The Pony Car Project- Old Is New Again.

It has been a long time since I posted anything about new work being performed on the Pony car. After my accident last March, it was difficult to do much and work on the Pony car ceased until I was able to be more mobile. 

My Pony car is a 1990 Mustang GT. From 1987-1993, the GT models used a taillight with painted "louvers" and strips of visible lens. Amongst Mustang people, this style was often referred to as the "cheese grater". If someone wanted to be original, this was the taillight to have. The "cheese grater" style was not real popular and now replacement parts are very hard to find. Many changed their taillights to the taillights from the Mustang LX model. This was a much simpler looking taillight.

 These aftermarket taillights are often referred to as"Euro" style. They are round lenses with chromed sculpted bezels covered with a clear cover. This style can be seen as OEM taillights on a lot of newer cars now. One of the previous owners changed the taillights to these aftermarket lights. At first I thought I would like them, but they got old after a while. Also, one lens cover came loose and I needed to glue it back on. Plus, they did not fit on the car real good and there were gaps between them and the body sheetmetal.

  I found these taillights on Ebay and after negotiating with the seller I got a good deal. They were shipped from his business in Ohio last week.These new/old taillights are from a 1986 GT. The Mustang LX taillights are similar except the amber lens section was clear in 1987-1993. I like this look. Furthermore, this style of lens was brought back in 1993 and used on the Mustang Cobra and Cobra-R models. The only difference in 1993 was the addition of a couple of horizontal thin black stripes in each lens section. I can buy those lenses if I want this car to look more like a !993 Cobra.  I would suppose that some people could be critical that I am not maintaining the stock nature of my Mustang. That is not my goal as this car has been far from stock for a long time! 

And everything lights up! There seems to be more light emitted then the old "Euro" style taillights.

Duwamish Head Race-The Race That Wasn't ...Again!

The Duwamish Head Race is the second race of the four race South Sound Series. This race is sponsored by Three Tree Point Yacht Club and starts at the Des Moines Marina breakwater.The course this year was to be raced in the opposite direction from previous years.  After the start, the course then heads north around Blakely Rocks east across Puget Sound into Elliott Bay, around the Duwamish Head light (leaving them to starboard). After rounding Duwamish Head light, the course continues south to the finish off the Des Moines Marina breakwater. The total length is 30.8 NM. Even though this race is run in the middle of the winter, the winds are often light and the course has been shortened at the Duwamish Head mark several times since I started racing it.

I was underway at 0745 for the delivery to Des Moines. The wind was very calm and there were some patches of fog. The fog was especially thick between Manchester and Blake Island. I arrived at the Des Moines Marina at about 1110. And tied up in my usual spot. The sun came out and I opted to walk uptown and explore. I especially wanted to find a used book/DVD store as I have been looking for a specific DVD. I found the store location, but it was gone and the building red flagged. I checked on my smart phone and found another location for the store. But after I retraced my steps several blocks, I found the strip mall was almost entirely vacant and no used book/DVD store. Poor Des Moines seems to be withering away.

Saturday morning Jim, Tim and Tom arrived at 0645 to pick me up for breakfast. We could only find two places in Des Moines that offered breakfast, so we went to a small cafe where I had eaten breakfast before only to find that it did not open until 0800, too late for us. We then chose the alternate location: Jack In The Box.

After breakfast, the rest of the crew arrived, we rigged the boat and headed out to the starting area. There was no wind. We idled around for about an hour and a half when the race committee canceled the race at about 1100. It is funny that a year ago, this race was cancelled for exactly the opposite conditions, too much wind: Duwamish Head Race-The Race That Wasn't I don't think anyone was upset about the decision to cancel the race. There was another sporting event later that day and many wanted to get home to their television sets.

After unrigging the boat and dropping the crew off on the dock, I "raced" another boat back to Brownsville. The other boat is much larger than mine and motors much faster. But practiced my current evasion techniques and course selection and arrived back at Brownsville by 1420 ahead of the faster boat by a few minutes. I was home in plenty of time to watch the Seahawks game on TV.

