Ships Log: Fat Aircraft carrier war games

[UtahJoe]

31 days in a row…


I was thinking I will probably never doing a streak like this again, I should recap this. I think before this my longest streak was maybe 10-11 days? This is not the kind of riding I do…If im training for something, rest is SUPER essential for me and if im not training for something….Taking days off to do other things like work on the mustang, etc is equally as relaxing as riding. The challenge for me in the exercise was not physical, even the morning after the 45, I didn’t feel like I couldn’t ride. I will say though that the 21hr week in Vermont put me into a hole training wise….Most of the rides for the rest of the month I felt flat. I can only remember a couple of times when I felt like I would have enough legs to make it through some of the awesome-o 4000 work outs. So in the end, riding every day, to me anyway, was not hard physically….riding every day and staying in peak form for XC racing…not happening for me. But this was of course expected. The real a hassle was time management on days when my wife works and I watch my son. Essentially I tried to get out early, but if I missed my window I would get to work early and get in a quick ride on my way to pick up my son at day care…This usually meant I had about 64min to do a 60 min ride. I wanted to do 2 things for the month, break my 1 week record of 14 hrs, and my 1 month record of 44 and I did that….So all good.


So by the numbers


57hrs total

1 21hr week

31 rides, 29 on the trigger or scalpel, 2 on the road bike

530 miles, 70 on the road bike, rest on the knobbys

Not 1 pound gained or lost, same weight on the 1st as on the 31st


The 45 race, my ave HR was 154 for 3hrs, 34min…I believe that is a record for me and im sure related to the heat

The day after the 45 I rode for 1hr at 53w and an ave hr of 71…that’s also a record for me


Glad I did it, glad its over.


The mustang:


I stopped by the shop last night to take a couple pics of the car. They have the old quarter off and were test fitting the new one.

The guys were surprised at how well it fit but dynacorn has this down pretty well now. The old quarter can now go on my wall...man this thing was a mess

The front end just blasted and primered already looks 10 times better than it did

 

[Patrick]

Car is coming along!
doing any rubber spray coating?
how are the front quarters near that catch area in front of the doors?

 

[UtahJoe]

Car is coming along!
doing any rubber spray coating?
how are the front quarters near that catch area in front of the doors?

This car had a trans leak for many years...as a results the entire bottom of the car was caked in this sludge. ~2001 when i pulled the engine and trans I put the car up on stands and degreased everything. The original red oxide paint was pristine, including the yellow crayon markings from the assembly line. After taking off all of this grease, I was worried the car might rust, so I sadly undercoated it. I hate how it looks and that its not that original color, but better than having the floors rot out. The rockers, fenders etc are all in great shape. The guys who painted in blue in the 70s sealed up the drain holes in the door with bondo, so the water sat in there and there is a rust hole in the door skin that will need to be patched.

 

[Carson]

That spring is huge.

 

[Pearl]

are you going to slam it

 

[UtahJoe]

Man it seems like forever since that last post.

Life's been busy, seems the minute the race season ends, I am instantly reminded and overwhelmed with the avalanche of shit I had been putting off in order to get my little bit of riding time in. Thankfully my lawn has not grown a millimeter in about 6 weeks...

Race season for me ended with the Mountain creek race. Nothing really of note. Its a great venue, awesome course put on by some great people...sadly by the end of August, im just burnt on racing. Oh ya and it was 97 degrees during the race, thats always enjoyable. On lap 2 while passing the lake, it occurred to me...I should stop for a swim, so I did. It was quite awesome.

on August 14th it was the 20th anniversary of the day I left Utah in my 1990 mustang packed to the gills bound for NJ.... Feels like 20 years....feels like 100 years actually. There is a reason I remember the exact day and time pulled out of the garage at my old house, but ill save that story for another time.

Of more interest to me lately is seeing where I can take this awesome weehoo trailer I got from @jdog. While I cant bomb anything with it, so far it has gone everywhere I have dragged it with minimal complaints from its occupants. I have done a lap of the lewis morris race course and a couple rides at the tourne. I enjoy it, no idea really if he does...he just looks around...whatever, so long as hes not crying, I assume that means hes ecstatically happy.

