- 1 week ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome back to Hot Rod Garage. I'm Alex Taylor and this is Lucky Costa.
00:21Hello. We have quite the episode ahead of us. It's finally time to go to El Mirage.
00:26We started this project last year with the Roadster where we're going to celebrate 75 years of Hot Rod magazine by going back to the roots of Land Speed Trials.
00:35Like you do.
00:36Land Speed goes all the way back to the 30s and 40s when early Hot Rodders would use dry lake beds and salt flats as wide open speed proving grounds.
00:45It was the racing of the day. So much so that Hot Rod's first cover photo was taken at the El Mirage dry lake bed.
00:53We built our Roadster as an homage to that cover car, but we've yet to make it to El Mirage.
00:58By the time we got it done, we had lots of inclement weather which made it where El Mirage wasn't happening for us.
01:05However, we were able to take it out and test it a couple times.
01:08Benefit to that was we were able to find quite a few things that need to be changed on the car.
01:13One is that we still need to get padding around the head and helmet area.
01:18The halo area?
01:19Yeah.
01:20We have a couple handles to move and re-situate because turns out I'm kind of sitting like this, crunched up.
01:25It's very small.
01:26And then we just need to do a couple more things to get it up to past tech, which is add a couple of Zeus buttons to the hood and just a couple of things here and there we need to address.
01:35Now, just as importantly as the Roadster being ready for competition is to make sure that our push truck is ready for its duty.
01:41In land speed racing, the push truck is the unsung hero.
01:44Most land speed cars are geared for their high speed, which makes it a little bit hard for them to get off the line under their own power or maybe they have parts they're trying to protect until they get up to a higher speed.
01:55The trouble with our push truck is that it steers just like a drunk bull as soon as it hits 50 mile an hour.
02:01So in order to remind ourselves of how sketchy this is, we thought we'd go for another test drive.
02:08Oh, you're turning the steering wheel, but we're not really turning.
02:11It's doing stuff.
02:14Uh, wow.
02:16So let's pay some attention to that.
02:18So first thing on the list will be excessive steering play.
02:23Give her a little gas.
02:28How fast are we going?
02:29Uh, 50.
02:30We're doing 50.
02:31Oh, 50's good.
02:32Excellent.
02:33You've got 30 more mile an hour over this though.
02:35You're in a need.
02:37Be nice to steer it straight.
02:39You know, we only have like a mile to get off the speed or something.
02:42Gotcha.
02:43So, like, we need to be able to do it at a reasonable rate.
02:4840.
02:4945.
02:5050.
02:515.
02:5260 miles an hour.
02:5365.
02:54You got up to 65.
02:55And, uh...
02:56There's the testing.
02:57Trying to simulate real world driving conditions.
03:11Okay, this is a perfect test right here.
03:15Yeah.
03:16You think I need some suspension work?
03:18Something.
03:19Okay.
03:23I believe on the panel, all we have to change is everything between the wheels.
03:28Yeah.
03:29And between the bumper and the trans-cross member.
03:31That sounds simple.
03:32So we're going to find out exactly what's going on with the straight axle.
03:35It has kingpins in it.
03:36That's a bit of a pain to work with, but it should be kind of cool when it's right.
03:40Leaf springs on the left and the right with bushings in the front and the rear.
03:44I think we're going to replace the entire spring.
03:46Drag links, tire rod ends, a gearbox overhaul kick.
03:49In addition to all the suspension work we have to do just to make it steer,
03:52we have to figure out a way to make it push the front of that without affecting this super attractive cattle guard.
03:59Very nice.
04:00So I believe we're going to attach something up there that will line up with the wheel on the back of that.
04:04Correct.
04:05The push wheel.
04:06So overall, quite a bit of work to do, but the main thing is we need that to push this.
04:10We need this to pass tech.
04:11That also kind of needs to pass the rule book, and we just have to make all this happen so we can get to El Maraj.
04:16Now you're pushing your luck.
04:20So we have tested this twice, took it out two days.
04:22We took it to the airport one and then to the track for the second at HRG day.
04:26We knew that when we had it out, a full day of testing at the airport, we had no issues.
04:30It shifted perfectly fine.
04:31That was a day you were only going to go 100 miles an hour.
04:33Yeah.
04:34And you went like 130 or something.
04:35120.
04:36By accident.
04:37Yeah.
04:38So we knew it worked.
04:39Everything was good.
04:40When we took it to HRG day, which has been transported a couple of times in between then,
04:42we now, I couldn't get it in second gear.
04:44Dad and Lucky crawled under here.
04:45What they found was that something moved.
04:48I believe it's something in the mount of the transmission, which is what we're looking at now.
04:51And the shifter, the actual movement, because that's happening on the outside of the transmission,
04:56that piece was actually hitting the floor, preventing the shift from happening.
04:59Yeah.
05:00Unlike regular transmissions where the shifting mechanism is all encased in oil and inside the trans housing,
05:05this actually has a whole bunch of levers and slides and arms all external that are, you know,
05:12it could see some debris or dirt or dust.
05:14In this case, it saw the floor.
05:16It saw the floor.