Thanks to my crew of Jim, Tom, Tim, Rainer, Walter and Kathleen for showing up and drifting around for a while.

 Moored in Des Moines in my usual location.

 Race morning. There was no wind. Surprisingly, it was warm.

No wind. we did not even try to put the sails up.

New Years Day 2015 Car Show At Shari's And The Brownsville Marina Polar Plunge

On New Years Day, I was up at my usual 0600. After breakfast and taking care of some house work, I watched the coverage of the Rose Parade for a while and then went to the Sharis Restaurant New Years Day Car Show. This is similar to the Tuesday evening shows that are run during the spring and summer. It was a very cool but sunny morning. The temperature was about 27 when I left the house and I had to scrape ice off of the windows of the Mustang.  There were a lot of cars, as many or more than in the Summer. There were so many that the event overflowed into the parking lot beyond Taco Bell. There were a lot of cars that I had not seen before and it appeared that some groups came from out of town. The Mustang club was out in force as was a Camaro group and a Corvair club. I ran into some old friends there too. It was a great day for a car show, the temp was cool, but the sun kept everyone warm.

 I used to have a Datsun pick up like this, but without the V8 engine, louvers,flames, big slicks on back, big tubs in the bed, etc...  This was a very well done custom.

 Not your normal street car.

 Nice rat rod! Rat truck?

 The sunny skies brought lots of cars and people out.

 A new 2015 Ford Mustang GT. Very nice!

  The sunny skies brought lots of cars and people out.

 A very nice coupe.

After I went to the car show, I went to the Brownsville Marina where the annual Brownsville Polar Plunge occurs.

 I suppose appropriate apparel is required.

 Five hearty souls lined up for the noon plunge.

 And there they go!

 A quick dip....

And a hasty retreat.

Winter Vashon Race-Were're Back!

Saturday was the Winter Vashon Race. This was the first time I had raced Great White in about nine months when I fell and broke my hip. Although some people made light of my injury and even compared my fracture to that of a dogs, it was a long time of unsuccessful recovery that resulted in another surgery to replace my hip joint with an artificial one. Although I am on my feet again, my leg is weak and I feel a bit unsteady at times.

My race weekend started early in the week with a lot of boat prep and work. Just like me, Great White was stiff and out of shape after setting for so long. Even sail bag zippers were stuck! Even though the diver had cleaned the bottom, the knotmeter impeller was fouled and I had some serious cleaning to do to it. I got underway early Friday morning at about 0645. It was a nice delivery to Tacoma Yacht Club and I found my usual place at the dock. As the day went on, more boats arrived and by early evening, the transient moorage was filled. I went for a long walk to Pt Defiance. In the evening, Tacoma Yacht Club provided a nice evening and social time. 

The Winter Vashon Race is a race from Tacoma Yacht Club around Vashon and Maury Islands to finish at Tacoma Yacht Club. For only the second time in history, the race committee decided to send everyone counterclockwise around the islands. Furthermore, they also experimented with setting two "virtual" marks at the north end of Vashon Island to serve as a shorten course gate and a turning mark. These virtual marks were GPS waypoints that I inputted into the GPS. No floating marks or boat were used.

This year, our class was the largest class with mostly 69-75 seconds/mile rated boats but also included several larger, faster rated boats. The total rating spread was 24 seconds/mile from the fastest to the slowest rating boat. A strange class break.

Our start was about 0920. We got a good start, but was soon covered by a larger boat in a faster class. We soon wiggled free and had a spinnaker reach toward Pt Robinson. The winds were light as predicted. We tried to stay in the middle and stayed away from Poverty Bay and potential bankruptcy We tried following a finger of wind on the north side of Pt Robinson, but it soon became apperant that it was better in the middle. The wind built to about 12 knots as we ran north along the Vashon Island shore.

