully flew city side, I kid you not!

The hunt was on & I found Jim Richards & got my photo & shirt signed, Bri then did the same & had a chat with him, as Jimmy remembered the Pinepac Mustang from early race meeting in NZ

Two runs today, the first 72.20 then 68.10
Shame I can’t get a 3rd in he says, still a bit slow on the uphill take off. Shame I can’t put a V8 in the Mustang
“why” I stupidly ask
“It takes horsepower to accelerate weight & to push a hole in the air” says he
"You're joking, surely!"
Then I remember he can’t, due to the fact it’s a historic race car & it has to be original.

Winning is overrated, the only time it is really important is in surgery & war. ~Al McGuire

Oh ball’s! Mr Al McGuire, only you would say that
The first prize Trophy in the Group A Touring car category stands happily next to the other in our shed