05:17To get by at the track, pulled the transmission over and out of the floor by putting a couple hose clamps,
05:23which was an at the track fix.
05:24You know what?
05:25That is some creative stuff right there.
05:26I would give your pops props.
05:28Anyways, it was a temporary fix.
05:30So we're going to find out where the movement actually happened and then we're going to fix that
05:33and then we should be good to go.
05:35Yeah.
05:36So last year when we were working on the Roadster, one of the things I really wanted to do for looks
05:41and I thought functionality was put the leather straps on the side of the hood to hold it down.
05:46And then David Freiberger messaged me and says, I think you should check the rule book.
05:51So basically it's saying that we have to have some kind of hold down other than the leather straps,
05:56spring style, like it has.
05:57I can still keep those on there, but in order for it to be adequate,
06:01we have to put at least four DeZeus buttons and we've got those right here.
06:05So we've got a whole kit and we're going to make this legal.
06:07And just as a reminder, we always have to go back to this rule book right here.
06:14Okay, so got this thing racked, which is not an easy task all by itself.
06:19We did do the wheel bearings, new drums, linings, lines, and wheel cylinders before we took this on the road previously,
06:30but that did not help the amount of slop that is in the steering gearbox.
06:36The actual pitman arm, the gearbox shaft has a certain amount of slop in it.
06:40It's okay for the pitman arm to roll forward and back.
06:43It literally articulates like this, which makes it steer.
06:47However, it's not supposed to go in and away from the frame.
06:50That's where the slop is. The bushing's just worn out there.
06:52So we're going to address that issue.
06:54And then the other gig is this.
06:56You would think this is a loose wheel bearing because there is a certain amount of slop there.
07:02You could tell that there's an end point where it stops each direction,
07:05which makes me think something's worn out.
07:07Okay, let's take it apart.
07:14Okay, so what I'm trying to do right now is take the spindle and backing plate off in one shot.
07:18Should just be four bolts.
07:20We can do that. It's going to save us some time.
07:22We don't have to go into the hydraulics or anything or bleed anything out.
07:25So I will hopefully remove all this in one piece, hang it from a fender well, and see how that works.
07:35So that is two of what could have been four, four legally.
07:40Like, that's what we have to have.
07:41However, I'm going to go ahead and add two more, and then we're going to do at least two up here.
07:46We'll be here a while.
07:47The Zeus buttons, also known as quarter turn fasteners, are lightweight little fasteners that are really awesome.
07:55They attach and detach panels with just a 90-degree turn of their head.
08:00So we've got almost six Zeus buttons here.
08:10Technically, rulebook-wise, you only have to have four.
08:14These are just for rulebook and added precautions.
08:29So anyways, Zeus-ing the last one up, keeping the leather straps.
08:34We'll lock those down, and then we can put a done stamp on this.
08:41All right, so with this thing all taken apart, it's literally stripped down to just an iron chunk of iron.
08:47Now I just need to throw it on the stand, roll it outside, and con somebody into getting a wire brush on a cordless and cleaning the whole thing up.
08:54And then we're going to paint it black, put it back, eventually hit the track.
09:00Now let me just grab this thing.
09:02If only somebody would help me on that side.
09:04There we go.
09:06And then carefully.
09:08We are back getting our LandSpeed Roadster ready to pass tech and getting our push truck ready to drive at push truck speeds.
09:19I mentioned a couple times, but last year at HRG Day, I thought that I suddenly just couldn't shift this thing in second gear.
09:25Left me questioning myself.
09:26Turns out a couple bolts had stripped in the transmission case, which allowed the back of the transmission to scoot over just enough,
09:33which put the sliders running into the sheet metal floor, which made it where I couldn't get into second gear.
09:39To permanently fix that, I'm going to drop this mount, helicoil the bolt holes that are stripped,
09:45and then we're going to actually slot the mount right here just enough that we want to move the transmission over just a little bit.
09:51That way we gain a little bit of extra clearance for the sliders.
09:54Still keeps everything in line. Everything will still be good, but we should not have that issue anymore after this.
10:00Okay, so we're going to put the leaf springs back in it right now.
10:04These are brand new items.
10:06We did have to use a couple of the original bolts.
10:08Luckily, they just thread into the bushing that is pressed into the leaf spring.
10:11These are the new pins for the rear.
10:13All new with all new bushings.
10:15I'm just going to try to make it so that the Zerk fittings are facing the same direction.
10:18That is a sign of professionalism is what that is, which is why I'm double checking.
10:27I could be able to massage that around.
10:29All right, so as you can see, I now have a dental part acquired here.
10:43I've got a couple tools to select from because one thing turns into another.
10:48While those bolts were both stripped, this side of the housing you can also see is cracked.
10:53So Mike could use it as is because it's got a very deep thread.
10:59But I'm going to go ahead and weld it up so it doesn't get any worse.
11:03So I'm going to grind it out, make a nice V-spot, clean it up, weld it, shape it back, helicoil it, and then we'll be back in action.
11:10Race cars, hot rods, anything semi-custom, they always present problems.