As we neared the north end of Vashon Island, we had to leave the first "virtual" mark to starboard. This was no problem and we were well to the left of it. The next "virtual" mark was a turning mark that we had to "round" and head south into Colvos Pass. My concerns about boats all over the sound rounding what they thought was the correct invisible mark were unfounded as several boats all tried to occupy the same place on the water as if there was a floating mark.

We started the beat south down Colvos Pass. By now the wind was a solid 15 knots. I ussually despise sailing south in Colvos Pass because of the usual adverse current. Even though the current was not slack, it was not moving very fast and we had a great beat. We had good speed and passed a few boats as well as staying ahead of all the boats behind except for one that got around us at Dalco Pass when we were adamant about staying close to Vashon Island and they stayed farther out in the middle. The wind got light during the last couple of miles across Dalco Pass. As it was three J35's including us finished within a few minutes of each other. We finished at 1608, still in daylight.

After cleaning up the boat, I got underway and was home by 2130. I was exhausted after a long day on the water. Since I am a driving/main trimming freak, my arms and shoulders were sore from the lack of use. Fortunately time in my home gym doing resistance training is bringing me back into shape.

Our placing was 8th out of the 14 boats. Not a great place, but still ahead of a number of boats. The run was our worst leg. 

My crew of Walter, Tom, Ranier and Tim put up with my relearning process and kept me out of trouble. Thanks! 

Results can be found here: http://ssseries.org/

And pictures by Jan( even though we are only partially shown in one) can be found here: http://janpix.smugmug.com/Boats/Winter-Vashon-2014/46211545_qPjZDb

 After Fridays early delivery to Tacoma Yacht Club, I had my usual spot at the dock.

 The first half of the race was grey and drizzly with light winds until we reached the north end of Vashon Island.

Our track for the day. We started off of Tacoma Yacht Club at Pt Defiance and rounded Vashon/Maury Island counterclockwise. The turning mark at the north end of the island was a "virtual" mark that was a GPS waypoint. We rounded in a crowd of boats that all arrived at the same place at the same time.

What A Long Strange Trip This Has Been, And It Is Not Over Yet! -Part 2

It has been about seven weeks since my last post when I told about going to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue for a total hip replacement(THR). Since I am now writing about the surgery, I can say that I survived and the outcome was good.

I was scheduled for surgery at 1330. I got there early, checked in and was prepped for the surgery. By 1230, the surgery time slipped to 1430. That time was kept and I was wheeled into the surgery room where the anesthesiologist took control and I was soon in la-la land. He later ask what I remembered because I was babbling during his initial work. I remember nothing.

Hours later, I woke in the recovery room. Just like the surgery in March, waking up was easy and I did not feel groggy. Since I had a spinal injection, my legs were numb. But it did not seem long before my feeling was back and they prepped me to go to my room. Since it was nearly 1930, the recovery room staff ordered me some dinner for when I got to my room.

Got to my room amidst a flurry of activity of getting everything set up and everyone briefed and acquainted. Fortunately these rooms for joint replacement patients are singles with lots of room around the bed. I had dinner and had a sleepless night.

In the morning, there is no rest allowed. After breakfast I was out of bed, dressed and by 1000, I was on my crutches and heading down the hall to group physical therapy. It was funny, my leg length had shrunk by nearly 3/4 inch. Now with the new joint, I had gotten my leg length back. So walking with crutches, I kept turning left into the wall. After about 50 feet, I got the hang of it and could walk straight.

The second day was more of the same: get dressed, walk around the halls on crutches, group rehab, testing by occupational therapists, visit by the discharge coordinator to arrange home health service and finally discharge from the hospital. My sister picked me up and took me to my parents home in Silverdale. After three nights, I was delivered to my own home.

