Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Wayne. does this thread or whatever have a "time limit"? I was writing a post, and was almost finished, and my computer shut down Hangar talk, and sent me back to my desk top. This is the second time this has happened. Am I doing something wrong? When this happens, I am unable to retrieve what I was posting. I was interupted by a couple of phone calls, but they were wrong numbers, so I wasn't delayed from wriying but for a few seconds. I was typing the post when it shut me down both times. Larry

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Wayne. does this thread or whatever have a "time limit"? I was writing a post, and was almost finished, and my computer shut down Hangar talk, and sent me back to my desk top. This is the second time this has happened. Am I doing something wrong? When this happens, I am unable to retrieve what I was posting. I was interupted by a couple of phone calls, but they were wrong numbers, so I wasn't delayed from wriying but for a few seconds. I was typing the post when it shut me down both times. Larry

Larry,

no, thread has no time limit that I can think of... oh.. wait.. maybe, actually about 15 minutes of inactivity will automatically log you out.. board software has some settings, I keep them somewhat limited to keep the active users panel accurate....

Grrrrrrrrr!

We can't have you losin stuff!

Do you have access to any "word processer" software on your computer? Like WordPad or Word???

If you do, you can type your messages up there, then "edit-select all-copy" come to the message box and then, right click on the message pane, and "paste" your work will appear in the post complete....

I'll look at stretching the length of the "timeout" for login's so we can try to keep this from happening!

We all know how frustrating it is to lose "data"...

Oh god.. I wish I could post the "first IT" guy vid that someone sent me the other day!!

Maybe I can find it on youtube....

A real knee slapper!!

Lemme know if I can help!!

Wayne

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Wayne, this is a test. Larry Microsoft Works.

Hey! It worked, now if I can remember how I did it, we'll be looking good.

Larry

[hm66sk]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Being an all around "Gear Head", this thread is addicting! Like someone else said, "I've paid lots of money for books that weren't as good as this thread!"

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

After the commercial thing was finished, it was too late in the day to do anything else, and the USAC “timers” had long gone. We secured the camp, and took the FWD car into Wendover to the Texaco station. Ward wanted to de- salt the monocoque, and sprayed it down with what I recall was a baking soda and water solution. Then it was blown dry and we used several cans of aluminum spray paint along the seams to try to keep the salt from getting between the aluminum panels and eating up the rivets, etc. The next morning the weather was looking bad, as it often does at Bonneville. High winds, and some rain. Mickey decided that we would sit out the day, and hope the weather would be better the next day. Ward and I just kind of walked around in circles, kicking the tires and any other dumb thing we could think of. Of course we wanted to go to our rooms and rest up, but Mick would have none of that, probably because it made too much sense. So Jim and I wandered around behind the Texaco station, where there was a lot of old abandoned cars that had been left by travelers that had been going west to the “Golden State” to start new lives, and their vehicles had broken down, and they couldn’t afford to have them fixed, so they would trade them for a “Greyhound” ticket to there destination. We spotted a Utah police car sitting back there, but didn’t give it much thought. Then we went around to the front of the station and struck up a conversation to one of the guys working there, pumping gas, and washing windshields, etc. He was a tall, lean fellow who always wore baggy green coverals, at least 2 sizes too big. We chatted with him and picked up on the local gossip, and then went over and got a coke, and set on a bench. All of a sudden what sounded like a real loud phone ringing blasted away. Suddenly this guy peeled off his coverals, and under them was a police uniform. “Holy Superman”! The now cop, dashed over and jumped in that police car we had seen, and away he went, heading east like a rocket. Ward and I were cracking up, and asking each other if what we saw was for real. This was way, way, too much to believe. Whatever or whoever he was after couldn’t have been too far away, because in about 20 minutes he came cruising back. He promptly walked back into the station, and put his coverals back on, and came out looking for his next gas customer, like nothing had happened. Ward just couldn’t stand it, and walked over to the man and in a smart- assed way asked, What else do you do around here”? He said, “Oh, I drive the street sweeper too”. This was really too much for Jim to handle, he started laughing so hard his knees buckled, and he came staggering over to me, and said, “Can you believe this S****T? (I must say, I am sitting here laughing so hard, there are tears rolling down my cheeks recalling this event). This was too much! Larry

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

WAYNE! Thanks fpr the tip, it seemed to work great. Should I also be able to send photos along with this proceedure?

Larry

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

WAYNE! Thanks fpr the tip, it seemed to work great. Should I also be able to send photos along with this proceedure?

