Bob and Dad said to put the effort into the Chevelle because it was next to being done. So, the 55 was slid over into the corner where the Chevelle had been sitting. I also found out and I would be on my own while. Bobs transmission shop in Macon was keeping him there later every day.
We finished the Chevelle that weekend and I took it to the body shop in Warner Robins for painting on Monday. I am not happy with the little truck and I am not messing it up just to pull the car. I went by the Ford place looking for a pickup, but found nothing to my liking. So my efforts went back to the little pickup. I found a 3/4 rear and put it under the truck so the problem is solved for the time being. Another thing needing attention was a trailer that would allow the car to be loaded nose forward. After a couple of long days and nights we completed a good looking trailer for the new car.
It’s off to the body shop in town to get the car painted. This time we are going white with red accents on the sides and a gold top. My Dad approved of the color saying it will clean up easier and be seen better on the track.
I went back to my old number "#77Ga" because it was my first and I won my first with it. I’m going with Eastern Airlines white, which is very white and the red is bright red and the gold is antique…just like Smokey uses. After a couple of coats of clear coat and you needed sunglasses to admire it. I took it to the front end shop at the Chevy place in Warner Robins for a fine tune and then we were ready to take her out for a spin on the track.
Being as Middle Ga was close by we went over and with the graces of the owner (Mr. Brown) we ran a few laps on pavement and it felt fast, really fast, but it was skittish entering the turns. I cranked a little more of front wedge in it and it seemed to hook better but it would jump around on exit when you gassed it, but remember I’m setting it up to run dirt so I’m not to worried.
Off we go Saturday night to Dublin to christen the gal on dirt. Boy did I get a surprise. You could enter the turn and the front would settle right in but as soon as you touch the gas it was hunting the outside wall. I went in and jacked it up and started all over on setup. Right away I noticed by the color of springs on the rear, they were backwards. The coils are in the wrong place. You know when things are like this it’s down-hill the rest of the night. I spun out more that night than I have the rest of my career.
Back home at the shop we unload and start all over on setup. This time everything is double checked by Bob before it’s released. Another predominate player in my life came over and had a few things that needed to be changed. His name was Stewart Seymore of S&M Racing. You may have heard of him and another great named Bob Moore.
Well it’s off to Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick Ga. They have a fast half mile there with a good purse and I’m getting low on funds.
I get a treat while there. That little brunette that’s been the apple of my eye comes in and its happy days again…for a little while. Out I go for warm-ups and this dog still won’t hunt. In I come and jack it up. Maybe I should tell you that this spring set-up is on coils all around. We put the car on a 57 Chevy convertible frame set up on truck arms. It won’t run on the low side for nothing.
I crank in 6" of wedge hoping for a bite but all it does is carry the left front in the turns. An old friend of Dads comes over and says I believe you are bound up on torsion bars aren’t you? I look at him and say, “Danged if I know.” He said the way it was leaning over in the turns shows that. So I bite my tongue and ask, “What would you suggest?”
He walks around and looks under the car and the way it was shocked and says, “You’re too stiff. You’ve got a sway bar under the rear big enough for a Mack Truck. Unhook it and take one of the shocks off the right rear then it will transfer weight so you will get a bite.” You know the guy with the cigar and Cowboy hat was right. It hooked up right off. In fact it scared me the first time I laid it in the turn. My neck hurt all night due to the way it hooked. Now, I know where I’m at on setup so fine tuning will be a snap.
After that night’s race, as we were loading that cowboy came back by and said, ”You just might be his (referring to my father) boy after all…oh by the way, good color on the roof.”
I feel better now. If help is needed, it seems as someone will walk out of the shadows that knew my dad and give the right directions. That’s the way old school worked. On the track you were on your own, but if help was needed in the pits or road, it would somehow show up.
We finished the night in the money somehow, and after a layover in the Golden Isles area, my “to be” and I depart to our respective homes. This is the last time this will happen.
I get home to another surprise as my uncle in Tonganoxie, Kansas has sent a crate to me at the shop. In it is a BRAND New Chevy small block 350 high performance engine along with a request that his dealership be displayed on the car. You betcha! It was on there the next day. .
Next week I plan on going up to Columbia SC where I’m told there is a great race held every Thursday night. I told the guys in Brunswick I would see them there.
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