The recovery from the hip replacement was so much easier than the hip pinning. From the beginning, I have been allowed to put weight on the leg as much as I could tolerate. I only used crutches and after two weeks, I was down to one crutch. and a couple weeks later I was down to a cane. I was driving after about three weeks and going to church and shopping after the first week. For the first five weeks, physical therapy arrived at my home to give me exercises. She said that I was a lot more motivated than most of her patients. The only issue I had was that my lower leg, especially my ankle was painful and my ankle and shin was cramping making it hard to sleep at night. The surgeon was not too concerned, but as the pain increased, I went to my own doctor last Friday. Nothing was determined to be wrong and sure enough, the pain has gone away and I am now able to sleep all night. I am getting the best sleep I have had in over seven months.

At seven weeks, I am still using the cane. It gives me stability so I don't limp. I don't lean on it or put much pressure on it at all. The PT person told me that even though I can walk without the cane, since I am limping, I need the cane. Even so, I have been walking a lot and put in a 2-1/4 mile circuit. And I can make the 1/2 mile round trip to the mailbox without a cane, but it is tiring and I do limp some. I can defiantly tell that my muscle tone is not what it used to be seven months ago. Hopefully I will be back to all my normal activities soon! 



My new hip. It is made out of various types of unobtanium materials: alloys of titanium, steel as well as some ceramic and plastic parts. The implant in the femur and the cup in the pelvis are "grow in" style. The bone is shaped with cutters and rasps and the metal parts hammered in with an interference fit. The implant is coated with another rough metal that the bone will adhere to.

The surgeon did say that after he could access the joint and removed the screws,  he pried on the fracture zone with his chisel and could detect movement. That was probably why I could not walk on it for six months. I did not realize until I had this surgery how bad I felt with the unhealed fracture.

The incision on my thigh. The incision is eight inches long. The doctor said that he had to make it a bit longer than normal to allow enough room to remove the screws. It was nice to have the staples removed at two weeks. I also still have the two inch scar from the March hip pinning surgery.

Here are the screws that held my fractured hip together for six months. Also made out of some fancy material.

What A Long Strange Trip This Has Been, And It Is Not Over Yet!

It all started on Mar 11th. Those that follow my blog might remember the circumstances. I went to Woodinville with a rented UHaul car dolly to get a "free" 1990 Ford Bronco II. It would not run and the owner was frustrated and just wanted to get rid of it. I loaded it on the dolly and was checking the tie downs when I tripped over the tongue of the dolly and fell on the pavement. Because of the fall, I broke my hip.

The cars previous owner took me to the Bellevue Group Health Urgent Care. They confirmed the fracture in my femur and scheduled me for surgery within a couple of hours. The surgeon elected to perform a "hip pinning" operation where after setting the displaced fracture, he would put screws through the fracture to hold it together. He wanted to do this instead of replacing the joint because I am "young" and active and would do better with my own hip joint. There were some risks that it would not heal properly or the blood supply could be disrupted resulting in the femur head dying. As early as two months after surgery, the surgeon told me that the xrays were "concerning" to him. The fracture zone appeared to be collapsing, the screws were pushed out into my thigh and I had lost nearly 3/4 inch of leg length. I also had trouble putting weight on it. After a couple more months and more degradation, we mutually decided to proceed with a hip replacement. 

So today, my journey takes me here for a total hip replacement surgery. This will be my home for a couple of nights and then my sister will take me to my parents home for a couple of days. I am not really looking forward to this. But hopefully this will relieve the pain and discomfort that I have and hopefully  I can walk soon without a crutch. My legs should once more be the same length. Most of what I read and here from others leads me to believe that I should be back on my feet soon and that I should be able to resume my usual activities.

 The saga continues!

Bonneville World of Speed

I have always wanted to go to Bonneville Salts Flats to watch cars trying to set world speed records. My friend Jim suggested that we go this year for Speed Week that is run the first part of August. Two things happened to cancel those plans. First, I fell and broke my hip in March. With the slow recovery, I did not think I could be in shape to go. Then the lake bed did not dry out enough and Speed Week was rescheduled for the end of September. About a month ago, Jim said that another speed event event was happening September 6th to 9th and he was able to reserve a hotel room. Did I want to go? I am still on one crutch and was apprehensive about the 850 mile drive each way and all the walking we would do, but I was antsy to get out and do something this summer, so sure, I would go. This event is a smaller meet called the World of Speed and sponsored by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. It is a smaller affair with about 175 cars and motorcycles instead of the nearly 500 at Speed Week.