These were taken earlier in the month, but I forgot to ask the welder for them....This was the process of replacing the quarter on the mustang in a bit more detail

Old quarter off. Not much rust, little in the corner of the wheelhouse

the bad...nice part is for a mustang...the wheel house is $38, the trunk panel is $12...welding is another story, but parts are at least cheap

Rust ground down, cut out, cleaned up...I do enjoy these pictures were you wonder if it is still an actual car.

Sealed up with primer

Wheelhouse on for alignment

The is a piece that goes on top of this panel that makes up the drip rail for the trunk, that needed to be replaced and welded in

Everything in place ready for welding.

New piece of the trunk

Bottom of the quarter where it meets the new inner panel for the trunk

So there are about 13 different places that the panel meets up with that need to be welded, everything has to be in proper alignment or things like your door and trunk gaps will be all messed up. He has a spot welder so he is redoing the welds as they would be from the factory in the obvious places. We keep mulling the other quarter over...its savable, but its almost a borderline wash with what the cost will be to just do another quarter...labor, not parts. Probably going to happen as I hope to never have the car this stripped down again.

Thats all for now, stay tuned!

 

[UtahJoe]

Some thoughts Chris


After all of the emotion that was this past week, I felt compelled to share my thoughts regarding the loss of our friend Schilling. I want to say that despite anything I might be feeling, my thoughts are really consumed with Chris’ family, Steph and Mitch. I hope to be able to give all of them a hug soon. This was such a tragedy for so many reasons and it has been a very long time since I have been this sad.

I wouldn’t say I was close friends with Chris, but I got to know him over the past few years doing groups rides and seeing him at races. Then when he and mitch joined the team, I got to hang out with him quite a bit more….To put it simply, Chris was everything this team could have asked for in a teammate and representative.


I was thinking of a story that summed up my feelings about Schilling…There are several…But I think the day before the stewart 45, the day he, myself, @Norm @muddybike did the course marking was one that had a lasting impression. I was the only one in the group that had done the stewart course marking before and it’s a rather unpleasant task of heat, poison ivy and work. It’s a task that usually brings out the irritable bastard in me. This day was a tough slog…it was blazing hot, poison ivy on every tree we had to touch, and in general you move at about 3mph for 15miles. Oh ya, and I ran out of staples in the first 15min….I wasn’t to the point of smashing things with a hammer, but I remember being annoyed. Chris was so positive that day…Despite the heat and the time it was all taking…he was his usual “ya bikes” self. Just happy to be outside and on his bike riding around. Quite a contrast to myself if I’m honest. I really admired that about him, that ability to just be cool and remember the positive things….He was just that kind of guy. I remember he concluded this day by giving Kris his T shirt since she forgot to bring one...I always thought that was rather symbolic.

I cant even remember how many times he drove from toms river to the allamuchy boy scout camp to shovel snow with us for a few hours….He was that guy you wanted there when you were doing the shit detail…Like shoveling out a bike race course in 2’ of snow. ...It gave you that feeling of "well this is still shoveling snow, but at least ill get a few laughs because someone is busting Mitch's balls"

Then there was this day at Kingdom....a very, very long day....I think I was on my bike for near 8 hours. We were all pretty cooked by the end of this day, but I always remember Chris being chipper and having fun....just "ya bikes"

I have been trying to find something positive in whole situation...I came back with this thought. In my life I have been a part of several different communities...Cars, motorcycles, Football, Idiots who hangout in front of 7-11....The people who make up this small community that we are a part are truly an amazing group and this event has really made that clear. People who I feel really understand what matters in this world. Chris summed this perfectly and I feel lucky to have gotten to know him


Godspeed Chris, it has really been a privilege.

 

[muddybike]

Beautifully said.

 

[UtahJoe]

Jungle Jam, Mustang, etc....