11:24You know, you've got that checklist with like three things and you think you'll knock it out in two hours max,
11:28and then you spend six hours and kind of get one of them done.
11:31It's exactly what happened with this transmission.
11:34So originally I went to fix the stripped holes, then found out the case was broke on one side,
11:38then found out it was broke on the other side.
11:40So I was like, okay, slight kink in the plan, but we'll just cut it out, clean it up, weld it, it'll be good to go.
11:46One side kind of worked, and then the other side continued to not take a weld.
11:51Well, that led to the question of maybe this isn't aluminum, maybe it's magnesium.
11:56In the case of this Tex Racing 101A, it is a magnesium case.
12:00We're lucky we didn't catch it on fire.
12:02Since I went ahead and started to try to repair this with aluminum,
12:05now that metal is all corrupted and it's not going to be easy to fix as is.
12:09But whatever the case is for now, I'm going to bolt this up, lock tight it in.
12:13It's got enough threads to hold it tight.
12:15That way I can get back to other stuff that will stop us from passing tech, like the roll cage padding.
12:20Okay, spindle's installed.
12:36Spacer's in place.
12:39Bolts lining up.
12:42This is the new tie rod end with the new ends on it.
12:46I'm going to install it right now.
12:53End.
12:54Somewhat kind of tight.
12:56Okay, we've taken out the old, putting in the new.
12:59Wow, these are pretty close to an accurate reproduction of a vintage shock.
13:04We're going to be replacing stock for new.
13:13Okay, so this RS5000 Rancho shock is 100% installed.
13:19One more shock to do and that will be the shocking conclusion of the shock installation.
13:23We'll shock you later.
13:25As projects often go, something really simple turned into something really complicated on our land speed roadster.
13:34Thought I was just going to fix a couple stripped out bolt holes.
13:37Turns out the case was cracked.
13:39Thought I could weld that with aluminum.
13:41It's one of those where you're like, oh, this will still be simple.
13:43Well, turns out the case is magnesium.
13:45Had we known that, we might could have welded it better.
13:47Long story short, it's repaired.
13:50The case is not totally repaired, but I was able to tap up higher, pull some threads from higher up that hadn't been touched, hadn't been broken.
13:58It's Loctited.
13:59It's bolted.
14:00I don't want to touch it again.
14:02Don't want to touch that again.
14:03And you know what?
14:04I can't stand you either.
14:06And with that said, it's time to move up and work on padding around the head space.
14:12So I took the front brake hubs off the truck, took it over the tank, cleaned it.
14:16We've updated a couple of things.
14:19This thing came originally with literally ball bearings.
14:23Ball bearings with ball bearing races that have the little dimple in there.
14:27So this is what used to be in there.
14:29They worked fine from 1957.
14:30However, this is the new hookup.
14:33This is a tapered roller bearing.
14:35It's a modified center race that allows you to put a seal on the inside.
14:39It used to be just like a piece of felt smashed between a couple of washers.
14:43It was very antiquated.
14:45This is the new new because the other new ones are already installed with the seal right there.
14:51I'm going to put it on right now.
14:54So the instructions clearly said to torque this to 50 pounds while spinning the hub.
15:04Let the bearings seat.
15:06Then you back it off until it feels good and there's no slop.
15:11If you feel anything, it's not right.
15:13That feels nice and solid.
15:16And it still spins.
15:18Cutting the cotter pin.
15:19There's lots of different ways to do this.
15:21I do all the cotter pins like this.
15:24Cut off the excess.
15:26Cut this one straight.
15:28I feel good about that.
15:41So last year when we were getting ready to go to El Mirage, I actually already got these plates ready to go in the car.
15:47Just kind of ran out of time and had other stuff happen.
15:49So just bent them up out of sheet metal and going to use these brackets right here, which were recommended from the company that's going to be filming these panels.
15:58And these are two piece clamp that came from Summit All Star Performance brand.
16:03And one piece right here will bolt on right here.
16:08So I've made my markings where I want to drill and bolt it to.
16:11And then the other side will bolt on and it'll clamp around the bar.
16:14Now that may be hard to get a visual reference.
16:17However, lucky for you guys, there's one bacon already done that I actually set up last year.
16:25So now take this over to the car, show you guys how it works.
16:29And then repeat again and again until we have all the padding plates ready to take measurements from.
16:38Okay, so I thought I was super close to being done.
16:41Ends up there's another set of leaf springs that came in just about a day late.
16:44Have to start chiseling through the years and years and years of grease.
16:49Somebody was like lube happy. They pumped grease into this thing.
16:52It's coming apart really easy. No rusty nuts here.
16:59Okay, so I got all of these pieces, the surround pieces in and theoretically everything looks good right now.
17:21I put my helmet on so I could see where we were at and I realized really quickly I don't have any head clearance.
17:28So I referred to the rule book and this right here isn't something that would keep us from passing tech.
17:35The fact that the helmet will hit with even a thin pad.
17:38However, from a safety standpoint, when you say you were to roll the car, your belts are still going to stretch.
17:45You could be as tight as you could be, but the belts will stretch.
17:48If your head is right there and you have any flex on this or even just the impact of hitting that without any air gap is going to hurt your neck.
