[Nader]

I forgot about this minor modification. In the off-season, I ditched the quick-release steering hub in favor of a fixed spacer. I didn't like the slight amount of play that the splined hub had, never used the quick release feature, and didn't like the thought of the steering wheel becoming disconnected mid-race like I've seen in a few youtube videos.

As for the new steering wheel, it's a period-correct Racemark Raid wheel. Probably the only period-correct piece on the car. Heh.

 

[bianchi1]

Nadar, email me,[email protected]

 

[bianchi1]

My cell number 916 540 8091 call me asap

 

[bianchi1]

Nadar,it was very nice of you to trim the grass on the side of the track,your fellow drivers will appreciate the nice job that you did,when they run off the track��

 

[Nader]

Over the years, my dog, Baldor, has made a few cameo appearances in this very large thread. Back in '09 when I started this, he was a young adult. Anyone whose ever had a dog knows where I'm going with this...

Some background:
My last dog, another German Shepherd named Grendel, was my first dog. He was huge, anxious, vocal, and emotional. Affectionate, too, sometimes like a big baby. He died at the age of 10, while the race car was having some bodywork done at Vintage Customs, back in '08 or so. I remember there being an issue with the cage not having extensions into the tire arch in the footwells, something the previous shop would have dealt with. I confided in Daron, the shop owner, that my dog just died, and I was too distraught to deal with the car's cage. Him being a dog guy (his username here is Akitaman), said not to worry, he'll take care of it. And he did. I think he dragged the welder from the other shop to his, and had him make the additions.

Here's Grendel:

 

[Nader]

My wife found wasted no time in finding us another German Shepherd breeder with new puppies. The sire was a Washington State schutzhund champion, but the dam was a family pet. We picked out the male pup that licked our faces the most, and named him Baldor, after the American-made electric motor brand that powers my vintage Ingersoll-Rand Type 30 air compressor.

The early pics in this thread show the race car being towed by an older sand-colored Toyota 4Runner. Baldor wrecked that car. He chewed up the handbrake and generally trashed the interior. But he was still a good traveler, and kept quiet in the car, which is something Grendel could never do. So I took Baldor with me everywhere. Including to Vintage Customs when checking up on the car, where he promptly peed in their office.

I also took him on road trips to my vintage motorcycle races, even when they were in Portland and Utah. It was on the way to a big AHMRA (American Historic Motorcycle Racing Association) meet at Miller Motorsports Park that he ate the 4Runner. While there, his picture made it in a couple of motorcycle racing magazines that were covering the event.

Here he is getting his first ride in the Carrera. And the one that made him famous, the pic of him at Miller curled up on my tool box while I made adjustments on the bike. FYI, that's me in the LeMans start of the bike race (yes, we do that) running to the yellow bike being held by my lovely wife in the green shirt.

 

[Nader]

Here he is, a nutty adolescent trying to get his ears up, on the north fork of the Snoqualmie river on a fly fishing outing. He really enjoys the water.

 

[Nader]

Although his first exposure to motorsports was motorcycle wrenching and racing, I like to think he developed a taste for the car building and racing scene as well.

 

[Nader]

Baldor died today.

This is one of the last decent pictures I have of him. He'd been declining the last few days, and today he couldn't get himself up, so it was time. Ohh, man. He was such a good boy. My buddy.

 

[spydaman]

Lots of us know how bad it feels to loose a family member, our thoughts are with you.

 

[Lin]

Nader,
So sorry to hear about Baldor. Sorry for your loss of a good friend.
Lin

 

[conedriver]

Heartfelt condolences over the loss of Baldor. There is nothing like a German shepherd dog. Like us, when we lost our last GSD, you will get another when the time is right.

Over the years, my dog, Baldor, has made a few cameo appearances in this very large thread. Back in '09 when I started this, he was a young adult. Anyone whose ever had a dog knows where I'm going with this...

 

[ghnl]

Sorry to hear about Baldor's passing. I understand the hole in your heart.

 

[ossodiseppia]

Ugh. I'm so sorry to hear of his passing.

 

[gprocket]

Condolences as well. I'd be heartbroken if I were to loose my copilot...

 

[Vivace]

Oh...that's so sad Mr Nader. I know how that feels. My wife's family had a long string of Shepherds.

On a positive note, we are now doggysitting my older son's Griffon while he's away at med school. He's such a lovable goof. When he leaves on weekends we get so lonely.

Winston says hello and sends good thoughts...

 

[Stopwatch]

Godspeed Baldor, Godspeed.

Hawke sends his condolences (as do I).

 

[Nader]

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate it. You all have handsome, good dogs. Give them an extra squeeze for me.

Baldor was often my companion while working on the race car both at the trailer storage site (one of his favorite places) and in my own driveway. I'm still sad, but better than yesterday. Takes time.

Speaking of which, there was a time, before kids, that my wife and I took a drive in the street Duetto with full-sized Baldor sitting back behind the seats (transversely). It was funny, because he's as big as a person and barely fit in there. Someone even took out their phone to take a picture of us when we were stopped at a light. Even funnier (to me) was that he'd bark at other dogs on the sidewalk as we drove by. Happy fun red sporty little car, with a big scary German Shepherd cursing you as we drove by. Heh heh.

He loved going for rides. One thing I regret was not taking him for more. Especially in the truck. He really loved that F350.

Here he is in his latter days, a few weeks ago, wisely skeptical of the new addition. Looking back at me as if to say, "Are you sure about this?"

 

[Nader]

The first race of the new season is next weekend. Gotta get the car out of the shed and up into the driveway to get prepped. Unfortunately, the soggy grass won't let me drive up the hill. I've already torn up the lawn with the first attempt up the hill.

Good thing I just got this crusty old FJ40 Landcruiser with a Warn 8274 winch. It has an 8,000 lb rating, so the truck can winch itself up a tree. Not a problem to get a wispy LIC up a short slope. Baldor would have loved this. Oh, I forgot to put a blanket on the winch cable for safety, in case it snapped.

 

[Nader]

Nothing much to report from the Spring Sprints I attended a few weeks ago. I had a couple of issues, now that the car is old, I mean, seasoned enough to show some wear and tear. I had a sudden strange noise, bad vibration, and loss of power that occurred on the first practice outing. I had vision of a season-ending engine failure. I poked around a seemingly normal engine bay for a while as it cooled down. Did a compression test that was surprisingly normal. Checked timing, which was fine. Someone even lent me a borescope to look down in the cylinders, and nothing seemed melted nor were there any chunks of metal.

Finally looked under the car to see the exhaust dislodged from the header and hanging halfway off. Whew!

Then the last session of the last day I had a throttle that wouldn't close, so I shut it down on the straight. Turned out the carburetor throttle shaft return spring on one of the Webers was broken. Luckily, I have donor junk carbs at home, and was able to fix it with a good used spring.

Here's a picture of some Weber on Weber action. Hah!