Larry

Larry, unfortunately, no, the photos have to be uploaded with the utility at the bottom of the page labeled "manage attachments" I think you had it pretty well dialed in the post you uploaded an image... you can put up to 10 in a post, the board will auto "thumbnail" them and the full size will be viewable when clicked on..

I recently upped the size limit for pix to 800 pixels wide from the previous 600 pixels... so if you size your images in your graphic program to 800 wide (height is limitless) and save at probably about 80-90% quality, they will fit within the physical dimension limits as well as the file size limits..

Hope this helps!

Wayne

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Wayne, I will try again to send some photos.

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

The weather looked much better he next day, and Jim and I hauled the FWD back to the salt, while Mickey rounded up the timers from the United States Auto Club (USAC) who would certify any records Mick might set. While everybody getting into position, setting up the clocks, and photographers doing whatever it is that they do, Mickey decided to take a couple of laps to get heat in the motor, transaxle, etc. When he came back in he wasn’t very happy with the condition of the salt. He said that it was pretty moist in spots. The way it had been explained to me was that the water table raised and lowered under the salt, I don’t know if it was something like the tide coming in or what. It wasn’t my problem, so I never asked anyone much about it. I had been told stories about guys running around the 10 mile oval, and one lap it would be fine, and the next lap they would hit water, and spin out in one turn or another. The tension was building, and everyone wanted to get going and get it over with. The USAC timers were ready, and we had the car in position. Mickey was strapped in and the engine was running, and at some point someone waved a flag or something, and away Mickey went. The standing Kilo, and mile speeds were good, and now it was just a matter of going around and around until the 500 miles were completed. His lap times were good, averaging 232+ MPH. After about 15 or 16 laps, he pulled in, saying that he had hit water. That ended our possibility of continuing to pursue the records. We only had the salt scheduled for a certain number of days as well as the USAC people. We would just have to go back to Long Beach, and reschedule for another attempt. Mickey left, and everyone got all the gear loaded up and left the salt and headed home. Ward and I were the last ones to leave, and were looking forward to going to our motel rooms and getting some rest before heading for Long Beach. The motel where our rooms were had a circular drive with the rooms arranged around it. As we pulled in and drove around this drive, we noticed some stuff piled up by the curb. IT WAS OUR LUGGAGE! Jim and I were confused and very irate. Now what do we do? Jim went to the motel office and told them to book us back into our rooms. He was told that Mickey had left orders not to let us stay! We went over to a restaurant next door to get something to eat, and figure out what was going on, and we were told that Mick had told them not to serve us anything. He told them to tell us to get on the road right away, and he would see us in Long Beach tomorrow! Jim went to all the motels and restaurants in Wendover, Utah, and Wendover, Nevada, and got the same answer. The only option we had was to hit the road. However in our devious minds we came up with a plan. We were going to out Mick the Mick! Larry

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

God Larry, we do have a book here! We should get together, see if we can find a publisher, stick your photos in and see if you can make a buck or two to help the "retirement" fund out!!

PLEASE keep it comin!!!

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

The route we had been given to get to Bonneville must have been a short cut dreamed up by Mickey on his previous trips with the land speed car. We followed the directions, and I think it was just inside the Nevada border we came upon a sign that read: “Warning! Travel on this road at your own risk. It is not patrolled.” As we motored along this narrow, desolate road Jim and I recalled some stories, probably from Ol’ Fritz Voight, who had been with Mickey during all the trips to try to get the Land Speed Record. One story was that someone had went off the road and crashed, and had not been found for three weeks. We drove for hours, and never saw another vehicle. On occasion we would see shacks off in the trees that seemed to be habitated by humans of some sort. Hippys, maybe, or hermits, who knows? We made a lot of sly remarks about why in hell would anyone live out here in the middle of no-where. This became the focus of our devious “plan”. We were going to fix “The Mick” real good. After leaving Wendover we drove for about 50 to 60 miles, looking for one of these places. We spotted a couple, but they wouldn’t suit our purpose, then we saw one that had several big trees, and there were three cars sitting there, and some small cabins, and several people wandering around. We pulled off onto this little dirt road, going real slow. We didn’t want to spook anyone and possibly get shot or something. The people wee really eyeing us. We thought maybe we should wave to them as a sign of friendliness. A couple of them sort of waved back which made us feel a little more comfortable with the situation. Ward got out and unloaded my wheelchair, and I slid into it, all the time smiling at these “strangers”. Jim told one, who seemed to be the “leader” or whatever, that we needed a place to rest, and he would pay them well for their hospitality. Jim gave the dude $200, and man, now we were good friends! One guy took off with some of the money to get some food and beer from somewhere. Meanwhile Jim parked the truck and FWD trailer up under these trees. The trees were far more dense than they appeared from the road. This was going to be great! We had some food and beers, and bedded down for the night. We got up pretty early and had some breakfast and some more beer, and about 10:30 we heard an airplane coming. It was Mickey, flying low and fast, following the road, looking for us. About an hour later here he came from the other direction. Ward and I were cracking up, and our new friends joined in. About 2:30 Mick made another pass from both directions. By then it was time for another beer run and one of them left. We partied well into the night. Next day Mick made some more passes, which made it even more fun. On the third day we figured we had made our point, and left our new friends and headed for Long Beach. Tomorrow, MICK!