17:56You're going to have some kind of injury come out of that or at least pain nonetheless.
18:01So having that air gap is really important.
18:03So what I'm going to do, I'm going to take these mounts out that I have up here and I'm going to build a couple new straps and weld it right here where it's flush.
18:14Taking up as little room as possible and then do that in two different places.
18:18That will buy a lot of space because it was hanging down so much.
18:23It's going to increase clearance by about half an inch.
18:26And yeah, modify, adjust, and we'll come back to this in just a little bit.
18:35Okay, so I got the straps cut, welded, ground down so it's as flat as possible, and they are pretty much ready to go.
18:42I just have to drill a couple of holes, do a couple of nutsters, and it'll be time to put this panel that goes right here back in.
18:47It's actually going to be done right.
18:49I feel good about it.
18:50It took maybe 30 more minutes, and that shows that sometimes it's easier just to act than think about it.
18:55So this panel van is going to be a push vehicle out at El Mirage Lakebed pushing our land speed car.
19:04So one of the last things we have to do in the back of this vehicle is to take these shocks off and put on some new ones.
19:09I really don't know why we're taking these off.
19:11This is a type of patina that cannot be bought.
19:14Actually, they're worn out.
19:16They got their money's worth out of them.
19:18And we have some new Rancho RS 9000.
19:20That would be better than a 5,000.
19:22It's a 9,000.
19:23It's actually an adjustable rear shock.
19:27All right.
19:28So last night, I left off by clamping this up, getting a game plan for today.
19:32So what I'm going to do is I'm just going to give a nice little tap here so that way I can drill a hole, get everything lined up.
19:38And then I've got some quarter 20 nut certs.
19:40So I'll get the front one mounted.
19:42That way I know it's in place.
19:43And then I'll go to the back and do that.
19:45So that way everything is nice and square.
19:47And then this will be all bolted in and good to go.
19:52So you may remember from before that this had a lot of space here.
19:56And it was really spaced down in this back area because up front was clamped a little tighter.
20:01And that was a little tighter, but the middle was really hanging down.
20:03So we have picked up a lot of clearance in the most critical part.
20:08And I think it's going to work.
20:10I think it's going to work.
20:11Okay.
20:12Truck's coming down.
20:13It's coming off the lift.
20:14Once we get the wheels on, we're going to take it off the lift completely
20:16because we need all the weight of the vehicle on the suspension.
20:18There's a good chance that these brand new springs are going to need to settle.
20:21And so we're going to take it for a little spin around the block, put a little heat into the springs,
20:25bring it back in, check the right height, measure the right height,
20:28and then start mounting the push bumper on the front of the vehicle to match up with the back of the 32 land speed car.
20:37Because this is a push vehicle.
20:40So we have not been to the alignment shop yet, but it has all new bushings, shims,
20:44tie riding ball joints, shackles, shackle bolts, new grease, leaf springs are new.
20:50It's all new.
20:51So we're going to cruise around this lovely community that we're located in.
20:57And get a little, put a little heat into the springs, let them settle down.
21:02Okay.
21:03What we'll end up with is the actual ride height of the vehicle.
21:07The springs are going to settle, it'll go down to the ride height.
21:09Because ride height is super important right now, because I'm going to be pushing you around.
21:15Huh.
21:16So what we're looking for is bumps, or we're looking for articulation and bumps and dips.
21:21You want the springs to actually, actually be getting used.
21:24We don't want nice and smooth.
21:26Yeah.
21:27How's it feel?
21:28It feels good.
21:29Really?
21:30As soon as you turn the wheel, it starts to get moving.
21:33It's actually reacting.
21:34Yeah.
21:35That's what I'm talking about.
21:37Okay.
21:38Jump in.
21:39Wow.
21:40Craters.
21:41Those are bad.
21:42Sucking up the bumps.
21:43Okay, overall, how do you feel?
21:45I feel good about it.
21:46Okay.
21:47Well, I think maybe far enough.
21:48I don't know about that.
21:49I think they're going to settle.
21:50They've settled.
21:51Hit as many potholes and dips on the way back to the shop.
21:52And we'll put everything on the ground.
21:53And then go to wood shop.
21:54Wood shop is our next.
21:55Oh, wood butcher.
21:56Something else to add to my resume.
21:57Yeah.
21:58Nice.
21:59Made it.
22:00That was a good time right there.
22:01It was a good time.
22:02Yeah.
22:03It still builds in the middle, but we're going to put everything on the ground.
22:06We're going to go and get some wood shop.
22:07And then, we're going to go and get some wood shop.
22:08Wood shop is our next.
22:09A wood butcher, something else to add to my resume.
22:10Yeah.
22:11Nice.
22:12Made it.
22:16That was a good time right there.
22:27That was a good time.
22:28It's still bumpy.
22:30Yeah, it's still pretty whoopty.
22:32It's a little better, right?
22:33I will say this, the last time we were on the freeway
22:35driving next to a trash truck,
22:37and I was doing this with the wheel,
22:39nothing much was happening.
22:40That's true.
22:41And then if you went a little bit further,
22:42it felt like the back would kick.
