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TravelBlog 03-09

You would think that, after giving drag racing chassis-tuning seminars since 1980, I don’t get butterflies before a class. That is so untrue. I get nervous as hell, always and before every event. Once the lecture begins and I can feel the racers warm up to the presentation, then my nerves settle and I become inwardly much calmer. Most guys smile when they discover I get nervous because it’s a sign that I care about what I do. (Thanks fellas, that’s a wonderful sentiment but it doesn’t calm me down.) If the room isn’t arranged very well, or there aren’t enough chairs, or the air is too cold… or too hot… anything like that, I get jumpy.

Why am I telling you this?

Because you are reading my blog, which is another means for me to share my experiences with you. In this regard, I owe you two thanks; one “Thank You” for visiting my website and a second one for clicking into my blog. I intend to update monthly. I was born on the 20th of the month, so I’ll give me that deadline.

Here you will find how the recent tour is going and learn about the cars I get to see and help work on. I’ll also share tips I find along the way at the various shops I visit. I’ve got a great camera and I promise some high resolution photos plus I have cellular internet capacity. My overall goal for this blog is for it to evolve into a travel log of my journeys, sort of a travelblog. Travelblog?

Yeah, that’s the ticket… “Dave’s TravelBlog!”

I like that. (Is TravelBlog in your spell checker?)

NOW, let’s get back on the road…

At Chicago, I was double-nervous.

This was the second weekend where I had given a seminar on Saturday and a Workshop on Sunday.

The Workshops are a new concept, which help drag racers get suspension experience on their own car, or a car like theirs. It also comes down to the fact that many people feel they learn best when they use their hands. Seminars can be informative, but if given the choice between sitting in a classroom environment, and working in a shop, which would you chose?

You’d probably choose the Workshop.

So now I get nervous because of the Seminars AND Workshops.

However, the tension is different.

Before a Seminar, I think like a track promoter putting on a show. My Seminars are, to a great extent, part entertainment. How else could I hold people’s attention for 11 hours straight? The details are focused on registration and seating, while the artsy-craftsy aspects of teaching must be turned on at will.

Before a Workshop, I think as a shop foreman (even though I don’t own the place where we will be) and an instructor preparing a laboratory (even though this is a business and not a college.) The details are focused on having corner scales and tools available along with parking arrangements and security for the racecars and their transporters. The artsy-craftsy aspect is replaced with a scientific curiosity about what we may find in the cars we have to work on.

That curiosity is the magnet that I hope will draw drag racers to my Workshops. This search for answers has a whole list of benefits that everyone understands. Through the Workshops, racers can turn “unknowns” into “knowns.” When they wave a wrench at their suspension, they’ll know what they’re doing when they do it. If they’re on the starting line watching a car launch, they’ll see what they’re looking at.

So, if you’re curious about the Workshops, click to this link: Workshop Announcement.

At this point, I will assume you are the curious type and have read the Workshop Announcement. Now we can get into the details. We had five cars at Chicago, you can follow their progress though the photo gallery that follows this text. We’ll first discuss who worked on what.

Before Chicago, I planned to match attendees to cars by reading the Vehicle Spec Sheets that are filled out by every attendee. After collecting the spec sheets on Saturday morning, I had a chance on Saturday night to look at them closely and try to mate people to cars. I immediately confused myself. I heard myself say, “I can’t mate people to cars!” That’s like walking into a hamburger joint and having them tell me what I’m going to eat.

So, Sunday morning came around and I called everybody together near each of the cars. I introduced the owners and described what type of problem he was pursuing. Every attendee was then asked to choose a car to work on.  It was like asking which burger they wanted, which is a more proper way to treat a customer.

One guy hollered, “Can we vote them off the Island?”

By 9:20 a.m., everyone knew where they wanted to be. I offer a special thanks to Dwayne Thompson and Gene Hinders. They agreed to “float” from one car to another and help in any way required. That gave our collective labors a bit more efficiency and set the tone for the following hours. I highly suspect that many other guys floated over to look at the other cars as work on their project neared completion.

For me the lesson from Chicago was that the spirit that the Workshop in Lebanon was not a fluke. The character of the attendees and the energy of the event was the same in Chicago as it was in Lebanon. Again, I am assuming you read the Workshop Announcement and understand the special feelings I had about that outstanding Sunday at Scott’s Transmissions.

The point I want to make is that you’ll initially want to attend my Workshop for the hands-on experience of working on suspensions. That being said, you’ll forever remember the experience because of the people you met who were motivated the same as you.

Anyway, please enjoy the following photos. I hope the quality and content help you in your efforts.

Stay Tuned!

Photo Gallery

Chicago Seminar and Workshop, March 7-8, 2009...

Facilities such as Alston Race Cars offer the perfect location for a chassis seminar and workshop. Attendees were treated to view a variety of projects that the Alston crew was working on.

 

Not only did Alston Race Cars cater the event for both days, but they also provided home-made cupcakes, the artwork of which took hours to prepare.

 

There were 45 racers signed up for the seminar on Saturday, March 7.

 

The biggest advantage to having a seminar catered is that it keeps the group of racers together so they can enjoy more fellowship time together.

 

Our host, Mike Ruth, was on-hand both days to share his experiences with racers who were glad to listen to Mike’s tips.

 

Each car owner was given the homework assignment of building a set of chassis ride-height blocks so they could support the weight of their car and differential without having the tires or springs installed.

 

Darrell Moser, seen here with the blue sweatshirt, brought his Duster to inspect the chassis for frame rail shift and to bumpsteer the front suspension, which is what he is doing here.

 

Derek Hurd brought his ’67 Firebird, mostly as a car to practice working on. Here, Bryan Owen is measuring pinion angle. Also seen is the chassis centerline, which the team has already laid down.

 

Torin Manley brought his Fox-body Mustang for an inspection. A former oval racer, Torin was knowledgeable about corner weights and ride heights. He established a baseline for both at the workshop.

 

After all the tires were checked for proper psi, they were placed on the corner scales. The plastic garbage bag on each scale acted like a bearing surface so as the tires changed camber while being lowered onto the scales, they did not bind against the scale surface.

 

Lunch included sandwiches with homemade bread. On Sunday, attendees were able to grab a bite to eat between projects and at their own schedule.

 

Dave Meister brought his ’69 Torino and most of his crew with him. The Ford is a little lame in 60-foot times and Dave wanted to find out why. The data logger indicated there were issues with the power curve and the car’s suspension felt very stiff.

 

The Torino was placed on scales so the total weights and unsprung weights could be measured.

 

Don Swanson brought his ’69 Baracuda with the idea of swapping springs and inspecting the car. Here Dave Blakley helps Don check the lower fourlink brackets for a level position.

 

In this photo, you can get a sense of the activity at the Alston facility during the workshop.

 

Part of Dave Meister’s problems was discovered at the workshop. First, he had a short spring on his long coil-over. Look closely at the top spring cup for the coil--over and you’ll see that the coil-over was hitting the frame rail, causing a form of bind.

 

Darek Hurd’s Firebird also got on the corner scales where the right height and corner weights were set after the rear anti-roll bar was disconnected. Through inspections, it was found that the antiroll bar was twisted.