[Apteryx]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

God Larry, we do have a book here! We should get together, see if we can find a publisher, stick your photos in and see if you can make a buck or two to help the "retirement" fund out!!

SERIOUSLY.....THIS IS GREAT STUFF!

[Race 29]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

I have to agree! Great stuff! My computer died just after Reno and just got a new one so I didn't get to read this thread until now. I've been sick the past few weeks and this story has been great to keep my mind off of it! Now if I could just carry my computer downstairs by the fireplace, fire up some hot chocolate, I'd have my book to read! This really is great stuff! Larry, you are a super interesting guy!

Race 29

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Jim and I said goodbye to our new friends, and got saddled up and hit the road about 9:30 in the morning, and were dreading the ten to twelve hour trip to Long Beach. At least we would be getting in late, and wouldn’t have to “discuss” our rebellious actions with Mickey until later. It was about 8:30 when we got to the shop, so we had made pretty good time on the trip. Jim backed the trailer into the shop, and parked the truck outside, and were putting our luggage in our cars to head for home, and some rest. Well, knowing Mick like we did we should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy! Neither Jim nor I had noticed the car sitting just up the street, but we heard an engine start, and the headlights turned on , and this car pulled up to where we were, stopped, and out climbed “The Mick”. He had people along the route watching for us, and they would call him and give him reports as to our position at any given time. My thought was that this was not going to be a pleasant confrontation! Mick asked how the trip was, and did we have any problems? Ward spoke up first, and I was real glad he did, because I couldn’t think of any clever answer. Ward simply said, “ No Mickey, the trip was fine, no problems at all.” Mickey said, “Good, glad you made it back O.K.”, take tomorrow off and get some rest, and I’ll see you Friday.” He told us that we had to get things ready to go back for another attempt as soon as he could get things scheduled. Our rebellion was never mentioned again, and we sure as hell weren’t going to tell him about watching him do his aerial search, and our new friends. It just went away, as if it hadn’t happened! Thinking back on it, Mick knew he had done us wrong, and just dropping it was his way of letting us know that he understood why we had done what we did. We had pulled a Mick on the Mick, and now Mick had pulled a Mick on us. In some strange way, he had won. Larry

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Mickey had incredible luck. When trying to reschedule he found out that Smokey Yunick had scheduled the salt for an endurance program with Chevy to run some Cameros on the 10 mile oval, the same one we had been running on. “How convenient!” It was going to be a few weeks before Smokey was going to do his caper, so a window of opportunity opened for Mickey to return right away, and do the record attempts again. Mick and Smokey were sort of old friends, and he called Smokey and told him that we were going up to Bonneville and make some runs, and inquired as to what Smokey had up his sleeve. He explained his program to Mick, about running these Cameros for 24 hours non- stop except of course for pit stops to refuel, etc. Now Mick being Mick, this gave him something else to ponder. Like, “Hmmm, wonder if he could talk Ford into something like this?” This would fester in his mind for a while, meantime we had this FWD thing with “Gulf” to tend to. Mind you though, this will lead to yet another sequence of events down the road. For now we will continue the FWD/ Gulf deal. Mickey had not been comfortable with the performance of the stock 427 engines, although we had not had any serious problems with them in the previous attempts. He had a couple of engines “hot tipped”, I think I recall it was Holman/ Moody that did this. I was busy going through the transaxle, wheel bearings and other chassis components as well as convincing myself that the salt had not done any damage to the monocoque. The salt had “killed” my wheelchair, but I learned early on in my racing capers that what I was doing was going to be hard on them, so I had three, one in the shop for repairs, using one, and had a spare in case of an emergency. I kept the repair shop at Everest and Jennings busy. Everything was falling into place, we got the engines back, and installed one, and prepared for yet another trip up that “unpatrolled” road to Wendover. Ward and I were off again, and the main topic of conversation as we cruised along was: “What are we in for this time?”