Not a whole happening lately with the end of race season, but I felt like I had a few things that i wanted to write down for my son to roll his eyes at later when he can read. Hes kind of sorta talking now which is fun...more so understanding what im saying to him and responding. This is neat, maybe now he's finally more fun than my dogs?

The mustang is coming along. We decided to do the other quarter panel and replace one of the non original fenders with a new one. They fixed a number of rust holes that have been in the car for many years. They keep threatening me with the car being done by Christmas, I keep finding new things for them to do so it wont be

couple spots on the door cut out and fixed

used to be several three rust holes in the top of the inner fender apron that they cut out and welded in new metal

Meantime at home I have been spending time prepping the engine for when the car gets back.

Jungle Jam.


This is such a fun day. Get to see everyone, good food, some of my favorite trails in the state, and tons of demo bikes to try out.


I headed out soon after getting there for Schillings ride...The group was pretty big so we ended up splitting up at otter and heading down warthog. After that I went out on the advanced ride with Dillion, Luke and many others. There were a million people attempting to demo about 100 bikes, but I managed to get a rigid trek farley out of a spin. This was the first time I have really tried anything other than a 600lb surly wheel barrel fat bike on dirt....and that will go down as the worst bicycle I have ridden in my life to date. About 100 yards in I could tell that they set the tires at "were sending you into jungle habitat without a tube" pressure. So F that, I let some air out then proceed down warthog. So first thing I noticed was that it handled much better than i expected and didnt do the wheel flip flop like that pugly I rode....That however is about the only positive thing I can thing of. Granted im madly in love with my full suspension, so im not expecting to be wow'd by anything rigid....but this was awful. I was thinking that maybe if my choice was rigid 29er, or rigid fat bike...ok, then I guess I get it. But the bouncing around, plowing through turns, inability to hold a line....I was following Monte for a bit and pushing it to stay with him...I felt like I was trying to drive my mustang on an autocross course. I get it, its a bike built for riding on snow...If I ever get one, thats probably the only time I would use it. Man did that thing need a fork in the worst way...that would have made a huge difference imo.


Then I got to try a new 27.5 cannondale habit. I wasnt expecting to like this bike bc it was a medium and it felt rather small. However, i was pretty surprised. I felt like it was a really nice combination of the things I love about my scalpel and trigger. I first took it up otterslide…it climbed awesome…I thought that it might not be able to hold the same kind of momentum through the rocks that my scalpel would, but I never noticed the smaller wheels. Descending cages, it was a little more sketchy then my scalpel and I felt like I had to be a bit more cautious of my line. But I think that was partially due to the bike being too small for me and my feeling that I was too far forward. In warthog is where it really kicked ass…Turned awesome and I had this feeling like I could stay really low. Really carried speed nicely. I think it falls into that category like the tallboy…Not the greatest XC bike, not the greatest all mountain bike, but a really really nice combination of the too.


Sadly when I got back all the shops were packing up so I didn’t get to demo anything else, I really wanted to try a few of the Santa Cruz', next time.

 

[UtahJoe]

I should have posted this too...Last night at shop rite...Bobzilla is getting more and more helpful.

 

[Mountain Bike Mike]

I should have posted this too...Last night at shop rite...Bobzilla is getting more and more helpful.

I'm surprised your wife didn't chuck something at you for just standing there videoing... UNLOAD THE CART MAN! At least he's not trying to get at the candy

 

[pooriggy]

Then I got to try a new 27.5 cannondale habit. Turned awesome and I had this feeling like I could stay really low. Really carried speed nicely. I think it falls into that category like the tallboy…Not the greatest XC bike, not the greatest all mountain bike, but a really really nice combination of the too.

The habit may have fallen into the same catagory of bike combinations but they ride nothing alike. I love my tallboy but the habit was a lot of fun to play on. The bigger wheels and geometry of the tallboy allow you to sit upright and work smoothly through tech sections. I found the Habit to be more agile and sporty allowing for a more aggressive style of riding. It really shined on Rhino and Boon. IMO a 27.5 can't replace the momentum of 29er wheels for racing but that doesn't mean the bike ain't fun to ride.