22:43And then at one point, it felt like the whole thing
22:45was sort of doing the shimmy.
22:46Okay.
22:47A couple times there was some crazy death wobble.
22:51Yeah.
22:53We have no more of that.
22:54It's, it feels good.
22:56So remember, this is all very important part
22:59of the conversation because this is the push vehicle
23:02for the land speed roadster.
23:04And according to Lee Kennedy, who is not only a master
23:07of tech, but he's also a master of pushing people.
23:10There is an art to pushing.
23:12And I don't imagine you can have a very good art
23:15if you don't have the proper tools to do that art.
23:18So, this is very important that it works.
23:23So what's left?
23:24You got some switches to push around over there?
23:25Switches and handles.
23:27And I, and I have some wood butchery to do.
23:29See you over there.
23:30Goodbye again.
23:30Bye.
23:31Bye.
23:32Bye.
23:33All right, so if you guys can't tell,
23:34it's a little chilly in the shop,
23:36which is like kind of all bundled up here.
23:37And this seems like a really nice nap spot for that
23:40because it's all tight and cozy.
23:41However, it's like really gives you claustrophobia
23:44when you're trying to drive.
23:45So with that said, it's time to move some stuff around.
23:50So some things that I want to change.
23:52Right here, there's the shifter, the parachute,
23:55and the master disconnect, all right here.
23:58I'm basically resting my arm on the master disconnect.
24:01I'm really concerned that I'll accidentally hit it going down
24:03the track, the parachute, hard to get over and reach to
24:08when you're in fourth gear.
24:10With that said, immediately right there is fire suppression.
24:13So it's very hard.
24:14I mean, it's just, it's so confined.
24:15And then all the switches, I had to,
24:17when I'm actually belted in, reach across my body
24:20to turn stuff off.
24:21Some stuff has to move somewhere else.
24:23And that somewhere else may be an inch that way
24:26and a quarter inch that way.
24:28But we just got to get some kind of separation.
24:30The stuff is no longer friends, it's got to go.
24:33Okay, so we got the panel backed into a safe spot.
24:36It's on the ground.
24:37We put heat into the springs.
24:39Now I'm going to measure the height of the push vehicle.
24:42The idea is we're going to put a big push plate
24:44in the front of the panel vehicle
24:47that will be lining up with the wheel
24:49on the back of this vehicle.
24:52The deal is 32 has this wheel on the back,
24:54allows us to push against it
24:56while we're driving another vehicle.
24:58And if anything happens like we're not perfectly aligned,
25:00this wheel will allow for everything
25:02to stay nice and safe.
25:03However, we want that to land squarely
25:06in the middle of that wood.
25:08That gives us plenty of margin to chase her down the track.
25:11Push her as fast as we can go
25:12so that she can go as fast as she can go.
25:14Since we are doing a little woodwork,
25:16I'm using a drywall square to mark where the wheel is.
25:23And then I'm going to go over and know that
25:25when I put this on the front of that bumper,
25:27I can mark exactly where the middle of that plate should be.
25:29I'll see you over at the panel.
25:32OK, so what's going on here is I've taken some,
25:35I believe it's four inch by one inch or one and a half
25:38thick wall, and some metal we had laying around.
25:41And when I'm in the building is a couple of arms
25:44and hang this to the cattle guard,
25:47but allow it to rest on the bumper,
25:50then mount the wood to it, and then use it
25:53to push the land speed car.
25:55So this will be on the front of the vehicle,
25:59but obviously three feet apart.
26:04And then this will be sitting on it,
26:07but like I said, three feet apart.
26:09There will be two of these pieces of wood there,
26:15because it has to be able to push a good amount of weight.
26:18So moving this up here, so it will be that thick.
26:22And then two more pieces I'm going to cut right now,
26:25but these will be specific lengths.
26:27They're going to rest on the top of the bumper
26:29and go back against the cattle guard.
26:31And then the U-bolts will go right through the front
26:33and attach everything to the cattle guard.
26:35So this is one of the legs
26:37and a little scrap of wood that we have left.
26:39I'm just sort of holding it up to get an idea
26:41of about how high we want it.
26:43When I used the simulated land speed car wheel,
26:48it shows me that the wheel's going to be riding
26:50just beneath the crest of the bumper right here.
26:54So I want to make sure the center of this wood
26:58is close to the bottom of the bumper.
27:01So that's about the center.
27:04It looks like if I put that extension
27:06right at the very top right here,
27:08it will put our contact patch right in the middle of the wood,
27:12which is at the bottom of the bumper.
27:27Welcome back.
27:28Still in the exact same spot and everything looks the same,
27:31but it's not.
27:32This, we've moved them this much.
27:34They move this far forward, three fingers wide.
27:38The only other thing that I'm going to address
27:39is I'm going to move this master disconnect right here
27:43under the switch panel.
27:44That way I can just come over and punch it
27:47if I need to, to turn it off.
27:48I think it's still going to get everything out of the way.
27:50I think it's going to be clean.
27:51Flaming River actually sells a bracket
27:54that holds this rotary-style master disconnect
27:57that we got from them.
