Resurrecting a Legend
 

Finally taking time to get around to starting this thread.

A couple months ago my long time racing companion of 18 years met her demise.

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Shamu

Lots of hard work and history in this car with numerous PCA, SCCA, and Parade wins. If it didn't break I was usually at least on the podium. This car has literally raced from one end of the country to the other and most places in between. I actually used to drive it to and from races with trailer in tow.

Then this happened:

YouTube - ‪TWS 3-20-11 Blue Super Sprint 3 - Chris meet James James meet Chris‬‏

It may not look that bad to some, but I was hit pretty hard. Hard enough to punt me off the track about 30ft and it rung my bell pretty good. All that expensive safety equipment did its job and paid off.

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Had it not been for the door bar I made (because of a rule change) I would have ended up wearing the door.

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Not only is the rocker smashed into the seat, the rear door post was also pushed into the role cage (about 3 inches). Hard to say right now but the roll cage may have actually transferred allot of the energy and tweaked the tub slightly.

Its probably repairable, but but I'm not sure its worth the time and expense since a targa is not a great platform for a race car and I have always felt it kept me at a competitive disadvantage.

Wow, thank god you were not injured more than a bang in the head. Geez.

So sad, I hope you can get her back to her feet.

Best wishes Brother!

Chapter II:

Being a racer I got over it pretty quick. I can't really afford to build a new car and I really don't have the time either. But I'm a racer and I don't know what else to do so I started looking for a new car as soon as I got home. Word got out and fellow racer George Kopecky stepped up with Scott's ******** and they came up with a clean SC tub for me. Not the best deal in the world, but it was a good tub and I could scrape the money together.

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This is going to be a semi rotisserie restoration. That is I'm not going all the way like I would on a show car. I probably won't pull the front fenders and the wiring harness is not coming out. Most of the parts from Shamu will transferred over so it will be a new and better car, but with the heart of Shamu.

The motivation/theme for this new car is an SC replica of the Mary Stuart RSR. I actually drove the real Mary Stuart car so I have an appreciation for it. I have been working a '73 MS RSR but that is on hold till the SC is done. I'm trying to have this car done for Rennsport Reunion should I be blessed with admittance. This is where we are going: Except it will be a PCA D-class racer.


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I'm confused, did the guy in the green car not see what was happening ahead? It's almost like everyone was on their toes except him, he SHOT past the car on the right on the inside and plowed it. Holy cow.

Stuff happens though unfortunately.

- You're SAFE so that's the biggest part

Wow, the video shows a pretty good hit. Glad you're ok.
Just a question, what wheels are those in the second pic? Buckley wheels?

First order of business was to get the car on the rotisserie. I wanted to take care of this ASAP so I could return the dollies to Scott's Auto-Haus I've had the rotisserie for over 10 years but never used it. I got it in a deal with a couple other cars I bought. Actually, my neighbor used it more than me. luckily he wasn't using when I needed it. I stripped the doors and decks off the car to make it a bit lighter for the rotisserie. Had to be done anyway so why not now.

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With customer cars and motors in the works, and ways to many spare parts, I have a pretty confined area to work. But I have built some good cars under these conditions.

You hit the nail on the head. I guess he thought all us faster cars were just going to hand him a gift for no reason, and then he didn't have the skills to pull it off. I guess that's racing sometimes.

Yep, my first weekend on the Buckley wheels. I've been racing with Jim in PCA since '97. I even beat him a couple times before he moved to E-class. A couple years ago he almost took me out when we were side by side in a corner and he had a ball joint break. Luckily he actually veered off in the other direction. I think I actually lent him a WUR that day so he could race.

That totally sucks. I'm sorry for your loss my friend! Hopefully you'll be back on the track soon!

Finally got the car stripped down. The process of building Shamu took place over many years and I have long since forgotten all the work and modifications that when into it. Stripping the new car has reminded me of all that. It also reminds me I have allot of work ahead of me.

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The first order of business after stripping the car was to call out the pressure washer. I don't plan to remove any of the undercoating because I will need the weight any and it does provide good protection. I wanted the car clean though so I could weld in new sway bar brackets and do any other necessary work before painting.


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Before.

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After.

Not only was the washer more then 3 hrs late, but the hot water and chemical was not working as promised. But he still charged me full price. I was not happy! But it was a major event to get this scheduled so I wasn't going to send him away.

Next step is to weld in the Buckly Racing sway bar brackets and do whatever underside work needs to be corrected, then I can paint the whole underside of and the trunk and engine compartment. At one point I thought about painting the car black with a red underbelly (and wheel wells).

Then I will move on to removing the sun roof and installing the cage. I have installed a couple GAS Motorsports cages, but they don't have the tubing size I need for this one so I'm going to have to build it myself from scratch.

Thanks. I can't wait to see what I can do with a properly built coupe.

BTW: Camera credit goes to Zone 5 Rep and fellow D-class racer James Shoffit. Since I had won the two races the day before, and had this one in the bag as well, I was actually letting James catch up and pass me so I could critique and help him with his driving. That's what I get for being nice.

Been there. I was helping a fellow road racer(motorcycle) with his lines(him following me), I kept upping the pace to see if he was keeping up and as I entered the second fastest corner, I took a glance over my shoulder to see where he was, and a second later I was bouncing off the tire wall. Actually ended up with my shoulder wedged under the armco. Later, I found out I had gotten knocked out and was sleeping for 2-3 minutes.
The guy I was leading did end up taking about 3 seconds off his lap times though:D

Many years ago in Germany I was racing bikes. A couple of my non-racer friends always wanted to prove they could keep up with me. We were getting off the freeway one day; I was just taking it at a spirited clip when one guy decide this was the time to prove himself. He ended up tossing his bike into cross traffic at the exit. It was at this time I realized I have a responsibility to the guys I ride with not to get in this position. I currently have a Honda RS 250 for track days only.

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Nice!
On Sunday rides with my friends I usually will bring up the rear for the same reason.
Here's me on my last racebike an RS125, leading a couple of R6's that I had just passed.
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Time was short (as usual) this week so I didn't really work on the car. But I did manage to pull the trailer out, get the targa off, and remove the sway bars which I need for the installation of the new sway bar brackets. Since the car was off the trailer I removed some other parts people had been asking to buy. Now its back on the trailer till I need something else.

The turbo I'm working on is sort of on hold till the owner gets back from Finland, and the crank from one of the race motors had to be sent back to Ollies for cross drilling. Once the crank gets back it should be ready for assembly.

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Took the door off since it was a hindrance while loading/unloading the car.


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Nice write up. Good luck with your build!

Thanks. The question is: can I get it done in time?

James,

Sorry to see all of this.

Quigley showed me the pictures and video when it happened.

You must have hit your head pretty good; you've become friendly! ;)

Jesse Wurmbrand

LOL! I missed you at the track Jesse. When will you return?, Maybe I can finally beat you with the new car. ....and yes. I did hit y head pretty hard. Say hi to Q for me.