 

[The Heckler]

The throwing.

Mixed with the "oh, I know what this is and I'm gonna eat it through the wrapping"
"no bobzilla, put it there"
*throw*

Not long now until hes rebuilding your fork!

 

[rick81721]

I'm surprised your wife didn't chuck something at you for just standing there videoing... UNLOAD THE CART MAN! At least he's not trying to get at the candy

Cmon man you know if the dad reversed roles in that video he'd be handing the kid eggs, lightbulbs, and anything else fragile

 

[UtahJoe]

Figured I would give everyone a little update on the mustang project….


Last I updated “Scott the welder”…Scott is the welder at the body shop who is doing the work on the car…Really nice guy..while he works at a shop that specializes in Corvettes, he own almost the exact same mustang as mine, except a coupe version. Really love the work he has done thus far. Anyway, so scott works for Kade who owns madsen…Kade and I have this Kevin bacon game with about 400 people we mutually know…Somehow im sure he knows @Norm. Oh ya, back on topic…So last we left off scott was finishing up the driver’s side quarter and I decided to just go ahead and do the same to the other side. …it does cost more money to do it this way, but the end result is so much better….And if you don’t do the fully quarter, you basicly have to cut out the bad sections and patch in new ones.

This is what get cuts out….”the crap”

This can be done and done well, but its a lot of work to stich everything back together perfectly and it will require a good amount of bondo….When you get to the end result…the labor involved is almost a wash…In the case of my car, it would require buying a partial quarter, which is about $150 cheaper than the full quarter. But with the partial quarter, you cant get behind the quarter and fix things like the wheelhouse and the trunk corners properly….So cost a little more, but its really the right way to do it and IMO, well worth the money



Some pics of the process…

Quarter fully removed

All of this gets replaced

new quarter and extension on

welded in at the roof

done

Few other spots they fixed

Battery tray was rusted from years of leaking batteries

So the metal work is complete next step is the final body work and then paint…I might have scott do a couple things under the car yet, but they are off my car for a little while so I have time to think about it.


Back and my shop, I have been playing around with the engine…

Cleaned up the engine and primed it with some high temp ceramic primer

After I put the engine back together, I will paint all of it blue as I want the bolts to be painted as they would have been from the factory


Everything look good inside the engine…nothing of note that I found other than one of the lifters had a chip in the top of it…This has been in there since 2001, so no idea how long its been like that.

Bottom end is still there…the sharpie on the rod caps are from when they balanced the assembly back in 98 when I had the machine work done. Mass production iron castings were no where near the quality in 1967 as they are today…you can see all of the flash and core shift…You would never see this in a modern iron block.

So thats whats happening with the mustang...

 

[ChrisG]

Always enjoy these updates.

 

[Pearl]

how much NOS you going to push through this thing

 

[pooriggy]

Don't forget to slam the suspension bro.

 

[rick81721]

Awesome. Can't wait to see the finished vehicle. And getting psyched to try one myself - latest probably stupid idea: pick up a 69 GT fastback and make it into a boss 429

 

[UtahJoe]

Awesome. Can't wait to see the finished vehicle. And getting psyched to try one myself - latest probably stupid idea: pick up a 69 GT fastback and make it into a boss 429

Not a stupid idea...but it would certainly be an expensive one..
69 fastbacks are awesome.....69GT's are actually very rare because by 69 the mach 1 was more popular...then there was also the boss 302/429 and a bunch of other models...they only ended up making about 5000 69GTs. So they are pretty valuable. Then the boss 429 engine..Original ones are astronomical in prices...I have seen them selling for $40,000...Thankfully Jon Kaase still makes brand new ones from scratch starting at $22,000
http://www.jonkaaseracingengines.com/html/jon_kaase_custom_built_boss_nine_engines.html

You know what....just find an original 69 boss...wont be cheap, but you will never lose money on it, thats for sure.