27:58And I think that is our only option for now.
28:01So you guys aren't going to see that at the moment
28:03because we've got to get that part ordered,
28:04but that's okay.
28:05You'll see it at El Mirage,
28:06where hopefully we don't have to use it.
28:07Are we almost done?
28:09Finally.
28:10This is like a year plus in the making.
28:12How are we going to milk this for?
28:14But we have made it.
28:15The Roadster is finally done.
28:18It's just got, it needs a, it needs wrap slash paint.
28:21You're going to paint it up or something?
28:22Yeah, it's going to be nice looking.
28:23Really? All right, cool.
28:25But then the panel truck.
28:27That thing is good. It's good to go.
28:28I actually feel like it is.
28:29We had a nice little drive around in it.
28:30Maybe just hit the alignment.
28:32Make sure everything's safe and tight.
28:33New, new tires.
28:34Get rid of those tires.
28:35Yeah.
28:36Put them back on the big rig they came off of.
28:38I don't know where you got those.
28:39So all joking aside, we finally have the right combination
28:42to take us to El Mirage.
28:43The Roadster behind me, I actually feel really good about,
28:46and I think the panel truck is going to not only look right,
28:49but I think it'll actually perform for what we're needing
28:51to do with the Roadster.
28:52Exactly.
28:53Drag snacks and push cars.
28:55So goal is to get there, actually compete, past heck.
29:00I mean, that's obviously a huge one.
29:02That's a win in itself.
29:03Yeah.
29:03The novel that they give you.
29:05Yeah.
29:05And I mean, enjoy it, because it's going to be,
29:08it's an experience.
29:09It's something that holds a lot of history,
29:11and we actually get to be a part of that.
29:13Yeah.
29:13I've never been.
29:14I'm looking forward to going.
29:15OK.
29:16That means you guys need to come with us to El Mirage,
29:19because that time has finally come.
29:21Absolutely.
29:22Pack your tackle box, grab your wakeboard.
29:23We're going to El Mirage.
29:24Don't forget your flotation device.
29:26Uh-huh.
29:27Safety first.
29:36OK, so we've made it to El Mirage.
29:38Is it, is this a Mirage?
29:39Is this real?
29:40It sure seems like it's real fake.
29:41Actually, is this happening right now?
29:43We are finally at El Mirage.
29:46But the whole actual meet, the SCTA part of it,
29:49that part is still a Mirage.
29:51We're actually here alone.
29:52Because the meet got canceled.
29:54Last week.
29:55Due to excessive heat.
29:57No meet because of heat.
29:59But we're out here.
30:00The course looks decent.
30:02And I have plenty, well, plenty of practice in the Roadster.
30:06I've been in it quite a few times, given it a try, driven it.
30:10We made some modifications last time, though.
30:12Right.
30:13Now the other fine-tuned piece of machinery we need to get to is you.
30:17Today is your day.
30:18So Lucky is going to be, unfortunately, pushing me around today.
30:22That's right. Get used to it.
30:23Today is the first time that our push truck will be in action.
30:27And the whole goal is for us to learn this dance between push truck and race car
30:31and get a sense of what the fastest mile an hour is that we can get to
30:34before the Roadster pulls away at just the right time.
30:37The faster mile an hour that he can push me to before I take off,
30:41the better chance I have at a big mile an hour at the finish line.
30:44It's kind of like just an extra bump towards our goal.
30:47So over there, in the distance, I believe I see.
30:50Beyond the shrubbery.
30:52There's a course.
30:53We've got to go find it because I don't actually know where it's at.
30:56There's no markings because, well, no one's out here.
30:59And there are some crevasses over there,
31:01so we have to plot a course just to be able to get the car to the course.
31:04Correct.
31:05All right, so while I would love to do a full-speed run,
31:09this is open to the public.
31:11Absolutely. This is not a private event.
31:13Because there is no actual meet today, there's also no safety crew.
31:16There's nobody to block the course off.
31:18If we were to start pushing and we got up to speed
31:21and then we get to three-quarters of a mile down
31:23and Joe Schmo in the airplane wants to land out there,
31:26that's going to be a bad ending for the both of us.
31:28At any given moment, a hang glider with an engine
31:31and a propeller on the back of it could just fly right through the course.
31:34We're just trying to say we're going to go as fast as we feel comfortable,
31:38trying to get enough push practice in for Lucky.
31:41That way, when we can actually go full speed,
31:43when the course is really, truly blocked off and shut down,
31:45like in an SCTA event, we'll be ready.
31:48I concur with your diagnosis.
31:50We should probably go find the course.
31:51Should we?
31:52I think it exists.
31:53Okay.
31:54We're driving this thing?
31:55Yeah, I guess so.
31:56All right.
31:58Now, we're plotting this course because we have to drive a lower vehicle out here.
32:03Yeah.
32:04So yeah, visual reference is whatever that is.
32:07Yeah.
32:08We're to the east of it.
32:10I see a lot of coming this way here.
32:13I think, I still think further out.
32:15I think out there is the way to go.
32:18Turn wheel right.
32:20Turning it right.
32:21Going straight.