We left late in the evening on Thursday and after driving all night, arrived in Wendover Utah on Friday afternoon. After checking in to the hotel, we headed out to the salt flats. I was under the impression that it was a somewhat long drive to the salt flats, but it was only a few miles. We wandered through the pits and checked out the layout of the course. It was fun to look at the various cars that were trying to set records or just find out how fast they can go. Some records are less than 100 mph or can be as high as 400 mph. It all depends what class your vehicle fits in. 

Racing started saturday morning. We drove down the course to just beyond the three mile mark. This is where most of the cars were achieving their fastest speeds. We set up a canopy to provide shade, had chairs to sit in and the car radio tuned to continuous coverage of who was racing and what their speeds were. 

The whole race course is immense. The course is 8 miles long. You cannot see the start and could usually see a racer after they passed the two mile markers and that was with binoculars. The racing was intense. The speeds of some cars went as high as 419 MPH. It was hard to focus when they flew by us. There were accidents. A few cars spun out and one spun and flip causing a long delay to clean up the debris. A couple of motorcycle riders were injured on the short course. For four days, we set on the salt and watched cars go by, it never got old!

Our hotel was in Wendover, Utah. But there was no place to eat there. So we would drive up the street about 1/2 mile, cross a white line o the street and find ourselves in West Wendover Nevada. The only restaurants were in the Casinos where we usually grazed on the buffets. 

We headed home on Wednesday and after another full day of driving, we arrived home late Wednesday evening. We are already starting to plan for next year. 

 Northern Nevada is pretty desolate.

 Driving down the hill toward West Wendover, you can see the Bonneville Salt flats in the distance and see how massive they are.

We have arrived.

Turbinator II being serviced in the pits.

 Turbinator II. It holds the record of 458 MPH for wheel driven turbine powered vehicles.

 A steam powered streamliner. Unfortunately, they spun and flipped on their first run.

 This attractive A class streamliner ran over 300 MPH and set a new record.

 Joint Venture is a Unlimited Diesel Truck. It has a V16 Detroit Diesel engine with four turbo chargers as well as two super chargers and puts out more than 4000 HP.

 Joint Venture is an Unlimited Diesel Truck. It holds records of  228.8 MPH. When it would make its run, the first thing we could see was a big plume of black smoke.

 This is a streamliner, side car, motorcycle. It is taken apart while going through technical inspection. This motorcycle was previously owned by a co-worker who set several records.

 The drivers meeting.

 The salt would stick to the tires and pack under the fender wells. We brought a lot of it home.

 A roadster getting ready for a tow back to the pits following a run.

 Challenger II being hauled back to the pits after a first run of 390 MPH. The next day they qualified for a new record at 419 MPH. Unfortunately, they could not back it up the following day. This car was built by the legendary Mickey Thompson in 1968. It made one run and because of adverse conditions, did not run again and was put into storage. A few years ago(after Mickeys death), his son Danny brought it out of storage, updated it and replaced the two iron Ford engines with two big fuel injected hemi racing engines that put out about 2000 HP each. Including the three runs this year at World of Speed, this car has only made five runs down the course, since 1968.

 Challenger II in the pits.

  Challenger II in the pits

Challenger II on the trailer heading home.

 Our spectator camp at about mile 3-1/2.  

 Each morning and evening, we drove across a rough patch of  flooded potholes and standing water. This is not just salt water, this is concentrated brine.

 Brigham Young University brought a electric streamliner that set a record of 204 MPH.

 Another roadster heading to the pits after a run.

 The spectator area near the timing slip trailer. It was pretty lonely out there sometimes.

 Got Salt was a streamliner that ran over 300 MPH but did not set any records.

West Wendover on the Nevada side of the border is a glitzy casino town. Wendover on the Utah side of the borders had hotels and not much more.