32:22Going straight.
32:23Going straight.
32:24And it looks decent out here.
32:28I'm going to put a cone here.
32:30Right here.
32:31All right.
32:32This is probably the middle of the lake bed.
32:34Yeah, so if we went that way and checked it, and that way and checked it,
32:37then I think we'd have a run.
32:38You know, it looks like that's the route.
32:42That's a nice lake bed.
32:43It does look very nice here.
32:44So let's go this way.
32:45All she's got, Captain.
32:46Nice.
32:47So let's set out two cones on either side right here.
33:05Tell me when.
33:10I think, like, right here, it looks like people were goofing around doing donuts or something,
33:13so.
33:14Yeah, start right here.
33:15Yeah.
33:16Because right there, we get kind of nasty.
33:17Yeah.
33:18Right here.
33:19Right there.
33:23Okay.
33:24I feel like.
33:25Nope.
33:26Back a little.
33:27Up.
33:28Just a little bit that way.
33:30That's the spot.
33:33So, we have a course somewhat plotted.
33:36I don't know the distance.
33:37I don't know the direction.
33:38It's pretty far and it's pretty wide.
33:41Our thoughts were, though, because this isn't out here drug and checked, we've made a course
33:45that we feel like is a safe enough distance that is smooth without ruts across it.
33:51And we have a good start and we're going to go down and check one more time just to see if anything were to happen, how far of a shutdown we have.
34:00We've opted to run the actual direction of the course, even though we're running a shorter distance, because I don't want to run left to right and potentially get into scrub brush.
34:07It's a scrub brush.
34:08That's a bad day.
34:09Scrub brush.
34:10You're a scrub brush.
34:11I saw that band.
34:12Let's go.
34:13We ready to go?
34:14Yeah.
34:16So this, while it looks like just a dry lake bed, this is the proving grounds for early hot rodding.
34:22It continues to be proving grounds for hot rods and speed, but it really plays a really key element in the early days of hot rods because there wasn't tracks.
34:33There wasn't all of that readily available.
34:35They came out here and found a dry lake bed and that shows the innovation that they had because they could have just not done it.
34:42But they found a place.
34:43They came out here.
34:44They hot rodded.
34:45They developed parts.
34:46And that has led us to hot rodding today.
34:49So I feel very lucky to be out here on this ground and we get to make some runs in our Roadster and I just get chill bumps thinking about it.
34:57So with that said, I think it's time to hit the dirt.
35:03So here's how it works.
35:04Most land speed cars are geared so high that it's hard for them to get going on their own and then it takes a long time for them to get up to speed.
35:11This gearing is done with the top end speed in mind and the push truck is able to make up for the start.
35:16Since El Mirage is an especially short course at only 1.3 miles total, the job of the push truck is extra important.
35:24It gets the car up to a speed where it can actually start accelerating in a reasonable amount of time.
35:29And then once that goal is met, the push truck falls away and the car speeds off to record breaking glory.
35:34And that is what we're practicing.
35:38We were crooked when I started.
35:40It was my fault.
35:41I wasn't straight.
35:42So then Lucky is following my angle, which puts us off course.
35:46So we've picked a mountain in the distance that we're shooting for.
35:49I just need to make sure I'm lined up there.
35:51The sooner that we can get the car off of the push truck with speed, the better.
35:56So we're going to try to work through that.
35:58This is a teamwork exercise.
36:00We're doing teamwork here.
36:02Team building.
36:30Team building.
36:47Team building.
36:48Okay, that was way better.
36:51It was really good, huh?
36:52That was announce expensive.
36:54You don't need that right?
36:55Who's Hans and why is he always laying around.
36:57Always laying around.
36:59All right, that really felt a lot better.
37:03I did figure something out.
37:05I am the ultimate pusher?
37:07That's what I was thinking.
37:08OK.
37:09You're not too shabby.
37:09OK.
37:10But this arm restraint, too short.
37:13I fumbled, put it right back in first gear
37:15because I couldn't jam it to third.
37:18And I tried to get it over there, and it did its job.
37:21It was restraint.
37:22So we did that in second gear.
37:25That was second gear?
37:25Yeah.
37:26That's a good gear.
37:28Yes.
37:28So do you know what mile an hour we pushed off at?
37:31I think it was like 57 miles an hour.
37:3357.
37:33OK.
37:34I think what I want to do on my side
37:36is I want to not get RPM as early.
37:40Like, I don't want to get in the gas as early as I did.
37:42Right.
37:42So because it just comes up.
37:43It seems like I was pushing you for a second.
37:45And then because when you were ready to go, you were gone.
37:47Well, when I clicked off, did you see the back end?
37:50Yeah.
37:50Fishtail a little?
37:51You were getting it right there.
37:51Yeah.
37:52Yeah.
37:52So that felt pretty good.
37:53But I'm just going to save getting into it RPM-wise
37:56until we're a little bit further down.
37:57Gotcha.
37:59I think we're going to let the car cool just a second,
38:01make sure our course stays good.
38:03And then I'm going to fix this darn arm restraint
38:05so I can get to third gear.
38:06We've got to check that.
38:07And then we'll be good to go.
38:10I'm going to be over here in the shade.
38:11Yeah.
38:12I don't blame you.
38:12You'll see me.
38:13I'll be right over here.
38:14Goodbye.
38:16All right.
38:17So this is going to be our third pass.
38:18I'm rolling up right now.
38:19What I'm doing is I'm using the hump on the hood.
38:21I've pre-aligned the cars, and the hump on the hood
38:25is parallel to the H of Hot Rod Special on the back.
38:29So I'm creeping up on it right now.
38:31Cars in drive.
38:35That was a delicate attach.
38:37And here we go.
38:5350 miles an hour is as fast as I can go.
38:56And she clearly found third gear that time,
38:59because I am eating dust.
39:07All right, that felt really good.
39:12Lucky had some speed under that push.
39:13I don't know what he was going.
39:14I've been leaving off of him in second gear.
39:18And on that one, I came off in the top a second,
39:20needing to shift immediately.
39:22So since I know he's got some speed under him,
39:24I'm going to try taking off in third.
39:26Seeing how that affects us could be good, could be bad.
39:30But we're going to try it.
39:31Let's do it.
39:37All right, let's do it.
40:07Uh, that last run felt really good.
40:10It was a good time, definitely.
40:11It was better than the couple before,
40:13when you were doing all that, was that the Texas two-step?
40:16Uh, it's called the, the shuffle.
40:18The lakeside skid?
40:19The lakeside skid, yes.
40:20That's our new dance.
40:21Something for sure.
40:22Yeah, so the last two passes really
40:23gave us a lot of information.
40:25We were happy with both of them.
40:26On the second to last run, I tried staying in second gear,
40:30and then he got me up to about 55 mile an hour.
40:33I took off, and that all felt pretty decent,
40:35except I was already at the top of second gear,
40:38meaning it was time for me to shift pretty much as soon
40:40as I took off from the push car.
40:41Right, and when you depress the clutch and go to shift gears,
40:43you're slowing down just a little bit.
40:45Then you get in the third gear, then you
40:46got to kind of build up momentum all over again.
40:48So how do we cure that problem?
40:49So basically what we did, he kept around the same speed,
40:52a couple mile an hour more.
40:54And then I went in third gear, and I had plenty of time
40:57after push off to get some speed under me before shift.
41:00It was clean, it was smooth, it felt really good.
41:02Absolutely, I got in there, I gave it all the beans.
41:04You did.
41:05All the beans, and you were in third gear to receive the beans.
41:08And then we were bean powered all the way down the track.
41:10That's a fact.
41:11Just to reiterate, the whole goal of a push vehicle
41:14is we want to be able to make the course longer, so to say,
41:20by shortening the distance it takes to get up to speed.
41:23These have a little bit of perfection that they can have.
41:25This one needs a little bit different gearing,
41:28because I think we're going to run out of gear
41:30once we go to a full course.
41:31Luckily, it has a quick change rear end,
41:32so it's just a matter of buying some gears, taking the cover off,
41:34and putting whatever set you want in there.
41:36And seeing that the push truck is basically maxing out
41:38its speed potential pushing this car,
41:40I would love to see a bunch more power under the hood.
41:43So we have a few thanks to send out.
41:45We have quite a few people to thank.
41:47Gearstar transmissions, that we were able to go through
41:49all the gears in this thing, no problem whatsoever.
41:51Always keeps us reliable.
41:52Right.
41:53Holley.
41:53Absolutely.
41:54Driving this thing is like a dream.
41:55Mickey Thompson over here on the roadster.
41:57And pick a little vibration out of this,
42:00we have Toyo tires in the front,
42:01a more aggressive tread pattern
42:03for the off-road application.
42:04What a variety of tires.
42:06We also have DSP, who foamed and covered our head pads
42:09that are inside the roadster cage.
42:11I noticed those.
42:12Those are very nice.
42:13They look so good.
42:14They do.
42:15They do.
42:16We also have Dennis and Vehicle Effects.
42:17His guys, they got us all hooked up
42:18with the graphics and the decals
42:20and made it happen in a very short period of time.
42:22And it looks amazing.
42:23It looks patina.
42:24It looks like period correct.
42:25I'll send a shout out to my sister, Meg,
42:27because she helped me design that,
42:29got it all laid out.
42:30Thank you, Meg.
42:31And then last but not least.
42:32By helped you, you mean you thought of it
42:33and she made it?
42:34That's how it works.
42:35All right.
42:36Ideas, action.
42:37It's great.
42:37So is that it?
42:38I think so.
42:39I think we're done.
42:40OK.
42:41Do you have social media?
42:42I do.
42:43Thank you so much for asking.
42:44Really?
42:44I am Mobile Tech Lucky on absolutely everything.
42:46Very nice.
42:47Very nice.
42:48Now, do you have social media also?
42:49Why, actually I do.
42:50It is Alex Taylor Racing and we are Hot Rod Garage Show.
42:54Yes, we are.
42:55Let's go to the lake.
42:57It's not a lake.
42:58That's a El Mirage.
43:00OK, fair enough.
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